As COVID-19 cases decline around the world and as governments begin reopening the economy, Canadian public health officials are calling for enhanced measures and further lockdowns.
Earlier this week, public health officials in Canada predicted a spike in COVID cases as a result of the new variants. However, officials were unable to provide answers when reporters and MPs asked for their data and rationale.
Anthony Furey discusses in his latest video.
The Ontario Director with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Jasmine Moulton called the unanimous decision by the province’s parliamentarians to vote against a motion to reduce MPP salaries to CERB levels “shameful and completely tone deaf.”
Independent MPP Roman Baber, who was kicked out of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario for protesting the government’s lockdowns, introduced a bill on Thursday to slash salaries for MPPs to $500 per week.
The motion was unanimously shut down and instead House Leader Paul Calandra put forward a motion to reduce only Baber’s salary. Calandra’s motion did pass but was later ruled out of order by the speaker.
“These politicians should be working for the Ontario taxpayers who pay their salaries – not spending their time in the legislature mocking an MPP who suggested they take a pay cut,” Moulton told True North.
“Ontario Premier Doug Ford was elected to bring the province’s spending under control and promised to restore respect for taxpayers. Well, former premier Kathleen Wynne’s government was adding $40 million to the debt every single day before it was defeated. Before the pandemic struck, the Ford government continued adding over $40 million to the debt every single day. Now, it’s adding $122 million to Ontario’s debt every day. Debt today means higher taxes tomorrow, so every single Ontario taxpayer should be extremely concerned about this government’s spending.”
On Thursday, it was also reported that Ontario shed 355,300 jobs in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdowns.
Critics have accused Premier Doug Ford of unfairly targeting small business owners while allowing big box stores like Costco and Walmart to operate without the same stringent lockdown measures.
As reported by True North, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business blasted Ford on Friday for extending strict lockdown orders in Toronto, Peel and North Bay.
“With today’s announcement of extended lockdowns for Toronto, Peel and North Bay until at least March 8, the Ontario government has once again chosen to use small business as cannon fodder, renewing its reputation as the least small business-friendly government in the country during the pandemic,” wrote the CFIB.
“Almost every other province opened schools and businesses—or didn’t close them in the first place—while COVID-19 numbers continued to fall. In fact, Ontario businesses—particularly those in the GTA—have been locked down longer than the vast majority of jurisdictions around the world.”
According to Moulton, world politicians should be inspired to take pay cuts in order to show solidarity with those impacted by government restrictions and to accrue moral authority in order to make the hard decisions required to weather the virus’ impacts.
“Politicians should take a pay cut not only to show solidarity with the struggling taxpayers who pay their six-figure salaries, but also to give them the moral authority to do what needs to be done next: reduce government-wide employee compensation which has grown out of touch with reality,” Moulton told True North.
During this week’s meeting of NATO Defence Ministers, it was expected that Canada would be asked to reverse a projected drawdown of troops in Iraq.
Canadian troops were deployed in support of NATO’s mission to support and train the Iraqi military. Canada originally contributed approximately 500 troops to the mission but has since withdrawn nearly 200 over the past year.
In his latest video, Sam Eskenasi talks about NATO, the mission and what historical events lead to the current shape of the Middle East.
Liberal Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan slammed a culture of “toxic masculinity” in the Canadian Armed Forces during his opening remarks regarding sexual misconduct allegations made against retired Gen. Jonathan Vance.
Sajjan made the comments Friday afternoon while testifying before the Standing Committee on National Defence.
“The Canadian armed forces have traditionally had a culture of masculinity. There are toxic elements of masculinity that have risen to the fore on numerous occasions,” said Sajjan.
“To be serious about genuine culture change we need to acknowledge this and tackle this head on. Though institutional and culture change is complex and takes time, the time for patience is over. Change will not and cannot happen on its own. It requires a persistent and complete acknowledgement that we must do better and we will.”
Vance is currently being accused of having improper relationships with two female subordinates, one of whom was a significantly lower rank than the general.
During the testimony, Sajjan was also grilled by Conservative MP and committee member James Bezan over reports that the Liberal minister knew about the misconduct allegations as far back as 2018.
According to several media outlets, Sajjan was briefed on the allegations made against Gen. Vance during a meeting with a military ombudsman that year.
“As the minister of national defence, I don’t have the power to launch investigations, that is independent of us. That’s why when any information is brought forward it has to be given to the proper authorities so not to undermine any processes so that if justice needs to be it can be done through an appropriate process,” said Sajjan in response.
“Let’s make a link to when as minister, Vice Admiral Mark Norman at the time was suspended based upon some unproven allegations about him, your government moved very quick to suspend him yet here we are and General Vance sat in position for three years without any suspension or investigation, why did that happen?” asked Bezan.
“As I stated the discussions with the ombudsman are always kept confidential so that anybody can feel confident to bring anything forward and I can assure this committee and all parliamentarians and all Canadians that any allegations if it was brought to me were always taken to the appropriate authorities,” replied Sajjan.
In an interview with The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson, Sajjan refused to say whether he had informed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or the Liberal cabinet about the incident after being notified.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is blasting the Ontario government’s decision to extend strict lockdown orders in Toronto, Peel and North Bay.
In a strongly worded press release Friday, the CFIB accused the government of providing “zero evidence” of the effectiveness of its lockdowns and of “insulting” Ontario workers and employers.
“With today’s announcement of extended lockdowns for Toronto, Peel and North Bay until at least March 8, the Ontario government has once again chosen to use small business as cannon fodder, renewing its reputation as the least small business-friendly government in the country during the pandemic,” wrote the CFIB.
“Almost every other province opened schools and businesses—or didn’t close them in the first place—while COVID-19 numbers continued to fall. In fact, Ontario businesses—particularly those in the GTA—have been locked down longer than the vast majority of jurisdictions around the world.”
The CFIB’s statement says it’s “unconscionable that this government has not come up with an alternative to lockdowns, while dismissing even the most modest proposals to allow for a limited head count or by-appointment in-store service.”
The Ontario government says its decision to extend the lockdowns was in response to advice from provincial public health officials.
“Our government’s number one priority is the safety of all individuals and families, and that’s why we are taking a gradual, cautious approach to returning regions to the Framework,” said Health Minister Christine Elliott.
“These are difficult but necessary decisions, in order to protect against COVID-19 variants and maintain the progress we have all made together. Until vaccines are widely available, we continue to urge all Ontarians to follow public health advice and measures, and stay home, stay safe, and save lives.”
Earlier this week, Premier Doug Ford scaled back some stay-at-home orders and lockdown measures in several regions.
On the same day, co-chair of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table Adalsteinn Brown warned that Ontario faced the real risk of a third lockdown due to emerging coronavirus variants detected in the province.
“Without the ability to respond quickly and effectively, without the ability to control spread in the community, we face the very real risk of a third wave and potentially a third lockdown,” said Brown.
Federal officials went silent during a Standing Committee on Finance meeting on Thursday after Conservative MP Ted Falk questioned the government’s decision to award a $237 million contract to a former Liberal MP.
“I think we can all appreciate the need for the government to move quickly at the onset of COVID-19 and at the same time we recognize that we also have the responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and to do our due diligence,” said Falk.
“I’m thinking specifically of contracts that were awarded to businesses during that time, I’m thinking of a situation where there was a company that apparently wasn’t even in existence for a week that got awarded a contract for $237 million and subsequently sublet that contract to Baylis Medical, the firm of a former Liberal MP. I’m just wondering what criteria did the department use in making decisions like awarding contracts like that.”
Following Falk’s question, no Liberal MP was able to provide an answer.
“If no one else from my department can answer at this time, we can try and follow up. I am not personally familiar with that issue,” said Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch Alison McDermott.
Last November, it was revealed that former Liberal MP Frank Baylis received a sole-sourced contract to create 10,000 ventilators to be used during the pandemic.
Baylis Medical was handed the project through a subcontracting company FTI Professional Grade Inc., which was only created 11 days prior to the arrangement.
Parliamentary regulations bar former MPs from improperly lobbying the federal government following their departure from office. Baylis has since denied that he used his former position to win the contract.
“I was not reaching out and doing any kind of backroom … requests to anyone,” Baylis told the Ethics Committee in December.
“I did not use any relationships to try and get any contracts for anything.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand also denied knowing Baylis when her department decided on the deal.
Independent MP Ramesh Sangha has accused his former Liberal colleagues of conspiring to support Khalistani extremism.
In a statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday, Sangha accused unspecified Sikh MPs of using their positions to benefit Khalistani extremists at the expense of national security.
“I’m a proud Sikh by birth. Like Sikhs in Canada, I’m not a Khalistani extremist or a sympathizer,” Sangha said.
“Security of Canada is paramount but they compromised it. Shame on their part to pander [to] extremists in Canada. History will not forgive them.”
Sangha said the unnamed MPs pressured the Trudeau government to have the category of “Khalistani extremism” removed from the Public Report on the Terrorist Threat in Canada.
Liberal MP Gary Anandasangaree immediately objected to Sangha’s remarks and asked the speaker to have the statement removed from the records for damaging the reputation of Liberal Sikh MPs.
Speaker Anthony Rota did not make an immediate decision on Anandasangaree’s request.
Sangha was removed from the Liberal caucus in January for spreading “conspiracy theories” about other Liberal MPs. Chief Government Whip Mark Holland called Sangha’s claims “baseless and dangerous.”
In an interview with a Punjabi media outlet that month, Sangha claimed that outgoing Industry Minister Navdeep Bains had identified with the Khalistan movement and claimed Bains was not fit to be a minister.
Khalistanis are extremist members of the Sikh community that wish to see an ethnostate for Sikhs carved out of Indian territory.
In 1985, Khalistani extremists bombed Air India Flight 182. Of the 382 people killed, 268 were Canadian citizens.
A Mississauga man has pleaded guilty to charges of helping North Korean hackers launder money in a scheme that cost governments and businesses $1.3 billion globally.
Ghaleb Alaumary, 37, a dual Canada-U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one charge of conspiring to commit money laundering and faces a maximum 20 years in prison.
U.S. prosecutors allege Alaumary and his co-conspirators helped North Korea launder the proceeds of ATM hacking and fraudulent withdrawals conducted by the rogue state.
“Alaumary organized teams of co-conspirators in the United States and Canada to launder millions of dollars obtained through ATM cash-out operations, including from BankIslami and a bank in India in 2018,” the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
“He has admitted his role in these criminal schemes in a plea agreement, and he will be held to account for his conduct.”
Alaumary is also accused of engaging in phishing scams targeting businesses and is still facing criminal charges in Georgia.
North Korea’s cyber terrorism became well known in 2014 after three North Korean hackers launched a cyber attack on Sony Pictures in retaliation for their North Korean-themed parody movie “The Interview.”
Businesses, individuals and governments have all been targets of North Korean hacking. In 2018, Ontario’s Metrolinx public transportation system was attacked by ransomware originating from North Korea.
“North Korea’s operatives — using keyboards rather than guns, stealing digital wallets of cryptocurrency instead of sacks of cash — are the world’s leading bank robbers,” Assistant Attorney General John Demers said.
The Liberal government’s firearms bill will ban some toy guns and render a number of legally-acquired firearms “useless,” in Justin Trudeau’s words. True North’s Andrew Lawton dives into the legislation, and also calls for stronger opposition to it from Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives. Also, why Canadians should pay attention to Facebook’s battle against Australian social media legislation, plus a look at racist garbage cans.
An effort to rename Trump Avenue in the City of Ottawa is dead on arrival after a vote by local residents ended in a tiebreaker.
21 residents voted against the street being renamed and another 21 requested that it be changed. There are a total of 62 homes on the street. For the procedure to move forward, 50% of residents plus one person would have had to vote in favour of the motion.
“As 32-plus households did not vote in favour, the matter will not proceed any further,” Brockington said.
Local River Ward Councillor Riley Brockington revealed in January that some people in the area had requested to change the street’s name due to its connection to former US president Donald Trump.
Streets in the Central Park area of Ottawa – where Trump Ave is located – are thematically named after New York landmarks. Other street names in the area include Bloomingdale St, Gotham Private, Staten Way and Central Park Dr.
“I committed to assist them in surveying every household to determine if there is support, or not,” Councillor Brockington told True North.
“I have been asked for a number of years, by local residents to change the name. I did not feel it was appropriate to do so while the past President was in office. He has since left, more requests were received and I agreed to circulate the survey.”
According to Brockington, he hand delivered notices about the vote to all of the residences on the street and even followed up with residents who had not initially voted before the deadline.
Since at least 2016, some anti-Trump residents have been calling for the street’s name to be changed.
