Is Israel guilty of ethnic cleansing? Are the Palestinians just protecting themselves? Is Israel an apartheid state?
As the terrorist organization Hamas continues to fire thousands of rockets into Israel, many activists and so-called journalists continue to push myths about the conflict and condemn the only democratic state in the Middle East. From passing off biased positions as facts to just plain getting it wrong, the mainstream media and many on the Left are presenting a version of the news skewed against Israel.
True North’s Candice Malcolm debunks the biggest myths about the Israel/Hamas conflict.
Eco-activist and filmmaker Avi Lewis is set to be acclaimed as an NDP candidate ahead of the next federal election.
On Monday, Lewis announced he was seeking the NDP nomination for the riding of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea-to-Sky Country. He is currently the only candidate for the party’s nomination.
Lewis comes from a family of NDP activists as the grandson of former federal NDP leader David Lewis and son of Ontario’s former NDP leader Stephen Lewis. He is married to author Naomi Klein.
In 2015, Lewis and Klein co-authored the Leap Manifesto, which calls for an immediate moratorium on Canadian energy projects and projects and mines owned by Canadian companies abroad.
Some principles of the manifesto were later adopted by the NDP.
“There is no longer an excuse for building new infrastructure projects that lock us into increased extraction decades into the future,” the Leap campaign wrote.
“The new iron law of energy development must be: if you wouldn’t want it in your backyard, then it doesn’t belong in anyone’s backyard.”
The Leap Manifesto was heavily criticized at the time for being impractical and was perceived by many as being anti-Western Canada for its attacks on the resource sector.
Even former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley rejected the Leap Manifesto as naive and tone deaf.
Speaking to CTV’s Power Play, Lewis claimed that climate change requires Canada to radically restructure society, adding that the principles of the Leap Manifesto are now considered “common sense.”
“For years in the climate movement, people have not believed that gigantic change is possible and yet the scientists say that to keep temperatures safe we need rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented change in every aspect of society,” he said.
“We have a housing crisis, a transit crisis, and a pandemic that has revealed the shortcomings of our public health system.”
From 1998-2001, Lewis hosted his own show on CBC. Since then he has worked on films and documentaries, most recently a 2019 short film featuring American Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Lewis will be running against incumbent Liberal MP Patrick Weiler.
On Wednesday, the Ontario government released a pollution and spill reporting system where residents can report pollution incidents online or by phone.
According to the release, residents can use the tool to report incidents such as oil, chemical pollution, commercial noise pollution, illegal dumping and improper disposal of commercial wastes.
“Our government takes environmental violations very seriously and has zero tolerance for illegal polluters — and we know the people of Ontario are eager to do their part to protect our environment.,” said Jeff Yurek, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
“With your help, we can hold polluters accountable and ensure compliance with the environmental laws we have in place to protect our air, land and water for generations to come.”
When residents submit a tip they will have the option to include additional information about the incident including the location, photographs and any video or audio files.
Prior to being elected in 2018, Ontario Premier Doug Ford ran on a campaign promise to fight the federally imposed carbon tax.
As Premier, Ford launched a constitutional challenge of the carbon tax, joining other provinces such as Saskatchewan and Alberta. The challenge was eventually quashed by the Supreme Court of Canada.
When the decision was handed down in March, Premier Ford said that while he was “disappointed” with the decision, his government would follow it.
“We’re definitely going to take a review of what the Supreme Court decision means for Ontario on our environment policy and move on from there,” said Ford at the time.
“Right now, I think we have a strong made-in-Ontario environment plan that’s going to put the necessary protections in place for the land, air and water.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the City of Ottawa to cancel a $2.9 million grant to build a luxury “world-class” Porsche dealership in the city after it was approved by the finance and economic development committee.
According to CTV News, Mrak Holdings Inc. will be completing the project at 458 Montreal Rd. where an Audi dealership is currently located.
“The City of Ottawa should not be spending taxpayers’ money on any kind of corporate welfare,” said Interim Ontario Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Jay Goldberg in an official press release.
“Ottawa could use this money to fix potholes or give families a bit of tax relief, but there’s no reason to give a subsidy to a dealership selling cars that cost more than most people make in year.”
Ottawa hopes to give the project a total of $2,910,171 which will be distributed in installments over a period of ten years through the Community Improvement Plan Grant.
Funds for the grant will be obtained by the city through an increase in property taxes in the area from $25,627 per year to $355,619 per year.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson fought back on claims that the funding was a grant claiming that it was an “investment” in the community.
“This is not a grant in the traditional sense where something is given and nothing is returned,” Watson said.
“This is an investment to act as a magnet to attract business to an economically challenged neighbourhood.”
A number of delegations appeared at the committee meeting to speak out against the project, including resident Henri Diotte who has lived in the area for 37 years.
“It may generate a bit of employment but I think the city should spend the money more wisely,” Diotte said.
Although the grant was approved by the committee, it still requires approval by city council during their next meeting on May 26.
“The Porsche dealership’s potential future owners claim that 20 new jobs will be created through opening this new dealership so the price tag for taxpayers is about $145,000 per job,” said Goldberg.
“Ottawa City Council is increasing property taxes by 3% this year. Hardworking taxpayers should not have to pay even more in taxes just to see council waste their hard-earned tax dollars on corporate welfare for a luxury car dealership.”
Drew Barnes was one of two Alberta MLAs, along with Todd Loewen, expelled from the UCP caucus for criticizing Premier Jason Kenney’s leadership. Barnes joined The Andrew Lawton Show to talk about his concerns, and plans for the future.
Justice Minister David Lametti is reminding members of parliament that constitutional rights and freedoms can be limited.
During an appearance before the House of Commons heritage committee during its hearings on internet regulation bill C-10, Lametti emphasized there are “legitimate” ways in which legislation can infringe the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including freedom of expression.
Ideally politicians would do whatever they can to uphold liberty. Not Justin Trudeau's Liberals, however. Here's his justice minister bending over backwards to stress how laws should limit freedoms when it's "in the public interest." pic.twitter.com/MvUD8CgTxu
“When Parliament legislates it may affect Charter rights and freedoms. This may include limiting their enjoyment or exercise when it is in the broader public interest to do so,” Lametti said.
“This is entirely legitimate. The rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Charter are not absolute but rather subject to reasonable limits so long as those limits can be demonstrably justified.”
Lametti noted that any law which might limit Charter rights must be judged carefully to see if the limits are for the public good.
“The fact Charter rights and freedoms can be limited is not a license to violate them. Rather it is a reminder that any legislative limits to rights and freedoms must be carefully considered in the context of shared values.”
If passed, Bill C-10 would radically change how the internet is used in Canada. A decision by the Liberals to scrap an amendment which protected user-generated content from CRTC regulation sparked national outrage over free speech concerns.
The bill has been heavily criticized by the former heads of the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and other experts for potential limits to free speech.
On Tuesday, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet suggested his party will support Bill C-10 and even shorten debate to push it through more quickly.
The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) could soon be looking to Ottawa’s other hospitals to ease the burden brought on by the dramatic increase of young people needing mental health care.
The possibility of sending older teenage patients to adult hospitals came about after a regional hospital roundtable in early May. The vice president of mental health and addictions at CHEO Joanne Lowe told CBC News it is the first time the hospital has considered implementing this measure.
“I’ve been involved in mental health for over 30 years and I’ve never seen [demand] like this, ever,” said Lowe. “This is the next pandemic, and the needs aren’t going to end when this pandemic ends.”
CHEO said the number of emergency mental health assessments for young people has increased 50% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lowe said doctors at CHEO are seeing more cases of depression, anxiety, drug overdoses and suicidal thoughts. Eating disorders are taking up the majority of resources in the mental health unit.
CHEO has 25 inpatient mental health beds, nine of which are set aside for patients who are refusing to eat, binge eating or purging their food. Lowe said the number of patients with eating disorders has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
“We are seeing 18 to 22 kids in hospital at one time with eating disorders, and remember, we only have nine beds,” she said.
If the logic is that we lock down all of society to protect the hospitals, and now those lockdowns are causing children's hospitals to be overwhelmed, doesn't that mean we must immediately end lockdowns for kids to protect the hospitals?
True North contributor Anthony Furey said in a tweet that this capacity problem demonstrates why lockdown measures need to be eased.
“If the logic is that we lock down all of society to protect the hospitals, and now those lockdowns are causing children’s hospitals to be overwhelmed, doesn’t that mean we must immediately end lockdowns for kids to protect the hospitals?” said Furey.
Lowe said once CHEO’s mental health beds are full, there are eight youth spaces at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre that can be used. If those beds fill up, older teens can be admitted into mental health units at the Monfort, Queensway Carleton or Ottawa hospitals.
The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto has reported a similar increase in eating disorders among young people.
Calgary Pastor Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church will be released from jail after a court hearing Tuesday according to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF).
In a hearing before Justice Adam Germain of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, lawyers for both Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Pastor Stephens agreed to his release on the condition that Stephens agrees to not hold services that violate public health orders.
On Sunday, Calgary police arrested Stephens outside his church for organizing an event they said violated Alberta’s mask mandate and attendance limits on religious services. He has remained in custody since.
On May 6, AHS received a pre-emptive injunction to stop various gatherings that violate public health orders across the province. AHS cited this injunction as justification for Stephens’ arrest.
The JCCF, which is representing Stephens, maintains that his arrest was illegal. JCCF president John Carpay noted that on May 13 the injunction was amended to only apply to previously named individuals and groups.
“The May 6 injunction does not apply to Pastor Stephens, nor did it apply to him at the time of his arrest. His arrest and current detention are illegal,” Carpay said.
“Alberta Health Services knows that the May 6 injunction, which originally applied to all Albertans having notice of this injunction, was amended by Associate Chief Justice Rooke on May 13. Since then, this injunction has applied only to Whistle Stop Café and certain named or affiliated individuals.”
The same injunction was used to arrest Calgary Pastor Artur Pawlowski and his brother Dawid for allegedly holding services that violated public health orders.
Numerous Canadian journalists have signed an open letter calling for the media outlets to cover the Israel-Hamas conflict in a way that accuses Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” surrendering even the illusion of objectivity. True North’s Andrew Lawton talks about the refusal by many in the media and in politics to condemn Hamas as a terror organization.
Also, Drew Barnes, one of two Alberta MLAs expelled from the UCP caucus for criticizing Jason Kenney, joins the show.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet has indicated that his party will fall in line behind the minority Liberal government and support the government’s controversial sweeping internet censorship bill, C-10.
Blanchet made the announcement on the CBC French-language program Tout le monde en parle while appearing on a panel with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Liberal Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, who was charged with drafting the legislation.
According to Blanchet, his party is prepared to fast track the legislation so that the law is adopted this summer, even though critics have called for the government to scrap the legislation.
“It’s exceptional, but if the government agrees, we are prepared to launch a process of time allocation and rapid adoption so that Quebec’s cultural sector and the Canadian cultural sector can have this bill adopted before the end of the session,” said Blanchet in French.
This week, dozens of high profile Canadians and organizations including two former senior Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) signed a petition blasting the Liberal government’s bill as a step towards “authoritarian” style politics.
“It appears Canada is not immune to the growing trend of government intervention to curtail freedom and seek to control parts of the internet’s infrastructure in ways reminiscent of actions taken by authoritarian governments,” wrote the petition.
“We are Canadian internet policy and technical professionals writing as concerned experts and on behalf of all those who care about the future of a free and open internet.”
Controversy around the bill came to a head when Liberal members of the House of Commons heritage committee voted to strip Bill C-10 of an amendment which would protect user-generated content from CRTC regulation.
Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole has promised to repeal Bill C-10 should he be elected in the upcoming election.
“Canada’s Conservatives support creating a level playing field between large foreign streaming services and Canadian broadcasters, and championing Canadian arts and culture. A Conservative government would do so without compromising Canadians’ fundamental rights and freedoms,” said O’Toole in a statement released on Thursday.
“We are calling on Justin Trudeau to withdraw Bill C-10 today. If this is not done, a Conservative government will stand up for Canadians and repeal this deeply flawed legislation. While the NDP and the Bloc may look the other way on the freedom of expression, Canada’s Conservatives will not.”
