EZRA LEVANT | Yet another church destroyed by fire as Canada shrugs at a disturbing pattern

Summary

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Rebel News Podcast Episode Summary

Episode: EZRA LEVANT | Yet another church destroyed by fire as Canada shrugs at a disturbing pattern
Host: Ezra Levant
Date: April 14, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Rebel News Podcast, hosted by Ezra Levant, centers on the recent fire that destroyed a historic church in Saint-Romain, Quebec. Levant discusses the broader pattern of church vandalism and arson across Canada, expressing concern over what he perceives as indifference from authorities, the media, and government officials. The second segment transitions to coverage of a protest in Ottawa by Iranian Canadians advocating for regime change in Iran, encompassing freedom movements, diaspora concerns, and the Canadian government's response to threats from foreign regimes.

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1. The Fire at Saint-Romain Church – Examining a Troubling Pattern

Historical Significance and Immediate Aftermath

• Ezra Levant sets the scene from the site where the nearly 100-year-old Saint-Romain church burned to the ground the night before.
  • “Behind me, a church last night burnt to the ground. You can see the massive bell tower which fell at around 8pm last night.” (01:11)
• Levant details the central role churches played historically in Quebec, serving as social, cultural, and architectural centers:
  • “The architectural, cultural, geographic center of every one of these towns is a beautiful church, some of them astonishingly large... the history of Quebec is the history of the Catholic Church.” (02:21–03:12)

Patterns of Vandalism and Media Coverage

• Levant observes that most church fires and vandalism in Canada receive little attention from mainstream media:
  • “I saw this news last night on Twitter, which is how I usually learn about arsons, vandalism and other attacks on churches. I certainly don't learn about it through mainstream media.” (03:37)
• Points to recent examples and suggests a lack of curiosity or urgency from authorities:
  • “If this were a mosque, would the Prime Minister be on the ground here? Would there be a task force to find out who did it?” (07:46)
  • “A hundred churches vandalized and burned and a shrug, a collective shrug. I find that deeply depressing.” (10:30)

Political and Social Context

• Levant links the pattern to both historic anti-Catholic sentiment and recent narratives connecting churches to residential school abuses:
  • “Another reason... is the anti Catholic bigotry perpetrated by the Canadian government with their narrative of anti indigenous genocide. ...Part of the mania... about residential schools in Canada is a deliberate attempt to undermine Catholicism and the Catholic Church as an institution.” (05:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On patterns and alleged double-standards:
  • “Christians seem to be one of the last groups that you can burn the churches down and people just shrug.” (08:29)
• On government response:
  • “There's no national task force... a hundred churches vandalized and burned and a shrug, a collective shrug.” (10:32)
• Deep personal reflection:
  • “I'm not even Christian myself. I can only imagine my feelings if this was a major synagogue in Toronto. I would be so troubled. I would be retching from the stress and the grief of it.” (12:03)

Timestamps of Key Moments

• [01:11] - On the history and destruction of the church
• [03:37] - Learning about attacks from Twitter, not mainstream media
• [05:45] - Linking church fires to broader anti-Catholic and anti-church sentiment in Canada
• [07:46] - Questioning what government response would be if it were a mosque or synagogue
• [10:30] - Expressing frustration at lack of national response

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2. Iranian-Canadian Protest in Ottawa – Freedom, Safety, and Diaspora Solidarity

Protest Overview and Key Themes

• The podcast transitions to a Rebel News field report covering an Iranian demonstration in Ottawa.
• Iranians gather at the US Embassy and Parliament Hill to call for regime change in Iran, vocalize support for Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, and express frustration with both Canadian and international government responses.
• The protest underscores the importance of freedom, unity among Iranians, and the need for international support:
  • “These are people who are fighting for freedom against a brutal tyranny of the last 47 years. ...We've watched the price that they've paid in rivers of blood.” (16:58, Shu Fajumdar)
  • “They pay their taxes. They want the same things that every Canadian deserves, which is to live in freedom and prosperity.” (17:52, Shu Fajumdar)

Government Responses and Security Concerns

• Many Iranians wear masks not for health, but to conceal identities from regime agents believed to operate in Canada:
  • “Iranians aren't wearing masks because they're afraid of COVID... They're wearing masks for their own protection.” (29:05)
  • “We have again at least 700 suspected IRGC agents operating in Canada with little to no enforcement from our government to get them out.” (29:29)
• Frustration with Canadian officials’ lack of deportations and perceived weakness:
  • “They're not getting the job done. They're not bringing any energy to the file. To the best of our knowledge, maybe one [IRGC operative] has been deported since the beginning of this horrific event.” (30:45, Shu Fajumdar)
  • “Pierre Poliev... went to Toronto to stand with thousands of Iranians to call for a change in the regime of Iran and to make absolutely clear that this is the party and the cause that understands what the regime is, the threat it poses.” (31:56, Shu Fajumdar)

Critique of International Institutions

• Criticism of Canada’s support for the Islamic Republic at the UN:
  • “Instead, it backs the Iranian clerical military dictatorship and denies Iranians their rights to freedom and democracy enshrined in that very institution.” (32:34, Shu Fajumdar)
  • “We must deport every single IRGC official still walking our streets, intimidating our people. ...Not one IRG official or their families should be on our streets.” (33:16, Shu Fajumdar)

Memorable Quotes

• On Western responses and media boycotts:
  • “We are boycotts with cbc, with ctv. ...Western countries other than us are boycotting what Iranian people want.” (19:37, Iranian Protester)
• On wearing the Israeli flag:
  • “Well, no, I believe we have the freedom of choice. I wear it proudly because, you know, it's a country that I love.” (21:29, Anonymous Supporter)

Timestamps of Key Moments

• [16:58] - Iranian Canadian and reporter reflections on the movement’s roots and community
• [19:37] - Protesters express frustration with media and call out CBC/CTV
• [29:05] - Mask wearing for security, IRGC threats discussed
• [30:45] - Critique of Canadian government’s lack of action on IRGC agents (Shu Fajumdar)
• [32:34] - Criticism of Canadian and UN actions; calls for deportations

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3. Cross-Movement Solidarity and Broader Freedom Struggles

Falun Dafa Support

• Members of Falun Dafa join, drawing parallels between Chinese and Iranian human rights abuses:
  • “We are from the Falun Dafa Group. ...We are here to tell people what's going on in China. It's a human rights violation, Very severe human rights violation.” (33:54, Falun Dafa Group Member)
  • “So their fight is your fight.” (34:34, Rebel News Reporter)
• The conversation shifts briefly to the importance of supporting all worldwide freedom movements and the need to remain vigilant about foreign influence in Canada.

Timestamps

• [33:54] - Falun Dafa group expresses solidarity with Iranian protesters; links fights against tyranny in China and Iran

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4. Episode Takeaways

• Ezra Levant’s reporting highlights the ongoing trend of church destruction in Canada, rural communities’ historic ties to their churches, and the lackluster institutional response.
• The Ottawa coverage amplifies the voices of Iranian Canadians calling for true regime change, international solidarity, and greater security for diaspora communities.
• Speakers and hosts consistently draw analogies between different freedom struggles, urging listeners to see the broader pattern of threats to liberty, both domestically and abroad.

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Notable Quotes (with Timestamps and Attribution)

• “Christians seem to be one of the last groups that you can burn the churches down and people just shrug.”
  — Ezra Levant (08:29)

• “A hundred churches vandalized and burned and a shrug, a collective shrug. I find that deeply depressing.”
  — Ezra Levant (10:30)

• “These are people who are fighting for freedom against a brutal tyranny of the last 47 years. ...We've watched the price that they've paid in rivers of blood.”
  — Shu Fajumdar (16:58)

• “We are boycotts with cbc, with ctv. ...Western countries other than us are boycotting what Iranian people want.”
  — Iranian Protester (19:37)

• “They're not getting the job done. They're not bringing any energy to the file. To the best of our knowledge, maybe one [IRGC operative] has been deported since the beginning of this horrific event.”
  — Shu Fajumdar (30:45)

• “We must deport every single IRGC official still walking our streets, intimidating our people. ...Not one IRG official or their families should be on our streets.”
  — Shu Fajumdar (33:16)

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For more coverage on church fires and attacks, visit: SaveOurChurches.ca
For independent reporting or to support Rebel News: RebelNewsStore.com

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Transcript

[Tamara Lich]

Hey, before we dive in, a quick thank you to our listeners who support our work through the Rebel Store. Every purchase helps fund the journalism that you won't find anywhere else, whether it's field reporting, investigations or holding the powerful to account. If you want to wear your values and support independent media at the same time, check out the rebel store@rebelnews store.com the link is always in the description and you can also use code TAMARA10. That's TAMARA10 to save 10% off of your total purchase at checkout. Now let's get into it.

[Shu Fajumdar]

You're listening to.

[Ezra Levant]

Fighting for Freedom.

[Shu Fajumdar]

Shame on you, you Censori.

[Ezra Levant]

Ezra Levant here for Rebel News. Behind me, a church last night burnt to the ground. You can see the massive bell tower which fell at around 8pm last night. The fire was detected just before 7pm More than 40 firefighters tried to battle the blaze from this village of Saint Romain or Saint Romain, Quebec, and five municipalities in the area, but they couldn't save it. Every timber charred to the ground. You can still see some remnants, for example, of the music sheets for the hymns. Behind the wreckage is a cemetery. I was looking at some of the tombstones. They go back more than a century. This building itself was almost 100 years old. And there were churches on this land that predate that. I can only imagine how this church was an integral part of the community for everything. I mean, now we live in a country dominated by the state, but for a great amount of time, social services were provided not by the government, but by the church. It would have been the daycare, it would have been the preschool, it would have been a food bank. It would have been a community center where people would celebrate life cycle events, a birth, a christening, a funeral, a wedding. This church was an integral part of Saint Romain the same way the church has been an integral part of Quebec. I flew early this morning from Toronto to Quebec City and then rented a car and drove the two hours to Saint Romain and town after town. First of all, they're named after saints, just like Saint Romain is. And the highlight, the architectural, cultural, geographic center of every one of these towns is a beautiful church, some of them astonishingly large given the small town they're in, which suggests that in an earlier era, the church was absolutely the focal point of life in these towns. I put it to you that the history of Quebec is the history of the Catholic Church. You could do a tour from church to church, cathedral to cathedral in this province, much the way you could do that in Italy. Obviously the grandeur and the size of those churches in Italy would be superior. But considering that these were small towns, the effort and the resources and the love that went into building these churches is just as astonishing. I saw this news last night on Twitter, which is how I usually learn about arsons, vandalism and other attacks on churches. I certainly don't learn about it through mainstream media. You may recall just a few weeks ago, I saw that there was a church in New Brunswick that was torched. And I went out there. I saw it in no official media. It was only on Twitter. There has been some mainstream coverage of this church fire simply because of its enormous size and the devastation. I'm holding my camera up. You can just see the scale of it. Like I say, almost 50 pompiers, almost 50 firemen. Fighting would have been enormous. And I saw there were stories in CBC or the French version called Radio Canada and the Journal de Montreal. That's a pelido newspaper. The police, as of last night, and I just checked this morning, say they do not know the cause of it. They have not ruled out arson. I have to say there's something funny about church fires, or funny is the wrong word. Something odd about church fires is that they always. Authorities race to say it's not vandalism, it's not arson. I remember the most shocking case of a church being torched, namely the Grand Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. When I saw that, especially when I saw the spire tumble down, it felt like a dagger. Other than the death toll, the shocking moral attack on Paris reminded me of nothing so much as 9, 11, a dagger to the heart of America. Thank God the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral didn't have the same death toll, but it was the same deliberate attack on the heart of France. And I remember in that case, before the investigation, the government announced that it was not terrorism before the investigation was done. Because you could only imagine the ramifications in France if it had been found to have been the target of a jihadist attack. That may sound alarmist, but I put it to you that that is what jihad does. You may know the grandest mosque in all of Turkey, the Hagia Sophia. It wasn't built as a mosque, that was a church. And when Constantinople was conquered by the Turkish Ottomans and turned into a Muslim country, that church was converted into a mosque. That is one of the reasons that churches are torched. Another reason I put it to you is the anti Catholic bigotry perpetrated by by the Canadian government with their narrative of anti indigenous genocide. For about 15 or 20 years now, the authorities, no one less than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or former Chief justice of the Supreme Court, Beverly McLaughlin, have said that Canada has committed a genocide against aboriginal peoples. And they put the blame quite often on churches, which ran many of the schools, including the residential schools. I think part of the mania, the moral panic about residential schools in Canada is a deliberate attempt to undermine Catholicism and the Catholic Church as an institution. And you'll note that Justin Trudeau's primary advisor, his principal secretary, Gerald Butz, said that he found the attacks on churches understandable. That's the word he used. I should tell you that in Canada, more than 100 churches have either been vandalized or torched. Now, thank God most of them have not been burned to the ground like this was. But, you know, one is a tragedy, two is worse. But five, ten, dozens, a hundred, That's a pattern that even a blind man could see. But look at this. I'm here all by myself. This fire just happened last night. I'm not going to touch the wood to see if it's still warm. I don't think it is. This is a major attack. If it is an attack, but we don't know yet, and there's so little curiosity. If this were a mosque, would the Prime Minister be on the ground here? Would he be making a statement? Would there be a task force to find out who did it? I don't know if a synagogue was burned to the ground, if the Prime Minister would give a damn. He doesn't seem to care when they're shot at by guns. But Christians seem to be one of the last groups that you can burn the churches down and people just shrug. Here's some of those music sheets I was talking about. I. I'm not jumping to conclusions. I don't know what caused this fire and I don't know if we'll ever know. The authorities have not released that information yet. But I know for a fact that many other church fires in Canada, including several that I've attended to document, have been caused by arson. And you would think that if there's a pattern of church arsons, that this would have a major response from authorities. I mean, think of the United States, when there was attacks on black churches by Ku Klux Klan or other white racists who would target black churches. That became a priority for the FBI and even the National Guard in some cases, let alone local police to track down who was doing that. Terrorism. And again, I don't know if this is terrorism or if this is an accident, I don't know that. But I know that many of the other fires in Canada have been determined to be arson. There's no national task force between different police forces and csis and other spy agencies and intelligence agencies. A hundred churches vandalized and burned and a shrug, a collective shrug. I find that deeply depressing. And one of the things we do at Rebel News is document this war against churches. And that's why I came out here this morning. That's why I went to the New Brunswick church that was torched a few weeks ago. In fact, we've set up a website called SaveOurChurches CA where we have a compilation of all of these. And if you think this is interesting or valuable journalism, you can chip in to help cover my airfare there. If you feel compelled to do so. Why are there not other journalists on the scene? I came in from Toronto, which was a bit of a journey. Where. Where are the journalists from? Montreal? Did they come here? It's. I mean, it's visually an interesting story if you're just trying to justify it in its newsworthiness. A large church torched. Shocking images. You would think that a entrepreneurial journalist from the CBC or TVA would be out here. I don't know. Maybe they've already come and gone, but this place seems pretty barren to me. I don't know, I just feel like it's. Everyone accepts the fact that Christianity must be on retreat and can be poked at. And if there's a arson or other bigoted attack on a church, which this may or may not be, we don't know yet that. Well, that's. Don't worry about it. Because discrimination and racism only focuses on minorities. Well, I find this a painful thing to see. I find this absolutely shocking. And I'm not from here. I'm not even Christian myself. I can only imagine my feelings if this was a major synagogue in Toronto. I would be so troubled. I would be retching from the stress and the grief of it. I saw a few people, locals, just looking at it. They came to. To see the last of their church. I don't know if it'll be rebuilt. Apparently there were no longer services in this church, but rather social services and other events. I don't know. I don't know the future of this. But in the present I do know this. Very little coverage in the mainstream, no interest by the political class, and a massive, beautiful church burnt to the ground. Well, I'm very happy to report that the CBC is here to Cover the story. They came in from Sherbrooke and they confirmed that it is not yet known the cause of the fire. But one of the journalists was very helpful to me and let me tell you what he just showed me. Do you see that building there? That's the fire department. The fire department is one block away. You can see it here. Let me turn around and flip the camera. That is the fire department. This is the fire. It couldn't be any closer unless the fire department itself was burned. Very interesting quirk. I'm not saying it necessarily means anything other than you would think that they would have detected the fire very quickly. It was literally in their line of sight. How a fire can consume such an enormous structure and not be saved with 45 firefighters from five different municipalities, I don't know. I mean, I suppose it's an old building, maybe it's dry. Maybe it didn't like the wood was very combustible. Maybe didn't have modern sprinkler systems in it. There could be different explanations. And I suppose the reason why I'm so suspicious is because this is not the first church I've been to that has been torched on purpose. And it's not the first. It's not even the first hundred in Canada. So I hope you'll forgive me if my spider senses are tingling. Anyways, I'm glad I talked to the CBC and I'm glad they're here. Frankly, if you want to keep following this terrible issue, this series of bad news stories, go to save our churches. CA.

[Anonymous Supporter]

Who's brought stripes and brought strip through the peril of the sp oh, the

[Rebel News Reporter]

rampass we've watched we're so gallantly stream and the rock is red clear the bombs bursting scarlet grace with rebel news. We are outside the US Embassy in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario where Iranians have gathered at the call of their king. Thousands of Iranians will be gathering all over the world today in front of US Embassies to tell Trump one clear Stay the course, finish the job. Don't stop until there is regime change in Iran. We are starting the day at the US Embassy where speakers are speaking. We had the Star Spangled Banner play and as well as a Iran, the national anthem of Iran. Right now they are gathered chanting and there will be a march to Parliament Hill where we will catch up with protesters and see how they're feeling right now to considering the ceasefire that was just announced.

[Iranian Protester]

We are here today for Iran and we want to emphasize the support. Pahlavi Reza Pahlavi So the main message

[Rebel News Reporter]

I'm getting is Trump, stay the course. And you guys have a chosen leader.

[Iranian Protester]

And our choice is Reza Pahlavi.

[Ezra Levant]

As you hear before.

[Iranian Protester]

Yeah. This was shared with me by the organizers.

Rebel News.

[Ezra Levant]

Yeah, sorry.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Okay. They don't like Rebel News. That's a first from the Iranian community. Usually they're all about us.

[Iranian Protester]

Is the capital of Canada. And we decided to have this demonstration this time in our capital for two reason. One, to speak to the United States because the embassy is here. Number two, to have an event in Parliament held to speak to Canadian government. So we have certain demands for Canadian government and certain demands for U.S. government. That's why we are in ottaw.

[Rebel News Reporter]

We are at the very front of the march that is just making its way to Parliament and leading the entire march. This is very important. Is a giant picture of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. There are so many mainstream media channels that do not want to show this. They do not want to show that Iranians are united and have a chosen leader. It is not even a question. It is not even a question where Iranians stand on this. And his face is leading the march for that very reason. So that you cannot get a picture of this demonstration. You cannot get a video without it showing their chosen leader. What brought you out today to this demonstration?

[Shu Fajumdar]

Common Cause. These are people who are fighting for freedom against a brutal tyranny of the last 47 years. We have watched the price that they've paid in rivers of blood, in their own street, standing for their own freedom. You'll notice that these Iranian rallies, they are peaceful. They sing oh, Canada. They condemn tyranny. They clean up after themselves. This is an incredible community of beautiful Iranians who are contributing to our country fearlessly. We need to stand with them. This is an hour of extraordinary trial. The country has been blacked out from Internet access since the beginning of this fight. It has been horrific to hear little bits of news here and there. But look at the strength with which they stand with their people and for the cause of freedom today. It's a great honour for me to be able to join them today.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Stand with their people. And they stand with Canadians too. They're so honoring to their host countries. Always.

[Shu Fajumdar]

They're enormously successful. Like the Iranian community of Canada has integrated in every part of our national life. They pay their taxes. They want the same things that every Canadian deserves, which is to live in freedom and prosperity. Dawud Bar Shama. My name is Shu Fajumdar. I bring greetings to you from the great Iranian Canadian community in Calgary. All across this land, we have seen Canadians come together in stand to defend freedom from fear, to fight tyranny at every turn. To make sure that the end of this 47 year dictatorship is final.

[Iranian Protester]

So Reza Pahlavi is the only true representative of our nation like Iranians. So we're here to pretty much offset all the propagandas, all the false regime changes, signals from inside. So not even all those other parties, all the people involved in regime, they're part of the regime or there will be just the continuance of current regime. Pahlavi is our only representative. And it's not just us. We're saying this, we are being the voice of Iranians, those who have been massacred, those who truly requires military support. So this for us Iranians, this is not a war, this is rescue of operation. When our people are under machine guns just for showing up in this.

We are boycotts with cbc, with ctv. And they are not actually covering what the, what we have here and really appreciate rebel news because I follow your channel and I see that you cover all these rallies in Toronto or in Ottawa or in other, other cities. But what we see is that western countries other than us are boycotting what Iranian people want and what Iranian people are shouting here and what people Iranian are looking for.

Honestly, like with the bravery of the American soldiers, we just wanted to show our support, how we are honoring them and how we are thankful for the initiative they took to come to Iran. Because people of Iran have no voice. Like they massacred like over 40,000 of Iranians with like the bare hand. They went into the like just the street to show that they don't want the regime and at the same time regime like killed them all. And we were like helpless. And at this time, USA and Israel, they took the initiative, they went to help the people of Iran. And yeah, we are thankful. Like we are sorry that we lost American soldiers, but at the same time we want to show how we honor them and how we are thankful.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Wear the Israeli flag.

[Anonymous Supporter]

Well, because there have been one of the countries that have always been against the Islamic Republic. Benjamin Netanyahu said it. Even his, the other Itamar Ben Gibber said it. They've always been strongly against the Islamic Republic and that's why I support them.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Do you think it's a bit of a risky move? Do you worry about your safety wearing the Israeli flag in public here?

[Anonymous Supporter]

Well, no, I believe we have the freedom of choice. I wear it proudly because, you know, it's a country that I love.

[Rebel News Reporter]

So far there's no sign of counter protesters. There never really is. At least when I'm here in Ottawa. I've never seen them. The police do seem to know to keep them back. We don't see that in Toronto, which is why I always say this is the best place to protest. You've got political buildings, you've got police who know to keep the crowds apart and way better scenery. And how do you feel about the, the current negotiations with the mullahs?

[Iranian Protester]

We don't, we never support them. Support them. They, they, I think they can't negotiate. You know, they are not, they don't represent us Iranian and that's the reason they can't, they can't negotiate. Negotiate with what?

[Rebel News Reporter]

One would say you can't negotiate with terrorists.

[Shu Fajumdar]

No, exactly.

[Iranian Protester]

They are terrorists and they are not represent Iranian people. These are not the regime we want.

You know, US government wants to negotiate with Islamic Republic and there are certain serious conditions and if the regime doesn't meet those conditions, obviously the strikes will be resumed. But the thing is we don't want to weaken the regime, stay in power because they're going to regain the power, kill more people. And if the United States want to take Iranians demand seriously, it's to change the regime. It's removing the entire regime, not just the layer of the regime and keeping them in power. So we believe that this ceasefire will help the regime to gain honor and be more stronger. And if you speak to Iranians, no one is happy with this ceasefire.

United States and Israel promised to support Iranian people, but now they are making a deal with the regime. We understand that both countries have to protect their interests, but how about their promise to the Iranian people to support them? Us, Canada and international community must understand that Iran is not Iraq and Afghanistan. The people of Iran are united in their demand for human rights, freedom and democracy.

[Rebel News Reporter]

So yours says regime change has not happened. Stop deals, they still execute. So what does that mean?

[Iranian Protester]

The agreement, the actually sessions they have in Pakistan between the regime agents and us, this is to have some sort of ceasefire which is against what they. Donald Trump said to people of Iran to support them and we still want the support to topple this regime and it's not has done yet. And so what we say is that they have to continue and they have to support Iranian people and they shouldn't negotiate with the regime agents, anyone. And that's why we are here to, to support them. The thing is that this regime has always been like this. They execute oppositions anyone against them. They oppress people. There's no freedom in Iran. And what we want is to have no ceasefire with this regime, because any ceasefire means that they will continue what they have done over the past four decades.

[Ezra Levant]

So

[Iranian Protester]

all Western countries should continue supporting Iranian people, similar to what is done by Israel and by the United States, leading by Trump and Netanyahu.

[Anonymous Supporter]

It can be just to make a deal. It can be to make a deal to stop the war, but it can also be a way to bring more weapons in, because there have been recent US Planes and tankers that have just gotten near the Gulf. And it can be to make a deal, but it can also be to get more weapons and get more ammunition in.

[Rebel News Reporter]

It could be strategy.

[Shu Fajumdar]

Yeah, you know, it's fog of war. It's really difficult to fully understand exactly what the full picture of negotiations both in Islamabad and in Lebanon are. We know that this regime has been degraded massively, that it's now been revealed to what extent they had ballistic missiles and drones trained on the world. It's now been revealed to what range those missiles can now hit, which is much of Europe. And Camp Diego Garcia, we have seen that their sprint for nuclear ambitions was still fully underway. So a lot of that degradation has happened. We've also seen in the last 40 some odd days the instruments of the regime's repression through the Basij been degraded massively. I'm not entirely sure that there's a consolidated leadership in Iran that can speak for the people in charge. So I'm watching these negotiations very closely to see exactly who speaks for who and to what level we can actually achieve a pathway to peace and progress for the Iranian people.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Oh, we have a picture in the middle of the crowd here. Moshtab Al Khamenei. No deal. That is the son of recently deceased, thank you, goodness, Ali Khamenei and supposedly the new Supreme Leader of Iran, but nobody has seen or heard from him since his father's assassination. What do you think about Trump using the term regime change already?

[Iranian Protester]

There is no regime change. There is no regime change. He is saying there is a regime change is because he killed the Supreme Leader and IRGC commander. It doesn't mean the regime changed. The same regimen is still in the poverty and the same people are in government. And the other commanders of IRGC controlling the country. This country is governed by IRGC, controlled by IRGC, and IRGC now has 100% control of the country.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Do you think that it's a tactic he could be using? Do you think he's playing chess or are you critical of him right now?

[Iranian Protester]

Yeah, we don't know. Honestly, if we don't know, we can't judge. But what I'm saying is the US and Israeli governments should take our demands seriously because Remamun Ayatollah is beneficial for all countries. Iran, us, Israel and the world because they are fighting with Iranian regime and Ayatollahs because of the security threats. So if they remove Ayatollah and we can build a democratic government, then they're going to be a peace and Middle east and there will be no security threat coming to us and Canada and Israel.

So Iranians are not seeking conflict among themselves. They are seeking real change, regime change. And everybody knows that. There are growing support among Iranians for coordinated leadership led by Crown's Prince Reza Pahlavi and of course participation of many opposition figures and activists for a transitional period toward a secular and democratic Iran. So the narrative that supporting change in Iran will inevitably lead to chaos should not be used as an excuse for inaction.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Something that you might actually see a lot of in the crowds today are masks. But Iranians aren't wearing masks because they're afraid of COVID or whatever else the mainstream is telling you to be afraid of these days. They're wearing masks for their own protection. In another way, we have again at least 700 suspected IRGC agents operating in Canada with little to no enforcement from our government to get them out. And that endangers Iranian Canadians, especially Iranian Canadians who are here standing against the irgc, standing against the Islamic Republic in Iran. So some of them feel they have no choice but to obscure their identity to keep themselves safe and their families back home in Iran.

[Iranian Protester]

Last time we were here, some Palestinians were like interfering the protest and taking high resolution pictures from people with high end cameras. And they were infiltrating, I don't know for what purpose. Actually I do know, everyone knows that. But this is the reason I'm putting on the mask.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Right. So yeah, I mean there's a lot of fear of IRGC agents in Canada

[Iranian Protester]

as well under threat, direct threats. And Canada is not safe because the government of Canada is not supporting like the anti terrorism movements. Or perhaps they might sometime even back it up by not saying anything.

[Rebel News Reporter]

And we know about the threat of their weapons through warfare. But what about the threat in the diaspora or the threat in Canada? Canada specifically, because we have estimated at least 700 IRGC agents still operating freely in Canada. What do you think about the Liberal government's response to that?

[Shu Fajumdar]

Look, even less than a week ago, we saw an American report saying there could be an excess of a thousand of them here. The Mark Carney Liberal government has had the grace of a year to confront this threat, to understand how to deport, identify, identify and deport regime officials in this country. They had an opportunity of even more focus over the last 40 days. We had their Public Safety minister, Gary Onandez Angri say that they're looking at it, they're gonna focus on it. They're gonna get the job done. They're not getting the job done. They're not bringing any energy to the file. To the best of our knowledge, maybe one has been deported since the beginning of this horrific event. Iranian, Canadian families, in fact, all Canadian families, our Jewish communities, any Canadian community worried about the long arm of transnational repression on our streets should be concerned about this. When you come out to protest in peace, you have the right to do so freely. But when you have concerns and fears that regime agents are around the corner taking pictures of you here, broadcasting them back to the terror and repression organizations in Iran, murdering your own families, it's absolutely unacceptable.

[Rebel News Reporter]

I just talked to two people today. You had that very fear. And that's why they wear face coverings here. You know, they're not afraid of COVID They're afraid of the regime in Canada. How would they the Conservative government approach that differently?

[Shu Fajumdar]

With strength on every file, with strength and clarity, with moral clarity. Pierre Poliev, right at the beginning of his leadership, less than seven days, a newly minted Conservative leader went to Toronto to stand with thousands of Iranians to call for a change in the regime of Iran and to make absolutely clear that this is the party and the cause that understands what the regime is, the threat it poses to its people, to the region, to the world, the necessity to stand with all our friends and allies to rid the world of this terrorism and to start working with the people toward a world of peace.

[Rebel News Reporter]

And finally, your thoughts on Canada's position in the UN yesterday in support of the Islamic Republic.

[Shu Fajumdar]

Not appropriate for television, but I would have to say, you know, here's the one forum where the United nations, you have the Cyrus cylinder on display for the world to see. The ancient promise of pluralism, of freedom and of liberty. Yet our country can't even raise our voice to condemn the regime from taking a governing position over a human rights body. Instead, it backs the Iranian clerical military dictatorship and denies Iranians their rights to freedom and democracy enshrined in that very institution. So the fact that Mark Carney Anita Anand couldn't summon the basic strength. To tell their officials to vote for the Iranian people and against the regime is one of the worst moral failings I've seen them conduct since they've been in power. We must deport every single IRGC official still walking our streets, intimidating our people. We should not tolerate thousands. We should not tolerate hundreds. We should not tolerate dozens. Not one IRG official or their families should be on our streets.

[Rebel News Reporter]

You charge him so much. Hi, officer. How's everything going today?

[Iranian Protester]

Thanks, but I'm not the media person, so I'm not going to answer any of your questions.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Okay.

[Iranian Protester]

Have a great day.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Thank you.

[Ezra Levant]

It's very peaceful.

[Rebel News Reporter]

It is peaceful. It's a little different than some other demonstrations, isn't it?

[Falun Dafa Group Member]

We are from the Falun Dafa Group.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Yeah.

[Falun Dafa Group Member]

We have been persecuted in China for so many years.

[Iranian Protester]

Right.

[Falun Dafa Group Member]

We are here to tell people what's going on in China. It's a human rights violation, Very severe human rights violation in China. So we are here to tell people about that.

[Rebel News Reporter]

We also have the issue in Canada of CCP infiltration in our politics is. So it kind of goes in line with what's going on today with the Iranian demonstration. How do you feel about their fight for freedom?

[Falun Dafa Group Member]

Well, I was not sure what the demonstration is for, but it looks like they are against changing regimes. They are chanting I'm for it too.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Do you support them?

[Falun Dafa Group Member]

It has been known.

[Rebel News Reporter]

From what I hear, the CCP and the Islamic Republic are pretty good friends. So their fight is your fight.

[Falun Dafa Group Member]

I think they probably falling apart, so what these days, but. But you know, this is very important movement for them too, for their country. So I'm all for it.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Thank you so much. Can I take one of those or is this information or. Okay.

[Falun Dafa Group Member]

Wonderful practice of mine.

[Ezra Levant]

Oh, okay.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Very cool.

[Falun Dafa Group Member]

You know, this is amazing solution for all your issues. You become very peaceful and calm and.

[Ezra Levant]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Rebel News Reporter]

Okay, thank you. Thank you so much.