Queen’s University medical school has announced its intention to become a leader in culturally safe, anti-colonial, anti-racist and anti-oppressive health professions education.
One of their new initiatives is to reserve 10 seats in the medical school for Black and Indigenous students only.
This might sound nice and progressive, but True North’s Lindsay Shepherd explains why it’s not.
A 34-year-old ISIS combatant has been released on bail only a week after authorities brought terrorism charges against him in Calgary.
Hussein Sobhe Borhot is facing four terror-related charges for his activities while in Syria between May 2013 and June 2014.
According to Alberta RCMP’s Integrated National Enforcement Team, Borhot met and trained with the terror group during that period of time.
Authorities allege that Borhot also carried out kidnappings for ISIS while he fought for them. He is currently being charged with several counts of participating in the activity of a terror group and committing an offence for a terror group.
Despite the serious charges brought against him, provincial court Judge Anne Brown ordered that Borhot was to be released back into the community as long as he follows a number of conditions.
Among the conditions imposed on Borhot is that he has to wear a tracking device on his ankle. Borhot is also required to post a $30,000 surety and report each week to an RCMP officer.
According to Public Safety Canada, there are approximately 250 Canadians who have travelled abroad to fight for extremist groups like ISIS.
Out of those, around 60 people who have participated in terror activities outside of Canada have already returned to the country.
“There are approximately 250 CETs, both abroad and who have returned. Of the estimated 190 CETs currently abroad, nearly half have travelled to Turkey, Syria and Iraq. The remaining CETs are located in Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of North and East Africa,” writes the CSIS Public Report 2019.
“These individuals have travelled to support and facilitate extremist activities and, in some cases, directly participate in violence. Some 60 individuals with a nexus to Canada who were engaged in extremist activities abroad have returned to Canada.”
Between Justin Trudeau, Bill Morneau and the Kielburger brothers – their explanations of what happened in the WE Charity scandal don’t add up.
Many questions remain unanswered. Perhaps most glaring is the fact that WE started work on the federal student grant before Trudeau’s cabinet approved the contract. This defies logic.
True North’s Leo Knight says all politicians have a shelf life. In light of yet another ethics investigation, has Trudeau reached the end of his?
Did you know Justin Trudeau was the first whistleblower in the WE Charity scandal?
According to Trudeau, he’s the hero in all of this. Do you believe him?
True North’s Anthony Furey says even if what Trudeau said during his appearance at the finance committee is true, it doesn’t pass the smell test.
Last year, controversy erupted within the basketball world when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted – and then deleted – a statement in support of democratic protestors in Hong Kong. The owner of the Rockets quickly distanced himself from the tweet, Rockets star James Harden apologized, and LeBron James – perhaps the Michael Jordan of our era – told reporters that Morey was “misinformed” on the issue and hadn’t “properly considered” the consequences of the tweet.
What consequences, you may ask?
Notably, the consequences that damaging these players’ wallets.
In the fall out of the tweet – in which Morey did the right thing in standing up for protestors against the communist regime – Chinese companies began pulling out from lucrative deals they had with players like James and his Los Angeles Lakers colleagues Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma.
In making his statement, it became clear to many that James was more concerned about his own financial benefits than fundamental human rights.
Fast-forward to earlier this year, and another social justice issue has emerged at the forefront of the American media: issues of police brutality and anti-black racism. And rather than continue a precedent of keeping an apolitical stance on these issues, basketball superstars like James have quickly moved to support Black Lives Matter protestors – even despite public concern about their connection to Marxism and violence.
Most recently, the Toronto Raptors captured headlines when rolling into the Disney bubble (where games will be played this summer) with buses that said Black Lives Matter. Similarly, their choice to wear Black Lives Matter face-masks made has led to a big boost in sales for a local Toronto artist. And they took to Twitter to make it known that when it comes to supporting human rights, “Silence is not an option.”
However, if silence is not an option, then why are those within the NBA being intimidated or otherwise forced to stay silent on the horrendous activities in China?
Does social justice only matter to NBA players, like James or Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam – who chose to wear Black Lives Matter on his jersey during the season restart – when it doesn’t impact their pocketbook?
It is important these questions are raised now, especially with a recent investigation from ESPN which revealed NBA coaches in their Chinese youth-development program actually faced a number of human rights concerns which the league has largely ignored.
Further, it feels like no coincidence that the NBA recently pulled the ability to make personalized gear on their website after the algorithm refused jerseys to be created bearing the “Free Hong Kong” slogan.
The conclusion here is not that NBA players should be apolitical, but that their commitment to activism should exceed more than just virtue-signaling when it doesn’t hurt them financially. If NBA players, coaches, GMs and team-owners are deciding to use their platform to bring attention to fundamental human rights abuses occurring in society, they can’t ignore a Chinese regime which is committing one of the world’s most disturbing atrocities right now.
The Government of Ontario has announced it will be cutting ties with WE, the now-infamous organization enveloped in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s third ethics scandal.
Minister of Education Stephen Lecce announced that his ministry will not renew existing contracts with the group and will review all past expenditures.
“This is taxpayer money. Hard working people in this province deserve to know that their money is delivering value, and these allegations raise serious questions,” said a statement by Lecce.
The province of Ontario is the latest entity to end sponsorships or contracts with the organization run by Marc and Craig Kielburger.
Among those who have already terminated their relationship with WE are GoodLife Fitness, Royal Bank of Canada and Loblaws.
Earlier this week, the Kielburgers testified before the House of Commons Finance committee about WE’s involvement with the $900 million Canada Student Service Grant program. WE Charity was awarded management of the grant earlier this month, despite the organization’s extensive ties to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family.
Among those implicated in the scandal include Trudeau’s wife, mother and brother, as well as Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who accepted thousands of dollars worth of trips to Ecuador and Kenya in 2017.
Morneau has since paid WE Charity $41,366 to compensate for his family’s trips, and has apologized several times to the public.
On Thursday, Trudeau and his Chief of Staff Katie Telford appeared before the Finance Committee to provide testimony.
During his testimony, the prime minister asserted that the civil service was responsible for the decision to pick the charity as the grant recipient, not him.
“There was never any direction by or attempt to influence from me or my staff that the public service recommend WE Charity,” said Trudeau.
Trudeau also denied having any personal friendship with the Kielburgers despite his family’s close involvement with their organization.
“Canada embarrassed itself by changing a vote [on Israel] to curry favor with Islamic World,” according to former Foreign Minister John Baird, who was joined by Jacques Saada in an online event moderated by Terry Glavin of Postmedia and hosted by Honest Reporting Canada.
Honest Reporting Canada, an organization promoting fairness and accuracy in Canadian media coverage of Israel and the Middle East, held an online event last Sunday with both Baird and Saada to discuss Israel, the Middle East and Canada’s relationship with the United Nations.
Baird previously served as Foreign Minister under Stephen Harper, and Saada served as Minister for the Francophonie and the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair was also listed as one of the original panellists but was unable to attend the event.
On the topic of Trudeau’s recent loss in a bid to gain a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seat, both Baird and Saada felt that the loss had little, if anything, to do with Israel and more to do with Canada’s relationships with countries like Saudi Arabia, China and India.
Saada focused on the difficulty for other countries to understand that votes at the UN amount to a hammering of Israel on a systematic basis. As such, Saada asserted that it “makes each resolution baseless, and they don’t matter in terms of substance, and so they should be voted against no matter what, they should be called for what they are, propaganda at the United Nations.”
“If we lost the Security Council seat so be it, that’s the price of principles, for supporting democracy, for friendship, you don’t have allies to shoot them in the back and [you] hold your ground on moral principles,” Saada said.
Baird echoed Saada’s sentiments, comparing Trudeau’s extravagant campaign to obtain a UNSC seat to Harper’s attempt.
“I don’t think it was a factor,” said Baird.
“I think it’s a bunch of baloney. In 2010 when we lost, it was not affected by support for Israel… Canada had amazing relationships with the Sunni Arab World, but the fight we had with the Saudis, China and India contributed to our defeat at the United Nations Security Council.”
On Israel specifically, Baird focused on Canada’s role in the General Assembly and the need for countries to stop piling on Israel not just internationally but to ensure it does not happen at home.
“Paul Martin steered the relationship with Israel in a new course,” said Baird.
“Harper in 2011, we changed to the US position, but we didn’t join in the pile on against Israel. But Canada embarrassed itself by changing the vote to curry favor with islamic world and the letter sent out on the vote was a shame, I want to see all the parties support Israel and not be a partisan issue. I don’t support all things Israel does but we can take our concerns to Israel and not join a collective pile on.”
Both also had strong criticism for the United Nations and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal concluded with Iran by the Obama administration. Following a question from Glavin asking about what each saw for the future of the middle east, there was a strong consensus that Iran poses a great threat not only to Israel but the stability of the region.
“I think the challenge Iran poses is significant.” said Baird, citing concerns that the Trudeau government would seek to restore diplomatic relations with the Iranian regime after they were severed by the Stephen Harper in 2012.
This followed the listing of Iran as a state supporter of terrorism and adding the Revolutionary Guard and the Quds Force, led by Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani, as terrorist entities in Canada.
“Trudeau’s government was going in the wrong direction under Dion. We broke off relations because we couldn’t trust that the Iranian regime would aid our diplomats as the embassy wasn’t secure. Their support of terror and nuclear program make them a rogue state. [John] Kerry advanced good causes but was wrong on the JCPOA. Iran only understands strength, we nee to be tough and blunt and present our case to them aggressively. We shared concerns with the Sunnis about Iran and as Zionists we may only look at Iran through that lens, but imagine if you are in Bahrain, or Saudi Arabia, they are every bit as concerned.”
“We can’t talk about Iran without talking about Turkey.” added Saada.
“They both have dreams of reviving empire. Iran is not only destabilizing it is a threat to the entire globe. Their decisions to arm the Houthis and Hezbollah and Hamas, all these things are only destabilization. Israel is only one objective, and it is on the route of their objective to reign regionally.”
The Canadian economy continues to struggle because of the coronavirus lockdown, despite growth in May and June according to Statistics Canada.
On Friday, the agency wrote that while the economy is slowly recovering from the lockdown, Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 15% since February.
“Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.5% in May, following two months of unprecedented declines when emergency measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 resulted in widespread shutdowns. In May, provinces and territories started reopening sectors of their economies to varying degrees,” the report claims.
“While May’s gains offset some of the March and April declines, economic activity remained 15% below February’s pre-pandemic level.”
In May, 17 out of Canada’s 20 industrial sectors increased activity, with construction (17.6%) and retail (16.4%) growing significantly as provinces eased coronavirus restrictions.
“General merchandise stores rose 19.8%, reaching a pre-pandemic level of activity. Clothing and clothing accessories (+94.8%), as well as sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (+98.2%), bounced back as shopping malls and stores began to reopen.”
Statistics Canada’s preliminary estimate suggests GDP will increase by approximately 5% in June.
Despite promising figures for May and June, the agency estimates that the GDP will have decreased by 12% in the second quarter of 2020.
May was another hard month for the energy sector as oil and gas extraction declined by 2.7%, with crude oil production reaching its lowest level since 2016.
Even as the economy rebounded, in June the Trudeau government extended the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) two more months, allowing individuals to collect up to $4,000 more than originally announced.
The two-month extension of CERB is estimated to cost around $17.9 billion.
Earlier this month Finance Minister Bill Morneau reported that the federal deficit for this year will be at least $343.2 billion, compared to just $28.1 billion which had been predicted before the pandemic.
Justin Trudeau appeared before the finance committee to testify on the WE Charity scandal. Trudeau skirted responsibility, played the role of hero and threw the public service under the bus. Meanwhile, as more information is revealed, the scandal becomes worse for the governing Liberals.
Plus, Peter MacKay spits in the face of independent media by skipping a debate with 3 hours notice.
And some good news as we enter the long weekend – hockey is back!
These stories and more on the True North Update with Candice Malcolm and Andrew Lawton!
A migrant worker has been charged with first-degree murder after a Guatemalan man’s body was discovered in a farmer’s field.
The victim has been identified as 35-year-old father of three, Luis Gabriel Cahuec Moran.
Moran was a temporary foreign worker who had travelled to work in Wilmot Township to support his family back home.
33-year-old Alex Lopez Noriega has been arrested by local police and charged as the main suspect in the crime.
“It is heartbreaking,” a friend of Moran, Byron Cruz, told CTV News.
“The first reaction from his wife was, ‘I want Luis back. Could you please reassure me that Luis will be back as soon as possible. We want his body.’”
For the time being, Moran’s body is being held as evidence until further inquiries are made into the killing.
According to police sources, authorities were called to Erbs Rd. and Notre Dame Dr. after a body was found. Upon arrival, officers found that Moran had suffered “significant head trauma.”
Detectives working on the case claim that the pair had known each other before the incident.
Noriega was arrested by police in downtown Kitchener and initially charged with second-degree murder but the charges were later changed.
“Evidence was gathered which led investigators to upgrade the charge to first-degree murder,” police spokesperson Ashley Dietrich told the Toronto Sun.
