True North’s Anthony Furey makes the bold prediction that the coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions will be over by Christmas.
Do you agree?
More medical professionals are coming out publicly against lockdown measures and more Canadians are refusing to allow the government micromanage their lives. Eventually, politicians will have no choice but to listen.
Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford have both faced some tough opposition, but they each handle it differently.
Trudeau stonewalls and just ignores the opposition, while Ford constantly changes his mind. Which approach works better?
True North’s Sam Eskenasi looks at the different communication strategies used by both to see which is more effective.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says that the United Conservative Party’s (UCP) political staff will take a 7% pay cut as the private sector continues to struggle in the province.
“Last year, we kept our election commitment to cut MLA salaries by 5% and the premier’s salary by 10% to lead by example during tough fiscal times,” Kenney said on Thursday
“Today we’ve expanded back to include a 7% reduction for the political staff who work for me and ministers in our government.”
Alberta has been severely hit by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and record low oil prices.
The Conference Board of Canada has estimated that Alberta’s GDP will shrink by 11.3% in 2020, and 53% of Albertans reported being either unemployed or had their hours and wages reduced in September.
Last week, ATB Financial predicted that the Alberta economy will not fully recover until 2023.
Kenney told reporters Thursday that no one should be immune from Alberta’s economic difficulties.
“We are facing a great fiscal reckoning as a province. So we’re going to ask everybody to make sacrifices so that we can live within our means in the future.”
The decision was applauded by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), with their Alberta director
saying it shows that the Albertan government is willing to sacrifice like ordinary Albertans are.
“Many Albertans outside of government are struggling with pay cuts and job losses so cutting political staff salaries is a good step to show taxpayers that the government is willing to share some of the economic burden,” said Franco Terrazzano.
According to the CTF, the Alberta government’s labour costs grew by nearly 15% from 2014 to 2019, or $3.5 billion. Terrazzano says that Kenney will have to address public sector wages to balance the budget.
“Kenney needs to take more air out of the government’s ballooning labour costs if he has any hope in balancing the budget and paying down the debt. Today’s decision helps give Kenney the moral authority to ask government employees to take a pay cut.”
For four days, Liberal MPs on the Finance Committee took part in a filibuster of an opposition motion to get documents related to the WE Charity scandal unredacted.
It’s truly astonishing the lengths the Liberals will go to to try to cover up this scandal.
True North’s Leo Knight asks what are the Liberals trying to hide?
Earlier this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on troops to prepare for war.
Coincidentally, the Canadian government has commenced a national security review of Shandong Gold’s purchase of the TMAC Resources Hope Bay mine in northern Nunavut. Is China interested in purchasing this mine for military purposes? It could be a real possibility.
True North’s Anthony Furey says it’s time for Canadian politicians to take the threat of Communist China seriously.
At every stage in life, government finds a way to tax you, often in a complicated and convoluted way, which is why Canadians spend $7 billion each year just to file their personal income taxes. Accountant Neal Winokur wants to reform the tax system to such an extent that his job isn’t necessary. He joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to chat about his book The Grumpy Accountant, a playful and insightful read exposing the absurdities and contradictions of Canada’s tax system.
Neal’s book can be purchased here
Watch the full episode of the show here.
Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole has called on the Chinese ambassador to Canada to apologize for threatening the 300,000 Canadians currently residing in Hong Kong.
“The Chinese Ambassador has decided to engage in belligerent rhetoric unbecoming of his office. To be clear, this was a threat to the 300,000 Canadians in Hong Kong. And a barely veiled one at that,” wrote O’Toole in an official statement on the matter.
“Conservatives are therefore calling on the Ambassador to fully retract his remarks and issue a public apology. Should the Ambassador fail to do so expeditiously, we expect the government to withdraw his credentials.”
Chinese Ambassador Cong Peiwu made the threat on Thursday in relation to Canada’s decision to grant Hong Kong pro-democracy activists asylum.
“We strongly urge the Canadian side not (to) grant so-called political asylum to those violent criminals in Hong Kong because it is the interference in China’s domestic affairs. And certainly, it will embolden those violent criminals,” Cong said.
“So, if the Canadian side really cares about the stability and the prosperity in Hong Kong, and really cares about the good health and safety of those 300,000 Canadian passport-holders in Hong Kong, and the large number of Canadian companies operating in Hong Kong SAR, you should support those efforts to fight violent crimes.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned China’s coercive diplomatic style on Friday and promised to stand up for Canadians at home and abroad.
In his statement, O’Toole also called on the Trudeau government to expedite asylum for Hong Kongers seeking to flee the country and to place Magnitsky-style sanctions on Chinese officials involved in cracking down on the democratic rights of Hong Kong citizens.
Liberal by-election candidate and former CTV personality Marci Ien previously tweeted about a 9/11 conspiracy documentary and pondered “about what really happened on September 11, 2001.”
The 2011 tweet had relatively little interaction until it was retweeted Friday by Conservative deputy leader Candice Bergen.
Neither Ien nor the Liberal Party of Canada immediately responded to a request for comment.
Ien has since addressed the tweet in a reply to another Twitter user.
“…that tweet was posted 9 years ago after seeing parts of the video on YouTube. I’m sorry that it leaves anyone with that impression, as I’ve always been so saddened by the tragic losses caused by Al Qaeda’s attacks on 9/11, which I’ve covered a lot over the years,” wrote Ien.
“I’ve spoken often with the families of 9/11 victims and shared their stories as a broadcaster — and I’ll also do everything I can as an MP to to help keep Canadians safe from all such tragedies.”
The 2009 film, “Loose Change 9-11: An American Coup” which lists controversial conspiracy theorist Alex Jones as an executive producer in one version, peddles the false claim that the tragic attacks perpetrated by al-Qaeda terrorists were, in fact, a false flag operation.
“An exploration of the viewpoint that the September 11, 2001 attacks were planned by the United States government,” reads an IMDb description of the film.
As a result of the attacks masterminded by Osama bin Laden, 2,977 Americans lost their lives and over 25,000 were injured.
Ien was handpicked as the Liberal candidate to replace former finance minister Bill Morneau in the riding of Toronto Centre after he resigned from his position following his involvement in the WE Charity scandal.
The Liberals acclaimed Ien as the candidate on the very same day she announced her intention to run for the party’s nomination.
“I’ve always strived to provide a voice to people who need it most — and now more than ever, we need all Canadians’ voices and aspirations to be reflected in the hard work of building a better future,” Ien tweeted at the time.
“That’s why I’m running to be your Liberal candidate in Toronto Centre.”
Twitter’s and Facebook’s decision to block sharing of a New York Post story about Hunter Biden is an egregious act of censorship, but anyone surprised by it hasn’t been paying attention. Even so, the solution to this form of intervention in online speech needs to come about in culture, not through regulation, True North’s Andrew Lawton says.
Also, accountant Neal Winokur joins the show to discuss his new book The Grumpy Accountant, a call for a simpler approach to filing and paying taxes in Canada.
The Canadian government has commenced a national security review of Shandong Gold’s purchase of the TMAC Resources Hope Bay mine in northern Nunavut.
TMAC first announced the review on Thursday and claimed that the purchase of the mine by China would have a “strong overall net benefit to Canada and does not pose a security risk.”
“Given the extended timelines under the Investment Canada Act, the Company expects closing of the Transaction to occur in the first quarter of 2021,” said a TMAC press release.
“TMAC and Shandong remain committed to working with the Investment Review Division to obtain approval of the Transaction.”
National security and intelligence experts have warned that purchases of Canadian resources by foreign powers could put the country at risk.
Shortly after the purchase was announced, former Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director Richard Fadden raised the alarm over its security implications.
Fadden called on Canada and the US to protect Canadian gold by including it in the mutual critical-mineral strategy list, which “[secures] supply chains for the critical minerals needed for important manufacturing sectors, including communication technology, aerospace and defence and clean technology.”
CSIS’ 2019 annual report also warned against “a number of state-owned enterprises and private firms” with close ties to foreign governments making investments in the country.
Yellowknife MLA Rylund Johnson has also spoken out against the deal, comparing it to colonization.
“There are so many risks that come with allowing the Chinese government to increase influence in the Arctic, including the fact they are one of our main competitors in mining,” said Johnson.
Johnson’s comments were echoed by Inuk, Nunavut MLA Cathy Towtongie, who called the purchase “very troubling.”
“There are two Canadians jailed in (China) over an issue of retaliation (for) Canada arresting an executive. Yet here in Nunavut, a mine is being sold,” said Towtongie.
“We ought to be more vigilant than just selling out.”
