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Saturday, May 10, 2025

Liberal MP’s attempt to bully media outlet with taunt over subsidies backfires 

By
Noah Jarvis, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed is facing heat after taunting a journalist critical of the Trudeau government with the fact that her publication receives government subsidies. 

Noormohamed, who serves as parliamentary secretary in the Heritage Ministry, replied to National Post journalist Terry Newman on X who was criticizing the Trudeau government and Immigration Minister Marc Miller for making Canada a less safe country during their time in power. 

Noormohamed responded to the criticism by reminding Newman that the federal government heavily subsidizes the wages of National Post’s journalists while attacking the Post for its ownership. 

“Your paper wouldn’t be in business were it not for the subsidies that the government that you hate put in place – the same subsidies your Trump – adjacent foreign hedge fund owners gladly take to pay your salary,” said Noormohamed. 

Noormohamed is referring to the Trudeau government’s $600 million subsidy fund for large legacy media news outlets from which companies like Postmedia, TorStar, and the Globe & Mail all draw. 

Critics of the news media subsidy fund claim that the government’s funding of news journalism breaches the independence of the media, compromising a journalist’s and news organization’s ability to report on the government impartially. 

Many of these critiques were reiterated in reply to Noormohamed’s controversial post.

Newman fired back with a sarcastic comment claiming that she would stop criticizing the government while begging Noormohamed to keep her job.

“Okay. You win. You pay my salary. I’ll stop criticizing your government now. Please don’t fire me,” said Newman.

Jesse Brown, the founder of the centre-left, independent Canadaland mocked Noormohamed’s comment, claiming that statements like that from the Liberal MP hurts the reputation of the party and government.

“One day this government’s accidental destruction of the independent press will be studied as a cautionary tale,” said Brown.

National Post columnist Adam Zivo expressed worry that Noormohamed may believe that media subsidies are meant to buy the Liberal government the media’s support.

“It’s concerning that an MP seemingly believes that newspapers which receive public subsidies should refrain from criticizing the government,” said Zivo. “Definitely doesn’t help with the perception that the government is trying to bribe the media into compliance…”

TD Bank economist Marc Lévesque said that Noormohamed’s comments demonstrate the problem with the government giving the news media subsidies.

“Wow! This is why government subsidies for the press are problematic,” said Lévesque. “This MP is essentially saying that a journalist should not be criticizing the government because they get subsidies. It’s almost a threat.”

True North reached out to Noormohamed for comment, though no response was given. 

An August poll commissioned by True North and conducted by One Persuasion found that 55% of Canadians either moderately or strongly agree that news media companies dependent on taxpayer funding are incapable of impartially reporting on the government.

Ratio’d | Trudeau staff FLEE the SINKING SHIP

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Following the sudden resignation of Justin Trudeau’s national campaign director last week and the sudden collapse of the coalition deal with the NDP, news broke today that 5 top Liberal government aides had left their posts. Trudeau’s sinking ship is running out of life rafts.

Desperate times call for desperate measures however and in a move to hold on to the levers of power, Justin Trudeau may just turn to the Quebec separatists to form a new coalition. But at what cost for the country?

Watch the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner!

Remaining Coutts protesters sentenced to over six years each

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
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Source: Unsplash

Justice David Labrenz sentenced Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert to prison on Monday for their roles in the Coutts border blockade in Feb. 2022.

The two remaining Coutts Four members spent over 900 days in remand awaiting trial.

Two of the four initial members, Chris Lysak and Jerry Morin, accepted a plea deal on lesser charges in Feb. The conspiracy to commit murder charges were dropped, and the two men were released.

Lysak was sentenced to three years for possession of a restricted firearm in an unauthorized place, and Morin was sentenced to three and a half years for conspiracy to traffic firearms. Both sentences amounted to time served awaiting trial for the two men. 

Olienick and Carbert both had the conspiracy to commit murder charges dropped about a week before this ruling, but Crown prosecutors are appealing.

Monday’s ruling resulted in Chris Carbert being sentenced to six and a half years in prison for mischief and obstruction and Anthony Olienick being sentenced to six years for the same charges and possessing an explosive weapon. However, after accounting for time served, the remaining sentences are brought down to approximately two years each.

Both will also be subject to lifetime firearms prohibitions and be required to submit their DNA to a registry. 

In August, the Crown recommended a sentence of nine years for Olienick and Carbert.

Opinions on the sentencing varied online, with some commentators, including Carbert’s mother doubting the soundness of the sentence.

Gord Magill, a writer and trucker who has commented on the Coutts trial in the past, said that the judge’s ruling obliged the Crown and spent much of the time “relitigating” charges for which the two men were found not guilty.

Carbert’s mother agreed with Magill’s take.

“I don’t feel the judge based his decision on actual facts,” said Betty Carbert. “I also feel he based some of it on the charge that they were acquitted from.” 

Others posting on X decried that criminals were walking the street on bail and committing the vast majority of crimes in the country. 

Many upset Canadians provided examples of lenient jailing procedures in non-politicized trials.

“Meanwhile, a guy out on parole for assault (and 60+ other ‘police interactions’) cut off one man’s head and another’s hand in broad daylight in downtown Vancouver…,” said one X user.

Rebel News’ Sheila Gunn Reid was at the trial. She said that the row containing the families of Olienick and Carbert was filled with hung heads.

“Every day in this country, we have politicians and senior bureaucrats committing crimes that are way worse than mischief but get away with it. Sad day for Canada,” said Martyupnorth, a well-known Albertan commentator on X. 

Five Liberal chiefs of staff slated to abandon the ailing party

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

An exodus of Liberal chiefs of staff is underway in the wake of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ending his supply-and-confidence pact with the party and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plummeting popularity. 

Five of Trudeau’s 38 ministerial chiefs of staff have abandoned the party in rapid succession, following in the footsteps of several others who have already gone.

Six anonymous Liberal sources told the Globe and Mail that top advisers in departments such as Mental Health and Addictions, Global Affairs, Heritage, National Revenue, and Environment have exited their roles. 

According to the sources, several staffers had already been planning to leave for months or even longer.

Peter Wilkinson, chief of staff for Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is stepping away after less than two years on the job and senior staffer Jamie Kippen already left his role as chief of staff to Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.

Additionally, chief of staff Jude Welch for Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, has moved on and Frédérique Tsai-Klassen, top adviser to Minister of National Revenue Marie-Claude Bibeau is leaving. 

Finally, Sarah Welch, chief of staff for Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Ya’ara Saks is stepping down.

According to sources, the bulk of senior staff who have left don’t have another job waiting for them, however, they are entitled to severance pay.

The Prime Minister’s Office declined True North’s request for comment. 

The departure of the five chiefs of staff comes on the heels of the Liberals’ top staffer and national campaign director Jeremy Broadhurst announcing his resignation last week. 

Despite being with the party since 2015, Broadhurst allegedly told the prime minister that he didn’t think he could win the next election and that Trudeau should acquire a new campaign director who did think a fourth term was possible. 

According to one source within the Liberal party, Broadhurst also told Trudeau that he no longer had the fight in him to continue.

The latest exodus of senior staffers is in addition to Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan announcing his resignation in July, joining 16 other Liberal MPs to declare that they won’t be running for re-election. 

There are also rumours that Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez may be stepping down as well with reports that he’s being courted for a Quebec Liberal leadership bid. 

Some positions have already been filled, including Alexandre Boulé, who is now the acting chief for Joly and Marianne Dandurand, who is replacing Tsai-Klassen as chief at National Revenue.

However, Global Affairs has yet to announce a permanent replacement, as well as the chief of staff to the Mental Health and Addictions minister.

Bloc Quebecois positions itself for a coalition to keep Justin Trudeau in power

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

In the wake of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh announcing an end to his coalition with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Bloc Québécois hopes to step in and take the NDP’s place in helping the Liberals ward off an early election. 

Last week, Singh “ripped up” the supply and confidence agreement between the two parties. Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet is now leveraging his party’s position to get “gains” for Quebec in exchange for voting with the government.

Parliament resumes in the House of Commons on Monday next week. The Conservatives have promised to introduce a motion of no confidence in the current government, while the NDP has said it would consider supporting Trudeau on a “vote-by-vote basis.”

Blanchet’s proposed deal would mean the Bloc would support Trudeau’s Liberals in votes in exchange for “clear gains” for Quebec.

At a press conference in Ottawa on Monday, Blanchet told reporters that he felt “good” about his party’s newfound additional power. Like Singh last week, Blanchet had his eyes on Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in the next election.

“Pierre Poilievre recognizes that the political party with the most influence in the Canadian Parliament right now for the future is the Bloc Québécois,” Blanchet said in French. “he’s using insults to ask the Bloc Québécois to help him become leader, in the hope of saving us the trouble of telling us what he’s going to do, where he’s going to cut those billions and what he’s going to do about the various issues.”

Blanchet said Poilievre and Trudeau are the same on policies that matter to Quebecers, such as immigration, French language laws, money that he believes is owed to Quebec and pensions for seniors.

“There are plenty of issues on which (Poilievre’s) in the same position as Justin Trudeau,” Blanchet said. “ show us that you’re different, Justin Trudeau, apart from being against abortion, then we’ll see what you have to offer.”

Poilievre has addressed the issue of abortion multiple times. Each time, to the dismay of many pro-life conservatives in Canada, declaring himself to be “pro-choice.” 

During Poilievre’s leadership race for the Conservative party, which he won with 68% support, he clearly stated his pro-choice position.

Poilievre’s office did not respond to True North’s requests to comment before the deadline provided.

Blanchet said he would announce the Bloc’s demands of the Liberal government in a statement on Tuesday.

“I’m not paid by the hour to be Pierre Poilievre’s agent when he wants to become Prime Minister of Canada. I’m here to make gains for Quebec,” Blanchet said. If the Liberals don’t get into the frame of mind to let us make some very clear gains for Quebec, they’d better pump up the tires on their election truck right away.”

Princess of Wales confirms she is “cancer-free” following treatment

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Source: Wikimedia

The Princess of Wales confirmed that she has completed her chemotherapy treatment and that she is “cancer-free” after going public with her diagnosis earlier this year. 

Catherine confirmed the good news in a video message on Monday, saying that she’s relieved to finish preventative treatment, following an “incredibly tough” time for her and her loved ones. 

“As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment,” she said.

“The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown.”

The video shows Catherine in Norfolk with her husband, William, Prince of Wales, and their three children: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6. 

It also includes her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton.

According to Kensington Palace, the Princess hopes to take on “a handful” of public engagements in the coming months, adding that she has already begun doing what she can from home.

Following a major abdominal surgery in January, she was told that the presence of cancer had been detected. 

She made the news public in March, however, the palace didn’t provide any further details regarding what type of cancer it is, the stage of her illness or any other specifics about her treatment.

It wasn’t until June that she would make her first public appearance following the news, when she attended the annual military parade, Trooping the Colour in June, which also marked the official birthday of King Charles.

Catherine was also present for the Wimbledon tennis championships the following month. 

“This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved,” said Catherine.

“Despite all that has gone before I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life.”

BC United will run some candidates in coming election despite shutting campaign down

By
Noah Jarvis, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

After BC United leader Kevin Falcon declared the party would be suspending its 2024 provincial election campaign, the party is now saying it will run candidates in a select number of ridings.

In an email from BC United’s executive director Lindsay Cote to their party members, the party stated that while it is in the process of revoking the nominations of their candidates with Elections BC, the party will continue to slate a few candidates for election.

BC United says their decision to run a handful of candidates in a select number of ridings was made in order to retain their status as a registered political party with Elections BC.

“While our full province-wide campaign for the election has been suspended, we intend on running a select number of candidates in the upcoming election,” said Cote in the email.

“The intention is to ensure that BC United (formerly the BC Liberal Party) remains a registered political party with Elections BC.”

However, in a comment to True North, Elections BC said that parties are not required to field candidates in every election, and that deregistration only occurs when a party fails to field at least two candidates in two general elections in a row.

“If a party does not field candidates in a general election, it must field at least two candidates in the next general election. Otherwise, it will be automatically deregistered,” said Elections BC.

While BC United intends to run some candidates in the fall election, no decision has been made as to which ridings the party will run candidates in. 

The decision to run some candidates in select ridings was mostly likely made in collaboration with BC United leader Kevin Falcon and the party’s executive, as the email reiterates that the party leader has the sole power to revoke and approve candidate nominations.

True North has reached out to BC United and their leader Kevin Falcon for comment, though no response was given. 

Late last month, Falcon announced that BC United would be suspending its election campaign, withdrawing its candidates from the race, and endorsing the rival centre-right BC Conservatives. 

However, shortly after announcing the campaign’s suspension, BC United’s financial woes became apparent. The party is currently struggling to pay off their campaign expenses and is still fielding donations from loyal supporters to pay said debts.

In a second email, BC United says that it is still accepting donations to help keep the lights on and pay all outstanding expenses.

“It is our goal to ensure all legitimate expenses are paid. We are currently reviewing all submitted invoices and reimbursement requests,” states the email.

“We’d like donations to continue so we can ensure we have the funds to keep the lights on. However, donors are able to contact [email protected] to make changes to their contributions.”

By running candidates and garnering votes, BC United will retain eligibility for the $1.81 per vote subsidy given to registered political parties.

As BC United gears up to run a few candidates, the party is seeing several of their former candidates continue their run for a Legislative Assembly seat as independents. 

Peace River South MLA and former BC Liberal cabinet minister Mike Bernier is the candidate with the highest profile running as an independent after Bernier was reportedly blindsided by Falcon’s suspension of BC United’s campaign.

Kootenay-Rockies MLA Tom Shypitka, and Peace River North MLA Dan Davies are also running as independents, with two other BC United candidates also opting to do the same.

Hundreds of Grades 7-9 students in Ottawa forced into virtual learning

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, True North Wire
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Source: Unsplash

Ottawa parents are upset after hundreds of Grades 7 to 9 students had to be forced into virtual schooling from home, due to last-minute delays in constructing a new school.

Parents learned from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board on Friday that students won’t start at the new Maplewood Secondary School in Stittsville until Sept. 17 at the earliest. 

Concerns over the new construction being up to code forced the OCDSB to put off the opening. 

“City of Ottawa officials have been on-site all week as the contractor completes the required work for occupancy,” an OCDSB statement sent to parents reads. 

“We anticipate an occupancy inspection will be conducted next week and we will send you a confirmation email by noon on Wednesday, Sept. 11.”

News of the delays has many parents up in arms. In a delegation submission currently before the OCDSB, parent Jenny Guth blasted administrators for giving parents no input. 

“Parents and students have had no choice but to accept this last minute decision, without having been able to give any input or feedback, and without having had any meaningful response as to how long this contingency plan will be in place. This is NOT acceptable,” wrote Guth. 

“Regardless of who might be at fault for this delayed opening, despite the school having been under construction since 2021, the Board must step in, take control, pull out all the stops, and get this school completed with an opening date that is as soon as possible. We demand that the Board sets and enforces a definite opening date.” 

Contingency plans have been introduced for the 807 students from Grades 7-9 who will be forced into virtual learning. 

“To facilitate this transition, all students (grades 7-9) will be learning from home (asynchronous) under the teacher’s guidance on Friday, Sept. 13 and Monday, Sept. 16,” wrote the OCDSB.

Students between Grade 7 and 8 will also spend some of the beginning of the new school year at a different school while Grade 9 students will solely be learning online. 

“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigated the construction delays. We acknowledge the inconvenience and stress this may have caused and are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for your child,” said the OCDSB.

The new school is planning on becoming a Grades 7-12 school by the year 2027, with plans to introduce new grades every year. 

CIJA launches Election Hub to support Jewish voters ahead of B.C. election

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
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Source: elections.bc.ca

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has launched an Election Hub to provide resources and advocate for the organization’s priorities before the upcoming British Columbia provincial election.

British Columbians will head to the polls to vote on Oct. 19. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said it hopes to help the Jewish community actively engage in this process.

Nico Slobinsky, the Vice President of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs Pacific Region, told True North that the reaction to the hub since its launch has been positive and several community members have expressed interest in the advocacy priorities. The positive feedback included community members saying they would pass the resources on to their friends and family.

“B.C.’s election season falls in the middle of the Jewish High Holy Days and the first anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attacks committed by Hamas. At this critical time, we created the BC Election Hub to give our members and allies an accessible resource to help them make an informed decision at the ballot box,” said Slobinsky.

The Jewish community has been present in British Columbia for over 160 years. It includes around 40,000 members, according to the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. 

The Election Hub features various resources, along with CIJA’s community priorities. The priorities include building more affordable housing, making hate crime and incident reporting mandatory, combatting hate and antisemitism, and more.

The many priorities include myriads of requests from the B.C. government, such as implementing mandatory Holocaust education in the province’s K-12 education, standardizing hate crime reporting, leading a trade mission to Israel, and much more.

On top of the organization’s priorities, the Election Hub also includes resources for residents to learn about British Columbia’s major political parties and access election resources from Elections BC, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, and the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee. 

According to CIJA, one in six community members lives below the poverty line and depend on government subsidies. British Columbian Jews comprise the largest proportion of those born elsewhere in Canada, 36%. The community has grown by 2% annually since 2001. 

“Between 2019 and 2021, police-reported hate crimes targeting Jewish people in B.C. rose by 59%,” said the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs’ community priorities document. 

Despite making up less than 1% of Canada’s population, Jewish people accounted for 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in 2023. 

“During this time, it is important that we consider policies that strengthen family, community, and government efforts to combat antisemitism,” said Slobinsky. “I encourage community members and our allies to educate themselves on the party platforms and to get involved in the democratic process by voting and volunteering.”

Conservatives want answers after alleged terrorist’s arrest at U.S. border

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Source: X

The Conservatives are calling on the Trudeau government to explain how a Pakistani man arrested over an alleged ISIS terror plot was allowed into Canada to begin with. 

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was arrested in Ormstown, Que. on Friday as he attempted to cross the U.S. border to execute an alleged terror attack. 

The arrest took place while the man was heading toward Roxham Road with plans to illegally enter the U.S. and attack Jewish people in New York City but was arrested beforehand around 5 p.m., near the intersection of Gale and Church streets.

While federal officials declined to respond to questions regarding Khan’s immigration status, citing privacy laws, they did confirm that a review of how he arrived in Canada is underway. 

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Khan is described as a “Pakistani citizen residing in Canada.”

“Given what we’ve recently learned about one alleged ISIS terrorist being let into Canada, the Trudeau Government must be open and transparent with Canadians to answer how and when Muhammad Shahzeb Khan was able to gain entry to Canada and whether there were any early warning signs,” Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman told True North.

“If the Liberal Government does not quickly disclose this key information, Common Sense Conservatives will be seeking to force them to do so, as we did with Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi.”

Ahmed Eldidi and his 26-year-old son Mostafa Eldidi were arrested by the RCMP and charged with conspiring to commit a terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State in July. 

The planned terrorist attack in Toronto was thwarted due to a tip by French authorities, who warned the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service about the plot.

Their case has raised questions as to how the two were able to gain entry into Canada in the first place as Ahmed was allegedly captured on video in 2015 dismembering a prisoner with a sword in an ISIS execution video, hacking the hands and feet off of a man being hung on a pole. 

Furthermore, RCMP confirmed that Ahmed was granted Canadian citizenship and was living in Toronto at the time of their arrest. 

Aissa Diop, director of communications for Immigration Minister Marc Miller said that they were “looking into” Khan’s immigration status but that they “will not comment further as there is an investigation.”

Khan’s arrest on Friday was on a U.S. extradition warrant, which led to him being charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The F.B.I. confirmed that Khan had told undercover officers that he intended to “slaughter” Jews in New York City on or around Oct. 7, marking the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel. 

Lantsman said while her party is “grateful that law enforcement and security officials on both sides of the border were able to foil what would have been a horrific attack,” that “Conservatives take our national security seriously and we will continue to ensure the Trudeau government provides answers to Canadians.”

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