The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - The Johnston Affair

00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome once again to The Blueprints.

00:00:10.020 This is Canada's Conservative Podcast.

00:00:12.240 I'm your host, Jamie Schmael, member of Parliament for Halliburton Court,

00:00:14.980 the likes Brock with new content for you every single Tuesday, 1.30 p.m. Eastern Time.

00:00:19.140 We ask that you like, comment, subscribe, and share this program.

00:00:23.040 Of course, if you can't watch or listen to this program in its entirety,

00:00:26.960 right this very second, download it and listen to it on platforms like CastBox, iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify.

00:00:32.400 You name it, it is out there.

00:00:34.560 We have Greg McLean to join us today, the member of Parliament for Calgary Centre,

00:00:38.800 to talk about a whole range of issues, but most importantly, David Johnson,

00:00:42.320 the Governor General, former Governor General, testifying before committee right this very second

00:00:47.140 to answer questions about what he knew or did not know in his report to the Prime Minister.

00:00:53.280 And of course, a few new developments since we last talked on this show.

00:00:56.220 We had a vote in the House of Commons asking for David Johnston to step aside.

00:01:00.360 He refused to do so because he says he answers to the government and not Parliament,

00:01:05.080 which is a very important distinction to make, where Parliament, in our opinion, should always be supreme.

00:01:12.380 Exactly right.

00:01:13.220 Parliament is supposed to be your group that holds the government and council, cabinet, if you will,

00:01:18.640 the government, to account for everything they're doing.

00:01:20.800 Now, David Johnson, the thing about this that I think a lot of people are seizing onto is

00:01:25.400 they think he reports to Parliament.

00:01:27.760 In fact, I think what they're looking at is saying,

00:01:29.960 this really isn't that democratic a process at the end of the day,

00:01:32.960 if the only person he responds to is the Prime Minister, who's the head of cabinet,

00:01:37.360 the head of the government, and yet that's who's appointing him,

00:01:40.280 and who is really apparently might be in a bit of a conflict here.

00:01:43.320 So if the only person you report to is the person who might be in conflict,

00:01:47.000 is it really a democratic, open examination of the issues that we need to look at here?

00:01:53.020 Well, I would say no, especially when they are known Trudeau Foundation members.

00:01:58.120 David Johnson, he was a former governor general, served honorably,

00:02:03.080 but yet I'm not sure why he allowed himself to be put into the situation

00:02:07.460 where his integrity is questioned based on his history with the Trudeaus,

00:02:11.860 based on the fact that David Johnson watched Justin Trudeau grow up

00:02:17.040 and spent time at their cottage and they were ski buddies, all that kind of stuff.

00:02:20.920 Tons of footage that shows interview after interview with both Justin Trudeau

00:02:26.040 and David Johnson saying what great friends they all are.

00:02:28.660 He did this to himself, unfortunately, but I also blame the Prime Minister primarily

00:02:33.240 because he made that decision to appoint David Johnson the special rapporteur.

00:02:37.620 And there's a point in time when my staff and I were putting together a letter

00:02:40.800 to David Johnson himself when he was being appointed by the Prime Minister,

00:02:44.800 saying, what are you doing?

00:02:46.580 This is a conflict of interest.

00:02:48.960 Whether you look at it as a conflict of interest from your perspective or not,

00:02:53.700 it is a conflict of interest.

00:02:55.700 A perception of a conflict of interest is a conflict of interest by definition.

00:02:59.920 So if anybody had advised him, anybody from the private sector,

00:03:04.040 anybody that wasn't just part of the government circle that he seems to be reporting to right now,

00:03:09.640 he should have picked up the phone, called a friend, and actually got some advice on

00:03:12.680 what is a conflict of interest?

00:03:14.280 Am I potentially in a conflict of interest here?

00:03:17.300 The problem for David Johnson is it really has changed a lot of perceptions about him personally on this.

00:03:23.340 And that's a shame because he was a good Governor General.

00:03:25.840 But that book he wrote now about trust, I think a lot of people are looking at it going,

00:03:31.440 you're asking us to trust, and yet the institutions that seem to govern us as a country

00:03:35.900 don't seem to exude trust anymore.

00:03:39.560 Funny you should say that because just before the show started,

00:03:42.560 I was watching a bit of the committee goings-on,

00:03:46.260 and Michael Cooper, a Member of Parliament, St. Albert Edmonton,

00:03:49.520 from your home province of Alberta,

00:03:50.840 was questioning the former Governor General, the rapporteur, David Johnson,

00:03:54.500 about how the final report to the Prime Minister was made

00:03:58.940 when the main focus of this whole thing,

00:04:02.820 aside from Michael Chong and the threats being made,

00:04:05.620 but also the interference in the last election, 2021,

00:04:09.920 where the meeting with Johnson and former leader Aaron O'Toole took place,

00:04:13.140 but it became evident during that meeting that the report was in translation,

00:04:16.620 so the printing presses were already being fired up.

00:04:19.640 So what's the point in asking the former leader what his thoughts on the whole thing,

00:04:24.580 what did he experience in interference in our elections,

00:04:27.960 but also that should be in that report.

00:04:30.200 Like, I don't understand J. David Johnson's line of thinking here.

00:04:34.360 Yeah, there seemed to be a lack of, you know, end result versus process here.

00:04:39.260 Usually you go through the process to get the result.

00:04:41.880 In this case, you're right, they were already printing the report

00:04:44.320 before they met with our previous leader, Aaron O'Toole,

00:04:47.380 which seems a little backwards.

00:04:48.840 And I think that that is another red flag where people are saying,

00:04:52.280 what exactly happened here?

00:04:53.900 What was the process he had to go through to determine his outcome?

00:04:57.280 And did he actually go through the proper process to get that done?

00:05:00.500 Good question.

00:05:01.380 Well, now we have, we talked about it last week with Larry Brock,

00:05:04.540 that David Johnson asked for advice from a lawyer,

00:05:08.740 well-known former Supreme Court justice,

00:05:10.640 but also a member of the Trudeau Foundation.

00:05:12.760 Turns out David Johnson, who also had to hire Crisis Communications

00:05:17.680 and a firm known to handle those that are, you know,

00:05:22.240 falling very fast and needs help.

00:05:26.660 But this one today from the Globe and Mail,

00:05:28.960 that David Johnson's lead counsel on foreign interference probe

00:05:32.560 attended a Justin Trudeau Foundation in 2021.

00:05:36.000 Her name, of course, is Sheila Block,

00:05:38.340 and it shows that she's attended many fundraisers,

00:05:42.000 contributed about $7,500 to the Liberal Party between 2006 and 2022,

00:05:47.300 also a member of the Trudeau Foundation.

00:05:48.980 Is it the fact that nobody outside the Liberal Party is smart enough

00:05:53.740 to understand what's going on,

00:05:55.040 that they must keep this in tight circles

00:05:58.180 because they just know what's best?

00:06:00.500 Yeah, well, look, in order for Canadians to have faith in this process that has been gone through here,

00:06:05.880 but it seems to have been rushed through and, you know, corners cut, if you will,

00:06:10.780 in order for Canadians to have this trust going forward,

00:06:13.140 there's going to have to be an open process that has some really solid people

00:06:17.920 that aren't connected with the decision involved in making the decision.

00:06:21.960 And that's what has to happen here.

00:06:23.620 Get beyond the Ottawa bubble and all the people that are contributing to the noise around Ottawa

00:06:29.080 and get somebody from outside this realm, if you will,

00:06:32.620 to actually take a look at this and determine what we need to do.

00:06:36.520 And continue to engage all your friends and supporters

00:06:38.960 is not leading Canadians toward a stronger impression of trust in this government.

00:06:44.600 And that's where any government has to get towards.

00:06:47.060 Where are we going as a country?

00:06:49.800 And does the Canadian people trust the government anymore?

00:06:52.960 We're losing that.

00:06:53.720 We need to get that back.

00:06:54.700 This is an important institution.

00:06:56.480 The more we fail at this, and we fail as an institution,

00:07:00.140 and the government and council right now is doing that to us,

00:07:04.020 we've got to get this back.

00:07:05.420 Canadians need to have faith in democracy, have faith in this institution,

00:07:08.780 and what it can do to make their lives better.

00:07:11.160 Well, one thing they can do to make their lives better

00:07:13.680 is not past the Liberal budget that's up for debates.

00:07:16.440 Actually, this whole week, we're supposed to be debating it today.

00:07:20.240 It looks like closure, and that's a parliamentary term.

00:07:22.660 They're going to cut off debates on the budget bill,

00:07:25.260 which spends billions and billions.

00:07:28.040 We're running the country on the credit card.

00:07:31.400 You know, you're a finance guy.

00:07:33.000 This is where you shine.

00:07:35.400 Your observation on this whole thing.

00:07:37.680 Well, this is the Budget Implementation Act.

00:07:39.320 But the budget itself, of course, is more money throwing at a wall.

00:07:42.540 And look at where that money's going.

00:07:44.340 It's going towards a whole bunch of pet projects without accountability.

00:07:47.380 There's so much this government is doing

00:07:48.600 that has no accountability mechanisms in it whatsoever.

00:07:51.920 Their new spending and a new fund they're going to have up,

00:07:54.940 the Canada Fund, you know, the Canada Growth Fund,

00:07:57.080 I think this one is called,

00:07:58.260 in addition to the Canada Infrastructure Bank

00:08:00.240 and all the programs they're having,

00:08:02.140 billions and billions of dollars.

00:08:03.700 This is going to be run on the back of a napkin

00:08:06.460 by the public sector pension board.

00:08:09.180 It's like, okay, you know, this is supposed to be a high-risk investment.

00:08:12.520 High-risk investing and pension investing are the opposite

00:08:16.300 as far as the financial manager goes.

00:08:18.720 So what is really happening here?

00:08:20.320 Number one, get a board together, get a mandate,

00:08:23.020 understand what this new group is supposed to do

00:08:25.860 once they get the cash.

00:08:27.760 But this is just shovel the cash in,

00:08:29.640 we'll decide what the metrics are later.

00:08:32.340 So again, trying to work around that accountability mechanism

00:08:35.040 that I think Canadians need to see.

00:08:37.440 What is this group for?

00:08:38.440 What is this money for?

00:08:39.640 And how does it respond at the end of the day

00:08:41.460 to the needs of the country?

00:08:43.220 I'm going to suggest that this is just another slush fund.

00:08:45.740 There's a lot of slush funds this government has set up,

00:08:48.680 and it's throwing money out the door.

00:08:50.520 The industrial policy they're going through

00:08:52.220 is going to be decimating for the country at the end of the day.

00:08:55.400 We've got a big bill to pay,

00:08:56.920 and the next generation is going to pay a huge bill.

00:08:59.140 Our responsibility is to make sure

00:09:00.680 that we pass on a country that has some strength in it,

00:09:04.500 both financially and, of course, infrastructure,

00:09:07.120 institutions that will continue to govern us going forward.

00:09:09.720 That is important,

00:09:11.020 and we are losing that at this point in time.

00:09:13.520 The amount of investment in this country

00:09:15.040 from a private sector perspective is down about 10%.

00:09:18.080 So we're down to 90% of what our contributed capital

00:09:21.540 to the country was since this government came into power.

00:09:25.320 It's a continual downgrade, if you will,

00:09:28.500 of our infrastructure of the value of the country

00:09:31.000 at the end of the day.

00:09:32.100 We're more in debt.

00:09:33.040 We're more in debt at the government level.

00:09:34.480 We're more in debt at the consumer level.

00:09:35.920 We're more in debt at the corporate level.

00:09:37.580 These debts are mounting at every level of government.

00:09:40.360 We need to make sure we have a great health care system,

00:09:43.080 a great social system,

00:09:44.380 and a great economy here

00:09:47.100 that we can build on going forward.

00:09:48.980 People need to arrive in Canada 1.00

00:09:50.200 with a great opportunity to build a great life,

00:09:52.640 and that's what we have to build back, Jamie.

00:09:54.080 I couldn't agree more.

00:09:55.080 And our leader, Pierre Polyev,

00:09:56.120 spoke a couple hours ago

00:09:57.420 about that exact very topic,

00:09:59.480 talking about how rising interest rates

00:10:01.820 when mortgages that were bought at inflated prices

00:10:04.980 and borrowed when money was cheap,

00:10:08.080 cheaper, I guess, than what it is now,

00:10:10.640 those with variable rates

00:10:12.040 or even those that locked in at five years,

00:10:13.840 those mortgages come due very, very soon.

00:10:16.500 And with the cost of living now out of control,

00:10:19.360 groceries, fuel, you name it,

00:10:20.960 is just out of control right now through the roof.

00:10:23.560 When those mortgage payments come due,

00:10:26.000 you're talking, I believe, memory serves,

00:10:29.240 he said about $15,000 for the average family

00:10:31.680 for the average mortgage increase

00:10:33.920 just on increased payments

00:10:35.460 because of the higher interest rates.

00:10:37.200 But you can't bring down rates

00:10:38.300 because the inflation crisis still looms

00:10:41.380 because the government continues to spend.

00:10:43.900 It's putting gasoline on the fire.

00:10:45.560 It's just an endless circle.

00:10:46.720 You got it.

00:10:47.000 And the issue is, of course, with mortgages as well.

00:10:49.220 It's after-tax money you pay your mortgage with.

00:10:52.380 So if you think, if you're making $100,000 a year,

00:10:54.860 the average Canadian makes $66,000 a year.

00:10:57.280 But just for round numbers, say $100,000 a year,

00:10:59.840 you're going to leave about 39% of that

00:11:01.700 in Alberta on the table.

00:11:02.900 So you're down to $61,000 of your salary

00:11:05.380 on a $100,000 salary.

00:11:09.420 Rough numbers, if you will,

00:11:10.600 because there are some layering in there.

00:11:13.680 So your mortgage payment comes out of that residual number,

00:11:17.480 and you've still got to pay for food,

00:11:18.580 which, as you know, is going up 11% over the last year.

00:11:21.080 They've still got to pay for everything else

00:11:22.700 that happens in life.

00:11:24.140 And now suddenly this payment you thought

00:11:26.160 was your payment to buy this house

00:11:27.760 has gone up through the roof.

00:11:29.720 So how does that work, right?

00:11:31.520 One of the things about mortgages is that,

00:11:33.440 by far, the term for mortgages in Canada

00:11:37.040 is the five-year term.

00:11:38.440 So you take a look at how long it's been

00:11:41.340 since mortgages started rising in Canada.

00:11:44.080 Over the next three and a half years still,

00:11:46.180 that's going to continue to become evident

00:11:47.520 to people that finance their homes

00:11:49.020 and maybe a bit more of a home than they can afford,

00:11:51.540 but they finance it at below 1% or 1% to 2%.

00:11:54.780 And now it's going up to plus 5% more.

00:11:58.520 It's a significant big chunk to take

00:12:00.420 out of their salaries at the end of the day.

00:12:02.660 As a result, you're going to lead towards inflation

00:12:04.980 because they're all going to need more money.

00:12:06.280 They're all going to ask for more money

00:12:08.440 from their employers

00:12:09.140 as they see everything in life costing more.

00:12:11.380 They're going to say,

00:12:12.320 okay, my expenses are going up.

00:12:13.800 Shouldn't my salary go up in the same trajectory?

00:12:17.640 And that's going to cause even more inflation.

00:12:20.200 So the number one precursor to inflation,

00:12:22.220 of course, is wages.

00:12:23.400 The second is energy.

00:12:24.760 And energy has gone through the roof in Canada,

00:12:27.160 largely because of the government's

00:12:28.900 additional taxes on energy.

00:12:31.060 It's got, of course, the carbon tax,

00:12:32.280 and it's chosen to go the way in the carbon tax,

00:12:34.120 which is questionable

00:12:36.040 whether it is actually accomplishing anything.

00:12:37.760 And I would say it's not.

00:12:38.640 And now it's got this clean fuels standard,

00:12:41.700 which is a hidden tax on energy.

00:12:43.540 And our party's done a good job of that,

00:12:45.120 about exposing how much that's going to be.

00:12:47.440 61 cents a liter as of July 1st.

00:12:50.740 That's incredible.

00:12:51.360 Is the federal tax on fuel.

00:12:54.260 It is over the top.

00:12:56.060 So you think about what that's going to do.

00:12:57.400 It's not like the refiners are going to

00:12:58.840 take any less margin.

00:13:00.240 They're already existing on some thin margin.

00:13:02.460 Everybody gets paid in this process here.

00:13:04.460 So who's going to pay the money, of course,

00:13:06.240 is the consumer at the end of the day.

00:13:07.620 But the funny thing is

00:13:09.120 that people don't seem to realize

00:13:10.280 is the rationale for these taxes

00:13:12.520 is that people will make choices

00:13:14.200 that lower their expenditures.

00:13:16.280 So they'll make the choice

00:13:17.180 not to buy as much gasoline,

00:13:18.900 which means they have to make the choice

00:13:20.540 to travel less.

00:13:21.340 They have to make the choice

00:13:22.060 to visit grandma less.

00:13:23.060 The hospitality industry starts to suffer.

00:13:24.540 They've actually got to make the choice

00:13:25.940 to take their kids to soccer less

00:13:27.580 because a lot of these things

00:13:28.800 are built into their lifestyle.

00:13:30.380 They're going to have to start making choices

00:13:31.680 they didn't know they had to make.

00:13:33.620 And that's when the rubber hits the road

00:13:35.060 as far as what is the effect

00:13:36.720 of what we're doing here.

00:13:37.880 The longer the government can hide

00:13:39.380 the effects of what they're doing here,

00:13:41.260 the better for them

00:13:41.960 because it gets muddled in

00:13:43.180 with a whole bunch of other policies.

00:13:45.060 But this is the factor

00:13:47.260 that's going to affect Canadians' lives the most.

00:13:49.860 You couldn't...

00:13:50.560 Yeah, absolutely.

00:13:51.500 And when you start to cut back

00:13:52.600 on the discretionary purchases,

00:13:54.280 in many cases,

00:13:55.620 that's the fun stuff, right?

00:13:56.840 The vacations or going out for dinner

00:13:58.520 or even taking your kid

00:14:00.480 or your family member

00:14:01.340 or whatever,

00:14:02.600 just to go see a movie, right?

00:14:03.800 That's the stuff that scales down.

00:14:05.940 And then when that starts to...

00:14:07.220 The layers of the onion start peeling

00:14:08.920 and the economy really starts going

00:14:10.960 without a plan,

00:14:12.860 as you mentioned earlier,

00:14:13.660 for growth,

00:14:14.240 for economic growth

00:14:15.020 from this government.

00:14:16.060 Yeah, and you talk about that.

00:14:16.960 You talk about discretionary spending.

00:14:18.740 I don't think many parents

00:14:20.140 look at the sports programs

00:14:22.460 or the leisure programs

00:14:23.500 or the arts programs

00:14:24.300 they have their kids in.

00:14:25.580 They don't look at that

00:14:26.700 as discretionary spending.

00:14:27.700 So they try to cut back

00:14:28.620 in other areas

00:14:29.220 because keeping your kids fit

00:14:31.220 and growing, educated,

00:14:33.040 these are things parents want to do.

00:14:34.780 They want their kids 0.98

00:14:35.420 to have a better life

00:14:36.140 than they had.

00:14:37.120 We all do.

00:14:38.000 That is our dream,

00:14:38.820 to make sure our kids

00:14:39.520 get handed something better

00:14:40.700 than we had growing up.

00:14:42.140 And we were gifted

00:14:42.720 with a legacy here in Canada

00:14:44.000 of a great country.

00:14:45.240 It's our job

00:14:46.020 to make sure that continues.

00:14:47.580 And that means

00:14:48.280 that these programs

00:14:49.160 need to continue for our kids.

00:14:50.840 So people don't look at that

00:14:51.900 as a discretionary spending.

00:14:53.220 Yes, a movie

00:14:54.520 might be discretionary spending.

00:14:55.920 Soccer programs,

00:14:56.740 hockey programs,

00:14:57.440 dance programs,

00:14:58.720 arts programs.

00:14:59.860 We don't look at these discretionary.

00:15:01.300 We want to make sure

00:15:02.020 that our kids have

00:15:02.840 all these opportunities.

00:15:03.340 100%, but when the budget

00:15:04.580 starts to get tighter.

00:15:06.680 That's right.

00:15:07.180 Choices have to be made.

00:15:08.380 And of course,

00:15:09.760 municipalities that run

00:15:11.000 the hockey rink,

00:15:12.480 they're paying a carbon tax, right?

00:15:13.940 And you can't run your household

00:15:14.940 the way the government

00:15:15.520 runs its budget,

00:15:16.260 which is like,

00:15:16.700 just get the Bank of Canada

00:15:18.340 to print more money

00:15:19.240 and we'll continue to run this.

00:15:20.600 And the effect of inflation

00:15:22.240 of that, of course,

00:15:23.100 is self-evident now.

00:15:24.720 And I think that our leader

00:15:25.940 and our party

00:15:26.500 was well ahead of that

00:15:27.540 in the pandemic era

00:15:29.220 when we actually said

00:15:30.180 that you cannot continue

00:15:31.060 to print money

00:15:31.660 without causing inflation.

00:15:33.500 And this is known

00:15:34.520 in all economic circles.

00:15:37.140 The effect of inflation

00:15:38.520 was going to be felt.

00:15:39.660 The only question was when.

00:15:41.880 And this inflation

00:15:42.840 now is upon us.

00:15:44.240 And how do we nip it in the bud?

00:15:45.340 Well, number one,

00:15:46.460 get budgets back under control.

00:15:47.900 The first budget

00:15:48.540 you have to get under control

00:15:49.960 is the federal government's budget.

00:15:51.680 And again,

00:15:52.180 an extra $60 billion

00:15:53.340 in this budget

00:15:55.120 being thrown

00:15:55.900 into new discretionary spending.

00:15:57.960 It's not solving the problem.

00:16:00.060 So inflation is going to happen.

00:16:00.920 The government's never

00:16:01.540 had so much cash

00:16:02.520 and yet they can't solve the problem.

00:16:04.800 That's right.

00:16:05.340 So more money

00:16:05.900 is the answer, clearly.

00:16:07.240 Yeah.

00:16:07.480 Well, if writing a check

00:16:08.560 was always the answer,

00:16:09.500 then every household

00:16:10.140 would solve it that way.

00:16:10.980 But that's how the liberals

00:16:11.680 use their metrics of success.

00:16:13.120 Not whether they solve the problem,

00:16:14.420 just how much money

00:16:15.220 they've actually put towards it.

00:16:16.480 That's right.

00:16:16.920 And what did they accomplish

00:16:17.600 at the end of the day?

00:16:18.260 Okay, well, I wrote a check.

00:16:19.260 That's not really

00:16:20.000 accomplishing something.

00:16:20.820 Not really.

00:16:21.420 Where's the solution here

00:16:22.800 that has to arise

00:16:24.000 from that expenditure?

00:16:26.020 And it's a bit of a shame

00:16:26.900 about the Bank of Canada too.

00:16:28.140 They really, unfortunately,

00:16:29.580 through this whole pandemic

00:16:30.520 and the liberal government

00:16:31.820 and their exercises,

00:16:33.700 they really politicized the bank.

00:16:35.380 They did.

00:16:35.980 And you look at, you know,

00:16:37.400 the brain trust, if you will,

00:16:39.520 at the Bank of Canada

00:16:40.360 because it's not just one governor,

00:16:42.140 but this rush towards

00:16:43.820 quantitative easing

00:16:44.740 as the solution

00:16:45.640 is really Keynesianism

00:16:47.080 on steroids.

00:16:47.780 You know, we've got Keynesianism

00:16:49.400 where you balance the economy

00:16:50.580 with government spending

00:16:51.400 and now you've got that

00:16:52.860 jacked up, if you will,

00:16:55.200 with spending

00:16:56.420 at the Bank of Canada itself.

00:16:58.000 So it puts that extra,

00:16:59.560 those extra assets

00:17:01.080 on its balance sheet

00:17:01.900 because they are assets

00:17:02.680 that they're holding

00:17:03.140 on the balance sheet.

00:17:04.140 Unfortunately,

00:17:04.600 that has to unwind

00:17:05.400 at some point in time.

00:17:06.700 And in the unwinding,

00:17:07.780 as we're seeing now,

00:17:08.740 they're taking losses

00:17:09.620 every time they have

00:17:10.560 to try to unwind.

00:17:11.820 And those losses

00:17:12.620 are on the balance sheet

00:17:13.320 at the Bank of Canada

00:17:13.960 right now.

00:17:15.140 Functionally,

00:17:16.440 the Bank of Canada

00:17:17.020 is bankrupt.

00:17:17.780 So in this Budget

00:17:19.180 Implementation Act,

00:17:20.900 there is actually

00:17:21.760 a resolution

00:17:22.840 to make it

00:17:23.760 so that the Bank of Canada

00:17:25.200 has a mechanism

00:17:26.540 to deal with the fact

00:17:27.440 that it's losing money

00:17:28.640 every day

00:17:29.180 when it never has before.

00:17:30.680 And this is the effect

00:17:31.540 of quantitative easing.

00:17:33.280 One of the problems

00:17:34.000 we always have in Canada

00:17:35.400 is we say,

00:17:35.800 well, everybody else

00:17:36.440 in the world is doing it

00:17:37.180 when the U.S. is doing something

00:17:38.360 or the European Union

00:17:39.980 is doing something

00:17:40.660 on this quantitative easing program.

00:17:42.180 So every other,

00:17:43.060 you know,

00:17:43.620 entity in the world

00:17:44.840 is looking at

00:17:45.360 this quantitative easing.

00:17:46.800 Nobody has dealt

00:17:47.740 with the full effects

00:17:48.440 of quantitative easing

00:17:49.780 to this point in time.

00:17:50.700 Nobody has gone into it

00:17:51.860 and come out of it

00:17:52.980 and actually shown

00:17:53.920 what happens.

00:17:54.640 Well, we're seeing

00:17:55.100 what happens now.

00:17:56.120 This is real time.

00:17:57.780 Bank of Canada

00:17:58.240 is losing money

00:17:58.900 on an annual basis,

00:18:00.860 a monthly basis,

00:18:01.780 a daily basis,

00:18:02.500 if you will,

00:18:03.100 because of the mispricing

00:18:04.640 of the assets

00:18:05.500 they put on their balance sheet

00:18:06.680 while they were printing

00:18:07.700 too much money.

00:18:08.720 And now they've got

00:18:09.460 to atone for that.

00:18:10.900 And that,

00:18:11.440 like if you're a regular bank,

00:18:12.380 if you're a Silicon Valley bank,

00:18:13.560 that's exactly

00:18:14.320 how it went bankrupt.

00:18:15.480 But you're the Bank of Canada,

00:18:16.620 so you've got

00:18:16.900 the Government of Canada

00:18:17.540 to backstop you

00:18:18.400 at the end of the day

00:18:19.040 with Bank of Canada money.

00:18:20.600 So you can kind of see

00:18:21.440 the circular rationale

00:18:23.140 these high-level bureaucrats

00:18:27.240 and the government itself

00:18:28.240 are functioning under.

00:18:29.760 You shake my hand,

00:18:30.960 I'll shake yours.

00:18:31.580 Everything will be fine

00:18:32.200 at the end of the day.

00:18:33.360 Well, it's not fine

00:18:34.100 for the taxpayers of Canada

00:18:35.180 because we're incurring

00:18:35.960 huge losses.

00:18:37.140 And these are huge losses

00:18:38.280 that could have been avoided

00:18:39.280 if we'd been more careful

00:18:41.140 about what we spent money on

00:18:42.860 at all periods.

00:18:44.220 Well, the budget officer,

00:18:45.540 parliamentary budget officer,

00:18:46.540 said half of the money

00:18:47.820 that was spent

00:18:48.400 during the pandemic

00:18:49.140 had nothing to do with COVID.

00:18:50.480 It was all couched

00:18:51.340 in the language of COVID,

00:18:52.520 but actually was just

00:18:54.080 pet projects of the Liberals,

00:18:55.420 which you said.

00:18:56.020 So it was just an excuse

00:18:57.280 to spend more money.

00:18:59.760 And that's basically

00:19:00.780 what happened.

00:19:01.880 And now we're dealing

00:19:02.680 with the after effects.

00:19:03.520 And we exposed that

00:19:04.320 early in the pandemic,

00:19:05.720 basically,

00:19:06.060 because a lot of the interest groups

00:19:07.500 that are Liberal-funded

00:19:08.360 interest groups

00:19:08.940 more or less said,

00:19:09.900 we can't miss this opportunity

00:19:11.380 to move this agenda forward.

00:19:13.380 And this agenda, of course,

00:19:14.380 is a bunch of different agendas

00:19:15.600 at the end of the day.

00:19:16.960 And government is supposed

00:19:18.000 to be more than a collection

00:19:19.140 of interest groups.

00:19:20.600 It's supposed to be working

00:19:21.300 for the Canadian people

00:19:22.320 as a whole.

00:19:23.320 And I think it lost

00:19:24.120 that perspective.

00:19:25.200 And it used the excuse

00:19:26.200 to lose that perspective

00:19:27.600 because it was like,

00:19:28.900 we're fighting for

00:19:29.820 a greater good here

00:19:31.340 at the end of the day.

00:19:31.980 Well, it's all a greater good.

00:19:33.540 But at the end of the day,

00:19:34.800 at the end of the day,

00:19:36.020 it's about what's best

00:19:36.980 for Canadians.

00:19:38.100 Our job,

00:19:38.720 as you know, Jamie,

00:19:40.100 is to deliver good government

00:19:41.520 for Canadians

00:19:42.080 and make sure they have trust

00:19:43.180 in these institutions

00:19:43.940 that we serve them through.

00:19:45.700 Well, I think that trust,

00:19:47.000 as you mentioned,

00:19:47.580 has been unfortunately

00:19:48.680 diminished.

00:19:50.840 I hate to say it,

00:19:52.660 but through this whole process,

00:19:53.840 I think Canadians

00:19:54.400 are frustrated.

00:19:55.820 And to also listen

00:19:56.980 to the Liberals

00:19:57.740 and the way

00:19:59.040 they just belittle Canadians 0.99

00:20:01.440 that tried to

00:20:03.420 take their money

00:20:05.000 and put it somewhere

00:20:06.920 where they didn't think

00:20:07.560 the government

00:20:08.140 was going to debauch it,

00:20:09.260 right?

00:20:09.460 They went into gold,

00:20:10.280 silver,

00:20:10.620 and yes,

00:20:11.480 cryptocurrency,

00:20:12.440 to try to get away

00:20:13.540 from the damage

00:20:14.700 the government

00:20:15.540 was doing

00:20:16.220 to their dollar,

00:20:17.600 to their savings.

00:20:18.380 And that is something

00:20:19.520 that just gets

00:20:20.800 my blood boiling

00:20:21.580 almost instantly,

00:20:22.520 the way the Liberals

00:20:23.680 just look down on people

00:20:25.020 for trying to protect

00:20:26.920 their savings.

00:20:28.040 Yeah, well, let's,

00:20:29.360 cryptocurrency has a role

00:20:31.020 to play in the assets

00:20:32.720 of people

00:20:33.160 because you never know

00:20:34.140 what's going to happen

00:20:34.820 in different jurisdictions

00:20:35.720 around the world.

00:20:36.980 The whole notion

00:20:37.600 of cryptocurrency

00:20:38.260 at the end of the day

00:20:38.920 was if you're saving

00:20:40.300 a bunch of money

00:20:40.940 here in Canada

00:20:41.680 and you can buy

00:20:42.740 100 loaves of bread

00:20:43.560 with a certain amount

00:20:44.360 of, let's call it

00:20:45.600 a Bitcoin

00:20:46.040 or whatever the case is,

00:20:46.900 although it's not

00:20:47.420 an accurate depiction,

00:20:48.700 and you have to move

00:20:50.120 to some other country,

00:20:51.080 well, hopefully

00:20:51.560 the place you move

00:20:52.600 that non-national currency

00:20:55.720 will buy you

00:20:56.440 100 loaves of bread

00:20:57.240 wherever you are

00:20:57.960 or wherever you land

00:20:59.240 in the world.

00:20:59.820 That's the nature of it,

00:21:00.860 that the value is

00:21:01.800 fungible, if you will,

00:21:03.440 it moves across jurisdictions

00:21:05.280 so that you're not

00:21:06.220 being manipulated

00:21:06.860 by what some government

00:21:08.540 thinks their currency

00:21:09.460 should be worth,

00:21:10.040 therefore what your savings

00:21:11.080 should be worth.

00:21:12.120 That's the whole concept

00:21:13.060 behind setting up

00:21:14.520 cryptocurrencies,

00:21:15.600 that there's not

00:21:16.100 a national layer

00:21:17.660 sort of saying

00:21:18.240 we need to devalue

00:21:19.260 your money in order

00:21:20.040 to get back into balance

00:21:21.180 here on our budgets.

00:21:22.560 People need to save

00:21:23.440 and actually know

00:21:24.840 what to expect

00:21:25.560 from their savings

00:21:26.200 at the end of the day,

00:21:26.900 a whole bunch

00:21:28.220 of other things

00:21:28.700 come from there,

00:21:29.320 of course,

00:21:29.820 but that's the nature

00:21:30.740 of what we're trying

00:21:31.280 to drive at here.

00:21:32.360 Canadians need to get 0.91

00:21:33.320 back to trust

00:21:33.860 and you and I

00:21:34.340 are affected by that

00:21:35.100 as well

00:21:35.400 and that's why

00:21:36.300 the sooner you and I

00:21:37.960 hold this government

00:21:39.100 to account

00:21:39.520 and actually defeat it

00:21:40.460 and get Canadians trust

00:21:41.580 so that we can start

00:21:42.800 building back trust

00:21:43.900 in the institutions

00:21:45.040 of this country,

00:21:45.860 that's what we're here for

00:21:46.920 and that's what we need

00:21:47.700 to continue to strive for

00:21:48.680 every day we're here, Jamie.

00:21:49.660 I hope the NDP

00:21:50.460 listens to what you just said.

00:21:52.260 Greg,

00:21:52.500 I could ask you

00:21:53.300 more questions

00:21:54.000 because I love

00:21:54.940 talking to you

00:21:55.440 about this stuff

00:21:57.560 because you are

00:21:58.120 so knowledgeable

00:21:58.700 but we are way

00:22:00.100 over time.

00:22:01.400 You have the floor

00:22:02.020 to close it out.

00:22:02.880 Well, Jamie,

00:22:03.660 thanks for having me again.

00:22:04.460 It's always a pleasure

00:22:05.340 to be here

00:22:05.880 and speak with you

00:22:07.600 about all these issues

00:22:08.400 and you always bring

00:22:08.940 such a wealth

00:22:09.440 of information as well

00:22:10.620 and I find some of your

00:22:11.740 questions actually challenging

00:22:12.740 and in case your viewers

00:22:14.280 don't know,

00:22:14.680 these are not scripted answers.

00:22:16.320 These are right off the cuff

00:22:17.340 all the time

00:22:17.840 whenever I come in here

00:22:18.760 and it's always a pleasure

00:22:20.240 and I'm glad your listeners

00:22:22.220 are so informed

00:22:23.040 and I think this is part

00:22:23.960 of what we have to do

00:22:24.760 is make sure Canadians

00:22:26.040 know what's happening

00:22:27.100 all the time here.

00:22:28.580 I'm not sure we're getting

00:22:29.180 into those channels enough

00:22:30.040 but this is one of those

00:22:30.960 great media channels

00:22:32.440 and folks,

00:22:33.440 thanks for paying attention

00:22:34.320 and if you have any questions,

00:22:36.260 I know Jamie's here

00:22:37.160 and I'm here

00:22:37.640 and whatever we can answer,

00:22:39.040 it's a pleasure.

00:22:40.300 You heard him.

00:22:40.920 Greg McLean,

00:22:41.500 Member of Parliament

00:22:41.980 for Calgary Centre.

00:22:43.100 Please like, comment,

00:22:44.440 subscribe and share

00:22:45.500 this program.

00:22:46.940 There are ways

00:22:49.040 to slow down

00:22:49.540 the liberal agenda.

00:22:50.380 This is one of them.

00:22:51.200 Get that message out.

00:22:52.240 Get this message to ears

00:22:53.960 and yes,

00:22:54.920 this show to eyeballs

00:22:55.880 that might be open

00:22:57.020 to hearing a different message

00:22:58.300 they aren't hearing

00:22:58.980 in the mainstream media.

00:23:00.120 Of course,

00:23:00.520 you can tell them,

00:23:01.260 of course,

00:23:01.720 you can download it

00:23:02.460 on platforms

00:23:03.000 like CastBox,

00:23:03.760 iTunes, Google Play

00:23:04.460 and Spotify.

00:23:05.300 We have new content

00:23:05.980 for you every single Tuesday

00:23:07.200 1.30 p.m. Eastern time.

00:23:08.760 Until then,

00:23:09.260 remember,

00:23:09.820 low taxes,

00:23:10.500 less government,

00:23:11.120 more freedom.

00:23:11.780 That is the blueprint.

00:23:16.940 we'll see you next time.

00:23:18.160 Bye.

00:23:20.780 Bye.

00:23:21.040 Bye.

00:23:21.400 Bye.

00:23:21.820 Bye.

00:23:22.520 Bye.

00:23:25.220 Bye.

00:23:31.360 Bye.

00:23:37.560 Bye.

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00:23:42.240 Bye.

00:23:42.280 Bye.

00:23:42.880 Bye.

00:23:44.980 Bye.

00:23:45.280 Bye.

00:23:45.780 Bye.

00:23:45.820 Bye.

00:23:46.080 Bye.

The Blueprint: Canada's Conservative Podcast - June 06, 2023

The Johnston Affair

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