Afternoon Pint
Afternoon Pint is a laid-back Canadian podcast hosted by Matt Conrad and Mike Tobin. Each episode, they invite a special guest to join them at a pub or microbrewery to get to know them a bit better. Conversations cover a wide range of topics, including Entrepreneurship, business, Arts, pop culture, music, science, society, Life stories, experiences, you get the idea...
Our aim is to create a show for everyone (even non-Canadians.) We create a welcoming atmosphere where guests can share their perspectives with transparency. Essentially, Afternoon Pint is like heading to the pub after work to catch up with some friends through your headphones or stereo. We are Nova Scotia's #2 podcast, but we pretend we are number 1!
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Afternoon Pint
Lena Metlege Diab - Journey in Politics and hopes for the next Prime Minister of Canada (Member of Parliament for Halifax West)
Lena Metlege-Diab, is a key figure in Canadian politics who has paved many roads for women in politics. This week we're at the fantastic North Brewing in Timberlea discussing her family's journey from Lebanon to Halifax and her many years experiences in political leadership. We explore her insights into the significance of community engagement, challenges women face in politics, and current political dynamics in Canada.
There are many interesting subjects thrown around in this episode for both the political and non political minded. One thing Lena emphasized in this episode is the encouragement for younger generations to engage in political processes, and we agree that getting informed and getting involved is more important than ever. Thank you Lena for sharing your story and insights over a cold beverage.
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All right, cheers, cheers.
Speaker 2:Cheers everyone.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Afternoon Play. I'm Mike.
Speaker 3:Tobin, I am Matt Conrad.
Speaker 2:And I'm Lina Mettlisch-Diab. Lina Mettlisch-Diab, nice, to meet you, the Honourable.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much.
Speaker 1:First time for me. Thank you very much. I think you two are somewhat acquainted, yes, but first who is Lina Mettlisch-Diab?
Speaker 2:Well, I was born in Halifax, raised a little bit in Lebanon, in a very small little village, a. I spoke French and I spoke my native language, Lebanese, but I had to learn English from scratch and ever since I've been here. So St Agnes, st Pat's, st Mary's, I say to everybody the saints follow me wherever I go and then, of course, dalhousie after that for graduate school, and then I did law school as well Cool, and I've been here since.
Speaker 1:That's awesome and I think there's a connection. How do you two know each other?
Speaker 3:Matt, yeah, so it's funny. So I met Lina when you ran for office and you were in office and everything, and we met at a couple of different events and you met my wife and you just happened to find out that my wife was going through university and that she was a teacher and becoming learning to become a teacher, but she at the time was teaching or learning to tutor people, government workers and stuff like that and you just asked, hey, would she tutor me? Kind of like you know, I don't get an opportunity to speak a lot of French because you were in provincial government at that time. And so, yeah, you hired her to come every monday and, uh, aunt sat with her for I don't know, it was like a year, uh, every monday and just talked just in french that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I, I remember that was over a decade ago because I was a first elected in 2013 and then became a cabinet minister, and so that was over a decade ago and you two were not married. We weren't married. No, she had, like really really recently joined Halifax.
Speaker 3:She was very recent, yeah, exactly. And yeah, you were very kind to her when she basically you sent her congratulations when she graduated and became a teacher. You kind of recently sent something else to her, I can't even remember, but you've been very kind and, you know, really kind of staying in touch and stuff. So I've known Lena now for over 10 years.
Speaker 2:My wife has been here for 12 years and so yeah, I think, lawrence, I think I also know you, because I believe I know your parents.
Speaker 3:Well, you know my mother. Your mother worked in a law firm.
Speaker 2:That's right and of course, I am a lawyer by profession. And I practiced law for 22 years.
Speaker 1:I read your Wikipedia Before. I don't know what the Wikipedia said.
Speaker 2:22 years before I was elected Cool. But I knew his mom because on the other side of the telephone.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Us lawyers talk a lot on the phone, especially back then right, not so much computers and it's hard to see people a lot face-to-face.
Speaker 1:Amazing, and you've gotten us to a new location. We're unlocking a new location for the Afternoon Point Day.
Speaker 2:thanks, to you.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's fabulous I love that, I gotta say. This location has one of Matt and I's favorite IPAs. It is one of my favorite beers to drink in the whole province, so you picked out a great spot. Where are we?
Speaker 2:We are at the North Brewing, which is in Timberley actually.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you why I picked it. So I'm not, I don't frequent a lot, particularly beer, you know, but I love the independent, small beer brewing industry that's happening here, as well as the wine and all of the local industries that are happening, but in particular, with this one in 2023, the trails here beside us yes blt trails had floods and flooding.
Speaker 2:We had trails we had flooding that's from that massive rainstorm that happened right, yeah, and it flooded and it had to be closed and at the time they they're a volunteer association they needed to fundraise quite a bit of money in order to do some repairs and so on, plus other things. And I recall coming to this specific location, meeting them, but also because this particular company, a group here they were helping in the fundraising effort by, I think, donating five dollars or something like that to uh, to be yeah to the sales and stuff, and I remember buying quite a bit at the time as well, so it was great yeah, they're.
Speaker 3:I mean north brewing is a is a really great industry. Really. They're leading in in the quality of the beer they make. So thank you for to them, for hosting us and alternate reality is theA, if you want to say it by name Great name, great can great taste of beer Multinite Reality IPA.
Speaker 1:And what are we drinking today? Matt?
Speaker 3:We have a different one, yeah so we have a couple different things here. So, Lena, you're drinking the Lawrence Town.
Speaker 2:That's it. I'm drinking the Lawrence Town. I said I want something a little bit light and on a fruity side.
Speaker 1:No, that's a nice beer.
Speaker 3:I like that one too. We're not in Dartmouth, but this is the Dartmouth Dark, so this is a coffee-infused dark lager. This reminds me a little bit of our lager that we made last year too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's just a little bit less coffee. Yeah, yeah, it's good, ours tasted a lot like coffee. Ours tasted more like coffee.
Speaker 3:People were no joke putting ice in the beer that we made last year. Oh wow, they were putting ice in it because they said it tasted like an iced coffee.
Speaker 2:That sounds nice. It was actually really good. That sounds very nice. They sold it pretty quickly.
Speaker 3:It was sold out in two weeks. So, yeah, it went pretty well. That was fun. So back to you. You talked about how you were actually technically born here but went back home from your parents' home. Yeah, why did you go back at like two?
Speaker 1:You were like two years old or something. What happened there? I?
Speaker 2:had my grandparents here as well, and my grandfather got ill and wanted to go back home, so my grandparents left, but my dad and all his siblings were here, and so they were by themselves there. So my dad and his brother the two older ones here at the time said we will, uh, take turns. Each one of us will go and live there for a certain period of time, because our business was here, actually hollis street, they had a bar, they had a restaurant, it was was called Steve's Lunch, among many other things I'm talking to you a long time ago. And so they took.
Speaker 2:The idea was they would take turns and, of course, so my father was the first one that went. So he took his wife and, at the time, three little kids, one that's a few months old and one that was a year, and myself. So we were all three under three, basically, and so that that was the trade-off. But then my parents would come back here and my uncle would go there, but they said you stay there with your grandparents, and at that time my grandfather had passed away, so it was only my grandmother left, uh, and so I stayed there for, you know, close to eight years right, went to school there and then, unfortunately, war broke out a civil war at the time.
Speaker 2:That's exactly right and so my father said you know, that's it, it's time everybody comes back. And he carried his mother in his arms. She was a small woman, uh, she didn't want to leave because that was her home, that's her town. And he said to her Mom I promise, once the war is over we'll bring you back.
Speaker 3:You know, there seems to be ongoing wars that are happening in Lebanon through the Middle East, and everything but from some of the people that I speak to is oftentimes in the villages and stuff. People have no idea it's really going on. Was that really the case for?
Speaker 2:you. Well, they know what's going on. Yeah, they're not ignorant.
Speaker 3:Sorry, I should rephrase that no, no, no.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I guess what I would say is you're not faced day to day with the bullets and with the weapons and with the military. What you are faced with, though, is the notion of there's not going to be any food, no food, no medication. So people get worried shortage of food, shortage of medication, shortage of everything else and, in the villages, there's no heating systems in a lot of the places, and so when it gets cold, if you're still there, depending on where you are, where we were. So it's, yeah, it's. I wouldn't wish that on people here, but I'll tell you, the good news in Lebanon right now is, for the first time or not first time, but now we have a new president, new prime prime minister, and there's really a lot of hope so is.
Speaker 1:Is lebanon peaceful right now? In a sense, I would yeah, it's peaceful.
Speaker 2:There's no, there's no conflict going on but, economically things are bad, financially they're bad. Uh, the banking system had collapsed, uh. So all kinds of issues after the beirut explosion. As you know, that was worse than the Halifax explosion. And we talk about that because the Halifax explosion here in 1918, historically, was one of the first but also worst.
Speaker 1:What year was the Beirut explosion? It was four years ago, oh my, my gosh, and how many fatalities there were fatalities.
Speaker 2:I can't, I don't remember the numbers right now, I know.
Speaker 1:Sorry, that's a tough question to answer off the spot, yeah, 100% but it was a massive explosion it was massive yeah, I remember it but it, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 3:So it's good to hear that things are kind of on the up and up and I mean it. You know, the the uh, it's. It's not due, it's just kind of circumstance because the lebanese people here in halifax, like halifax stands on the shoulders on the lebanese community like heavily right, they've been, it's been a uh, they've been a huge asset to halifax, uh well, it works both ways.
Speaker 2:Uh, you know the? The lebanese people started to come here 140 years ago.
Speaker 3:Most people don't realize that it's not a new thing, but there's actually a statue at the waterfront that has the year on it.
Speaker 2:A lot of them that came actually stayed, whereas other immigrants and so on they've come through and kept on going to other parts of the country. But it works both ways. The Lebanese have contributed greatly and really have enriched the province. Just like you know, they like to give back to the community.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I can tell you one, like an event that I've been going to the last few years, that I actually look forward to every year, is the Cedar Maple Gala. What a great event, right, yeah, what a great event. I mean right, yeah, what a great event.
Speaker 2:I mean, uh, norm does a great job, kind of putting that on and just the highlight of everything and I just love that they blend that, like canadian lebanese showcases the business part of the community, but also with the culture, with the food, with the entertainment and, as you can see, uh, the majority that attend, if I could say, are non-lebanese background.
Speaker 3:So so that's a good thing, that's a positive thing.
Speaker 2:Because you get to see you know something different, so it's great.
Speaker 3:I think it's important to kind of highlight all the great things that the community has done for our city. Going back to you specifically, I know you kind of said you started off as a lawyer, but you did start off kind of in politics though, because if I remember it wasn't your first degree, or something like that, in polyscience.
Speaker 2:Oh dear, it was economics actually.
Speaker 3:Was it Okay.
Speaker 2:It was economics, but I minored in political science Okay, yeah. Good job, and I also minored in French.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, but you worked at the legislature, you worked at the legislature. You worked at the legislature, didn't you? Oh, my goodness, I did I did.
Speaker 2:I tried at that time, when I was a student, I think, two, three times and I finally got hired as a student 1985, 86.
Speaker 3:Okay, cool.
Speaker 1:Not long ago.
Speaker 2:And John Buchanan. That's how I remember John Buchanan, even though my dad and whatever they knew him as well. They all knew each other back then quite well. But that's where. Yeah, so 85, 86,. I was a page at the legislature and I recall years later saving a newspaper clipping where I'm on the cover and it says uh, housing shortage back in 1986, some things never change.
Speaker 2:The nova scotia they're going back to the legislature and there's a page with my name, lena metlage, at the time putting the papers on the uh and it was housing. I gave that newspaper clipping actually to the legislature, uh for them to keep it in their records. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So yeah, so you were back there with John.
Speaker 2:So you said your dad knew John Of course, yeah Well, he was a lawyer too, eh no, I knew John.
Speaker 3:No, John was a close friend.
Speaker 2:From before. So, and you know, back in the 70s, 80s, to be honest, like I'm sure your parents tell you, you weren't born, but there weren't that many people in halifax, really quite frankly right no, and so they all knew each other.
Speaker 3:Yes, absolutely yeah, well, that's, that's the law office like john practiced in mom's, like the office that mom works at up until his death, kind of thing, so yeah, but uh, so, knowing John and kind of getting that early stage, and what made you go liberal as opposed to a PC?
Speaker 2:Oh I, it's funny. After that, I think I started in in university. I would say I also did model parliament as well. The political ideals that I believe exemplified me best in the sense of what I believed were equality of opportunity, you know, not to say others don't have them, but that was the one that I believed. And again, I didn't have any role models, if I could say, like none of my family was political or is even now political or is even considering being political.
Speaker 1:So let's just put that out there, right.
Speaker 2:So this was yeah, You're all on your own.
Speaker 1:I'm on my own. Figure that out.
Speaker 2:And even back then I'd go to events and, like I would be on my own right For decades I'd be on my own.
Speaker 1:But it's just something I love to do. What was it like getting into politics yourself? How did that feel?
Speaker 2:So I volunteered for many years first, and I was part of a writing association and so on, so I knew what it was from the inside. And finally, in 2013, it was actually the month of February, like right now I said I was practicing, I was in my office and I didn't like certain things. Sometimes, when you go into politics, you're going in because you think you want to see something different or you want to drive change Seems the origin story of most politicians Right.
Speaker 2:And at the time my children were getting older, some had started to be in university. But I saw a lot of young people after high school leaving Nova Scotia. I mean, we were being emptied out from young people and from people you know. They were either going to schooling somewhere else or going to schooling here and leaving. You know, it was just for me it was a shocker.
Speaker 1:So that was your incentive, that was my incentive.
Speaker 2:I said I don't want that to happen to my children.
Speaker 3:And that's why I guess you've been a minister of many things, and that's why I guess you've been a minister of many things. But one of the last thing, I guess because I didn't really kind of put that connection together, but one of the last things that you were actually given, one of the last files you were given, was population growth. That's right, was?
Speaker 2:that a part of that kind of desire, it's well, when we went in in 2013,. So we would have gone in and we formed a government because we took from I think it was the NDP.
Speaker 3:NDP yep.
Speaker 2:That was one of the. There were many priorities. This was one of them that I was given alongside other things. But I would tell you, most people the first couple of years thought, you know, it wasn't going to happen. We, you know there was a lot of work that had to be done to get us to the point where we were finally on an upward.
Speaker 1:Right, because we were losing this country. We were losing, or the province was losing, every year, you know we would get stats of the number of births versus the deaths.
Speaker 2:Well, obviously, the deaths always outweighed the worth, but also that people of leaving as well, and the aging population.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:It was really scary In some parts of the province. Hospitals were closing, schools were closing.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They just didn't have the population.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I mean so you kind of really, because it's a twofold, because I mean she was Minister of Population Growth but also Minister of Immigration Right, so heavily kind of fell on your shoulders to grow the province.
Speaker 2:And I know you had Stephen McNeil before on a podcast and I'll say to you he was a fabulous person to work with. He pretty much and I can say that now this is public and I have no problem in saying it because I've said it one-on-one to so many people pretty much gave me a carte blanche as a minister.
Speaker 3:Oh, good To do what I felt was necessary to do, and he appointed Lena as the first attorney general in Nova Scotia.
Speaker 2:History Cool Since 1750, I believe was the first one.
Speaker 1:There was one in 1750. No, there wasn't any Since the start. Since the start.
Speaker 3:There definitely wasn't one in 17, anything I know.
Speaker 1:So the first time I went, into the office as a justice.
Speaker 2:In public. It was Justice, public Safety called together, but attorney general right, so the attorney general would all be wearing so as a lawyer. When we go to court, you know how we dress in robes, right? Anyway, the first time I went into the office and that's where your wife actually used to meet me. Yeah, we used to be on terminal road okay uh, all photos. They had the photos from the beginning of all the men and in the early years for like a long time they would all be robed.
Speaker 2:We called them robed and had their white sashes because that's what we wore when we go to court. Right, it hit you like it really hits you, it really smacks you. If you have time to think, though, that's the problem the portfolio and things were so busy that you rarely had time to think about anything but work. But it really does hit you in terms of how you've come Well cheers to you, cheers, yes, cheers.
Speaker 1:You guys are drinking a lot more than me, that's okay. We will have problems.
Speaker 3:But I will say though, you know, when I was talking with Lena before, she was saying like she's like, oh, I don't want to. You know, she doesn't want to brag too much, so I'll have to do a little bit of bragging for her.
Speaker 1:Help her out, yeah.
Speaker 3:Women in politics is tough, it's very tough, and one of about is that she used to really like about Lena is they always had really good discussions about women leadership kind of breaking that glass ceiling and stuff like that. Okay, and you've done a lot of that, like in Nova Scotia, obviously being the first of a few things but a minister of many things now going on. You know, going from and we can talk about that, going from provincial to federal politics and all that stuff but you've led the way in a lot of ways provincial to federal politics and all that stuff, but you've led the way in a lot of ways. I also heard that you leaving the provincial liberals kind of put them at a huge disadvantage, because I hear that you are a fundraising queen.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, You're going to raise money. Listen, when I made the decision to leave provincial to federal, the Liberal Party was doing quite well in Nova Scotia.
Speaker 3:Yeah so.
Speaker 2:I didn't. I left thinking.
Speaker 3:You were leaving them in good hands, yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, quite frankly yes, so you're the reason they lost there.
Speaker 2:Well, no, I wouldn't say that, but I guess what I would say is you never know in politics.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right, right.
Speaker 2:And things change. I think there's an English saying you tell? Me. Things change on a dime.
Speaker 3:It's not something I say, but I've heard that before, particularly in politics.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah.
Speaker 3:Very much. People have short memories, whether that's a good or a bad thing.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 3:Right, like you know people, something bad could happen and a year later doesn't matter. People forget about it and they still vote the person in. Or something good happens and a year later they don't care what you did for them, it's what did you do for me lately?
Speaker 2:Right, that's the sales, that's every job.
Speaker 1:It's a lot of things Actually. Yeah, you're in the same job, I bet you you'd probably give a really good quote to a client one year and then the next year.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, things have gone up and you're now?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, at least there's one thing that the three of us around this table can understand is you know what profession do people hate the most? Insurance, lawyers or politicians? I don't know. Oh my God, and I've got two out of the three. That's not good, that's not true.
Speaker 2:Lawyers are there to actually serve and help people. I think everyone is, though I certainly did that. Yes, I agree with you.
Speaker 3:Politicians are there, and politicians exactly. And you know what?
Speaker 1:Despite popular belief, insurance, people are there to help at your worst time, exactly Okay, moving on, violins away.
Speaker 2:No, no, but you don't need these people if you're doing well.
Speaker 1:Right, honestly Now, lawyers, you might. If you win a million, you're going to probably need a lawyer to drop a few things. Oh right.
Speaker 2:But certainly if you're doing well generally speaking, you leave all of this, but that's when you need somebody.
Speaker 1:So why the jump from provincial to federal?
Speaker 2:I wanted to really understand what made that change happen. Yeah, well, okay, there was more than one, but generally speaking, you've hit it. I was a minister of a number of portfolios, some of which touched topics that are more national and international.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Okay, immigration francophonie you know as an example, and I was doing a lot of that in my last couple of years.
Speaker 1:You were limited on a provincial level.
Speaker 2:We were limited on a provincial level, right, exactly so. That was one of the reasons. Another reason is and you know politics, it's all about timing. They say the opportunity came where my predecessor decided to retire.
Speaker 2:Yeah, long serving too so long serving predecessor, after 20 plus years, decided to retire. And this is the area where I live and you know where I've given a lot to and so on, and so it just, you know, it just made sense and either way, it appeared that we were going to be heading into an election, so I wasn't leaving my provincial colleagues, we were going to be heading into an election anyway.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Because I'm somebody that really cares. If you work with me, I don't want to let you down. I value relationships, regardless of who, or you know who they are, or what it's for, or whether organization, and so, yeah, it just made a lot of sense for me at the time and it still does, so I'm glad I did.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. I mean, the some people think that that's kind of a natural progression, but not always. There's a certain calling that it takes to become in federal politics. It's not easy. You're gone a lot right.
Speaker 2:You're gone a lot. That's the hardest part of being federal it's the fact that you have to actually get on an airplane to go to the House of. Commons in Ottawa and it happens a lot more than you think and it airplane to go to the House of Commons in Ottawa.
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 2:And it happens a lot more than you think.
Speaker 1:Oh, and it's the time factor the time factor.
Speaker 3:What is it? 65% of the time you're away? Is that what it is?
Speaker 2:No, it's well, it feels like that. Okay, but it's half the weeks of the year.
Speaker 3:Half the weeks, okay, so 50% of the time you're gone. Monday to Friday half the weeks.
Speaker 2:Okay, so 50 of the time. Monday to friday.
Speaker 3:And they sit monday to friday yes, so with weeks, uh, yeah, yeah, yeah, not right now, though, because you're you're not sitting no, no, yeah, but we don't sit every single week anyway no, exactly we don't sit every week, uh, but, as you know, there is a uh, the session is prorogued and many people say, oh, but people are not working.
Speaker 2:Whatever Rest assured. Rest assured, we members of parliament are working hard, but so is the government and the ministers and the prime minister. I mean, you know they're working nonstop. And I would say to you To people that don't understand.
Speaker 1:Why did they shut down? I think people don't understand that. I've seen comments on a weekly basis of people not understanding why that happened.
Speaker 2:I have too. I see that too and I say to myself I wish I could do a political science class.
Speaker 1:Sure, no, here we go, let's go.
Speaker 3:Yeah, here we go. Here's your political science Professor Lena Okay.
Speaker 2:Well, first of all, it's not unprecedented. It has happened before, oh yeah. Second of all, there needs to be a reason for it. You know, in this particular case, instead of us going back last week, we will go back March 24th, and, as I said to you, we don't sit every week anyway.
Speaker 3:No, exactly.
Speaker 2:It just means the parliamentary part of this job does not get done, meaning what we do when we go to Ottawa, the committees we sit on, but the rest of the stuff, the constituency and everything that we do, keeps going on. The ministers, the ministries. They're nonstop. It has absolutely no effect on any of that.
Speaker 1:Of course we have a leadership.
Speaker 2:We meaning the Liberal Party. The Prime Minister has said he's stepping down and therefore a new leader needs to be elected for the political party. It doesn't matter what the party is, but that's what it is. The Prime Minister is stepping down. There needs to be a new leader. In this case, they said you've got to elect one, so that takes a bit of time. In fact, the time they've given is pretty short yeah, for our leadership when the house shuts down.
Speaker 1:And again I'm asking for the folks that aren't into politics here, because I'm more on that side of of the defense. I'm learning a lot of this for the first time, um like so. So in these instances, when the house shuts down, does certain things not get done?
Speaker 2:So what does not get done is the fact that you're going and sitting in the House of Commons and debating publicly legislation. Everything else is still continuing.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:Meaning the Prime Minister is doing his job, but you can't pass legislation. No, that's correct, laws can't get passed that job. But you can't pass legislation. No, that's correct, laws can't get passed.
Speaker 2:That's correct. You can't pass new laws Now if there's some that are passed and the public servants is working on regulations. That continues, that's no problem, okay. The implementation continues.
Speaker 1:So something was approved, and it's in the offices of whomever that's still getting worked on Exactly Something that was held up or still being debated on. That's a hard pause. Nothing's getting done with it.
Speaker 2:That's correct.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 3:I think a lot of people like Lena mentioned, I think a lot of people forget or don't even realize it, honestly, about 20% of the work, honestly, of what's being done, what you see on camera and what you see in the actual legislature or the House or anything. That's 20%.
Speaker 2:It's an important part of the work. It's an important part of it, but it's small, but it's not the totality of the work. Is what I'm saying when people say you know nothing's being done.
Speaker 1:It's time to lay it as an observer again, that doesn't really understand how it works. I mean, I see a lot of almost like theatrics, a lot of arguing back and forth and a lot of almost foolishness.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of that. I agree with you.
Speaker 1:Within the last year or so, almost to a whole new perplexing level.
Speaker 2:So as a mom and now as a grandma to be honest, I find it sometimes embarrassing. If I want my kids are bigger, they get it, but if you bring a school age class and, depending on the timing they actually go in and watch, I find it embarrassing and that's the thing.
Speaker 3:I watch it and I find it embarrassing sometimes too, when I watch about the bickering back and forth and stuff, I'm like these are grown adults, that we've elected, that we pay good money to go up there and represent us and then just the just the bickering and the insults and all that stuff and back to that you. You know it's hard on women in politics. It can be hard in that room. As a woman in politics, I'm sure you would know far better than I, right.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, you're not supposed to get personal, but we all know that. You know there's people that just cross that line. Government is there to govern. Government is there to make priorities because it has no choice.
Speaker 1:It should be the house of intellectual debate.
Speaker 2:When you make priorities, there's going to be people that are not happy, and then you know because you're making priorities and you're trying to make decisions for the collective good of people.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the opposition is there to oppose.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that's fine. It's parliamentary process, and that's fine.
Speaker 2:But it's when they get to the theatrics and talking about anything but the kitchen sink and everything else. Yeah, it's ridiculous.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it does get a little foolish, but you know what? I get it a little bit in terms of, like you know, they try to get each other's skin, they try to get them roweled up or whatever, but it is what it is. But I mean, you know your former colleague, brendan Maguire. He was on the show but he was formerly liberal, now PC. But I can tell you one thing when people don't realize so, brendan is someone who is a good friend of mine and we we talk often. But I can tell you, if you ever want to see or like feel what it's like to to know, that if he's in the legislature, I can actually, if the ledge is in, I can actually get ahold of him, no problem. When he's not, he's actually harder to get a hold of Now, especially because he has the education file and he's the house leader. Dude's busy, like I hear from him at 11 o'clock at night and like bedtime used to be 10 o'clock for him before.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean sometimes we're working around the clock. I mean, you know, I try and sleep by midnight.
Speaker 1:Yeah, really yeah, and that's not exhausting. You don't get tired of that?
Speaker 2:You do.
Speaker 2:But, again, I, you know, I'm lucky my kids are older. I have no, you know, I have adult children. But you know that's not. It's not an easy life, particularly for somebody who, and I, have a very large family. So I try and do you know, my Christmas and my Easter and my, you know, is that enough? I guess, each to his own, we all make decisions. I very much, though I very much enjoy serving people, I get, you know, a real, you know real sense. I'm just so happy when I can help people and help somebody fix something, provide them with support, give them advice, do what you know what, yeah, and we do a lot of that. There's a lot that goes on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, honestly, yes. Again. Going back to the non-parliamentary process stuff, I reached out to you a couple of years ago for a buddy of mine who was getting sent back home. In the end he still had to get sent back home, but you guys were pretty good to respond back and you've helped me connect it with some things. There was actually somebody else who I originally tried to reach out to who wasn't as responsive, so I mean, at least it was an answer, you connected me with some people and you helped and there was a little bit of glimmer of hope, I think at one point.
Speaker 2:So, but there's a lot we can do, but we also have constraints of course there's a number of things we can't do, and I guess what I would say to you is, because of my legal background, yes, and my experience, both provincial, I know very well, and my educational experience, but also my personal, you know, you know there's a lot I can identify with people, but I also know, realistically, you know, what you can do, what you can't do, and how you can do it fast or not. So it just depends, and I, you know, I give that lessons to my staff because they're not always, you know, yeah, so it's a learning curve for many people.
Speaker 3:I mean, I personally, you know, am in your riding now because there's been some alignments and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Next general election, the riding will be distributed and I will have all of the Peggy's Cove loop.
Speaker 1:Oh, there you go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I will actually go back to represent quite a bit of an area where I represented as a provincial member.
Speaker 3:Yes, that's right.
Speaker 2:In the Armdale area, which would cover all of the Joe Howe and the Fairmount and the Bayers Road.
Speaker 1:So how would things change? If, like I mean the Liberal Party right now, I mean we? Yeah, there's a lot of changes coming. We know that the Conservative Party is doing much better than they ever have in a long time. In this I mean federally right.
Speaker 2:Polls say that sure.
Speaker 1:Polls say that, that it seems to do that, and I mean you know, I mean I'm not speaking personal politics here or anything. I'm just asking like, uh, what do you feel like the future of the liberal party is? Do you think there's going to be a major resurgence here now? I mean we trudeau would really drag down the polls. I mean it's I know that's not I think I know you may not have to say it, right, listen, this is what I would say, yeah.
Speaker 2:Listen, we were. No, the party was not doing well. Right, the prime minister did his best. He has served people for over a decade. And you started this conversation with I don't know if it was on the air or not, I think it was with saying when you do good and you help people, people have short memories.
Speaker 1:Yes, you know.
Speaker 2:I can tell you, when I went to the doors in 2021, as a first time federal member knocking on doors, or federal candidates, sorry, knocking on the doors I had people come to me and say, when you go back and you see Trudeau, tell him thank you. It was because of him we've survived, either because our businesses didn't close or our health.
Speaker 1:we didn't die, so people do have short memories and I still say still about Trudeau. I mean, today is February 4th, we recorded February 2nd. I was there Saturday night with my partner watching Trudeau speak. Excellent job. Oh, what a great job. Excellent job, it was an excellent job, but you know the decisions made you know I'm not somebody that says, oh, what, if, what if?
Speaker 2:what if You've got to move with today forward? Right this is the kind of person I am. You know, we do have a leadership and I hear on the streets because I am here in Halifax now more than anywhere else. I, because I am here in Halifax now more than anywhere else I go around and talk to people that I don't know. Sometimes it's better for me to talk to people I don't know, because I love that more and, yeah, there seems to be a bit more of a you know people are excited.
Speaker 1:You can thank Trump for that.
Speaker 2:I mean.
Speaker 1:I really do think, because what happened here over the last week or so is we've seen Trump largely unite the nation again.
Speaker 3:Seriously.
Speaker 2:Because, and I brought with me our Canada flag.
Speaker 3:I saw those there Did you see that I give that to everywhere and I bring whatever, because You're right.
Speaker 2:I say to you be careful. Who you Change is not necessarily better, and be careful.
Speaker 3:I'm someone who I don't hide anything. I'm fairly non-partisan. That being said, I'm a big Kretchen guy. I think he's the GOAT right Turned 91. Did you see what he put?
Speaker 1:out. Oh yeah, no, we shared it on our social media. Oh, I love it.
Speaker 2:No, no, no.
Speaker 3:He's the GOAT. So, that being said, I'm not just all over liberal and everything like that kind of thing, but I will say that I like Trudeau's decision and I'll tell you why I like Trudeau's decision For more of a political kind of analysis type of thing, not necessarily a personal one, because there's things that I like that he did very well and he's represented Canada positively internationally, and there's some things that I didn't like that he did very well and he's represented Canada positively internationally, and there's some things that I didn't like that he did and everything.
Speaker 2:You know there's scandals and you know things like that. Well, nobody's going to like everything about anybody, 100% that's the reality.
Speaker 3:But you know what he did that as much as Trump has united us. What Trudeau did that I really admired is he gave Canadians a choice. Polls were low for him, he was trending low. He clearly realized, hey, I'm not the guy that they want right now. So he had to step aside, put that aside, his ego aside and all that stuff, and say I need to give Canadians a choice. And the Liberal Party wasn't a choice, clearly, for a lot of people. And now we're seeing the polls really starting to spike back up. Not to be slightly negative, I know, I'm looking at you I mean.
Speaker 1:I'm not always, I can't always just give everybody their flowers all the time. It's okay I mean, I Christina Freeland. I wish she had the right voice. I think it's going to be a harder battle for now than it was then. I really feel like trudeau god bless him. Yeah, great speech, saturday thumbs up. Uh, should have been gone a year ago or more and and we, we, the Liberal Party dragged their butts and didn't move that fast enough. And they totally should have. If they really I don't know. This is how I feel.
Speaker 2:Listen, I appreciate your view because I've heard that before as well. I mean, Chrystia is an experienced politician. She's won four elections. She's also won a nomination battle and for those listening that have no idea what it is, talk to me. I've won one in 2013 and one in 2021.
Speaker 1:All right, give us a quick. What's the nomination battle?
Speaker 2:So in this country we have partisan politics provincially and federally, we don't municipally.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So in order to run, you have to belong to a political party. That's just the way it works. I can't speak for the other parties, but for the liberal party, because I don't know about the other ones. A hundred percent, I think they may select, I don't know, but for the liberal party, for the most part, what they do is they send out packages you have to apply, basically.
Speaker 2:You have to go apply. It's like applying for a job, but it's a hell of a lot more. It's a hell of a lot more. I had no idea how much it took to apply as a federal candidate. You have to go through so much information, questions, interviews, etc. Etc. Yeah, and then you know you run against whoever else also got approved.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:That is the hardest. That is harder to get that nod to run for the party than to run in a general election.
Speaker 3:Really yeah, because, well you think about it, you have people who are all in the same view. It's like we're all liberals, right, and so it's really this is a big part of like when I was asked oh, that's what's happening with the leadership now of course, that's what's happening with the leadership now.
Speaker 2:So, to get back to Chrystia, she won a nomination. When she first started. She was part of opposition because when she won in 2013, it was a by-election and that was not held by liberals at the time. So she won the nomination, she won the by-election. She was sitting, apparently, beside May of the Green Party. That's how there were so very few liberals at the time and I think Trudeau was on the other side because they were just so very few back in 2013. So she's experienced and she's held many, many important portfolios. The most important that I would say to you and you just spoke about Trump is she knows how to negotiate. She knows trade.
Speaker 1:She's been on the American stage and she's respected the US and she's been on the American stage.
Speaker 2:I was looking yesterday she did an interview with all of the American journalists.
Speaker 1:Yes, she did, but not just recently, because I think Carney recently popped up too, but I mean Freeland.
Speaker 1:I remember when she showed up on Bill Maher, one of my favorite American politics shows no more than me, and this is years ago and she was awesome, right, she was a real rock star on that, okay and yeah sad thing about Freeland is the fact that I feel like, where she was so close to go for so long and that was so recent, that separation I mean I'm, I mean I don't know if it's going to be tougher for her.
Speaker 2:You know what? It's March 9. We'll see what happens. What I will say to you is she's committed to stay, no matter what happens? I like that she's committed to stay no matter what happens, and for me that's golden.
Speaker 1:That's respect. Right there she's also bilingual.
Speaker 2:I mean she also speaks other languages.
Speaker 3:Actually, she speaks a number of languages. She speaks five languages. Don't ask me what they are, but she speaks quite a few. No, it's true, I think her home language is Ukrainian. Oh, really, that's her home language. She is Ukrainian, yeah, so that's what she speaks in her home. Cool.
Speaker 2:Russian. Anyway, she speaks, but she's bilingual and to be a prime minister in Canada in my opinion, you need to have both languages.
Speaker 2:Which brings you back to why I was trying to enrich. Not that I wanted to be prime minister, but for me it was always important to didn't even speak English anyway when I was born, as you know, we don't speak, we speak baby language, but when I came into grade six, I didn't speak English. I did speak French, and so for me it's important to have both English and French and, of course, your native tongue.
Speaker 1:If you have another one, what's your? I got to ask you this what's your fears, you think, if Pauliev takes over leadership? What's your biggest concerns? I don't say fears, that's not the right word.
Speaker 2:There is fear, yeah, there is fear. I believe this particular liberal government has brought in a lot of good things Not dental care.
Speaker 3:Yeah, childcare.
Speaker 2:I'm telling you the people that are benefited from the child care.
Speaker 1:It's unbelievable, and Paulieva has expressed explicitly he's going to cut that.
Speaker 2:Well, he's said that every single time. So, Pharmacare that we're trying to now bring in. You know we're starting with. Yeah, there's many things on the. We've indexed the old age pension the. Canada pension plan the GIS. Guaranteed Income Supplement so that it actually goes up every year. Now for seniors. Some of them don't even know that, you know.
Speaker 3:But they did that.
Speaker 2:They rolled back from 67 to 65. Like, a lot of these things are definitely on the chopping block. There's no doubt about it, and I could go on, but those are the things that I think a lot of people rely on in this country.
Speaker 3:Do you know what, though? This is going to be an unpopular opinion? Sure, but I actually think that the old age pension should have remained higher, because we're living longer and I think that people are retiring later. So, as people live longer and retire later, it makes sense to have that older.
Speaker 2:You know what People who contact me, people who contact our constituency offices don't feel the same way but I understand what you're saying.
Speaker 1:Don't share that opinion in Paris.
Speaker 2:No no. Yeah right, I understand what you're saying and I heard it before a couple of years ago from somebody who is much older and who said the same thing. So I understand what you're saying. I have a partial philosophy.
Speaker 1:I'm partially with you. I understand that you have to keep going yes but the thing is, I think there should be a part in your life too. You're 65 years old. You've worked hard and long. You just now have a choice.
Speaker 3:I agree with you.
Speaker 1:My dad or whoever now can choose how he wants to work and how he wants to spend his day. No, I agree with you and have something if he wants to take time off and go away and all that stuff, but there's a financial thing to it.
Speaker 3:We have to obviously balance budgets and all that other stuff. And if people, as medical advancements happen and we're living longer than we ever have, if all of a sudden our average age at some point reaches, like, say, a hundred, yeah, you're gonna tell me that you're gonna. You're gonna be able to support people from the age 65 to 100 well, I'd love it to reach 100.
Speaker 2:I don't. I don't see that happening, matt, I do, I do, I don't think it is. I love that, I love it.
Speaker 3:You know what medical advancements are going super fast and you know they're.
Speaker 1:Canada went down the last couple years and maybe it's because of covid no, we did well in code.
Speaker 3:We did, but we did well in covid, but the average life expectancy did drop it during covid periods over the last few years for like the first time in history. It was like it was like point something we're still doing better than the us we are yeah, which uh, you know uh old donald's right's right at the end of that range.
Speaker 1:Donnie's in 49th place from the statistics. I looked at the other week?
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, I love statistics.
Speaker 1:And yeah, so we're in, like we're 20th, wow. But speaking of international stuff, japan is kicking our ass. Japan's the longest outside of Sardinia, yeah.
Speaker 3:Sardinia in Italy. Longest Sardinia, most concentrated blue zone in all the world. Oh wow, people will live well in their hundreds, 110, 115. Yeah, couples, seriously Couples.
Speaker 2:You want to retire there?
Speaker 3:I would. Oh boy, food might be good Wine. I want the food Wine fish pasta.
Speaker 3:Yeah. But speaking of moving on to a little bit more of the international stuff, I mean, like we did had some like tariff scare, which is, you know, was interesting. I think it's kind of funny. I feel Trudeau basically like said to Trump that the exact same thing that we're already doing, and he was just kind of like, OK, I won. And it was like, yeah, I think they're all like he and Mexico are just kind of laughing. I just told them exactly what we're doing already. Well, listen.
Speaker 2:Trudeau and the team. They've been working on this for a long time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was in the news last November. This is not yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:And so he's got a fabulous team of ministers that represent different portfolios that have been working on this steadily team of ministers that represent different portfolios that have been working on this steadily. Chrystia Freeland was definitely one of them when she was the finance minister, but he also is working with all the premiers of the provinces and the territories.
Speaker 1:It was great.
Speaker 2:They're all talking in the same language, for a change which is fabulous. I mean that's what you need.
Speaker 1:I mean Trudeau was very he was wrong with the fentanyl accusations coming from Canada.
Speaker 3:He was dead wrong, even the.
Speaker 2:Americans are saying that he has zero proof. He has nothing to back it up.
Speaker 1:He's kind of throwing his muscle around and he's trying to intimidate.
Speaker 3:I want one of Ford's hats that says Canada's not for sale. I want one of Ford's hats that says Canada's not for sale. I want one of those.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely we are a proud nation.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's our sovereignty. We are not for sale.
Speaker 2:But it's our sovereignty economically and politically yes. And I kid you not, he even repeated it.
Speaker 3:51st state Give me a break.
Speaker 2:What planet is you know? He wants Canada, he wants, repeated it, 51st state Give me a break.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what planet is you know? He wants Canada, he wants Greenland, he wants Panama, like yeah.
Speaker 2:You go home now See how many things you know your little boy wants for you know.
Speaker 3:Exactly no, I think he's a con man, actually, your boy's probably a lot more saner.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's probably true.
Speaker 3:Shares more, that's for sure. But so the tariffs obviously like that's never going to be a good thing, like tariffs are obviously bad for both countries. But one thing I do love that this has brought out is this kind of not newfound but like rebirth of, like this pride in Canada and like you said premiers, everyone's getting together Business leaders, unions, everybody.
Speaker 1:So can we get these interviews? I've been talking about this new program. We need to fan that flame, though, because we do so here we're doing this interview.
Speaker 2:I don't know when it will go on air, but February 15 is our national flag day.
Speaker 1:Is it? I don't know if you know that Right after Valentine's Day, huh National flag day is February 15th.
Speaker 3:That's the birthday of the Canadian flag.
Speaker 2:Yes, and so you know, as an immigration minister for me. I would go to so many citizenship ceremonies and when people were getting there, your wife got her citizenship. You probably remember, at one point Not citizenship Quebec.
Speaker 3:Oh, she came from, that's right.
Speaker 1:That's a whole other conversation, no, no.
Speaker 2:They were going to leave, they carry the flags with them and they are so proud at these ceremonies. It's funny, we need to do that all the time and as an MP we do get people emailing and calling saying do you have any Canada pins July 1st, around that July? But we need to do that all year round and you're right. That has given, I think, a renewed sense of that. I have a funny little joke for you.
Speaker 3:I got a funny little joke for you.
Speaker 2:I saw this meme and it's relevant to what we saw. So it's Quebec, eh. So, yeah, they're very proud to.
Speaker 3:Yes, so it says here. This was something that I saw on threads today. It said dear america, you've pissed off the quebecois.
Speaker 2:Do you know how badly you had to f up to get quebec to be proudly canadian? Well, the premier of quebec is on this let's go, let's go I mean, if it's a trade-off between Canada and the United States, come on now. I'm glad. I'm glad. Thank you for sharing that. I think that's important. Yeah, I know it is, that's important.
Speaker 1:You've touched on a lot of the things that the Liberal Party you know is really valuable. Here today we just kind of go back a step. We talk about seniors, the senior age of retirement. We talk about the free dental care, the child care. These are all very positive liberal things. One thing I did hear Polly Epps say that I like I like listening to the good ideas on both sides, not the bad. Good interprovincial trading.
Speaker 2:That's important. So the trade minister is in Halifax tonight.
Speaker 1:Oh is he.
Speaker 2:It's a woman.
Speaker 3:I don't know.
Speaker 2:Anita, Anita Anand. Anyway, I'm meeting her tomorrow. We are doing an announcement tomorrow. Can you tell her that the Afternoon Point really wants this.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, Tell her to come on the show. We're doing a roundtable on international trade.
Speaker 2:Do you know how hard they've been working? You don't, but.
Speaker 3:I'm going to tell you.
Speaker 1:So she's meeting with all the ministers and I know ministers of so and I know as a provincial person at the time we also were working on that as nova scotia. Right to try with others, but if anybody's listening, alberta, I really want your beef in nova scotia.
Speaker 3:I'm a big steak guy and we need the best beef and you guys got it. We'll trade your lobster for steak.
Speaker 1:We got some servant turf let's work something out, get these provinces kind of kind of you know, doing some business steven m McNeil when he was premier and we signed a deal with Alberta on something on international trade.
Speaker 2:So they're not all bad, but they do want to protect their own. That's the problem though A lot of provinces, depending on what issue you're talking about they all have this protection. But now the good thing is, it's better to talk Canada than to talk us separately, because that's how we're all going to win together.
Speaker 3:And we have all the resources we need.
Speaker 2:We do.
Speaker 3:We have all of the fresh water, the lumber, the oil, the diamonds, the gold, the uranium, all the natural resources, if you speak to Jonathan Wilkinson, who's the current Minister of Natural Resources.
Speaker 2:he could go on with it just amazes me how much Canada has. Yeah.
Speaker 3:We could be self-sufficient.
Speaker 1:We need to be up that defense.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was going to say we need to be self-sufficient.
Speaker 1:That's the other thing, but we need to be able to protect it. I mean, that's a big yeah yeah, absolutely we do yes.
Speaker 3:So yeah, yeah, if Anita wants to come on the show, I would do a little special episode with her. That'd be great.
Speaker 1:We wanted to talk about trade. I'm obsessed with understanding trade better. Ever since we talked to Houston Houston because of trade laws and trying to figure out and navigate how we can get better deals for local products.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:You know again, liberals, all about this carbon, saving carbon, but the leadership, have all said the consumer price is going anyway Sure.
Speaker 2:We're going to concentrate on the industries.
Speaker 3:Right and you know what. It's been there for a couple of years and it has done its job.
Speaker 2:If it's going to shift people's attitudes, it has shifted some. So now you concentrate on the heavy polluters, yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, but like you have a God. Hold up Honest to God, like we got cows right now coming from New Zealand that are in our grocery stores in Nova Scotia. Cows, cows, beef, beef, beef.
Speaker 2:I thought you meant cows B-E-I Ice cream From.
Speaker 1:New Zealand, and I'm like I mean carbon tax, flying cows going across the ocean halfway across the world. Hell of a lot closer now Alberta, Alberta, right. So we've got to figure out deals that make sense. This could get rid of carbon tax, right Absolutely.
Speaker 3:This is what I was going to say about carbon tax. Lena's been a part of two different governments that operated two very different ways.
Speaker 2:Well, that's the other thing. We didn't have a carbon tax when the provincial liberals were in because they negotiated and Trudeau's government and we'll talk people's names, and they accepted it.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know not to well, I guess I am political but I'm not that partisan. But my point being Premier McNeil not Premier McNeil, premier Houston didn't want to do that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Didn't want to do what Cap and trade. He didn't want to do that and he didn't want to do his own provincial thing.
Speaker 2:He told he didn't want to do his own provincial thing. He said to the feds, do whatever you want, yeah, Essentially that we're not going to do our own. And so you know, the feds were left with. I say the feds, you know, yeah, we're left with. This is how it's going across Canada, unless you have your own program.
Speaker 1:I like the cap and trade system. Nova Scotia didn't have the Cap and trade is not bad. I'm with you on that because I mean it doesn't sound super attractive, but it works.
Speaker 2:Ian Rankin, who is actually the MLA for where? We're sitting right now he was a vocal advocate of that. And if you ever talk to him. He knows a lot about it, A lot.
Speaker 3:I've had a couple beers with Ian.
Speaker 2:I believe, you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, so now we're going to be going to leadership, then we're going to be going to leadership, uh, then we're going to be going back. I mean, what? What do you really think? Like, obviously there's some other big issues that are coming up, but, um, we could be in for some really busy couple months for, you know, voting and all that other stuff, um, but, uh, I don't know how. Where do you think things will land? Like, do you, do you, um, do you put the, the liberal blinders on and think like no, we're gonna win again? Or like, you know, do you think, well, listen for me as a member of parliament.
Speaker 2:I represent an area yeah it's halifax west, you know again. It'll start at the armdale rotary and work its way up st margaret's bay road and joe how, and you know all the way through to where we are here the BLT area the. Prospect Loop, the West Bedford, clayton Park, fairview, etc. Etc. I am what I can do is control, you know sort of work to for me to win my, my seat. Why? Because I believe I can better represent the people that live in this community. Because it's a learning curve being a federal representative.
Speaker 2:It has taken me three couple years. Well, it took me a first couple of years. When we first got elected, we still had COVID, and then we had the convoy situation where we were not allowed to go to certain places. I was staying in a hotel the hotel at the time. I called them before I left Halifax airport and they said to me we can't guarantee we can let you in.
Speaker 3:Why.
Speaker 2:Because we're, they were all there so.
Speaker 2:I didn't go. I canceled the flight that week. So my point being is it was a learning curve we had for me and it's taking me that long to figure things out in ottawa a little bit, all together with doing everything I can for the people in this community, whether it's one-on-one support, uh, with service canada, with immigration, with the old eight, with hundreds of, or community community groups, organization, helping them fund infrastructure, housing, you know stuff Like there's so much I've been able to deliver for the seniors, horizons programs, for the child care spaces that we've created with the funds available, fairview Resource Center I mean I could go on and on and on Fairview Resource Center. I mean I could go on and on and on that.
Speaker 2:I feel as a member of parliament I can now take that Canada summer jobs, like I can go on and on, take that and do that much more for the people I represent. And, as I said, with my legal background and the fact I've also served provincially on a number of issues, I know very well the local issues, provincial, federal, and I'm pretty good on international. I sit on a number of issues. I know very well the local issues, provincial, federal, and I'm pretty good on international.
Speaker 2:I sit on a lot of intercommittees.
Speaker 1:I think you should be running for prime minister.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. Thank you so much. First up first, Not this time, not this time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, exactly. First things. First, though, is get the interprovincial archaic laws about alcohol, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, alcohol is, I'll tell you they used to fight a lot about alcohol Ridiculous.
Speaker 3:Do you know? It's more legal for me to bring booze into the United States than it is to New Brunswick. Really, yes, I'm not supposed to actually bring vodka to New Brunswick.
Speaker 1:They just don't want Bud Light getting. We do well in Nova Scotia so let's get those international provincial trades down, I agree with you, let's get Nova Scotia beer out to the world, and it's not just.
Speaker 2:It's on everything, Even workers right. The regulations around people who work in different industries.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:There's a lot that we can do and should do, and they had been trying to do it, but I believe they now have the incentive to work that much harder together and I think that's a positive.
Speaker 1:That's cool, matt. I think we should get to our questions. My friend, let's do it, let's do 10 questions.
Speaker 3:She was scared about this. Don't oh gosh these?
Speaker 1:questions are stupid by design. Some fun, a couple serious, yeah, a little mix. Do you want to do the camera thing or do you want to just kind?
Speaker 3:of keep going.
Speaker 1:It's really busy here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know what?
Speaker 1:We might just skip the cameras. Today, I think, yeah, let's just do it yeah we'll just kind of rock and roll, let's just go yeah, okay. So. I'll start with question one, Matt. Let's see here. It's Okay, go ahead. Okay. If your life was a movie, what would you call it?
Speaker 2:If my life was a movie, what would I call?
Speaker 1:it. That's your first question.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, Bulldozer, bulldozer.
Speaker 1:I love it. Great answer.
Speaker 3:That's a great answer, All right. Question number two what is one of your favorite Lebanese dishes?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a tough one.
Speaker 1:You know who I am right, you know who you're talking to here, do you yeah?
Speaker 2:Listen, my mother makes everything delicious. Go to her home on Sunday and she will feed you anything what's that address, yeah so kibbeh, it's Lebanese ground meat.
Speaker 3:Oh, I know that it is really good, Okay, of course you've got the tabbouleh.
Speaker 2:Like I could go on and on. By the way, I don't eat that anywhere, but with her, because it's fresh ground meat, yeah, so yeah.
Speaker 3:Amazing Good answer.
Speaker 2:All right Question number three Okay, if Freeland wins and becomes prime minister, can you make Matt?
Speaker 1:Conrad a senator. No promises, matt. No, okay, he wanted to take a shot.
Speaker 3:I shoot my shot. Oh, my goodness, you know what, though You're young, you have many years to go?
Speaker 2:You never know.
Speaker 3:I think the Senate needs some young blood.
Speaker 2:That's what I mean.
Speaker 3:You've got a shot, just like anyone else and we're all and you know what the Senators are all independent now. So I'm a free thinker, you know, open to new ideas.
Speaker 2:You have a shot, just like anyone else, but I will not make any promises to you.
Speaker 1:Alright, I'll have to accept that your turn bud.
Speaker 3:If you had to name your dog after one person in Parliament, who would it be, and why?
Speaker 2:Dear Lord, I have no dogs, yeah, but if you had one.
Speaker 1:If you got a dog. I'm giving you a new puppy, if you had to name anybody in Parliament, who would you name the dog it?
Speaker 2:depends, do I like my dog?
Speaker 1:This is all on you. This is up for your interpretation. You name it.
Speaker 2:and while you name it, Mom do you know how many young ladies I see carrying around those little poodles, that they love them more? Than their souls.
Speaker 1:Yes, because they can't afford to have kids anymore, right? I don't know, some of them have kids too. Just teasing.
Speaker 3:That's a tough one. Yeah, I'm not going to Do. I need to do that. You can drink it. You can drink it. You can just take a drink. You can have a sip if you don't want to. Yeah, you've got to take a drink if you don't want to answer.
Speaker 2:Okay, I will here.
Speaker 1:There you go, cheers. There you go, cheers. Just pleading the fifth on this show Pleading the fifth. Yeah, okay, there's going to be a few more hard ones here. All right, okay, who lies more?
Speaker 2:Lies.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness, Can you give?
Speaker 3:me the definition of a lie. It depends, right.
Speaker 2:Who lies more. Who lies more? I guess it depends on the individuals. I don't believe it's the profession I don't buy that.
Speaker 1:You believe it's on the individuals.
Speaker 2:I don't believe that, Because yeah, you're speaking to a lawyer and a politician.
Speaker 3:We know, I know, you know, but no, it's no, I don't you want to pit yourself against yourself. I think it depends on the individual, not on the profession. Great answer, that's good, these are yeah professions that are very, yeah, professional. That's right. So who do you see as a natural trading partner with Canada that we underutilize?
Speaker 2:Ooh, we underutilize. You need Anita Anand here don't you Exactly?
Speaker 3:Oh, my God, you want to call a friend.
Speaker 1:I can text her now, to be honest, you know what.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you what she says. I'll ask her that question. Write that down for me. I'll ask her that. To be honest, you know what? I'll tell you what she says. I'll ask her that question. Write that down for me. I'll ask her that question tomorrow. Awesome, but I don't know. It depends. I personally would love to do more trade with the Francophone nations. To be quite frank, there's a lot of African countries that we could do a lot of trade with.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, all right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is a bit of a pivot. Okay, you ready? Okay, so listen carefully. Who famously sang these song lyrics?
Speaker 2:Oh boy.
Speaker 1:Get into the groove, boy. You've got to prove, boy, your love to me.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, I know the song 80s. Yeah, that's my generation.
Speaker 1:I got this for you. I figured when would you have been in the club you know, having a good time right.
Speaker 2:Can we Google that one? This would have been a jam for you. I didn't have Google back then.
Speaker 1:Get into the groove.
Speaker 2:I know the song. I know, I know. I used to dance to that when I was young.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Help me out. I don't know.
Speaker 1:Em.
Speaker 2:What.
Speaker 1:Em.
Speaker 3:She was iconic. Ah, blonde hair.
Speaker 1:Ah, m rhymes with Alonda. Oh Madonna, is it Madonna? It's Madonna, yeah. I told you, I know the song and I dance to it. Malona, oh my, I just couldn't rhyme with Madonna. Malona's not going to be happy. I just found that out. Oh, not Malania, no Malania, oh there we go.
Speaker 2:Okay, oh, not Melania, melania, no Melania. Oh, there we go.
Speaker 3:Okay, that's a good segue, because the next question is President Trump and his administration have recently moved away from the DEI the diversity, equity and inclusion in government. Some major companies, such as Facebook and Tesla, have also done the same.
Speaker 2:Do you think that the Liberal or Conservative Party would do anything similar to that with Canada. I think the Conservatives would, because I sit on the Science and Research Committee in Parliament and the Conservatives have criticized it every single meeting that the scientists, the researchers, the NSERC, the health professionals, everybody's come and they have criticized it and it's all public. I'm not giving you any stories and so, yes, they certainly would. I would not, definitely. And I'll tell you, I saw headlines, I didn't watch them. There was the Grammys or something. This week.
Speaker 2:And one of the women that won said the headline that I saw was DEI, that's why we're all here, or something.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of great stuff.
Speaker 2:Look, DEI, these are competent people. Folks, these are competent people. And you know, if that program helps a few people along. That's what we need, that's what this country needs, that's what the world needs. We don't want to leave people behind, because sometimes people are left behind because of who they are, what they look like or whatever. We don't want that. So you know the perception out there, if there's any from people listening that these are not competent. They are definitely, and it's not that we're leaving anyone else behind.
Speaker 1:And I mean, if any of you don't want to believe that narrative, you could also just say like doesn't inclusivity create a more peaceful and harmonious world? There's never, been an alternative where it's like, oh, we're going to let more people in our circle and you know kind of give and I'll go a bit further.
Speaker 3:Different points of view, whether it be from different backgrounds, or how you were raised, or what gender you are or anything like that, we all have a bias because of that, internally or externally. Absolutely, that's humanity.
Speaker 2:It is.
Speaker 3:But here's the good thing about it is that we all can bring different point of views together. And that's better for business, it's better. For business, that's better for anything you do. You get different perspectives right, you learn how. If I'm just going to be a white straight male all the time and we want to sell this podcast to people, we need to talk to more than just white straight males, you know kind of thing, because we need to get that and I love white straight males there's nothing wrong with us.
Speaker 2:No, not that there's nothing wrong with them. There's something wrong with him no they're fabulous, don't you know?
Speaker 1:But we also want everyone else, yeah of course, that's what it's all about, right? It's the include.
Speaker 2:That's it, absolutely All right. Good answer Next question. You like it, do you?
Speaker 1:Okay, a question from our younger listeners. Okay, which Canadian premier or sorry, I've changed that Canadian premier, or sorry, I've changed that which Canadian prime minister, past or present, do you think has the most riz?
Speaker 2:Riz, yeah, so maybe I'll pick one from my lifetime, because it's pretty hard for me to you know what riz means. Well, I think I do.
Speaker 1:You want to define it no, no, you define it. What do you think it means?
Speaker 2:Riz like, pizzazz like.
Speaker 1:Charisma.
Speaker 2:Charisma, yeah, charisma, charisma yeah, you got it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, okay for me, I'll pick my life.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna pick from my lifetime right, I mean, yeah, pierre elliott trudeau oh okay, he was a superstar, though like really yeah, it's true I remember him when I was in junior high and then later in uh 1982, when the constitution came in with the equality rights in 82. But. But I also remember him in junior high when Quebec was about to separate or we're talking about separation.
Speaker 3:There you go.
Speaker 2:That's when I got interested and I said to you I hardly knew English.
Speaker 3:My grandmother had a big crush on him.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, my grandmother had a big crush on him back in the day.
Speaker 2:I was in school, like you know. That's a good answer Last question.
Speaker 3:This is the one question that we've asked every single person so far on this year as a guest. So what is one piece of advice that you were given in your life that you can pass on to us and our listeners?
Speaker 2:If you have children, educate them, send them to schools. That was the one thing my parents wanted to do with their children, because with education, anything's possible alright everything else comes and goes, but with your education, that's what they passed on to us beautiful.
Speaker 1:that's a great answer, completely unique and original. We love that, so thank you so much. Yeah, so that concludes our 10 questions. And that's what if you don't?
Speaker 2:have kids, though, I would say and if you're, whatever I would say send that dog, the little Chihuahua, you got in the first.
Speaker 1:No, no, forget about dogs.
Speaker 2:No yourself.
Speaker 3:Right, awesome, I like that too. Well well, you know what. Lena, thank you very much for coming on the show. We appreciate the chat. It's been a, it's been a pleasure and, yeah, we'll. Good luck in the in the upcoming election that we know will be coming very soon. Right, yeah, all right, cheers, cheers, cheers to you too. Bye.
