After months of being locked down, there’s still a lot of confusion about the rules public officials put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
A lot of Canadians are starting to take matters in their own hands. Many people feel they can take the necessary precautions and make their own calculated risks.
True North’s Anthony Furey wonders if we’ll see a flare-up of cases in the coming weeks or if Canadians will prove they can return to normal safely and responsibly.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran, a group of Iranian dissidents, says nearly 50,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Iran, dwarfing the Iranian regime’s official numbers.
Ali Safavi of the NCRI joined the Andrew Lawton Show to discuss.
A Twitter account belonging to the civic political party of Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum falsely accused RCMP officers of committing murder.
On Friday, the official Safe Surrey Coalition account tweeted: “Poorly trained RCMP murder a defenceless man and then delete video evidence to cover up the crime.”
The accusations came after the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) reported on the death of a man who died in police custody in 2017.
In their report, the IIO recommended that the BC Prosecution Service lay charges on several officers over their use of force and obstruction of justice.
To date, no charges have been laid against the officers nor have they been convicted of any crimes.
“In order to approve the charges, the BC Prosecution Service must be satisfied that there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by the IIO, and that prosecution is required in the public interest,” the IIO report said.
“When an officer attempted to question the male (suspected of casing cars in a parking lot), he allegedly attempted to flee on a bicycle. While attempting to take the man into custody, a struggle ensued between him and the officer and additional officers then arrived. OC (pepper) spray was used. The male appeared to be having trouble breathing and police requested medical assistance. Officers reported that the male was removed from the police vehicle when Emergency Health Services (EHS) arrived, and collapsed. The male was pronounced deceased shortly thereafter.”
In response to the tweet, Surrey City Councillor Jack Hundial told the Burnaby Now that it was a “new low to politics” and called it an “attack on police officers everywhere.”
“I’ve seen a new low to politics in Surrey and you couple this with a person that the NDP government is looking at leading a police board,” said Hundial.
“In the last week we’ve heard allegations of [McCallum] harassing someone’s immigration status and now the leader of one of the largest cities in Canada promoting what I think is akin to actual hate of law enforcement, regardless of the organization. It’s an attack on police officers everywhere.”
According to Surrey RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards, Mayor McCallum apologized for the tweet which has since been deleted.
Former leader of the Canadian Alliance Stockwell Day resigned from his positions at Telus and McMillan LLP after saying that Canada is not a systemically racist country.
Day was formerly on the Telus board of directors and held the position of strategic advisor at McMillan LLP. Both companies released statements condemning Day’s comments and claiming that they do not reflect the companies’ values.
Day’s comments were made during a CBC News interview on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s reaction to the ongoing George Floyd protests taking place in the US and Canada.
“I’m sorry but I reject the prime minister insinuating that all Canadians are somehow racist because our system is systemically racist. It is not,” said Day.
“The Canadian system is built and every day functions to defend the rights of minorities and it should and we celebrate that.”
Leftists attacked Day over his remarks shortly after the interview aired.
For example, Toronto Star columnist Shree Paradkar called on media outlets to no longer invite Day onto panels to comment on issues.
In the interview, Stockwell Day compared his personal experience with bullying as a child with the discrimination faced by visible minorities.
“Should I have gone through school and been mocked because I had glasses and was called four-eyes and because of the occupation of my parents? Should I have been mocked for all that? No, of course not. But are Canadians largely and in majority racist? No, we are not,” Day said.
In Telus’ statement, the company said that Day’s comments “are not reflective of the values and beliefs of our organization.”
Meanwhile, McMillan LLP tweeted that Day’s remarks run counter to the company’s beliefs.
“At McMillan LLP, we believe that systemic racism is real and that it can only be addressed when each of us – as individuals and organizations – commits to meaningful change.”
A Montreal-based Antifa website has issued calls for further violence against police and more looting of Canadian businesses “because everyone should have nice things.”
Montreal Counter-Information has a longstanding history of instructing anarchists on violent tactics and sabotage. The website serves as a communications base where various groups and users share information and communiques within Montreal’s Antifa community.
In one anonymous submission published on Tuesday titled “Bring the Uprising Home”, the article calls for anarchists to replicate the violent US riots within Canadian cities.
Over the period of several days, many US cities erupted in violent protests after Minneapolis local George Floyd died while in police custody.
In the piece, the author gloats about the success of looting local businesses and goes on to call for further violence against police.
“It’s legitimate to attack the police, an institution designed and dedicated to violently suppressing Black people’s freedom, enforcing the theft of native land, and defending those who get rich by exploiting us,” writes the anonymous author.
“It’s legitimate to loot stores, because everyone should have nice things, and a world that values commercial property over Black lives continues to put people like George Floyd and Regis Korchinski-Paquet in grave danger of premature death.”
True North reached out to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) for comment on whether the website was under investigation but had not heard back by the time of publication.
Violent anarchists clashed with SPVM forces over the weekend when instigators used the mostly peaceful protest as an opportunity to loot stores and attack police.
The anonymous user also goes onto complain about peaceful protesters and those who film the looting and violence.
“To resist this trend, we want to remind everyone present to intervene directly if you see people filming during riots; tell them to stop and if necessary make them stop. And to the brave people breaking glass and starting fires, remind one another to keep your faces covered,” claims the article.
This is not the first time that Montreal Counter-Information and other related anarchist websites like North Shore Counter-Info have posted calls to violence and property damage.
While Canada was under lockdown and shortly after Canada’s deadliest mass shooting which resulted in several deaths, including one RCMP officer, Montreal Counter-Information shared a post calling for readers to assault police officers and prison guards.
“Now that the cages are chock full and that people slowly die behind bars, what could happen if the guards’ cars would unfortunately meet with a screwdriver/hammer/firestarter? If the people who lock up and stand guard, already under constant pressure, were hit and beaten while going back home? asked another anonymous submission to Montreal Counter-Information.
Antifa and other related violent anarchist groups continue to pose a threat to peaceful and civil society.
According to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s 2019 public report “Anarchist violence” was listed under the category of “ideologically motivated violent extremism” alongside ethno-nationalist violence and violent incel misogyny.
US President Donald Trump recently announced that Antifa would be designated as a terrorist organization.
The Canadian government officials who say we all need to stay home to save lives are okay with the current wave of protests so long as people don’t yell moistly.
Also, are we ready to shift to a four-day work week?
Plus, Iranian dissident Ali Safavi from the National Council of Resistance of Iran joins the show to discuss the Iranian regime’s coronavirus lies.
Tune into the latest episode of The Andrew Lawton Show!
According to the Toronto Sun, rumours have circulated on social media that another bout of protests is scheduled for June 6.
In response to the violence witnessed across the US and in Montreal, Toronto businesses are taking preemptive steps to protect themselves.
Pictures are circulating online of Hudson’s Bay stores installing plywood over their storefronts. Meanwhile, the owner of the Eaton Centre, Cadillac Fairview, has increased the level of security at its shopping centres.
“Since mall access has been restricted to only essential services (as of early April) and retailers with an exterior entrance for in-store shopping or curbside pickup, we have implemented additional safety measures around the perimeter of all of our shopping centres in Ontario,” spokesperson Janine Ramparas told the Toronto Sun.
“That said, we did not make any changes to storefronts.”
Nordstrom on Yonge St. also temporarily shut down on Monday after being “impacted” by weekend gatherings.
“Some of our stores were impacted by gatherings in our cities this weekend, and we wanted to take the time to assess the damage, repair and reopen those stores so we can continue serving customers as soon as possible,” Nordstrom told the Toronto Sun.
“Thankfully, none of our employees were injured in these events … Windows and merchandise can be replaced. Tremendous change is needed to address the issues facing black people in our country today.”
Toronto’s Winners and HomeSense locations have also confirmed that they have installed plywood to protect their properties.
The Trudeau government’s mishandling of Canada’s medical equipment stockpile will cost taxpayers at least $1.8 billion according to Treasury Board disclosures.
First reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the documents estimate the total “payments to acquire protective gear and medical equipment” will be $1.8 billion this year, more than three times the original estimate in April.
The entire annual budget for the Public Health Agency is $675 million.
Since the coronavirus pandemic began the Canadian government has been buying personal protective equipment at prices inflated upwards of 380%.
Deputy Public Works Minister Bill Matthews told the health committee that before the pandemic the price of a N95 face mask was around $1.20. Today prices are “up to five or six dollars a mask.”
“The cost of masks depends on when you placed your order, frankly,” Matthews told MPs.
“So if the stockpile had been stocked up we would have saved a lot of money,” responded Conservative MP Kelly McCauley.
In April it was revealed that Canada’s stockpile of emergency medical equipment was practically empty prior to the pandemic. The Public Health Agency had disposed of two million masks and other pieces of equipment in 2019.
While the government claims the equipment was expired, new equipment was never purchased, going against a report written by chief public health advisor Dr. Theresa Tam in 2006, recommending the government stockpile four months worth of masks.
“A pandemic will likely result in shortages of medications, medical supplies and potentially operational supplies,” Dr. Tam’s The Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan For The Health Sector said.
In February Global Affairs Canada gave 16 tonnes of medical equipment, including masks, to China, further exacerbating Canada’s medical equipment shortage.
Only a month later the government was buying the same equipment, often from Chinese companies at inflated prices.
By the end of March Dr. Howard Njoo, the deputy chief public health officer, said shortages of medical supplies began almost immediately after coronavirus reached Canada.
A new report by BC’s auditor general has highlighted vulnerabilities in BC’s provincial nominee immigration program.
The independent audit report released on Tuesday found that BC’s Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness failed to assess the risk of corruption and fraud in the program.
“We found that the ministry had not done a structured assessment to comprehensively identify and assess risks of misrepresentation, fraud and corruption,” claimed the report.
“Carrying out a structured and comprehensive risk assessment is at the heart of good practice guides for managing fraud and corruption risks. An organization may be aware of certain risks as they arise during the normal course of business.”
Auditor General Russ Jones found that the provincial nominee program had inadequate fraud deterrents, inadequate flagging of high-risk applications and no fraud reporting mechanism.
“We found areas where the ministry was missing safeguards to address the risk of fraud and misrepresentation by external parties. These gaps heightened the risk of the ministry not detecting fraudulent applications and then approving them,” said the report.
“We also found gaps in the ministry’s safeguards against staff corruption. For example, the online case management system was lacking safeguards to monitor staff activity and ensure separation of duties. Setting up safeguards against corruption is important not only in protecting the integrity of B.C.’s role in the immigration system but also in protecting staff from coercion by outside parties.”
BC has had several run-ins with large scale immigration fraud operations.
In 2019, several people were arrested for fraudulently assisting 1,600 people to become Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
The unlicensed companies New Can Consultants and Wellington International Investments engaged in a $10 million passport fraud scheme over a period of seven years.
The Town of Oakville handed out more fines over the weekend, targeting those breaking coronavirus lockdown rules.
In one case, town bylaw officers handed the host of a “social gathering” a $750 ticket for having more than five people over.
According to the local media publication Inside Halton, Oakville bylaw officers responded to 276 complaints regarding coronavirus violations and handed out 160 warnings.
Out of these interactions, four bylaw tickets were issued to Oakville residents. The other three tickets totalled $300.
This is not Oakville’s first foray into ticketing locals for breaking the rules.
In April, an Oakville father was given an $880 ticket for allegedly breaking physical distancing rules while rollerblading with his sons on the property of a local community centre.
Todd Nelson claims that he was approached by a local bylaw officer who asked him to leave the empty Glen Abbey Community Centre parking lot.
The officer then ticketed Nelson for failing to comply with emergency orders.
“In terms of, you know, the spirit of social distancing, it was just our immediate family,” said Nelson.
The city did not comment on the specific ticket but reiterated that bylaws are in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“We are in a pandemic and the province and the town have both put in place orders and bylaws to protect the public and to help curb the spread of COVID-19,” town officials told Global News.
