At the second Global Conference for Media Freedom, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke up about the importance of media freedom around the world saying, “when journalists can do their jobs…everyone does better.”
The problem is the conference was so focused on press freedom battles in Belarus, Hong Kong, South America and Africa, it paid little to no attention to the situation at home – where the government routinely denies access to independent journalists.
True North’s Andrew Lawton, who covered the conference for the second year in a row, reports.
A Liberal cabinet minister was caught on a hot mic talking about her $250,000 salary during a Monday meeting in the House of Commons.
Liberal Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development Maryam Monsef can be heard talking about how much she earns over a live Zoom call during a parliamentary debate on coronavirus spending.
On this week’s episode of Liberal Cabinet Minister Hot Mic During a House of Commons Vote……. pic.twitter.com/AgG4EznXQD
“The question they’re going to ask me… How much do I make now? Like 250?” Monsef can be heard before the feed cuts back to the House.
“I want to remind the honourable members to turn off their microphones when they’re not voting,” said Speaker of the House Anthony Rota immediately after.
According to publicly available figures, members of the House of Commons are paid a basic sessional indemnity of $182,600, while minister’s earn an additional salary of $87,200.
In 2016, True North’s Candice Malcolm reported on an exclusive investigation that revealed Monsef was being investigated for possible citizenship fraud after complaints were made with the Department of Immigration regarding the minister.
Monsef was found to have provided false information about her place of birth when claiming asylum in Canada in 1996. She originally claimed that she was born in Afghanistan, but then it was revealed that she was in fact born in Iran.
According to Monsef’s office, she was under the wrong impression regarding her birth place and was working to rectify the situation.
Canadian immigration law defines knowingly or unknowingly representing yourself falsely to immigration officials as immigration fraud.
Nearly one year later in 2017, Monsef was demoted from her role as the minister of democratic institutions after she repeatedly bungled her responsibilities. In one instance, Monsef insulted her fellow parliamentarians for their work on an elector reform committee.
After months of Liberal attempts to shut down investigations into the WE Charity scandal, Finance critic Pierre Poilievre held a press conference on Monday to appeal to the Liberal government to hand over documents to the Parliamentary Law Clerk.
In an attempt to end a Liberal filibuster and bring light to the heavily redacted WE charity documents, the Conservative MP made a concession and said that all documents that pertain to cabinet secrets can be put aside, but the rest should be submitted to a non-partisan lawyer who represents all members of the house.
“Let him look at those documents that the government has blacked out, other than the cabinet confidentialities, and report back on whether this is a cover up or if the black outs are legitimately justified.” said Poilievre.
An earlier release of WE Charity documents had hundreds of pages redacted with black ink.
The opposition wants to know if there was a conflict of interest relating to the $900 million Student Service Grant awarded to the charity. According to Poilievre, the effects of this inquiry now go beyond a possible third ethics violation for Trudeau as the constant filibusters has blocked the finance committee from offering any meaningful aid when they are needed most.
Poilievre claimed that under these circumstances, the finance committee cannot give a voice to over 800 individuals who have offered to testify as witnesses on their experiences operating a small business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If Trudeau has nothing to hide, he will accept this compromise before I even walk out of this room today. And for God’s sakes, he will do it immediately so that we can get our committee back to work. So that the hundreds and hundreds of desperate organizations that want to testify about the devastation in their economic lives can get here and make their point and prepare for eventually introducing a federal budget.” said Poilievre.
Liberal filibusters have persisted for over 30 hours to prevent finance committee inquiries about the redacted WE Charity documents. Attempts to filibuster have covered many topics, none of them relating to the economic crisis experienced by Canadian businesses and organizations.
“Let’s hand over the documents. Let’s put on our big boy pants, Mr. Trudeau and let’s get back to work.” said Poilievre.
Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole is urging the federal government to ban Huawei and to address China’s foreign influence operations targeting Canadians.
O’Toole made the comments during a Sunday morning appearance on Global News’ The West Block.
“We’re bringing a motion to have a serious public education discussion and make the government take these issues seriously, finally,” he said.
‘[The government should] highlight the risks and the intimidation that hundreds of Canadians and families are feeling from Chinese communist influence operations in Canada.”
With regards to Huawei, O’Toole called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to ban the Chinese tech giant from Canada’s 5G network within 30 days.
“The democratic world is watching for Canada to see if Mr. Trudeau is going to finally get serious with China from a security, human rights and a trade perspective, or is he still going to have this naïve admiration for the basic dictatorship?” said O’Toole.
The Chinese Communist Party is threatening Canada’s national interest and our values — including Canadians of Chinese origin within Canada’s borders.
It’s time for strong and principled foreign policy backed by action. https://t.co/Ty6k82DLkp
According to a new report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Beijing has employed undercover agents to intimidate and harass those critical of President Xi Jinping’s rule within Canada.
“Certain foreign states routinely attempt to threaten and intimidate individuals around the world through various state entities and non-state proxies. These states, such as the People’s Republic of China, may use a combination of their intelligence and security services as well as trusted agents to assist them in conducting various forms of threat activities,” CSIS head of media relations John Townsend told the Globe and Mail last week.
“Importantly, when foreign states target members of Canadian communities, these individuals, for various reasons, may not have the means to protect themselves or do not know they can report these activities to Canadian authorities. The fear of state-backed or state-linked retribution targeting both them and their loved ones, in Canada and abroad, can force individuals to submit to foreign interference.”
Trudeau confirmed CSIS’ findings shortly after the report was released, saying that China’s targeting of Canadians has “intensified” in the recent past.
“For a number of years, we have observed foreign actors wield influence on members of their diaspora in Canada. Unfortunately, recently this has intensified,” said Trudeau.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is speaking out after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer began an attempt to shut down a pipeline that carries Alberta oil through the state of Michigan.
Speaking on the Roy Green Show, Kenney noted that Enbridge’s Line 5, which transports Alberta oil to Sarnia through Michigan, is economically crucial to the region.
“Line 5 is a 60-year old pipeline that has safely transported Alberta oil to the Upper Midwest states and Southern Ontario without significant environmental incident. It is the single largest supplier for gasoline, ultimately, in Southern Ontario,” he said.
“This is just part of the broader campaign to landlock Canadian energy that I have spoken about so many times.”
On Friday, Whitmer began a legal fight to have Line 5 decommissioned over concerns the underwater pipeline threatens the environment in the Straits of Mackinac. Enbridge maintains the underwater portion of Line 5 has never leaked.
While Enbridge says it can build a new tunnel under the Straits to meet Michigan’s safety demands by 2024, Whitmer claims the state cannot wait that long.
Line 5 delivers around 540,000 barrels of Alberta oil a day to refineries in the Great Lakes region. Kenney alleges that the loss of Enbridge Line 5 would be disastrous to industry in both countries.
“The impact of this would be devastating,” he said.
“It is the single largest supply of aviation fuel out of the Detroit airport, for heating fuel in northern Michigan, for the refineries in northern Ohio that fuel much of the midwest U.S. economy, so this is a very very big deal.”
Kenney says he has been actively trying to work with Whitmer and other regional leaders to come to an agreement on the future of Line 5.
While Whitmer refused to meet with Kenney in 2019, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine have assured Kenney that they support Line 5.
The second Global Conference for Media Freedom is taking place online today, and the very first session of the conference is closed to the media. That’s right, journalists aren’t allowed to attend as representatives from governments across the world – including Canadian foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne – discuss “key concerns regarding media freedom and identify priorities for the coming year.”
True North’s Andrew Lawton is covering the conference.
Last Saturday’s shooting erupted in Toronto’s North York neighbourhood of Jane and Finch, and unfortunately this shooting wasn’t unusual. In fact, it is all too usual.
The shooting was a planned hit against three gang-bangers who were shot but not fatally. But in discharging over 30 rounds, a 12-year-old boy out walking with his mom returning from an afternoon of shopping was hit.
He died days later in Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital.
Neither he nor his mom had anything to do with the gang violence so prevalent in that north end neighbourhood. They were just out shopping on a Saturday afternoon.
This is a tragic case of a boy – not a teen, not a young man, not someone flirting with the gang life.
What were you doing when you were 12 years old?
I was playing baseball with my buddy Pete MacKenzie at our local park. We played pitch and catch, hit fungoes and dreamt about playing in the big leagues. It was the first summer of the Montreal Expos playing in Jarry Park. I had a paper route in those days delivering the Montreal Gazette every morning on my route of about three blocks surrounding my home.
I was young. I was innocent. And like the poor 12-year-old child who was murdered by gang members, I sure didn’t deserve to be shot in a fusillade of bullets.
On Friday, our Prime Minister was asked by a Toronto Star reporter about the shooting. Trudeau stammered and stuttered in his response to an unscripted question he wasn’t prepared for. Trudeau said Ontario Premier Doug Ford could solve the problem by allowing the mayors of cities to ban handguns, as he has suggested in the past.
It’s difficult to know for certain if the Prime Minister really is that out of touch with reality, but history would suggest that he is.
Anyone with any sort of analytical ability knows that a handgun ban would do absolutely nothing to prevent a single shooting in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal or anywhere. It’s pie-in-the-sky Liberal bovine scatology – yet they keep repeating this nonsense.
The vast majority of handguns used in our inner cities by gangs come into the country illegally.
How many times does it have to be said before our Prime Minister actually listens?
The Public Safety Minister Bill Blair is no better. As a former chief of the Toronto Police Service during the so-called Year of the Gun in 2005, Blair instituted measures to reduce shootings in that city dramatically.
It’s not rocket science.
Just one day before the 12-year-old boy died at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) Gun and Gang Task Force and Centralized Shooting Response Team executed a Code Five (violent) takedown in downtown Toronto at Bay and Dundas in front of the Canadian Tire on Monday.
The TPS did yeoman’s work to find the shooters in this case.
Rashawn Chambers, 24, and Jahwayne Smart, 25, are charged with 28 weapons offences, breach of conditions and orders and six counts of attempted murder. Three guns were seized along with oversize mags, according to the Chief James Ramer.
Ramer described the shooting as “a different level of evil. I can’t be any clearer than that.” I can’t argue that sentiment.
If only our political leaders understood the concept of clarity.
If you only paid attention to the mainstream media, you would think Sweden has let the coronavirus run rampant. But this is far from the truth – there are restrictions in Sweden.
The main difference between how Canada and Sweden are handling the virus is that Sweden’s approach to the virus is based on personal responsibility.
As the federal government tells Canadians to stay home, one government agency is helping Canadians get ready for “winter vacation.”
“Are you planning a winter vacation but don’t have a valid passport? Don’t wait, apply now!” read the Friday afternoon tweet from Passport Canada, the federal department responsible for issuing passports.
The tone-deaf tweet is in direct contradiction to the federal government’s standing advice, which is to “avoid non-essential travel outside Canada.”
The Government of Canada travel advisories page contains notices of limited international transportation options, closed borders, and warnings that if you leave the country, you could have trouble returning.
The tweet could have been scheduled to post in times where travel was not off the table. Regardless, Canadians took turns roasting Passport Canada.
The government travel advisories clearly state that should you ignore the warnings and leave Canada, you may have difficulty obtaining essential products and services or face sudden movement restrictions and quarantine at your own expense.
In some regions, like much of the Greater Toronto Area, Canadians are being told not to travel any farther than their local Costco or a trip around the block.
Canadians returning home from abroad are presently required to quarantine for 14 days in a place where they will not encounter a vulnerable person.
Inbound travellers must also submit their travel information, quarantine plan and a COVID-19 symptom self-assessment via the ArriveCAN app.
Failure to comply with the new standards could lead to delays at the border for questioning and fines of up to $1,000.
A group of 70 former Canadian Broadcasting Corporation employees are calling on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to investigate the taxpayer-funded broadcaster.
In a letter, the employees urged the CRTC to look into the CBC’s new branded content arm, Tandem.
After years of declining revenue and poor viewership numbers, the CBC launched Tandem in September of this year with the hopes that it would boost the broadcaster’s finances.
Less than a month after its launch, the division was put on hold for review after the CBC union criticized the initiative for its impact on the public broadcaster’s reputation.
“(Canadian Media Guild) members at CBC are very concerned about CBC Tandem and how it could impact their work and the reputation of CBC as a trusted independent news and information service. CMG members are asking for clarity about this new service, and about what safeguards and transparent monitoring processes are in place to ensure an unambiguous separation of news and commercial interests,” reads a CMG news release.
According to the CBC, they have been offering branded content to advertisers for years and Tandem simply formalized that aspect of the business. Despite this, the group of 70 former employees have raised transparency concerns.
“The CBC made no mention of branded content in its fall 2019 licence renewal application to the CRTC. There is no reference in the CRTC’s public information about the CBC, nor is there any disclosure in the CBC’s annual reports,” claimed the letter.
Last month, the CBC announced that it would be laying off 130 employees across Canada. The company cited poor revenue performance and high operating costs as reasons for the layoffs.
