An Alberta NDP MLA has been criticized for remarks he made in the Legislative Assembly critical of another MLA’s origin.

Marlin Schmidt, the NDP environment critic, appeared to ridicule Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda’s birthplace with a crass question in the Legislature on November 21, 2019.

“The member from wherever the hell he’s from, the Minister of Infrastructure,” Schmidt said to the Speaker.

Panda who is originally from India took offence to the question.

“It’s true, I was born in India. Like hundreds of thousands of others, I chose to make Alberta – the greatest place on earth – my home. It’s my honour and privilege to represent the residents of Calgary Edgemont as their MLA,“ Panda tweeted in response.

Schmidt apologized in the Legislature for his use of unparliamentary language.

Schmidt’s comment has been heavily criticized on social media, with videos of his statement receiving hundreds of retweets.

In the past, Notley and NDP MLAs  have accused UCP leader and Premier Jason Kenney of racism and prejudice, saying Kenney has a history of “mixed signals and dog-whistle politics.”

“Kenney’s UCP party has failed to demonstrate that racism has no place in public debate,” the NDP writes on the NDP website.

Notley has not disciplined Schmidt or addressed the controversy publicly.

UCP MLA Kaycee Madu, himself an immigrant from Nigeria, claimed that Schmidt has also made derogatory comments towards him in the past.

True North reached out to Schmidt and the Alberta NDP but has not received a response.

Somali-Canadian human rights activist Almaas Elman Ali was killed by a stray bullet in Mogadishu, Somalia on Wednesday while travelling in the city’s fortified airport complex which is home to several international embassies.

“She was riding in a car along a road inside the airport. A stray bullet hit her, and she died within a few minutes,” claimed security official Mohamed Omar.

The country which has been rocked by years of civil war has only recently been trying to rebuild.

In 2017, nearly 600 people were killed in a dual-bombing carried out in the capital by the jihadist group Al-Shabaab which seeks to topple the recently formed government. The attack was the largest ever to be conducted in the country.

Ali was in the country to attend a meeting at the Elman Peace centre, which was founded by her father, Elman Ali Ahmed who was also killed in 1996 by gunmen. 

The centre was responsible for projects that encouraged youth literacy and promoted peace, such as the “Drop the Gun, Pick up the Pen” program. 

Ali’s sister, Ilwad Elman is also a human rights activist and she was recommended to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. Ali’s mother and sisters fled the country to Canada in the 1990’s while it was embroiled in civil war.

While Al-Shabaab was forced out of the nation’s capital by government and African Union forces in 2011, the group still frequently conducts attacks in the city. 

Earlier this year, the airport compound where Ali was killed was attacked by mortar fire resulting in six injuries. 

In 2018, the Canadian government provided $18 million in humanitarian aid to Somalia. 

According to Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart, Justin Trudeau is open to the idea of having the federal government fund the supply of heroin to junkies in Vancouver. 

Trudeau spent the day meeting with the mayors of Vancouver and Calgary, where he reportedly spoke about his openness to use taxpayer dollars to buy dangerous drugs.

Vancouver has applied for federal funding to the tune of $6 million dollars so the city can distribute clinical-grade heroin to opioid addicts. Stewart hopes that Health Canada will exempt the municipality from federal drug laws so that they can deal with the drug legally. 

“We call upon health professionals, all levels of governments, and the public to join us in advocating for a safe supply of drugs,” wrote the city’s Safe Supply Statement.

British Columbia has been the hardest hit province in the nation-wide opioid crisis. In the city of Vancouver alone, over 3,600 people have died from overdoses since the B.C. government declared a public health emergency in 2016. 

“(Trudeau said) that he wants to work together … and open to having a conversation and then looking to us to lead, with healthcare professionals, to try and figure out the best solutions to these problems. So I’m very encouraged by that and grateful,” said Stewart.

Stewart also stated that he was pleased with the fact that Liberal MP Patty Hajdu was promoted to the position of health minister due to her advocacy on the issue.

Vancouver was the first city in Canada to open so-called “safe injection sites” in the early 2000s, so that addicts could have access to clean needles to inject their drug of choice.

According to Mayor Kennedy, on average one person dies every single day in Vancouver from drug overdoses. 

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley has asked the Lieutenant-Governor to block a bill that would result in the firing of the Election Commissioner position she created.

Earlier this week, Notley wrote to Lt-Gov. Lois Mitchell asking her to reject the recently introduced Bill 22 if it passes the legislature.

“While I recognize that it is unusual for the lieutenant-governor to exercise this authority, I am convinced that the exceptional nature of this proposed legislation calls for such extraordinary measures,” Notley wrote.

Notley has also asked the ethics commissioner himself to block the UCP from voting on Bill 22. 

Bill 22, since passed, will merge the position of Election Commissioner into the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, ending Commissioner Lorne Gibson’s contract in the process.

Gibson’s six-figure position was revived by the NDP in 2018 to investigate third-party advertisers in Alberta’s elections. Gibson was previously the Chief Electoral Officer of Alberta but his contract was not renewed by the former Progressive Conservative government in 2009. He sued the government for wrongful dismissal but lost his case.

During his time as election commissioner, the NDP-appointed Gibson had targeted conservative journalist Sheila Gunn Reid. Shortly before the provincial election, Gibson accused her of violating election laws after she published a book critical of Notley.

Gibson ordered Gunn Reid to give up her notes and private emails, which she refused. Ultimately Gibson did not prosecute Gunn Reid, but not without significant costs to her.

“The elections commissioner made the process of the investigation the punishment, and my legal fees are my defacto fines for fighting back,” said Gunn Reid.

After backing down, Gibson complained in a letter that he could only enforce the law as it was “currently written”. 

“Fortunately for Sheila Gunn Reid, my office is only able to enforce the legislation as it is currently written,” Gibson said.

The Alberta NDP has argued that firing Gibson would be unethical as he is currently investigating the UCP for violations during the 2017 UCP leadership race.

While accused of trying to shut down investigations, the UCP bill says that the combined office can continue previously started investigations.

 “This is about defensible structure. This is about ensuring the most efficient operation of government,” Finance Minister Travis Toews told the media.

The chief electoral officer is an independent office that would be able to engage in the same type of investigations as the current commissioner under Bill 22.

Notley was removed from the legislative assembly Tuesday for saying that the UCP was lying to Albertans about Bill 22.

Speaker Nathan Cooper had to speak up and remind Notley that such a statement is inappropriate. Notley refused to apologize and was ordered to leave.

On Wednesday, Notley said she is not willing to apologize as of yet.

The Canadian arm of the Chinese tech giant Huawei has stated that it plans to target specific Liberal cabinet ministers as part of its “diplomatically forceful” lobbying plan to get into Canada’s 5G network. 

Only yesterday, the Liberal government unveiled its new 36 member cabinet. Among those ministers identified by the company’s government affairs unit as potential lobby targets were: Minister of Finance Bill Morneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade Mary Ng, President of the Privy Council Dominic LeBlanc, and Minister of Innovations, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains.

“There’s always going to be naysayers that they don’t want to meet with you…[but] there are a lot of smart parliamentarians who were either re-elected or newly elected,” said the company’s vice-president of government affairs. 

Huawei is at the center of a diplomatic dispute between Canada and China over the ongoing extradition of the company’s CFO Meng Wanzhou. Wanzhou is wanted by American authorities for allegedly breaking international sanctions on Iran. She is facing 13 fraud charges for conducting business with Iran through arm-length companies. 

In response to Wanzhou’s arrest at the Vancouver International Airport, the Chinese government detained two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, on trumped-up charges. 

“Five Eyes” intelligence allies have warned Canada to not allow the Chinese company access to the country’s 5G network because it could compromise national security due to the potential of back door access for the Chinese government. The technology has already been banned in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. 

Recently, former U.S. national security advisor and ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice underscored the serious threat that Huawei poses to the country and its allies.

“It gives the Chinese the ability, if they choose to use it, to access all kinds of information. Civilian intelligence, military, that could be very, very compromising,” said Rice

“That will throw the Five Eyes collaboration, which serves the security interests of every Canadian and every American, into jeopardy. It just can’t be done.”

Prior to the election, the Trudeau government decided to delay the decision on whether it will ban the company until after a new government has been elected.

The newly appointed Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair stated yesterday that there was no “specific timetable” on the decision but that it would be a “priority” for the new government. 

In a move to appear more “inclusive” and politically correct, Hockey Canada has removed “midget” from its age groupings among other terms. 

Other terms to be removed include bantam, novice, atom and peewee. The change is expected to come into effect next season. 

“We want to be an inclusive brand, we want to be an inclusive sport, we want to be an inclusive organization,” said the organization’s vice-president of marketing and communications Mark Halliday. 

The term “midget” has long been used as a youth age category title for sporting leagues. It refers to kids between the ages of 15-17. However, the word is considered a derogatory slur by some.

Organizations advocating for the little people community have lauded the effort as respectful and considerate of their dignity. 

“We want to raise awareness to say that this word is not appropriate anymore,” said Jessica Hayhoe, the vice-president of Alberta Little People Association.

The sport of hockey has recently been embroiled in a debate over its role in Canadian identity.

The host of Coach’s Corner, Don Cherry was recently fired by Sportsnet over comments calling on Canadians to wear a poppy on Remembrance Day. The mainstream media and faux outrage mob misconstrued Cherry’s comments leading to public outrage over the incident. 

Cherry has since stated that the comments were taken out of context and has since started his own podcast called “Don Cherry’s Grapevine.” 

As a response to Cherry’s comments, “The Social” host Jessica Allen got into hot water after suggesting that those who liked the sport were “unthoughtful white boys” who were bullies. 

Hockey star and author, Theo Fleury spoke to True North saying that CTV had a “double standard” in its response to comments by Allen. 

“Every small town who has a rink is the hub for the community. Hockey gives Canadians a sense of pride. It’s our identity,” said Fleury in defence of the sport. 

According to Surrey RCMP, three men were deported from Canada after investigations into two videos which show gangs of young men vandalizing vehicles and assaulting people. 

Videos show large groups of young men attacking people and hitting a vehicle with weapons and projectiles. According to police, over 50 people were investigated in the two incidents. 

In one video, the group can be heard yelling and pulling a man out of his vehicle before beating him. 

Another video depicts a large mob of young men violently kicking and beating another man who is on the ground before fleeing the scene. 

The attacks come at a time when Surrey has been facing a spike in gang violence. The city is on track to see a total of 17 homicides in 2019, the highest quantity in the last five years.

“Certainly I think this is the worst in terms of gangs that are shooting each other… A lot of the past was centred around Newton but now it’s starting to spread throughout Surrey, so people feel very, very unsafe in the community because a lot of these have happened in broad daylight,” said the city’s mayor, Doug McCallum. 

Canadian border officials are currently reviewing the status of another three suspects and whether or not they should be deported. 

Both incidents took place several months prior to the deportations. 

A man suspected of trying to join ISIS while in Turkey was arrested on a terrorism peace bond after returning to Guelph, according to Global News. 

22-year-old Ikar Mao was apprehended in Turkey while travelling with his wife along the country’s border with Syria. 

After returning to Canada, Mao was arrested in Guelph earlier this month under the bond. A terror bond imposes conditions on a suspect without a formal criminal charge and is usually used when there isn’t enough evidence for a formal charge. 

Court documents refer to a “fear of terrorism offence” in relation to the bond. Mao is currently the only person in Canada who is being held under the measure. 

The effectiveness of the measure has been questioned in the past. In 2016, a peace bond failed to prevent ISIS terrorist Aaron Driver from attempting to carry out an attack. 

Last year, a couple were released on a similar bond after being acquitted after being accused of attempting to join ISIS and committing a terror attack. In 2017 an Ottawa man was also required to obey a 12-month a terror peace bond after discussing plans to join ISIS. 

As part of the conditions of his release, Mao has to wear a GPS locator, cannot communicate “with anyone who is involved in or supports terrorist activity as defined in the Criminal Code,” has to surrender his passport, not leave Ontario and cannot “possess any object with the logo of a listed terrorist entity,” among other conditions. Mao was also ordered to pay a total of $20,000. 

According to a profile on the website couchsurfing.com, Mao indicated that the couple wanted to move to Turkey while they were travelling there. 

Government figures claim there are an estimated 60 suspected terrorists who have returned to Canada after fighting for extremist causes from abroad.

True North reached out to the RCMP on whether they believe Mao poses a threat to society or those around him and whether he was one of the 60 included in the public safety figure.

“As this is an ongoing investigation we are not in a position to answer your questions. We can tell you that the RCMP wants to reassure the citizens of the Greater Toronto Area and all Canadians, that our primary focus is the safety and protection of the public at all times; we do so with the assistance and support of our local partners,” said RCMP Cpl. Caroline Duval.

In 2018, Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale stated that in the last few years only four charges were laid against suspected terrorists, while another two cases were still before the courts. 

“The challenge for security and police agencies is to collect evidence that will be usable in a court of law. The issue is making sure the criminal code is assiduously applied in every case,” said Goodale. 

Recently it was revealed that another Ontario resident, Pamir Hakimzadah was freed after only serving six months in prison for also travelling to Turkey to join ISIS. The former Ryerson student was released on several conditions in May despite the fact that he had been denied bail for being an “undue risk to society.”