Ezra Levant’s guest Sheila Gunreid exposes Justin Trudeau’s Liberals spending $8.4M on climate disinformation research while falsely branding opponents as purveyors of misinformation—despite CBC retracting claims like Putin orchestrating the Freedom Convoy and police finding no weapons charges against truckers. The party’s carbon tax rebates, pension-grabbing election delay to October 27th (costing up to $120M), and MPs’ $8K–$16K salary hikes despite 80% public opposition reveal systemic hypocrisy. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s CO₂ sequestration push is scrutinized as a federal subsidy loophole, while Trudeau’s global climate claims ignore Canada’s 1.5% emissions. Gunreid’s critique underscores how power corrupts even well-intentioned policies, weaponizing language to silence dissent while enriching elites. [Automatically generated summary]
The Liberals are burning through more money to fight so-called disinformation.
Today, I'll show you how if the Liberals just be quiet for a little bit, the disinformation problem in this country might start to fix itself.
It's March 28th in 2024.
I'm Sheila Gunread, and you're watching the Ezra Levant Show.
Shame on you, you censorious bug.
We're all facing a series of challenges, new and old.
We're still reeling from a pandemic that put immense pressure on our democracies.
We're seeing growing distrust of government and media and increased polarization exacerbated by misinformation and disinformation.
We're dealing with insecurity caused by armed conflicts and climate change.
So today, I'm announcing that Canada is investing $8.4 million on research across the global south to better understand how climate change interacts with democratic decline.
These initiatives will also help protect the human rights of environmental defenders.
On top of the uncertainty caused by different crises, we're also seeing direct threats to individuals globally through transnational repression.
This is why Canada is increasing and expanding its funding for Access Now to ensure human right defenders and others facing digital threats have the resources they need to protect themselves.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accuses his political enemies, which at this point includes the majority of everyday Canadians in this country, of being guilty of spreading disinformation and misinformation.
Now, like so many scary movies, including the one Canadians are living through right now with Justin Trudeau's government in the final death rattles before us, I think the phone call might be coming from inside the house.
Attempts at Arson00:07:21
So let's go through some examples of liberal or liberal-enabled disinformation over just the past couple of years, because there's a lot and who really has the time?
Who could forget the state broadcaster, the CBC, and of course, ostensibly, an arm of the liberals claiming that Vladimir Putin was somehow behind the Freedom Convoy.
Remember this?
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.
Of course, the CBC had to retract that claim on two separate occasions.
Who could also forget the Liberals blaming Israel for bombing a hospital in Gaza?
Now, despite the Liberals' anti-Semitic reflex to blame Israel, the bombing was actually caused by a misfired terrorist rocket.
How could we forget when the Liberals claimed the Freedom Convoy truckers had set fire to an apartment building in an effort to incinerate everybody inside alive?
And an attempted arson, all of which, Madam Speaker, was caught on video.
It has been an illegal occupation that has been harassing people in residential areas of Ottawa.
People don't feel safe in their own homes.
There have been reports of attempted arson.
Canadians are also concerned hearing reports of an attempted arson in the lobby of a residential apartment building.
We see hate speech.
We see illegal acts such as arson.
The incessant honking.
The arson attempts.
The incessant honking.
The arson attempts.
We've seen the active sabotage of 911 emergency call lines and even an attempted arson.
Other alleged crimes have even been more egregious.
Ottawa police are investigating the attempted arson of a downtown apartment building.
The situation persists, fueled in part by foreign funding.
We saw reports of attempted arson in some of the buildings.
And it certainly does not include arson or pushing into a residential apartment building and barricading the exits with handcuffs.
They have been living in fear, fear that their apartment buildings may be torched by arson.
There's been attempted arson with the attempt of handcuffing doors shut so that if a fire started, people would be burned alive.
Death threats.
An attempted arson.
A building had an attempted arson where the doors were taped shut.
Another building had occupiers attempting to handcuff the doors.
There are reports of attempted arson, bomb threats.
Hate crimes, misogyny, arson.
Horns honked all night long.
We saw thefts and attempted arson.
The liberals even had a motion in the House of Commons to denounce the arson.
However, the arson was not the doing of the truckers.
Remember when the liberals claimed the Freedom Convoy truckers in Ottawa had firearms inside their trucks?
Which they absolutely did not?
Throughout the protest, we did receive information and intelligence around weapons and the possession of weapons by people that either had attended or intended on attending the occupation.
As a result of the clearing, at no point did we lay any firearms-related charges, yet there are investigations that continue in relation to weapons possessions at the occupation.
I guess, yes or no, Interim Chief, were loaded firearms found in the trucks during the protest clearing operation?
Yes, sir.
So as I indicated, Mr. Chair, there has been no charges laid to date in relations to weapons at the occupation site.
It's just a clear, it's a clear question, Interim Chief.
Like, were weapons found?
Like, were loaded firearms found?
Yes or no?
So in relation to no, not to relating to any charges to this point.
The Liberals also claimed the Freedom Convoy truckers were violent.
However, they knew they weren't violent and they looked for ways to support the allegations, or rather, I should say, lies.
Look at this from Blacklocks.
Cabinet and political aides schemed on ways to perpetuate media coverage depicting Freedom Convoy members as crazies.
The Public Order Emergency Commission was told yesterday, a lawyer for the Truckers read out text messages in which Liberal aides contemplated a media campaign to depict protesters as violent, adding, quote, we need something to back this up.
The Liberals also claimed the police wanted the Emergencies Act to be invoked.
However, police testified at the Public Order Emergency Commission that they did not want or need the Emergencies Act.
The Liberals also claimed the Freedom Convoy cost Canadians millions of dollars.
Again, from Blacklocks, look at this.
The Department of Public Works says the Freedom Convoy costs millions in a work slowdown on Parliament Hill, but acknowledged an unrelated carpenter's strike was more significant.
Cabinet to date has not detailed economic losses it attributed to the truckers protest.
Remember when Trudeau and the Liberals blamed their own Speaker of the House for inviting an actual geriatric Nazi named Yaroslav Hunka to receive a standing ovation in the House of Commons?
As I said yesterday, this was deeply embarrassing for the House and for Canada.
It is a good thing that Speaker Rhoda apologized personally, and I'm sure he's reflecting now on how to ensure the dignity of the House going forward.
I know that House leaders are going to be meeting later this morning, and I'm sure they'll have very important comments.
Well, as it turned out, Hunka was also invited by the Prime Minister's office to other events and, of course, screened beforehand.
Nobody was caught flat-footed.
They knew who he was.
Then there was that time Trudeau said he wasn't targeting hunters with his escalating gun bans, and it was a lie, misinformation to say that he was until Trudeau banned hunting rifles.
Trudeau says that he lowered middle-class taxes, except he didn't.
And then when one of Trudeau's cabinet ministers lied about where she was born and how she came to be in Canada, Trudeau called it misinformation until it was a provable fact that she had lied.
Trudeau also claimed Canada was bringing peace to Cameroon, which was, of course, news to Cameroon.
Trudeau also said there were no vaccine mandates, except he imposed them on all federally regulated industries and workplaces.
And then there's this.
When national concern broke out over Canadian Heritage funding an anti-Semite as part of its anti-hate campaign in August 2022, then Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez was nowhere to be found.
MPs Get Raises While Canadians Struggle00:15:19
While specific responsibility for the program lay with the cabinet colleague Ahmed Hussain, internal documents obtained under the Access to Information Act revealed that Rodriguez's office was well aware of the issue.
But when Rodriguez appeared before the Canadian Heritage Committee last fall and was asked about the issue, he said he knew nothing about it until August 22nd, 2022.
And who could forget the carbon tax Ponzi scheme nonsense, where the Liberals repeatedly claim over and over again that people get back more money in carbon tax rebates than they pay in the carbon tax?
Mr. Prime Minister, you keep telling Canadians a carbon tax program is revenue neutral, but you have the opposition and a lot of premiers saying it's costing them money.
Do you think you're losing the communications battle here?
The facts matter.
The premiers, conservative premiers specifically, are misleading Canadians.
The conservative opposition in Ottawa and Pierre Polyev are not telling the truth to Canadians.
The parliamentary budget officer himself says very clearly that eight out of ten families across the country do better with the Canada carbon rebate because we have put a price on pollution.
It is more money in the pockets of families right across the country at a time where more money is needed and it's concrete action to fight climate change at a time where we're seeing the impacts of extreme weather events, floods, fires, droughts.
Conservatives are ideologically opposed to fighting climate change, to making polluters, even big polluters, pay.
And we put a price on pollution that makes sure people are looking for ways to reduce their emissions.
And families, particularly low-income and middle-income families, do better with more money in their pockets to continue to raise their families and build a future.
That's what our price on pollution is all about.
And that's what the Conservatives, politicians across this country are trying to mislead Canadians about.
However, the nonpartisan Parliamentary Budget Office says that is not true and that Canadians will pay more.
Except the Liberals' schemes and spin jobs can't cover up the cruel fact that the costs of everything is up and so are emissions because the carbon tax is a cash grab and not an environmental plan.
But the parliamentary budget officer, he tells the truth.
Unlike them, like most Canadians, Albertans will pay almost $1,000 more this year than they get back in fake rebates.
So today, Conservatives will vote non-confidence in the costly coalition to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime.
But will this Prime Minister finally listen to the majority of Canadians and Premiers, spike the hike today, or call carbon tax elections so Canadians can decide and act it themselves?
The Honourable Minister, Mr. Speaker, once again, page six of the PBO report indicates that at the end of the year, Albertans are $700 better off thanks to a very real Canada carbon rebate.
Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Edmonton Center, well over 69% of residents want this government to fight climate change.
We couldn't breathe the smoke in the air on September long weekend or May long weekend.
These guys want to let the planet burn.
We're going to defend the planet.
Put my money in the pockets of Albertans.
They can do what they want to do.
We're going to defend Canadians and make sure there's a planet for our kids and our grandkids.
Like I said, the misinformation phone call is coming from inside the house.
Now, speaking of the carbon tax, set to go up April 1st on the same day, MPs give themselves a raise.
April Fools, the joke's on us.
Franco Terrazzano from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation joins us up after the break with more.
April 1st, the carbon tax is going up, which means Canadians are just getting poorer.
But you know who's getting richer?
MPs in a couple of different ways.
Now, joining me now is Franco Terrazano from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to discuss just that.
The couple of different ways that MPs are going to get richer and outgoing MPs are going to get richer too.
Franco, thanks for joining me.
First of all, let's talk about the carbon tax because I have to.
You guys are the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Tell us how much poorer we're all going to be come April 1st.
Yeah, the government, courtesy of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is about to make your life more expensive.
You're going to be paying after the hike 17 cents a liter of gas and carbon tax, 21 cents per liter of diesel and 15 cents per cubic meter of natural gas.
So not only is it making things more expensive, it's making the necessities of living in Canada more expensive.
It'll make it more expensive for you to fuel up your car to get to work.
It'll make it more expensive for you to heat your home during the winter months.
And of course, it'll make it more expensive for you to put food on your family's table.
And folks, don't buy the government spin about the rebates, the rebates, the rebates, the rebates.
Nay, nay, the parliamentary budget officer shows that the carbon tax will cost the average family up to $900 more a year than what they get back in rebates.
Yeah, that's the big line that the liberals really hammer home on this is they want us to believe, which I think if you said this in the private sector, you might get arrested for trying to sell people on a Ponzi scheme.
But if you give them money and they somehow cycle it through the very expensive hands of 100 bureaucrats, somehow along the way, without creating or doing anything, they will give you more money back in return.
Sounds illegal.
Sounds like a pyramid scheme.
Well, Sheila, let's just think about it for, I don't know, longer than two seconds.
First of all, it costs about $200 million just to administer, to have those bureaucrats administering the carbon tax.
But not only that, the government charges its sales tax on top of the carbon tax.
Okay, so that tax on tax is costing taxpayers like $500 million.
Okay, so let's think about it.
There is no way for a government to impose a carbon tax, charge its sales tax on top of its carbon tax, skim hundreds of millions of dollars off the top to pay for bureaucrats to administer the carbon tax, and then somehow make people better off with rebates.
I mean, it's complete magic math.
But the good news here is that Canadians aren't buying the spin, right?
Like, look around.
The vast majority of Canadians in every province and every demographic are against the upcoming carbon tax hike.
And folks, like seven of 10 provincial premiers are also publicly calling on the Trudeau government to cancel its carbon tax hike, including the lone liberal provincial premier in Newfoundland and Labrador, Andrew Fury.
Yeah, and I've seen abacus data polling that even for young people like the millennials and even Gen Zs, their number one priority at the ballot box is affordability.
They don't think they're ever going to be able to afford the middle class things that their parents have.
It's not climate change anymore.
And I think the liberals are going to be mugged by reality at the polls in 2025.
Well, Sheila, let's talk about that because even if like you really, really care about the environment, I think every Canadian really does care about the environment.
But more and more Canadians are saying, wait, hold on a second.
This carbon tax doesn't help the environment.
Okay, let me give you two reasons why.
Well, number one, fueling up your car with gasoline, fueling up the big rig with diesel, using natural gas and propane on a farm, making sure you can heat your home, those are necessities for countless Canadians, right?
So instead of taking your unicorn to work, the carbon tax just means that people have less money in their budgets for other necessities of life, like funding your kids' university or college education.
But number two is Canada only makes up 1.5% of global emissions.
And about three quarters of countries don't even have a national carbon tax.
You know, Sheila, I know Canadians love watching the circus that is U.S. politics.
Well, you know what Canadians won't see in the presidential election?
They won't see either Democrat nominee Joe Biden or Republican nominee Donald Trump.
They won't see either supporting a carbon tax.
So a carbon tax in Canada just makes life here more expensive and it doesn't reduce emissions in places like China, India, Russia, or the United States.
Right.
And if the liberals truly cared about carbon emissions, they wouldn't be exempting one of the more carbon intensive forms of home heating, as in home heating oil.
They've exempted that from the carbon tax while punishing people who use the cleaner burning natural gas, particularly out here on the prairies.
Well, the issue with the carbon tax carve out is twofold.
I mean, number one, I'm happy that some Canadians are getting some relief, right?
Like I, like, my big problem is that all Canadians should be getting relief, right?
Like that's the big, that's like the one issue is that Trudeau took the carbon tax off a furnace hole for three years and then left 97% of Canadians out in the cold.
But the second issue is that Trudeau just admitted that the carbon tax does make life more expensive.
Otherwise, why would he have done the carve-out in the first place?
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
Now, moving on to the other bad thing I think that is happening on April 1st, that's the MPs getting a raise.
I don't think they're doing a very good job.
I think if they worked in the private sector, most of them would be fired for their ineptitude.
But they are all getting a raise while Canadians are getting poorer thanks to their policies.
Tell us about that.
And Sheila, you're in the majority.
Other Canadians, the vast majority of Canadians also don't think that politicians should be getting a raise.
We just released some polling from Leger that shows that 80%, 80% of Canadians are against the upcoming pay raise.
Okay, so in a democracy, who is the boss?
Canadian taxpayers.
That's how it's supposed to work, right?
Well, if the boss doesn't think you deserve a raise, in the real world, you ain't getting a raise, right?
But MPs are going to rubber stamp another raise anyways, even though the vast majority of Canadians don't think they deserve one.
And like, here are the numbers, okay?
So the raise this year will range between an extra 8,100 bucks for a backbencher to an extra $16,200 for the right honorable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
So after the raise, here's the salaries, okay?
After the raise, a backbench member of parliament, along with collecting dust in the House of Commons, will be collecting a salary of about $202,000.
A minister like Freeland or Guibot, their annual salary will be just shy of $300,000.
Now, Sheila, I don't understand why a finance minister would get a raise when they could even balance the budget of a lemonade stand, but maybe that's a conversation later down the road.
And the prime minister's salary after the raise will be about $405,000.
Well, and it doesn't just end with their salaries.
Like a lot of that is it goes a lot further in the hands of an MP because they have these incredibly padded expense budgets.
They have these expense accounts.
We pay for their cars, their mileage, things that regular Canadians who are paying their salaries don't have access to.
Well, I'm glad you brought that up.
And I know we'll get into the pensions, but even on the salaries, this is just the tip of the iceberg because every single year they rubber stamp another raise for themselves.
Okay, so after this April, this will be their fifth, their fifth pay raise since the beginning of 2020.
Now, what has happened to the rest of Canadians since then?
Pandemic, government lockdowns, thousands of Canadians sent to the ranks of the unemployed, businesses lost, some for good, skyrocketing inflation, a housing crisis, lines at food banks reaching record levels.
But none of that stopped these members of parliament from taking pay raises every single year.
So Sheila, when we hear them say, we're all in this together, they're not talking about me or you.
They're talking about the gang of 338 of them up here in Ottawa.
Now, I'm glad you mentioned their pensions because that really irks me.
It is so shameless what the Liberals are about to do.
It's a new piece of legislation.
They say it will protect our democracy.
I think if you dig down, it does exactly the opposite.
But what's shameless about it is that, and you can tell me the exact details, I think it's approximately 80 MPs need to work one extra day before the election is called so that they can qualify for their pensions, which I think will run between $32,000 to $45,000 per year.
Give us the details on this.
And you're using that term work very loosely there.
But here's the details, folks.
For a member of parliament to get a pension, courtesy of you and me, they have to work six years.
Okay.
So a MP who was elected in the 2019 election, they are not eligible for their pension until October the 21st, 2025.
Well, the current scheduled date of the election is October 20th, 2025.
So what is the federal government doing?
They're proposing to change the election date to October 27th, 2025, which means that now 80 new MPs will be eligible for that sweet, sweet, sweet taxpayer-funded pension.
Okay.
Now, the total cost of those 80 MPs' lifetime pensions is up to $120 million.
Now, I'm not naive.
I understand that not all 80 of those MPs will lose in the next election.
But if even half of those MPs lose in the next election, moving this election back a week would cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
Election Pensions Cost00:07:46
Yeah, it's just so shameless.
And the reasons the liberals are using is one of them is because that the election day falls on Diwali, even though I think Indo-Canadians can probably just vote early.
Well, Sheila.
Everybody else who has something to do on that day.
Well, Sheila, look, even before that, right?
Like, let's set aside that for a second.
But look, I think if you were to ask Canadians, the government is going to change the election day for a religious holiday, but they're going to move it a week back so 80 MPs can get a pension.
I think most Canadians, maybe every Canadian outside of Ottawa, would say, well, then why don't you just move it a week early?
Right.
So like, like this is just, it just looks so obvious that the government is moving the election back a week so many more MPs can get that lucrative taxpayer funded pension.
And Sheila, pro tip for politicians, if you don't want to look shady, then stop doing shady stuff like this.
Right.
This looks exactly like the desperate death rattles of a dying government trying to enrich itself on the way out the door, which has been really the story of the Justin Trudeau liberals since 2015.
Franco, thanks so much for the work that you do on behalf of taxpayers.
You're such a good advocate for us and for responsible smaller government.
How do people support the work that the CTF does?
Well, go to taxpayer.com.
But before I go, I just want to show you how lucrative these pensions are.
Okay.
So an MP who would work for six years could get a lifetime annual pen, or sorry, an MP who works for six years could get a lifetime pension of more than $2 million.
Okay.
So work as an MP for six years and you could collect a lifetime pension of more than $2 million.
It's absolutely crazy.
Yes.
And I mean, $2 million, if you were an MP, that's enough for you to vote in favor of these changes.
Now, Franco, please, as I said, tell us how people can support the very important accountability work that you do at the CTF.
Well, thanks.
Thanks, Sheila.
So everyone head over to taxpayer.com, check out our newsroom.
Great articles there.
At least I'm biased.
But also, we got some petitions.
So sign them a real hot one right now is scrap the carbon tax.
But thank you so much, Sheila.
And our website is taxpayer.com.
Thanks, Franco, and we'll have you back on again very, very soon.
Stay with us.
Your letters to Ezra unceremoniously answered by me up after the break.
Now, if you'd like to sign our petition against the Liberals' changes to Canadian elections, please go to protectourdemocracy.ca.
In there, you can sign a petition against the liberals enriching the losers of the next election by shifting the election date, as Franco explained, seven days out so they can qualify for their pension.
But my video also explains all the other insidious ways the liberals are making our elections vulnerable to meddling.
Again, that's protectourdemocracy.ca.
Now, we get your letters all the time, and we love your letters.
We love your feedback because without you, there's no rebel news.
We don't take any money from Justin Trudeau to do the work that we do here.
So we need to know that you love it or at least appreciate it, or at least that it makes you think and that you know that we are showing you a side that you won't see anywhere else.
Now, the letters today come to us by way of Ezra's incredible long-form feature interview with my premier, Danielle Smith of Alberta.
Arthur Bogdenov, Arthur, I'm sorry if I butchered that, writes, Ezra, good interview.
The premier was spot on, but needed to go a step further.
We don't need to discover new uses for carbon dioxide and God already created it.
Plant food, the more carbon dioxide, the better for farmers and people.
This is indeed true.
And in fact, real scientists like geologists will tell you that the fossil record shows that when the earth had a greater saturation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the life on earth was more diverse.
There was more of it and it was bigger.
Roberta Carr writes, Good afternoon.
That was a very interesting interview with Ms. Smith.
Refreshing to hear how entrepreneurs may use CO2.
Also, a good point she made was how much plastic was used in the pandemic with masks and tests, etc.
Good to hear common sense for a change.
Totally agree about the hideous paper straws.
Thanks for sharing, Roberta.
Roberta, I'm not one who goes to movie theaters often.
I sort of get dragged there with my children, but they give you paper straws at the movie theater.
And so you're supposed to be drinking this drink.
And again, I don't drink a lot of pop, but whatever drink that you're drinking, you're supposed to have a paper straw last the two hours that you're in the theater.
There's no possible way.
And I know Premier Smith loves a good plastic straw.
She released a photo of her drinking from one after Calgary struck down its single-use plastics ban.
Eric Sova writes, Good morning, Ezra.
Regarding your interview with Danielle Smith, why not question her support for CO2 sequestration?
Thank you for a very nice interview.
Danielle Smith's heart is obviously in the right place, but she seems misinformed and is supporting CO2 capture and sequestration.
Why not give her a couple of facts about the lunacy of this initiative next time?
In case of a complete success and elimination of CO2 while no impact on climate, what are plants going to grow with?
Thanks, Eric Sova.
Well, Eric, I don't know, but some of you may know that in, I don't want to give away my exact location of my litter little cabin in the woods, but I do live near a carbon capture and sequestration facility, I guess I would call it.
And there's a reason why Saskatchewan is pursuing this and Alberta is pursuing this, and it's because there are enormous credits and grants that come from the federal government for carbon capture and sequestration.
So I know for Saskatchewan, this is how they are not idling down their coal plants, right?
So while the feds may give them trouble because their coal plants release emissions and the liberals have an emissions cap, they can claim on the other side, oh, well, look over here, we're sequestering all this carbon on the other side.
So give us a break and also give us some federal money, which I mean, it's just our money anyway.
So just give us back our own money.
So I think that might be one of the reasons why Alberta is pursuing carbon capture and sequestration.
It's a way to get around that emissions cap for now while we await a change in government in 2025, regardless of how the liberals try to meddle in the next election to their own benefit.
Again, if you want to sign that petition, it's at protectourdemocracy.ca.