David Menzies and Tamara Ugolini expose Liberal hypocrisy by detailing how journalists were blocked from a $500-per-ticket fundraiser with MPs Allison Lester and Minister Anita Anand, who arrived in a 500+ HP Cadillac. Meanwhile, Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet dodged questions on vaccine passports (Quebec’s last until September 1) and internet censorship, refusing engagement despite Rebel News’ influence. Norfolk County Mayor Crystal Chop’s COVID claims at Port Dover’s biker rally backfired amid public defiance, mirroring elite exemptions critics mock. The episode underscores politicians’ growing contempt for independent media, eroding democratic accountability. [Automatically generated summary]
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Welcome to Rebel Roundup, ladies and gentlemen, and the rest of you, in which we look back at some of the very best commentaries of the week by your favorite Rebels.
I'm your host, David Menzies.
Well, Tamara Ugolini tried to ask some questions of Liberal MP Anita Anand.
Tamara's Exclusion00:08:37
And the result?
Well, Anita ran away and then a big red blob of a man impeded Tamara from getting into the venue.
Tamara will drop by to give us a quick update on transparency, Liberal Party of Canada style on the 2021 campaign trail.
And wow, it's like deja vu all over again, proving that the Liberals don't have a monopoly on cowardice when confronting members of the independent press.
Alexa Lavoie asked Block Quebecois leader Mr. Blanchette two questions.
He admitted they were good questions, but he refused to answer them.
Why?
Well, evidently it is BQ policy not to answer questions from Rebel News.
Alexa will have all the unbelievable details.
And letters, we get your letters, we get them every minute of every day, and you had plenty to say about the Uber Karen mayor of Norfolk County who declared Port Dover's famous Friday the 13th biker gathering as a non-event.
The reason?
Well, COVID, of course.
But guess what?
Thousands of bikers ignored her proclamation and congregated at Port Dover nevertheless.
Hey, was there ever any doubt?
Those are your rebels now.
Let's round them up.
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.
It's okay.
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 chime?
I'm Tamara Ugolini with Rebel News and earlier today I was physically prevented from attending a schmoozy cocktail lunch with a liberal cabinet minister priced at $500 a ticket because I'm not affiliated with state-funded media.
This obvious campaign stop or rather fundraising event was taking place at the Mill Restaurant and Pub in Cobourg, Ontario.
It featured recently elected Liberal MP Allison Lester and Minister of Public Services and Procurement Anita Anand.
See, I had received an email informing me of this event.
At the bottom of it, it outlined how committed the Liberal Party is to openness and transparency at their fundraising events, including apparently facilitating media coverage.
That's right, they don't just welcome it, they actually facilitate it, or so they allege.
Because I responded to the media contact asking where at the Mill the event would take place in terms of whether it would be hosted indoors or outdoors.
And at the same time, I asked for any other relevant media information.
But I didn't think anything of them not responding.
And so when I arrived early to the luncheon, I went to the entrance of the event where I was met by Liberal campaign gatekeeper Ben Smith.
Party of Canada doesn't recognize you as a media source.
I received the 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.
And why is that?
I was told you're not invited.
Okay, I'm a local resident here in Northumberland County.
I'm also an independent journalist.
These are public servants.
The Liberal Party stands for openness and transparency.
Is that correct?
I was told you're not invited to this event.
Well, there you have it.
Tamara Ugalini is persona non-grata at a Liberal Party of Canada event.
But when it comes to getting an answer from that blob barricading the entrance, there are no answers forthcoming.
And that, my friends, speaks volumes.
And joining me now to discuss yet another snub of a rebel reporter on the 2021 campaign trail is indeed Tamara Ugalini.
How you doing there, Tamara?
Hey, David, I'm doing well.
Thanks.
How are things over there?
Everything is just great.
Tamara, I got to tell you, the optics look so brutal on that video.
Not for you, my friend, but for the Liberals.
Anita Anad jumps out of her Cadillac coop and literally runs to the venue while that Jabroni makes like a defensive lineman in the NFL to keep you from following her.
Where is this transparency and openness we keep hearing the liberals bragging about?
Well, that was the exact question that I had for Anita Anand.
And also, as you saw, this Ben Smith character who was the Liberal gatekeeper for their event.
It doesn't look very open and or transparent, if you ask me.
But you know what?
This speaks to the quality of the candidate, I think, Tamara.
If she had stalled with you and just engaged in a civil conversation, maybe she doesn't like you.
Maybe she doesn't like your politics.
Maybe she doesn't like rebel news.
So what?
Isn't she strong enough on her own policies and principles to have a discussion with you to basically politely tell you why you're wrong and she's right?
But no, she runs for the hills.
Right.
And it was funny because we didn't mention it in the report itself, but when Catherine and I were staked out front of the Mill restaurant and pub for over an hour, we actually saw what appeared to be the attendees on the inside facilitated by Allison Lester, the MP here in Northumberland, Peterborough South.
She was actually giving details on how exactly Anita could pull in and pull right up to that entrance to intentionally evade us.
And as soon as they caught wind that we were kind of watching and listening, they immediately skirted away, scurried away, and went to another part where we weren't able to see them.
But the whole thing, I mean, like I said before, that I kind of figured something like this would happen.
I mean, it's very common for rebel reporters to be ousted by these bureaucrats.
But when it happens to you on the scene and you're being respectful and you're asking just one question, it's very disheartening and pretty surreal, actually.
I still can't really believe it.
Even if it's something to say from Anita and Nan, you know, I'm at this event.
We're not taking media questions.
I'd be happy to touch base with you at X, Y, and Z.
I mean, how hard is that?
Oh, exactly, Tamara.
And too bad liberal policies aren't as solid as the, I guess, getaway or get into the venue plan that they hatch, which was successful in blocking you.
I mean, it was almost comical.
I'm going off on a bit of tangent here, but she's in a Cadillac CTS coupe.
I don't know if you noticed whether or not it was the V-Series, which means it's over 500 horsepower under that hood.
And what I couldn't help but notice about that is that these are the liberals that are all about climate change and carbon taxes and going green.
And she's showing up in the event in a hom rod.
It was reminiscent of Elizabeth May a while back in a Dodge Viper, no less.
I mean, they're not even just the hypocrisy of what they say and how they act is staggering to me, Tamara.
Absolutely.
And I can echo that sentiment when I covered the Justin Trudeau campaign stop in Coburg on Monday night, where he showed up in this huge decked-out bus, two buses, one for Justin Trudeau and one for his media cheerleaders.
Echo Chambers and Huge Buses00:03:21
I mean, and I'm thinking to myself, so much for Net Zero with your two huge campaign buses.
And they just offload on off of these buses like it's nothing.
And you know that they're not solar powered.
Oh, 100%.
I saw those two buses at the Berry event.
Plus, let's not forget the seven suburban SUVs that the Mounties are driving around in.
A bit of a big carbon footprint there, I should think.
I think somewhere climate Barbie weeps.
But you know, getting back to the issue at hand, not just for you, Tamara, but for all of us here at Rebel News.
Is this the new normal when it comes to doing media scrums that candidates will only give interviews to those people they like, to those people whose politics they like?
Because to me, that's very cowardly.
Absolutely.
I agree.
And it begs the question that if you're only speaking to people who agree with you, then how can we uphold the idea of having democracy and scrutiny when you're an elected public official and whether or not you want to engage with only those who agree with you, there's going to be people who don't agree with you.
And as a politician, you have to represent everyone, not just those select few who are within your echo chamber.
And that's where we get dissent and that's where we get reasonable debate.
And that's where we can come up with policy that actually makes sense for everyone, not just one small demographic of individuals.
And you know, Tamara, I can't help but think of President Donald Trump when he would have pressers at the White House, and some of which would go for more than an hour.
And he would deliberately take questions from those members of the media that absolutely despised him, such as Jim Acosta.
I think he actually had sport with it.
He enjoyed the back and forth debate.
But here in Canada, I think we, you know, of every political stripe, it seems, we have just too many cowards out there that are triggered by tough questions, tough, albeit fair questions.
And like I said, that's not the kind of leader I want to cast my ballot towards.
Absolutely.
And I think that goes back to when you're comfortable and confident in the policies and your rationale for making the decisions that you're making as a politician or an elected official, then you should be able to have that back and forth and you should be able to justify and refute or provide a rebuttal to naysayers.
And that just doesn't seem to be happening on all levels of government.
And from especially that we've seen with the COVID narrative, are these public health officials who come up with all these rules and regulations?
And then when they're questioned or the validity comes under scrutiny, they have no leg to stand on.
So I think that's really important here as we approach the federal election is making sure that these politicians have a leg to stand on and they can back up what they're saying with facts and confidence because skirting media, I mean, like you said in the beginning, that is, it's embarrassing.
Quebec's Vaccine Passport Controversy00:14:25
And it's really surreal that that's where we're at with Canadian politics.
Yeah.
Although, let's be fair, they don't skirt all media.
You reference the media bus that follows the Justin Chudeau bus, which are almost identical looking buses.
For the government-approved and funded media, oh, yeah, they have time to shoot the breeze with them.
But then again, as our boss, Ezra Levant, likes to say, the media watchdogs have become lapdogs under this regime, and shame on them as well.
In any event, Tamara, great report, and you have a wonderful weekend in Coburg.
By the way, is the beach open there?
Can you get on that beach without getting arrested?
The beach is open now seven days a week.
I believe it's from 7 or 8 a.m. until 11 p.m.
So there is a COVID cutoff there.
And the fencing will remain, I don't know, until sometime in the fall anyway, because in case of an emergency, they need to be able to shutter that beach quickly.
The madness never ends.
Well, you go out and get some rays and enjoy the nice warm lake while you can.
And thanks once again, Tamara.
Thanks, David.
All the best.
And that was Tamara Ugolini in Coburg.
Keep it here, folks.
More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.
So I went to the headquarter of Medi-Cago because today the leader of the Bloc Quebecois, Yves-François Blanchet, went there to discuss about the drug production and research in Quebec.
So let's see if he will want to answer to my question.
We're going to move on to the next question with Rebel News.
Yes, my name is Alexa for Rebel News.
My question today is to know your position regarding the vaccine passport at the federal level, but also at the provincial level, because we know very well that in Quebec, the measures should be in place until September 1, and that the rights of certain people will be brimed at the measures, in fact, in places, and places of pleasure for certain people.
And also a new federal level, we transparent, and a news, it is also drunk.
You m'envoyez sincerely.
Désolée, madame, parce que bien que votre question apparaisse tout à fait raisonnable, je maintiens la politique de ne pas répondre aux questions de Rebel News.
En suivi?
Pardon?
En suivi?
Ça va être la même réponse, en suivi.
En suivi.
En fait, moi, je m'intéressais aussi à savoir quelle était votre position par rapport au niveau libéral d'encourager la censure de l'Internet.
Encore une fois, je dois à regret vous indiquer que je continue à ne pas répondre aux questions de Rebel News.
Donc, ils n'ont pas répondu à répondre aux questions de Rebel News.
You just saw it straight up.
I asked two simple questions really fair enough about the vaccine passport at federal and provincial and about the censorship and federal about the internet.
And they refused both of my questions.
So it's simple.
People who refuse to answer to my question are in the side of the government right now.
So they choose who have the answer, who can ask the question.
And this is actually a censor ship of which media can have the answer or not.
So I will never have my answer because they don't want to answer to me.
Well, unlike so many liberals who are just downright rude in dealing with certain members of the independent media, I will give points to Mr. Blanchette for at least being polite and complimentary when it came to giving a rebel news reporter the bums rush.
Oh, don't get me wrong, folks, this guy is a coward, to be sure.
It's just that he's a very cordial coward indeed.
And joining me now with more on this story is our Quebec-based reporter, Alexa Lavoy Bonjour, Alexa.
Bonjour.
So, Alexa, that was really something to see.
And also, the Bloch Quebecois leader actually making mention that this is policy for him not to respond to questions from a rebel news reporter.
Gee, Alexa, who wrote this policy and what's the reason for this policy?
I think it's probably something that he made up because I don't understand that it can be really a policy.
Is it from Justin Trudeau or maybe like the government right now?
But I did talk with other leaders of other parties and they did accept to answer my question, but not him.
You know, it's amazing.
It's like he's embodying cancel culture.
He's a one-man cancel culture machine.
And what I don't understand, Alexa, is where is the debate here?
Why is he so scared to take you on?
I remember back in the days when I was at Ryerson, you could have debates on the most contentious issues, capital punishment, gun control, abortion.
And after the debate, you'd go to the pub and have a beer.
And now it's like I find you or your politics or your question offensive, so I'm not going to answer it.
And this guy wants to be a leader?
Yeah, so that surprised me so much because I came to see the girl and I say, I have a question.
So I asked my question and he said that it was a legitimate question that he, but he said that he would not answer to urban news.
So I took the opportunity to another question, but I had the same answer.
And when I came after him, after following him on his bus, his bodyguard stopped me, kind of.
I was like, are you scared of me?
Are you scared of Rebelle?
I'm not sure I understand because I'm not as ugly as that.
So really, Alexa, the policy of so many of these leaders in this 2021 election campaign, it's that I'm only going to respond to your questions if I like you or like your politics.
That's pathetic in my book.
But it's why I say to him, you're running for an electoral campaign.
You should answer to anybody who asks you a question.
That is democracy.
That is supposed to be on what we live right now.
But now you decide from who you take the question, and you know that the question would be easy for you to answer.
That's a problem.
Oh, it's incredible.
By the way, Alexa, a bit of a tangent here, but how is the Bloc Quebecois polling right now?
I always find Quebec to be an absolutely fascinating province when it comes to elections because I think Quebecers are very fickle people.
On one hand, you get the orange wave.
Then you get the Bloch Quebecois winning so many seats in 2019 that nobody saw coming.
How are they trending these days?
Is there going to be a surprise coming out of Quebec again?
So you need to understand our word Quebec.
Quebec always believed that they were different than the rest of Canada because we speak French and a lot of people don't really speak English.
So we grow in a different world than the rest of Canada.
So our information doesn't come out from outside.
We took it from the mainstream media because we never had nothing else to take our information in French.
So people believe what they saw in the TV.
They believe on mainstream media.
They believe on what they say.
But now the mainstream media doesn't act like just showing like candidates.
They show what they want you to see.
So that influenced the choice of people.
So Alexa, how do you feel in your heart in terms of the Black Quebecois?
Do you think they're going to do as well as they did in 2019 this time around?
So I'm not for really Black Quebecois because for a long time they wanted Quebec to be a country.
But we know that Quebec cannot be separate from the rest of Canada because we will just die by the death.
And So maybe they will do good because they are the only party from Quebec, really, but you have Max in Bernier that is from both.
But most of the other leaders are not from Quebec.
So we are a kind of people that will support people that come from our place.
It's something that we always saw in Quebec.
But it's something I've said that he was against the vax passport.
And so that did influence some people that I know.
But I was like, okay, maybe he said that because he is now running for the campaign and he knows that a lot of Canadians are against it.
Is it like a tactical or it's really what he thinks?
Indeed.
And well, I'll tell you one last question, Alexa.
I think regardless of politics, if I was a Quebecer and I was watching that press conference and I see the leader of a political party too afraid, too cowardly to answer questions, legitimately good questions, which he himself admits from an independent news journalist.
That's not a positive vibe I'm getting.
I'm thinking this guy's a coward.
He can't even honestly answer questions.
Do you see things changing during the campaign?
Or every time you run into this individual, is he going to do the Sergeant Schultz, I know nothing, I see nothing routine?
But I think what he did, it's because he get viral.
A lot of people did wrong to me.
I think that will turn really bad to him because he refused to answer hand-empend media.
And when you run for a campaign, you should be able to answer to anybody.
Like everybody that asks you a question, you should answer.
So I think that will turn against him.
But it is hopeful.
He should have answered my question as any other leader.
Yeah, I totally agree.
It was not a good look.
And the shame is all on him in this case.
Alexa, it was a wonderful report.
Thanks for trying.
Maybe if you get another chance to scrum him, we'll see if he changes his tune.
Not that I'm very hopeful.
So thank you so much.
And you have a good weekend, my friend.
Thank you, you two.
Thank you.
And that was Alexa LeBois in Quebec.
Keep it here, folks.
More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.
The mayor of Norfolk County has declared this a non-event.
She doesn't want you coming here because of COVID.
What do you make of that?
Ah, stupid decision.
Look at all the people that are here.
It looks like an event.
Yeah, it looks like an event to me and a happy event, too.
Okay, so money talks and bikers walk?
I believe so, yeah.
Well, bikers, bikers don't listen anyway.
Well, fancy that.
Thousands of freedom-loving bikers ignored the proclamation by Mayor Chopp that the Friday the 13th gathering was a non-event.
Shockers.
In any event, you had plenty to say about yet another COVID-CAREN politician trying to be a party pooper when it comes to an event that is so beloved by the common men, all in the name of Wuhan virus safety protocols, of course.
Josie Simmons writes, nothing like seeing a crowd of healthy people enjoying life.
CP24 didn't scare them.
Yes, Joti, imagine that, not listening to Mayor Chop nor being influenced by the scare stream media.
Being in Port Dover last Friday was like taking a time machine back to 2019, you know, when things were normal.
Kaylin Royson writes, taking on bikers.
Yep, that'll work.
Indeed, Kaylin, freedom is a big part of biker culture.
And to think these folks would cower into compliance because some mealy-mouthed mayor arbitrarily declared their gathering a non-event.
What an epic fail by Mayor Chop.
In Darkness writes, Canadians hand Mayor Crystal Chop a map of Canada so she can check just what damn country she is living in.
Not a bad idea in Darkness, but then again, perhaps Mayor Chop is one of those elitists who actually dismisses the very idea of Canada.
Mayor Chop's Epic Fail00:01:00
Remember how Climate Barbie's house husband Scott Gilmore wrote in a column in McLean's a few years ago entitled, Canada is Not a Country?
Yeah, Canada is Not a Country.
But Gilmore's wife gets paid very nicely by this non-nation as a cabinet minister.
And Gilmore himself also gets a paycheck via Ottawa as McLean's is subsidized by your tax dollars.
But Canada is not a country.
Give me a break.
Michael Bourne writes, it's the happiness that's blocking the rally.
Only the elite globalists are allowed to enjoy some fun.
You know, you have a good point there, Michael.
Don't all, didn't all the COVID rules go out the window for Barack Obama's birthday party?
And how about those multi-millionaire Blue Jays qualifying for a so-called national interest exemption so they can play baseball games out of Skydome again?