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Sunday, August 17, 2025

Government agrees to hold inquiry into Nova Scotia shooting after public outcry

By
True North Wire
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Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced on Tuesday that the federal government and the province of Nova Scotia have agreed to hold a public inquiry into the Nova Scotia shooting following backlash from the public and the victims’ families.

On April 18, 2020, Gabriel Wortman impersonated a police officer and committed the shootings that left 22 people dead.

“Canadians deserve answers to how such a tragedy could occur,” said Blair.

“This situation requires that our governments work diligently with all those affected by this tragedy to bring forward the critical answers, and to ensure an event such as this will never happen again.”

The move comes less than a week after Blair and the federal government announced an  “independent review panel” into the shooting. 

Review panels have significantly less power than public inquiries. Panels cannot compel witnesses and cannot produce binding reports to the government. At the time, Blair insisted that a review panel was the best option.

The move was met with outrage from the victims’ families and legal experts who said that a review panel would not have the power to conduct a thorough investigation.

Last week, hundreds took part in a march in Truro, Nova Scotia to demand that the government reverse its decision and launch a public inquiry.

The public inquiry, which will be chaired by former Nova Scotia chief justice Michael MacDonald, former Fredericton police chief Leanne Fitch and former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan, will have the power to subpoena witnesses and order documents from government agencies to aid their investigation.

Robert Pineo, a lawyer for the victims’ families, told CBC that his clients appreciate the government’s decision to hold an inquiry.

“It is unfortunate the families had to go through the turmoil of the last three days worrying about this, but at the end of the day, the government did the right thing,” he said.

“The public inquiry will ensure that the people who need to speak will speak, that the documents that need to be seen will be seen, and that a full and complete understanding about what happened, and how it can be avoided in the future, will be achieved.”

Chinese diplomat says Canadians protesting Hong Kong law are serving “anti-China forces”

By
True North Wire
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Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Vancouver Tong Xiaoling accused Canadians opposed to China’s authoritarian power grab in Hong Kong of serving “anti-China forces.” 

Tong made the comments in a Vancouver-based Chinese-language radio broadcast this week.

“Very few people, in both Hong Kong and local [Canada], have been maliciously denigrating and sabotaging Hong Kong’s national security legislation,” Tong told 1320 AM. 

“Some people were trying to intimidate people who truly care about Hong Kong, stop them from voicing [their opinions] and launch personal attacks on them. [They] also try to create divisions in the ethnically Chinese community and sabotage China-Canada relations.”

Tong’s accusations come after dozens of protesters demonstrated in Vancouver over the weekend to oppose the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) crackdown on democracy. 

Last Friday, two dozen people gathered in downtown Vancouver in support of freedom for Hong Kongers. 

Another protest occurred on Sunday in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, over a wider array of CCP-related issues including the South China Sea dispute, the continued detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and the Hong Kong security bill.

Protesters at Friday’s event accused those in support of China’s power grab of acting on behalf of the CCP. 

“In social media, if I was captured by the CCP, the Communist Party of China, you are liable to be arrested and put in prison for your whole life,” an anonymous demonstrator told Global News. 

“It includes all the foreigners, all of the human beings on earth. You or I are liable to be arrested.”

According to Tong, Hong Kong’s new national security bill was beneficial for the autonomous region despite concerns from international human rights advocates that it could reverse the democratic freedoms enjoyed by the city’s citizens. 

“If you do not break such law, and aren’t involved in these activities, why do you need to worry about your safety?” said Tong. 

Conservative Leadership Fireside Chat

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True North Wire
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Statement from the Independent Press Gallery

Dr. Leslyn Lewis had to withdraw from tonight’s debate because a doctor ordered her to stay home and get rest. We have been in touch with her campaign and wish her a speedy recovery.

Peter MacKay lives in Toronto but has chosen not to attend tonight’s debate. 

We’re going ahead with the event. We will be speaking with the candidates who have gone to great length and expense to come in to talk about their ideas. Instead of a debate, we will have two fireside chats back to back, with a media scrum following the conversations.

Contact: [email protected]

Ontario Provincial Police Association stands by decision to fly flag honouring fallen officers

By
True North Wire
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The Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) has defended its decision to fly a Thin Blue Line flag honouring fallen officers outside of one of its headquarters after people complained that the flag was offensive. 

The flag was first hoisted on a pole outside of an OPPA building in Barrie, Ontario on June 29, 2019, and has been flying ever since.

OPPA President Rob Jamieson issued a statement on Monday clarifying the reasoning behind raising the flag, claiming that it was raised to honour the life of RCMP Officer Heidi Stevenson, who was killed in the Nova Scotia mass shooting and others who have died in the line of duty. 

“The Canadian flag flying at the OPPA building was torn and needed replaced. The OPPA Board wished to support the family of RCMP Officer Heidi Stevenson and all fallen officers through a ‘Blue On Blue’ campaign that was led by an OPPA member and his wife, an RCMP member related to line of duty death of RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson in the Nova Scotia Shooting incident,” wrote Jamieson. 

Others on social media accused the OPPA of being racist for flying the flag in opposition of Black Lives Matter. 

“Stop denying that this flag represents an opposition to the black lives matter movement. This is racist and goes to show how racism is protected and rewarded by the police force at large,” wrote Facebook user John Dougherty. 

In his statement, Jamieson maintained that the flag represents “support, solidarity and respect” for fallen police officers. 

“The dark colour of the flag is purposely subdued to show respect, and the ‘thin blue line’ symbolizes the police line between good and evil, for honourably serving and protecting our communities, principles that Heidi Stevenson stood for, and gave her life for.”

DROVER: Parliament should invoke Notwithstanding Clause to reverse judicial overreach

By
Devin Drover
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Judicial activism in Canada has continued to be on the rise in the last decade. 

Our unelected judiciary appear to be favouring their own interpretations of the Canadian Constitution rather than a firm commitment to historical precedent and the text of the document itself.

The latest example of this comes from the Federal Court. 

Last week, a federal court ruled that the law underpinning the Safe Third Country Act is a violation of our Charter-protected guarantee of life, liberty and security of the person. This interferes with Parliament to make their own foreign policy decisions.

The Safe Third Country Agreement, which took effect in 2004, is an agreement between the United States and Canada which recognizes that both countries are safe places for refugees to seek protection. The Agreement requires that Canada refuse the claim of an asylum claimant who arrives at the land ports of entry along the Canada-US border by requiring them to pursue their claim in the US instead – the country they first arrived in.

Through this decision, the Federal Court has attacked parliament’s ability to make decisions on Canada’s foreign affairs.  Appealing to what they deem the “spirit” of the legislation, they have ruled that the United States is a country which is now unsafe for refugees to return to – a dangerous precedent to set which can have negative consequences for our relations with our greatest foreign ally. 

Trying to apply the Canadian Charter to asylum claimants upon return to another country – yet alone an allied country – is a massive overreach that goes far beyond the intention of who the Charter was intended to protect. It is not up to the courts to consider how non-citizens are to be treated in a different state – specifically a democratic one with their own firm commitment to the rule of law. It is certainly not the role of courts to determine they do not enjoy how the United States treats refugees upon return. 

That is not to say one must endorse the United States treatment of refugees in opposing this decision. But we must endorse a commitment to an interpretation of the Charter which focuses more on protecting the ability for democratic lawmakers to exercise their rights, rather than judicial overreach and activism.

In the wake of this interference of Canadian foreign policy by the Federal Court, some legal commentators have gently shrugged and suggested Canadians should just wait for the Federal Court of Appeal to weigh in – if they choose to at all.

Nonsense. 

The Charter does not exist to allow the courts to slide into areas of governance where they do not belong.

Parliament should assert itself as the guardian of separation of powers by invoking section 33 of the Charter – the aptly named Notwithstanding Clause – immediately to enable legislation to correct this judicial overreach.

In doing so, Parliament can tell the judiciary to stay in their lane, while ensuring that important lawmaking is done by those elected to do it.

Kingston resident enters guilty plea over thwarted 2019 bomb plot

By
True North Wire
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A Kingston resident has entered a guilty plea for terrorism charges.

The underaged suspect was arrested in January 2019 after the RCMP conducted a raid on a residence in the area. 

Acting on a tip received from the FBI, police evacuated the area and entered a property where they found explosive materials. 

The identity of the youth is not being shared with the public in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act. 

According to reports, the minor was charged with planning to “deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive or other lethal devices against a place of public use with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury.” 

He was then released on bail conditions but rearrested after failing to wear an electronic ankle monitor. 

The suspect was arrested at the time alongside 20-year old Hussam Eddin Alzahabi, who was later released without any charges. 

Shortly after the initial arrest, internal documents show that the RCMP was concerned about anti-immigrant sentiments due to the thwarted terror plot. 

“The arrest of a Syrian refugee may cause some negative reaction on the Syrian population and immigrant population due to current anti-immigration sentiments,” wrote an RCMP strategy document.

“Families and communities are deeply affected when police take enforcement action during a national security investigation due to the stigma attached to ‘terrorism’.”

Crown lawyers working on the case have asked the suspect to be tried as an adult, potentially landing him in prison for life. As a youth, the suspect would serve a maximum of three years in jail. 

ESKENASI: Trudeau’s approval rating is still at 44%

By
Sam Eskenasi
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44% of Canadians still approve of Justin Trudeau despite his involvement in the WE Charity scandal, according to a recent poll by Angus Reid.

Who are these Canadians? Why do they still support the Prime Minister in light of such serious allegations?

True North’s Sam Eskenasi takes an in-depth look at the Angus Reid poll.

WE Charity co-founders testify before finance committee over ethics scandal

By
True North Wire
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WE Charity co-founders Marc and Krieg Kielburger testified before the Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday afternoon regarding the $900 million Canada student service grant scandal. 

During an introductory statement, Craig Kielburger claimed that their handling of the program “got pulled into politics.” 

“We handed the built systems, technology, even the call center, to the public service hoping to save the program. We declined any reimbursement for our costs,” said Kielburger. 

“We would have never picked up the phone when the civil service called, asking us to help young Canadians get through the pandemic, if we had known — the consequences – that young people would not get the help they need now.”

According to Kielburger, the financial fallout of the scandal has been devastating and has “resulted in serious challenges that risk the entire organization and 25 years of work.”

The Kielburgers were also questioned by Conservative MP Michael Cooper regarding complementary trips to Ecuador and Kenya given to Bill Morneau in 2017.

“When your organization booked the Kenya and Ecuador trips, were they booked specifically as accounts receivable?” asked Cooper. 

“It was a complementary trip, right? That’s what your statement said.”

“To answer your question it was seen in our mind as a complementary hosting given they were already in the country in Kenya and were coming in to simply stay with us in Ecuador to look at this from a development lens.” 

Morneau has since paid WE Charity $41,366 in reimbursements for the trips and has issued several public apologies for the incident. 

Prior to the Kielburger’s testimony, former chair of WE Charity’s board of directors Michelle Douglas informed the committee that speakers hosted by the company were not being paid by the organization, despite the fact that several members of Trudeau’s family had received monetary compensation.

Reports from this month revealed Margaret Trudeau received hundreds of thousands of dollars for 28 different speaking events, while the prime minister’s brother Alexandre Trudeau received approximately $32,000 for his own events. 

The Kielburgers have since confirmed that Trudeau’s mother did receive a payment from the organization for a sum of $64,000, however, WE Charity denied ever paying the prime minister’s brother for speaking services. 

During their testimony, it was revealed that Mrs. Trudeau was reimbursed an additional $167,944 in expenses, bringing the total sum she received up to a startling $479,944. Meanwhile, the Kielburgers maintain that she was not paid for speaking events but rather for “auxiliary” presentations, despite the fact that invoices from WE Day directly reference a speakers’ fee. 

Douglas said she became dissatisfied with the company when management decided to lay off hundreds of people during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. 

“It was our view that you could not fire hundreds of people without very strong, demonstrable evidence, and even then, should explore mitigation efforts to save jobs. Instead, the executive team were dismissing employees with great speed and in large numbers,” said Douglas. 

The testimonies are part of an ongoing investigation into the matter. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his chief of staff Katie Telford will be testifying before the committee on Thursday. 

“I will do another terrorist attack”: Toronto ISIS attacker tells parole officer

By
True North Wire
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An ISIS terrorist who plotted to attack a Toronto Canadian Tire store wrote to her parole officer in February that if she’s released, she intends on perpetrating another terror attack on Canadians. 

“If you release me from jail, I will do another terrorist attack, so tell your government to send me back to my country (Syria),” wrote Rehab Dughmosh. 

According to an investigation by Global News’ Stewart Bell, Dughmosh’s written comments were cited during a Parole Board of Canada hearing on Monday. The board eventually decided to deny Dughmosh the opportunity to be released on parole. 

“Given your continued commitment to a terrorist organization, and ongoing indications that you will commit a terrorist attack if released, the board do not consider your risk to re-offend violently is manageable at this time,” wrote the board’s decision. 

Dughmosh was found guilty of attempting to join ISIS and conducting a terror attack in 2019. By August 7th, shortly after being imprisoned, Dughmosh was already eligible for full parole.

According to the board, Dughmosh has continued her radical beliefs and activities while in prison. 

“You have been found with a terrorist flag image in your cell, asked the imam for radical literature, and confronted another Muslim offender for not wearing a hijab,” the board claimed.

“You have threatened to kill or maim inmates you deem to be in conflict with your ideologies, and have threatened to burn down your living unit with no regard to human life.”

Further reasons cited by the board in their denial of parole was that Dughmosh continued “advocating for the death of infidels,” and “seeking martyrdom.” 

In 2019, the 34-year-old Syrian woman entered a Canadian Tire in Scarborough, with the intention to “hurt and kill people” for ISIS.  

Prior to her attack, Dughmosh attempted to leave Canada in 2016 to join the terror group abroad. 

She was stopped by Turkish authorities after flying to the country from Toronto and sent back to Canada. 

Despite her attempt, the RCMP did not lay any charges and closed their file. 

In 2019, Dughmosh entered a local Canadian Tire carrying several weapons, including a butcher knife and a crossbow. While in the store, she charged three employees and shouted terrorist slogans. 

No one was injured in the attack. 

RCMP being unfairly targeted by protesters and politicians, police union claims

By
True North Wire
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The union that represents the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) says police officers are being unfairly targeted by accusations of systemic racism, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. 

National Police Federation President Brian Sauvé recently told the Public Safety committee that there has been a dramatic rise in attacks on police officers in recent weeks.

“We support and protect every Canadians’ right to be treated fairly and equally. In return, we ask for respect and fairness for our members who put their lives on the line every day,” Sauvé said. 

“We are hearing more cases of members being yelled at, confronted, spat on and assaulted while on duty. This is unacceptable. All Canadians should be free from harassment and assault including those on the front line.”

Anti-police rhetoric has dramatically increased since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May which has led to worldwide protests. The protests have resulted in a push to arbitrarily defund police departments in both Canada and the United States.

Toronto City Council recently voted against a motion to cut the Toronto Police Services’ budget by 10%. At the same meeting, council voted to equipe all officers with body-cameras.

Union members that appeared before the committee did not name specific politicians, but accused their critics of scapegoating officers.

In June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said systemic racism exists in all of Canada’s institutions, including all police forces. Trudeau also made an appearance at an anti-racism protest and took a knee. 

During the committee, Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly said systemic racism “exists in Canadian policing and all Canadian institutions” but praised Canadian law enforcement as the best in the world.

“I’m a proud Black man, a proud native of Jamaica, and a proud Canadian citizen. I will start by unequivocally stating Canada is the best country in the world, that the Canadian policing model is the best in the world, and that Canadian police offices are among the finest people in the world,” he said.

“We actually need to stop calling our officers law enforcers. They are servers. They are protectors.”

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