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Sunday, August 17, 2025

Online sexual exploitation of children up 88% during pandemic

By
True North Wire
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Online sexual exploitation of children has skyrocketed in Canada over the past year according to one advocacy group.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P), which runs a tipline called Cybertip.ca, said in a recent statement that online sexual exploitation of children, or “sextortion,” has increased 88%.

“On average, Cybertip.ca receives 40 sextortion reports a month. Many of the reports involve offenders connecting with youth through social media and live stream platforms like Snapchat, Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger and Omegle,” C3P said.

Sextortion is the act of blackmailing someone online by threatening to release nude photos of the victim. Law enforcement agencies in Canada have reported that cases of sextortion have increased rapidly recently.

“Simply put, sextortion is blackmail. It’s when someone online threatens to send a sexual image or video of the child/youth to other people if they don’t pay the person or provide more sexual content,” C3P wrote.

“It is shame, guilt, and fear that keeps youth from telling anyone they are being sextorted, so the number of reports do not necessarily reflect the true scope of this growing problem.”

C3P associated the increase in sextortion with the increase of screen time for children. Since the beginning of the pandemic, school closures and lockdowns have given Canadian children little choice but to go online.

Experts advise children to never add a stranger on any social media platform and never send nude images online.

Cybertip.ca offers five steps to take if a youth is being sextorted, these include never complying with the perpetrator and keeping record of all interactions.

MERTA: When will Canada stand up to China?

By
True North Wire
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China has a long history of persecution against religious and ethnic minorities and women. Canadians should be very concerned about China’s disregard for human rights.

Despite China’s atrocious human rights record, Canada still plans to attend the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and refuses to label China’s treatment of Uyghurs as a genocide. Instead of condemning the regime, the Canadian government has been relatively silent.

Mattea Merta says Canada must stand up to the Chinese regime in order to protect our own rights and freedoms.

Shooting at church service in Ghana injures three

By
True North Wire
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Three people were injured after gunmen opened fire during a church service in Ghana on Sunday evening.

The attackers entered the Action Prayer Ministry church at Atwima Koforidua, demanding valuables from the congregation. Without provocation, the gunmen started firing into the group.

The injured include a two-year old boy and girls ages twelve and twenty-two. The congregation managed to overpower one of the attackers before police arrived.

“Members of the church succeeded in arresting one of the attackers, suspect Sunday Ayine, aged 22, a resident at Abuakwa and a driver’s mate,” local police reported.

A second attacker was later caught by police, with a third still at large. All three victims were taken to hospital and treated for shots to their legs.

On the same weekend, a church service was attacked in Ghana’s predominantly Muslim north. Six gunmen stormed into the service and held the congregation at gunpoint. The gunmen escaped on motorbikes after forcing the Christians to give their cash and valuables.

While around 70% of Ghananians identify as Christians, crimes against Christians have increased in recent years in an unsettling trend seen across Africa.

To the north of Ghana, the country of Burkina Faso is losing its fight against multiple Islamist groups, leading to fear that sectarian conflict may spread to surrounding countries.

For nearly two years, Christians in Ghana have lived in fear as Christians to the north have been routinely killed on account of their faith.

Alberta RCMP rural crime patrol leads to arrest and recovery of stolen vehicles

By
True North Wire
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A local RCMP rural crime patrol was able to locate a stolen 200 GMC Sierra near Trochu, Alberta earlier this week. 

Three Hills RCMP officers were conducting a routine patrol when they intercepted the vehicle while at a traffic stop. 

Police report that the two male occupants of the car were arrested without incident.

Upon investigating further, RCMP officers discovered a rural property nearby where they executed a search warrant. 

As a result of the search, a 2012 Cargomate utility trailer was recovered along with a stolen 2010 Ford Focus. 

Police also seized a Chevrolet Avalanche with its VIN numbers removed from the property. 

The RCMP are not releasing the names of the suspect at the time since the investigation is ongoing. 

Rural patrols have proven to be an effective way to combat property crime and other incidents plaguing local communities. 

According to RCMP Superintendent Dave Kalist, the initiative is helping bring down crime in the Strathcona County area. 

“As a result of the proactive patrols, we’re seeing property crime come down in the rural area, which is a positive, and we’ve also seen it come down in the urban area and we’re getting the feedback that says it is positive and we’re doing something right,” said Kalist. 

“As far as the stats go, I think we’re on track. Whenever you see crime going down, it is a good thing.”

ESKENASI: Canada says Palestine isn’t a country

By
Sam Eskenasi
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Earlier this week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) concluded that it has jurisdiction to investigate alleged war crimes in Israel and against the terror group Hamas. Countries like Germany, Israel and Canada protested the move saying that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the area.

In a statement, the Canadian government said, “Canada’s longstanding position remains that it does not recognize a Palestinian state and therefore does not recognize its accession to international treaties.

In his latest video, Sam Eskenasi applauds the Canadian government’s decision and explains why Canada concluded that Palestine isn’t a country and therefore can’t join the ICC.

Canadian Lawyer magazine pulls article criticizing mandatory pronouns in BC courts

By
Andrew Lawton
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Canadian Lawyer magazine has vaporized a column taking aim at a British Columbia courts policy to mandate pronoun usage in proceedings, following a coordinated campaign by a number of lawyers. Law Society of Ontario bencher and lawyer Jared Brown tells True North’s Andrew Lawton it’s clear these lawyers – and the magazine – don’t support free speech.

Watch the latest episode of The Andrew Lawton Show.

Gerald Butts and John Podesta discuss Canada-US climate cooperation

By
True North Wire
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Former top Liberal strategist Gerald Butts joined Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chair John Podesta to discuss the future of climate change cooperation between Canada and the US.

Friday’s online event, “The Canada-U.S. Climate Opportunity,” was moderated by Huffington Post Canada journalist Althia Raj and hosted by Canada 2020, the Center for American Progress and Global Progress.

“President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have a rare and historic opportunity to make generational progress in the fight against climate change. But where they begin and how quickly they act will depend on the strength and resiliency of the Canada-U.S. relationship,” reads the event description. 

During the climate change panel, Podesta claimed that Canada should give up on the Keystone XL pipeline after its cancellation by US President Joe Biden. 

“I think Keystone is dead. He’s withdrawn the permit, he’s not going back. He made that commitment and so we just got to get over it, move on and find these places on clean energy where we can cooperate,” said Podesta.

In response, Butts implied there’s not much Canada could do to reverse course on Keystone XL’s demise.

“I don’t know what I can say other than diplomatically the reason that the U.S. has the option to say no to Keystone, has more to do with the increase in U.S production of oil and gas between the time Keystone was announced and today, than anything we can say or do in Canada,” said Butts.

The pipeline’s permits were cancelled by Biden on the first day of his presidency as part of a campaign promise. 

Since the cancellation, critics have accused Trudeau of giving up on the project too easily. At the time Trudeau had a call with Biden to express his “disappointment” about the decision.

Provincial premiers have called on the prime minister to defend the project more aggressively.

Butts was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s former principal secretary until he resigned in 2019 in the wake of the Liberal government’s SNC-Lavalin scandal. 

While still working in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Butts along with the prime minister and several other top bureaucrats were accused of pressuring former Liberal attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould into interfering in the Canadian justice system.

Though he departed from his governmental position, Butts joined Trudeau’s campaign team in the 2019 federal election.

Two Christians flogged for violating Sharia law in Indonesia

By
True North Wire
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Two Christian men have been publicly flogged in Indonesia for drinking alcohol and gambling in violation of Sharia law.

The two men were flogged on Monday, each receiving 40 lashes by a masked officer with a cane. The floggings took place in Aceh, the only Indonesian province that uses Sharia law.

One of the men reportedly chose flogging because the alternative under the law was six months in prison.

“The Sharia police gave us options, and we consciously decided to comply with the Islamic criminal code,” he said. 

While Indonesia officially respects the rights of Christians, the province of Aceh adopted Sharia law in 1999. The Acehnese practice is a strict fundamentalist version of Islam which is considered extreme compared to the rest of Indonesia.

Drinking alcohol, which is condemned under Sharia law, is legal in Indonesia outside of Aceh.

Five Muslim men were also flogged on the same day for charges of drinking alcohol and sexual conduct outside of marriage.

While floggings of non-Muslims are rare, the punishment has been used more frequently in recent years as Aceh gradually strengthens Sharia law.

In 2018, a Christian couple was flogged for allegedly gambling on a board game. The couple chose lashes rather than go to prison and be separated from their children. In January, a gay couple in Aceh received around 80 lashes each.

FUREY: A closer look at Facebook’s new COVID-19 misinformation rules

By
True North Wire
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Facebook recently announced new COVID-19 misinformation community standards – a list of criteria for posts that the tech giant will remove.

Some of the posts Facebook is targeting include those claiming COVID-19 is no more dangerous than the flu and posts claiming that deaths are much lower than official figures.

Anthony Furey discusses in his latest video.

Ontario Securities Commission approves first bitcoin ETF in North America

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Canadian traders will soon be able to invest in bitcoin after Ontario’s security regulator gave North America’s first bitcoin ETF a green light.

The Ontario Securities Commission Thursday approval means investors will effectively be able to buy and sell bitcoin without needing a digital wallet.

An exchange-traded fund, or ETF, is security similar to a mutual fund, except it trades on a stock exchange like conventional securities. The new bitcoin ETF will be trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BTCC.B.

A fact sheet on the ETF describes potential investors as those willing to take on considerable risk considering the volatility of cryptocurrency markets. 

“The ETF invests in bitcoin. Given the speculative nature of bitcoin and the volatility of the bitcoin markets, there is considerable risk that the ETF will not be able to meet its investment objectives. An investment in the ETF is not intended as a complete investment program and is appropriate only for investors who have the capacity to absorb a loss of some or all of their investment,” writes Purpose Investments, the firm managing the ETF.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have entered the spotlight in recent weeks after several institutional announcements and investments. 

Recently, Mastercard announced it would allow vendors to support cryptocurrency purchases on its network. 

“Our philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: It’s about choice,” said Mastercard executive vice president Raj Dhamodharan. 

“Mastercard isn’t here to recommend you start using cryptocurrencies. But we are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value — traditional or crypto — however they want.”

Earlier this week, an institutional purchase of $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin by the electric vehicle company Tesla also gave further legitimacy to investing in cryptocurrencies. 

According to some crypto enthusiasts, the purchase by Tesla could prompt other companies to consider adding the cryptocurrency to their investment portfolios. 

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