The Ben Mulroney Show - Calls for bail reform and CUPE backs Iran

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

Guests and Topics: -Doug Ford on Bail Reform -Ari Goldkind -CUPE supports Iran 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

The Chevrolet employee pricing event is on now. Get a big cash purchase discount of up to $11,300 on the 2025 Chevrolet Silverado LDZR2 and Silverado HDZR2. With a factory installed lift kit and Multimatic DSSV dampers on both the Silverado LD and HDZR2, you'll have all the capability you need to leave the asphalt behind. Hurry in! Employee pricing is on for a limited time. Visit your local Chevrolet dealer for details. Welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show. It's hump day. We've made it midweek. Lots to get to today. But I like to start the show by I mean, if I did something interesting the night before, I like to share it. And I've told you many times before that, you know, we all go through the pain of losing a parent. And it's, it's, it's universal. If you if you're alive, you have a parent. And I always say it's quite a gift to feel the sadness of losing a parent

because if you don't feel sadness, then what sort of impact did they have on your life? And I feel sad for anybody who doesn't feel that loss deeply and significantly profoundly and permanently. But there's something unique about my experience or rather unique about my experience because my dad was present in so many people's lives and impacted so many people that his memory collides with me on almost on a daily basis when I least expect it. And it's wonderful when people call in

and tell me a story about him or tell me how much they admired him. I'm not expecting that. And it's like when people call in and tell me a story about him or tell me how much they admired him. I'm not expecting that. And it's like he's here. And so to me, that's a gift and I hope it continues. But yesterday, I was invited to the opening of the offices

of a company that my father did some advisory work for. It's a company called Teneo and they're a global advisory company. And he worked with them about nine years. And and so they're opening their new offices, which in and of itself should be news, because with so many companies going remote, here's a company opening up a flagship office in first Canadian place in downtown Toronto. And so we were there for the opening of the offices, because they named their their boardroom after him. It's the Brian Mulroney boardroom and there are pictures of him on all the walls and and there was a lovely video of him and and and there's some there's some video I've actually never seen I don't know where they got some of this video I thought I'd seen every video possible of my dad. But it was a really quite a wonderful moment and to hear the kind words that so many people had for him,

I just want to thank the people at Teneo for inviting us in, inviting the whole family in. And I wish them so much success. It does seem like that whenever dad gave them advice, they listen because they clearly are doing great these days. And I want to thank them very much, people at Teneo. I watched Trainwreck, the Mayor of Mayhem, yesterday. I know that Doug Ford's brother, our premier,

had a reaction to it, and that's fair. That's absolutely fair, not wanting to go through that again. And to be fair, the, this train wreck series on, on Netflix, it's, it's attention grabbing, right? It's, it's designed to shock and, but we went through it as, as a city and there was nothing new in it. I was reminded of certain things that I had forgotten, but there was nothing in it that blew me away or surprised me because I followed it as closely as anybody did.

Not for nothing, I bumped in at this Teneo thing yesterday. I bumped into Robin Doolittle, the journalist who was the first to see the first video that really started the whole thing. It was lovely to see her and hope to see more of her in the future. But anyway, so I take the premier at his, I understand that he doesn't want to relive it, but in my humble estimation, I did think it was balanced. I saw somebody who wanted to serve the people who also was serving his demons.

And that made him exceptionally flawed and exceptionally human, but to also appreciate how he was able to rise as high as he did while being dragged down by the weight of addiction speaks to how much he wanted to serve the people. And some didn't like how bombastic he was, how belligerent he was, how pugilistic he was. But there is no denying that Rob Ford was, I don't think, I don't think we've had a leader who loved this city outwardly, publicly, as much as he did.

And I ended watching that documentary, admiring him and feeling sorry for him, but not in a condescending way, appreciating human frailty and appreciating that despite those demons, he wanted to do everything he could with his dying breath to help this city. He had cancer and still sat. He was dying of cancer and still sat on city council.

Very few people would have done that until the end and he did. And so I do hope that that's what most people got out of it. And I do wish it wasn't under the name, train wreck, but there it was. Anyway, that's my take on it. Watch it if you want, you don't have to. If you lived in the city of Toronto, you're not gonna learn anything new necessarily,

but you might gain a new appreciation for Rob Ford and how much this city meant to him. Okay, so yesterday yesterday we talked about our good friend who who decided that he thought he could fly the guy who was caught by the police on the Gardner and rather than get arrested. guy who was caught by the police on the Gardener and rather than get arrested, he jumped off the Gardener to land on Lakeshore and walked about 20 feet before probably realizing his legs were broken. But I'm very badly injured. I think my legs might be broken but I'll try to stand up. Yes, they are broken. I'm in an extraordinarily large amount of pain. The bone has gone through the skin. I'll try the other leg.

Okay, yeah, I'm laughing at this guy. I said yesterday, I don't care about this guy. I do not care. I don't care that he's hurt. I don't care that I care about the impact that he had on our lives. And now the question is, but because the SIU is involved,

because he took the extraordinary decision to flee by jumping four stories, now we don't get to know anything about him. Because the implication is, well, we got to make sure that the cops did everything right. So I said yesterday very clearly, I do not think that the SIU mandate should apply here. But here it is.

But the question I have, which we will discuss later, is given all the damage and carnage, I mean, there are a lot of cars that were piled up. Given all of that, who pays for this? Who pays for the damage of this criminal? Who pays for his hospital bills? Who pays for anything that had to do with the decision by this guy to break the law? The decision that this guy, who is careless, who didn't care about the law, didn't care about you, didn't care about me, he cared about himself.

Who pays for his criminal behavior? We're going to talk about that later in the show. Don't go anywhere. This is the Ben Mulroney Show. You're listening to the Ben Mulroney Show. I just realized what song that was. Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney Show. Before the break, you know, we were reminding you of the kindness that this criminal gave the entire city by saying, you know, take your time getting to work.

I'm going to, I'm going to cause a wreak havoc on the on the Gardiner Expressway. I'm going to jump off so that I cause, I don't know if you thought of this, but I think we've given a roadmap for future criminals. If you don't want your name out there, jump off the overpass, break your legs, SIU will come in, we can't know your name. And that's fine, but the impact of this one decision by this criminal is gonna have massive knock-on effects in terms of the cost of this whole thing. And I wanna know who pays for it. And so to break this down, we're joined by Ari Goldkind.

He's a lawyer who knows more about this than I. So Ari, welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show. Great to be on with you, Ben. And whoever chose that song to play with Tom Petty has a divine sense of humor. Well done. He can go dark. And I appreciate that. Well, I did very much too. Yeah. So I listen, I've been very clear on this show, Ari. I don't care about this criminal. I don't care about him. I care about the people who've been impacted by it because I'm getting sick and tired of this. But now, you know, he's gonna go to the hospital,

which means universal healthcare is gonna take care of his injuries. And there's so many cars that we're gonna have to pay to fix. And nevermind the effects, the lost income and the lost opportunities and the time spent in traffic. I mean, you could, an actuary could tell us how much we lost from this criminal's behavior down to the penny as a city. And I have to assume we're on the hook for all of it?

Not only are we on the hook for all of it, but the conversation you just raised in a 15 minute screed never factors into the analysis. And you know I've talked about this for years Ben when there's these accidents on the 401 that aren't accidents. When you have these tow truck rings that stage collisions and you have ordinary average actual Canadians trying to get to work they're not working remotely, they're sitting in traffic, they're sitting behind us and remember the one we're talking about now starts at the shops

at Don Mills up by Lawrence, takes us all the way down to the Gardner, and then it shuts down as somebody learns to fly. Again, that music choice was quite something. Now, the costs of it not only are all borne by us, they're borne by our tax dollars, where I think we're no longer getting representation. That's not a cliche. You tie that in to Ford having this hit close to home yesterday, and you know that he's been ranting about the

bail system and it's not working, concerns about the criminal justice system. Not only does this criminal get to the emergency room, probably gets taken to Sunnybrook to the trauma center, he buds the line, he goes ahead of your family and mine and all of your listeners who may have their kid be badly hurt playing soccer or lacrosse or your friend getting hurt on the job and they're sitting in an eight-hour ER lineup. And that is something that we don't talk about. So you're one of the very few who talks about, and I mean this sincerely

because I talk about this every day for 10 years. Well, because I used to be the guy who said, you know, Canada is an evolved nation and I want to make sure that everybody, even our criminal element are afforded rights and respect. And I don't feel that, I feel that I have been, I have been turned into somebody who does not have the bandwidth

to care about these people anymore because of bad decisions that have been made at multiple levels of government for far too long. But I did have a question. Ari, if he's got serious long-term injuries, could he be, could we as the state be on the hook to to pay for those to help his rehabilitation? And maybe he goes on disability? I mean, can he avail himself of

not only not not only of that, not only of that, but let me give you another example that will hit you closer to home. Yeah. I'm not gonna like this. I'm not going to like this. Am I? You're not, you're not going to like it. And I've done cases like this. I have one right now, literally in my practice where the cops chase somebody who has been caught doing no good. That person makes a run for it. That person jumps out of a window to, to avoid the execution of a search warrant, you know, gets hurt very badly, now is going to be in litigation with the government.

And most people when they hear that, Ben, they don't go as far as I do. When you're suing the government, who are you suing? I mean, you're suing a department. Right, but who's paying for it? Oh, me. I'm paying for it. Correct. Nobody ever makes that linkage. They hear the word government and they think, oh, that's not, no, but who's paying for it? Oh, you're paying me. I'm paying for it. Correct. Nobody ever makes that linkage.

They hear the word government and they think, oh, that's not, no, that's you. And seeking a reduction in the sentence for the fact that they're injured fleeing and didn't get the medical care they so dearly require by choosing to jump over, for example, the gardener. So not only are we paying for this short term and all the commuters who are completely ignored except for by you in this calculation, he will be able to receive government benefits en masse and at large the way millions are in Canada right now by the way, Ben, for years to come and, very few people are willing to talk about it,

except for people like you very quickly, who have realized that they've been sold the bill of good that, as Canada has changed, we're not changing with it. No, and I'm glad that we're having this conversation. And look, you brought up the fact that four hooligans decided they were going to try to steal our Premier's car. And that, when it hits close to home for somebody,

it can impact them in a way that it won't if it's at a distance. But so in response to all of this, we know that Ontario jails are at 113% capacity. Because a lot of people are saying, Mr. Premier, if you have a problem with bail reform, you gotta open up more capacity in the jails. And so in response to it, the Ontario government has announced plans to expand jail capacity.

So it includes reopening to intermittent detention centers in Toronto and London, which could add up to 430 beds by 2026. Additionally, the province is constructing a new 345 bed facility in Thunder Bay to replace the existing jail and double its capacity at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion. So I guess, you know, this motivated the Ontario government to do what they need, something, I don't know,

everything they need to do, but it's something on that front. So there's some connective tissue between those three issues. The new jails, the Ford thieves in his own driveway, I mean, that's just a head scratcher of head scratchers. Oh no, it's not. If you start Ari from the belief, the fundamental belief that I have,

that all criminals on a very real level are stupid then this makes sense well here's the thing we don't have enough time until you hit your next ad block to get into it but suffice it to say many are but many aren't because they're ordering younger people under 18 to do their dirty work and that's why every morning you open up and watch TV or read the paper and you're watching 15 16 and 17 year olds get pinched for carjacking and laughing on the way to the police station because they know that the system is not working, the youth criminal. So we don't have time to get into the stupidity of the smarts.

That would be a fun conversation. But let me go to the third one. When you go past Ford, it also ties into the Gardner one that we just talked about where somebody with a BMW and a Rolls Royce were getting into it in the shops at Don Mills. Here's the connective tissue. We have a system right now that is, and this is only my opinion, I'm not speaking for anybody but me, we have a system right now that unless crime hits you personally, personally, we have people deciding things where it just doesn't sit close to home.

We have people in Ottawa who have private security details and they do not walk around like you and your listeners worrying about their car and their driveway. They don't have what Ford has, which is the security sitting just outside the street with binoculars and guns. You have jails opening up where the loudest voices will say, jail is cruel or certain groups are overrepresented.

And if you disagree with them, you get called a name. Here's the connective tissue. Ford has ranted about bail reform, I think quite properly. He gets a lot of flack for it. He's elected. He's got a majority. And this is what the majority of people think. Now, jails are overcrowded.

Maplehurst is a cesspool. A lot of these places are run terribly. And inmates are not treated in any way that even if you hate them and think they're stupid, they should be treated because it makes them worse coming out. There's validity to that. But we need to stop having this distancing between people who are deciding things. They go, well it wasn't my child that was sexually assaulted. It wasn't my car that was carjacked. And I think this happening to Ford just drives

the point home closer. And if elected leaders descended for five minutes and gave up their private security details. They gave up all of the people around them who have weapons, like that guy who fired the warning shot when they were taking his Lamborghini. There's connective tissue here. Oh, yeah. Every one of these stories, you can link every one of them. And Ari, I'll say this as we end the conversation.

I was watching the question period a few days ago when the conservatives were asking the new justice minister about. Oh, don't get me started on that guy, Gary. I mean, talking about how we have a robust justice system and, and, and look, if you are somebody who lives in Toronto and you are worried about crime and you voted for the government who believes that the system is fine

the way it is, then, then you, I'm sorry, you were part of the problem. There was an alternative that wanted to address this criminal issue head on, reopen the criminal code on day one, and you chose an alternative. So if you're worried about crime and you voted for this government, you have to look in the mirror

and ask yourself, did I do everything I could to keep this city safe? Ari Goldkind, thank you so much for joining us. Important conversation. Great to be with you. Alright, when we come back, everyone's favorite anti-semite, Fred Hahn, is rearing his big giant head again. We're going to talk about that next. Welcome back to the Ben Mulrooney show.

If you have been a long time listener of this show, then you know that I do not hold CUPE, the union, in very high regard ever since October 7th, where they have decided that it is more important to stand against Jews, and then do your job and stay in your lane and fight for workers' rights. And the embodiment, the personification of that is a CUPI Ontario President Fred Hahn, who I wish I could put up two pictures right now, because if you've ever watched So I Married an Axe Murderer, you know that he looks exactly like Mike Myers' dad. He depends now, it's a well-known fact that the world is controlled by the five richest families. And I make a joke, it is not a laughing matter. There are Jewish members of CUPE who felt persecuted

and attacked by that union's position on October 7th. Right after October 7th, Fred Hahn referred to the rape and murder and kidnapping and one day Holocaust of Jews as resistance. And only under pressure did he quote unquote apologize, only to come back with further anti-Semitic gifts and tweets and posts.

And then after all of that baggage was revealed, Cupid then re-elected him. So it's not a Fred Hahn problem anymore. It's a Cupid problem. Now, they will sit there and say, we stand for the resistance and the freedom against persecution of the people of Gaza. So that was their position. Well now, as Israel is trying to defend itself against the existential

threat that is a nuclear Iran, we find out that they are mobilizing force and sponsoring a hands-off Iran protest outside the U.S US consulate in Toronto. The rally is apparently in opposition to US and Israeli actions targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure. The protest is co-sponsored by nearly a dozen groups, including the Palestinian Youth Movement. And QP Ontario stated their support for the rally is part of their longstanding role as an advocate for peace.

And they claim to be joining other unions to demand an end to the war between Iran and Israel. This is a union that has lost its way. This is a union that needs to be taken down to the studs and to use an expression after the second world war denazified. That's what needs to happen here. This should be an embarrassment to anybody who supports freedom, human rights, women's rights, gay rights, the rights of unions. There are unions in Iran and they service the religious zealots of the state. They are puppet agencies that work to monitor and surveil workers to make sure they don't step out of line.

And if they do, the Fred Hans of that place snitched to the government and those people are disappeared. That's what they are in support of. I said yesterday on this show, and those people are disappeared. That's what they are in support of. I said yesterday on this show, if you are somebody who stands up for all of those social justice issues and you do not stand with Israel

as they try to make sure that this dangerous regime does not get a nuclear weapon, then you stand for nothing. Enter CUPE, standing for nothing except shame, shame. And if you are a CUPE member, I wanna hear from you right now, 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225-TALK. Are you happy that your dues, that you pay these people,

are going to events like this? Or would you rather that your union, I don't know, fight for your rights, fight for your job, fight for your benefits? There's only so much money to go around and every dollar spent sponsoring an event like this is money not spent defending your rights. Or I don't know, having a CUPI picnic for families. Because that's what they used to do. Fred Hahn is an embarrassment to Cupid. He's a racist. He's a blowhard. He's a hypocrite.

He should be ashamed of himself. And the people who voted for him should be ashamed of themselves. This is disgusting. And like not for nothing. This is a reason that the left is becoming increasingly irrelevant politically in this country. Because this union obviously, I'm sure, has ties to the NDP.

The NDP has been disappeared to a rump of seven people. They are a single issue protest party in favor of anything that stands against the Jews, that stands against Israel., that stands against Israel. That's what they are. And QP is following lockstep with that. If I were the members of that, of QP, I would be looking to have their accreditation taken away, or I'd look to start a new frigging union.

And if I were any organization that has to deal with them, I would refuse to. I would refuse to. This is insane, insane that they are taking a position in support of the most dastardly, most evil regime in the Middle East, the most dangerous. How dangerous are they? Saudi Arabia that does not want nuclear weapons says the day after Iran gets a nuclear weapon,

they will get a nuclear weapon to defend themselves. Another fellow Arab nation, a fellow Muslim nation against Iran because Saudi Arabia doesn't trust Iran. Saudi Arabia is the worst among bad actors. John, welcome to the show. You are a QP member. What say you? Well, how do I feel about it? I think that they should be allowed to protest and I think that if they want to get behind it and then someone should be able to, they

should be able to support them. So you don't have a problem with them supporting a nation that holds workers' rights in such disregard that the leadership of the unions in Iran, if you were to protest anything there, the leaders, the Fred Hans of that country would snitch on you and you would probably spend the rest of your life in jail. You don't have a problem with that. You don't have a problem with them. You're just trying to put words in my mouth. What I'm saying is you're allowed to have a protest in Canada because it's a constitutional right.

And if people believe that they support it, what they're trying to do is stop Israel from attacking another nation. And I think that what we need to do is do that right now. And you don't think it should have been put to a vote of the membership of CUPE before CUPE made this decision? You don't think there's some Jewish members of CUPE that would have a problem with this? You don't think there's some allies that would have a problem with this? There are probably Jewish members that are on there that don't have a problem with the protest because there are Jewish members that think the war in Gaza,

the war in Iran are wrong. And there are plenty of people and listen I get that but if they are so sure of their position why not put it to a full membership vote? Why not ask the members who are paying their dues who are technically sponsoring this? What they're doing is basically putting their backs behind some cause and then they're go and they're and they're they're doing is basically putting their backs behind a cause and then they're standing up against the cause. I mean sure, you can put yourself behind any cause. It is nonsensical that a union that claims to stand up for human rights is standing up for one of the worst abusers of human rights in the world. And they are doing it because it means they get to oppose the only Jewish state in the world. That's what it comes down to, my friend. The best high-concept sci-fi rig of her own in the universe is back.

What the hell? How long was I out? Close airlock seven! Rick! Seth, please let me out. Rick put you in there for a reason, speed. Mom, justice! Get back here!

This is for your own good! Rick and Morty. New season, Sundays on Adult Swim. Get back here! This is for your own good!