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Thursday, June 26, 2025

Dr. Theresa Tam open to opioid decriminalization as overdose deaths spike

By
True North Wire
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Canada’s top medical professional says she is willing to discuss opioid decriminalization after a recent spike in opioid overdose-related deaths.

At a press conference on Friday, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Canadians need to consider options to address the growing opioid epidemic.

“Canadians should be seized with this particular crisis, which can actually happen to anyone and could also have increased risks right now for people who may be isolating at home,” she said.

2020 has been a record year for opioid overdoses and deaths in much of Canada. Since the beginning of the pandemic, opioid deaths have increased 85% in Toronto.

British Columbia has reported a 130% increase in deaths, with paramedics responding to 87 overdoses per day on average.

Decriminalization is not the only option, according to Dr. Tam, adding that she would like to see users having safer access to drugs.

The Trudeau government has made an effort to increase the use of injection sites in Canada. Last week, the government spent $600,000 to secure a “safe supply” of opiates to Toronto addicts.

In recent years the number of overdoses occuring in injection sites have skyrocketed, with 15,000 medical emergencies being reported at site between 2017 and 2019.

A March report by Alberta Health found that the presence of injection sites actually lead to an increase in overdoses and crime in the community the sites reside.

“Except for Edmonton, stakeholder feedback predominantly suggested that [injection sites] have had a negative social and economic impact on the community,” the report reads.

“In Edmonton, however, there were reports that stakeholders felt intimidated and were prevented from expressing their true sentiments and opinions about these sites out of fear of retribution from site supporters.”

Alberta GDP to shrink by record 11.3% in 2020: report

By
True North Wire
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The Conference Board of Canada is predicting that the Alberta economy will be worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

In their report, Uneven Recovery: Provincial Outlook — August 2020, the Conference Board estimates that Alberta’s GDP will fall by 11.3%, beating an original estimate of just under 7%.

Alberta’s decline is much higher than other provinces, with Ontario and Quebec falling by 7.6% and 7.2%, respectively.

According to the Board, Alberta’s economy is suffering more than other provinces because of “double whammy” of low oil prices and lockdowns.

“The outlook for oil prices over the next two years is quite pessimistic because of the impact on transportation which is a big user of oil,” Conference Board of Canada chief economist Pedro Antunes said.

“That affects profits and royalties the government will have to forgo, but the biggest impact … is the capital investment. Firms have cut down to the bare bones.”

In April, the price of Western Canada Select went negative as global prices hit an 18-year low. Oil prices have since improved but are still well below previous years.

The Conference Board estimates that the economic fallout of coronavirus lockdowns will be much higher than previously thought in most provinces.

By the end of 2020, the Conference Board estimates that Canada’s GDP will have contracted by 8.2%.

Barring a resurgence in coronavirus cases, the Board expects that the Canadian economy will largely rebound in 2021.

In an interview with Postmedia, Antunes said that Alberta’s recent investments in its energy sector such as the Keystone XL will strengthen the province’s economy in the future, adding that Canada depends on the energy sector.

“We often hear about how Alberta should diversify. I think Albertans need to realize that it’s hard to diversify when you have such a big contributor to your economy that essentially drives the incomes in Alberta and revenues in Alberta much higher than the rest of the country,” he said.

“But the sector goes through peaks and troughs, it is volatile and does have major swings on the economy.”

ESKENASI: Is it time to defund the CBC?

By
Sam Eskenasi
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Newly elected Leader of the Conservatives Erin O’Toole has pledged to defund the CBC in his first term. Will he actually do it?

The CBC receives $1.2 billion from the federal government annually – is this a good investment for taxpayers?

True North’s Sam Eskenasi looks at the CBC’s mandate and whether or not they’re living up to their legal obligations.

Here at True North, we believe O’Toole should fulfill his pledge to defund the CBC. Sign our petition if you agree!

Victoria police ticket 20-year old man $2,300 for hosting a party

By
True North Wire
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Source: Victoria Police

A 20-year-old BC man was fined $2,300 by Victoria police for hosting a party at his residence in alleged violation of coronavirus restrictions. 

The youth spoke out against the police’s decision to fine him for the get-together, claiming that he had followed some protocols to ensure everyone’s safety. 

“I had a party man. It wasn’t even a party, it was like a hangout. I gave everybody hand sanitizer, I took everyone’s name down, I showed the cops that and they did not care, they said ‘whatever, you are getting the ticket,’” said the host Nate Christian.

Victoria police claimed they checked in on a party on Fort Street on Friday on several occasions to warn the host of coronavirus safety protocols. 

At one point, officers claim they entered the suite where around 30 people were not practising social distancing.  

“Many of the party attendees were youth. The room was densely populated, hot and moisture had built up on the windows. Patrol officers believed approximately 40-60 people attended the party,” VicPD said in a press release.

Police claim that the host did not conduct contact tracing measures. Christian was fined under the COVID-19 Related Measures Act and all party attendees were told to leave the area. 

According to CHEK, this is the first ticket issued by the city’s police under the act after the British Columbia government announced it would be issuing $2,000 fines for anyone who failed to follow coronavirus protocol while organizing a party or event. 

“It’s not like I had 250 people not wearing masks, 80% of the people in the house were wearing masks,” said Christian. 

“In this small space [we can’t socially distance]… but that’s why we kicked people out because the cops were coming. So no, we weren’t following it, but when the cops came here there were only 15 people here. ”

According to Christian, he intends on fighting the ticket in court. 

Trudeau minister accuses O’Toole of “muzzling scientists”

By
True North Wire
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Liberal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains accused the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party Erin O’Toole of denying science on Tuesday after O’Toole revealed his senior staff picks. 

Bains’ comments were sparked by a loaded question posed to him by CTV reporter Noah Richardson. 

“Some folks from the Harper-era are returning to the Hill to work with Mr. O’Toole. I am wondering if you see or are afraid of a Harper-era return to science and innovation and with the Conservatives attempting to perhaps deny or muzzle scientists like we saw under the Harper government?” asked Richardson. 

In response to the question, Bains began by congratulating O’Toole for his successful candidacy but then launched a number of baseless accusations against the new leader of the opposition. 

“As you’ve indicated, he has a clear opportunity to demonstrate that he wants to move the country forward and with the recent hires that you’ve highlighted, also the issues with Derek Sloan that my colleague Pam Damoff has highlighted… they seem to be stuck in the past, stuck in divisive politics, stuck in a view that they need to muzzle scientists, cut funding for innovation,” said Bains.

O’Toole has only been the Conservative leader for two days and has yet to speak in detail on the topic of science or scientists while in his role.  

Bains was referencing a statement put forth by Liberal MP Pam Damoff earlier today calling on the Conservatives to remove MP and party leadership candidate Derek Sloan from caucus for alleged “racism, misogyny and bigotry.” 

“The Conservative Leader must remove Derek Sloan from his Caucus, and refuse to sign his nomination papers as a Conservative candidate,” wrote Damoff. 

“It’s deeply disappointing to see that Erin O’Toole is continuing to follow the path of divisive politics, of pitting one Canadian against another, one region against another and as you’ve indicated muzzling scientists and cutting funding for science,” said Bains during the government’s daily COVID-19 briefing.

O’Toole delivered his first news conference on Tuesday as the leader of the official opposition. On the same day, he released a list of people he will be appointing to senior staff positions. 

Among those nominated to positions was Tausha Michaud as his Chief of Staff, Fred DeLorey as his national campaign manager, Alupa Clarke as a senior adviser and Janet Fryday Dorey, who was put forward as a candidate to be the Executive Director of the party. 

Sloan finished as the fourth candidate in Sunday’s Conservative leadership race. 

Doug Ford refuses to campaign for Erin O’Toole

By
True North Wire
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said that he doesn’t plan on campaigning for new federal Conservative leader Erin O’Toole come the next election.

“I can’t take my eye off the ball for an election or anything else,” he added. 

“I won’t be campaigning for anyone, like I didn’t last time, either.”

Ford’s comments were in contrast to the praise he offered for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland last week.

“We have a phenomenal relationship. I think the world of the deputy prime minister, we are able to get a lot accomplished just by communicating and collaborating — and along with the prime minister as well,” said Ford. 

Earlier, Ford had called Trudeau a “partner to all premiers,” a sentiment which the prime minister seemed to return. 

“You wonder why I’m always up here praising him? Because he did an incredible job,” Ford said of Trudeau. 

When pressed to give a reason why Ford won’t be campaigning for O’Toole, Ford told reporters he would “take the high road.” 

“I’m gonna just work hard with Ontario … getting our economy back up and running, make sure everyone’s safe here,” said Ford.

O’Toole was declared the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada on August 23 after edging out Peter MacKay on the third ballot. 

As the newly elected leader, Erin O’Toole will be facing off against Justin Trudeau in the next election. Some have speculated that a snap election could follow as Trudeau’s minority government reels from the WE Charity scandal and the resignation of former finance minister Bill Morneau. 

Earlier this month, Trudeau announced that he would prorogue parliament. The Liberals will present a throne speech on September 23rd and a confidence vote will follow. 

Iranian report on Flight 752 crash reveals little, says Canadian government

By
True North Wire
-

The Canadian government is expecting more answers from the Iranian government after the regime’s preliminary report on Flight 752 gave little information.

In a joint statement on Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Transport Minister Marc Garneau said that Iran has yet to provide any answers regarding the crash and its cause.

“This preliminary report only provides limited and selected information regarding this tragic event. The report only mentions what transpired after the first missile strike but not the second and only confirms information that we already know,” they wrote.

In January, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed shortly after takeoff in Tehran, Iran. All 176 people on board were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens.

Iran later admitted to firing two missiles at the plane after their military mistook the passenger airliner for an enemy target.

After many months of delay, Iran finally agreed to hand over the plane’s black boxes to France for analysis.

The brief report released by Iran over the weekend only describes what happened in the few seconds after the plane was hit with the first missile, and made no mention of the second missile.

Champagne and Garneau made it clear that Canada will only accept a thorough explanation of what happened to Flight 752.

“We expect the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide an answer on important questions of why the missiles were launched in the first place and why the air space was open,” they wrote.

“These are the questions that Canada, Canadians and most importantly, the families of the innocent victims need answered.”

In June, a Canadian association created by the victims’ families called for the Trudeau government to take a more active stance to ensure Iran conducts a proper investigation.

At a virtual press conference, members of the group asked the government to jointly investigate the crash with Iran and allow the victims’ families to participate.

Leslyn Lewis outperforms expectations despite mainstream media’s selective blindness

By
True North Wire
-

Conservative Party of Canada leadership contender Leslyn Lewis exceeded expectations in last night’s leadership race. 

Despite relative radio silence from the mainstream media on her historic campaign, Lewis outperformed expectations in the prairies, taking a lion’s share of the vote in Saskatchewan and Alberta. 

Lewis also managed to gain over 60,000 votes during the second round of voting. Despite finishing third, her share of the total votes was larger than race winner Erin O’Toole’s share for the round. 

During the first ballot results, Lewis swept Saskatchewan with over 39% of the vote. Lewis also came in second in Alberta, only behind O’Toole by a few percentage points with 28.1% of the votes in the province. 

As reported on exclusively by True North, CBC’s coverage of Lewis was abysmal. Instead of highlighting Lewis’ Canadian story, the CBC opted to offer 500% more coverage to US Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. 

As of August 17, CBC had published 45 different headlines referencing Harris, while only nine mentioned Lewis.

Headlines featuring Harris lauded the VP pick as “making history” and being “revolutionary,” while mentions of Lewis included headlines about how she “sells herself” to social conservatives and what she would do if “she doesn’t win” the race.

During last night’s live coverage of the leadership results, Lewis’ campaign manager Steven Outhouse told True North that Leslyn didn’t shy away from the fact that she was a social conservative.

“Yes, we are I guess by that definition social conservative, but we’re more than that, we’re conservatives, we’re fiscal conservatives, we’re libertarians, people who want to see government generally having less involvement in the day to day lives of individuals,” said Outhouse. 

“She had the courage to get out there and she worked hard every step of the day and I do believe she’s just a special candidate that a lot of people connected with and resonated with her message.”  

Prior to the race, even outgoing Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer blasted the CBC during a live interview with the broadcaster for their bias towards Lewis. 

“You can’t look to the CBC to find accurate reporting of what’s going on in the Conservative Party of Canada. There’s a tremendous amount of excitement and I think you’re going to see Leslyn Lewis place very strong in many regions,” said Scheer. 

FUREY: If Trudeau wants a more socialist Canada, he has to take it to voters

By
True North
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If Trudeau has finally given up pretending to be something of a centrist Liberal and is now embracing far-left progressivism, then he needs to seek a mandate from the people to enact it.

While it seems needless to have an election only one year after the previous one, and in the midst of a pandemic no less, there may be no alternative.

Read True North’s Anthony Furey’s latest in the Toronto Sun!

55 international flights into Canada carried passengers who had coronavirus

By
True North Wire
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Over the month of August, 55 different international flights coming into Canada carried passengers who were infected with the coronavirus. 

Federal government data shows that passengers on flights landing in Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto could all have been exposed to the virus. 

A list of the flights shows a wide range of origin locations including Mexico City, New York, Zurich, Paris and Delhi, among several other places. 

Currently, the federal government is advising Canadians against pursuing international travel, however, flights continue to land and depart from Canada on a daily basis. 

According to the Canadian Border Services Agency, over 300,000 people travelled on international flights from March to May. 

“During the week of May 18 to May 24, 2020, volumes were down 90% for those crossing via land, and 98% at airports compared to the same time a year ago. On May 24, 2020 alone, travellers on US flights were down 99% and international air travellers were down more than 97% compared to the previous year. These numbers are consistent with the previous week,” wrote the CBSA.

Liberal Health Minister Patty Hajdu has been jet setting herself in the midst of the pandemic.

A report from July shows that Hajdu billed Canadians $73,220 in travel expenses within Canada. Despite telling Canadians to stay home to avoid spreading the virus, Hajdu made several trips between her workplace in Ottawa and her home in Thunder Bay. 

“We are asking Canadians really to conduct only essential business, going to the grocery store, going to the post office, going to the pharmacy,” said Hajdu on March 23.

Hajdu is believed to have travelled alone during these trips on board a seven-seat Cessna that costs $1,400 per hour.

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