On Monday’s Rebel Roundup, David Menzies and Tamara Lich picked apart Prime Minister Mark Carney’s pitch for a closer association with the European Union and his latest word on a trade deal with the United States.

Carney said a deal with President Donald Trump would “fully respect Canada’s languages, culture, and sovereignty,” adding that “our teams will now be working in the coming weeks.” Lich said she knew of no dispute over language in the talks, and Menzies called the 51st-state talk Trump trolling that too many Canadians take the bait on.

Carney has described the EU plan as “the closest association possible without being a full member of the European Union.” Lich said he has not consulted Canadians about it, and Menzies noted he never campaigned on it.

The hosts said he is trying to “ram this through.” Meanwhile, the EU removed “associate membership” from the draft summit declaration on Oct. 28 after Germany objected, replacing it with “ever closer association,” Euronews reported. Rebel News also covered the reversal.

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Menzies questioned the economics. “How is it more affordable to have everything shipped half a planet away, as opposed to going over the border with a trade partner that is 13 times our size?” he asked Lich, who has experience in logistics. 

Geography and the size of the American market matter in getting a deal done, he said, “and yes, if that means bending the knee on supply management, so be it.” Lich added that shipping goods across the world makes little sense for a prime minister who says he is concerned about climate change.

Lich said Carney’s campaign promise was a deal with the United States, “and he has fallen flat on his face in that regard.”

The hosts then turned to Iranian Canadians who gathered at Mel Lastman Square in Toronto chanting “Shame on you” at Carney as they protested a Canada-UAE joint statement, signed by Carney on Oct. 28, that calls for an end to Iran’s “occupation” of three disputed Gulf islands: Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa.

Menzies, who lives in Richmond Hill, said Persian Canadians have suffered under the Iranian regime for 47 years. He suggested the reason for Carney’s stance is Brookfield Asset Management, the firm Carney used to chair.