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Thursday, July 17, 2025

Liberal connections overshadow Trudeau’s latest “independent” senate appointments

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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The Trudeau government’s latest so-called “independent” senate appointments have deep ties to the Liberal Party of Canada, leading to questions about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim that “independent” senators are non-partisan.

According to the government, the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments is in charge of the candidate-selection process. The board is billed as an “independent and non-partisan” federal body which informs the prime minister on appointments.

However, of the eight latest senate appointments, five donated substantial amounts to the Liberals, two were former Liberal candidates and one was a director of the Trudeau Foundation. 

On June 22, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recommended the appointments of Bernadette Clements, Hassan Yussuff and James Quinn. Just over a month later, on July 29, he recommended David Arnot, Michèle Audette, Amina Gerba, Clément Gignac and Karen Sorensen for appointment.

Bernadette Clement

As reported by True North, Trudeau appointed former Liberal candidate Bernadette Clement to the senate despite failing to be elected as a Liberal candidate in 2011 and in 2015. 

During both elections, Clement lost to Conservative MP Guy Lauzon. Photos of Clement as a candidate show her being embraced by Trudeau on the campaign trail. Although Clement has a long and storied past with the Liberal Party, the government made no mention of her past candidacies at the time of her appointment.

Hassan Yussuff

Former labour leader Hassan Yussuff has also used his position to elevate the Liberals in the past. In 2020, while still the leader of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), Yussuff endorsed disgraced former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau’s candidacy for the role of secretary general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. 

Yussuff’s decision was immediately met with accusations of partisanship and denunciation from fellow union leaders. It was later revealed that Yussuff acted on his own and did not consult the CLC’s board before endorsing Morneau. 

Michèle Audette

Like Clement, Michèle Audette was also a former Liberal candidate before being hand picked to the Senate by Trudeau. 

In 2015, Audette ran as a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in the Terrebonne riding of Quebec. Audette lost the race to Bloc Québécois MP Michel Boudrias. 

Audette’s elite Liberal ties don’t end there, since Audete was also listed as a member of The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Board of Directors in its 2016-2017 plan. 

Amina Gerba

As reported by True North, so-called “independent” senator Amina Gerba is a repeat donor to the Liberal Party of Canada. 

Over the years, Gerba has donated hundreds of dollars to the Liberals, including a $250 donation to the 2015 campaign of Liberal cabinet minister Mélanie Joly. Gerba has also donated $500 to the Liberal Party in 2019 and $454.80 to the Ahuntsic–Cartierville Federal Liberal Association in 2019.

Clément Gignac

While not having served as a federal Liberal, Clément Gignac has a long history in Quebec’s Liberal scene. As an MNA with the Quebec Liberal Party, Gignac served in office from 2009 to 2012 where he also held the position of minister of economic development, innovation and export trade. 

Stop listening to the lockdown authoritarians and live your life again

By
Candice Malcolm
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Canada finally has a province willing to stand against the madness of endless lockdowns, media fear-mongering, and irrational paranoia when it comes to COVID-19. 

Alberta announced earlier this week that it is lifting many of its remaining COVID restrictions — including forced quarantine and mask mandates. 

Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced the province’s new approach to the virus earlier this week, noting that Alberta is dropping forced quarantine requirements for those who had close contact with a COVID patient, and later this summer will drop all quarantine mandates and many mask requirements.

In other words, they’ll be treating COVID much like any other airborne illness. 

When you’re sick with the flu, you stay home – not because of some government edict but simply out of caution, respect for others and common sense. The government does not legally require quarantine for people with other illnesses, no matter how severe the symptoms are or how contagious it may be. 

And while most Albertans let out a sigh of relief, these measures were quickly condemned and demonized by the usual suspects in the authoritarian left-wing lockdown crowd. 

“Who does this to their own public?” read one CTV headline, in a story featuring an angry ER doctor (wearing scrubs in his own living room, for some reason) who apparently wants Canada to stay locked down forever. 

While many journalists expressed anger at Alberta’s leadership for daring to open, some journalists directed that contempt at the people of Alberta. 

“The first thing you need to know is that Alberta was initially largely settled by Americans, that they are god’s chosen people, and that it’s their hard work and ingenuity that put the oil in the ground, and it’s their hard work and ingenuity that pulls it out again,” said Dale Smith, an Ottawa-based freelance reporter who is a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery.

“With this in mind, they are more concerned about individual “freedoms” than the collective good,” said Smith, who is originally from Calgary but apparently had so much disdain for his compatriots he left. 

“It is inconceivable to me. It is the height of insanity,” added Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi of Dr. Hinshaw’s decision to no longer mandate quarantine. 

It’s remarkable how quickly the tables have turned. 

I’m old enough to remember three months ago when left-wing voices were hectoring the anti-lockdown crowd for daring to criticize the all-knowing public health officials. But now that public health officials are beginning to change their tune, the authoritarian lockdown crowd — including Nenshi and Smith — have given themselves permission to condemn these experts to their heart’s content. 

It must be nice to believe you have the moral high ground no matter what side of the issue you take.

The global COVID pandemic and ensuing lockdowns gave these busybodies a taste of unlimited power and control, and they liked it a little bit too much to simply let it go.  

Ironically, by demanding more restrictions — even for vaccinated Canadians — these left-wing doctors, journalists and politicians are undermining the case to get vaccinated.

The reality is that, according to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the COVID case mortality rate for patients with one dose is 0.0027% and 0.0018% for those who are double vaxxed. That’s about on par with the seasonal flu. 

Compound the very low risk for the vaccinated with new information about the drastic impact of lockdowns on mental health and well-being and it makes Alberta’s new approach seem like a slam dunk. 

A recent Statscan report showed that more than four times as many working-aged Canadians died from the lockdowns than from the virus. 

Between January 2020 to April 2021, 5,535 Canadians under the age of 65 died because of “indirect consequences” due to the pandemic, while 1,380 Canadians in the same age group died from the virus during that same time period.

The lockdowns were deadlier than the virus for most Canadians. It’s time to stop listening to the left-wing lockdown authoritarians and start living our lives again. 

FUREY: Do we need to get rid of all COVID-19 protocols?

By
Anthony Furey
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As many provinces begin to drop a number of COVID-19 protocols, many Canadians are breathing a sigh of relief.

But are there silver linings to these COVID-19 protocols? Are there any measures that should remain in Canadian society? For example, movie theatres and grocery store lines are more accessible and efficient because of social distancing.

What do you think? Anthony Furey discusses in his latest video.

Japan calls for greater attention to the “survival of Taiwan”

By
Harrison Faulkner
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The international community needs to pay greater attention to the threat China poses to Taiwan, according to Japan’s defence minister.

Nobuo Kishi told the Financial Times that international pressure was needed to prevent a military confrontation between China and Taiwan.

“Rather than a direct military collision between China and Taiwan, international society needs to pay greater attention to the survival of Taiwan,” Kishi said.

“A lot of countries have shown their sympathy with our idea of a free and open Indo-Pacific…We can together send a strong message on regional peace and stability.”

The Japanese minister warned that the Chinese regime has been making various military moves “that work to envelop Taiwan.”

China has increased efforts to assert its claim of Taiwan in recent months. Chinese military aircraft have regularly entered the Taiwan air defence zone and Chinese naval vessels have been spotted in waters off of Taiwan’s eastern coast. 

While Japan does not intend to form a direct military relationship with Taiwan, the Japanese government recently broke with years of precedent and directly linked Taiwan’s security with its own. In a recent defence white paper, Japan stressed the need for a greater “sense of crisis.”

Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso went even further and said a crisis in the Taiwan Strait would present an existential threat to Japan. 

During a ceremony commemorating the 100th birthday of the Chinese Communist Party in July, Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to “smash” any attempts by Taiwan at formal independence and pledged to complete “reunification” with the democratic country.

Critics of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have called on the Canadian government to do more to support Taiwan.

A Politico report earlier this year suggested that the Liberals attempted to prevent an international award from being awarded to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

Following the report’s publication, the government reversed course and Taiwan was awarded the Halifax International Security Forum’s John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service.

Extremists behead Christian man and 7-year-old son in Nigeria

By
Harrison Faulkner
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A Christian man and his 7-year-old son were beheaded by Islamists as they were returning from choir practice.

According to the International Christian Concern (ICC), Thomas Wollo, 46, and his 7-year-old son Nggwe Thomas were beheaded by Fulani radicals close to their home in Tafigana village in Plateau state’s Bassa Local Government Area on Sunday.

The perpetrators of the attack were said to have disappeared afterwards and have not been found. Locals reported that later in the day, the extremists also destroyed farmland in a nearby village.

This latest gruesome attack on Christians isn’t new in the African country, as 2021 has been a deadly year for Christians in Nigeria.

According to the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), over 3,400 Christians have been killed since January, while at least 3,000 Christians have been abducted. 

The number of Christians killed in Nigeria so far in 2021 is just 68 deaths less than the total deaths for all of last year, which Open Doors reported as 3,530. 

The rise of Islamist groups, including Boko Haram and Fulani radicals, has led to an increase in violence in the African country. The ICC lists Fulani radicals as the fourth-deadliest terror group in the world and poses the greatest threat to Nigerian Christians.

A number of human rights activists are sounding the alarm on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria by Islamists extremists. 

Open Doors listed Nigeria in the top ten of the World Watch List, a list of countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution, for the first time this year. 

FUREY: Alberta’s reasonable path forward

By
Anthony Furey
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Earlier this week, the Alberta government announced that they would be dropping a number of public health measures, including forcing individuals who test positive for COVID-19 to isolate for two weeks.

Unsurprisingly, the COVID busybodies and pro-lockdown activists are losing their minds about Alberta’s decision. But is it really reasonable to continue locking individuals up in their homes? Shouldn’t these protocols only be temporary?

Anthony Furey discusses in his latest video.

O’Toole says New Brunswick should be able to decide how to fund abortions

By
Harrison Faulkner
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In sharp contrast to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole says if he becomes Prime Minister, he would leave it up to the New Brunswick government to decide how to fund abortion services.

Earlier this week, Trudeau said his government will be withholding healthcare transfers to New Brunswick because he claims the province is limiting access to abortion.

The provincial government subsidizes abortions at two hospitals in Moncton and one in Bathurst, but says it will not cover the cost of the procedure at the privately-owned Clinic 554 in Fredericton.

While in Fredericton on Friday, O’Toole said Trudeau’s decision to withhold healthcare transfers to the province is for “political gain and to divide Canadians.”

“How the provinces run their health care systems is not what the federal government should be interfering with,” O’Toole said.

According to Trudeau, the New Brunswick government has not lived up to its obligations under the Canada Health Act because it continues to make it difficult for women to access abortions.

“Making sure that every woman across this country has access to reliable reproductive services is extremely important to us, and that’s why we’ve continued … to impress strongly upon the government of New Brunswick how it needs to keep up its obligations under the Canada Health Act,” Trudeau told reporters in Moncton on Tuesday.

Pro-life advocacy group RightNow co-founder Alissa Golob sharply criticized Trudeau’s decision to withhold healthcare transfers to New Brunswick.

“Justin Trudeau is such an extremist on the abortion issue, he would rather withhold taxpayer dollars (without taxpayer consent) during a pandemic, than follow the Canada Health Act and let provinces decide funding decisions themselves,” Golob told True North.

“In Trudeau’s twisted mind, killing children supersedes life-threatening medical conditions. Let that sink in.”

Despite O’Toole’s pro-choice stance, the Conservative leader has allowed his MPs to vote on abortion-related bills according to their conscience. 

3,400 Nigerian Christians killed, 3,000 abducted in 2021: NGO

By
Harrison Faulkner
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2021 has been a deadly year for Christians in Nigeria.

The Anambra-based International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) estimates that over 3,400 Christians have been killed since January, while at least 3,000 Christians have been abducted. Their report indicates that 300 Churches and 10 priests have been attacked.

The number of Christians killed in Nigeria so far in 2021 is just 68 deaths less than the total deaths for all of last year, which Open Doors reported as 3,530. 

To compile its statistical data, Intersociety relied on credible local and foreign media reports, government accounts, reports from international rights groups and eyewitness accounts.

According to the Christian Post, due to the lack of adequate government record-keeping, death tolls reported by media outlets or the government are estimates and often are skewed. 

A number of human rights activists are sounding the alarm on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria by Islamists extremists. 

Open Doors listed Nigeria in the top ten of the World Watch List, a list of countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution, for the first time this year. 

The rise of Islamist groups, including Boko Haram and Fulani militants, has led to an increase in violence in the African country. 

“The Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen are responsible for majority of the killings with at least 1,909 Christian deaths in 200 days, followed by Boko Haram, ISWAP and Muslim Fulani Bandits who jointly killed 1,063 Christians, while Nigerian Army, joined by the Nigeria Police Force and other branches of the Armed Forces accounted for 490 Christian deaths,” the report reads.

In its report, Intersociety accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect its citizens.

“The Nigerian Government has continued to face sharp criticisms and strong accusations of culpability and complicity in the killings and supervision of same,” the report reads.

Pro-lockdown rallies in Alberta draw low turnouts as government loosens restrictions

By
Harrison Faulkner
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A small group of Albertans want more government in their life and are demanding the Kenney government enforce stricter COVID-19 protocols.

A handful of individuals who were masked and socially distanced outside participated in protests at McDougall Centre in Calgary and the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on Friday and Saturday. The protesters were upset with the Alberta government’s decision to loosen public health measures. 

Earlier this week, citing high vaccination rates, the government announced that they would be dropping a number of public health measures, including contact tracers, mandatory isolation and the province-wide mask mandate. 

The pro-lockdown protests were organized by Dr. Joe Vipond and Albert Nobbs.

Vipond is an outspoken critic of the Kenney government and has been in favour of lockdowns since the start of the pandemic. Nobbs is one of the founders of the Alberta Activist Collective – an advocacy group determined to defeat the United Conservative Party in the next election.

“Everything that I hear now coming out of [Chief Medical Officer of Health of Alberta Dr. Deena] Hinshaw’s mouth is gaslighting and outright lies. How can I trust my government?” said Vipond at the protest. 

During the protest, Vipond also demanded the resignation of Premier Kenney, Health Minister Tyler Shandro and Dr. Hinshaw. 

“We want resignations from Dr. Hinshaw, Premier Kenney, Minister Shandro and we want to negotiate a return to sane public health policy.” 

He went on to add that Dr. Hinshaw has lost the “moral authority to be our public health leader.”

The protests were also attended by labour union groups, teachers union members and New Democrat MLAs, who all seized on the opportunity to criticize the Kenney government.

On Wednesday, Premier Kenney said that Albertans will need to learn to live with COVID-19 and accused the legacy media and activists of promoting fear.

“COVID continues to exist. As I’ve said before, the virus will continue to circulate. Numbers will go up and they’ll go down, but what matters most is that the widespread protective effect of vaccines is real,” Kenney said. 

“We should stop listening to people who deny the powerful protective effect of vaccines.”


According to the latest government statistics, there are currently 1,655 active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta. Among eligible Albertans age 12 or older, 75.8% have now received a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 65%  have now had two doses.

SHEPHERD: Regulating Canadians’ “incorrect” opinions

By
Lindsay Shepherd
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The Trudeau government is proposing the creation of a Digital Safety Commission that will have the power to regulate “harmful online content.” The government is targeting online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Pornhub.

In the Liberals’ world, expressing a politically incorrect opinion is as much a crime as exploiting a child or publishing nonconsensual intimate images.

True North fellow Lindsay Shepherd breaks down the Trudeau government’s proposed Digital Safety Commission of Canada.

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