The Ben Mulroney Show - Leave it to City Hall to waste Oxygen on ridiculous agenda items

Episode Date: May 8, 2025

Guests and Topics: -Leave it to City Hall to waste Oxygen on ridiculous agenda items -Should High school kids drop out to pursue trades 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

Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney Show, and we're going to take to the phone lines in just a few minutes. 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225-TALK. Very happy that a city council in our area is taking public safety as importantly as the city of Hamilton. Very happy that finally the fears of citizens to be able to walk down the street in safety and not fear for their lives is being taken seriously. Let's listen in on the public health chair, Narenda Nann, in Hamilton,

I believe she's also the counselor for Ward 3 in that city, talking about this scourge that has taken over the city and that needs to be dealt with so that Hamiltonians, writ large, can be safe. One of those facts and evidence points to the direct correlation between early and prolonged alcohol use at sporting events, specifically with gender-based violence and harassment, increasing up to 47%. So those who are drinking alcohol early and prolonged during sporting events display a 47% increase in domestic abuse and gender-based violence incidences. You can shake your head all you want.

I'm referring to Harvard-based and Canadian-based medical research. So my question to staff, the report mentioned violence generally. It doesn't speak to gender-based violence. Was that part of the considerations for public health? Could you break down the violence definition that's inside the report? Huh. Okay. Could you break down the violence definition that's inside the report? Huh. Okay.

So, so not, not what I thought that was going to be. Didn't know that tailgating is a scourge that requires this level of attention. Let's listen and maybe maybe I'm missing something. Let's listen into a little bit more of the counselor'sor's perspective on this social cancer of tailgating. As somebody who's come to Hamilton and claimed it as home, somebody who lives close to the stadium, has gone to tie cats games, enjoys Forge games, I don't partake in tailgating very specifically

for my own personal reasons. I don't consider it a safe environment. I also hear from Ward 3 residents about the spillover impact to the local community as people walk after engaging in tailgating activities into the neighbourhood and into the streets. The kind of behaviour and actions that Ward 3 residents have to endure just outside their front doors. And sometimes the paraphernalia and the inappropriate urination that occurs on people's private

property as a result of people not having the facilities that they need at the tailgating locations. So I'm interested in a public health and safety approach that addresses our cultural activities in our community. Hmm. Okay. This is terrible. This is terrible. It's like Thunderdome in Hamilton because of tailgating. My goodness. Somebody's got to do something about it. Well, here's another city councilor Matt Francis who's taking a different perspective and this is this is the point that I think bears because the context is everything Let's listen to Matt Francis and why he thinks this entire thing is is nonsense Well, the city turns a blind eye to using hard drugs in parks, leaving needles where kids play, people pass out on the streets. But now suddenly the big priority is stopping people from cracking a beer in the parking

lot at a tie cat game after a long day working at DeFasco. I understand why some of my colleagues want to delay this vote. It's really just an admission that this idea is bad and should never have come before us. There's nothing wrong with what we were doing. And I won't be supporting this amendment or pointless report. At best, this is creating unnecessary bureaucracy. It's a waste of staff time and taxpayer money.

Spending hours on something that affects just nine games a year shows our priorities are way off track. I'm not surprised that there's such pushback on this. I tailgate like many Hamiltonians in support of the Thai cats, and I'll be damned if they try to take away tailgating from hardworking steelworkers. Yeah, I've got another clip, but I don't even think we need to go there because this says it all.

We have an epidemic of public drug use in this country. And I have to assume that the problems that we have in the city of Toronto, I'm sure are mirrored in Hamilton. We've got stories of kids that cannot go into playgrounds because there are hypodermic needles everywhere. And we're also told that human dignity dictates that a drug addicted citizen has the right to quote unquote enjoy those drugs Wherever they might want including where kids should feel safe in a playground

But we're focused on people tailgating nine days out of the year before they go into a football game where there are positive knock-on effects, economic knock-on effects for the entire city and probably the region. People driving in for it, having lunch, parking, paying taxes all along the way. And yes, there are negative, nobody is suggesting there aren't negative aspects to alcohol consumption. But in the context of what we're actually dealing with, how the heck did this get on the docket at City Council? This is, I've said it before about Toronto, I'll say it about Hamilton in this one case.

Cities in this country tend to thrive despite the people that run it. This is insane! Mike, welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show. Ben, love your show, you're a good guy. However, I am an Argo Seasons ticket holder. I go to the tailgate for the last five years or however long they've allowed it. But I have to tell you, Hamilton people are different. The rudeness that I'm 6'6", 265 pounds, the aggression coming out of Hamilton is unbelievable.

Okay. So this woman has a point, buddy. I've had wine thrown at me from the back from women from Hamilton. Yeah, but then increase the increase the police presence there. I mean, there's there. I'm sure there. I mean, yes, it's frickin Steel Town, man. Of course it is. These are these are these are hard. These are these are people who are working hard jobs who want to blow off some steam. And and and like, listen, why don't we just go there? Mike, what they don't they have a charter right to enjoy their beer the same way that that people

who are suffering under the heel of drugs have the right to to shoot up in a park? I mean, surely if one can shoot up another person can crack a beer. Ben, I'll go with you, but you're going to provide security. Mike, thank you very much, my friend. Let's welcome Dave into the conversation. Dave, what do you think of all this? My honor, Ben, I think she's a hypocrite. I've lived in the city for 62 years. The last 20 years up until we've elected an NDP mayor, the city was starting to turn around. You probably know about that. Yes, I remember reading about them. The food scene, the food truck scene, the renovation of the waterfront. There was a whole bunch that was being done. It was really exciting. Bondo Towers going up, businesses coming back town. And then we elected an NDP mayor, and

you Hamilton's passed, the NDP destroyed this city. I've lived here 62 years. I ran for councilor. And since we've had an NDP mayor, she's brought all our progressives into City Hall. And this is what we're dealing with. Yeah. Well, so let me ask you, because you're there, you're the boots on the ground. I was making an assumption, I was leaping and assuming that the issues around public drug use

in the city of Toronto gotta be the same in Hamilton. They are the same, and I don't know, this caller, the last caller that I- Oh, I think he's being a little tongue in cheek. Okay, I've been through Hamilton, I've been here 62 years. It's like any other city. I've been downtown recently.

I've never had any really problem, Ben, really. Seriously, I think it's overblown. Sure, problems exist. I'm not denying that, but my own experiences, I've been to downtown Hamilton so many times in the last few years, I've never had a problem. Have I seen people drugged out? Of course I have. Yeah, of course.

And what are we doing about that? Instead, we're focusing on the nine games a year where people come together and celebrate their city. And by the way, like I said, there are positive knock on effects from getting people together like that at a football game. There are no positive knock on effects of people doing drugs in the streets. None. There's no benefit to the city. It's pure cost. It's human cost. It's emotional cost. It's physical cost. It's reputational cost. It's medical cost. It's social welfare cost. It's pure cost.

And yes, there is a cost to people getting rowdy after they have too many drinks, but there are also positive knock-on economic costs. And so, look, it is what it is. We're going to take a quick break. Stick around. This is a conversation that's got legs more on this discussion with you on the Ben Mulroney show. Hi, I'm Donna Friesen from Global National. Life moves fast these days and we want to make it even easier for you to get the news you need. That's why you can now get global national every day as a podcast. The biggest stories of the day with analysis from award winning global news journalists. New episodes drop every day.

So take this as your personal invitation to join us on the global national podcast. You can find it on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Welcome back to the Ben Mo Rooney Show. We're gonna continue with your calls at 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225-TALK. We're talking about the choices that are made at city councils in the greater Toronto area,

specifically in Hamilton. They could be focused on public safety. They could be focused on the opioid epidemic, making the streets safe for everyone. And instead, there was a debate recently dominated over the scourge that is tailgating nine days out of the year. And we thought you heard one side of the equation,

then you heard from Councillor Matt Francis, who pointed out the hypocrisy of letting people use drugs in parks, but focusing instead on on on people tailgating before a tie cats game. I want to play you one more clip from from Councillor Francis. Here's what he had to say about about the about councillors playing a very particular role. And I'm not sure how many councillors like myself actually go to these games and go to these tailgates for that matter.

It's not just about the game. It's the entire experience which includes the tailgate. It's the coming together of our city. It's the collective civic pride. It's something you have to experience and something we should be doing much more of in this city. And Council really should not be in the business of playing fun police. But unfortunately with the way things are going around here, it's no wonder people feel like they need a drink.

Mike Mike drop. I love that. I absolutely love that. Well done. That counselor. I support you entirely. Let's see if anybody else agrees. John, welcome to the show. Good morning. Good morning. Yeah. Yeah. i i mean total agreement with the council and i think uh... it's a public health issue and i'd also think that it's an ethical issue i think we need that we need we need boundaries uh... people are drinking in pubs are drinking at all games are drinking at home to drink it

people are drinking everywhere so you know nobody's suffering you know this counselor this is a of crack a beer, it's usually not one beer that they crack. Yeah. And then you have then you have problems with drunk drivers, you know, why don't you contact Matt and see how they feel about it? I mean, people that have lost their kids. No, no, hold on. Yeah. Is it you want to go from people tailgating like any you could you can take anything to its absolute worst conclusion and then tar the entire entire experience with that.

Well, let's put it this way. Okay, you don't allow kids in pubs, do you? What does that have to do with it? These are Well, because these guys are out in the open and they're drinking and they're partying they're pissing on the side of the road and and and our kids are watching that and and you think that's okay now do drug now do drug use now do public drug use my friend this is a legal product that is taxed to be on

belief hold on a second I let you talk I let you talk hold on I let you talk, I let you talk, hold on, I let you talk. This is a legal product that is taxed and regulated. It is a, this is a legal activity that the city endorsed and the province endorsed. I have no doubt that in order to tailgate, wherever you tailgate, there is a massive cost that has to be paid to either the province or the city, to whatever property it's on, there are taxes that are paid to mitigate these sorts of things. There are cops that are there, no doubt, and you want to say, yes, but somebody might get

behind the wheel, then we might as well make alcohol illegal. If that's the barometer, people are either adults or they're not, and you either treat them as such or you don't. But this nanny state nonsense, when there are bigger fish to fry, you fix the opioid epidemic, talk about tailgating all you want. Until then, I'm sorry. This is not, this is not, does not rise to the level of an issue that the City Council should be dealing with.

But I do thank you for your call. And let's welcome Sarah to the conversation. Hi, Ben. Thanks for having me. Yes. So I am a mama's too. I have a new baby and a toddler. I live in Ward 3. I've been to the tailgate parties. I was not aware this was even an issue. And typically, I support a lot of Narendra Nan's views. I actually messaged her recently about some of our neighborhood concerns so I'm a little irritated that this became such a hot topic because I do think we have a lot of bigger issues than our our neighborhood. Typically the tailgate parties are uplifting, they're building

community, they're bringing people together. So I didn't even know this was an issue. No, and again I'm like even if the issues are real and I don't doubt that people go push things too far and cross lines, I don't doubt that. This is nine days a year. This is nine days a year. There are other problems that last a heck of a lot longer than that. I think those should get priority at City Council. Call me crazy, Sarah. Yes. And one of the issues I did reach out to her is the needle use in the park surrounding my neighborhood. I can't bring my kids to the park near my house because I keep finding used needles there. I've had countless aggressive

behavior on my street. I've watched people shoot needles up in front of my house and the police response was that they don't have enough resources to send anyone to help me. So I think, yeah, we have bigger fish to fry for sure and the the Thai Cat Games and the tailgate parties are, you know, they're upbeat, they're positive. I've gone as a pregnant woman. I've never felt unsafe. Well, I'm glad to hear that, Sarah. Thank you so much for commenting and joining in on the conversation. And I'll say this, if you're living in an area where you can't take your kids to the park because people are shooting up, maybe you do need a drink. Maybe the city is putting people in a position where God, I used to love this city, but I'm so stressed now. I got to go these high cat games and let off a

little steam. I'm being a little tongue in cheek, a little facetious, but but not completely. Um, who do we have next? We've got Patrick. Patrick, welcome to the show. Well, thank you. I live by the stadium. Actually, it's almost across the street from the stadium. Oh, wow. And the amount of times that I've had problems with people is minimum. Like I mean, you can be on cat. Yeah, absolutely. There's there's always one in the crowd. Well, yeah. Most of the time people

are just part of they're having a good time. And the amount of times that I've had issues with people who have taken a crap on my lawn that are on drugs and people who have passed out on my lawn because they're on drugs or found people in the morning with a needle in their arm because they're on drugs is too numerous to count but no one does anything about that. There's schools in my neighborhood that have a park behind the school like the schoolyard is attached to a park and while the kids kids are playing, there's people shooting up. And your complaint, they're saying a person with a beer,

drive down New York street into Hamilton. Yeah, Patrick, thank you so much. If I can broaden this out just a little bit, this reminds me in a lot of ways of, the federal government going after legal gun owners, taking away their rifles and taking away their right to go out and hunt and do what they view is essential to their culture.

Legal gun owners who've been perfectly registered and have been trained and know how to keep and know about gun safety, going after them, claiming they're solving a problem when the flow of illegal drugs, illegal guns coming across the border hasn't really been stymied. Like to me, you're picking on people who aren't a problem

in order to pretend that you've solved a problem. And meanwhile, there's a very real problem that hasn't been addressed, but by all means, congratulate yourself for highlighting this massive problem that you're now gonna do something about. It's not a serious conversation. It's just not Rob, welcome to the show. Ben, you stole my thunder, man. How so you made my exact points

like I was telling your producer like, this is a left wing ideological matter. They look at the small item, right? Nine tie cats games a year. Yeah. And, and, and what may or may not be chaos. I've never been there to see, so I can't comment on that. But what about the 365, 366 on a leap year days where there's people shooting up, uh, open consumption sites, city of Toronto's given them paraphernalia, branded paraphernalia, safe supply. I mean, come on. Yeah. And, and and and they're going after us as firearms owners why because it's easy yeah they know they think we're gonna be

compliant right yeah they know where you are they know what you own they know where your house is they know you probably have kids they're not you're not gonna cause them problems but they've created a problem they don't want to admit they've created so what what are they going to do? They're going to they're going to distract you. Something. Yeah. All we were needing now was Anita and then to clutch her, her pearls and say, won't somebody think of the children? Rob, thank you very much. Wyatt, you're our last call on this subject. So make it good.

Make it make sense. Having a cigarette straight to jail, okay? A drink, oh my gosh. If someone wants to shoot up heroin, or Mr. Fox wants to eat kids in the park, that's okay. Make it make sense. I quite frankly think it's classist, okay? Because if I'm wealthy, I'm not gonna have to deal with the guy in the park, okay?

But a blue parlor guy at the factory wants someone to have a beer, oh my God, he's a pariah. Give me a break. Make it make sense. No, no. Historical pastimes are banned. But you know, crazy tweaked out drug addicts. We can't do anything about No, no. Yeah. Wyatt, thank you very much. That's exactly right. This is this is this is crazy time. And the thing that frustrates me the most is time is a zero sum game. For every

minute that we spend doing something that's a minute we can't spend doing something else. And for every five minutes that is spent at a city council meeting, talking about something that is not a problem and certainly not a problem that needs addressing right now compared to the imminent problems that are at our doorstep every single day of the year, that is a minute that we are not spending on something else,

demonstrating what I've said before, sometimes the city councils, in an effort to look like they're doing something, demonstrates us how unserious they are, and cities like Hamilton have to overcome these debates in order to progress. This is silliness. This would be silly if it wasn't on the taxpayer's dole.

Anyway, thank you to all of you for calling in and joining in on the conversation. I'm glad to see that I wasn't out of step with you guys on that. Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney Show. And if there was a positive that came out of the federal election campaign for me, because my guy didn't win,

was that the conversation around the trades and the value of the trades and the vital need we have to support the trades really came up as a bipartisan issue. And it does seem like they're both going to take their, they were both going to take their different paths there. But by and large, it seems like Mark Carney and Pierre Poliev could have found common cause on the idea that there is, that it is a noble way to earn a living,

that not everyone needs to go to university, and that we need to be supportive of the trades from a very early age. And I think that same conversation has been happening in the United States. But now it's gotten to a point where I'm at a crossroads in terms of whether or not I agree with this current trend. And I want to hear from you at 4168706400 or 1-888-225-TALK. High schoolers across the country, including some, and is in the United States, including some that are a year away from graduation.

So they're in 11th grade, already have jobs lined up in the skilled trades. Some of them are being offered jobs as high as 70 grand US, but they'd have to leave high school for that. And I don't know how I feel about that. I wanna hear from you. If you knew you want to go into the trades, would you finish high school?

If the option was there to jumpstart your career one year early, rather than spend another year in high school, you could start earning and becoming a skilled trades person. There's a lot to believe in that that makes sense. However, not everybody makes the right decision at 17 years old. And you may think that you want to be in the trades, you may think you could be good at the trades.

But what happens two or three years later when you realize it's not what I want to do, or my circumstances change and I need to do something something else or I'm just not good at this Then you find yourself at 21 Without a high school diploma and while I appreciate that not every job requires a college degree Almost every job does require a high school diploma and so I want to hear from you at four one six eight seven zero 6400 or one triple eight twoTALK. If you knew your child wanted to get into the trades and could get started before finishing high school, would you allow them to drop out?

I think it's a really interesting question. Again, like you may have the best intentions in the world and you may think this is your path in life, but you're 17. How many 17 year olds get it right? And the fact that you're gonna be leaving without that bare minimum of education, I think we as a society have agreed, is what you kinda need.

You may be setting yourself up for some struggles that you otherwise wouldn't face were you to finish high school. Hey George, welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show. Hi, good morning, Ben. Great show like always, and you're always a handsome guy. Thank you. Just for very quick input here,

me, I'm almost 26 years in electrical trade. What trade other than labor, I know. When you say skills trade, you're talking HVAC, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, chip metal, even painters, there's apprenticeship courses. All these courses to get into, you need physics, math, grade 12, certain courses are required. Interesting. Okay.

Yeah. Why tell, like this is the problem. People advising kids and counselors have no clue what they're talking about. Kids drop out at 17, then they want to become a skill trait. All of a sudden they're going back to night school again, trying to pick up courses that intake. Get some professional people that know what they're doing to guide these kids properly. Yeah, yeah.

Hey, George, I'm glad you are our first call on this because I appreciate having somebody with a depth of knowledge. Yeah. Well, one other thing, stop thinking like, because you're going to get into a trade, it's simple, it's easy. Go finish an electrical apprenticeship.

Go finish an HVAC apprenticeship. It's 9,000 hours. You got to take basic intermediate advanced courses, there's so much math involved. One of these people telling kids that it's so easy, what are you going to do, pick up a shovel? Yeah, well, but someone to bring in and dig a hole in my back. George, thanks. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. And yeah, I know it to George's point, it does seem that from what I'm reading as well, there's a there's more of a sort of an explosion of interest in shop class in high schools in the United States. But as I'm sure George would agree, it's far more complex than just learning how to use a you know,

a reciprocating saw. If there's a lot more that goes into it. Hey, let's continue this conversation with Victoria. Welcome to the show, Victoria. Good morning. Thank you. I respectfully disagree. I think kids should be jumping on the opportunity to experience firsthand what these jobs are. And if they need to return to school and get their high school diploma at a later time, they may absolutely do so. But at the very least, they'll get experience. They'll figure out whether this is what they actually want in practice as opposed to theory I got my high school diploma at 48. Congratulations well done. Circumstances and I went on to get my university degree afterwards. That's awesome. What I'm thinking is that education doesn't necessarily stop at 18.

I agree. Thank you for the call, Victoria. We've got a lot of people to get to. And look, I can see that side of it as well. That's one of the reasons I love having these conversations with you guys is that it helps me, it helps inform the opinion that I'm building. Jesse, welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show. Hey Ben, I am a high school, I'm 53, I'm a high school dropout, joined the army at 17, but I want to talk about my son. I insisted he graduate high school, but immediately upon graduation, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces at 18.

First year, Ben, $54,000 at 18. Second year, because I just did his taxes, $66,000, three weeks vacation, full pension, he'll retire at 38 if he wants to. And like I said, there is a there is a different path for everyone. And if they're done with what people with their eyes open, then then I'm all for it. Oh, yeah, no lack of intelligence. When he did his aptitude test, they begged him to get a couple credits higher so he could go to RMC.

All right, Jesse, I'm gonna have to leave it there. I want to say I want to welcome Adam into this conversation. Adam, how are you this morning? Good. I started into the trades at 17 left high school. I eventually went to college now all my own business. I am all for trades if done correctly. Yeah. And so would you recommend it? So you left school early. When did you get your-

I dropped out. You dropped out. So you didn't get, you didn't never finish high school? Never finished high school. Would you recommend that as a path for a 17 year old today? If their jobs are there, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Because there's never been more than a week without a job

and I own my own business. That's great, Adam. Hey, thank you so much for the call. And do we have no we don't have Shane, I wish I could get to my friend. Thank you so much for calling. Please call back another time. I hate when we leave people on the line. But I do appreciate him and everyone joining in on this conversation. A VIP Days of Our Lives set tour, a helicopter ride over LA, and so much more. Watch Weekdays at One and look for the weekly code word to enter. Days of Our Lives. All new Weekdays at One, only on W. Stream on StackTV.