Rebel News Podcast - SHEILA GUNN REID ｜ Teachers Strike, Tax Blunders, and a Political Earthquake in Newfoundland

00:00:00.000 Teacher strike, tax blunders, and a political earthquake in Newfoundland.

00:00:04.240 I'm Sheila Gunn-Reed, and you're watching The Gunn Show.

00:00:23.860 Well, it's another week in Canada where the people running things seem determined to prove

00:00:28.020 they shouldn't be running anything at all.

00:00:29.400 Let's start right here in Alberta, where the teachers union has decided to walk out after

00:00:33.960 23 years.

00:00:35.940 They say it's about the kids, but if you believe that, well, I've got a carbon tax rebate to

00:00:40.540 sell you.

00:00:41.140 This strike isn't about underfunded classrooms or overworked teachers.

00:00:44.540 It's about union bosses flexing their political muscle after their feelings were hurt by Premier

00:00:49.960 Daniel Smith to force everyone into a broken cookie-cutter public system that parents are

00:00:55.960 increasingly walking away from.

00:00:57.300 They can't stand that Alberta's education model actually lets parents make choices,

00:01:01.640 real ones, based on what's best for their kids, not what's best for bureaucrats and union executives.

00:01:07.300 Chris Sims from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation joins me to break down what this strike is

00:01:11.460 really costing Alberta families, both in dollars and in lost classroom time.

00:01:17.040 Then we'll move east to Ottawa, where the geniuses at the Canada Revenue Agency are rolling out

00:01:21.160 their next disaster, automatic tax filing.

00:01:23.900 The same department that can't answer your call, can't process your return properly and

00:01:28.060 accidentally leaks your personal data, now wants to do your taxes for you.

00:01:32.840 What could possibly go wrong when the fox runs the hen house and files all the paperwork?

00:01:37.740 And then finally, we head to Newfoundland and Labrador, where the Liberals just got tossed

00:01:41.060 out on their ear.

00:01:41.740 Remember, the progressive Conservatives pulled off a political earthquake with Tony Wakeham

00:01:46.160 taking over as Premier.

00:01:48.080 The question now is, how much of that progressive label will stick?

00:01:51.580 Because if Newfoundland just voted for change, they're going to find out soon whether they

00:01:55.720 got it or just a blue-painted version of the same old red ink politics.

00:01:59.980 I'll break it all down with Chris Sims from the CTF.

00:02:03.420 No spin and definitely no automatic tax filing.

00:02:06.760 Take a listen.

00:02:07.280 So joining me now is my good friend and good friend of Rebel News and of Taxpayers Everywhere,

00:02:20.000 Chris Sims.

00:02:20.540 She's the Alberta Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

00:02:24.040 And we've got a ton to talk about.

00:02:25.520 But before we do, last night, surprise upset if you were watching the pollsters.

00:02:32.560 And I was.

00:02:33.400 So I was kind of surprised.

00:02:34.480 We did a live stream last night and I started off saying, you know, like the polls say the

00:02:38.540 Liberals are going to win and, you know, no surprises, Newfoundland and Labrador.

00:02:43.100 But then, like three hours into what was supposed to be a 19-minute live stream, things have switched

00:02:51.880 and all of a sudden, Tony Wakeham is the new progressive Conservative Premier in Newfoundland

00:02:59.320 and Labrador, I was surprised, but I am also delighted.

00:03:04.600 And I think you are, too.

00:03:06.440 Yeah, it was really nice to hear, especially because he was running on a pro oil and gas

00:03:11.460 platform.

00:03:12.320 And the reason that we're happy to hear things like that is because that is what brings in

00:03:16.700 private investment into Canada.

00:03:19.020 And it lessens the burden on the backs of taxpayers.

00:03:22.680 As we've pointed out before, we've lost out on billions with a B dollars by not having proper

00:03:28.660 pipeline capacity here in Canada.

00:03:31.120 And that's just from the income taxes federally that we've lost out on by not having those

00:03:37.680 pipelines up and running because of the jobs that are created from those things.

00:03:41.580 And so, yeah, based on what I've seen of that platform, that was really nice to see.

00:03:47.480 So I think, Sheila, the shine of the fancy words and the slogans and all of the glossy

00:03:54.300 nonsense, I think that's wearing off.

00:03:57.560 Yeah.

00:03:58.020 Because at the end of the day, working people like the families you and I both grew up in,

00:04:03.440 we need money.

00:04:04.740 We need good jobs.

00:04:06.300 We need solid industries that have our backs that we can always go work in.

00:04:10.820 And we can't pay the mortgage on good intention and promises of battery plants someday.

00:04:17.640 So maybe this is an indicator of people getting more real over this stuff.

00:04:22.540 Yeah.

00:04:22.840 I mean, I read the PC platform sort of in the lead up to the election and it's pro oil and

00:04:28.860 gas.

00:04:29.500 It's pro small business, pro private sector, lower taxes.

00:04:34.680 And they really want to take a bite out of that highest unemployment rate in the entire

00:04:40.120 country at 9.9%.

00:04:43.680 Like that is a devastating unemployment rate.

00:04:47.080 And, you know, the solution to that really is offshore oil and gas development.

00:04:51.560 Yep.

00:04:51.960 Big time.

00:04:52.800 I'll take an extra little bit of hope out of this, too, is that the previous, now the

00:04:57.780 outgoing government, the Liberals, provincial Liberals who were there, credit where it's due.

00:05:02.580 They had reduced gas taxes and they were one of the instrumental voices holding Prime Minister 0.99

00:05:09.560 Justin Trudeau to account for his stupid carbon taxes. 0.99

00:05:13.180 So when they suddenly all of a sudden had to start paying the full freight of carbon taxes 1.00

00:05:18.180 in all of Atlantic Canada.

00:05:20.020 So not just Newfoundland and Labrador, there is a distinction between Atlantic Canada includes

00:05:24.760 Newfoundland and Labrador.

00:05:26.060 The Maritimes are just the lower provinces, the further south provinces.

00:05:30.400 But again, credit where it's due.

00:05:32.400 They did take Trudeau to task more so than I thought any other provincial Liberal Party

00:05:40.300 would do.

00:05:40.900 So I'm taking this as an indication that the people, the people of Newfoundland and

00:05:46.540 Labrador, they reflected that in that current government then, and now they want more of

00:05:52.300 that.

00:05:52.940 Right.

00:05:53.260 More putting the boots to the federal government.

00:05:56.560 More saying, no, we need actual action.

00:05:59.500 We need resource jobs.

00:06:00.980 We need pipelines.

00:06:02.180 We need private investment coming up here to Canada.

00:06:04.780 So I'm taking this as a good sign.

00:06:07.640 Yeah.

00:06:08.080 You know, we noted that when we were talking about it last night, it feels as if the Liberals

00:06:12.100 in the Atlantic provinces, like the provincial Liberals, and even the federal Liberals in the

00:06:18.080 Atlantic provinces, they're a little bit removed from the hive mind of Ottawa, and they have

00:06:24.560 to be more in touch with the local people.

00:06:27.800 And a lot of the opposition to the federal carbon tax actually came from those Liberals who

00:06:33.240 were worried about losing their seat.

00:06:35.560 And the Liberals had to capitulate because they actually stand to lose something there,

00:06:40.840 whereas they don't actually stand to lose anything in Western Canada.

00:06:44.080 We don't generally vote Liberal out here.

00:06:46.240 Can I nod out on that for just a second?

00:06:48.660 Definitely.

00:06:49.320 So I've got family back there.

00:06:51.140 You know, I lived back there.

00:06:52.540 And so there's a different culture in the Maritimes and in Atlantic Canada.

00:06:57.960 So I don't have family in Newfoundland and Labrador.

00:07:00.220 I guess I do for married in.

00:07:01.440 But you know what I mean.

00:07:02.000 I have family all through that region and own a house there.

00:07:07.280 I get it to a large extent.

00:07:09.380 I'll put it this way.

00:07:10.260 When I go back and visit, they don't say I'm from away.

00:07:13.220 Right.

00:07:13.920 Because, right, of the family connections.

00:07:17.100 So there, generally speaking, is a difference politically there.

00:07:22.260 So not everybody, but generally speaking as the culture.

00:07:25.100 However, in the Maritimes, you're often kind of born into a party.

00:07:30.740 Sure.

00:07:31.280 So I know my Nana, God rest her soul, she was definitely this way.

00:07:34.820 And she was part of the silent generation.

00:07:37.040 In the same way that you're either born Catholic or Protestant, you're born a Liberal or a Tory.

00:07:42.480 And that's just how things are.

00:07:44.780 And you have the portrait of your favorite Prime Minister next to your bowl of teaspoons, right?

00:07:50.560 Right there on the dining room table.

00:07:52.500 And it's an ingrained part of their culture of red team, blue team, Liberal, Conservative.

00:07:59.740 And they're very active in it.

00:08:02.640 And they're more, I would say, more comfortable in their own skin within that party.

00:08:07.540 So it's part of their life.

00:08:09.100 Here in the West, which I am from, we can start a political party in like an afternoon.

00:08:15.680 Right.

00:08:16.400 There's a prairie fire.

00:08:17.800 It's all populist-based.

00:08:18.960 I love it.

00:08:19.680 That's my cup of tea.

00:08:21.040 Because it affects real change, in my opinion.

00:08:23.920 And it holds government to real account.

00:08:26.080 That is my bag.

00:08:27.240 But in the Maritimes, this is what's interesting.

00:08:30.720 And this is why I think this whole thing started in the Maritimes of the pushback against the

00:08:34.520 carbon tax that actually had some teeth to it.

00:08:38.520 Because those constituents from within those Liberal members of Parliament ridings had the

00:08:44.540 confidence to say, hey, Mike, Mike, I have to fill up my oil tank this winter.

00:08:50.680 What is going on?

00:08:52.320 I'm not going to be coming out to your box social or your strawberry picnic or anything

00:08:56.660 anymore.

00:08:57.100 What's going on?

00:08:58.060 I'm going to tell your mother about this.

00:08:59.780 I'm not joking.

00:09:01.180 Like it becomes that integrated into their culture.

00:09:05.660 And so I would argue that gave those members of Parliament the confidence to stand up to

00:09:12.860 the movie star thing that Trudeau had going on and look at him in the eye and say, I don't

00:09:17.860 care what kind of socks you're wearing or how much these people from Toronto and Ottawa like

00:09:22.140 you.

00:09:22.520 I care about Margaret down the street in my riding and you better scrap this thing right 1.00

00:09:28.320 now.

00:09:29.040 That's what happened.

00:09:30.140 And so to your point here, I guess I'd have to really give it some thought as to how they

00:09:37.140 switched now from Liberal, which was still holding Trudeau to account, which is a very

00:09:41.980 Atlantic Canadian thing, to Blue, too conservative.

00:09:46.140 We'll have to see what happens there.

00:09:47.500 But anyway, sorry to nerd out on that.

00:09:48.920 No, I like that.

00:09:49.820 I like that because look, there's something to be said for small town social pressure.

00:09:53.840 Like, it's a course correction in and of itself.

00:09:58.000 And I should note that the pressure that came from the Liberals, but also the Conservatives

00:10:04.640 in the East resulted in that carve out of home heating oil from the carbon tax.

00:10:11.720 And that carve out and the hypocrisy of awarding that carve out to, if you care about these things

00:10:17.780 and I actually don't, the dirtiest form of home heating from the carbon tax, it caused

00:10:23.760 a knock on effect where Scott Moe was like, oh, yeah, well, then you're not getting any

00:10:28.080 carbon tax from our Crown Corporation that provides the home heating and electricity around

00:10:34.880 these parts.

00:10:35.620 So it caused a knock on effect.

00:10:38.040 That hypocritical carve out that the Liberals pressured their own party to give out there

00:10:46.160 caused a knock on effect that I think turned into a snowball that made it impossible for the

00:10:52.500 Liberals to keep the consumer carbon tax.

00:10:56.120 Amen.

00:10:56.520 And actually, shameless plug, Franco points all that out in his book.

00:11:01.460 He points all that out in his book.

00:11:02.680 I actually saw this in the background of one of the plebs interviews the other day.

00:11:05.420 So thanks for that, I guess.

00:11:06.560 That's cool.

00:11:07.100 I guess I should step it up.

00:11:08.420 I don't even have it here.

00:11:09.540 What a bad friend.

00:11:10.380 Neither do I.

00:11:10.900 I should put that in mind.

00:11:13.040 But to your point, that was the, to use a different metaphor, that was the crack in the

00:11:16.500 dam.

00:11:17.180 Absolutely it was.

00:11:18.420 Yeah.

00:11:18.540 Because remember how rushed that looked.

00:11:21.080 Remember that weird press conference where they announced the carve out for their home

00:11:24.680 heating fuel.

00:11:25.380 And that was exactly because of that scenario I just relayed.

00:11:29.440 Yes.

00:11:29.640 And it's a true scenario.

00:11:30.780 Come the fall, people are getting their, their furnace oil filled.

00:11:33.600 And all of a sudden they're looking at an extra 250 bucks tax tacked onto that.

00:11:39.300 And quite often these folks are seniors.

00:11:41.220 They're on a fixed income.

00:11:42.300 They can't afford that.

00:11:43.340 Yeah.

00:11:43.480 So they rightly raised bloody hell with their MP and then the MPs turned around and filled

00:11:49.300 Trudeau's ear and Trudeau panicked and did a carve out for the highest emission fuel

00:11:56.180 that you're using.

00:11:57.480 Bunker fuel.

00:11:57.900 Like compared to natural, you know, like it's, you're just burning oil in a furnace.

00:12:02.480 It's a lot higher emission.

00:12:03.760 If like you said, that's your concern, it's way higher emission than natural gas, but they

00:12:08.780 get this carve out.

00:12:10.420 Interestingly, Stefan Guibo was not there.

00:12:14.140 He did not come to that press conference.

00:12:16.080 He was not part of that announcement.

00:12:17.620 And that was the crack in the dam that finally got rid of the consumer carbon tax.

00:12:22.140 And it is gone.

00:12:23.100 I know a lot of people ask me, is it just reduced to zero?

00:12:25.920 It was reduced to zero, but it is now gone.

00:12:28.580 The mechanism is currently gone, but we're in the middle of the lull.

00:12:33.040 It's that phony war right now where they're cooking up the bigger, bad, or more hidden

00:12:37.340 industrial carbon tax.

00:12:38.520 But right now, gas was $1.13 here a litre over the weekend.

00:12:43.620 I was too late to see it.

00:12:44.400 I paid $1.12 a couple of days ago.

00:12:46.880 Great.

00:12:47.740 That's 20 cents cheaper than it would be.

00:12:49.740 It's great.

00:12:50.260 And it's because the carbon tax is gone.

00:12:51.540 So good on everybody for yelling at the government loud and clear enough.

00:12:54.820 And I'm going to take this as an indication that people are still yelling at the government

00:12:58.300 in Newfoundland and Labrador, and they want more change that will result in more wealth

00:13:02.520 for Canada and lower taxes.

00:13:04.740 Yeah.

00:13:05.320 Well, and, you know, Newfoundland being a resource rich place, what's good for Newfoundland

00:13:10.440 is good for the rest of this country in much the same way that what's good for Alberta

00:13:14.560 is good for the rest of the country.

00:13:16.180 Exactly.

00:13:16.560 Before we move away from federal, like the intersection of provincial politics and the

00:13:22.440 federal government, something that the CTF has been warning us about was coming is now,

00:13:29.900 I guess, upon us.

00:13:31.580 And that is automatic tax filing at the CRA.

00:13:35.980 Like if you try to call the CRA, clear your schedule six to eight months from now when you'll

00:13:42.760 hear back from them, but these people are going to take on the duty of filing your taxes for

00:13:49.460 you without your permission and also claiming your deductions that they don't know about.

00:13:55.000 How is this supposed to work?

00:13:56.560 It's not going to, is the short answer.

00:13:59.580 But let's give you a long answer.

00:14:01.320 Please.

00:14:01.800 Yes.

00:14:02.340 We have been warning about this now for a few years and the actual, even the phrase

00:14:08.040 government automated tax filing, like it actually sends a chill down my spine.

00:14:12.220 And it should, because this is a huge government power grab.

00:14:19.100 So for those of us who are keeping score with the conspiracy theorists, we're batting a thousand

00:14:24.340 sister, because this is a huge government overreach.

00:14:29.240 Now, of course, they're rolling out this Trojan horse under the guise of helping. 0.86

00:14:34.580 They're going to help poor people.

00:14:36.460 They're going to help disadvantaged people.

00:14:38.520 Because sometimes these poor people and these disadvantaged people don't know legitimately

00:14:44.520 what tax credits they're, they're capable of signing up for, meaning what sort of benefits

00:14:50.120 or help they can get from us taxpayers via the government.

00:14:53.540 And so enrolls the federal government through the CRA saying, I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

00:15:02.560 Y'all should be running for the hills when you hear that.

00:15:05.520 So this is easily defeated in a couple of points.

00:15:09.000 One, there are already free services to help poor people and disadvantaged people do their taxes.

00:15:19.580 Everywhere.

00:15:20.420 Everywhere.

00:15:20.820 Churches.

00:15:22.220 Thank you.

00:15:23.220 There's free tax clinics and free tax help everywhere.

00:15:27.880 So if you can't even afford to, you know, have a computer and an internet connection and do your

00:15:32.420 own software thing, you can still get free people doing it for you online.

00:15:36.520 Say that you're in that dire of a strait and you don't even have that access.

00:15:40.960 There's tons of in-person free tax clinics that people can go to.

00:15:44.940 Thank you.

00:15:45.880 They're in churches.

00:15:46.740 They're in parking lots.

00:15:47.600 Like, yeah, it's there.

00:15:49.920 So here comes the government with a solution to a problem that does not exist.

00:15:55.640 Right.

00:15:57.180 Two, I wanted to ring this bell because this is really spooking me.

00:16:02.380 I'm seeing a lot of sudden and frankly, unexpected corners of pushback coming at us at the Taxpayers

00:16:11.400 Federation all at once saying, oh, don't you care about poor people?

00:16:15.720 This is a no brainer.

00:16:16.840 Like we should do this.

00:16:18.100 And it's from so many kind of prominent people all at the same time.

00:16:23.460 My spidey sense here, Sheila, is the government was chumming that water for a long time through

00:16:29.840 their stakeholder engagement.

00:16:31.660 Yeah.

00:16:32.100 So just to get nerdy again, I think your listeners should get a warning when you're inviting me

00:16:37.920 on the show.

00:16:38.460 But with the government, this is typically how it goes. 0.99

00:16:42.360 They've got some new stupid idea that they want to push through the House of Commons. 0.97

00:16:45.700 So they get their comms team to work on all the advertisements and all the pop-up ad 0.99

00:16:51.480 crap that you want to not see on the internet.

00:16:53.560 And then they get their strategy team to work it out on how to get it the proper amount of 0.99

00:16:59.140 votes in the House of Commons, blah, blah, blah.

00:17:01.160 And then there's something, there's an element called stakeholder relation.

00:17:06.100 Now, it took me the longest time to understand what the hell people were talking about when

00:17:09.320 they were saying that.

00:17:10.040 But what that means is get non-government people to analyze what you're doing.

00:17:17.120 So, for example, if they were trying to put through automatic tax filing, they would go

00:17:22.920 to influencers and people who have a background in economics, who follow the government, and

00:17:28.460 they would get them together in rooms and on conference calls, and they would present

00:17:31.980 them with different versions of the bill.

00:17:34.640 What do you think of this?

00:17:35.640 What do you think of that?

00:17:36.420 It's kind of like a focus group, okay?

00:17:38.860 But in government, they call it stakeholder relations.

00:17:41.880 My gut right now, Sheila, is that they were pushing that button hard leading up to this,

00:17:47.580 because we're seeing an awful lot of pushback from people who should frankly know better,

00:17:52.560 saying automatic tax filing is fine.

00:17:54.780 No, it's not, because this is a very easy gateway into the government saying to other people,

00:18:01.280 you know what, dear, you filing your taxes, it's so simple for us and so hard for you.

00:18:06.940 Just trust the government to do it.

00:18:09.440 People should not give the government unfettered access to all of their data.

00:18:14.100 This is not a smart thing to do, because it violates your privacy, and the government

00:18:18.920 right now is broke.

00:18:20.360 They're like some vampire who's like, hasn't had blood in a long time.

00:18:24.600 They're looking under the couch cushions to find things, okay?

00:18:27.400 Do not give this government the keys to your accounts.

00:18:31.580 It's not smart.

00:18:32.760 And lastly, sorry, this is a big long rant.

00:18:35.140 Please do.

00:18:36.340 The government is terrible at doing things.

00:18:39.440 Yeah.

00:18:40.260 Try calling the CRA.

00:18:41.960 Let's just try calling them.

00:18:43.160 They're not good at doing the phones down there.

00:18:45.260 You want them to do your taxes? 0.96

00:18:47.020 I know. 0.97

00:18:47.260 Are you crazy? 0.99

00:18:48.180 I know. 0.98

00:18:49.040 Like, I'll give you a perfect example, and it won't even be a big sexy one like a Rive

00:18:53.080 scam, which never worked, and it was a total joke.

00:18:54.980 But even something boring, like software, payroll software for the federal government.

00:19:03.700 I checked, Sheila.

00:19:05.040 This is like a little dumpster fire that nobody's paying attention to, and it's the Phoenix Pay 1.00

00:19:09.540 System.

00:19:10.160 Yes.

00:19:10.540 And every now and then, I just pull the curtain back and look, and it is horrifying.

00:19:14.580 Three billion dollars.

00:19:17.820 Holy hell.

00:19:18.640 We have spent, as taxpayers, three billion dollars trying to fix the government software

00:19:27.740 that they use for their payroll.

00:19:30.200 So, if the federal government can't fix its own payroll software for its employees in-house

00:19:39.560 without blowing three billion dollars, you're going to give them access to everyone's personal

00:19:45.860 and super complicated taxes?

00:19:49.200 Yeah.

00:19:49.720 Like, all of your deductions, all of your dependents, all the things you may or may not own, year

00:19:54.320 to year, change to change, like, this would be a nightmare.

00:19:59.640 People should not be fooled by this.

00:20:01.920 Do not let them trick you into saying, oh, it's for poor people.

00:20:05.280 They're super devious.

00:20:07.240 This is not for poor people.

00:20:08.680 Poor people already have free access to tax help.

00:20:11.400 Don't give these keys to the hands of the government.

00:20:14.160 Right.

00:20:14.380 And who's lining up to line their pockets?

00:20:16.980 All the government contractors with the solutions for this stuff.

00:20:20.160 All the GC strategies of the world.

00:20:23.480 They're just there waiting to line their pockets under the pretense of helping poor people.

00:20:28.860 When, you know, like, if you want to help poor people, you don't need a government contract

00:20:32.140 to do that.

00:20:32.700 You can just, like, go do it.

00:20:34.160 Yep.

00:20:34.400 You just go right now.

00:20:36.040 Don't do it through the government.

00:20:37.440 Just go help poor people file their taxes if that's what you want to do.

00:20:41.360 That's right.

00:20:41.880 Get down there.

00:20:42.520 Grab a little card table, set up a calculator, and your internet connection.

00:20:46.540 You go do that.

00:20:49.040 Now I need to file an access to information request to find out the influencers who were

00:20:54.960 on this because you can get those lists, right?

00:20:57.460 Oh.

00:20:58.120 Yeah.

00:20:58.780 Aren't you smart?

00:20:59.840 Yeah.

00:21:00.520 That's a good idea.

00:21:01.440 There were vaccine influencers on a list and they were exactly who you thought they were.

00:21:06.480 That's right.

00:21:07.480 I forgot about that.

00:21:08.460 You're right.

00:21:08.840 But no, do check it out because I noticed it was immediate and it was dozens of them

00:21:14.320 and they were all saying similar-ish things.

00:21:17.160 Now it's fair, like, we often do say similar-ish things because these are fights that we're

00:21:20.420 having.

00:21:20.940 But it was so quick and it was so concerted.

00:21:23.240 But I'm like, y'all were part of the same stakeholder relations conference call, weren't you?

00:21:27.820 Yeah, right.

00:21:28.400 So that's my gut.

00:21:29.780 Yeah.

00:21:30.420 You know what?

00:21:31.180 Your gut is generally right, especially when it's the sentence structure is remarkably similar

00:21:36.860 in their defensive posts.

00:21:39.280 Like, you guys, just run it through ChatGPT and ask them to rearrange the words for you.

00:21:44.340 But that's too much like work, I guess, for some of these people.

00:21:47.540 Drop it in the word blender and dump it back out.

00:21:49.720 Now, before we get on to the teacher strike in Alberta, which you have really been pointing

00:21:55.320 out a lot of facts, something just popped up on my email, like, just minutes ago.

00:21:59.680 And it just came up out of the corner of my eye.

00:22:01.280 And I've got to tell you about this.

00:22:02.520 I want to share this with you first.

00:22:04.600 The Alberta government.

00:22:07.980 New bridges on Highway 8 will be named the Stu Hart Memorial Bridge, honoring one of Alberta's

00:22:15.320 most legendary figures and a true wrestling pioneer.

00:22:19.160 Isn't that wonderful?

00:22:20.840 I'm wearing my pink shirt.

00:22:22.700 And it's just a complete coincidence.

00:22:23.940 Pink and blue.

00:22:24.540 This is wonderful.

00:22:26.480 Yeah.

00:22:26.640 Look at this.

00:22:27.260 The Hart Foundation pink.

00:22:28.520 This is great.

00:22:29.800 Okay.

00:22:29.980 So for people, should we explain who Stu Hart was for people who just landed in Alberta

00:22:34.480 from Mars?

00:22:35.400 Okay.

00:22:35.820 So from the Alberta government press release.

00:22:37.980 But I mean, if you know the Hart Foundation, if you've watched even like a snippet of wrestling

00:22:42.460 over the last, I don't know, since 1948, you might have seen somebody either trained by

00:22:50.440 the Hart family or influenced by the Hart family or a member of the Hart family themselves.

00:22:56.580 But for over 30 years, Stampede Wrestling launched the careers of professional wrestlers and household

00:23:02.080 names, including Bret the Hitman Hart, Owen Hart, Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, Jim

00:23:06.320 Neidhart.

00:23:07.080 That's the anvil.

00:23:08.560 That's right.

00:23:09.060 And others.

00:23:10.140 And now we're on to like the second and third generation of the Hart family wrestlers.

00:23:15.120 Hundreds of aspiring wrestlers learned the ropes in the legendary dungeon, the basement

00:23:20.100 gym of the Hart Mansion on Calgary's west side, now a designated heritage site, which

00:23:24.920 is just so Albertan.

00:23:27.940 Devondration, Minister of Transport and Economic Corridors, says for many Albertans, stampede

00:23:32.880 wrestling wasn't just a show.

00:23:34.340 It was Saturday night's tradition.

00:23:36.160 Naming this bridge and Stu's honor provides a lasting tribute to Stu and his legendary family,

00:23:40.680 not only for promoting the sport of wrestling, but for the family's countless contributions

00:23:45.660 to Alberta.

00:23:46.820 It extends beyond the wrestling ring.

00:23:48.760 The Hart family is noted to have been a supporter of more than 30 charitable and civic

00:23:52.840 organizations, including Shriners, Hospitals for Children, and the Alberta Firefighters Toy

00:23:58.480 Fund.

00:23:59.040 Through the Owen Hart Foundation, Martha Hart has continued the legacy of philanthropy by contributing

00:24:03.560 millions to causes across Alberta in support of educational scholarships, housing assistance,

00:24:07.840 and youth programs.

00:24:08.580 The Hart family's ongoing engagement ensures that Stu's legacy of caring, inclusivity, and

00:24:13.600 giving back remains very much alive.

00:24:16.860 And it was actually, the stampede wrestling was actually one of Canada's longest running

00:24:20.720 TV shows, airing in more than 50 countries over its 30 years of broadcasting, bringing professional

00:24:26.420 wrestling to the mainstream.

00:24:30.120 I'm so pleased with this.

00:24:32.100 It's on the West Calgary Ring Road.

00:24:35.320 Um, and I can't wait to just go get a picture with that sign when it's up.

00:24:39.740 That is so rad.

00:24:42.820 I really hope that Bret Hart is there for that.

00:24:46.040 That would be really cool to see.

00:24:47.840 Um, one of my favorite things I ever did is I worked in mainstream media for like 20 years

00:24:52.360 or something.

00:24:52.960 One of the best moments of my life was when I got Bret Hart's cell phone number.

00:24:57.360 Oh, it was the coolest.

00:24:59.200 Like, I've interviewed prime ministers and all these people.

00:25:01.700 I don't care.

00:25:02.280 Like, I got Bret Hart's cell phone number.

00:25:04.780 Um, it's super cool guy.

00:25:06.420 Um, and again, for people who don't know, uh, do go check it out.

00:25:09.840 Like, it is a, it's a foundational cultural element of Alberta.

00:25:14.300 It's for sure.

00:25:15.100 For sure.

00:25:15.540 And it, it now, if I may, as the little girl from the woods in BC, um, it carried over

00:25:21.520 to Western Canada.

00:25:22.700 Um, and those of us sitting up late at night and early on Saturday morning, watching this

00:25:26.780 wrestling, that is wonderful.

00:25:28.500 Now they need to, if they ever do, uh, change the $5 bill again, they should get it.

00:25:34.060 So remember, have you seen that one where it's, uh, Bret Hart standing there in his sunglasses

00:25:38.140 and his white jeans in front of, in his acid wash jeans in front of, I think it's BAMF.

00:25:42.660 I can't remember where it was, but they need to do that.

00:25:45.500 That is wonderful.

00:25:46.360 Hey, fun fact.

00:25:47.420 I can't remember if I read this in Andrew Lawton's book about Pierre Polyev or if Andrew

00:25:51.660 just told me one night at the bar, but he, but he said that Pierre Polyev, uh, he grew

00:25:56.640 up basically in the same neighborhood as the hearts.

00:25:59.060 Oh, and yeah.

00:26:00.400 And that Owen Hart actually came to his birthday party.

00:26:03.460 I think it was his, I don't know, 12th birthday party or something.

00:26:06.860 And yeah, isn't this a great story?

00:26:09.560 And it was so big that they even set up a wrestling ring, like in the backyard or the

00:26:14.700 front yard of Pierre Polyev's house.

00:26:17.900 And I remember hearing the story and thinking, why don't you tell this story more?

00:26:23.120 That's really neat.

00:26:24.220 That's a very Canadian thing to talk about.

00:26:26.900 Like, I understand.

00:26:28.540 I love inflation too.

00:26:29.640 And talking about it is a big, is a big deal.

00:26:32.400 Um, but could you talk a little bit more about professional wrestling and the Hart family?

00:26:36.320 Cause that's pretty cool.

00:26:38.020 That's compelling to people.

00:26:39.840 Like I think it's, it's a cute family story.

00:26:43.020 And, uh, uh, one of my favorite photos ever, I know that we've just gone off on a real,

00:26:48.460 David Menzies, David Menzies would say a real tangerine.

00:26:51.260 One of my favorite photos ever is one of my oldest friends who had the biggest crush on

00:26:56.960 Diana Hart, actually meeting her a couple of years ago and his like googly eyes, like

00:27:02.940 as a grown man was the best thing ever.

00:27:07.000 And I'm so glad that I was able to capture it like in photographic evidence.

00:27:10.900 She's still just like a classy, beautiful lady. 0.88

00:27:14.440 Okay.

00:27:15.280 Thanks for taking on, coming on that big side quest with me.

00:27:19.440 Um, tell us about the teacher strike in Alberta.

00:27:22.440 We're rolling into week three, I think we're two, three of the teacher strike.

00:27:28.000 I think we're rolling into week three.

00:27:29.320 I, I, I abandoned my family and went to Ottawa for a few days last week.

00:27:32.920 So I'm missing time.

00:27:34.000 I was at the ostrich farm.

00:27:35.160 So I was in the ostrich universe where time does not exist.

00:27:38.760 It's like an airport Chili's where time doesn't matter.

00:27:42.800 That's what it's like at the ostrich farm.

00:27:44.800 I was literally in an airport Chili's.

00:27:47.040 Okay.

00:27:47.340 So this is, this is what's going on.

00:27:49.720 So for folks who are watching this outside of Alberta that are like, ah, again with Alberta.

00:27:53.940 No, no, no.

00:27:54.840 So the Alberta teachers union is a huge government union.

00:27:58.140 And if they go on strike like this, uh, other provincial government unions will get the idea

00:28:03.720 of doing the same thing.

00:28:04.640 So folks better watch what's happening in Alberta.

00:28:07.360 Here's the situation.

00:28:08.740 We've got around 700,000 kids who are out of school right now.

00:28:13.160 So an astonishing amount of young people here in Alberta, K to 12, who can't be in their

00:28:18.280 classroom because around 50,000 government school teachers are on strike.

00:28:25.500 Interesting elements here, Sheila.

00:28:27.720 This is the first time the Alberta teachers have gone on strike in 23 years.

00:28:33.000 So that's a long time.

00:28:35.180 Next, what we are hearing reported is that they're rejected deal.

00:28:40.140 So it's fair game to talk about rejected deals here.

00:28:42.460 So the rejected deal that came from the Alberta government and was offered to the teachers

00:28:47.140 goes something like this.

00:28:49.480 Okay.

00:28:49.760 Teachers with no experience, fresh out of school, you would start at $71,000 a year, plus your

00:28:58.080 benefits, plus your pension, plus your vacation, plus it's a super secure job, crazy job security

00:29:03.480 as a teacher.

00:29:04.280 You start there.

00:29:05.200 Interesting note, the average Alberta salary is $71,000 per year, which includes brain surgeons.

00:29:12.980 Okay.

00:29:13.400 And super risky, like, you know, energy work that guys have to risk themselves to do on

00:29:17.720 this side and brand new fast food, fast food workers in the middle is 71,000 teachers would

00:29:23.660 get to start there with a government job after seven years on the job.

00:29:28.760 They'd already be making more than $100,000 a year.

00:29:33.740 This, according to Alberta Premier Daniel Smith, would have made Alberta teachers the highest

00:29:39.540 paid teachers in all of Western Canada.

00:29:43.400 And I think for average working people in Alberta asking themselves, isn't $100,000 a year fair

00:29:50.920 for teaching, like, grade seven social studies?

00:29:55.260 Yeah, it is.

00:29:56.240 That's a fair wage.

00:29:57.060 On top of that, the government apparently had offered to hire 3,000 new teachers, plus

00:30:04.520 1,500 new education support workers, or those classroom helpers.

00:30:09.600 So highest paid in Western Canada, you're starting at $71,000 a year.

00:30:14.240 By seven years in, you're already making over $100,000, plus all the vacation time they get,

00:30:19.660 plus crazy job security, hiring 3,000 new teachers, hiring 1,500 new classroom support workers,

00:30:25.780 and they still said no to that by, like, 89%.

00:30:30.740 So, Sheila, there's something else going on here.

00:30:35.320 Yeah.

00:30:35.840 And that's what I can't figure out.

00:30:37.740 I think we can.

00:30:39.400 Just so you want to say it.

00:30:41.260 I think the timing is quite providential for this strike, considering they haven't gone

00:30:46.280 on a strike in over two decades.

00:30:48.720 So what is driving the strike?

00:30:50.720 What provoked the strike?

00:30:51.940 Well, I'm not going to say it's class size.

00:30:53.420 It's because they reject a deal that would have given 3,000 extra teachers. 0.97

00:30:57.660 So don't give me that it's class size garbage. 0.93

00:31:00.540 Just be honest with me. 0.99

00:31:01.560 If it's about money, just say it's about money.

00:31:03.000 Don't use my kid as a human shield, because I know you don't care, because you just rejected

00:31:06.680 3,000 extra teachers, and you've put my kid out of school for three weeks.

00:31:12.440 So let's, and again, this is me saying this.

00:31:14.860 This is not the Taxpayers Federation saying this.

00:31:17.340 I think it has a heck of a lot to do with the fact that the Teachers Union didn't care

00:31:23.160 for the provincial government, making sure that there was no smut in school libraries,

00:31:29.880 and making sure they didn't show homoerotic graphic novels to elementary school kids.

00:31:36.080 They seemed slightly offended by that.

00:31:39.140 Also, that they cannot socially transition your kid behind your back.

00:31:43.540 They don't seem to like that all that much.

00:31:45.800 And there's, so I think there are reasons that they are pursuing this, and they're trying

00:31:55.880 to punish the government for reining them in with a strike and catching other people's

00:32:01.920 kids in the crossfire.

00:32:03.280 And they seem to be perfectly fine with that.

00:32:05.320 Now, I think they've been outflanked by the government on this, because the government

00:32:10.700 has taken the poison of an extended school strike away from parents.

00:32:16.720 So the government has said that, oh, okay, well, if you have a kid under the age of 12,

00:32:22.300 we're going, I think it's 150, is it $150 a week?

00:32:25.320 A week.

00:32:25.900 Yep.

00:32:26.720 $150 a week.

00:32:27.940 They're giving parents so that you can put your kid in daycare, mathnasium, Montessori,

00:32:34.580 whatever, so they're not necessarily falling behind.

00:32:36.900 So if we're hunkered down for an extended strike, parents are going to be okay.

00:32:43.060 They've actually given an increased amount to parents of kids with severe disabilities,

00:32:48.880 because they will need extra care.

00:32:52.660 And the ATA seems to have no money.

00:32:55.020 The ATA, the Alberta Teachers Association, seems to have no money.

00:32:58.320 So an extended strike does no longer go in the favor of the unions.

00:33:03.180 But I think, I think their timing is slightly opportune after all these years.

00:33:10.360 And again, that's me saying that, not that, me saying that as a kid who is currently on

00:33:14.680 strike and not the Canadian Taxpayers Federation saying that.

00:33:19.040 There's, there's something the Taxpayers Federation can say.

00:33:22.080 Okay.

00:33:22.380 And that is a lot of data.

00:33:24.600 And that's what, again, I'm sitting there going, okay, what's the real reason you guys

00:33:28.860 are going on strike?

00:33:29.740 Because it shouldn't be about the money.

00:33:31.880 And what got me really thinking about it was NDP leader Naheed Nenshi saying that Daniel

00:33:37.620 Smith, the premier, provoked this strike by teachers.

00:33:43.120 That's a very interesting word that he chose there.

00:33:45.920 It sure is.

00:33:46.400 And so I'm like, hmm, that's a very trigger-y sort of word.

00:33:52.680 What would have Daniel Smith ever done to provoke a teacher strike?

00:33:57.140 So I went back to the budget documents and I took a look at the line item of education.

00:34:03.800 I encourage everyone to do this.

00:34:07.060 You can Google it.

00:34:08.420 Google Alberta Government Fiscal Plan Budget with the year that you want.

00:34:13.800 You can find the spending line item on just education.

00:34:18.180 Advanced education is a separate line item.

00:34:19.920 Just capital E education.

00:34:21.780 Run your finger along it.

00:34:23.180 Okay.

00:34:23.640 Let's look at these numbers.

00:34:25.340 So starting back in 2022, the Alberta government spent $8.3 billion.

00:34:32.740 The next year, $8.8 billion.

00:34:36.660 Next year, $9.2 billion.

00:34:39.680 This year, we're on track to spend $10.4 billion on K-12 education in Alberta.

00:34:50.000 I don't know about you, Sheila, but steadily increasing the funding for K-12 education is

00:34:56.920 a really weird way of provoking a fight with teachers.

00:35:01.420 Yeah.

00:35:02.160 Yeah.

00:35:02.580 So it's not that.

00:35:03.960 It might be all those other things that I suggested.

00:35:06.300 Further, to bolster your theory, they've also announced that they're spending billions

00:35:13.520 and billions of dollars building more than 100 schools.

00:35:18.680 So let's just quickly recap.

00:35:21.000 So the deal that was allegedly rejected, reportedly rejected, was we're going to make you the highest

00:35:27.120 paid teachers in Western Canada.

00:35:28.700 We're going to start you at 71 grand a year with all the bells and whistles.

00:35:33.460 By seven years in, sister, you're already making over $100,000 a year to teach school.

00:35:40.160 We're going to hire 3,000 new teachers.

00:35:42.680 We're going to hire 1,500 new classroom assistants.

00:35:45.820 Over and above that, which is already previously announced, we're in the process of building

00:35:50.520 more than 100 new schools across Alberta.

00:35:55.520 And if you go back through the budget documents, their funding for education has been going like

00:36:00.720 this.

00:36:01.140 It's been going up.

00:36:03.340 So what gives?

00:36:05.780 This is where, and again, I wanted to highlight this because one of the disturbing elements

00:36:10.060 I've seen here is this sudden and coordinated attack on charter schools.

00:36:14.320 Yep.

00:36:15.480 That's very interesting.

00:36:16.840 And it sure smells political to me because let's just take the argument at face value.

00:36:23.020 Let's say I'm speaking to an earnest 20-something-year-old teacher who does not have their house paid

00:36:29.700 off, who is staring down a mortgage payment real soon, and they're not getting paid by

00:36:34.240 their union.

00:36:35.480 The teachers aren't getting strike pay from their union, folks.

00:36:40.100 Keep that in mind.

00:36:41.340 Even though they haven't gone on strike in 23 years, which is super weird.

00:36:44.580 Speak to that teacher.

00:36:45.600 Say at face value that they're having trouble in their classroom.

00:36:50.940 Say that there's too many kids with too many different needs, and it's overwhelming that

00:36:55.500 teacher.

00:36:56.140 Okay?

00:36:57.020 And they can't get through a lesson plan.

00:36:59.380 Okay?

00:36:59.960 Maybe that's why they're hiding behind the phrase class sizes or something.

00:37:03.500 Sure.

00:37:03.740 Use the buzzword complexity quickly at face value.

00:37:06.740 And I know I'm probably running into your next time.

00:37:08.700 I'll be very quick.

00:37:10.640 Take that a next step.

00:37:12.340 Okay.

00:37:13.000 Say that your classroom is too complicated.

00:37:15.560 The way to uncomplicate that is to have more access to charter schools.

00:37:21.240 Right.

00:37:21.420 So, for people who don't know, and I love it here in Alberta for this reason.

00:37:26.660 It's the most diverse.

00:37:27.640 These people won't shut up about diversity.

00:37:29.960 But it is the most diverse school system in the entire country because the funding follows

00:37:35.920 the child.

00:37:37.160 And statistics show.

00:37:39.740 So, what that means is it no longer is a socioeconomic barrier for you to choose private

00:37:46.880 or charter schools which best suit your child's need.

00:37:49.940 If you want to send your kid to a military school, we got one.

00:37:52.940 You want to send your kid to a hockey academy, there's a few of those.

00:37:56.280 A classical academy where they will learn the classic arts, there's two of those.

00:38:01.260 If you want to get together with a group of parents and put together your own religious 0.51

00:38:06.660 charter school, as long as you teach the curriculum in an acceptable way and you can tweak that

00:38:12.860 to deal with the culture of your school, 100% definitely.

00:38:17.040 And it takes kids out of the cookie cutter schools and helps them learn in a way that

00:38:22.220 they need to.

00:38:23.660 And statistics show that the people accessing private and charter schools in this province

00:38:30.420 are actually people who are below the socioeconomic average.

00:38:34.240 It's people who see a proper education for their kid as a way up the ladder.

00:38:40.900 And yet, and yet, there is a coordinated unionized attack on the charter system here where they

00:38:47.960 want to put it to a citizen-led referenda.

00:38:51.200 Sorry, I'll be quiet.

00:38:51.980 You go on and explain.

00:38:52.920 No, no, you're bang on.

00:38:54.420 You're hitting all of the nails on all of the heads.

00:38:57.260 Even more so with charter schools.

00:38:59.220 I'll expand on that.

00:39:00.700 There are charter schools that focus on First Nations-led education.

00:39:05.100 Charter schools that focus on agricultural-based, rural education.

00:39:09.000 So really 4-HE type stuff.

00:39:11.000 And there are charter schools, I am told, by parents who help kids who have complex needs.

00:39:18.440 Definitely.

00:39:18.740 Who need more time, who are overstimulated by a big classroom, who do need more focused

00:39:24.900 care.

00:39:25.920 These are charter schools, meaning the taxpayer funding follows the kid through the doors

00:39:31.700 of that school.

00:39:32.980 Interestingly, the teachers are certified, they're teaching the Alberta curriculum, and

00:39:37.700 this is what blew my mind, Sheila.

00:39:39.380 They're not unionized.

00:39:40.960 Yeah, pardon me?

00:39:41.800 They're not unionized either.

00:39:43.900 See?

00:39:44.520 Ding, ding, ding, right?

00:39:45.540 But here's the thing with how interesting charter schools work.

00:39:49.600 They use already existing buildings.

00:39:52.920 Right.

00:39:53.640 So they have to go find an old library or an old decommissioned school or something.

00:39:57.920 Yeah.

00:39:58.300 And so it is very cost-effective, super cost-saving for taxpayers.

00:40:03.240 And parents who choose this option of charter schools for their kids for specialized education,

00:40:09.320 for either special education help, all the way, you know, over to agriculture, First Nations,

00:40:15.640 mechanics, trades.

00:40:17.060 Yeah.

00:40:17.160 Pardon me?

00:40:17.680 Outdoor.

00:40:18.240 There's like outdoor schools.

00:40:19.260 Thank you.

00:40:19.660 Love them.

00:40:20.500 Thank you.

00:40:21.200 So this is, everybody's all about choice, right?

00:40:24.300 And saving money through choice.

00:40:26.380 If these teachers in the regular public school system are getting overwhelmed with too complex

00:40:32.440 of classrooms, the way to make them less complex is to open up more charter schools so parents

00:40:39.520 can choose fashioned, fashioned schools after their own kids' needs.

00:40:45.820 That is ideal.

00:40:47.560 Right.

00:40:47.720 So the attack on charter schools at this moment is crazy because that's one of the solutions

00:40:53.560 to the problem here.

00:40:55.140 Right.

00:40:55.900 And the problem I worry about is that not enough people understand that the funding follows

00:41:01.960 the child.

00:41:03.360 Even within Alberta.

00:41:05.080 And I explained the school system to my colleagues at Rebel News and they're like, wow, that's

00:41:08.420 wonderful.

00:41:09.580 Like the parents, you know, like Tamera Ugolini.

00:41:13.320 She's like, that is the best thing ever.

00:41:16.420 Lees Merle in Saskatchewan.

00:41:17.520 She's like, that is, I mean, it's the solution to all your problems.

00:41:20.760 And we have one of the best functioning school systems, despite the fact that we're on a

00:41:26.420 strike right now, but we have one of the best functioning, best performing school systems

00:41:31.300 in the entire country.

00:41:34.060 Can I jump on that for a second?

00:41:35.140 Why are we changing it?

00:41:36.260 Yeah, please do.

00:41:37.340 So the teachers union bosses are very selectively cherry picking one stat from the Fraser Institute,

00:41:46.520 which I find hilarious.

00:41:48.100 Right.

00:41:48.280 Because the other what?

00:41:49.280 What's that?

00:41:49.700 Right.

00:41:50.460 Because there's other stats at the Fraser Institute that they don't want you to know.

00:41:54.260 Like the idea of a teacher's union picking the Fraser Institute as their source for data,

00:41:59.160 like, you know, there's something going on here because usually they wouldn't pick them

00:42:02.700 up if they were hitchhiking.

00:42:03.800 Like it's not happening.

00:42:05.120 So yes, the one stat that they pick on is the spending per capita.

00:42:11.700 So government spending per capita of students and or teachers.

00:42:15.560 Okay.

00:42:15.680 It's kind of a mix.

00:42:16.520 And they say, oh, look, Alberta's got the shortest, you know, colored crayon there. 0.99

00:42:21.400 So therefore, our school system must be terrible.

00:42:24.420 Nope.

00:42:25.140 How about you continue to read that same report to the next paragraph where Fraser Institute

00:42:31.660 points this out.

00:42:33.080 Montreal Economic Institute points this out.

00:42:35.240 All of the smarty pants, okay, who focus on education point out that Alberta is second 1.00

00:42:41.840 only to Quebec for student outcome.

00:42:45.700 Student outcome, meaning good test scores, happy kids, happy parents successfully going

00:42:52.760 on to post-secondary.

00:42:53.940 There's all sorts of metrics that they measure there.

00:42:56.680 So by the number, sure.

00:42:58.900 You could try to cherry pick there and say, oh, spending per capita.

00:43:02.120 Okay.

00:43:02.680 Look at the next paragraph.

00:43:04.500 And our outcome is outstanding across Canada.

00:43:08.220 Right.

00:43:08.380 Why?

00:43:09.160 Because we have things like school choice.

00:43:11.880 Because we have things like charter schools.

00:43:14.040 Because parents are not welded into a one-size-fits-all cookie-cutter big government school system.

00:43:21.380 This is where I think the fight is going in this current teacher strike.

00:43:25.440 Yeah.

00:43:25.620 And I'm imploring Alberta Premier Daniel Smith to do two things.

00:43:31.360 You dig your heels in.

00:43:33.040 Yeah.

00:43:33.320 You don't let them attack the charter schools and try to dismantle it.

00:43:36.820 Expand them.

00:43:37.980 Yes.

00:43:38.120 Make more of them.

00:43:39.360 Fast track the approvals.

00:43:40.440 Because we know that there's three-year-long waiting lists from parents who are desperate

00:43:44.680 to get their kids into these schools.

00:43:46.520 So you get that done.

00:43:48.180 Second, you don't give them a signing bonus.

00:43:51.860 No.

00:43:52.220 Because at the federal level, PSAC pulled this trick where they didn't get paid while

00:43:56.840 they were striking.

00:43:57.860 And then Trudeau gave them a big fat signing bonus that paid for their picket days.

00:44:02.540 Taxpayers paid for them to be on strike.

00:44:04.440 Take it to the...

00:44:05.160 It's the ATA's problem.

00:44:06.500 It's not my problem.

00:44:07.360 Yeah.

00:44:07.380 Sure is.

00:44:07.940 That's their problem.

00:44:08.620 I don't know why they don't have a big war chest.

00:44:10.600 That's their problem.

00:44:11.540 It's not taxpayers' problem.

00:44:13.100 And lastly, if it's a little bit of hope for Premier Smith to take inspiration of all

00:44:17.240 places from Ottawa, Mark Carney, in this current fight with Canada Post and Cup W, Canada Post

00:44:23.780 took the signing bonus off the table.

00:44:26.860 Yeah.

00:44:27.500 I did that too.

00:44:28.520 I was like, okie dokie then. 0.94

00:44:30.820 Well, well then.

00:44:32.080 We don't want to get upstaged by them, do we?

00:44:34.360 No.

00:44:35.100 So make sure, two things.

00:44:36.300 Dig in your heels, don't let them try to dismantle the charter system.

00:44:40.180 If anything, expand it to give parents more choice.

00:44:43.200 And two, no signing bonus.

00:44:45.400 Don't make taxpayers pay for this strike.

00:44:48.400 Chris, I could talk to you all day.

00:44:50.660 Me too.

00:44:51.060 And it appears as though I'm trying.

00:44:52.940 However, I have to get...

00:44:54.800 You need to go do another show.

00:44:56.320 I need to go do another show.

00:44:57.660 Please tell people how they can get involved in the good work that the Canadian Taxpayers

00:45:01.400 Federation does.

00:45:02.320 Oh, wonderful.

00:45:03.800 So you can head on over to our website quickly, taxpayer.com, click on the petitions, sign

00:45:09.340 the petitions that matter most to you.

00:45:11.240 That could be anything from cutting things like industrial carbon taxes to getting rid

00:45:15.940 of censorship laws or stopping the funding of the media through the government.

00:45:19.560 Once you're on there, you'll be part of our taxpayer army and you'll get all of our alerts.

00:45:22.980 Last segment of the show always goes to you at home because without you, there truly is

00:45:34.260 no gun show, but also no Rebel News.

00:45:36.540 So I want to hear what you have to say about the work that we do.

00:45:40.480 It's why I give you my email address right now.

00:45:42.620 It's Sheila at RebelNews.com.

00:45:44.540 Put gun show letters in the subject line so I know why you're emailing me.

00:45:47.600 First things first, I need to check my own tone just a little bit.

00:45:55.500 Regular viewer of the show wrote to me and expressed his concerns about some loose use of language

00:46:06.240 that I and my co-host, Lise Merle, used when discussing DEI initiatives.

00:46:16.440 And it's my friend Bruce.

00:46:19.320 And the last thing I want to do is offend him.

00:46:21.220 Now, I do get some bad faith hate mail, but I know this isn't it.

00:46:27.260 And I want to correct myself and I want to promise that I will be more precise in my language

00:46:32.580 because I don't think I was necessarily wrong.

00:46:34.140 I just don't think I was precise enough in my language.

00:46:37.280 And so rather than make enemies out of friends, I'm going to try to do better.

00:46:42.340 So Bruce wrote to me saying that, you know, we were making fun of DEI and saying that, you

00:46:46.900 know, the liberals are constantly shoehorning gender minorities and ethnic minorities, which

00:46:55.360 I don't think the liberals actually care about ethnicities.

00:46:57.740 They care about color, which is a strange way to judge people and disabled people into

00:47:05.620 their hiring quotas.

00:47:07.940 And Bruce took umbrage with how we categorized disabled people.

00:47:14.160 I should be more precise.

00:47:16.640 I think disabled people should be in the workforce if they can be.

00:47:21.580 I did an entire documentary on medical assistance and dying.

00:47:25.160 And the conclusion we came to after we talked to all the experts was that people who pursue

00:47:33.340 euthanasia actually are people who feel a loss of usefulness.

00:47:38.320 And that could be anything, but people desire to be useful in whatever way that they can.

00:47:45.560 That may be in the workforce.

00:47:46.680 It may be volunteering in their community and may be playing cards with somebody so that

00:47:50.300 they don't feel lonely.

00:47:51.740 Could be gardening, could be taking care of a cat.

00:47:54.360 It could be anything.

00:47:55.240 But that was the thing that really drove people to suicidal despair.

00:48:00.640 And so I don't discourage people with disabilities from being in the workforce.

00:48:07.360 I love it, actually.

00:48:10.300 When I talk with the liberals and their DEI shoehorning of people with disabilities into 1.00

00:48:17.260 the workforce, what I mean is not real disabilities.

00:48:20.600 People who are like, I'm disabled because I have anxiety about a certain food type or whatever.

00:48:27.980 Or I have, I'm disabled because I have PTSD because I've been misgendered.

00:48:34.260 That's not a disability.

00:48:35.240 That's being. 0.90

00:48:38.320 Psychologically weak.

00:48:39.620 And I think those are different things.

00:48:41.440 And I should have been more precise in my language because I actually believe that it is necessary

00:48:49.320 for the health of the human mind to be useful.

00:48:55.820 Always.

00:48:56.840 In whatever way that you can be.

00:48:58.940 It doesn't have to be, you know, lifting and moving heavy things.

00:49:02.740 But everybody can contribute in their own way.

00:49:06.580 And I don't want anybody to think that I think otherwise.

00:49:11.840 What I'm talking about when I say the liberals, you know, with their DEI quotas and their gender

00:49:16.540 quotas and everything.

00:49:17.320 And when they say people with disabilities, it's usually people who are, they love to get 1.00

00:49:23.300 themselves on the hierarchy of grievances.

00:49:27.760 And those people are, I mean, they'll co-opt somebody else's struggle for their own, for virtue signaling.

00:49:38.720 And I think that's gross.

00:49:39.680 Okay, now let's go to some viewer feedback.

00:49:45.520 This came to me not from the email inbox, but I went over to YouTube because I wanted to know what you guys thought

00:49:55.740 about the surprise election win in Newfoundland and Labrador for new premier, Tony Wakeham.

00:50:03.100 And I sort of got surprised live on air.

00:50:07.660 I thought, you know, 500,000 people in Newfoundland, this thing's going to be over in 90 minutes.

00:50:13.020 I'm not going to have to find ways to kill time.

00:50:15.480 And the liberals are going to win.

00:50:20.440 About 180 minutes in.

00:50:24.080 I was pleasantly surprised, like many of you, but my first mistake was reading the polls, I guess.

00:50:33.460 And let's see what you guys have to say.

00:50:36.240 Victor Budzinski says, big win for Newfoundland for setting the stage, removing the liberals.

00:50:42.280 M-H-Y-Y-V-B says, congrats, Newfoundland and Labrador.

00:50:48.660 Michelle Rose, 1190.

00:50:50.540 Well, that made my night.

00:50:51.820 Cheers, Newfoundland.

00:50:53.420 Joe Pepito, 7431.

00:50:56.440 This needs to happen right across the country. 0.70

00:50:58.520 Listen, brother, I think it's going to happen in Yukon in about, well, what's today?

00:51:07.180 Two and a half weeks, November 3rd.

00:51:08.980 They go to general election and the Yukon party, which is their conservative party, is polling very high.

00:51:15.560 But, I mean, I guess the only poll that matters is on election day, but things are looking real good in the Yukon.

00:51:24.120 Newme77 says, I'm proud to be a conservative Newfoundlander today.

00:51:27.440 We knocked out the woke liberals and took a majority government.

00:51:30.540 My family and I have converted a lot of people to the conservative side.

00:51:35.720 We cannot stand the liberals.

00:51:36.980 They are destroying Canada.

00:51:39.840 It's the same all over, ain't it?

00:51:43.420 L-Dude, 350.

00:51:45.520 The tides are turning.

00:51:46.480 Look and weep, liberals.

00:51:48.820 I think we'll know if there's a trend for sure.

00:51:52.520 If Yukon can change things.

00:51:54.620 Because that's a minority liberal government up there.

00:52:01.060 God bless the conservative premier of Newfoundland.

00:52:04.220 He's got a really nice truck.

00:52:05.860 He's got a vintage GMC Sierra.

00:52:08.480 Two-tone.

00:52:09.560 It's gorgeous.

00:52:11.720 That's a man who's conserving the past.

00:52:14.000 Conserving history.

00:52:16.100 It's good to see a conservative actually do that.

00:52:18.480 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians remember the last time the government sold us out on the Churchill Project.

00:52:26.360 Mark Rice, Q1H, can't understand why anyone would vote liberal or NDP.

00:52:31.520 Look, I'm with you, buddy, but they do.

00:52:33.960 They just do. 0.95

00:52:34.960 Their brains are being scrubbed by the TV. 1.00

00:52:39.980 Damn right. 0.99

00:52:40.940 Congratulations, Newfoundland and Labrador. 0.94

00:52:42.520 Finally, congrats, Newfoundland and Labrador.

00:52:44.600 Whoever do the polls are activists for the liberals.

00:52:46.900 They could be.

00:52:47.580 But those inaccurate polls, I think, helped really get the vote out for the conservatives.

00:52:54.500 They voted like they were way behind.

00:52:58.060 Every vote really did count.

00:52:59.500 In one riding, it's like 18 votes that the conservatives won by.

00:53:04.740 Viva conservatives.

00:53:05.980 Bravo, Newfoundland.

00:53:07.360 Great to see Newfoundland and Labrador making real progress.

00:53:09.660 I'm so happy we ousted the liberals finally.

00:53:12.000 Time tells all.

00:53:13.300 CBC must be having a Rachel Maddow hour.

00:53:15.980 Tears are glorious.

00:53:18.460 And it goes on like this.

00:53:20.800 Conservatives win.

00:53:21.680 Bravo, Newfoundland.

00:53:22.460 Bravo.

00:53:22.880 Finally put an end to the liberal NDP Green Party insanity.

00:53:25.540 Awesome move, really.

00:53:27.860 Just a lot of people celebrating.

00:53:29.920 A really unexpected win.

00:53:31.840 From the outside looking in, maybe the sentiment on the ground was much different.

00:53:36.800 Maybe I didn't pay close enough attention to the election.

00:53:40.440 I tried to, but I was in the universe of the ostrich farm for a while.

00:53:46.320 But the polls were really wrong.

00:53:49.160 Really wrong.

00:53:50.860 Maybe it's hard to poll.

00:53:52.380 I heard that it's hard to poll Newfoundlanders.

00:53:54.660 Maybe that's me just making excuses for bad polls.

00:53:57.360 But I'm really excited to see what happens next in Newfoundland.

00:54:01.300 And I think it's going to be really great as an Albertan to have another pro oil and gas premier on the East Coast.

00:54:09.660 Very exciting.

00:54:11.540 Very, very exciting.

00:54:12.720 I'm sure the results have rattled the liberals.

00:54:17.440 And I love that.

00:54:18.800 Well, everybody, that's the show for today.

00:54:22.520 I was thinking about doing a Stu Hart themed sign off.

00:54:25.680 In the meantime, and in between time, that's it.

00:54:31.660 Another episode of The Gun Show.

00:54:34.420 Good night.

Rebel News Podcast - October 16, 2025

SHEILA GUNN REID ｜ Teachers Strike, Tax Blunders, and a Political Earthquake in Newfoundland

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript