The backlash from citizens and police to the Ontario government’s expansion of police powers was swift. True North contributor Anthony Furey said on The Andrew Lawton Show Ontarians were, in part, rejecting the “COVID Zero” mindset adopted by a number of governments, which gravitates towards extreme policies to get cases to zero rather than measured and risk-based approaches.
Watch the full episode of the show here.
Terrorists linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) executed a prominent Egyptian Christian in a chilling video posted online amid the growing conflict between the government and militants.
According to the Christian Post, on Saturday ISIS-linked media put out a 13-minute video showing Coptic Christian Nabil Salama being shot in the head by masked militants.
One militant is recorded saying that the killing of Salama was revenge for the Christian community’s support of the army in the war against ISIS.
“As for you Christians of Egypt, this is the price you are paying for supporting the Egyptian army,” a militant was quoted as saying in the video.
“As you kill, you will be killed, and as you capture, you will be captured.”
The killing took place in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where the Egyptian army has been battling ISIS-linked insurgents since 2011. Salama, a prominent businessman in Sinai, was kidnapped in November.
In a statement, the government said that three militants associated with the murder were killed fighting the army on Monday. The government claims they found evidence the militants were planning attacks on Christians in the future.
Approximately 10% of Egypt practices the region’s indigenous Coptic Christianity. In recent years, Egypt’s Christian community has faced significant persecution with dozens dying as a result of terrorist attacks.
According to Open Doors, Christians in Egypt still face significant pressure from the state and Islamists as acts of violence in rural areas are relatively common.
In a statement, the Coptic Church mourned the death of Salama but also praised his immense faith and courage. The church also reiterated their support for the army’s war on ISIS.
“He kept the faith till the moment he was killed. … The church affirms its steadfast support of the Egyptian state’s efforts in quelling hateful terror acts,” a Coptic Church spokesperson said.
US media outlets railed against Ontario Premier Doug Ford this week after the embattled Canadian politician faced public outrage over his heavy handed COVID-19 approach.
Publications like the Washington Post, CNN and even Alex Jones’ controversial daily program InfoWars jumped on the opportunity to criticize the premier.
In a scathing opinion article published in the Washington Post titled “Doug Ford must resign,” University of Ottawa political theorist David Moscrop delved into Ford’s botched police powers and how it impacted the vulnerable.
“Gaunt and drawn on Friday, he announced that his government was empowering police to arbitrarily stop anyone who is outside their residence during the province’s lockdown, giving law enforcement extraordinary powers that threaten civil rights, especially among vulnerable and racialized populations,” wrote Moscrop.
“Ford was never fit to be premier of Ontario. The pandemic didn’t reveal that; it just bathed it in the garish light of emergency,” Moscrop continued.
Prominent Ford government critic and Ontario physician Dr. Michael Warner also made an appearance on CNN to highlight the current situation in the province.
“A lot of healthcare workers are beyond angry, we’re just really forlorn that we’re in the situation that we find ourselves in,” said Warner during an April 18 appearance on the network.
Meanwhile, InfoWars host Alex Jones accused the premier of being “guilty” and “declaring martial law.”
“He’s like a giant demonic ferret. He looks like an evil hedgehog who just ate your freedoms. Well guess what? He just declared martial law, we played the clip earlier,” said Jones while an image of the premier appeared on the screen.
Premier Ford recently backtracked on public health measures which included giving the province’s law enforcement additional powers to stop and question people for simply being outside of their residences.
Soon after Ford announced the new spat of emergency measures, police forces across the province came out in opposition to the move saying that they do not intend to randomly stop pedestrians or vehicles as the Ontario government had asked.
A New Democrat MP wants an inquiry into public officials’ handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling for those guilty of what he called “criminal negligence” to be held to account.
First-term NDP MP Matthew Green said during a conversation on The Serfs, a left-wing show on the streaming platform Twitch. Green was asked specifically about Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s pandemic response.
“There is a criminal negligence in the way that political decisions have superseded evidence-based public health policy in Canada,” he said.
“People are absolutely going to die based on these horrific decisions. I would state that seeing the numbers that I’ve seen, being in this close proximity to the misery that COVID has caused. As an elected official, I am committed to exploring ways in which public officials would be held accountable in a post-mortem of this pandemic.”
Green likened the situation to the Walkerton E. coli outbreak in 2000, in which six deaths and more than two thousand cases triggered an inquiry that resulted in convictions and sentences for two public officials.
Green pointed to several failures as examples of places where there could have been negligence, specifically mentioning long-term care homes, where 69% of all COVID-19 fatalities occurred, according to data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
The figure is significantly larger than the international average of 41%, raising questions about how Canada could have mitigated the severity of the deaths for those most vulnerable to the virus.
“All of the inquiries have said staff are important, having a medical director on the floor is important, having everybody understand what infection prevention and control precautions are and to use them uniformly, all those things are considered really important,” CIHI director of health system analysis told CBC News.
The Conservative Party of Canada has already proposed a potential public inquiry into the pandemic response.
Earlier in April, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole issued calls for an investigation into the federal government’s handling of the crisis.
“A public inquiry will ensure that all lessons learned from the crisis are publicly aired and improvements can immediately be adopted,” O’Toole said. “Canada must be better prepared for future threats. We cannot afford to once again fail to keep Canadians safe,” said O’Toole.
Despite the Ontario government backing down on some of its restrictions, there are still some very aggressive laws in place. For example, it’s illegal to sit on picnic tables and to play basketball or soccer.
Fortunately, many Ontario residents are pushing back and are no longer buying the nonsense of the government.
Anthony Furey discusses in his latest video.
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) has officially cancelled the 2020-2021 season after the province repeatedly rejected the group’s return to play proposals.
In a statement on Tuesday, the OHL says the current restrictions around sporting and public events in Ontario make it impossible to hold a season this year.
“We have worked tirelessly with the Province and the Chief Medical Officer of Health for the past year on different scenarios and different windows of opportunity but the reality is the conditions in Ontario have never been right to start and complete an uninterrupted, safe opportunity for players to showcase their skills,” said OHL Commissioner David Branch.
“We owe it to our players and their families to be definitive. We were committed to return and play this season, but our hopes and desires have been dashed by the cruel realities of COVID-19.”
The OHL consists of 17 teams in Ontario and is one of the three major junior hockey leagues. The OHL is the number one provider of talent to the National Hockey League, with 20% of the NHL Draft coming from the OHL.
The Ontario government has rejected multiple proposals from the OHL to return to play. Several weeks ago, the two sides reached an agreement which featured a shortened season with fewer venues.
However, the Ford government announced extensive new restrictions last week, including bans on various recreational activities, in wake of rising coronavirus cases. Outdoor sporting venues were also ordered to close.
“Ontario has the strongest health restrictions of any jurisdiction in North America and we understood that this would make a return to play scenario extremely difficult,” Branch said.
Earlier this week Ontario Soccer called on the province to reverse the ban on outdoor sports announced last week, citing a low risk of transmission.
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Every single Ontario municipal police force told the provincial government they would not be conducting random stops of citizens to enforce the province’s stay-at-home order, forcing the province to walk back its directive to police. Yet even so, the government didn’t apologize for throwing civil liberties out the window, True North’s Andrew Lawton says.
Also, more proof the mainstream media holds social conservatives in contempt, plus Anthony Furey joins to talk about the problems with governments’ “COVID Zero” approach.
Canadian mining firm Alamos Gold has announced a US$1 billion lawsuit against the Turkish government for refusing to renew their mining licenses.
Alamos Gold says the Turkish government has refused to give a reason for why the permits for the Kirazlı Gold Mine were not renewed and will not provide a timeline for renewal. The construction of the mine has been stopped since 2019.
In a statement on Tuesday, Alamos Gold claims Turkey has violated bilateral investment treaties.
“Alamos began investing in Turkey in 2010, warmly welcomed by the Turkish government through its foreign investment office,” CEO John A. McCluskey said.
“After 10 years of effort and over $250 million invested by the company we have been shut down for over 18 months in a manner without precedent in Turkey, despite having received all the permits required to build and operate a mine.”
Alamos Gold says they have already contributed $20 million in royalties to the Turkish government, created hundreds of jobs and put $25 million towards community and social initiatives.
“The company has worked in Turkey to the highest standard of conduct with respect to social and environmental best practices. Despite this effort, the Turkish government has given us no indication that relief is in sight, nor will they engage with us in an effort to renew the outstanding licenses.”
The Kirazlı Gold Mine has been the target of opposition activists despite the project passing and extensive environmental review and public consultations. While Kirazlı has been stalled, the Turkish government recently approved another gold mine in the same area without having gone through the complete consultation process or acquiring the necessary environmental permits.
While activists claim the mine damages a protected national park, residents of the communities near the mine say this false information spread to scare the public.
If the mine is not allowed to proceed, the company says it will incur a loss of $215 million in the second quarter of this year.
True North reached out to the Canadian government for comment but did not hear back in time for publication of this article.
China’s increased aggression towards Taiwan culminated in a series of military aerial exercises meant to intimidate the island nation over the weekend.
Bombers flown by the People’s Liberation Army flew in the country’s Qinghai province during a nine-hour exercise which involved live ammunition and bombardments.
The exercise prompted a statement from Taiwan, the United States and Japan, urging for peace in the region.
“We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues,” the statement said.
In response, China accused the allied nations of undermining peace and threatening China’s ability to defend itself.
A recent decision by the Canadian government to support awarding Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen with the prestigious international human rights Halifax Security Forum John McCain Prize prompted a similar angry response from Chinese authorities.
Prior reports indicated that the Liberal government attempted to intervene and prevent the award from being given to Taiwan. An eventual vote in the House of Commons to support Taiwan as the recipient eventually received cross-partisan approval.
“China deplores and rejects the wrong motion related to Taiwan passed by the Canadian House of Commons,” said China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian.
“The ‘One China’ principle is the political foundation of China-Canada relations and a solemn commitment by the Canadian government.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the consideration of President Tsai as the recipient an “honor” for the country.
“[The Ministry of Foreign Affairs] believes that if the Halifax International Security Forum (HFX) confers the prize upon President Tsai, it would be an affirmation and honor for both President Tsai and the people of Taiwan in their anti-pandemic efforts and democratic achievements,” said Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou.
“However, on the basis of democratic principles and respect for the HFX, Taiwan will respect the HFX’s decision regarding the prize.”
Ontario Soccer is calling on the province to reverse the ban on outdoor sports announced last week, citing a low risk of transmission.
In an open letter, CEO Johnny R. Misley and President Peter Augruso said that Ontario Soccer has proven to not be a source of new COVID-19 infections.
“Since launching our Return to Play Guide and Safety Protocols to our membership on June 11, 2020, only 29 cases of Covid-19 have been reported across our entire soccer community to date –17 of the 29 were youth cases, all with an identifiable origin of transmission from outside of soccer activities,” they wrote.
“Ontario Soccer’s membership consists of 500,000 participants organized through 550 community Clubs and Academies.”
Last week, the Ford government announced sweeping new restrictions, including the closures of playgrounds, golf courses and other outdoor sporting areas.
After just one day, Ford backtracked on the closure of playgrounds following backlash from parents, educators and medical professionals. Sports have not been permitted to resume.
“Ontario Soccer applauds your courage in reversing the April 16 decision to close all playgrounds across Ontario for our children; given the tremendously negative impact such restriction would have had on our most vulnerable youngsters,” they wrote.
“However, stopping at simply not closing playgrounds would still fall woefully short of recognizing and providing the support our Ontario Youth so desperately need at this time.”
Ontario Soccer notes that sports and physical activity are crucial for children’s physical and mental wellbeing. The mental health of all Canadians have suffered since the beginning of lockdowns, with children being acutely harmed.
In February, the Ford government rejected another proposal from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to hold their season this year, leaving the careers of many young players up in the air.
