The Conservatives want Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to investigate if former ambassador and Liberal MP John McCallum encouraged the Chinese government to interfere in Canadian politics.

In a letter to CSIS Director David Vigneault, Conservative MPs Lisa Raitt and Pierre Paul-Hus wrote that an investigation is necessary to prove the integrity of Canadian democracy.

“Canadians expect that the upcoming election will be conducted in a free and fair manner and that any and all incidents of foreign interference will be fully investigated, with action taken to prevent said interference,” they wrote.

“We believe Mr McCallum’s actions, as confirmed by his own public statements, deserve the utmost scrutiny of your agency.”

South China Morning Post reported that McCallum told the Chinese government that they should not hurt the Liberals’ chances of reelection as a Conservative government would hold China more accountable.

“Anything that is more negative against Canada will help the Conservatives, (who) are much less friendly to China than the Liberals,” McCallum said.

“I hope and I don’t see any reason why things will get worse, it would be nice if things will get better between now and (Canada’s federal) election (in October).”

McCallum was a long term Liberal MP and cabinet minister until he was made ambassador to China in 2017. In January he was fired for compromising remarks he gave to Chinese media.

At the time of his dismissal, McCallum said it would be “great” if Canada drops charges against an executive of the Chinese firm Huawei, Meng Wanzhou. Wanzhou is fighting deportation to the United States. She is accused of misleading authorities about her business dealings with Iran.

Canada-China relations have only worsened since McCallum was relieved of his duties. Canada has yet to find a replacement for McCallum.

As China continues to show Canada disrespect it’s likely that this new revelation will only push Canada-China relations to a new low.

CSIS has not yet responded to the Conservative’s letter.

Prominent free speech activist Lindsay Shepherd has been permanently suspended from Twitter.

Shepherd’s ban this week appears to be linked to a heated exchange between Shepherd and Jessica Yaniv, a transgender woman, on Twitter.

In the exchange, Yaniv consistently hurled insults towards Shepherd, even referencing her infant son and reproductive organs.

Yaniv taunted the former teaching assistant at Wilfrid Laurier by poking fun of a reproductive condition from which Shepherd suffers. 

“I heard @realDonaldTrump is building a wall inside of your uterus aka your “reproductive abnormality” hopefully the walk works as intended,” Yaniv tweeted.

As expected, Shepherd defended herself.

“At least I have a uterus, you fat ugly man” Shepherd tweeted back, adding, “Of course, he thinks reproductive issues are something to be mocked.”

The exchange occurred on Sunday July 14, 2019. On Monday, Shepherd’s account was suspended on Twitter.

Yaniv celebrated Twitter’s decision to ban Shepherd, tweeting “Time to throw a party! Hatred has no place in this world. Bye Felicia!” 

Yaniv is no stranger to controversy. In November 2018, Feminist Current founder Meghan Murphy was also suspended from Twitter for allegedly “deadnaming” Yaniv, using Yaniv’s legal male name. Murphy sued Twitter for deceptive trade practices and breach of contract.

Shepherd, a contributor to True North, filed an appeal to Twitter but it was denied. 

The Manitoba government has lowered the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and will be delivering other cost-saving measures for Manitobans ahead of the provincial election in September.

“This change will put more than $300 million back on the kitchen tables of Manitobans each year. It will save a family of four approximately $500 a year and a single individual approximately $180 per year,” said the Manitoba government in a statement.

“Reducing the sales tax rate also ensures the competitiveness of Manitoba businesses and savings for those who invest in them.”

The move to reduce the PST from 8% to 7% will be the most significant saving for Manitobans, providing most of the around $350 million in total savings announced by the province. 

Manitoba Finance Minister Scott Fielding says he is proud of the various ways his government has helped the public, listing them prior to the PST reduction came into effect.

“We’ve increased the basic personal exemption, ended bracket creep, lowered ambulance fees and, on July 1, we will cut the PST back to seven per cent,” he said.

These new cost-saving measures will help lessen the burden of the carbon tax, which was imposed on Manitobans by the federal Liberal government earlier this year.

Manitoba is one of five provinces which launched legal challenges to the federal carbon tax plan. Until one of the challenges succeeds in court Canadians will have to deal with the added costs of nearly everything they do.

Manitoba is particularly confident about its challenge, as the province argues that it made significant efforts to reduce greenhouse gases before the carbon tax which were ignored by Ottawa.

Considering nearly all revenue from the carbon tax comes from ordinary Canadians, rather than big polluters, the consumer-focused tax cuts may counteract the unpopular carbon tax.

The Pallister government, who recently called for an election for early September, is also promising to cut the sales tax from home and renters’ insurance, among various other promises.

The Manitoba Progressive Conservatives under Pallister hold a comfortable lead over the opposition NDP in recent polls.

Canada’s smallest province is taking on the federal government.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Prince Edward Island will be joining Saskatchewan’s challenge to the carbon tax as an intervener, even though PEI’s premier supports a carbon tax.

The announcement came the same day that Quebec announced it will also be joining the Saskatchewan government’s court challenge.

Saskatchewan’s first challenge was defeated by a provincial court in a split 3-2 decision. This appeal to the Supreme Court already has Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Alberta signed on as interveners.

The addition of Quebec and Prince Edward Island brings that total number of provinces taking part in the challenge to seven.

True North created a petition, asking PEI and Quebec to unite with their conservative counterparts and join onto the challenge.

It appears they listened.

Both provinces are putting their names into the challenge to have their positions heard.

Quebec, in particular, is looking to ensure that their own autonomy on the issue is protected, as the province has a separate cap-and-trade system which was fitted to Quebec’s own needs.

The intervention of PEI comes as a surprise to many, as Premier Dennis King stated in the past that his government would not bring up the issue.

When he was first elected, King made sure to distance himself from other Conservative governments, saying he has a “different brand” of conservatism.

King runs only a minority government, with opposition Green Party and Liberals fully supporting the carbon tax.

The minister responsible for the government’s crusade against online “fake news” and “misinformation” has decided that the government-owned CBC can decide what is and isn’t trustworthy news.

Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould tweeted last week an article by the CBC titled “The real ‘fake news’: how to spot misinformation and disinformation online.” 

In the article, the author attempts to define honest reporting and gives examples of dishonest journalism.

The article dredges up examples of fake news from the 2016 American Presidential election and the UK referendum to leave the EU in an attempt to show the damage misinformation causes. However, the article lacks evidence that “fake news” is a serious threat in Canada.

The article also only seems to give examples from right-wing sources, leaving readers in the dark about the threat of misinformation from the Left. 

The Canadian government has spent millions and endless resources in an attempt to combat “misinformation” online.

The government has also announced it will be regulating social media companies in various ways ahead of the election, even going so far as to say they might force companies to censor “fake news” or risk getting shut down.