Ezra Levant confronts Justin Trudeau at a Barrie, Ontario brew pub on August 17, 2021, over vaccine passports and Afghanistan’s botched withdrawal, exposing his exclusion of independent journalists like Rebel News while mainstream outlets gain access. Over 50 churches burned or vandalized in Canada—including one on Tsutina Land—see little response, yet Levant’s fundraiser at repairthechurch.com surpasses $12,500 with $15,000+ in donations. Local contractors volunteer services, but Levant warns of societal indifference toward Christian worship, questioning progressive priorities amid rising attacks. [Automatically generated summary]
Tonight, why are political parties giving Rebel News the silent treatment?
It's Wednesday, August 18th, 2021, and this is the Ezra Levant Show.
Why should others go to jail when you're the 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.
So there I was in Barrie, Ontario yesterday afternoon at a delightful brew pub called Flying Monkeys.
The slogan for this brewery slash restaurant is, quote, normal is weird, end quote.
You know, what a fitting place for Justin Trudeau to drop by for a meet and greet photo op.
Because when it comes to this so-called new normal that we're enduring, yeah, normal is very, very weird indeed.
Now, I had some questions for the prime minister, most of them related to the upcoming vaccine passports.
For example, I wanted to ask him the following.
Is the vaccine passport permanent?
Will religious exemptions to the vax passport be permitted?
Will the vaccine passport recognize natural immunity for people who got COVID and recovered?
And what will be the consequences for those Canadians who refuse to get vaccinated?
Now, I think those are fair questions.
And I also had some queries regarding Canada's immoral disgrace when it comes to leaving interpreters and their families stranded behind in Afghanistan, which may prove to be a death sentence for them.
And of course, I wanted to know if Justin would have the moral integrity to step down if he fails to get a majority mandate come September 20th, because, hey, let's face it, folks, that's what this election is really all about.
But while we have freedom of the press in Canada, Justin Trudeau, the fanboy of the People's Republic of China, doesn't care to embrace such a concept.
Well, that's not entirely true because there are those journalists the prime minister is happy to shoot the breeze with, whereas other sluggos are persona non-grata.
So how does one tell who's who in the journalistic zoo?
Which scribes are on the favored nations list, and who are the pariahs, at least the pariahs in the eyes of the Liberal Party of Canada?
Well, that's easy peasy, folks.
Government-funded media, which once upon a time was known as the mainstream media, they are welcomed with open arms by Prime Minister Trudeau.
Indeed, check out this footage from yesterday in Barrie.
You know, there's a big red bus for Justin Trudeau and his staff, and there's another almost identical big red bus for the approved media types.
They travel around together like one big happy convoy, along with about seven Chevy suburbans full of mounties.
Golly, that's a lot of carbon, isn't it?
But I digress because after Justin Trudeau bolted out the pub's back door to the safety of his bus, I spotted a government-funded journalist pounding out some pithy prose while sitting on a staircase.
She turned out to be Mariki Walsh of the Globe and Mail, and I thought I'd ask her a question or two.
Check out the video.
What are you doing there?
Are you with the mainstream media?
Oh, it says meeting Mar Marika Walsh.
Just wondering, getting government money, do you think you can objectively report on Prime Minister Trudeau, Mariki?
Ms. Walsh, are you able to be non-biased in your reporting, even though you're getting paid by the Trudeau Liberals?
Wow, for someone who asks questions for a living and expects those questions to be promptly asked, Ms. Walsh sure doesn't like to be queried herself.
But really, isn't she obliged to provide answers?
You and I and some 38 million other Canadians now contribute towards paying her salary.
But no, the only quote is, I'm not talking to you.
Now, there's gratitude for you.
Rebel News journalists are not allowed on the press bus, of course, and I found out that I wasn't even allowed to come into the brew pub, either as a journalist or a paying customer.
Check out my reaction with Norman the Dorman.
Sir, are you an employee at this establishment?
Are you allowed to let me in?
Are you allowed to let me in?
I'm David Menzies with Rebel News.
You are not.
Is this a private affair for Justin Trudeau?
It isn't, so if it's open to the public, can I just come in and buy a beer?
Is that yes or no?
What about you, ma'am?
You're telling him what to say.
Can I come in and buy a beer as a customer?
Unfortunately, we've closed the doors for anyone coming in at the moment.
Oh, there was just a whole bunch of people that walked in front of me right now.
That wasn't up to me.
Well, okay, then.
You know, I hear flying monkeys brew superb beer.
I guess I'll have to take their word for it.
Nevertheless, from the sidewalk, I was able to get within two meters of the Prime Minister, and I fired away with my questions.
But given the lack of response, I think Justin is either deaf or he automatically clams up big time when he sees a rebel news flash on a microphone.
Vaccine passports be permanent!
Mr. Trudeau, will there be religious exemptions for the passports?
What are the consequences for Canadians not taking the vaccine, Mr. Trudeau?
Mr. Trudeau, why have you abandoned our allies in Afghanistan?
Mr. Trudeau, will you resign if you fail to gain a majority?
But you know, it's both frustrating and disturbing.
Shouldn't elected officials or those vying for public office have a duty to answer questions, even prickly questions?
Or will these politicians only talk to people who they agree with?
And it's not just Trudeau.
Check out my colleague, Tamara Ugolini.
Check out how she was treated the other day when she tried to ask questions of Liberal candidate Anita Anand.
Email last night from the Liberal Party that showed that you are for open and transparency.
And you actually, the wording in there was that you facilitate media coverage.
So you're not allowing us as independent journalists into this event?
You're not invited to this event.
I'm sorry.
And the event, was it an invite-only event?
This is an event that you're not invited to.
Minister Anand, I have a question for you.
The Liberals are campaigning on openness and transparency, and I face barriers to get here as a woman trying to work.
Will you give me five minutes of your time?
Gee, what a visual.
After exiting the Cadillac coupe, Anita literally runs away while her blob-like bodyguard turns into a human barricade.
Pathetic.
Oh, and it's not just liberals playing this game, folks.
In the Department of Cowardice, check out how my colleague in Quebec, Alexa Lavoy, was treated at a block Quebecois presser.
You must have been quite an absolute politicians of the Rebel News.
Well, in the Department of Silver Linings Within Dark Clouds of Despair, at least Blanchette was polite to Alexa.
But again, if Mr. Blanchette is afraid of answering questions from Alexa or other rebel news journalists, questions that he himself admits are good ones, then what else is he afraid of?
And is this a man who truly has the right stuff when it comes to being a leader?
But perhaps the biggest head scratcher when it comes to getting interviews with zip-lipped politicians is none other than Conservative Party of Canada leader Aaron O'Toole.
Apparently, O'Toole has imbibed the rebel derangement syndrome Kool-Aid 2, and that is most curious.
You know, our audience is huge, 1.5 million YouTube subscribers alone.
The lion's share of that number surely being red meat conservatives.
Our audience numbers are bigger than the CBC's national newscast, and yet Mr. O'Toole is apparently following the same grossly flawed strategy Andrew Scheer embraced in 2019, namely shun rebel news and court the mean girls of the media party such as the CBC and the Toronto Star.
Oh, and we all know how well that turned out for Mr. Shear.
Despite Justin Trudeau's scandals, too numerous to mention in this space, the journalistic jackals in the media ignored such things as Gropegate and Blackface and instead went after Scheer, given that he allegedly fibbed about his brokerage credentials and being a dual citizen.
Ooh, that's the stuff of serious scandal, is it not?
The problem is that Scheer in 2019, much like O'Toole in 2021, doesn't realize that the vast majority of people toiling in the mainstream media loathe conservatives and absolutely hate the Conservative Party of Canada.
You want proof in the proverbial pudding, folks?
Consider the Unifor ad that debuted earlier this month.
Most of the government-funded journalists are members of this union.
Check out the open disdain Unifor has for Mr. O'Toole.
The next model of conservative is here.
Meet the 2021 O'Toole, ready to steer Canada in the wrong direction.
Engineered by big corporations to leave us behind.
Driven to cut health care and public services, just like Jason Kenny, another out-of-touch politician at a price we can't afford.
Meet the 2021 O'Toole.
New name, same old conservative.
Wow, at least Unifor is transparent in terms of its visceral hatred for all things conservative.
And yet, when my colleague Lincoln Jay ventured to Richmond Hill last night to scrum Mr. O'Toole, the conservative leader had no time for Lincoln, the party line being that we are too disruptive.
Check out this clip and ask yourself: was Lincoln being disruptive?
Were his questions unfair?
Mr. O'Toole, our vaccine passports a temporary or permanent solution.
Trudeau said he'll allow medical exemptions.
Are you looking to provide religious exemptions?
Sure.
Geez, what a difference a year makes, eh?
Last summer when Aaron O'Toole was vying to be the leader of the Conservative Party, he attended the Independent Press Gallery event, which Rebel News was part of, of course, and he openly entertained questions from yours truly.
But alas, that was when Mr. O'Toole was merely a candidate, not the leader of the party.
That was when he was running on a platform of being pro-free speech and anti-cancel culture.
I would argue now that since becoming leader, Aaron O'Toole has not come as advertised.
And as far as political strategy goes, vis-a-vis Andrew Scheer, well, as the Who once saying, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
In the final analysis, all of these politicians who are embracing the cone of silence when it comes to rebel news and other independent media outlets are committing a gross disservice to Canadians from coast to coast.
These are very important times in which we live, and there are so many crucial issues that must be addressed moving forward.
For these so-called leaders to keep their lips zipped tightly when confronted by tough yet fair questions is not only cowardly, but it is also an act of disrespect against Canadians and even an affront to the democratic process.
You know, folks, I can't help but think of that infamous quote by Prime Minister for a day, Kim Campbell, way back in 1993, namely, quote, an election is no time to discuss serious issues, end quote.
Churches And Leadership00:13:14
Wow.
Back in 1993, Kim was crucified for stating that half-baked policy.
But geez, who knew that by 2021, Kim wasn't a nutter, but rather she was just way, way ahead of the curve, unfortunately.
You asked me the most overlooked, underreported story so far in 2021 is what is happening to so many churches across our great dominion.
More than 50 churches have been burned to the ground or vandalized or desecrated in one way or another.
And yet the silence is deafening.
Our political leaders aren't speaking out against us.
The media is all but silent as well.
It's a national disgrace.
But we came across a church and there's going to be a different twist in terms of what's going to happen to the structure there.
And with more on this story, I am joined now by Adam Seuss.
Adam, how you doing, my friend?
Wonderful.
Thanks for having me.
Well, Adam, as I said, I think this is a disgraceful story.
It is an overlooked, underreported story.
But you came across a little church just outside of Calgary.
And tell us what is going to happen there.
Yeah, so it was a very sort of providential turn of events.
We're actually at the Calgary Stampede covering that.
We headed down to the Elbow River Camp, which is an area where First Nations culture is on representation.
And the first person we spoke to actually informed us that her grandfather built the church that the First Nations community, the Tutina nation, owns out on their Latin land.
So they actually invited us out to join them, learn some of their traditions and learn about how this church came to be.
While we were out there, she mentioned that, oh, sure, it would be nice if we could do a little work and get my grandpa's church back in shape.
I immediately thought, well, I thought that was something that our Rebel viewers would certainly be on board to help out for.
So we started a fundraiser at repairthechurch.com after speaking to the parish priest as well as the chief out on that sutina, Chief Roy Whitney, one spot.
The consensus was that the roof is leaking and that's probably the first thing that needs to be replaced.
So we set out to raise $12,500 at repairthechurch.com.
And you know, Adam, what I love about our viewers here is that within 24 hours of launching that website, Repair the Church, we have already received more than $15,000.
We've already exceeded the goal.
And boy, talk about a worthy cause.
I've seen images of this church.
It's a delightful little building, but it really does need a nip and a tuck.
So in addition to a new roof, Adam, what else do we have in store in terms of refurbishing this place of worship?
And I really have to say, I'll get into that, but our viewers have absolutely blown me away.
When we first started, I thought, you know what, I know we've got exceptional viewers, supporters.
$12,500 is a lot of money, but I know with our principled and passionate viewers, we can raise that.
But our viewers absolutely blew me away.
We're actually closing in on well over $15,000.
So we're going to do a number of other projects.
One of the concerns they mentioned was that there's a bit of a pest problem.
So we actually reached out to a local pest control company.
We're going to do an update on this.
Friday, we're going to be doing an update about this, and we told them about what's going on.
They actually volunteered their services.
So they're going to help that.
There's also a broken window at the back of the church.
We thought we could use some of the money towards that.
When we spoke to a local glass company and told them the story, they said they don't want any credit and they're going to come out and replace the window for free.
So there is so much work being done, but there's a ton of work to be done.
This is a very simple church.
It's got a port-a-potting on restrooms.
There's a bit of water damage inside.
Some parts of the roof are sort of coming in.
There's an abundance of work to be done.
So our approach is going to be twofold.
First off, I'd like to extend an invitation to any contractors in the Calgary area who might be willing to volunteer their services to help this church to send me an email at adam at rebelnews.com.
Now, that could be as much as fixing a bit of a ceiling that's damaged by water or a more serious project that if you're a major contractor, you might like to contribute to this community.
Reach out to me.
We'll do that.
Beyond those volunteer efforts, we're going to certainly have a lot of work to do.
We want to help preserve the art that's sort of falling apart on the outside of the building.
Sure could use a paint.
So there's no lack of work to be done to ensure that they have a safe and sound worship space to enjoy their communal prayer together.
You know, Adam, this is such welcome good news and a tonic to the kinds of stories we've been hearing about for weeks now.
And I want to talk about that in the big picture.
Of course, we have to look at what's happening to these churches through the lens of the unmarked native graves at former residential schools.
When that story broke, there was an outcry.
And yet, I can't help but think, what does burning down a church in the here now, especially a church on the native reserve, do to further this issue?
For example, we've spoken to natives who have lost their churches and they've said, listen, weddings have been conducted here, funerals.
It serves as a community center.
And now we have just a big pile of burning embers.
Adam, how do you make sense of this?
I don't think one can.
It really doesn't make sense.
Particularly, this example is perhaps the strongest example because the person who invited us out to Tsutina Land, her own grandfather built this church.
It is owned by the community.
Now, it hasn't been targeted yet, but the story is not a unique one.
Life on these communities can be difficult.
They deal with more funerals and more hardship than we would endure on a day-to-day basis.
And these church buildings are essential.
Two times we've had to reschedule events or meetings out of the church because of unfortunate and untimely passings.
So these churches are part of the healing grounds and part of the really central life.
It's not simply something that occurs on Sundays or on occasions or on Easter.
It's really part of the day-to-day life.
There's funerals, there's weddings.
It's part of their intimate day-to-day lives.
And to attack it is fundamentally disrespectful.
Every Indigenous person that we've spoken to has made abundantly clear that while there were traumas in the past, and we even talked to Bruce Starlight out on Soutina, he said they came and burnt my sweat lodge.
Like they're not respecting my culture either.
He made clear though that we should respect each other and instead of viewing each other as opponents or people walking separately, we should come together, share our cultures, certainly not be attacking each other.
He suggested that if people should respect a sweat lodge, people should also be respecting these churches because they're both holy locations where First Nations people gather for worship and for faith.
Yeah, it's too bad the people carrying out this carnage don't understand that kind of wisdom, Adam.
The other part of this disgrace, as I alluded to off the top, was how ignored this is by our so-called leaders and the media.
It barely gets a mention in the press.
A couple weekends ago, I was out at a Mississauga rally denouncing the burning of these churches.
Our own Rahil Raza was there.
Can I tell you something, Adam?
Not a single elected official was there.
No city councilor or mayor, no MP, no MPP.
And yet I can't help but think, Adam, if this was another place of worship, if this was a single mosque, for example, you'd have the prime minister doing a photo op right on the grounds.
You probably have a royal commission struck right now.
What I'm getting at, Adam, is why the double standard?
Why the silence from the political and media elites on this issue?
Well, I mean, the reality is they don't objectively care about protecting all places of worship.
They care about scoring political points.
And that's why very often when we see these people, progressive politicians or progressive social media fundants taking to social media, what they're tweeting about is very often things where there's no concrete action or no immediate threat to address.
Progressives don't really like taking concrete action.
They like talking about things that happened in the past.
They like talking about things that will score them points, but they don't care about genuinely defending faith groups or standing up in battles that are difficult.
They like scoring those easy points on social media.
We've had some people actually back off helping with this project because they thought, oh, well, churches on First Nation, that's a little bit political.
We're talking about literal structural repair and helping a community with no strings attached, just simple service.
This is just service to a community.
And they're saying that it's too political.
There's nothing political about a place of worship being respected and venerated by their community.
And for those people in the community, asking for it to be respected externally.
That should apply.
It doesn't matter if you're Muslim or Jewish or Christian.
Your place of worship should be honored.
And that's one of the things we've really wanted to drive at throughout this entire campaign.
This is about honoring and protecting places of worship, a value that was once intrinsically Canadian, something we now understood.
I think 10, 20 years ago, if we saw these churches being attacked, it would be categorically condemned.
Now it's not necessarily on vogue to condemn the attack of Christian places of worship.
So politicians are doing it.
And that's a problematic shift within society.
Wow, how sad.
And speaking of sadness, I guess a sad sign of the times, Adam, maybe some of the money that's being raised should go into surveillance cameras because these desecrations of churches are still happening.
And, you know, there still hasn't been any significant arrests as far as I'm aware of.
What do you think about that?
It's tough.
I'm following up regularly with police.
I've spoken to a bunch of individuals, and repeatedly we have been told that there is an abundance of evidence and that they should be able to narrow this down to a very short list of suspects.
And yet we never see action.
I can't help but think, as you mentioned, that perhaps if this was another faith group, there may have been more action.
They're very much hoping to sweep this under the rug because, once again, they don't want to get into the nuanced conversation.
I don't think there is a nuanced conversation.
There are two things which you can say, which do not conflict each other.
What happened at the residential schools is dreadful and unexcusable.
And attacking and burning worship places is dreadful and unexcusable.
You don't need to preface or counteract those.
Those are both statements which stand alone and have merit and they can coexist.
So I think that that is a sentiment that the police services who are investigating that are politicians.
And we ourselves have to look into our heart and understand that we can do and say both of those things.
Yeah, 100%.
Whatever happened to the saying, two wrongs don't make a right.
But on a high note, Adam, I know you'll be taking photos and videos of the church.
Well, I can't wait to see the before-after transformation.
Thankfully, this is a church story in our great dominion that's going to have a happy ending.
Last word goes to you, my friend.
Again, I also encourage contractors who are willing to help to reach out at adam at revelnews.com.
I'm really hoping that we can turn this into a story of joy, a story of communities coming together.
As we said in our original interview with Bruce Starlight, us sitting down together and really communicating together and doing something positive to shift the narrative in society and to shift the narrative within our culture.
So thank you so much to our amazing viewers who have already far surpassed what I thought we might do in a month in less than 24 hours.
But if you're able, please continue to give at repairthechurch.com.
And again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much, everybody.
Well, Adam, I want to thank you for some great reporting on this file, reporting that is much needed given that the CBC and the rest of the government-funded media wouldn't touch this with a 10-foot pole.
As you say, it doesn't fit their political narrative.
So thank you, my friend.
And like I said, can hardly wait to see the before-after transformation photos of this little church.
Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
You got it.
And that was Adam Seuss in Calgary.
Keep it here, folks.
more of the Ezreal event show to come right after that.
Well, that's tonight's show.
Thanks a lot for tuning in, folks.
The Big Boss Man Ezra Event will be back here tomorrow.