Ezra Levant exposes Justin Trudeau’s hollow support for independent journalism, as CBC—funded with $600 million annually—aligns with Liberal policies like carbon tax and open borders while dismissing skeptics using identical language. His critique highlights CBC’s government-appointed board and past panels featuring Trudeau allies, including his biographer Althea Raj and cousin-connected Andrew Coyne. Meanwhile, public sector unions demand $9.3 billion in raises, including $17K education funds and taxpayer-backed progressive advocacy, with Franco Terrazano warning of fiscal collapse. Viewers compare Trudeau’s charity ties to Clinton’s, suggesting his reliance on slush funds reveals a deeper pattern of political control over media and public institutions. [Automatically generated summary]
Justin Trudeau, he said he's all in favor of independent journalism and he's against foreign billionaires.
Yeah, no, I think that's him gaslighting us again.
I'll have the latest.
And first, though, I want to invite you to become a subscriber to Rebel News Plus.
I want to show you this video clip of Justin Trudeau saying those things.
So I want you to see the video, not just hear the audio of it.
We put together these podcasts as videos first.
So there's a lot of stuff to see.
Just go to RebelNewsPlus.com, click subscribe.
It's $8 a month, which I think is a bargain.
$80 if you get the whole year in advance, which is an even bigger bargain.
And we rely on that money because we don't take any government money.
Not that any is offered.
So go to RebelNewsPlus.com, get the good stuff, and support your favorite rebels.
All right, here's today's podcast.
Tonight, Justin Trudeau says he supports independent journalism.
Do you believe him?
It's April 17th, and this is the Ezra Levance show.
Shame on you, you sensorious bug.
A funny thing happened over the weekend.
Twitter, which has long indicated government affiliations on certain accounts, they were marked that way.
Well, they applied that to the CBC and other state broadcasters around the world.
Here's an example.
I mean, this is the Twitter account of China's foreign affairs spokesman.
So you can see it says China government official on it.
So it's a government official.
Here's a state broadcaster.
For example, this is Putin's state broadcaster called RT or Russia Today.
Do you see it says Russia state-affiliated media right there on it?
Those are not so much warnings as they are disclosures.
I mean, just to let you know what you're getting.
But for years, Trudeau's CBC state broadcasters did not have a warning label.
The CBC would pump out their content and people weren't warned or advised that they were consuming government propaganda like they'd be warned if they were watching RT or Al Jazeera until this weekend.
Take a look there.
Government-funded media.
Of course it is.
Of course it's government-funded media.
There is no doubt about that.
It is not a matter of opinion.
It is a matter of fact.
They get a small amount of money from selling ads, but each year they get most of their money, way more than a billion dollars, wrung out of each Canadian by the force of the state through your taxes.
You cannot opt out.
It's a tax.
It's a government broadcaster, and they don't really deny it, do they?
I mean, here it is, literally that same CBC Twitter account saying so themselves a few years ago.
Here's a tweet.
They were talking to some guy named Mike.
Hi, Michael.
We are government-funded, but that only covers a portion of our expenses.
Advertising helps us cover costs across all platforms.
So, of course, of course they're government-funded.
But boy, did having someone else say that make the CBC mad on the weekend when Twitter itself posted it on their platform.
They went on a bit of a pout.
Here's three tweets in a row they did.
Twitter's own policy defines government-funded media as cases where the government may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content, which is clearly not the case with CBC Radio Canada.
Oh, really?
Government-Funded Controversy00:15:18
Are you sure?
First of all, it is a factual fact that they get government money, and that's all that's said there.
They are a creature of a government statute called the Broadcasting Act, and their board is appointed by the government.
Where is the dispute here?
But to claim that they are not partisan or not partial, what a joke that is.
I mean, I just kept laughing when I saw this over the weekend.
It was classic.
This is the CBC's at-issue panel.
That's what they call it.
They were having a discussion about the Trudeau Foundation.
So hosting this, you've got Rosemary Barton, the CBC fangirl of Trudeau, who literally asked Trudeau for a selfie.
And then later she went on a weird platonic date with him, asking him all sorts of odd personal questions.
It really was weird.
They long to be close to you.
Why do stars fall down from the sky every time you walk by just like me?
They long to be close to you on the day that you were born.
The angels got together and decided to create a dream come true.
So this will stand your hair and golden sky in your eyes of blue.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that Rosie Barton, in the final weeks of the 2019 election campaign, she personally, as in her own name, joined the CBC as a corporation in suing the Conservative Party of Canada right before election day.
So you've got her hosting this neutral and impartial discussion.
And then you've got Chantali Bear, who literally worked for the Trudeau Foundation.
And then you've got Andrew Coyne, whose cousin literally sits on the board of the Trudeau Foundation now, or maybe she resigned last week.
I'm not quite sure.
And then, of course, rounding it out, you have Trudeau's authorized biographer and all-around fangirl, Althea Raj, who literally wrote a love story about him and published it as a book.
That's the CBC panel.
The entire political spectrum from A to B, the entire geographical representation of this country from Toronto to Montreal.
The same crew that's been mumbling their establishment talking points for 15 years.
All the hair dye in the world will not make that crew seem young or fresh.
My God, but imagine calling them independent.
Yeah.
Who put together that panel?
I mean, seriously, was that Gerald Butts who produced it?
Anyways, let me keep reading from the CBC rebuttal.
They said, CBC Radio Canada is publicly funded through a parliamentary appropriation that is voted upon by all members of parliament.
Why don't you just call it tax money?
Its editorial independence is protected in law in the Broadcasting Act, as we said in our statement from last week.
But that's the opposite of true, isn't it?
I mean, the Broadcasting Act explicitly tells the CBC what they have to do and say, what to argue and what to promote.
It's right there in the act.
The very fact that the editorial decisions are laid out in a parliamentary law proves they're not independent.
It's not proof that they are independent.
That's such weird gaslighting.
And here's the last part of their rant.
In addition, our journalism is independent and subject to our journalistic standards and practices, as well as an independent complaints process through CBC ombudsman.
Yeah, really?
That's the same ombudsman, for example, who took months and months and months to weigh in on this bizarre CBC propaganda.
Remember this?
I do ask that because, you know, given Canada's support of Ukraine in this current crisis with Russia, I don't know if it's far-fetched to ask, but there is concern that Russian actors could be continuing to fuel things as this protest grows, but perhaps even instigating it from the outset.
And then he gently criticized it.
But that reporter got a raise in a promotion.
The CBC has a policy of following Trudeau's policies to the letter.
Tell me one issue about which the CBC and Trudeau disagree.
From the carbon tax to firearms to open borders immigration to Donald Trump to transgenderism to global warming, there is no difference between the Liberal Party platform and the CBC platform.
In fact, the CBC has a bit of party discipline on these matters.
For example, as a rule, they never have anyone on their talk shows who is a climate change skeptic.
Never.
They just don't allow them.
They call people like that deniers, which is the exact same language that Trudeau uses.
And then there's some good reasons, as Trudeau himself reminds us, why they're so obedient.
Here is his joke at a press gallery dinner at which plenty of journalists laughed along with him.
Do you remember this?
You sometimes hear about liberal bias in the media these days, how they're constantly letting off our government, letting our government off the hook for no good reason.
Frankly, I think that's insulting.
It's clear that they let us off the hook for a very good reason, because we paid them $600 million.
So Trudeau was mad about all this today, because he and the CBC are in sync with this.
He said that Twitter labeling the CBC government-funded was outrageous.
And he said that by calling for that label on them, Pierre Polyev showed that he is hostile to an independent media and reliant on foreign billionaires.
Take a look.
I think it says a lot about the Conservative Party of Canada.
That they're choosing to constantly attack independent media organizations, journalists who are working hard to keep Canadians informed and support our democracies.
CBC Radio Canada serves right across the country, delivers local news and local content in many regions of the country, that yes, has been challenged over the past years.
But the idea of adding to that challenges and laying on by attacking this Canadian institution, attacking the culture and local content that is so important to so many Canadians, really indicates the values and the approach that Mr. Polyev is putting forward.
And I think it is telling that in order to attack this institution that is important for many, many Canadians, he runs to American billionaires, the tech giants that they continue to defend in committee and in their approach on our legislation to make tech giants pay their fair share.
Conservatives are always there to defend them.
So when they're trying to attack a foundational Canadian institution, the fact that he has to run to American billionaires for support to attack Canadians says a lot about Mr. Polyev and his values.
Yeah, the guy who now has four bills in or approaching Parliament or pending to censor the internet is now calling other people violators of journalistic independence.
The guy who has twice banned rebel news from even attending elections debates, who has his bodyguards beat up our reporters, he's the independent journalism guy now?
Yeah, no.
I mean, the guy who accepted a $200,000 check from a Chinese billionaire and had his own brother Alexandra pick up the money.
That's the guy accusing others of being in league with foreign billionaires.
By the way, foreign billionaires, the guy who flies to New York to sit submissively at the feet of George Soros.
Trudeau, who hired George Soros' official biographer, Christian Freeland, as a deputy.
That guy is lecturing us about foreign billionaires?
Yeah.
And of course, who is the media party cheering for today?
Elon Musk, the man who says he'll make the internet free again and who says he'll pay independent journalists?
No.
They're cheering for Justin Trudeau, the man who says he'll regulate the internet and put the journalists on subsidies.
Freedom of speech in this country will get worse if Elon Musk doesn't beat Justin Trudeau.
Stay with us for more.
Well, if you were to tell me the Canada Revenue Agency was going on strike, I bet most people would cheer that.
Of course, tax collectors are a bane on our existence, but I don't think it's a good thing because one of the things they do is give tax refunds as well.
And of course, they supposedly answer questions about how to fill out our tax forms every year.
But the CRA is just one part of the public service that has decided this is the time to make massive wage demands and threaten the withdrawal of their services if they don't get it.
You know, every sign points to a recession, a recession that may last for years.
And in fact, the strategy by the Bank of Canada to jack up interest rates is a strategy that will increase unemployment and lead to inflation and unemployment.
It's a terrible mix.
What a time to demand more money from taxpayers.
Of course, Justin Trudeau, I can tell you right now, will say yes.
What will the pain be?
And are these demands reasonable?
Here with the facts is the only guy I trust on this because he's not part of a political party.
He takes no money from the government.
And his job is to serve taxpayers.
It will not surprise you that I'm talking about our friend Franco Terrazano of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation who joins me now.
Vice Guy, Franco, great to see you again.
I have in front of me your latest press release.
Taxpayers Can't Afford PSACS Demands.
That stands for the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
They want a raise of $9.3 billion.
Is that right?
Over three years, they're pushing for up to 47% compensation increase.
And you're right, over those three years, that would cost taxpayers $9.3 billion.
So you ask if it's reasonable.
No, it's not reasonable.
It's unreasonable.
It's unaffordable.
And it's unsustainable.
Folks, just let that sink in for a second.
$9.3 billion hit to the taxpayer over three years.
Now, I don't know about you, Ezra, but I don't know too many people out there who could afford this type of hit, right?
How many Canadians right now are at the grocery store wondering if they can afford the package of ground beef or the jug of milk?
How many Canadians are out there right now who are worried whether they can afford to fuel up their car with gasoline?
Or how many Canadians out there are worried about losing their homes as mortgage payments go up?
And now you have some government union negotiators in Ottawa demanding up to 47% compensation increase over three years for a total cost of $9.3 billion.
$9.3 billion, it sounds like an enormous amount, but we're used to billions and even the occasional use of the word trillion.
But when you break it down to the individual level, that's when it gets shocking.
Let me quote from your press release.
Compensation for each full-time federal employee is $125,300 on average when pay pension and other benefits are added up, according to the parliamentary budget officer.
100% grand.
And that's before they get their raise.
This is the new ruling class.
This is the one percentage.
I mean, doctors, lawyers, professionals.
No, You're a government bureaucrat.
You're making $125 a year on average.
That's shocking.
And they want a raise on top of that.
It's the makers versus takers, isn't it?
The makers versus takers.
And let's not forget what happened over the last couple of years, right?
If you're a private sector taxpayer, you may have lost your job.
You may have taken a pay cut.
You may have even lost your small business.
As we look forward, we talked about how people are really struggling to afford the necessities.
How many small businesses are worried about a possible recession that's right around the corner?
Well, what happened behind those golden government gates?
Federal government employees, more than 300,000 federal bureaucrats received at least one raise during the pandemic.
Ezra, that's anywhere from 93 to 98% of all federal bureaucrats received at least one raise during the pandemic.
Not to mention the feds have dished out more than $500 million in bonuses during the pandemic years.
So you have bureaucrats who are not even worried about missing a raise or a bonus demanding huge compensation increases from taxpayers who are worried about missing meals.
Yeah.
You know, so many people in the private sector, whether it was restaurant owners or gym owners or retail shops, were crushed.
And I always said, and people were skeptical, I said, there are some people who love this pandemic.
They're the government class, the lockdown class.
Not one of them lost a dime.
A lot of them didn't go to work, but they got paid nonetheless.
The craziest thing, though, Franco, about your press release, it's this section.
Let me just read the top of it.
I'd love you to tell our viewers, the non-wage benefits PSAC has demanded include.
And then you've got a list.
So the money is, of course, what most people immediately gravitate to.
These guys are making $125,000 on average and they want a huge raise.
All right.
But why don't you take us through some of these cuckoo crazy, like nutty as a Snickers bar demands?
And you know they're going to get them.
Take us through some of these crazy non-wage benefits.
And I think a lot of people in real life don't even have non-wage benefits.
Okay, you got health and dental maybe, but why don't you list some of these crazy things here they're demanding?
So in the real world, if the real world, you were to ask your boss for some of these non-wage benefits that I'm about to list for you, you'd get laughed out of the office.
These are so crazy.
One of them is bureaucrats want more money if they work past 4 p.m.
And this is for program and administrative services.
Who in an in-the-office job isn't working past 4 p.m.
And these federal bureaucrats want more money to work past 4 p.m.
Education Fund Pushback00:07:23
Here's another one.
These government union negotiators are pushing for an education fund for laid-off employees of up to $17,000.
Okay, let me list a few more.
They want paytime off of two weeks or of 75 hours, sorry, annually.
They want accrual of four weeks vacation after only four years of service.
They want overtime paid at double time.
And Ezra, we can dive into this, but this is the craziest one of them all.
They want taxpayer-funded contribution into a union-controlled social justice fund, which engages in, quote, advocacy for progressive public policy.
Now, Ezra, Canadians have a right to advocate for what they believe in, but you don't use government negotiations to take taxpayers' money so that you can fund your advocacy.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's basically code word for an NDP super PAC.
You know, there's a moral hazard whenever a government union negotiates with a government in that neither are using their own money.
I mean, you know, in a private sector situation or in any other real life negotiation, you're buying and selling a house, let's say.
Both sides, it's their own skin in the game.
Here, there's the moral hazard, I'm using that word again, in that why would Justin Trudeau say no?
If he says no, maybe they're going to strike, maybe they're going to leak documents on him, maybe they're going to make a fuss.
This is his base.
Other than the media, I can think of no other part of the society that is more Justin Trudeau's people than this.
So of course he's got every temptation just to say yes, sign the check.
And these are his allies.
These are the people who came out against the truckers in Ottawa.
These are the people who, of course, they got bonuses.
And of course, they are in favor of lockdowns.
I don't know.
I think he's going to give this to him while the rest of the country goes into recession.
What do you think?
Is there any chance, any sign of any backbone to stand up to this?
Well, let's make no mistake about it.
The reason that these government union negotiators even feel that they can go push for up to 47% compensation increases over three years, which would cost taxpayers $9.3 billion.
The only reason they even think they can make those demands is because of how crazy this government has been spending year after year after year after year.
If this government wasn't spending so crazy like this, these government union negotiators know they wouldn't be able to push for these demands because they'd be laughed out of the office, right?
But the government has been spending like crazy.
Now, here's another important problem is that where is the pushback from the opposition?
Which party out there is pushing back on this?
Maybe I missed a press conference.
I don't know.
I get paid to watch this kind of stuff.
Maybe I'm sleeping on the job, but I haven't seen a single member of parliament from a single party publicly come out against these government union negotiating demands.
I mean, of course, Jagmeet's saying he would love the public sector unions.
So he'd probably say to Trudeau, I insist you do this as part of my coalition agreement, but you're right.
I have not heard the Conservative Party talk about this, and maybe they don't want to pick a fight with the unions.
But look, either you're for the taxpayer or you're not.
And it's not like these are, you know, there are certain labor unions in the private sector, working class blue-collar jobs where a union makes some sense.
But to have a public sector union, average income, 125 grand, saying we don't want to work after 4 p.m.
We want a left-wing super PAC.
If the Conservatives can't take a stand against that, I'm worried about that.
And I'm glad, as always, you point that out because that's one of the things I love about the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
They are non-partisan.
So they're never going to give a free ride to the Conservatives.
Very important.
Last word to you.
Is this a done deal or do you think there's a chance this will be rolled back?
Well, you know, I don't have a crystal ball, but that's why it's so important right now for all your viewers to really send a letter, send an email, send a phone call to your member of parliament and tell him to push back.
You know that social justice fund?
They've used the fund to send their members to climate conferences in Madrid, in Cancun.
They've even used it to advocate for higher business taxes.
It's completely unacceptable and this could cost us billions and billions of dollars over a couple of years.
Well, you always bring bad news, Franco, but we have to hear it.
And so I'm glad you do.
And you bring it with a smile because you've got that happy warrior spirit, which we love to see.
It's why we love the Taxpayers Federation.
Folks, you can see all their stuff at taxpayer.com.
Love their website, taxpayer.com.
Franco, great to see you.
Keep in touch.
Thanks for having me on.
All right.
Our pleasure.
Stay with us.
more ahead.
Hey, welcome back.
Your viewer feedback.
Joe says, as of this interview, impacted me a lot.
She Van Fleet is possibly giving us the biggest warning about the global threat of communist China, the biggest global threat out there.
She's absolutely correct.
And I'm so glad you tracked her down and talked to her.
Many people have exposed communist China, but she is one who was there.
Yes, and I don't know if you're on Twitter, but I highly recommend her Twitter feed.
She juxtaposes things she saw or heard of in China during the Cultural Revolution with things that are happening now.
For example, the smashing of old language, the renaming of old streets, children, lecturing teachers, like the inversion of things is very powerful.
I really encourage you, if you're on Twitter, to follow She Van Fleet, XI Van Fleet.
KM002 says, I'm surprised parents were not aware of their kids' school content until the pandemic.
Don't kids talk to their parents about what they're learning in school?
Well, what do you learn in school today?
Nothing.
And do you think you're going to get a recitation of the kind of propaganda tactics from class?
Schools are the worst battleground out there.
Greg Christopher says the Clinton Foundation set the gold standard for peddling influence at the highest levels.
This is a feeble copy of that swamp, and all NGOs and charities that dabble in politics are now suspect.
Yeah, well, I mean, that's how Trudeau regards everything, a slush fund for him, his family, and his party.
I mean, that's how he treated Katimovic when it was on his board.
That's how he treated the Trudeau Foundation.
That's how he treated the we charities for him and his family.
I mean, he really has lived his entire life where people give him things for free.
I think he probably thinks that's normal and how people live.
Remember that clip I played for you the other day of him saying to kids, hey, kids, go ahead and put your college debt on a credit card with 24% interest.
He said that because I think that's how he thinks money works.
I don't think he has ever paid a bill in his life.
And I mean, in his life, obviously not as a child.
And then he had his father's trust fund set up for him with accountants and lawyers.
I actually don't think he has ever paid a bill in his life.
And I doubt he's picked up the tab for a dinner either.