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Sunday, July 13, 2025

Pakistani Christian woman murdered for rejecting marriage, conversion to Islam

By
True North Wire
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A Christian woman in Pakistan has reportedly been murdered after she rejected a marriage proposal from a Muslim man.

According to the Pakistani Express Tribune, the woman, known only as Sonia, was shot dead on her way home from work at a factory in Rawalpindi. 

The accused Muhammad Shehzad allegedly harassed Sonia to marry him and convert to Islam for months. Police believe Shehzad decided to murder Sonia after her parents also rejected the marriage proposal.

“A few days before the incident, Sonia was again harassed by Shehzad,” said Allah Rakha, Sonia’s father.

“Since she was a committed Christian, she did not betray Jesus and sacrificed her life for her faith. We are being harassed and pressurized to withdraw the case against culprits. However, I want culprits brought to justice.”

Despite police releasing a report of the investigation, no charges have yet been laid and the accused remains free.

Open Doors USA ranks Pakistan as the fifth most dangerous country for Christians to live. Christians often live segregated from the rest of society and in abject poverty. Christian women in particular have been the subject of high-profile persecution in recent years.

In 2009, Asia Bibi was charged with blasphemy based off of unfounded accusations by her Muslim neighbours. That same year she was sentenced to death. In 2018, the Pakistan Supreme Court acquitted Bibi. Her acquittal led to intense riots and violence which killed two political figures who supported her. 

Maira Shahbaz, a 14-year-old Christian girl, was kidnapped in April of this year. Her abductors forced her to convert to Islam and marry a 44-year-old man.

Shahbaz has been in hiding since a Pakistani court ordered her to return to her husband in August. Despite being too young and a cleric claiming the marriage certificate was forged, the court still ruled that the marriage was valid.

Rural crime watch group receives Alberta Community Justice Award

By
True North Wire
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A community crime watch group in rural Alberta is being recognized by the province with a Community Justice Award. 

The Barrhead and Area Regional Crime Coalition (B.A.R.C.C.) is a first-of-its-kind voluntary program that alerts residents with real-time-information about crime and other developments happening in their community.

“The purpose of the coalition is to take a collaborative approach to make our communities safer. Through coordinated efforts in education and awareness of crime prevention and reporting suspicious activities, B.A.R.C.C. is taking an active role in reducing crime,” the coalition’s website claims. 

Conservative MP Arnold Vierson nominated B.A.R.C.C. for the award, which the group won at the 29th annual Alberta Community Justice Awards.

The coalition was formed in association with the Barrhead RCMP, Barrhead & District Rural Crime Watch, the County of Barrhead and the Town of Barrhead in 2017. 

“It uses technology to address crime in areas with limited enforcement services. The initiative was established in response to concerns of growing property crime,” said County of Barrhead communications coordinator Shannon Pociuk. 

“We regularly receive positive feedback and inquiries from other municipalities wanting to implement similar efforts and initiatives.”
 

Recently, officers with Strathcona County RCMP in Alberta also reported that their police patrol initiative was helping to bring down rural crime in local communities. 

Earlier this month, RCMP Superintendent Dave Kalist told a virtual town hall that property crime has gone down in the Strathcona area as a result of proactive patrols. 

“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.”

FUREY: When will the lockdowns end?

By
True North Wire
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Canada will be receiving 249,000 COVID-19 vaccines before the end of the year and the most vulnerable and healthcare works will be prioritized.

While there’s been a lot of discussion about the vaccine timetable lately, politicians and the media have rarely discussed when the lockdowns will end.

Anthony Furey says once the most vulnerable individuals are vaccinated, the lockdown restrictions must end for the low-risk individuals.

Doug Ford “floored” by incoming federal carbon tax hike

By
True North Wire
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford had some choice words about the Liberal government’s incoming carbon tax hike. 

Recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his cabinet revealed that they will be raising the carbon tax on Canadian consumers by $15 a year until it reaches $170 paper tonne in 2030.

Under the new pricing regime, Canadians can expect to pay $50 per tonne of carbon emissions by the year 2022. 

“I just can’t understand for the life of me why anyone would want to put a burden on the backs of hard working people of this province,” said Ford during a Friday afternoon press conference.

“Folks, this carbon tax is going to be the worst thing you’ve ever seen. It’s going to increase the cost of your groceries, it’s going to increase the cost of travelling, it’s going to increase every good and service you have out there.” 

Since being elected premier, Ford has been a prominent critic of the federal carbon tax. Ontario, along with a number of other provinces, have taken the matter to court where they are arguing that the tax is unconstitutional and that it infringes on the sovereignty of provinces. 

“We can protect the environment, I’m a strong believer of protecting the environment, but you don’t have to protect the environment on the backs of hardworking people of this province and this country and at a time where people are barely holding on by their fingernails,” said Ford. 

“I was floored when I heard this. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t believe it, I had to double check.”

Critics have claimed the carbon tax has been ineffective in reducing carbon emissions and that it unnecessarily targets regular Canadians instead of heavy emitters. 

According to a recent report by the Fraser Institute, carbon taxes around the world have failed to benefit the environment or taxpayers. 

“On average, 74% of carbon tax revenues in high-income OECD countries go directly into general revenues for governments with no specific use, 12% are earmarked for environmental spending and only 14% are returned to taxpayers,” the Fraser Institute wrote. 

CBC President running company from multi-million dollar Brooklyn mansion

By
True North
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A new report has revealed that CBC President and CEO Catherine Tait lives in a multi-million dollar mansion in Brooklyn, New York.

According to Canadaland, Tait has been regularly crossing the border from her primary residence in the upscale Boerum Hill neighbourhood in Brooklyn to her secondary residence in Ottawa. 

Sources told Canadaland that Tait took a secondary residence in Ottawa as a condition of her position at the CBC. 

Despite coronavirus-related travel advisories and border restrictions, Tait spent April and May in New York before flying back to Canada on June 8. Tait returned to Brooklyn on November 13, where she continues to oversee Canada’s public broadcaster.

“Ms.Tait did not receive any special exemption from the government for her travel,” said CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson.

Official CBC COVID-19 policy prohibits all non-essential work travel in accordance with federal health orders. 

According to Thompson, Tait quarantined for the mandatory two-week period upon entering Canada earlier this summer and intends on doing so should she return to Canada again. 

As a Crown Corporation CEO, Tait receives an annual salary within the range of $390,300 to $459,100.

In recent years the CBC has struggled with declining advertising revenues and dwindling viewership numbers. The CBC’s latest second-quarter financial statement revealed that over a period of six months in 2020 advertising revenue for the Crown corporation fell by 19%. 

Atlantic provinces call out Trudeau government’s looming second carbon tax

By
True North Wire
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Ministers from all four provinces in Atlantic Canada want the federal government to disclose the true cost of its planned second carbon tax.

The energy ministers from Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia said in a joint letter they do not support the proposed Clean Fuel Standard in its current form.

“While we support efforts to reduce emissions, we have some shared concerns about the proposed Clean Fuel Standard (CFS), and the impact it will have on the Atlantic economy and on Atlantic Canadians who have the highest levels of energy poverty in Canada,” reads the letter. 

“Statistics Canada data shows 13 percent of Atlantic Canadians experience energy poverty compared to the Canadian average of eight per cent.”

The Clean Fuel Standard is a regulation that will be imposed on energy producers, raising the price of carbon emissions by between $150 and $180 per tonne. The current carbon tax costs Canadians $50 per tonne.

Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has already made it clear that the Trudeau government will move forward with the standard regardless of the pandemic.

In Atlantic Canada, heating oil is commonly used in homes and other fossil fuels are predominantly used in energy production. Newfoundland and Labrador has historically paid more for gasoline than the rest of Canada.

“These impacts will occur at a critical time as our economies are already struggling to recover from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the ministers wrote.

The Atlantic provinces are asking the federal government to perform a detailed cost-benefit analysis and determine the actual effects the Clean Fuel Standard will have before implementing it. No such studies have been done yet.

Dan McTeague, President of Canadians for Affordable Energy, told True North Fellow Anthony Furey that the letter from Atlantic premiers is necessary given how ignorant the federal government has been to the damage they may cause.

“Their conclusion that Ottawa has failed to provide a proper cost-benefit analysis, which we estimate will hurt Canadians by a factor of six to one, speaks to just how damaging this policy will be as Trudeau attempts to ram through another devastating carbon tax that will hurt the country’s most impoverished regions at precisely the wrong time,” McTeague said.

Green MP thinks “harmful, oppressive words” should be erased from language

By
True North Wire
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A Green Party Member of Parliament believes “harmful and oppressive” language must be erased from use in the English language.  

New Brunswick MP Jenica Atwin made the comments in a tweet on Thursday afternoon discussing a former Green Party candidate’s prior use of the word “tribal.” 

“So sorry. We have allowed many harmful, oppressive words and phrases into our vernacular and they must be rooted out and discontinued. This is a prime example and while the intent to harm may not have been there, we must be accountable for what we put out into the world,” wrote Atwin. 

The tweet was in response to a statement by a Indigenous group who claimed that the word “tribal” is offensive to First Nations and other racialized groups. 

“The word tribe has been used by European colonists to describe the Indigenous people who inhabited the lands they colonized, in fact, the word ‘tribal’ was often used synonymously with ‘savage’ or ‘primitive,’” wrote the group’s Twitter account EasternCircleSJ. 

Atwin was first elected to the House of Commons during the 2019 federal election. Her election made her the first Green Party MP to hold a seat outside of British Columbia. 

True North reached out to Atwin for comment on what other oppressive words she thinks should be discontinued from use, but did not hear back in time for this article’s publication. 

Ep. 4 | Green Hypocrisy | “Clean Energy” Schemes

By
Candice Malcolm
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Watch the full series of Green Hypocrisy at www.greenhypocrisy.ca

At a time when unemployment numbers have reached historical highs because of the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns, you would think the government would be prioritizing the economy and job creation.

Yet the Canadian government is set on implementing more green energy schemes.

Episode 4 – “Clean Energy” Schemes explores so-called clean energy initiatives and the industries profiting off of ideological politicians and their elusive quests for energy utopia. True North’s Candice Malcolm takes an in-depth look at various failed green energy schemes created by the government and explains why Canadians should be weary about these empty promises.

Nigerian Christians defenseless as Islamist attacks worsening: advocates

By
True North Wire
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Source: Pexels

As attacks on Christians in rural Nigeria increase, advocates are warning that whole communities are forced to fend for themselves.

In an interview with the Christian Post, Emancipation Center for Crisis Victims (EMCCV) coordinator Dalyop Solomon said Nigeria has largely failed to protect its Christian population from Islamist militias. 

“The people are feeling so sad and disappointed because the government has a constitutional obligation to protect the life of all citizens,” he said.

“The people are left to their fate. They are not allowed to acquire arms to defend themselves, and the government fails in its constitutional duty to protect the people. There is now perpetual fear in the minds of the people. They are armless citizens.”

While Islamist violence was previously limited to the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northwest, militias now target Christian villages throughout the country. According to one estimate, 812 Christians were killed by Islamists in just one state in 2020.

One Christian, Swanta Kumai, told the EMCCV how his son died defending his village from Islamists.

“Unbeknown to him, the attackers had already spotted his movement. When coming out, they went after him with heavy fire and shot him dead,” Kumai said. 

“The invaders grouped themselves into four, strategically positioned so that no one can dare them. That’s how I saw them shooting at me from a very close range, but I [managed to] escape with bruises [from crawling away.]”

The attack on Kumai’s village left two other men dead. Islamists are also suspected of kidnapping a female villager.

According to ECCVN, Nigerian police often fail to respond to Islamist incidents and strict gun control prevents Christians from protecting themselves.

In November, two Western faith leaders warned the increased attacks on Christians in Nigeria and other countries appear similar to the beginning phases of previous genocides.

Islamist attacks in neighbouring countries like Niger, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast have left hundreds of Christians dead and millions displaced in recent years.

55-year-old Saskatchewan man hospitalized in brutal rural attack

By
True North Wire
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Residents in Battlefords, Saskatchewan are pleading for people to take rural crime seriously after a 55-year-old man was savagely attacked and sent to the hospital by a group of strangers on his property. 

Battlefords RCMP Staff Sgt. Jason Teniuk said that law enforcement were called to a local property on November 7 after reports that the man was “assaulted with an edged weapon.” 

According to reports, the victim was approached at his door by the suspects who claimed that they required assistance with a stuck vehicle. Once the resident went outside with the intention to help the suspects, the men proceeded to attack him without provocation.  

The investigation is currently ongoing and it involves both the Battlefords RCMP and the RCMP Provincial GIS Unit. 

One neighbour told the Battlefords News-Optimist that the issue of rural crime has been ignored by the media, while residents are struggling to cope with feelings of insecurity and danger in their own homes. 

“We are all very concerned about the crime in the area and the insecurity. It feels like you’re not safe in your home right now and even in your yard during the day,” said the neighbour, who chose not to be identified. 

“People are unaware of the crime and the number of thefts, the number of break-ins. These things need to be on the news.”

S/Sgt. Teniuk confirmed the resident’s worries, saying that in part the RCMP needs to step up its reporting on crime incidents, however a lack of resources has prevented them from being able to do so.

“Without a massive information pull I cannot confirm that we have ‘lots of incidents’ of break and enters.I would absolutely agree that we do a very poor job of reporting to the media. This goes for all of our detachment areas, not just this R.M,” said Teniuk. 

“We are under resourced and there is just not enough time in a day to get done everything we need to do.”

As a result of the incident, local residents have said that they will now reconsider helping stranded drivers over fears for their safety. 

 “We will make sure our house alarm is on and make sure our doors are locked. We have lived here almost 40 years and lots of times in the night someone has vehicle problems and we go out to help, but now, definitely not. We will phone the police to come or a tow truck to come,” said the neighbour. 

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