Individuals staying at a homeless shelter for refugee claimants told True North that asylum seekers have been intentionally staying in the Toronto homeless shelter system — many staying at hotels and motels — for over six months so that they can access a special rent allowance only offered to individuals who’ve been in the system half a year or longer.
While the government is punishing Canadians for driving kids to hockey practice and heating their homes, our jet-flying Prime Minister isn’t even trying to reduce his carbon footprint.
On the taxpayers’ dime, Trudeau flew from Ottawa to Florida on Monday, back to Ottawa on Tuesday for apparently no reason, and then back to Florida again.
True North’s Leo Knight explains how hypocritical the Trudeau government is.
At least 49 people were killed in a terrorist attack at two mosques full of worshippers attending Friday prayers in Christchurch, New Zealand.
One man was arrested and charged with murder in what appeared to be a carefully planned attack.
The response from Canadian politicians has been overwhelming. Politicians of all stripes have publicly condemned this cowardly terrorist attack.
Attacking people during prayers is absolutely appalling, and Canada strongly condemns today’s shootings in New Zealand. Our thoughts and hearts go out to the victims and their families, and we join New Zealanders and Muslim communities around the world in grieving.
Freedom has come under attack in New Zealand as peaceful worshippers are targeted in a despicable act of evil. All people must be able to practice their faith freely and without fear. 1/2
Heartbroken by the devastating news of deadly shootings at two mosques in New Zealand.
My heart goes out to the families of the murdered and all those impacted by this act of terror. Islamophobia kills – and has no place anywhere in the world.
I strongly condemn the horrifying attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. I join people across Ontario and Canada and stand with all legislators at Queen’s Park in condemning this hatred and violence towards our Muslim brothers and sisters.
My condolences to everyone affected by this terrible act – those at the mosque and around the world. Albertans stand with you – I stand with you – and our hearts embrace you. There is hate in the world but never forget that love is stronger. We are stronger together. https://t.co/HB3dwkmqRP
Unthinkably evil to shoot people while they pray. An unspeakable crime not only against human life, but also the freedom of religion. Prayers for the survivors and the loved ones of those attacked. https://t.co/JbD9RbUQFH
Freedom of religion, peace and rule of law are pillars of democracy and the world we share. On behalf of all Manitobans we strongly condemn the horrific shootings in New Zealand. Our prayers are with the victims of this senseless attack and their loved ones.
As the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau is doing its level best to minimize the damage done to them in an election year by the SNC-Lavalin scandal, there’s been much debate about whether or not the behaviour of the Prime Minister, his former Principle Secretary Gerald Butts and the Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick in trying to change the mind of the Attorney General Jody Wilson Raybould amounted to anything criminal.
Section 139 (2) of the Criminal Code is, in my view, very clear relative to someone doing anything with a view to obstructing justice. Whether or not that attempt was successful, the mere act is a crime.
In this case, SNC-Lavalin, the Montreal construction and engineering company, was charged criminally in 2015 with bribery and fraud related to their attempts to win contracts in Libya. That same year the Trudeau Liberals were elected and the lobbying efforts by SNC-Lavalin began almost immediately.
They wanted the government to change the law to allow for deferred prosecution or remediation agreements to allow them to negotiate a fine and have the corruption charges dealt with that way, pay their fine and get on with business.
One would have to wonder why any self-respecting government would let them get within miles of their leaders.
But they are heavy donors to the Liberals and those dollars buy them access. And their leaders, historically and currently, are Liberal insiders.
Take for example, Bruce Hartley, a former top aide to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, is a registered lobbyist for SNC-Lavalin. He attended two Liberal exclusive donor events in December 2017 and June 2018. The Prime Minister was the featured guest at both events. Also attending was the Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Gerald Butts and PMO Chief of Staff Katie Telford.
Shortly after the June event the Liberals included an amendment to the Criminal Code buried in a 586 page piece of budget legislation.
It became law in September and that’s when Trudeau had his first discussion with Wilson-Raybould about the criminal prosecution. He was told she would not intervene and that a deferred prosecution agreement was not appropriate given the circumstances.
But, in the feminist world of Justin Trudeau, evidently no does not mean no.
The pressure on the Attorney General began from Wernick, Butts and Telford. It is this pressure that constitutes an obstruction of justice.
The section reads: Every one who wilfully attempts in any manner to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.
Once the Attorney General said to the Prime Minister that she had made her decision and all subsequent attempts to get her to change her mind was an attempt to obstruct justice as defined in the Criminal Code.
The Commissioner of the RCMP Brenda Lucki is between a rock and a hard place in this. Five former provincial and federal Attorneys General have written to her asking her to investigate. Yet, she owes her position to the affirmative action and gender equity policies of the Prime Minister.
She should order an investigation, but will she? Somehow, I doubt it. Meanwhile the corruption of SNC-Lavalin infects everything it touches.
The so-called justice committee yesterday was a sham, showcasing how Liberal MPs are more concerned about protecting Justin Trudeau than actually investigating the SNC-Lavalin scandal.
In the middle of the SNC-Lavalin scandal, Justin Trudeau was spotted vacationing in Florida on Monday, March 11th.
Trudeau briefly returned to Ottawa on Tuesday, and then returned to his vacation in Florida on Wednesday.
According to NBC-2, the prime minister’s private jet was seen on the remote North Captiva Island.
The latest vacation comes at a time when Trudeau’s own office is being accused of attempting to politically interfere in a decision of the former Justice Minister and Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould.
According to Wilson-Raybould’s testimony before the Justice Committee, she was the victim of persistent pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office to intervene on behalf of Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin in a criminal trial.
The U.S. news source alleges that the PM was there vacationing with his family on the south end of the island, which is only accessible by boat. While there, Trudeau had rented out several properties for personal use and for his security team.
Currently, the House of Commons is adjourned for a two week break and is expected to return on March 18th.
Both opposition leaders, Andrew Scheer (CPC) and Jagmeet Singh (NDP) called on the PM to recall the House of Commons on March 1st in an open letter, but the Prime Minister has refused to do so.
Currently there are two ongoing investigations into the SNC-Lavalin allegations. One is being conducted by the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, while the other is being done by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.
CBC News has apologized for spreading false information about the Covington Catholic School students two months after the network first reported on it.
In January, CBC reported that after the Washington, DC March for Life, a group of students made an offensive chant in the face of a Native American protester, categorizing the students as “teenage bullies.”
A viral video showed what appeared to be one student, wearing a “Make America Great Again,” hat blocking the path of Nathan Phillips, who was counter-protesting at the pro-life rally.
As the video went viral, the students were accused of making offensive and racists remarks at Phillips and trying to start a confrontation with him.
The claims from Phillips and others were widely circulated by the media, including the CBC, including that the students allegedly chanted “build the wall” in Phillips’ face.
These claims any other similar claims reported on my various media outlets turned out to be false, as an independent investigation concluded.
CBC admitted its reporting against the students was actually based on comments from Phillips himself, which was not disclosed to the public at the time, and reported on as if it were fact.
The Covington student at the centre of the now infamous photos and videos, Nick Sandmann, is suing American media giant CNN for over $250 million for reporting similar claims to make what his lawsuit characterizes as“vicious” and “direct” attacks against him.
CBC ended its short retraction by apologizing for characterizing the students as “teenage bullies” at the time.
Seeing that its false reporting caused significant damage to the students and spread a false narrative to the public, It remains unclear why CBC would so eagerly report on unverified claims in the first place.
The Liberals can’t handle the truth. Why else would they shut down a justice committee meeting 13 minutes after it started to avoid even voting on a motion to allow Jody Wilson-Raybould to speak?
True North’s Andrew Lawton explains what happened at the sham of a justice committee meeting Wednesday afternoon.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has expressed that it is “concerned” about allegations that the Prime Minister’s Office might have interfered in the prosecution of Montreal engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.
“The OECD Working Group on Bribery is concerned by recent allegations of interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin that are subject to proceedings in the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights,” reads the statement.
The OECD is an international forum composed of 36 member nations that seeks to promote economic and social well being worldwide.
The March 11th statement announced that the “OECD will follow Canadian proceedings addressing allegations of political interference in foreign bribery prosecution”.
The prosecution in question involves the company SNC-Lavalin, which is being tried for bribing Libyan officials to obtain government contracts in the country.
Since February, the Prime Minister and members of the Prime Minister’s Office, including former Principal Secretary Gerald Butts, Chief of Staff Katie Telford and Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick have been accused of politically interfering in the case.
During testimony before the justice committee, former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said that she “experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere” in the SNC-Lavalin prosecution. The Prime Minister has since denied these claims.
Currently there are two known ongoing investigations into the allegations, one conducted by the Liberal-majority Justice Committee and another by the Federal Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commission.
The OECD’s working group on bribery is responsible for ensuring that governments abide by standards set by the Anti-Bribery Convention. Canada is a signing member of the convention which requires member countries to implement anti-bribery legislation and ensure that they get enforced without political interference.
“As a Party to the Anti-Bribery Convention, Canada is fully committed to complying with the Convention, which requires prosecutorial independence in foreign bribery cases pursuant to Article 5. In addition, political factors such as a country’s national economic interest and the identity of the alleged perpetrators must not influence foreign bribery investigations and prosecutions,” reads the statement.
The OECD also states that they have sent a letter to Canadian authorities about their concerns on the matter.
According to Statistics Canada’s monthly labour force survey, 56,000 jobs were added to Canada’s economy in the last month. Most of the job growth in the month of February was driven by the province of Ontario.
The latest StatsCan report shows that Ontario contributed 36,900 jobs to the nation’s total job growth, mostly in professional fields.
“Ontario was the sole province with a notable employment gain in February,” says a StatsCan news release. “More people were employed in professional, scientific and technical services; public administration; natural resources; and agriculture. At the same time, there were fewer workers in accommodation and food services, as well as transportation and warehousing.”
The province also saw a shift towards full-time employment and a decrease in part-time jobs. In February alone, 59,200 full-time positions were added to the economy, while part-time work decreased by 22,300.
The numbers were trumpeted as a victory by Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government.
“Through our new auto plan and other initiatives, we are laying a foundation for a better economy that will benefit workers and job creators alike. We are working hard to create a streamlined and cost-effective business climate that will help companies invest, innovate and grow right here in Ontario,” said Todd Smith, Ontario’s economic development minister.
Since the beginning of 2019, Ontario has seen a total of 78,300 jobs being created in the province.
Year-over year employment growth has reached a comfortable 2.7 per cent, well ahead of the national growth rate of 2.0 per cent.
Since being elected into a majority government in 2018, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has made job growth and employment a central issue for his government.
In comparison, Ontario’s year-over-year growth was at 1.6 per cent for the from July to September 2018, while Liberal Kathleen Wynne was still in power.
