Rebel News Podcast


UK police are now visiting people at their homes — for writing mean tweets. Is Canada next？


Summary

In the United Kingdom, a church lady accidentally calls someone a boy instead of a girl, and she doesn't even remember it. The police think she committed a hate crime. This is a true story, and it's the subject of today's monologue.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hey there, you've got to listen to today's podcast, and it sounds like you already are.
00:00:03.620 I talk about a crazy case in the United Kingdom where a mom, a church lady, who goes on Good
00:00:10.860 Morning Britain, which is a big TV show over there, to have a debate about transgenderism,
00:00:15.660 whatever, she makes a tweet where she calls someone a boy instead of a girl, and she doesn't
00:00:21.300 even remember it.
00:00:22.380 But the police show up and say, yeah, you've got to come in for an interview now under
00:00:28.020 legal caution because we think you have committed a hate crime by saying boy instead of girl
00:00:34.520 on Twitter.
00:00:36.520 This is a true story, and that is the subject of today's monologue, and I hope you enjoyed
00:00:42.700 it.
00:00:42.840 And by the way, can you do me a favor?
00:00:44.400 I know these podcasts are free and enjoy, but I would be grateful to you if you subscribed
00:00:49.920 to our premium version of it, which includes the video anyways, even if you don't use it.
00:00:56.420 You know why?
00:00:56.900 Because that's how we pay the bills around here.
00:01:00.060 So if you would be so kind, please take a moment and go to therebel.media slash shows.
00:01:05.240 It's eight bucks a month or 80 bucks for the whole year.
00:01:08.780 And I know you don't need it to listen to the podcast, but if you ever do want to watch
00:01:13.100 the video version, especially today's show, for example, we've got a ton of video.
00:01:17.340 You'll want to do that.
00:01:18.540 Just go to therebel.media slash shows and sign up there and help keep the lights on because
00:01:24.600 one of the things we talked about, we talked about it yesterday, we talked about it in
00:01:27.580 the letters today, is that we will not take any money from Justin Trudeau, unlike our rivals.
00:01:33.380 So we're depending on you, my friends.
00:01:36.300 Anyhow, without further to do, here is today's monologue.
00:01:41.440 You're listening to a Rebel Media Podcast.
00:01:43.760 Tonight, police in the United Kingdom are now visiting people at their homes for writing
00:01:49.940 mean tweets.
00:01:51.560 It's March 21st, and this is the Ezra LeVance Show.
00:01:54.380 Last week, I told you how when I was in the United Kingdom reporting on a trial involving Tommy
00:02:20.240 Robinson, the judge in that case stopped the hearing, cleared out the public from the
00:02:25.880 court, and demanded to see the journalism licenses from the reporters still in the room.
00:02:31.300 That was shocking to me.
00:02:32.220 First of all, that to this judge, journalists had some sort of higher moral or legal standing
00:02:37.580 to be allowed to stay in the courtroom than mere citizens.
00:02:41.100 And by the way, that same judge wouldn't let in the public.
00:02:43.800 Even though there were literally 23 empty chairs in the court, the judge kept most of
00:02:48.980 the public out, saying she didn't want the room to be over full.
00:02:53.420 Keeping citizens out of the courtroom just because, and then clearing out any remaining
00:02:58.080 citizens, and then demanding that those of us who identify as reporters, to use the modern
00:03:03.220 phrase, demanding that we show our journalism licenses.
00:03:06.580 And the worst part of this was that the journalists in the room who did, in fact, have licenses, that's
00:03:11.280 not something we do here in Canada or the United States, of course, the journalists so proudly
00:03:15.080 whipping out their licenses that they were actually carrying on them, like in their wallet,
00:03:20.620 and holding them up so proudly as proof that they were part of the fancy class.
00:03:24.980 They were part of the elite.
00:03:26.300 They weren't just the regular rabble.
00:03:28.320 And sure, that meant they had to submit to some sort of licensing.
00:03:32.040 But if that's what it took to show that they were a high class, not the ordinary Joe,
00:03:36.760 well, they would do it.
00:03:37.540 They really are classist over there in the UK, but more troubling to me, they really have
00:03:41.840 forgotten about freedom and the notion that the government serves the people and not the
00:03:46.160 other way around.
00:03:46.940 A judge is a part of the government, by the way.
00:03:50.060 So I told you all about that last week and how the judge specifically lectured me to tell
00:03:54.900 me that if I didn't stop tweeting my opinions about the trial, even from outside the courthouse,
00:03:59.780 I could be held in contempt of court.
00:04:01.520 Seriously, she said that if I expressed any opinion about things, I could be held in contempt.
00:04:06.020 I asked her if there was a particular tweet that bothered her.
00:04:09.300 And I swear to God, she mentioned this one where I made a joke about how I'd be thrown
00:04:15.300 in a dungeon for tweeting.
00:04:17.880 So I guess it wasn't a joke.
00:04:19.800 I wrote it as a joke, but it wasn't a joke because if I kept joking about being thrown in
00:04:24.740 a dungeon, I really would be thrown in a dungeon or a jail.
00:04:29.580 So I suppose she was right.
00:04:30.980 It wasn't a joke after all.
00:04:32.440 It was a promise.
00:04:34.000 Imagine being jailed for tweeting.
00:04:37.640 That's what they do in places like Turkey or Venezuela and the UK now too, I guess.
00:04:42.780 That's the UK.
00:04:43.720 It will shock you to learn that Tommy Robinson lost that trial.
00:04:47.360 But I got another story for you from the UK and to my Canadian and American friends who
00:04:51.660 might be sick of hearing about the UK or about Tommy Robinson.
00:04:55.380 My point is this.
00:04:56.260 How far away do you think this is from coming to our side of the Atlantic?
00:05:00.600 Thought crimes and word crimes.
00:05:02.980 We already have UK style censorship in social media.
00:05:06.100 After all, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, PayPal.
00:05:09.040 These are all the companies that have deplatformed Tommy Robinson.
00:05:12.400 They're all American companies based in San Francisco, Silicon Valley.
00:05:16.920 So of course, that part of the war on free thought is already here.
00:05:19.480 In fact, it came from North America.
00:05:22.400 But what about the police part?
00:05:24.360 The courts part?
00:05:26.160 Well, let me tell you a story.
00:05:27.320 And let me start by showing you a cell phone video taken by someone who was mouthing off
00:05:33.380 on Twitter or Facebook a bit about Brexit.
00:05:36.520 Just to remind you what Brexit is, back in 2016, the United Kingdom had a national referendum
00:05:41.720 on whether or not the UK should leave the mini United Nations called the European Union
00:05:46.680 or the EU.
00:05:47.280 Now, the EU is much worse than the UN for a number of reasons, including that it can actually
00:05:52.100 write laws.
00:05:53.580 And those laws are binding on its member countries.
00:05:55.960 The UN can't do that.
00:05:57.280 The EU does.
00:05:58.320 Anyways, more and more power and sovereignty was being moved from the UK and from its elected
00:06:04.000 MPs towards some unaccountable, anonymous bureaucrats in Brussels, Belgium.
00:06:09.460 I think my favorite EU moment when the light went on for me was this one.
00:06:13.880 It's a little video featuring Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UKIP party, the UK
00:06:19.480 independence party.
00:06:20.340 I love this clip.
00:06:21.760 This is from back in 2010.
00:06:23.740 Can you watch this for 90 seconds?
00:06:25.280 Take a look.
00:06:25.700 You have the charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of a low-grade bank clerk.
00:06:31.020 And the question that I want to ask, the question that I want to ask, that we're all going to
00:06:36.540 ask, is who are you?
00:06:38.800 I'd never heard of you.
00:06:40.720 Nobody in Europe had ever heard of you.
00:06:42.880 I would like to ask you, President, who voted for you?
00:06:48.760 And what mechanism?
00:06:50.660 Oh, I know democracy is not popular with you lot.
00:06:54.120 And what mechanism do the peoples of Europe have to remove you?
00:06:58.740 Is this European democracy?
00:07:01.080 Well, I sense, though, that you're competent and capable and dangerous.
00:07:07.060 And I have no doubt that it's your intention to be the quiet assassin of European democracy
00:07:12.520 and of the European nation-states.
00:07:15.040 You appear to have a loathing for the very concept of the existence of nation-states.
00:07:20.740 Perhaps that's because you come from Belgium, which, of course, is pretty much a non-country.
00:07:25.740 But since you took over, we've seen Greece reduced to nothing more than a protectorate.
00:07:34.780 Sir, you have no legitimacy in this job at all.
00:07:38.320 And I can say with confidence that I can speak on behalf of the majority of the British people
00:07:43.340 in saying, we don't know you, we don't want you, and the sooner you're put out to grass, the better.
00:07:50.360 I love that clip so much.
00:07:52.480 And he was right.
00:07:53.580 And that was in 2010.
00:07:55.300 Now, by 2016, that guy, Nigel Farage, and his UKIP party had convinced enough Brits of his case
00:08:01.780 that in the largest voter turnout in U.K. history, the Brexit referendum passed.
00:08:07.360 Brits wanted out.
00:08:10.300 But that was two and a half years ago.
00:08:12.060 And the establishment has been trying to undermine that vote result ever since,
00:08:15.540 trying to have a do-over, trying to bog down the Brexit with delays and conditions and negotiations.
00:08:21.760 It's supposed to happen next week, actually.
00:08:24.240 March 29th.
00:08:25.740 But so many establishment forces are colluding to delay or even frustrate the will of voters.
00:08:31.200 They really are trying to steal the election.
00:08:33.520 We'll see if they can get away with it.
00:08:34.740 Can you imagine what that would do to faith in democracy?
00:08:39.140 It would destroy it.
00:08:40.200 I truly believe there would be violence in the streets.
00:08:44.120 I don't want that, of course.
00:08:45.860 I hate the thought of that, of course.
00:08:47.120 But imagine if we had an election here and there was a clear winner, but a bunch of bankers and lawyers and journalists just refused to recognize the result.
00:08:58.480 I dare say we'd have violence on this side of the pond, too.
00:09:02.060 Anyways, some Brit was musing about that possibility on Twitter.
00:09:05.960 And the police just showed up at his house.
00:09:10.900 Now I'm going to play for you a two-minute tape of their interaction as captured on the bloke's cell phone.
00:09:17.620 Take a look.
00:09:18.040 So who's sent you here, then?
00:09:21.000 As you said, it's freedom of speech.
00:09:22.960 Right.
00:09:23.180 It's more about the content of what you've put.
00:09:24.880 So what have you got a problem with?
00:09:27.400 Some comment that you've said you're going to drag somebody out of an office, an MP, you're going to drag it out of an office onto the street.
00:09:32.240 Based on a hypothetical situation.
00:09:34.340 Yeah, but all I'm asking, I'm not saying you can't use it, or you shouldn't be using it.
00:09:38.700 I'm just asking you to be mindful about what you're putting on there.
00:09:41.400 All right.
00:09:42.020 In case it's deemed as inciting.
00:09:43.740 Yeah, let's put the situation into context, right?
00:09:47.760 So based on something that may or may not happen, an action could be taken, right?
00:09:54.220 So how can you have a problem with that?
00:09:56.760 I'm not saying we've got a problem with it.
00:09:58.900 I've been asking you to be aware, okay, that your comments are visible online.
00:10:04.560 Oh, I know that.
00:10:05.360 I've been doing it for, what, 20 years?
00:10:07.540 Yeah.
00:10:08.540 And you've got to be right to do that.
00:10:10.000 I've not got an issue with it.
00:10:10.360 So why are you here, then?
00:10:11.700 Because I've just explained that to you.
00:10:12.920 You haven't.
00:10:13.280 Yeah, it's the fact of what you've said, and then you've said, I can't do this alone.
00:10:17.140 Yeah.
00:10:17.360 Who wants to join me?
00:10:18.680 Right.
00:10:19.320 So it can be seen as sort of inciting something to happen.
00:10:22.140 Inciting what?
00:10:23.880 Inciting something based on an outcome that hasn't yet even been visualised.
00:10:29.340 No one knows whether it's going to happen or not.
00:10:31.700 But it's still inciting.
00:10:32.720 If the government betrays the people, do you really think that I'm going to be the only one?
00:10:37.740 How do you know?
00:10:39.000 We're not going to get into the debate or arguments.
00:10:40.120 Well, this is what I'm getting into.
00:10:42.000 This is what I'm getting into.
00:10:43.280 Because we need to get into it.
00:10:45.100 Because if you think about it, if Brexit is denied, right, there's not just going to be isolated pockets of violence.
00:10:52.220 The whole country is going to be inflamed.
00:10:54.940 You're talking 17.4 million people.
00:10:57.220 Yeah.
00:10:57.680 Do you think I'm going to be the only one?
00:10:58.800 Well, you've got your own comments and thoughts about it, haven't you?
00:11:01.280 That's fair enough.
00:11:02.100 I think a lot of people have.
00:11:03.980 Yeah.
00:11:04.460 And we've got the right to express it.
00:11:06.180 Yeah, of course you have.
00:11:07.060 I agree.
00:11:07.380 And you don't seem to get that.
00:11:09.580 No, I do.
00:11:10.280 Who sent you?
00:11:11.940 It's come from my inspector.
00:11:13.100 And the inspector is being ordered.
00:11:16.780 Is he taking it upon himself?
00:11:18.580 Who sent me?
00:11:19.520 Well, no, it's not.
00:11:20.220 It's not.
00:11:20.600 It's not.
00:11:20.960 Because you're coming around to my house, knocking on my door, asking me, you know, I should be careful and mindful of the comments I make online.
00:11:30.620 But they're perfect within the law.
00:11:33.260 Right.
00:11:34.200 Oh, yeah.
00:11:34.880 But I've not seen you broke for, have I?
00:11:36.620 Otherwise, I would have been dealing with it a different way.
00:11:38.780 Now, let me say this.
00:11:39.580 If someone positively calls for violence in a real and credible and imminent way, if someone is saying, I want someone to attack an MP, I think it's fair.
00:11:50.380 I mean, like, really urgently.
00:11:52.460 Like, let's go and attack an MP right now.
00:11:56.060 I think it's fair for police to stop by.
00:11:57.920 I haven't seen his exact post there.
00:12:02.940 But what this bloke seems to have been saying, based on that conversation, was, if the government betrays the people, if the government refuses to accept the democratic result of the referendum, there ought to be an uprising.
00:12:17.800 I think he's sort of right.
00:12:20.500 And if the people believe, sorry, if the police believe he has threatened someone, then arrest him and charge him.
00:12:26.600 Like I said, I haven't read what he actually tweeted.
00:12:30.480 If he's genuinely calling for people to be violent, to support a terrorist group, whether it's ISIS or the IRA, I don't care, then arrest him.
00:12:39.120 Charge him with something.
00:12:40.600 I don't have the original comment in front of me that he made.
00:12:42.700 I just found that video on the Internet.
00:12:44.360 But police said several times there in that interaction that it did not rise to that level.
00:12:50.720 There was nothing imminent or urgent or threatening.
00:12:55.280 That he was within the law.
00:12:56.740 The police said that.
00:12:57.640 They said that what he had tweeted or Facebook was not illegal.
00:13:01.740 I think they said that three times, in fact.
00:13:03.580 They claimed they weren't there to debate him, and yet they weren't there to arrest him.
00:13:11.520 Then why were they there?
00:13:14.420 Well, it's obvious.
00:13:15.320 To scare him.
00:13:15.940 To deter him.
00:13:16.720 To let him know he's being spied on.
00:13:18.340 To get into his head.
00:13:19.380 To take his courage away.
00:13:20.680 To put in the back of his mind that he might be arrested next time.
00:13:24.420 He might be charged with a crime next time.
00:13:26.660 There's an epidemic of real crime in the United Kingdom, by the way.
00:13:30.500 Knife attacks, acid attacks, rape gangs that entrap and exploit British girls as young as 11.
00:13:37.280 And, of course, there are the 23,000 Muslim jihadis that the UK government is trying to track
00:13:44.180 as in potential terrorists.
00:13:46.180 Now, apparently they have time to send two cops around to talk to a guy about his mean Brexit tweets.
00:13:53.000 But that's not all.
00:13:54.520 Look at this.
00:13:54.960 Now, I'm going to play you another clip.
00:13:55.960 This is from Good Morning Britain.
00:13:58.300 It's just what it sounds like.
00:13:59.620 It's like Good Morning America.
00:14:00.880 It's hosted by Piers Morgan.
00:14:02.680 Let me play a moment from their latest for you.
00:14:07.480 Because I am standing here this morning outside of police headquarters
00:14:10.540 because one of our guests on the show later on Twitter,
00:14:14.620 who has a boy who was a son who was born a boy, then transitioned to a girl,
00:14:20.560 they were referred to the wrong pronoun as a he or a boy.
00:14:24.060 That was a debate on Twitter.
00:14:25.580 As a result of that, Susie Green said that she found this actually distressing and spiteful,
00:14:31.240 made a complaint to Surrey police, who now tell us that they are actually investigating as a hate crime.
00:14:36.900 Hate crime have a maximum prison sentence of anything up to two years.
00:14:40.560 Really?
00:14:43.080 So calling a boy who says he's a girl, a boy, is a hate crime.
00:14:51.920 Mis-gendering someone is a hate crime that can get you two years in prison.
00:15:00.280 I can call you whatever I like.
00:15:05.080 I can call you a boy or a girl or a Martian or a turtle.
00:15:08.960 I can call you whatever I like.
00:15:10.760 I'm just using words.
00:15:12.140 And you can say the same to me.
00:15:13.820 And we can also ignore each other if we don't like each other.
00:15:16.260 If I truly defame you, I guess you could sue me.
00:15:18.840 But a hate crime that the police are involved with for calling a natural-born boy a boy,
00:15:24.220 and the police are truly following it up, here's some more.
00:15:29.340 We're conflating.
00:15:30.060 No, we're not.
00:15:30.720 A sexual predator.
00:15:31.760 It's a row that was first sparked in our studios.
00:15:35.060 Caroline Farrow, a Catholic with conservative views,
00:15:38.220 appeared alongside transgender activist Susie Green,
00:15:41.680 whose daughter Jackie was born a boy.
00:15:44.400 When the cameras stopped rolling, though, the debate soon spilled onto Twitter.
00:15:48.740 I know this from my own experience.
00:15:51.060 That's fine, but trans girls are girls.
00:15:52.740 Caroline Farrow allegedly used the wrong pronoun to describe Jackie Green,
00:15:58.060 referring to her perhaps as a boy.
00:16:00.660 And that, she's been told, is a possible hate crime,
00:16:04.100 and now, sorry, police are carrying out an investigation.
00:16:07.500 But in a statement, Caroline Farrow said,
00:16:09.980 she's put my family through hell,
00:16:12.000 and I don't think she should have pursued it in the first place.
00:16:15.300 We understand that Susie Green now intends to withdraw her complaint,
00:16:19.420 but at the moment, the official investigation continues.
00:16:22.740 I'm not sure if they said Surrey police or sorry police,
00:16:27.740 but I think it's probably a bit of both.
00:16:30.680 I'd like to read to you how I learned about this police investigation
00:16:35.620 from the woman herself who's being investigated by police.
00:16:38.560 You saw her on the screen there.
00:16:40.040 Now, there are 900 hate speech police
00:16:44.300 in the Metropolitan Police Force of London alone.
00:16:48.000 Nine hundred hate speech cops.
00:16:52.020 Here, let me read from the Twitter account of the woman they're chasing.
00:16:55.600 Had a message from Guildford Police tonight about my tweets
00:16:59.700 following an appearance on Good Morning Britain
00:17:01.500 with Susie Green and Piers Morgan.
00:17:03.200 Susie Green has reported me for misgendering her daughter,
00:17:06.700 so she's not making the mistake of saying son anymore.
00:17:09.600 I've pointed out to the police
00:17:10.860 that I am a Catholic journalist commentator,
00:17:13.680 and it is my religious belief
00:17:14.940 that a person cannot change sex,
00:17:17.760 that we are in the middle of a national conversation
00:17:19.600 about what it means to be male
00:17:20.860 and what it means to be female.
00:17:23.520 Of course, it's true you can't change your sex.
00:17:25.120 You could talk about how you present and your gender,
00:17:28.040 but you cannot change your sex.
00:17:29.140 That's in your DNA.
00:17:30.480 I'll keep reading.
00:17:31.360 Nonetheless, following my appearance on national television,
00:17:35.080 the CPS, that's the Cram Prosecution Service,
00:17:38.400 have decided I need to be interviewed under caution
00:17:40.800 for misgendering Susie Green's child.
00:17:45.080 So that's the prosecutor.
00:17:46.100 They're serious about this.
00:17:47.540 They're serious about this.
00:17:49.600 They're saying that they're really investigating this woman
00:17:53.800 for a crime.
00:17:55.120 A crime.
00:17:56.460 Because she called a boy a boy.
00:17:58.780 Oops, I'm sorry.
00:17:59.740 Nah, I've just committed that same crime.
00:18:02.860 Here's another tweet.
00:18:05.080 I don't even remember the tweets in question.
00:18:07.720 I don't remember said tweets.
00:18:09.140 I probably said he or son or something.
00:18:13.060 Oh, and if I don't go for an interview
00:18:14.340 about some tweets that allegedly misgendered,
00:18:16.640 I will apparently be arrested, which is nice.
00:18:18.660 Hey, can I ask you a question?
00:18:22.440 If you were working in this store,
00:18:24.920 I'm going to show you a store in a second,
00:18:26.240 and this person came in.
00:18:27.960 You'll see him in a second.
00:18:29.140 Would you call them ma'am or sir?
00:18:32.200 Excuse me, sir.
00:18:33.060 There's a young man in here.
00:18:34.980 Excuse me, it's ma'am.
00:18:36.860 It is ma'am.
00:18:38.100 I can call the police if you'd like me to.
00:18:39.700 You need to settle down.
00:18:40.700 You need to settle down.
00:18:41.740 Mind your business.
00:18:42.620 Okay?
00:18:43.700 Ma'am.
00:18:44.340 Once again, ma'am.
00:18:45.560 I said both of you.
00:18:46.880 No, you said sir.
00:18:48.200 Once again, it's ma'am.
00:18:49.500 I actually said both of you guys.
00:18:51.040 It was the general.
00:18:51.540 Right beforehand, you said sir.
00:18:53.860 Sir?
00:18:54.320 Okay.
00:18:56.120 Take it outside.
00:18:57.220 If you want to call me sir again,
00:18:58.480 I will show you a sir.
00:19:00.180 I apologize.
00:19:00.760 Motherf***er.
00:19:01.540 I apologize now.
00:19:06.520 I need your corporate number
00:19:08.020 because I'm going to call them
00:19:09.740 and talk about how I was misgendered
00:19:11.140 several times in this store.
00:19:12.540 I apologize for that.
00:19:13.480 I need your corporate number now.
00:19:15.560 I need it before you feel like
00:19:17.400 it's not a problem.
00:19:17.920 Get it for me now.
00:19:19.480 I'm going to ask you to calm down
00:19:20.780 and stop cussing.
00:19:21.780 I'm sorry.
00:19:22.520 Give me your corporate number.
00:19:24.000 Well, I'm going to ask you
00:19:24.860 for the fifth time
00:19:25.760 to stop calling me a man
00:19:27.100 because quite clearly I am not.
00:19:28.980 Yeah, that's not a ma'am
00:19:30.600 or a sir.
00:19:32.200 That's something who's mentally ill,
00:19:35.140 I think.
00:19:35.880 A bully for sure.
00:19:38.180 But this nice Catholic lady
00:19:39.860 in London said
00:19:41.020 boy instead of girl
00:19:42.200 or something.
00:19:42.960 She can't even remember doing it.
00:19:44.440 And she's being brought in
00:19:46.460 for a police interrogation.
00:19:49.880 Speaking of LGBT,
00:19:53.020 that's the T part, the trans.
00:19:54.940 How's that going in the UK these days?
00:19:57.700 I told you the other day
00:19:58.780 about a 98% Muslim school in Birmingham
00:20:00.820 where the parents
00:20:02.540 and the students
00:20:03.720 protested against a textbook
00:20:06.840 called No Outsiders
00:20:08.440 that was written
00:20:10.300 by a teacher at the school.
00:20:12.700 That book No Outsiders
00:20:13.740 taught about homosexuality
00:20:17.020 saying that they shouldn't be outsiders.
00:20:20.160 Here's a clip
00:20:21.200 from one of the protests
00:20:22.600 at the school.
00:20:24.360 But we need to make
00:20:25.620 one thing very clear.
00:20:27.700 This program
00:20:28.960 it's not just about
00:20:31.540 telling people
00:20:32.400 that other families
00:20:33.360 and other types
00:20:34.220 of lifestyles exist.
00:20:36.080 It's actually
00:20:36.920 aggressively
00:20:37.900 promoting them,
00:20:40.080 giving it a positive spin
00:20:41.960 and telling people
00:20:43.600 that it is okay
00:20:45.440 for you to be Muslim
00:20:47.060 and for you to be gay.
00:20:48.500 Mr. Moffat
00:20:49.960 Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame.
00:20:58.080 Mr. Moffat
00:20:59.000 I did not want to make
00:21:00.120 this personal
00:21:00.780 but Mr. Moffat
00:21:01.880 has decided
00:21:03.040 upon his own self
00:21:04.760 to reinterpret
00:21:05.880 our religious scriptures
00:21:07.640 and I don't know
00:21:09.240 I don't know
00:21:10.260 where he gets
00:21:12.140 his religious education
00:21:13.440 from
00:21:13.820 and when
00:21:14.220 he became
00:21:15.100 Mufti Moffat.
00:21:18.500 So how did that
00:21:20.180 whole thing end up?
00:21:22.880 They were actually
00:21:23.840 mocking the gay teacher
00:21:25.340 in the school.
00:21:26.860 The kids
00:21:27.340 and the parents.
00:21:28.880 The school
00:21:29.300 what did they do?
00:21:31.480 Did they call the cops?
00:21:33.440 Like someone did
00:21:34.480 against that Brexit guy?
00:21:36.020 Did they call the cops?
00:21:37.660 Like that trans activist
00:21:39.160 did against the
00:21:40.120 Catholic church lady?
00:21:41.980 Are you kidding?
00:21:43.580 What do you want
00:21:44.000 to be blown up
00:21:44.600 or something?
00:21:46.320 They immediately caved.
00:21:47.680 They submitted.
00:21:49.040 That's actually
00:21:49.400 what Islam means
00:21:50.340 to submit.
00:21:52.420 They no longer
00:21:53.060 teach about homosexuality
00:21:54.420 at all
00:21:55.040 in that Birmingham school
00:21:57.140 or in other schools
00:21:58.100 in fact in Birmingham.
00:21:59.820 At least not
00:22:00.540 in the Muslim schools.
00:22:02.260 I'm sure they're still
00:22:03.180 pushing that book hard
00:22:04.660 on the Catholic schools.
00:22:07.260 Sounds like Canada
00:22:08.280 about ten minutes
00:22:10.260 from now.
00:22:11.780 Doesn't it?
00:22:13.900 Stay with us for more.
00:22:17.680 Welcome back.
00:22:29.920 Well there is so much
00:22:30.620 going on in the world
00:22:31.680 but in my home province
00:22:34.200 of my birth, Alberta
00:22:35.400 it is now the day three
00:22:37.420 of the provincial election.
00:22:39.580 A 28 day campaign.
00:22:41.600 Joining us now
00:22:42.220 to give us the latest
00:22:43.140 is our friend
00:22:43.760 Lauren Gunter
00:22:44.360 senior columnist
00:22:45.300 with the Edmonton Sun.
00:22:46.420 Lauren, great to see you again.
00:22:48.920 We care about Alberta
00:22:50.640 for a lot of reasons.
00:22:51.980 I'm sort of an exiled
00:22:53.380 Albertan in Toronto now
00:22:55.140 but I think even
00:22:55.980 Torontonians can care
00:22:57.260 because Alberta
00:22:58.200 is such an important
00:22:59.020 economic part
00:23:00.360 of this country.
00:23:01.360 I think it's
00:23:02.160 an ideological bellwether.
00:23:04.720 Before you get
00:23:05.980 into the details
00:23:07.080 can you tell people
00:23:08.880 in BC,
00:23:10.120 in Ontario,
00:23:11.420 even our American viewers
00:23:12.600 why they should care
00:23:13.600 about an Alberta
00:23:14.320 provincial election?
00:23:16.400 Well, you know,
00:23:17.520 as goes Alberta
00:23:19.120 so goes the rest
00:23:19.820 of the country's economy.
00:23:22.400 You know,
00:23:22.680 whether or not
00:23:24.320 people like
00:23:25.280 oil and natural gas
00:23:27.440 it's still
00:23:28.000 Canada's largest export
00:23:29.440 in terms of value.
00:23:31.100 And when the
00:23:32.400 Alberta economy
00:23:33.780 is depressed
00:23:34.240 because oil is depressed
00:23:35.600 then
00:23:36.660 the whole country suffers.
00:23:38.700 You know,
00:23:39.360 there was
00:23:39.620 numbers out
00:23:41.520 from StatsCan
00:23:42.240 for the fourth quarter
00:23:43.440 of 2018
00:23:44.120 showed that there was
00:23:45.180 virtually no economic
00:23:47.080 growth in Canada
00:23:48.360 for three full months.
00:23:51.440 And that was
00:23:52.660 largely due to the fact
00:23:54.000 that Alberta
00:23:55.380 has rolled back
00:23:56.280 the amount of oil
00:23:57.060 that it's allowing
00:23:58.120 producers to
00:23:59.180 take out of the ground
00:24:00.920 and there's just
00:24:02.880 not as much
00:24:03.420 being shipped
00:24:04.020 to world markets
00:24:05.820 or to the United States
00:24:06.760 as there should be.
00:24:07.420 And so it's huge.
00:24:09.500 I mean,
00:24:09.720 90% of the pipe
00:24:11.760 that goes into pipelines
00:24:13.060 is milled in Ontario.
00:24:15.760 Most of the buses
00:24:16.820 that take oil sands
00:24:18.660 workers from the city
00:24:19.840 of Fort McMurray
00:24:20.480 up to the oil sands
00:24:21.520 camps are built in Quebec.
00:24:23.260 It goes all the way
00:24:24.040 across the country.
00:24:24.940 And the large percentage
00:24:26.540 of the workforce
00:24:27.640 in Fort McMurray
00:24:29.640 comes from other provinces,
00:24:31.140 not just from Alberta.
00:24:32.160 So it's enormous
00:24:34.420 the impact
00:24:35.620 that Alberta has
00:24:36.740 on the rest
00:24:37.620 of the country.
00:24:38.160 So it's very important
00:24:39.260 that the right government
00:24:40.820 get elected in Alberta
00:24:41.980 to help boost
00:24:43.300 our economy
00:24:44.020 which then has
00:24:44.820 this enormous
00:24:45.400 ripple effect
00:24:46.580 for the rest of Canada.
00:24:48.200 Yeah.
00:24:48.480 And you didn't even mention
00:24:49.700 the tax revenues
00:24:50.600 and the equalization
00:24:51.700 payments.
00:24:52.620 But yeah,
00:24:52.940 I know what you're talking about,
00:24:54.320 those Prevost buses,
00:24:55.620 those huge buses,
00:24:57.160 they're all made in Quebec.
00:24:58.140 And you know,
00:24:58.700 we were going to talk
00:24:59.400 about SNC-Lavalin.
00:25:01.000 Whatever else you can say
00:25:02.140 about SNC-Lavalin,
00:25:03.040 a ton of engineering
00:25:05.220 and construction projects
00:25:07.060 in Canada
00:25:07.600 are oil sands related.
00:25:09.220 That's very technical production.
00:25:11.500 Like you can't just slap up
00:25:13.120 an oil sands facility.
00:25:14.740 It's a deeply engineered thing.
00:25:17.020 So it's,
00:25:17.320 I mean,
00:25:17.640 I know that's old ground
00:25:19.000 for most of my views.
00:25:19.520 Even conventional oil drilling
00:25:20.780 is far more
00:25:22.220 than most people think it is.
00:25:23.480 You know,
00:25:23.640 they think you stick
00:25:24.540 a drill bit down
00:25:25.560 into the ground
00:25:26.160 until you hit oil
00:25:26.940 and then you somehow
00:25:28.700 collect that
00:25:29.480 and somehow get it
00:25:30.520 to market.
00:25:31.080 And so it's an enormously
00:25:32.600 complex industry
00:25:34.380 from figuring out
00:25:36.380 who owns each layer
00:25:38.480 of the earth
00:25:40.320 below the surface
00:25:41.420 and whose properties
00:25:43.360 on top
00:25:44.100 and how do you get,
00:25:46.120 you know,
00:25:46.400 I was amazed one time
00:25:47.660 to take a tour of it,
00:25:48.700 what's called a tank farm.
00:25:49.580 So you see those enormous
00:25:50.600 oil and gas tanks
00:25:52.440 near refineries.
00:25:53.680 I took a tour
00:25:54.500 of a tank farm one time
00:25:55.600 and they said,
00:25:56.360 so what happens is
00:25:57.600 you have this tank
00:25:58.740 will have three
00:25:59.280 or four different
00:26:00.080 solutions,
00:26:01.480 fluids in it
00:26:02.580 and there will,
00:26:04.260 as they get ready
00:26:04.940 to put it in a pipeline,
00:26:06.240 they'll move
00:26:06.660 the second one
00:26:07.920 down to the bottom
00:26:08.820 and it goes into a pipeline
00:26:10.300 and then there's a machine
00:26:11.400 in the pipeline
00:26:12.160 that cleans the pipeline
00:26:13.480 for that fluid
00:26:14.940 which might be very different
00:26:15.900 from the one
00:26:16.360 that was ahead of it
00:26:17.000 and the one
00:26:17.300 that was behind it
00:26:18.200 and all of that's engineered.
00:26:20.580 There are 8,000 processes
00:26:22.980 for instance
00:26:23.660 at a typical refinery.
00:26:25.620 I mean,
00:26:25.760 it's a very,
00:26:26.600 very complicated business
00:26:27.960 and so yes,
00:26:29.680 it requires lawyers,
00:26:31.040 accountants,
00:26:31.600 engineers,
00:26:32.460 technologists,
00:26:33.220 all sorts of computer people
00:26:34.860 of all sorts
00:26:36.160 and so it's not just
00:26:37.600 a bunch of guys
00:26:38.360 in overalls
00:26:39.740 and pickup trucks
00:26:40.620 who go out
00:26:41.460 and stick the drill bit
00:26:42.560 down the hole.
00:26:43.300 Yeah,
00:26:43.760 you know,
00:26:44.300 perhaps the most high-tech thing
00:26:45.560 I've ever seen
00:26:46.140 was when I was allowed
00:26:46.900 on a fracking job
00:26:48.340 in Pennsylvania actually.
00:26:50.120 It was all computer driven
00:26:51.680 by the way.
00:26:52.420 I mean,
00:26:52.560 yeah,
00:26:52.720 there's guys
00:26:53.320 putting the big steel
00:26:54.600 in the ground
00:26:55.020 but it was very high-tech.
00:26:56.400 Anyways,
00:26:56.820 I appreciate that backgrounder.
00:26:58.720 Thank you for that
00:26:59.400 and I know 95%
00:27:00.820 of our viewers
00:27:01.300 know that stuff
00:27:02.100 but it's good
00:27:02.560 to remind people
00:27:03.520 of this is important
00:27:05.600 far beyond
00:27:06.260 the borders of Alberta.
00:27:07.020 Okay,
00:27:07.560 that preamble
00:27:08.380 out of the way,
00:27:08.900 Lorne,
00:27:09.420 give me the latest.
00:27:10.740 I know you've been
00:27:11.220 writing about this
00:27:12.120 for the past few days.
00:27:13.600 Give me the numbers
00:27:14.660 despite the ethical questions
00:27:17.520 about the dark horse
00:27:18.440 candidate
00:27:18.860 and secret deals.
00:27:20.960 Is Jason Kenney
00:27:21.940 still on track
00:27:22.560 to win this thing?
00:27:23.240 Yes,
00:27:24.800 yes he is
00:27:25.360 and I don't know
00:27:27.020 if the polling
00:27:29.500 has changed much.
00:27:30.360 There's only been
00:27:30.820 one poll
00:27:31.420 since this dark horse
00:27:33.140 kamikaze controversy
00:27:34.740 began involving Kenny
00:27:36.740 and that shows,
00:27:38.780 that poll showed
00:27:39.800 not a wit of change.
00:27:43.440 The UCP were still
00:27:44.700 more than 20 points ahead
00:27:46.080 but for me,
00:27:48.220 it's not necessarily
00:27:49.000 the poll.
00:27:49.860 If you look at
00:27:50.980 different regions
00:27:51.800 of the province,
00:27:52.440 I simply do not see
00:27:54.160 how the NDP
00:27:55.780 can possibly win.
00:27:56.960 The NDP
00:27:58.080 won last time
00:27:59.560 because among
00:28:00.680 other things,
00:28:02.160 they won 15
00:28:03.180 of 24 seats
00:28:04.060 in Calgary.
00:28:05.120 Now that has never
00:28:06.020 happened before.
00:28:06.700 The most they'd ever
00:28:07.460 had in Calgary
00:28:08.120 before was one
00:28:09.340 and there were
00:28:11.340 sometimes as many
00:28:12.300 as two or three
00:28:13.360 liberals as well
00:28:14.380 but it had always
00:28:15.840 been a Tory bedrock.
00:28:17.680 Last time
00:28:18.400 because a lot of voters
00:28:19.800 want to get rid
00:28:20.280 of the Tories,
00:28:20.860 the NDP won 15
00:28:22.240 of 24 seats
00:28:23.060 in Calgary.
00:28:23.560 I don't expect them
00:28:24.680 to win a single seat
00:28:25.600 in Calgary this time.
00:28:26.900 That is how detested
00:28:27.840 they are in Calgary
00:28:29.600 because of the damage
00:28:31.380 they have done
00:28:32.120 with their
00:28:33.440 environmental regulations
00:28:34.780 and their carbon tax
00:28:35.880 and their higher
00:28:36.620 corporate taxes.
00:28:37.500 That's the damage
00:28:38.560 they have done
00:28:39.180 to the business community
00:28:41.100 and by extension
00:28:42.820 to all the workers
00:28:43.880 who work in oil
00:28:44.700 in Calgary.
00:28:47.720 The only by-election
00:28:49.580 we've seen
00:28:50.000 in the last two years
00:28:50.700 was the one
00:28:51.160 that Jason Kenney ran in
00:28:52.220 and the UCP
00:28:54.540 won 71 to 16
00:28:56.520 for the NDP
00:28:58.660 and I think
00:28:59.620 you're going to see
00:29:00.160 riding after riding
00:29:01.560 after riding
00:29:02.200 in Calgary
00:29:02.940 where that's
00:29:03.900 the kind of breakdown
00:29:05.380 that there is.
00:29:06.100 People just cannot
00:29:07.240 stand them
00:29:08.060 and if you can't win
00:29:09.120 either Edmonton
00:29:10.720 or Calgary
00:29:11.520 and the rest
00:29:12.900 of the problems,
00:29:13.520 you have to win
00:29:13.900 one of the major cities
00:29:14.880 and the rest
00:29:15.580 of the problems,
00:29:16.500 you can't win
00:29:17.420 a majority.
00:29:18.400 Well,
00:29:18.740 so let's look out
00:29:19.480 beyond Edmonton
00:29:20.620 and Calgary
00:29:21.000 and look at
00:29:21.340 there's 38 ridings
00:29:22.560 in the rest
00:29:23.080 of the province.
00:29:25.200 The polling numbers
00:29:26.420 for the NDP
00:29:26.900 are even worse there.
00:29:28.120 I mean,
00:29:28.280 they've angered
00:29:29.280 the agricultural community
00:29:30.460 with what was called
00:29:31.840 Bill 6
00:29:32.400 and I know you did
00:29:33.080 an awful lot
00:29:33.780 of coverage
00:29:34.680 of Bill 6.
00:29:35.440 It was to basically
00:29:36.620 make like
00:29:38.260 union workplaces
00:29:39.900 all the farms
00:29:41.020 with farm laborers
00:29:42.520 in the province
00:29:43.240 and it's so
00:29:44.520 antithetical
00:29:45.660 to the mentality
00:29:47.180 of most farm families
00:29:49.220 that it created
00:29:49.960 a huge controversy.
00:29:51.600 So that's cut them
00:29:52.780 off from the farm types.
00:29:54.360 All the real work
00:29:55.460 in oil and gas
00:29:56.160 is done
00:29:56.560 outside of Edmonton
00:29:58.080 and Calgary
00:29:58.740 and that's put them off.
00:30:01.220 So I don't see them
00:30:02.300 winning more than,
00:30:03.720 well,
00:30:03.900 I don't see them winning
00:30:04.420 any seats out of the 38
00:30:05.580 but say they win
00:30:06.620 three or four.
00:30:07.520 You now have,
00:30:09.820 you need 44,
00:30:11.200 the UCP wins
00:30:12.340 24 in Calgary,
00:30:14.420 23 in Calgary
00:30:15.640 and it wins
00:30:16.780 35 in the rest of the,
00:30:19.020 they've already got
00:30:19.740 a majority.
00:30:20.180 They don't even have
00:30:20.600 to look at Edmonton.
00:30:21.940 Well, let me ask you about-
00:30:22.860 Edmonton is not going
00:30:23.460 to be monolithic
00:30:24.180 for the NDP this time.
00:30:25.860 Right.
00:30:26.340 I mean,
00:30:26.720 obviously there's a lot
00:30:27.740 of public sector workers
00:30:29.240 I see in your column,
00:30:30.400 you had a column
00:30:30.820 yesterday called
00:30:32.580 The Race is On
00:30:33.320 in Alberta
00:30:33.740 and the advantage
00:30:34.360 is all UCP.
00:30:35.380 I'm just going to quote
00:30:36.140 a little bit
00:30:36.540 from your article.
00:30:38.020 You say that
00:30:38.800 if you work
00:30:39.960 in the public sector
00:30:40.960 there have been
00:30:42.300 lots of new
00:30:43.380 tax supported jobs
00:30:44.540 in Alberta
00:30:44.920 in the past four years,
00:30:46.340 58,000
00:30:48.540 new public sector jobs.
00:30:50.520 The Alberta workforce
00:30:51.380 was 19%
00:30:53.840 public sector
00:30:54.540 in 2015
00:30:55.420 but is almost
00:30:56.820 24% now.
00:30:58.420 That's unbelievable.
00:31:00.880 It is.
00:31:01.200 It's staggering.
00:31:02.300 And the net loss
00:31:03.620 in private sector jobs
00:31:05.380 was 48,000.
00:31:07.360 Jeez.
00:31:08.060 So we have
00:31:09.780 about 185,000 people
00:31:11.560 looking for work
00:31:12.280 in Alberta right now.
00:31:13.280 We have
00:31:13.760 higher unemployment
00:31:15.200 in Alberta
00:31:16.880 than in Nova Scotia.
00:31:18.820 Yeah.
00:31:19.220 And Calgary's
00:31:20.060 number one,
00:31:20.860 Edmonton's number three
00:31:21.900 for unemployment rates
00:31:23.400 among major cities
00:31:24.440 in the whole country.
00:31:26.500 Yeah, you know,
00:31:27.000 I've never happened.
00:31:28.000 In my lifetime,
00:31:28.620 I don't remember.
00:31:29.120 I remember writing
00:31:30.320 all sorts of columns
00:31:31.380 in the 1990s
00:31:33.740 and the 2000s
00:31:34.800 and into the teens
00:31:35.900 about how Alberta
00:31:37.340 had the highest
00:31:38.160 labor market
00:31:39.420 participation rate
00:31:40.520 of any province
00:31:41.620 or territory
00:31:42.240 in the country.
00:31:43.400 We were about 75%
00:31:44.640 of Albertans
00:31:45.860 of working age
00:31:46.840 had jobs.
00:31:48.320 And the next highest
00:31:49.620 was Saskatchewan
00:31:50.300 at about 69%.
00:31:51.420 Yeah.
00:31:51.720 We like to work here.
00:31:53.420 Yeah.
00:31:53.680 And despite the fact
00:31:54.580 that there are so many people
00:31:55.780 actively in the labor market,
00:31:57.320 we still had the lowest
00:31:58.540 unemployment rate
00:31:59.900 year after year
00:32:01.200 after decade
00:32:01.880 after decade.
00:32:02.960 Yeah.
00:32:03.400 And now we have the NDP
00:32:04.520 and we have one of the highest
00:32:05.720 unemployment rates
00:32:06.640 in the country.
00:32:08.300 And the thing that really
00:32:09.580 grinds my teeth
00:32:10.880 with the NDP
00:32:11.600 is that they keep
00:32:12.840 talking about how
00:32:13.720 they have made sure
00:32:15.480 that in their four years
00:32:17.680 that the benefits
00:32:19.080 have reached
00:32:19.740 every working Albertan,
00:32:21.460 how they're so good
00:32:24.080 for working families.
00:32:25.440 They care
00:32:26.340 and the conservatives don't.
00:32:27.380 We have unemployment
00:32:29.240 that we have never
00:32:30.280 seen before.
00:32:31.300 Not since the 30s.
00:32:32.440 Not since the dirty 30s.
00:32:34.000 You know,
00:32:34.260 I mentioned before
00:32:36.260 I was on a frack site
00:32:37.480 in Pennsylvania
00:32:38.040 of all places.
00:32:39.680 You know,
00:32:40.480 I follow some of these
00:32:41.900 really booming
00:32:43.120 American oil
00:32:44.680 and gas jurisdictions.
00:32:46.400 The Bakken
00:32:47.160 Geological Formation,
00:32:48.860 that's North Dakota.
00:32:50.120 And it goes into
00:32:51.180 Saskatchewan too.
00:32:52.280 Lucky them.
00:32:53.380 The Permian Basin
00:32:55.020 in West Texas.
00:32:56.440 There's all these
00:32:57.440 new places
00:32:58.220 where they're fracking
00:32:59.240 for oil,
00:33:00.240 fracking for gas.
00:33:01.720 And U.S.
00:33:02.640 oil production
00:33:03.180 has never been higher.
00:33:04.980 Never been higher.
00:33:05.960 It's the record.
00:33:06.900 They're actually
00:33:07.340 energy self-sufficient now.
00:33:08.700 They're exporting.
00:33:10.260 North Dakota,
00:33:12.060 1.4 million barrels
00:33:13.580 of oil per day
00:33:14.620 in a state
00:33:15.720 that's, what,
00:33:16.740 750,000 people?
00:33:18.620 So the idea,
00:33:19.780 and their unemployment rate
00:33:20.720 is so low,
00:33:21.340 the idea that this is
00:33:22.540 world oil prices
00:33:24.200 or some foreign problem.
00:33:26.320 Tell that to North Dakota,
00:33:27.660 West Texas,
00:33:28.360 Pennsylvania.
00:33:29.300 That's what gets mean.
00:33:31.100 Absolutely.
00:33:31.860 In the last two years,
00:33:34.100 investment in oil and gas
00:33:35.840 in the United States
00:33:36.680 has gone up
00:33:37.660 by 50%.
00:33:39.040 Yeah, that's amazing.
00:33:40.300 And in Canada,
00:33:41.780 it has fallen
00:33:42.600 by 76%.
00:33:43.800 And that is all
00:33:45.520 federal and provincial
00:33:46.700 policy.
00:33:47.960 It has nothing to do
00:33:48.800 with the world price of oil.
00:33:49.920 It's the fact
00:33:50.880 that the federal government
00:33:51.840 will not use
00:33:52.640 its constitutional authority
00:33:54.140 to get a pipeline built.
00:33:55.700 It colluded
00:33:57.740 with Quebec politicians
00:34:00.180 to prevent Energy East
00:34:01.660 from being built.
00:34:02.640 It hasn't pushed
00:34:03.600 Trans Mountain.
00:34:04.500 It canceled
00:34:05.340 Northern Gateway.
00:34:06.820 It's done everything
00:34:07.820 it can to landlock
00:34:09.260 Alberta's oil and gas.
00:34:11.900 You and I have talked
00:34:12.740 before about how
00:34:13.800 people like Gerald Butts,
00:34:15.660 who was the former
00:34:16.320 principal secretary
00:34:17.040 to the prime minister,
00:34:17.800 were all part of
00:34:18.640 a demarketing scheme
00:34:20.700 where, you know,
00:34:21.380 you can pump as much oil
00:34:22.600 as you'd like,
00:34:23.120 but we're going to make sure
00:34:23.760 you get no markets for it.
00:34:25.800 And all of that,
00:34:28.100 plus the carbon tax,
00:34:29.540 plus the huge corporate
00:34:32.020 tax increases
00:34:32.780 that we've had in Alberta,
00:34:34.020 which surprisingly,
00:34:35.260 not surprisingly,
00:34:36.260 haven't raised as much money
00:34:37.780 as was being raised
00:34:38.600 under the lower rate.
00:34:40.020 All of that together
00:34:41.380 has scared away
00:34:42.380 about $100 billion
00:34:44.100 in private sector investment
00:34:46.880 in oil and gas
00:34:47.840 in the last two years alone.
00:34:49.500 That's a huge chunk
00:34:51.020 out of the Alberta
00:34:51.700 and out of the national economy.
00:34:53.860 And that is why
00:34:55.180 the NDP are not going to win
00:34:57.100 because instinctively
00:34:58.760 Albertans understand
00:34:59.620 how damaging they've been
00:35:01.000 to the economy.
00:35:02.460 Yeah.
00:35:02.700 What makes me sad
00:35:03.740 is that even replacing
00:35:04.920 Rachel Notley
00:35:05.520 with Jason Kenney,
00:35:06.400 you still have two major problems,
00:35:08.060 John Horgan,
00:35:08.960 the premier of BC,
00:35:10.180 and Justin Trudeau,
00:35:11.560 the prime minister of Canada.
00:35:12.500 But at least you'll have someone
00:35:15.960 in Edmonton
00:35:16.680 that finally is putting Alberta
00:35:18.560 in the oil patch first.
00:35:19.640 I've got two more quick questions
00:35:20.760 for you,
00:35:21.140 if you would indulge me.
00:35:23.020 You mentioned the rural parts.
00:35:24.640 I'd like to ask you
00:35:25.520 about one rural MLA
00:35:27.680 and one small town MLA.
00:35:30.760 I'm referring to Derek Fildebrandt,
00:35:33.280 who used to be
00:35:34.520 quite a prominent MLA.
00:35:36.100 He was very prominent
00:35:37.660 in the Wild Rose Party.
00:35:39.080 Then he fell out of good standing
00:35:42.000 with Jason
00:35:42.540 and had some troubles.
00:35:44.440 And now he's started
00:35:45.200 his own one-man party, really,
00:35:48.120 called the Freedom Conservative Party.
00:35:50.500 Maybe he's got another MLA.
00:35:51.680 I don't think so.
00:35:53.140 Does he have any chance
00:35:54.420 or is he going to be
00:35:55.360 steamrolled by the UCP?
00:35:57.180 And then I'm going to ask you
00:35:58.320 about Shannon Phillips,
00:35:59.880 the environment minister
00:36:01.920 who's from Lethbridge.
00:36:03.760 What do you think
00:36:04.500 about those two?
00:36:06.400 I don't think Fildebrandt's
00:36:07.780 going to win.
00:36:08.240 If you get outside of Edmonton,
00:36:12.400 anybody or any party
00:36:15.040 that seems to be getting
00:36:16.480 in the way of getting rid
00:36:17.800 of the NDP
00:36:18.480 is going to get pushed aside.
00:36:20.860 Yeah.
00:36:21.040 So I think most voters
00:36:22.500 are going to say,
00:36:23.400 can Derek Fildebrandt
00:36:25.840 beat the NDP?
00:36:26.580 No.
00:36:27.040 OK, so I'm voting the UCP.
00:36:28.580 Yeah.
00:36:28.980 I could be wrong about that.
00:36:30.600 It's not clear to me
00:36:32.120 that he's particularly
00:36:33.140 personally popular
00:36:34.500 in his riding.
00:36:35.660 He has a new riding
00:36:37.060 that he's running into.
00:36:38.240 So that makes it even trickier
00:36:40.260 for him to win.
00:36:41.480 So my my thinking is
00:36:43.180 Fildebrandt is not going to win.
00:36:44.920 Yeah.
00:36:45.460 And then the Shannon Phillips,
00:36:48.300 I don't think is going to win either.
00:36:50.420 Her riding, which is Lethbridge West,
00:36:52.460 includes the University of Lethbridge.
00:36:54.260 And it has been Liberal or NDP
00:36:58.040 more than it's been Conservative
00:36:59.680 for the last 30 years.
00:37:01.720 It might she might still hold on to that.
00:37:05.220 But the last polling I saw
00:37:06.700 that went into any detail at all
00:37:08.340 in her riding had her 24 points down
00:37:10.500 to the UCP.
00:37:11.940 Yeah.
00:37:12.080 So I think she will not survive either.
00:37:15.540 Yeah, I think you're right
00:37:17.080 on both of those predictions.
00:37:18.180 But I'm 2,000 kilometers away.
00:37:20.280 So my I'm not as good
00:37:23.360 at detecting things from out here.
00:37:25.580 Long as 25 days left to go.
00:37:28.700 Anything can happen in 25 days.
00:37:31.340 But I agree with you.
00:37:32.600 You know, it reminds me
00:37:33.220 of what people I think
00:37:33.940 Donald Trump said of himself.
00:37:35.200 He said, I could shoot a guy
00:37:36.800 in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue
00:37:38.280 and my supporters would still like me.
00:37:39.600 I think he said something like that.
00:37:41.940 And there's a truth to it.
00:37:43.320 And he said this with all the media.
00:37:46.600 Oh, he said the P word.
00:37:48.620 He said this word.
00:37:50.080 He was mean.
00:37:51.180 Like people don't care.
00:37:53.080 They just wanted Trump to fight,
00:37:56.800 you know, drain the swamp, beat Hillary.
00:37:58.820 They literally did not care
00:38:01.220 about any rudeness.
00:38:03.560 I think that's how it is with Kenny.
00:38:05.460 I think people are disappointed
00:38:06.460 with these shenanigans.
00:38:07.940 But they don't even what's that?
00:38:09.360 What does that stand up
00:38:10.580 next to 200,000 unemployed people?
00:38:12.540 Last word to you, Lorne.
00:38:14.040 You remember the movie Braveheart?
00:38:16.080 There's a guy comes from Ireland
00:38:18.100 to join William Wallace and the Scots
00:38:20.020 to fight the British.
00:38:21.300 And he says, do we get the Kelda English?
00:38:24.420 They're talking about strategy.
00:38:25.900 They're talking about the morality of it all.
00:38:27.700 And he's the only question is,
00:38:29.320 do we get the Kelda English?
00:38:31.360 And when he said, when Wallace says yes,
00:38:34.220 that's good enough for him.
00:38:35.380 And so people are going to say,
00:38:36.660 well, do we get rid of the NDP?
00:38:38.220 Yeah.
00:38:38.920 OK, fine.
00:38:40.140 You know, you could have pictures
00:38:41.020 of the UCP caucus at a satanic cult ritual
00:38:44.660 with disemboweled goats.
00:38:47.300 And I don't think it would make any difference.
00:38:48.880 You know what?
00:38:49.640 I got to tell you, you're right.
00:38:51.320 I'd rather...
00:38:52.440 That's a funny way.
00:38:55.400 Y'all, we'll end on that note.
00:38:57.080 Lorne Gunter, it's great to see you again.
00:38:58.300 Thanks for keeping us posted.
00:39:00.080 You bet.
00:39:00.780 All right.
00:39:01.060 There you have it.
00:39:01.500 Our friend Lorne Gunter, senior columnist
00:39:03.780 with the Edmonton Sun.
00:39:04.740 I think he's right.
00:39:05.920 I think people are so desperate there
00:39:07.340 they would vote for anyone
00:39:08.460 to get rid of Rachel Notley and the NDP.
00:39:11.660 By the way, I recommend to you
00:39:13.340 our short book on the subject
00:39:15.280 published this week by Sheila Gunn-Reed.
00:39:18.120 It's called Stop Notley.
00:39:20.540 Very much to the point.
00:39:21.800 And you can get it at stopnotley.com.
00:39:24.660 Stay with us.
00:39:25.180 More ahead on The Rebel.
00:39:25.760 Hey, welcome back on my monologue yesterday
00:39:38.260 about new details released in the budget
00:39:40.360 of Trudeau's $595 million media bailout.
00:39:43.600 And by the way, I'm sorry we had technical problems
00:39:45.900 last night, but you can see that show now.
00:39:48.240 Mark writes,
00:39:49.880 Ezra hit the nail right on the head.
00:39:51.140 The prostitute does what it is paid to do.
00:39:53.460 I know that is really rough language,
00:39:56.480 but I think there is all the difference in the world
00:39:59.820 between someone who loves you for who you are
00:40:02.520 and someone who loves you because you pay them cash.
00:40:08.480 I'm sure it's fine that some journalists
00:40:11.300 genuinely support Justin Trudeau.
00:40:14.120 A lot of candidates liberal, I think it's fair.
00:40:17.160 But if that journalist is paid by Trudeau,
00:40:19.720 then how do you know if it's a genuine editorial view
00:40:22.740 or if it's just pay for play,
00:40:24.840 if it's just a PR man, a prostitute?
00:40:28.100 Story, that's what it is.
00:40:29.800 I mean, they're haggling over the amount of the fee,
00:40:33.340 but that doesn't change what they are.
00:40:36.580 Billy writes,
00:40:37.900 the rebel should fight for QCJO status
00:40:42.620 to prevent Justin from refusing access
00:40:44.880 and answering questions from rebel reporters.
00:40:46.520 The monetary benefit can be directed towards a charity.
00:40:50.620 QCJO stands for Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization.
00:40:56.280 That's the journalism license
00:40:58.940 that Trudeau invented in the budget this week.
00:41:01.760 Just incredible.
00:41:03.540 Funny thing is I read very carefully
00:41:04.880 the registration requirements
00:41:06.560 and the rebel meets the test
00:41:08.340 much better than many other media, by the way.
00:41:11.000 I mean, for example, Post Media,
00:41:12.800 which has the National Post,
00:41:13.760 most of the dailies in Canada,
00:41:15.400 Calgary Herald, Calgary Sun,
00:41:17.240 Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun,
00:41:18.380 Vancouver, Sun, Vancouver Province,
00:41:20.360 Montreal Gazette, need I go on.
00:41:22.580 They're all owned by Post Media.
00:41:24.140 Post Media, their big owner
00:41:27.700 is a New Jersey hedge fund.
00:41:31.100 Hundreds of millions of dollars.
00:41:32.700 They're owned by Americans.
00:41:36.860 They're going to get the lion's share of the bailout.
00:41:38.480 So I'm just saying the rules don't bar us.
00:41:41.800 I just don't want to be a prostitute.
00:41:43.540 You're saying take the money
00:41:44.620 and do something else with it.
00:41:46.200 Well, I understand the suggestion
00:41:51.340 of applying just to show them up.
00:41:54.560 But at the end of the day,
00:41:56.320 it's essential that we not take the money.
00:41:58.880 That's just absolutely essential to who we are.
00:42:01.300 It's like kryptonite to us.
00:42:04.080 Linda writes,
00:42:04.600 Yes, there is only one reason Trudeau et al are gunning for you.
00:42:07.860 You are a serious threat to Twinkle Toe's re-election.
00:42:11.060 I am one of your ilk and proud to stand with you.
00:42:13.620 Yeah, ilk.
00:42:14.860 That was, I think, the phrase used by the APTN reporter
00:42:19.680 and approved of by the Ottawa Citizen reporter.
00:42:24.040 I mean, could these guys be any more transparent?
00:42:26.780 If they were smart, they would just shut up
00:42:29.040 and not mention the obvious political test.
00:42:32.360 But they can't help themselves
00:42:35.140 because they know that's what this is.
00:42:37.000 This is about the fancy people getting a subsidy
00:42:39.200 and the bad people like you and me
00:42:41.480 being shut out and eventually censored.
00:42:43.980 That's a fact.
00:42:45.300 Well, folks, that's the show for today.
00:42:47.140 Until tomorrow, on behalf of all of us here
00:42:48.980 at Rebel World Headquarters, good night.
00:42:51.420 Keep fighting for freedom.
00:42:52.380 We'll see you next time.