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Sunday, August 3, 2025

Trudeau promises airlift support for the UN in last days of security council campaign

By
True North Wire
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised Canadian military airlift support for UN pandemic humanitarian missions worldwide. 

The announcement was made on Monday, only two days before the vote for two revolving seats on the Security Council is set to take place. Canada is currently competing with Ireland and Norway for the positions. 

Canadians with the Armed Forces will be sent to transport supplies provided by the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization to places like Africa and the Middle East. 

The cost to taxpayers is unknown at the moment.

Spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada Patricia Skinner told Radio Canada that the UN requested Canada’s assistance in early May. 

“As long as the COVID-19 pandemic persists in some pockets of the world, no country is safe,” said Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne in a statement.

“That is why international coordination and assistance, financial and otherwise, is crucial to the response to the virus. By deploying these aircraft, Canada will enable our partners to carry out their life-saving work.”

Champagne was recently sent to New York City by Trudeau in a desperate final push to secure support. 

In an interview with the Canadian Press, Champagne argued against recent criticisms regarding Canada’s campaign. 

Last week, Greta Thunberg, along with several other climate activists and UN ambassadors of small island nations, slammed Trudeau for his failure to meet international climate commitments. 

“For the young generation who will inherit the consequences of these decisions, it is critical that those who claim to be leading on climate action are held to account for decisions they are making back at home,” claims the letter.

Thunberg went on to blast Trudeau for subsidizing Canada’s energy sector and not doing enough to curb carbon emissions.

Trudeau has taken a personal role in lobbying for votes in the campaign. Prior to the pandemic, Trudeau travelled throughout Africa to court leaders like Senegalese President Macky Sall despite the country’s tragic human rights record.

While Trudeau was in Senegal, Sall defended his regime’s criminalization of homosexuality. 

“The laws of our country obey rules that are the condensation of our cultural and civilizing values. This has nothing to do with homophobia. Whoever has the sexual orientation of their choice is not the target of exclusion,” said Sall.

Families of Canadians who died in Ukrainian flight shot down by Iran demand justice

By
True North Wire
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The families of Canadians who died at the hands of the Iranian government after it shot down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 in January are demanding the Canadian government bring those responsible to account. 

On Tuesday, a group made up of family members of the 63 Canadian casualties held a virtual press conference slamming the lack of progress made in investigating the matter. 

The commercial airliner was shot down Jan. 8 by Iranian missiles soon after taking off from an airport in Tehran.

Iran eventually took responsibility for the deaths of all 176 passengers and crew, claiming the military had mistaken the aircraft for a cruise missile and shot it down. 

Despite a promise of cooperation, things aren’t moving as quickly as they need to, the victims’ families say.

“The Canadian government continues to seek cooperation and transparency from Iran. A full investigation is necessary to hold those responsible to account, avoid future incidents, and bring closure to families of victims. Canada calls on Iran to cooperate fully,” said a press release by the association. 

“The first step is allowing the black boxes to be downloaded and analyzed in a facility with the capability to do so as soon as possible. Iran is required to do so under international law.”

During their press conference, families outlined several key demands for the Canadian government, including a joint international investigation led by Canada, Ukraine, England, Sweden, Afghanistan and Iran. They also requested that their association, along with Ukraine International Airlines, participate in the investigation. 

The group also requested that Iran should be referred to the International Court of Justice if it continues to refuse cooperation.

Hamed Esmaeilion, who lost his wife and nine-year-old daughter in the crash, led the virtual meeting.

“The association pursues three principal goals: keeping the memories of the victims alive, supporting the families of victims and most importantly seeking justice,” said Esmaeilion. 

“Today, we are here not to share our grief but express our frustration.”

160 days have passed since the incident took place and the Iranian government has still failed to provide necessary access to the evidence required to pursue a full investigation.

In June, Iran claimed that the coronavirus pandemic had setback its plans to send the downed plane’s black boxes abroad for analysis.  

Recently, Iran promised that the black boxes would be delivered to France. Transport Minister Marc Garneau said last Friday that he hopes the exchange happens as soon as possible. 

“We think it is perfectly acceptable, in fact it is a good idea to send those black boxes to France,” Garneau said.

“We know that the BEA, which is an agency in France like our Transportation Safety Board, has the capability and the expertise to analyze these boxes and we are strongly encouraging Iran to move those boxes to Paris as quickly as possible.”

KNIGHT: RCMP failure is in senior leadership, not systemic racism

By
Leo Knight
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The more we think about how the Prime Minister said that the RCMP was infected by systemic racism, the more we come to realize just how wrong those comments were. 

He followed up by saying all Canadian institutions were equally infested with systemic racism.  

Was he just being obtuse? 

Trying to start a debate?

No – he was just repeating the latest social justice warrior mantra. 

Not that there is anything new with any of that. Trudeau is incapable of the critical analysis required to think an idea through. 

The RCMP is a large organization with nearly 30,000 people, including civilians. In an organization that large, is it possible there may be a few racists within. It is also possible there are a few folks who will engage in domestic violence or other crimes. That’s the law of averages. 

And make no mistake, the mark of a good organization is the speed and efficacy in how they handle these bad apple cases. Fortunately, these cases are rare. 

But saying that is a far cry from saying the entire organization is “systemically racist.”

But what exactly is systemic racism? Is it not specifically defined in any of the major dictionaries. So, we are left with it being defined by a number of websites that define it as they see fit and typically whichever definition matches their own political agenda. 

Shortly after the Prime Minister’s remarks, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said she struggles with the term and can’t get her head around any definition. 

But what she didn’t do was deny there was any large scale racism in the RCMP – tacitly throwing every member under the bus. 

But that’s not surprising. The senior RCMP leadership has a long history of not supporting the rank and file. 

Whatever else she may be accused of, she will never be accused of being a good leader.  

Consider the case of the YVR Four who responded to disturbance complaints in October 2007. Their actions were investigated every which way including a public inquiry, a special prosecutor and subsequent prosecutions.

Senior management of the RCMP knew the members did nothing wrong yet failed to defend them despite the public outcry. They threw these members under the bus. 

Two of the four members have worked diligently for the past seven years to shine a light on what can only be described as a shameful cover-up by members of senior management. As a result, they have been met with stonewalling, obfuscation and abject silence. 

The RCMP may be guilty of a number of things, primarily at the senior management. But there is simply no evidence of systemic racism throughout the ranks. 

90% of small businesses cannot qualify for government rent subsidy

By
True North Wire
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A $3 billion business subsidy program created by the Trudeau government is so difficult to qualify for that 90% of Canadian businesses cannot apply.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program has only given out $39 million so far, with new estimates suggesting that only $483 million will be given out in total – only 16% of what was originally budgeted.

The rent subsidy gives commercial landlords a 50% rent grant if they agree to cut rent to tenants facing insolvency.

The tenant has to show a decline in revenue of at least 75% to qualify, but the landlord must also apply for the subsidy in order to receive the payout.

In April the restaurant industry told MPs that the program was not going to work.

Restaurant owner Andrew Oliver told the finance committee that many restaurants in Canada have not had any revenue during the pandemic, making a program that only pays part of their rent useless.

“If you don’t have a catastrophic category for those whose sales are down 99% plus, where they don’t pay any rent but instead are asked to pay let’s say 25 percent rent, you might actually have a wave of restaurants say, ‘I’m out; the government doesn’t understand my business and I cannot hold on any longer,’” said Oliver. 

Conservative MP Kyle Seeback took issue with the requirement that landlords must consent to the program, saying it puts small businesses at the mercy of their landlords.

“By putting all the burden on the landlord – or all of the privilege – whether they choose to apply for this rent subsidy or not, they are putting small business in this country in serious jeopardy,” he said.

“When landlords are behaving badly, why are we not helping small business tenants?”

Despite unprecedented spending and borrowing in 2020, several programs that were touted to help many get through the coronavirus pandemic have not been nearly as helpful as anticipated.

Only a small fraction of the $76 billion Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy has actually been claimed, with poor timing and difficult requirements cited as the cause of the program’s failure.

In May, Canada’s unemployment rate hit a record 13.7%, with around 3.2 million losing their jobs since the pandemic began.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s security fees cost RCMP $56K in overtime, incidentals

By
True North Wire
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The RCMP spent $56,384 on security for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their short-lived residence in Canada.

According to access to information documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) displaying records from Nov. 18 2019 to Jan. 19 2020, RCMP officials worried about security for the couple “costing us huge.” 

“More than $50,000 is nothing to sneeze at, especially when you consider the fact that this is taxpayers’ money covering bills for one of the most famous and wealthy couples in the world,” said CTF Federal Director Aaron Wudrick.

“Had the government not cut them off and had Meghan and Harry stayed in Canada, the bill could have easily turned into millions.”

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced in February that Canadians would stop paying for the family’s security costs in the “coming weeks.” 

The total value reported on by CTF does not include the payment RCMP officers received in terms of salaries but only included money spent on overtime, travel, meals and accommodations. 

RCMP National Division commanding officer Bernadine Chapman wrote in an email dated Jan. 10, 2020, “Media is on this like a hot potato…so lots of coverage of the potential of the royals to spend half their time in Canada now, as an independent couple. Media spin is about the cost to Canadians.”

“We are having a greater conversation next week on the go forward on this. This has a potential to cost us huge!”

When the couple announced they would be abandoning their royal duties to lead more “progressive” lives in Canada, Canadians overwhelmingly opposed paying for the pair’s security costs. 

According to an Angus Reid Institute poll from January 2020, 73% of Canadians said that taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the security bill. 

The couple has since relocated to Los Angeles.

Peter MacKay wants the government to protect Canadians from “dangerous misinformation”

By
True North Wire
-

Conservative leadership candidate Peter MacKay advocated for protecting Canadians from “dangerous misinformation” and “hate propaganda” in a recent interview with Truth and Consequences. 

The conservative outlet interviewed all four leadership candidates regarding their stances on freedom of speech in Canada. 

Out of all of the candidates, MacKay was the only individual to suggest that Canadians need the government to protect them from misinformation.

“It is imperative that Canadians are provided with accurate and reliable information regarding their well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought economic challenges and devastating loss to our country. In the wake of such loss, we cannot allow Canadians to fall victim to dangerous misinformation,” said MacKay.

“The Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects Canadians’ right to freedom of speech. The Charter also contains values of equality and the Criminal Code puts reasonable limitations on the right to freedom of speech and expression to protect citizens from discrimination, hate propaganda, and those knowingly spreading false information.”

MacKay’s sentiments echo those of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has also pursued government action to curb the flow of alleged misinformation. 

Liberal Privy Council President Dominic LeBlanc said in April that the Trudeau government was looking into introducing legislation that would punish those who spread misinformation about the coronavirus online. 

“Legislatures and Parliaments are meeting scarcely because of the current context of the pandemic, so it’s not a quick solution, but it’s certainly something that we would be open [to] as a government,” said LeBlanc.

In response to the same question, Conservative MP Erin O’Toole blasted radical groups who try to silence debate and suggested that he would enshrine further freedom of speech protections in law if elected prime minister.

“As Prime Minister, when radical groups try to silence debate or shut down speakers they disagree with, I will not be afraid to speak up. When I am Prime Minister, Canadians will know they can count on me to use my voice to support theirs when others seek to trample on their freedom of speech,” said O’Toole. 

Leadership Candidate Leslyn Lewis told Truth and Consequences that freedom of speech must be balanced against those who threaten people’s safety. 

“I think that previous governments have failed in striking this balance and have not resisted temptation. They have done so by mandating government agencies across the country to investigate viewpoints that run counter to the leftist worldview as violations of human rights,” said Lewis.

In addition, Conservative MP and leadership candidate Derek Sloan said in an interview that legislation like Bill C-16 was unacceptable and threaten fundamental freedoms in Canada.

“Legally, bills such as C-16 which can compel speech in relation to gender identity are unacceptable. Our social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube cannot claim the liability benefits of a neutral forum, and yet edit, ban and block content according to their own opaque guidelines,” said Sloan. 

“I will introduce legislation that forces social media platforms to have a ‘for cause’ rationale for banning someone on social media that must accord with the breaking of a Canadian law – for example, uttering threats, intimidation, promoting terrorism, etc.” 

Bill C-16 which was introduced in 2016, added gender identity as a protected class under Canada’s human rights code. Critics of the legislation argued that it would infringe on the freedom of expression rights of Canadians by forcing them to use preferred gender pronouns under the threat of legal punishment. 

Canada targeted by Chinese Twitter disinformation campaign

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Twitter accounts believed to be linked to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) targetted Canada in an online disinformation campaign.

The popular social media platform disclosed on June 12 that it had removed 32,242 accounts for suspected cyber operations over the past year.

Among those accounts flagged by Twitter, 23,750 of them were identified as potential PRC affiliated state actors. 

“In general, this entire network was involved in a range of manipulative and coordinated activities. They were Tweeting predominantly in Chinese languages and spreading geopolitical narratives favourable to the Communist Party of China (CCP), while continuing to push deceptive narratives about the political dynamics in Hong Kong,” wrote a report by Twitter Safety.

While a large quantity of the activity seemed to be directed at controlling the narrative over domestic matters in China like the status of Hong Kong, a number of the tweets were directed at and mentioned Canada. 

True North accessed an archive of the suspected malicious tweets made publicly available by Twitter and found that nearly 400 tweets made some reference to the term “Canada” or its Chinese translation. 

“Canada:  #HongKong could be Democracy like Iraq, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Somalia,” wrote Twitter user Jimmy73574468 before being removed from the platform. 

“Disgusting Western democracy and freedom! Coordinate BC, Canada. Today, my friend went to renew his driver’s license. The result is to fill in a list of organ donation directly. If you don’t look carefully, you agree, it’s disgusting!” wrote one Chinese tweet which has since been translated into English. 

This is not the first time that Canada has been at the receiving end of cyber espionage directed by the PRC.  

Canadian coronavirus vaccine research has been the target of “malicious” cyberattacks in recent months. 

Both the Communications Security Establishment’s Cyber Centre (CSE) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) issued warnings in May that Canada was vulnerable to such attacks. 

“With regards to the specific threats, the (CSE’s) Cyber Centre has assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic presents an elevated level of risk to the cybersecurity of Canadian health organizations involved in the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CSE’s acting director-general of public affairs Christopher Williams.

“(CSIS) sees an increased risk of foreign interference and espionage due to the extraordinary effort of our businesses and research centres … (CSIS’) focus is on protecting Canadian intellectual property from these threats — and jobs and economic interests with it.”

Everyone Is Cancelled

By
Andrew Lawton
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW!

People in media, academia and the entertainment sector are dropping like dominos in what’s been called the racial reckoning of 2020. Except these mass cancellations are not about racism, but rather mob justice that flies in the face of history, common sense and truth.

Also, CBC is telling children that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is “transphobic” and “dangerous” for saying that only women can menstruate. True North’s Andrew Lawton has the latest.

Anti-racism activists issue further calls to remove statues, change place names

By
True North Wire
-

Anti-racism activists have added several more iconic Canadian statues and place names to their chopping block. 

Last week, True North reported on a number of calls to either remove monuments or rename streets. Since then, further calls have issued forth to erase or change Canadian history. 

Students at McGill University are now demanding that the university remove a statue of its namesake and founder James McGill from the school’s downtown campus. 

A petition circulating online launched by former student Hannah Wallace says that the statue’s removal is “overdue.” 

“James McGill was a slave owner who enslaved Black and Indigenous people,” wrote Wallace. 

“McGill University makes no mention of this on their website, instead romanticizing his boring life.”

The University has not indicated whether or not it would topple the statue, but it did email students on Friday claiming that it intends to investigate the post-secondary school’s historical association with racism and slavery. 

Two other Ontario towns have also become targetted by leftist activists. 

Some residents from Vaughan have called on the city’s mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua to rename the town and for a new historical hero to be recognized for the city’s civic holiday in August.  

The petition cites the city’s namesake, Benjamin Vaughan’s advocacy for slavery while a Canadian MP. 

“It is shameful that we uphold these people as heroes in our communities by naming cities after them and declaring civic holidays in honour of them,” wrote petition organizer Lindsay Michelle. 

“We need to stand up against people like Benjamin Vaughan who have made decisions as a politician and everyday human that has caused trauma, violence and even death for black, indigenous and people of colour.”

Russell, Ontario has also been on the receiving end of calls to have its name changed. The township was originally named after 18th-century Canadian politician Peter Russell. 

In response, Mayor Pierre Leroux will be bringing forward a motion to council to have the name changed. Leroux suggested that the town be named after another member of the Russell family.

“We don’t share the values, we never have shared the values, of Mr. Peter Russell, and we’re looking to move forward,” said Leroux. 

CBC tells kids J.K. Rowling is “transphobic” for saying only women menstruate

By
Andrew Lawton
-

A CBC children’s show is calling Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling “transphobic” and “dangerous” for saying only women menstruate.

In the June 12 episode of the CBC Kids News programme Recap, the three cohosts say they are “fired up” over a Twitter firestorm that started earlier this month when Rowling defended a biological definition of womanhood.

Rowling tweeted about an article that referred to “people who menstruate” rather than women, playfully saying there “used to be a word for those people.”

In the CBC Kids segment, Recap cohost Veena Yamano mockingly said Rowling “took issue with the word ‘people.’”

“There are lots of us who menstruate who don’t identify as women,” Yamano said.

After Yamano quoted Rowling as saying “My life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so,” cohost Sean Tran jumped in to say, “It’s 2020. Releasing these kind of statements online is not a good look.”

Tran then pointed out that Rowling has been “accused of transphobic stuff in the past,” referring to Rowling’s support of Maya Forstater, a British researcher who was fired for stating her belief that people cannot change their sex.

The hosts then shared Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe’s statement in defense of trans identities, saying that “seeing Daniel advocate for what he believes in is so inspiring.”

Yamano said the episode will “diminish the amount of respect that J.K. Rowling has acquired over the years,” but concedes that her writing is “exceptional.”

A web story accompanying the episode quotes a Simon Fraser University professor as saying Rowling’s view that only biological women menstruate is “dangerous” and “ignorant.”

The show Recap is targeted towards children as young as six, CBC’s website says.

“In a world of real news, fake news, clickbait and hot takes, it’s no wonder our heads are spinning from all of the information.

The show aims to “cut the clutter.”

Last year, CBC Kids published a segment glorifying child drag performers “as they prepare to slay on Montreal stage.”

CBC Kids previously came under fire for seeking a host of “any race except Caucasian.”

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