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Sunday, July 13, 2025

Homelessness may increase 15% in some cities: report

By
True North Wire
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A report commissioned by the federal government suggests that Canada will face a spike in homelessness over the next three to five years.

The report requested by Employment and Social Development Canada found that the increase in homelessness won’t be felt until federal benefits end and Canadians drain their savings.

“There is a lag effect of up to five years from the time of a recession’s onset until the impact on homelessness if fully seen. This stems from a strong desire of households to avoid absolute homelessness, and it is enabled by other aspects of the social welfare system,” wrote the author of the report Nick Falvo. 

“We do not know how long it will take for Canada’s labour market to rebound; perhaps it will never fully rebound. Further, we do not know for how much longer different social policy measures—including some directed at persons experiencing absolute homelessness—will remain in place.”

Falvo says it is very possible that homelessness in some Canadian cities may increase 10-15% in the coming years.

Before the pandemic, it was estimated there were over 235,000 homeless people in Canada.

In a recent survey, 25% of Canadian said they did not know if they could meet next month’s rent.

While CERB and eviction moratoriums helped save some people from homelessness according to Falvo, without an economic recovery many will not be able to remain housed when government benefits end.

Winnipeg man fined $300 for not wearing mask outdoors

By
True North Wire
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A Winnipeg man claims he received a fine of $298 for not wearing a mask outdoors despite masks only being mandatory in indoor spaces.

Robert McCaughan was standing outdoors drinking coffee with a coworker when a bylaw enforcement officer approached the pair and ticketed them for allegedly violating coronavirus restrictions.

“Within one minute she comes out of her car telling us we’re in violation of code red restrictions and we’re not wearing masks or within six feet of each other.”

McCaughan, a 23-year-old electrician, was ticketed despite apparently not breaking any actual rules. Code Red restrictions in Manitoba only require masks indoors.

“I ended up with a $300 ticket for standing outside drinking a coffee,” he told CTV news.

“For a person like me who follows all the rules to get dinged with a $300 ticket right before Christmas… It’s ridiculous,” said McCaughan. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, authorities in Manitoba have issued $683,000 in fines, with $181,574 of that occurring in the last week of November alone.

When asked about the incident on Wednesday, chief provincial public officer Dr. Brent Roussin refused to comment, but clearly stated that the mask mandate is for indoor settings only.

Maxime Bernier intends to regain federal Beauce seat in next election

By
True North Wire
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People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxime Bernier intends on regaining his seat in Beauce, Quebec when the next federal election takes place. 

Bernier, who held the riding from 2006 until he was unseated in 2019, says that while last year’s defeat was discouraging, he’s hopeful that he can regain a spot in the House of Commons for his party. 

Bernier lost the seat last September to Conservative MP Richard Lehoux.

“Our defeat in Beauce last year was a discouraging upset. Today, we begin work and planning for the campaign in Beauce. It’s going to take everything we have to beat the corrupt establishment,” Bernier announced. 

Recently, Bernier ran in the York Centre byelection as a way to raise awareness for his party, but lost to Liberal candidate Ya’ara Saks. 

The PPC was founded by Bernier in the summer of 2018 shortly after he announced that he would be leaving the Conservative Party of Canada.

According to Bernier, the Conservatives have astray from their original principles and have become a “morally corrupt” party. 

ESKENASI: Your family savings isn’t government stimulus money

By
Sam Eskenasi
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Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told BNN that Canadians’ family savings is “pre-loaded stimulus.” She says in the best-case scenario, Canadians would choose to spend some of their money on their own.

But what about the worst-case scenario? What will the government do if Canadians choose not to spend their hard-earned savings?

Sam Eskenasi says the government has no money of its own, and that Freeland’s comments leave the door open to additional redistributions of Canadians’ wealth.

Hundreds of former and current CBC employees join campaign to stop paid content division

By
True North Wire
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Hundreds of current CBC and former employees have joined a campaign to stop the public broadcaster from pursuing its new paid content division, Tandem. 

Signatories signed onto an open letter sent to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault slamming the new initiative as a “mockery” of CBC’s reputation. 

“The problem is that ads should never be disguised as news. When you are on a CBC platform, whether reading a news story or choosing a podcast, you should not have to ask yourself, ‘is this CBC journalism or is it advertising?’” claims the group’s website, Stop Paid Content on CBC.

“That clear separation has always been important at CBC. In fact, CBC was once so concerned that news and advertising should not mix, there was a time advertising was not allowed in newscasts.”

The employees who signed on include prominent on-air personalities like Mark Kelley, Katie Nicholson, Anna Maria Termonti and others. To this day, the open letter has accrued over 500 current and former employees of the Crown corporation. 

Tandem was first revealed by the public broadcaster in September but was halted temporarily only one month after its release due to concerns from members of the CBC union. 

“CBC says it needs more money. We agree. But this is an attempt to save the patient by selling its heart and soul. ‘Paid content’ is dishonest and it is wrong. It is working with sponsors to create ads that masquerade as journalism,” the website claims. 

“In order to sell commercial products, CBC is sacrificing the reputation of its news service, which has faithfully and truthfully informed Canadians for generations.” 

In recent years, the CBC has struggled with falling advertising revenues and dwindling viewership rates. 

In October, the CBC announced that it would be laying off 130 employees across Canada. The CBC cited poor advertising revenues and high operating costs as the reasons behind the layoffs.

Trudeau government invited Chinese forces to Canada for cold weather training

By
True North Wire
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An explosive new document reveals that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invited the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to conduct cold weather training on Canadian soil in 2019. 

According to the 34-page access to information cache obtained by Rebel News, the PLA forces were invited to train at CFB Petawawa in Ontario, but it was eventually cancelled following China’s illegal arrest of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. 

A unclassified list of “potentially paused” engagements describes the proposed Winter 2019 collaboration as “PLA members participate in winter survival training at CFB Petawawa” and notes that 6-8 personnel would be involved.

Another document classified as “secret” discusses the cancellation of the training session. 

“The winter training will not take place this winter (2019). Future options have not been considered,” writes Department of National Defence official Uros Makismovic. 

“The direction from General Joyce was that, when we do go back to China regarding engagement, we tailor a message (consulted with [Global Affairs Canada]) stating that we are not in a position to conduct the training “at this time” – or a similar message to this effect.” 

The disclosure also confirmed a prior report that Canada sent a delegation to attend the 70th anniversary of the PLA Navy. 

Other engagements between the two countries also listed in the document includes a training session for Chinese commanders at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto and other facilities. 

In response to the decision to cancel the training session after the arrest of the two Michaels, the Trudeau government issued a memorandum asking to be notified and consulted before any other training sessions were to be canceled. 

“Given the heightened scrutiny, any decision by Canada to reduce-cut ties should be carefully considered to avoid sending any unhelpful or unintended messages,” writes the federal memorandum. 

“In the interest of avoiding such a scenario, a letter has been drafted on your behalf for DND’s Deputy Minister Thomas that will provide DND/CAF guidance consistent with Canada’s current approach to Canada.”

“Toronto 18” terrorist granted day parole despite objections from supervisors

By
True North Wire
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A convicted terrorist who played a role in the homegrown Toronto 18 terror cell has been granted day parole in Quebec. 

The Parole Board of Canada made the decision to grant Shareef Abdelhaleem day parole despite objections from his case management team. 

According to the Montreal Gazette, the team’s concerns were rooted with a past rejection of an application by Abdelhaleem to stay at a halfway house in Montreal called the Résidence Emmanuele-Grégoire.

In 2006, Abdelhaleem and 17 other men were arrested after a plot to bomb various high profile targets in Ontario was uncovered by law enforcement.

The conspirators were found to have been engaged in operating a training camp to train fellow jihadists with the goal of eventually storming Parliament in Canada’s capital.

Reports from the time revealed that the plotters hoped to detonate truck bombs and kill innocent civilians by opening fire on large crowds. 

According to a synopsis of the allegations against the suspects, the terrorist plot also included a plan to behead former prime minister Stephen Harper and to blow up parliament. 

Abdelhaleem along with the ring leader, Zakaria Amara were eventually convicted of a number of terror-related offences and eventually sentenced to serve life in prison. 

The group was busted after an undercover CSIS agent led the suspects to believe that he could acquire explosive chemicals for the terror cell. 

According to Abdelhaleem, he engaged in the plot because he was disillusioned with his life and “wanted to make the world a better place.” 

Canadian government quietly invested additional $2 million into failing Kenyan company

By
True North
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A federal agency that gave $13 million to a failing company in Kenya has given the firm another US$2 million in the past year.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the Development Finance Institute Canada (FinDev) had previously given M-Kopa Holdings Ltd. $12.8 million in investment in 2018. The new funding brings the total investment to around CAD$15.4 million.

M-Kopa is a firm that sells cell phones and solar-powered appliances door-to-door. Just two days after the government made the deal public in 2018, M-Kopa laid off 150 staff. In the two years since the deal was finalized, M-Kopa has reported a net loss of $51 million.

FinDev staff have since confirmed that the deal was “an equity investment not a subsidy,” with the goal of creating jobs in Kenya. M-Kopa does not operate in Canada.

FinDev spokeswoman Shelley Maclean has defended the investment, saying M-Kopa has shown signs the firm is recovering its initial losses.

“M-Kopa’s revenue has nearly doubled since 2018 and achieved a break-even point in 2020. FinDev has an observer status that allows us to be informed about M-Kopa’s business developments,” she said.

“The M-Kopa investment opportunity was identified through partnerships with other peer institutions and vetted through proper due diligence.” 

FinDev is a government agency created in 2017 to “to support private sector investment in developing countries.” Records show that the M-Kopa the deal was negotiated before the agency had appointed an independent board of directors or even opened a head office.

The manager that proposed the deal, former CEO Paul Lamontagne, abruptly resigned for FivDev after it was revealed he had dealings with a South African company under investigation.

Two Alberta churches launch constitutional challenge of public health orders

By
True North Wire
-

Two churches in Alberta are suing the provincial government for violating their constitutional rights through the use of public health orders. 

The lawsuit, which was filed by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), names Heights Baptist Church and Northside Baptist Church as the two applicants. The churches are located in Medicine Hat and Calgary, respectively. 

According to the JCCF, the government violated the following rights of churchgoers by implementing coronavirus-related lockdown orders: the right to peaceful assembly, the right to travel, the right to conduct a business to earn a living, the right to visit family and friends and the right to peaceful assembly. 

“Arbitrary and authoritarian control, based on fearmongering by the government, only ever exacerbates the problems facing society, as we have seen for the last nine months. Politicians have not put forward any persuasive evidence that lockdowns have saved lives, but there is no question that lockdowns have caused grave harm to millions of Canadians suffering unemployment, poverty, cancelled surgeries, suicides, isolation, and the loss of their liberty,” stated JCCF lawyer James Kitchen. 

“In a free society, the government respects citizens as they exercise their freedom and responsibility to respond to a perceived crisis as they deem best for themselves and their loved ones.”

On Tuesday, the Alberta government announced a new round of lockdown measures meant to combat the growing threat of the virus in the province. Gyms and casinos must now shut their doors to the public, and restaurants and bars may only serve customers via take-out or delivery. All outdoor and indoor social gatherings have also been banned and the province has imposed a mandatory work-from-home order. 

Suicidal thoughts, anxiety on the rise as lockdowns continue: study

By
True North Wire
-

Lockdown restrictions and coronavirus-related paranoia have taken a huge toll on Canadians’ mental health this year, with many individuals reporting suicidal thoughts.

A new study from the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) revealed that 40% of Canadians believe their mental health has declined throughout the pandemic, with a shocking 10% saying they have recently experienced thoughts of suicide.

Young people and people with pre-existing medical conditions are having a particularly hard time, with 60% and 61% reporting a decline in mental health, respectively.

Aside from the fear of contracting the coronavirus, the effects of lockdowns significantly contribute to declining mental health. Of those surveyed, 27% report fearing they will not be able to put food on the table, and 18% report fearing physical or mental abuse while trapped at home.

As originally reported by True North contributor Anthony Furey, a model published in Psychiatry Research projected that the pandemic may cause between 418 to 2,114 excess suicides in 2020.

Furey said in his latest column that politicians in Canada are blind to the social trauma being caused by lockdowns and quarantine rules.

“Judging by the way Canadian politicians emote in front of the cameras, you’d think the only real damage caused by lockdowns is the closure of small businesses,” he said.

“They say on loop that their hearts go out to businesses suffering from lockdowns, but that it’s all necessary to protect public health and so businesses should just take it on the chin and access the support programs made available to them.”

Residents of Manitoba, Quebec and parts of Ontario are only permitted contact with those from within their own household, while social gatherings, public events and religious services are banned.

Another tragic consequence of the pandemic has been a spike in opioid use and deaths across Canada, with Ontario alone facing a 38% increase in overdose deaths.

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