Two of the Coutts Four found not guilty by an Alberta jury of conspiring, plotting to murder the RCMP. And an added bonus today, a Fraser Institute report on how much you're being taxed. When we come back, we are in a very precarious position in this country. We need political change, but we also need to resolve to smash the like button.
00:00:00.000Welcome to another Stand on Guard. I'm your host, David Creighton.
00:00:07.280When we come back, not guilty. Two of the Coutts Four found not guilty by an Alberta jury of conspiring, plotting to murder the RCMP.
00:00:21.340And an added bonus today, a Fraser Institute report on how much you're being taxed when we come back.
00:00:30.820So we are in a very precarious position in this country. We need political change, but we also need to resolve to resist.
00:00:51.340Hey, like it. Smash the like button. We beat the censorship yesterday. We beat the suppression yesterday with that report on that outrageous request by former defense minister, current emergency preparedness minister, Harjit Sajjan, to use a bunch of military people as a backdrop for a Punjabi pop star.
00:01:17.500This story was incredible. It just has gone through the roof because people can't believe the gall, the nerve.
00:01:25.260I mean, whether or not these guys in uniform, in uniform, are supposed to be standing there for what, a couple of hours looking like idiots?
00:01:33.640Were they supposed to be singing and dancing? I don't know. The request was denied, though.
00:01:38.360I think I don't know if I made that clear enough in the report yesterday.
00:01:43.680The request was denied by D&D, by the Canadian Armed Forces, because it was not deemed to be operationally necessary.
00:01:53.140Well, no kidding. But that's never stopped the liberal government from abusing the Canadian military in the past.
00:02:01.100Clearly, the military pushed back on this one because they know how shallow the liberal support is and how Sajjan is already in political hot water for a series of stupid political decisions, missteps.
00:02:18.420So they figure they could say no. And the CDS general Wayne Ayer, I don't I'm not a fan of who he was the outgoing CDS at that time.
00:02:28.460He's just he's gone now. But I think I guess he figured he could say no.
00:02:32.180He could push back one more time in his career before going off into retirement.
00:02:37.060And he apparently did that. So there was any confusion.
00:02:40.080Yeah, the request was approved by Sajjan. He's he wanted it to happen.
00:02:47.680Current Defense Minister Bill Blair lent his support.
00:02:51.440The CF, the Canadian Armed Forces said no, can't do it.
00:02:57.880So that that doesn't excuse how stupid the request was.
00:03:02.800I just wanted to clarify that. Let's get on to today's news, because it's really quite big.
00:03:07.380Two of the Coutts four, you know, those Coutts four who were part of that blockade.
00:03:55.940Now, two of these guys accepted a plea bargain in April.
00:04:02.960But the big news here this week is that the other two were found not guilty by this Lethbridge jury or jury in Lethbridge, Alberta jury.
00:04:14.040This is Anthony Oleianic, not guilty, conspiracy to commit murder of a police officer.
00:04:22.180He has been found guilty of possession of weapons for dangerous purposes and guilty of mischief over $5,000, guilty of possession of explosives for a dangerous purpose.
00:04:52.600But they have not been found guilty on the more serious charge.
00:04:55.920Christopher Carby, the other half of this pair, who were holding out, refused to go for a plea deal, and decided to let a jury decide their fate.
00:05:07.900Not guilty, conspiracy to commit murder of a police officer.
00:05:11.960Guilty, possession of weapons for dangerous purposes.
00:05:31.700And, you know, there's the, there's the, there's the rap sheet right there.
00:05:40.200And, you know, thanks so much for the work that Jason LeVing has done on this file.
00:05:47.560He's been following it faithfully from day one.
00:05:49.920I have not been following this story as closely as I've followed the trial of Tamara Leach and Christopher Barber, because that's right here in Ottawa.
00:05:59.080I've been at the trial virtually every day when it's been on.
00:06:03.060Axie is probably going to resume this month.
00:06:53.940Justice David LeBrand, the judge overseeing the trial, asked the various parties, the two defense attorneys and the crown prosecutors, what's next?
00:07:01.760Catherine Bayek, who is representing Chris Carver, said that the amount of time that her client had already spent in police custody in remand.
00:07:10.080Remember, the two men have been held in custody.
00:07:12.940They've been denied bail since they were arrested on February 14th, 2022.
00:07:19.360Bayek said that that time amounts to or exceeds whatever sentences he would receive for the two charges over which he was found guilty by the jury.
00:07:32.660She requested that a bail hearing be set as soon as possible.
00:07:36.740Now, lead prosecutor Stephen Johnston said in response that he is not yet prepared to concede bail.
00:07:43.980Now, keep in mind that the basis of denial of bail to these two men was the severity of the charge over which they've now both been found not guilty.
00:09:01.780That's Chris Carthbert's mother saying the truth will come out Sunday.
00:09:06.940Well, I don't know if the whole truth got out.
00:09:09.640But this could have gone a lot worse for these folks.
00:09:12.380And not that I think in any way that should have happened, but the way the judicial system is working in Canada right now, we could have expected the worst.
00:09:23.220And thank God there's still some honest juries out there and have found these guys not guilty on these severe charges.
00:09:29.640This would have meant some pretty substantial jail time for them, I think.
00:09:33.800So I hope Chris's mother is feeling a little better today.
00:09:40.240And it is a lingering example of how the Liberal government overreached during the whole Freedom Convoy, which I was very much a part of reporting, from the Ottawa perspective anyway.
00:09:58.340And this was absolute government overreach.
00:10:00.580Let's go back to that video clip here.
00:10:04.560And I've got a lot of slides to show you.
00:10:06.760But this is an underreported story this week.
00:10:10.100This is a Fraser Institute report that...
00:10:28.540In just 30 seconds, you'll know how the Canadian tax burden has changed over the past 62 years.
00:10:33.680In 1961, the average Canadian family, including couples, couples with kids, and single Canadians, spent 34% of its income on taxes and 57% on housing, food, and clothing combined.
00:11:46.660That includes things like alcohol and tobacco, but it also includes things that are not so discretionary, like health care, like transportation, like education.
00:12:01.340These are things that are not, you know, not exactly essential if you never want to go anywhere, of course, if you just want to sit in your house and have a subsistence living.
00:12:15.560But the point is, people were spending less on that in 1961, and they're spending more on that in 2023.
00:12:23.480But they're paying 43% of their total income on taxes, and they have virtually nothing left over to spend on extra things.
00:12:42.220This is what is so fascinating about this.
00:13:28.400If anyone out there thinks your health care is free, you're not filing taxes every year because you can see how much of your provincial tax is sucked up in health care.
00:13:44.600We are paying more in health care dividends to the government than it would cost to pay for private insurance.
00:13:55.100The Fraser Institute has demonstrated this.
00:15:37.100Expenditures on shelter increased by 2,006%, food by 901%, 2,006%, sorry, food by 901%, and clothing by 478% between 1961 and 2023.
00:15:51.660The increase in the tax bill has also greatly outpaced the increase in the Consumer Price Index, which measures the average price that consumers pay for food,
00:16:03.760shelter, shelter, clothing, transportation, health, and personal care, education, and other items.
00:16:07.960In 1923, the average Canadian family earned an income of $109,235.
00:16:21.800$109,235, and paid total taxes equaling $46,988.
00:16:32.200Sounding, it's getting very close to 50%, half of your income going right back to the government.
00:16:38.240And if you're paying capital gains taxes, two-thirds are going straight back to the government.
00:16:46.820In 1960, when the average family had an income of $5,000, paid a total tax bill of $1,675.
00:16:54.420Now, you often hear people talk about how it was possible at one time in decades past to live a comfortable life on a single income.
00:17:10.280Both parents didn't have to work just to pay the taxes and the bills, just to pay the mortgage or the rent,
00:17:19.500just to keep the food in the refrigerator, and never mind the rest of the things that are sort of necessary but not absolutely essential.
00:17:31.040Like owning a car, like putting gas in a car.
00:17:35.580The government actually thinks that's not an essential thing anymore.
00:22:57.980Just like this thing in Coutts was a show trial.
00:23:03.560And I hope we see some of those text messages from the RCMP with the hearts suggesting they were really on side with these Coutts supporters.
00:23:16.320So please tell us your whole game plan.
00:24:15.920But when I see stories like this, and I see juries stand up to government pressure, I say, let's celebrate the small wins, the small victories.
00:24:30.600And let's hope Chris and Tamara have a larger victory in the next coming few months.