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Rebel News Podcast
SHEILA GUNN REID | Letters to Sheila: What really mattered to listeners in 2025
00:31:22
Over the past year, Canadians wrote to me from kitchen tables, job sites, hospital parking lots, and pickup trucks. Parents fighting school boards. Workers punished for speaking honestly. Small business owners buried under bad policy. People who never wanted to be “political,” but were pushed there by a government that wouldn’t leave them alone. They come from people who were told they were fringe, selfish, or dangerous, right up until the facts caught up. In this episode, I read your words and respond the only way I know how: honestly.
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Foreign. I'm answering your letters to me. I'm Sheila Gunn Reed, and you're watching the Gun Show. Longtime viewers of Rebel News know as well as our beloved premium subscribers. I'm talking to you guys right now. You know, every year at the end of the year, we send you an email. It lands in your email inbox and it says, hey, we want your letters to Sheila, to Ezra. We want to know what you think about the work that we did. Do you have questions, comments, story ideas? We're going to sit down at the end of the year and we're going to read what you've sent us. And there's a couple reasons we do this. First of all, we want to know what you think about the work that we're doing. If you have comments, questions, I want to be able to answer them. Sometimes I just assume that you know why I think the way that I do, and I forget that sometimes maybe my opinions need to little bit more explaining. Or maybe you want to know what it's like to be a farmer, a mom, a journalist, the figurehead of all of Ezra's little schemes, whatever, how I balance those things. And I'm open to answering those questions. And it also allows us to do another thing besides being in constant touch with our audience, because I think that's important for us. It is important for me anyway. It allows us to pre record our shows for the end of the year because I spend like 12 hours a day at this desk and I do other things in my life, as you know, but, and, and I almost never take time off like in regular viewers. Think about it for a second. When did we see Sheila away from her desk for an extended period of time when she wasn't like on some sort of special mission? Like maybe I wasn't at my desk, but I was at the ostrich farm. Or maybe I wasn't at my desk, but I was in Brazil. Or maybe I wasn't at my desk, but I was in Saskatchewan interviewing the premier or on a story, right? If I'm not here, I'm still working. I'm just not here. And it's been like that for years. Sometimes I might take a day off, but I always like pre record stuff for you so that you don't even know I'm gone. Because as you know, when the cat's away, the mice will play. I'm not saying you guys are mice, but, you know, like the lefties are mice and I want them to know that I'm always around, working, lurking. But we Wanted to pre record the show so that our production team should, could take some time off. I might be able to untether myself from this desk. My dog might be able to have a nap somewhere other than under my desk. And so your letters allow us to do that. So we thank you for sending those letters and if you have any comments, sheilaebelnews.com all the time put gun show letters in the subject line. I love hearing from you, but this is the end of the year show. So I'm going to go through. What have I got here? One, two. Let's go through eight or so. All right, first one. This one is from Gail Quinney and she says, I'm very traumatized by your very thorough coverage of the ostrich massacre by the out of control federal government. The present government will not ever review the whole diseased animal program and its efficacy. I may never trust the government employee, federal, provincial or regional ever again. First came COVID 19. Then, I hope you're doing well. Yeah, I mean, there are a few times in recent memory where I think a lot of people suddenly felt the way you did. And you do. And you rightly point out, Covid, where it, it's still so destabilizing for people. And we're told to just move on by people who never really suffered the consequences of being a conscientious objector. Oh, why can't you just move on? And it's like, well, maybe because I couldn't go to my mom's funeral, that's why. Or maybe because my loved one died alone, that's why. Maybe because I was denied travel, that's why. Maybe because I was treated like a social pariah, that's why. And then at the end, you're just supposed to forgive and forget without anybody apologizing to you, anybody telling you that they were wrong and you were right. You're just supposed to be like, okay, well, let's move on. Of course the people who are wrong want you to move on. And a lot of people feel that way about, about these ostriches because they are such a symbol of government overreach and the trust, the science. When you're like, I would love to trust the science. Could you show it to me? Could you test the birds, please? But they never did that. And the longer these birds were alive, the more I think everybody involved knew that they were healthy. But the problem with those birds is that, as Elizabeth May of all people put it, they were just a little too maga. They were a little too freedom convoy. And so they were just a symbol of resistance. And like the freedom convoy, like Tamara Leach, like Chris Barber, you got to crush them. And that's, that's what happened to the birds. It wasn't about public health. Of course not. They didn't kill the wild turkeys walking around that place, did they? And that's how the ostriches, if they ever had Covid, got Covid. If they ever had avian flu, if they ever had it, that's how they got it. But they didn't exterminate the wild turkeys. They just killed the ostriches who were not migratory. They weren't going anywhere. They were quarantined for all intents and purposes. It's. It's about control and making sure that those who cannot be controlled are completely eliminated from polite society. And if they could kill you, they would, because they did. The birds. All right, next one. Bruce, Bruce Acheson. Bruce lives in Radway with his beautiful little kitty Delta. He is an avid supporter of Rebel News, longtime supporter of my work, longtime viewer of my show, and someone who once corrected me on my flippant dismissal of disability hiring targets within the federal government because I was too liberal in my language. And I'm glad for it. I'm actually glad for the course correction. And it has taught me something to be just a little bit more careful with the words that I used. I think I was making fun of like, oh, these DEI hiring targets. And then you've got to hire this many people with disabilities and this many black people and this many people with, you know, mental illness. And the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing, I'm like, how about, where are the competent people? Where are they on the list? And Bruce said, sheila, people with real physical disabilities, and I'm paraphrasing, should be able to work and have productive jobs, and their disabilities should not hinder them. And of course not. I agree with, I agree with that wholeheartedly. I should have been more clear that I meant people with made up disabilities, like people who claim that they are victims of phantom honking trauma after Ottawa. That's what I mean. I don't mean people who are legally blind or have a hearing disability or a mobility problem. I think everybody has a right to be productive. And the other side would love to euthanize you. I want you to be productive. So anyways, Bruce corrected me on my loose language and I'm glad he did. And he writes to me and says, I would donate $100 to Rebel News. May I speak to you on the phone for an hour, Bruce. I don't have a ton. Like an hour is a lot. I don't have a ton of time. But Bruce says, I had so much fun last year when I was able to speak to David Menzies. I'm a huge fan of your work and I love to discuss all sorts of things. Why don't we split the difference? Why don't I come to Radway? You've got my email. We'll figure something out. Next one. Brenda. Brenda says, I so enjoyed meeting you all at the Edmonton meet. And Greek, I think you're referring to our after event after the United Conservative Party annual general meeting. We had a little get together of Rebel News supporters and it was a fundraiser for us. So unlike the other hospitality suites with lobbyists dumping money to cover the cost of those things, we don't take money from lobbyists, really. We're crowdfunded and we rely on people like you guys to support us. And so it was like a. I forget what, 20, $30. And it was like a meet and greet. Got a couple of little snacks. But more than anything, it served as a fundraiser for us. And you got to meet a bunch of rebels you'd never met yet. And by rebels, I don't mean rebel employees, I mean rebel supporters. Like minded people. We packed a bar in north Edmonton and Brenda goes on to say, I bought Lisa's book for my granddaughter. I hope you love it. I will tell her that you bought the book. She is just over the moon. These last few days, like these last two weeks, have been some of the best of her life. She's really living a dream. And Brenda, I thank you for being a part of that. Also, please don't lump us boomers altogether as 98% of the people I know that are my age 65 are on board for the conservatives. Keep up the good work. Look, I will agree with you. 98% of the people that I know that are 65 are also conservative. Now, maybe I'm sampling from a small pond. You know, I know that western boomers are probably more conservative than me, and I think that's saying something. They've lived through two Trudeau's, not just one. So that leaves one pretty darn conservative. If you're a boomer that voted conservative. When I talk about boomers, I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about. And you know exactly who I'm talking about. The quintessential Toronto boomer who. Who was like giving the finger to young Polly of supporters. That guy who basically screw the next generation as long as he's got his. He's got his $3 million house that he bought for a penny whistle and a moon pie back in 1972. And screw his grandkids if they can't find a house. Like that guy, that type of guy, that avatar of a boomer, that's the guy I'm talking about. And I have such disdain for those people because it is so anti civilization what they're doing. When you think about how societies moved forward, human civilization moved forward, by the older people protecting the young people, the older people making sure the youngsters of the pack, the herd, the family, the community, the tribe, that they had all the resources they need to be stronger, faster, better, smarter, healthier. Right? It's one of the reasons that Women and Children first was always a motto. Because the women are weaker, but the women have the children. And then you want to protect the children. That's why it's so important that if there's no children, there's no people ever again. And so the way the Eastern boomers vote, the Toronto boomers vote, it's so inverted of how society has ever existed. They are breaking the deal that society has with its young people. They just are. And I find it so gross. And I don't know any people like that. Like, no, I don't know any older people like that. But I don't want to. I don't want to. I just. It's awful. But again, right now, I ain't talking about you. Let's read. The next one is from Bill. Bill says. I just. Sheila, I just want to say that Ezra and yourself do such a fine job bringing controversial news stories to the Canadian public that truth be told, I can't really say who I like better. Well, thank you. You two are both such excellent journalists and you both put so much energy into the news articles that you bring to light for the Canadian public. I hope you both keep up the good work and continue to inspire us not to put up with biased news reporting from government sponsored news agencies. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to you both. Cheers, Bill. Hey, Bill. I appreciate that very much. I just want. I want to push back on just one thing. Okay? And I try to be as energetic as possible. I really do. I don't. I probably don't sleep as much as I should, but I try to, uh, you know, focus on my health and fitness and all those things that keep your energy up and eating. You're very Very careful with my eating. Um, but I just want to push back on the one thing that you said, and that's biased journalism. I don't have a problem with biased journalism. I think you all know I'm conservative, so you know that I'm. I'm reporting on stories through a conservative lens. And I say this all the time, but I think the arc of reality bends towards conservatism. You know, with family as society's building block, personal responsibility, personal autonomy, decision making, closer to the person. All those things are conservative ideas. Conserving the past, conserving our history, government that fits inside of a teacup, but better yet, on a postage stamp, that kind of stuff. I think that the arc of moral justice sort of bends that way. But I am conservative. The difference between me and those that you see on CTV or CBC or Global. Does anybody still watch Global? It's penny stock these days, is that you know exactly where I'm coming from. I don't think you're stupid, so I don't try to hide it. And I couldn't anyway. I feel like it's dishonest and inauthentic. What I find so disdainful is not only do they lie to you and tell you that they're just news automatons with no personal opinions, but they want you to pay for it unwillingly. Like, if you're here, you're watching me support the work that I do, but you're doing it because you want to, not because the state made you. That's my problem with the other journalists, the mainstream media journalists, is that they aren't truthful to you. And they say, oh, I'm. I'm just the middle of the road. I don't have any personal viewpoints. Really? Really. Because we can see them. They're evident. We're not dumb. So I find it insulting to the viewer. And worse yet, they're. They're funded by the state, so. By you, even if you don't want to. That's my problem with it, is don't lie to me. And, like, don't make me pay for it. But you. Rosie Barton wants to be like the next Rachel Maddow of MSNBC news fame. No skin off. Not my nose, right? As long as I don't have to pay for it, I don't care what happens to her. She can be as biased as she insufferable as she wants. It ain't my problem. The problem is, it is my problem because we're paying for it. All right, Cliff. Cliff says keep up the great work. I'm a 78 year old follower and I appreciate your work. Well, I appreciate you too. Thank you so much, Cliff. John Phillips says, considering all the new liberal laws that are coming, are you looking for a new place for Ezra in Alberta? I don't even know why he's still in Toronto. You know what, I do know why his family's there. But I know Ezra's heart is for the west and he, you know, he's, he loves Alberta. He was born here, he was raised here. He's sort of in exile in Toronto. But it is something to consider. I mean, Alberta has a very interesting future going forward. Now. Will we stay within Canada or leave? That's for us to decide. And if we do stay, there will be a different deal than what we have now. And what would that mean for us? What would it mean for taxes? What would it mean for our rights, our freedoms? Would it be different? I imagine so. And if you are a journalist in the freedom space, I think this is the best place to be. Maybe Saskatchewan too. But I think this is the best place in Alberta to be. And I don't know why everybody's not here. Now if you're going to come, leave your problematic politics behind. But I don't think that I would have to warn any of my viewers that they should leave their bad ideas behind. But yeah, I encourage everybody who wants to realize what they thought was the Canadian dream, the place to do that is in Alberta right now. Elaine o' Neill says. Sheila, thank you for providing that rural western voice and the no nonsense attitude to go with it. Well, thank you so much. As an expat Canadian Albertan to be exact. Right on, sister. Now living in the US I first became aware of Rebel news during the trucker convoy days. Like so many, I joined in state. Well, I'm so glad you did. I so appreciate getting a perspective on Canadian issues that is missing everywhere else. Have a blessed Christmas. Hopefully it comes with the glorious chinook. Well, I could tell that you're an expat Albertan because you actually know what a chinook is. And I remember when Leonardo DiCaprio was filming a movie in Calgary and a Chinook blew in and the weather changed by like 20 degrees. And he was like, oh, see, it's global warming. And nobody told him that. That snow, just a routine thing when the warm winds blow down like Pacific winds come down over the Rockies and it's like warm moist air and it blows across sort of into Calgary and across the prairie. It's Called a Chinook. And he had no clue. And everyone just let him believe it was global warming. I unfortunately live too far north and east to ever experience the pleasures of a Chinook. Where Calgary gets like that brief reprieve from the deep freeze. I'm plugging away at minus 45. But that's okay. It's. I think it's what makes us tough and it also makes us reliant on ourselves and not the government. When it is that cold and you're that far from everybody, you just don't see the government as the answer to things. You actually start to see the government as the problem. It's one of the reasons they couldn't keep us away from each other during COVID because we're like no, we like our neighbors. Our neighbors are the reason we survived here for a generation. And I'll be damned if you're going to keep us apart. And yeah, I think that's why so many of us like it's just part of the western attitude. Government's the problem, not the answer. And a lot of it is formed of the land we live on, that's for sure. Mark says hello ma'. Am. It's always great to see a masculine male figure with balls, but a woman that's awe inspiring. Are you saying I'm a masculine figure? You know what? Somebody the other day in the comment section said I look like a more masculine Michael Jackson and I didn't know to be mad or happy about it. Still don't know. Still it's kicking around in my head. I've given it a fair bit of thought anyway. But a woman that's on spiriting. No shortage of strong women at Rebel News. Especially considering the bravest reporter I believe is Alexa. You got that straight? Just. She's almost brave to a fault. Makes me worried for her. It's amazing to see women rise up when so called men don't. Thanks for being in the fight. It's incredible. You do your farm work, family duties and journalism all in 24 hours. My questions to you are how hopeful are you about the future of femininity and modern young women? How was your family and marriage in particular affected by your slow rise to notoriety and journalism career? Thank you very much for fighting for a country that has treated your province badly for far too long. From Pierre Poliev to Jordan Peterson to Ezra, a lot of good things come from Alberta. Thank you. What a nice thing to say. Mark, I'll do my best to answer your first question. How hopeful are you about the Future of femininity and modern young women. I'm not exactly the person to ask about femininity. Like, you have eyeballs, right? I'm sitting here in a drilling company hoodie, gmac, and you know, I clean up fine, but it's not my choice every single day. I think femininity in womanhood is. It's up for interpretation in. Not in the biological sense. But, you know, at the same time, while I'm, you know, look the way that I do, I also know that my most important job is as a mom to my three children. Now, two of them are left the nest, and hopefully they'll provide me with some grandchildren one day. But that was the most important thing that I did. And I'm seeing, you know, I think we had some pretty dark times for young women there for a while. And I think the older women are experiencing deep unhappiness for what modern feminism sold them. You know, they're not happy. They're drugged up on antidepressants and trying to impose their maternal instincts on their cats because they were told that you can have a career and then a family when you feel like it. But that's not reality. Biology doesn't work that way. We only have a very short window to have our kids. And now we've got a lot of barren, miserable women out there full of regret and remorse, and they're drowning the problems in wine. And it's very sad because our institutions, academia, the culture, told them just, you can have it all. And the choice, that's not a choice. You can't have it all. You can have some things if you work for them and you have to prioritize things. You have to decide what you want out of life and then have that. Can't have everything. And they were told that they could have a career and children and marriage and, you know, look like a Pinterest board. And that's doesn't work that way. It just doesn't. And you'll die trying, right? And so a lot of them are miserable. The older ladies are, and then the generation just under them. So, like the generation that's just slightly younger than me, they're miserable and weird and gross, and at least a lot of them are like the light of. The younger feminists are selfish, selfish ladies absorbed by social media. And. And I don't think they're happy either. Now, the younger ones that are like 16, 17, 18, 19, up to 25. I think we're seeing the resurgence of the trad wife. Now again, trad wife can look them a hundred different ways. I would describe probably myself as a trad wife, and I don't think I look the way. Like, I'm not wearing a. An apron and a dress and heels to bake cookies. Now, I can bake a mean cookie, but that's not. You won't see me in that. So I think we're seeing a return to traditional values. I know this younger generation, both male and female, are more conservative than I think any generation since the one that fought in World War II. So the greatest generation. And I think that the pendulum is swinging. They're. They don't want to have kids that they're friends with. They want to parent their children. They want traditional gender roles. They want to stay home with their kids. They are not materialistic. They are returning to church. And so I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful for the young women because we. Modern feminism has made at least two generations of women intensely miserable. And I think we're happiest with our little ones. We just are. And that's what we're designed for biologically and emotionally. Next question was, how was your family and marriage in particular affected from this low rise to notoriety and journalism career? This is kind of funny. My youngest one, she's 16 now. I've been with Rebel News for 10 years. She doesn't know any other way that I just get in my little studio under the stairs and talk after she goes to school. And, like, sometimes when we're out and about, someone will notice us. And she just thinks that you're all my work friends, that you just know we. We're work friends. You work with that person. And even if it's a stranger that's just seen me, I. Yes, exactly. We do work together. We're working together to change society for the better. And it just sort of. Then it just became a joke. Oh, Mom's mom's little work friends. My older two. My daughter is a university student. Student athlete, actually. And so she had never really experienced the weirdness of the world because she went to a small, rural Catholic school. And then all of a sudden, she's going to university. And she's like, mom, it's crazy. These people are crazy. Um, and she's like, all those things you talked about, like, you talk about. I see them now that I go to school in the city, doesn't. She still retreats to farm life, but. And my son, he's, you know, he's a grown man. House wife, provider, working in the oil field, so. And, you know, I Don't know. It's. It's for my kids. It's always kind of strange when people recognize me still, because I'm just their mom. I'm just mom. I remember my son was younger. He used to say, oh, yeah, you know who he would be? Like, at a oil field style pub. And then someone would figure out who his mom was. And then somebody would buy him a couple of drinks. So he would sort of use it to his benefit. Um, but, you know, I don't. I have a very close circle of friends, so everybody who knows me, knows me, like, knows me in the real world. And I think that's been helpful to me. They're very protective of me. Tara, if you're watching. I know. And I think that. I don't know, I just. I. It's different for me because I live in, like, rural Alberta. I think, you know, David Menzies is the one you really gotta worry about. He's out there and everybody just recognizing him in the hat, all over the place. I just look like a regular old farm lady down at the farm supply store. So it's real easy for me to blend into a crowd. For my husband, it's sort of strange. Even now, sometimes people will figure out who his wife is. Like, he doesn't go to work and say, yeah, you know who my wife is. He doesn't say stuff like that. I mean, because he just doesn't. We're not like that. But every once in a while, someone will figure out on a project or whatever who I am. And then when I talk to him about politics and he's like, ugh, this politics is a home thing, not a work thing. I don't know. You see a lot of people who sort of rise to fame and then they. They get there and then they sort of flame out. They do something stupid. They don't remain grounded. It sort of goes to their head. That's not me. I have too many people whose opinions in the real world I actually care about to do and say things that would jeopardize what they actually thought about me. I know a lot of people say, I don't care what people think about me. I do care what people think about me. Not the strangers, not the haters, not those people, but my friends and family. I do care what they think about me and the work that I do. And I don't want to do anything that would embarrass them or make them have a bad opinion about me. I don't want that. And so it helps me stay very grounded. And the fact that I have a life, a very demanding life. I will say that outside of Rebel News, busy, active, physically active life outside of Rebel News and with a lot of family around it helps me stay sane and realize that sometimes when you get into, like, the feedback loop of people who hate you, it keeps that. It keeps that in, like, the fake world. It never makes it into your real world because you live in the real world every day. Did I answer your question? I'm not sure I did. Anyway, that's it, guys. I don't know if this is my last show for 2025. I think I might have a second show for 2025. I don't know how the calendar is going to work, which show will go up first. But anyways, sincere thank you to everybody who supported, not just me, but all of our work here at Rebel News. I want you to know we hear you cheering for us, we see you defending us, we see you supporting us. And just from my family to yours, from the Rebel News team to you, thank you so much for allowing us to do work that is truly, truly meaningful to us. What an absolute pleasure it is to give voice to your issues. And I can't imagine doing anything else. That's the show for tonight, guys. Thank you so much for tuning in. I'll see you in the same time, in the same place next week. And as always, don't let this government tell you that you've had too much to think.