The 2024 Diefenbaker Lecturer is Dr. Julie Ponesse. Barry sits down for a few minutes with Dr. Julie Ponesse to discuss some of the themes that she will be presenting for the 2024 Diefenbaker Lecture.
First Freedoms Foundation is co-hosting the 2024 Diefenbaker Lecture with Augustine College in Ottawa on November 11, 2024, at the St. Peter’s/St. Paul’s Anglican Church.
Tickets are now available for you to purchase at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/2024-diefenbaker-lecture-by-dr-julie-ponesse-tickets-1042325663117
A reception will be held immediately following the presentation where the audience will be able to meet with Dr. Ponesse and purchase her books.
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Canadian journalist Donna Laframboise was among the founding journalists with the National Post. In her long career she wanted to understand the story behind the story. In January-February 2022 she followed with interest the unfolding story of the Freedom Convoy 2022 in Ottawa and decided she would take her camera and find out what was happening. During the second week of the protest, she walked among the crowd as an observer. The festive atmosphere of the protest was nothing she experienced before. Her family was concerned for her safety because of the government and media news reports from the mainstream media. The reports were so far from the truth that it shocked her journalist ethic. Now she is writing a book telling the stories of the truckers and what happened at that rally. In other words, she is writing the truth that government and media refuse to tell.
Join Barry and Donna as they talk about the misinformation of government on what has turned out to be a pivotal moment in Canadian history. This is the first of a two-part interview.
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
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The 2024 Garden Party was our biggest yet. Some 80 people from around Ontario came into the country for great music from the Duketow family, a talk by Tom Marazzo and fellowship. Much was gained from spending several hours together as we shared our experiences of working together to maintain our first freedoms in Canada.
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
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In this interview Greg Wycliffe tells Barry about the importance of free speech and his efforts to fight against Bill C-63. The attacks on free speech by the current government is unprecedented and Greg has decided to do something about it. He has published an important website to fight back. Go to: https://savefreespeech.ca/ and join him in letting your voice be heard….while you can.
Greg Wycliffe is a Canadian content creator. He does comedy commentary and reporting in the Great White North and provides a fun relatable platform for those who desire an alternative to the mainstream media and government funded options. For more information see his website at: https://www.gregwycliffe.com/
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
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CARDUS Health Director Rebecca Vachon https://www.cardus.ca/research-library/health/ is interviewed by Barry about the Cardus report “From Exceptional to Routine: The Rise of Euthanasia in Canada by Alexander Raikin, Visiting Fellow in Bioethics at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
In less than a decade, euthanasia has gone from being a rare exception — as was originally intended – to a routine cause of death in Canada, sometimes with same-day service for assessment and provision. By 2022, Canada’s “medical assistance in dying” (MAiD) deaths had grown 13 times higher than they were in 2016, the year when MAiD became legal.
Rebecca Vachon discusses these and other findings of the report that is shocking. Academics are now asking serious questions about what is going on in Canada and MAID. See for example the article written by Dr. Christopher Lyon, “Words matter: ‘enduring intolerable suffering’ and the provider-side peril of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada,” Journal of Medical Ethics, http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2319-2933
Dr. Lyon “raises important questions about the risks of MAiD clinicians subjectively defining, approving and providing MAiD in ways that deviate from accepted legal and clinical concepts and ethics. Examples show some prolific clinicians describe MAiD in terminology that differs from such norms, as a personal mission, as personally pleasurable, and as a rights-based service.”
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
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Canadians need to embrace the cynicism of politics, according to Greg Wycliffe in his discussion with Barry W. Bussey. That means we must recognize that politics is a dumbed down cynical ploy to make the opposition look stupid. To stop the madness, conservative voices have to be willing to take on the verbal assaults and be willing to stand up to the opposition without fear. That is a tall order, but it is a must if we are to change the political culture. This enlightening conversation from one who has decided to find comedy in the political reality we find ourselves in.
Greg Wycliffe is a Canadian content creator. He does comedy commentary and reporting in the Great White North and provides a fun relatable platform for those who desire an alternative to the mainstream media and government funded options. For more information see his website at: https://www.gregwycliffe.com/
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
Roughshod Over Doctor’s Conscience Rights - Interview with Rebecca Vachon
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Rebecca Vachon recently wrote an op-ed on the importance of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia taking seriously the conscientious objection of doctors and Dalhousie medical students forcing physicians to make “effective referrals” for procedures that violate their consciences – like medical assistance in dying (MAID). This, Rebecca maintains will have long lasting negative consequences on healthcare in the province. Conscientious objectors in healthcare will leave the province.
Barry interviewed Rebecca on her piece and the issue that is causing concern throughout the country.
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
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Toronto lawyer and frequent contributor on Twitter (X.com) Daniel Freiheit shares with Barry the recent projects that he is involved in – including some wins for clients dealing with the ArriveCan charges, his comments of what is developing in British Columbia, his dealing with a multitude of issues that just keep coming day after day.
His message: take time off to recoup, recharge, keep in formed and do not accept the narrative – find out what is happening out there and make positive changes.
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
Find out more about Daniel Freiheit at: https://x.com/LionAdvocacy
Be sure to get a copy of Barry W. Bussey’s book:
210 Celsius: 16 Ways The Truckers Ignited Canada For The Long Haul – https://www.amazon.ca/210%C2%B0-Celsius-Truckers-Ignited-Canada/dp/103918474X
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“This is not the first rodeo for the cosmic powers that be.” – Lee Harding, Freelance Journalist
Many of us recognize a continual loss of our freedoms, yet many might be unaware that the current agenda for a world state led by oligarchs is not something new. Freelance journalist Lee Harding tells host Barry W. Bussey about two eye-opening books that reveal a history of elite rule. One is “The Fruits of Graft: Great Depressions Then and Now” (2010) by Wayne Jett exposing corruption in world finance. The other book is “Anticipations” by H.G. Wells published in 1902. Wells supposedly theorizes future events such as the entry of China into the field of European politics and that the New Republic will control wealth—everyone’s wealth, not just the rich. Harding suggests that Wells wrote this book on behalf of a ruling elite at the time.
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
“So many things that are actually designed for our subversion—they require a group of people to believe that it’s the moral thing to do.” – Lee Harding
Bill C-11, which amends the Broadcasting Act, received royal assent on April 27, 2023. The bill has given the CRTC authority to regulate the internet in Canada. The CRTC recently put out a diversity questionnaire to Canadian broadcasters. Freelance journalist Lee Harding and host Barry W. Bussey agree that such schemes as identifying “equity-deserving groups” will only divide Canadians, not unite them; DEI policies are in themselves discriminatory and their sole aim seems to be to solidify a cultural Marxism that aids in destroying sovereignty and strengthening corporatocracy.
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
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“We are so addicted; we are so taken over by our comforts.” – Ken Drysdale
In this final part of their discussion, Barry W. Bussey and guest Ken Drysdale, Commissioner of the National Citizens’ Inquiry, take a philosophical look at why so many Canadians bowed to the will of the government during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The NCI website contains 305 testimonies from Canadian citizens as part of the Covid-19 response. Click on Hearings: https://nationalcitizensinquiry.ca/commissioners-report/
Ken Drysdale is founder of the website and movement Manitoba Strong Together. They advocate for democracy by creating community and educating people. No merchandise is sold nor donations accepted. https://www.manitobastrongertogether.ca/
Join them at their conference in Winnipeg, June 21 – 23.
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
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“. . . they became a mindless, accepting horde and that’s what happened in Canada. . . . That was the level of hate and fear that the government on purpose cultivated in the Canadian people.” – Ken Drysdale
In this video, part 2 of 3, Barry W. Bussey asks NCI Commissioner Ken Drysdale for lessons learned from the National Citizens’ Inquiry of 2023. Ken concedes that public apathy is to blame. From lack of interest and knowledge of voters to the Canadian political process, to what is and isn’t being taught in the education system, if we as citizens do not engage ourselves with current events, we can only expect more of the same poor outcomes. To add to the process, our government passes legislation and then they create regulatory boards that pass mandates and such that don’t get debated in parliament. Ken reminds us that we all can play a role in helping to maintain our democracy even if it’s just showing up at a “political” gathering with some home baked goods.
The NCI website contains 305 testimonies from Canadian citizens as part of the Covid-19 response. Click on Hearings: https://nationalcitizensinquiry.ca/commissioners-report/
Ken Drysdale is founder of the website and movement Manitoba Strong Together. They advocate for democracy by creating community and educating people. No merchandise is sold nor donations accepted. https://www.manitobastrongertogether.ca/
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
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“If your citizenry can’t rely on getting a fair and even judgement in a court regardless of their standing in society . . . then you’ve left them with the choice of being violent . . . .” – Ken Drysdale
In this video (part 1 of 3), Barry W. Bussey talks with Ken Drysdale who was Chair of Commissioners during the National Citizens’ Inquiry which took place in eight cities across Canada from March to May 2023. The NCI was a citizen-led inquiry into Canada’s COVID-19 response. They took testimonies from 305 witnesses. Topics in the video touch on informed consent, coercion, the failure of our institutions and government misinformation. Ken challenges all viewers to go to the NCI website and pick three testimonies and watch them and he guarantees that they will change your life. Download the full report or listen to citizen testimonies: https://nationalcitizensinquiry.ca/
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
On April 5, 2024, at St. Paul’s, St. Peter’s Church, in Ottawa an audience of over seventy people came out to hear first hand a spirited debate over virtue vs. freedom. Dr. David Haskell advocated for a virtuous government to lead the country back to a traditional view of “conservative.”
Haskell noted in his opening statement,
Thus, liberty is a core characteristic of the conservatism I’m describing. And while conservatives in the Anglo-speaking countries are fierce defenders of freedom, they are guided by their religious tradition to balance their love of personal liberty with duty to family and duty to their nation.
So with all this in mind, I’ll wrap up my definition of conservatism as a political philosophy. A government that leads according to conservative ideals will focus on the promotion of freedom, but it will be tempered by
traditions of faith, protection of family, and the success of the nation.
And this needs to be said.
A conservative does not need to be religious, though many are, but they must support the virtues of the Judeo-Christian tradition because they recognize that they lead to the greatest societal success.
Law Professor Bruce Pardy took the position of the “Classical Liberal” – noting that
David Haskell is one of the best human beings that I know. He has made himself a servant of God, of his family, of his community, of this country. But Dave is also a conservative. And many conservatives carry
something dark inside their hearts. And that is this. The conviction that everyone must live like them.
We agree, the two of us, about a great many things. But we don’t agree about this. And as Dave suggested, this may be the thing upon which the fight turns. Because there are these two forces working together to try and resist the woke, to try to resist the dissolving of Western Civilization. If you give somebody control, they have control over what happens. And that’s the way government works. If government is going to foster a virtuous society, it’s going to foster a virtuous society that it thinks is virtuous. And that’s what it has been doing.
As Thomas Sowell said, the most basic question is not what shall be done, But who decides what shall be done? Dave’s answer is the government. And my answer is you. You shall decide what happens in your life and how you choose to behave.
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“. . . unscrupulous individuals could use it as a means of basically earning an income.” – Barry W. Bussey
On Faytene TV, Barry W. Bussey and Josh Dehass discuss the potential negative harms of Bill C-63.
Barry Bussey is a practising lawyer in Peterborough, Ontario; he is an author and he is founder of First Freedoms Foundation.
Josh Dehaas is Counsel with the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a non-partisan legal charity dedicated to defending rights and freedoms, and co-host of the podcast Not Reserving Judgment.
Act now! Use the form to tell your MP to STOP Bill C-63:
https://firstfreedoms.ca/stopbillc63/
Beat the censors; sign up for our newsletter: https://firstfreedoms.ca/call_to_action_pages/stay_informed/ “Speech must not be so curtailed that a person is not permitted to voice an opposing opinion for fear that he or she will offend someone who has a different opinion.” – Barry W. Bussey
Barry delivers his recent op-ed published in The Epoch Times: https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/online-harms-act-would-kill-dialogue-and-free-speech-not-encourage-it-5610384
The proposed Online Harms Act (Bill C-63) raises alarming concerns for free expression in Canada. From quasi-judicial tribunals to increased penalties, it poses a risk to constitutionally protected speech. Join us in opposing this bill and preserving our fundamental freedoms.
Act now! Use the form to tell your MP to STOP Bill C-63:
https://firstfreedoms.ca/stopbillc63/
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“The law is always going to be involved in issues with a political dimension, but that is different from the court itself being political.” – Barry W. Bussey
In this video, Barry presents his thoughts on the politicization of the Supreme Court of Canada. There is much discussion about the recent Kruk decision wherein Justice Martin, at paragraph 109, brought into the legal vernacular “person with a vagina.” Barry points out that this development is part of an ongoing process at the SCC that is very worrying.
Barry reminds us that it was Chief Justice Richard Wagner’s condemnation of the Trucker Freedom Convoy 2022 that epitomizes the extent to which the politicization of the SCC has gone. This development is a far cry from the highwater mark during the tenure of Chief Justice Bora Laskin who maintained that judges are to abstain from politics in keeping with their impartiality and their independence.
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“The Online Harms Bill—if passed into law—will make the government’s COVID-19 overreach look like child’s play.” – Barry W. Bussey
A child with a hammer sees everything as a nail. Nothing is off limits to that child. A child with power can do a lot of damage. You know. You have seen the school yard bully yourself as a child. They have no remorse for the pain they inflict. They just laugh.
Jordan Peterson’s recent National Post op-ed points out that 5% of the population consists of those with the “Dark Tetrad personality traits — the manipulators, narcissists, psychopaths and sadists” who are now given the hammer of the internet — where they “can give full expression to their worst impulses online, invading every space of commentary with their purposefully hurtful, bitter and vengeful provocation, aiming precisely at spreading the grief and misery their vengeful souls wish to perpetrate on the world.”
There can be no doubt that protecting the public from such individuals doing their worst online is laudable. These people need to be bridled so that they are unable to run havoc in our society. Evil has been given full sway online and it does not stay online. It often manifests itself in our streets. We have reason to be concerned about online hatred.
However, is Bill C-63 the Online Harms Bill the appropriate tool to address the problem? Or, is it itself a hammer given to government that will now see everything as a nail?
This is the first video of many Barry is making on the dangers of Bill C-63. This is a bill that simply must not become law. It must be stopped in its current form. You can help!
Sign our petition today - https://firstfreedoms.ca/stopbillc63/
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“We have to make sure that we’re open for market-dominated economics and not just pay for whatever the latest trend is.” – Derek Sloan
The Ontario Party was established in 2018 and Derek Sloan became its leader in 2021. At its core, the party stands for freedom, family and faith. In this video, Derek tells fellow lawyer Barry W. Bussey that he wants to bring sanity back into politics. Our main systems of healthcare and education need reform. Because of their compounding effects, immigration needs to be reined in and housing needs to be expanded. Ontario’s economy is stalled; Derek’s not interested in mud slinging the other parties, but he believes the PCs, Liberals and NDP have become too focused on new ideas that have not stood the test of time. We need to regain substantive manufacturing to restore Ontario to its former wealth.
Right now, the Ontario Party needs to collect ~ 1,000 signatures from Ontario residents who are also Canadian citizens to be able to register the party to fight again in the next election.
Fill out the form at this link:
https://mcusercontent.com/cf445e062971a932e6da941b6/files/a707344c-a813-7eb3-25a2-ce2eae98cceb/ONP_registration_signatures_form.pdf. Then email the form to signatures@ontarioparty.ca.
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“The POEC was a farce for the simple reason that it was never even discussed about why the convoy went to Ottawa.” – Tom Marazzo
Canadian activist and author Tom Marazzo joins Barry W. Bussey once again, with an eye to the future now that Justice Mosley declared the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act unconstitutional. At least 280 Canadians, including Tom, had their bank accounts frozen because the banks were given immense power under the federal government to do so. That such Communist tactics like taking your freedom to move around, taking your purchasing power and taking your power to earn money away from you simply because you don’t agree with the prime minister’s political views even happened in Canada should send shivers up your spine. And, no person should ever forget the tyranny our fellow humans suffered under despots like Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao Zedong. We can never forget that power corrupts. WE have to stop it from happening. There is only one human history.
Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.
