David Menzies highlights Western University’s August 2022 booster mandate, sparking protests over its lack of scientific backing and sudden enforcement, while Novak Djokovic’s unvaccinated exclusion from the U.S. Open—sponsored by Moderna—ignites debates on bodily autonomy versus career sacrifices. Meanwhile, Scotiabank shut Gary Duke’s account for opposing Pride Month rainbow apps, echoing past "wrongthink" crackdowns like RBC’s denial of Rebel News’ mortgage in 2021 or frozen Freedom Convoy donor accounts. Critics argue banks prioritize woke compliance over dissent, contrasting with corporations like BMW avoiding LGBTQ+ symbols in Muslim-majority nations, exposing a double standard where free speech is selectively tolerated. Legal action and petitions at noforcedboosters.com aim to challenge these policies, though skepticism lingers about success in biased tribunals. [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.
Well, just when you thought things were returning to normal vis-a-vis the COVID file, the University of Western Ontario suddenly demanded that all students returning to class later this month must be double vaxed plus a booster shot.
Students and their allies staged a protest on campus last Saturday and Lincoln J, he was there to cover the demonstration.
He'll join me to offer his two cents worth.
And the U.S. Open is ongoing in New York City, but a notable player is missing due to not being vaccinated.
That would be Novak Djokovic because he refuses to get jabbed with this experimental vaccine.
And this apparently makes Jokovic world tennis champion non-grata.
Our New York-based reporter, Jeremy Lafredo, he'll try to make sense of it all.
And letters, we get your letters.
We get your letters every minute of every day.
And I'll share some of your responses about a Scotiabank client in Grand Prairie, Alberta, who was essentially fired by the bank for the egregious act of committing a thought crime.
Oh, it's true.
It's true.
Those are your rebels.
let's round them up.
The president of Western University Students Council is getting a lot of calls these days about new COVID rules, which include mandated booster shots for all students on campus.
Students are finding it difficult to understand why Western would have these policies in place, but not the province or even the country.
Oh, I'm double bats.
So if I don't get it by October, then they'll kick me up.
If I get kicked out of the university, then so be it, but I'm standing up for my beliefs and I will not be taking the booster.
I'm double vaxxed, like fully vaccinated, I guess, for everyone's standards.
But for Western, they don't accept that.
We just want our girls to go to school without a third dose.
They're both double dosed.
It's too late, dude.
Where are we going to go now?
I'd love to go to Guelph.
Western University better not try this again next year.
And if they do, they're going to be in a far worse position than they are now.
Lincoln J for Rebel News here at Western University in London, Ontario.
Now we're about to walk onto campus where there is a protest taking place against the school's decision to mandate COVID-19 booster doses.
There's going to be students, alumni, their supporters here to simply speak out against this decision.
Does this make any sense?
Why would they do this to students just weeks before classes begin?
They're essentially ambushing the students by telling them that they require a booster dose just weeks before classes begin.
We're going to speak with some of the people in attendance here.
There's going to be some other people giving some speeches.
But before we get into all that, I want you guys to check out our website at noforcedboosters.com.
You can go on that website.
You can sign the petition to call for Western University to end their unscientific mandate.
And at that same website, you can also make a tax-deductible donation to the registered charity, the Democracy Fund.
Students can also sign up through that same website and the Democracy Fund will select the strongest cases to set legal precedent.
All right, guys, let's go check out the protests.
I do not care if you have three shots, no shots, or a hundred shots.
I do not believe that your personal medical decision tells me anything about who you are, what you believe, or what you have to offer to the Western community.
Last year, I was kicked out of Huron at Western, and it was a long process, and it was isolating.
And the one thing that has inspired, I think, all of us to come together here today is knowing that we're not the only ones.
And now Western wants to put more people in that position and they haven't given us the reasoning.
So today we stand for choice.
Well, folks, that was the scene last Saturday at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.
Students, faculty members, and their supporters staged a demonstration to protest the sudden and unexplained decision by the Western administration to mandate that those returning to campus later this month must be double jabbed plus a booster shot.
But why?
Where is the science?
Or is this all about political science or maybe weird science?
Unbelievable.
Well, joining me now to make sense of it all is the man who ventured out to London last weekend and that would be Lincoln Jay.
Lincoln, thank you for making time for me on Roundup.
Thanks for having me, David.
Always a pleasure.
Now, what I like, that clip of the young lady bemoaning the lack of choice.
And I think the C word is very profound.
We've been told for decades now, the old chestnut, my body, my choice.
Or is this something that only applies to terminating the life of a baby and doesn't apply to vaccines, Lincoln?
Yeah, the whole situation is just crazy.
You know, we're now 2022, August of 2022, and now people who are double vaccinated are being pushed out.
You know, they're trying to exclude them and ultimately force these students to receive a third dose.
And the funny part about all of it is they're doing it just weeks before classes start.
You know, that's very important.
And I want to ask you about that.
The timing stinks.
You make plans and then you've only got a matter of days, I understand, if you don't like the policy to get your tuition refunded.
But it's not so simple as that, Lincoln.
I mean, you know, you had people looking forward to pursuing a course or continuing a course.
The idea that within a matter of days you can go to, I don't know, the University of Guelph or any other university in the province.
It's not something you can do, you know, at the snap of one's fingers.
Do you detect a bit of maliciousness on the behalf of Western University here?
It's definitely funny timing.
Yeah.
Tuition's already paid, right?
And a lot of these students, they, like the first year students, they typically live on residence, right?
So that's kind of involved with the tuition in your first year.
But then when you get into second, third, and fourth year and so on, you're paying, you're usually paying a landlord, right, to pay for rents.
So a lot of times you're paying first and last month rent.
So they have commitments and it seems like Western is not taking these commitments into consideration for whatever reason.
It's another case of it being so obvious, so black and white, that it's not fair.
It's not right, but they're still pushing forward with it for whatever reason.
You know, you make very good points.
And I think when it comes to for whatever reason, I think this is a screw job.
Western knows, based on what you just said, a lot of these students have committed to first and last month's rent.
The timeframe makes it impossible for them to switch to another institution.
It's like we are going to be successful in coercing these kids to get double-jabbed plus booster because they don't have much of a choice.
Yeah, and the sad reality is, I can't confirm this myself.
I haven't had time yet to look into it, but I had a student message me on Twitter that I spoke with on Saturday, and allegedly the student council of Western University had a vote and they voted basically in favor of the mandate, of the booster mandate.
So it's not exactly looking great for the students protesting.
Lincoln, I am not surprised one iota.
I think back 50, 60 years ago, young people on campus, what were they doing?
They were demonstrating against the Vietnam War.
They were demonstrating for more civil rights for everyone.
And now what I see on campus are young people, they're still masking up.
And I think, even though they don't have to, I think this is a political statement.
It's not about a virus anymore.
This is much like, you know, a Muslim lady wearing a hijab, a Sikh gentleman wearing a turban.
I'm on Team Islam.
I'm on Team Sikhism, a person wearing a cross, I'm on team Christianity.
This is a visual symbol that I support big government, I support big lockdowns, I support big penalties.
Instead of the kids revolting against the man, they are acquiescing to whatever the man says.
What's happened?
Have they been this indoctrinated?
Yeah, exactly.
It's conditioning.
We're now two years into the pandemic.
People are so, it's like completely changed the world, right?
Especially North America, Western society.
You know, people have just been, their mindsets have just been completely distorted and completely changed where they cannot see something that is completely wrong.
In their eyes, it seems like it's right.
You know, things have just been turned upside down, really.
And it's just sad at the end of the day.
And now, like I said earlier, we're at the point now where people who are double vaccinated are not able to do things.
You know, this is what the truckers fought for.
This is what people have been protesting for for the past two years.
And it's funny, people will say now, why are you protesting?
Why are you out?
Everything's back to normal.
Everything is not back to normal.
We're hearing whispers now about cases rising in the fall.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see another lockdown.
Who knows?
Or at least the vaccine passport.
I don't think we're out of this.
A lot of people think we're out of this.
And this whole Western University debacle has proven that we're clearly not.
No, you're right.
And I hope I'm proven wrong.
But I think you are right.
I think we're going to see more returns to lockdowns, restrictions, and it will likely coincide with, oh, I don't know, the flu season when people start staying indoors more, people get the sniffles.
That will be the excuse to bring back, you know, the kind of policies we saw in the last two years.
Lincoln, there is plenty of blame to go around, but I'm telling you who I blame the most, and it's Premier Doug Ford.
He could have taken a righteous and courageous stance and said, you are not, no one is enforcing these kinds of mandates.
They are gone.
Instead, he said, The province has revoked this.
But if you're an institution, a university, a business, and you still want to go along with that, well, what can you do?
No, no, no.
You could have made it a law, a regulation to say these things are over, but he didn't.
I think this is cowardice on Premier Ford's behalf.
Yeah, at this point, you know, Doug Ford doesn't make the decisions that he truly believes in.
He makes the decisions in which he's pressured to do so.
Like we saw with him saying he's not going to create a two-tier society with the vaccine passport.
You know, that seemed like Doug speaking from the heart.
And then he comes out two weeks later, you know, looks like he has, you know, something pointed at his head.
And he states that he's bringing in the vaccine passport.
So I think everything stems down to money.
You know, I think, you know, just follow the money.
I think that a lot of, I think people are just, I don't know if people are bought out, what's happening, but it's just so obvious that something's not right.
You know, you have 12 million Moderna vaccine doses coming into Canada.
They have to push those vaccine doses, you know.
So this is all speculation.
You know, are these mandates, these booster mandates, are these ways just to keep pushing the vaccines out the door and just to keep things flowing?
Who knows?
But it's strange, that's for sure.
No, Lincoln, as I say, always follow the money.
There's been new multi-millionaires minted overnight thanks to this pandemic, including new billionaires with a B minted overnight.
There's big money involved here.
So you might be right.
That's really what's driving it.
But listen, great work on that video.
And folks, I really do believe, and like I said, I hope I'm proven wrong, that in the fall, we'll have this return to lockdowns and mask mandates and social distancing and the rest of it.
And Doug Ford will do that press conference.
Unvaccinated Players and Big Money00:15:29
You know the drill, folks.
Well, you know, if it was up to me, I wouldn't be doing this.
You're the premier.
It is up to you.
Doug Ford, if you're watching this, grow a spine, put down the cherry cheesecake and act like a true leader.
Keep it here, folks.
More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.
I'm Jeremy Lafrido for Rebel News at the U.S. Open.
Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is effectively banned from the tournament because he's not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Thousands of tennis fans from all over the world flocked to the U.S. Open in Queens to watch the best of the best tennis players face off for championships.
All was well and everyone was in good spirits, but something, rather someone was missing.
Novak Jokovic, world tennis champion, was unable to compete in the world-class tournament of which he's normally a fixture of because he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a recent BBC interview, Novak explained that he's willing to put the right to choose and his bodily autonomy above everything else, including his professional, lucrative tennis career.
And I understand that not being vaccinated today, I, you know, I'm unable to travel to most of the tournaments at the moment.
And that's the price you're willing to pay?
That is the price that I'm willing to pay.
Ultimately, are you prepared to forego the chance to be the greatest player that ever picked up a racket, statistically?
Because you feel so strongly about this jab.
Yes.
I do.
But as things stand, if this means that you miss the French Open, is that a price you'd be willing to pay?
Yes, that is the price that I'm willing to pay.
And if it means that you miss Wimbledon this year, again, that's a price you're willing to pay.
Yes.
Why, Novak?
Why?
Why?
Because the principles of decision-making on my body are more important than any title or anything else.
Although the tournament, which is sponsored by the U.S. government partner and mRNA vaccine manufacturer, Moderna, drew massive crowds, some attendees believe Novak should be there and that the supposed health rules were unfair.
I think that the pandemic is over and he needs to be here.
And I think that's not right because we say we're the home of the brave and for everyone to come here, but he can't even come here because he's not vaccinated.
So that's not fair.
It's terrible.
It's ridiculous.
He should be able to play.
You think you should be able to play?
Why do you think that?
Because I don't want to be controversial, but a lot of people disallowing the country without vaccination.
Michael Keene, a grassroots organizer and New York City teacher who was fired because of his refusal to get the COVID vaccine, organized a rally at the U.S. Open in support of Novak.
Not only did he argue that Novak should be allowed to play, but he also highlighted the hypocrisy of the regulations that allow for American tennis players to compete unvaccinated and unvaccinated tennis fans to attend the U.S. Open.
At this point, it's really, I mean, it's just clown town in New York City in America.
You have nearly a dozen players that are in the U.S. Open that are unvaccinated.
Americans that are going to be playing.
You have hundreds of spectators coming in, thousands probably that are unvaccinated.
But this one guy, the Wimbledon World Champion, can't come in.
I mean, it's just preposterous.
He laid blame for the unscientific regulations with the Biden administration.
And the reason why is Joe Biden has a travel mandate that makes absolutely no sense.
Separating people, and more importantly, it's separating families.
A good friend of mine, Marcella Picone, is here.
She lives in Buffalo.
Her fiancé lives 20 minutes over in Canada across the border.
Them, they haven't been able to see each other with their two little girls together in over two years because of these ridiculous mandates.
And the CDC has come out and said, whether you're vaccinated or unvaccinated, you should be treated the same.
It is absolutely ridiculous.
They need to end all of these mandates.
But not all tennis fans considered the story important.
And others explain that while they adore Novak, following the rules is really important.
Well, honestly, he was supposed to be vaccinated to be even in Wimbledon because it's the rule.
Everybody was following it.
I know that now the CDC has changed the rules, but it's now, from before he was supposed to follow the rule.
I love him, but I love following the rule also.
I'm sick of talking about him.
It's so boring.
It's fucking obnoxious.
I'm not passing judgments on him, but like, I'm sick of talking about it.
At the U.S. Open in New York, the Serena Williams Farewell Tour is getting most of the publicity.
But with all due respect to Ms. Williams, I think a far more important story is demanding of our attention, and that would be world tennis champion Novak Jokovic being excluded from playing at this tournament because he refuses to get jabbed with an experimental vaccine.
And yet again, folks, so much for the mantra of my body, my choice.
And joining me now with more on this story is our New York-based reporter, Jeremy LaFredo.
Welcome to Rebel Roundup, Jeremy.
Thank you.
All right.
So, Jeremy, there are so many angles here, but what I thought was perversely amusing was the interviewer in that BBC clip that we inserted into your report in which the journalist, he's almost gasping when he says to Jokovic, why, why, why?
It's almost as though Jokovic was pulling the limbs off a puppy dog.
And maybe, just maybe the reason is, as Jokovic explains, is that there are more important things in life than tennis trophies and money.
And I would say that the most overlooked, underreported story of the year thus far is the number of young, healthy, athletic, predominantly males who are suddenly dropping dead after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Jeremy, what are your thoughts?
Yeah, I mean, this is the, you know, the LeBron James of tennis, the Michael Jordan of tennis, he's the world champion, and he's not allowed to compete.
As I mentioned in the report, it's interesting, the U.S. Open was sponsored by U.S. government partner and mRNA vaccine manufacturer, Moderna.
So there you go right there.
There's a sign that says Moderna on the court.
So yeah, Jokovic wasn't allowed at the U.S. Open.
And I was there at the U.S. Open.
I went there earlier this week and I spoke to tennis fans and a lot of them.
They were under, they knew that you didn't have to be vaccinated as a tennis fan to attend the U.S. Open.
And American tennis players who were competing in the U.S. Open did not have to be vaccinated.
So the idea that Novak can't come here to compete because it's a quote-unquote health risk is just, it doesn't make any sense to not only us, me and you, but even your average apolitical tennis player who probably received the jab, even they know that this is not about science and doesn't make any sense.
Now, another thing is that Novak is a professional athlete.
He's among the healthiest of people in the country, in the world.
So he doesn't, you know, he's okay from something that, you know, resembles the flu.
He'll be okay.
And like you said, there are tons and tons and tons, dozens of athletes, world-class athletes, soccer players, younger, older, just collapsing on the field, just stopping playing the sport, collapsing on the field, and they have a heart problem or they have a stroke on the field.
Young, you would never expect it to happen to someone like that.
And obviously, someone who's clear-eyed and sober as Novak sees this and he says, there's no reason for me to put my body at risk and give up my bodily autonomy and sovereignty just so I can hold the trophy up in the air.
And that's a lot coming from him because, you know, this is his sport.
This is what he's so passionate about.
He spent his whole life playing tennis and it's something that he's willing to sacrifice to maintain his freedom over his own bodily decisions.
Indeed, and I'm sure a player of his caliber has earned millions and millions of dollars.
He can live comfortably for the rest of his life for sure.
But, you know, you said a lot of things that were very interesting there, Jeremy.
First and foremost, we've been told since day one of this pandemic, follow the science.
And you just told me that the tennis players at the U.S. Open have to be vaccinated, even though tennis by its nature, social distancing is observed.
It's not a contact sport.
But the fans going into the stadium, they don't have to be vaccinated and they're being shoehorned in.
They're sitting cheek to jowl.
Jeremy, where's the science?
How are the fans okay by getting into this facility unvaccinated?
Whereas Novak is the modern day version of Typhoid Mary, if you believe the tennis types.
It's even worse than that.
There are American tennis players in the U.S. Open who are not vaccinated.
You don't have to be vaccinated to compete in the U.S. Open.
You need to be vaccinated to come and play at the U.S. Open as a foreign player.
So it's less the tennis organization.
They want him to play.
He's a cash cow.
He's a champion.
It's more the Biden administration enforcing their border vaccine mandates.
And even though the CDC, Biden's chief health authority, says unvaccinated and vaccinated people should be treated the same, we still have this dubious law at the border that says you can't come here if you're unvaccinated.
It's just outdated.
It's not following the science.
It never was following the science.
But especially now that you have our own health authority saying that a vaccinated and unvaccinated should be treated the same and Biden still not taking their advice and keeping this rule in place.
So, Jeremy, you've touched upon another glaring discrepancy when you talk about Biden's border vaccine mandates.
That's for legitimate travelers, U.S. citizens coming across the border, but not for illegals getting into the U.S.
I mean, I haven't heard of any stories where illegal aliens are asked whether or not they're vaccinated.
And if they're not vaccinated, they got to go back to Mexico.
So again, how do you explain this?
Yeah, well, I mean, they're illegal aliens.
So, you know, what they're doing is already illegal.
They're already committing a crime.
So the fact that like, you know, you have to be vaccinated to commit a crime, that's really not, that's a non-starter.
But really that line of thinking saying that, you know, it kind of manufactures, you know, consent for, let's say, okay, everybody needs to be vaccinated if you come across the border.
Like I don't support any illegal aliens coming to our country undocumented, but I also don't think that they should be, if they do make, if they do like, you know, try to come across the border illegally, I don't think anyone should be jabbed, whether you're illegal, whether you're not illegal.
I don't think anyone should be forced to be vaccinated.
But that is a great point that they don't need it, although champion tennis player Novak needs it.
It is, it's a great, it's a great analogy.
It's baffling.
And let's change gears for another angle on this story that you alluded to, Jeremy.
Moderna, they're a sponsor of the U.S. Open.
And we know that this pandemic has minted thousands of multi-millionaires overnight, hundreds of billionaires overnight.
A lot of people have gotten rich really quick thanks to the pandemic that we're all in this together.
Another lie right up there with the check is in the mail.
I'm wondering, Jeremy, behind the scenes, is Moderna as the sponsor, and let's face it, money talks and you know what walks, are they perhaps behind this that we want the publicity out there that even the most elite athletes should be vaccinated?
Maybe because, well, you can argue sports stars to some are role models.
So that's a good pitchman for this vaccine.
Could there be any truth to what I just said, Jeremy?
Yeah, of course.
I mean, athletes, especially ones competing in the U.S. Open, what are these people?
These people are influencers.
They have influence over what other people do.
That's why they're on TV selling everything from Gatorade to televisions.
They are influencers and they're used to sell products.
That's what they're used for.
And that's how they make money aside from sports.
How they make money is selling other people's products.
And if a company is sponsoring this event and someone is vehemently against their product, it would be best if they weren't at that event.
And I'll also add, it's kind of like the, I believe it was the Oscars, where the sponsor of the Oscars was Pfizer.
And normally you have about a minute-long tribute to everyone who has passed this past year and anybody in the entertainment industry.
And this year, it was sponsored by Pfizer.
They didn't even have enough time to go through all of the older celebrities that have passed.
And they spent a lot of time on just a few people and left some people totally out of it because we don't know what they died from.
They died suddenly, quote unquote.
And it's bad publicity for Pfizer.
Why are all these people dying at 50 years old, 40 years old?
Let's just not talk about them if this event is sponsored by Pfizer.
It'll make people think maybe.
So then you have industry, the pharmaceutical industry sponsoring these events that get millions and millions of views.
And it's not a surprise that they're also in charge of the content and the message sometimes when it comes to that.
You know, I think you're onto something there, Jeremy.
And also, I mean, I don't know if you've seen this, but I welcome our viewers to Google this.
There's this hilarious clip, I think.
Well, it's perversely amusing, I should say.
If you put in the search engine, brought to you by Pfizer, it's like this seven and a half minute long clip of every major American newscast and entertainment show where it kicks off with brought to you by Pfizer.
So there is big money out there.
But one last angle I want to touch upon with you, Jeremy, because this year, once again, Roe v. Wade is very much in the news.
And we know from the pro-abortion camp for decades, the mantra has been, my body, my choice.
And I'm just wondering, Jeremy, educate me, if you will.
Last Angle: Roe v. Wade Hypocrisy00:03:07
My body, my choice, does that only pertain to ending the life of an unborn baby?
Because it sure doesn't seem to apply to those who say, I don't want an experimental vaccine going into my body.
Yeah, I mean, it's a great point, and it's the biggest hypocrisy of the year.
I mean, I was at the Roe v. Wade protest here in New York City, and it was wild.
I asked, you know, protester after protester after protester if they support people who don't want to get the shot because they want to respect their bodily autonomy.
I mean, there was hundreds of female teachers in New York who were fired and who still don't have their jobs back because these women respected their bodily autonomy and said, no, I don't want that shot.
But these are not important victims to these protesters.
They're hurting other people, public health, et cetera, et cetera.
It's a giant glaring hypocrisy of what's happening right now.
You have these people who, you know, they're all my body, my choice.
They're willing to take off work, hit the streets with their signs.
But it's only for this one topic, abortion.
When it comes to any other decision, it's really what the prevailing ruling narrative is regarding that.
And it's pro-vaccine, so they're pro-vaccine.
Unbelievable.
One last question, Jeremy.
We had a smattering of streeters where you asked people about this, and it was probably evenly split, at least what made it there.
But I'm sure you talked to more people than what made it to your final cut of your video.
What was the percentage in terms of those being pro-Jokovic versus anti-Jokovic in terms of his vaccine stance?
Well, these are tennis fans.
And, you know, as, you know, like, like if you're a die-hard basketball fan, you respect Michael Jordan, whether you like his team or not.
And whether, you know, whatever he says, you know that he is a fixture of the game.
And these were die-hard tennis fans.
So overwhelmingly, people supported Novak and said he should be here.
It's crazy what they're doing to him.
He should be here.
He needs to be playing in this because if he's not competing, we don't really know who the best tennis player is.
And, you know, it's a very tennis-oriented answer, but that's how the tennis fans felt.
And, you know, I would say it's about 80-20 in support of Novak.
And the 20% were like, we don't like talking about him so much.
There's so much else going on in the world of tennis.
But overwhelmingly, people supported Novak and his decision not to get the shot and they were against the idea that he couldn't be there to compete.
Well, I'm happy to hear that.
That sanity is prevailing, Jeremy.
And I think at the end of the day, this just shows how this decision is so lose-lose.
You're preventing one of the best tennis players, maybe the best tennis player, from competing, and you are depriving the tennis fans in New York from seeing this man compete.
Gary's Shocking Bank Experience00:11:01
And again, it's not based on any science I can tell from this.
So just a sad state of affairs overall.
Hopefully, this policy gets knocked out of bounds in the weeks and months to come when we don't have to go through this again.
Jeremy, thank you so much for weighing in and you have a great weekend, my friend.
Thank you.
And that was Jeremy Lafredo in the Big Apple, New York City.
Keep it here, folks.
More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.
Having a politically incorrect and non-woke mindset is sinful in the eyes of Canada's big banks.
And folks, just will you hear the details pertaining to this particular story?
And joining me now from Grand Prairie, Alberta is Gary Duke, who used to be a Scotiabank client until the bank decided to, well, fire him.
Hey there, Gary.
How are you doing there, my friend?
Hey, good.
Thank you very much.
Thanks for introducing me.
Well, it's a pleasure, Gary.
I wish it was a better subject matter.
But Gary, what pray tell did you do that made your local Scotiabank determine that they no longer want to do business with you any longer?
Well, I just tried to get online with an app to do some banking online.
And basically, there is a rainbow app.
So I said, is there any way to get this rainbow app off my phone?
And he responded in quite a shocking way that kind of surprised me.
And when you say he, are we speaking now?
We talked off air, you had dealings with Mitchell Toft.
He's the assistant manager at the branch.
Right.
Yeah.
So it's through an email discussion that I asked him, like, if there's any way to get the app off.
And he, yeah, he responded.
He did not respond for a couple days.
And then when he did, he basically hunted me from my bank.
Okay.
So, and I mean, I don't know, I don't know whatever happened to can we agree to disagree, but you sent along the text that Mr. Toft sent to you.
I'm going to read it verbatim.
Gary, Scotiabank strives to provide an inclusive environment for all members of the LGBTQ plus community.
And during Pride Month, like every other financial institution, we have chosen to show our support in a variety of ways, including visual signs such as rainbows on our app.
Your request slash complaint will not be entertained as it does not align with our principles.
Your comments are not appreciated, nor will they be tolerated, which is why we have chosen to terminate our relationship with you.
You may gather the funds from your account and a termination notice will be mailed to you advising the date you have until to retrieve any funds.
Any funds in the account upon the date of closure will be put into a bank draft and mailed to the address we have on file.
Well, holy smokes, Gary.
I mean, right away he went to the nuclear option just because you complained about a rainbow illustration on the app.
Why do you think he responded this way?
Well, I think it's the culture in general that we have right now.
You know, give him the benefit of the doubt, he might have thought I was a troll and possibly testing him to kind of keep up the standard that they're trying to promote nowadays out there and the woke kind of wokeism.
So that could be that he was concerned that if he didn't say the right thing, that he would be rep, you know, he would be attacked from his end.
So I understand that, and that's the fear a lot of us have for not even wanting to speak out nowadays is that whole thing, right?
Wow.
Remember when Canada's big banks were all about, you know, banking?
But today, Canada's big banks are becoming increasingly political.
Case in point, we looked on in revulsion last February when some Canadians actually had their bank accounts frozen for the egregious crime of making monetary donations to the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa.
And even before that took place, we experienced political interference here at Rebel News last December.
That's when the Royal Bank of Canada declined to approve our mortgage application pertaining to a Calgary property.
This had nothing to do with our financial wherewithal.
Rather, the Royal Bank apparently doesn't like our editorial stance.
What the hell?
And as you just saw, along comes yet another example of a bank carrying out a jihad against a client for the egregious crime of wrongthink.
Yes, apparently having a politically incorrect and non-woke mindset is sinful in the eyes of Scotiabank, which is why longtime Scotiabank client Gary Duke of Grand Prairie, Alberta, was essentially fired as a client by the bank, not for defaulting on a loan, mind you, but rather for asking an impolite question.
Unbelievable.
In any event, you had plenty to say regarding yet another bank getting political and, well, downright vindictive.
Vanguard Trainer924 writes, the fact they can shut you out of your account just for not agreeing with their woke antics is terrifying.
People need to start carrying cash on their person again.
Yes, once again, we have a case of a bank getting weaponized for political reasons.
And what do you want to bet that Scotiabank is probably sharing information regarding Gary Duke with the other banks?
You know, kind of like how casinos in Las Vegas share information with one another regarding cheaters and card counters.
Unbelievable.
Concerned citizen rights, sue the bank, bank manager, and whoever wrote the email. take them to a human rights tribunal as a discrimination case.
Well, if that had happened to me and I had, you know, Lotto Max FU money, I would indeed pursue litigation, but I'm thinking Scotiabank probably has some contractual weasel words that allows them to fire a customer for whatever reason.
As for going the kangaroo court route, in other words, a human rights tribunal, I think that would be a no-hoper.
The human rights shysters would undoubtedly be on the bank side when it comes to this particular issue.
Smart TM writes, I was thinking of applying for a job at Scotiabank this year and set up a job seeker account with them.
Imagine my surprise when I saw one of the questions was my sexual orientation.
There were several options to choose from.
Since when can prospective employers ask about your sex life?
Preferred pronouns was not as surprising, nine options to choose from.
These two questions were optional to answer, but the gender identity question required a response, 11 options.
I just gave up.
Wow, this is indeed shocking, Smart TM.
Whatever happened to privacy?
After all, when we reached out to Scotiabank Corporate to get their side of the story, this is what Katie Ruskina, she, her, the manager of media relations and issues management, had to say, quote, Scotiabank cannot comment on individual customer matters for privacy reasons.
We are committed to building an inclusive environment and culture through active allyship and believe that all employees, customers, and the community should be treated with equal respect and consideration, end quote.
Translation, Scotiabank believes in an inclusive environment.
Unless you ask impolite questions, then it will exclude those customers from that environment.
And privacy is apparently a fluid concept at the bank.
Kapish.
Bo Ottenbrett writes, we are living in an extremely intolerant world thanks to a bunch of talking heads trying to push their version of tolerance and being entirely intolerant of everyone that disagrees with them.
Well said, Bo.
Indeed, when it comes to the LGBTQQIPS, AAIEU, and sometimes Y community, it is no longer about tolerance and acceptance anymore.
The radicals in this community demand affirmation and they demand that they never be questioned or criticized.
And how's this for perverse irony?
While they demand tolerance, this group is comprised of the most intolerant people on the planet.
And Eddie Willers writes, if Scotiabank operated in Muslim countries, I'll warrant there's no rainbows on the app used in those locales.
Oh, Eddie, that is a very safe bet indeed.
And it's not just speculation.
In June, Fortune magazine reported that for Gay Pride Month, BMW updated its logo on its main Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts, as well as regional Twitter profiles, including South Africa, the UK, India, and Mexico, to a colorful rainbow-clad palette.
Every account was updated except for one, and that country would be drum roll please, Saudi Arabia.
So, thank you, BMW, for proving that when it comes to the human rights totem poll, radical Islam trumps the alphabet soup community.
Never Forget00:00:15
Well, that wraps up another edition of Rebel Roundup.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Have yourselves a great long weekend as we unofficially say goodbye to summer.
See you next week.
And hey, folks, never forget: without risk, there can be no glory.