Justin Trudeau proved he wants to be surrounded only by sycophants when he excluded Andrew Scheer from the meeting of party leaders to address Canada’s blockade crisis. True North’s Andrew Lawton talks about Trudeau’s Mean Girls routine in this edition of the show, as well as a push from CBC and the mainstream media to have government regulate new media.
Also, former Greenpeace Canada president Patrick Moore joins the show to discuss the City of Regina’s deplatforming of him from an upcoming conference.
After spending the guts of two weeks traipsing around Africa and Europe ostensibly doling out taxpayer money to solicit support for his vanity seat on the UN Security Council, the Prime Minister finally came back to Canada to address the burgeoning blockade protests popping up across the country
The protests have ground the country to a halt economically, shutting down rail traffic and preventing all manner of products and produce from getting to their markets.
The Prime Minister had just been bleating on about having a dialogue with those involved. The deep thinker that is Justin Trudeau failed to take into consideration that the Wet’suwet’en First Nation support the pipeline project and its members stand to benefit greatly from it. All the protests which claim to support the Wet’suwet’en are anything but.
Justin Trudeau arrived back in Ottawa from Europe on Saturday and promptly got to work.
Er, well, according to reports on social media he went skiing on Sunday. The Prime Minister’s website listing his itinerary cited “Private Meetings” for the Prime Minister on Sunday. Whatever he did, had nothing to do with the protests or the rail blockades.
On Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office put out a press release, almost breathlessly saying the Prime Minister was doing something now that he was back in Canada. The press release said, “Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened the Incident Response Group to discuss the Government of Canada’s engagement to resolve infrastructure disruptions caused by blockades across Canada as soon as possible.”
Well, that sounded positive.
The Incident Response Group sounds impressive. Perhaps a group of high-powered folks involved in protecting the nation? Um, no. It consists of a handful of Liberal cabinet ministers including the Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O’Regan and Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller, both of whom were college friends of Justin Trudeau. Frat boys. The Prime Minister’s Office put out a photo of the high-level meeting. No one looking at that collection would mistake it for a Mensa meeting.
Where was the Commissioner of the RCMP? The Commissioner of the OPP? The Chief of Defence Services should the military be needed? Well, they weren’t invited.
In fact, the Prime Minister gave away his biggest negotiating chip early when he essentially took a police response off the table giving the anarchists on the blockades notice that absolutely nothing was going to happen to them by way of enforcement for their ignoring of the rule of law.
Seriously, what is with this guy?
The premiers conferred and issued a statement demanding a quick end to the crisis. Even Quebec Premier François Legault called on the Prime Minister to set a firm deadline for the end of this nonsense.
And nonsense it is. Even Greta Thunberg jumped on Twitter to express her support for the Wet’suwet’en people. Which of course, like everything else she spouts off about shows a profound ignorance of the actual situation.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney hit the nail on the head after the conference call with the premiers. “I am perplexed by the lack of national leadership,” he said. “What is happening here is anarchy. Extended illegal protests contrary to the orders of the courts that are shutting down large parts of the national economy,” Kenney said.
But you see that’s exactly the problem, there is no national leadership. Trudeau’s solution was to tell the vacuous sycophants who attended the Incident Response Group to keep talking.
Uh-huh.
In the statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office it said, “The Prime Minister stressed the importance of resolving the situation in a peaceful manner, with continued dialogue to address underlying issues in the spirit of reconciliation.”
Meanwhile, the only effective response we’ve seen by the authorities thus far has been by the Vancouver Police who, when given a court injunction, have enforced it and so far has arrested dozens of protesters who ignore the injunctions. The OPP and the RCMP seem to be oblivious to court orders, paralyzed by inaction. Likely because that’s what Trudeau wants.
Perish the thought the police should enforce the rule of law.
As protesters continue to occupy Canada’s railways, several premiers have spoken out against the Liberal government’s inaction.
On Wednesday, Quebec Premier François Legault said the federal government needs to act with more urgency and set a deadline for protesters to remove their blockades.
“I am asking for leadership. I am asking for a deadline. So far he did not do so. We are now in this mess for two weeks so it’s time we set a deadline,” said Legault. “The Canadian economy is suffering and we have to listen to Canadians.
“Yes, we have to respect Indigenous people, listen to them, but we also need to listen to Canadians, to Quebecers,” he continued.
“The situation is more and more serious. There are fathers and mothers who have lost their jobs or will lose their jobs in the coming days if the blockades, which I remind you are illegal, are not dismantled.”
Over the past two weeks, protesters have been blockading several railways across Canada, demanding the government call off the construction of the Coastal GasLink LNG pipeline in northern BC.
Legault added that if a government-mandated deadline is not respected, coordinated police action should be taken to re-open Canada’s railways.
“We cannot exclude using police, but it has to be in coordination with every province at the same time. We have had a discussion with the SQ [Quebec police force].”
On Tuesday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe arranged a conference call for all premiers to discuss the ongoing blockades. Moe said he decided to arrange a call after he observed “a lack of federal leadership in addressing this ongoing illegal activity.”
Moe was concerned that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not propose any solutions to the blockades in his speech to the House of Commons on Tuesday.
“I saw nothing in his comments that indicate that he is supportive of the RCMP enforcing the law on our nation – which is quite frankly his job, to ensure that the law is enforced in this nation. I was disappointed by the comments that came from the Prime Minister.”
After the all-premiers call, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney echoed calls for immediate action.
“To allow things like this to go on for weeks, I think, creates a license for illegal protests and only emboldens those who are thumbing their nose at the rule of law,” stated Kenney.
Both Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair have refused to give a deadline to protesters or order police action, saying either would be reckless.
Blair says that the government is still hoping for a peaceful conclusion, even though protesters do not appear to be backing down anytime soon.
A small group of counter-protesters dismantled a railway blockade in Edmonton a few hours after it was set up.
The blockade began around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday morning by a group protesting the Coastal GasLink pipeline in BC.
Counter protesters in Edmonton have all but hauled away the barricades on the CN tracks. A protester is talking like it’s all over now. A few protesters have walked away already. pic.twitter.com/Z4olhPmVDx
Approximately 30 protesters were observed demonstrating on the railways on the west side of Edmonton, using pallets and other debris as part of a makeshift blockade.
Shortly after noon, a judge granted an injunction allowing police to remove the blockade, but police never had the opportunity: at around 2 p.m. several counter-protesters were seen removing items from the blockade and hauling them away in a pickup truck.
In one video, a counter-protester can be heard saying “sorry” as he passes one of the protesters while holding a piece of the blockading material.
Some of the protesters left the scene as the counter-protesters dismantled the blockade. By 3 p.m. the blockade was completely dismantled and all protesters had left.
Train service resumed later that afternoon.
Before issuing the injunction, the court heard that one day of rail disruptions would have affected 30 trains and stalled $135 million worth of freight.
It was also noted in court that it could take several days for the police to clear the blockade.
However, counter-protesters and a flatbed truck cleared the blockade in about an hour, without incident.
Pro oil and gas group, United We Roll just drove up for what appears to be a photo op on a day they are calling victory for Alberta.
CN police have asked them to leave because a train is scheduled, and had to order a slow down on the tracks (from 70 to 30 mph). pic.twitter.com/QJ6FCXp1V1
After the blockade ended, the pro-energy group United We Roll appeared at the site to celebrate what they called a victory for Alberta over anti-pipeline protesters.
Blockades are ongoing in other regions of Canada, despite injunctions being issued, leaving most of the country without reliable rail transportation.
Enforcing the law is racist, Andrew Scheer gives the speech of his career, Conservatives are not welcome in the democratic process and a Liberal buys ads to shut down jobs in Alberta.
This is The Candice Malcolm Show with True North’s founder Candice Malcolm!
When are police forces in Canada finally going to enforce the law?
Far-left protesters have faced no repercussions and think they can get away with anything. On Tuesday, protesters attempted to “arrest” B.C. Premier John Horgan. Seriously.
True North’s Anthony Furey says these are worrying times that call for action.
Fan of True North? We’re not getting a government bailout like the mainstream media. Instead, we depend on Canadians like you! Support True North: http://www.tnc.news/donate/
Despite the federal government’s refusal to break up the blockades disrupting road, rail and marine routes across the country, Canadians support immediate intervention, a new poll shows.
The poll, conducted by Ipsos, found 61% of Canadians believe that the current blockades of railways and other transportation corridors are unjustified. 53% of respondents also support police intervention to break up the blockades.
“It’s the first poll that we’ve ever done on this issue,” Ipsos Public Affairs CEO Darrell Bricker said to Global News.
“The first takeaway is that Canadians are not pleased to see ports and railways blocked.
Only 39% support the blockades, with 28% opposing any police intervention.
For nearly three weeks, protesters have blockaded railways near New Hazelton, B.C., cutting off rail access to the important port of Prince Rupert. Ally protests across the country have cropped up since, including a blockade of the CN corridor near Belleville, Ont., preventing movement by rail between Ontario and Quebec.
Other rail blockades have also sprung up in Coquitlam B.C., Vaughan, Ont., and Kahnawake, Que.
As much as $850 million worth of manufactured goods are sitting idle across Canada, and dozens of ships are waiting off the west coast to unload their cargo.
Residents in B.C. (68%) and Alberta (69%) support police intervention in the blockade the most, while those in Ontario (48%) and Quebec (42%) are the least likely to support police intervention.
Bricker noted Canadians feel Indigenous rights and the blockades are separate issues. While Canadians have sympathy for the plight of First Nations Canadians, few feel that stalling Canada’s economy is justified.
Many of the protesters are not from Indigenous communities themselves.
The original blockades started at the Coastal GasLink pipeline construction site, a project which has the support of all 20 First Nations in the area.
“These protests have nothing to do with Indigenous communities,” True North fellow and former police officer Leo Knight said.
“In fact, they are harmful to the 20 First Nations along the pipeline route who support this pipeline and stand to benefit greatly from its construction. What we are seeing across the country is anarchy and the flouting of the rule of law.”
Standing up for the vast majority of First Nations people who support this pipeline "disqualidifies" you from discussions, according to Trudeau.
Great time to pick a petty little partisan squabble, Mr. PM. Carry on uniting the country👌 https://t.co/fFWHdRPyVh
The RCMP is investigating a driver who allegedly hit a protester who stepped in front of his truck at a blockade on Manitoba’s Highway 75.
The group was blocking traffic and detaining drivers attempting to pass through.
Video footage shows a truck swerving to avoid two protesters standing in the way, followed by another two people running out in front of the truck attempting to stop it.
Police say they stopped the driver after the incident and let him go after collecting his information.
According to Manitoba RCMP, police are reviewing the footage and investigating the driver but have yet to press any charges.
If only the RCMP could devote its investigative resources to the ones actually causing the blockade, rather than those just trying to do their jobs. https://t.co/TsjHIOG6cD
The protest was part of a larger national effort to cripple Canada’s economy by blockading rail and other infrastructure.
Many illegal blockades have had court injunctions filed against them but RCMP officers have yet to enforce the orders.
Protesters, who claim to be in support of a few hereditary Wet’suwet’en chiefs who oppose the BC LNG pipeline, have virtually brought all passenger train traffic in Canada and much of the country’s commercial train traffic to a standstill.
Via Rail announced Wednesday it would be temporarily laying off nearly 1,000 workers as a result of the blockades.
In response to the crisis, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for dialogue with the chiefs but has failed to secure a meeting between the two parties.
Yesterday Trudeau met with opposition parties but decided to bar Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer from attending the meeting for what he called “unacceptable” comments made during a speech in the House of Commons.
In his speech, Scheer called on the federal government to immediately put an end to the illegal blockades and restore the rule of law.
The CBC and other mainstream media organizations are calling on the federal government to further support “trusted sources” of news.
The declaration was made in an open letter to parliament from News Media Canada, signed by the CBC, the Toronto Star, Postmedia and a number of other outlets.
“We represent Canadian media organizations committed to providing reliable, trusted, diverse sources of news and information,” reads the letter.
“We are making this joint declaration because we are concerned about the future of a vibrant media ecosystem in Canada and what that means to the health of news and of democracy. We are asking Parliamentarians to help us address this threat quickly.”
The letter calls on the government to tighten Canadian media regulations to prevent foreign companies from taking advantage of the news industry. It also calls for further copyright powers to prevent other outlets from reporting on and aggregating news coverage on their own platforms.
Many of the outlets who signed onto the letter are already benefiting from the government’s $595 million media bailout. For example, the Toronto Star estimated it was getting $115,000 each week in federal labour tax credits. Despite the funds, the Toronto Star cut 73 jobs and its print StarMetro editions as its stock plummeted due to a lack of profitability.
The letter also complains about the growing influence of social media and the alleged threat of “fake news” to Canada’s democracy.
“Digital players monetize news content they do not create and aggregate it across their platforms further undermining the ability of Canadian media to pay for the journalism we have created,” reads the letter.
“At the same time, these players have contributed to a flood of disinformation and fake news which is undermining civil discourse.”
Despite claims made by the letter, Elections Canada found that the 2019 federal election faced no serious cybersecurity or disinformation threat.
In a parliamentary report, the elections watchdog found only 28 instances of misinformation or impersonation, thirteen of which were removed or deleted by the appropriate platforms.
The letter comes ahead of a report by the Broadcast and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel which called on the CRTC to identify “trusted” news outlets.
In response to the report, Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said the government could potentially license approved media outlets, though he later walked back those comments by saying the government wouldn’t license news organizations.
Via Rail says it’s made an “unprecedented” decision to temporarily lay off nearly 1,000 employees amid service suspensions across the country.
The company made the announcement Wednesday afternoon, despite resuming some routes after cancelling all nationwide train service last week.
“Starting today, close to 1,000 Via Rail employees will receive a notice regarding this matter,” said a press release from the company.
Via Rail claims this is the first time in history the company has had to interrupt most of its service across the country. The interruptions are being fuelled by ongoing blockades by left-wing protesters claiming to be in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs.
“This general interruption is an unprecedented situation in our history. In 42 years of existence, it is the first time that VIA Rail, a public intercity passenger rail service, has to interrupt most of its services across the country,” said Cynthia Garneau, Via Rail’s president and CEO.
Protesters have blocked several key rail chokepoints throughout eastern Canada with the intention of disrupting national infrastructure.
The federal government met with some of the opposition parties yesterday to discuss a solution to the crisis but purposefully excluded the Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.
Standing up for the vast majority of First Nations people who support this pipeline "disqualidifies" you from discussions, according to Trudeau.
Great time to pick a petty little partisan squabble, Mr. PM. Carry on uniting the country👌 https://t.co/fFWHdRPyVh
Scheer called on the federal government to immediately put an end to the illegal protests.
“Will we let our entire economy be held hostage by a small group, trampling over the legal system which has governed our country for over 150 years?” said Scheer.
“Let me be clear Mr. Speaker, standing between our country and prosperity is a small group of radical activists, many of whom have little to no connection to First Nations communities.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned Scheer’s call to action as “unacceptable” and worthy of disqualification from discussing the crisis.
According to Transport Minister Marc Garneau, protesters have been tampering with rails by disrupting signal boxes, potentially endangering Canadians.
As exclusively reported on by True North, several far-left websites have been instructing protesters to sabotage rails and Canadian infrastructure using incendiary devices and other techniques.
