Venezuelans across Canada are protesting the shady election of incumbent President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist regime and they are not happy with Canada’s official statement on the fiercely contested ballot results.
Global Affairs Canada has issued an official statement regarding the contentious election results in Venezuela which have caused widespread protests in the South American country and beyond.
The declaration by Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly comes amid several demonstrations by the Venezuelan diaspora in major Canadian cities including in Toronto.
“We deeply regret that Venezuelan authorities did not respect this impressive civic engagement by failing to share the proof of the results,” wrote Joly in her statement.
“The electoral data collected by citizen witnesses and independent international observers provides credible evidence that the results claimed by Maduro authorities of this election don’t reflect the will of the Venezuelan people.”
Venezuelans abroad have answered calls from pro-democracy opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez who claim that Maduro is not respecting an election that saw them win by a landslide.
Notably, approximately 300 individuals assembled to protest what they term electoral fraud outside the Ontario legislature at Queen’s Park in downtown Toronto.
As per social media posts, protesters were joined by Conservative MPs Pat Kelly, Tom Kmiec and Suvaloy Majumdar.
Today I joined Calgarians at City Hall with @tomkmiec & @shuvmajumdar where we spoke in support of the Venezuelan people. The Trudeau government must clearly recognize that the opposition has won the election. pic.twitter.com/wPq8Q3TQEp
Venezuelan electoral authorities declared President Maduro the victor despite a lack of transparent voting data to corroborate his win and widespread arrests of opposition figures.
The Canadian response has been lacklustre and insufficiently assertive, according to Toronto protest organizer Rebecca Sarfatti.
“I know most people here have somebody who has suffered either now or in the past from this regime… they don’t feel safe going outside,” Sarfatti told the Canadian Press.
Canada’s statement stands in stark contrast to the United States’ overt endorsement of opposition candidate González.
The U.S. and the European Union, along with nations such as Argentina, Costa Rica and Ecuador have openly dismissed the official election results.
Minister Joly’s statement conveyed apprehension over reports of violence and skepticism regarding the electoral process’s integrity but did not endorse either side.
Others joining in criticism of the statement include Anaida Poilievre, spouse of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who labelled the Canadian government’s statement “weak” on social media.
The Venezuelan prosecutor’s office has initiated a criminal probe against opposition figures Machado and Gonzalez, accusing them of inciting the military to abandon support for President Maduro and to cease the suppression of demonstrators.
Attorney General Saab has accused them of prematurely declaring an election winner and instigating insubordination within the security forces.
This political turmoil occurs against the backdrop of a humanitarian crisis, with Venezuela ranking among the top five nations generating refugees, as per United Nations data.
The dire economic situation and pervasive poverty under the Chavist regime have led nearly 7 million individuals to flee the country.
Other Canadian cities such as Vancouver and Ottawa also saw protests by Venezuelans.
Estos dos policías cuidan la manifestación como siempre lo hacen en Ottawa. Educadísimos le preguntan a la organizadora: "Is Maduro still saying that he won the election? Crazy guy eh?" pic.twitter.com/Aik4PufD5B
So many Canadians are relying on food banks amid the cost of living crisis that people south of the border have taken notice and responded with donations.
The U.S.-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated $2 million to Daily Food Bank, a non-denominational Christian charity organization that aims to end hunger in Toronto.
“Food is a human right,” said the organization’s CEO Neil Hetherington in a press release. “We are deeply grateful for, and inspired by, partners like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are dedicated to serving our community and ensuring that families have the support they need during times of crisis.”
According to Daily Bread, around 10% of people in Toronto are now regularly relying on food banks.
The Mormon faith has 17 million members worldwide with Ontario being home to about 50,000.
Church Elder David G. LaFrance said that the donation was a “reflection of our deeply held Christian conviction to love God and our neighbours.”
LaFrance said LDS parishioners were shocked by the position that one in 10 Torontonians now find themselves in and that members from across North America contributed to the sizable donation, which is part of the church’s global humanitarian efforts.
The LDS Church donated $1.36 billion toward 4,119 humanitarian projects in 191 countries last year.
“We are grateful to partner with Daily Bread Food Bank to help with the responsibility of caring for our fellow humans,” said Rich Ternieden, communication director for the LDS church in Ontario.
“It’s just part of what motivates us. We’re motivated by the desire to serve our fellow beings,” he said in Etobicoke on Monday during the donation’s announcement.
This isn’t the first time that the LDS Church has made donations to Daily Bread, having previously given the organization money in 2022 and 2023.
Daily Bread’s annual spending has skyrocketed from $1.5 million before the pandemic to $29 million this year, according to Hetherington.
He said that monthly visits have gone from roughly 65,000 to over 350,000 as of May, with the organization receiving about 13,000 new clients monthly.
“Food inflation, skyrocketing housing costs, stagnating wages and insufficient income supports have created a deep poverty crisis that is leaving thousands struggling to feed themselves and their families,” said Daily Bread in a press release.
“Close to one quarter (23%) of food bank clients spend 100% of their income on housing, leaving no money for other necessities, like food, and putting them at high risk of homelessness.”
The organization is desperate for more funding, according to Hetherington, who said the latest donation will buy about two million meals for people in need as well as two additional trucks for GTA distribution.
“The difficult thing is we need about 40 to 50 million meals every single year for the city of Toronto,” he said. “So that means we’re going to advocate to the different levels of government even harder.”
While food security is a major problem for Toronto, it’s twice as bad nationally.
One in five Canadians have an acquaintance who had to resort to using food banks to meet their needs, according to a national survey from last month.
Nanos Research conducted the survey between May 31 and June 2 and found that while only 2% of respondents said that they had used food banks themselves, nearly twice as many knew of a family member who had.
Polling over 1,000 Canadians, the survey found that more than 10% of respondents knew of a friend or acquaintance who had received assistance from a food bank.
The survey’s findings were consistent with those conducted a month prior, with a slight 2% increase in respondents who did not know of someone who had used a food bank and the remaining 1% said that they’d “prefer not to say.”
Antisemitic hate crimes have surged across Canada, with new statistics revealing a troubling increase in incidents targeting the Jewish community.
Despite making up less than 1% of Canada’s population, Jewish people accounted for 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in 2023, according to data released by Statistics Canada on July 31.
The total number of police-reported hate crimes rose from 3,612 incidents in 2022 to 4,777 in 2023, an increase of 32%. The number of hate crimes targeting Jewish people rose from 527 to 900, an increase of 71%. Hate crimes targeting members of any religion grew by 67%.
“Most of the violations typically associated with hate crimes increased, including public incitement of hatred (+65%), uttering threats (+53%), mischief (+34%), and assaults (+20%),” reads the report.
Deborah Lyons, a diplomat and special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism, said that the same week the data were released saw Jewish schools, synagogues, neighbourhoods, and businesses subjected to a wave of antisemitic vandalism.
“Law enforcement must act. The voices of the vast majority of Canadians—including faith, business, and political leaders—need to be heard before it’s too late,” she said.
According to a 2019 survey, only one in five victims of hate crimes reported the incidents to police.
Between 2022 and 2023, police-reported hate crimes against Muslims increased by 94%, other religions by 37%, and hate crimes against Catholics decreased by 6%.
The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto issued an update on security developments the same day the data were released. The update was issued only 24 hours after the organization’s first release, which covered a fire at Leo Baeck Day School.
Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis, marking the largest assault on Jews since the Holocaust. The attackers brutally killed babies, raped women, burned families alive, and took hundreds of innocent civilians hostage.
Since Oct. 7, the Toronto Police Service has responded to 1,556 suspected hate crime calls, averaging 156 per month. There have been 130 arrests and 314 hate crime related charges issued since Oct. 7.
Of the 273 hate crimes reported in 2024 so far in Toronto, 45% were antisemitic.
“Hate crime occurrences are up 55% over the same period last year,” said Chief Myron Demkiw.
The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto have called for various actions from Canadian leaders.
They urged leaders to commit to providing an immediate and sustained deployment of officers in the Jewish community. They called on the municipal and provincial governments to provide additional resources to allow police to protect the community.
“We are calling on federal officials to make glorifying terrorism a criminal offence,” reads the third and last call to action of the release.
The two leaders said that violent online rhetoric has fuelled vandalism, arson, and violent threats facing the Jewish community.
“We can no longer allow jihadists to whip up crowds in our streets, celebrate the murder of Jews, and applaud terrorist groups,” reads the letter.
The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto has asked the public to email Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc, and urge him to implement legislation to make the glorification of terrorism a criminal offence.
Another electric company that builds electric buses has to pump the brakes to avoid further financial losses.
Lion Electric announced on Tuesday that it would have to lay off 30% of its staff, around 300 employees. The company expects to save $25 million annually from the initiative, assuming the laid-off employees are not rehired. The most recent layoffs follow 220 employees previously being laid off in Feb. and Apr.
“Transition to electric is taking longer than initially expected, but transportation electrification is here to stay,” said CEO and Founder of Lion Electric, Marc Bedard. “It is with that mindset that we put together an action plan to adjust our cost structure to enable us to continue to support the increasing electric school bus demand and maintain our leadership position, while allowing us to keep supporting the truck operators in their electric transition and focus on our profitability objectives.”
The action plan includes the anticipated layoffs along with subleasing some facilities, selling battery packs to third parties, and cutting operational expenses such as logistic and consultant costs.
The quarterly financial highlights showcased a gross loss of $15.2 million, compared to a gross profit of $0.4 million in the same period last year. The company reported a net loss of $19.3 million for the second quarter of this year, up from a net loss of $11.8 million in the same period last year.
Lion Electric claims to be “a leading manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles,” according to the company’s press release. The company has over 2,100 vehicles on the road.
Between the second quarter of 2024 and 2023, the number of vehicles sold was almost cut in half. In the second quarter of 2023, 199 vehicles were “delivered,” compared to only 101 in 2024’s second quarter.
The 199 vehicles sold in 2023 were 166 school buses, 33 trucks, 171 vehicles in Canada, and 28 in the United States. In 2024, these numbers fell to 95 school buses, six trucks, 84 vehicles in Canada, and 17 in the United States.
The New York Stock Exchange informed Lion Electric that its stock price had been below $1 per share for 30 consecutive trading days. The company has six months to raise its share price above $1 to regain compliance. If Lion Electric cannot re-raise its stock price in time, it may be delisted from the exchange.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation previously urged governments to stop handing out EV subsidies to consumers purchasing electric vehicles. They showed that 57% of electric vehicle owners make more than $100,000 per year, and argued that the average taxpayer with a lesser income shouldn’t be picking up the tab.
As of June 2024, the taxpayers organization highlighted that the feds had handed out $57 billion in subsidies to wealthy auto giants, while Ford reported losing $132,000 on every electric vehicle sold.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith warned that the EV mandate was “destructive” and “unachievable.”
A municipality in Saskatchewan previously scrapped the idea of adopting electric vehicles, concluding that they posed too many risks, especially regarding emergency use.
A Consumer Reports survey showed that electric vehicles have 79% more problems than their gas counterparts.
The buses have a lifespan of 12 years, originally advertised as 18 years — 33% less than predicted. As of Jan. 2024, 44 of Edmonton’s 60 electric buses were no longer roadworthy. While the charges were advertised as able to go 482km on a single charge, Edmonton’s buses had a range of merely 117km, leaving them charging most of the day.
Conversely, a diesel bus can go 21 hours without filling up its tank.
Canadian insolvencies have steadily been on the rise, hitting a four-year high in the second quarter of this year, according to new data from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.
Higher interest rates and inflation continue to be a heavy burden for Canadians as the latest OSB data reported a rise in both business and consumer bankruptcies and proposals.
The two jumped up 13.3% this past quarter, compared to the same time last year.
“Consumer insolvencies have reached their highest level in over four years, underscoring the significant headwinds many Canadians are still facing,” said André Bolduc, a licensed insolvency trustee and chair of the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals in a statement.
“When individuals are forced to allocate more of their paycheque to groceries and other basic necessities, less remains for other obligations such as credit card bills or debt servicing.”
Consumer insolvencies increased 12.3%, with 35,082 Canadians filing for insolvency compared to the first quarter of 2024.
A daily average of 386 Canadians filed for insolvency in the second quarter.
According to CAIRP, insolvencies haven’t surpassed the 35,000 threshold since the fourth quarter of 2019.
Business insolvencies saw an even greater spike of 41.1% annually, with 1,541 Canadian businesses filing for insolvency.
The business insolvency rate saw an increase of 58.2%, compared to the second quarter of 2019.
“The increase in consumer insolvencies is yet another unfortunate reminder that Canadian families bear the brunt of the cost of excess government spending,” Renaud Brossard, vice president of Communications at the Montreal Economic Institute told True North.
“If it wasn’t for the excess spending from all levels of government in recent years, inflation wouldn’t have been as high, and the interest rates needed to tame it wouldn’t have had to climb as much.”
On a quarterly basis however, business insolvencies dropped 23.1%, which Bolduc suggested may be an indication of potential stabilization.
“This drop might also indicate cautious optimism as businesses adapt to shifting economic conditions,” said Bolduc said.
“Yet, despite the recent drop, insolvency levels remain high and could rise again due to ongoing volatility. Small and medium-sized businesses tend to be particularly vulnerable to changes in consumer spending, so if price-sensitive consumers pull back on spending, these businesses would feel the pain right away.”
Bolduc noted that there are a variety of economic factors that affect insolvencies, like interest rate changes which hurt debtors the most.
While the Bank of Canada announced its second consecutive interest rate cut last month, Bolduc said it will still take some time before those changes can be seen in insolvency filings.
“Therefore, we expect insolvency activity to remain elevated as the recent rate cuts take time to positively affect Canadians’ wallets and provide relief for household budgets,” said Bolduc.
Source: (Gleichen, AB), P75-103 S7-184, 1945, General Synod Archives.
If you Google “stories about Canada’s Indian Residential Schools,” all you will get are negative ones.
Stories from self-proclaimed “survivors” – an inflammatory label deliberately selected to make them seem equivalent to Holocaust survivors – include reports that “The physical abuse was every day. And being assaulted verbally – if I didn’t do things the way that they wanted me to do, I was called a dirty, stupid Indian that would be good for nothing.”
Another “survivor” claims, “Poked with fingernails, pencils, pointers – they threw books, keys, broke wooden rulers over us, leaving scars. They slapped our heads, faces or ears, pulled our ears, nose, tongue. Red-hot hands puffed, cut by stiff straps. Cringe or move your hand, you get more.”
Following the example of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement and the testimonies it allowed as part of the Independent Assessment Process (IRSSA) for claims of abuse at the boarding schools and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings where an unrepresentative sample of some 6,500 former students spoke about the abuse and other adversities they suffered, such stories allow no cross examination and demand no witness corroboration to prove the declarations of “survivors” were truthful.
Also ignored in the unquestioned acceptance of testimonies made since 1996, the year the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People Report was released, the year before the last of the residential schools were closed, is that before that date, accusations that these schools were houses of horror were almost unheard of.
This discontinuity between present and past stories of treatment and living conditions at the schools suggests something is amiss. More particularly, how can stories recorded while the schools were in full operation be less credible than those told 30 or more years later?
This discontinuity can easily be explained by those willing to dig deeper than Google, whose Indian Residential School algorithm may favour horror stories. They can also go beyond the IRSSA-sponsored testimonies whose terms of reference encouraged thousands of eager rent-seekers to come forward, thereby exaggerating the nature and extent of school abuse.
Meanwhile, those accused of abuse are rarely named, a gross denial of their right to defend themselves.
If the good names of our parents or grandparents were falsely disparaged and disgraced, we would want to do something about it. No innocent person’s memory should be dragged through the mud of the currently flawed and one-sided narrative about Canada’s Indian residential schools.
An easy way to challenge the prevailing narrative of wicked members of previous generations abusing and exploiting the Indian Residential School students in their charge is to read the outstanding long-form piece of recent historical scholarship written by Ian Gentles and Pim Wiebel, an essay whose findings correspond to those reported below.
On July 30, 2010, the Calgary Herald published a short piece titled “Residential Schools Generate Anger But Also Pride” by Lea Meadows. It told the story of Meadows’ parents, Harry Meadows and Elsie McLaren Meadows, who worked as teachers at Indian Residential Schools in Manitoba. Elsie was also a student at the Brandon Indian Residential School, and her positive experience there inspired her to become a teacher. Meadows writes against painting everyone who worked at the schools as an abuser. She also notes that “survivor” may not be the most suitable term for all former students. She writes:
“I do not deny there were people in those schools who greatly harmed students. We all must speak out against such abuse. But to label the schools themselves and all who worked there as evil, and to describe everyone who attended a school as a “survivor” is facile — and it dishonours those who were truly abused and did have something horrific to survive.”
In response to Meadows’ letter, on August 5, 2010, Truth and Reconciliation Commission chair Murray Sinclair wrote, also to the Calgary Herald:
“We are grateful for people such as Meadows, who speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Their memories and contribution to history will be preserved. The input of former staff is of tremendous value because their number is declining. Each story lost to us represents an experience that will be missing from the public record, diminishing our ability to reflect the reality of the schools and assess their ongoing impact. While the TRC has heard many experiences of unspeakable abuse, we have been heartened by testimonies which affirm the dedication and compassion of committed educators who sought to nurture the children in their care. These experiences must also be heard.”
Lea Meadows asked:
“What was the alternative? What were we supposed to have done in that day and age? Were we to leave people by virtue of no common language, illiterate, innumerate and unable to deal with the larger society?”
“… the TRC report does not honour the truth because it does not reflect all residential school students’ experience — like my mother’s and grandmother’s.
They would be incensed at being labelled a “survivor” or “exploited.” They said their opportunities were immeasurably improved by their schooling. Nobody denies that abuse occurred, but we need to also understand where good was done and acknowledge that, too. That is honouring the truth.”
To date, no Indigenous leader has answered Meadows’ basic questions. Indeed, people who ask them are vilified, attacked and called horrible names. This dishonest behaviour has prevented a proper understanding of our history, and it continues to stand in the way of the healing of our country.
We can’t have it both ways. If positive experiences “must also be heard,” why are people like Lea Meadows and a growing number of Canadians treated as pariahs at a time when they are doing their best to bring about a genuine understanding between all three founding nations of this great country?
There are countless examples of kindness and caring by residential schoolteachers but also by others who made a positive difference in the lives of Indigenous children. These included school principals, Indian agents, chiefs and — yes — even Indian Affairs bureaucrats. Letters obtained from Library and Archives Canada demonstrate that Lea Meadows is justified in wanting the record to be clear and truthful. The letters present evidence of the advocacy of Indian agents for Indigenous families; school principals protecting children, especially orphans and children who were victims of parental abuse and neglect; Indigenous chiefs asking that children be admitted to the schools; and even bureaucrats permitting the admission of many disadvantaged children.
There is clearly much more to tell than what appears in the “official” Indian Residential Schools narrative. An abundance of documented evidence of all sides of the story can be found at indianresidentialschoolrecords.com including the stories of successful leaders like former federal cabinet minister Len Marchand, composer/playwright Thomson Highway, and Order of Canada recipient Chief Dan George, all of whom have spoken highly of the “dedication, compassion and commitment” of the people who were entrusted with their nurturing and care.
This country needs more people like Lea Meadows, her parents and grandparents. The good intentions and reputations of innocent people who worked to improve the lives of Indigenous children should not be allowed to continue to be tarnished. They, their students, and their students’ children deserve better. They deserve truth.
James C. McCrae is a former attorney general of Manitoba and Canadian citizenship judge.
One-third of agriculture jobs and one-fifth of food and beverage jobs are at risk of being replaced by automation over the next decade, according to a new study released by the Conference Board of Canada.
When combining the number of employees in Canada working in the agriculture and food and beverage manufacturing sectors, a total of 563,000 Canadians worked in those industries in 2023, according to the report. Of these, 103,665 jobs in the agriculture sector and 56,130 jobs in the food and beverage manufacturing sector are at risk of automation in the next decade.
Jobs most vulnerable to automation include repetitive labour roles, such as livestock labourers, harvesting labourers, and labourers in food and beverage processing.
“In the agriculture industry, precision agriculture, advanced machinery, and sensor technology tools have the highest potential to automate repetitive tasks, improve efficiency, enable data-driven decision-making, and optimize resource management,” reads the report.
For the food and beverage manufacturing industry, robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics have the greatest potential to increase efficiency and consistency, enable data-driven decision-making, and improve performance overall, according to the research.
While the agri-food sector employed 563,000 people in 2023, or 2.8% of Canada’s total employment, it generated $72.1 billion, contributing 3.3% to Canada’s GDP. Agriculture contributed 1.7% to the GDP, while the food and beverage manufacturing industry contributed 1.6%.
The adoption of technology will lead to an increased demand for workers with high levels of education and skills, such as cognitive skills, technological literacy, and specialized knowledge, according to the report.
Emerging roles like data scientists and software engineers are expected to grow significantly.
Despite having tens of thousands of seasonal foreign workers, job vacancies in the agriculture industry have been 11% above the country’s average over the past four years. The industry also has workers who are older than other industries and will face higher retirement rates. About 30% of the workforce is expected to retire between 2023 and 2030.
The Canadian Agriculture Human Resources Council estimated that 28,200 jobs were unfulfilled during the peak agriculture season in 2022. By 2030, they expect this figure to rise to 101,100 during peak season.
Despite potentially losing 33% and 20% of jobs in the agriculture and food and beverage manufacturing industry by 2033, respectively, the study argued that embracing automatic and technological advancement could increase productivity and competitiveness.
To facilitate the transition, the Conference Board of Canada offered four recommendations.
The recommendations include investing in education and professional development programs and promoting the role of farming and food production to attract tech-focused individuals.
The board also calls on the government and industry to support small and medium-sized farmers with in-house and manufacturing training for their staff.
Lastly, the board calls on policy-makers and industry to create initiatives that promote mentorship so that the knowledge accrued by farmers over generations is not lost.
A class-action lawsuit against several social media companies has been launched by a Montreal man who alleges that the platforms have caused harm from being too addictive.
Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, were listed as defendants in the lawsuit, as well as TikTok, YouTube and Reddit.
The plaintiff is being represented by Lambert Avocats, a Montreal law firm, which argues that the high levels of dopamine received by users from these platforms has led to negative effects on their mental health and self-esteem.
The 24-year-old plaintiff alleges that he’s suffered from low productivity and a poor sense of body image as a result of using these social media apps for up to four hours per day since he first started using them in 2015.
According to the class-action suit, he has since reduced his time to roughly two hours daily.
However, the lawsuit cannot proceed until first authorized by a judge.
Lambert Avocats is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, however, a judge must authorize the lawsuit before it can proceed.
According to Lambert intern Philippe Brault, many people have contacted the firm since Monday, following the class action lawsuit’s announcement.
“In 2024, it’s estimated that humanity as a whole will be using social media for a total of 500 million years,” Brault told CTV News. “That just goes to show that it’s not a problem for a certain number of individuals, it’s a widespread problem for everyone.”
The lawsuit alleges that platform creators have been intentionally negligent in creating addictive platforms, designed to make users dependent on them.
“We’re also looking to get this message out there by talking to the media,” said Brault. “People have to understand the risks to the use of social media.”
However, the social media platforms argue that users do so entirely on a voluntary basis and that they are free to limit their use or delete such apps at any time if they feel they are experiencing adverse effects.
Several Ontario public and private school boards have also filed lawsuits against the same tech giants on similar grounds of having addictive and unsafe effects on students’ mental health.
The lawsuits argue that educators have been left to manage the fallout of these effects on students on their own.
“The defendants chose to maximize profits at the expense of student well-being and without due regard to the foreseeable harm and damage caused,” read the statement of claims from March.
The suits are seeking $4.5 billion from the tech giants in damages for what they refer to as “widespread disruption to the education system.”
Meta, Youtube, TikTok and Reddit did not respond to requests for comment from True North.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has criticized the school board lawsuits as “nonsense,” saying that they are a distraction from what is really important.
“Let’s focus on math, reading and writing. That is what we need to do, put all the resources into the kids,” said Ford during a March press conference in Ottawa.
“What are they spending lawyers fees to go after these massive companies that have endless cash to fight this? Let’s focus on the kids, not this other nonsense that they are looking to fight in court.”
Today on the Alberta Roundup with Rachel Parker, Rachel hosts a panel with two prominent Conservatives who say Premier Danielle Smith is not living up to her mandate.
Marty Belanger and Tariq Elnaga supported Smith during the United Conservative Party leadership race, but now say she is taking too long to move forward key policies she supported during the race, like low taxes and an Alberta Provincial Police force.
The panel also discuss whether the high immigration Smith supports is something the province wants or can support. Finally, the group discusses what Smith must do to maintain support ahead of the question on her leadership at the UCP AGM this fall.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller confirmed that the government has no plans to give residential status to illegal immigrants in Canada.
The Trudeau government had initially planned to “explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities” in 2021 but are now acknowledging that it’s not a desire for most citizens.
“As frustrating as that is to hear for people that are in a precarious position of being undocumented in Canada and are contributing to the economy — and perhaps kids that are Canadian — I think we have to be quite clear with Canadians and quite realistic about what’s achievable,” Miller told CBC News.
“Despite the economic imperative, despite the very humanitarian imperative that a broad regularization program presents, it is clear to me that Canadians are not there and that’s just reality.”
The Immigration Department estimates that there are approximately 300,000 to 600,000 illegal immigrants currently residing in Canada.
Immigration lawyer Sergo Karas said that the government must first get a handle on how many undocumented migrants are in Canada before it can begin discussing issuing statuses.
“The government has no idea how many undocumented migrants are in Canada, so the discussion about granting them status outside the regular immigration process is premature,” Karas told True North.
“Many of the people illegally in Canada are failed refugee claimants who have gone underground, overstaying visitors, and foreign students whose permits came to an end and were unable to apply for permanent residency.”
Karas agreed with the government’s latest stance, saying that granting them amnesty would be an “affront to the millions of immigrants who followed the law and paid their dues.”
“It is also an invitation to others to flaunt deportation and removal orders to bide their time and wait for the next amnesty. It is bad policy,’ he said.
Ottawa pledged to reduce the number of temporary residents from its current share of 6.2% of the population to 5% by 2027.
“I think we have to be quite practical and realistic about whether we can achieve that in a way that demonstrates to Canadians that we’re capable of doing that in the next year,” said Miller.
While the government is rescinding its plans to give widespread resident status, Miller said that he was still “actively considering” making status exemptions for migrants working in sectors like healthcare and construction, which are facing desperate labour shortages.
However, Karas said reviewing illegal immigrants for certain sectors would only lead to a further expansion of Canada’s immigration bureaucracy and divert resources from other “worthy immigration programs.”
He said that the “cost would be staggering” considering the “Liberals already expanded” the program “by 42% since the pandemic.”
Karas also noted that granting residency to certain sectors may open the door for those looking to exploit such exceptions.
“The idea that preference can be given to illegals who work in specific economic sectors may create many “new workers” who will claim that they work in those industries,” he said.
“It will open Pandora’s Box for unscrupulous individuals to “create jobs” for their friends and relatives and will spur a cottage industry where people will be willing to pay for employer confirmation letters and the like. It will become a nightmare.”
The Department of Immigration did not respond to True North for comment.
