Autogenerated Transcript (0:00 - 0:50) Across Canada, parents' rights are under attack from the woke left and their trans agenda. In many provinces, it is illegal for teachers to inform parents when their kids choose to go by a different pronoun or first name. But one province is making major changes to protect parents' rights. In Alberta, there are currently three important bills before the legislature to amend the Education Act and the Health Act to ensure that parents are informed, and to make it illegal to give hormone blockers or perform transition surgery on minors. In addition, Bill 29 will make it illegal for males to compete in women's sports. And these bills are being met with massive approval from voters. (0:50 - 2:07) At the recent Annual General Meeting, Premier Danielle Smith received an almost unheard-of 91% approval rating from Conservative Party members. But that's not enough. Legislators in Alberta have received thousands of emails from the woke left in opposition to these bills, while Conservatives have largely remained silent. But one Alberta organization is working to change that. ParentsAndKidsTogether.ca has a number of action steps that Albertans can take to let the government know the people are in support of protecting our kids, including a rally at the Alberta Legislature this coming Saturday, November 9, starting at 1pm. Jojo Ruba and Benita Pedersen joined me today to discuss this legislation, what Albertans can do to support parents and women's rights in Alberta, and what people in other provinces can do to bring similar legislation across Canada. Benita, Jojo, welcome to the show. Thanks for having us as your guests, Will. It's a pleasure to be here. (2:09 - 3:52) Glad to be here. We're here today to discuss an initiative that you guys have started here in Alberta, ParentsAndKidsTogether, and it's in support of changes that are being made in Alberta legislation to protect parents' rights in this province. Jojo, I believe you were the guy who really got this off the ground. Tell us how ParentsAndKidsTogether got started. Well, I was actually talking to two former MLAs, and what they said, Will, was that every fall sitting, they hear from the left, they hear from unions and teachers and LGBTQ groups, and they didn't even have an agenda sometimes. They just show up and introduce themselves, be able to work together to get their agenda moving forward. And I asked them, how many times do Christians or conservatives do this? And they said, never or rarely. And that really got me to think, well, we need to say something and do something about particularly this set of ideas, because this is the first time any provincial government in Canada is actually creating legislation to protect the rights of kids to be protected by their parents. That's how I like to say it, Will, this is not just a parental rights bill, this is actually a kids' bill as well, because kids are being told all kinds of lies and being told that they can transition or change their gender if they feel sad about their body. And this is an opportunity for us to empower Alberta parents to protect their kids and do those kids be protected by the parents. As well, it allows biological girls, one of the bills allows biological girls to compete with other biological girls. This is not just the right of a boy to compete with girls, that's the only right people talk about, but the right of girls to compete with other girls. (3:52 - 4:19) And this is, I think, such a critical time because this debate is so big, and also because most Albertans actually side with common sense, these simple truths. The government is passing these laws or debating these laws, and they're under immense pressure by the media, by the left to remove them or to not pass them. It's so important that ordinary Albertans speak out when the government does something right, like passing these laws. (4:19 - 7:57) And so I contacted other organizations like Parents for Choice in Education, the Alberta Parents Union, Benita was one of my key contacts as well, and to be able to say, let's work together to have a rally in support of this bill, so that people in Alberta, the media and the government MLAs know that we have their back when they do something right. In fact, I talked to several other MLAs, and they said they're getting all kinds of hate mail, all kinds of attacks. They're being called people who want to kill trans kids by the other side, and we need to be able to encourage them and to not back down and to let the media know the majority of Albertans support this and that they should actually cover and hear all sides of the story, including the rights of parents and kids. Right. Now, Benita, I almost hesitate to ask how you got involved, because you and I have known each other for years, you have been extremely active in fighting for our rights in this province. But specifically in terms of parents and kids together, how did you get involved in this initiative? Well, one of my contacts connected me with Jojo Ruba back in September, and recommended that Jojo be a guest presenter at the 1 Million March for Children event in Edmonton. And when Jojo came and delivered his speech, I was just drawn right in. And I said, I want to be a partner in this. We had had some phone conversations before that. And I just felt like we're on the same page here, we share values. And Jojo is a man on a mission, and I am happy to help him accomplish that mission. If it's about letter writing, rallies, etc. I have a lot of skills and a lot of contacts, and our values align. And therefore, I'm happy to work with him on the parents and kids together initiatives. Right. And of course, you guys have an important demonstration coming up at the Alberta Legislature this weekend. And we'll get to that in a bit. Jojo, I want to come back to something that you were talking about earlier with talking to legislators, and finding that the left is constantly in there harping at them, and yet they don't hear from the right. So I really have two questions on that. Number one, it therefore appears that our legislators are working in a vacuum, that they just get this one-sided voice. And therefore, they probably conclude that that's what the people actually think and what they want. The other question I would have is, why isn't the speaking up? Or at least, why haven't they been up until now? Well, there's a couple of reasons for that, Will. And I think one of it is the left. If you think about those who worked for the student government at your university or college, or who are drawn to public service, they're often the people on the left. And they often have the understanding in their minds that government is the solution to everything. The government is the reason why we can have protection, we have human rights. And so they focus on running the government and therefore running the show. And from all the universities I've visited as part of my work, Will, it seems to be always dominated by those kinds of mindsets. Whereas the conservative students, the ones who are actually doing engineering or business, they're busy doing life. And that's the same with people outside of university too. We're busy building families or businesses or churches. And we don't see the government as the be all and end all of how society ought to function. And so there's already a natural inclination to move away from government. (7:57 - 10:19) But at the same time, because the left controls and dominates government, their agenda, what they think is morally good becomes the standard for how everyone else ought to behave because they control the levers of power. The other thing I think, especially here in Alberta, we're independent minded people. We like to be able to be the lone ranger sometimes. And often conservative minded groups tend to work with themselves and they don't have a lot of partnerships the same way the left does. And so we haven't been able to collaborate or work well. Here in Calgary, and I know in Edmonton as well, many of the municipal seats that were won in the last municipal election were won by the left, including the mayoral ship, because the conservatives all ran against each other. Now they're trying to change that, but that's a pattern that's going on historically in Alberta, where we as conservatives, because we're lone rangers, we end up pitting ourselves against other conservatives who are running and it's the left who gets in, even if not always the majority. Then you add to that the fact that the media are in this whole mindset that LGBTQ is the fundamental human rights issue of the day, but now they've extended that so that every child, and think about this, Will, every child has a fundamental right at whatever age to determine his or her gender identity without their parents' knowledge or consent. And that's what's really dangerous here because we've now made a child's feelings, or even an adult's feelings, the source of their identity. They can determine their reality, how they view themselves, how they actually are, and how that override their biology. And so this becomes an extremely problematic situation because everyone who's willing to admit it knows a five-year-old, seven-year-old, a nine-year-old is not mature enough to make that life altering decision to sterilize themselves or to mutilate their bodies. And so this legislation, I think, is common sense enough to get conservatives to say, we need to work together. We need to be able to see the gravity of this situation because ultimately this isn't going to stop at gender ideology. We have transracialism. We have people who claim they're from a different race or a different species. (10:19 - 10:31) That's why we have kids now claiming to be furries, or they can claim to be cats or dogs. Why? Because it goes to the heart of that issue. They determine reality based on how they feel. (10:32 - 11:55) And ultimately, this is a destructive force for anyone who will look at it for society. There are roles that we follow in society. And many of your audiences understand that we have fundamental freedoms. The government shouldn't be interfering when it comes to the fundamental choices of our healthcare. However, we also understand that parents have a right to govern that decision for their kids. And in this case, now the government is overreaching and now it's not even allowing that kind of protection that parents will provide for children. So with these issues, particularly the way that conservatism tends to be a Lone Ranger type and the way that these issues have become the raison d'etre for so many people, including those in the media, it is something that explains why we're not uniting until this rally. And that's why I'm glad so many people have joined the bandwagon so far. I just have a word to share about political engagement and now is such a special time in Alberta. And it's partly because people got active and politically engaged in 2022. And then what happens is it's like a snowball and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger every year. And so the ones who are politically engaged, they share their knowledge outwards and then more people get politically engaged. (11:56 - 14:49) And the more we empower people with information as well as tools for political engagement, something as simple as, hey, how do you attend legislative session online or in person? How do you email your MLA? The more we equip people, the more politically engaged they become. Now, I wanted to ask you, Benita, because you and I met back in 2020 when we were both going to rallies protesting the government violation of our charter rights. And JoJo has made reference to this in that the scenery is changing and that the right is becoming more vocal. How would you say your own observations of how have you seen things shifting in this province in the last, well, it's almost five years now. We're coming up on five years since the beginning of the pandemic and the lockdowns. Part of that can be laid at the doorstep of David Parker and Take Back Alberta and his tireless efforts to get conservatives involved in politics. But a lot of it was just a grassroots movement, at least from my perspective. What's been your take on it? Have you seen a lot of change and are you optimistic that that's going to continue? Yes. People are so incredibly engaged and empowered right now and they're being more vocal in their views. We have more people attending municipal council meetings now, even school board meetings, and they've been speaking out. And so part of it, I think, Will, is that if one person even has the courage to go do it and then share about their experience, so whether the experience was positive or negative, maybe it was negative in some way and they faced obstacles and challenges. But if they have the courage to share about their experience, then the next person might do it too. And who knows, maybe the next person will get better results. So this is happening at all levels, municipal, federal, provincial. Right now, we're more focused on the provincial. And when it comes to provincial momentum and engagement of people politically, well, you just look at the last UCP AGM on November 1st and 2nd, and it was a record setting political event with 6,000 people involved. Just amazing how politically engaged people are. So when it comes to the initiatives of parents and kids together, in addition to the rally, November 9th, we actually have a mission for each and every one of our supporters to write to MLAs and not just write to their own MLA, but write to the ministers that are involved in the bills, Bill 26, Bill 27, Bill 29, and also write to the premier, but also send a message to us so that we know you've written to MLAs because we're doing a bit of tracking about the momentum here. (14:50 - 18:14) And so we encourage people to write. Some people want to write their own letter, but if anyone needs help writing a letter, we actually have a great tool at ARPA Canada to use for that. So we're looking forward to lots of engagement and thousands and thousands of emails in the coming days and weeks. Okay. Now, Jojo, I wanted to get back to you and let's address now these specific bills or yes, bills 26, 27, 29. What are they and what changes are they bringing in? Well, Benita is actually at the legislature when these bills were brought in. So I don't know, Benita, do you want to chime in here? I can add my take, but I can go backwards. So 29 is the bill on sports and making sure that biological girls have a right to compete with only biological girls. Bill 27 is the health bill, right, Benita, to make sure that I'm getting- Bill 27 is the education one. Bill 26 is the health one. 26 is the health bill. 26, the health bill says that a child needs parent's permission to be able to get any kind of medical treatment, including when it comes to gender dysphoria, getting hormone therapy that a child cannot get transitioned under 15 or even 16 and 17, they would still have to get parental consent. And then Bill 28, sorry, Bill 27 is the bill that allows for teachers to be able to tell what they're teaching on sexuality to the parents so they can keep secrets. And there's been situations already, Will, where that's already happened, where teachers have taken one child to a conference on sexuality without the parents' knowledge that the child was taken off campus. And the Alberta Teachers Association and others are claiming there is no abuse, there's nothing going on. Yeah, we see examples like this all the time. And there has to be accountability when there's activists like those pushing for this identity or these ideologies in our schools, trying to push their view of sexuality on kids without their parents' knowledge. So this is what these free bills do. Now, Jojo, I have to say, obviously I'm a parent myself, I've raised two kids, I've had one of my children go woke and go completely off the rails, 20 years old now, moved out at 18, doesn't talk to us anymore. And if that can happen in a conservative household like mine, it can happen just about anywhere. And of course, these bills that are protecting parents' rights to know are so important. But the one that really I have a personal passion for is Bill 29. About six months ago, I interviewed Canadian power lifter, April Hutchinson. And we demonstrated something very, very important in that interview. Now we've had instances of girls and women being injured because men are playing against them, not necessarily here in Alberta, but it's happened in the US. We had female boxers withdrawing from the boxing in the Olympics just a couple of months ago because they were being injured, being hit. And one woman said, I've never been hit that hard in my life. But when I did the interview with April, now here's an interesting thing. I'm 5'10", 185 pounds. Now most people can tell I work out, I've been hitting the gym my whole life, I'm just passionate about my fitness. (18:15 - 18:48) April Hutchinson is 5'11", 210 pounds. She's a world-class power lifter. She holds the North American record for the deadlift. But power lifting, and this is not for me to show off, folks, this is once again to demonstrate a very important point. Because a lot of people don't get it, even conservatives don't get it because a lot of people have never lifted anything heavier than a suitcase. And they don't understand how much stronger men are than women. So power lifting is done in three events. There's the deadlift, there's a squat, and there's a bench press. And whoever gets the most weight total in those three wins. (18:49 - 19:12) I can't touch April's deadlift. She can deadlift almost 500 pounds. I can squat about the same as her. But I can outbench her by 200 pounds. And here's the point we made in that interview. If I lost my mind tomorrow, and I decided that I'm a woman, the Canadian Powerlifters Union would let me compete against people like April and I would win. (19:13 - 19:35) I'm not a powerlifter. I'm 60 years old. This is insanity. And I'm so happy that our government is doing something about this in the form of Bill 29 to prevent boys from competing against girls. Because this isn't just a matter of parents' rights. This is protecting these young girls and women from being severely injured, maybe even killed by some man who's on their team. (19:36 - 20:03) Both of your thoughts on that, please. Well, what you've said in terms of powerlifting already happened in New Zealand, where a man who is subpar average when it came to men's weightlifting, began to break all kinds of records in women's weightlifting when he decided to identify as a female. And so even if it wasn't dangerous per se, because it's an individual sport, it's definitely unfair because of biology. (20:03 - 25:52) And it's not just testosterone. It's not just the fact that men have, we have this tendency to be more aggressive and more physical. Our physical bodies are taller, are stronger, our muscle mass, I think it's over 25% more, just on average. So there's clearly a biological difference. There is a reason why there are men's and women's sports in the Olympics. And so if we raise that identity, then there's no reason to keep them separate. Why not just keep them all the same? It's been interesting, Will, because I've been watching some of the media coverage and the media have, of course, talked to the experts. I'm sure some of your audience members understand what that's like, of these different sports associations. And they say, oh, there's no difference. And it's sports like curling. Well, even with curling, there's a reason why there's men's and women's curling. And I think the reality of the situation here goes to the heart of what I mentioned earlier, which is the other side thinks what they're doing is morally good. They're good guys. And that's why young people who come from conservative homes become woke because they've been indoctrinated in the university or college or the internet to think the only way to care for people is to agree with them and affirm whatever they feel. And that's an immaturity, isn't it, Will? Any good parent understands that. Any good parent understands that sometimes you need to love your child enough to tell her no, and that this is not good for you. And that there's a reality that exists. And in fact, the 60s and 70s feminism grew out of the idea that women are different from men. They have a different perspective. Women see the world in different ways. And biology, by the way, matches that. The biggest difference between men and women are our brains. And so when we have biological differences with our brains, that affects every sport that we're talking about, because we think differently. Men have a tendency to be able, because the two parts of our brain, the two spheres of our brain tend not to talk to each other as much. And that allows us to get more abstract thinking. That gives us a chance to think more strategically than women. Whereas women, the two parts of their brain talk to each other more. And that lets them memorize things a lot better because their emotional side talks with their factual side, their memory. And that has huge implications for how they strategize when it comes to sports. There's a reason why there's women synchronized swimming in the Olympics, but there's no men, because we're not as flexible. It goes all the way down in terms of acknowledging the biological realities that men and women are different. And these early feminists made the point, just because we're different, it doesn't mean we're less valuable. And instead of teaching girls is that the only way to be valuable is if you compete with the boys. And that's not how we should be empowering them. Right. And we also have the disadvantage, I suppose, of experience in that growing up as boys, we learned very quickly in the schoolyard, I can body check that other boy and he's going to be fine. And then you take these woke nut jobs, even if they're only 16, when they start playing against girls, and they've got that lifetime of experience that says, well, I can go ahead and body slam this person, they won't be fine. As we've seen multiple times, to me, it's just such insanity. Benita, your thoughts on this? Well, I was in legislative session on Thursday, October 31st. And before legislative session occurred, April Hutchinson, Kellie-Lynn Pirie, and other supporters of bills 26, 27, and 29, were in a press conference. And so hopefully everybody gets a chance to watch that press conference because what was shared there is so impactful. So during legislative session, April Hutchinson was there, Kellie-Lynn Pirie and others, plus I was there with supporters of parents and kids together. So we were there and we had we had five kids with us even. And we sat through the introductions of legislative assembly, our group was actually introduced. So was so was their group, Kellie-Lynn, etc. And we got to witness first reading of bills 26, 27, 29. And when you're sitting in the gallery watching legislative session, you're not allowed to cheer. But boy, we want it to. And so the good news is, is after everything was done at the legislature, Kellie-Lynn Pirie, I, April Hutchinson and others, we gathered at a local establishment and enjoyed some food and beverage and visiting. And I got to know April a bit and what a strong personality, so much strength and yet vulnerable. She was she was willing to share her story with me, some of the trauma she had faced. And I feel like we connected and I'm just so grateful she came all the way to Edmonton to support this, to witness first reading of this important legislation. Kellie-Lynn Pirie came from afar as well. And like this team we have at Parents and Kids Together is just amazing. And we've got more coming on Saturday, November 9. All right. Now, Jojo, we've talked a little bit about the various bills that are being put in place to protect parents' rights. What can people who get involved with Parents and Kids Together do to, first of all, support that? And secondly, I would say, be active in their own communities. (25:53 - 32:40) Well, that's a great question. And I think it goes to the heart of how activism has changed since even 20 years ago, right? Because we have the internet, we have social media, we can connect with people from all over the world. And so remember, you are empowered in your everyday conversations to meet with people, whether it's your neighbor, it's your friend, it's your MLA, it's someone across the street or across the world, to let them know that there are people like us. We exist. I was talking to Kellie-Lynn Pirie, the person that Benita mentioned, and she's going to be speaking at a rally. We have a video that we're doing of her. We've already put up a longer version of it. And I would encourage you to share that because that's her story, her testimony, where she shared how she had transitioned because she thought she'd be happier as a man, only to find out that never solved her problem. And often it takes about eight to 10 years, well, before someone who actually transitions realizes their operation or their hormonal therapy didn't solve their gender dysphoria, their gender confusion, and they want to transition back. And that's an important thing to remember. This is a long game. We have to play the long game. And so that means we need to constantly have the conversation, constantly need to push these issues. It's only been 20 years or so since the transgender identity, that we can change our gender, separate hominids. And it took that long. But the LGB part of the identity, that we can be labeled by our sexual attractions, that took many, many decades for people to embrace that idea. But that itself is also what we call a social construct. That's been made up by society. And in the same way, every one of us can also push back and recreate society because we're members of society to be able to say, no, we should be able to see the person and not just who they want to sleep with or what gender identity they identify as. We're so much more than that. And that's the other part is if you have family members or friends who are thinking this way, the key here is to show that we are the good guys. What we believe is actually life affirming and honoring. And that disagreement doesn't mean we hate you. And the agreement doesn't mean we love you. There's a way of thinking that we have to model for our culture around us. And then obviously, vote. Make sure that you're able to speak out and talk to the elected officials because they represent you. I just read yesterday, Will, and this was so astonishing. The new, who's the old premier of BC, the NDP premier, David Eby, has announced that he's going to blacklist any conservative MLA that he deems racist. And there's no actual standard, but blacklisting means that even though they're elected officials who represent their riding, thousands, hundreds of thousands of people voted for these people. If the NDP premier deems their points of view out of the realm of normal and good, they will not allow that MLA to be serviced just like every other MLA to get access to government services. Someone else from the party has to be able to ask for that. This is a fundamental threat to our understanding of democracy because now these people have decided what's morally right and wrong, and they're going to punish those even through the democratic or the political means of our democracy to not allow them to participate in democracy. And as one of my friends said, when we don't exercise the levers of authority that we have as being part of an electorate, we will lose that right. And this is just another sign of that. The hate crimes bill that they're trying to pass, the online hate crimes bill in Ottawa is another thing where, again, they determine what's hateful, and then they can even arrest you for pre-crime for something that you may post. So this rally that we're having in Edmonton is just the first step. And that's why we think it's important that you come to that. If you're listening to this, if you're in the Edmonton area, or even if in Alberta, we have people coming in from Lethbridge to come to participate in this, because it's a sign, not just to our Alberta legislature, which is for the most part, at least within the current government, friendly, but to all the legislatures around the country, that if one of the legislatures can pass a bill that protects fundamental rights of kids to be protected, that protects the right of girls to compete with other girls, they can pass similar laws too. And that's why it's a huge step to do that. And as well, we're creating a template here, Will. What Benita said about sending an email, Naheed Nenshi, the leader of the NDP in Alberta, said he received 4,500 emails saying this bill will kill them, or they're against the bill because it harms or kills transgender people. And what I would like to be able to say, no, Nenshi and our premier and all of the MLAs got at least 4,501 emails saying, no, this bill is absolutely right. It protects us. It will save lives. And you're right. There are plenty of examples where women in sports have been injured because they were competing with biological males. Or in the past Olympics where several female boxers said, well, I'm not going to fight with this biological male because their punch is so different from the punches we get from biological women. I actually did boxing when I was in university, Will, and I actually had to do sparring with female partners. And per goodness sake, it was so hard because you don't want to punch them in the chest. They're punching as hard as possible. And as a guy, I'm holding back. Well, what happens if someone doesn't hold back and they're a biological male? Well, exactly what you talked about. Several athletes have their skulls broken, all kinds of things. And so this is good stuff. And as one of the MLAs said, look, we only hear from you when you guys are mad at us. We need to hear from you when you're happy with us. And so we want to encourage your audience to contact their MLA, join the rally. There's going to be plenty more to do after that, but at least now you have a starting point and you'll meet some good friends who have the same heart as you. Yes. Now- Will, one of the things I'd like to highlight is the importance of people coming to Alberta legislature on November 9th. Many of our medias in Alberta covered a rally last Saturday, November 2nd, where the people who have the opposing viewpoint gathered and there were hundreds of people in the audience there on the legislative steps. Plus they rallied in other cities in Alberta. (32:41 - 36:01) And so the people of the opposing viewpoint, they gathered in numbers and they showed to the media that they're united in their beliefs. Well, we need to gather in numbers and our numbers have to be greater. They have to be greater. So we urge everybody who believes in what Jojo and I have shared, everybody who supports or even partially supports Bill 26, 27, 29, come to Edmonton Saturday, November 9th for 1pm. All right. And we'll be sending out a notice to all of our subscribers at Strong and Free Canada here in Alberta. It's about 4,000 people. And you're absolutely right. We need to get as many people out there as possible because we both know, you and I, especially Benita, what mainstream media does is they shoot things in such a way to make it appear that there's only a handful of people there. And then they falsely report, oh, there was a hundred demonstrators when in fact there was several thousand. So we just need to overwhelm that system. Now, I did want to ask though, Benita, because Jojo has intimated that you're something of the expert on the bills themselves. You've got them posted on your website. I did go through them in preparation for this interview, but one thing I didn't look for and I probably should have is what are the controls or penalties that are being put in place if these rules are not followed? I mean, assuming that these bills are passed. That's actually a good question, Will, and I don't have the answer to that yet. I assume if teachers decide to break these laws, they're going to initially face a warning and then possibly face termination of their position. Yeah, well, that's actually one of the questions being raised right now in terms of the debate in the legislature is what are the penalties. So the answer to your question is we'll have to wait and see until the bills are actually debated and passed. So they're going to be debated all this week and next week. They'll be discussed. They're going to be brought up in the media. Danielle Smith has already been attacked on many fronts, but that's one of the key questions the government is looking for an answer, I think, which is why the final iteration of the bill, the final reading, I think they'll be addressing that. Yes, and I think we should probably point out to those who are outside of Alberta, because Jojo, you just made reference to this, that Danielle Smith is being attacked by the left from all directions on all points, and yet at the AGM, which happened very recently, if I'm recalling my figures correctly, Danielle Smith received 91% approval from the members. So clearly there's this false leftist narrative out there that does not represent the majority of the people, and I think people in other provinces need to understand that so that they can get active as well. David Parker has talked about people just basically borrowing what he did with Take Back Alberta and doing the same thing in their provinces to get conservatives and active in government to take back our governments to truly represent the people, because I have believed since the beginning of this that we are the silent majority. We're not a minority. We're the majority, and we just need to start speaking up. (36:02 - 38:59) So I'd like to ask for final thoughts from both of you on your initiative on protecting our kids, and perhaps especially address those who are in other provinces who do not yet have these kind of protections in place. Jojo? Well, ultimately, as Benita said, matter of truth shows up. That's the case when you vote, when you speak out, when you choose not to say anything because you're discouraged or because you've lost many times before. What ends up happening is there's only one voice that's amplified, and especially here in Canada where one of the problems we have is we are such a small country, media-wise, there's such a small elite, and they all talk to each other and think like each other. And we've created a time when people like that who are powerful don't think they need to talk to anyone outside their social circles. And when you listen to what the trans activists are saying, for example, about us, about those who oppose them, it's far worse than calling us garbage, as one American president just recently said about his opponents. What they're doing, though, is they don't know anyone who agrees with them. So all they have are stereotypes and perspectives of their opposition in the worst light possible, because that's all they know. They don't have anyone they can talk to who could reference them. So for us as conservatives, though, we have the opposite problem. Because we consume the media, we see what they think about us. We follow their tweets. We're willing to engage those who have different ideas that we actually know what they think about us. And so we're much more aware of that. So it's really critical. And I've always brought this idea, Will, that we are to be ambassadors. We are to be able to go out into the society around us, represent our values, know that we have good news to share, and be willing to do that. Whether it's your coworker who you know is a wolfster, or your classmate, or that relative that you love who's walked away, always have your door open so that they know that even if they disagree with you, it's them who's closed the door. It's them who's actually intolerant and close-minded, because they're not willing to examine different ideas. And just to summarize, one of the key starting phrases, and I do this for a living, Will, I train people in conversation training, because I think that's where we need to start, where we have to begin, is a simple question, especially with those who are hostile to us. Can we disagree and still be friends? Can we disagree and still be friends? And start with that. If they say, of course we can disagree and still be friends, you've found a person of peace, begin a conversation now, because however you disagree, you're still going to be friendly with each other. That's a good person. If that person says, no, we can't disagree, then they have a problem with the definition of friendship, because no one has any friend who 100% agrees with them. (38:59 - 40:26) That just makes no sense. And we live in a society of a time where that's the case. But societies change one conversation at a time. And we need to be brave enough to talk to the people who are difficult to talk to, or the stranger on the street, the person at the bus that you take the bus to, or your boss. You don't have to convert them on the spot. Just plant a little pebble in their shoe, as one of my mentors says, and let them walk away from the conversation with a question, with a thought, with a statistic, with a fact. Get them to mull it around. Most people take their moral views or choose their moral views because they think they're good, because they think they're morally good, not just their view, but themselves. And the challenge we need to give them is to actually get them to examine, what are the results of a view that says a child should be allowed to transition, otherwise she's going to commit suicide? Well, no. If a child needs to get their way in order to not kill themselves, they have bigger problems than gender identity. And those are the kinds of truths we need to leave people with, because ultimately that's how society changes. Yes. It also helps a great deal to start the conversation with something that you agree on. What I always suggest to people is, if you don't know where the other person stands, start talking about grocery prices. That's a good one. Yeah. I guarantee you, they will side with you on that. Benita, your final thoughts. (40:27 - 41:12) I have three suggestions for anyone who's interested in pursuing similar initiatives. And one of those suggestions has to do with when you're interacting with people who have a different viewpoint than you. If you lose your cool, you lose. You need to stay calm in stressful circumstances. And an excellent example of someone staying calm under stress is Kellie-Lynn Pirie. She's here in Alberta. She arrived last week. She'll be staying until November 10th, 11th. And she has been interviewed by the press, and she keeps her calm. She interacts with people of another viewpoint. She keeps her calm. If you lose your cool, you lose. (41:12 - 41:51) So we have to stay calm, even when we're facing these people who can be rather aggressive in their views. Another suggestion I have is getting involved at the local level. So we'd all like to move mountains, of course, and change the whole world, or at least the nation, or at least the province. But maybe at times that's not reachable at this time. So get involved at the local level. And that means building relationships with municipal councillors and school board members, attending meetings, analyzing, okay, when is the next election? So October 20th, 2025, for example, is the next election in Alberta. (41:52 - 43:12) And what can we do to transform these municipal councils and school boards so that we have people with our values serving on those boards and on those councils and making decisions that align with our values? And so I have an initiative. It's called Conservatizing Municipal Councils and School Boards. I host meetings once a month. The next one's November 26. It's online. Anybody from across Canada can attend. The principles presented can be applied anywhere. Plus, I'm going on a speaking tour. I'm already booked to speak in Cochrane and Grand Prairie in the coming weeks to really empower people to take over those school boards and municipal councils, fill them with people with our values. So the last suggestion I have, of course, if you want to accomplish great things, is reach out for help. So someone like me, 1-780-349-0181, that's the number, reach out, call, text. I am happy to offer you suggestions and tools to help you succeed with what it's you are looking to do. I'm sure JoJo is willing to offer suggestions as well to anyone interested in pursuing similar initiatives in their area. All right. Benita, JoJo, thank you so much for your time today and for this important initiative. Thank you.