00:04:46.840You know, it's not resulting in criminality.
00:04:50.120These are just people who are Airbnb-ing it.
00:04:54.260I could see a point if, you know, they were renting out to criminals or drug lords or
00:04:58.220Bishnoi boys or whatever, but that's simply not the case.
00:05:03.300And these are people who in an extreme affordability crisis are doing something to pay the bills.
00:05:12.700And as a side effect, bringing tourism and economic activity to the town of Waynefleet.
00:05:19.220But Wayne Fleet doesn't like it. And so they've started issuing enormous fines to people. And David Menzies went to Wayne Fleet to interview one of the victims of this extreme government overreach. Take a listen.
00:05:37.560We bought the property as a cottage, fell in love with Wayne Fleet. And with COVID and all of the work from home and digital technology, we have fiber now in our neighborhood. We were able to live in the country, but still I'm able to do business. So we sold our house in Burlington. We were moving to Wayne Fleet to live full time. I coach hockey. I ended up having to coach in Kiwanis and St. Catharines because I couldn't even rent ice in Wayne Fleet. They banned me from doing that.
00:06:05.960Why? I think they're attacking my family because I'm the leader of this group. We have 13 families. So there's just under 30 people in the group. These are other homeowners that have been just devastated and crushed by these fines. And so I think because I'm the leader, they initially came after me for things like, oh, my fence was too high and there was a pile of rocks on my property. And I tried to rent the ice because I do coach kids. I ended up having to go to Pelham and rent ice there.
00:06:32.340And on my way to Pelham, I poked my head into Wayne Fleet and the ice wasn't rented for that hour.
00:06:36.760So they turned down the money and we had to drive to another city and pay the other rink.
00:06:42.380And it was just because I just, you know what, they don't like me doing this with you.
00:06:46.620They don't like the bad press and they don't like that I'm the leader of this group.
00:06:50.640So I'm being targeted and it's un-Canadian, it's not fair.
00:06:53.780They've migrated a little over $200,000 in fines to my property tax bill.
00:06:58.020However, I received more than a half dozen registered letters from the township that state that the fine is $20,000 per owner per dwelling per day.
00:07:06.940So imagine you're driving in the car with your wife and you get pulled over for speeding, but you both own the car.
00:07:14.320So at $20,000 per owner per dwelling per day with two dwellings, we're at $80,000 a day, and they're fining us for two separate things, so $160,000 a day.
00:07:45.880So I just want to let everyone know, say there is only $200,000 on my property tax bill.
00:07:50.280I could pay it off and they could say, well, here's another 200,000 or here's a million, or maybe they come after me for the whole, you know, 175 million. I mean, it's been going on three years and we're at $160,000 in fines per day, potentially based on the registered letters I have.
00:08:05.000So let's hear what the comment section had to say.
00:08:31.660I struggle to say, this great province of Ontario.
00:08:37.120It's not like this has been being bought up by foreign investors or real estate speculators.
00:08:43.140These are just people trying to buy a second home to retire in
00:08:49.520while they continue to work out their working lives in Toronto.
00:08:54.620And they're trying to do it while real estate prices are still within reach.
00:08:58.680and the town is having none of it to the point where they will economically destroy you
00:09:06.360for having an airbnb can you imagine andrea smith 6704 says time to boot your town council
00:09:17.720disgusting overreach by government well that's what the man and david story is trying to do
00:09:22.160So not only has he tried to fight back in the courts thus far unsuccessfully, but he's trying to get on counsel and change this crazy, crazy rule.
00:12:01.840It's a culture issue, but you fight it at the municipal level
00:12:05.460because it's based on decisions made by your municipal government.
00:12:09.280climate change frequently it's a municipal issue the millions of dollars spent on electric buses
00:12:17.180that don't work and when they are working they're on fire that's a municipal government issue
00:12:22.000the multi-billions of dollars the city of calgary or for that matter
00:12:29.840uh ottawa and these municipal climate emergency declarations that's a municipal government issue
00:12:36.540we have to get involved at the municipal level we just must griffin three says i've said this
00:12:43.900many times over the years we do not own our property in canada people think they do but
00:12:47.300the government at any level doesn't recognize private property rights here yes like yes we
00:12:53.900technically own our property but if the government can just come take it as is the case with the alto
00:13:01.020monorail uh train fiasco nearly a hundred billion dollars liberal linked government funded1.00
00:13:10.340minister champagne's wife is some sort of ceo of green nonsense over there and she's getting a
00:13:17.140bonus before any bit of track is laid and it's he's been voting on things related to alto as
00:13:24.100the finance minister and alto is a line item in the budget which should be a conflict of interest
00:13:29.780And then in the conflict of interests, commissioner's office, Dominic LeBlanc's sister-in-law is the legal advisor there who says, well, that's not a conflict of interest.
00:13:45.620You know, if they can just come take your property for a monorail.
00:13:49.140um and if you have to pay property taxes every year and not at the point of transaction like
00:13:59.060when you're selling or buying and if you don't pay those property taxes the government just
00:14:05.420takes your land do you actually own it i don't know i don't know i could i would hear the argument
00:14:12.880on the other side that's for sure uh joe o'connor 7725 says our system of governance in canada is
00:14:20.400about power and control obviously in wayne fleet they want to control what you do with your private
00:14:27.260property when it's causing no disruption to the community and when it actually is a net benefit
00:14:35.560to the community through tourism dollars they just want to tell you what to do and if you don't
00:14:43.140they will destroy you that's it perfect liberal liberal perfect perfect that's how the liberals
00:14:52.380treated the freedom convoy right speaking of the freedom convoy how's that for a segue
00:14:57.380way one of the other most reacted to stories of the week was of my friend tamara leach you know
00:15:06.880her you love her leader of the freedom convoy political prisoner for the crime of organizing
00:15:14.340people when they went to their nation's capital to protest the federal government's lockdown
00:15:22.260restrictions like where else are you supposed to protest the federal government except for ottawa
00:15:26.000like where they work she was treated like a foreign invader even though she's a canadian too1.00
00:15:34.860and treated like a seditionist when she was just asking for people to be treated fairly to be0.98
00:15:42.480treated as the law requires them to be treated under the constitution section six charter rights
00:15:49.760of freedom of mobility privacy rights right to make medical choice completely informed
00:15:58.620right to decline medical treatment she wanted all of that for us and those are our rights
00:16:05.240they're enshrined right to demonstrate is enshrined right uh to associate is enshrined
00:16:16.440Free speech is enshrined, and ultimately the federal government was found to have illegally violated the rights of people by using the Emergencies Act on the Freedom Convoy, including to Merrill Lynch.
00:16:28.300And the Crown is now appealing her nearly served out sentence that she served dutifully in good behavior under house arrest for the last year.
00:16:41.200Anyway, she was invited to Pete Hoekstra, the United States ambassador to Canada's residence for the 4th of July celebrations, Independence Day celebration.