Canada’s public broadcaster wants Canadians to know “why pronouns matter.”
On Sunday, the official CBC British Columbia Twitter account released a video asking five people to discuss why their gender identity pronouns are important.
Why do pronouns matter?
We asked five British Columbians to share how their pronouns reflect their identity. pic.twitter.com/SQF0lsqNr3
“I honestly love it when people ask me what pronouns I go by, I feel comfortable, I feel like I’m in a space where, yes, people that look female might not always be female,” Satsi Naziel told the CBC.
Gendered pronouns like “they/them” refer to self-identified non-binary or other LGBTQ+ gender identities.
The Twitter post was published alongside a reference to a CBC BC podcast released earlier this year titled They & Us. According to an episode list of the show, the program deals with topics such as “Pronouns in a pandemic,” “Riots for your rights” and “Family ties.”
Canada's state broadcaster, CBC, is telling *children* @jk_rowling was "transphobic" to say only women menstruate. The CBC Kids hosts then praise Daniel Radcliffe as "inspiring" for "advocat(ing) for what he believes in" after Radcliffe said trans women are women. pic.twitter.com/CD8pe0zFjb
The broadcaster’s ombudsman recently admitted a CBC Kids news segment covered the trans-rights controversy surrounding popular children’s book author J.K. Rowling unfairly.
“The segment was not balanced, and it contributed to an impression among complainants that CBC was promoting a particular point of view. This was a violation of policy, and I am glad to see that [the producer] acknowledged this,” wrote CBC Ombudsman Jack Nagler.
The CBC admitted to True North that the show did not in fact meet journalistic standards after a complaint was filed about the episode.
“In the end, this segment did not achieve the balance we intended, and did not live up to the standards to which we as a public broadcaster hold ourselves,” says an email from CBC Kids senior producer Lisa Fender.
The segment was first aired on June 12 on the CBC Kids News program Recap.
After a brazen daytime shooting in Toronto, Liberal ministers are, again, calling for more gun control, either wilfully or ignorantly oblivious to the fact that the guns used in inner-city crime are unaffected by the law.
True North’s Andrew Lawton talks about the gun control advocates’ war on facts, plus a look at how the media and political left are not content to simply defeat Donald Trump in an election – they want to obliterate his ideas and anyone who ever worked for him from civil society.
An Ottawa woman was denied treatment at a hospital after she refused to wear a mask due to a past traumatic experience. She opted to wear a face shield instead.
According to The Star, a doctor at the Ottawa Hospital wouldn’t give 58-year-old Melanie Mills an epidural for her spinal stenosis after she tearfully refused to put a mask on.
Mills had to explain to the doctor that wearing a mask triggered past trauma related to having been raped decades ago.
“I couldn’t think about this, talk about this, without crying,” said Mills about the encounter at the hospital in August.
According to provincial health guidelines, those with underlying health conditions like asthma are allowed to be exempt from mask-wearing.
A spokesperson with the Ottawa Hospital told The Star that “staff will work with the patient to evaluate all options and find a manageable alternative solution.”
“[For a woman] to have to defend to a complete stranger why she’s not able to wear a mask because of that… [it] can do great damage to that woman’s psychological and emotional health,” said spokesperson Michaela Schreiter.
After the incident, Mills was able to find another doctor who could better accommodate her needs in the meantime but she said that the treatment was “maybe 40% as effective.”
Mills’ health condition requires her to get regular epidurals which can give her pain relief for months at a time. She is expecting to return to the hospital for another round of treatment in December but has yet to receive any assurances from the hospital.
The Cullen Commission of Enquiry into money laundering in British Columbia has illuminated just how frustrating it is for investigators trying to do their jobs and to do the right thing. It’s a clear example of when the investigative will meets the “bureaucratic won’t.”
One of the folks who testified this past week was Rob Barber who was an investigator for five years with the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch. Barber, a former member of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and an experienced investigator, was noticing all the cash coming into the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C. brought in by questionable characters in large amounts.
By large amounts, I’m talking about hockey bags full of cash.
He authored a report with an analytical spreadsheet identifying more than $100 million in $20 bills alone that were laundered through that casino in a year. He never heard back on his report nor did he see anything change.
He raised the issue with an Assistant Deputy Minister in the B.C. Liberal government of Christy Clark named Dick Scott, who simply ignored him. That’s the “bureaucratic won’t.”
Frustrated, Barber retired on his VPD pension rather than to keep fighting the bureaucracy in 2015. But the commission also heard from the former head of the anti-illegal gaming unit Fred Pinnock, then an Non-commissioned officer (NCO) with the RCMP who ran that joint forces group.
In 2007, Pinnock also saw what was going on and tried to expand his unit’s mandate to go after the organized crime gangs who were responsible for much of the money laundering going on in the casinos owned by the government.
Pinnock tried several ways to get the attention of the government, including enlisting his wife Naomi Yamamoto, then a B.C. Liberal MLA, to try and get an audience with the minister responsible, Rich Coleman.
Pinnock testified at the commission that he was told that Coleman and his policies were “largely responsible” for the money laundering in the casinos and senior management of the RCMP were complicit in the decisions.
Pinnock testified that he believed the gangs were out-of-control. He recounted a meeting he had with then Solicitor General Kash Heed.
“I told him I am convinced that Rich Coleman knows what’s going on inside those casinos,” Pinnock testified. “And Kash Heed confirmed my perception that I was accurate in my belief, and he did feel that Rich Coleman had created this.”
“[Heed] said to me, in effect, ‘That is what is going on, Fred. But I can’t say that publicly. You know, it’s all about the money.’”
As always with these things, follow the money.
And it appears that is what is happening with the Cullen Commission.
We shall see in all of this. But the commission is only now touching on what appears to be the corruption of senior government officials, which may involve the knowledge of at least one Minister of the Crown and perhaps senior members of the RCMP.
Names of long time Asian Organized Crime figures like Kwok Chung Tam are also being drawn out.
Police documents identify Tam as a “boss” with the Big Circle Boys. For the record, I first wrote about Tam in 1998 after he was arrested in a VPD raid on his Burnaby home in a loan-sharking investigation.
The investigation revealed that a 60-year-old woman had borrowed $15,000 from an underling of Tam in a casino. She couldn’t pay the usurious interest rate and he seized her luxury car, which was worth about five times the amount she borrowed.
She was threatened and given a deadline, which she also missed. Tam had a truck backed up to her home and removed all her expensive furniture.
When VPD did the search of his Burnaby home, they seized more than $200,000 in uncashed cheques written out to Tam, illegal Walther PPK and Ruger pistols and raw heroin.
Police believe Tam is the head of the Wo On Lok triad and a significant player in the Big Circle Boys, a bigger group. He allegedly took out a million dollar contract on Lai Tong Sang the leader of the rival Shui Fong or Water Rat triad in Macau.
The Canadian government has been trying to get key suspects in Asian Organized Crime deported since at least the 1990s, but have so far failed to do so.
Who is protecting these people?
The last two times there were deportation orders against Tam, then Immigration Minister John McCallum intervened and sent the Canadian Border Services Agency back to the drawing board.
Another order was obtained and then Immigration Minister Ahmed Hassan intervened to vacate the order.
This thing is not over and not by a long shot. There is much to try and unravel in all of this being dug into by the Cullen Commission.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu upset members of the House of Commons Health committee by only allowing them 45 minutes to question her on the government’s handling of the pandemic.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the Health Committee had asked Hajdu to appear for two hours to discuss the government’s handling of the pandemic. Hajdu instead agreed to 45 minutes in front of the committee, using a significant portion of her time to give a speech.
“In the last year from my perspective, the government is seeing this review process and scrutiny as an inconvenience. It’s actually fundamental,” said Conservative MP Michel Rempel Garner.
“She’s asking Parliament to spend billions of dollars. It seems a little ridiculous to me. In fact it seems a little contemptuous. How can you not?”
Committee members voted to postpone Hajdu’s appearance in hopes she will agree to two hours of questions at a later date.
The last time Hajdu testified before the health committee was on March 11. At the time, Hadju claimed that the Trudeau government was prepared to handle the pandemic.
Since March it has been revealed that Canada’s emergency stockpile of personal protective equipment was dangerously low. Under the Trudeau government, millions of face masks were thrown out in 2019 and never replaced. Buying new PPE this year has cost at least $1.8 billion.
The Trudeau Liberals have also been accused of cronyism because organizations with close ties to the Liberals have received lofty contracts throughout the pandemic.
In July, it was revealed that the Trudeau government handpicked WE Charity to administer the $912 million Canada Student Service Grant program. It was revealed members of Trudeau’s family, including his wife, mother and brother, have benefited financially from close ties to the charity.
Public health officials have also given Canadians conflicting advice throughout the pandemic.
In May, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam admitted Canada waited too long to close its borders, rebuking Hajdu’s previous claim that border controls were “not effective at all.”
Dr. Tam also repeatedly advised Canadians against wearing masks as far back as March.
After several days with no declared winner of the U.S. Presidential election, a declaration of victory of sorts was made for Joe Biden on Saturday. Barring recounts or confirmed rulings of fraud, it appears that Biden has pulled it off — only by the skin of his nose.
This was the closest American election in U.S. history. President Donald Trump lost narrowly in swing states. It could have easily gone the other way.
Amidst all this uncertainty, there are a few sweeping takeaways from this election, important factors and lessons that you will not hear about on CBC, CTV or CNN.
1. The polling industry is dead.
Not only were the polls wrong, they were more wrong than in 2016. Pollsters had their reputations shattered when they projected with confidence that Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 election. When those predictions fell apart, they assured us up and down that they had adjusted their models and found new ways to reach Trump voters.
That turned out to be more nonsense.
The polls predicted a blue wave, a massive landslide victory for Joe Biden and the Democrats down ballot — in the Senate, the House and local state governments. They said Biden would triumph by as much as 10 or 11%, that he would win states like Florida (where he lost by 3.5%) and that states like Ohio (where lost by 8%) and Texas (where he lost by 6%) were toss ups.
The reality is that pollsters, much like the rest of the establishment media, don’t understand the shifting political sentiment in the country and they certainly don’t understand conservatives.
How else can they explain how Trump, whose approval rating, we’re told, is somewhere around 39%, just received 48% of the popular vote?
2. The establishment media is plainly dishonest, but increasingly irrelevant.
The legacy media spent the last four years building a malicious narrative about Trump. They never gave him a fair chance and cast his Presidency as illegitimate. They promoted ridiculous conspiracy theories, manufactured constant outrage and were relentless in accusations and name-calling.
These journalists didn’t just let the mask of objectivity slip — they ripped it off and doubled down on their blatant partisanship.
But here’s the thing. Americans didn’t listen. Despite all the hectoring, some 70 million voters still cast their ballot in favour of Trump. Yes, the media tipped the scales in favour of Biden — enough to make the unaccomplished and unremarkable 77-year-old President — but they’ve lost their grip on driving the narrative.
People tuned out, and this election proved that there is nothing “mainstream” about the establishment media.
3. Minorities showed up for Trump.
According to exit polls, Trump made major gains among every minority group in the country — Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Muslims, the LGBT community, etc. Again, despite the media incessantly telling us that Trump is a racist and closeted white supremacist, Americans from all walks of life came out to support him.
In fact, the only demographic that Trump lost votes from were white men.
4. Americans rejected the left, and the Republicans were triumphant.
Losing the presidency stings, but Republicans maintained control of the Senate, picked up seats in the House and made major gains in state legislatures across the country.
Holding control of the Senate provides much-needed balance in Washington and diminishes Biden’s ability to push through radical Bernie Sanders-inspired proposals like the Green New Deal, tax hikes and a government takeover of healthcare.
The Democrat’s strategy of embracing the woke left — who obsess over identity politics, advocate defunding the police, defend looting and rioting, and promote the idea that America is an evil, racist country — failed to win over Americans, including minority voters. That, in and of itself, is a major victory for the country.
Despite the town of Aylmer’s “state of emergency,” thousands of people gathered to participate in an anti-lockdown rally to protest Ontario’s lockdown measures on Saturday.
Meeting outside the East Elgin Community Complex, the Freedom March included a march down Talbot Street, a motorcade and speeches from local community members.
Protesters cited an encroachment on their rights and freedoms, and many protesters held signs that read “Facts over fear” and “No new normal.” The event ended at 4 p.m.
In the weeks leading up to the protest, the Mayor of Aylmer Mary French declared a state of emergency out of concern for the possibility of “unrest and disruption of local services.” By declaring the state of emergency, French was able to free police resources to focus on the protest.
Aylmer Police Chief Zvonko Horvat said protesters participating in the Freedom March were expected to adhere to the state of emergency declaration and to protest peacefully. The organizers of the Freedom March expressed full intention to exert their right to assemble regardless of pressure from the local police force and the town’s declaration.
While there was a significant police presence and a simultaneous counter protest, the demonstration was relatively peaceful. Despite concerns of unrest and fear of the disruption of services, Aylmer police reported no injuries or damage to property.
The town of Aylmer also issued a request to the provincial government for permission to require proof of mask exemptions in advance of the protest. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms called the request “ridiculous.”
The first Freedom March in Aylmer took place on October 27 and drew a crowd of 200 people.
After 4 years of various media outlets and activists calling Donald Trump and his supporters a bevy of insulting names, over 70 million Americans voted for Trump in the US election.
Trump received more votes than he did in 2016 and made gains among a number of groups, including blacks, Latinos and the LGBTQ community.
Anthony Furey says the media and the establishment can’t continue to demonize Trump voters. They need to be taken seriously.
Canadians are questioning the government’s intent to bring in over 1.23 million immigrants into Canada by 2023 in the midst of a global pandemic.
According to a recent poll by Bloomberg, only 17% of Canadians approved of accepting more immigrants.
36.3% of those polled believed Canada should lessen the number of immigrants, and 40.1% of respondents believed Canada should maintain the same immigration levels as previous years.
In October, the Trudeau government unveiled its updated immigration targets. According to the new plan, the Liberals hope to bring into Canada 401,000 permanent residents in 2021, 411,000 in 2022 and 421,000 in 2023. When added together, Canada can expect 1,233,000 new immigrants over the next three years.
“Put simply, we need more workers, and immigration is the way to get there,” said Mendicino during a press conference.
The Conservative’s critic for immigration Raquel Dancho questioned how these new targets could be met next year when Canada cannot handle its existing stream of immigration.
“There has been no indication or recognition of the challenges faced by the immigration system during the pandemic.” said Dancho.
As a result of the pandemic, Canada is likely to fall short of its prior target of 341,000 new residents for 2020. According to official statistics, from January to August, Canada’s intake was 128,430 new residents.
Dancho said she’s heard from Canadians who are currently unemployed and concerned about the government’s new immigration plan.
“Canadians have significant concerns with finding a job and finding a good place to live. Now the government is saying they are going to bring in almost half a million when there are a million people out of work right now. So, those questions of what the appropriate number is are legitimate.” said Dancho.
In June, a poll commissioned by True North found that an overwhelming 76% of Canadians strongly agreed with the idea of a temporary pause until a coronavirus vaccine is developed and unemployment drops to pre-coronavirus levels.
The poll results show a surprising consensus among political parties as well with 67% of Liberals wanting to impose a temporary pause, 66% of NDP voters and 89% of Conservatives.
A new report from the Korea Future Initiative has revealed the extent people of faith are persecuted in North Korea.
The report, “Persecuting Faith: Documenting religious freedom violations in North Korea,” documents 273 victims of North Korea’s dictatorship through interviews with those who escaped the reclusive regime.
The victims, ranging from 3 to 80, faced criminal charges for acts such as openly identifying with a religion and owning religious items.
“Following the path of the anti-religious Marxist–Leninist scientific atheism of the Soviet Civil Administration, the North Korean government appropriated atheism for its ideology to justify suppression of theistic beliefs and to provide citizens with an alternative, namely absolute obedience and deification of the Supreme Leader,” the report reads.
North Korea Christians allegedly faced long periods in jail before eventual mock-trials. While in prison, physical and sexual violence against Christians is common.
“Even though women were beaten less, I was hit in the face and my skin ruptured and I bled a lot. [Officers] told me to wipe the blood, so I cleaned it. I wept a lot when they hit me again. Blood and discharge ruptured during my next pre-trial examination. They hit me again because I wept,” one former female prisoner said.
Women and girls, who make up the majority of North Koreans persecuted, face particular hardship. In several cases, pregnant believers were forced to abort their pregnancies before being sent to hard labour.
North Korea is considered the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian according to Open Doors USA.
Entire Christian families have been reported to have been arrested by authorities, never to return to their homes.
At least 20 people identified by the Korea Future Initiative were executed. Several people charged with practicing Christian or Korean pagan beliefs were executed publicly.
