The Moosa Slobodian Network

keywordspolitics, Canada, Mark Carney, voter engagement, Trump, trade relations, political strategies, leadership, elections, economic concerns, controversy, public perception, artistic expression, national identity, political dynamics, leadership, Canada, political engagement, cultural insights

summaryIn this conversation, Ali Moosa and Becky Coles discuss various political topics, including Mark Carney’s recent leadership win, the effectiveness of political campaigns, the importance of voter engagement, and the impact of trade relations on the Canadian economy. They also delve into the influence of Donald Trump on Canada and the complexities of geopolitical alliances. The discussion highlights the challenges faced by political leaders and the need for transparency and honesty in political discourse. In this conversation, Becky and Ali Moosa delve into various topics surrounding public figures, artistic expression, and political dynamics in Canada. They discuss the implications of public silence in controversial situations, the role of artists in shaping national identity, and the challenges of political engagement in a polarized environment. The dialogue also touches on the upcoming political landscape and the importance of honesty in personal and public interactions.

takeaways

• Mark Carney’s leadership win was anticipated based on advanced polls.
• Political campaigns often focus too much on attacking opponents rather than presenting clear platforms.
• Voter engagement is crucial, and many people feel disillusioned by the current political landscape.
• Attack ads are often ineffective and can lead to misinformation.
• There should be an option for ‘none of the above’ on ballots to reflect voter dissatisfaction.
• Political leaders need to be honest about their intentions and policies.
• Trade relations with the U.S. are becoming increasingly strained under current leadership.
• The auto industry in Canada is facing significant challenges due to tariffs.
• Trump’s influence on Canadian politics raises concerns about sovereignty.
• Geopolitical alliances are complex, and trust is a significant issue. Public figures must navigate the complexities of public perception.
• Silence in controversial situations can be a strategic choice.
• Artistic expression can challenge national identity and provoke discussion.
• Political dynamics in Canada are influenced by leadership styles.
• The public’s reaction to political statements can be inconsistent.
• Honesty at border crossings is crucial for maintaining privileges.
• Political engagement can be exhausting and fraught with scrutiny.
• The relationship between Canada and the U.S. is becoming increasingly tense.
• Cultural insights can enrich conversations about politics and society.
• Upcoming discussions will continue to explore these themes.

Sound Bites

• “You don’t have to like any of them.”
• “He’s a great showman.”
• “I hope that you’re right.”
• “It’s a very uncertain time.”
• “That’s a terrible idea.”
• “I think we fought for free speech.”
• “You can’t have it both ways.”
• “I think he likes the chaos.”
• “Honesty is the best policy.”
• “It’s never a slow news day, right?”

Chapters

00:00

Introduction and Current Events

02:18

Mark Carney’s Leadership Win

03:41

Political Campaign Strategies and Voter Engagement

09:36

The Importance of Voting

11:04

Discussion on Political Leaders and Their Impact

15:15

Trade Relations and Economic Concerns

19:00

Trump’s Influence on Canada

25:22

Geopolitical Alliances and Trust Issues

27:01

Navigating Controversy and Public Perception

30:01

Artistic Expression and National Identity

33:01

Political Dynamics and Leadership in Canada

42:03

The Challenges of Political Engagement

47:58

Upcoming Conversations and Cultural Insights

Transcript:

Ali Moosa (1:19.755)
afternoon on Thursday, April the 3rd, 2025. Thank you, Rod Mawhood, for the introduction. And there’s a lot going on in the news. And I am joined by Becky Coles. Check Becky’s workout at beckycoles.com. Becky, thank you so much for joining me here for this spring session of for this April session, I should say for around the news.

Becky (1:47.842)
Thanks for having me, Ally. It feels like every time I’ve booked myself in something big happens the day before.

Ali Moosa (1:55.196)
But it’s exciting!

Becky (1:57.615)
It can be. It depends. guess it depends if you were on Trump’s list yesterday or not. That big prop list that he held up.

Ali Moosa (2:2.647)
Oh sure, yes. Oh big time, yes. Now let’s go back to, I want to go back to your thoughts on Mark Carney winning the liberal leadership race. Was that surprising to you?

Becky (2:18.419)
Uh, no, only because, you know, if you saw the advanced polls, the advanced numbers, it was pretty clear that he was probably going to win. Um, but I think there’s always that element of surprise where you go, Oh, okay. Apparently everybody, um, everybody had a different thought, right? But just based on that, like, and I just think it’s interesting that, like they, they’re trying to, what am I trying to say here? Like they just, they obviously wanted, they didn’t want someone that had been in the previous government, right? I think they wanted somebody else.
to kind of come in. so now we just get to wait and see, but I think he’s making a really good impression with how he’s reacting to what’s going on with the states. So will that translate into a win? I don’t know if you look at the polls right now, he’s leading, but again, like nothing matters till people get out and vote.

Ali Moosa (3:6.463)
I mean, but I think those see, I mean, certainly see, if you look at though, the whole what’s going on with how, uh, poly ev is shaping things on his end, that’s the reason where the reason that he’s kind of leading in my mind and kind of resonate resonating with voters because, or with people, because it’s really, it’s still feeling as though
that Poliev has something to hide.

Becky (3:41.494)
Yeah, he’s falling really flat for me, you know, and that’s not like when I was looking at this election specifically, it was, okay, you have to put your party aside, I think, and you really have to decide who is the best person to lead Canada right now and to have a relationship, whatever that looks like with the states. And so I said, okay, like, you know, you kind of narrow it down to who you think and you start watching them. And then I thought Polly, I was really like,

Ali Moosa (3:44.366)
Yes.

Becky (4:9.695)
Maybe there’s something coming that we don’t know about, but I just feel like he’s not doing himself any favors to seem like that leader that we need him to be. And Carney, whether you agree with what he’s doing or not, is at least doing something and saying things and everything else. Now he has the advantage of being the prime minister right now to kind of do certain things that Poliev doesn’t have the power to do. But I just think, um,
We’re just seeing way more action from Carney and Polly Evans like, well, where is he? Like, I know he’s out there, but it just like you don’t hear about him as much.

Ali Moosa (4:41.723)
Well, and certainly as well. certainly I feel that certainly the attack ad they’ve got going about something about it goes to the effect of, you know, calling him carbon tax Kearney, I think is really wrong if you ask me.

Becky (5:3.273)
I’ve never been a fan of attack ads because I just find that, um, like they’re often not that funny. And then you go and do the fact checking and you go, Oh, well, that’s boring. But I guess they’re hoping that people don’t do fact checking, which I guess is part of it. Cause you know, even during this last election, um, you’d see the attack ads in the States, which are much different than here.

Ali Moosa (5:5.549)
No, I don’t like it either!

Becky (5:26.357)
And you would think, whoever you side with, you’re going to believe that you’re not going to look it up. So I think the same thing is here where someone might see that and go, oh, okay. Well, I didn’t like Kearney anyway, but I just, I’m not a fan of attack ads because I, I just don’t think they’re done well. um, like, I know the whole point is to not portray it accurately, but I just find they’re too inaccurate. And then when you’re trying to have a discussion with someone about it,
They go, well, I heard this. It’s like, well, okay, yeah, but if you actually look into it, and that was something that I always used to say to Jerry Agar when I produced for him was you loved fact checking. So that should be something that you do all the time during elections. So, you know, he had the truth or politics feature that he did. And I loved it because he would look at an accusation from one side or the other, and then kind of explain where it’s true and where it’s not. I think, but the problem is not everybody does that and not everyone wants to do it. They just.
They don’t want to know.

Ali Moosa (6:25.453)
No, but I mean, certainly like this is it. And I and to be honest, this is the real, in my opinion, this is the real reason that you like, you see a lot now, the low voter, you see a lot of low voter turnouts. And then, and then people wonder why. Well, I can tell you the real, I can tell you, I can tell you the reason.

Becky (6:44.993)
Mm-hmm.

Ali Moosa (6:55.152)
at least from what I see as somebody who follows this.
It’s because of these, this, for one, the attack ads and they keep, and they attack each other instead where they keep attacking each other where it’s like a, where they’re where, and we saw it in the Ontario election there a few weeks ago too, where you had them, that you had them attacking Ford, you had them this and that, you had all this going. It’s because
Because what would increase it is what would increase voter turnout is if each party just said and each leader just came out and just said what their platforms are and that this is what they’re going to this is what they plan on doing. It would it would most certainly increase turnout if if you’re paying attention to what is going on.

Becky (7:59.626)
I often said to it would be a very interesting challenge study if you didn’t tell them who the party was or who the leader was and you just put their promises and their beliefs and to see how people would vote. Because I think some people, they’re convinced they’re a conservative, they’re convinced that they’re a new Democrat. And then I think if they voted, they might vote the same, but then they might also actually vote for another party. Because once you take away the party affiliation and the person, then you vote for what matters to you and what you think is important.
It may change, it may not, but I would agree with you that I think there’s too much focus on insulting the other person and the other party and looking into dirt for other people. Just tell me what you’re going to do. I remember years ago there was a debate and Jerry had me on the air and said, okay, based on the debate, if we put who the people, the parties are aside, who you would normally vote for, he said, who would you vote for? I said, the leader of the block because he was the most honest. He came on and he said,
I don’t care about Canada, I’m here for Quebec. So I said he was the only one that came out and said what like, you know, what he actually wanted to do. And so I think if you just came out and you were honest, then with what you actually plan to do, not what you think people want to hear, I think it would be like, think you’re right, you’d have a lot more people out there, but you also need, I think, to give people an option for none of the above. Instead of destroying your ballot, let them go in and say none of the above. And then we can see, but…
The fact that no one wants to go vote is very disappointing and you can’t say it’s because there’s no opportunity because you’re given lots of opportunity. It’s not like, oh, you have one hour on this specific date to go.

Ali Moosa (9:36.923)
You’re given no, but it is disappointing but but that and it is disappointing I I wholeheartedly agree now if you know and I’ve publicly said this I’ve said this offline but and And and you know me well, you can even feel free to sort of answer the quote You can feel free to sort of sort of jump in and answer the answer the question quote if somebody asks me Quote

Becky (9:39.681)
Oh yeah.

Becky (10:0.717)
Mm-hmm.

Ali Moosa (10:6.499)
Should I vote? What would I say?

Becky (10:10.177)
You’d say yes.

Ali Moosa (10:11.204)
Yes!

Ali Moosa (10:15.755)
And you know, I always say, it’s like, doesn’t matter. You don’t have, and I always say too, that you don’t have to like any of them. Just get out there, vote for somebody and come back. That’s it.

Becky (10:29.845)
Yeah. And I think that’s where I feel really bad too, for people that are running and they know they’re not going to win, you know, but they’re out there because they’re trying to make a difference. And they go, well, I could sit at home and complain, or I could throw my hat into the ring and at least, you know, share my opinion and try and get people out to vote. so, um, even if you’re like, it’s a, there’s a lady here that she runs for the green party all the time and she never wins, but I admire that she still believes in that enough and wants to spend her time running for it.
Like go for it. I think that’s admirable.

Ali Moosa (11:4.072)
And I think if Mike Schreiner crossed, and there were some reports about this a couple of years ago, I think it was before Bonnie Cromby took the leadership of that party, of the Liberal Party, if he crossed over to the Liberals, to the Liberal Party, he would certainly have, he would certainly rebuild that party.

Becky (11:15.351)
Mm-hmm.

Becky (11:27.721)
Um, I love Mike Reiner. think I’ve always had a good relationship with him when he’s coming to the radio station. Um, he really believes in what he’s doing with the green party. And I think he’s done a lot for the green party in Ontario. um, I, so I really respect and admire that. And I think he’s very smart and, know, and I personally, and I always said, if he was, like, he’s in the wrong party, cause if he was with the liberals or anyone else, he’d be, he’d be so much further ahead, but I think he’d be a great.

Ali Moosa (11:29.167)
Yes.

Becky (11:58.062)
I think the Liberal Party would be a great place for him and I agree with you. think he’d do a lot of things with that party that they didn’t know possible. And I don’t mean like he’s gonna revolutionize the Liberal Party. I just mean that I think, you he’s really gonna get them to think about things differently and still be the Liberal Party. They’re not gonna lose their identity or anything, but I think that would be a great spot for him.

Ali Moosa (12:23.035)
mean, it’s also at times very interesting to hear people like Tim Hudak and John Tory and even Kathleen Wynne even, to just sort of like, to give their perspective because they give on what’s currently going on in the, because of the fact that they’ve been part of that and they’re able to kind of give their perspective. a lot, it’s the,

Becky (12:32.054)
Mm-hmm.

Ali Moosa (12:51.483)
But I think now it’s different that they’re not in politics anymore because they can speak candidly.

Becky (13:0.274)
Mm It’s a lot easier to be unfiltered.

Ali Moosa (13:7.161)
Right? And honestly, all three of those would be very, honestly, they’d be very good interviews.

Becky (13:12.853)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, think Tim Hudak, like I’ve said this to his face and I think a lot of people have said it where if radio host Tim Hudak had been running the PC party, things would have gone a lot different. But it’s easy to say that once you’re out of it. When you’re in the middle of the party and you’re trying to the line and you’re trying to do all the right things, sometimes then you fall short of what you’re trying to do. And I get that. But I they all have very…
interesting perspectives and experiences because they all got there differently and they all left at different times and different terms.

Ali Moosa (13:49.083)
Yep, that’s it. And now the tariff stuff. What are you like seeing now? Of course, he did announce his 25 % tariff.

Becky (13:57.782)
He did. And it’s one of those things where I’m watching it I’m like, this is like a sketch on Saturday Night Live. Like some of, like when he brought out like a big prop list and he was holding it up. And so I kept going and looking at the TV, trying to see like where Canada was on the list. then apparently we were done there. But I was like very, I didn’t even hear what he said half the time because I was so focused on trying to figure out where we were on the list. But even just how he’s.
Like he’s a great showman and that’s why the people that support him support him because he’s really good at selling that and making it a show and making jokes and everything else. So, um, I think Canada and Mexico were lucky. That doesn’t mean that we’re not in trouble. I’m just saying we were lucky compared to other countries. And I think Carney coming out and saying, okay, well, like coming out today and having a decision was, was the right thing to do, but
We’ve got to figure out how to make this work. And I don’t know how to do that because I think you can’t trust what you’re told from hour to hour. You don’t know if it’s going to actually be true. So I don’t know. just think we’ve got to figure out a way to make this work for four years.

Ali Moosa (15:15.907)
Maybe more?

Becky (15:17.165)
Yeah, I know. And that’s another interesting thing. But I don’t I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to force that through. I think he’s got so many things he wants to do that people have a problem with that he’s got to pick his battles. He’s got to decide. But at least for the next four years, we got to make it work and then see what happens. But I think this is just it’s really unfortunate to see things degrade so quickly between us and the US.

Ali Moosa (15:47.099)
And other side of it is as well, that now, but the auto, but see the auto industry here in Canada is hurting here because it’s going to hurt. And there was already announced a shutdown for two weeks next week.

Becky (15:53.293)
Mm-hmm.

Becky (16:1.621)
Yeah, Stellantis has said they’re going to shut down. Yeah, it’s, um, and it’s sad for them because they’ve had enough junk thrown at them and enough problems, and this is just going to make it worse. And, again, I don’t know how you’ve, you begin to fix that because you
Like where do you start? And then it gets just, that’s why I’m glad that there’s people in charge that know this better than me. But you can’t keep going like this and you can’t keep expecting.

Becky (16:32.881)
You can’t keep expecting things to be different when we’ve seen things just continue to be the same. And so it’s not going to fix itself. And I don’t know if we’ll see after April 28th what’s going to happen, but I feel really bad for all of those people.

Ali Moosa (16:48.453)
Well, yeah. And I mean, think one of the other issues here is, that, um, he, see, the thing is, is that Trump is really like the fact of the matter is, and I mean, Doug Ford kind of came out and said that he, that quote, I don’t feel that he was on Bloomberg and said, quote, I don’t feel that the president, that the prime minister should right now.
impose retaliatory measures, just kind of try to work with it. I agree with that. Since he was one of the ones that was very vocal about the whole… he’s like, I’ll cut the electricity off going in from Michigan and into New York and Minnesota. it’s like… What is it saying to you here about his stance now?

Becky (17:37.654)
Yeah.

Becky (17:44.802)
I feel like someone has told him, need to back off. You know, can stand up for Canada and stand up for Ontario, but at the same time, just let the federal level take care of it. cause I don’t think he’s helping things as much as it’s great to see him standing up for us. I don’t think he’s, he’s helping that relationship. So clearly someone has said, can you just back off for minute while we deal with this?
But I don’t know, I don’t know what the right choice is. Because if you sit there and do nothing, you get taken advantage of. But then when you stand up for yourself, that causes problems too.

Ali Moosa (18:20.987)
But is it sort of his thing about he kept like see Trump kept going on about his 51st state business. Do you see and he said he would do it through economic force. Now Ted doesn’t believe it will happen.

Becky (18:28.162)
Mm-hmm.

Ali Moosa (18:42.468)
I somehow really feel that the way things are going, the sad truth is, because everything that he’s doing of plummeting the Canadian economy is working.

Becky (19:0.747)
Yeah, and I, for a long time, have said, think it just, this is a scare tactic, the whole 51st state thing, but the more he does things, the more I go, geez, maybe he is gonna do it. But I’m still on Ted’s side where I just don’t think it’s gonna happen. I think other things are going to happen to make them more, he’ll be focused on that, he won’t be focused on us. It’s not gonna make things easier for us. Like he’s still gonna have tariffs and everything else, I just, something tells me that he’s gonna have other priorities.

Ali Moosa (19:29.637)
Well, honestly, Becky, I hope you’re right about that. I really do. I hope that you’re right. Because it’s really the whole, but then again, see, but then our leaders are just, you know what, and our leaders are just going to, are just going to, you know, give into the bully because Trump’s a bully.

Becky (19:31.727)
Hahaha

Becky (19:55.532)
Yep. And then how do you negotiate or navigate that? I don’t know.

Ali Moosa (20:3.749)
But the big question will be, will we make it out of the four years with this sorta, will we be able to make it out of the four years here with us being our own sorta nation?

Becky (20:24.107)
I hope so.

Ali Moosa (20:25.403)
I hope so too.

Becky (20:29.197)
It’s a very uncertain time. I don’t know what else to say.

Ali Moosa (20:31.257)
Oh it is.
Yes, but he makes it fun as a talk show host.

Becky (20:37.397)
Yeah, exactly.

Ali Moosa (20:39.725)
Yes, uncertain net. Yeah.

Becky (20:42.645)
Yeah, it certainly gives us lots to talk about and guess, but that’s the problem. There’s no crystal ball, so we don’t know what’s going to happen.

Ali Moosa (20:51.629)
Oh, we’ll be here talking about it. Right? So, but I mean, the problem has been like, see, but that has been the real issue. If you ask me that there are certain things though, he cannot do, right? That’s one of the things, but he acts like he can.

Becky (20:53.159)
Yeah, that’s right.

Becky (21:14.881)
Yeah, but I think the problem is he’ll try and change things so that he can do it.

Ali Moosa (21:19.417)
That’s it. That’s another thing. Yeah, it’s just like all those things that were blocked by the by by the judges. He’ll just go in and fire that judge.

Becky (21:20.981)
Mm-hmm. So.

Becky (21:30.347)
Yeah, exactly. And that’s where things are different in this situation. There might be things that you go, well, I’d be really upset if Mark Carney did this. And you go, well, no, he’s not allowed to do that. And Carney wouldn’t. But then you have a leader like that where he goes, well, I don’t care. I’ll just change the rules. And that’s where it can get really scary.

Ali Moosa (21:51.999)
Bill Kelly made a very interesting point though saying that right now that Everything over there is run by that there is no Congress and I was actually gonna send you that video or that I’m gonna you know what I’m gonna send that to you and perhaps we can also we can talk about his comments on our in the future as well on this that

Becky (22:5.063)
Oh, I missed that. Yeah, that’s interesting.

Becky (22:13.601)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Ali Moosa (22:20.411)
Actually, maybe we can do one soon, just so it’s fresh in listeners and viewers minds. That he and I’ll send that to you right after we’re done today that I read after we’re off the air that for today that he basically said, quote, that there is right now no Congress. It’s it’s all being run by the mega people. And he’s been given the

Becky (22:24.269)
Mm-hmm.

Becky (22:46.317)
Mmm.

Ali Moosa (22:49.979)
authority to do whatever he wants and he’ll get what he wants. Even the Supreme Court is allowing him to do what he wants.

Becky (23:0.834)
Right.

Ali Moosa (23:5.219)
And if he wants Canada to be the 51st state, he’ll make it happen. And also there are, there’s already some people like embracing, and he said this too, that for his third term, for a third term, Trump.

Becky (23:17.163)
Yeah, there’s a lot of people that have no problem with that.

Ali Moosa (23:21.711)
Because he, not like, not only is he unconstitutional, he’s anti, and Bill said that he’s very anti-constitution.

Ali Moosa (23:34.725)
that he doesn’t care.

Becky (23:38.195)
Right, because well, he holds the power so he, you he’s always made the rules fit him. And so now he thinks he can still do that. And if they’re letting him, then who are we to say he can’t do something if everyone around him is letting him do it?

Ali Moosa (23:53.583)
Now, I also read the other day that it was actually was from a trusted publication. That one of the ways that he could have that, that he’ll have that, that he could have that happen is of him, of him getting a third term is if, if JD Vance runs for president and if he wins the presidency,
and then he gives it to Trump.

Becky (24:24.779)
Uh oh.

Becky (24:28.301)
I never thought of that. that a, like, don’t under, I shouldn’t understand American politics better. Is that even a thing that you can do?

Ali Moosa (24:37.701)
Well, if he wants to do it, he’ll do it.

Becky (24:39.756)
Yeah.

Ali Moosa (24:44.271)
Right? you know, but I mean, honestly, like, see, like he can even say, and Bill made this point too, that quote, oh, there will be no, like, so what he’s going to do, essentially what he wants, what he’s going to, is he’s going to create a crisis to stay in power. And they have the emergency powers act over there. Where he can go, okay, we’re in a crisis, so there’s no election.

Becky (24:44.865)
Interesting.

Becky (25:3.842)
Right.

Becky (25:7.373)
Hmm.

Ali Moosa (25:14.277)
So I’m staying. And.
And that’s that.

Becky (25:22.261)
Right, and then the crisis is never averted. It just continues, right?

Ali Moosa (25:29.623)
But I really hope he doesn’t do that, you know, I mean, it’s just it’s just what he’s doing. And then he’s trying to. then what he’s thinking is Putin’s an ally. Putin is not an ally.

Becky (25:41.666)
Mm-hmm.
No, um…

Ali Moosa (25:45.497)
He will not do what he says!

Becky (25:48.445)
No, he, you can’t trust him at all. And, um.
Like I just don’t, I don’t know why anyone would want to become an ally of his at all. It just seems like such a bad idea.

Ali Moosa (26:5.787)
That’s a terrible idea. Because the whole idea though is that
If you’re going to say that he wants people on his side and then if he doesn’t and then but if and when he doesn’t have people on his side Trump he doesn’t like it and then he starts attacking in other ways

Becky (26:34.477)
Mm-hmm.

Becky (26:38.497)
Well, and that’s the thing. okay, he’s friends with, he’s friends with Putin this week. But eventually he won’t be. And then what? And then how do you react? Cause that’s someone else you don’t want to get into a fight with.

Ali Moosa (26:47.720)
Yep.

Ali Moosa (26:53.603)
Yeah. But you know what also kind of got to me as well? I don’t know if you remember the whole, the, uh, the last game of the four nations where, um, where Gretzky gave a thumbs up to the American team. I mean, look, I had a lot of respect for Gretzky as a Canadian and you know, and some people weren’t bothered by it, but I think it says something.

Becky (27:1.773)
Mm-hmm.

Becky (27:9.613)
Mm-hmm.

Ali Moosa (27:24.943)
because of his friendship with Trump.

Becky (27:31.723)
Yeah, and I think a lot of people are saying, he didn’t mean to send a certain message. And I’m like, well, you had to know you were sending a message. You can’t be surprised that this sent a message. Yeah, I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t say anything either, because no matter what you say, people are going to be mad. Like, it doesn’t matter.

Ali Moosa (27:40.313)
And you realize he’s been silent about the whole thing?

Ali Moosa (27:50.715)
No, but then what do you put… See, obviously we can’t get into his head, but what do you think’s going through his mind based on all this?

Becky (27:58.094)
I don’t know, because I see a whole bunch of people that are supporting behavior that you go like, okay, you have your opinion and that’s fine, but do you not have an issue with this? so, I don’t know what’s going on in his head, but I certainly think at this point he’s just decided to, it’s easier to say nothing than continue to step in it. So I kind of understand that.

Ali Moosa (28:21.485)
Yeah, I mean his wife did come out in the Ottawa Citizen and say some couple things.

Becky (28:26.131)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, she made a comment about it, but,
Yeah, I don’t know. And I just don’t know why would you want to get involved on either side? Why would you want to like, you know, I would have said, no, I’m busy that day. I can’t come. Sorry.

Ali Moosa (28:41.915)
But here, no, but I really feel that for what this country had done or did for him, right, gave him his chance and all that stuff. And especially the city of Brantford.
I think he should have been more supportive of Canada.

Becky (29:9.963)
I think the thing is he’s lived in the States for so long now that he just, and I’m not excusing it. I’m just trying to explain, trying to figure out what’s going on. No, and I think he, maybe he just felt like.

Ali Moosa (29:13.040)
Yeah.

Ali Moosa (29:18.416)
Yeah, go ahead.

Becky (29:26.305)
Like he didn’t understand what the optics would be. So he’s just kind of like, Hey, yeah, yay. We’re in the States and I’m going to, you know, thumbs up to you. But meanwhile, like it, looked bad to all of us, especially when things are so contentious.

Ali Moosa (29:39.451)
You know, and then there was a whole controversy around the Chantelle thing, where she changed out the wording of the… Honestly, now I’m a big Chantelle fan.
I like her stuff. Okay, I’m a Chantelle fan.

Becky (29:53.740)
I’m a, yeah, I like her music. I’m not a fan of anyone rewriting the, like it doesn’t matter who it is. I just, I’m not a fan.

Ali Moosa (30:1.551)
No, but I… No, I understand that, but I felt that… I’m not bothered by it.

Becky (30:9.351)
Um, I think we, know, if you go, we had people fight and lose their lives so that we could do that. So if, if someone wants to do that when they’re singing it and make a stamp and either people are going to be happy or not. Um, I think that’s fine. I had a bigger problem when the guy from the Canadian tenors did it because it was a whole group, but he did it.

Ali Moosa (30:10.713)
was okay with it.

Ali Moosa (30:19.299)
Yes. Yeah.

Becky (30:33.877)
So now you’ve dragged the rest of your group members into it. That was at the Blue Jays game, right? Where he held up the sign and Black Lives Matter or whatever he said. I just, I had an issue with that because I’m like, if you make a choice for yourself and you’re willing to deal with whatever the repercussions are, good or bad, pardon me. I can’t remember now, but this was like the tenor sang and then the one held up, he’s not even in the band anymore, or the group. He held up the sign and renamed like,

Ali Moosa (30:49.221)
What, the Anthony Bass situation? Which one, the Anthony Bass situation? There was that too. Yeah, I can’t either, I don’t know.

Becky (31:3.147)
rewrote the anthem, but he just, think that bothered me more because it’s like, unless you’ve all collectively agreed to do this, then it’s not fair to everyone else. But in her case or anyone’s, if you want to rewrite it, that’s fine, rewrite it. Like, you know, like I say, we fought, like our ancestors have fought a long time for us to be able to have free speech. So as much as I don’t like people rewriting the anthem in that way, it’s like, I didn’t do it. So like, if that’s what they want to do, then go for it.

Ali Moosa (31:5.826)
But yeah

Becky (31:32.941)
You

Ali Moosa (31:33.733)
But here’s the thing, I agree with her reasoning for it, and she came out very clean about it, in the Canadian press especially. She came out and said that all that she was trying to do is send a message to Trump that we are not for sale. And that’s the thing, I agree with that. And I agree because…

Becky (31:44.513)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Yeah.

Ali Moosa (32:4.687)
you i think she had every right to do that and i thought she did the right thing

Becky (32:9.281)
What I found was interesting was the amount of people that went after her for that. But then when Mike Myers wore the shirt, everyone was okay with it on Saturday Night Live. But like it was this, well, who does she think she is? It’s like, well, she’s sending the same message that he is just in their own way. Like she sings, so she send the message that way, right? So you can’t have it both ways. Either you’re happy that people are standing up for themselves or you’re not.

Ali Moosa (32:35.895)
And certainly too, where, you know, where, like seeing that, that’s where there’s kind of the, the, the, uh, the so-called like the, the problem there too. Now Chantel is Canadian and, um, and, and also Bouvouillet came out and then the Junos and also he, he, did the same to everything. Canada is not for sale.

Becky (32:47.469)
Mm-hmm.

Becky (32:55.605)
Yep. And everyone seems to be okay with that. That’s what kills me, right? Is that it’s this double standard of, you can’t be political here, but you can be political there. I don’t get it.

Ali Moosa (33:1.210)
Yeah.

Ali Moosa (33:6.272)
And then you’ve got the whole elbows up thing going on and…

Becky (33:10.539)
Yeah, which I think is fun.

Ali Moosa (33:12.303)
Yeah, but-
But see, this is it. The real thing is that the reason is that Trump wants Canada and Greenland and Panama and all the other places that he wants the resources so he doesn’t have to pay.

Becky (33:31.309)
Mm-hmm.

Ali Moosa (33:34.587)
Because we’re the largest producer of potash.
And that’s what he… And that’s what he… And that’s what he wants.

Becky (33:47.342)
I think he likes the chaos. That’s what it comes down to. And I’m trying to figure out there’s like, there’s a scene on a TV show or a movie and I just can’t place it yet, but it’s one of those things where, you know, they just kind of start the problem and then they watch everyone else. Like they’re not even involved anymore because they just say one thing or, know, basically roll a grenade into the room and then they just sit and watch. And that’s what’s happening right now.

Ali Moosa (33:47.525)
But yeah.

Becky (34:12.041)
is they, you he throws out a line and then people react to it and he goes, this is great. And then he goes, okay, well now I’m going to do this. And then people react to that. So, um, and we’re, we’re doing exactly what he wants, right? He’s turning people against people. have Americans and Canadians like that’s a tense relationship now. Um, and especially, so I live in Niagara Falls, so we’re a border city. Um, and
So that’s awkward because there’s a lot of people that they live here and work in the US or vice versa. Like they’re dual citizens, right? Like my boyfriend’s a dual citizen. So it also makes that awkward because like I don’t want to fight with the Americans. Like, and I don’t think they want to fight with us for the most part, but like you’re starting to see that friction and that makes me sad.

Ali Moosa (34:57.816)
Yeah, and mean, there a lot of people that are not going there. The tourist is down over there.

Becky (35:2.413)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, it’s like, you know, my boyfriend has family on the other side of the border. So we’re down there quite a bit. like, you know, when I see people say, you know, social media, where they’ll say, well, how dare you go down there? And, know, they’re not talking to me. They’re talking about out in the universe. How well, why would anyone go there? it’s like, well, we’re not supposed to go see our family. We’re just not supposed to see them for the next four years. I don’t think that’s fair. So.

Ali Moosa (35:31.483)
But then, yeah, no, but there’s all this ridiculous, there’s all this sort of thing at the border, right? You know, it’s like…

Becky (35:36.353)
Yep.

Ali Moosa (35:38.607)
You and you know what? Like I understand both sides of it, right? I honestly have no desire to travel down.

Becky (35:46.400)
Mm-hmm. And I get that. And I think some people do and some people don’t. What we’re seeing here is people with their Nexus cards are getting caught out now. I have Nexus and I’ve never had an issue, but that’s because I’m overly honest. So I don’t have any problems, but people now are getting caught out for not being honest when crossing the border or they’re being honest and now they’re getting hit with tariffs or duty and they’re upset about it. And it’s like, this is actually how it works. If they let you over and don’t charge you duty, that’s up to them, but
You can’t be mad that suddenly now they’re doing this. This is how it’s always worked, right? You can’t be surprised. But I am seeing the border is way less busy.

Ali Moosa (36:27.426)
And I think
I think where the issue sort of is, right? It’s like, so what do mean by, like, can you give like whatever you like overly honest without like, like, being like, what would you consider as overly honest by how much like by what you have, that sort of thing?

Becky (36:51.466)
Yeah, so they’ll, when you go through the border at any time, but especially on Nexus, they want you to be very honest about what you’ve bought and what you haven’t bought. And I think it’s…

Ali Moosa (37:12.792)
So, what would you consider as overly honest? What would you consider as, without revealing, based on what you sort of have or that sort of thing?

Becky (37:28.105)
Yeah, so I just tell them everything. Like, so really, you’re supposed to tell them everything, right? But I think people know, oh, well, you get away with this, you get away with that. And I don’t care if I buy a bag of cookies, I tell them I buy a bag of cookies. And usually they look at you and they’re like, keep moving, right? But the whole point is you’re pre-screened to have a Nexus card and you’ve got added, they know a lot more about you and you’re supposed to be had added clearance. It doesn’t mean you get a carte blanche, but it means they’ve already looked into you.
So I don’t want to lose that privilege. I like being able to use the Nexus card and go through more quickly. And so I just tell them everything and that’s up to them. If they want to, you know, and like I can tell sometimes that really all they’re concerned about is alcohol and tobacco, but I tell them about everything. And sometimes I’ve had to pay duty on whatever I bought and sometimes I haven’t and that’s fine. But there’s people now that are coming through that they go, well,
No, I spent like 50 bucks on something and they decide to pull them over and they go through their bills and realize, no, you spent $200 on something. And so it’s like, I’ve just always been honest and I’m fine with that. And people laugh when we go through the border and I don’t care because I’ve never had a problem.

Ali Moosa (38:37.776)
Yeah, well, I mean, they say honesty is the best policy, then again, but then there’s also this thing of they’re checking your phones too now.

Becky (38:45.089)
Yeah, that’s what they’re saying. I’ve never experienced that. But I also wonder how much it’s happening. think part of it at the border is how do you interact with them? So if you go over and you give them attitude right away, you’ve kind of given them a reason to then give you a harder time and look into things. Where if you just go and you’re like, yep, nope, this is what I’m doing. Thank you very much. Have a good day. And you have all your answers. I think people forget that you don’t actually
Like you have a right to live wherever you live. You don’t actually have a right to cross borders. Like it’s up to them to decide and you can choose to think that’s a good idea or not. But ultimately, if they don’t like the answers you’re giving them, just like Canada has every right to turn you away, they have every right to turn you away. And I think, you know, if someone, if they want to look at your phone, you have to ask yourself why. Like it’s, if they’re just doing it to everybody, well, that’s going to slow the border down. So then I have a problem with that. But, if it’s a matter of.
you’ve answered weird or if you know, they say, when are you expected back home? And you’re like, Oh, I don’t know. Like, I don’t have any work. They’re going to think, well, that’s weird. Are you going to vacation? Are you going to work maybe? So then they, want to go through your phone. But I’ve heard a lot of rumors that they’re looking into your politics and everything else. And I don’t know if that’s true. I like, it’s all third, fourth, fourth, fifth hand anecdotes. So I don’t know if that’s actually true or not, but
I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re starting to look through phones and looking for that. And if you’re saying really bad things about their president, then maybe they don’t want you there.

Ali Moosa (40:23.866)
That’s it, right? And I mean, I can sort of get that too, but I think where it’s, but this is sort of one other thing where, you know, like, and they’ll even look at your deal, like they’ll look at, they’ll look at everybody’s, they’ll look at their, they’ll look at what’s on their phone, they’ll look at like, they might even start looking at your WhatsApp conversations, like, what are you doing here?

Becky (40:42.997)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. And that’s scary because you think those are your private conversations.

Ali Moosa (40:53.658)
So then you’d have to hand over your passcode.

Becky (40:57.183)
Yeah, if they wanna see your phone, you have to give them whatever access they ask for. That’s my understanding. I’ve never had them ask to see it, but they’ll be really bored with mine. They’ll go, wow, you like a lot of dog videos.

Ali Moosa (41:9.922)
Now here’s the thing, I don’t have video, I don’t post, there are things I don’t post certain, what I use social media for is, I as you see, I don’t post like, oh I’m going here, I post, I just mainly post about the show. And as you’ve seen.

Becky (41:29.165)
Mm-hmm, yeah. Yeah, so they would go through and they’d be very bored. They’d say, oh, this guy has a podcast. There’s you know, untoward here. Keep going.

Ali Moosa (41:40.684)
Oh yeah, and uh, you know, like, and I wouldn’t share anything I wouldn’t want out there.

Becky (41:47.467)
Yeah, and I’m the same way. And I think that’s how you have people should be. People overshare.

Ali Moosa (41:48.858)
Right, yep.

Ali Moosa (41:53.678)
Oh yeah, yeah. Doug Ford winning another election majority. Your thoughts.

Becky (42:3.201)
I’m not surprised. think he, he’s such a strong leader and he will, especially when nobody’s showing up to vote, but that’s the whole, goes back to what we talking about before, but he’s such a strong leader and the timing was so good to stand up for Ontario with the, with what’s going on in the States that I’m not surprised. And I think Bonnie Crombie is another one of those just fell flat. Like I don’t.
I don’t think she resonated with people. don’t think people understood her. I don’t think the attack ad did anything like the whole, like she’s living, like drives a Maserati, whatever. don’t think that’s why I think it was just, um, she wasn’t the right leader for the Ontario liberals. And I think people are still in pain from the liberals. So, um, and at this time you want a strong leader, you want someone that is going to stand up for you and everything else. So I’m not, I wasn’t surprised that he won. Um, but.
I don’t know, maybe somebody was.

Ali Moosa (43:5.732)
I mean, here’s the, like, mean, say what one wants about, like, it doesn’t matter whether one likes Doug Ford or not, but what he’s done, though, I think, I feel the way he’s standing up for Canada and sort of saying the right things, I think he’s doing the best job, I feel he’s doing the best job that he’s able to do.

Becky (43:25.707)
I think so. I think also like we have to remember the dynamic of who are you going to send to deal with Trump and like, do you, um, like he’s going to resonate better with certain leaders over others, right? And so I think Ford is a good match for him. He’s equally as outspoken. Well, maybe not quite as outspoken, but has no problem saying what he thinks and has no problem standing up for what he believes in. Um,
But I also think this is setting Doug up to run for prime minister someday.

Ali Moosa (43:57.570)
Yeah, I think he will. You know what? Here’s what I feel will happen. And this has been said. That if the whole Poliev thing doesn’t work out, which it doesn’t look like it is going to, that he’ll end up running for prime minister Doug Ford.

Becky (44:10.210)
Mm-hmm.

Becky (44:16.085)
And I think that’s why he’s kind of distancing himself from the whole federal election right now, I think, because he just goes, you know what, you do your thing and if this doesn’t work out, great, because I, you know, I’ll be a good replacement.

Ali Moosa (44:29.168)
And I was surprised though, I mean, but then they were all like, was surprised. remember like there was a, remember there was a whole Patrick Brown thing and Doug Ford was the, ran for the, um, to be the, to be the leader of the, of the conservative party and ended up winning right away. Um, like, do you feel the whole Patrick Brown thing wasn’t handled properly or?

Becky (44:36.813)
Mm-hmm.

Becky (44:46.827)
Yeah, that’s right.

Becky (44:55.883)
I don’t know. still don’t think we know what really happened there. I think there’s a lot of questions going around with that. And I think they’re just lucky it turned out the way it did because it could have gone even it could have gone the other way where people said, I don’t know what’s going on with this party, but I’m certainly not voting for them again. Like, you know, so I think they’re but also Kathleen Wynn did them a favor that they were just people were so over. Kathleen Wynn and the liberals at that point that

Ali Moosa (44:58.734)
Yeah. I, yeah.

Becky (45:23.787)
It was an easy win for the conservatives, but I think, I don’t think we’ll ever know what actually happened with Patrick Brown, to be honest.

Ali Moosa (45:32.366)
Yeah, I mean he’s still a- I think he’s still the Mera Brampton actually. Yeah.

Becky (45:35.349)
Yeah, exactly. And he seems to be quite enjoying it. So that’s awesome.

Ali Moosa (45:40.588)
Yeah, I mean, think mean, certainly, I think Vic Fidelity at one point ran also to be the conservative leader.

Becky (45:48.354)
Yeah, he ended up being like the, I guess the interim leader, right? So he ended up being the leader after Patrick was forced to step down. But I think there was a time Vic really wanted to be that leader. And I think now he’s just happy to kind of work on what he’s best at, which is business and economic trade. And I think he really enjoys being able to do that.

Ali Moosa (46:10.212)
And Caroline Mulrooney as well. Um, has been around as well.

Becky (46:13.100)
Mm-hmm.

Becky (46:18.529)
Yeah. I think, um, I don’t know who would want to run for politics. Like I acknowledge that somebody has to, but for me, just, sounds so exhausting and just like, I don’t think I’d ever pass their vetting. They’d say, Oh, well, you liked this post. And that’s something that’s happening now. Like conservatives are losing their candidates all over the place because of posts they liked and comments they made.

Ali Moosa (46:40.472)
Yeah, yeah.

Becky (46:44.567)
So, you know, they might say, oh, did you ever comment on this? I don’t know, maybe.

Ali Moosa (46:49.735)
Yeah, there was one person dropped out of the race today!

Becky (46:52.223)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, it’s the fourth one, right?

Ali Moosa (46:54.062)
Yeah, See, but this is it. mean, you know, I mean, it’s crazy to think about that, you know, I don’t know so much if I’d want to be in that public eye of politics. mean, I am in the public eye, but not not as a politician.

Becky (47:10.795)
Yeah, the only thing people can have a problem with with you is if you, you know, you’re too forgiving of the Blue Jays or something, you know, like that’s the most controversial thing you do, right? Which is like a great problem to have. think going into politics is just, there was a time where I was really like, Oh, that would be so like something I’d really enjoy. And then like two minutes later, I said, no, I wouldn’t enjoy it because I wouldn’t like the constant.

Ali Moosa (47:17.428)
YAYO

Becky (47:40.609)
the constant attacks and I wouldn’t like being distracted from the things I wanted to do. You know what I mean? Like where there’s things I’d want to make a difference in and they’d say, well, no, your portfolio is this. I just, and it’s just so volatile that I think it just for me, like I’m too self-conscious.

Ali Moosa (47:58.158)
Oh, yeah, no, absolutely. Now, yes, now, speaking of sports and and broadcast map returns tomorrow, which is April the fourth. And Becky, you probably did see this come out. That I will be joined by Mark Hepsher.

Becky (48:8.429)
Mm-hmm.

Becky (48:19.297)
Yeah, I saw that. That’s exciting.

Ali Moosa (48:21.672)
Oh yeah. And we’re to talk all about this whole NHL, the Rogers, the new, the extended Rogers NHL deal, the Max Scherzer situation and, and so much more. And then we’ve also got Sunday, we’ve got, I’ve got Lily Fredrickson coming up talking about why is it so important?

Becky (48:31.693)
Mm-hmm.

Ali Moosa (48:47.984)
to exercise your right to vote in Canada. And you and I sort of touched on it here a little bit. And Eric Alpers also, Eric Alpers coming up on Monday the 7th. So any favorite songs that one has, any favorite songs that you have, feel free to drop them in using the, there’s a forum submissions page on the, on broadcastmap.ca.

Becky (48:53.057)
Yeah.

Becky (49:16.127)
Eric Albrecht is fun because he just knows so much about music.

Ali Moosa (49:19.204)
Oh yeah, yeah, we’re gonna talk about that. We’re gonna also talk about Music is History by Questlove, which I read a couple of years ago.

Becky (49:29.165)
And I just like that you’ll make a side reference to something and he’s got a story about it. And you’re just like, wow, that’s fascinating. Because I don’t recall, I have a good memory, but I don’t keep certain facts and stories in my head the way other people do. So I’m always impressed when people are like that.

Ali Moosa (49:34.649)
Yeah?

Ali Moosa (49:46.552)
Oh, absolutely. And, uh, and, uh, and we’ll be back. Uh, and you and I will be back, uh, real, uh, real soon after checking out that, uh, that, that Bill Kelly, uh, uh, thing. think that’d be interesting for us to talk about. Yeah. Thank you, Noah. Thank you so much as always, Becky, for, uh, for, for, joining me in and we’ll do it again real soon.

Becky (49:58.826)
Mm-hmm, yeah.

Becky (50:6.603)
and we’ll see what the big news is that I bring with me.

Ali Moosa (50:8.784)
Oh yeah! Yes, exactly! But you know what? It’s never a slow news day, right? So that’s it.

Becky (50:15.349)
No, that’s right.