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.
NDP MP @MatthewGreenNDP told @theserfstv yesterday that he would be open to supporting a post-mortem on COVID-19 handling in Canada.
Says there's an element of "criminal negligence" in decisions made by politicians during the pandemic. #cdnpolipic.twitter.com/cz6jn9LvxG
“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.
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.
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.
Ontario Soccer calls on Doug Ford to "take another prudent step forward by reversing the decision to stop all outdoor organized and controlled sports"https://t.co/ij0jwAHugS
“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.
The new federal budget released on Monday promises millions in new funding for CBC and Radio-Canada despite declining viewership.
Over the next year, Canada’s state broadcaster will receive an extra $21 million in addition to the CBC’s annual $1.2 billion federal grant.
“Budget 2021 proposes to provide $21 million in 2021-22 as immediate operational support to the CBC/Radio-Canada,” the budget document reads.
“This funding will ensure its stability during the pandemic and enable it to continue providing news and entertainment programming that keeps Canadians informed.”
The Trudeau government says the pandemic has resulted in the CBC losing advertising revenue. According to the budget, an injection of cash is necessary to keep the CBC afloat.
“Like many media organizations, during the pandemic the CBC/Radio-Canada has experienced declining advertising revenues that threaten its capacity to continue delivering public television and radio programs.”
However, the CBC was steadily losing advertising revenue long before the pandemic, with CBC TV revenue decreasing 53% between 2014 and 2019.
In a previous statement to the House of Commons heritage committee, CBC President Catherine Tait claimed the CBC needed a bailout as the decline in revenue seen under her tenure caused the organization significant stress.
As president of CBC, Tait receives a salary between $390,300-$459,100, with vice-presidents earning between $250,000-$417,500.
Previous records have shown that the CBC engages with very few Canadians, with less than 4% of Canadians regularly watching CBC TV in 2019 and only 0.8% tuning into its evening newscasts.
A True North review found that 15 of Canada’s largest cities and towns have made a declaration in some form or another that they are systemically racist institutions.
Numbered among them are Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and dozens of others.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “systemic racism” is defined as “an infrastructure of rulings, ordinances or statutes promulgated by a sovereign government or authoritative entity, whereas such ordinances and statutes entitles one ethnic group in a society certain rights and privileges, while denying other groups in that society these same rights and privileges because of long-established cultural prejudices, religious prejudices, fears, myths, and Xenophobia’s held by the entitled group.”
This report only looked at explicit admissions of systemic or institutional racism by municipal governments and took into account mayoral statements, comments made by city representatives in the media, documents and statements made on official webpages.
All of the cities and towns included in the list have a population of 100,000 people or more.
When taking into account the latest census data, the cities included in the following list represent over 11 million Canadians or nearly 29% of Canada’s population.
“Here in Toronto and around the world, people have been raising their voices and calling for an end to racism generally, to anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism, and to racism against marginalized communities,” Tory said.
“As Mayor, I acknowledge that, despite our city being one of the world’s most diverse, systemic racism continues to be a real issue here in Toronto and there is much more all of us can do to confront it and to eliminate it.”
“Starting today, at city council, I will propose a statement to recognize the systemic nature of racism and discrimination,” said Plante.
“To affirm the city’s solidarity with the thousands of citizens who have denounced racism and discrimination in all its forms and, above all, to reaffirm our commitment to act and to put in place the necessary measures to fight them.”
According to a July 7, 2020 meeting of Calgary’s Community and Protective Services committee, councillors and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi carried a motion that acknowledged the existence of systemic racism in the City of Calgary.
“Acknowledge and recognize that systemic racism exists in our community, our government, our organization and our institutions, including the City of Calgary and the Calgary Police Service, as acknowledged by the joint statement by the Calgary Police Service, the Calgary Police Association, the Calgary Police Commission and the Senior Officers Association,” the motion wrote.
“At the City of Ottawa, we are committed to incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion in the way we deliver services and we want all residents to feel heard, seen, and well served. We recognize systemic racism exists and it is our duty as public servants, members of the community, and as human beings to work together in the fight against systemic racism.” Ottawa’s Anti-Racism and Ethnocultural Relations Initiatives page writes.
“In the past year, the City has implemented new anti-racism measures, including committing a budget to create an Anti-Racism Secretariat to address systemic racism in our community and within the City’s workplaces and services.”
“We are in a pivotal moment right now and it is incumbent on all institutions, including the City of Mississauga, that we take action to address racism and discrimination,” said Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie.
“To be good on the outside, we must be good on the inside. It is important that our institutions are representative of the people they serve and that everyone is treated fairly and with respect, free from bias and discrimination. Today’s motion commits the City as a corporation and a community to confronting racism and discrimination, and in particular anti-Black racism and discrimination, and take meaningful action. Our work to confront these challenges is never done, but I am confident that by working with Council, city staff, and the broader community, we can take significant steps forward.”
A motion that was carried on July 15, 2020 by Winnipeg’s city council acknowledged that “systemic racism” existed in the city and that the city would “address racism and discrimination in Winnipeg and work to eliminate inequities through education, public awareness, and leading by example.”
“Systemic racism does exist. We need some Black people, some Muslims, we need some people from First Nations,” said Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume in response to a report on policing.
During a July 8, 2020 meeting, Surrey’s city council voted to carry a motion by the Social Equity and Diversity committee acknowledging that “acknowledged that systemic racism exists in Surrey and its civic institutions.”
“I want to take a moment as we begin Council to address the issue of anti-Black racism and the events of the past couple of weeks. Anti-Black racism includes policiesand practices embedded in our institutions that reflect and reinforce beliefs, attitudes, prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination. It is directed at people of African descent and rooted in their unique history of enslavement and colonization,” wrote Halifax Mayor Mike Savage in a June 9, 2020 statement.
On June 16, 2020, London’s city council passed a motion which acknowledged that “systemic anti-Black, anti-Indigenous and people of colour racism exists in London” and that the city’s “workforce is not reflective of the population it services and that it will continue to work to ensure a reflective workforce.”
“The time for us to prioritize issues facing Black Canadians is now. As we confront anti-Black racism, we are taking immediate and proactive steps to fight and prevent systemic racism in our decision-making, programs and services,” said Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti.
“Recognizing that more needs to be done to combat anti-Black racism, promote equality and to support diversity and inclusion, Markham Council has unanimously endorsed a Strategy to Combat Anti-Black Racism.”
According to the City of Guelph’s website, the city began a consultation process in July 2020 to address those “most affected by systemic racism in Guelph.”
“Initial conversations also identified a foundational need to use data to better understand the realities of systemic racism in Guelph,” wrote the City of Guelph.
“The recent Black Lives Matter movement and protests reminded the Town and Ajax Council that we have a lot of work to do in addressing systemic and institutional racism to combat barriers felt by Black people,” wrote Ajax’ Anti-Black Racism Task Force webpage.
Representatives from Thunder Bay and surrounding communities joined 11 major organizations on June 19, 2018 to declare in a public statement that systemic racism exists within the city.
