Rebel News Podcast - New rules and new normal for protesting in John Tory's Toronto

00:00:00.000 Hey folks, this is the audio version of the Ezra Levent Show. I'm David Menzies, guest hosting for

00:00:05.900 Ezra Tonight. And the monologue of tonight's show is on the double standard when it comes to

00:00:12.620 protesting in the city of Toronto. Now, if you would like the video version of this show

00:00:17.760 and some other great TV format style shows, please go to rebelnewsplus.com. That's rebelnewsplus.com.

00:00:28.960 Sign up and get the whole enchilada.

00:00:46.760 Tonight, anti-lockdown protesters get arrested, but pro-terror groups are allowed to protest.

00:00:54.620 It's March 9th, 2021. I'm David Menzies, and this is the Ezra Levent Show.

00:01:02.820 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?

00:01:06.620 There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.

00:01:10.700 The only thing I have to say to the government about why I publish it is because it's my bloody right to do so.

00:01:16.540 Since January, Mayor John Tory has made it loud and clear what the new rules are in the new normal in the new and not improved Toronto.

00:01:33.180 Namely, if you go to Yonge Dundas Square, as the anti-lockdown protesters used to do,

00:01:39.660 you will be arrested should you commit any of the following five egregious crimes.

00:01:46.260 Speaking into a megaphone, displaying a sign, waving a flag, quoting biblical passages, or merely standing on a corner.

00:01:57.560 We have weeks' worth of video evidence proving this to be true.

00:02:02.600 Here, check out the low-light reel.

00:02:04.940 I'm going to run.

00:02:06.740 Step back.

00:02:07.940 Step back.

00:02:10.940 Step back.

00:02:13.860 Step back.

00:02:14.500 Step back.

00:02:15.840 Step back.

00:02:16.520 Come on, you're right.

00:02:17.100 Step back.

00:02:19.020 President's the old force.

00:02:21.340 Section 2 of the charge.

00:02:24.040 Handcuffed you, ma'am. 0.98

00:02:24.820 What did they say to you?

00:02:25.900 Oh, my goodness.

00:02:26.680 I don't understand why I'm being arrested.

00:02:30.040 I don't understand it.

00:02:30.980 All I was trying to do, it's on my heart.

00:02:33.180 Excuse me.

00:02:33.460 Excuse me.

00:02:34.400 I was going to pray about this before I came here.

00:02:37.660 All I wanted to do was let people know about this vaccine.

00:02:41.180 And make no mistake, folks, tyrant Tory got his way.

00:02:45.240 Young Dundas Square, which should exist as the heart of the city, is now a no-man's land.

00:02:51.820 Indeed, after being ticketed and tackled and arrested and hauled off to jail for exercising their constitutional rights.

00:03:00.380 Anti-lockdown protesters now congregate at Queen's Park, where they get ticketed and tackled and arrested and hauled off to jail for exercising their constitutional rights.

00:03:14.040 Rinse and repeat.

00:03:15.040 Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.

00:03:16.260 But last Saturday morning, I ventured into the forbidden zone of Young Dundas Square, and look what I saw.

00:03:25.360 A crew that puts together the Middle East Toronto blog had congregated there.

00:03:31.200 And lo and behold, police weren't cracking heads on this day.

00:03:34.900 Rather, a police officer was being interviewed.

00:03:38.080 Check it out.

00:03:45.400 Is this for a documentary or something?

00:03:48.880 You'll find it on the blog Middle East TO, Middle East Blog Toronto.

00:03:55.060 Oh, okay.

00:03:55.840 It's a blog for Middle Eastern people, and we're talking about building trust between the police and the Middle Eastern community.

00:04:02.860 Oh, fantastic.

00:04:03.620 I was just here, because usually I've been here in the past, and the police are arresting people for congregating on Young Dundas Square.

00:04:11.560 So I just wanted to get a record of that, if any shenanigans happen like that.

00:04:16.480 No, that was for the anti-mask protest.

00:04:20.000 The anti-lockdown people?

00:04:21.760 I think so, yeah.

00:04:22.620 Yeah.

00:04:23.980 I'm just trying to understand, officer, what's the difference between people protesting and these nice people doing a little documentary here?

00:04:31.240 I'm not dealing with the protests.

00:04:32.680 Okay.

00:04:34.080 All right.

00:04:34.640 All right.

00:04:35.300 Good luck with your work.

00:04:36.280 Thank you.

00:04:36.640 Okay.

00:04:37.360 Isn't that special?

00:04:39.360 The Middle East Toronto blog people were completely accommodated, and I'm happy for them, really, folks,

00:04:45.260 because I adore that silly little concept known as freedom of the press.

00:04:50.540 Yet, just look at how Rebel News videographers were treated at Young Dundas Square protests a few weeks ago.

00:04:57.840 That's all.

00:04:59.300 Go ahead.

00:04:59.760 Go ahead.

00:04:59.880 Go ahead.

00:05:00.420 Go, go, go.

00:05:01.560 Go, go.

00:05:02.000 Go, go, go, go.

00:05:02.220 The media is exempt, but it's like CP24 and stuff like that, right?

00:05:17.560 What's the difference between me and CP24?

00:05:20.560 I'm not sure.

00:05:21.560 You just got to keep moving, right?

00:05:22.560 That's all you got to do.

00:05:23.560 What's the difference between me and CP24?

00:05:25.560 I'm not sure what your company is.

00:05:27.560 If you're not sure, then why are you making assumptions then?

00:05:29.560 You just got to move.

00:05:30.560 Everybody's got to move.

00:05:31.560 Go ahead and go tell CP24 to move.

00:05:33.220 You just got to move, sir.

00:05:34.140 We're cautioning you right now, right?

00:05:35.700 We're cautioning you.

00:05:36.200 We're cautioning everybody.

00:05:37.120 You know, I love that line about media not being allowed unless you are the bought and

00:05:42.520 paid for mainstream media like CP24.

00:05:46.880 Amazing and beyond parody.

00:05:50.060 Oh, but it gets worse, folks, because later that same day in the afternoon last Saturday,

00:05:55.420 check out who was occupying the public square, brandishing flags and signs, none other than

00:06:02.960 members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam, a.k.a. the LTTE, a.k.a. the Tamil Tigers.

00:06:11.660 Folks, your eyes are not deceiving you.

00:06:14.980 The Tamil Tigers are recognized as a terrorist group in Canada as well as more than 30 other

00:06:20.020 nations.

00:06:21.680 And here they were on Saturday, their supporters in Toronto, Canada, proudly flying a flag that

00:06:29.320 displays a tiger's head next to a couple of automatic weapons and a halo of bullets.

00:06:34.180 So let me get this straight.

00:06:36.960 One can brandish the flag of a terrorist organization in Torrey Town, but if you wave a Canadian flag,

00:06:46.100 well, check out what happened to this poor patriot.

00:06:49.280 Oh, no.

00:07:04.940 Wow, look at that takedown.

00:07:08.840 It is reminiscent of the offensive line of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

00:07:12.500 But where, oh, where was the fuzz when it came to the Tamil Tigers supporters marching

00:07:18.620 upon young Dundas Square?

00:07:21.080 Nowhere, that's where.

00:07:22.940 They sat this one out.

00:07:25.200 But why?

00:07:26.620 Well, I sought answers from Don Pete, Mayor Tory spokesman, and Brad Ross, the City of Toronto

00:07:32.840 spokesman, as well as Connie Osborne, the spokeswoman for the Toronto Police Service.

00:07:37.900 Here's the gist of my email.

00:07:39.480 Well, quote, just curious, last Saturday I dropped by young Dundas Square in the morning

00:07:44.080 and there was a group from the Middle East blog Toronto filming a segment there, far from

00:07:50.160 police clamping down as they do with the anti-lockdown protesters, a police officer was actually

00:07:56.820 being interviewed by the crew.

00:07:58.800 I don't begrudge these bloggers this opportunity to gather, but why the double standard when it

00:08:03.860 comes to the anti-lockdown people who tend to get ticketed and or arrested?

00:08:08.560 But it gets even more curious.

00:08:11.780 In the afternoon at the square, there was a demonstration by those supporting the Liberation

00:08:18.580 Tigers of Tamil Elam LTTE.

00:08:22.100 Canada has designated the LTTE as a terrorist group, yet there they were waving the flag of 0.86

00:08:27.780 the Tamil Tigers.

00:08:28.800 But again, why is this tolerated but not anti-lockdown demonstrations?

00:08:34.600 Please let me know at your earliest convenience.

00:08:38.080 Thanks kindly.

00:08:39.140 End quote.

00:08:40.160 I have also followed up with a phone call and you know what, folks?

00:08:44.920 It's radio silence.

00:08:47.600 This is just too much of a political hot potato for Team Tory to handle.

00:08:53.140 And really, how do you justify the unjustifiable in the first place?

00:08:58.800 But this grotesque double standard is appalling.

00:09:04.060 It is egregious.

00:09:05.360 It is downright cowardly and disgusting.

00:09:08.980 And the underlying message seems to be if you are a member of a so-called politically

00:09:15.120 incorrect protest, i.e. the rank and file of Yahoo Nation, you will be ticketed and arrested

00:09:22.440 and incarcerated.

00:09:24.400 But if you are part of a protest that, oh, lauds a terrorist group, oh, well, nothing

00:09:31.960 to see here, folks.

00:09:33.100 Move along.

00:09:33.820 Move along.

00:09:35.080 Oh, and if you are a Black Lives Matter protester, not only do the cops turn a blind eye to elicit

00:09:41.700 gatherings, but the rank and file actually take part in the protest, including the former

00:09:48.260 chief.

00:09:48.760 But then again, we know that John Tory just loves Black Lives Matter.

00:09:53.420 Do you remember the infamous racist rant a few years ago by Usra Kogali, a co-founder

00:10:00.160 of Black Lives Matter Toronto?

00:10:02.460 Check it out.

00:10:03.220 Quote, please, Allah, give me strength not to cuss, kill these men and white folks out 1.00

00:10:10.020 here today.

00:10:11.080 Please, please, please.

00:10:12.940 End quote.

00:10:13.420 You know, Usra never apologized for this racist rant.

00:10:18.780 And instead of condemning her, Black Lives Matter shamefully rushed to her defense.

00:10:24.320 And as for Mayor John Tory, well, he presented this lovely lady with a civic award called the

00:10:31.960 Pam McConnell Award for Young Woman in Leadership.

00:10:35.580 Just look at this pathetic man, this phony baloney conservative.

00:10:41.400 He actually rewarded an unapologetic racist.

00:10:46.120 Indeed, imagine if Usra Kogali was a white man and one was to replace Allah with God and 0.91

00:10:53.660 the man's plea was for God to give him strength not to cuss, kill these women and Black folks 0.94

00:11:00.340 out here today.

00:11:01.460 Please, please, please.

00:11:02.480 Do you think that guy would be getting a leadership award as opposed to a prison cell for committing

00:11:09.240 a hate crime?

00:11:10.840 But that's how we roll in John Tory's Toronto these days.

00:11:15.000 Hogtown is the living land of the double standard. 0.95

00:11:18.400 Patriots get arrested while terrorist sympathizers are openly accommodated and racists actually

00:11:26.720 get rewarded.

00:11:27.700 Hey, John Tory, what are you going to do for an encore?

00:11:32.220 Give Omar Khadr the key to the city?

00:11:46.320 Well, folks, in so many jurisdictions the world over, the lockdowns are coming to an end

00:11:52.000 and economies are reopening, but not so much in Canada.

00:11:57.960 And when you are a politician of any political stripe, of any jurisdiction here in our great

00:12:04.360 dominion, it seems that when you argue for more economic liberty, you are dismissed as being

00:12:10.720 unproductive or counterproductive or even being called an outright crank.

00:12:16.200 Why, oh, why is that?

00:12:19.020 Well, joining me now is our friend to the show, Andrew Lawton of True North.

00:12:24.460 And, Andrew, you had a great commentary on True North discussing this very issue.

00:12:29.500 And we have seen that politicians, and I think of people like Randy Hillier, Roman Baber, those

00:12:39.120 who speak out against the Ontario policy regarding the lockdowns, well, suddenly cancel culture

00:12:45.960 comes right up into their windshield, doesn't it?

00:12:49.000 Yeah, and it's actually quite shameful.

00:12:52.640 I mean, we've seen in the last several years a number of issues become political hot potatoes,

00:12:57.640 where if you have the wrong opinion of them, it's a cancelable offence.

00:13:01.660 And we've talked about this, you and I, and I know on our respective platforms we have.

00:13:06.160 But we're talking about something really devastating right now, which is that you cannot even speak

00:13:11.660 out in support of reopening, in support of sending people back to work, of letting people live

00:13:16.880 their lives, without that being characterized as a fringe position, and you being then characterized

00:13:21.960 as fringe as well.

00:13:23.600 And as far as all of the, I say political issues, because that's really what it is, as far as

00:13:28.160 all of the political perspectives that have become cancelable, this is one that I find is

00:13:33.700 the most shameful because of the fact that it's actually a majority position.

00:13:37.580 Most people want to live their lives and go back to it.

00:13:40.160 But in politics, it's a slim, slim minority of politicians prepared to say that.

00:13:44.960 Indeed, and you know, Andrew, I want to give a shout out to our mutual friend, Anthony Fury.

00:13:50.160 He had a great column in today's Toronto Sun.

00:13:53.200 It was about a briefing that happened on Monday by the Ontario Science Table.

00:13:58.840 And to me, it was incredible good news because you look at the stats, and there's so many stats,

00:14:04.940 but I think the most important one was that this science table concluded that a whopping 55%

00:14:13.820 of deaths coming from the virus were from long-term care residents.

00:14:21.180 And the number of deaths, and when you look at that as a segment of the population, that's

00:14:26.140 only 0.5%.

00:14:29.180 So we know now, surely, where the, you know, the most vulnerable demographic is, and it

00:14:37.320 only accounts for 0.5%.

00:14:39.140 So why the heck is the economy in still lockdown mode?

00:14:43.260 There's so many arguments to be made that the so-called cure is worse than the curse.

00:14:48.360 One of the big things that I've noticed in all of this is that whenever we've had predictions

00:14:54.380 from, I'll say Ontario specifically, my and your province, they have been flat-out wrong.

00:14:59.820 And I don't just mean, you know, they might just have a bit of a rounding error, but flat-out

00:15:03.260 wrong, oftentimes a literal fraction of what was predicted.

00:15:08.180 Remember, the first modelling we heard said that we would have 100,000 deaths.

00:15:11.920 We were supposed, and that was within the span of a few months from when that was made

00:15:16.080 in, I think it was April of 2020.

00:15:19.220 We've been told that we could be up to 20,000 cases a day by now, and we're actually at less

00:15:24.520 than, or we're at about 1,000.

00:15:26.020 And this whole thing happens in a way that most sensible people would say what Anthony's

00:15:32.620 been saying, what you've been saying, what I've been saying, which is okay, if those numbers

00:15:36.280 are wrong, let's delve into them a bit deeper and say, and ask, where are the risks?

00:15:41.100 And what can we do safely?

00:15:42.400 And who do we need to really protect and target our measures towards?

00:15:46.140 And for the government that says science needs to be at the forefront of its decisions, this

00:15:50.480 is the process they should be doing.

00:15:52.580 But they're not.

00:15:53.540 It's coming from independent media.

00:15:55.080 It's coming from so-called fringe politicians, and that's how it's so maligned.

00:15:59.880 And, you know, Andrew, what's behind this?

00:16:01.940 Because my take on this, my friend, is that before this pandemic took root, I didn't know

00:16:07.720 who the various chief medical officers were in the city, in the province, federally.

00:16:12.920 I didn't know the name of Eileen Davila and David Williams and Teresa Tam.

00:16:18.700 And now these are almost household names.

00:16:21.180 They're almost like celebrities.

00:16:22.960 And yet these are unelected, non-accountable people that are completely immune to any kind

00:16:29.320 of financial hurt from a lockdown.

00:16:32.080 They haven't suffered a nickel's worth of salary being deducted.

00:16:34.920 They haven't been laid off.

00:16:36.740 And it seems that our elected leaders are beholden to these people and almost using their

00:16:42.580 advice as an excuse of why the economies must remain in lockdown.

00:16:48.340 Well, just look, David.

00:16:49.460 Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, got an Emmy out of his press briefings.

00:16:53.600 In B.C., the chief medical officer of health, Dr. Bonnie Henry, got a book deal out of it.

00:16:58.320 So she's a medical officer who's actually got time to write a book throughout this pandemic.

00:17:03.120 And listen, what we're seeing here is, I think, twofold.

00:17:07.080 Number one, I believe there are genuine risks.

00:17:09.740 There are public safety risks that are inherent in the COVID-19 pandemic.

00:17:13.560 And I think that what government doesn't want people doing is taking it upon themselves to

00:17:18.820 start deciding, well, I think this is safe.

00:17:20.980 I think this isn't.

00:17:21.740 So they end up with this one size fits all position.

00:17:24.380 But the problem with that is that it delegitimizes all of their advice when they're proven to be wrong

00:17:29.960 on their numbers so people don't actually pay attention.

00:17:33.120 People don't listen to them.

00:17:34.280 When the government was saying, well, don't do masks, they make things worse.

00:17:37.960 And then do masks and now double mask and triple mask.

00:17:41.040 And by this time next year, we might be at the hazmat suit phase of it.

00:17:44.380 Who knows?

00:17:45.100 When they do these flip flops, all they do is force sensible people who aren't themselves

00:17:49.980 experts to just say, well, all right, I'm just too confused by it.

00:17:53.620 And that, I think, is a big risk here.

00:17:55.600 So government is trying to use simple, easily understood solutions.

00:17:59.680 But to do that, they have to go to the lowest common denominator, which means the least

00:18:03.720 possible freedom.

00:18:05.140 And I think, too, it's a matter of CYA.

00:18:08.160 Cover your arse, too, Andrew.

00:18:11.200 If there were continued case counts, continued deaths coming in, someone like a Premier Ford

00:18:16.660 could say, well, you know, don't blame me.

00:18:19.440 I did all I could.

00:18:20.440 I shut down the economy, even though I'm a super free market person.

00:18:23.580 So I think there's a little bit of that, too.

00:18:25.560 But going back to your original premise, it's so sad when you see the likes of a Roman 1.00

00:18:29.900 Baber, Randy Hillier, Belinda Carajolios get kicked out of caucus when they dare to speak

00:18:38.560 differently than the politically correct mandated strategy when it comes to the lockdowns.

00:18:45.100 And I thought it was very interesting you flagged David Sweet of the Canadian, of the Conservative

00:18:50.820 Party of Canada, rather.

00:18:51.820 He spoke out against it.

00:18:53.540 But this is someone really with no skin in the game in terms of repercussions.

00:18:57.900 As you mentioned, he's not running in the next election.

00:19:00.720 And I thought Aaron O'Toole's response to Mr. Sweet, it was pathetic, Andrew.

00:19:08.060 It was.

00:19:08.880 And I read this in my video.

00:19:10.640 I don't have the exact text handy.

00:19:12.400 So if you do, perhaps you can put it up.

00:19:13.980 But the part of it that stood out was him basically saying, and I'm paraphrasing here, yeah, we're

00:19:19.600 a year into this.

00:19:20.340 I get why people are frustrated.

00:19:21.500 But that's no excuse to lash out in counterproductive ways.

00:19:25.540 So he was basically inferring that by speaking against lockdowns, which is, to be honest, the

00:19:31.320 definition of productivity, of wanting people to get back to work.

00:19:34.160 But by speaking against lockdowns, you're just being counterproductive, basically accusing

00:19:38.520 David Sweet of demagoguery for saying that he wants his constituents to be able to keep

00:19:43.280 their jobs.

00:19:43.920 When, just to put that in context, this week, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce found that

00:19:47.820 51% of Canadian businesses don't know if they'll be able to last to the end of the year.

00:19:52.640 That is a shocking statistic, especially since those are the remaining businesses, Andrew,

00:19:58.260 that they pulled.

00:19:58.980 Yeah, you're right.

00:20:00.360 There's some survivor bias there, because these are the ones that survived lockdown 1.0,

00:20:04.700 and half of them basically are saying, I don't know.

00:20:08.180 And sure, a lot of them will, maybe most will.

00:20:10.360 But the fact that there's that much uncertainty means that this should not be a fringe position

00:20:14.560 we're talking about here.

00:20:15.720 So, Andrew, one last question.

00:20:17.940 It's a crystal ball question.

00:20:19.820 You know, you go to jurisdictions like Florida.

00:20:21.760 It's a different world.

00:20:23.160 I mean, you can sit down.

00:20:24.260 You see people walking around without masks, congregating at beaches, you name it.

00:20:28.080 Heck, in February, 25,000 people in Tampa Bay to take in the Super Bowl.

00:20:33.840 What I'm asking is that regardless of the cowardice level that we have with our elected representatives

00:20:40.800 of every political stripe, of every level here in Canada, when or when do you think we can

00:20:46.540 do things like, I don't know, go to a rock concert, get into a jam-packed restaurant again,

00:20:51.380 go to a sporting event, when is the cherished old normal going to come back?

00:20:57.700 Well, at this point, it doesn't look like there ever will be one.

00:21:00.580 And I know that's a very depressing position to put forward.

00:21:03.260 And I'm sorry about that because I'm bothered by it as well.

00:21:06.660 But we already have Patty Hajdu, the health minister, saying that vaccine passports are

00:21:11.480 on the radar for discussion among G7 countries.

00:21:14.120 And even if Canada were to decide against a vaccine passport, any destination Canadians 0.58

00:21:18.980 might want to go to may have a requirement of one.

00:21:22.340 And for us to even imagine that there is going to be any such thing as the old normal, this

00:21:27.320 is a 9-11 caliber event where all of these things that we once took for granted are reshaped

00:21:32.800 and remade in the image of COVID, despite the fact that the threat will have, for the most

00:21:37.540 part, passed.

00:21:39.060 You know, I fear you might be right, Andrew.

00:21:41.500 The Ontario Science Table data should have been cause for celebration with medical health

00:21:48.180 officials.

00:21:48.820 Instead, I see the likes of Dr. David Williams, Eileen Davila.

00:21:52.620 They're not celebrating at all.

00:21:54.460 They seem to be of the mindset that until we have 100% vaccination and until the virus is

00:22:02.160 100% eradicated, we can't go back to the old normal.

00:22:05.780 And those two things are never going to happen, my friend.

00:22:08.640 So maybe what you just said is a prophecy that unfortunately might come true.

00:22:14.540 Yeah, I fear to say it.

00:22:15.860 And like I said, it brings me no joy.

00:22:17.500 I would love to be wrong about this, but the optimism is waning.

00:22:20.740 Okay.

00:22:21.260 Well, Andrew, thank you so much for joining me here on the Ezreal Event Show and keep fighting

00:22:25.780 for freedom, my friend.

00:22:27.120 Anytime, David.

00:22:28.200 Fantastic.

00:22:29.000 And that was Andrew Lawton with True North.

00:22:31.420 Keep it here.

00:22:32.180 More of the Ezreal Event Show to come right after this.

00:22:35.780 Well, folks, that's the show for tonight.

00:22:47.880 Thank you so much for watching.

00:22:49.160 And as Ezra always says, keep fighting for freedom.

00:22:52.980 Thank you.

00:23:07.160 Thank you.

Rebel News Podcast - March 10, 2021

New rules and new normal for protesting in John Tory's Toronto

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