Ezra Levant critiques governments’ COVID-19 hypocrisy, exposing Ontario’s OLG CEO Stephen Rigby’s $3,400 office art and $22,000 kitchenette wall while casinos stayed open despite profit-driven closures elsewhere. He slams Justin Trudeau’s $2.6M anti-discrimination spending for stifling terms like "Wuhan flu" and ignoring illegal border crossings at Wroxham Road, where reporter Kiam Bexti was ticketed while migrants slipped past. Columnist Lauren Gunter counters, comparing COVID-19’s 400 Canadian deaths to the flu’s near 50,000, warning that panic overrates risks like Italy’s 30% elderly population and 28% smoking rate—Canada’s 10 infections per million suggest a milder path. Levant doubts transparency, teasing Bexti’s upcoming report, while questioning if political correctness now trumps public safety. [Automatically generated summary]
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When it comes to dealing with the global pandemic, COVID-19, the Trudeau Liberals are sure talking tough, but do their actions back up their words?
It's Tuesday, March 17th, 2020, and you're watching the Ezra Event Show.
Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?
There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.
The only thing I have to say to the government is because it's my bloody right to do so.
Is it just me, folks, or does a pandemic bring out the very worst in people, and in particular, the worst in certain governments and so-called leaders?
And with COVID-19, oh my goodness, where does one even begin in trying to take inventory of the good, the bad, and the outrageous?
After all, this story literally changes by the hour, and today can never hope to dream what tomorrow may bring.
For starters, let's begin with the inexplicable rush on toilet paper.
Now, if the coronavirus led to explosive diarrhea, I would understand the need to bulk up on the old Charmin UltraSoft, but diarrhea is not a symptom, so why the panic to have at least six months worth of toilet paper on hand?
My theory, it's all psychological.
Look, one of the things that separates us from the denizens of the animal kingdom, in addition to opposable thumbs, big brains, and the ability to create fire, is the fact that we don't tend to do our business on the jungle or forest floor.
Hygiene is synonymous with civilization.
And I think the idea of running out of toilet paper brings us that much closer to Magilla Gorilla Territory.
Yikes.
You know, folks, as much as I loved the 70s, sometimes that decade was cheesier than a bucket full of Bulgarian feta.
Still, as much as the manufacturers of toilet paper are enjoying a bonanza, or is that a bumnanza?
Alas, the same cannot be said for the people who brew a certain brand of cerveza from Mexico.
It's beyond mind-numbing to me that the sale of Corona Extra is tanking these days.
I mean, really?
Just because this lager shares the first six letters of a virus?
Oh, give your head a shake, people.
But then again, I best not get too sanctimonious here.
I mean, thank goodness the name of this bug isn't Molson Stock Alevirus because then I might have to switch to another brand myself.
But you have to feel for those people who are being charged and convicted based not on science, but on word association.
Back in January, I visited Wuhan Noodle in Markham, Ontario, which has the unfortunate luck to be named after the epicenter of the virus.
Unfortunately, the unfortunate coincidence led people to staying away from Wuhan Noodle and even bombarding it with prank phone calls.
As you can imagine, having the name Wuhan, well, there's a connection these days with the coronavirus that has come out of Wuhan Province, China.
And tell me, Mr. Fang, how has that affected your business?
Like maybe like five or six days ago, and some people just calling us, like, did you like sell the bad soup?
Or do you have like that coronavirus in your menu or something?
So they just post on Instagram and said the coronavirus is spread to the market.
It's really like bad effect for our store.
Like every day the amount of revenue is going down and people just say us with like very like strange and maybe like afraid of us.
You know, it is people like Mr. Fang who I really feel for as COVID-19 continues to go well viral.
I ordered the house specialty that night, Wuhan Noodles, and let me tell you folks, they were the best noodles I have ever consumed.
And last I heard, the community is rallying around Wuhan Noodle with many first-time customers flocking there who believe it is unfair and downright ridiculous that a business could go belly up simply because of ignorance and perhaps even spite when it comes to those Lugans making those very unfunny phony phone calls.
Supporting Local Businesses00:02:40
I'm really pulling for Mr. Fang to get through this.
But what about the role of government here?
Are the various governments doing the right thing to stem the virus and to lead by example?
I don't think so.
For example, while most professional sports leagues voluntarily suspended their seasons a full week ago, it was only on Sunday afternoon that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation finally got with the program and closed the casinos it operates.
What took them so long?
Gee, it couldn't possibly be profits over public safety, could it?
Well, that's what it looks like, that the OLG was rolling the dice when it came to the health and safety of their patrons and staff members.
Then again, disgraced CEO Stephen Rigby needs every dollar he can get, folks.
As we reported last week, this CEO has built up, I mean billed, taxpayers for all sorts of outrageous expenditures, the kind of stuff that would make Marie Antoinette blush with embarrassment.
There's that fancy artwork that he rents for his office to the tune of $3,400.
And worst of all, how about that 22 grand that was spent to erect a wall so that Rigby wouldn't have to share the kitchenette at OLG's Toronto headquarters with his fellow employees?
Can you even believe that?
Indeed, how perversely ironic that Rigby actually literally walled himself off from his filthy subordinates, but until 48 hours ago, had absolutely no problem whatsoever keeping the casino games going because, hey, gotta squeeze more idiot tax out of the great unwashed masses to, oh, I don't know, pay for all that rented high-end artwork gracing Rigby's office, I suppose.
The point is, the pro sports leagues and the theaters and the aquariums and the theme parks, etc., etc., etc., these are all private enterprises that chose to shut down on a voluntary basis.
They did the right thing on their own accord.
But the OLG justifies its state-sanctioned monopoly on gambling based on the absolutely bogus mantra of social responsibility.
You see, we just can't possibly trust the sale or wholesaling of such sinful commodities as liquor and lotteries and cannabis to the private sector.
They're a bunch of shysters who are only out to make a buck, but government, ah, government, government is caring.
Why Self-Isolation Was Advised00:15:17
Government has a conscience.
Yeah, right.
And I'm going to win tonight's Lotto Max jackpot without even buying a ticket.
And sadly, while the OLG was eventually shamed into shutting down its blackjack tables and roulette wheels, casinos in other provinces remain open.
How is that possibly justified based on the science that is being proclaimed by the medical experts when it comes to COVID-19?
All of which brings us to the gateways of our country, our airports.
Yesterday, Trudeau announced new measures to close off the country from visitors.
Well, not really.
There are plenty of exemptions such as permanent Canadian residents, the immediate family members of Canadian citizens, diplomats, air crews, and U.S. citizens.
They can continue to fly into Canada easy peasy.
And there is one huge exemption that was never discussed by the Prime Minister, nor have any of the trained SEALs in the media party even asked about it.
What about those illegal migrants entering Canada at illegal border crossings such as Wroxham Road?
Okay, in fairness, as our own Kiam Bexti found out last week, law enforcement is clamping down on some illegal activity at Wroxham Road, such as illegal parking by a Canadian citizen.
Check it out.
Here's a ticket for your parking.
Do you have evidence that I was parking?
Do you have evidence that I was parked illegally?
Or are you just saying that?
You have it.
So here's a ticket.
You have 30 days to pay it.
Well, I'm not going to be paying it.
I'm going to take it to court.
So I'll see you there, hopefully.
And back, you have 30 days to contest or pay it.
Okay.
Everything's right on the ticket.
Do you know?
Oh, you know what's something I was meaning to say?
Right behind us is a border crossing.
It's New York, actually.
And a bunch of illegal immigrants come in right behind us.
They illegally cross the border and then they come into this country.
So instead of pulling over reporters, you might consider doing that, arresting them.
Do you think they're doing a good job?
Yes, pretty good job.
Do you think they're doing a great job?
You can't park on this road.
Do you have evidence that I was parking on this road?
I'm a member of the GRCI, RCMP.
Sorry?
The officer of the RCMP had the evenings.
They have the evidence.
Yes, you will be in the middle of the second.
And you've seen it?
You will be in court if you can't test the tickets.
I most certainly will be in court.
You haven't seen it, but you're giving me a ticket.
Yes.
You have no evidence whatsoever.
And you're trusting the people that are bag-checking illegal immigrants.
So you can go.
Yeah, I certainly will.
You're pathetic.
Unbelievable.
And you know something?
Keen is heading back to Wroxham Road just to find out what the hell is going on there.
You know, even if you were an avowed open borders person like our Prime Minister, Justin, hashtag welcome to Canada Trudeau, surely in the here and now, there should at least be some temporary fencing erected just to hit the pause button on all this illegal migration.
But no, to do that might be interpreted as racist.
No, I'm not kidding, folks.
As I mentioned in this space yesterday, the Trudeau Liberals have invested some $2.6 million in taxpayer funds to quote combat discrimination, racism, and social misinformation, end quote, as it pertains to the coronavirus.
I'm not making that up.
You see, even at a time of a global pandemic, virtue signaling by our feminist prime minister remains paramount.
Oh, sure, you might get the virus, but don't you dare call it Wuhan flu, even though Wuhan is undeniably the epicenter for this crisis.
All of which makes me wonder: can I call out bullshite without being labeled a racist or a bigot or a culturally insensitive troll?
For example, check out this tweet I happened upon recently.
Now, folks, I wish this pic was photoshopped, but it isn't.
As you can see, four men in India have actually immersed themselves in cow manure.
That's right, they evidently believe they can attain immunity from the COVID-19 virus by taking a bath in feces, even if that means contracting, oh, I don't know, E. coli in the process.
Yeah, I know what you're thinking right now, folks.
You just want to go into the kitchen and boil yourselves, don't you?
But under the Trudeau anti-racism policy as it pertains to the coronavirus, if I were to call this out for what it truly is, namely a disgusting, filthy, superstitious exercise that will only likely help spread other diseases, does that make me a racist?
Does that make me anti-Hindu?
You know, I think it would actually, at least in the eyes of the liberals, because while they say they are serious about stemming the spread of COVID-19, their actions tell another story that when it comes to a global pandemic, it is political correctness, not public safety, that remains paramount.
And I just wonder how many more will get infected or even die because of this sort of feel-good virtue signaling.
When it comes to the COVID-19 virus, the big question, I think, is this.
Are the various measures being enacted prudent or is it something of an overreaction?
And to help put this into perspective is Edmonton Sun columnist Lauren Gunter, who has just written a column entitled, Using Common Sense During the COVID-19 Panic.
Welcome to the Ezra Levant Show, Lauren.
Thank you very much, David.
Fantastic.
Now, I guess that is the key question.
When it comes to the common sense as it pertains to COVID-19, I think you play your hand very early in the column, Lauren.
You say, frankly, I think the media coverage, financial collapse, and border closures are overkill.
What makes you say that, Lauren?
Well, this is not the world's most pernicious virus.
This isn't the worst pathogen in the world, but you would get the impression sometimes from watching media coverage of it that a single droplet of COVID-19 is enough to kill you.
So you must avoid, you know, go cocoon in your house.
My wife and I are currently self-isolating.
We've been asked to self-isolate by the government, not specifically, but generally because we were away in California visiting some relatives when the announcements were made that you should self-isolate when you come back.
And so, you know, we're not interested in helping to stress out the hospitals or healthcare workers by making more people ill.
We're not ill in any, we're not showing any symptoms ourselves at the moment.
We have no reason to believe that we have the virus, no way of being tested.
But at the same time, too, if we did pick up the virus while we were away, I mean, the infection rate where we were in California is the same as it is in Edmonton.
So there's no reason to think that we are more infectious than the people who stayed behind in Edmonton while we went away.
But we don't want to be responsible for infecting anyone else.
So, you know, the prudent thing is that this infection takes about five days to manifest itself in most people.
You get your first symptoms after five days, but 99% of people have shown symptoms within 14 days.
That's why the 14-day self-isolation.
So, you know, we have a friend who's been very helpful about bringing us groceries and leaving them on the doorstep.
We had a lot of food in the freezer to begin with as a sort of hangover from a couple of big batches of chili and soup that I'd made.
So, other than being bored with our menu, I don't think we're going to have any problems that way.
But nonetheless, do I think this is necessary?
No, and the whole impression that's left behind that COVID-19 is somehow this horrible, deadly virus is largely overplayed.
Is it more deadly than the seasonal flu?
Yes, but I say that only on a case-by-case basis.
You are about 10 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than you are if you get the flu.
But so far, even as of this morning, as of the morning of St. Patrick's Day, we still had fewer than 200,000 people in the world who had contracted COVID-19.
Most of those, about half of those, are still the original outbreak in China.
Worldwide, there are going to be a billion people with the flu.
So, you know, many, many times more dead from influenza than from COVID-19.
Well, first of all, Lauren, I want to say you've some really good friends.
I can't think of one friend in my roster that's going to put a bag of groceries on my porch.
But secondly, you do make a very profound case for your point of view in the column, Lauren, when you use the numbers.
And I'll read verbatim.
At present, over 400 Canadians out of 36 million have COVID-19 and four people have died.
So far this winter, there have been nearly 50,000 confirmed cases of the flu in Canada.
More than 3,000 have died.
Here's my question, Lauren.
All these people that are stalking up on toilet paper and pouring Purel over every pore of their body and staying at home and using Lysol wipes to clean surfaces.
I'm just wondering how many of them got their flu shot months ago when we were supposed to.
And by the way, I asked this question with great trepidation, Lauren, because I know the anti-vaxxers are going to send me so much hate mail just for bringing this up.
But I'm curious, what are your thoughts on this?
Well, you know, as I said, on a case-by-case basis, COVID-19 is deadlier than the flu.
But the flu, because it will infect far more people, will create so many more deaths.
And yet, only about 40% of Canadians will bother to get the flu vaccine.
So that makes me wonder when a COVID-19 or COVID anything.
SARS, for instance, back in 2003 was COVID-02 because it was first identified in 2002.
This is COVID-19 because it was first identified in 2019.
There will be a COVID-2020.
There will be a COVID-2021.
You know, this happens.
It's not as aggressive in terms of the number of people it will infect as the flu is, but it is deadlier to the people who get it.
And still, only we know the flu's bad, but still only 40% of us will get the flu vaccine.
When a COVID vaccine is developed in the next year or two, what percentage of people will go out and get it despite the response of this?
So I think politicians have been criticized for being slow on the uptake with this.
Doug Ford, the Ontario Premier, declared a state of emergency this morning.
I think we're going to get a state of emergency in nearly every province.
The federal government yesterday, the prime minister basically declared a state of emergency, closed all the borders to everyone except returning Canadians and Americans.
I think we're going to end up with a closure to Americans as well at some point.
Those are political responses, despite what the prime minister says about using only the best science to make his decisions.
They're like his decisions on climate change.
Oh, I'm only going to use the best science.
But he only uses the science that confirms his own beliefs.
So I don't think the politicians have been too slow off the mark.
I think what has happened is we've had an overreaction to the likelihood of people getting this virus.
I spent a lot of time in the last 24 hours since I wrote that column that you're mentioning trying to figure out why Italy is having so much of a problem.
And there are, as near as I can tell, three reasons.
A, Italy has the second oldest population in the world after Japan.
About 30% of Italians are 60 or over.
And this virus doesn't necessarily affect people more who are old, but it does kill more people who are old.
Italy also has a higher percentage of smokers than most Western countries.
About 28% of Italians smoke.
And smokers are more at risk from COVID-19 than non-smokers.
In Canada, only about 19% of our adult population smokes, as opposed to almost 30% in Italy.
And we still have a much younger population in Italy.
We have about 18% over 60, about 15% over age 65.
So that makes it less likely that Canadians will experience the same level of infection and the same level of serious symptoms that the Italians have.
And the Italians were also renowned for ignoring the advice on social distancing.
I think Canadians have been far more compliant.
I mean, look at me.
I am one of the biggest anti-government skeptics around.
And yet. you know, my wife and I are self-isolating because we were asked to.
We think it's the socially conscious thing to do.
We don't want to infect anybody else.
And despite the fact, as I said earlier, that we don't believe we're infected, we're just isolating for two weeks, having friends and relatives help us out with things, with errands and tasks like grocery shopping.
Five Weeks of Isolation?00:08:07
Until all of this calms down, it's probably just the sensible thing to do.
But Lauren, here's the thing.
I mean, as you state, far more victims by the flu.
There'll be far more deaths of Canadians by traffic accidents, for example.
But I'm just wondering, when it comes to the medical experts who are consulting with government, is there maybe something that isn't being transparently disclosed in terms of the potential for what this virus can do?
Because, Lauren, I'll tell you, I feel like I'm living in a post-apocalypse movie.
When I drove down to work today, the roads felt like a Sunday, not a Tuesday.
I walk into restaurants.
I see police caution tape roping off the tables and chairs, dark theaters, no leafs, no raptors, you name it.
And I'm just wondering if maybe they are onto something that suggests that this could mutate into a real Spanish flu 1918-1919 kind of epidemic.
What are your thoughts?
Yeah, you mean, I don't think that's likely.
The worst case scenario, I blame the federal health minister, Patty Haydo, for a lot of this, for saying that, well, we expect that upwards of 70% of Canadians could get infected.
Well, you know, theoretically, I suppose 70% could get infected.
But this is a slower-moving virus than the seasonal influenza.
It is, I think, less likely to spread if we maintain some social distancing.
I'm not necessarily against closing down restaurants.
You know, I think it's funny that Doug Ford has closed restaurants except for takeout and delivery.
Well, what happens the first time that somebody's working in one of these kitchens in an otherwise closed restaurant is shown to have COVID-19?
I mean, will we shut down all of the delivery services and the takeout as well?
There gets to be a point where we overreact, where we fear this virus is far more deadly than it is.
And social distancing then becomes complete social isolation.
And I think that at that point, there's a real problem because where are you going to get your food from if you're not, you know, if you're under 30 and you don't know how to cook, which a lot of millennials don't know how to cook very well, what do you do?
You know, you need to be able to get delivery or you need to be able to get takeout.
And I fear that the next level of panic on the part of politicians who are really feeding off the public and the public's feeding off of mainstream media, Then I really worry what's the next step.
Are we going to shut down completely?
We've already nosedive the economy over this virus, which isn't as deadly as Ebola.
It's not as deadly as the antavirus.
It's not as deadly as SARS.
It's not as deadly as an awful lot of, it's not as deadly as rabies.
Rabies remain still 100% fatal if you don't get treatment.
So, you know, are we in our modern sanitized world overreacting to this?
And I think the answer is yes.
Now, can we survive with six to eight weeks of shutting down the NHL, shutting down the NBA, shutting down all of the professionals?
Shut down the PGA.
The PGA is not exactly a contact sport.
Curling the same way, although it's funny because curling was offering ads to promote its fan interaction by saying, hey, the fans in curling get a lot closer than in any other sport.
Well, that's not really a great social distancing strategy.
So, you know, can we, is it okay to do this for five or six weeks, eight weeks at the most, and watch as the infection rates flatten and then decline?
Okay, fine.
But what happens with the next virus that's way more deadly than COVID-19?
And what happens then?
We need to have a vaccine for COVID infection.
One was being developed after the SARS outbreak in 2003, but because there wasn't another SARS outbreak after that, and COVID is a SARS family infection, the vaccine research slowed.
Get a COVID vaccine and then let people either get vaccinated, get inoculated or not the way they do about the flu.
And I think we'll see in certainly in modern Western society, a far slower infection rate next time, far less concern about all of this, maybe more rationality.
I think we've overreacted.
I'm not recommending that people ignore what health authorities are saying, but we're still talking about difficult, unlikely that you're going to get infected.
The Italian rate is an infection, 460 people infected per million of population.
In Canada, it's 10 people infected per million of population.
Jeez, no, Italy is really getting hammered, as you said.
Well, we're almost out of town.
Very quickly, last excellent question.
There seems to be, I keep seeing the date of April 5th as to when these closures and suspensions will end.
I think it's just some sort of mythical date.
And I'm sure it's going to be, at least I feel it's going to be extended.
Certainly Donald Trump said the other day that the experts are telling him the new abnormal won't get back to the old normal until maybe July or August.
What do you think is going to be the timeline, you know, that month where we look back at the spring, you know, at the winter spring of 2020 and go, wow, remember that COVID-19?
That was quite a wild time.
What do you think, Lauren?
I think we're looking at probably early May.
That seems to be what a lot of the health experts are sounding out now.
If you really, if you talk to the real public health authorities, they overreact to just about everything.
And they're now starting to talk about July and August, you know, because you have to have two full incubation periods, that's 28 days, two full incubation periods with no new infection.
No, You know, you've got to get to the point where there's far fewer infections, when people are a little less panicked about all of this.
And then you can start to talk about, do you reopen the schools in this school year?
You know, you're looking at most universities not reopening until the fall term.
Maybe most of the public schools not reopening until September.
I do think that that's an overreaction.
I do think it's overkill.
But, you know, to keep people from panicking and to get the health officials to sign off on this, maybe you're looking at July or August.
I'm hopeful we're looking at early June at the latest.
But yeah, the prediction of July to August may not be that far off.
Wow.
So some tough sledding ahead.
Lauren, thank you so much for your insight into this.
I heard a dog barking at one point.
I hope it's not a rabid dog.
I would be devastated to think that Lauren Gunter perished through such an inglorious thing as a rabid dog bite.
He had the rabies vaccine as a child.
So stay safe, my friend.
Traveling Ban and Wroxham Road00:01:15
And I'm sure we'll be talking about this down the road.
It is the number one story in the world, after all, isn't it?
Absolutely.
Thank you, Lauren.
And that was Lauren Gunter somewhere in Northern Alberta.
Keep it here, folks.
More of the Ezreal event show to come right after this.
Well, folks, that's the show.
And as I mentioned, one aspect of the traveling ban that has not been mentioned by the Trudeau Liberals is what's going on at illegal border crossings such as Wroxham Road.
In fact, also, as I mentioned, nobody in the media party has the temerity to ask such an impolite question, except for us, of course.
Kiam Bexti is going to Wroxham Road and he is going to file a report later on.
We are going to bring you the truth as much as the Trudeau Liberals and members of the media party would like to shield you from that truth.
Well, that wraps up the show for today.
Thanks for bearing with me.
Ezra Levent, he's on assignment, but he'll be back in this space hopefully tomorrow.