On today's show, Corey takes a deep dive into the current state of media and politics in Canada. He also takes a look back at the end of the 80's and early 90's and talks about the impact of music video on the music industry.
00:00:29.900Today, welcome to the Corey Morgan Show. For those of you watching it live today, it is Valentine's Day, so be sure to knock the dust off those personal trimmers and guys be courteous, drink a little pineapple juice. And if it's past and you're watching this on one of the cable channels, I hope you had a good Valentine's Day all the same. Got a good show lined up as always, boy, the issues are just piling up.
00:00:53.420So again, for those live, hey, use that comment scroll. It's good. I like seeing that interaction. Let's just stay civil with each other. I see Matthew Duffy getting ahead of things, saying, defund the CBC and Catherine Tate CEO. Absolutely. I'm with you there. And others checking in, Mr. Stanley, Wildrose, Scott Campbell, Jordan. Thanks for joining. Get in there, put those comments in. Just stay civil with each other. We don't always have to be at each other's throats.
00:01:18.780Which is something I'm looking forward to with my guest who's going to come on in a little while. Transgender columnist, Julia Mallott. And yeah, you know, we seem to have a lot of trouble having civil, rational conversation when it comes to trans issues. They're sensitive ones, but she really, you know, we don't always all agree on everything at the same time, but we can talk about these things without being at each other's throats.
00:01:38.580It's, it's, we don't have to be on the fringes all the time. I think there is some middle ground to be found. So I'm looking forward to that conversation. It's going to be an interesting one. She's, she's very interesting to listen to.
00:01:48.100All right, let's get on to what I want to get on about today. And yes, it's media and legacy media as usual. I'm going to go back in time a bit for those who remember the 80s and late 70s. If you remember the Buggles, they released a hit single, and this is an earworm, this one. And, you know, video killed the radio star, if you remember it.
00:02:06.100That was nearly 45 years ago. That song bemoaned the end of radio based stardom for musicians because music videos were hitting the scene. Well, it's getting near half a century since that song came out. And music based radio stations, they're starting to fade away, but it took until now. And it's not video that's taking them out. It's streaming music options like Spotify that led to the change. And the stars aren't gone. They've just moved on to a new platform. I mean, even if every radio station was to shut down today, like her hater, Taylor Swift,
00:02:36.100would remain a household name and would pack stadiums for her shows. Things have just changed. That's all. Musicians in the early 1980s who weren't willing to embrace videos, well, they were often left behind, especially once MTV became huge. So artists so willing to change at the time found videos provided a whole new platform to reach audiences. So rather than whining at video killed the radio stars, they actually found a new way to make money and they did very well with it. Every technological change brings out people claiming it's going to wipe out jobs or destroy an industry. Now, while tech inspired transitions can be disruptive and
00:03:06.080harmful. If an inflexible market is out there, you know, but products, industries, they evolve and jobs remain for those willing to do things differently. I mean, myself, I used to work as a surveyor in oil exploration. I've been trained in using a transit and a theodolite. GPS made that mode of surveying pretty much obsolete. And I had the choice to adapt or lose my job. Well, I adapted. Mechanized agricultural practices. I mean, they did put millions of farmer farm laborers out of work.
00:03:32.080Remember the Jode family and Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. They were initially displaced because of new tractors working the cotton fields. But while new agricultural technology caused a lot of social and economic upheaval for a time, should governments have tried to block the evolution or subsidize people to plant and harvest crops by hand, technological advances have since increased agricultural production to the point where famine is rare in a world with 8 billion people in it.
00:03:56.400And the evolution caused pain, but it was worthwhile in the long run. And labor balanced itself out as people learn and embrace new skills.
00:04:03.320Getting back to the arts. Stage performers. I mean, they feared moving pictures would wipe out their industry back at the turn of the 20th century, the start of it.
00:04:11.480Broadway's still going strong today. Movie stars. They feared television would wipe out their industry.
00:04:15.840Well, movies and the stars associated with them are still doing quite fine.
00:04:18.860Artists willing to flex were actually provided with a broader spectrum of performance options.
00:04:23.880Netflix. They began as a movie rental company. Actually, they delivered DVDs.
00:04:27.900Then they started a streaming service. Blockbuster, though, they were a movie rental company and they stuck to their guns.
00:04:33.680Well, Blockbuster went from an industry giant to oblivion.
00:04:37.020And Netflix is now worth an estimated $240 billion.
00:04:41.000Changes can hurt and the transition periods can be messy, but the change is inevitable.
00:04:44.840People need to adapt to change rather than try to fight it.
00:04:48.760Or worse, people have to try getting the government to fight the change on their behalf.
00:04:53.080And that brings us to the state of today's news media.
00:04:56.540Conventional news media has been in a state of steady decline for nearly 20 years now.
00:05:00.280The collapse of the industry has been accelerating and the recent spate of layoffs in Canada by CTV sort of drove that point home.
00:05:06.200But instead of seeking rational ways to facilitate the transition of an industry in flux,
00:05:10.320Trudeau had a temper tantrum during a news conference and he declared,
00:06:54.840I can go directly to websites to find information that I used to have to get from newspapers and broadcast outlets.
00:06:59.160Now, people still want to read, view, and listen to news and opinion.
00:07:02.620And they're willing to spend money to do so, as the Western Standard subscription model is proving.
00:07:07.260But the outlets need to be lean, targeted, and efficient now.
00:07:10.980No more giant buildings, no large studios, and no printing presses.
00:07:14.040As with every other industry, the news media will adapt to a working model, though many outlets are going to fall by the wayside during the transition.
00:07:20.720Subsidizing existing outlets is doing little more than animating a corpse at this point.
00:07:25.280As with most things, all the government needs to do with media is just get out of the bloody way.
00:08:09.820We've had a really busy morning in the newsroom, Corey.
00:08:12.640It's all sparked by Sean Polzer's story yesterday of wacky environment minister Gilbo saying that they're done spending money on roads and, you know, basically wants everybody to walk.
00:08:26.440Well, the story took fire and was retweeted by Premier Daniel Smith and Premier Scott Moe and Premier Doug Ford was commenting on it this morning.
00:08:39.320So this country's in a bit of an uproar over the story.
00:08:44.640So I think he backed off a little bit today.
00:08:49.100I know our Sean Polzer was just at a press conference with Premier Smith and asked her about it.
00:08:55.080So that story will be coming up very quickly.
00:08:59.500We've got some breaking news leading the site at the moment, Corey.
00:09:02.680Tamara Leach, along with various other Freedom Convoy organizers, have launched a lawsuit against Justin Trudeau and the federal liberals over the way they were treated and freezing everybody's bank accounts.
00:09:19.400It was a two-year anniversary of that today.
00:09:21.760And on that day, Leach and others filed her lawsuit.
00:09:26.800We've got lots of Alberta versus Ottawa stuff today, including Rebecca Schultz sending off a nasty the Valentine's Day letter to the aforementioned Mr. Gilbo on his comments on methane reductions.
00:09:42.360And then we've got Alberta intervening against the Trudeau gun bill and specifically their vow to ban, quote, assault style weapons, unquote.
00:09:55.660Linda Slobodian is talking about the increased immigration rates that the Trudeau government is bringing in.
00:10:04.860And basically, if you've got a spare bedroom, you may be asked to house a migrant.
00:10:10.760The Alberta government unveiled an ambitious new tourism plan today that they hope by 2035, annual spending by tourists in the province will hit $25 billion a year.
00:10:27.760And we've got a newly released Privy Council report saying that Canadians do not trust Trudeau and Gilbo on their climate change plan.
00:10:38.260And so I think it's a bit like stating the bleeding obvious, Corey, but you get the feeling that Canadians are almost at the end of their rope with this kind of nonsense.
00:10:48.000I think they really are, but we've still got such a long rope ahead of us to try and get rid of the government in power.
00:10:53.300It's going to be a long couple of years yet, I'm afraid.
00:10:56.520Yeah, but it's, you know, the clock is ticking and we're now less than two years away.
00:11:01.000True enough. Well, we'll keep working on it and it gives us lots to write about and lots for me to rant about, I guess, so we can look on that bright side.
00:11:08.880True enough. So don't forget to pick up some flowers from 7-Eleven on the way home.
00:11:13.380I'll see what I can do. All right. Thanks for the update, Dave. I'll talk to you later.
00:11:18.300You know, advantages I do have in having a live show, I'll take advantage of my platform and I will say outright, yes, I'm being cheap using what I've got, though, and it's true.
00:11:27.780Jane, if you're listening today, I love you and I'm lucky to have you and I know it.
00:11:32.240I don't say it often enough, but this is the day to remind us to kind of think about that and know when we've got it good.
00:11:39.120So thanks for putting up with me for this long and I'll see what I can find at 7-Eleven.
00:11:44.280All right. But yes, lots going on out there in the news and our newsroom is busy and running hard as always.
00:11:53.280Let's go to talk a little bit about the media changes and fluxes.
00:11:57.060We're a subscription based outlet. There's some advertising, but subscriptions are really what's important to us.
00:12:01.580And for $9.99 a month, $100 a year, you can subscribe, get past the paywall, and it helps keep us independent and providing this sort of news.
00:12:10.180Jonathan Bradley, he's up in Edmonton. He's going to be reporting all of those things for us on the legislative front.
00:12:16.380And we've got people across the country providing columns and news copy to us.
00:12:20.000If you haven't subscribed yet, please do, guys. We really appreciate it. It's not that much.
00:12:24.540And if you've already subscribed, I really do appreciate it. Thank you for getting on board.
00:12:28.780So, yeah, let's see what else we've got going on.
00:12:33.460I mean, as Dave said, you know, in reporting on the obvious, there's little trust in Gilboa's leadership.
00:12:39.300I mean, the environmental front has really gone mad in so many ways.
00:12:44.480We've let the extreme at least dominate the discourse.
00:12:48.540I don't think he's winning, but he's really causing a lot of disruption.
00:12:51.440Gilboa, when he's hinting at basically the federal government's cutting, you know, pushing into municipalities to keep them from building roads because they don't want us to drive anymore.
00:13:02.360It's crazy. And this, you know, crazy from an environmentalist is nothing new.
00:13:06.320But when it's the top environmentalist in the country, when it's our environment minister, we should be pretty concerned, guys.
00:13:13.020This is problematic. Likewise, I mean, he's not in government, but with the NDP, with that private members bill, talking about making it illegal to essentially speak positively about the oil field.
00:13:25.540I mean, it's not going to happen. The bill's not going to pass.
00:13:30.200But just the fact that he thought he could put that in there and, you know, it's taking up the time of our news and our discussion and our parliament is just astounding.
00:13:42.280The environmentalists have really gone, I don't know, off the rails.
00:13:46.620So, you know, I'm going to use that to segue into my next guest, which I want to speak about.
00:13:50.900We're going to talk about something I think has been more polarizing and more sensitive than the environment.
00:13:54.560And it needs more than anything, some rational discussion because we do have people on the fringes.
00:14:00.900Those are the ones that make good news copy.
00:14:02.640Those are the ones that make the most fun for us to tweet at or retweet or or do those sorts of things.
00:14:08.640But it doesn't lead to productive ends.
00:14:10.560You know, we have some activists on both sides that really just heat things up.
00:14:15.620And we don't get any progress, though, when we do that, as fun as it may seem and as much as it makes for good online traffic.
00:14:23.740So I've got columnist Julia Molotan and she is transgender and she speaks openly of those things.
00:14:31.280And I just really enjoy her videos and, you know, speaking on political issues in general and on the, yes, the trans issue, because it's just been such a big one the last couple of years.
00:16:57.740But then there's also the medical side, the surgical and hormonal interventions for minors.
00:17:02.880And then there's the sports piece, too.
00:17:04.580So we've seen the social transition conversation before in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, but we really haven't seen the other conversations hit the Canadian policy level until it arose in Alberta two weeks ago.
00:17:15.580Yeah, so, I mean, when it comes to children, something that comes up and people feel sensitive about it quickly, I think no matter where they land on is parental rights, though.
00:17:24.380And it seems there's an assumption on the part that parents just shouldn't be trusted with all the information on their children and that the schools should act as gatekeepers from that from them.
00:17:34.160And I think even trans supportive parents just feel a bit offended, like, hey, hang on a second.
00:17:38.740I am the one who should be communicating with my child in these important times, not not being held out of the conversation by a school.
00:17:47.160And I think that's where the big battle is going to be drawn here.
00:17:57.300And so we don't need to have parents involved.
00:18:00.460And yet, at the same time, they use an argument that we shouldn't tell parents because, well, what if the parents cause abuse and what if they cause harm when this happens?
00:18:07.520And having been through a transition myself, I would say this is a big deal.
00:18:11.200It can be profoundly positive, but it also can be profoundly negative.
00:18:15.980And so for a school to undertake this with well-meaning intention to support a child, that's not a good thing.
00:18:22.200This is something that we want the medical community to be standing by the child to provide psychiatric support.
00:18:27.480We certainly want the parents to be involved to make sure that we understand how this is going to relate to the family.
00:18:33.940So that piece of the policy, I certainly think, is prudent.
00:18:37.500There's always some discussion amongst people whether this should be consent on behalf of the parents or whether parents should be informed this is happening.
00:18:44.240I think there's fair debate to be had on that.
00:18:46.360But the status quo in many schools in Canada right now is that parents are just not part of the process at all.
00:18:51.340Yeah, well, and you called out some stuff when it comes to, again, I think most people at least are uncomfortable with the thought of irreversible surgeries being done to anybody who's under 18.
00:18:59.600Because we know that decisions come and go and there's confusion, there's flux.
00:19:04.020But you did point out that nobody's been calling out, you know, breast augmentation for girls under 18, even though, you know, if it's a non-gender issue, people weren't saying anything or even boys getting reductions.
00:19:16.320I mean, these are surgical procedures that are elective and ostensibly could wait until after 18 years as well.
00:19:23.100And, of course, Premier Smith didn't mention that at all.
00:19:56.520So I think a stronger policy would be one that treats them all the same way, that says, if we're comfortable with minors doing this, so be it.
00:20:04.020I would rather see us not have minors having those surgeries and wait until people are adults.
00:20:58.920I think one of the most complicated things about the current discourse on transgender matters is that there are two different things happening at once.
00:21:05.840One of them is what we would classically call gender dysphoria.
00:21:08.340And that's the individual who has a deep-set, severely debilitating feeling that they're not the sex that they are and or that they are the sex that they are, but that it simply doesn't work and that they can't maneuver themselves through society based on the expectations that we place upon the biological sexes.
00:21:27.780When I was really young, of course, I didn't have the language for it because this wasn't talked about when I was a little kid.
00:21:32.880But being so dysphoric, everyone knew that my life wasn't working.
00:21:36.380I had four different counselors before grade six to try to figure out, why does Jason have no friends?
00:21:41.720Why does Jason not connect with the boys?
00:21:43.340It was obvious something was happening.
00:21:45.060And I found the answer myself when I was 11, even though this was not in the school and this was not in the health care system because I was desperate and I was looking for things online to even explain why I was so different and why I wanted these things that other people didn't seem to want.
00:22:14.560It gives you something to latch on to.
00:22:16.040And I'm not here to say if that's right or wrong.
00:22:18.340People can have whatever identity they want to have, but that's not the same thing.
00:22:22.560And when we end up having surgical and hormonal interventions that are not being kind of carefully watched to make sure that they're only the right individuals are taking them on at the right time, we have seen people who end up heading down these pathways and end up afterwards, we find out they had comorbidities or other factors that led to it and they have regret.
00:22:43.120And, you know, there are truly trans people, you know, and they've been born that way.
00:22:48.480We can go on until the end of time as to why or how.
00:22:51.420But as we're seeing today, we also see children go into flux to say some might identify because when we can't tell the difference or they could be identifying as such because they're seeking attention or perhaps for a period of time, they do feel that way.
00:23:03.980But it's passing. And that's, again, where the big fear of doing anything irreversible comes into the picture.
00:23:10.120And, you know, if they've settled it by 18, I think most people aren't terribly concerned, but we really worry when we start meddling, whether chemically or surgically with somebody's growth, because, I mean, there could be some serious consequences.
00:23:21.680Yeah, you're completely right that there are consequences.
00:23:25.040And what I like to remind people is that on the surgery side, it's pretty safe to wait on the hormone side.
00:23:31.020There's consequences either way, because if you transition young by going on puberty blockers, then you've affected your pathway and you're going to have implications on your sex life and on your ability to reproduce later on.
00:23:43.920So we want to do we don't want to do that lightly at the same time.
00:23:47.020If you don't end up transitioning young and you want to transition as an adult like I did, you're not going to pass.
00:23:52.760Pass is a word that's used in the transgender community to refer to being able to convince the world that you're the sex that you identify as.
00:23:59.040And people can tell my voice is lower. There's certain facial elements here that kind of sends the signal.
00:24:03.940I'm biologically male. And the reality is the world is not always kind to people who don't blend in as one sex or the other in the stereotypes that we associate with it.
00:24:13.780And so that's also part of this equation. And I think what's missing in a lot of the conversation is that recognition that the kids who are deeply dysphoric,
00:24:22.560they're latching on to these surgery or not the surgery so much, but the hormones at a young age, because they know that that is their,
00:24:29.040that's their door. That's the window to be able to achieve passability and just blend in and live the life that they want.
00:24:34.280And to close that door entirely, to not allow parents to even opt their kids in when parents and doctors feel this is the right fit for a given child.
00:24:43.200That's a pretty, that's a pretty hard line position to take in and of itself.
00:24:47.620Well, I mean, people make a lot of assumptions too. I mean, a child is worried about speaking with the parents about these,
00:24:54.640these changes or where they may want to go. It may turn out that the parents were actually very supportive.
00:24:58.940I mean, your children, you're insecure, you worry about things. And I mean, I'm certain that these sorts of issues would be much better coped with,
00:25:06.460with the participation of your family and your parents, as opposed to keeping it a secret for a long time,
00:25:12.060which makes you garner a sense that it's something shameful.
00:25:15.120And that's precisely what I advocate for. We've had periods in the past where it was very difficult to transition,
00:25:20.700where it was sort of what would be called safeguarded so that trans people can't easily get to it unless the doctors allow them to.
00:25:28.020And that was a problem sometimes, but then we swung the other way and said, it is self-ID. It is however you feel is correct.
00:25:34.780We will affirm that. We will never look for any other comorbidities that might be leading into it.
00:25:39.280And we will just let you lead the charge. And that can be dangerous for anybody, but especially for a child, that can be a dangerous pathway.
00:25:46.500I would like to see nuance where we bring parents, we bring doctors along, and on a case by case basis, we really say, is this the right fit?
00:25:53.460In a case like mine, where things are showing up at six years old by 12, 13, maybe I am an okay fit for hormones.
00:25:59.020And that's probably not a huge risk, but that's not every case. There's lots of other cases that have different comorbidities that play into it.
00:26:06.020Yeah. And again, things change over time. I mean, something in general that changes over time, lower societal attitudes.
00:26:11.620I think we're getting better. You know, I tweeted that you were coming on the show yesterday and a few jerks popped into the mix as usual.
00:26:20.460And then you're always going to deal with that. But if Twitter existed 30 years ago and we even broached this discussion, it would have been bananas.
00:26:29.040I mean, 30 years ago, even liberals were saying that gay marriage should still remain banned.
00:26:35.700I mean, the society has become much more accepting.
00:26:38.780This is, I think, perhaps one of the last bastions now of just learning to accept people to be different.
00:26:45.300I don't know if it's the last or not. I've never really thought about what comes next in other domains.
00:26:50.060I think we're far from done seeing the culture battle on this particular one.
00:26:55.240I think it's just heating up and we're going to see more of it based on some of the conversations that are happening in the States, who's tended to be about 12 to 18 months ahead of us on this matter.
00:27:03.560So I expect we're going to see this 2024 and 2025 in Canada.
00:27:08.360I also don't think that's a bad thing because for a long time we haven't been having this conversation.
00:27:12.460And I think that builds up the tension and I'm happy that now we have politicians who are talking about it, who are having these conversations so that we can hopefully land on something that is moderate, that really does consider the needs of the gender dysphoric, but also considers the needs of the other intersections of society too.
00:27:28.720Making sure that parents are involved, making sure that the rights of other individuals are not encroached upon.
00:27:33.760And I believe that there's a path forward.
00:27:36.520So, as you said, I mean, there's a lot to unpack.
00:27:39.040We only have enough, you know, there's never enough time for something this big.
00:27:41.480But one of the final aspects of what Premier Smith was talking about was when it comes to sports.
00:27:46.480Now how enforceable or how much we want government getting into things like sports organizations is another debate altogether as well.
00:27:52.240But that's where the public has seen, I think, some of the absurdities.
00:27:55.720I mean, where we're being asked to accept something that's getting a little too far outside.
00:28:00.380I mean, I don't think it's a coincidence that it's a trans person that blew the woman's powerlifting record off the charts, you know, and some other sports that are so inherently physical.
00:28:11.080I mean, we can't pretend there isn't an advantage for some of the biologically born male individuals in that.
00:28:17.860And it's not unreasonable to try and accommodate trans athletes while protecting the women's sports, is it?
00:28:24.920I really like this sports conversation because I think it highlights how nuance needs to be applied to these conversations.
00:28:32.300The most famous case is Riley Gaines and Leah Thomas.
00:28:34.660This is professional swimming down in the States in 2021, I believe.
00:28:41.080That a biological male could win the trophy.
00:28:42.900And we have seen more and more cases like that.
00:28:44.840And I think a lot of people sense the inherent unfairness in those circumstances.
00:28:48.880That being said, that's not the same thing as a grade seven volleyball intramural league, where it's more about camaraderie and teamwork than it is about being the strongest, best volleyball player.
00:28:58.720And so I would like to see nuance come into that conversation, too.
00:29:02.160I think that in cases where it is about the competition, fair enough.
00:29:06.920There could be biological imperatives that play in.
00:29:09.200But as a child who ended up feeling alienated because I couldn't play with my friends who were all girls because I didn't have the right genitals.
00:29:18.600And I'm not sure that that's appropriate at that amateur educational level either.
00:29:23.200Yeah, and I think Premier Smith sort of alluded to some degree of that and saying, you know, you don't want to take trans people out of sport altogether because it's something everybody enjoys and you would be excluding.
00:29:33.300But we just have to have that discussion on where it's most appropriate and where it isn't, which I think you sort of covered.
00:29:38.020And I appreciate that. It's just unfortunate when we see those extreme examples, as you said, with the swimming and that, and that's what ends up over filtering into the rest of the conversation on trans issues in general, which aren't necessarily bringing things to such extremes.
00:29:51.140So, I mean, we have to address them all, but some are a little more clear cut than others, I think.
00:29:56.780Definitely. No, I'm looking forward to the continued conversations.
00:29:59.520I'm unclear on exactly where Alberta is going to land when it comes to the sports piece.
00:30:04.940But I think it's an important conversation to have.
00:30:07.140I'm just hoping that the path forward is still inclusive, does still create opportunities for people and makes us question, when is sex segregation important?
00:30:15.500When is it useful to society and when is it maybe a relic of eras gone past that we should be letting go of?
00:30:20.700And I think in a lot of these sex debates, that can help us to kind of work through how to proceed in a way that has some staying power for the future.
00:30:29.260Well, I really appreciate your frank discussion with us on this and the discussions you've been having online in general.
00:30:35.620Before I let you go, where can people find where you put your stuff out there?
00:30:39.420So, I am on Twitter, or X as we call it these days, under Alotta Malotta, which is very hard to spell.
00:30:45.880But if you search Julia Malotta, you'll find me there as well.
00:30:48.540I also write a weekly column for the National Post.
00:30:51.300And I have stuff on Instagram and YouTube also under Alotta Malotta.
00:30:55.760Those are my baby channels I'm just working on growing.
00:30:58.480Great. Well, thank you very much for joining us today.
00:32:34.020And yes, it was a campground and sort of small resort for LGBTQ people to get together and have a good time and everything.
00:32:41.860And I was doing my survey work and talking to a neighbor.
00:32:44.620And he was just a classic Yosemite Sam looking Texan guy with a thick accent and the hat and the snake boots on.
00:32:50.680And he said a few things about, I guess, the sexuality of his neighbors at that ranch.
00:32:56.900But then in the same handful of words, he also said, but if anybody ever messes with them, they're going to go through me because those are my neighbors.
00:33:03.360That's some of the Texan attitude I really loved.
00:33:06.460I mean, it's along the lines of I disagree with everything they do.
00:33:09.700OK, I'd rather you didn't disagree, but so be it.
00:33:11.620But, hey, they have every right to do whatever the heck they're doing over there and you leave them alone because that's their place.
00:33:18.880Now, as I said, this is where we start getting more complex when it comes to trans issues.
00:33:23.420I think most of society has come far along with LGBTQ issues, particularly when it's adults.
00:33:29.180It's when children are involved that we start worrying.
00:33:32.060We start getting concerned again, because as we know, childhood's a confusing time.
00:33:37.160And it's we can make some pretty bad decisions in childhood, everything from where you might stick a firecracker to, you know, if I was allowed to get tattoos, I'd probably have had a giant one across my chest when I was 17 or something.
00:33:48.840So, I mean, we just have to take care.
00:33:52.160And I don't think, as Julia said, this conversation is going to go on for quite a while.
00:33:56.640But I think the fact that it's been brought out on the table and some lines were drawn and now we can start talking about it.
00:34:04.500That's one of the things Premier Smith did.
00:34:06.100Even if you don't agree with every part of her legislation, if you think it didn't go far enough or it goes too far, at least we're talking about it because it's very important to a lot of people in the schools, to the teachers, to the students, to the parents.
00:35:16.080This is coming from the housing minister in a recent report, Sean Fraser, saying that all Canadians share a moral failure for homelessness.
00:35:27.960And he promised a response to the federal report where, you know, tent cities have been torn down.
00:35:33.140And there was some housing bureaucrat who came out with a report saying that it's a human right
00:35:37.240and that it was wrong to tear down the tent cities in Edmonton and places like that.
00:36:12.180Look, those are elements once a person gets cleaned up, if they get cleaned up, that they will need a home and they'll need it to be affordable.
00:36:18.380But that's not what's putting them on the streets.
00:36:22.180If we aren't going to outright talk about why they're there in the first place, you're not going to get them off of there.
00:36:29.120Do you really think the guy pushing the shopping cart down the street with crap running down his leg, talking to the clouds, smoking a meth pipe, is ready for a home?
00:36:40.440This is a person who really needs help.
00:40:14.920What about the right of the person who lives next to the tent city?
00:40:17.820What about the right of the person with a business next to the tent city?
00:40:21.620So it's Susie Saluk saying, here in Alaska, we drive them crazy via a marathon between shelters and prison, chasing money with our little no-good addicted and crazy selves.
00:40:50.260So maybe it's time to have facilities built back to institutions for people with mental health issues, institutions for people who need inpatient addiction treatment.
00:42:57.500But when we've got a government that does nothing but constantly attack the grocers, that attacks business, that hikes taxes, and messes directly with mergers and things like that, what new grocery business, large grocery business is going to move into Canada?
00:43:14.720Why would you want to move into that for a 4% to 5% margin business as it is?
00:43:40.780But we've got civic leaders like Jyoti Gondek who's nutty enough to follow up on him, so we've got to take his stuff seriously, unfortunately.
00:43:46.280You know, 15-minute cities, not as much of a conspiracy as it sounds like.
00:43:49.500It's just the way they're going to go about keeping you contained.
00:43:52.220But, you know, the senior political people won't be contained.
00:44:58.340This is the sort of thing that, if you remember, in the 80s, they were pulling in Frank Zappa and Ozzy Osbourne in Twisted Sister before committees and talking about that.