Captain Greg Hill is the President of Free to Fly, a group dedicated to restoring freedom to Canadians who are unable to fly within the country. Captain Hill joins us to talk about the current situation, and what the organization can do to help.
00:00:32.220In fact, Canadians who are unvaccinated against COVID are unable to travel at all because they can't even go to the United States and fly.
00:00:40.840Because at the border, President Biden has decided unvaccinated Canadians are not welcome.
00:00:48.040We have with us today a captain from a major Canadian airline who's going to get into this with us to explain what's going on, what's the agenda behind this, but also what we can do to help.
00:01:03.420This is the John Henry Weston Show. Stay tuned.
00:01:06.920Captain Greg Hill, thank you for being with us.
00:01:30.200Thanks so much for having me, John Henry. It's an honor to be here.
00:01:32.260Let's begin, as we always do, at the sign of the cross.
00:01:36.360In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
00:01:41.380So, Captain Hill, so let's, first of all, tell us a little bit about yourself.
00:01:49.480Well, as you said, I'm a captain with a major Canadian airline.
00:02:58.500I just essentially, I remember it like it was yesterday.
00:03:01.500They sat down with a spreadsheet, plugged in some government data, and about a half an hour later just thought, something doesn't make sense here.
00:03:08.520So, fast forward to April, it started with a fairly small group of pilots, then grew into all sorts of other aviation professionals, flood attendants, air traffic controllers, what we call under-the-wing workers, baggage handlers, maintenance.
00:03:21.120And most importantly, and I want to focus on this as well, we've got about 39,000 passengers who you very eloquently articulated at the outset here are unable to travel within the country or outside the country.
00:03:38.560And we hear heartbreaking stories every day, so that's the organization, Free to Fly, where we're really dedicated to the freedoms of every Canadian coast-to-coast, whether they're quote-unquote members or not.
00:03:52.800It's obviously the mobility rights that we've lost are near and dear to our heart as aviation professionals, but most importantly, it's every freedom really that we've lost over these past couple of years.
00:04:05.160Yeah. Now, this is very interesting. Your background is very interesting, because as someone in the military, the Canadian military, you vowed also to fight for Canadians for their freedom.
00:04:16.560And then as a pilot, as a professional pilot, commercial pilot, you are engaged in bringing Canadians not only just to travel, also to get to the celebrations of their loved ones, either their life or to be there for their funerals.
00:04:34.440All sorts of absolutely necessary travel. And I'll even ask you, Canada is a country that maybe most people don't know. You can't very easily drive from one side to the other. Tell us, if you will, from your experience, some of those aspects about Canada that make it very difficult to travel in. And what are people traveling for?
00:04:56.060Well, it's literally hundreds, if not thousands of stories every day, we get scores of emails from people that are asking, mainly guidance for, for what am I supposed to do? Do you have a way? Can you give us some guidance?
00:05:13.180And we do. And we do. There's, you have to be somewhat creative in terms of, let's say you want to go from Toronto to Frankfurt or something.
00:05:21.160You're probably not going to get there. You're probably not going to get there flying out of Toronto on a, on an Air Canada flight, for instance.
00:05:27.820So religious exemptions are one way that people are, are, are finding a way around these types of things, but, but the stories are, are really heartbreaking and you highlighted it very well.
00:05:38.820I mean, these are one of the, the, the prime tenants of a, of a democratic civilized society is the ability, for instance, to honor your dead.
00:05:47.820And we're at a point here where we hear stories of people whose parents, let's say, are dying on the other side of the country or who have passed away and they weren't able.
00:05:55.820I got a story last week from a gentleman that drove thousands of miles to be with his father before he died.
00:06:02.820And he got a phone call 40 minutes from destination after traveling thousands of miles.
00:06:07.820And these are the stories that Canadians need to hear.
00:06:11.820We've got another story that comes to mind, just as we're sitting here, another woman out west whose parents are, are in Quebec and she would drive, but she, she is unable due to some physical limitations.
00:06:25.820And, and the government's answer is basically, well, make the right choice.
00:06:30.820It's, it's extortion is what it is set aside your, your, your humanity, set aside your heart and do something that is contrary to your own convictions.
00:06:40.820It's in order to be with your loved ones.
00:06:43.820And, and sadly, some people are doing that and they don't mean that in a condescending way.
00:06:47.820I mean, in a, in a way that leads to all sorts of existential crisis for them because they think, what am I supposed to do?
00:06:54.820I want to honor my father and my mother, but, but at the same time, I have to break all sorts of other pieces of my conscience.
00:07:01.820It's a, those are some of the, just some of the stories we're hearing.
00:07:04.820And on a personal level, our oldest daughter is getting married next month.
00:07:13.820I mean, the, the, the upside is they're going to be with us probably for an extended period, because when you drive from BC to Ontario, you don't just stay for a couple of days.
00:08:10.820Well, it's an interesting question because just over the past few weeks, we brokered a global coalition that brings together other organizations similar to free to fly.
00:08:19.820There's us freedom flyers in the States, the Australian freedom, freedom flyers groups across Europe, the United Kingdom and otherwise to advocate really the prime focus that we're, we're bringing up right now is the compromise in aviation safety due to vaccine injury amongst our colleagues.
00:08:36.820But we're, we're in a very small, not very honorable crowd in the sense that even our colleagues in the United States and Europe, let's say, look at us and think, wow, that's crazy.
00:08:51.820Even, even by, by the, the standard that they've been through over the past year, Australia is probably a close, close second.
00:08:59.820But they, even, even amongst our colleagues, we have to explain, oh, this is how it works in Canada.
00:09:04.820And they're like, wow, that's, that is really unique would be a kind word.
00:09:09.820So what does it look like on the pilot's end?
00:09:14.820So in other words, and pilots and other professionals in aviation who are support workers or whatever they are, but in terms of their livelihoods have been stripped from a lot of them, haven't they?
00:09:26.820It's, it's a little bit different depending on, on what company you're working for.
00:09:30.820Some companies are not that it's, it's minimal by any stretch, but they're on unpaid leave facing termination.
00:09:37.820Others such as WestJet were outright terminated last fall if they didn't declare their, their status at all.
00:09:44.820So it's, you know, it's, it depends on where you're at in life, how, how dire that is.
00:09:51.820But I like, I know of more than one, what I would call aviation family where both the husband and wife were airline pilots.
00:09:59.820They both, for reasons of principle, courageously stood their ground and refused to concede.
00:10:05.820And they've, they've erased now both incomes and I could, I could give you all sorts of examples of the different kinds of employment people have been, have been brought to.
00:10:16.820But, but these to get yourself to a major, a major airline, you're typically talking.
00:10:22.820And now it's a little bit different over the past few years because the industry is so short of pilots, but certainly when I joined, you were decades into the career already.
00:10:29.820And it had taken you a very long time and a lot of hard work, no matter what that includes over the past couple of years.
00:10:36.820And now that's completely erased and you find yourself essentially most of the time working in entry level jobs.
00:10:43.820I I'm sitting in a, in a storage closet at a manufacturing plant, which is where I'm working nowadays.
00:10:49.820I've got friends that are working in, in chicken processing plants.
00:10:53.820Others have taken up truck driving and others are just burning through their life savings at a completely untenable rate.
00:11:02.820And then, and I honor every single one of those.
00:11:05.820It's it's hard to wrap your head around, but, but these are principled people who aren't stubborn.
00:11:13.820They're typically quiet, careful thinkers that have gotten themselves into the state because of, because of what the government's decided to do.
00:11:26.820Normal citizens have become the new fighters for freedom in our society, having to sacrifice themselves very much like your former career in the, in the air force.
00:11:53.820Well, it's, it's a very interesting question.
00:11:56.820And it's, uh, life is interesting in the sense that I guess we go through what I would call seasons of, uh, of, of trying to find solutions.
00:12:05.820And we, we went through, uh, let's say the convoy season in Ottawa.
00:12:10.820And I think that was very telling in the sense that it showed that individual actions can morph into something that actually changes the landscapes of society.
00:12:18.820And if you look at the lessons of history, it's very much the same.
00:12:22.820Um, essentially the, the history of pushing back against tyranny.
00:12:29.820And I, I often go back to Alexander Solzhenitsyn because I think he's spoken probably more eloquently than, than almost anyone.
00:12:39.820I believe it was called live not by lies as he watched the Soviet union descend back into the place that, that had him in the gulag for an extended period of time.
00:12:47.820And as part of that very famous, sorry, never very famous.
00:12:52.820It's not as famous probably as it should be that, but that, that very powerful piece.
00:12:56.820He spoke, uh, along the line saying, if, if a thousand of us stood up, if 10,000 of us would stand up, you would not recognize our nation.
00:13:05.820And I think part of, of what we're struggling with right now, sometimes in our nation is this idea that, that we can outsource.
00:13:14.820A solution to the tyranny that we're up against.
00:13:16.820That there's going to be a lawyer or two that will ride in on a white horse and, and save us all.
00:13:22.820Or perhaps a politician will, will completely turn this around.
00:13:26.820But, but the lessons of history tell us that is not true.
00:13:38.820It's planting seeds and waiting for them to germinate.
00:13:41.820And I remember when I first heard about what was happening in Ottawa, we read a, uh, uh, call it a barbecue of, of like-minded friends.
00:13:50.820And, and one of the gentlemen that, uh, was, was instrumental in starting the, uh, the convoy came and spoke.
00:13:56.820And I, I wasn't wowed about it because I'd been in this freedom fighting thing for a while.
00:14:01.820And I kind of seen things come and go.
00:14:02.820And I thought, I just don't know if that's going to take off.
00:14:05.820And I was thrilled to be wrong on a level that I don't think, you know, in terms of, it was probably the greatest PR platform in almost human history.
00:14:16.820If you look at the impact it had on the globe, but it started by people like this gentleman driving his trailer to a barn, uh, north of Trenton and talking to 30 people at a barbecue.
00:14:28.820So if you're sitting at home and, and you feel like what you're doing, isn't going to make a difference.
00:14:36.820And, and there, there's a famous quote.
00:14:37.820I'm sure you've heard it by judge learn at hand.
00:14:39.820It says liberty lies in the hearts of men and women.
00:14:41.820When it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it.
00:14:45.820No constitution, no law, no court, no court can either can likely even help it.
00:14:50.820And I think we've got to remind ourselves of that is we are.
00:14:54.820I wouldn't say masters of our destiny because from a faith standpoint, I don't believe that, but I do believe that change happens individually.
00:15:03.820And the last several weeks have actually been fairly encouraging in terms of the pressure that we've seen brought to bear on this government.
00:15:09.820You've got the Toronto star and the golden mail regularly putting columns and news articles out calling these mandates what they are unscientific nonsense.
00:15:17.820And that's happened because courageous Canadians have been relentless in pressuring the government, whether that's in writing, in showing up on the streets of Ottawa, on small streets with placards in, in, in, in towns across this country.
00:15:33.820It matters. So, so please do not become disheartened.
00:15:37.820I think people are tired and they're fatigued, but you are making a difference by what you're doing.
00:15:42.820All right. And I might add, they're not only pressuring government, they're pressuring every level of leadership in society.
00:15:49.820So imagine how many letters, how many points of pressure, the people who run the Toronto star globe and mail son, all the TV stations are getting, even though we already know they're paid by elites in this world to take the COVID narrative, to take the lockdown narrative.
00:16:08.820But they're getting pressure from family members, from their own, all the little people that go to support the network, there's a lot of pressure going on.
00:16:18.820So we have to speak the truth to power, as they say.
00:17:31.820They certainly have the public backing right now.
00:17:34.820This has been a general recognition of a vast majority of Canadians.
00:17:39.820In fact, a lot of the world looking in saying, gosh, you know, feeling really bad for Canadians.
00:17:46.820Whereas Canada used to be regarded as one of the most free, one of the most desirable countries to live in.
00:17:52.820We have shot that reputation and continue to do so.
00:17:56.820But let me ask you, Greg, what do you think really is underlying all of this?
00:18:03.820Because this is an insanity that's infected Canada, actually most of the world.
00:18:09.820But beyond only travel is a major restriction, obviously, but we've had all sorts of things.
00:18:16.820The whole moniker of my body, my choice, even used by the other side of the life argument,
00:18:22.820where we come from at life site, but even that's been turned on its head to insanity.
00:18:27.820So where do you think all this is coming from?
00:18:31.820Well, I don't want to steal a couple hours here to talk about the globalist agenda, but it really is about control.
00:18:41.820Ultimately, if I can distill it down to its very basics.
00:18:44.820I'm sure your viewers are up to speed on the WEF and the WHO and a lot of these globalist entities that are looking to really transform society into their own socialist dream.
00:18:56.820It's this asinine idea that, well, communism has killed millions of people in the past, but this time somehow we're going to do it differently.
00:19:03.820Right. And arresting control from people.
00:19:06.820Power concedes nothing without a demand.
00:19:11.820And so the power and the control of government is going to expand to the furthest extreme that it can unless it's brought into some constraint by the populist as a whole.
00:19:24.820We're kind of going back to to what I said before.
00:19:27.820So I think Mr. Trudeau is is one of the shining stars of their new their new elites.
00:19:36.820I at this point, honestly, I wrestle a little bit to understand his own personal strategy, and then I don't spend a lot of time trying to understand it because I do think it's warped on the level that is difficult to grasp.
00:19:50.820And from a political expediency standpoint, his insistence on maintaining these mandates at this stage while his own caucus revolts is is not wise politically.
00:19:59.820So it's a level of perversion to use a fairly strong word, but I think it's accurate.
00:20:05.820It's a level of perversion that is difficult for the average freedom loving, kind hearted person to wrap their head around.
00:20:16.820But I keep saying if we think this vaccine mandate COVID narrative is the end of it, we're very naive.
00:20:25.820And I think we've got to remind ourselves that we are in a marathon.
00:20:30.820It's not a short race. We're not looking to just reverse these mandates.
00:20:34.820I know I'm in my 50s, so take this with with that in mind.
00:20:39.820But I think this battle for freedom is something that I'm going to be fighting probably till the day I die for the sake of my kids and my grandkids, so that they inherit a world that I was able to enjoy.
00:20:49.820Because right now, the trajectory that we're on is not towards a democratic, free society.
00:20:56.820Absolutely not. What can people do? Where can people go to reach out to you to support what you're doing?
00:21:04.820Yeah, thanks. The easiest place to go is free to fly.ca.
00:21:08.820Those are all words, not numbers. And we've got our content on there, our social media.
00:21:15.820We're fairly active on social media, although if I was not running this organization, I would not be on any of them.
00:21:21.820But it's a way to get the to get the word out. And you can you can sign up there to get our to get our newsletter and to keep up to speed with with what's going on.
00:21:32.820That's beautiful, Greg. Thank you. Thank you for fighting for freedom.
00:21:36.820Thank you for coming on the program. Thanks so much for having me, John Henry.
00:21:41.820God bless you and God bless all of you. We'll see you next time.