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Friday, June 27, 2025

BC father facing contempt of court charges for speaking out against child’s gender transition

By
True North Wire
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A BC father known only as C.D. in court documents has been trying to prevent court-ordered testosterone injections for his female-to-male transgendered child A.B. since A.B. was 14 years old. 

Lawyers representing A.B., as well as the father’s ex-wife and the medical professionals involved in A.B.’s transition, are arguing that C.D. broke a court-ordered publication ban by speaking to various independent media outlets about the case earlier this year.

C.D. is now facing three counts of criminal contempt of court and will appear for a hearing in Vancouver on Wednesday, September 2. If he is found guilty, C.D. could potentially land in jail.

“In practice, there seems to be a theoretical acknowledgement that five years [in prison] is super heavy.  As I can find no example of a parent in a family matter being found in criminal contempt of court I don’t have any past examples to compare,” C.D.’s lawyer Carey Linde told True North. 

“The court’s options are no penalty, a suspended sentence, a fine, prison or a fine and prison.”

A press release issued by Linde states, “The father will tell the court he knowingly breached the orders in full knowledge and expectation of punishment including imprisonment. He believes parents of young girls need to be warned of the known risks to the physical and emotional harm from the school’s SOGI programs, doctors at the gender clinic at Children’s Hospital Vancouver and social justice activists.”

SOGI 123 is a school program in BC and Alberta created to educate students on issues of gender identity and sexual orientation. 

The publication ban on the case prevents C.D. from speaking on the issue of his own child’s “sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical health, medical status or therapies.” 

C.D. is also bound by a court order to refer to his child using a male name and male pronouns both publicly and in private, or potentially face a charge of committing “family violence.” 

In March, the BC Supreme Court forwarded the case to BC’s Attorney General David Eby to consider whether C.D. would be charged with contempt of court after discussing the gender transition predicament in an interview with anti-SOGI activist Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson. 

According to Communications Counsel for the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) Dan McLaughlin, the BCPS filed a notice to proceed with criminal contempt charges against C.D. on July 30, 2020. 

“The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS), on Behalf [sic] of the Attorney General, undertook a detailed review of the matter and concluded that the charge assessment standard for criminal contempt proceedings were met in this case consistent with BCPS policy,” McLaughlin told True North. 

“There is no legislated maximum sentence or penalty for a finding of criminal contempt. The BCPS will have no further comment while the matter is before the court.”

Trudeau says “extreme right” groups using Macdonald statue vandalism to sow division

By
True North Wire
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has blamed unspecified “extreme right” groups for using the toppling of Montreal’s John A. Macdonald statue for political gain. 

“We’ve seen, following that, people on either side of the spectrum trying to use these elements as a way of furthering debates,” Trudeau said in French. “I think that we’re seeing, particularly on the extreme right, that they’re trying to start culture wars and divide Canadians on issues such as that.”  

Trudeau did not identify a specific group or elaborate on how “extreme right” groups were attempting to sow division.

On Saturday, left-wing radical protesters tore down the historic statue of Canada’s first prime minister from its pedestal and decapitated it as police watched on. 

Leaflets handed out at the protest allege that Canada’s first prime minister was a “white supremacist.” In the pamphlet, protesters identify themselves as an unnamed “diverse coalition of young activists.”

Photos of the incident also show that the statue was spray-painted with anarchist symbolism. 

“A mob has torn down and defaced the statue of Sir John A Macdonald in Montreal. This vandalism of our history and heroes must stop,” said Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in response to the incident. 

 “Many of those on the extreme left responsible for this kind of violence claim that Canada is an illegitimate state, all the while enjoying Canada’s rights, freedoms, privileges and prosperity. None of those things were created by accident.”

The protests coincide with recent calls to defund the police over alleged systemic racism and other similar rallies across Canada and the US. 

While talking to the media on Monday, Trudeau said he was “disappointed” by the vandalism.

“We are a country of laws, and we are a country that needs to respect those laws even as we seek to improve and change them,” Trudeau said.

“Those kinds of acts of vandalism are not advancing the path towards greater justice and equality in this country.”

Maxime Bernier on Conservative leadership and future of PPC

By
Andrew Lawton
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People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier joined The Andrew Lawton Show to respond to Erin O’Toole’s election as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and talk about the future of the PPC nearly two years after Bernier left the Conservative caucus.

Watch the full episode of The Andrew Lawton Show here.

CRA employees to get 10% raise while Canada sees record unemployment

By
True North Wire
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As a large swathe of Canadians remains out of work due to the ongoing pandemic, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) negotiated pay raises for many federal employees in July. 

According to the Canada Revenue Agency, the PSAC division responsible for unionized CRA workers reached a retroactive salary increase package for 29,000 employees. 

CRA employees have been working without a contract since 2016. The tentative agreement will give them an average annual raise of 2.2 per cent retroactively.

The raise will add up to about 10% by next year.

The agreement is “subject to a ratification process by the PSAC-UTE membership,” CRA media relations officer Paul N. Murphy told True North.

Included in additional perks secured for CRA employees are an increase for maternity leave qualification from 24 weeks to 78 weeks, an increase in overtime meal allowance to $12 and a lump sum payment of $400 to employees in the union’s bargaining unit.

Meanwhile, Canadians suffered from a 10.9% unemployment rate as of July, following a record high of 13.7% in May. In comparison, this year’s unemployment rate was nearly double July 2019’s 5.7% unemployment rate.

By July, millions of Canadians were relying on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) just to get by. According to official figures, over one in five Canadians were on CERB at the time. 

In July, PSAC also negotiated a $2,500 lump-sum payment for 140,000 federal employees due to the government’s bungling of the Phoenix pay system. 

Federal employees affected by the system would receive the payment as compensation for the system and PSAC is seeking to have the CRA rule that the payment be tax-free.

“We feel confident that it’s not taxable because of the wording in the agreement,” said PSAC national president Chris Aylward in July. 

CRA admits databases infiltrated by criminals

By
True North Wire
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The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is aware of multiple instances when secure databases were infiltrated by criminals, potentially threatening public safety.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, manager of investigations at the internal affairs division Michel Lafleur recently revealed that the agency “has seen several serious risk situations materialize through employees’ associations with criminals.”

Lafleur and a recent CRA report detailed several instances where CRA employees involved in organized crime leaked sensitive information.

The report says that in one case, “a CRA employee became romantically involved with a biker gang member and used her access to give the gang personal information about their debtors and their lawyers.” 

In another instance, an “employee involved with a biker gang used his access to provide gang members with personal information about members of the police force, for example child care locations.”

The disclosures were made after a CRA employee was recently fired after being convicted of multiple charges including impaired driving.

In 2018, CRA employee Christopher Casola pleaded guilty to breach of trust. Casola was accused of giving “unauthorized access to accounts belonging to two police officers, three individuals involved with the Hells Angels and the spouse of one of them.”

Data security has become a serious concern at multiple government agencies in recent years, with many breaches putting the public’s sensitive data at risk.

An August report slammed Public Safety Canada for multiple security issues. The primary issue was that the department does not keep track of external storage devices like USB flash drives.

Public Safety Canada oversees federal law enforcements efforts, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canada Border Services Agency.

A report released in February stated that there have been 7,992 data breaches in federal agencies since 2018, with at least 144,000 Canadians affected.

CBC ad revenue down 20% in first three months of 2020

By
True North Wire
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CBC-TV advertising revenue was significantly down in the first quarter of 2020, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

CBC’s First Quarter Financial Report revealed that television ad revenues fell from $48.2 million in 2019 to $38.5 million, a decline of approximately 20%. French-language ad revenues were down 22%.

CBC management claimed that the decline in revenue was “driven by lower demand during the COVID-19 outbreak.”

“It is anticipated the effects of COVID-19 will persist into 2021-2022 including continuing economic pressures and programming disruptions,” management wrote.

Only a small portion of CBC’s revenue comes from advertisements, with the majority coming from the $1.2 billion grant given to the crown corporation annually by the federal government.

CBC suspended its local evening newscasts from March 18 to June 15, claiming that the network was “pooling its resources” in the wake of the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, only 0.8% of Canadians watched CBC evening newscasts.

CBC also attributed the decline to cancellation of major sporting events such as the NHL playoff and the Winter Olympics.

CBC ad revenue has significantly declined in recent years, falling by 37% in 2019. In total, ad revenue fell by an astonishing 53% from 2014 to 2019.

In 2014, CBC Radio ended advertising altogether after years of abysmal revenues.

Regardless of the decline, CBC management say that they will attempt to alter their operations in the future to try and bring in more viewers.

“As Canada’s national public broadcaster we occupy an important place in the Canadian broadcasting system and face a unique set of risks to our plans and operations,” management wrote.

“Like all broadcasters, we must adapt to technological changes, shifts in demographics and consumer demands, as well as structural changes in the industry. Given our statutory mandate to serve all Canadians, we also face unique public expectations and financial challenges.”

Vancouver art display remembers victims of drug crisis

By
True North Wire
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A Vancouver art display shined a light on the victims of drug overdose to mark International Overdose Awareness Day on Monday.

“Lost Soles: Gone Too Soon,” organized by the advocacy group Moms Stop the Harm, saw hundreds of shoes tied to the Burrard Bridge, each with a note representing the victims of drug overdose.

“(It’s) a visual display of all these people who will never be walking across the Burrard Street Bridge again — it might help inform people of just how many people (we) are losing,” said Deb Bailey, Moms Stop the Harm organizer told CTV.

Opioid overdoses are on the rise in Canada, with around 15,000 apparent opioid related deaths since 2016. Much of this rise is fuelled by fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid.

Cases of apparent drug overdoses have skyrocketed since the coronavirus pandemic began earlier his year, attributed to increased isolation and limited social services.

British Columbia has since seen overdose deaths increased 130%, with paramedics responding to an average of 87 cases a day.

Last week, B.C. reported that more people have died from drug overdoses in July than from coronavirus, homicide, car accidents and suicide combined. There were 175 overdose-related deaths in B.C. in July.

B.C. is proportionally the worst hit by the opioid epidemic, particularly with the increased presence of fentanyl and the coronavirus pandemic.

“This health emergency continues to take a tragic toll on people from all walks of life and in all communities of the province,” said B.C.’s Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe.

Hundreds flood before Parliament Hill for pro-freedom protest

By
True North Wire
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Hundreds of people attended an anti-lockdown rally in front of Parliament Hill over the weekend. 

One of the groups behind the event The Line Canada said the rally was a pro-freedom demonstration. 

“We are not anti-mask at all, we are pro-liberty. If you want to wear a mask or a tutu, we have nothing to say about that. That is your right. You do not have a right to put one on my face or the face of my children. It’s as simple as that,” said executive director Kelly Anne Wolfe. 

Many of those attending were not wearing masks and carried signage in opposition to ongoing coronavirus measures. 

Videos of the event show a very large crowd gathered in the nation’s capital on Saturday. 

The protest comes after several other similar rallies took place throughout the world. 

In Germany, approximately 40,000 people took to the streets to protest their government’s coronavirus restrictions. 

Both Paris and London had similar large-scale protests calling on the government to end the restrictions. 

In Canada, mask policies vary provincially. Both Ontario and Quebec require mask use in all indoor public spaces.

Politicians react to toppling of Sir John A Macdonald statue in Montreal

By
True North Wire
-

Over the weekend, radical protesters toppled and decapitated a statue of Canada’s first prime minister Sir John A Macdonald in Montreal. 

As news of the incident broke out, Canadians responded to the vandalism with outrage.

Since the statue was taken down, several senior politicians have spoken out against the protesters’ actions. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Trudeau waited until a Monday morning press conference to address the statue’s vandalism. The prime minister told reporters that he was “deeply disappointed” with the actions of those involved. 

“We are a country of laws, and we are a country that needs to respect those laws even as we seek to improve and change them,” Trudeau said.

“Those kinds of acts of vandalism are not advancing the path towards greater justice and equality in this country.”

Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole 

On the very day the statue was taken down, the newly elected Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Erin O’Toole spoke out against the incident. 

“Canada wouldn’t exist without Sir John A. Macdonald. Canada is a great county [sic], and one we should be proud of. We will not build a better future by defacing our past. It’s time politicians grow a backbone and stand up for our country.”

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney also joined his fellow Canadians in condemning the radical actions of the protesters on Saturday. Kenney also offered to replace and house the statue in Alberta. 

“A mob has torn down and defaced the statue of Sir John A Macdonald in Montreal. This vandalism of our history and heroes must stop,” said Kenney. 

 “Many of those on the extreme left responsible for this kind of violence claim that Canada is an illegitimate state, all the while enjoying Canada’s rights, freedoms, privileges and prosperity. None of those things were created by accident.”

Quebec Premier François Legault

On the day the statue was toppled, Premier François Legault also chimed in to condemn the vandalism, saying that he intends on the statue being restored.

“Destroying parts of our history is not the solution, whatever one might think of John A. MacDonald, destroying a monument in this way is unacceptable. We must fight racism, but destroying parts of our history is not the solution. Vandalism has no place in our democracy and the statue must be restored,” said Legault. 

Montréal Mayor Valérie Plante 

Montréal Mayor Valérie Plante released a statement on Saturday saying that the statue’s vandalism was unacceptable.

“I strongly condemn the acts of vandalism that took place this afternoon in downtown Montréal, which led to the John A. Macdonald statue being torn down. Such gestures cannot be accepted nor tolerated.”

“Some historical monuments, here as elsewhere, are at the heart of current emotional debates. I reiterate that it’s better to put them in context rather than remove them. I am also in favour of adding monuments that are more representative of the society to which we aspire.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also addressed the incident on Twitter. Unlike other politicians who condemned the act of vandalism, Singh condemned Canada’s first prime minister instead.

“Sir John A. Macdonald was the first PM of Canada but he was also a key figure in the attempt to brutally wipe out Indigenous peoples. Taking down a statue of him doesn’t erase him from history any more than honouring him out of context erases the horrors he caused.”

Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault

Liberal Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault minced his words in a Twitter response to the incident, highlighting how public places should be “inclusive,” instead of condemning the protester’s actions directly. 

“Our government has always stood with those who do not have a safe space to express themselves. While the current debate is important, we believe that dialogue is a better engine for progress than isolated acts of vandalism such as we are witnessing today.” 

“Our government will continue to advocate for public places that are inclusive, safe and free from all forms of violence or harassment.”

Decapitating John A. Macdonald

By
Andrew Lawton
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An angry mob has taken down a 125-year old statue of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, in Montreal. This thuggish vandalism shows not only a disrespect for Macdonald’s role in Canada’s founding, but also an ignorance of history itself. As lawmakers and Canadians condemn the act, True North’s Andrew Lawton says it’s important for people to understand why Macdonald was not, as the mob says, a “problematic” figure in history, but rather a hero to be celebrated.

Also, People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier joins the show to discuss Erin O’Toole’s Conservative leadership win, and the future of the PPC.

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