Will Dove  00:05 Many of us here in Canada are rightfully very concerned about what's happening in our country. And sometimes it distracts us from the fact that this is a global issue. Today I have with me, Monica Smit, the Australian founder of Reignite Democracy, an organization which she launched, coincidentally enough, in August of 2020, the exact same time that I launched the organization that has become Strong and Free Canada. Monica is somewhat of a counterpart to me in the freedom fight, but also to our own Tamara Lich, because she has been arrested, which I have not, and wrongfully imprisoned, which I have not. And she is here today to tell us her story. Monica, thank you for joining us. Monica Smit  00:47 Thank you so much for having me. I am half Canadian, and I've traveled from one side to the other. So I just love doing interviews with Canadians. So, thank you. Will Dove  00:51 Thank you so much. Let's go back, just to provide a little bit of background, you started your organization the same time I did, August 2020. Which is around about the same time I started looking at what's going on with mask mandates and saying, look, there's... this makes no sense. There's more going on than this. At what point in time, did you understand what was really happening? Monica Smit  01:18 Look, I was never afraid of the virus. Even at the beginning, just because my family has always been, you know, alternative thinking. We always kind of question everything, especially health wise, my mom's into a lot of alternative health remedies and things like that. So I just thought, Oh, I've got I've got a good immune system, I'll be fine. So I was never afraid of the virus. But it never really bothered me until we were in the middle of a four month lockdown. It was the middle of winter, there was a - you couldn't leave your house for more than five kilometers away. Which is, by the way, maybe two or three miles. You couldn't exercise for more than an hour, even though no one could possibly police that, but they still just put it out there.  You couldn't leave your home, even within the five kilometers unless it was essential. Who defines what essential is there was a ring of steel around the city of Melbourne, which is in Victoria, where Daniel Andrews is I'm sure your audience has heard about him. And the ring of steel was only five minutes east of me. And so I could not drive five minutes to the east of me, I would get stopped by armed uniformed army and police officers. And so all of that combined, I was just like, oh my gosh, this is really insane what's happening here.  And really what did it for me is that, you know, I knew that people were feeling anxiety and stress and anger. But we weren't allowed to protest. We weren't allowed to voice our concerns. And I just felt this energy of, you know, anger in the in the air and I thought people need an outlet. I don't need to be a health professional to know that holding anger inside is not good for you. So Reignite Democracy Australia was really born in order to bring people's anger into a common place, into action to make them feel better, even if they're in a terrible situation. So that's how it started. Will Dove  03:10 And demonstrations their way of course, we had our own illustration of this with the freedom convoy in Ottawa here, where they were policed armed with automatic assault weapons, that they were pointing it at Freedom Fighters, people who were peacefully demonstrating, people were struck with batons, they were attacked with sound weapons. They were pepper sprayed, but nobody was shot with rubber bullets. But that happened in Australia. Monica Smit  03:34 Yes, it did. Everything changed for me on that day. Actually, it didn't hit me until the next day. But when you see your fellow men and women shooting at a crowd that has children and women in it, you it makes you realize that if they were ordered to round up the unvaccinated and put them into a quarantine camp, which by the way, we have two very new, expensive quarantine camps in this country. If they were told to do that, they would. That that was a really scary moment for me. I even went into the police station the next day and told them how distressing it was for me to see them using those rubber bullets. You know, you have an 8% chance of being killed by a rubber bullet at close proximity. A higher death rate than COVID itself. So we're actually taking a matter through the courts at the moment, where one gentleman was fired at three times within about a five meter radius. And he if it was tense, if it was a few centimeters either way, he could have died. He had internal bleeding. He's now got a lot of other issues as well. So yeah, it was really distressing. Will Dove  04:44 Wow. So you, you start and I want to get back to those confinement camps a little bit, but I want to follow your story a bit farther first. So you started your organization August of 2020. Aside from a brief wrongful confinement in fall of that year that we discussed earlier, where you were stuck into a plea You stand for an hour with no charges laid no reason given. But then we move forward to August of 2021, when you were charged with two counts of incitement. Please explain that to our audience. Monica Smit  05:12 Sure. So the easiest way to explain it is, incitement is meant for serious charges like armed robbery or murder. If I was to encourage someone to do that, or actually coerce them into doing it, I would be culpable for part of that, all that crime. However, what they've done is they've used a criminal charge of incitement to perpetrate people who are allegedly encouraging people to break restrictions that only result in a fine. So the easiest way to explain it is if you were in a car with your friend, and you encourage them to park in a no parking zone, and they got fine for doing so. Imagine that you were criminally charged for telling your friend to park in that parking zone. That is how ridiculous it is. If I plead guilty to the two incitement charges right now, I would get a $20,000 fine. And that's it. I'd be I'd be finished. But I've already spent more I've already had more of the punishment than even being found guilty would be so, it's a little bit crazy. Will Dove  06:14 Yeah. And you were arrested not shortly after shortly after that, and spent 22 days in solitary confinement. Monica Smit  06:21 Yeah. So the reason I spent 22 days in solitary confinement was nothing to do with the incitement charges themselves. It was the bail conditions that they tried to put on me in order to get me released. Now they were they were really crazy. And I won't go through all of them. But personally, the worst, some of the worst was, I would have to stay home from 7pm to 6am. Every day until my trial, which could be two years away. It was summertime, okay, and it stays light till 930 10pm. At night, people have barbecues. Imagine, oh, sorry, I've got to go home and be home by seven because of my bail, like, No, thank you. I'm not a criminal. But what was worse, and what's more onerous is there was two conditions saying that I had to delete all the content on my website, which is very popular, that goes against the COVID directions. So not inciting people to break COVID restrictions, but opposite opposition to the COVID restrictions, which means anything that that basically questions the COVID narrative. And my entire website was full of that content. So basically, everything would have been wiped. Secondly -- Will Dove  07:30 -- I'm sorry to interrupt, but just let me point out because your audience and mine, understand that all you were doing with this website is just you're just spreading the truth. You're just telling people the truth. But even aside from that, even if even if we were wrong. Well, what about freedom of speech? Monica Smit  07:44 Well, I would arguably say that's gone in this country, Will Dove  07:47 and it's gone in this country too, yeah, sorry. Sorry to interrupt, but I felt it was clarified. Continue. Yeah. Monica Smit  07:54 As in there was there was nothing conspiracy related on that website. It's just news and things like that. So it's nothing crazy. But on top of that, the next condition underneath that was I was not allowed to oppose the COVID restrictions, with my words and my mouth. So basically, I could I couldn't do my work anymore, you know. So, because they actually made it really easy for me to not sign those conditions, because there was just I had seven staff at the time, and they all would have lost their jobs instantly, basically.  So it was really easy to say no, in fact, so yes, then I went to jail for 22 days solitary confinement, because I didn't want to take a PCR test. Because they're bogus, as we know. And I didn't want to be part of that system. And then we appealed the bail conditions and thankfully, we got a great judge who woke up on the right side of the bed. And she was basically like, this is ridiculous. This woman has no priors. And then I was let out and able to continue my work, although there are still some restrictions, bail conditions, but they don't stop me from doing my work.   Will Dove  08:56 So and just as you pointed out earlier, that you're still awaiting trial on this, though, you've been released. Oh, yeah. The trial. It could be two years away. Monica Smit  09:06 Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's I pled not guilty in February, February 2 of this year. And we're waiting for a date for the for the trial. And it's going to be a proper jury by trial, you know, and all that. So it's going to be pretty, pretty big deal. Will Dove  09:25 Now, more recently, there was another warrant issued that was ordering you to give the police the password to your phone and the admin password to your website, which of course you have refused to do. And the last that I had heard, you had only a couple of days to comply with that before they were going to escalate. Now, you've told me that that's been postponed, but please give our audience the details. Monica Smit  09:47 Sure. So when they arrested me originally, in late 2021, they seize two phones and they've obviously been trying to get into those phones and they were unable to so, they've taken out a special warrant that is, is kind of a new thing actually. Go figure. And I need to assist them to get into all the applications that they want inside that phone. So not only the phone PIN code to get into the phone, but also the passwords for all the all the emails, all the apps like telegram signal, Google Maps, Google Docs, Google Drive, like everything.  And for me, the most onerous one is the admin email for my organization, Reignite Democracy Australia, because we have 1,000s of people emailing us every week with private and confidential information. And also, my staff are replying to those emails, I don't know everything that they've said, you know, so it's really not about my privacy, it's more about theirs. So I appealed that warrant. And last, which costed me about $180,000, which, by the way, has been paid from donations, which is incredible, I wouldn't be able to do this without that. I'm not a rich person, by any means. So I've been very grateful for that. And I put it to the audience, you know, do you want me to keep fighting this? And their reaction was yes, because I got a lot more funding to keep fighting.  So here I am. The deadline for me to comply to the warrant is now again, two days away. So the eighth of July, a Friday here. And basically, I'm not going to comply. So I don't know what's going to happen. But you'll find out probably pretty soon. But you know, you probably the next question is what will happen if you don't comply? So I'll just tell you, basically, it's a whole new criminal charge, a whole new trial, if they could get lumped together, I'm not sure. But also, if I don't comply, it could be breaching my original bail.  So I could go to jail for three months or all the way till trial for the incitement itself, then if I lose the incitement case, and I get found guilty of not complying with the warrant, without reasonable grounds not to do so, that would be that could be another five years prison as well. I mean, no one's actually gotten the whole five years for not complying with that warrant. But you know, with people like me, you just, you just kind of expect them to go to the nth degree with everything. So I don't really don't know what's going to happen, but we're gonna find out pretty soon. Will Dove  12:21 I think it's pretty clear that no matter what they threaten you with, you're absolutely not going to comply and provide them with that information. Monica Smit  12:29 No, they can't get into my head. It's impossible. So, you know, it's hard. But it's also kind of really interesting. It's really interesting to be targeted by the government and these forces that are so much bigger than me, and they have all the money, they have all the resources. And I'm just this little blonde girl, just like saying, No, it's really an interesting experience. And the strength I get, obviously, is from God, and it's from my followers. And it's from the support that I've gotten, but I don't know how I'm so I don't know why it doesn't really phase me. But it actually I find it quite interesting. And I've been to prison before, so I know what to expect. So I'm not really afraid of that either. So we'll see what happens.   Will Dove  13:14 Oh, as we've observed, in the course of this fight, in both of our countries, courage has nothing to do with physical stature. Monica, I'd like to backup to these confinement camps. Of course, we're aware of them but getting accurate information, it's almost impossible because the only source of information we have here in Canada, is the mainstream media in Australia. What's really the story behind these confinement camps? Monica Smit  13:38 So, they're called quarantine camps. And it's funny because they only finished being built kind of at the tail end of the COVID pandemic, or, you know, so I don't know really why they built them. They spend billions of dollars, so there's two of them, one in Queensland, and one in Victoria, which is where I am. And they're really nice. They're really well resourced. And they're staffed by prisons, that they're staffed by prison guards, and you can't leave, and you've got no choice, but to go there. So it's really just a nicer prison than what I experienced pretty much. And then the funniest thing is, is that if you do go there, they imprison you against your will, and then they send you a bill, how hilarious how hilarious is that?  Of course, a lot of people aren't paying for these bills. But I would say it seems pretty clear to me that they're meant for the unvaccinated, and that the way that the narrative is, unfortunately, people were glad to see me in prison because they thought I was a health risk. So unfortunately, they're probably planning on rounding up the unvaccinated and the other population will be happy. They'll think that they're protecting them and the police will do it.   Will Dove  14:53 Yes, they will. Yes. So my understanding is that that there are currently people in these "quarantine camps"? Monica Smit  15:03 I don't actually know because definitely there was during like, when we had the international border restrictions and the vaccine mandates to come into Australia. Absolutely. You had to spend 14 days in a quarantine facility in order to come to Australia. But that that has all changed. So I actually think they might be empty right now, but don't quote me on that. But there are no travel restrictions. So I can't see who would be staying in there now.   Will Dove  15:30 And what is the current state of, of COVID mandates in Australia,   Monica Smit  15:35 Sorry, the vaccine mandates you mean, or just?? -- Will Dove  15:38 -- like anything related. Monica Smit  15:40 So there's pretty much nothing actually. So I mean, a lot of industries have lifted the vaccine mandates, however, the government has given the ability for companies to mandate them on their own, which is really crazy, because now the company is liable for any adverse reactions and the government aren't going to back them up - we all know that. So that's gonna really open up a can of worms for a lot of companies. And probably it's going to shut a lot of companies down, which is probably what the government wants.  So we'll see what happens there. So still, nurses, nurses in the medical industry still need to be vaccinated. But basically, teachers, everyone else doesn't have to be vaccinated unless the company has their own policy. With masks, they're pretty much not mandatory anywhere. In some states, they say you should wear it on public transport or something. But I'll tell you what, no matter where you go, there's always someone wearing a mask.  So it's kind of it's kind of interesting. And and there has been some news headlines just in the last couple of days talking about a third wave of COVID. So you just, you just never know when things are going to come back. There is a new there's an election coming up in November in Victoria. So I really would have thought that Daniel Andrews, would back off as much as possible over the next couple of months, but we'll see. Will Dove  16:59 All right. So I just want to clarify something because it sounds like things may be a little different in Australia than they are here. Here in Canada, the vaccine manufacturers, the big pharma companies get their indemnity from the government. So it doesn't matter if a corporation says to their people, you have to be vaccinated to work here, the corporation is still not liable for any damages that may incur from it. But it sounds like that's different in Australia. Monica Smit  17:23 Yeah, so the vaccine manufacturers aren't liable. Neither will the government be because the mandate is not there anymore. But absolutely. I, to be honest, there hasn't been one case. So you could be right. But companies have definitely given payouts to people who have been fired because they didn't get the jab. So they have had some, some, like two months pay and things like that, which isn't huge, but they have accepted some sort of liability in that way. But you're right, there's there hasn't been a successful case. So probably, maybe they're not liable. I don't know. But we'll see. Will Dove  18:00 Sure. Following up on this discussion we were having about the mandates in Australia, largely haven't been dropped. Right now there's a question I have to ask about Australia, where I'm assuming I know the answer. But perhaps I don't. Here in Canada, of course, we have a flu season every winter. And it has to do with a number of factors that are tied to the changes in temperature. But in Australia, of course, you don't have those extreme changes in temperature between your seasons. So do you have a flu season there? Monica Smit  18:26 Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, you might think that it's just hot in Australia all the time. But especially in Victoria, it gets pretty cold. I mean, cold for us is, you know, one or two degrees Celsius. So it's not that cold, but it definitely is a shock. So yeah, I mean, I've got a sore throat right now, actually. And yes, the colds have been going through people a lot. And of course, there are flu shots available for free everywhere. So yeah, we do have a flu season for sure. Will Dove  18:55 So what I was getting at, because that's sort of the answer I expected. Is that right now in Australia, it's flu season. Yes. Right. Because it's summer, technically, but it's what we would think of as winter with the shorter days and the colder weather. Yeah. So I'm finding this interesting that right now, there's virtually no mandates, despite the fact that you're in flu season. seems a little odd but ... - Monica Smit  19:21 - yeah, I mean, the flu has come back. The flu has come back all of a sudden, sorry. Wow. The flu was gone for two years. And now it's coming back with a vengeance. Will Dove  19:29 Yes. All right. Well, Monica, as a final question, as a fellow freedom fighters, somebody who's been doing this for almost exactly the same amount of time that I have, with very much the same approach. What thoughts would you want to share with our Canadian audience based upon the two years that you've almost now that you've been in this war? Monica Smit  19:50 So in the first two years up until basically recently, I was very reactive. So I felt like everything needed to be done right there on the spot. If the government did this, I would post about this. And I would do that. And we recently had the federal election, which, you know, we were working 12-14 hour days, just trying to make an impact there. And after that didn't really quite work out, I reflected, and I realized that, actually, we probably can't beat them by fighting directly against them. And it's also very reactive. And there's a lot of emotions, and it's a lot of up and down, and body wise, and emotion, what emotional wise, we can't really continue to be this reactive. for another two years, we're going to deplete all our energy, and we're not going to be ready for when the time is really needed that we have energy.  So I'm, I'm definitely pivoting to focus on trying to empower people to become as self sufficient as possible, creating bartering systems outside of the currency system that we have connecting consumers to local farmers directly and cutting out the middleman trying to get people to not, you know, purchase things at the big corporations, but actually spend a little bit more money at the smaller businesses, but showcase those businesses so that we actually know how to find them. So we have a business directory, and we have, you know, community groups around the country that I mentor, and they can do what they want, depending on what they want to do based on what I say.  So really, that's what I'm focusing on now. So that when an if things go terribly bad, at least the people that are in my community already will have a better quality of life than they would have if they didn't prepare at all. So that's really what I'm focusing on right now. I am trying not to actually care what the government does as much and just be like, Oh, yep, okay, great. No worries, another blow. But that's fine. Because we're going ahead, we're building veggie gardens, and we've got a cow in the freezer, and you can do what you want, because we're going to be fine. Will Dove  21:47 Very good. Monica, thank you for your courage for taking up this war to fight for everyone's freedoms. And thank you for joining us today to help point out that this is a global issue. And if the globalists succeed in their plans, none of us will have any freedoms or even bodily autonomy. So thank you so much for carrying on this fight. Monica Smit  22:08 Thank you so much for having me and I hope to see you soon.