David Menzies exposes CBC’s $1B taxpayer-funded deception over Martin Engelhart’s fraudulent Freedom Convoy abuse claims, first published March 24, 2022, despite his criminal record and pre-existing similar allegations. He details a sexualized drag show at Dallas’ Mr. Mr. bar where minors allegedly witnessed explicit performances, with Antifa militants threatening attendees and police enabling the event, while Texas legislator Brian Slayton pushes for bans on minors in such shows. Menzies also reveals his exclusion from Doug Ford’s June 1 Toronto rally alongside other conservative media, despite invitations, amid PC party’s record-low 43% support and Torstar’s $500M gambling license, questioning whether mainstream media access comes at the cost of fair representation for dissenting voices. [Automatically generated summary]
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.
So what pray tell is more pathetic?
The incessant lying by Martin Joseph Engelhart, a man who continues to falsely claim that he was abused by the rank and file demonstrators who comprise the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa?
Or the fact that the CBC, who portrayed this fraudster as a victim, is refusing to do the right thing, namely being transparent about their shoddy reporting.
Alexa Labois shall explain all.
And for whatever reason, Drag Queen story time is all the rage in certain circles these days, but consider what happened at the Dallas Gay Bar, Mr. Mr. recently.
Elementary school-age children were ushered in to take part in a very sexualized show staged by men pretending to be women.
What the hell?
Juan Mendoza has all the disturbing nitty-gritty details.
And letters, we get your letters, we get your letters every minute of every day.
And I'll share some of your responses about our story regarding our visit to a Ford Nation event.
And guess what?
We were told to scram, even though we had an invitation.
And what's more, if we didn't leave as in immediately, we would be charged with trespassing.
Meanwhile, the mainstream media was welcomed in with open arms.
Why?
No reason given, because that's how Dougie rolls these days.
Those are your Rebels, and now let's round them up.
Hello, everyone.
As you know, we are always trying to dig deeper in our investigation.
This time, I went further in the story published by CBC about Martin Joseph and Gohart, the supposed victim of the Freedom Convoy.
He claimed having spent all his NTL life-saving for the convoy without being paid back.
CBC is blocking our investigation into how wrong they got this story from the beginning.
For people who don't know what I'm talking about, you can see my previous report at mediafactcheck.ca.
This is an excerpt of the report made by CBC on March 24th.
It was amazing.
It just like all the people waving flags and everything.
And I thought that was a cause, you know, that was bigger than me.
And I thought, you know, it was worth the effort to go.
I start giving people my business card with my phone number on it.
And I start delivering fuel and picking up laundry and delivery for restaurants and everything for the trucker.
And I got arrested for bringing people fuel.
The van was impounded for 30 days.
I asked my bank on February 14th, how much money that I spent from January 27th to the 14th, and the total was a little bit over 13,000.
On May 28th, we failed two different access to information with CBC.
First, we asked to provide a copy of all communication with Martin Joseph and Gohart since January 1st, 2022.
On May 4th, we received an answer from the senior director to the access to the information at CBC.
They refuse to reveal any information invoking the section 68.1 of the Act, which say this Act does not apply to any information that is under the control of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that relate to its journalistic, creative, or programming activities other than information that relate to its general administration.
Okay, fair enough.
We don't want communication with a source.
A journalist has the right to protect those, even if the source is a liar.
So we asked for something different.
On May 30, we received the decision for the second demand, which was providing copy of all documents including email, text or instant message, Slack message, WhatsApp message, memo, briefing note, report, media line, etc.
Regarding question raised about Martin Joseph and Gohart.
See, we don't want their communication with Engelhart.
We want their communication with the public about how they screwed up the Engelhart story.
The result end up with some email exchanged between Andrew Layton from True North and Chuck Thompson.
Andrew Layton notifying them about some of false information about Martin Joseph Engelhart that was mentioned in their report.
But this is not my concern.
We know that Martin Engelhart have transmitted some bank account statement, video, and probably other proof of his story.
We know that probably lots of people have tried to reach CBC to tell them about the money they gave to him and to aware them also about the misinformation in their report.
None of this exchange was providing to us.
Again, what do they have to hide from this story?
I bring your attention on page 7 of the document where two people from CBC told each other.
I think this is a good way to bring more context to this subject without having to re-litigate Erngohart's story or his past.
Special thanks to George and Root for helping me navigate this controversy.
They want us to believe they only heard from Layton about this story.
We know that Fox News, Greg Ray, reach out to CBC.
Where are those email?
Where are the email about Ray's email?
A controversy doesn't start with only one person bringing you some misinformation.
That is usually when multiple people are saying the opposite story.
Why these communications were not provided through the access of information.
Also, we see that they were aware that their story wasn't accurate and they should probably add some more information to it to or rectify others.
Why this was never done?
At first blush, the story of Martin Joseph Engelhart seems somewhat heartbreaking.
You know, this idea of a good Samaritan being taken advantage of.
But there's just one teeny tiny little problem regarding his sad tale, and it's this, to quote Romulan Senator Vreenak.
It's a fake.
Yeah, that's right.
Engelhart's story is about as authentic as a $3 bill.
But riddle me this.
What is more pathetic, Engelhart's habitual line, or the CBC covering for him as they try to cover up their own shoddy reporting?
Unbelievable.
And what more on this ongoing sordid saga is our Quebec-based reporter, and that would be Alexa Lavoie Bonjour, Alexa.
How you doing?
Easy, easy.
Alexa, so many angles to this story.
But for me, the most infuriating thing is really the lack of transparency from the CBC.
Now, if the CBC was a private media entity, they could tell us to take a long walk off a short pier.
But the CBC is taxpayer funded.
We pay them.
They work for us.
So why aren't we getting straight answers regarding this latest pathetic example of CBC journalism?
But obviously, they don't want to show our wrong and all this crew, that story from the beginning.
First of all, they refused to give us any of the exchange with Martin, Joseph, and Gohart.
And after that, we wanted to know what the public and other media say about that story.
And they end up that we just had the exchange with Andrew Layton from True North when we know that Gray Ray from Fox News had had some exchange with Chuck Thompson that and this email at this exchange was not provided in the ask for the access to information.
So we saw that they actually just gave us a really small part of the information that they had for not giving us the massive like probably email that they received from a lot of people who say that what they had in their report was actually incorrect.
It was misinformation that it was spreading, but they were not like why they would give it to us for proving that they screw up that story.
Probably they had the chance to get back to add more information or to rectify the story, but instead they prefer to hide every information that proved that they were wrong since the beginning.
And you know, Alexa, in my book, speaking in journalistic terms, that is unethical and immoral.
They screwed up this story.
They should be apologizing.
They should be running a retraction, a correction, or doing a follow-up story saying, here's the real story, much like what you did.
And instead, I'm getting a sense of entitlement.
Maybe, Alexa, is it because the CBC, they get more than $1 billion of our taxpayer dollars every year?
That's a huge cushion that they rely on.
So in other words, they can do a shoddy job.
They can do a bad job.
They can distort the truth.
And really, nothing can be done about them.
Well, at least until Pierre Polyev becomes prime minister, if that should occur and he defunds them.
Is that what's really behind this grotesque entitlement?
But in the same time, this is actually dangerous for Pierre Polyev to say, oh, I would defund CBC because as we know, their report was not entirely factual and incorrect.
So do they will do the same for Pierre Polyère when he will like do the campaign strongly afterwards?
Do they will use it against him?
It's just something that I'm really worried about it.
Because on the story of Engelhart, it's just one, one of the multiple story that probably was false.
Oh, I have no doubt.
Alexa, that as we talk right now, just about every CBC journalist is calling every source they know and saying, hey, what kind of dirt can you dig up on Pierre Polyev?
I have no doubt of that.
But getting back to this story, for those who haven't followed along this story, because it started months ago, Alexa, who exactly is Martin Joseph Engelhardt?
So Martin Joseph Engelhardt was a man, actually a scam artist, but we heard about it afterwards.
But at the beginning, it was just a protester joining the movement, but saying that he didn't have a strange position on the issue, but he wanted to do something of his life.
So he joined the protest in Ottawa, the Freedom Protest Convoy.
And he said that he spent his entire life-saving to help the protester without being reimbursed by the Freedom Convoy, as they say that they would do.
And he said that he didn't receive any money when tons of people after the report went out say that they give thousands and thousands of dollars to him.
And never, nobody was talking about the fact that he is telling the same story, but way before.
Like some people have heard his story in 2019, and it was the same story that he was living in his van, didn't have a home.
And in the end, he had cancer.
And at the end, when I was digging on this story, finding out that he was not allowed to drive because his license was pulled out.
He never had like a home.
And he had a criminal record just in Quebec for two pages.
And no, it's not the cancer that he had.
I find out that he had HIV AIDS.
So what is going on?
Like at the beginning, it was supposed to be just a man who actually lost everything.
That can happen.
Like I'm not telling that it cannot be false.
But when as much people raise their voice on social media, telling that it's false and most of the story is false.
And some people say, oh, I recognized that man from three years ago or two years ago.
And it was the same story.
And I gave him money at that time.
He got arrested.
Just, you know, it's remarkable.
And as you mentioned, he is proven to be a con man.
False Narratives Exposed00:02:02
I suspect there might even be mental health issues at play here too.
I don't know if that's true or not, but I get, you know, a whiff of that as well when I see him speaking.
One last point, Alexa.
I think the real reason that the CBC used this man as a source, that they didn't do due diligence, is that he was convenient for them.
And when I say convenient, their narrative, that is the CBC, it was all about vilifying and demonizing the people who made up the Freedom Convoy movement.
And so they find this guy with this sob story about getting taken advantage of, completely false, completely discredited.
And the CBC is still hell-bent on not doing a Mia culpa because if they can find anyone or anything demonizing this movement, they will use it.
Last word goes to you, Alexa.
So may I say to people, don't believe all the time what you heard because sometimes it's not totally true.
But the thing is like, we know what is the truth, but nothing has changed.
Like they didn't like change their report.
They didn't change anything.
They didn't write and apologize.
They didn't do anything.
They use our taxpayer money for creative stories that go into their narrative and to push the narrative to everybody who are watching the news.
And what that creates?
Some people, some very important people watch the news and take the decision to agree with the Emergencies Act.
You're 100% right, Alexa.
If this was a private media company, what they did is still wrong, immoral, unethical.
Sexual Grooming Scandals00:11:29
But the fact that they are taxpayer funded, you, I, our audience, were all funding these guys down on Front Street to the tune of more than a billion dollars a year.
This adds insult to injury.
It's despicable.
I know you're going to stay on this file.
We're going to get justice done one way or another.
Alexa, thank you so much for your time and you have a great weekend, my friend.
Thank you very much.
Have a great weekend too.
You got it.
And that was Alexa Lavois in Quebec City.
Keep it here, folks.
More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.
Juan Mendoza here reporting for Rebel News.
We're in Dallas, Texas, where there was a protest at a gay bar here that was letting kids sign up for to go dance with drag queen.
So I'm here with John Doyle, who was here on the scene at the protest.
So John, so what was going on?
Well, basically, there was a protest, two protests, an event being hosted at a gay bar here in the gayborhood in Dallas, which for those unfamiliar, in American cities, there are little sections that they call gayborhoods where gay people do gay things.
So anyways, they decided that they should host a family-friendly drag event at one of these gay bars, which, by the way, had signs in neon on the walls that said things like, it's not going to lick itself, which, you know, they're exposing that to children already, let alone even the drag show.
So we were there protesting that, saying that decades prior had failed to stop women from taking birth control.
They failed to stop pornography from permeating all throughout the society.
Now it's to the point where they literally want to rape your kids, which the moral majority, the religious right that everyone said was so crazy was predicting decades ago.
But now it's actually at that point.
So we were out there today to just make a stand and say we're not going to tolerate it.
So are you seeing stuff like this happening often in Dallas?
I mean, I was thinking Texas was more of a red state.
No, no, Texas is going blue.
It's already purple.
And that's because of mass immigration.
But, you know, you're seeing the Texas, I guess, ethos carry over.
There's lifted trucks going by, but instead of Confederate flags, Texan flags, and United States flags being waved on the back, they've got trans flags and pride flags.
So it's like, oh, don't miss with Texas.
Oh, don't tell my kids she can't cut her dick off.
And it's like, this is what we're doing now as Americans.
Like, Texas is a big red state because we got lifted trucks and guns, but it's like, where has that actually gotten us?
Yeah.
So describe pretty much what you're seeing there when you got there to the protests.
I mean, there was already people there that were calendar protesting there when I got there.
So describe what happened, what you saw there occur.
Yeah, immediately we were greeted by Antifa militants.
And you have to know, Antifa is basically the paramilitary arm of the state.
So the police were separating us from them, saying, oh, we're protecting you.
That's not true.
Before they even got there, Antifa was already there with their body camp to dox people who showed up praying the rosary, praying the things like this, go away, that God spare these people and spare the righteous remnant.
And immediately we were accosted.
They were threatening us.
They were threatening our lives.
And then the police were called.
And instead of shutting the event down or dissolving them or telling them, hey, you can't threaten people, they stood in front of them to protect them.
So, yeah, the police were enabling this type of thing to happen.
And not only them threatening us, but what they were defending in the first place, which was the grooming of children.
You know, I thought Mr. Mister was the name of a band from the dearly departed 80s.
Turns out Mr. Mr. is also the name of a gay bar in Dallas.
Now, I don't have a problem with that, nor do I have a problem with drag queens performing at this bar.
Here's what I find problematic: having young children attend a drag queen night at this bar and being encouraged to stuff dollar bills into the G-strings and stockings of the performers.
In fact, I think that might even qualify as child abuse.
And joining me now is our newest Rebel News reporter, and that would be Juan Mendoza based in Miami.
Hey, how are you doing there, Juan?
Pretty good, David.
I mean, it's been a whole crazy turn of events here in the United States, especially with what happened in Dallas.
Oh, 100%.
The madness just continues.
And, you know, Juan, there was so much to unpack here.
But first things first, tell me what parent in their right mind would bring an elementary school-age child to a gay bar and take part in a very sexualized drag queen performance?
Well, David, I asked myself that same question.
You know, I mean, for starters, I mean, it's a bar where only 21-year-olds and up are allowed to go in.
So I start myself asking that question.
Now, you add the fact that it's a very sexualized event that's going on there with a sign in the back there that's saying it's not going to lick itself, which the messaging of that is very sexual in nature.
And I have no idea what these parents were thinking, taking young kids there to see a drag show.
Yeah, and you know, one, I that was the first thing that sprung to mind for me because this Mr. Mr. bar is a licensed establishment.
I'll admit, I don't know what the liquor licensing rules are in Texas, but I would think that there might be a prohibition for those who are not of legal drinking age, or is there a way around that?
That just seems so weird to me.
I agree.
I mean, I was thinking the same thing.
I mean, these are establishments that primarily sell alcoholic beverages in the first place.
So, I was surprised with that, why they were allowing little kids into these events or into these establishments.
And then these events, just on top of it, I mean, what was going on in there was very sexual in nature.
I mean, literally, people doing very sexual dances that were seen in strip clubs.
I mean, that's very, I mean, like I said, like I was saying earlier, I do not know what these parents had in mind when they were saying, oh, I'll take my kids to this.
I mean, it's very wrong, just the idea that they would consider taking their kids there.
Yeah, I mean, what's next just to take their kids to a regular stripper bar and, you know, get the full meal deal that way.
I mean, in for a penny and for a pound.
It's really disturbing.
But you know, the thing is, too, Juan, we have to be, you know, we can't beat around the bush here in terms of what this performance was.
This isn't drag queen story time.
That's almost become normal in certain circles.
The idea of going to a library and hearing a story read by a man pretending to be a female.
But these were very sexualized acts that were going on.
It was like being in a stripper bar.
And again, I can't connect the dots here when it comes to what those children were learning or what they were supposed to learn.
Do you think this was all about, I don't know, indoctrination when it comes to this lifestyle?
Well, personally, I think that they're grooming these kids just to be okay with pedophilia.
I mean, a lot of grooming processes, they go step by step and they build up their way to where they're actually doing like these horror endless things or endless crimes towards kids.
And that's what I think is going on there.
And what disgusts me is that the left that claims to be pro-LGBT, they're defending these actions and they're making it look like the LGBT community are a bunch of pedophiles.
There was a story inside the bar, of course, that was, you know, these children witnessing these sexualized acts.
But there was also a story outside the bar.
You referred to it in your interview.
Antifa coming down for some reason to, I don't know, claim solidarity with certain members of the LGBTQ plus.
I'm sure I've forgotten a few letters there.
What was the backstory there, Juan?
I mean, Antifa tends to show up to many of these controversial events.
I mean, they claim that they support the LGBT community, but I mean, they're defending literal grooming of kids.
I mean, it's hard.
You cannot defend when they're sexualizing kids like this, especially in these environments.
So Antifa, they always tend to show up to stuff like this.
And also, Juan, I see there's a Texas legislator, Brian Slayton, he announced a couple of days ago that he plans to introduce legislation to ban minors, that is, from attending drag shows in Texas.
Do you think that's a good idea?
Or do you think that's a no-hoper piece of legislation to be voted on?
Well, personally, I think it may be a good idea.
I mean, just seeing just the sexual nature of many of these drag shows happen.
And I mean, with kids, man, that's a very, you don't do that with kids.
You don't introduce sexual aspects to kids.
I mean, that's what pedophiles do.
Yeah, I mean, that might sound harsh, but the moment you introduce a minor to a sexualized environment, you're getting close to the whole pedophile issue.
And the thing, too, is in the bigger picture, I think, Juan, you know, we've been told when it comes to members of this community, be tolerant, be accepting.
And I agree with that.
But it's moved beyond that in recent years.
Now it's all about affirmation and applause.
In other words, if you don't stand up and give a standing O to Pride Month and the LGBTQ plus community and everything that they entail, you are labeled a bigot, a homophobe, a transphobe, a hater.
Why can't people just be allowed on both sides of this issue to live their lives as private citizens and not have to publicly endorse their support for anything?
Well, I constantly tell people from the LGBT community that they should not be looking at the left as their ally because the left is only trying to use them for their own political gains and to excuse debaucherous acts such as grooming kids.
And like I said, the people on the left are defending these acts.
The only thing they're making it look is they're making it look like the LGBT community consists of pedophiles or child molesters, which not everyone in the LGBT community is, obviously.
No, 100% one.
I mean, I know people in that community and they live in suburbia and they just want to run their lives and be left alone as private citizens.
They're not radicalized activists.
So last question.
We are in Pride Month.
Do you see other bars going down this route, ramping up these kind of sexualized performances and inviting minors to come in?
Or do you think that overall the publicity was so toxic with this Mr. Mr. bar that this is really a one-off as opposed to the beginning of a trend?
Invitation Declined00:11:11
Well, David, it's hard to tell.
I mean, definitely the incidents that happened in Dallas was a big, it was a big surprise for many people, but there's many events like in San Francisco where similar stuff happens, like not in the bar, but when they're actually doing the Pride parades.
So, I mean, probably.
And like I said, even though San Francisco is a very far left city.
Well, you're right.
And I mean, if Mr. Mr. was located in San Francisco, I probably would have shrugged my shoulders.
It's more of the same.
It's still wrong, mind you.
But the idea that it's in Dallas, Texas, and wow, it just makes me shake my head.
Well, Juan, your reports have been excellent.
Thank you so much for covering this important story.
I guess we'll keep our eye on this file to see if indeed this is part of a growing trend.
And let's hope it isn't.
You have a good weekend, my friend.
Thank you, David.
And that was Juan Mendoza in Miami, Florida.
Keep it here, folks.
More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.
David Menzies for Rebel News here at the Toronto Congress Center.
And folks, I'm here for a Ford rally.
And guess what?
I have an invitation from Premier Doug Ford himself.
Check it out.
Hey, this is Doug Ford calling, leader of the Ontario PCs.
You can reach our team at 1-800-903-6453 or email at info at OntarioPC.com.
I'm inviting you, your family, and friends to our rally in Toronto to get it done.
It's Wednesday, June the 1st at the Toronto Congress Center, 650 Dixon Road in Etobicoke.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and there's no cost.
That's Wednesday, June the 1st at the Toronto Congress Center, 650 Dixon Road, and doors open at 7 p.m.
With your help, our PC party is building Ontario and keeping costs down for families like yours.
Head to OntarioPC.ca.
Click on rallies and please, RSVP, to let us know if you're coming.
Admission is free.
I hope to see everyone there.
Yeah, that's what came across my phone just a few days ago.
A personal invitation, as far as I can tell, from the Premier.
And I'm very grateful for that, folks, because you see, when we were here last month for the campaign kickoff, well, I was shocked because I've been going to Ford fests and Ford family events for maybe 15 years.
I'm always welcomed with open arms.
Not this time.
Check it out.
But I understand why.
Leave now.
Why?
Zach.
Why is that?
Because we're not giving you accreditation to this event.
Yeah, we're gonna ask you to leave this.
Under the Trespasser Property Act, we will remove you from there.
Okay, who are you?
I work for the party, and I'm okay.
Can I see some ID then?
It's right here, sir.
It just says tour 2022.
Yeah, we're gonna have to ask you to leave.
Oh, please.
What is your name then?
So, we have uniformed police on site that will come and remove you.
I don't even know who.
Can I ask you why?
That's a fair question.
I see other media.
You're not invited to the event and you're not checked in.
You're not coming into the event.
But do you have to be invited?
I see all sorts of people coming in.
Everybody here is invited, and they're all here for the right reasons.
Yeah, so I was considered persona non-gretta, the same with Joe Warmington of the Toronto Sun.
And it's inexplicable because Joe Warmington, I think, has given the Ford family the fairest coverage over the past 20 years.
And he was given the bums rush as well.
But we are indeed here on an invitation basis, so they can't possibly kick us out again, or can they?
Oh, and by the way, just to show I'm a really good guest, well, a good guest doesn't come empty-handed.
I have a gorgeous cherry cheesecake for the Premier.
We know he loves cherry cheesecake.
Check out the video evidence.
I'm gonna pour this on.
But if you don't like cherries, eat blueberries.
If I wasn't premier, I'd open up a cheesecake factory.
That, my friends, is the premier's cheesecake.
Friends, stay safe, stay healthy.
And these are some of the fun things you can do when you're self-isolating.
So there you have it, folks.
A party awaits.
A cheesecake awaits.
Let's go and join the revelry or not.
Hi, guys.
Unfortunately, it's a private event tonight.
Oh, I know that.
I've been invited.
You have not been invited in, unfortunately.
Here you go, officer.
Listen.
Unfortunately, you're not invited in today.
Oh, I am.
Listen.
Well, according to the party, you're not invited in today.
That's not true.
I have an invitation from Doug Ford.
Here is a printed transcript.
Oh, you're the fellow that kicked me out last time, too.
Yeah, I am.
Who are you, by the way?
My name is Zach.
Zachu.
That's it.
My name is Zach.
Zach.
Yeah.
Okay, then.
Well, I'm.
I'm an election team member.
My name is Zach.
Okay.
Are you a security guard?
I'm a security representative for the program.
Okay, can I see your security license, please?
You can see my tour badges device.
No, I'm not interested in that.
could be anyone's if you are i am telling you that you're not welcome here based on the trespass This is okay.
It doesn't even matter.
The gentleman doesn't have to show you, but you're just not welcome here.
Okay, here is a transcript, sir.
I would appreciate you.
I would appreciate you.
Please just oblige me, and you're not welcome here.
I have a film on the street there.
That's the only five or the other.
Oh, is that right, Zach?
Really?
Okay.
How much do you charge to haunt a house, by the way?
What?
What?
Yeah.
No, no.
I have an invitation.
Can you please make your way to the panel, please?
I don't think you outrank the premier of the province, sir, and I have an audio invitation.
Okay, then.
So why does the premier invite me?
And then you guys say, not only am I not invited, you won't even give me a reason why I'm not invited.
I just told you why you're not invited.
No, you didn't.
What is the reason?
You're not invited because you've tried this before.
We didn't allow you in.
For 15 years, I've been coming to Ford family events.
15 years more.
And I've been welcomed with open arms.
Is it too much to ask to get it?
I'm on the sidewalk.
You're not on the side.
I'm not on the side of the city.
People are standing right there.
If we could ask you to please.
Who is the private property owner of this building, sir?
The Toronto Congress Center.
Okay, so is this taxpayer supported?
No, it's a private entity.
All right.
Well, folks, we tried.
And even with an invitation, I, you know, the, you're, you're feel, feel free to cover and record us, but we're just going to ask you to go.
Oh, that's very generous of you, officer.
I really appreciate that.
You see, I have an invitation here.
I have an audio recording of that invitation.
And why am I not being allowed in and not even given a reason, officer?
I'm not trying to give you a hard time.
I just want some transparency, if that's possible.
So we're obviously hired by their security team, and that's all I could tell you.
I'm not going to engage in further conversation with you, okay?
And they have their provisions, and we're simply providing security for this venue here.
Okay.
Just following orders then.
Well, I have a job to do, and I'm going to do it, okay?
Lovely.
That wondrous encounter took place on the evening before Election Day.
And as you saw, folks, what a truly baffling reception.
For not only was I barred from attending the scaled-down Ford Fest, but I was never given a reason why.
How odd.
Doug Ford has spoken at Rebel live events in the past.
Doug Ford once proposed a weekly Rebel news show in which I was going to be the co-host.
But that was then, and this is now.
Dougie, in the immortal words of Fred Willard, what happened?
Hey, what happened?
In any event, you had plenty to say about the rude reception we received at the Toronto Congress Center last week.
Janet Campbell writes, Rebel is not invited because they tell the truth, plain and simple.
Well, Janet, I think you are onto something here.
I think the unspoken reason Rebel News is media non grata these days is due to the fact that we have, for the past two years, covered the Queen's Park demonstrations staged by Yahoo Nation.
You know, people who, for the most part, voted in the Doug Ford PCs in 2018.
Doug, I believe, didn't like what those people had to say.
So his solution was, well, shoot the messenger.
How odd that for such a large man, he has such thin skin.
Jay Outboard Shop writes, hmm, public servants hired for a private event that was publicly announced as a come one, come all event.
Yes, it was so odd, Jay.
And is it too much to ask why certain invited people, ourselves excluded, were not allowed in?
Well, I guess when it comes to Zach the Hack, whoever that guy is, yes, it is too much to ask.
Jordana writes, this is insane.
Doug will lose a lot of votes, not the same person he was many years ago.
Absolutely shameful.
Well, Jordana, as we all know now, the Ford PCs were returned to office with an even bigger majority going from 76 seats to 83.
But keep in mind, that was a dubious record that was set last week.
Percentage-wise, it was a record low voter turnout in Ontario, a pathetic 43%.
Many PC supporters simply stayed home.
And the now outgoing leaders of the main opposition parties, Stephen Del Duca of the Liberals and Andrea Horwath of the NDP, well, let's face it, they were duds and they ran brutal campaigns.
It's almost as though the PCs won by default, really.
And Sandra Trimble writes, pretty ironic that the conservative media and press are not allowed into the progressive Conservative Party rallies that the Premier holds.
Well, indeed, the Toronto Sun's Joe Warmington, he was also barred from attending a PC event last month.
And no MSM journalist has been fairer to the Ford family than Joe has over the past two decades.
So it would seem that the puppet masters behind Doug Ford lean left of center these days.
Maybe that explains why Torstar, the parent of the Toronto Star, recently received an online gambling license worth $500 million a year.
Keep Friends Close, Enemies Closer00:00:23
Maybe that old saying is true.
Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.
You must keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.
Wait, what's that supposed to mean?
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 risks, there can be no glory.