PODCAST: Special Edition of The Rob Snow Show – Saturday February 12, 2022

Hour 1:

Saturday. The occupation in downtown Ottawa has now lasted two full weeks. Rob shares some of his thoughts and observations from the protest zone this week.

11:23 – “They didn't feel safe coming down, they were seeing the harassment other places were reporting and it simply wasn't something i was going to subject them to.”

Rob is joined by Sarah Chown, manager of the Metropolitan Brasserie restaurant which sits at the corner of Rideau and Sussex, squarely in the middle of the protest zone, and opened for the first time in two weeks Friday night. 

20:31 – “There's growing concern in the American business community about the impact on the American economy as well.”

Perrin Beatty, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, joins Rob with a look at the national and bilateral implications of the border blockades going on in Canada right now.

33:23 “It certainly has attracted a diverse camp of individuals, but perhaps what combines all these diverse views is imply a belief that they are in the right.”

Rob speaks with University of Ottawa security expert Wesley Wark about how this situation may ultimately be resolved, and what the role of Canada's security establishment is in that process.

Listen to Hour 1 of The Rob Snow Show:

Hour 2:

0:00 – “It's about $400 million a day, and that's going in both directions”

Dennis Darby, CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters speaks with Rob about the shut down at Windsor's Ambassador Bridge border crossing.

20:50 – “This idea that there's a time limit on protests is not in the Charter of Rights and it's not in the Canadian Constitution.“

Professor Ian Lee joins Rob with his thoughts on the situation in Ottawa.

Listen to Hour 2 of The Rob Snow Show:

Hour 3:

0:00 – “They can be arrested, given a promise to appear in court and they can be released very quickly without ever stepping foot in a police station or a jail“

Ottawa criminal lawyer Michael Spratt joins Rob with his analysis on how local law enforcement has dealt with the protest in Ottawa.

11:22 – “The Prime Minister keeps saying 'yes', the Police Chief keeps saying 'no'. Which one of these people is telling the truth?”

Rob speaks about the tactical response of the Ottawa Police and jurisdictional challenges invovled with policing the occupation in Ottawa with Carleton University criminology expert Professor Michael Kempa.

19:40 – “I'm not defending defending the fact that he was seen out there, but am I going to sit there and pull out all my hair?”

Syndicated columnist Michael Taube joins Rob for an in depth discussion on how the poiltics of the protests have developed over the past week.

Listen to Hour 3 of The Rob Snow Show:

Hour 4:

0:00 – “They may be getting help or encouragement from abroad but fundamentally it is their decision to go there.”

Investigative journalist Justin Ling joins Rob with some of his latest reporting on the leaders of the protests and foreign influences and funding for the movement.

10:21 – “It's like terrorism what they're doing in the downtown.”

Bank Street BIA executive director Christine Leadman on how businesses in the downtown core or coping with two weeks of occupation by protesters. 

18:41 – “Until that Wellington street red zone area is cleared it's going to be very difficult to find success down there”

Rob speaks with former Ottawa Police chief, Senator Vern White, to get his insight on how law enforcement is dealing with the situation in Ottawa.

31:33 – “I saw the Prime Minister and the Premier trying to shift this”

Barry McLoughlin from TransformLeaders.ca joins Rob with an analysis of crisis communications from all levels of government in the past week,

Listen to Hour 4 of The Rob Snow Show: