As the number of cases goes up, public officials are becoming more alarmed and implementing more lockdown measures.
Anthony Furey argues we need to take a step back and ask what is the government trying to accomplish exactly? What is the plan? What is the objective?
Anthony says if we can’t agree on what our pandemic objective is, Canadians will increasingly become frustrated and divided.
The Liberals are poised to miss their 2020 greenhouse gas emissions target by up to 99.2% according to the latest government data.
In his first term as prime minister, Justin Trudeau proposed a plan to reduce emissions in 2020 to 17% less than 2005 levels by this year, with a later goal of achieving a rate 30% below the 2005 benchmark by 2030.
In 2005, Canada emitted 730 million tonnes of greenhouse gases. According to Trudeau’s plan, emissions in 2020 should be 606 million tonnes. However, government data shows that Canada emitted 729 million in greenhouse gasses this year.
In a statement given to The Star on Wednesday, the federal government maintained that they would exceed Canada’s 2030 target.
“Our government is committed to exceed Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction target, and we recognize that addressing oil and gas sector methane emissions provides some of the most cost-effective approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country,” said Moira Kelly, who is a spokesperson for Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.
The Trudeau government’s assertions that Canada can meet the emission targets set by the Paris Accord have been thrown up in the air by recent data and reporting.
According to the Department of Environment, British Columbia’s carbon tax – which served as a model for the federally imposed scheme – failed to cut emissions in the province. According to the National Inventory Report submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, greenhouse gas emissions in BC actually increased by 10% from 2015 to 2018.
Even a year after the federal carbon tax was imposed on non-compliant provinces, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions grew by 15%.
When questioned on whether or not the carbon tax impacted Canada’s emissions levels, the Trudeau government refused to provide a clear answer.
“Current estimates do not yet fully account for future reductions from green infrastructure, clean technology and innovation,” said a February 2017 report.
“The overall approach to pricing carbon pollution will be reviewed by 2022 to ensure that it is effective and to confirm the path forward, including future price increases.”
It’s been nearly two weeks since the 2020 US presidential election took place and the NDP are still having a full-blown meltdown over President Donald Trump.
Since the leadup to the election, NDP MPs and party leader Jagmeet Singh have accused the president of a number of demeaning things, including comparisons to the Nazis, allegations of racism, misogyny and much more.
Here are eleven times the NDP completely lost their minds over Donald Trump:
Jagmeet Singh tells Americans to “vote him out!”
On the eve of election night, Singh accused the president of fanning the “flames of hatred and division” and making “the world a more dangerous place for all of us” and called on Americans to vote the president out of his office.
Peter Julian compares Republicans to Nazis
In the last dozen days, NDP MP Peter Julian has taken every opportunity to accuse the president of all sorts of vile things including a comparison to Hitler and the Nazis.
In another tweet, Julian hysterically stated that “Donald Trump represents facism,” “white supremacy” and “unbelievable patriarchy.”
Julian’s outlandish claims don’t end there. In one tweet five days after the US election, the MP continued to insult the US president and claimed Trump is trying to destroy democracy.
In his latest tweet about the US president, Julian insisted that “anything” should be done to “defeat the racist misogynist Donald Trump.”
Niki Ashton cries “vile racism”
While not as prolific in her hatred of Trump as Peter Julian is, NDP MP Niki Ashton also joined in on the ongoing presidential pileon.
Yesterday, Ashton decided to take a swing at both Canada’s prime minister and the US president. In one tweet, Ashton accused Justin Trudeau of “refusing to call out Trump’s vile racism or put a stop to rising fascism in our own country.”
Surprisingly, however, Ashton also had a sobering moment regarding the US election after she hinted that socialist and progressive voters also voted for Trump over Biden.
Scott Duvall likes to tell Trump he’s “fired”
As results started to indicate that Biden was projected to win the presidential election, NDP MP Scott Duvall couldn’t help but use Trump’s famous TV catchphrase “You’re Fired” against the president, not once but twice.
Matthew Green shouts “white supremacy”
In line with his colleagues, NDP MP Matthew Green tweeted two days after the election that “people in positions of serious institutional power” in Canada allegedly support Donald Trump’s “authoritarian white supremacy” without providing any proof for his claims.
Only days after Elections Canada bragged that Canada’s election system was immune to the problems that plagued the US election, a new report indicates otherwise.
According to a Survey of Election Officers report, approximately 35% of election officers in 2019 reported voters whose names were not in the National Register of Elections.
“35% of poll staff said they sometimes or often encountered individuals asking to vote who were not on the list of electors and who were unable to be registered at the polling station,” claimed the report.
“Approximately four in ten (39%) noticed electors whose address did not match the list of electors, while nearly identical proportions noticed electors who had improper ID.”
The report indicates 27% of poll officers encountered voters who couldn’t prove their address, and another 14% reported coming across voters who could not prove their identification.
Meanwhile, 6% reported attempts of voter fraud in the 2019 election.
Shortly after the hotly contested 2020 US election, Elections Canada officials boasted in the media about how Canada’s elections were immune to the problems encountered down south.
“Having an agency that is independent from the elected government, with a chief electoral officer who is appointed by Parliament as a whole, we are nonpartisan in everything that we do,” said Elections Canada spokesperson Natasha Gauthier.
“We are removed from that politicization of the voting system that we see in the U.S.”
Gauthier went on to praise how Canada’s uniform federal ballot process has led to smoother elections.
“The way people vote, the ways to vote, how they are informed to vote, where they can vote, registration, the types of IDs that are acceptable at the polling locations — those are all prescribed by law,” Gauthier said.
“So someone voting in Iqaluit will have the same experience at the polling booth as someone voting in downtown Toronto or Vancouver.”
US President Donald Trump has alleged that the 2020 election results were impacted by voter fraud after his competitor former vice president Joe Biden was declared the victor. Currently, the Trump campaign has filed a number of lawsuits in crucial states, including Michigan, where fraud is alleged to have taken place.
For two years, the residents of Ramsay Meadows were left in the dark while all levels of government knew about contaminants in ground and well water.
The contaminated water was first discovered in 2013, but new information has exposed a long list of government bodies, agencies and experts that were made aware of a potential public health crisis but took no initiative to inform the 49 residences that use the water supply until late 2015.
Perfluoro alkylated chemicals (PFAS) was found in the water located near the National Research Council’s (NRC) National Fire Lab, a testing facility for firefighting tactics that use PFAS based foam used in fire suppression. Once discovered, the staff at the lab were told not to drink the tap water.
The agencies that were aware of the presence of PFAS include: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and Health Canada.
The lack of effort to warn the people of Ramsay Meadows has been called “unconscionable” by Ken Rubin, a private researcher.
The National Research Council took responsibility for the contamination in 2016 and responded to the situation with efforts to mitigate and remediate the situation. They offered water filters and supplied clean water, but the residents are still relying on bottled water.
The testing of PFAS ceased in 2016 at the Nation Fire Lab, and the NRC removed contaminated soil. By placing a layer of clay on the affected area, they hoped rainwater would not continue to push the contaminants downstream and in time the situation would “clean itself up.”
While there is no benchmark for negative health effects on humans exposed to PFAS, animal testing has shown links to numerous adverse health effects like an impact on neurological development, damage to the liver and immune system.
Health Canada has deemed the risk to humans is low, but there has been some testing that shows a possible link between PFAS exposure and increased risks of kidney or testicular cancer, increased blood pressure in pregnant women and decreased vaccine response in children.
The residents of Ramsay Meadows have filed a $40 million class-action lawsuit against the NRC.
Records show that former environmental activist and Liberal Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault put over 21,000 km on his government vehicle between January and August this year alone.
On a month by month basis, that would average out to over 3,000 kilometers of driving.
The minister’s driving habits were revealed by an Access to Information request obtained by the Toronto Sun.
Estimates by Natural Resources Canada claim that Canadians drive 15,000 km a year on average, making Guilbeault a heavy commuter.
Guilbeault’s driving habits are contrary to his past espoused beliefs regarding the use of government vehicles. Ahead of the 2019 election, Guilbeault told a Quebec radio station that he would try to avoid using a car for work.
“I never needed to have a car. I understand that there are requirements when you are in a practice,” said Guilbeault.
“I don’t want to make a big ‘no, I’ll never do that’ statement, but I would try to do without. Why not? Maybe it won’t work, but at least I’ll try it.”
Guilbeault’s commitment to not driving a vehicle did not last very long. By January 2020, his government vehicle was driven for 2,305 km. Several months later, in April, Guilbeault’s vehicle was doing three times the average kilometres driven in a month by Canadians.
“The pandemic has changed the way we socialize, work and travel, in order to protect each and everyone’s health,” Guilbeault’s secretary Camille Gagne-Raynauld told the Toronto Sun when questioned about his driving habits.
“The number of kilometres used reflects the transportation between Montreal and the National Capital region to attend in-person Parliament sessions, cabinet meetings, announcements made in different Quebec rural regions over the summer.”
Guilbeault isn’t the only Liberal MP who has travelled thousands of kilometres at the taxpayers’ expense while simultaneously preaching about the need to reduce emissions.
In June, it was revealed former Environment Minister Catherine McKenna spent over $100,000 on taxi fares while in Ottawa during her tenure in the cabinet position.
In May, Blacklock’s Reporter reported that the Liberal government flew 144 people to a climate conference in Spain. The government spent at least $683,278 to send the delegation and an additional $178,282 on expenses such as airfares, taxis and chauffeured cars.
A prominent democracy activist and Christian writer was arrested by Chinese police just minutes before he was scheduled to give a lecture on Christianity and Chinese culture.
Shortly before Ran Yunfei’s webinar at the “Gospel During the Pandemic” online conference, he was ordered to the local police station for questioning. Ran was released later that night without charge, missing the conference.
Ran told followers that as a Christian, his faith keeps him from getting discouraged by Communist harassment.
“I am thankful that I have returned. I cannot share tomorrow as well. But must we share the Gospel through speaking? If you understand that being in chains is sharing the Gospel (not only with the people who talk to you, but also the many who watch you), then we should feel joyful for entering the police station multiple times,” he reportedly said.
Ran has spent much of his life advocating for democracy in the world’s largest dictatorship. In 2011, Ran was charged with “inciting subversion of state power,” spending months in jail and kept under surveillance after his release.
Ran converted to Christianity in 2015.
In order to legally practice Christianity in China, churches must be registered and controlled by the state-owned Three Self Church. The Three Self Church is known for reinterpreting Christianity to fit Communist ideology.
The lack of legitimate Christianity in the Three Self Church has led to an explosion in “illegal house churches,” which Ran has supported through his work.
“The Chinese government is increasing the crackdown on house churches to threaten and disrupt them, in hopes that it will be too much for them,” said Gina Goh of International Christian Concern.
“If police sense the preacher is spreading anti-government thoughts, they revoke his preaching certificate. They have basically no right for Christians who speak up. There’s no religious freedom in the Three Self Church.”
An ISIS terrorist once deemed to be an “exceptional” public safety risk has been granted parole privileges to go to a ski resort with his girlfriend.
Carlos Larmond was jailed in 2016 after authorities found that he tried to leave Canada with the intention of joining ISIS. Larmond and his brother Ashton were part of an Ottawa-area terror cell.
“You have indicated a desire to spend more time with her on her next visit, and also to perhaps do some skiing in the mountains this winter,” wrote a Parole Board decision obtained by Global News.
“That would mean you would have to travel by bus, and therefore, spend overnight at the ski resort.”
While in prison, Larmond was also accused of attempting to radicalize his fellow inmates and was eventually moved to the Special Handling Unit, a super-maximum security facility.
“You have not shown significant indications of change since incarceration, with you attempting to radicalize others and threatening authority figures,” said a parole board member about Larmond in November 2019.
“Had you followed through with these plans, you would likely have been directly or indirectly involved in the killing and injuring of many people.”
Before being arrested, Larmond indicated disturbing and violent jihadist plans to kill Canadians. He once said he wanted to slit the throat of a member of the Canadian military and said he hated Imams who don’t subscribe to violent Islamism.
Despite the concerns, Larmond was freed from prison last year on the condition that he spent his nights at a halfway house in Calgary.
“At a time when businesses are being shuttered by COVID and Trudeau is urging provinces not to reopen, terrorists are being let out of jail to go to ski resorts,” said Conservative leader Erin O’Toole about the matter.
The request for overnight privileges by Larmond was supported by the Correctional Service of Canada.
“Mr. Larmond, all reports indicate you have been complying with your conditions of release, and have caused no problems at the CRF [community-based residential facility],” wrote the Board.
“You have developed a positive relationship, and you are requesting a chance to further demonstrate credibility to the Board and your CMT [case management team].”
In the US election, the Republicans managed to increase their vote count from 2016 and made significant gains among minorities. Despite 4 years of the media constantly accusing Trump of being a racist and being divisive, the GOP either won or came very close in key swing states.
For American voters, the Republicans presented a clear and appealing conservative message. Can the Conservatives in Canada replicate the same type of message?
Sam Eskenasi discusses the future of Conservative politics in Canada and what the Conservative Party can learn from the Republicans.
A former editor of Canada’s largest Chinese-language newspaper urged parliamentarians to use legislation to combat Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda.
Victor Ho, who was the editor of Sing Tao Daily, made the comments while appearing before the House of Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations.
“They use identity politics. Our government could take a look at how foreign agents or diplomats have such interference,” said Ho.
“The ultimate goal is to brainwash or at least influence our Chinese-Canadian audiences into accepting the policies of the Communist Party of China. They exploit free airwaves of our broadcasters to convey political propaganda,” said Ho.
Ho pointed to a July 23 statement provided by China’s Consul General Tong Xiaoling on a Vancouver radio station as an example.
In the speech, Tong accused pro-democracy Hong Kong activists of intimidating others.
“People in both Hong Kong and locally have been maliciously denigrating and sabotaging Hong Kong’s national security legislation. They also try to create divisions in the ethnic Chinese community and sabotage China-Canada relations,” said Tong.
Other witnesses at the committee meeting also called on the federal government to legislate public disclosures of foreign government lobbyists.
“Canada should consider introducing a foreign interference law like the Australian one. Use it to restrict foreign governments from mobilizing local social groups to address foreign interests,” said Ho.
The testimonies come shortly after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warned that the CCP was employing agents to intimidate the dissident Chinese diaspora within Canada.
