Canadian immigration officials processed 63,830 asylum claims last year, marking a record high for Canada.
Last year’s figure was higher than any year prior according to records dating back to 2011 from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
In 2018, 55,040 asylum claims were processed, while in 2017 50,390 claims were processed.
Despite the government’s claim that it was managing the border situation, True North founder Candice Malcolm predicted last August 2019 that claims would continue to rise.
“Canada is on track to break its previous record of asylum claims in a single year,” wrote Malcolm.
“In the first six months of [2019], 26,860 people entered Canada illegally or under false pretences to make asylum claims. That’s a higher number than at the halfway mark of the previous two years.”
Included in last year’s slate of asylum claimants were 16,503 people – about one-quarter of the overall number of claimants – who crossed into Canada illegally.
CBSA officials have struggled to keep track of the 50,000 and growing number of illegal border crossers that have been flowing into the country through Canada’s border with the US since 2017.
According to the president of the Customs and Immigration Union Jean-Pierre Fortin, the CBSA requires more resources from the federal government to track failed asylum claimants.
“We certainly don’t have the resources to track [the failed refugee claimants] down and to deport them,” said Fortin.
The latest figures reveal 52,109 people have been ordered for deportation yet still remain in Canada.
Alongside a deportation backlog, officials from the Immigration and Refugee Board have warned that the backlog of asylum claimants currently waiting for a hearing has become unmanageable and is expected to balloon to over 100,000 by 2021.
A 2018 report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer revealed the federal government was on track to spend over $1.1 billion to deal with illegal border crossers over a three year period.
Four gang members were released by Edmonton police despite facing 80 charges related to drug trafficking and illegal firearms.
According to the Edmonton Police Service Gang Suppression Team, the four individuals were apprehended during a traffic stop on January 24th at 8:45 pm in the Callingwood neighbourhood.
Among those arrested were 35-year-old Krystal Mildred L’Hirondelle who is facing 17 charges, 30-year-old Terris Gordon Cardinal with 21 charges, 30-year-old Clifford Jonathan Gladue with 21 charges, and 21-year-old Joshua Russel Gauthier with 19 charges.
The four are known members of a gang but the police have refused to release any information about the gang.
Despite the charges, the four gang members were released by the police under “strict conditions.”
According to security expert and True North fellow Leo Knight, the gang members are likely to continue with their criminal activity.
“It is ridiculous to release hard-core gang members on any sort of ‘strict conditions.’ They just ignore them anyway. The only appropriate place for these people is behind bars awaiting trial,” said Knight.
“One of the primary considerations for release in the criminal code is whether or not there will be a continuation of the offense. I would argue that in this case especially that is a given.”
Recent polls show that 60% of Albertans are reporting that crime is rising in their communities.
The Edmonton Crime Severity Index shows that crime has been on the rise since 2015 and results from 2017 indicated that Edmonton was one of Canada’s most crime-ridden cities, second only to Saskatoon.
A federally commissioned panel has recommended that the government should further suppress media content accessed by Canadians and provide more funding to the CBC according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
The report called Canada’s Communications Future: Time To Act suggests that news companies should register with the government and be subject to their “codes of conduct.”
“We recommend the Broadcasting Act be amended to ensure the CRTC can by regulation, condition of license or condition of registration impose codes of conduct.”
The Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel led by Janet Yale called for all media content to abide by the Broadcasting Act, citing a “crisis in news.”
While Yale assured Canadians that the purpose was not to censor the media, the report did not specify how such a law would be enforced.
The panel also called for more funding for the CBC beyond the $1.2 billion in taxpayer funds it already receives. According to Yale, the CBC has a vital role in addressing misinformation.
As reported on by True North, the CBC has contributed to the spreading of misinformation in the past.
Most recently, the CBC released a misleading report exaggerating the amount of racism Canadians experience in the workplace. The report overstated the results of a study by 400%, claiming that “40% of Canadians experience racism in the workplace,” when in reality it was actually 8% of Canadians.
While the recommendations have yet to be implemented, the Liberal government has participated in media censorship in the past.
During the 2019 election, the Leaders’ Debates Commission – which was created by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – attempted to ban True North and Rebel News from being able to cover the leadership debates.
A court eventually ruled against the commission, but by then the government had already spent $131,281 in taxpayer dollars trying to fight press freedom.
Author and founder of Rebel News Ezra Levant was interrogated by investigators for writing a book critical of the Trudeau government.
The interrogation, which was secretly recorded by Levant, shows former RCMP officers Tim Mackin and Paul Couture questioning Levant over the release of his book The Libranos. The Commissioner of Canada Elections hired Mackin and Couture to conduct the investigation.
Levant wrote the book prior to the October 2019 election, covering alleged corruption and scandals within the Liberal government.
Levant was then notified by the Commissioner of Canada Elections that they had launched an investigation into the book for contravening sections 352 and 353 of the Canada Elections Act.
The two sections are related to election advertising and registering as a third party during a federal election. However, according to the Elections Act, books are exempt from sections 352 and 353.
“For greater certainty, [the Act] does not include … the distribution of a book, or the promotion of the sale of a book, for no less than its commercial value, if the book was planned to be made available to the public regardless of whether there was to be an election,” states the Canada Elections Act.
“The Elections Act clearly exempts books and the promotion of books from any sort of registration or regulation in an election campaign. I believe these investigators are exceeding what the law allows – they’re actually going directly against the law themselves,” said Levant.
According to Levant, there were 24 other books about the prime minister published in the same period but as far as he knows no other author is being investigated.
“I don’t know for sure why Rebel News is being targeted. Apparently, there were 24 books about Trudeau published at the same time, so singling out the one that’s the most critical of Trudeau certainly seems to be what differentiates me,” Levant told True North.
During the videotaped interrogation, the investigators refuse to provide Levant with information about the alleged complaint filed against him or details about who filed the complaint in the first place.
Levant plans to fight the investigation, saying it is unconstitutional.
“In some ways, this rests with the government. Theoretically, they could drop the whole matter, or even just go completely silent on it. Or they could come back with a vengeance, by convicting me. Of course, if that happened, I would immediately appeal their finding to a real court, and I’d probably challenge the constitutionality of the law at the same time,” said Levant.
Despite posting massive profits in recent years, MasterCard has received $49 million from the federal Liberal government. True North’s Andrew Lawton says it’s time to put an end to corporate welfare.
Also on the show: A government report is pushing for a crackdown on alternative media and online news platforms, and why real Canadians don’t care about bilingual politicians.
On Tuesday President Donald Trump released his long awaited “Deal of the Century” peace plan between Israelis and Palestinians. Flanked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he presented a realistic and forward thinking vision of how the conflict might finally be put to a close.
The deal ensures that Israeli security concerns are taken into account and gives the Palestinians approximately 70 per cent of the West Bank, all of Gaza, and portions of Israeli territory to be used for future economic development. It also envisions a path to statehood in 4 years and promises billions of dollars in economic aid to boost the Palestinian economy.
More importantly, however, is the fact that the Deal of the Century flips entrenched thinking about the conflict on its head. Previous peace attempts focused on building good will between Israelis and Palestinians while leaving final status issues and maps to the end. The Trump plan offers maps and solutions to complex issues, like the status of Jerusalem or the Temple Mount (Judaism’s holiest site and Islam’s third holiest), as a starting point for negotiations.
While peace between Israelis and Palestinians will ultimately have to be negotiated directly by both sides, the fact that Arab countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Morocco – countries that not too long ago were waging war against Israel and sought its destruction – as well as more traditional Israeli allies like Britain, France and India view it favourably means that it may be able to break the years-long deadlock in negotiations.
So what about Canada? Both Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne have been uncharacteristically quiet, with no statements from the PMO and only canned responses of existing Canadian policy from Global Affairs.
This weak response may stem from the fact the governing Liberals have worked hard to stay nominally ‘pro-Israel’ while stepping back from the Harper government’s unabashed support of the Jewish State (evidenced by Canada’s recent vote in favour of a United Nations resolution condemning Israel for its “occupation” of Palestinian Territories,) as they seek to obtain a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
But only bold action, not weak and timid responses to global crises or opportunities will earn us the clout needed to sit on the Security Council – which we’ve just learned, the Trudeau government has spent $1.9 million trying to achieve. We know this is true because both the current geopolitical landscape and Canadian history tell us so.
In 1956, Canada found itself in a similar situation as the Suez Crisis focused world attention on the Middle East. Following Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal, Israel, with the support of Britain and France, attacked its long standing enemy Egypt. This provided rationale for a joint Franco-British military expedition designed to ‘ensure the safety of the canal’.
The situation deteriorated rapidly and would have risked igniting a larger regional conflict if not for the bold actions of one Lester B. Pearson, then Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister. Pearson proposed the creation of a UN Emergency Force (UNEF) to oversee the cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of armed forces and to serve as a multinational buffer between Egypt and Israel.
Pearson’s actions demonstrated not only the important role that Canada can play on the world stage, but that such actions are viewed positively. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his work in creating the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, and Canada was appointed to the Security Council a year later in 1958.
Further, as with the Suez Crisis, Canada’s work on the Deal of the Century need not be framed as being pro or anti Israel, and instead pro-peace, even pro-Palestinian in that it will help them achieve statehood, not to mention greater security, prosperity and independence.
This is the lesson of the Deal of the Century. In today’s geopolitical world the only leaders who succeed are those who are willing to act boldly in pursuit of national objectives. If Prime Minister Trudeau wants to achieve his goal of securing a seat on the UN Security Council and bringing Canada back to prominence on the world stage, he’ll have to do more than wining and dining UN bureaucrats and having his Foreign Minister give canned responses about vague Canadian policies.
There are currently 52,109 people in Canada awaiting deportation who have yet to leave the country, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Deportation can take years due to a lengthy appeal process and a growing backlog of appeals.
Officials can only enforce a deportation order once all legal avenues have been exhausted by the claimants.
Each year, tens of thousands of illegal border crossers enter the country at unofficial border crossings. According to the RCMP, 16,503 people crossed into Canada illegally in 2019.
As of June 2019, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) reported that only 866 failed refugee claimants have been successfully deported to their countries since 2017.
CBSA officials have asked the government for more funding to deal with securing the border and keeping track of those ordered for deportation, and President of the Customs and Immigration Union Jean-Pierre Fortin has called for the number of deportation officers to be doubled.
“We certainly don’t have the resources to track [the failed refugee claimants] down and to deport them,” said Fortin.
The backlog for asylum claim hearings is also continuing to grow.
Last year, Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board admitted that it is unable to eliminate the asylum backlog as it stands and is only equipped to “manage” its growth.
“What we’re focused on in terms of the next 24 months with the temporary funding in Budget 2018 and 2019 is not to eliminate the backlog. It is to slow the growth of the pace of the backlog from what it would otherwise be,” said IRB board member Richard Wex.
Estimates claim that the board can expect the backlog to reach 100,000 cases by 2021 and it could cost Canadians $400 million to fix the issue.
While the Liberals hype their environmental clout, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland had her limo drive hundreds of kilometres to meet her at airports while she flew across Canada.
Records obtained by Rebel News show duplicate car and flight expenses billed to Canadian taxpayers travelling roughly the same distances on the same days.
One entry shows that on June 12, 2017, Freeland’s limo drove 495 km while she flew from Ottawa to Montreal, which is roughly the distance of a round trip between the two cities.
There are several other cases where Freeland’s limousine drove several hundred kilometres while Freeland was flying between Montreal and the nation’s capital.
During the NAFTA negotiations, Freeland flew to Montreal for meetings while her limo drove 375 kilometres Jan. 29, 2018.
On Aug. 28, 2017, the car drove 575 km in one day while Freeland attended government meetings in Montreal.
Internal records from Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada show several hundred-kilometre trips over a period spanning two years.
True North reached out to the deputy prime minister’s office but had not heard back by the time of this article’s publication.
While Freeland’s limousine travelled back and forth between provinces, the Liberals were mulling over a carbon tax hike.
According to a recent report, the Liberals were considering a carbon tax increase as far back as February 2017 despite assurances by former environment minister that there would be no such hike.
McKenna’s replacement, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson revealed that the Liberals will review the $50 cap in 2022 after reports indicated that the carbon tax would have to be raised to $210 a tonne to reach Canada’s emission targets.
A new report by a federal commission is calling for the CBC to completely gut advertising and to force streaming services to offer Canadian content.
The report, which recommends various regulatory reforms, was released by the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel.
Among its suggestions was for the CBC to eliminate all advertising from across its platforms. The move would cut into the public broadcaster’s diminishing revenue.
Recent figures show that the CBC reported an ad revenue loss of 37% since 2018. In 2019, the public broadcaster only managed to pull in a total of $112.5 million from its advertising, which was considerably less than 2018’s $178 million figure.
Along with declining profitability, an abysmally low number of Canadians tune into the CBC’s evening TV news programs. In 2019 only 319,000 Canadians watched the evening news on the channel, making up less than 1% of Canada’s population.
The CBC receives well over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars from the government each year.
After being re-elected in 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tasked Heritage and Multiculturalism Minister Steven Guilbeault with expanding local news coverage for the CBC.
Since then Guilbeault has indicated that the CBC could receive even more federal funding than it currently receives.
The commission also called on US streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video to devote additional programming budgets to provide viewers with Canadian series and programs.
“It’s not necessarily the case that this is going to increase their program budgets. What we’re saying is that a portion of those program budgets, which are significant, must qualify as Canadian,” said panel member Janet Yale .
“We do not think that this is something that would be passed on to consumers or result in higher prices.”
The coronavirus continues to spread and threatens global trade.
The federal government tries to deport 50,000 illegal immigrants – good luck with that!
The woke left takes aim at the sport of hockey…again.
And True North’s Candice Malcolm has the latest on the Conservative Leadership Race.
Tune in to the latest episode of The Candice Malcolm Show!
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