This season, don’t forget about persecuted Christians
Christmas is a time of joy and celebration — that is, if you live in North America.
As we celebrate the season of lights with friends and family, enjoying an array of traditions both religious and secular, Canadians should pause and think about those around the world who would like to celebrate Christmas, but cannot.
Christians remain the most persecuted religious group on the planet, and heart-breaking stories of violence and hostility occur on a regular basis, across the Middle East but also in places, such as Pakistan, China and even Europe.
In the Middle East, the birthplace of Christ and the biblical homeland for Christians, Islamist warlords, jihadist extremists and majority Muslim populations have engaged in violence, intimidation, ethnic cleansing and genocide for decades.
They’ve all but wiped out the region’s diverse Christian populations.
As a result, Christians from Egypt to Iran and Turkey to Yemen are fleeing and disappearing in record numbers. Following the first world war, it’s estimated that about one in five people in the Middle East were Christian. Today, it’s less than 4%.
In once tolerant and diverse countries, such as Turkey and Iran, Christian populations simply no longer exist. Iraq’s once vibrant Christian population fell from 1.4 million in 2003, to less than 200,000 today.
In Europe, home of the world’s most beautiful cathedrals and the birthplace to many of our Christmas traditions, Christians are suddenly feeling under attack.
In recent years, ISIS has targeted and waged deadly attacks at Europe’s iconic Christmas markets.
On Dec. 19, 2016, an ISIS agent deliberately drove a large truck through the market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, killing 12 innocent people and injuring 56 more. He was a failed asylum seeker from Tunisia who worked with ISIS to wage his cowardly act of war.
On Dec. 11, 2018, an Islamist gunman opened fire at the Christmas market in Strasbourg, France while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” He killed five people and left 12 more wounded.
The terrorist gunman was known to security officials in Europe, and yet, he was able to carry out his gruesome attack against unsuspected Christians in Europe’s capital.
ISIS has made repeated calls for attacks against Europe’s Christmas markets. In response, many of these beautiful and historic markets have erected airport-style security and market-goers remain tense and afraid, many deciding to simply stay at home.
In South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, dispersed Christian populations face unimaginable threats and intimidation by local theocratic zealots.
Take the case of Asia Bibi, which I’ve written about before. Bibi is a poor Christian villager who was attacked by a mob and pressured to convert to Islam. She refused and, as a result, was charged, convicted and given a death sentence under the country’s regressive blasphemy laws.
Bibi’s case was recently overturned but the Pakistani government refuses to let her leave the country. Legions of angry Islamist men protested her acquittal and demanded that she be killed.
Her safety remains in jeopardy, and this Christmas, Bibi and her family will observe the holiday in hiding.
In China, the communist government has not only banned many churches and cracked down on Christians talking about their faith, some cities have also banned displays that could be construed as celebrating Christmas. No Christmas trees, no decorations, no songs, no lights.
In North America, we take freedom of religion for granted. This Christmas, we should commit to defending Christians around the world who cannot defend themselves.
Open border policies just don’t work, despite Trudeau’s denials
The science is settled. Open border policies don’t work.
And yet, deniers, such as Justin Trudeau, continue to push their failed policies while refusing to acknowledge the authoritative body of data showing how lax border policies create uncertainty, lawlessness, and chaos — all of which pose a threat to national sovereignty and unity.
The latest data point comes from a City of Toronto report over the holidays showing that 40% of the city’s government-run homeless shelters are occupied by asylum seekers and self-described refugees.
The city estimates it will spend over $100 million to deal with the unprecedented surge in homeless migrants seeking a handout in Canada’s largest city.
Add this to the hundreds of millions paid by the provinces for healthcare, education and welfare payments to migrants, and the $1.1 billion price tag by the feds in administrative costs for processing and determining asylum applications.
It didn’t used to be this way.
Canada was once a model for orderly, rules-based immigration. We once boasted the best integration and resettlement services in the world.
And because of Canada’s strong immigration rules and our dedication to welcoming and integrating immigrants, Canada created the model for peaceful pluralism — where newcomers were welcomed into the Canadian family in exchange for their commitment to follow our rules, adapt to our culture, learn our language, and adhere to our national values.
In just three short years, however, Trudeau has made a mockery of Canada’s once proud tradition of successful immigration and integration.
It stems from his denial. Trudeau denies that there is a border crisis or that his virtue-signalling on social media had anything to do with it.
He’s denied that it is illegal to cross the border at illegal entry points, and has forced his government to use the term “irregular migrants” instead of illegal.
It’s worth noting that, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “irregular“ is defined as “not being or acting in accord with laws, rules, or established custom.”
In other words, irregular means illegal.
No matter the euphemism, Trudeau refuses to acknowledge that unplanned mass migration doesn’t just hurt the public purse, it also has a profound impact on our communities, our public safety and our national unity.
Trudeau’s denial goes even further. He’s stated that Canada has no core identity and that he wants to make Canada the world’s first “post-national” country.
He sees himself as a global citizen, and has condemned the idea of Canadian nationalism and patriotism. He condemns those who try to define Canadian values, such as Conservative MP Kellie Leitch, and opposes all criticism of other cultures.
He’s demonized conservatives for calling honour killings and female genital mutilation “barbaric“ and calls anyone who disagrees with him — including little old ladies in Quebec — a racist.
Trudeau is not just a border denier, he denies Canadian greatness and seems to deny that Canada is even worth protecting.
This helps explain why he’s thrown our doors wide open to the world’s migrants and reversed years of progress by making our citizenship and immigration rules ever more lax.
Under Trudeau’s watch, Canada has become a magnet for fraudsters, human trafficking networks, citizens of convenience and people looking for a free ride. We’ve even welcomed terrorists and war criminals.
Canada is currently on an unsustainable path.
Despite what border deniers say, we need to wake up and acknowledge the chaos invited through open borders. Our children and grandchildren depend on it.
This election year, Canada needs real ideas on border security
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is devaluing Canadian citizenship and denying the need to protect our immigration system.
As I laid out in my last Sun column, he’s a border denier. In just three short years, Trudeau has made a mockery of Canada’s once proud tradition of successful immigration and integration.
Through my immigration think-tank True North, I speak to countless Canadians who are angry and upset with the direction this government has taken our country.
Many worry about Trudeau’s lax approach to border security, his endless generosity and handouts to migrants and his open border agenda.
But all hope is not yet lost. And 2019 could be the year things turn back around.
With an election coming this fall, now is the time for opposition parties to carve out a new plan to secure our borders, bring order back to our immigration system and protect the future of our country.
Canada has many natural advantages, including two large oceans that separate us from war-torn regions and the world’s most dysfunctional and least developed countries. Our only land border is shared with a wealthy, industrialized, like-minded country.
There is no reason why we should have a crisis of illegal border crossings. And yet, more than 40,000 migrants have illegally walked into Canada in the last two years.
In late 2018, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer took a bold stance by opposing the UN Global Compact for Migration, stating it would undermine Canada’s national sovereignty. Scheer deserves kudos for standing up to the groupthink of Liberal Canada and the whiny mainstream media, and for standing firm in his opposition to the UN compact.
But much like the UN scheme, illegal border crossings also undermine Canadian sovereignty. By allowing self-selected migrants with mysterious backgrounds to show up, unannounced, at our doorstep and demand a helping hand, we are undermining our own rules-based immigration system.
What’s the point of having serious criteria and tough rules about who can immigrate to Canada if we’re also willing to accept unscreened and unvetted migrants who stream across the border at an illegal entry point? What’s the point of keeping the front door locked if the side gate is always open?
Every year, more and more migrants cross illegally into Canada and make asylum claims in our country. Many of these claims turn out to be unfounded, and this system costs Canadian taxpayers billions each year.
The more migrants we accept this way, the more our reputation grows. People around the world already consider Canada’s citizenship and immigration rules a joke; many take advantage of our generosity through schemes to get citizenship without ever contributing to our country.
They see the Canadian passport as a status symbol, a luxury, and not a source of pride, commitment, responsibility or patriotism. This could all be stopped with the stroke of a pen.
If Canada were to deem all illegal border crossings as a “mass arrival,” we could detain every single migrant who enters illegally and hold them until a fast-tracked decision is made about their claim. We could enforce our laws saying that true refugees cannot enter Canada via a safe country like the US.
This would disqualify every single migrant walking across the US border. Word would get out that there’s no free ride in Canada, and the numbers would dry up.
If Andrew Scheer is serious about upholding Canadian sovereignty and protecting our immigration system, this would be a good place to start.
Candice Malcolm is the Founder of the True North.
WHERE IS THE MONEY? The federal government’s infrastructure promises are a total bust
It was a big and shiny promise to Canadians: new roads, better facilities and a booming economy. But has the Prime Minister delivered on that promise?
During the last federal election campaign, the Trudeau Liberals committed to spending $187 billion on infrastructure projects over the next decade.
Trudeau claimed that the infrastructure spending would have a profound impact on the Canadian economy. It was in this context that Trudeau made his infamous statement that the economy would be booming and “the budget would balance itself.”
We all know how that turned out.
And while Canada is buried under a $19 billion deficit (in the year Trudeau promised to be back to a balanced budget), Canadians deserve to know the status of the federal government’s infrastructure superfund.
The government claimed that by running $10 billion annual deficits, it would boost GDP by 0.4% — which works out to about $5 billion in new economic activity.
But in August of last year, a status report revealed that Canada’s GDP has only grown between 0.1% and 0.2% — which is less than $2 billion in new economic activity.
And instead of running $10 billion deficits, Trudeau’s borrowing surged and averaged between $20 billion and $30 billion over the past three years.
So where has this money gone, and do we have anything to show for it?
Writing in the Sun papers, columnist Lorne Gunter explains.
“The spending since the Liberals took over in 2015 has been so haphazard that even the best fiscal minds in the country cannot say how much of the money spent so far has gone to legitimate infrastructure projects (roads, bridges, telecommunications networks, rail lines and waterways) and how much to Liberal pet projects in swing ridings,” wrote Gunter.
“Sucking $30 billion or $40 billion out of the economy for questionable government spending over the past three years, in return for at most a couple billion a year in GDP growth, is a very poor investment,” Gunter concludes.
Gunter is not alone in his harsh criticism.
“This is one of the craziest of Liberal promises,” said Leader of the People’s Party of Canada Maxime Bernier on Twitter.
“To spend $186B (more than $5k per Canadian) on infrastructure over 12 years. Billions unaccounted for, lack of transparency, botched planning, no sign of economic benefit, bottlenecks, etc,” said Bernier.
“Countless billions will be wasted,” he concluded.
MALCOLM: Trudeau’s creepy CBC Christmas message gets the thumbs down
Check out Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s personal Christmas greeting video.
As of January 2, 2019, the YouTube video has over 9,700 dislikes compared to only 650 likes.
That’s a disapproval ratio of FIFTEEN to ONE.
Viewers were not impressed with the Prime Minister’s arrogant tone and phony demeanor, according to the 1,700 mostly negative comments.
What’s even more disturbing than Trudeau’s preachiness, however, is the partisan message embedded into this Christmas message. Part way through the holiday greeting, Trudeau starts listing off his own partisan accomplishments in office.
2019 is a federal election year, but it’s odd for the PM to mix partisan politics with a religious message to all Christians and Canadians.
“We’re also thinking of the hard-working Canadians families who might be struggling to make ends meet this Christmas. Our government is working to make things a little easier for you, whether it’s putting our first ever national housing strategy into action, supporting seniors, or putting more money into the pockets of nine out of ten Canadian families.”
“We [the Liberal government] will always stand with you, because that’s what Canadians do.”
Is a Christmas message really the time to be touting your own government programs, using torqued partisan data?
What is most disturbing of all about this video is that is found on the CBC’s YouTube channel.
Not the Liberal Party of Canada.
Not Justin Trudeau’s personal account.
But the supposedly independent, non-partisan, unbiased public broadcaster of Canada.
Why on earth is the CBC broadcasting Trudeau’s partisan Christmas message?
WATCH the full video here.
Trudeau’s carbon tax is now in effect – here’s what to expect
As of January 1st, 2019, the federally-imposed carbon tax is in effect in several provinces throughout Canada.
Provinces like Ontario and Saskatchewan, that haven’t forced a carbon tax on their taxpayers, now have to pay an additional tax on carbon, which means its a tax imposed on everything.
Statistics show that Canada’s carbon emissions dropped by 1.4% in 2016 without a carbon tax; carbon emissions fell by 2.7% last year in the U.S., after they withdrew from the UN Paris accord. Meanwhile, global emissions continue to rise because of developing countries like China and India.
Despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s assurance that his carbon tax will actually benefit Canadians, statistics suggest otherwise.
Gas prices are expected to skyrocket in 2019, reaching the highest prices seen since 2014. Some estimates predict that by 2022, gas prices will be increase by another 11 cents.
Natural gas price hikes will cause heating prices to soar, while propane costs will increase by up to 3.10 cents a litre.
Looking to BC — a province that imposed its own carbon tax since 2008 — signs suggest that the federal tax will negatively impact the economy. In 2013, BC’s Ministry of Finance stated in the first comprehensive review of the carbon tax that it “has had, and will continue to have, a small negative impact on GDP.”
Four out of ten provinces in Canada have vocalized their opposition to the federal government’s plan — Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick
“We will fight the carbon tax with every tool we have and will pursue ways to make sure that every person in Ontario is informed of how much they are paying in federal carbon tax — every time they pay a home heating bill or fill up their car,” said Ontario’s Finance Minister Vic Fedeli, calling it a “job-killing” tax.
Conservative Party opposition leader Andrew Scheer also voiced his opposition to the tax.
“Welcome to the year of the carbon tax,” Scheer said while visiting a Giant Tiger supermarket in Regina.
“Everyday essentials will become more expensive this year, thanks to the Trudeau carbon tax,” he said.
According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 87% of business owners in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick oppose the federal government’s new tax on fuel.
“CFIB is calling on other provinces to join Ontario and Saskatchewan in calling on the federal government to reconsider the increase in CPP premiums set to begin in a few weeks,” said CFIB president Dan Kelly.
Despite its unpopularity, the federal government has been spearheading the carbon tax before the upcoming 2019 election. The tax will directly pit the federal government against provincial adversaries. Both the Ontario and Saskatchewan governments are taking the feds to task for what they call an “unconstitutional” carbon tax.
The first court date by Saskatchewan is set to take place February 13th.
Islamic Party of Ontario leader says Liberals “are killing Islam” and hopes to start party based on Qur’an values
A video shows Jawed Anwar, the leader of the fledgling Islamic Party of Ontario, delivering a speech at the Muslim Voters Association in February 2018 and saying that liberalism in Canada and specifically the Liberal Party of Canada is “killing Islam by laws, by legislation.”
“I always wonder why Muslims support Liberals… liberalism erases God in all matters and all aspects of life,” said Anwar.
“We Muslims believe and have faith that Islam provides guidance for both private and public lives,” he continues.
The “Islamic Party of Ontario” was reserved as a name for a provincial party with Elections Ontario in October of last year.
Very little is known about Anwar besides the fact that he is from Toronto. He recently targeted Toronto Sun writer and author Tarek Fatah in a column for an Islamic news site titled “As-Seerah,” where he is a regular contributor.
In the column, Anwar called Fatah an “Islamophobe” and “an open enemy of Islam” — names that Fatah notes are dangerous to his personal safety and tantamount to painting a target on his head for the Islamic world to see.
“An allegation such as the one labeled against me is the equivalent of declaring me an ‘apostate,’ which makes it a duty of other Muslims to kill me and thus secure a place in Paradise for themselves,” says Fatah in his Sun column.
According to a guide on registering new parties in the province, “the first step for a political party intending to register with Elections Ontario is to reserve a name.”
The next step is registering as a provincial party which enables certain benefits, including receiving political contributions and issuing tax receipts.
Parties with religious undertones are not unheard of in Canada, but this is the first time that an Islamist party hopes to enter the Canadian political scene.
By early last month, the Islamic Party of Ontario or “Islamic Ontario” had already published its principles and policies on its party website.
The page states that the party holds the belief that Islam is the native religion of Canada, justifying this claim by pointing to a clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that mentions the supremacy of God in Canada.
According to the Islamic Party of Canada, this means the supremacy of their God.
The party boldly claims that all of its views on justice, family and politics are based on the Islamic teachings found in the Qur’an.
“Islamic Party of Ontario sets its policy of governance, economy, social justice, human dignity, healthcare, family life, environment, and justice, etc. according to the Qur’an and Sunnah.”
In other words, it’s proposing Sharia law in Canada.
According to common interpretations of Sharia and the Qur’an, Islamic law claims the just punishment for adultery is stoning or lashing, while certain cases of theft are dealt with by amputation.
Among the party’s announced positions include a ban on abortion, asserting marriage as being between a man and a woman, ending the practice of charging interest, an end to teaching ideas about gender identity and a complete ban on liquor, drugs, adultery, and gambling.
The party also seeks to suggest a “strict” law “to ban blasphemy of any religious (all) symbols and personalities.”
It is yet to be seen if the Islamic Party of Ontario will register and operate as a provincial party in any official capacity, or how many Canadian Muslims would support the party’s policies.
One thing is for certain, Anwar is a deeply religious man with a mission to enter into Canadian politics and influence public discourse in this country.
MALCOLM: 2018 was the year the shine came off of Trudeau
(This column originally appeared in the Toronto Sun)
This was a very bad year for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 2018 got off to a rocky start, and everything went downhill from there.
In early January, news broke that the federal ethics commissioner had found Trudeau guilty of breaking conflict of interest laws by going on a free vacation to a billionaire’s private island.
Trudeau become the first PM in history to be found guilty of breaking Canada’s ethics laws. His handlers quickly sent him on a cross-country speaking tour to distract from the bad headlines. But that only made things worse.
Trudeau insulted a young Canadian soldier who had lost his leg in Afghanistan, telling him that veterans were “asking for more than we are able to give right now.”
Trudeau’s indifference to suffering war heroes was eclipsed only by his absurd deference to political correctness. During the same town hall meeting, Trudeau corrected a young woman for using the term “mankind,” telling her instead, “we like to say peoplekind.”
Things went from bad to worse for Trudeau in February when he embarked on a junket to India. It was supposed to be Trudeau’s time to shine; the international press were known to swoon over Canada’s hip and progressive leader.
Instead, everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. It was a disaster of epic proportions.
Trudeau looked like a fool, dressed up like a Bollywood show-off, dancing at press conferences and dragging his poor family from one ridiculous photo op to another. His eight-day agenda lacked any real diplomatic purpose, and he was snubbed by Indian government officials over accusations of pandering to Sikh extremists in Canada.
Lo and behold, as I first reported in the Sun, one of those Sikh extremists was convicted would-be killer Jaspal Atwal, who was in India with the Canadian delegation and photographed at an official event.
Trudeau’s incompetence was amplified, and his office’s cover-up — blaming the invitation on “rogue elements” in the Indian government — made it all so much worse.
Trudeau was exposed, shamelessly pandering to actual terrorists and lacking the self-awareness to step out of the spotlight after being lambasted and ridiculed by the same international media that once praised him.
From there, we learned that Trudeau the feminist had once been accused of accosting a young female reporter at a music festival back in the year 2000 when he was 28.
“Men and women experience things differently,” said Trudeau, denying any wrongdoing. His “feminism” suddenly seemed hollow and hypocritical.
Trudeau always puts style over substance, and while his style repeatedly backfired in 2018, the substance was even worse.
After promising modest deficits, Trudeau’s spending spiraled out of control with no plan to get back to balance.
His refusal to secure our borders led to a crisis of illegal migration, the highest asylum claimant numbers in history and the lowest public approval of immigration in decades.
Trudeau was nearly blocked out of NAFTA for his arrogance, and he failed to secure a deal to protect Canadian manufacturing jobs.
And his anti-energy agenda – carbon taxes, tanker bans, cancelled pipelines and Bill C-69 — have pushed many Albertans to the brink of separatism.
The country is divided, people are angry, and Trudeau’s approval rating has never been lower.
A sizable majority — 58% of Canadians — disapprove of Justin Trudeau, 38% saying they “strongly disapprove.”
2018 was the year the shine came off of our prime minister. Canadians saw more of Trudeau, and they really didn’t like what they saw.
Candice Malcolm is the Founder of the True North.
Just the Facts: Christmas in North America
Christmas is a celebration with a long and varied history. Along with Easter, Christmas is the central holiday for a majority of Christians.
Christmas has been celebrated according to various customs that are often influenced by local tradition.
Information sourced from the Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore
History and tradition:
- Traditionally Christmas is the celebration of the nativity of Jesus Christ by Christians.
- In Christian theology, the nativity is the beginning of humanity’s salvation and when divinity took human form.
- The date of Christ’s birth is not explicitly recorded in scripture. Several dates were debated by the early church.
- The first documented celebration of Christmas on December 25th is in a Roman calendar in 354 AD
- The Early Christian church celebrated it on January 6th (Eastern Orthodox Christians still celebrate January 6th as the epiphany and the 7th as Christmas)
- The origin of Santa Claus can be traced to the Christian Saint Nicholas who was a Greek Bishop in the third century. His feast day is the 19th of December.
Celebration in England:
- The word “Christmas”, a portmanteau of “Christ’s mass” first appeared in the English language record in an Old English chronicle in 1101 AD
- Before this the festive season was referenced to as “Yule”
- Christmas as we know it today was “reinvented” in the second half of the 19th century by the Victorians
- Writers like Charles Dickens and Washington Irving helped popularize certain elements of the holiday
- Washington Irving (who also created the headless horseman) was the first to popularize the image of Santa flying on a sleigh with reindeer
- Native English elements like the Yule log, carolling, holly and mistletoe were combined with imports or inventions.
- Gift-giving was a German custom that first appeared in the English written record in an 1821 issue of Gentleman’s Magazine
- Christmas lights originated in upper-class German homes in the 18th century and were later adopted in the UK
Arrival in North America and popular culture:
- Originally Americans rejected the tradition of Santa Claus but it was again reintroduced by Dutch settlers
- Santa Claus was originally called “Father Christmas” in England, it was the Americans who changed the name to “Santa Claus” as to avoid being too English
- Many of the famous Christmas characters popular today were created in American popular culture
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was invented by American author Robert L. May in his book “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” in 1939 to advertise for Montgomery Ward a mail order and department store, originally Rudolph didn’t have a red nose because this was associated with alcoholism
- Frosty the Snowman originated in the popular song written by Walter “Jack” Rollins in 1950.
Some Canadian facts and numbers:
- Canada exported $43 million in Christmas trees to the rest of the world in 2016 (that’s nearly 2 million Christmas trees)
- 41% of households reported using Christmas lights in 2014
- December is the best-selling month for candy, confectionery and snack foods
- There is a town in Nova Scotia named Christmas Island
- Every year Halifax sends Boston a Christmas tree as thanks for the city’s aid in the aftermath of the Halifax explosion in 1917 which destroyed most of the city
