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Thursday, July 10, 2025

Liberals urged to condemn Iran receiving UN women’s rights committee seat

By
True North Wire
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Liberal Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau was grilled by the Conservatives during Monday’s session of question period after it was revealed that Iran was elected to a 4-year term to the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis raised the issue with the minister and asked the Canadian government to condemn Iran’s involvement.  

“The government of Iran has just been elected to the UN Commission on the Status of Women where it will be able to join Saudi Arabia in contributing to international discussions on advancing the rights of women and girls. This elevation obviously makes a mockery of the important work the commission should be doing. What is the position of the government of Canada on the appropriateness of Iran’s leaders holding a seat at the UN Commission on the Status of Women?” asked Genuis. 

“Canada will always be unequivocal when it comes to the protection of women’s rights around the world. Canada also firmly believes in the United Nations and multilateralism. Of course, we recognize that the UN, including the women’s rights commission is not perfect, but let me be clear, our strong position on the human rights situation in Iran including women has been expressed repeatedly both in public and in private and we will continue to do so,” said Garneau. 

“If the government is not hesitating to express its position, it should do so right now with respect to the presence of the government of Iran on the UN women’s rights commission. We have all seen the images of courageous Iranian women standing up to the regime, a regime that this government unfortunately continues to try to curry favour with. It’s another slap in the face for these oppressors to be on that commission, and the government should clearly state what the problem is here.” 

In response Garneau claimed that the voting process relied on a secret ballot, meaning that the voting direction of member states is not shared. 

On April 20, 2021 Iran was elected to the UN Commission on the Status of Women with 43 votes in favour. Nations hoping to achieve representation on the commission were required to have at least 27 votes. Iran was chosen alongside other nations like Pakistan, China and Lebanon. 

According to an analysis by UN Watch, at least four EU and Western democracies voted to elect Iran to the position. 

In total, there are 54 member states who participated in the vote, 15 of which were Western democracies. According to the voting results, 11 of the member nations did not back Iran’s spot at the commission, meaning that four Western countries potentially broke ranks to support the authoritarian Iranian regime. 

Iran has an abhorrent record when it comes to women’s rights, including the practice of jailing women’s rights activists. A 2020 report by the UN General Assembly noted the human rights situation in the country as including “torture and large-scale arbitrary detention, as well as persistent discrimination against women, girls and minorities.” 

Conservatives denounce Liberal push to regulate social media posts

By
True North Wire
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Conservative heritage critic Alain Reyes is strongly condemning the Liberal government’s proposed social media bill as an attempt to curb Canadians’ freedoms. 

Reyes said Bill C-10, which brings website publishers and users under the jurisdiction of Canada’s broadcast regulators, will give the government too much power over what Canadians post online.

“While we support creating a level playing field between large foreign streaming services and Canadian broadcasters, C-10 is a bad piece of legislation giving too much power to the CRTC to regulate the internet and provides no clear guidelines for how that power will be used,” Reyes said in a statement Monday morning.

The Conservatives on the House of Commons heritage committee proposed an amendment offering protections to individual internet users and smaller publishers, but the Liberals rejected it.

Not only did the Liberals on the committee reject this amendment, but, on Friday, actually voted to expand the bill to apply to user-generated content, potentially subjecting YouTube videos, Facebook posts and tweets of Canadians to government regulation.

“There could be no clearer proof that the Liberals are not just going after large foreign streaming services, they are also targeting ordinary Canadians,” Reyes said. “Conservatives will continue to stand up for the freedoms of Canadians who post their content online and oppose C-10 at every stage of the legislative process.” 

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault has previously rejected claims that the legislation would somehow target the social media use of Canadians at large. 

“In the case of YouTube, for example, we’re not particularly interested in what people…you know, when my great-uncle posts pictures of his cats, that’s not what we’re interested in as a legislator,” said Guilbeault. 

“When YouTube or Facebook act as a broadcaster, then the legislation would apply to them and the CRTC would define how that would happen. But really, we’re not interested in user-generated content. We are interested in what broadcasters are doing.”

Despite Guilbeault’s assurances, committee members voted in support of a motion by Liberal MP Julie Dabrusin to require that “all the programming” found on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook would be subject to the Liberal government’s control. 

Prior to the motion, user-generated content was exempt from government regulatory control. 

Church of God in Aylmer, Ont. holds “one of the largest services” in defiance of lockdowns

By
True North Wire
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On Sunday, the Aylmer Church of God held an in-person service in defiance of the Ford government’s restrictions on places of worship.

The service is believed to be the largest held at the Church of God over the past year, with well over 100 attendees. Witnesses estimate as many as 200 cars were parked on the property. The service was also attended by Independent MPP Randy Hillier and MP Derek Sloan.

Police charged multiple people at the church for violating the province’s emergency orders.

“As a result of the gathering today and in anticipation of emergency order breaches, we monitored a church service and observed a large number of participants who attended,” Aylmer police Chief Zvonko Horvat said.

“This is probably one of the largest services that we’ve seen at the Church of God and although we don’t have exact count, it would be in excess of 100 for sure.”

Police say charges are being processed, with three people charged with criminal offences in relation to the gathering.

Speaking to the congregation on Sunday, Pastor Henry Hildebrandt said the past year has strengthened the church’s convictions. He also condemned other Christian leaders for not doing enough to oppose restrictions on churches. 

“I want to give credit where credit is due. Thank you, COVID-19 for bringing us together,” he said.

“I am very ashamed of many, many pastors in this land. Very ashamed. Since when are they noodle-backs?”

Under Ontario’s latest restrictions, in-person religious services are limited to 10 people. The Church of God in Aylmer has been regularly defying restrictions, with members of the church also participating in anti-lockdown protests.

Lockdown Theatre

By
Andrew Lawton
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWON SHOW

Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, is dangling a carrot in front of Canadians, telling them they might be able to get some restrictions lifted if 75% are vaccinated by the summer, but mask mandates and other restrictions should remain. True North’s Andrew Lawton says it’s clear the government is making things up as they go. Also, police say parents who don’t abide by Ontario’s stay-at-home order might be reported to children’s services, plus a look at Justin Trudeau’s woke budget.

Hundreds attend anti-lockdown rally in Peterborough, Bernier and Hillier ticketed

By
True North Wire
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On Saturday, People’s Party Leader Maxime Bernier and Independent Ontario MPP Randy Hillier were joined by hundreds of people at a protest organized by the group No More Lockdowns Canada in Confederation Square in Peterborough.

Bernier and Hillier both received tickets from police during the large anti-lockdown rally.

A total of 8 people were ticketed at the event, three for violations of the Reopening Ontario Act and five for different violations.

Speaking to the crowd, Hillier said he would risk getting tickets as he needed to continue protesting lockdowns.

“Let me tell everybody here — every police officer — I’ll paper my walls with your tickets before I ever give up. Every wall of my house will have your worthless tickets on it before I ever give up,” Hillier said.

“We will not stand down — we will stand for freedom and no more lockdowns.”

Hillier also got into a heated discussion with Peterborough Police Chief Scott Gilbert in Confederation Square.

The day before, Gilbert told reporters that Peterborough police were prepared to charge people at the protest but acknowledged that charging everyone would have been impossible.

Hillier and Bernier have travelled across Ontario in recent days to headline protests against the Ford government’s latest lockdown measures.

On Sunday, Hillier joined Independent MP Derek Sloan for a “Family Freedom” rally against lockdowns in Stratford, Ont.

Protests against lockdowns in Ontario were held across the province on the weekend, including in Toronto, Hamilton and Barrie.

MALCOLM: No, Minister Hajdu, the Vitamin D conversation isn’t ‘fake news’

By
Candice Malcolm
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Source: Facebook

Vitamin D is “fake news” according to our ever-wise federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu.

In an exchange with an independent MP during Question Period on Thursday, Hajdu dismissed a question about how vitamin D supplements may help prevent illnesses like COVID-19.

“Can the minister explain why Health Canada’s website states that most Canadians are getting enough vitamin D and doesn’t actively recommend supplementing,” asked independent MP Derek Sloan.

“I would encourage the member opposite to not fall prey to the myriad of fake news articles that are circulating around the Internet,” replied Hajdu.

“What Canadians need now is trust, and they need to be able to trust in the information that their elected officials are sharing. I would urge the member to get his sources from credible sites.”

This would be news to my doctor in Toronto, who prescribed vitamin D to me during my recent pregnancy and specifically said it could be a preventative measure against contracting COVID-19.

I suppose he didn’t get the memo from Hajdu. As for her insinuation that “credible sources” do not recommend vitamin D, a simple Google search proves her wrong.

Early in the pandemic, researchers noticed an overlap between those who were contracting the virus and those with vitamin D deficiencies, leading many to study the relationship. And while there are no firm conclusions from the research, many studies do show that low levels of vitamin D are associated with higher risks of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19.

For instance, researchers from the University of Chicago found that “the relative risk of testing positive for COVID-19 was 1.77 times greater” for those with vitamin D deficiencies, noting that the “difference was statistically significant.”

Likewise, studies in both Canada and Spain found that over 80% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients had vitamin D deficiencies.

Of course, not all doctors and researchers agree. But that’s true about almost everything when it comes to COVID-19.

All this is to say that Sloan’s question was valid and deserved a thoughtful response. After all, the United Kingdom’s public health department does recommend vitamin D supplements during the winter months and even offered free supplements to people who were considered at high risk of COVID-19.

But instead, Hajdu’s knee-jerk reaction was to condescendingly reject the question and accuse Sloan of spreading “fake news.” This has become an unfortunate habit of our health minister.

In the early days of the pandemic, as COVID-19 spread from China to the rest of the world, it became abundantly clear that the virus was deadlier than the Communist Party of China had let on.

When Hajdu was asked by a CTV reporter whether Canada trusted China’s numbers, she said there was “no indication that the data that came out of China … was falsified in any way.”

“Your question is feeding into conspiracy theories that many people have been perpetuating on the internet,” she sneered.

A few days later, the Chinese government itself admitted its numbers were wrong and retroactively changed the data.

In November 2020, Hajdu did it again. During Question Period she was asked about Canada’s lacklustre vaccine rollout and replied by accusing a Lethbridge MP of spreading “fake and dangerous news.”

The supposedly “fake and dangerous news” came from the Sun, where my colleague Anthony Furey used government data to reveal that “very few people who are not suffering from a previous medical condition have actually died of COVID-19.”

Furey’s report was accurate, but it was inconvenient to the government’s doom and gloom narrative.

Using government data to reveal a hidden fact is not “fake and dangerous news,” being skeptical of the adversarial Chinese communists is not “propaganda,” and wondering if vitamin D may make us healthier is not “fake news,” regardless of what one self-righteous Trudeau minister believes.

Hajdu says that Canadians must trust their government.

I’ve got news for Hajdu: so-called fake news isn’t the problem. It would be easier to trust this government if it wasn’t wrong so often.

FUREY: Do 75% of Canadians want to get the COVID-19 vaccine?

By
True North Wire
-

Earlier this week, Dr. Theresa Tam says lockdowns will only be lifted by the summer if 75% of Canadians are vaccinated.

While Canada’s slow vaccine rollout makes Tam’s goal appear unattainable, the other important question to ask is if 75% of Canadians even want to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Anthony Furey discusses in his latest video.

O’Toole’s climate plan isn’t good enough for the media, so why bother?

By
Andrew Lawton
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Conservative Party of Canada leader Erin O’Toole has proposed a climate change plan he says will meet Canada’s Paris agreement commitments without killing jobs. Yet one week after announcing it, Justin Trudeau increased Canada’s emissions targets and the media is already asking O’Toole why his plan doesn’t go further. True North’s Andrew Lawton says this is proof the Conservatives will never win by playing on the left’s turf.

Watch the full episode of the show here.

Ten times the Liberals dismissed facts as “fake news” or “disinformation”

By
True North
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The Trudeau government has regularly dismissed any criticism as “fake news,” “disinformation” and “conspiracy theories.” 

Over the course of the pandemic, the Liberals have waved away real concerns Canadians harbour about vaccine distribution, economic recovery and even going so far as brushing aside official government COVID-19 data.

A True North review found the most egregious instances where the Liberals have shut down the concerns of Canadians through name-calling and false accusations.

1. April 22, 2021: Hajdu calls Vitamin D protection “fake news” 

Health Minister Patty Hajdu claimed that research into Vitamin D protection against COVID-19 was “fake news” in response to a question by Independent MP Derek Sloan on why Health Canada was not recommending Canadians take the supplement as a preventative measure against COVID-19 despite studies showing its effectiveness. 

“I would encourage the member opposite to not fall prey to the myriad of fake news articles that are circulating around the internet about ways that people can protect themselves from COVID and trust that the Public Health Agency of Canada only puts science-based credible documents up guided, of course, by our Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Tam and the many scientists that work for us,” said Hajdu.

2. April 21, 2020: Vaughan says Trudeau’s new Harrington Lake mansion is a conspiracy theory

Liberal MP Adam Vaughan took to Twitter to decry a post by Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new $2.5 million luxurious lakeside mansion and claimed that it was a conspiracy theory despite it being confirmed by the National Capital Commision. 

“The Conservative Parliamentary leadership team is waging an ideological battle, under the disguise of respecting the House, truth is they are just trying to sling mud… this is their lead finance critic yesterday…. really… conspiracy theories… I can do better!” said Vaughan in response to an aerial photograph showing the new construction on the Harrington Lake property. 

3. September 30, 2020: Trudeau says Global News Pfizer tax break story is a conspiracy theory

When asked by the leader of the Bloc Quebecois if Pfizer was seeking preferential treatment from the Liberal government after the company asked for new tax breaks in the next budget, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implied that the article was a conspiracy theory. 

“Mr. Speaker, the good news is that we negotiated several contracts with different companies just in case there were interruptions with any of them. That is the good news. Our plan heading into negotiations was solid,” said Trudeau.

“Unfortunately, the leader of the Bloc Québécois is once again hinting at conspiracy theories behind various issues.”

4. December 8, 2020: Lamoureux says WE Charity scandal is a conspiracy 

During Question Period, Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureoux implied the federal government’s WE Charity scandal was a “made-up” conspiracy pushed by the Conservative Party. 

“They are calling for civil servant after civil servant to go before the committee. I think my colleagues did a good job of ensuring that this government continues, even though the opposition continues to look for made-up conspiracies, in some cases. We continue to be focused on the coronavirus. That has been clearly demonstrated. While Conservatives would rather have civil servants answering questions about conspiracy, we prefer civil servants doing what they do best, which is serving Canadians by minimizing the negative damage of the coronavirus,” said Lamoureux.

5. December 4, 2020: MacKinnon suggests attacks on vaccine distribution networks are a conspiracy theory

During a December Question Period, Liberal MP Steven MacKinnon accused a Conservative MP of spreading “conspiracy theories” after he raised concerns about cyber attacks targeting Canada’s vaccine supply. 

“Mr. Speaker, we have every day and in fact we are briefing Canadians now every week on the process and on the progress of our distribution and logistics effort. There will be more news on that today,” said MacKinnon.

“These conspiracy theories keep coming from the opposition over there. They have always been a little fuzzy on science over there. I am giving an occasion to stand up, once and for all, and express, on behalf of that party, confidence in the Health Canada regulators, the science of vaccines and that the end of this pandemic will be brought about as a result of the efforts of this Liberal government.”

6. November 26, 2020: Hajdu claims journalism on official data is “dangerous” and “fake news”

In response to a question by Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner to apologize to the families of COVID-19 victims, Health Minister Patty Hajdu claimed a Toronto Sun column on official government data by Anthony Furey was “fake and dangerous news.” 

“Mr. Speaker, do you know what will help Canadians’ lives? If the member opposite and the leader of the opposition stop their members from sharing fake and dangerous news like the member from Lethridge and the member of Carleton stay focused on saving lives of Canadians instead of spreading conspiracy theories,” said Hajdu.

7. November 20, 2020: Trudeau calls Great Reset “disinformation” after calling for a “reset” himself

During a press conference last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed concerns involving using the COVID-19 crisis for a “Great Reset” of the global economy. Trudeau dismissed the concerns as “disinformation” and “conspiracy theories” despite using the term himself during a speech at the UN only a few months prior. Additionally, earlier this year two of his ministers took part in a “Great Reset Initiative” event at the World Economic Forum. 

“I think we are in a time of anxiety where people are looking for reasons for things that are happening to them. That (in) the difficult moments we’re in, it’s nice to find someone to blame, something to point to, something to get mad at,” said Trudeau. 

“I think we’re seeing a lot of people fall prey to disinformation and if Conservative MPs and others want to talk about conspiracy theories, well that’s their choice, I’m going to stay focused on helping Canadians get through this.” 

8. April 2, 2020: Patty Hajdu accuses reporter of “feeding conspiracy theories” for asking about China coronavirus stats

Responding to a question at the government’s daily coronavirus briefing, Health Minister Patty Hajdu downplayed concerns that China’s numbers were inaccurate, even going so far as to accuse the reporter who asked about them of “feeding conspiracy theories.”

“There’s no indication that the data that came out of China in terms of their infection rate and their death rate was falsified any way,” said Hajdu.

“Your question is feeding into conspiracy theories that many people have been perpetuating on the internet and it’s important to remember that there is no way to beat a global pandemic if we’re not willing to work together as a globe.”

This came on the heels of a Bloomberg report that the U.S. intelligence community found evidence China purposefully hid and falsified their coronavirus case data. 

9. February 7, 2019: Trudeau says Globe and Mail report on SNC-Lavalin scandal is “false”

Following a report by the Globe and Mail which revealed the Prime Minister’s Office attempted to get the former justice minister to scrap an ongoing prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, Justin Trudeau dismissed the report as “false.” 

“The allegations in the story this morning are false,” Trudeau told reporters.

“Neither the current nor the previous attorney general was ever directed by me nor anyone in my office to take a decision in this matter.”

In the months to follow, it was revealed that the Globe and Mail report was in fact accurate. The SNC-Lavalin scandal led to the resignation of a number of Liberal MPs and Trudeau’s top advisor and another ethics violation by Trudeau. 

In August 2019, then-ethics commissioner Mario Dion issued a scathing report indicating that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau broke ethics rules in the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Dion said Trudeau used his position of authority over former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to seek to influence her decision on whether she should overrule the Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision on SNC-Lavalin.

10. February 15, 2018: McKenna says calling Trudeau’s carbon tax a “tax grab” is fake news

In 2018, while a number of provinces pushed back against the federal government’s carbon tax, Conservative MPs shared an opinion column by True North’s Candice Malcolm, in which Malcolm used facts and data to criticize the tax.

“Every taxpayer in the country, and especially every conservative who believes in the principle of limited government, should do everything they can to stop this devastating tax grab,” Malcolm wrote. 

In response, then-environment minister Catherine McKenna accused the Conservatives of pushing fake news. 

“Unbelievable. Conservatives calling a price on pollution as the fight of their lives. How about join Canadians and fight for clean innovation and a healthy planet for our kids! And stop with the fake news. No tax grab. All money will stay in the province where it’s collected,” McKenna tweeted. 

More red ink from Ottawa won’t solve our economic woes

By
True North Wire
-

By: Franco Terrazzano and Jay Goldberg

It’s one thing to pull out the credit card to pay for new shingles to patch a leaky roof in a storm. It’s another thing to pull out that credit card to buy a new big screen before the rain even stops.

That’s what Ottawa is doing by pilling up new program spending on top of its $1-trillion debt tab. Even worse, the feds are trying to pitch their debt-financed big screen as a good investment.

After record-high government spending in 2020, many economists have warned about the dangers of more debt.

“Canada cannot continue piling up public debt faster than GDP without risking a fiscal crisis,” said the University of Calgary’s Jack Mintz.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland aren’t listening.

Within a few short years, the Trudeau government will have nearly doubled Canada’s national debt, thanks to Budget 2021.

The debt-to-GDP ratio will remain at about half of Canada’s entire economy for the next few years, significantly above pre-pandemic levels. And the only fiscal anchor the budget offers is a lame-duck commitment to unwind “COVID-related deficits and reducing the federal debt as a share of the economy over the medium-term.”

Professor of economics at McGill University William Watson also has some sobering thoughts.

“We need to understand that what we just went through was an emergency,” said Watson. “The federal government supporting millions of Canadians was not and should not become normal.”

But making higher government spending the new normal is exactly what Budget 2021 does. By 2026, Freeland will have increased permanent federal government spending by $100 billion. Instead of reining in spending after a temporary emergency, the government is using the cover of COVID-19 to embark on debt-fuelled spending binge.

“The fiscal situation we find ourselves in is that the government simply cannot afford major new spending programs,” said Philip Cross, a former chief economic analyst for Statistics Canada.

New and expensive federal programs took centre stage of the feds’ budget, with the government insisting it can somehow now afford to spend $30 billion on a national childcare scheme. To be clear, we couldn’t afford this pre-pandemic and with the government’s debt tab smashing through the $1-trillion ceiling, we certainly can’t afford it now.

And while the new deficit-financed spending on childcare may save parents some money today, Ottawa is essentially forcing parents to offload costs onto their children and grandchildren.

The debt-fueled 2021 budget is spooking Bay Street veteran Davis Rosenberg who is chief economist and strategist at Rosenberg Research.

“As an economist, I would probably give [the budget] a ‘D’ and I might be charitable on that score,” Rosenberg told BNN Bloomberg.

“I think that we’re definitely mortgaging our future with this extreme increase in debt.”

The Trudeau government is taking the wrong approach to a post-pandemic recovery. Experts such as Cross insist “the economy does not need more fiscal stimulus” and point to February and March job numbers to show that a post-pandemic recovery will unfold quite naturally as lockdowns end and restrictions are lifted.

If the feds want to help Canadians, they should toss aside their single-minded spend and borrow approach for one that lets us keep more of our own money.

For less than the cost of the government’s new stimulus program, the federal government could eliminate the GST for two years or cut its income tax-take in half for 2021. That’s support that can help families immediately, unlike many costly government programs.

The federal government has decided to borrow tens of billions of dollars to finance a stimulus package we don’t need and new programs that taxpayers can’t afford. Trudeau and Freeland should listen to the advice of economic experts and start to repair the state of Canada’s government finances.

Franco Terrazzano is the Federal Director and Jay Goldberg is the Interim Ontario Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

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