A preliminary report before the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) found that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of students meeting Grade 1 reading level expectations fell by approximately 10% when compared to the 2018-2019 school year.
“There is nearly a ten percentage point difference in the proportions of students meeting grade level reading expectations in virtual schools in January 2021 (45%) when compared to pre-pandemic percentages (54%) in January of 2019,” the preliminary findings read.
“Overall, in considering the percentage point shifts and differences, the pandemic seems to have disrupted literacy learning for many early elementary students to large degrees. Given the importance that literacy capacity has on future academic success throughout elementary and secondary schooling, these data are concerning.”
On the other hand, secondary school performance seems to have improved as a result of the pandemic, the report notes.
TDSB secondary schools reported a significant spike in average marks for Grade 9 to 12 courses taken by students in the region.
According to the report, the student failure rate has gone down 2%, while the number of students in the 80-100 grade range has increased “significantly” by 9% to 16% when compared to the years before the pandemic.
“The TDSB set specific assessment policies at the outset as well as during the pandemic that may have affected how teachers approach summative assessments and grading in general,” the report continued.
“In TDSB secondary schools, culminating activities designed to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding of course content now include a broader range of possibilities. Final exams traditionally worth 30% of a course mark have been reduced to very few or none during the pandemic.”
Ontario has had some of the most stringent lockdowns when it comes to school closures and virtual learning. Students in the province only returned to in-person learning as of February 16, 2021.
The TDSB is currently undergoing a larger evaluation of the pandemic’s impacts on learning and a completed report is expected by early Summer 2021.
Last week, the national charitable literacy organization Frontier College told True North that literacy skills were more important than ever if Canada wants to recover from the pandemic completely.
“The global pandemic has made us realize how critically important it is, now more than ever, to have access to literacy and learning support,” said Frontier College’s Director of Communications Meredith Roberts.
“The economic losses will be more deeply felt by disadvantaged students. All indications show that students whose families are less able to support out-of-school learning will face larger learning losses than their more advantaged peers, which in turn will translate into deeper losses of lifetime earnings.”
Health Canada gave government officials advice on what to say if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was criticized for violating public health orders to attend an anti-racism protest
In documentation obtained by Rebel News, Health Canada provided officials with various talking points if the media pressed about the hypocrisy of attending a protest while advocating for lockdowns.
“Prime Minister Trudeau and some of his ministers attended the anti-racism protest in Ottawa, which may lead people to believe that they are now safe from the virus,” the document says.
“During this ongoing pandemic, expressing one’s right to protest should be done as safely as possible by following local public health advice.”
In June 2020, Trudeau left self-isolation at Rideau Cottage to attend a massive anti-racism protest in Ottawa. Trudeau kneeled in front of a crowd of protesters while being heckled.
The protest was held despite bans on large gatherings at the time, which the government tried to justify by writing that “anti-black racism, racism against Indigenous people and racism against other minorities negatively affects their health and safety.”
The document advises officials to focus on the guidelines Trudeau did follow, such as wearing a mask, rather than discuss the inherent risk of attending a large, crowded protest.
“If pressed, the prime minister was following public health advice as he wore a non-medical mask, brought hand sanitizer and took the necessary precautions to limit his exposure to COVID-19.”
While Trudeau broke public health advice with no consequences, thousands of Canadians have received hefty fines for allegedly violating public health orders, even when no risk has been demonstrated.
On another occasion, Trudeau broke the guidance of the government and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam by leaving Ottawa to spend Easter weekend with his family in Harrington Lake.
In February, True North’s Lindsay Shepherd revealed that there are no reports of any COVID-19 cases linked to large protests, including anti-racism protests and anti-lockdown rallies.
NEW BOOK RELEASE! True North fellow Lindsay Shepherd talks about her new tell-all book, “Diversity and Exclusion: Confronting the Campus Free Speech Crisis.”
A motion before the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) calling on free feminine hygiene products to be provided in all 72 Ontario public schools makes no reference to women and only mentions “people who menstruate.”
The motion titled “Access to Free Menstrual Products for Students in Ontario Schools” will be presented before the TDSB Program and School Services Committee on Wednesday.
The motion argues that “lack of access due to economic factors — often referred to as ‘period poverty’ — impacts people who menstruate around the world and can be especially damaging at puberty, when school interactions are crucial to a student’s development.”
The memo then goes onto say that “one-third of people who menstruate under the age of 25 in Canada struggle to afford menstrual products, and 70% of people who menstruate say they have missed work or school due to their period.”
The motion ends with a call for the committee to write to Ontario’s minister of education requesting the provincial government to provide funding for the initiative.
Since 2019, TDSB schools have already been providing free menstrual products to students upon request.
“There are girls and women around the world, even here in Canada, who cannot afford menstrual products. We don’t want a single one of our students having to worry about that and that is why this is such an important step that the Board is taking,” said TDSB Chair Robin Pilkey on August 30, 2019.
However, according to the motion, that’s not enough. It goes on to argue that requiring students to request such items violates their privacy and therefore the product must be provided without such obstacles.
As exclusively reported on by True North, a similar motion was presented before the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) earlier this month.
A January 28, 2021 report by the OCDSB’s Advisory Committee on Equity calls on the OCDSB to provide free menstrual products with students and cites “gender-neutral language and packaging” as being of paramount importance in the rollout.
“Consideration for the needs of all student demographics in the implementation and maintenance of this initiative is paramount, for example, private and unsupervised access, usage of gender-neutral language and packaging,” reads the report.
Over the last few years, the Chinese Communist regime has grown increasingly hostile towards the West.
With regard to Canada, the Chinese government has proven itself to be belligerent and uncooperative. The refusal by Chinese authorities to grant access to the trials of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor to consular officials is the most recent instance of Chinese diplomatic hostility.
Even prior to the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in 2019, Chinese state-media and officials were lashing out at Canada.
The following is a list of every single time that Chinese officials and state-media have insulted or downright degraded Canada on the international stage.
“Boy, your greatest achievement is to have ruined the friendly relations between China and Canada, and have turned Canada into a running dog of the US. Spendthrift!!!” tweeted Li Yang.
“It must be pointed out that these countries, who proclaim themselves to be ‘judges’ of human rights and are keen to lecture others, have an ignoble record on human rights. They are not in the position to criticize China, much less to shift blames [sic] to China for what they have committed,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying.
“In the 1870s, the Canadian government included assimilation of indigenous people in its official agenda and openly advocated the killing of the Indian bloodline. Starting with indigenous children, residential schools were set up to carry out cultural genocide policies. Incomplete statistics show over 150,000 indigenous children were sent to such schools, of which more than 50,000 died of abuses.”
“By doing so, the Canadian side has grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs. The Chinese side expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition and has lodged solemn representations to the Canadian side,” the Chinese embassy wrote in a statement regarding a statement by Minister Marc Garneau.
“The attempt of Canada and a few western countries to undermine the stability of Hong Kong and hinder China’s development is doomed to fail. The Chinese side urges the Canadian side to immediately stop meddling with Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs in any way. Otherwise, it would only cause further damage to China-Canada relations and will be met with strong reactions from the Chinese side.”
“They have formed a US-centred, racist, and mafia-styled community, wilfully [sic] and arrogantly provoking China and trying to consolidate their hegemony as all gangsters do,” the Global Times wrote.
“They are becoming a racist axis aimed at stifling the development rights of 1.4 billion Chinese.”
“They have been engaged in political manipulation on Xinjiang-related issues under the pretext of human rights, in an attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs and earn political capital by playing China card. How hypocritical and despicable!” the embassy said.
“They are still trying to continue to poke their nose into China in the 21st century. How arrogant and ignorant!”
“We call on relevant Canadian media to abide by professional ethics, respect facts, distinguish right from wrong, and do more to promote China-Canadian friendship and mutual understanding between the two peoples, instead of being used by anti-China forces as a platform for disseminating disinformation, attacking and slandering China,” wrote a spokesperson for the embassy.
“We urge Canadian media to uphold the correct position on issues concerning China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and other major core interests, abide by the one-China principle, and not to provide a platform for the activities of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces so as not to send wrong signal,” claimed the embassy.
“Some Canadian media have taken the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to smear and attack China’s political system, style of diplomacy and anti-pandemic response. The Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this,” the embassy wrote.
“Smearing and pointing fingers will not help fight against the pandemic. We urge relevant media to respect the fact and stop irresponsible reports and attacking and smearing China.”
“On October 27, the Canadian Foreign Minister made unwarranted accusations on China’s freedom of religious belief in a statement on the so-called International Religious Freedom Day, which grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs. We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this,” a spokesperson with the Chinese embassy said.
“Meanwhile, as a country under the rule of law, China will never allow anyone to engage in illegal and criminal activities in the name of religion. ‘Falun Gong’ is an anti-humanity, anti-society, and anti-science cult banned by the Chinese government according to law. It is shocking that the Canadian government openly supports this cult.”
“Like the US, Canada acts like a country with a self-centered ‘giant baby’ mentality who refuses to accept the fact which it is unwilling to believe,” claimed the director of Fudan University’s Research Center for Cyberspace Governance Shen Yi in a Global Times article.
“The coronavirus had struck a blow to their once vaunted ‘superior’ capabilities in responding to public health crises. The death rate from the coronavirus in Canada, higher than that of China, crushed their illusions and sense of superiority.”
“Recently, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute published the so-called open letter, falsely claimed that the roots of the pandemic are in a cover-up by China, carried out malicious slander and attacks on the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government, and grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs,” claimed remarks by the Chinese embassy’s spokesperson.
“While China and the international community, including Canada, are fighting against the pandemic, it is immoral for the MLI to spread the so-called ‘China’s cover-up,’ and there must be an ulterior motive behind this.”
“Your question is full of prejudice against China and arrogance … I don’t know where that comes from. This is totally unacceptable,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi said at the time.
“Other people don’t know better than the Chinese people about the human rights condition in China and it is the Chinese people who are in the best situation, in the best position to have a say about China’s human rights situation.”
While Trudeau travelled through China during his trip to restore relations between the two countries in 2016, the prime minister earned the nickname “little potato.”
The nickname came from the similarity between Trudeau’s surname and the Mandarin word for potato “tudou.”
Although the prime minister took the nickname as a compliment, critics and Canadians ridiculed the unseriousness of the entire trip.
The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax, though the Liberals have tried to spin this as vindication for the unpopular policy itself. Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Aaron Wudrick joins True North’s Andrew Lawton to talk about the ruling and the next steps.
Also, a gun control group wants Trudeau’s gun bill scrapped because it doesn’t go far enough, plus Conservative MP Michael Chong has been sanctioned by China for his criticism of the country’s human rights abuses.
The majority of Canadians oppose the Trudeau government’s plan to raise the carbon tax every year, especially when informed on how much it will cost them.
According to a new poll conducted by policy think tank SecondStreet.org, 52% of Canadians oppose the Trudeau government’s carbon tax plan, with only 32% supporting it.
The number who oppose the carbon tax increased to 68% when they were told of the actual cost of the tax, such as an estimated $20 extra for a tank of gas.
“The data suggests Canadians don’t agree with the idea of raising the carbon tax every year for nine years,” said SecondStreet.org President Colin Craig.
“Opposition grows when people understand the carbon tax will mean an extra $20 to fill up their car with gas or hundreds more each year to heat their homes.”
SecondStreet.org also estimates the carbon tax will cost households an average of $700 extra for home heating.
When asked if the carbon tax will hurt businesses, 49% were certain businesses will be hurt while 36% said they will handle the increases.
In December, Trudeau announced the carbon tax will increase by $15 a year until it reaches $170 paper tonne in 2030. Government officials previously claimed the carbon tax would not increase after 2022.
“Canadians are concerned about what impact the carbon tax increases will have on businesses,” Craig said.
“Our economy is quite fragile right now. Research suggests that raising the tax will hurt businesses and cost our country thousands of jobs. The data suggests Canadians are interested in alternative ideas to reduce emissions that aren’t so punitive.”
Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Trudeau carbon tax was constitutional, deciding that climate change was a national emergency that justified aggressive federal action.
China’s consulate general in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “running dog” for the United States and accused him of ruining relations between Canada and China.
Consul-general Li Yang published the tweet on Sunday morning. Since the publication of this article, the tweet has received over 1,400 likes and has been retweeted nearly 300 times.
“Boy, your greatest achievement is to have ruined the friendly relations between China and Canada, and have turned Canada into a running dog of the US. Spendthrift!!!” tweeted Li.
Boy, your greatest achievement is to have ruined the friendly relations between China and Canada, and have turned Canada into a running dog of the US. Spendthrift!!! pic.twitter.com/qWCfJH4bYb
Since the arrest of Chinese heiress and Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou by Canadian authorities in 2018, China has ramped up its hostile rhetoric against Canada and other allied nations.
Canadian diplomats have recently demanded consular and legal access to the secret trials of the two Canadians detained by China in retaliation for Meng’s arrest, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig.
Both men have been held in Chinese prisons for over two years and are now being tried for trumped up espionage charges.
Alongside several nations including the US, Canada has raised several sanctions against China for its involvement in the ongoing genocide of the country’s Uyghur Muslim minority. In response, China announced its own sanctions targeting Conservative Party MP Michael Chong and other members of the House of Commons human rights committee.
On February 22, parliamentarians from all parties voted to declare the situation a genocide, withstanding Trudeau and his entire Liberal cabinet who abstained from voting on the matter.
On the first day of the Easter Holy Week, two suicide bombers believed to be members of the Islamic State-inspired Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) attacked a Catholic church in the Indonesian city of Makassar.
Local police say 19 people were wounded while the two suspects were the only fatalities.
Police believe the suspects had tried to enter the church’s grounds on a motorbike. The motive of the attack is not known at this time.
Indonesia President Joko Widodo condemned the act as an act of terrorism and said the government would make sure Indonesians could worship without fear.
This is not the first time the Islamist extremists have attacked a church in Indonesia. The JAD is suspected to have been responsible for bombing a Philippine church in 2019 that killed more than 20 people.
The JAD is also suspected of an attack on a police post that killed at least 30 people in the city of Surabaya in 2018.
Makassar is the biggest city on the island of Sulawesi and has a substantial Christian minority, among other religions.
Indonesia ranks 47th in Open Doors USA’s 2021 World Watch List for most dangerous places for Christians. Indonesia rose two spots on the list in comparison to last year’s list.
Suspected Islamist extremists have killed at least 137 people in a series of unprecedented raids in Niger.
According to the International Rescue Committee, a number of villages in southwestern Niger along the border with Mali were attacked by unknown motorcades of terrorists in recent days.
“We are appalled at the continuous attack on civilians who were just going about their business, fetching water. Not only were 137 civilians killed in this latest attack, 22 of them were children. Civilians should never be a target, especially children, and this fundamental principle must be upheld in conflict situations by all parties,” IRC Niger Senior Emergency Coordinator Aboubakar Pefoura.
While the identity of the attackers is not known, the strategy was consistent with the methods of ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliated groups in the region.
The attacks were believed to have been opportunistic, taking advantage of recent political turmoil in Niger. Last week, Niger’s supreme court confirmed the election of Mohamed Bazoum to the presidency, marking the first democratic transition in power in the nation’s history.
Niger is not a country with a history of Islamist violence, however in recent years Africa has become the target for terrorism as the ISIS caliphate collaspes in the Middle East.
Neighbouring Nigeria has seen an unprecedented wave of Islamist violence, with around 37,500 deaths in recent years, many of them Christian civilians.
Other West African countries where extremism was previously rare like Mali and Burkina Faso have also seen the rise of powerful Islamist insurgencies.
