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Thursday, May 22, 2025

Facebook to reduce political content on platform for Canadian users

By
True North Wire
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Facebook is planning on reducing the amount of political content Canadian users will be subjected to on its platform in response to recent unrest in the US and pressure from international governments to regulate social media. 

“During these initial tests we’ll explore a variety of ways to rank political content in people’s feeds using different signals, and then decide on the approaches we’ll use going forward,” wrote Facebook product management director Aastha Gupta in a blog post on the announcement. 

“One of the top pieces of feedback we’re hearing from our community right now is that people don’t want politics and fighting to take over their experience on our services.” 

Canada is not the only country Facebook has set its sights on as a target for the pilot. Brazil and Indonesia are also on the company’s radar with future plans to also introduce the content filter to the U.S. 

According to Facebook, only a “small percentage of people” in the aforementioned countries will be impacted by the new algorithm. 

“During these initial tests we’ll explore a variety of ways to rank political content in people’s feeds using different signals, and then decide on the approaches we’ll use going forward.,” wrote Gupta. 

“COVID-19 information from authoritative health organizations like the CDC and WHO, as well as national and regional health agencies and services from affected countries, will be exempt from these tests. Content from official government agencies and services will also be exempt.” 

The Trudeau government is currently in the process of introducing legislation which would force social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to better moderate “hateful” content.

Critics of Bill C-10 believe the government is attempting to regulate the internet.

Court orders Nunavut mine protesters to allow staff to leave

By
True North Wire
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Staff at a remote iron mine in Nunavut are allowed to leave after protesters occupied the road and airstrip for nearly a week.

On Wednesday, a judge issued a temporary court order allowing employees to leave the Mary River mine complex. Protesters agreed to clear the air strip and road to allow for exiting staff to go home.

The protesters had effectively trapped the mine’s 700 workers at a remote mining complex on northern Baffin Island.

Since Feb. 4, a small group of protesters have occupied the road and airstrip leading to the Mary River mine. The blockades are preventing staff and supplies from entering the facility.

“Many of the people working at Mary River have been on site for 21 days now and they are not being allowed to leave, nor are food and supply flights being allowed to land,” the mine’s operator Baffinland said in a statement. 

“Working in the high Arctic, those on site bring enough additional medicine and supplies for potential weather delays, however continued suspension of air travel and blocking of medicine and supplies will have an impact in the near term.“

Baffinland is seeking an injunction to have the protesters removed. The temporary court order will remain in place until an injunction hearing is held on Saturday.

Emergency services such as search and rescue performed out of the Mary River air strip have also been shuttered. 

The protesters are protesters against a proposed expansion to the mine which would see a railway built and increased shipping in the area. Protesters believe the expansion would hurt wildlife and infringe on Inuit hunting rights.

However, Baffinland says its expansion plans will include mitigation measures to protect wildlife and reduced ship speeds to minimize disturbances to marine life. In addition, Baffinland promises more than $2 billion in royalties to Inuit if the expansion is approved.

Nunavut is expected to make a final recommendation on the project to the federal government in March.

Durham Region asks employees to dance to reggae, converse with black coworkers

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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An official with Durham Region said that “mistakes” were made when it tasked public employees with several Black History Month challenges which included dancing to reggae music and having conversations with black employees. 

A screenshot of the “Rise to the Challenge” assignment sheet which was shared widely on social media includes tasks such as “read a poem by a Black Canadian author,” “cook an African or Caribbean meal” and “spend a few minutes to learn about Africa” among other activities. 

“Addressing anti-Black racism is a priority for the Region. Part of our Black History Month activities include opportunities for staff to learn more about Black history, culture and achievements,” the Regional Municipality of Durham told True North. 

“Through engaging with the community and Regional staff we acknowledge that mistakes will be made when addressing anti-Black racism. This challenge activity is one of them. We continue to learn and strive to do better.” 

“Open dialogue and honest conversations allow us to better understand one another and create an anti-racist environment. We recognize we have a long way to go.”

As part of its celebration of the month-long event, the region adopted the theme “Together We Rise Durham.” The festivities included a number of virtual events and was organized by the Black History Month Committee in partnership with Durham Region Police Service (DRPS), the Region of Durham, the Ontario Black History Society, the Canadian Jamaican Club of Oshawa and DurhamONE.

FUREY: The public health experts continue to fear-monger

By
True North Wire
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In January, public health experts fear-mongered that we would see 20,000 cases per day by mid-February in Ontario. It turns out there has been a massive decline in cases – now Ontario is at about 5% of that prediction.

Why aren’t health experts celebrating the fact that their predictions didn’t come true? Instead, they’re now warning Ontarians about a new variant of COVID-19.

Anthony Furey discusses in his latest video.

Harper says world governments are headed for a debt crisis

By
True North Wire
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Canada’s former prime minister Stephen Harper warned last month that numerous governments around the world appear to be heading towards a debt crisis. 

Harper made the observation during an online three-day conference hosted by the finance firm Cambridge House International Inc. between January 17 and 19.  

According to Harper, the difference between the current impending financial crisis and the crisis his government successfully managed in 2008 has to do with how governments handle stimulus. 

“The result was that the government mandated the recession and government’s intervention in this recession for the most part has been not to spark economic activity – so called stimulus – not to stimulate economic activity, but merely to provide liquidity in the absence of economic activity. That’s completely different than what we were trying to do in 2008-2009 [and] I should add, much more dangerous in the long term,” said Harper.  

During Harper’s first term as prime minister, his government managed to weather the storm through the financial crisis in 2008. At the time the Conservatives introduced the Economic Action plan which included up to $12 billion in infrastructure spending, $20 billion in income tax relief and other stimulus initiatives. 

“The consequences of this around the world — I’m not trying to talk about specific governments here — the consequences around the world are very clear. We will leave this recession, the world, with a debt overhang that dwarfs what we saw in 2008, 2009. And what we saw after 2008, 2009 was after a financial crisis, recession and somewhat of a recovery was then a series of sovereign debt crises in several countries, in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Ireland,” said Harper.  

“This time the debt overhangs by governments as well as businesses and households are much larger. It is absolutely the case that we will have all kinds of solvency crises around the world and we will have significant sovereign debt crises in the near years to come, very soon.” 

Harper is not the only economist and global leader warning about impending financial turbulence. 

In October, World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart said there was a looming global financial crisis because of the pandemic.

Recently, Canada’s federal debt surpassed $1 trillion due to the Liberal government’s large coronavirus spending measures. 

Meanwhile, a recent report by the Fraser Institute predicted that Canada’s combined federal and provincial debt will surpass $2 trillion in 2021. 

Attempts to deport former Nazi pit bureaucracy against justice

By
Andrew Lawton
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The Canadian government’s attempts to deport former Nazi Helmut Oberlander have been delayed once again, the latest delay in a 26-year old long legal fight. Oberlander, who joined a Nazi killing unit as a translator during the Holocaust, lied about his association with the Nazis when he entered Canada in 1954. Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs CEO Shimon Koffler Fogel joined the Andrew Lawton Show to explain why there is no statute of limitations on the injustices perpetrated by the Nazis.

Watch the full episode of the show here.

“We are not detaining people”: Trudeau on federal quarantine sites

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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While fielding questions from reporters on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed concerns about travellers being detained in federal facilities emphasizing that the forced quarantines are “medically based isolations.” 

“I think it’s extremely important to make a clear distinction that these aren’t detentions; these are medically based isolations,” Trudeau said during his daily coronavirus press conference. 

“We are not detaining people. These are public health measures that are necessary to ensure that we are keeping Canadians safe, particularly given the arrival … of new variants in Canada, and extensively around the world.”

There have been several reports of Canadians being forced to isolate in hotel rooms and federal quarantine centres where conditions have been described as subpar and inhumane. 

One Air Canada flight attendant Angelo Venegas described the conditions of his federally mandated quarantine in Calgary as prison-like. 

“I feel like a prisoner in here, you know,” Venegas told CBC News. 

According to him, the treatment he received while at the hotel was degrading and inhumane. Venegas described having to wait up to 15 hours to receive food which was in small “kid sized” portions. 

Before arriving back in Canada, Venegas tested negative but the government rejected his quarantine plan after discovering he shares a home with his mother and sister. 

Venegas also claimed that he had to beg hotel officials to get medical attention after a toe injury became infected. 

“I said to them, listen, you guys take me to the hospital, or I will have to call 911 because I am in so much pain,” said Venegas. 

“I should be able to get access to medical treatment right away.” 

The new isolation centres are part of the federal government’s recent clamp down on travellers. So far, 11 facilities have been designated as isolation centres across the country.

Under the incoming federal travel restrictions, travellers can expect to pay up to $2,000 out of pocket to stay at a government designated isolation centre. 

PURGED: A panel discussion on Big Tech Censorship

By
True North Wire
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Our much-anticipated event PURGED: A panel discussion on Big Tech Censorship is TONIGHT at 7pm ET!

Kelly Jane Torrance (Editorial Board member, New York Post), Robby Soave (Senior Editor, Reason) and Bruce Pardy (Queen’s University law professor) will be diving into Trump’s Twitter ban, Parler’s removal from the internet, Canada’s new “online hate” legislation and more. 

True North’s very own Andrew Lawton will be moderating tonight’s event.

Conservatives expected to remove Pierre Poilievre from finance critic role

By
True North Wire
-

Prominent MP Pierre Poilievre is expected to be removed from his role as finance critic in an upcoming shadow cabinet shuffle.

Conservative sources told the CBC that Poilievre will soon be removed from the finance portfolio and replaced by B.C. MP Ed Fast.

Poilievre has served as finance critic since 2017 and is considered one of the most prominent members of the Conservative caucus. The Conservatives say the move is not meant to be a downgrade.

Poilievre is expected to be made critic for jobs and industry as Conservative leader Erin O’Toole wants to realign the shadow cabinet to focus on Canada’s economic recovery.

As finance critic, Poilievre took a leading role holding the Trudeau government accountable for the WE Charity scandal. In the House of Commons, Poilievre grilled Liberal cabinet ministers on the country’s fiscal management on a daily basis.

Edmonton Centre MP James Cumming currently holds the industry portfolio and MP Peter Kent holds the employment file. Kent is expected to retire in the coming months. It is unclear what other changes will be made to the official opposition’s shadow cabinet.

More to come.

Jason Kenney invited to testify on Gen. Vance sexual misconduct allegations

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

The House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence voted in favour of a motion to invite Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to testify on the sexual misconduct allegations made against retired Canadian Forces Gen. Jonathan Vance. 

NDP MP Randall Garrison put forward the motion, citing Kenney’s tenure as Canada’s defence minister during Vance’s appointment to the top military position. 

“We need to know whether in fact we’ve had a failure of two successive governments to deal with the question of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment in the military,” said Garrison. 

“For that reason I gave notice for the motion today, to call the former minister of defence and former member of parliament Jason Kenney, who was the minister of defence who first appointed General Vance to the chief of defence staff, and we now know from many media reports that there were allegations of sexual misconduct at the time of his appointment or immediately thereafter.” 

The motion passed with support from all members of the committee except the Conservatives who abstained from voting on the matter. As it stands, the invitation is not a subpoena, so Kenney is not legally obligated to testify before the committee.

Kenney had a short stint as minister of defence in 2015 after the departure of John Baird. 

During his tenure, Kenney promised to create an independent complaint centre for victims of military sexual misconduct following a report on the issue within the armed forces. 

Following a number of revealing media reports detailing a number of allegations of inappropriate behaviour with subordinates, Canadian military police launched an investigation into the retired top military general. 

“We can confirm the CFNIS is investigating this matter,” a spokesperson for the military told Global News.

“In order to preserve the integrity of the investigative process, no additional information can be provided at this time.”

Liberal Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan is also expected to testify in the inquiry into Vance’s conduct. 

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