Western Standard - EXCLUSIVE： Matthew chats with Jamil Jivani.

00:00:00.000 This is Matthew Horwood once again reporting from the Strong and Free Conference.

00:00:06.640 I have Jamil Giovanni, he is now the president of the Strong and Free Conference.

00:00:11.200 How's it going today?

00:00:12.200 Doing great, yeah, very busy day, but lots of good stuff.

00:00:15.200 Amazing, and now you moderated the debates last night.

00:00:18.000 Could you tell me a little bit about how that went for you, how was that experience?

00:00:21.000 You know, with debates you just hope that people get a chance to learn about the candidates

00:00:25.400 and that they get a sense of how their ideas might be similar, how they might be different.

00:00:29.700 In this case, also what sort of alternative they might offer to Justin Trudeau and the Liberals.

00:00:34.560 So I think we did that.

00:00:36.080 We gave them a chance to, you know, put their ideas out on the table.

00:00:39.060 And hopefully the Canadians who watched got a sense of what their options might be.

00:00:42.820 Yeah. Always difficult to give enough candidates time to speak.

00:00:45.740 Things got a little bit testy with Roman Babber.

00:00:47.840 At one point you said, chill bro, because he wanted to just go ahead and speak about that.

00:00:51.620 Well, that's the thing.

00:00:52.520 It's, you know, with something like this, the moderators have to have enough respect to keep everybody on the same page.

00:00:59.120 Otherwise, it just deteriorates into anarchy.

00:01:01.960 And I felt that Mr. Babber, and I don't mean to disrespect him,

00:01:05.420 but I just felt that he was trying to sort of test our ability to keep him in line.

00:01:09.540 And I think that sometimes a stern chill bro sends the message you need to send.

00:01:13.740 Absolutely.

00:01:14.060 And I've seen some debates in the U.S. that have gone haywire when moderators haven't stepped in.

00:01:17.840 So it's good you were able to really keep that going well.

00:01:20.640 So your history, reading up on you, when you were 16 years old,

00:01:25.600 You were declared functionally illiterate by the schooling system.

00:01:29.520 You were going through a bit of a rough time, and you were able to really turn yourself around.

00:01:32.900 Tell me about what your childhood was like.

00:01:34.880 Yeah, as you said, I was considered illiterate when I was in high school.

00:01:37.940 I always try to tell people I think I saw some of the most challenging parts of life in Canada,

00:01:41.720 and I also saw some of the best parts of Canada, because by the time I was 22, I had a scholarship to law school, right?

00:01:48.020 So I think I've seen what doesn't work well and what does work well.

00:01:51.860 For me, a lot of it was just a strong community coming around me, getting the right mentors, having professors who really cared about teaching me the basics of how to read, write, and think critically.

00:02:02.240 Some of the fundamentals we don't see honestly prioritized in public school these days.

00:02:06.460 But I needed those things, and I was grateful to have the right people.

00:02:09.600 So by the grace of God, I was able to make a transition from an illiterate student in high school to a successful post-secondary student.

00:02:16.720 But unfortunately, that transition doesn't happen enough.

00:02:19.620 Amazing.

00:02:20.100 And you've done a lot of advocacy work, particularly around helping children have opportunities

00:02:25.020 and to get out of the same system or situation that you were in.

00:02:28.580 Could you talk a little bit about that?

00:02:30.000 Yeah, you know, I like to use the language of creating opportunity for people

00:02:33.320 because I think it's important we don't teach people, especially young people, that they're victims.

00:02:38.240 Sometimes life deals you a bad hand.

00:02:39.920 Sometimes things aren't working as perfectly or as justly as they should.

00:02:44.460 But I think we need to empower people to believe in themselves and to apply their skills, to dream big.

00:02:50.100 And that's what creating opportunities for people is about.

00:02:52.380 And I think that's one of the reasons why it's key that as conservatives,

00:02:55.400 we think about economic policy that actually strengthens the economy

00:02:59.600 as part of creating a more just society.

00:03:02.560 Too often we separate those things, economic policy from social issues.

00:03:06.460 Those two things go hand in hand.

00:03:08.480 Absolutely. Now, you're also an author.

00:03:10.560 Your book was called Why Young Men, Rage, Race, and Crisis of Identity.

00:03:15.240 I have, unfortunately, haven't gotten the chance to read it yet.

00:03:17.700 I'm a fast reader, but not that fast.

00:03:20.100 So could you talk about that book and what the writing process was like and what it's about?

00:03:24.140 Yeah, the book is about my experience growing up, but also the shared experiences I have with other young men in Europe, in Egypt, in the Middle East, in America.

00:03:33.540 You know, all the different things that we have in common when we're going through this similar and relatable period in life where you are lost and where there might be some negative influences trying to pull you in the wrong direction.

00:03:44.140 And depending on where you are in the community you grow up in, those negative influences could be absolutely destructive.

00:03:50.440 In the case of gangs or terror organizations, white supremacist organizations, young men are the targets of lots of people who want to use us to further their own agenda.

00:03:59.840 And so part of the book is to explain why young men get caught up in these sorts of situations where they may be tempted by destructive forces,

00:04:07.820 but also what we can do to support young men, to believe in them, to put the right people around them.

00:04:13.300 How do we counter the negativity with positivity?

00:04:16.120 And the book outlines that from a policy perspective, but to me, most importantly, from a grassroots perspective.

00:04:22.800 Absolutely. I'd like to get your thoughts on policing in Canada.

00:04:25.500 Now, you made some comments that some saw as controversial in the aftermath of George Floyd's death,

00:04:30.280 where you were critical of defunding the police, that movement, the Black Lives Matter associated.

00:04:35.280 What are your thoughts on policing in Canada, but also in the United States and some of the challenges, what should perhaps be done?

00:04:40.660 Yeah, look, I think policing, like many other services, public services, has its issues.

00:04:46.820 I don't think police are perfect in any way.

00:04:50.120 And I think most police officers I know would agree with that, too,

00:04:52.720 that some reforms are necessary to increase accountability

00:04:55.940 because police officers have a unique power in our society.

00:04:59.300 That said, making things better is verily solved by defunding.

00:05:04.060 And up until a couple years ago, I think most people on the left agreed with that.

00:05:07.760 I mean, you didn't hear someone like President Barack Obama talking about defunding the police.

00:05:12.520 But the fact that that slogan became popularized and became treated as mainstream by institutions like the Globe and Mail, by the CBC, by the city of Toronto.

00:05:22.200 I mean, this just shows you how far left a lot of liberals have gone.

00:05:25.800 And so for me, when I saw that slogan emerging, and not just that, but that people wanted to use black communities to justify a political agenda to defund the police,

00:05:35.120 which most black people according to polling do not support most black people do not support

00:05:39.880 defining the police and I as a black person in public life am I supposed to just keep nodding

00:05:44.180 along as these liberals promote something that is baseless so I took a stand against it and it was

00:05:49.300 very weird to be criticized for it because I'm thinking here like do you not talk to other black

00:05:53.720 people like black people don't all think the same like I'm not like this is not some unique position

00:05:59.020 I was taking and yet the mainstream liberal media kept suggesting that I was taking some sort of

00:06:04.540 controversy. So I was doing these interviews with like the Globe and Mail and the CBC and they're

00:06:08.180 presenting me like I'm some kind of like rogue element in the community. And it's like, actually

00:06:12.460 most people agree with me, they're the rogues. And that's part of what I think the conservative

00:06:16.440 movement needs to do is start treating the fringe groups that are trying to push their agendas onto

00:06:21.940 us like they are the fringe groups that they are and not allowing them to spin us as if we're the

00:06:27.140 small minority that doesn't have a justifiable position. For sure. So you don't think that

00:06:31.180 community workers can do the job that police officers have been doing no I mean and I think

00:06:35.380 that is so disrespectful to police officers frankly and also to social workers to even say

00:06:40.560 things like that like when these people say oh just send someone with a clipboard when someone's

00:06:44.520 got a gun it's like why would you like it doesn't make sense and that's the weird thing about a lot

00:06:49.240 of like what we've seen as the far left becomes more dominant in our society it's like we've lost

00:06:54.860 common sense like no one in their right mind would say the right response to gun violence is a person

00:07:00.600 with a clipboard and yet somehow when we're in front of a camera we're supposed to pretend that

00:07:04.600 that's a good idea i'm not going to pretend it's never going to happen yeah western society i think

00:07:09.140 everybody would agree is is very divided right now we saw a lot of talk about that yesterday on

00:07:13.240 the debate stage uh why do you think that is do you think that that is as you say the far left

00:07:17.260 is uh is moving away or do you think it's both parties or can't see eye to eye and they're moving

00:07:22.080 further away from each other politically what do you think's going on with that well i think the

00:07:25.780 far left success comes from a lot of the sort of you know middle of the road

00:07:30.280 center left and center right being too afraid to defend our society defend our

00:07:34.660 culture defend our values and so out of some sort of weird type of a guilt or

00:07:39.520 discomfort with Canadian identity we've just sort of surrendered the debate to

00:07:44.200 the far left because they're willing to actually defend what they believe in yeah

00:07:48.400 and I think more of us just seem to do that I mean if you do not agree with the

00:07:51.420 far left on issues like policing or parents rights or a wide range of other

00:07:55.720 things you need to be able to say so and having that discussion and saying what we believe in

00:08:00.520 is a key step to actually making sure our values don't get lost in the wind so to me that's the

00:08:05.560 biggest issue we can point a finger at the far left all we want but unless we're willing to

00:08:08.920 defend what we believe in can we really be mad at them for actually trying to affect the world

00:08:14.280 and you know have their own activist agenda for sure now in order to be fair as a journalist i

00:08:18.760 got to ask about the far right now i see a lot of people that incorrectly mischaracterize the

00:08:23.160 entire conservative movement as being far-right or alt-right. What do you think about the far-right

00:08:28.200 and some of the more perhaps extreme elements? Do you think that that's a big issue or it's being

00:08:32.120 exaggerated by people on the left? I do think there is a far-right. I mean, there are times,

00:08:36.440 I mean, listen, anybody who spends time on social media can tell there is a far-right.

00:08:40.520 You know, when we start to see things like ethnic nationalism, racism directed toward people because

00:08:45.240 of things that are, you know, they're immutable characteristics, things have nothing to do with

00:08:48.680 their individuality, their beliefs, their culture. Yeah, a lot of that is far-right political

00:08:54.260 organizing. The reality though is, if we're being honest, which institutions in our society embrace

00:08:59.920 that ideology, right? I mean, it is a fringe ideology. It is extremism. I don't see that being

00:09:05.640 allowed into the schools the way far-left ideology is allowed into the schools. I don't see that on

00:09:10.460 university campuses the way far-left ideology is on university campuses. So the far-right is an

00:09:15.320 issue. And as a conservative, especially as a black man, especially as a black Christian with

00:09:19.260 a Muslim name, I'm very sensitive to the far right because frankly, it's people like me and my family

00:09:24.060 who are often targeted by the far right. But I don't think they present an equal threat when

00:09:28.360 we're talking about making policy in this country. For sure. They definitely don't have as much of a

00:09:32.620 platform or even an audience. Yeah. So you had a show on iHeartRadio and you said that you were

00:09:38.180 fired because you wouldn't go along with the leftist agenda that you didn't agree with. Could

00:09:42.560 you talk a little bit about that? Yeah you know I was hired after George Floyd was killed tragically

00:09:48.620 back in 2020 and you know it was one of those things where I don't think they they assume that

00:09:53.600 because I'm a black man I would have certain liberal political views and pretty quickly I

00:09:58.880 think they realized I don't and you know I never wanted to go on the radio because I wanted a

00:10:03.420 career out of it I went on the radio because I wanted to share what I believe in and so as Bell

00:10:08.580 media started to realize like hey this guy we hired thinking he might be like a token black

00:10:13.620 liberal is actually a conservative uh they started to apply pressure exactly on me uh changing

00:10:19.460 expectations they wanted us to decry the country as racist before canada day last year they wanted

00:10:24.900 us to have certain views on gender ideology certain views on vaccine mandates and my view on this was

00:10:31.620 you know i think the diversity of my community as a black man deserves representation and not

00:10:36.740 every black person thinks like a white liberal so why would i expect to have my show reflect those

00:10:42.980 uh you know only one way of looking at the world and they were just very upset with it and it just 0.85

00:10:47.220 got very weird where i think they like didn't want to acknowledge that you know these white

00:10:53.060 liberal executives thought they should be telling a black man what to say about diversity and uh we

00:11:00.580 just you know at the end eventually it just became clear to them i think that i was not going to be

00:11:05.380 kind of forced into parroting their talking points and they created in my view a fake restructuring

00:11:11.540 narrative to eliminate the show without acknowledging that the real reason they're

00:11:15.620 getting rid of me is because i just won't say what they want yeah that's really too bad but

00:11:19.780 it's good that you stuck to your guns and you didn't let them push you around like that and

00:11:23.220 say things you don't believe in um what are your thoughts on the the state of conservative uh the

00:11:27.780 conservative party in this country i mean we lost the last three elections uh you saw a lot of

00:11:31.780 of discussion last night about what needs to be done. What are your personal thoughts about where

00:11:35.760 we go forward and how we can defeat Justin Trudeau in the next election, whenever that's held?

00:11:40.220 Yeah, you know, one of the things that really stands out to me is I think Canadians want

00:11:44.040 authenticity. They want people who they feel are being real with them, who are being transparent

00:11:48.700 and upfront. I do believe that, you know, the Conservative movement really needs to embrace

00:11:53.640 that and stop this sort of political correct posturing, just be real with people. I think

00:11:59.220 that's what people want, especially given all the suffering people went through over the last two

00:12:02.660 years, losing loved ones to COVID, the lockdowns, the mental health issues. We're just at a point

00:12:08.140 where people just want to trust their leaders. And so I hope that's the direction that we're

00:12:13.240 headed in. I do hope also that we are a group that will embrace some genuine dissent and

00:12:19.120 disagreement and show Canadians that we're not here to cancel you. We're not here to tell you

00:12:24.440 don't have a right to say what you think. We're the side of the political spectrum that wants

00:12:28.140 actual conversation so those are the things that i think are going to make a difference in terms of

00:12:32.780 connecting with the average you know working middle class family and i really hope that we

00:12:36.780 take that seriously absolutely now as the president of the strong and free uh what are your plans what

00:12:42.780 what direction would you like to take uh take it in in the future yeah well you know as we've been

00:12:46.940 discussing it's obvious that we cannot rely on the public schools universities the mainstream media

00:12:52.460 to pass on the wisdom and traditions of the conservative movement from one generation to

00:12:56.540 the next so we've got to do that ourselves and i think that the canada strong and free network has

00:13:01.100 done a very good job of doing that for some canadians and we just want to broaden that

00:13:05.340 expand it bring more young people into the fold bring people from different regions different

00:13:10.220 cultures different backgrounds into the fold and really be that institution that can help connect

00:13:15.180 different generations so the lessons learned from conservative activists and politicians from the 0.60

00:13:19.660 80s and the 90s can be understood by the zoomers and the millennials that are going to lead us into

00:13:24.460 the future yeah um going back to the debate were there any issues that i know you only got an hour

00:13:29.580 and a half but any things that you would have liked to have seen discussed maybe or you would

00:13:33.100 really like to see in future debates yeah i think more of a conversation on inflation and also

00:13:38.300 housing we didn't get to either of those two issues some of the candidates sort of touched

00:13:42.540 on them a little bit but i think that's weighing on canadians minds a lot and i think it would be

00:13:47.580 nice in future debates there's three more happening this month for the uh those debates to really

00:13:52.780 press for solutions you know we can blame justin trudeau for inflation we can blame justin trudeau

00:13:57.980 for the housing crisis but what are we going to actually do to fix those issues that's one of the

00:14:02.620 things that we didn't get to touch on much last night that i i really like to talk more about

00:14:06.860 absolutely jamil before we wrap up here is there anything else you'd like to add about

00:14:10.540 the kind of work you're going to be doing in the the months and years to come you know what i

00:14:14.300 really want to be able to do is show more people across canada that conservative principles can

00:14:20.780 solve the problems that they care about and there are a lot of people who have never had that

00:14:24.700 conversation they've never had talked about what is a conservative what do conservatives stand for

00:14:28.700 what do they mean the entire narrative of our politics has been so influenced by the left

00:14:33.580 i really just want to balance it out and i hope that's what we can accomplish

00:14:36.940 absolutely i do too well thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me yeah it's been

00:14:40.620 Great to be with you.

Western Standard - May 07, 2022

EXCLUSIVE： Matthew chats with Jamil Jivani.

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