David Menzies and Ezra Levant defend the Canadian Trucker Convoy as a peaceful, grassroots movement, rejecting "KKK" media labels and $10M GoFundMe support as proof of public backing. Levant notes political shifts—Kenney’s 32% polling alignment, Legault’s tax stance reversal, and Moe’s COVID rule end—while Menzies criticizes O’Toole’s leadership. In Coutts, Alberta, Simone and Fizzard deny RCMP assault claims, framing protests as broader resistance to government inaction. Toronto’s Indigenous jersey ban is mocked as "woke madness," with Menzies dismissing listener concerns as virtue signaling while ignoring Mi’kmaq views like Gerald Cortez’s. The policy’s hypocrisy—allowing Indigenous groups but banning others—exposes perceived elite overreach, diverting focus from systemic issues like reserve water crises. Both segments argue convoy solidarity and jersey debates reveal media bias and political cowardice in the face of public defiance. [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 the very best commentaries of the week by your favorite rebels.
I'm your host, David Menzies.
The Trucker Convoy rolled into Ottawa last weekend, but if you received your information from the mainstream media, you'd think that it was members of the KKK that descended upon Parliament Hill, not Patriots.
Thankfully, Rebel News reporters were there in full force to provide the other side of the story.
And the big boss man himself, Ezra Levant, will drop by to explain what really transpired last weekend.
Pierre Polyev's Respect00:15:22
Speaking of Rebel News reporters and truckers, Kian Simone and Sid Fizzard are currently embedded with the truckers at the Alberta-Montana border.
They'll join me to discuss what's happening in this particular neck of the woods.
And letters, we get your letters, we get them every minute of every day.
And you had plenty to say about the city of Toronto implementing a policy in which native-themed sports jerseys, such as the glorious Chicago Blackhawks sweater, are now banned at city-owned hockey rinks.
What the fuck?
Those are your rebels now.
Let's round them up.
Hello everybody.
It is cold today.
It is cold today.
Almost as cold as Justin Trudeau's heart.
It's great to be here.
And on behalf of Rebel News, I salute you.
And I say keep speaking truth to power.
But I want to tell you what excites me the most about this crowd.
I see a lot of cameras, a lot of independent journalists, because when people say what do we do about the media, I say you become the media.
That's what you do.
The media acts like a party, the media party.
It's a subsidiary of the Liberal Party.
So you've got to tell the story yourselves.
Everyone who is here, everyone who is along the road, has to bear witness and testify to what they saw.
Because there's two competing narratives.
The government says you're racist.
The government says you're sexist.
The government says you're violent.
In the meantime, I've never seen a more diverse group of Canadians.
But far from violence, people want to not be violated anymore.
Justin Trudeau says you're extreme, but he's the one who has violated our civil rights.
He says you're a fringe.
Well, that's a pretty bloody big fringe.
Let me close by saying this.
Someone asked me this morning, what's the point?
What's going to happen?
Why did we all gather in Ottawa?
Is he going to listen?
Is he going to resign?
Is the governor general going to ask him to step down?
No, he'll hold on to power as hard as he can.
Let me tell you what I think the point is.
The point is the convoy itself.
To show that you're not alone.
To show that you're not the crazy one they are.
To show that you're not the only person in the world they are.
You already achieved your goal just by being here.
And the fact that millions of dollars came into the GoFundMe for the truckers, even if they would have canceled that, it was still a success because it was a measurement of how much people cared.
You have succeeded just by being here.
Well, folks, although 2022 is still in its infancy, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that brief three-minute speech is perhaps the best speech of the year thus far.
And without further ado, I'm joined by the orator himself, Ezra Levant.
Ezra, so many angles, so many components of what happened last weekend in Ottawa to dissect and discuss.
I want to talk first of all about the media coverage.
I was in Toronto at the time.
I was listening to a bunch of talk radio.
Ezra, I swear to God, given the media reporting on so-called objective news stations, you would have thought that it was a KKK rally descending on Parliament Hill.
It was atrocious.
What is your take on how this is being portrayed in the media?
Well, first of all, the protest was literally at the office of, I don't know, 250 journalists in the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
Like, they couldn't avoid it if they were just going to work.
But I think about 245 of them did avoid it.
Maybe five reporters from the Ottawa Press Gallery descended down to the rabble.
I give Evan Solomon credit for being one of them, Rupa.
I can't remember her last name from the National Post is another one.
And those that did were fairly honest.
They said, look, there's a lot of well-meaning people here.
They might be a little rough around the edges, but they have genuine concerns.
And it's a lot more diverse than its critics say.
But like I say, 245 out of the 250 did not.
So they were in their cubicles or cowering at home.
And they were really working off of Twitter rumors or press releases from the liberal war room.
And so you really had two completely different narratives.
As Scott Adams would say, we were watching two different movies, except for one group wasn't even watching it.
And that's the great contest.
There are two narratives, that these are heroes, peaceful, regular, severely normal Canadians standing up for all of us, or these are alt-right, fascist, revolutionary insurrectionists who would turn violent in a second.
Those both cannot be true.
One of them is true, one isn't.
And the thing is, I think normally in the past, the government narrative, the media party narrative, would win because they just have so much momentum and resources and they all repeat each other.
But in this case, I don't think it's working.
I have a few reasons for that.
First is obviously a great number of people either participated or cheered along or were like one degree of separation from it.
I would say that probably one million people either saw it, cheered it, waved it on, or were in somehow part of it and felt connected to it.
So they don't believe a lie about it.
Second of all, I see a poll out by Abacus, and you know them.
Their chairman is Bruce Anderson, a top liberal activist.
So they're no friends of the trucker.
And they just released a poll showing that 32% of Canadians see themselves in the convoy.
Now, David Coletto, the chief statistician there, said, you know, that's a minor number.
A minor number?
Justin Trudeau got elected prime minister with 32% in the polls, right?
So if 32% of Canadians see themselves in the truckers, well, that's certainly more than see themselves as New Democrats or the Conservative Party of Canada.
That is an enormous force that went from, that really came out of nowhere in the last two weeks.
Another measurement, this is what I said in my speech, is the $10 million raised by the truckers is very valuable for the cause.
But more than that, it's a measurement of the passion out there and the commitment.
I mean, there's no political party that's raised $10 million in the last two weeks.
And why is it that all of a sudden, and Angus Reed shows similar polling, now a majority of people say it's time to end the lockdowns.
That is because of the truckers.
Why did Francois Lego say, you know what?
A, I'll meet with the truckers.
B, I'm not going to proceed with my tax, the unvax.
Is he doing it because he's truly had a change of heart, like the Grinch, his heart grew three sizes?
Or is it because he saw the polls and said, yikes, this is the first opposition that there's really been in two years, and wouldn't you know it's working?
Because it's so authentic.
It's so uncontrived.
It's so uncynical.
It's so honest.
And it's not affiliated with any political party.
And the entire political class has been discredited.
And why did Scott Mo announce a complete end to all COVID rules?
He didn't give a specific date, but he said it's imminent.
Why did Jason Kenney move from saying, oh, maybe by St. Patrick's Day we'll be done, that's March 17th, to, oh my God, I think in a few days we'll do it's the truckers.
And across this country, there has been more movement towards freedom in the last 10 days than there has been in the last hundred weeks.
I totally agree with that, Ezra.
And by the way, pursuing the political angle you're going down with in terms of those political figures with those premiers, let us not forget the other big news of the week, Aaron O'Toole finally being ousted.
A lot of people say, and I subscribe to this point of view, Ezra, this trucker convoy was a catalyst in the trigger being, this is being mocked by those in the media.
They're saying, yeah, the truckers are also claiming responsibility for warmer weather in Ottawa.
That was a quote from a conservative commentator, I might say, on radio.
What is your take?
Absolutely.
Yeah, okay.
Absolutely.
First of all, it's the only intervening fact in the last two weeks of any substance.
Second of all, it drew into sharp focus the fact that Aaron O'Toole has been a coward, has been unconservative, has not opposed, and has not led over the last two months.
He has been no Ron DeSantis.
He has not truly been conservative.
He has not truly opposed.
And the worst part was when he just went with that richtess grin and he said, and we support, and people say, oh, that inauthentic, plastic, say nothing, don't answer.
Like it just that he's grating the way he's so fake.
I think it, and you know what?
There's so much pressure on grassroots MPs, and especially in the West, especially in Saskatchewan, especially that they just say, you know what?
We can see the writing on the wall.
And you started to see little acts of rebellion.
And between the acts of rebellion and O'Toole's own absolute vanilla say-nothingness, it was just a crisis.
O'Toole did the usual.
He lashed out, just like he lashed out at Derek Sloan, just like he lashed out at everybody.
Except for this time, it didn't work.
He was given the heifo.
It is absolutely on the truckers because they were the catalyst.
He didn't rise to the occasion.
He was stressed by the fact that his grassroots were no longer obeying him on that.
The truckers got rid of Aaron O'Toole, and I thank them for it.
And you know, Ezra, I think he missed an opportunity.
Had he gone out there to meet with the truckers, had he echoed the statements of Tucker Carlson on Fox News, who has been covering this issue, which is to say, I love what Tucker made this quote.
If you were alive, thank a trucker.
The groceries that get to the supermarket are from truckers.
The medicine that gets to pharmacies are from truckers.
And on and on it goes.
Aaron O'Toole made that speech and forceful, because right now I still don't know if he supports the copy.
Well, he has to take a poll first.
Well, I mean, seriously, part of being a leader is that you're not the last one to join a parade.
Maybe a leader isn't the very, very, very first one.
Maybe that's a little too dangerous.
But a leader wants to generally be ahead of the curve.
Ron DeSantis, and I mentioned him not just because I think he's an outstanding governor, but I remember those very early days.
It was two weeks of absolutely bruising media political response to him.
And so he was ahead of the curve and he didn't blink and he went through it.
And now the Republicans in Miami are so strong.
The Democrats don't want in Miami?
Seriously?
Yes, seriously.
I mean, that was such a Democrat town until the last few years.
And that's a leader.
Now, I'm not saying Aaron O'Toole should be super brave because there's a line between bravery and craziness.
But he didn't even try.
Contrast that to Pierre Polyev, who gave some wonderful speeches in the last week, including speeches to the CBC saying, don't judge everybody by one bad apple.
And I heard from my friends in the caucus that Aaron O'Toole was specifically displeased with Pierre Polyev being mean to the CBC.
And even Garnett Genuous, who is a conservative MP from Northern Alberta, Oil Patch, who, to his great discredit, came out in favor of the carbon tax because Aaron O'Toole told him to just the worst political moment in Garnett Genuis' life, but it showed how obedient he was.
Aaron O'Toole lashed out at Garnett Genuis, who was an Aaron O'Toole booster, lashed out claiming he was like some bigot.
And Garnett Genuis replied and said, no, I'm not.
And that's they're being deeply divisive.
And when you're attacking, and even in his last attempt to save himself, what did O'Toole do?
He did a Trudeau move.
He did a CBC move.
He did a deplatforming move.
He did a media name-calling move.
Aaron O'Toole, I don't know if it was his advisors or if that truly was in his blood, but he was never conservative.
He lied about being conservative.
And let's stop talking about Aaron O'Toole because in about 10 minutes, people will, in fact, I've already forgotten who he is.
Candice Bergen is the interim leader.
And she's been stronger.
Yes.
Well, anyone's been stronger than Aaron O'Toole.
And I think if Pierre Polyev steps into the leadership race, it's his to lose.
I mean, he's so strong.
He's so well regarded.
I mean, I would challenge you.
Name five other Conservative Party critics.
Name one other critic besides Pierre Polyev.
He has the policy smarts.
He has the communication skill.
He's been around long enough.
But does he want the gigas right?
Well, how could he not want it?
I don't know if there's any personal reason why he's not going to campaign.
I thought he was going to run last time.
He sort of dipped his toe in the pool.
It is his turn.
And if he misses it, he may miss his moment.
I think Pierre Polyev is respected by the other side.
They may not like him.
They may find him grating or too slick, but he is very well briefed.
No one can argue that Pierre Polyev doesn't know his file.
He's a good communicator.
He is a good local politician.
He works very hard.
I think he would be a great conservative leader.
I think he could actually become prime minister.
RCMP Mishandle Convoy Blockade00:15:04
I agree with you, and I love Pierre.
He is always on red hot.
Ezra, one last thing.
I want to ask about this convoy in Ottawa and in Coutz, Alberta.
They haven't been there for even a week yet.
And there's this pressure.
Come on, move on, move on.
You made your point.
Get out of town.
How is it that two years ago, there were other people blocking rail lines?
It went on for weeks and weeks and weeks, costing billions of dollars to the Canadian economy.
And hey, what you going to do?
It's a peaceful protest.
Why the double standard, my friend?
Well, I think you answered it right there because it was, I mean, it's, I mean, Black Lives Matter protests, which not so much in Canada, but throughout the United States, torched the urban center of a half dozen U.S. cities.
Justin Trudeau actually went to join them, breaking his no public gatherings rule.
It's all about the politics.
These protesters, in the entire weekend, in the first weekend of the protest in Ottawa, not a single arrest, not a single charge by police.
I was there.
I saw people picking up garbage, people shoveling snow.
Very peaceful, severely normal people who had never been to a protest before in their life.
But because they're against the lockdown, they were demonized.
You see, calls for the military.
The military for what?
You're going to shoot them?
Well, it worked for Justin's father in 1970, the War Measures Act.
Yeah, and it's quite something for all the Ottawa insiders, for the media, for the bureaucrats, for the politicians to say, okay, you've had your two days of democracy.
Now, shoot, shoot, shoot, you're done with your two days of democracy.
No, it doesn't work that way.
And sorry to have gross working people in your fancy city, but you actually work for us.
And I love the, and it's so beautiful.
And I keep thinking that book, 1984, by George Orwell, that phrase, if there is any hope, it lies with the proles.
That was the short form for proletariat that Orwell was using.
Because the working class working people have more common sense usually than PhDs.
You have to have a PhD to believe certain kinds of nonsense.
And I don't know, it's just so amazing.
I would never have thought that it would be the truckers to free us.
And in Alberta, for Jason Kenney, in the course of 24 hours, to go from smearing those truckers in Trudeau language, in Aaron O'Toole language, claiming they're violent, to actually putting out a tweet saying, I'm with you.
Hey, guys, I'm with you.
Please don't fire me like you just fired Aaron O'Toole.
I've never seen Jason Kenney that scared before.
What a beautiful sight.
The fact that it was 500 truckers in Coots, Alberta, is just the icing on the cake.
And they're not done yet, by the way.
I talked to our reporters there several times today.
And those truckers in Coots will not rest until they have freed the province.
Fantastic.
Well, Ezra, thank you for your analysis, spot on, as always.
And folks, you know, I wish I could have been there last weekend, but guess what?
I'm going this weekend.
Can't wait to see the truckers, the Patriots, and their supporters.
I'll be there.
Say hello if you see me.
In the meantime, keep it here.
More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.
Now, guys, there was a report yesterday from Jason Kenney himself claiming that an RCMP officer was assaulted at one of the police barriers on its way to Coots.
I've also received reports in the last hour of people allied with the protesters assaulting RCMP officers, including in one instance trying to ram members of the RCMP, later leading to a collision with a civilian vehicle in the area.
This kind of conduct is totally unacceptable.
Now, that individual was named by the Western Standard, and we actually caught up with an individual who was at the scene of the crime, so to speak, even though there wasn't actually any crime.
But Kian would know more, he was actually there.
Do you want to fill us in?
Yes, so there is an eyewitness behind that blockade who reached out to me and he was speaking with the two officers who were there who said that there was no assault.
And we have an update from him from behind the scene at the checkpoint.
As well, we have Chad Williamson willing to do an update on this scene as well.
He said, number one, that us as the protesters rammed RCMP vehicles, as well as that there was an assault on an officer, RCMP officer.
When I heard that, I grabbed my phone, thank goodness for technology, showed the RCMP officers what he said.
We're all in agreeance.
Sergeant Henderson's been awesome to work with.
Been working up, trying to get a statement from the RCMP.
Nothing has yet happened.
And we're here to tell the true story.
We've been here since 10:30 in the morning yesterday, watching everything from that point and that point the whole day.
We stood right here watching the barricade as there's as two vehicles were apart.
They snuck through and actually the police let them through.
It's been a peaceful protest this whole time.
So proud of it.
But what Jason Kenney said yesterday is not okay.
And it's time to answer.
It's time to answer.
And we just as people want our freedoms back and we're here to stay until that happens.
Chad Williams in counsel with the truckers.
We are on day five of the trucker blockade down at the Couts border crossing.
It's an early morning here and there hasn't been a lot of activity.
Some enforcement attempts and threats were made yesterday, but I think the logistical issues associated with enforcement on this type of a protest, especially with some peculiar and large pieces of heavy equipment on the highway and the sheer volume of them creates an insurmountable issue for law enforcement to actually conduct enforcement operations.
So I don't think that that's necessarily to say that enforcement is not going to take place.
That is what is expected here.
But frankly, I don't think that it is helpful for people like Mr. Kenny to be making allegations of assault without having all of the information before jumping to such conclusions.
It's my understanding that the RCMP themselves are questioning whether or not that assault happened.
And frankly, it is not helpful to be running confusing and aggressive narratives against people without having all of the evidence.
We hope that this doesn't continue.
It doesn't help to build bridges of cordiality, which is why we're here to try to de-escalate an already tense situation.
So, folks, what is the saddest thing about the never-ending stream of misinformation being generated when it comes to coverage of the Freedom Convoy?
Is it the outright lies, or is it those who are telling the lies?
After all, the Patriots can expect to be vilified by those on the left and the mainstream media, but to be falsely maligned by the likes of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, well, that's another matter altogether.
Premier Kenny is allegedly a conservative, and it's a safe bet that the truckers and those who support them tend to vote conservative.
So, why is Kenny reporting outright falsehoods?
And joining me now from Coots, Alberta, is Kian Simone and Sid Fizzard.
Welcome to Rebel Roundup, gentlemen.
Thank you, real appreciate it.
And Kian's just off to the side here.
It's a bit of a tight shot.
Yeah, hello.
Thanks for having us.
Great to see you.
So, doing great, guys.
So, Kian and Sid, the question arises: did Premier Kenny make an honest mistake regarding the ramming incident that never happened, or is he, for whatever reason, demonizing truckers now, too?
Well, when it comes to stuff like that, I don't think there's such a thing as an honest mistake making accusations like that.
But maybe Kian would want to fill you in more.
He's been talking to some of the guys more closely about that situation.
Okay.
Hey, so regarding that, yeah, Jason Kenny had that statement out that there was reports received from the RCMP that it was actually an assault on an officer along with the ramming and collision.
It actually turned out after I reached out to the RCMP and got a statement from them before they released it that there was in fact no assault and the collision was between two civilians.
And in fact, they were frustrated with each other, and one of them assaulted the other.
So there was no officer involved other than trying to keep peace after.
So far, again, we haven't even heard Jason Kenney retract the statement.
And as far as honest mistake, the possibility of that being he just was fed wrong information.
It still amounts up to the lie of saying it anyway.
He's following the steps of Justin Trudeau of propagating propaganda to create a narrative around something that just simply isn't true.
Well, I think it is egregious, gentlemen, just because we now know from the RCMP itself it didn't happen.
You would think if Premier Kenny was smart, he would immediately issue a retraction and dare I say it, an apology.
But let's move on from that.
As we record this, it is Thursday afternoon.
This is an ongoing matter, of course.
Guys, what is the situation on the ground as of right now?
So, right now, the truckers have opened up all highways and the blockade to the border is all clear.
So, they are all off to the side.
And their intent right now is to have a completely lawful protest.
And they want to give A time period for the government to be able to react and respond in a timely manner because we all know how bureaucracy works.
It takes a few days, and the truckers are accommodating to that.
They're understanding.
But as of yet, they're ready to block that border right back up if need be.
But like I said, it's calm here.
It's quiet.
The truckers are very positive.
They're hopeful.
They're optimistic.
And the energy here is just overall good.
And if I could just add one thing to that.
So not only is it the guys here that are protesting, obviously these guys are the ones who set up the border blockade, but as well, this sparked the mobilization of tractors and heavy machinery of all kinds across Alberta right now.
There are multiple highways that are being blocked either entirely or with slow rolls going through them.
Action is being happening across Alberta in response to the poor response, I would say, of Jason Kenney and the Alberta government.
Wow.
And gentlemen, tell me, are there still negotiations going on between the truckers and their allies and the RCMP?
Or has that pretty much reached a zenith that there's no more talking anymore?
Yeah, communication is tough between them.
At times, it seems like there's going to be no more communication, but then they do start to talk further.
So it's a little fluid in that sense.
I don't know if you want to add to that.
Yeah, yeah.
So regarding the negotiations on, to add a point to Sid's point there, all negotiations have been going through Chad Williamson, who is the lawyer defending them.
And obviously anybody can help them, can help them get their legal defense at trucklawyer.ca.
But yeah, so far, it's in the politicians' hands now.
It really is.
The RCMP, they clearly do not want to be here anymore.
They're mad.
They're angry.
They're angry at both sides, the government and the truckers.
They just want this to end.
From yesterday, where we had that breaking news that 30 MLAs were gathering behind Jason Kenney's back to hopefully lift rural mandates in response to the trucker blockade.
So the truckers, that's why they opened the border up.
But the RCMP is coming by here to check if they're cold, to check if anybody has frostbite, to check if they need a mechanic.
That's the only communication that's going on right now, really.
But tell me, gentlemen, from the political element or angle, I should say, shed some light for me on what I think is a double standard.
Two years ago in our country, we had those rail blockades.
Those didn't go on for days, like the situation at Cootes.
They went on for weeks, and it was a complete paralyzation of rail traffic, costing the Canadian economy billions and billions of dollars.
It went on for weeks, and it was like, hey, no big deal, and train traffic was completely stymied, as you mentioned earlier.
There are two lanes open at the border crossing right now.
Why is it that one group of people for one blockade have seemingly as much time as they want to do their protest or their demonstration or their blockade?
And for these truckers, the moment it's a few days old, there's this urgency to dismantle it.
Can you explain this to me, guys?
Yeah, so I think that the government of Alberta understands that this is not just a local movement or the few surrounding local areas.
This is a province-wide, and now it's turning into a federal issue.
What Sid was saying before about how tractors and farmers are mobilizing around there, they wanted to nip this in the butt, the government here, and they couldn't.
It was a mishandling on their part.
But that's why I think they enacted so fast and they wanted to shut this right down because the second those farmers got angry, they started blocking highways down here.
And if that happens up near Calgary Edmonton, we got a different kind of problem on their hands.
And just to add on that, these protesters who are protesting at the trains and blocking that off, well, and this word, this phrase has been thrown around a little bit, the fringe minority.
Well, they are quite literally the fringe minority, the people who were doing that.
Whereas now we are seeing it is literally the people en masse that are standing up against this.
So it's a bit larger of a group, you could say, that's standing up against this.
It just happens to be revolving around the same style of protests.
One Lane Open North, South00:02:09
Indeed, and guys, if I can ask you to look into your crystal ball in terms of where this goes in the next days, in the next hours for that matter, what do you see happening?
Do you see?
I know online there are people urging others to come down and join the blockade.
Do you see that happening in any kind of critical mass?
Or, I mean, it must be very cold, very arduous, very boring for that matter.
Do you see some truckers saying, oh, you know what?
We've made our point.
I want to go home now.
How do you think this is going to play out?
Well, I certainly wouldn't say it's been boring.
It really has been evolving by the hour.
And I think looking forward, like we were at the Milk's, what is it?
The Milk's River, Milk River police barrier that was set up.
And there are hundreds and hundreds of trucks and other supporters there lined up, all trying to get in here to Coots to support these guys and to bring them supplies and other things that they would need.
So, yeah, it's kind of the scope of this is quite overwhelming, and I sort of lost my train of thought there a little bit.
That's because it's been quite the few days here, and really so much is going on.
And I think to finish off the point there, what's going to happen next is entirely dependent on how the government acts.
These guys here, like we said, they have one lane open north, one lane open south.
That was a showing of good faith because they wanted to get the ball rolling on the government end of things to see what they would do.
And right now, the government here in Alberta, and I think well, in Canada, it's in chaos over this because they don't have the manpower, so to speak, to bring an end to this in short order.
So they have to kind of find some negotiation resolved there.
And that's the big kicker: what are they going to do?
Nobody knows.
Well, guys, I got to tell you, I'm so happy you're both down there that you are embedded with the convoy.
Unlike the state broadcaster to the CBC, which I understand is embedded with law enforcement.
So if anything happens, I know we and the world for that matter, they're going to get it straight from you at ground zero.
Indigenous Themes in Sports Logos00:07:38
Stay warm, stay safe, and thank you so much for covering this for us, guys.
No, absolutely.
Godspeed, and this is what we're here for.
All right, then.
And there you have it.
That was Sid Fizard and Kian Simone in Coutz, Alberta.
Stay here, folks.
more of rebel roundup to come right after this now a politically incorrect hockey sweater by the way would be that of the chicago blackhawks or any other jersey depicting any sort of indigenous theme
But check out this statement by Toronto's Parks, Forestry, and Recreation Department: quote: To promote a positive and inclusive experience in City of Toronto sports facilities and to protect the dignity and well-being of Indigenous communities,
the City of Toronto prohibits the display of Indigenous-themed sports images, logos, or team names, except for those used by Indigenous sports organizations.
Wow, folks, just when did municipal politicians and bureaucrats reinvent themselves as the cancel culture cops?
Aren't they supposed to be focused on, oh, I don't know, picking up the garbage, clearing the streets of snow, etc.
And by the way, an inconvenient question arises with this latest municipal mandate.
Are Indigenous people really offended by native themed sports logos, nicknames, etc.?
Time out for a quick anecdote, folks.
I started my journalism career, such as it is, back in 1985 in the northern Alberta town of St. Paul.
There are several native reserves near St. Paul, and the first thing I noticed whenever I visited an arena on reserve territory was that the most prominent hockey sweater by far worn by Indigenous people was drum roll please, the red, black, and white of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Keep in mind, this was in the mid-80s at the very height of the Edmonton Oilers dynasty, and in a region that was just two hours away from Edmonton, yet natives with their own moolah were buying Blackhawk jerseys.
And why wouldn't they?
I truly think that the iconic Chicago Blackhawks sweater is the most gorgeous jersey in the entire sports world.
Obviously, a preponderance of Indigenous folk feel likewise.
But apparently, when it comes to the politically correct pale faces at Toronto City Hall, well, they know best when it comes to allegedly offensive hockey haberdashery.
By the way, when I read the city policy statement earlier, did you pick up on a mind-boggling loophole?
Namely, it is offside for an individual skater, even a native, to don a Blackhawks jersey at a Toronto rink, but it's perfectly fine for an entire group of natives to play shinny wearing such gear.
So what's the message here?
That a little bit of alleged racism on the ice, well, that's not okay, but a whole lot of alleged racism down at the rink, well, that's perfectly fine.
Wow.
Say, folks, is there any such thing as a game misconduct for, oh, I don't know, outrageous political overreach?
Because if there is, methinks we could easily fill up the sin bin with numerous Toronto politicians and bureaucrats who are now playing offense for team cancel culture.
Jeez, when is this woke madness ever going to end?
In any event, you had plenty to say about this ludicrous hogtown hockey haberdashery policy.
Kelsey Johnson writes, I'm not native, but I would think the Blackhawks jersey is a sign of strength.
Why is it negative?
Can any Indigenous people out there put a light on this for me?
I honestly don't know why this is negative.
Well, Kelsey, the truth is that the Chicago Blackhawks name and logo are not negatives at all.
Sports teams choose nicknames and logos that convey power, not negativity.
This banning of the Chicago Blackhawks jersey at Toronto Rinks is just another insane instance of virtue signaling social justice warriors who are trying to make life miserable for the rest of us.
Dion St. Michael writes, thank you for exposing this, David.
The arrogant stupidity is truly staggering.
And thank you, Dion.
There was some mainstream media coverage about this policy.
Naturally, our taxpayer-funded journalists were cheering on this jersey ji-had.
I know, shockers.
Sam Adam writes, I played for the Willowdale Blackhawks for five years.
Never did I ever think or question this was an offensive image.
He was a warrior going into battle, and that's what made it so cool.
I'm with you, Sam.
Look, I'm not a Chicago Blackhawks fan, but I call them as I seize them, which is to say, the Blackhawks jersey is a thing of beauty.
It would be a crime if the Chicago Blackhawks organization ever capitulated to the cancel culture mob.
Gerald Cortez writes, as a Mi'kmaq, my people have lived here for twice as long as the pyramids have existed.
Far from taking the use of our symbols, names, or connection as insults, we regard them as signs of respect to our nations.
Well, thanks for weighing in, Gerald.
And you know something?
I've met many Indigenous people who have expressed outrage when Native themed nicknames and logos are eradicated.
So if the majority of natives are not offended by these names and logos, and polls confirm this, then who, pray tell, is really offended?
A bunch of pompous nitwits down at City Hall.
And another thing, aren't there far more important issues to address when it comes to the Indigenous community?
Which is to say, how does banning an allegedly offensive logo improve anything for those living on reserves who are still having to deal with undrinkable tap water?
That, my friend, is a true outrage.
Jeff Taylor writes, my grandparents would shed tears if they were alive these days, seeing what has happened to the country of Canada.
Oh, I hear you, Jeff.
And if my grandparents were alive today, they would either think they were residing in an alternative universe or perhaps maybe the Twilight Zone.
Just a note, folks, I think I read just about every comment pertaining to my rant, and I was shocked.
I could not find a single contrarian response.
It looked like 100% of you were against the City of Toronto policy.
But alas, just before airtime, this comment came in from Zach Hehim.
And Zach Hehim writes, bro, shut the F up.
The Blackhawks logo needed to go decades ago.
Really, Zach?
And how should we rebrand the Windy Cities NHL team?
Oh, how about this?
Why don't we call the Blackhawks the Chicago He Hims?
Zach's Rebuttal00:00:20
And the logo will be, oh, I don't know, how about a multicolored spirit unicorn?
Admit it, Zach E. Him.
I bet you'd love to don a jersey like that, wouldn't you?
Well, that wraps up another edition of Rebel Roundup.
Thanks so much for joining us.
See you next week.
And hey, folks, never forget, without risk, there can be no glory.