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Thursday, July 17, 2025

Trudeau government proposes commission to regulate “harmful online content”

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Source: pm.gc.ca

If the Trudeau Liberals are re-elected in the upcoming election, major online platforms will be subject to regulation by a new government commission.

During a technical briefing on Thursday morning, government officials proposed the creation of a digital safety commission that will have the power to regulate “harmful online content.” 

The government’s proposal will create a new legal category that specifically targets Online Communication Service Providers (OCSPs) like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. These OCSPs will be under the authority of the digital safety commission. 

The government also lists the pornographic website Pornhub as an OCSP they plan to target. 

The five categories of “harmful online content” covered under the proposed new powers will draw on offences defined under the Criminal Code: hate speech, child sexual exploitation content, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, incitement to violence, and terrorist content.

Under the new rules, content that is flagged illegal by users will need to be removed by the online platform within 24 hours.  

OCSPs will face hefty fines if they fail to remove the content. The government is threatening financial penalties of as much as $10 million or 3% of a platform’s gross global revenue — whichever is higher.

In cases of non-compliance, the new commission could seek a fine from a company of as much as $25 million or 5% of the gross global revenue, whichever is higher. The commission also has the power to have telecommunications companies block access to platforms that are non-compliant.

The government said it also plans to consult broadly with Canadians before putting the framework into legislation in the fall.

“We need consistent and transparent rules for how online platforms address hate, incitement of violence and harmful online content,” Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said in a news release.

“This engagement is a crucial step in proposing solutions for a safer and more inclusive online environment where everyone can be heard.”

On the definition of hate speech, the government says it will be referring to its “online hate speech” bill, Bill C-36, which has not yet been passed. 

Bill C-36 seeks to expand powers to prosecute individuals involved in “hate propaganda” or so-called “online hate” by amending the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Canadian Human Rights Act. 

The bill will revive section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which was struck down by the Harper government in 2014 for infringing on the free speech rights of Canadians. The bill would give the Canadian Human Rights Commission the power to compel citizens to cease online communication or pay a monetary fine.

Hospice society that had facility shut down by government aims to open new euthanasia-free hospice

By
Lindsay Shepherd
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In March 2021, the Delta Hospice Society (DHS) had their 10-bed hospice in Delta, BC seized by the Fraser Health Authority because they refused to offer medical assistance in dying (MAID) to their palliative care patients.

“The government cancelled our contract, took our property, and that was the end of the story,” DHS president Angelina Ireland told True North.

However, Ireland and the DHS are starting a new chapter: fundraising to open a private hospice where MAID would not be offered.

“There are many people who want an authentic palliative care experience,” said Ireland. “They do not want people next to them who are receiving MAID, who are basically being killed next to them.”

In 2020, 7,595 individuals died from MAID in Canada, a 34.2% growth rate from the previous year. In March 2021, MAID access was expanded to individuals who are ill, but not near the natural end of their lives.

Before the DHS can start hunting for a new location, they need their members to re-elect the current board at their next annual general meeting. This is easier said than done: “We have been infiltrated by euthanasia activists who are trying to assume our assets to advocate for MAID,” said Ireland.

These MAID activists, as Ireland dubs them, have butted heads with the society in the past: in 2020, the DHS wanted their membership to vote on whether to become a faith-based hospice society – a Christian organization rather than a secular one – and then claim an exemption to providing MAID, as exemptions were available to faith-based care facilities. 

“We were never allowed to ask that question of our membership. These MAID advocates took us to court to cancel our meeting and force themselves into our society – and they won.”

“As a private society, we should not be forced by activists at the courts to accept people who are very clearly against our purposes as we have stated for the past 30 years… This is a violation of our freedom of association.” 

However, if the board can succeed in getting their 9,000 members to re-elect them, Ireland hopes they can start a movement of euthanasia-free hospice sanctuaries. 

“We are the canary in the coal mine here,” said Ireland. “I don’t think people understand what’s coming for them down the pipe.”

In 2023, individuals who suffer from a mental illness but do not have any physical ailment will be permitted to request MAID.

Stephen Harper blasts woke culture in latest podcast appearance

By
Caitlin Rose Morgante
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Former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper’s latest podcast appearance was filled with hard truths for Canadians. Harper tackled questions on the woke left, pandemic response, fiscal policy, China and globalization during his American Optimist interview with Joe Lonsdale.

“What’s so threatening about…the far woke left,” according to Harper, is that “its goal is authoritarianism.”

Harper connected the behaviour of the modern left to the totalitarianism at the root of Marx and Engels. Marx’s view was that his “opinions were not opinions, they were science… Therefore, since you’re arguing against facts, you get to the Soviet mentality that all dissent is essentially a mental illness or something that needs to be reeducated and corrected.”

This is a startling trend in today’s COVID-era, as activists and politicians have dismissed serious concerns about government-mandated lockdowns and questionable public health orders. The Trudeau government has often dismissed its critics by accusing them of spreading “misinformation” and “conspiracy theories.”  

Regarding Canada’s COVID-19 response, Harper said, “this is bad macroeconomic policy on an enormous scale” and that the government reaction has “been overkill.” Harper expressed concern over consumer inflation, asset inflation, bubbles and the inevitable interest rate hikes which will impact investment. 

Sooner or later, he said, Canadians will come to realize that all of this supposed “affordable government spending is not so affordable.” 

Canada’s federal debt surpassed $1 trillion dollars this year following a frenzy of pandemic spending by the ruling Liberal government. Further, in its latest budget, the government revealed a whopping deficit of $354 billion with no plan to pay down the debt and balance the books.

Harper is hardly the first to criticize the Liberal spending throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists from the Fraser Institute released a study in June 2020 saying that “stimulus spending will likely harm Canadian economy—not help it.”

Harper struck at the root of the issue, saying that “what’s happening right now… [is that these] bastardized Keynesian fiscal policy guys or modern monetary theorists [are] trying to convince the population that the fundamental principle of economic science is untrue.”

Harper goes on to discuss the problems of globalization: “At the end of the cold war, all common sense on economic interaction related to national security went out the window, and we just assumed everybody … is going to be a friend … so we can trust them with anything. That has to change.”

One of the most criticized aspects of Canada’s COVID-19 pandemic response has been the Liberal government’s trust in China. While multiple countries were developing vaccines, the Canadian government chose to only pre-order doses from CanSino Biologics. The government even sent the company a cash advance for vaccines that were never delivered to Canada.

According to Harper, we must ensure our supply chains do not depend on unreliable countries and that “we have redundancy in terms of sources of supply.”

Despite his concerns, Harper believes that Canada has a “great future.” Still, Canadians must realize that “the adolescent ego of the woke university crowd is not an alternative governing philosophy for any society.” 

LEVY: The activists and leftist Toronto councillors are completely out of touch

By
Sue-Ann Levy
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As Toronto Police clear the illegal homeless encampments, activists and leftist politicians have done everything in their power to obstruct the police from doing their jobs and enforcing the law.

The reality is Mayor John Tory and the Toronto Police are doing the right thing by clearing these encampments. The activists and leftists city councillors are completely out of touch with Torontonians.

Sue-Ann Levy discusses in her latest video.

FUREY: What will the top issues be in the election?

By
Anthony Furey
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Will political leaders focus on the issues that actually matter to Canadians this election? Or will they focus on obscure tweets from the past and other non-relevant issues?

The upcoming election should address two major issues – Canada’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing the China regime’s influence on Canada.

Anthony Furey discusses in his latest video.

Class of 2021 will lose $2,000 annually for the first five years after graduation: think tank

By
Caitlin Rose Morgante
-

Government-mandated COVID-19 lockdowns have hurt young Canadian workers: according to a memo released by the C.D. Howe Institute, the unemployment rate among 15 to 24-year-olds rose from 10% in February 2020 to almost 30% by May 2020.

The authors of the memo note, “it is well documented that adverse labour market entry conditions result in lower lifetime earnings, poorer health and lower life expectancy compared to graduating when labour market conditions are strong.”

The authors estimate that “a typical 2021 graduate will lose approximately $2,000 annually for the first five years after graduation; this is equivalent to a loss of 5–12% of the amount they would have earned over the first five years if the pandemic had not occurred.”

This loss in wages occurs because it takes longer for individuals to find jobs, and they accept lower-paying jobs than they would have in a better labour market.

What’s even more concerning is that half of university graduates had debt prior to the pandemic, owing an average amount of $28,000, according to a 2020 Statistics Canada report. The report predicts that students may incur more debt to weather the pandemic and compensate for the loss of income.

Effective April 2021, the federal government suspended the accumulation of interest on student loans until March 31, 2023.

Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Franco Terrazzano told True North that “students have been struggling through the downturn and they need relief, but it’s important for politicians not to substitute a mountain of government debt for student debt.”

“Right now, each Canadian owes about $57,000 in government debt, and these same younger taxpayers will face an even larger government debt bill if politicians don’t put away the credit cards.”

According to Terrazzano, “politicians should help young Canadians by reducing the cost of living and setting the stage for business and job growth. But to do that, politicians need to rein in all the deficit spending, reduce taxes and cut red tape.”

Vandals behead statue of baby Jesus at Sudbury church

By
Harrison Faulkner
-

Vandals targeted a statue of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus located at the Sainte-Anne-Des-Pins Catholic Church in Sudbury, Ont. 

The statue of Jesus was beheaded.

Sainte-Anne-Des-Pins Catholic Church is the 56th church in Canada that has been vandalized, burned down or desecrated since the announcement of the apparent discovery of graves found near a residential school in Kamloops, BC.

Despite calls for calm by Indigenous leaders, Christian communities continue to be targeted by radical arsonists and vandals.

This isn’t the first time the Sudbury church has been targeted by vandals.

“The statue itself seems to be an article they focus on,” said Michel Chretien, with Sainte-Anne-Des-Pins. Earlier this year, the statue of Jesus was beheaded and had its arms broken off.

The church says there have been other property damaged over the past few years. 

“We’ve had wires for the internet, wires for the air conditioning cut — even a few weeks back we had a small tree cut on the grounds,” Chretien said.

While the church has installed surveillance cameras, vandals continue to target the church.

“We do pick up 10 to 30 needles a day, especially in the mornings. At the moment, we are studying the possibility of putting a fence around the church grounds. It should be done within the next (year) or so,” Chretien told CTV News.

Sudbury Police say they have increased their presence in the Sudbury downtown area. 

“This is a 52% increase in comparison to last year,” said spokesperson for the Greater Sudbury Police Service Kaitlyn Dunn.

“During COVID-19, we have seen a lot of our vulnerable population displaced in the downtown core and with this reduction in foot traffic as well as vehicle traffic, we have seen an increase in the visibility of crime. So, break and enters, mischiefs, and property thefts.”

Vancouver Airport reverses decision to separate vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers

By
Harrison Faulkner
-

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) will no longer separate international travellers by their vaccination status.

After three weeks of being in effect, the vaccinated and unvaccinated lines will be merged.

While the airport originally claimed that the separate lines would speed up the entry process for travellers, the airport now believes the lines “didn’t meet what we were hoping for.”

“There were a lot more vaccinated passengers coming into Canada than we had originally anticipated,” airport spokesperson Robyn McVicker told NEWS1130. 

“Because of that, and because we did receive lots of feedback from our passengers, we talked to Transport Canada, we talked to CBSA and the Public Health Authority of Canada and the other airports, and we are changing the approach that we are using. Where now everybody will come through in the same way.”

McVicker says the airport didn’t anticipate such a large number of travellers to be fully vaccinated.

“We thought maybe like 15% of people coming in would be vaccinated. What we’re finding is actually sometimes it’s up to 80% on some flights … which meant that we actually needed the … whole customs hall in order to effectively process people,” McVicker said.

On Sunday, Toronto Pearson Airport also changed its mind about separating international travellers by vaccination status.

“Toronto Pearson, in collaboration with the government and other partners, has determined that separation of vaccinated and partially/non vaccinated travellers in customs lines results in minimal operational efficiencies,” a statement from the airport read.

“As such, the practice will be ceased as of July 26, 2021, with entry requirements based on vaccination status being enforced once a passenger reaches CSBA.”

Feds withholding healthcare transfers to New Brunswick over abortion access

By
Harrison Faulkner
-

Justin Trudeau says the federal government will be withholding healthcare transfers to New Brunswick because he claims the province is limiting access to abortion. 

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, NB on Tuesday.

While Trudeau initially said the feds would be holding back millions of dollars, the Prime Minister’s Office said after the news conference the correct figure is $140,216.

The New Brunswick government bans public funding for abortions conducted outside three approved hospitals. 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.

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.”

Trudeau said the feds will work to ensure all Canadians have access to abortions, including at Clinic 554.

In June, a New Brunswick judge authorized the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) to mount a legal challenge to the province’s abortion law. The provincial government opposed the association’s bid for standing, arguing the CCLA has no specific connection to the province. 

Canadians blame Liberals for failed pandemic border policy: government-commissioned survey

By
Caitlin Rose Morgante
-

The government instituted COVID-19 travel bans too late and Canadians hold them responsible, according to a survey commissioned by the federal government.

In early 2021 the Department of Finance paid Quorus Consulting Group Inc. $59,775 for their findings, as reported by Blacklock’s Reporter. 

“In terms of what the federal government got wrong, many felt the government should have closed the borders sooner than it did,” the Department of Finance report read.

On January 11, 2020, the first COVID-19 death was announced in China. Taiwan, the United States and Australia all restricted travel from China within weeks. Meanwhile, on January 29, 2020, the Public Health Agency insisted it was safe for Canadians to travel to China and vice versa. Approximately 1,796 travellers arrived in Canada from Wuhan over that time.

Closing the border and banning international flights was initially frowned upon by the Liberal government out of concern for “discrimination” against Chinese-Canadians. Health Minister Patty Hajdu’s notes from a February 12, 2020 teleconference stated: “We remain concerned about social anxiety, misinformation and discrimination in the Chinese-Canadian community with the coronavirus.”

The lack of travel bans is just one example of how the Trudeau government bungled Canada’s COVID response.

As late as March 29, 2020, Health Minister Patty Hadju was claiming that “the risk of spread of [COVID-19] within Canada continues to remain low.” Hadju later went on to dismiss those skeptical of China’s COVID-19 statistics as “conspiracy theorists,” emphasizing the need to “work together as a globe.” 

When China confessed that its numbers were wrong, Hadju doubled down and refused to admit she had made a mistake by trusting the communist regime.

Despite China’s false data, the Trudeau government continued to trust the regime. While multiple countries were developing vaccines, the Canadian government chose to only pre-order doses from CanSino Biologics, a Chinese company under scrutiny by intelligence agencies.

Canada also faced shortages of face masks, forcing the government to buy at inflated prices on the open market. For some orders, the government was paying as much as $10 per unit. It was later revealed that the Public Health Agency of Canada destroyed 2 million N95 masks from the national stockpile in 2019. While the agency claims the masks expired, new masks were never ordered.

“[The COVID-19 pandemic] remains central to the lives of Canadians and plays a significant role in how they view the federal government and the role it should be playing in the short and medium-term,” the government report read.

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