A Fraser Institute report on taxes says the average Canadian family is spending 42.6 per cent of its annual income on taxes, compared to 36.2 per cent on basic necessities. This works out, for the average family, to be $38,963 each year in taxes when taking into account federal, provincial and municipal taxes – including hidden taxes. The report’s author, Fraser Institute economist Jake Fuss, joined the Andrew Lawton Show to break down the numbers.
Watch the full episode of the show here.
A newspaper that led the campaign for a media bailout is now reporting that 38% of their revenue comes from the government, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
In their Second Quarter Financial Statements, FP Newspapers Inc. of Manitoba reported $11.9 million in revenue. Of the $11.9 million, $4.5 million came from the federal government.
“While we believe swift actions taken to reduce and defer costs together with meaningful direct support by the federal government has resulted in us being in a relatively stable financial position currently, this could deteriorate quickly if the overall economy does not improve,” the company wrote.
Winnipeg Free Press publisher Bob Cox, a senior member of FP Newspapers Inc., led the lobbying effort on behalf of the newspaper industry to get a bailout from the Trudeau government.
In 2019, the Trudeau government awarded the media industry a $595 million bailout, available to outlets that meet the government’s definition of a “Qualified Canadian Journalism Organizations.”
FP Newspapers Inc. expects to earn $425,000 from the media bailout this quarter, along with funding from the Journalism Tax Credit, Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and a grant from Heritage Canada.
In 2019, Cox told MPs that lobbying for a media bailout was not done out of self-interest.
“These measures have been called a bailout by some. I would suggest this crowd knows very little about the business of operating a newspaper,” he told the House of Commons Finance committee.
“There has also been the suggestion newspapers will be beholden to the federal government, not independent, and more likely to give favourable coverage. Well, I have not noticed this happening.”
In August, it was revealed that media executives sitting on the government’s Local Journalism Initiative judging panel approved their own organizations for grants to hire new employees. The $50 million Local Journalism Initiative was created by Heritage Canada in 2019, with control given to organizations within the press industry.
Cox sat on the panel and the Winnipeg Free Press was awarded grants to hire two new reporters, including a “climate change correspondent.”
While government funding for mainstream outlets have increased significantly, many outlets continue to struggle.
In April, the Canadian Press pressed the government for a bailout, reporting that pandemic relief programs were not enough for the outlet. In 2019, the Canadian Press received $1.5 million from the federal government.
In March, mainstream media outlets received $30 million as part of a coronavirus awareness program.
On Friday, the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) will be sponsoring a photo exhibition to raise awareness of the November 2019 murder of 1,500 protesters and political dissidents worldwide at the hands of the Iranian regime.
“Since coming to power in 1979, the religious dictatorship in Iran has killed 120,000 dissidents and activists of the Iranian Resistance. The United Nations has passed dozens of resolutions deploring the state of human rights in Iran,” reads a media advisory on the exhibit.
“U.S. Congress has described the 1988 killing of political prisoners as a ‘massacre’ and Amnesty International described the 1988 massacre of political prisoners as a clear case of ‘ongoing crimes against humanity.’”
The exhibit will take place at Union Square at Capitol Hill, Washington DC. For those who can’t attend the event in-person, it will also be broadcast live on Twitter.
In 2019, the Iranian regime engaged in a brutal crackdown against pro-freedom activists. At the height of the protests, Iranian forces opened fire on unarmed citizens. According to accounts from witnesses, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps encircled and fired upon up to 100 demonstrators in the city of Mashsahr alone.
A recently released 2020 Amnesty International report on human rights abuses in Iran describes the inhumane treatment and torture methods Iranian dissidents are subjected to for exercising their rights.
“The most frequently reported methods of physical torture used against those arrested in connection with the November 2019 protests included beatings, floggings, suspension, forcing detainees into stress positions for prolonged periods, often while blindfolded or having their head covered in a bag or sack, the use of solitary confinement for 24 hours a day for periods reaching months, and the denial of sufficient food, potable water and medical treatment including medication,” writes Amnesty International.
Accounts of detainment also describe how protesters are sexually abused and humiliated by Iranian regime officials and denied any recourse to legal representation or fair trials.
A similar exhibit was held by OIAC in 2019 to commemorate the 1988 Iranian massacres.
“The massacre of 1988 needs to be investigated, justice needs to be brought in some way, and justice brought in some way by the United Nations and the United States, in terms of bringing it to light and condemning actions of Iran and crimes against humanity,” said US Representative Steve Cohen.
Justin Trudeau has no plans to seek the dismissal of Governor General Julie Payette in the wake of a harassment probe into her conduct towards staff.
In an interview Wednesday on Vancouver’s RED FM, Trudeau said Payette is an “excellent” governor general, even amid numerous reports alleging bullying of staff, a disrespect of her security detail and excessive spending.
“We have an excellent governor general right now and I think, on top of the COVID crisis, nobody’s looking at any constitutional crises,” Trudeau said in the interview.
“We have put in place a process to review some of the working conditions at Rideau Hall, but that’s not something that we’re contemplating right now, going further than that.”
Trudeau is currently travelling through BC where he intends on meeting with Premier John Horgan and others.
Payette is currently in the midst of an external investigation into claims she harassed staff in her office and created toxic working conditions.
According to CBC News, over 20 individuals have come forward with information about Payette’s and other’s conduct in her office.
Among the bully-like behaviour, Payette has been accused of forcing her staff to answer pop quizzes about what planets there are in our solar system and what the distance between the sun and moon is.
Some have also claimed that Payette engaged in “tantrums” or “bursts of emotion” towards those employed at Rideau Hall.
Trudeau’s comments are the first to defend Payette publicly since the story originally broke in July.
New Conservative Party of Canada leader Erin O’Toole declined to comment on whether he’d seek Payette’s dismissal at a press conference Wednesday morning.
“I think there’s a nice separation,” O’Toole told reporters, referring to the governor general’s traditionally non-political role. “She did give me a very nice phone call to congratulate me on my parliamentary role. That’s all I’ll say about that issue.”
Statues keep coming down and businesses keep getting torched. Despite condemnation of vandalism from politicians, the mob is uninterested in discussion or a free exchange of ideas, making it paramount that people never give into it, True North’s Andrew Lawton says. Plus, Toronto’s bureaucratic ban on secondary suites is leaving a senior unable to live with his son, and an Australian man has made six figures crashing funerals on behalf of his (deceased) clients.
Also, Fraser Institute economist Jake Fuss joins the show to explain just how much Canadians are spending on taxes (hint: it’s too much).
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam told Canadians to wearing masks while having sex to stop the spread of the coronavirus, though reiterated that going solo is still the safest way to partake in sexuality.
According to a statement first reported by Reuters, Tam said while coronavirus is likely not transmitted through semen or vaginal fluid, couples are at risk of swapping the virus by close face-to-face contact.
Tam said anyone having sex should avoid kissing and wear a mask that covers their mouth and nose.
“Like other activities during COVID-19 that involve physical closeness, there are some things you can do to minimize the risk of getting infected and spreading the virus,” said Tam. “Canadians can find ways to enjoy physical intimacy while safeguarding the progress we have all made containing COVID-19.”
Tam also went on to say that the best way to prevent viral transmission is to skip having a partner at all and to go solo.
“The lowest risk sexual activity during COVID-19 involves yourself alone,” said Tam.
Currently, Canada has had approximately 129,425 coronavirus cases to date resulting in 9,132 deaths.
Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole called for tougher actions by Canada to address the mass-detainment of Uyghurs by the Chinese Communist Party.
O’Toole addressed the issue during a press conference Wednesday afternoon where he announced the makeup of his House of Commons leadership team.
“The situation with the Uyghurs is horrific and the world should no longer be silent just to grow exports,” said O’Toole.
“I think it’s time for some Canadian leadership and we’re never going to get that from Mr. Trudeau.”
In conversation with True North, fellow Conservative MP Garnett Genuis blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for proroguing parliament which effectively put an end to the investigation being conducted by the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations.
“It’s really frustrating that now that committee cannot meet because of the prorogation. That’s just one area where, in terms of shutting down the work of parliamentary committees, the prorogation also killed the Canada-China committee which cuts short the important work being done,” Genuis told True North.
“We need to pass tough new legislation to ensure that we are not importing or buying products that have slave labour in them and also that Canadian entities are not invested in security companies that are facilitating this genocide.”
According to a 2019 report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), an estimated 1.5 million Uyghurs are facing forcible confinement at the hands of Chinese officials in re-education camps.
In May, Uyghur rights advocates called on the Trudeau government to stop a deal with Chinese tech giant Huawei to develop Canada’s 5G network citing the company’s involvement in facilitating surveillance and detention of Uyghurs.
“Given the evidence that Huawei plays an integral part of the massive surveillance state in East Turkistan and the constant harassment the Uyghurs in Canada witness, this leaves us with legitimate concerns about Huawei’s 5G technology being used to target even more the Uyghurs in Canada,” Program & Advocacy Manager of the World Uyghur Congress Zumretay Arking told True North.
Between March and June, police forces in Canada laid 11,602 charges related to violations of coronavirus restrictions, according to Statistics Canada.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, police—along with by-law and public health officers—along with bylaw and public health officers have been responsible for enforcing legislation related to containing the pandemic,” Police-Reported Crime Incidents March To June 2020 explains.
“They have included municipal bylaws, provincial and territorial emergency Health Acts and the federal Quarantine Act.”
Of the 11,602 charges, 9,509 were reported by RCMP and 2,093 were reported by local police departments.
The report does not include statistics from Sûreté du Quebec, the provincial police of Quebec, meaning the true number of charges laid is likely higher.
While restrictions such as those spelled out in the Quarantine Act have been instrumental in halting the spread of coronavirus, many Canadians have found themselves facing hefty fines for relatively minor violations.
In April, an Ottawa teenager was fined $700 for playing basketball alone in a parking lot.
That same month, three men were fined for eating together outside in a Calgary park. The men claim that they were following social and physical distancing rules the entire time.
In May, a woman was handcuffed after she took her daughter to North Bay, Ont. park. She was fined $880.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Canadian Police Association President Tom Stamatakis says the force feels sympathy for the public.
In April, Stamatakis told the House of Commons health committee that there is a “general lack of consistency” around coronavirus restrictions. Stamatakis added that messaging from the different levels of government has also been inconsistent.
“The last thing we need in circumstances like this is more conflict between the public and police,” he said.
“I can certainly understand the frustration and even anger expressed by members of the public who have found themselves potentially facing significant fines for infractions that at times may seem unclear.”
Unionized Ontario secondary school teachers make an average $103,926 annually when taking into account wages, benefits and pensions.
According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), that translates to around $536 for every school day.
The total compensation was obtained by the CTF through an access to information request filed with the Ministry of Education.
“Teacher compensation is skyrocketing in Ontario while student performance continues to decline,” CTF Ontario Director Jasmine Moulton told the Toronto Sun.
“The number of Ontario teachers earning a six-figure salary could now fill the town of Picton three times, Hanover twice and nearly the entire town of Bracebridge.”
In 2019, the CTF found that nearly 15,000 teachers were on Ontario’s Sunshine List, which tracks public service workers who make over $100,000 a year.
Teachers in Ontario have been fighting the Ford government’s plans to send students back to school.
Four teachers’ unions have filed applications with the province’s labour board alleging that the government is violating workplace safety laws in their back to school plan.
“No worker in the province of Ontario should be expected to sacrifice their health and safety, especially when there are such obvious measures the government could be taking to reduce the risk and prevent potential tragedies,” said Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation president Harvey Bischof.
Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay was accused of promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories because she tweeted a video of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and billionaire George Soros. Soros, who is Jewish, is known to spend his money on leftist political causes.
Findlay immediately apologized and deleted her tweet, but was this really necessary? Was this an act of anti-Semitism?
True North’s Sam Eskenasi says no – this incident had nothing to do with George Soros being Jewish.
