The Ben Mulroney Show - Ben eviscerates Mark Carney for soft-launching his leadership bid on Jon Stewart

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

Guests and Topics on Today's Show -Ben eviscerates Mark Carney for soft-launching his leadership bid on Jon Stewart -How far are we from AI Drive-Thrus everywhere? with Guest: Mohit Rajhans Mediologist and Consultant, ThinkStart.ca -Hamas expected to release 33 hostages in first phase of emerging deal with Guest: Dr. Casey Babb, Senior Fellow with the MacDonald Laurier Institute, Advisor to Secure Canada -Charging more for plant-based milk at coffee shop raises questions with Guest: Sylvain Charlebois, Canadian Researcher and Professor specializing in the Food Industry -'Everything is gone': Sask. business owner loses Los Angeles home to wildfires with Guest: Nadia Williamson, Owner of Regina based bridal business NWL Dresses If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're anything like me, and you heard yesterday that Mark Carney was in anticipation of announcing his bid to replace Justin Trudeau as the prime minister of our country was going to give a massive interview on the Daily Show in New York to Jon Stewart. You'd probably did a double take, and you probably thought it was a joke. And then you hunted and pecked and found out, no, no, no, it was actually, it was all too real. Why don't we listen in on this hard hitting interview? Are they looking for a new leader? I think they might be, John. Sir, may I recommend to you, with your charm and debonair wit, yet strong financial backbone

That you offer yourself as have you offered yourself as as leader? I? Just started thinking about it And this will this will blow your mind so the conservatives are run by Pierre Poliev. Yes. Did I say that correctly? Yes. It's a fictional. JK Rowling name at best. Pierre Poliev.

And this always fascinates me. I want to show this. This is so Trudeau, obviously. The other guy is Pierre Poliev. It looks like, and he is he is true does rival, yes. They look like 2 fictional boys school rivals. In like or like

poly up seems like a villain in a like karate kid movie like there's some very very off putting what is he like in person? Ah, I don't know. Trottie. Take your time. You're not, you're not, you're not far off. Okay, so playing coy about whether or not he's gonna run, of course he is,

but this was, this was a mistake on so many levels. And by the way, I've heard people say that, just by me saying that's proof that the conservatives are worried and scared, and I'm sure some are. This was a mistake for him. I would have advised against that. First of all, the last polling I saw has the Tories at 47% nationally.

So to have a counterpoint on the show, make these comments about him looking like a karate kid villain. It's the most softball of softball interviews. It was, it's a comedy show in New York, by definition, it is an un-serious show. You are going to run, if you run successfully, you Mark Carney will become our Prime Minister automatically without ever having put yourself forth for any elected office ever. You will not have received a single vote by anyone ever for anything and you will automatically become our Prime Minister. So as you are about to launch your leadership bid, maybe, maybe to the 47% of the people who aren't person who will challenge you, who will push back, who knows that Pierre Poliev is not a fictional J.K. Rowling character. Maybe you show that you are serious by sitting down with a serious interviewer.

And I will take this opportunity to ask you to come onto my show and do just that. Not only that, because you will be Prime Minister, you will automatically be our Canadian counterpoint to Donald Trump. And you chose a medium and a show that deliberately and routinely antagonizes the incoming president of the United States. They make him the butt of the joke and they insult him routinely and daily. And you decide to sit with the figurehead of that show to launch yourself into this new dynamic. The softball interview lacked substance.

You could have gone and talked to a Canadian. That by the way, has been the most recent playbook of Justin Trudeau. When you add to that fact. That Mr. Carney has enlisted Justin Trudeau's brain trust to help get him to where Justin Trudeau was plays directly, directly into Pierre polio's narrative and description of who you are. Can we can we listen to what just what Pierre polio has said about who he's gonna be running against. Right before an election.

The liberal MPs want to elect another Justin Trudeau, who has a different face. They're all Justin Trudeau. They're all just like Justin. In the next election, I will be running against Justin Trudeau. Whether his name is Justin Trudeau or his name is Christia Freeland or Carbon Tax Carney or Carbon Tax Clark, they will all be Justin Trudeau. And you just you just proved him right. You got his team that got him elected the first time we're going to get you elected the first time. And you you're sidestepping serious Canadian

journalists and interviewers in favor of softball interviews with people who yes, I'm sure they can find Canada on a map, but can they find Alberta? Can they find Ottawa? Can they name three Canadian provinces? That's how you decide to introduce yourself at this most serious time where you will be quite literally handed the keys to 24 Sussex. As derelict as it is, you could live there. You're going to be the guy talking to them.

And we don't know when the election is going to be. It might be in October. You can do a lot in those few months as the right honorable prime minister Mark Carney. This is wrong for every reason, not the least of which it doesn't help you as you as you gear up to fight the guy who says you're just like Justin because you're behaving just like Justin. It doesn't matter what you say about yourself. Let's listen to how he is positioned himself yesterday during that really hard

hitting interview. It's really difficult for a candidate to come in who is saddled with the policies that are on. But let's say, oh boy, let's say just, just just throw it out. Trying to preserve the relationship. Just just just throw it out of trying to preserve the relationship Wild hypothetical let's say the candidate wasn't part of the government Let's say the candidate did have a lot of economic experience. Let's say the candidate did deal with crisis Let's say the candidate had a plan to deal with the challenges in the here and now you sneaky you're running as an outsider

I am an outsider. I am an outsider. Wow. But you're not an outsider. And again, Pierre Poliev has been able to define you before you were able to define yourself. And you chose to go on Jon Stewart to push back, to start this story rolling that you're an outsider. You got his whole team behind you. Not the least of which is probably the most essential person who got Justin Trudeau elected the first time was Gerald Butz.

And by the way, our friend Kevin O'Leary, who's been generous enough to come on our show a number of times, has a few choice words about Gerald Butz. Who doesn't want to do that? The only guy I know that doesn't want that is Gerald Butz. And I think we've had enough of him. Well, I mean, like Gerald Butz has been out of government for a long time. So I mean, he's kind of-

Oh, wait a second. Wait, that's not true. Well, it is. I mean, no, he works with the, he works with the Imbremer now. Let me correct you. When there was a majority mandate by Trudeau and he had it in the first mandate, Butz put all the policy in place. Daniel Smith had to litigate that policy in October 2023 to get me to bring back $70

billion into Canada. Gerald Butts is the Antichrist of Canada. Okay. Well, look, you know, Mr. Butts is a private citizen now. He's not in public life. He does not control the government. He hasn't been since. So anyway, but I want to move on.

Wait a second. Isn't he backing the liberal leadership right now? Didn't I hear Carney is going to bring him in behind them? That's an unholy union. Okay. Yeah. Okay. I don't have time for ad hominem attacks. I do not like them. I thought that was way below the belt. Every interaction I've ever had with Gerald Butz, he's a gentleman. I would like a better public discourse than that, but take that for what it is. So you got Carney, who wants to be an outsider, he's not. You got Christy Clark, who shot herself in the foot

right before the race started. She tarred and feathered herself as a liar. When she didn't have to, it was one of the most useless throwaway lies, and now that's what she is. And you got Justin and Christia knifing each other regularly. This is what this is, what we've got in store for us until March 9th.

Welcome back to the Ben Mulrooney show. And there are a lot of tech stories worth talking about. And I could talk in circles and I could talk myself out of whatever point I was trying to make. So to keep us on point, to keep us in the guardrails, to keep us in the know, we are joined by Mohit Rajan's Mediologist and Consultant with thinkstart.ca. Happy Tuesday, my friend. Welcome to the show. Happy Tuesday, Ben. So we're always talking about AI and the computing power needed for AI. But I don't think we ever drilled down into what what that actually means. And I was, for example, I was unaware of the sort of the vital role the

semiconductor industry and the technology plays in that. And there's a big story about semiconductors and sort of the struggle for global AI dominance. Yeah, that's so really what we're looking at is the next frontier of competition globally when it comes down to what's happening with artificial intelligence. And rather than bore the audience, you have to understand that all of these things

are being built in real time. And so companies and countries are trying to work with each other to create a competitive advantage to have the best AI and the most advanced AI. But you can't do anything unless you've got the computer power still to actually harness it. And so what's happening now in Biden's last days is he's signing these executive orders in the US to create protections around AI chip makers, leaving stuff in the US more so than letting it travel to foreign countries. Whereas China might have

been doing that for a very long time already and might be already ahead. And so there's a geopolitical conversation happening about artificial intelligence right now that could be very detrimental to the future. Yeah, it's absolutely fascinating. But are these, I got to, yeah, actually, you're my tech guy. You're not my American politics guy. I was wondering, clearly Donald Trump could come in and reverse these orders if he wanted, but I realized you're not the guy to ask that question to. Well, unfortunately, the way I look at it

is from the way the tech companies have to work with the governments, right? And so I don't necessarily know where they all politically stand in terms of how they curry favor with the new administration. But I do know they're all very concerned right now with how much of their products they can keep domestically being made versus how much they can create in other places.

Well, that's right. I mean, I remember the issues in Taiwan, not Taiwan yet in Taiwan during the during the COVID crisis. We were having a really tough time accessing sort of the chip makers in Taiwan. And the worries that China, if they were to take over Taiwan would essentially be able to create a chokehold over America's ability to secure the the vital semiconductors and chips that they would need moving forward. It's interesting you say that because this is all of the stuff

that makes businesses that I know are very worried about what's ahead. So on one hand, you can stop and say, Oh, I'm worried about privacy, and I can't use like chat GPT, because it'll take my company's info. On the other hand, they also don't want to start building into these systems and then realize all of a sudden that that company won't be viable in five years. And so there's a lot to consider when it comes down to the next generation of AI technology. Okay, well, let's talk about the next generation of drive throughs. And we've got some audio of somebody going through a Tim Hortons and encountering and having an interaction that they didn't expect. Hey, and thank you for choosing him. How can he help you today? This automated service? No, sir. You're talking to a person. How can I help you today? Is this automated service? No, sir. You're talking to a live person. How can I help you today? Oh, that's awesome. Thank you. Can I get a medium-sized ice cap?

A medium-sized ice cap. Actually, a large one. A large ice cap. For sure. Anything else for you today? Any muffin or doughnuts? No, that's everything. Thank you for choosing Tim Hortons.

Have a great evening. Okay. I just thought it was a person. I honestly thought that that was a person. I thought that that was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was a person who was thought it was a person, I honestly thought that that was a person, I thought that that was a person who just speaks in a really odd stilted way. But I have been assured that that is an AI interaction in real time. Not ready for prime time as far as I'm concerned.

as far as I'm concerned. Okay. So let me just break this down very quickly, because I have a different point of view on this. This falls into the, my world of digital out home advertising, more so than it falls into AI. And the reason is because the AI customer service, whether that was happening or not in that interaction is something that's intuitive in our lives. And many things that we do, we just don't realize it. You know, we've had customer service issues resolved by AI agents in the background, and we don't realize it because we don't think twice about it. So we're already in a place right now where AI drive throughs technically exist, or at least the assisted ones. But what's interesting is this is a walking billboard now of advertising.

And you can sit there and chat and you're interested. And that's the business proposition that they want people to start to engage with now. It's less about taking the person away from the job. And it's more about capturing your attention and making sure that your attention is fulfilled before you actually go into the transaction, right? It's the automation, they don't care about getting perfect yet, they will eventually have to, you know, level up as they say. But right now, it's about the wow factor.

So the last time you were on the show, we talked about a class action lawsuit that was settled with Apple for a pittance. I think it was a couple of like under 100 million bucks for a for a company with a market cap of a couple of trillion dollars. And now it looks like Google is facing a class action lawsuit as well. But this one will probably head to trial. Yeah, and we're talking about the US situation right now. Federal Court in San Francisco basically accusing Google and its Android products of being able to track people and record data on conversations and not necessarily disclosing how that information

is being used. Very similar to the earlier conversation that we had with the Apple suit. The difference right now and what we're going to see moving forward and perhaps a sign of why Zuckerberg is trying to get out of the social media game and this side of the game, we're going to see a lot of litigation when it comes down to the last two decades of social media and big tech companies. And it's going to be a lot of people waking up to the fact that realizing that, yeah, a lot of data was used, a lot of things were built on their backs,

and a lot of nefarious things were used to fix algorithms. All of that is what I'm starting to see move ahead. So while we start to see Google, one example of having to answer to certain things that happened in the past, they are going to have other products that are going to be litigated against people are going to wonder if they were, you know, shut out of YouTube, there's going to be people who are going

to come for money based on royalties. And we're in for the litigation world of social media. Yeah, but you know, like none of this should surprise anyone. I remember a meme I saw years ago, where it was one pig talking to another pig, and they were staring at a slaughterhouse. And one pig talking to another pig and they were staring at a slaughterhouse and one pig says to the other pig, you're going to love it in there. The food is free. Everything's free. It's fantastic. And the caption was when you're not when you're not paying, you are the product. And and you know, if everything's free, then

you are the product. So we have known for years that when we get these things for free, these services for free, it's not really a service we are we are providing value to Instagram and to Facebook and to Google, and they are taking that data and they are leveraging and monetizing it. So I don't understand how this anyone is surprised that these companies are encroaching on our privacy when they're their businesses were built on encroaching on our privacy. Ah, that's interesting you say that but then there's finger pointing right so litigators will say well if you're invading their privacy and violating then you're invited

violation of the law regardless of how you're doing it and so they do have a stance right but they do have a legal stance and and what they're asking for it's basically just this idea that Google was able to collect this data. And despite several warnings about how they can and can't do business, they used it anyway. And so the law didn't catch up to Google and Google can continue to do what they were doing. And just like you said, you know, we have, we couldn't have been blind to it. Many people who have used these services are people who have benefited from them. So it'll be interesting to

see how far a company will have to go when it comes to paying these fines. Mohit, the Consumer Electronics Show 2025 is showcased some incredible technologies. Can you give me the highlights in 60 seconds? Actually, no, I don't want to get disappointed pointing out the fact that I love self directed lawnmower or the three in one lamp that I can't wait for.

What I do want to point out to is two things. One is we're headed to a world of an internet of things where everything seems like it's connected. It seems like you can connect everything through your mobile device. Good time to have a conversation with your family about just what they're buying into, what they're willing to pay for, what they're willing to sacrifice. And the second thing I noticed is that while artificial intelligence has become a hype word, this CES proved that every single industry will be affected by it in some way. So while we saw robots in action, and we saw wonderful lamps, the automation

and AGI effect is now Mohit Rajans, you nailed it. Thank you so much, my friend. And I gotta say the thing that I liked the the most was the expanding screens on a laptop. That was really cool. Yeah, for us, that's what we need. More screens, man. That's what we need. Mohit Rajans,

Mediologist and Consultant with ThinkStart.ca. Welcome to Kidsplain, where kids explain how underfunded our schools are. Let's take a call from a listener. Kelly, are you there? Hi, I was wondering why I get less one-on-one time with my teachers. Great question, Kelly.

It might have something to do with the fact that we have 3,500 fewer teachers under Doug Ford. Ugh, that sounds about right. Wanna help support students and teachers? Visit nomore.ca. That's K-N-O-W-M-O-R-E.ca. A message from the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association. Since October 7th of last year, the bloody fighting, the emotional and human toll that

has been taken on the people of Israel as well as the people of Gaza has been incalculable. And it looks now like there may be a glimmer of hope with some version of a peace deal emerging out of what's being called a breakthrough in Doha to drill down and get the specifics. We're joined by Dr. Casey Babbs, senior fellow with the McDonnell Laurier Institute and advisor to Secure Canada. Doctor, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. Now we've been we've we've knocked at the door of some sort of ceasefire

a number of times. Is this time different? This time seems to be quite different. Yeah. All signs are pointing in the right direction, assuming, of course, that you feel like this particular deal is the right direction, which I do. So I would expect, hopefully, fingers crossed here that things come together and that we see a return of many, if not most of the living hostages. Okay, so we'll talk about why it's different in a moment. But let's talk about what makes you happy about this deal. Well, there's a lot of things to be optimistic about, happy about in terms of this deal. First and foremost, look, we're talking about the return of the hostages,

of the remaining hostages who are alive and in time, hopefully all hostages, including the remains of dozens of hostages who have lost their lives in Gaza. That is the primary motivator for the state of Israel in this and that is what the greatest outcome of this deal will be. But it also, and contrary to what some people believe, it also really gives Israel security establishment, it puts them in an advantageous position over the long term. In what way? Well, I mean, it's going to allow them

to remain very close to Gaza. We're talking about a perimeter that will allow, a perimeter, roughly a kilometer, that will allow them in a moment's notice to return to the fighting, which will return to the war. A lot of people seem to think that this means the war is coming to an end. Not necessarily. The IDF, the state of Israel has not committed to ending the war. They've left that door open. And so really what this deal signals to a lot of people,

if you look at sort of the quote unquote five print is that Hamas is really struggling right now. And that is why the steel has come together. Well, that's yeah, that's what that's what I was gonna ask, what does Hamas get out of this? They get their lives out of this, they get to survive. The remaining Hamas fighters will get to live to see another day in Gaza, leadership living abroad, we'll get to, you know, in some sort of perverse

delusional way, claim a victory, of course, as they've done many times before. And they'll have an opportunity to sort of, to a certain extent, regroup and recalibrate for the next phase of their sort of campaign, whatever that looks like. Okay, and and so I so let's get back to why this time is different. And I think, you know, the elephant in the room is, is the Trump factor who leveled very clear threats at Hamas, there would be hell to pay if they were not returned

on, on, on on day one of his administration. But I also know that the Biden administration has been working very hard on this as well. So is it a combination of the two administrations working together? Yes and no. I mean, I would be, it would be wrong of me to say that the Trump effect, so to speak,

hasn't really made a difference here. Causation and correlation, as you know, are two different things. I think it's safe to say that with an incoming Trump administration and Trump saying those exact words what you just said then that there will be held to pay, they heard that. They heard that. That said, I think what people are forgetting here is there are two main reasons that this deal has come together. The first is the fall of Iran's axis in the Middle East, including the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and the defeat of Hezbollah and Lebanon. That is massive, and that is almost

entirely because of the tireless work of Israel's security establishment. The second reason are the massive IDF assaults and bombardments on Hamas and Gaza in recent days and weeks. And we see this, you feel this with the serious losses of life for the IDF, five soldiers killed this week. Those are the two reasons, the military pressure and the change in regional dynamics. That's what's led Hamas to this position. I'm speaking with senior fellow with the McDonnell-Laurier Institute, Dr. Casey Babb, and we're talking about hopefully a ceasefire

that could see the guns being put down at least temporarily in Gaza. How soon could we expect the ink to dry on a ceasefire? I think you could see that today within hours. Really? Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, I try not to, like everybody else who's been watching this,

and I know I'm probably speaking for you as well, you don't want to get your hopes up. No. But look, this could happen any moment now. We're talking about the release of 33 humanitarian hostages, including children, women, female soldiers, the elderly, and the sick. You know, unfortunately, that's going to include likely the remains of some hostages. Yeah. And then

I'm sorry. No, well, yeah, I just I want to get a few questions, more questions in for you. And I don't think it's looking too far in the future. And I don't think it's looking too far in the future. And I don't think it's counting chickens before they hatch to ask, is there a framework, a groundwork on which to build from this ceasefire into a permanent peace, and possibly into a place where Gaza can become better than it's been?

I don't believe so. We're not looking at de radicalizing the people of Gaza just yet. You're right on the money, right, with that exact what you've said, precisely. As I wrote in the spectator last week, change has to come from within. The Palestinians have to start valuing life over struggle, peace over conflict, and they have to move towards a more moderate ideological sort of foundation for their people. Until those things happen, and until the Palestinians, broadly speaking, recognize the permanency and legitimacy

of the Jewish state, there will never be peace. So those things have to happen. Could, I mean, so much of that requires sort of responsible governance and responsible governance comes with clearly oversight from the international community, as well as, as well as funding beyond say, UNRWA and the UN. Absolutely. So if the partner if they're, if they're Arab partners and cousins in the area would contribute to that to

that funding and if oversight could come from you know a number of responsible good actors couldn't couldn't that be the beginning of the de radicalization of a great many people in Gaza I think you're spot on I think you're absolutely right but again just in terms of how I think about you know we're talking about this hostage deal I also don't get on. I think you're absolutely right. But again, just in terms of how I think about, we're talking about this hostage deal, I also don't get my hopes up because as you know, Ben, they've been offered up their own state. They've been offered so much.

They've been offered everything that they've ever wanted or what we've thought they wanted time and time again. And so that's why I say change has to come from within. The Palestinians are a very strong, very, very competent people. It's just unfortunate that they've taken all that capital, that energy, and they've dedicated to work towards the wrong things.

If they channel that energy into just exactly what you laid out there, the road to peace could be around the corner, but it remains to be seen at this point. Well, the fact that you said that this could happen at any moment, I can promise you I know what I'm going to be doing with every free moment today. I'm going to be glued to either to any screen I can see because that will be a welcome site for so very many people. And it will signal for people on the other side of the equation that the guns will be placed down

and there will be quiet in the region for the first time in far too long. Dr. Casey Babb, thank you so much for sharing what I hope is good news. All right, sir. Thank you. Right now, and then I go about my life, I live my life, I see things and I don't think twice about them. And then it requires a very smart person to ring a bell. And once that bell has been rung, you can't unring the bell. And Sylvain Charlebois, who is a Canadian researcher and professor specializing in the food industry has written an article that says charging more

for plant based milk at coffee shops raises questions. And essentially, these milk products are not milk products, they call themselves milk. But like almond milk, it costs less than regular milk. And yet you get upcharged for the almond milk at certain coffee shops. And I got to wonder why. So here to here to break it down for us is Sylvain Charleboix himself. Welcome to the show. Well, thank you for having me, Ben.

And so when did first of all, when did you notice this oddity? Oh, many years ago. So full disclosure, I'm not a vegan, I'm not vegetarian, I actually drink cow milk. But I've always wondered why are they charging extra? Because since I'd say probably 2016, 2017, non-dairy alternatives are actually cheaper in most places in the country. And so financially, that's probably not the reason.

And they just ended the practice at Starbucks in October, and Tim Warns actually made the same announcement a few weeks ago. But I've always wondered why are they charging extra? People never really questioned the practice. Well, when you actually look at prices, you clearly see that the financially surcharges for non dairy were absolutely unjustified. And so did you investigate? Did you discover why it was? Because it feels to me it might be a nefarious plot from the dairy cartel. Well, that's the second reason why I was, you know, while I'm

questioning this, I mean, is someone lobbying coffee shops, making sure that people still stick to cow milk, even though cow milk is now more expensive? Is that why? Now, of course, coffee chains are both in Canada and the US. So Starbucks actually put an end to its practice back in October in both US and Canada. But in the US, the dairy lobby is pretty strong too. And when it comes to coffee, I mean, coffee is a big deal for the dairy sector. The coffee industry is really a big, big, big push for dairy consumption in general in both countries. How do you take your coffee?

With milk? Yeah, I take my black milk. Because mine, coffee for me is a vehicle for caffeine to get it in my body as quickly as possible. Exactly. It's not it's not fun. It's business. And quickly as possible. Exactly. It's not it's not fun. It's business. And exactly. Some people out there, Ben, they don't have the luxury of choice. They don't, they actually have to have non there because they're allergic. Yeah. People don't know that there's almost 16 million Canadians now who are lactose

intolerant. And I've always wondered, why are we asking these people to pay extra for the same product because of a health problem? Well, so you but you would know more about this than me. Like, yes, if I go to the grocery store, and I buy a carton of cow's milk versus a carton of almond milk, by and large, the almond milk will cost less than cow's milk. But maybe it's a supply chain issue for these big, massive companies. Maybe it's easier. Maybe the supply chain for milk, proper milk, is more sophisticated and it's easier for them to get that milk

en masse than it is to get a plant based alternative. I'd say it was true probably 20 years ago, but demand has gone way up. I mean, you go to a grocery store, you can tell that the offering is much more substantial now. And I know that probably some people out there are probably wondering, well, so what are you guys talking about? This is a free market.

If chains to charge extra They can just do it and if people don't want it They just don't buy it But at the end of the day if you actually feel that companies are charging extra for no reason If the rationale is just weak at best It does it it can undermine consumer trust over time. We've seen the scandals. Just last week we saw the meat scale issue

reported by the CBC a few years back. It was the bread cartel story. I mean, all of these stories are just not reassuring to the public. And look, you bring up some pretty sobering numbers. I mean, we've been joking about it a lot, but you're right that for nearly three decades, coffee chains have charged fees ranging from 50 cents to 80 cents for plant based milk, generating significant revenue.

Starbucks Canada alone is estimated to have collected more than three hundred thirty seven million dollars through these surcharges. Yeah. With the total across all chains likely reaching billions. And so this has led to lawsuits. Starbucks. We haven't looked at Tim Morton's or second cup or other chains total across all chains likely reaching billions. And so this has led to lawsuits. We haven't looked at Tim Morton's or second cup or other chains that we're doing the same thing. But what's really interesting is the timing. So they decide to all and the practice within the last few months, while this potential

lawsuit is looming because a firm in Montreal has actually filed a request to basically file a class action lawsuit against all of these coffee chains, as these chains were cancelling their practice. So I find it really interesting. It's all happening at once. But you know, if they can avoid the lawsuit, then they, they avoid the discovery that comes before the law before they go to trial. And, and reading all the emails about the justification could be what they don't want people to see. I mean, I don't want to. Yeah, of course, I'm an opinion guy, I can give my opinion.

But essentially, Ben, I do think that over time, the surcharge was probably justified for a while, but I can tell you financially since 2016 to 2017, they were charging for something that was actually cheaper out in the market. I never understood why. Sylvain Charleroi, thank you so much for your attention on this. I really appreciate it. All right. Take care. Bye bye. You know, sometimes when we look at the damages and the loss that is

being suffered, still today, in Southern California due to the LA wildfires, the numbers can can really, they're so big, you know, numbers like $250 billion in damages and economic loss thus far, you know, the the burning of an area twice the size of Manhattan, it can be easy to forget the the human stories and the human cost and the emotional toll that this can take on individuals and families and communities. So we're really glad to have with us Nadia Williamson. She's the owner of Regina based bridal business and WL dresses, who's

also in Los Angeles. Nadia, thank you so much for joining us today. Hello, thank you. Thank you for having me on. Nadia, can you tell us how how are you? How's your family? Is everyone safe? Everybody is safe. We're all safe. So that's the bonus. That is the bonus. But that's the good part. But what is the reality for your family? So I think the hardest part right now, you know, obviously, besides losing everything,

our home, we have nothing, we don't have passports, we have nothing is we finding a place to live, it's so challenging. We've put in four offers. We're so close. These applications are lengthy. We send them everything, bank statements, you name it. And then we think we get it, and then all of a sudden it falls through because someone offers them more money. And so we're getting price gouged and it's just I just feel like I'm not going to feel settled until we have a home. We have a place to go.

Of course, your home is your home is is where where you're supposed to feel at your most safe. That's it. It's where it's where your kids lay their head. So by definition, it's where you want to feel your most safe. And the fact that the the your home, this that's so central to your family, burnt to the ground, and you have nothing, of course, it must feel unsettling. Yes, yeah, it's, it's, it's just horrible. And it's, and all we want is literally just a space like we don't care if it's a mattress a mattress on the ground, like we don't, you know, we just want to be able to secure a place for a year, you know, we're living in a hotel right

now. And the thing is too, people are so kind and generous, they want to give us so much, but we don't have, we only have a suitcase. We can't really take anything because, you know, we don't know where we're going to be. So, you know, once we have a home, or just, you know, a place to live, you know, we're going to be open to taking some things definitely like, we're open to all this beautiful giving, you know, even pots and pans, stuff like that. But we actually can't take anything. Yeah, because you have nowhere to use them. And Nadia, at what point did you realize

that this was going from, you know, a wildfire that we've seen before, they've occurred before, when did you realize that it was something far different and far more destructive? Well, that's the crazy part about it all. You know, our houses, you know, one of the oldest houses in the palisades are actually that I don't know for sure, but it was built in

the 1950s. And where we live, you know, it doesn't get hit by fires like it, it we were closer to the ocean. And, you know, in the in the mountains, there are fires. It is common for us to have fires every year. To be honest, I didn't think anything of it. I was like, not that I don't take fire seriously, but I was like, we're going to be safe. My neighbor was calling me and she's like, Natty, you should really come home. This was before the evacuation.

I was like, really? And she's like, yeah, just we're grabbing some things. We're getting out of here. And I was like, okay. I was at work. So I drove home and I, you know, even when I was leaving, I grabbed, all I grabbed was the two cats. I didn't grab anything else. I was like, there was, you know, you know, fire trucks, you know, but felt like millions. And there was a huge cloud of smoke. I still didn't think like that this would happen. Like thousands of homes would burn down. And I know that, I don't know if my brain

was just in denial or... I don't think it was in denial, Nadia. Common. Yeah, I don't think it was, you were in denial. The brain can't comprehend what it's never seen before. So that makes sense to me. I'm speaking with Nadia Williams, and she's the owner of Regina based bridal business and WL dress is also a resident of Los Angeles or the palisades before her home burnt to the ground Nadia. From what we understand

over here is that a lot of the fires are now under control, but there's an increased wind gust today, which could accelerate the growth of the ones that are yet to be under control. Is that what's happening? Yes, that's happening. And the craziest part about it is we actually purchased a rental home in Topanga recently, and we might lose that one too. Like it's exactly where it's going. I mean at this point, I can't, like we can't even, my brain can't even think that because I'm more worried. The thing what happens is you actually are

just worried about the people. You don't even care about the homes now, and it's still honest truth. You're just, you're, you know, everyone's calling everyone. Where, like, are you safe? Do you have a place to be? I mean that's the honest truth. You're just, you're, you know, everyone's calling everyone. Where, like, are you safe? Do you have a place to be? I mean, that's really honest to God is what your brain is just, is just fearful for the people. And you want to make sure your friends, we have so many friends and a huge, beautiful community. And we just want to make sure that everyone is okay. Like you're almost in like just help mode

and survival and help mode. Well, Nadia, I want to tell you that I wish we could check and make sure everyone's okay, but we're checking with you and we're glad to know that you and yours are okay. And on behalf of everyone at the Ben Mulroney Show, we are sending you our thoughts, our prayers, our well wishes, and we hope that you will find a place to call home in short order and thank

you so much for joining us. Thank you thank you Ben and you know it with all this talk of Canada not being a good neighbor to the Americans I think we are demonstrating. Our our love affection, our solidarity with our American brothers and sisters by with all of the brave firefighters that are leaving their posts in Canada to go fight the flames in Southern California. The most recent story that we've heard is that Alberta has been sending down has sending down 40 firefighters to help battle the flames devastating Los Angeles.

And before anyone asks, why aren't we sending more? You can only go if it's requested of you. And we know that Saskatchewan has been asked and Quebec's been asked and Ontario's been asked and British Columbia has been asked. And now Alberta is going down. This to me demonstrates our solidarity and our value to the American Canadian relationship,

far more than a lot of the speeches and a lot of the interviews that our politicians have been giving. Vital that they do that. But, you know, 90% of life is showing up. And Canada is showing up for America in its time of need. going up for America in its time of need. There's a story that popped up in our discussion this morning that I think is supposed to sound like a good story, but I don't think it is. There are 12 professional sports teams in Los Angeles, and they have come together to pool some resources

and donate money to the fire relief. So when I tell you there are 12 Los Angeles sports teams that include the Los Angeles Rams valued at seven point six billion, the Los Angeles Laker valued at just over seven billion. And then the Clippers, the Dodgers and the Chargers are all valued above five billion dollars, so a total of over thirty billion dollars in value. When I tell you that, and that's just one, two, that's just five of the 12 teams. $30 billion. When I tell you that they've donated $8 billion, $8 million to fire relief.

I don't think they're given enough money. I think they could do more. I don't know how everybody else feels, but I feel they could be donating more money. I don't know how everybody else feels, but I feel they could be donating more money. The Rams are worth $7.6 billion and they're part of 12 teams donating $8 million. And for context, football player JJ Watt, after Hurricane Harvey, put a foundation together and alone on his own working to raise funds raised $41 million. Now I'm sure I'm sure that individual players on those teams are donating, but the teams themselves, the ones that are valued in the billions have donated $8 million. I think you can do more.

One humble radio host's opinion. and streaming on STAC TV. I don't know who I am now. Inspired by the unforgettable true story. But I will be a doctor again. Emmy nominee Molly Parker. I will do everything I can to get my life back. DOC, new series Tuesdays on Global. Stream on STAC TV.