The Freedom Feature Podcast - First Freedoms Foundation – Details, episodes & analysis

The 2024 Diefenbaker Lecturer is Dr. Julie Ponesse. Barry sits down for a few minutes with Dr. Julie Ponesse to discuss some of the themes that she will be presenting for the 2024 Diefenbaker Lecture.

First Freedoms Foundation is co-hosting the 2024 Diefenbaker Lecture with Augustine College in Ottawa on November 11, 2024, at the St. Peter’s/St. Paul’s Anglican Church.

Tickets are now available for you to purchase at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/2024-diefenbaker-lecture-by-dr-julie-ponesse-tickets-1042325663117

A reception will be held immediately following the presentation where the audience will be able to meet with Dr. Ponesse and purchase her books.

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Canadian journalist Donna Laframboise was among the founding journalists with the National Post. In her long career she wanted to understand the story behind the story. In January-February 2022 she followed with interest the unfolding story of the Freedom Convoy 2022 in Ottawa and decided she would take her camera and find out what was happening. During the second week of the protest, she walked among the crowd as an observer. The festive atmosphere of the protest was nothing she experienced before. Her family was concerned for her safety because of the government and media news reports from the mainstream media. The reports were so far from the truth that it shocked her journalist ethic.  Now she is writing a book telling the stories of the truckers and what happened at that rally. In other words, she is writing the truth that government and media refuse to tell.

Join Barry and Donna as they talk about the misinformation of government on what has turned out to be a pivotal moment in Canadian history.  This is the first of a two-part interview.

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

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“We are so addicted; we are so taken over by our comforts.” – Ken Drysdale

In this final part of their discussion, Barry W. Bussey and guest Ken Drysdale, Commissioner of the National Citizens’ Inquiry, take a philosophical look at why so many Canadians bowed to the will of the government during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The NCI website contains 305 testimonies from Canadian citizens as part of the Covid-19 response. Click on Hearings: https://nationalcitizensinquiry.ca/commissioners-report/

Ken Drysdale is founder of the website and movement Manitoba Strong Together. They advocate for democracy by creating community and educating people. No merchandise is sold nor donations accepted. https://www.manitobastrongertogether.ca/

Join them at their conference in Winnipeg, June 21 – 23.

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

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Law Professor Ryan Alford gave the inaugural Diefenbaker Lecture sponsored by the First Freedoms Foundation. This year’s lecture was co-sponsored with Augustine College located at St. Peter’s St. Paul’s Anglican Church, 152 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The title of Prof. Alford’s lecture was, “A Free Society Makes Constitutional Rights Meaningful.”

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

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Kristen Nagle was fined $10,000 for attending a church service in April 2021. How could that be possible in Canada? During that service she was not asked to speak or participate in organizing the church service. However, she was called called up to the front of the church and stood on the stage with a group of men including Derek Sloan and Randy Hillier.

The others in the group did speak to the congregation. Kristen was introduced to the congregation by the Pastor and was complemented for her willingness to stand up for her convictions on the COVID-19 pandemic despite her personal cost.

An officer assigned to keep watch on the congregation and enforce the Re-Opening Ontario Act regulations was across the street watching the live stream of the church service and recognized Kristen and laid charges against her.

On September 22, 2022, she was convicted and sentenced a fine of $10,000 and additional costs of $2,505.00. She is appealing that decision.

Barry's conversation with Kristen covered her activism and she shared her first hand account in Ottawa when the police broke up the protest.

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

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Lawyer Daniel Freiheit explains how the federal government uses the legal process as a punishment against the Canadian people. It is a “tactical pattern” of bringing people to court, making them run up legal bills and then dropping the case. Charter rights are only valuable to the extent they are enforced, or their breaches are compensated for. Unfortunately, the courts have not compensated Charter breaches by government with big dollars. This means that the government still has the upper hand in violating the freedom of Canadians. The lack of value given to Charter rights means that lawyers do not want to work on those cases because it is “not worth it” to them.

Both Freiheit and Bussey emphasize the need for the courts to take the governments’ “gaming the Charter” a lot more seriously and protect the people. Further, they call all citizens to hold the governments’ accountable at the ballot box.

The discussion continued in other areas of government over reach including the ArriveCan App and digital ID.

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

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Derek Sloan, a lawyer, a politician and a family man is currently the leader of the Ontario Party. Barry caught up with Derek to find out what he is up to now that there are no elections to run.

Well, it is not surprising to find that Derek remains busy fighting for freedom. He is now raising money for those who are facing litigation for standing up against the government imposition on their freedoms. His website is: https://www.fundingthefight.ca/

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

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Dr. Emanuel Baston practised medicine in Romania and came to Canada about 20 years ago. Unable to obtain a residency in Ontario he is now laying tiles in the construction industry. His strong work ethic has meant that he and his family are successfully making their way in their new country.

However, when the federal and provincial governments in Canada implemented the harsh COVID-19 regulations he was faced with the reality that Canada took on characteristics of the communist Romania that he grew up in but it was worse. Nobody believed what the communist Romanian government said but in Canada the default is to believe what the government says.

Dr. Baston recognised that as a population Canadians were known as nice people but during the COVID 19 experience it was way different. "You wish that your neighbour would lose their home, lose their job? Where is the empathy? Where are you as a person? That's not the future I want for my kids."

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

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Cara Hamstra has been targeted with a human rights complaint because she does not accept the modern day narrative. She is a videographer who has been forced out of business because she declined to video a same-sex marriage on the basis that it was not in the scope of the work that she does.

This is first case of its kind in Canada according to her lawyer Albertos Polizogopoulos - of Acacia Group (https://acaciagroup.ca/) - which is an openly Christian law firm and communications firm.

Albertos says that Cara did not deny service because of sexual orientation but that it was not something that her business offered. The case involves "intersectional" rights in that Cara's right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion but also her freedom of expression. She is being asked to produce a work of art - to articulate a particular message that she is not prepared to communicate. "If she were an artist that did paintings but she refused to do nudes because of trauma in her past, are we ok for the state and the Ontario Human Rights Code compelling her to do that - to violate her conscience, to do that which she wouldn't otherwise produce?"

Albertos argues that the forcing of Cara to produce an artistic expression goes against Cara's religious beliefs and Christian identity.

He notes that the public would not compel a Muslim writer to write a Christian theological piece, or a vegan to write promotional material for a hunter and angler. But "because Cara happens to be a committed Christian and the issue falls within the LGBTQ some people are ok with [compelling her]."

More information about this case can be found at www.defendcara.com.

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.

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Psychotherapist, author, and speaker Ted Kuntz, M.Ed., describes how a tragic vaccine injury altered his family’s life. This personal experience caused him to research the safety and efficacy of vaccines, eventually leading to his current role as the president of Vaccine Choice Canada.
Although the group has been labelled as “anti-vaxxers” and accused of spreading misinformation, Mr. Kuntz emphasizes that they represent parents of vaccine-injured children – in other words, parents who chose to immunize their children but became vaccine risk aware because of what they experienced. The purpose of Vaccine Choice Canada is to protect and preserve the right to medical choice.

Mr. Kuntz notes that, like any medical or pharmaceutical product, vaccines carry risks and benefits; parents should have the autonomy to make informed decisions for themselves and their children.

As we look to the future, according to Mr. Kuntz, we need to restore a firm moral foundation for our country, recognizing what is sacred and can’t be violated. He quotes Brian Peckford (a former Freedom Feature guest) who observed that “democracy can only exist in a moral society.”
We can draw hope from the fact that suffering is often the gateway to wisdom!

As with other interviews, please be aware that these videos should not be taken as medical advice; please speak with your practitioner if you have questions or concerns about your personal health or the health of your children.

Please note the views expressed by the individual(s) in this video are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of the First Freedoms Foundation.