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Sunday, May 11, 2025

BC imam preaches armed struggle against Jews to Muslim youth

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

A British Columbia imam known for preaching hardline Islamist views told Muslim youth in Victoria that Jews are their “real enemy” and that God would have taken “vengeance upon them himself” but instead ordered Muslims to engage in an armed struggle against the Jewish people.

In a video documented by Memri, an organization that monitors Islamist extremism, Imam Sheikh Younus Kathrada told youth on Aug. 2 at the Muslim Youth Center in Victoria, B.C., that God has ordered them to fight Jews.

“Never be afraid to describe the yahud (the Jew), the real enemy the way that…Allah has described them. If Allah had willed, he could have taken vengeance upon them himself. But he ordered armed struggle,” Kathrada said in a video posted by Muslim Youth Victoria on YouTube. “(God) ordered armed struggle to test some of you by means of others, and those who are killed in the cause of Allah, He…will never waste their deeds.”

B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish community group, has been documenting antisemitism in Canada and called on the government to denounce Kathrada and safety officials to investigate him since 2004.

In his latest sermon at the Muslim Youth Victoria Islamic Centre, Kathrada outlined several reasons why he thinks Jewish people are collectively guilty and deserving of God’s vengeance.

“(The Jews) are a small group that spreads corruption throughout the land,” Kathrada said. “The yahud have an ancient and dark history of bloodshed and breaking covenants and treaties…Not even fetuses in the wombs are safe from them.”

Mike Fegelman, the executive director of Honest Reporting Canada, an organization which focuses on Canada’s media coverage of Jewish people and Israel, said his group had filed a report against Kathrada with the Victoria Police Department.

“This is the natural, even expected, consequence of a society-wide tolerance of anti-Jewish and anti-Western rhetoric from fanatical Islamists,” Fegelman said in an email to True North. “Spreaders of hate must be charged with hate speech, and far more Canadians must vocally speak out and demand concrete action.”

He claimed the recent uptick in antisemitic hate crimes in Canada and B.C. stems first from divisive language, including teachings espoused by Kathrada. In December 2022, Kathrada was documented again with a similar message.

“I want our children to understand this well: the non-Muslims are the enemies of Allah; therefore, they are your enemies,” he said to the same group of youth in Victoria, B.C. “Some of them don’t even believe that Allah exists. You want somebody like that to be a close friend of yours?”

He then led the group in a prayer, praying that God destroy, humiliate and annihilate the non-Muslims of the world.

“Oh Allah, give strength to Islam and the Muslims, humiliate the infidels and the polytheists, destroy the enemies of (our) religion. Annihilate the heretics and the atheists.”

The B.C. Muslim Association did not respond to True North’s requests for comment, though the group had denounced Kathrada in December 2020.

Rich Robertson, the director of advocacy and research at B’nai Brith Canada, calls on all levels of government and police to take action against the religious leader, saying his comments are incitements to violence against Jews.

“Younus Kathrada has repeatedly demonstrated that he is utilizing his pulpit to espouse hate and to target the Jewish community, the LGBTQ community and other minority communities in Canada,” Robertsen told True North in an interview.

He said B’nai Brith Canada’s concerns for Kathrada’s rhetoric are enhanced by his association with the Muslim Youth of Victoria. Robertson raised concerns that he is radicalizing and indoctrinating youth in Canada at a time when national security concerns are increasingly prevalent. 

“​​It can be inferred from his comments that he is calling upon those to whom he is preaching to engage in violent acts against the Jewish community,” Robertson said. “It’s even more culpable that he is a religious leader suggesting that it is required by God that those he is preaching to undertake violence against the Jewish people. It’s an abuse of his authority.”

He said B’nai Brith Canada supports free expression for religious groups as protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, though Kathrada’s repeated antisemitic rhetoric crosses a line.

“There is nothing that justifies using one’s position as a religious leader in this country to call upon your constituents to engage in violent acts against another religious minority,” he said. “This is unacceptable and should not be tolerated in this country.

The Muslim Youth of Victoria and the Victoria police did not respond to True North’s requests for comment. The Mayor of Victoria was unavailable to comment before the deadline provided by True North.

Transportation minister “sets the record straight” in most recent update on Calgary LRT

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
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Source: X

The Alberta government provided its most recent update on Calgary’s Green Line LRT project on Monday night. 

The announcement, which aimed to “set the record straight,” was delivered by Alberta’s Minister of Transportation, Devin Dreeshen, in a five-minute monologue posted to X. 

He explained that the Green Line was introduced in 2015 by former mayor and current Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi. The project initially promised to be a 46-kilometre line with 29 stations, costing $4.65 billion. 

“The only issue? The city council back then failed to do any of the proper costing, engineering, or planning before coming up with that $4.65 billion price tag,” said Dreeshen. “At best, it was drawn up on a napkin.”

By 2017, due to improper planning, designing, and engineering, Dreeshen said that the project was slashed in half to 23 kilometres and 15 stations.

The project was then cut further to 18 kilometres, but completion remained impossible. The LRT project was further reduced to ten kilometres and seven stations. Based on the initial projections, the LRT’s distance was reduced by over 78% and the number of stations by more than 75%. 

“This just goes from bad to worse. The most recent ten-kilometre mini-version of the Green Line doesn’t serve a lot of Calgarians at all,” said Dreeshen. “And, the project costs have, brace yourself, gone up to $6.2 billion.”

He added that taxpayers would be paying $630 million per kilometre of track. Montreal’s REM line cost around $86 million per kilometre, seven times less than the Green Line’s current costs.

“This new alignment would make the Green Line one of the most expensive and least effective LRT projects in North America,” said Dreeshen.

He added that the city of Calgary does not have money to waste with its current water crisis.

Calgary’s critical water feeder fractured on June 5 resulting in indoor water restrictions for a few weeks. Around three and a half months later, the city remains under water restrictions. 

“Calgarians need to build a new water line to ensure this summer’s water crisis isn’t repeated. Lack of core water infrastructure has been a decade-long issue, but that’s for another day…” said Dreeshen.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith warned that had the province not stepped in, the project risked being a “$6 billion boondoggle to nowhere.” The warning echoed Dreeshen’s previous remarks, deeming the project a “multi-billion-dollar boondoggle that will serve very few Calgarians.”

Dreeshen said the provincial government must ensure that taxpayers’ dollars are spent responsibly. 

“We are not going to throw billions of taxpayer dollars away on a vanity project that fails in every way to address the actual transit needs of Calgarians,” he said. 

Alberta plans to work with experienced engineers to design an above-ground line that integrates with the existing Red and Blue lines. The lines will connect the new station at Calgary’s arena and entertainment district and stretch as far south as Shepard. 

The transportation minister added that the provincial government has big plans provincewide for passenger rail. 

The province proposed a commuter rail to connect the province at the end of Apr. 2024. The rail plan aims to be completed by Summer 2025. A 15-year delivery plan will be presented, and the project aims to be completed by 2040.

Canada’s annual inflation rate hit Bank of Canada’s 2% target in August

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Source: Unsplash

Canada’s annual inflation rate reached the Bank of Canada’s 2% target last month, according to data from Statistics Canada released on Tuesday.

News of Canada hitting the 2% target has many Canadians eager to know if the central bank will further cut its interest rate by another 50-basis-points in October. 

According to StatsCan, core price measures cooled to their lowest levels in the past 40 months and the consumer price index posted its smallest rate of increase since February 2021.

According to the CPI, consumer prices dropped by 0.2% on a month-on-month basis.

“On a monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.2% in August, after a 0.4% increase in July. The monthly decline was led by lower prices for air transportation, gasoline, clothing and footwear and travel tours. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1% in August,” reads the report. 

“The deceleration in headline inflation in August was due, in part, to lower prices for gasoline, due to a combination of lower prices and a base-year effect. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 2.2% in August, down from 2.5% in July.” 

However, mortgage interest cost and rent remained the largest contributors to the CPI increase last month. 

The Bank of Canada’s governor Tiff Macklem said that future rate cuts can be expected as long as the trend of easing inflation continues during the central bank’s latest announcement earlier this month.  

“If inflation continues to ease broadly in line with our July forecast, it is reasonable to expect further cuts in our policy rate,” said Macklem. “We will continue to assess the opposing forces on inflation, and take our monetary policy decisions one at a time.

The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points on September 4, bringing it to 4.25% and marking the central bank’s third consecutive decision to do so over the past year. 

However, Canada’s economic growth has been slowing, with GDP likely to fall to half of the central bank’s forecast in the third quarter. 

Still, many economists expect a 50-basis-point cut next month as unemployment hit a seven-year low last month, barring the pandemic years. 

Prices have been easing, aided primarily by a drop in the cost of gasoline which fell by 5.1%. 

Telephone services, clothing and footwear also saw a decrease in costs.

However, shelter costs rose 5.2% last month, with mortgages continuing to cool at a very slow pace and rents maintaining their relentless trend of increasing. 

The cost of groceries also continues to be a thorn in the side of Canadian consumers. 

“On a year-over-year basis, consumers paid 2.4% more for food purchased from stores in August after a 2.1% increase in July. This was the result of a base-year effect, notably coming from prices for dairy products (+3.3%) and fresh fruit (+1.5%),” reads the CPI report. 

Additionally, the Canadian dollar decreased in value when compared to the US dollar last month, with CAD $1 dropping to a worth of USD 73.59 cents. 

The Bank of Canada predicts annual inflation will be at 2.6% this year and drop to 2.4% next year before coming down to its target range of 1-3% in 2026. 

According to economist Emmanuelle B. Faubert with the Montreal Economic Institute, these increased costs can largely be traced back to government overspending.  

“Government overspending is one of the reasons we’ve seen inflation go as high as it did. If Ottawa was careful with taxpayer money we would not be in this situation,” Faubert told True North.

“Further rate drops could be even closer if the Trudeau government ceased its continuous deficit spending.”

Canada’s debt doubles under Trudeau; food insecurity, housing, and crime follow suit

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
-
Source: Facebook

A new analysis of Canada’s indebtedness shows that during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s time in office, the national debt has doubled to over $1.232 trillion. 

Calculations done by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation revealed that the country is in much worse shape than before the Liberals took over on several fronts.

While the debt officially doubled on Aug. 30, food insecurity has more than doubled, housing costs have increased by around 63%, and crime has increased too.

Trudeau took office in Nov. 2015, when Canada’s federal debt was $616 billion. To double the debt, it had to reach $1.232 trillion. 

By 2023/24, the federal debt reached $1.215 trillion. According to CTF analysis, the debt increases by $39.8 billion annually, or $109 million daily.

Therefore, to double the debt, 2023/24’s debt value needed to increase by $16.5 billion, which, based on the daily increase, occurred on Aug. 30, 2024.

“Trudeau doubling the entire federal debt in less than a decade shows just how irresponsible his runaway spending is,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

According to the CTF’s federal debt clock, the federal debt costs over $31,000 per Canadian. 

Interest charges on the federal debt will cost $54 billion this year, meaning the Liberals are spending more on interest charges than they are sending to provinces in health transfers. The money spent on federal debt interest is the same amount collected through GST. Rather than funding essential services, every penny Canadians pay in GST goes towards paying down interest on the federal debt. 

“Trudeau is wasting taxpayers’ money today, and he is sticking Canadians’ kids and grandkids with huge tax bills tomorrow,” said Terrazzano. “After a decade of reckless borrowing, holding the line on spending isn’t enough. Canadians need a government that will cut spending, balance the budget, and get us out of this debt mess.” 

According to previous information released by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the Liberals won’t balance the budget until 2040. In the interim, Canadians will pay $847 billion in interest charges on the debt. 

Sharp increases in other areas of concern have accompanied the doubling of the debt. 

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre shared a post from Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, also known by his X alias, The Food Professor, on Tuesday. 

Charlebois highlighted that 4.45 million Canadians were affected by food insecurity in 2015. By 2024, this had risen to 9.39 million Canadians, an increase of 111%.  

“The carbon tax on farmers who grow the food & truckers who ship it is a tax on all who buy the food. Now they want to hike the tax — by 300% — to $0.61/L,” said Poilievre. “Taxes up. Costs up. Crime’s up. Time’s up.” 

Housing costs followed closely behind in their increase.

In Nov. 2015, the average home in Canada cost around $446,000, according to Trading Economics. By Jul. 2024, the average home price increased to around $719,000, rising around 61%. However, the peak average home price during Trudeau’s tenure was approximately $820,000 in Apr. 2022, an increase of almost 84% since he first took office. 

Housing affordability reached an all-time low in Canada in Apr. 2024. 

In 2023, Canadians spent more on taxes than food, shelter, and clothing combined. 

Crime has seen a slightly lesser increase.

Crime incidents have increased by almost 20%, whereas the rate per 100,000 people has increased by just over 6%. 

The severity of crime has seen an alarming increase of just over 14%. However, the severity of violent crimes has seen an increase of 32%.

The Rachel Parker Show: Liberal MP SUED for slander (ft. Keean Bexte, Ezra Levant, Kat Kanada)

By
Rachel Parker
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Source: Facebook

This week on the Rachel Parker Show, Rachel speaks with The Counter Signal editor in chief Keean Bexte and social media editor Kat Kanada about false claims from Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen that Kat is funded by a foreign government.

Kat says that she has been receiving death threats since Gerretsen’s post, and Bexte awaits a response to a settlement he offered Gerretsen.

Rachel is then joined by Rebel News founder Ezra Levant who breaks down the severity of Gerretsen’s claims and explains why the Liberal by-election loss in a Montreal riding on Monday is so devastating for Justin Trudeau and his party.

Tune into the Rachel Parker Show now!

Interference czar says inquiry won’t release names of foreign collaborator MPs

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
-
Source: X

As the federal committee on foreign interference resumed after a summer break, the commissioner set the tone for how the inquiry would treat elected officials accused of wittingly aiding foreign governments.

The federal inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes returned Monday as parliamentarians resumed their duties in the House of Commons. Justice Marie Hogue, the head of the inquiry, announced that she would not publicly release the names of individuals accused of acting as agents for foreign nations by the separate National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.

“I want to say from the outset that I will not be publicly identifying parliamentarians whom NSICOP suspect in having participated in foreign interference activities or of having acted wittingly or unwittingly as agents of a foreign state,” Hogue said at the hearing.

In June, the federal government announced that it would not release the names of MPs who were accused of “wittingly” assisting foreign state actors by the non-partisan NSICOP report. 

In one case, the report accused an unnamed MP of giving classified information to a known foreign intelligence officer.

The report found that foreign interference in the last few elections in Canada came primarily from China and India. 

Hogue said to release the names of the MPs accused of being foreign agents would undermine the legal processes in Canada. 

“Canada is a state governed by the rule of law which recognizes and protects the fundamental rights of every individual, including the right to defend oneself against charges and accusations fully,” she said.

She said the Inquiries Act prevents the commission from attributing an “adverse finding” against a person without allowing that person to defend themselves.

She noted that the allegations against MPs who allegedly helped foreign nations interfere voluntarily in Canadian democracy are based on classified information. In other words, to publicly announce the names would expose the secret and confidential information that led to the accusations in the first place.

“The commission can neither make them public nor even disclose them to the persons who might be the subject of these allegations,” Hogue said. “The commission will therefore be incapable of affording these people a meaningful opportunity to defend themselves.”

Hogue indicated that the accusations would not be ignored by the commission, however.

“The Commission intends to address these allegations in the classified version of its final report and make recommendations as required by its terms of reference,” she said. “The Commission will carry out its duties in such a way as not to jeopardize any other investigation or proceeding, whether ongoing or forthcoming.”

The leaders of political parties in the House of Commons can view the classified version of the NSICOP report. And all party leaders received security clearance except for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

Poilievre opted not to read the report, saying if he did, he would be sworn to secrecy and unable to share his findings with the Canadian public anyway. The Conservative Party has called on the government to release the names of MPs accused of foreign interference before the next federal election.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh read the NSICOP report and said it explicitly outlines that some MPs knowingly participated in foreign interference. After reading the report herself, the Green leader, Elizabeth May, said there was no list of treacherous MPs and that the media exaggerated the allegations.

A July Nanos poll found that 65% of Canadians believe the government should release the list of MPs suspected of collaborating with foreign governments. An Angus Reid survey in June found that 69% of the respondents felt that the names should be released.

Canadian Trucking Alliance calls for an end to carbon tax on diesel fuel

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: Unsplash

The Canadian Trucking Alliance is calling for an “end to the carbon tax on diesel” and demanding that the Trudeau government shift its focus onto green solutions proven to work instead of piling extra fees onto families. 

The Canadian Trucking Alliance is a vocal supporter of policies which reduce the effects of climate change from all sectors,” reads the CTA statement released last month. 

“The trucking industry and its equipment/engine suppliers are investing billions of dollars in various alternative technologies designed to replace the modern diesel engine and reduce our reliance on diesel fuel, which would cut our sector’s carbon footprint. However, despite the best efforts of our sector and equipment suppliers to advance decarbonization efforts, diesel remains the primary available fuel used to power long-haul trucks.“

The CTA said that while this is not by choice, it remains the only reliable option available for this essential industry, which keeps the supply chain in motion. 

“CTA is calling on the federal government to suspend the carbon tax for a minimum of four years on diesel fuel. Currently, no wholly viable alternative exists, and the current tax serves no policy purpose in the sector,” reads the release.

Conservative transport critic Phillip Lawrence and Conservative finance critic Jasraj Singh Hallan released a joint statement of their support in response to the CTA’s request, saying that Canadian families are now paying an additional $700 on food this year than they did in 2023 as a direct result of the carbon tax. 

According to the CTA, the carbon tax will add just under $2 billion to annual trucking costs across the country and by 2030, will add over $4 billion to total interprovincial trucking costs per year. 

Additionally, it will increase the cost of operating a truck in Canada by close to 15% and over its 12-year tax phase in will levy more than $26 billion in additional taxes against the Canadian trucking industry. 

As the CTA points out in its release, these added costs “cannot be absorbed and must be passed on to customers because truckers are already facing “razor-thin margins in the trucking industry.” 

“Trudeau just doesn’t understand that if you tax the farmer who makes the food and the trucker who ships the food, you end up taxing the Canadian who buys the food,” reads the joint statement from Lawrence and Hallan. 

“Despite presiding over a cost of living crisis, Trudeau refuses to cancel his inflationary carbon tax.”

Trudeau increased the carbon tax by 23% on April 1, with plans to quadruple the tax to 61 cents per litre by 2030.  

The prime minister did this even though 69% of Canadians wanted Trudeau to cancel his carbon tax increase. 

According to a study by the Fraser Institute, the carbon tax will cost the average Canadian worker $6,700 by 2030 and will reduce Canada’s GDP by 6.2% over that same period, resulting in 164,000 fewer jobs.”

The CTA said that the government claims that the carbon tax is intended to encourage truckers to switch to “less carbon-intensive alternatives” for fuel, however, since these “don’t exist in the long-haul sector for the foreseeable future,” the tax misses its intended purpose.

“Instead, carbon pricing will only continue to increase the cost of transportation services and, therefore, all goods that are moved by truck, including food, clothing, household goods and all other products that are critical to the wellbeing of Canadians,” it said. 

The CTA said that while the effects of the carbon tax on individual trucking companies may be felt more acutely, but that for some fleets and operators it “may over time be the difference between staying in business or not.”

“Enough is enough. Jagmeet Singh must join with Common Sense Conservatives in calling for a carbon tax election,” reads the joint statement from Lawrence and Hallan. 

“Only then can a Pierre Poilievre government axe the tax and bring home powerful paycheques for all Canadians.”

The Faulkner Show | Woman charged with ‘Assault with a weapon’ in neighbourhood water gun fight

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Source: OPP

This is one of the wildest stories you will come across in Canada. A 58-year-old school employee has been charged with assault with a weapon after a neighbourhood water gun fight resulted in a neighbour catching an accidental stray water spray. This now means that in the eyes of the OPP, that a water gun is considered a weapon.

On the latest episode The Faulkner Show, Harrison speaks with Wendy Washik, the accused in this case, to have her explain her side of this outrageous story. A story about police incompetence, a mind boggling waste of police resources and woman’s life being ruined in the process.

You can support Wendy’s legal fight here: https://www.givesendgo.com/GD9RZ

Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/drop-the-assault-with-a-weapon-charge-against-wendy-washik

The Daily Brief | Another embarrassing byelection loss for Trudeau

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-
Source: Facebook

The Liberal party has lost yet another safe seat in the LaSalle––Émard—Verdun byelection, losing to the Bloc Québécois candidate.

Plus, a True North exclusive reveals Canadian military officials wanted a hate crime investigation into soldiers vandalizing tampon dispensers mandated in male washrooms.

And a former Pentagon official slammed Canada’s NATO failure, arguing that Canada should not be in the G7.

Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Noah Jarvis!

Bloc Québécois snatch Liberal stronghold in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun byelection 

By
Noah Jarvis, True North Wire
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Source: Pm.gc.ca

The Liberal party has lost yet another safe seat in the LaSalle––Émard—Verdun byelection, losing to the Bloc Québécois candidate.

The Bloc Québécois’ Louis-Philippe Sauvé won the Montreal-area riding with 28% of the vote, a monumental increase from their 2021 result in which they garnered 22.1% of total votes.

Liberal party candidate Laura Palestini finished second with 27.2% of the vote, a massive dropoff from the 42.9% that the Liberals received in the 2021 election. 

NDP candidate Craig Sauvé placed in a competitive third place, garnering 26.1% of the vote, an improvement from the NDP’s 19.4% in the riding last election. Conservative candidate Louis Ialenti placed in a distant fourth with 11.6% of the vote.

The result reflects a massive plunge in support for the Liberal party in a Quebec riding that has been safely held by the Liberals for nearly a decade. Since its creation in 2015, former Liberal cabinet minister David Lametti won the riding for the Liberals in three straight elections, never dropping below 42% support while his runner-up never eclipsed 30%.

Former prime minister Paul Martin represented parts of this riding. A non-Liberal candidate hasn’t won here since the 2011 election. 

MP-elect Louis-Philippe Sauvé is a longtime backer of the Bloc Québécois, serving as a staffer for the party intermittently for seven years 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s party continues to bleed support and lose seats once strongly held by the Liberals.

A June byelection in the riding of Toronto––St. Paul’s saw the Liberals’ candidate Leslie Church lose to Conservative candidate Don Stewart, losing by a margin of nearly 2%. In 2021, longtime Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett safely won re-election with 49.2% of the vote, beating the Conservative candidate by nearly 25%. 

Across the country, the Trudeau government has become remarkably unpopular, with national opinion polls pegging the Liberals’ support in the low-to-mid 20s. 

The Bloc Québécois have capitalized on the Liberal party’s sagging support, seeking to pick up seats in the French-speaking province that have historically been dominated by the Grits. 

Louis-Philippe Sauvé will join the Bloc’s ranks to boost their seat count to 33 ahead of a 2025 election in which they’d like to bolster their seats in the House of Commons.

This is a developing story.

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