The Ben Mulroney Show - Ben talks to a Reporter in New Orleans about the Terrorist Attack on New Year's Day

Episode Date: January 2, 2025

Guests and Topics on Today's Show -Terrorist Attack in New Orleans with Guest: Gage Goulding, Reporter for KPRC 2, Murrow & Emmy Award Winning Journalist -A life-changing gift from Drake with Guest: Neema Nazeri, Comedian and recipient of $100,000 USD -A cloud of mistrust: Tyson MacDonald’s killing in PEI left his family and friends in grief, his school in turmoil and anger spreading beyond his home community with Guest: Lindsay Jones, Atlantic Reporter for the Globe and Mail -Have we figured out a way to prevent the majority of Wildfires in Canada with Guest: Dr. Gio Roberti, Head of Product for AISIX Solutions 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!

Hey everyone, it's Ben Mulrooney. We had a really important show today, including a reporter on the ground in New Orleans updating us on the terrorist attack on New Year's Day, a comedian who got a life-changing gift from Drake, and a murder that rocked a small Canadian town and how they're Orleans when a U.S. Army veteran killed 15 in an attack inspired by the Islamic State. We're joined now by a reporter for KPRC2 from Houston, Gage Goulding. He's a Murrow and Emmy Award winning journalist, and we thank him for his time today. Gage, welcome to the show. Hey, good morning. How are you today? Thanks for having me. So a lot of people would say, okay, this happened in New Orleans, but we're talking to a journalist from Houston. Talk to me about the connection. Yeah, you know, first and foremost, we do a really good job of covering our region and the most important stories that matter to, you know, the Houston area. And let's be honest, a lot of Houstonians, they come on over to, you know the houston area and let's be honest a lot of houstonians

they come on over to you know new orleans especially to celebrate uh new year's this is this is a quick five five hour five and a half hour drive or so uh but it was only once we actually hit the road that we started you know getting indications that there was a connection to the houston area and that the the suspect was actually from the houston area so uh i wouldn't say it was ironic because we were already headed on the way. But it certainly certainly brings it home, unfortunately, for for Houstonians. Yeah. Yeah. And and while you were while you were there, you were you were you correct me if I'm wrong, but you spoke with one of the classmates of the suspected terrorist. Yeah. You know, we just got off the phone with him not too long ago.

And, you know, his reaction was just shock. You know, he wasn't really good friends, you know, like best buds, that kind of thing. But, you know, it was in the same circle and see him at the same places and inadvertently would hang out with them. And, you know, he said this is not the guy that he thought would ever do this. You know, a good kid, a respected kid, a nice kid. He said he's the kind of kid that you would think would grow up and be the CEO or the president of a company one day. So whenever he saw this and saw his picture on the news, you know, he was shocked.

I can't be so it can't be so. Yeah. And I asked him, you know, how, you know, was there any indication or, you know, what are your thoughts about this? He says, I think he was taken advantage of or somehow, I don't want to use the word duped here in a summation, but somehow convinced to do this. You know, this classmate is convinced that, you know, the kid he went to school with would not do this, would not be capable of carrying out such a gruesome, brutal massacre. And Gage, when you said that, my mind immediately went to the suspected murder, the healthcare CEO murder suspect. And there was a similarity in what you said that a lot of people said, it's such an unlikely person to turn to this level of violence and that level of carnage and that that that desire

to to to commit such a crime and i wonder if it's too early to ask ourselves to link them in that way and ask how can these people from these surprising backgrounds end up in in these violent frames of mind you know i think you hit the nail right on the head you said it's too early because let's look back at, you know, the first press conference that the FBI had in conjunction with the new Orleans police department, the FBI saying that this wasn't an act of terror. And then walking that statement back just a few hours later saying this was an act of terror, you know, going from he, he acted, uh, with others. And now we're hearing that he may have acted alone and same with the connection to the Las Vegas situation where the Tesla cyber truck was, um, exploded, uh, with, with explosives was blown up. Um, you know, initially there was, you know, no connection. Now there possibly could

be a connection. What I'm getting to is, is that you're right. It's too early to have those answers. And I know everybody wants those answers. I want those answers and no one else more than those affected by this. Families of people killed want answers and they want them now. Understandable. But, you know, I spoke with senior law enforcement officials who say, look, this could take days, weeks. It might even take months while Bourbon Street will reopen. NBC sources tell us it will open today. This though, in getting the answers of how and why, that could be quite some time. Gage, were you on Bourbon Street in the aftermath of the attack? Yeah, you know, whenever we got there, Bourbon Street was pretty well locked down. But, you know, where we were staying in the hotel was on Bourbon Street. And the hotel put up giant sheets and

coverings and didn't want people looking out there. A, out of respect, but B, this was a very gruesome scene. I spoke with an FBI source who tells me, I was deployed overseas. This is the closest thing I've ever seen to that. Let that sink in. That's coming from somebody that has seen way worse than we ever will in our lives. And he is equating what is happening on our soil to what he saw in a land full of war. Those are very strong words.

What is the mood on the ground in New Orleans? I mean, this is, I can't even bring myself to watch any videos online. It is, I don't want those ideas and those visuals rattling around in my head. But this, something this has has the ability to linger far, far long after the event itself. So what are you hearing from people on the ground in New Orleans? How are they dealing with this?

You know, I'm going to answer that in two parts. I want to address what you said. You know, the videos and the images that people are posting online of people, of loved ones, of daughters, of sons, of husbands, of wives. I mean, they are the most gruesome things that are ever to be seen. And just being willy-nilly posted online, it's disappointing as a journalist, it's disappointing as a human being and as an American. And we should not be sharing that, those are very, very gruesome, disgusting images. But I will say this morning, we were out on the streets around 4.30 this morning, and it was quiet. There was no talking.

There was no laughter. There was no people. There was no music. This is Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the culture capital of the country nearly. This is a beautiful, fun atmosphere. Today, it was eerily haunting. It was quiet. The sound of what is usually music and people replaced with that of pressure washers and street sweepers trying to quite literally clean up the confetti and blood all in one

fell swoop. It was a very, very sobering experience. People here, though, they are looking to turn the chapter and move forward, of course, but remembering and honoring those that lost their lives, and that's going to take some time. That is certainly going to take some time. Your family members, I was told, I just spoke with a family who said

they might not even be able to see their loved one's remains for at least a week or two. So for them, that grieving process might not even start for a while. Gage, where does this story take you next? You know, that's a great question. We're actually heading to the local blood bank here. They are having a shortage, as you could imagine. So they are asking for emergency blood donations. So, you know, today, our goal is to find the stories of the people, of the people of New Orleans, of the family members here to discuss with them what, you know, how do you move forward, right? And I'm not sure I have

the answer of what this story will evolve in the next few hours, but I will say this. It's one of a town that has been tried in many ways and more ways than one and has come out on top in the past. So that is the story we are looking to get as we move forward. And you know, one thing that concerns me moving forward is we always seem to be prepared for the attack that just happened. We're not ready for the attack, the new type of attack of the future. You know, we saw how air travel changed after 9-11. We saw how getting onto a plane changed after the shoe bomber got onto a plane. I've got to wonder with these two attacks, well, one attack and one possible attack with the Cybertruck, as well as what we saw in Europe,

I've got to wonder if something is going to come down the pike in terms of security as it relates to public spaces and automobiles moving forward? That's a great question. I spoke with the forensic expert, someone who has decades of law enforcement experience. And I asked him that exact question. I said, it's 2024 in a world of technology and surveillance. At that point, it was 2025. I'm so used to saying that. But how does something like this happen in today's day and age? How does this happen? And he said, look, you know, I hate to admit it, but there are likely thousands of people with the same mentality or capability living in America right now. And that's just the United States. Yeah. The reality is, is it's impossible to surveil every single person. It is impossible to, to keep tabs on every single person. But this was a Houstonian, a Texas native that traveled

across state lines and committed a gruesome attack, a massacre. I would reckon that federal resources will be questioning that as well and examining, hey, how did this fly under their radar? Was there any warning signs or was this something that truly was covered up and was under the blanket, if you will. So I'm certainly intrigued to see what that will look like in the coming days and coming weeks, as the feds will, I'm sure, have some sort of reaction to this. Gage Goulding from KPRC2, thank you so much for your insights, and I hope you have a happy new year. Hey, thanks so much. Take care. If you know anything about me, you know that I have loved standup comedy and comedy in general,

uh, forever. My first job was working at the just for laughs comedy festival in Montreal. I did that for three years and I have a deep, deep appreciation, uh, for those people who really are the bravest people in arts because they put themselves out there and everything that comes out of their mouth, they have to own, uh, in more collaborative areas, not necessarily the case. And, um, when you combine that with what Drake does, if Drake, Drake had, had something called Drismas where he, he finds people worthy of gifts at Christmas and, and just, just gifts them incredible things. And one of the recipients of a gift during Drismas

was my next guest, Nima Naz, who is a comedian and a recipient of $100,000 US from Drake himself. Nima, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me, Ben. Okay, so what did you tell Drake that made him say, all right, he's worthy of 100 grand and my time? First of all, I have to shout out how much he's put on for this city

and how much of an influence he is on artists like myself, whether it's a magician, comedian, or actor, and just how much I can resonate with how his come up was with, you know, scary hours album. And, you know, that's how I feel.

We, me and my brother, we work hard together to really like push the business forward. And, um, he's just been a huge inspiration for us. Yeah. Yeah.

So, and of course, I mean, I knew him back in the day, back in the Degrassi days as well. So to watch him pivot and reinvent himself and not just in a little way but as a global force and he brought toronto on his back all the way i mean that's that's something to be said as someone said he goes up to the penthouse in the elevator and sends it back down for somebody

else wow right like that's that's that's how much of a gem he is yeah absolutely so you come into his orbit and something resonates with you and he, he gives you a hundred grand. What did you say you wanted the money for? We just want to help make my content grow faster and bigger. And that's all I care about is just to grow the business forward. You know, a lot of comedians, they are,

they're good at impressions or they're good at skits or they're good at standup. You do it all. You do it all. I try. So where, where's, where's your sweet spot? What do you, what's the thing you think you're good at stand-up. You do it all. You do it all. I try. So where's your sweet spot? What's the thing you think you're best at? I mean, I don't want to toot my own horn,

but I think I'm good. Toot your own horn. Go for it. I'm good at all of them for different reasons. Obviously, I have a lot to work on in general. You always have stuff to work on, but I prefer the impressions the impressions the most yeah i love your joe rogan is fantastic yeah i mean it yeah that's really cool man yeah but i was watching some of

your stand-up and there's um shades of akash sing in there right like some of the crowd work and and you know i i think the i love stand-up comics because they they say the things that can diffuse the tension but by saying the thing out loud that that we fear the most we don't necessarily fear it anymore and and you you know you walk that line of of talking about race and culture and you do it in a way that there are people out there who are part of the rage factory who will find a fence there. But I think it's really important these days to have people like you taking those things on.

Do you feel that you're walking a line? Do you feel like you're getting close to a line sometimes when you're on stage talking about race? A hundred percent. I mean, the thing is I've learned in comedy, you can't please everyone. But as long as you're being yourself and you're staying authentic to who you are

and who I am is someone who grew up around different cultures and making fun of each other. My group of friends always say he's like the United Nations. We're the Avengers of immigrants. Yeah. So that's the line I'm willing to walk on because it's who I am and I'm an extension of the people I grew up around.

So those are the people, uh, that sort of informed who you are. Who are the comedians who have informed how you make people laugh? Oh, Russell Peters, obviously he's my comedic idol. He's a lot of kids,

my age, my generation. There you go. Right. It was great, right? Yeah. Fantastic.

So someone like that has been a huge inspiration for me in the standup world specifically. Um, you know, just his crowd work is masterful. He's the standup world specifically. Um, you know, just his crowd work is masterful. He's a master at it. Um, and you know,

he, he opened up my eyes and many other communities eyes that are children of immigrants to go up on there on the stage and make fun of other cultures and themselves. And, uh, yeah, he's definitely been a huge one for me.

Well, one of the ironies of the world we're living in right now, it's like my, my mom's from Yugoslavia. She came over when she was, I think nine years old and it one for me. Well, one of the ironies of the world we're living in right now is like my mom's from Yugoslavia. She came over when she was, I think, nine years old. And it doesn't matter whether you are Eastern European, Middle Eastern, South American. There are universal touch points to the immigrant experience. And that seems to have been lost in the silos that we now live in.

And, oh, you can't understand where i came from if you didn't come from where i came from it's like no but i have an immigrant grandmother yeah she has a fear of the microwave like yep like this she she don't touch the thermostat touch the thermostat like these are things that we all take your shoes off and rather than then then be bound together because of those things we're told we we cannot uh understand each other and the stand-up comic plays a really very real role in bringing us together 100 i always say you know whenever i do videos about my persian background or my iranian my parents and how they grew up i always see comments from different cultures saying oh that's like my irish dad that's like my african

mom that's like my asian uncle so i think it's we're all heavily related more than we think yeah yeah i know it's uh it there's there's nobility in what you do and i mean that sincerely um so you got drake on your side now and he gave you a hundred grand that you're going to use to up your game up your content game but he also said he's going to join you on one of your videos and we were were talking, I was talking to my producer, George, we're both convinced that him being in one of your videos is worth more than the hundred grand. A hundred percent. The impact is going to be a,

you know, you rising to the global stage. You've already had some really, some really big videos, but nothing as big as what's coming down the pike with Drake. Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah. I'm not having any high expectations, but I just know it'll be a huge impact and I'm ready for it. Have you planned it yet?

Do you know what it's going to be? I mean, do you have any sense of how it's going to be laid out? I'm going to be honest. I'm still processing what happened a few days ago. But yeah, my brother and I, we've been planning it, just brewing some ideas before they reach out to find a date to film. But all I know is it's got to be a neiman as video right because that's the whole reason why i got here in the first place is because i was myself

yeah and i built this neiman as brand and so uh it'll just be a good combination of drake and neiman as where do you want to take the neiman as brand next worldwide baby yeah you know um but you know us global wherever but at the end of the day you know canada is my home toronto is my home and um i always want to represent for the city and for the people so um yeah uh but anyone you want to collaborate with besides drake everyone man yeah so you're you're open to the possibilities you want to manifest the broadest vision of your brand 100 obviously i have specific goals in mind for different aspects. Like for movies, obviously, someone like Kevin Hart, who's killing it on the global scale.

And he's an inspiration just in general as a person who I want to aspire to be. I heard a stand-up comic say something recently. They said, we're living in the golden age. Oh, it was Anthony Jeselnik. Yeah, Jeselnik. He said, look, these people are worried about getting canceled. We should be worried about getting canceled. We get paid a ridiculous amount of money to get up on stage and do the thing we love.

It should come at a risk. There should be danger associated with it. Never has there been more money being thrown at stand-ups. Never have they played bigger stadiums, bigger arenas. Never have the contracts been bigger with Netflix and Prime and Crave. So, of course, there has to be a flip side to that. Always. Yeah.

Always. I always think, you know, in this day and age, everyone is very sensitive about every topic. But there has got to be people like myself and Jessel Nick and other comedians who are willing to push those boundaries to, you know, relieve a little bit of stress and make people laugh. Because in the time of need, who else are you turning to? Entertainers, musicians, comedians, actors. And so I think we're more important than ever. You absolutely are. And I'm really glad that you came on before you've shot the video and you got to promise me you're going to come back after you've shot the video. Oh, for sure. No, I'll be back. Don't worry.

Nemanaz, thank you so much. Congratulations on all your success and people can find you how can people find you? just Nima Naz on all socials I'm actually going on a big tour coming up in March it's one of my

biggest tours yet I've worked really hard in this material for the past two years and it'll be amazing to see people come and support me I'll be there for sure

thank you so much for being here we appreciate it Doug Ford gets it done for developers. We interrupt this ad to ask, does get it done mean strip $3 billion out of school funding? Because, yep, Doug Ford sure got that done. Now, can we have an undo button, please?

Help us get back to investing in schools. Visit nomore.ca. That's K-N-O-W-M-O-R-E dot C-A. This message has been approved by Kidsplain. A message from the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association. Welcome back to the show. I live in a big city. I live in Toronto.

And I hear and report on murders that happen in this city almost regularly. And far too often. But I can put my hand on a Bible and say that I have never been directly affected. I haven't known the person who was murdered. I haven't known the person who perpetrated the murder. And I don't know anybody who knows anybody. That's what happens when you live in a big city. It's a name that you report on and you go on with your day.

But last year in a very small town in PEI, which is one of the places with the fewest number of homicides per capita in the country, small town, about 8,000 people, there was a murder that rocked that town when a young boy, 17 years old, was murdered. And it was later discovered that he was killed by his friend. There was a cover-up and it has rocked that town ever since. To discuss it and the implications of what happened,

we're joined by someone who covered the, the piece very, the crime very closely. Lindsay Jones, Atlantic reporter for the Globe and Mail. Lindsay, thank you so much for joining us.

Thanks for having me. You paint such a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a tragedy with a capital T and there's the sadness drips from every word that you wrote. You can feel it in everyone that was, that lives there because everyone there was touched by this. That's right.

There were, as I was sitting through the sentencing recently, and when I heard the judge remark that this case, this homicide, has touched thousands of people. It just, you know, you could feel the weight of his words. And there were about 100 people in the courtroom. Many of them were students who had gone to school with the victim. And others were not related or didn't even know him. They were there to support because they knew they worked with an uncle or a brother or they had gone to school in their previous, you know, earlier in their life with someone connected to the family. And so it just really, you know, the tentacles of this case were just so long. Yeah. Well, the victim's name is Tyson McDonald. He was 17 years old. He was a hockey player.

He was like, he was like, we all know someone like Tyson McDonald. We're all, we're all connected to a Tyson McDonald. And, um, and the, the story takes a more insidious path when the body is discovered or prior to the body being discovered, one of the friends essentially sends everybody on a wild goose chase. That's right. So Tyson was just like any other kid. He was really talented at hockey, like a very elegant, non-aggressive, smaller player. And he was on the AA Kings County Kings hockey team. And he went home from school one day with a friend.

It was just before Christmas in 2023, just before the Christmas break. And he went home or he went after school with a friend of his. And they went back to that friend's place to play video games. And they planned to go into Charlottetown that night to watch a hockey game. And they never made it or Tyson never made it. on the statement of facts that eventually came out 10 months later, that the team that he was with his friend shot him in, in the face. And he didn't mean to pull the trigger. He said,

but then he put Tyson's remains in his vehicle and dropped him off in, in a remote area in the woods. And then proceeded to tell people that they didn't know where Tyson was, but we think he went off with a girl. That's right. There was a very, there was a fairy tale story told about Tyson going off with a girl and just tremendous detail about this girl in the car she was driving. And so that was related to Tyson's mother soon after he was killed by the teen and another friend, another boy that the teen picked up. And then that tale was also told to police. It was told to teachers.

It was told to friends. Everyone in the town, everyone in the county went searching for Tyson for days, thinking that he was in this vehicle, in a Honda Civic with a brunette who wore glasses and had a tattoo on her left arm. And the whole island, you know, was just, you know, was looking for a person who didn't exist when they could have been. I mean, and that's the thing that I'm struggling with, because let's skip to the end that really my jaw dropped when I read it,

that after the trial and the sentencing happened, the person who committed the homicide was given what I thought was a very light sentence. Yes, everyone in the town seems to agree this was a very light sentence. Now, there were reasons given for this sentence. You know, one of the rules of law is that you cannot sentence a teen for or a youth for more time than what an adult received for the same crime. And, you know, there was case law brought up. You know, it was all, it was a very, you know, the decision was rationalized and considered, or the proposal for the sentencing that the judge considered. And it appeared to me sitting there that it did meet all the rules of law. Now, it is still, it's very difficult to

swallow. And the family is not happy. The people in the town are not happy. And, you know, certainly a boy's life deserves, is worth more than two years, as Tyson's father has said. Well, that's what they said. And they also, you know, it's the, I understand an accident. Everybody understands an accident. Kids can do stupid things and, oh, here's a shotgun. Wow, cool. Let's mess around with a shotgun. That's not the most surprising thing. It's the deceit that followed and how much those two teens stuck to that deceit and the willingness to lie to the family, to their faces. I don't understand how that still leads to such a light sentence.

It's unbelievable, really. But it's really hard to understand. And that's what makes this case so remarkable and why we needed to chronicle it and the pain and the sorrow in this town. And yeah, it would be one thing if the parents had been told, yeah, this happened, it was an accident. I'm sure they could move on. I don't know if they could ever forgive the boy who shot their son, but they would be able to make peace in some way with it. But to know that they allowed this boy into their house

and he was able to walk the streets for days or however long it was while having deceived the family and sent the police on a wild goose chase. There's an injustice there that goes beyond the death itself. That's right. And I think that, you know, for that reason, this case is going to impact the family, impact the community rather for generations. Yeah, I agree with you. I mean, yeah, it's not, it's something that people just can't get over.

And, you know, maybe someday, you know, they may get more answers. Maybe now that the case is closed, the family can get a better understanding from police about, you know, their investigative methods and what kind of evidence they had that led to, you know, those initial first degree murder charges. It's a big gulf between first degree murder and manslaughter. And that's also something very hard for people to comprehend. No one has a full understanding of how there was enough evidence one day for first degree murder, which is, you know, extremely serious and rarely happens. But and then and then this manslaughter charge. Well, Lindsay, I want to thank you for this incredible piece. It's in the Globe and Mail. It's called A Cloud of Mistrust.

I urge everybody listening to read it, to appreciate. So the impact of what something like this can have on a on a person, on a family, on an entire community. And despite the sadness in it, I do wish on a family, on an entire community. And despite the sadness in it, I do wish you a very happy New Year, Lindsay. Thank you so much. Thanks very much, Ben. When I'm not doing radio, I do some advisory work for a number of companies across this country. And by and large, I like to associate with companies that adhere to what's known as campground rules,

setting out to leave the world in a better place than you found it. And wildfires in this country are becoming an increasing problem. In 2023, for example, which was the most destructive season, the wildfire season that we'd ever had up until that point, by the end of the year, more than 6,000 fires had torched 15 million hectares of land. And to put that into perspective, that's an area larger than England and more than double the 1989 record. The annual national cost of wildland fire protection exceeded a billion dollars for six of the last 10 years. In BC alone, in 2023, wildfires cost $720 million in insurance damage. So being able to predict

where these wildfires are going to happen and how they are going to grow can be a mitigating factor and can help us to avoid them becoming the biggest and worst versions of themselves. And so I was introduced to a company in Canada that is modeling these wildfires using robust AI. It's called AI6. So I have a professional relationship

with them. And they are the head of product. Gio Roberti is our next guest. Gio, welcome to the show. How are you? I'm well. Thank you so much for joining us. So the reason I want to have you on is because our company, AI6 Solutions, has put out a press release that says that we've identified the top 10 Canadian small population centers

at risk of wildfires, as well as the top 10 Canadian small population centers with the highest increase in wildfire probability given climate change. So talk to me about what goes into that work. Before we go into the data, talk to me about the methodology. Sounds good. We look at first historical fire patterns and historical weather and we model how fire have behaved in the past and we integrate this probability of ignition so we map where fire might start and then we combine that with the fuel so the type of trees that are on the landscape and and then

we iterate multiple times changing weather conditions, so the wind, the temperature, the relative humidity and see how fast and how far fire might spread. And these allow us to understand how fire has behaved and then looking into the future we take this climate model that will tell us how climate will change into the future according to our emission our greenhouse gas emission and our societal response to climate change and so these are called shared social economic pathways and pathways. We look into future weather, thanks to these climate models, and so then we can see how the probability of wildfires starting and spreading throughout the landscape will change into the future. What we see is that historically fire is a problem in the West. The largest

and most destructive fire are in Alberta, BC, Northwest territories. Then with climate change, we see how also the eastern provinces will see an increase in fire probabilities.

It's something that's going to become a national problem, not just a regional one. Um, and, and so the, the, the technology is very effective in, in generally predicting what areas are going to be at risk. So let, let's talk about that. So, uh, we've got the list of top 10 Canadian small population centers at risk of wildfires. Um, give me, give me the top five, uh, that people should be should be, if you're living in those areas, you really should be concerned. And the leaders of those, you're essentially giving warning to those towns

and areas that they are at risk for next year or this year now. Yeah, I guess, according to our analysis, the highest ranking, the top five are Fort Smith, Clearwater, Sycamore, Hay River and Sorrento. And this depends on also on the distance from forest and fuels. And what community like this one can do is to look at the urban, wildland urban interface and see the structure closest to the forest, how these structures are built

and they can take some mitigation measure into clearing the forest and reducing the fuel so that the likelihood of a fire spreading from the forest to the built environment, to the structure of the houses

will be less likely. Yeah, so that's a concrete step that a small population center could take. If there's more distance between the wooded area and where the homes are, where the businesses are, where the community actually is, less of a risk that the fire could spread to those buildings. Exactly. Since AI6 has been doing this sort of thing, have you seen an uptick in relations with these small communities? Are they reaching out and saying, hey, we'd love to know more about what the company is doing. We'd love to know if we're on one of your lists. This one is the first list we present. So before we are taking a different approach.

So we hope to engage with these communities. And we have seen in the last few years an increase in awareness with respect to fire risk from all sectors of society. And so then we see that the awareness, the understanding that fire is a problem and people want to do something about it is increasing. Gio, what about the other list, the top 10 Canadian small population centers with the highest increase in wildfire probability given climate change.

Talk to me about what that actually means. It means, in terms of absolute probabilities, maybe it's not as high as the other list, but it's the one that has the highest change. So we see probabilities increasing twice, three times as historically. And this means that the weather is changing and the fire weather and the fire season is changing. So we see longer fire seasons, so drier plants, drier forests, the fuels that will burn.

And then we see changes in weather pattern with super warm temperature throughout the spring and the fall. And this is what is driving the change in fire behavior in the eastern provinces. And so there is a risk where before wasn't. Yeah. Wasn't. Yeah, places that used to be, places that used to view themselves as possibly safe

or safer than other communities are now, they're on a watch list now. They're on a wildfire watch list. Exactly. And we also seen that in 2023 with the big fires in Quebec, for example. And before, it's actually, I think the first time that the East and the West burn at the same time.

Usually, if the East burn, it means that the climatic conditions in the West are not so favorable to fire spreading and the other way around. But we see continental scale changes in weather patterns that now allows countrywide fire season. Gio, can you give me the top five on that list, what I just called the wildfire watch list? For sure. So we have Plaster Rock, Muggerville, St. Mary's, M Sound Desk Well listen knowledge is power Gio and the fact that you have you're giving this

information out to these places to let them know with an advanced well you're an advanced warning system saying you are in the potential path

of a wildfire and there are things that you can do to mitigate I think is as people of a certain cultural community would say

it's a mitzvah and I'm proud to be associated with AI6 Solutions. And I want to thank you very much for coming here and giving us a story first. Thank you. Thanks so much for listening to the podcast. We hope you enjoyed us. And we hope you'll join us tomorrow

for another loaded edition of The Ben Mulroney Show.