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Michelle Ferreri on Conservative Party Leadership and Dealing With Protests
71 Plays3 years ago
This week, Tony and Jodie catch up with Peterborough-Kawartha MP Michelle Ferreri. Ferreri discusses her first few months in office, Conservative Party leadership and her perspective on the ongoing protests in Ottawa.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsor Acknowledgement
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of and another thing the podcast that continues to set the bar in the world of podcasts my name is jody jenkins and my name is tony clement.
00:00:13
Speaker
And we have just a barn burner on the show tonight, a humdinger. Yes, we do. What was that Simpsons episode or what was it? Simpsons Family Guy or South Park, one of those where it's like they're talking about a
00:00:31
Speaker
Um, a hoot nanny versus a shindig. And they're like, it's a hoot nanny. And they're like, no, shindig, hoot nanny, shindig, hoot nanny. I think it was family guy. Oh, we just heard our guests. Yeah, it's good. It's okay. She's, she's so excited for the year. We'll get to you, Michelle. Don't worry. Um, yeah, I think it was, that was, that was, yeah, I think you're right. I think that's what episode it was. But anyway, uh, this show is probably going to off the rails early and often.
00:00:58
Speaker
I gotta thank the team at Municipal Solutions, John Mutton and the crew for the amazing work they do. Of course, each week being our presenting sponsor, you can find them at municipalsolutions.ca. And Tony, I know that you have some more details on what they do and also some of our other supporting partners.
00:01:18
Speaker
Yes, we certainly do want to thank John Mutton and the Gang at Municipal Solutions. They are great presenting sponsors for many, many months now. They offer development services and project management for your projects, which includes development approvals and permit expediting, planning services with municipalities, engineering services, architectural services. If you have a minor variance or land severance issue or a building permit issue,
00:01:43
Speaker
You go to municipalsolutions.ca. And then we also want to thank Stephen J. Sparling. He is a municipal lobbyist representing the development industry clients in the GTA West, such as Etobicoke, Mississauga, and Oakville. Visit haltongr.com.
00:02:02
Speaker
And don't forget to visit lunepolitics.com. You can use the code podcast and get 50% off an annual subscription, which gives you exclusive access to content you cannot get anywhere else, including episodes of this show that you can only hear when you become a subscriber. Once again, Lunepolitics.com.
Potential Conservative Leadership Bid
00:02:25
Speaker
We have a ton to get to off the top because I just want to get this out of the way because my phone is blowing up. Your phone has been blowing up all day and a lot of people reaching out to us asking if we're going to run for leader of the Conservative Party. We tweeted it out earlier. We're waiting for the rules to come out because
00:02:45
Speaker
Tony and I are probably going to run as a team, but we're going to announce our final decision next week. So on the episode next week, we will announce what the decision will be, and we're going to lay out a vision for Canada. And full disclosure, I've already endorsed 100% Pierre Poliev, but as a true politician, I'm not going to discount myself because I don't want to write myself off. So I might run, but I'm 100% with Pierre. So we'll see what...
00:03:12
Speaker
And Tony, I know that you have some decisions to make as well, but again, Tony and I will announce next week as to whether or not we will be the first tag team leadership campaign ever. And that's the key component of this, Jody. We're not running as a single person, we're running as a duo. A tag team. Yeah, that's right. Like wrestling. Yeah, like wrestling. And I'll probably get some belts made. I'm going to get belts made.
00:03:37
Speaker
The crazy thing is we already have like merchandise. We have the coffee mugs and the hoodies already. Yeah, the hoodies. And by the way, we tweeted that out. We thanked one of our big supporters, Scott Reed. And Scott, not the conservative Scott Reed, the liberal Scott Reed. The liberal Scott Reed. And he already liked the tweet. So I mean, we're good. We're off to the races.
00:04:00
Speaker
We are off to the races. I'm just so excited about this, Jody, but we're going to wait till next week and we'll let our listeners know what's going on there. You don't want to miss that. You don't want to miss that. No, you don't. In the meantime, we have waiting for the baited breath, I'm sure.
Guest Introduction: Michelle Ferreri
00:04:16
Speaker
Member of Parliament, Michelle Freire. She is the MP for Peterborough Cowortha.
00:04:22
Speaker
in Ontario. She is the candidate that defeated the Liberal Miriam Moncef. And prior to that, she was a TV news anchor for the local Peterborough TV station Chex DT.
00:04:38
Speaker
Michelle Ferreri, welcome to our program. You are a part of a long line of conservative MPs who have been on this program. I'm thinking of Michelle Rempel. I'm thinking of Pierre Poliev, Leslin Lewis, Dan Albus. Jodi, help me out here. We've had a lot of conservative MPs on here, right? Yeah. Leo Husakos.
00:04:59
Speaker
Yes, Senator Houssakos has been on. Senator Houssakos, sorry. Who else have we had? Did we have Gerard Del Tel on? Yeah, we did. Yeah, we had Gerard Del Tel. That's right. Yeah, we've had a lot of them. We've had a lot of them. And one of the things, David Pacini, who's an Ontario MPP, but usually what happens when you come on the show, Michelle, a couple of different things.
00:05:17
Speaker
You either get ousted as in from some sort of leadership position or you get, or you get elevated to some sort of leadership. Oh boy. Okay. There's no, there's no, there's no too long as well. Yeah, we did. But David is now the minister of environment. He was, he was on our show that week. He got the call. So there you go up and down. So David's a good guy. So welcome. Thanks for having me guys.
00:05:42
Speaker
So not much happening in your world. No, it's pretty calm. Yeah. It's a good time to get into politics.
Media to Politics: Michelle's Journey
00:05:48
Speaker
It's very low key. Um, yeah, the world's, you know, not a dumpster fire. It's really good.
00:05:53
Speaker
So there's many different ways we can go, but maybe just your comments. First of all, on the conservative leadership issue, obviously you had to participate in a pretty intense caucus meeting with a result that resulted in a change of leadership for the party. And we're going to go through that process. Tell us a little bit about what you were feeling, what it was like for you.
00:06:19
Speaker
Yeah, thanks, Tony. You know, I'm a rookie, right? And this is my first experience in politics. And I was an entrepreneur before this, so I ran my own business in social media marketing and communications.
00:06:35
Speaker
So this is a whole other world for me. I mean, I was always an advocate for politics, but much probably like Jodi's career, I often sat and was very much an armchair critic of politics and politicians. And so now to be on the other side of it, it is definitely a different perspective. You know, Erin O'Toole,
00:06:56
Speaker
Got me to where I am and you know, so there's there's definitely a sense of loyalty there Like I ran under him because of him, you know, his father is from my riding. He helped out on my campaign So it was a little different for me and it was it was quite frankly. It's it's emotional right and so I think it's
00:07:17
Speaker
you know, emotional and logical or sometimes they have to intersect and you have to make really tough decisions and look at the whole picture outside of yourself. But, you know, I think Aaron tried to do something and, you know, I think there's just a lot of things that come into play in politics, much like when I ran, that are way out of your control. And, you know, it just didn't work out.
00:07:42
Speaker
So here we are. You know, and John O'Toole, his dad was my parliamentary assistant when I was with Health in Ontario. So I go way, way back to the O'Toole family. And no one likes to see some of these, some of this side of politics. And, you know,
00:08:01
Speaker
It is emotional because I think what you're saying and what some people don't understand who see the game of politics, but it is people. It's people with emotions, people who get hurt. It's not as simple as, oh, well, I've got to make a calculation that this is better than this. It affects people, right?
00:08:20
Speaker
Yeah, and the sacrifice that goes into that level of commitment that Aaron had on a leader level, the sacrifice of your family and your kids and your partner and your extended family, I just can't really fathom that because even
00:08:40
Speaker
becoming an MP, my mother still, well, I've just lost my daughter. I don't see her anymore. I have to make an appointment because public service is another level of commitment. This does impact, and it's not just Aaron. It's his team. It's a big impact.
00:09:00
Speaker
you know i'm experiencing that for the first time but it's part of what has to happen it's uh there's again that logic part sometimes something just isn't working no matter how much you'd like it to work sometimes it just isn't do you think the party can come away with this in a better place then
00:09:17
Speaker
I hope so. I really hope so because, you know, that's why I'm here. And I think that's why we're all here. I think, you know, the Conservatives have had the same conversation for decades of our greatest strength is often our greatest challenge, right? We invite all of these autonomous free thinking people in.
00:09:39
Speaker
and as a result you have a lot of different personalities a lot of different perspectives and that is very hard to wrangle and it takes a certain person and then you throw in you know the new age of social media the covid you throw in a prime minister who has never in the history of prime ministers that i know of ever been so
00:10:04
Speaker
polarizing and you just have this this recipe for so much going on but you know I think
00:10:14
Speaker
I think out of all storms comes some clarity. And so I think it has to come.
The Trucker Convoy and Public Frustration
00:10:20
Speaker
And I think sometimes things have to erupt, much like the convoy, right? Like I've talked about that often. I said, it almost had to come to this. Like people had to release that energy and those feelings somewhere. And so it happened at the same time as our caucus. So I think things will start to settle soon.
00:10:42
Speaker
Let's talk about the convoy because that is not only a national story, it's an international story, and it has actually inspired other trucker convoys in other countries to mobilize now. So this is a huge international story. Now, tell us your perceptions of this whole thing. Oh, well, I'm sure whatever I tell you, I'll get some clip taken out of what I said and it'll be twisted and turned.
00:11:06
Speaker
tell you what I think. Not by us. No, I know that. I know that. You know, this has been something that we have probably never seen. Well, I've never seen in my lifetime. We are in the history books right now. And it's a lot to process. It's a lot to see. And, you know, I was on the ground in Ottawa. And I think
00:11:29
Speaker
The wild thing about it, to be honest with you, if you went to my office and you saw the whiplash of comments that come through, because I've been pretty vocal that I think that this had to happen,
00:11:45
Speaker
And that there is, for the first time in a long time, an element of hope for the people who just haven't felt heard. I've definitely compared it to, remember when mental health started to really come around and you sat in a room and you're like, well, I'm actually struggling with depression.
00:12:01
Speaker
And then the other person's like, you do? And so everybody puts up their hand. And I think this convoy is, wow, I'm really sick of this. You know, I got my mandates and I did what was asked me. I just can't live like this anymore. I just want to go live again. And so I think that's the essence of what it turned into. And then, you know, you have a lot of, you know, things that go bad or people that do bad things and and you have high emotions and you have all different
00:12:29
Speaker
You know, people with all different socioeconomic backgrounds and all of these things come into play. So you're going to have things that aren't great. But being on the ground in Ottawa, you know, it's there's such a sense like it's you have to almost experience it. And I think it's funny because some people have completely different experiences.
00:12:51
Speaker
But I also think that everything has an expiration date. And so it's time like message has been delivered. We have to move on too, because the noise, like I will tell you the noise, the honking horns, it's a lot. Like it's a lot to handle. Um, so I, I understand that aspect of it as well. Michelle, I just wanted to jump in quickly because to piggyback off something you said about earlier about how you are, this is a new experience. You're on the other side now.
00:13:18
Speaker
versus being in the broadcasting journalism field and now being a politician. And I think one of the things that is refreshing about yourself is you're not in the bubble. And people speak about being stuck in this Ottawa bubble because that's they live it, they breathe it. And they really don't have a good sense, in my opinion, of what the actual feeling is out there. And I think you're picking up and you're seeing it
00:13:43
Speaker
for what it is, you know, comments like this had to happen. I'm sure there's politicians in there that just don't even, they can't even comprehend what that means because they're in the bubble. Whereas I totally agree with you. This is like, uh, I hate to use the word, but it's like a reckoning and people are need somewhere to channel their anger. I'm curious, what are your, like, do you have colleagues that you can tell, like you need to step out of the bubble and talk to real people because you have no clue about what's going on?
00:14:13
Speaker
I don't know if I feel like I have colleagues like that. I definitely think people across the way, I feel like that. They can be considered colleagues. I definitely feel like the prime minister could handle that right now. And again, with my background in journalism, I always look at something from three sides. And I just want to say something to what you said, Jodi, about anger. I think I've always said grief and anger share a very similar space.
00:14:42
Speaker
And I think that there's a lot of grief in this country right now. And I always made a joke that the Incredible Hulk showed us what grief looks like because it can be angry too. But I think there's a lot of people who were just so, they were so sad. And, you know, when we looked at the overpasses, and I told the story in one of my speeches, there was this young girl, she was 19 years old, and she went to the overpass and
00:15:05
Speaker
she was really reluctant to go and she just, you know, I have three kids and I have three different kids in 2022 than I had in March 2020. Like this has impacted them desperately. And she went to this overpass and everybody was just like cheering and happy to see her and hey, how can we help? And she just broke down because she didn't know other people felt like her.
00:15:28
Speaker
And I think that that's really powerful. And if we can park the kind of extremist and park the kind of, and get back to a place where we're comfortable with people's risk tolerance, I think we can move forward. And I think people are ready for that. And if we can get past, I was right, and that's what I told you, I think we'll move forward well. Yeah, and just to follow up too, and Tony can comment on this too, and you can dig deeper.
00:15:55
Speaker
I was talking to someone the other day, or actually it was tonight, about the framing of the event. Because I have a lot of friends that have been down there, and it is completely different from their view on what versus what we hear and what people would call legacy media or the mainstream media. I'm not whatever. I'm using air quotes there.
00:16:13
Speaker
Um, as someone in the media, I feel I can get away with saying that, but, uh, you know, we, you know, the police reported a couple of salts and blah, blah, blah. Okay. Well, tell me when there isn't a night in Ottawa where there's not a couple of salts. You can't, it's just, I hate the lumping in.
00:16:30
Speaker
of everybody and using that same brush. It really annoys me, and I don't know. I'm glad that you're speaking out, even though you're taking a lot of heat for what you're saying. Honestly, it's refreshing, and I think we'd be better served if more would actually speak from the heart. Even though it might come out wrong sometimes, not you, but I'm just saying it might. Oh, no, it comes out wrong sometimes. It's authentic, but it's authentic. It's authentic, and it's real.
00:16:54
Speaker
Yeah, it's a lot. It's a lot to take in. And I think, you know, I went into politics and I always said, I really believe people are doing the best they can with the resources they have. Like, I genuinely believe that. And I think sometimes, though, if you're in a very small sphere or bubble, as you called it, Jodi,
00:17:17
Speaker
You don't get to do, your best isn't good enough because it's too restricted in what you're seeing to offer a well-rounded perspective. And so I think, but to your point of painting, you know, a group of people with one brush, it's, that's tough, right? Like that's a really,
00:17:33
Speaker
I love what Pierre said in the house one day. It was so good and so pointed because he's like, just because your prime minister wore blackface multiple times doesn't mean all liberals are racist. And so I think that the notion of individual responsibility really aligns with the conversation we need to be having, which is what is our individual risk tolerance for how we want to move forward and live?
00:18:00
Speaker
Yeah, I, I've been saying that for months now, Jodi can attest this, that at some point we've got to flip, flip the narrative a little bit. And, uh, yes, uh, obviously, uh, COVID is, is here and it undoubtedly will be here.
00:18:15
Speaker
for some time to come. And so do we just continue to do this lockdown whack-a-mole thing or do we start to live with it and take the precautions that we think are necessary for ourselves and our families and that have that individual responsibility. But I do want to take it back to Prime Minister Trudeau a little bit. And I because I feel very strongly that
00:18:40
Speaker
The role of a prime minister is to try to unite a country. And yet we have this greater and greater division that's happening right now. And some of it, quite frankly, he has added fuel to the fire. So you're you're right on the scene there. Tell us tell us what you're thinking and what you're seeing about Prime Minister Trudeau.
Critique of Trudeau vs. Harper's Protest Responses
00:18:59
Speaker
Listen, I. I always try to look at everything and and I probably look at things probably
00:19:07
Speaker
a little bit different, but I remember somebody said to me, you know, abuse of power goes to someone's head, like too much power control can go to someone's head. And I also think, you know, that can be said for being recipient of hate and abuse, right? And when you're in a leadership role like that,
00:19:30
Speaker
I think to not get hardened and to not be like who he was like when you read like I think it was actually on this day in 2011, Dan Albus tweeted this out today, you know, it's time for a prime minister who listens to everyone every time all the time, right? But I think we, you know, this is a really big serious conversation that is way deeper than the 20 minutes we probably have.
00:19:53
Speaker
But the people also are a bit responsible for politicians not being able to be authentic or say what they want to say.
00:20:03
Speaker
And so I think they turn into different people in this realm. And I think it's hard not to get jaded, and it's hard not to do that. But to your point, and to be more political, he's not doing his job. Whatever the reason it is, I can sit here and psychoanalyze him all I want, not being a psychoanalyst.
00:20:24
Speaker
but he's not doing his job and so back to the you know if we were to circle full circle back to the beginning of this conversation how did you feel about the leadership you know review and caucus sometimes somebody just isn't doing the you know it isn't being done properly and he's not doing his job right now
00:20:43
Speaker
And that's the honest conversation with trying to remove the emotion of whether we like them or we don't like them. This is not solving a problem. And you have people who would say crisis intervention or crisis management officials will tell you, protesters, what's the number one thing a protester needs? They need to be heard. And if you want it to end peacefully, that's how it ends. I talked to two police officers on the ground in Ottawa
00:21:13
Speaker
and who worked Caledonia, and they said, listen, you put in force, it gets ugly. All they want is to be heard. And so the more you say, go home, the more you say, you don't matter, the more you say, you're a fringe minority, these are inflammatory comments that do not dissolve or deescalate the issue.
00:21:38
Speaker
Can I remind everybody of something? Michelle, I'd forgive you if you didn't remember this, but 10 years ago, we had a series of multiple, multiple protests on the Hill and throughout the country about indigenous issues, and it was called Idle No More.
00:21:56
Speaker
And when they protested in Ottawa, they barricaded the prime minister's office. They were all around the building. You couldn't get in and out of that building. So what did Prime Minister Harper do in that situation? He did a one day full day conference
00:22:16
Speaker
from morning to evening with the organizers of I don't know more with half his cabinet. I was there for the whole day in the prime minister's office with the prime minister or half a dozen other ministers were there too. And we sat there and listened to their grievances.
00:22:34
Speaker
all day and all night while they were pounding on the doors of the prime minister's office outside. That's what Stephen Harper did. And by the way, one of the people there that was one of the chief interlocutors for the protesters was a woman by the name of Jodi Wilson-Raybould.
00:22:52
Speaker
I think I've heard of her. Yeah, exactly. I know you weren't saying this, but there are two ways to react to protesters that you don't like or that are contrary to your vision of the country. Stephen Harper handled it in a very different way. I want people to remember that because that's the kind of leadership we need from Prime Minister Trudeau right now, I would say.
00:23:19
Speaker
Yeah, what we don't know is just forgotten, right? That was a line one day, Pierre used in one of his press releases. And I was like, that is so true. Because it's just like we have to relearn these lessons over and over again. And we, I mean, this, this is definitely a cyclical space politics. And it's been here before. We've had situations like this before, right? Exactly. And how did it, you know, how did that work versus how did this approach work? So I, you know, and where is he?
00:23:45
Speaker
I think, you know, that's the really, where is he? I don't, I think that's bizarre. It's actually bizarre. Like, you know, when you have kids are like, isn't that like a captain leaving his ship in the middle of it? And I'm like, yes, like, so you actually have a state of emergency called. Where is your leader?
00:24:04
Speaker
Yeah, it's bizarre. Yeah, there's something going on there. It was like Trudeau was like Antonio Brown when he left the Buccaneers. That's right. That one game. That's what we're calling it out. It's like the Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. That's his new nickname. We're going to call him Antonio Trudeau. Hey, I'm Tony. I don't want that. Hey, I know.
00:24:22
Speaker
I know, Michelle, you've got a lot on your plate, but I do want to ask you about your management of media because I think there's a little bit of a dust up in Peterborough from what I understand with one of the
Media Challenges and Public Perception
00:24:36
Speaker
one of the local journalists not giving you the time of day. And you come from that milieu as a form of media person yourself. And you're very forthright. I've seen videos of you just telling it like it is. That's true. That's forthright. I like that word. That's good. That's good. That's nice. I think my family calls it blunt and too honest. So I like that better. That's nice, Tony.
00:24:58
Speaker
So is, is this by design or is it just who you are? I'm just, it's just who I am. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I'm not sure which one yet. Are you concerned about it? Like being too honest with people? Um, yes, I guess in a way, right? Because it's you, you change, right? The minute you get elected, and I'm sure you probably had this too, Tony, I'm,
00:25:26
Speaker
I'm different. I'm not different at all. I'm still Michelle, but that label changes how you're seen and perceived and what's expected of you. And so as a result, I'm on a learning curve too, where I'm like, okay, I used to respond to every single comment on my Facebook. That's what I did. That's how I built my business.
00:25:48
Speaker
And, you know, I had all these people on the outside and they would say, Michelle, you've got to stop doing that. Like, you're never going to change these people's minds. They're going in with an intention. Like, it's just a waste of your time. And that, like, that was really hard for me to accept because I was like, no, like, let's all have a conversation, right?
00:26:06
Speaker
But there's there's a stigma, especially when you're in a bellwether riding and you have that polarization, like the former member, she had it as well because you have such a divide. And this is what I was talking about before where the phone rings and it's like, Michelle, we love you. The next phone is resigned. Hashtag resigned, Ferrari. So it's this like whiplash, right?
00:26:27
Speaker
Right. And so I think, um, I think people just automatically, it doesn't matter. You're not Michelle anymore. And if you have conservative attached to your name, unfortunately that's some people, they're not going to like you and that's it. There's a stigma attached to a conservative. There's a branding issue with conservatives and, um, they're just, they're not well received by some of that sort of, you know, more moderate or to left.
00:26:55
Speaker
people and they don't even want to have that conversation. And so, you know, to the point of the media, I think it's been interesting. It's been very interesting because I've stood up for the media my whole life and said, like, this is, you know, media doesn't, I never was told what to do when I worked in media. I never felt like I had somebody telling me what I should do or how I should tell a story. I had a lot of creative control and I loved it. And now I do feel like
00:27:24
Speaker
because we live in a clickbait world, they're at the mercy because they're under pressure to create content that is these clickbait headlines. And they're a big contributor to this divide as well. And how do you undo that? That's a great point.
00:27:43
Speaker
It's a huge issue. It's a huge issue because it's kind of like what I say about the teachers. The teachers have to give report cards to kids because they're graded. And so it's this trickle down waterfall impact where everybody just is stressed because they're being graded and not in a way that is always, you know,
00:28:05
Speaker
representative of who they are. And so the media is under all of this pressure, because the pie used to be, you know, four things, it was radio, it was print, and it was TV. Well, now you've got, you know, 100 different podcasts, and you've got social media, and you've got this and that. And so everybody's fighting. And so you've lost, sometimes, you know, when people get hungry, they do, they do different things.
00:28:31
Speaker
No, and that's only increased tenfold in years since I was in politics. You're absolutely correct about that. Jodi, do you have any final comments for our guest?
Authenticity in Politics
00:28:42
Speaker
No, I just enjoyed this. I'm listening. He fell asleep. No, no, no, no. There's lots of things I could say. I actually agree with a lot of the stuff you're saying, obviously.
00:28:54
Speaker
Yeah, I long, I mean, I was on a different level. I was a municipal politician, but I was in the same boat. I reminisce about this often these days and Tony and I talk about it. I was someone that I was not because you were always concerned about saying something that upset someone. I'm glad I'm out of politics. I'm not saying I'll never go back, but I like being who I am and I think people should be who they are.
00:29:16
Speaker
You know, it's that's why we're going to we're going to have a tag team running the leadership thing I've ever heard of in my life. Yes. So. And if you could do it like we're like, I don't know who would be in the front and who would be in the back, but if one of you could actually work each other's arms while you talk, I think that that would be even more dynamic for, you know, to engage a different audience. I think Michelle has a really good idea there, Joe. So she should be our campaign manager.
00:29:44
Speaker
We're going to be a tag team. Tag teams do have managers. I would like to ask you guys one question before I go. Sure. Tony, being that you've been in my position, what piece of advice would you give to a rookie MP?
00:29:59
Speaker
Never forget your riding. I had this fixation with, even when I was a senior cabinet minister, I'd spend at least 10 to 12 days a month in the riding. That may have meant that I wasn't on as many foreign trips or what have you, or I didn't spend weekends in Ottawa. Now, in my case, my family was not in Ottawa, so I don't know what your circumstances are.
00:30:28
Speaker
but i just i just it was my religion to be everywhere in my writing and so when it you know when i was winning by fifteen thousand. Votes it didn't matter i guess i could've taken it easy but in the tough election which was twenty fifteen.
00:30:45
Speaker
uh, that made all the difference in the world because they knew they, they didn't like Harper by then Harper was on his way out, but they thought, you know, this guy actually fights for us. He's, he's, he's a fighter for us. He, he understands us and they didn't want to lose that. So, uh, that's, that's a, I have many pieces of advice, uh, but that's certainly the most important.
00:31:07
Speaker
Mm hmm. Agreed. Agreed. It's how you got here. Right. And, um, and those people, you have to bleed for those people because they, they are your people and, and those people. Oh my God. I heard that too. I heard it too. Oh my gosh. I know. Put that, put it on Twitter. Resign. We're going to be kicked off Spotify now. That's it. Neil Young is going to come after us. Resign.
00:31:35
Speaker
That's my advice. Anyway, Michelle, I appreciate it. I really do. And it's a tough one to walk when, like I said, you have a real split riding. Yeah. It's a very hard thing to do because you do have to sort of represent all interests and be all things to all people. And as you know, that's that's it's not a possible task. Well, I'm sure you're up to it. And we wish you nothing but success. Michelle Freire, thank you for coming on and Another Thing podcast. Thank you.
00:32:03
Speaker
Another excellent conversation and maybe, maybe some viral quotes in there from her, something that lights up or I don't know. What do you think? I'm going to, I'm going to admit something. I didn't know what to expect with Michelle Ferreri because she, she does light up things with some of her comments in when she posts them or is filmed saying things.
00:32:28
Speaker
But I found her to be just a delightful person and a thoughtful person. And she had some real insights there. So there you go. Yeah, I think she when she talks about a divide in her writing, which is very evidenced, you know, I've spent some time in Peter Rokawartha and follow the media there still. And there still is obviously Miriam Moncef, the former MP has has a loyal following there. Sure. And they're very vocal.
00:32:57
Speaker
But, you know, I, she, she just, she's blunt. Like, I mean, you called her forthright. She said her friends and family say she's blunt. And that's exactly what she is. She does not hold back. And I hope, you know, I hope that she continues to be like that, obviously with some restraint in terms of like, you know, you don't want to be, you know, dropping F bombs all the time, but, uh,
00:33:19
Speaker
Although I was going to ask her, I was going to say, is it tough to not drop F, drop F bombs in the house? That's what they should just do. Let you swear. And then the, uh, the speaker there could like, you know, have the seven second delay or something. Well, of course, uh, Justin Trudeau's dad was famous for that. And then Justin Trudeau hurled some F bombs at Peter Kent one, one time.
00:33:44
Speaker
There you go. I think I've asked you this before, but when you're heckling or you're yelling in there, can you get in big trouble for that? Because I would be the king of heckles. I would just be chirping all the time. Oh, well, if you're called out by the speaker, he'll give you one warning if you're heckling too much. And if you keep heckling, he can kick you out of the house. And usually, what's the fallout from that, though? Well, you get your pay docked. Really? Yeah.
00:34:14
Speaker
Oh my gosh, that's lame. You know, there's the ignominy of being kicked out of the house, which your constituents are not too happy about. There needs to be a little bit of a.
00:34:29
Speaker
reworking of the way we look at parliament, to be honest, because if I was a leader, well, sorry, actually, when we run a tag team, when we win a tag team leadership, you know what we'll be doing? Encouraging our MPs will be telling them to direct like we'll be it'll be like, you know, when they used to have enforcers, you know, in unwritten rule of enforcers in hockey. And, you know, you'd get you'd have a, you know, an enforcer to get on the ice and
00:34:53
Speaker
you target their best player that's we're gonna have enforcers in there they're gonna target MPs that are good communicators across the way so well we might have another elbow gate remember when just no no no no we're not gonna get physical okay we're going to use our brains our wit okay yes okay well let me know what you find that our wit and our brains please so if you could tony um
00:35:20
Speaker
over the next couple of days, work on that vision for Canada. I will roll that out next week. And then at the end of the show, we'll announce our final decision on if we're running or not. I got to get in touch with the committee. Okay. That's right. The committee to elect Jody and Tony. Yes. Well, no, no. The, could the, uh, CPC, a conservative, the Leach. Yes. Leach. Yeah. They'll have a committee. You should know this. Yes, I do know that. And, uh, and we'll go from there. So, okay, man. Sounds like a plan. In the meantime, uh, we cannot do any fundraising, but please reach out to us if you'd like to support us in any way.
00:35:49
Speaker
but we have not announced yet. No, but buy the merchandise in the meantime. And buy the merchandise. dkagency.com.
00:35:56
Speaker
All right. We will do this again in seven days. That was a lot of fun. And, uh, thank you to our sponsors. Oh yeah. Shoot. I'm like, I'm like thinking of a thousand things right now. I was also going to say, have you been watching the Olympics? Cause I was the other night I'm watching skiing of some sort and a woman from Perry sound. So I immediately thought of you. Yeah. She's a, everybody's very excited about her. I, I, um, I checked in with my former consistent assistant and, uh, I knew her dad very well. So, okay.
00:36:24
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, I'm very excited for her and I will get you her name while you're saying Michelle Oldham or something like that. Or Melanie Oldham, Megan, Megan Oldham. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. So she was in, I want to say like slope style or something, but yeah. No, I thought it was ski jumping. Ski jump was something like she was on a hill with snow. And of course in Beijing, by the way, unless I'm mistaken, I believe that
00:36:50
Speaker
All the snow in Beijing is artificial. Yeah, I know. It's anyway. The Beijing. Are you boycotting the Olympics or no?
Conclusion and Leadership Decision Teaser
00:37:00
Speaker
No, I watched some. I did watch some today because I'm wearing a Team Canada hoodie right now as we're talking. I'm a big Olympics guy. I love the Olympics, so I just can't stay away. Just can't stay away.
00:37:16
Speaker
Uh, thanks again to John mutton and the team at municipal solutions each week, bringing you this show as our presenting sponsor. Also, uh, loony politics.com. Don't forget, use the code podcast to get 50% off your annual subscription, which gives you access to exclusive content that you cannot get anywhere else. Loony politics.com and Halton gr.com for our friend, Steven J. Sparkling. He's there as a municipal lobbyist representing the development industry clients. So check him out as well.
00:37:46
Speaker
And a shout out to Jordan and the crew for their work at MNC Podcast Network. We appreciate what they do. And again, next week we will announce our final decision on conservative leadership. Will we run as a tag team or will we stay on the sidelines? Will we or won't we? Will we or won't we? All right, Tony, we will do this again in seven days. So enjoy the rest of your week. You too.