fbpx
Sunday, July 6, 2025

Retired military veterans speak out against DEI and the state of the Canadian military

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
-
Source: The Daily Wire

According to three Canadian military veterans, the Canadian Armed Forces are in crisis, and the government’s recent push towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has a share in the blame.

In an interview with Canadian psychologist and author Dr. Jordan Peterson, three retired CAF veterans spoke about the state of the military and how DEI policies are contributing to low levels of retention and recruitment.

“The global security situation we find ourselves in is eroding rapidly. This is another aspect of what I would describe as…a sense of ‘it’s not really affecting us’ on the part of the machinery of government,” Mark Norman, a retired Vice Admiral of the Royal Canadian Navy, said in the over an hour-and-a-half long video. 

Norman retired after 39 years of service and thinks there are many problems the military faces today.

“We have broader issues with respect to equipment, purchase, procurement, maintenance, and these are all combining to create what I believe is a genuine crisis,” he said. “Add to that external concerns around the credibility not of the individual soldier, sailor or aviator inside the armed forces but of the institution.”

Norman noted that the government still hasn’t achieved its commitment to its NATO allies of spending 2% of its GDP on defence each year. He also questioned the military’s capability to help its international partners, a role he thinks is a key mandate of the CAF.

“We have an organization that has been chronically underfunded and undersupported for decades. This has been episodic but constant throughout my entire time in uniform, and I’m sure my friends here would agree,” he said, speaking of the other two veterans on the panel. 


Lieutenant-General J.O. Michel Maisonneuve retired after 35 years of service, and his wife   Barbara Maisonneuve, a 21-year Royal Canadian Air Force veteran, agreed that there are significant problems facing the organization they had all dedicated their lives to serving.

“We tried DEI. How’s that working out for us?” Barbara said. “Not great. We’re still way down 16,000 in personnel (of an estimated 100,000).”

“In wartime, at 15% (below capacity), your unit is no longer combat capable; your unit has to be pulled back,” J.O. Michel added. “So you could say that the armed forces are not combat capable.”

Norman added that the situation may be bleaker than that.

“Even though you might be at 85%, of that 85%, a bunch of them are unavailable for a variety of reasons, from medical to administrative,” he said.

A 20% shortfall faced by the CAF today.

J.O. Michel added that a large amount of the shortage is in the militaries center core such as warrents, sergeants, lieutenants and captains, roles that take decades to achieve.

“So even if you recruit 16,000 people tomorrow… It’s going to take the time to get there,” J.O Michel said.

He added that other specialized occupations, such as technicians and fighter pilots, would also take a lot of time to train, the later facing shortages for years. and considers.

Barbara blamed the attrition on the top-down culture change, which targeted the armed forces’ ‘warrior culture.’

“If there’s one place you want to have a warrior culture, wouldn’t it be in your Canadian Forces?” she said. “Now we’re implementing the DEI. We’re targeting this quota of (‘diverse’ people’), so there are my four fighter pilots who are lined up and want to join, and they don’t even get a medical appointment because (there’s) quotas to fill.”

Peterson agreed, saying the DEI quotas, which hire anyone who’s not straight, white or male over the former, are shrinking the pool of potential candidates for those positions.

Norman suggested that Canada’s military underfunding stems from Canada’s various governments’ continued overreliance on the U.S. military for defence over the decades and the concept that an invasion of Canada is highly unlikely.

J.O. Michel said security is more critical now than in recent years.

“It’s a perfect storm, that the international security environment has completely changed where we never thought we’d ever have a state-on-state war again. There are rogue nations out there that are trying economically and a lot of other ways, eventually, perhaps militarily, are going to try to have the upper hand,” J.O Michel said. “The international situation is forcing people across the world to look at their security situation.”


The panellists agreed that the security a well-funded and well-manned military provides transcends traditional physical threats of war.

The three are calling on men and women to join the armed forces to defend the nation and the high quality of life Canadians enjoy compared to the rest of the world.

“We still enjoy an incredible level of privilege in our lifestyles, and that is dependent on a whole series of international systems, and those international systems are all under threat,” Norman said. “They’re under threat from a military, political, economic and sociological perspective. And the more that we erode our ability to protect those systems, the more vulnerable we become.”

Chinese research vessel “probing our infrastructure” reports Defence department

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: Flickr

Chinese military activity continues to increase near Canada’s Arctic, as a Canadian warship encountered a Chinese polar research vessel in the Bering Strait near Alaska earlier this month. 

The Department of National Defence said that Canada’s “competitors are not waiting to take advantage” of the natural resources in the area which are becoming more accessible as the Arctic circle begins to warm. 

The Canadian warship was on its first-ever Arctic patrol, when it encountered a Chinese polar research vessel in the Beijing Strait.

According to the DND, our warming Arctic has made the “vast and sensitive region more accessible to foreign actors” who are seeking transportation routes and natural resources.

“Competitors are not waiting to take advantage – seeking access, transportation routes, natural resources, critical minerals, and energy sources through more frequent and regular presence and activity. They are exploring Arctic waters and the seafloor, probing our infrastructure and collecting intelligence,” said the department in a statement. 

The DND warned that global competitors have ramped up their intelligence gathering in the region in recent years, however the recent exchange did not pose an immediate threat.   

“On this deployment, the ship and its embarked CH-148 Cyclone Air Detachment interacted safely and professionally with the Chinese Research Vessel Xue Long 2 throughout its transit through the Bering Strait,” Andrée-Anne Poulin, a spokesperson for the DND told True North.

“The Canadian Armed Forces was also aware of the presence of a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) naval task group, which remained in international waters at all times. The Chinese naval task group had no encounters with HMCS Regina. To maintain the security of our missions and personnel, we will not disclose further specific operational details.”

The U.S. Coast Guard first reported the Chinese flotilla on July 6, after detecting foreign vessels within an economic zone exclusive to the U.S. The region extends 200 miles from the Alaska coastline. 

“The U.S. Coast Guard encountered multiple People’s Republic of China military ships in the Bering Sea, Saturday and Sunday,” said the Department of Homeland Security in a statement. “The Chinese vessels responded to U.S. Coast Guard radio communication and their stated purpose was “freedom of navigation operations.”

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Kimball continued to monitor the Chinese flotilla until it returned into the Pacific Ocean south of the Aleutian Islands, reported the agency.

HMCS Regina was dispatched from Esquimalt, a Canadian Armed Forces Base near Victoria, B.C. a day after the U.S. Coast Guard report.

Commander of the Canadian navy’s Pacific fleet Dave Mazur said that while the departure was “on short notice” it was still an “impactful deployment” in a post to X.  

According to DND spokesperson Frederica Dupuis, military activity from both China and Russia has been escalating in the Arctic region that approaches North America. 

“We are seeing more Russian activity in our air approaches, and a growing number of Chinese dual-purpose research vessels and surveillance platforms collecting data about the Canadian North that is, by Chinese law, made available to China’s military,” said Dupuis in a statement.

Chinese and Russian bombers flew in tandem for the first time in international airspace off the Alaskan coast last week. 

According to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the bombers were tracked by Canadian and U.S. fighter jets. 

“Despite not being an Arctic nation, China seeks to become a ‘polar great power’ by 2030 and is demonstrating an intent to play a larger role in the region. The steady growth of its navy, including its conventional and nuclear-powered submarine fleet, will support this ambition,” said Dupuis.

LEVY: Chow and Saks receive cold shoulder from Toronto’s Jewish community

By
Sue-Ann Levy
-

Liberal MP Ya’ara Saks hadn’t even gotten on stage to speak at Toronto’s Pride of Israel synagogue before the booing started.

It reached a crescendo before MIchelle Bloom — the MC at a standing room only anti-hate rally — lectured the crowd and had two hecklers thrown out. 

The efforts to make an example of the two, avowed Zionists and activists Salman Sima and Daniel Bordman, only created more of a scene.

That’s because tensions were very high Wednesday evening with the majority of the crowd either vehemently cheering those who have heroically supported the Jewish community over the past 10 months or heckling those politicians they feel have let them down and enabled the rising scourge of Jew hatred in Toronto and in Canada.

Pride of Israel was one of the first of now a succession of synagogues vandalized in a series of hate crimes. Its windows were broken early in the morning of June 30. Toronto police have yet to arrest any perpetrators.

Saks talked about how the synagogue was where her grandfather prayed and how all of the people speaking that night have a commitment to keep the community safe.

Her speech—half of it in Hebrew—made the audience extremely upset considering she was pictured holding hands with corrupt Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas back in March. She also voted in favour of an NDP motion to recognize Palestine as an independent state.

Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, who followed Saks and was treated to a standing ovation, said Jews in Canada have come “under threat like never before” — perpetrated by a “loud and vocal minority” who don’t respect this country’s values.

She said these perpetrators have been encouraged by a larger group including people in government — particularly those, she said, with whom she shared the stage.

“Caressing the hand of a Holocaust-denying terrorist who is in the 19th year of his four-year mandate is unforgivable,” she said, alluding to Saks.

She said our Liberal government can’t muster even the “weakest condemnation” of these vile acts and has reinstated funding to UNRWA.

”It turned its back on Israel,” she said to repeated loud applause.

Before Mayor Olivia Chow got up to speak, near the end of 13 speakers, Bloom once again tried to lecture the crowd to behave. But the heckling continued.

Chow did not attend the June 9 Walk with Israel claiming she was “too busy” and has been conspicuous in her silence about the raging Jew hatred on the streets of Toronto, the vandalism of several synagogues and the targeting of Jewish businesses.

Yet she had the gall to tell the crowd she was there to stand in “solidarity” with Toronto’s Jewish community.

”People are once again being targeted for being Jewish,” she waxed poetically.

”Together each and every day we can stand strong against this hate.”

She reiterated the same tired message with no substance that “anti-Semitism and hate” has no place in Toronto.

Chow claimed she and the police will continue to do “everything they can” to ensure hate will be stamped out.

Unable to stomach her hypocrisy, about two dozen audience members walked out during her speech, one covering her ears until she got out the door.

”I know the pain remains in the community of elders that it might repeat itself… we cannot let it break our city’s history free of persecution,” she said, going on about the city’s history dating back to 1817 and the North Star guiding her in her work.

Knowing she did not have a friendly audience, Chow beat a hasty retreat after her speech accompanied by several security officers, as if she was a head of state.

Meanwhile, attendees were treated to a protest by queer women dressed in “Jews for Palestine” t-shirts. When they tried to block the entry, Toronto police dragged them off. In the process one queer woman’s shorts ripped and were pictured for all to see.

They remained for some time waving their Palestinian flags surrounded by dozens of police officers.

It was obvious to the hundreds who attended the rally that the leftists — politicians and often the police — have not just turned their backs on Canada’s Jewish community but have enabled the rising hate.

Most everyone in the room Wednesday let it be known that they were not impressed with phoney promises and platitudes—despite efforts to silence them.

For someone who has fought anti-Semitism  for 15 years it was refreshing to see.

Liberal and NDP MPs committee antics result in domestic assault witness to leave in tears

By
Noah Jarvis, True North Wire
-

A victim of domestic assault was left in tears after a parliamentary committee hearing saw Liberal and NDP MPs shift the committee’s attention away from discussing violence against women.

Witnesses testifying before a parliamentary committee stormed out of the committee room disappointed with NDP and Liberal MPs who used the committee’s time to address abortion rights and dispute committee procedures.

Witnesses Cait Alexander and Megan Walker were invited to testify about the experiences that they and dozens of other women have had with domestic violence and sexual assault and how what solutions the government can pursue to crack down on intimate partner violence.

Alexander, founder of End Violence Everywhere, testified that despite being a Canadian citizen, she lives in Los Angeles, California because she does not feel safe living in Canada after her experience with domestic violence.

Alexander showed the committee graphic photos of her injuries right after she was allegedly beaten by her ex-boyfriend and told the stories of several women who had experienced domestic violence and sexual assault at the hands of their male partners.

She also criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and federal Justice Minister Arif Virani for not caring about the victims of intimate partner violence.

Walker shared stories of dozens of women who were the victims of intimate partner violence and how many of the male perpetrators were able to escape facing the consequences for their actions.

After the two women testified, Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld used her time to tout the Liberal government’s efforts to combat intimate partner violence while attacking Conservative MPs for calling an emergency meeting and for inviting a survivor of domestic abuse to testify before the committee.

“We know that the leader of the opposition has asked Conservative-chaired committees to hold as many meetings as possible during the summer to take us away from the important work that we are doing listening to constituents,” said Vandenbeld. 

“I know that for this committee, this is something we’ve never done. We do not use victims and survivors’ trauma to try to score political points in this committee. This is cruel, I think it’s cruel to have people relive the trauma that they’ve endured.”

Vandenbeld moved a motion to forgo debate on the issue at hand and to study the issue of abortion for women, non-binary, and transgender individuals. 

After the vote on the motion was held, Conservative committee chair Shelby Kramp-Neuman gave the floor to fellow Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri to speak. However, Liberal and NDP members objected, claiming that NDP MP Leah Gazan had requested to speak before Ferreri. 

After several minutes of bickering about who should be allowed to speak first, Alexander stormed out of the committee room in tears while Walker followed her out. 

Once Gazan was granted her time to speak, she used her speaking time to attack Conservatives for allowing individual MPs to table private members bills on abortion and violence against pregnant women and accused committee chair Kramp-Neuman of barring her from inviting any witnesses.

In a comment to True North, a spokesperson from Poilievre’s office said that Gazan and all committee members were given ample time to invite witnesses, as evidenced by Alexander’s ability to travel 17 hours from Los Angeles to testify before the committee.

MP Ferreri had also tabled a motion to hold four more meetings on the issue of intimate partner violence, but the meeting was adjourned before members could vote on the motion.

In a video with MP Roberts, Alexander and Walker condemned the behaviour of Liberal and NDP MPs, claiming the members sabotaged the meeting for political purposes.

“It’s absolutely abhorrent, it actually explains a lot. They spent twenty minutes trying to figure out whose hand was up first,” said Alexander. 

“We have been further silenced by political bulls— and by partisan rules, that should not have a place around this issue.”

Walker elaborated on Alexander’s thoughts, expressing her disappointment with the committee.

RCMP seized weapons after viral video of Sikh men dancing with firearms at a wedding in Surrey

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
-
Source: Facebook/X

Surrey RCMP have seized firearms after a video circulated on social media showing Sikh men and women dancing with guns at a wedding, now confirmed to have been in South Surrey, B.C.

After becoming aware of the video Thursday, Surrey RCMP South Community Response Unit launched an investigation and later in the day confirmed the address where the video had been filmed, police told True North in a statement.

After the address was confirmed, “a Criminal Code investigation was initiated, and contact was made with the property owner,” police said. At around 5:30 pm, SCRU seized “several firearms” from the property owner.

An investigation to identify the individuals in the video is still underway, and “no charges have been forwarded yet,” according to police.

The video shows several men in turbans and women in traditional South Asian dresses dancing with guns next to a child at what appears to be a wedding. The man who filmed the video can be seen stretching out his arm, holding what appears to be a semiautomatic rifle with his finger on the trigger.

”We understand this incident was extremely alarming to the community at large,” Harm Dosange, Surrey RCMP’s community services officer said. “Public safety is our top priority, and our officers worked quickly to seize the firearms in question.”

A police representative said the SCRU will contact multiple partner agencies to expedite the investigation.

The video was initially posted to Facebook by Pattar Farm owner Harjit Singh Pattar before being picked up by Canadians concerned about potential gang and gun violence. A look at Pattar’s Facebook page still shows photos of a collection of firearms.

One photo found by X user “Brattani” shows Pattar standing beside Kalistan separatist Gerpatwant Singh from Sikhs for Justice. Sikhs for Justice is designated as a terrorist group, and its leader, Singh a terrorist by the Indian government.

In 2022, Interpol rejected India’s request to issue an international terror warning on Singh due to insufficient evidence that he was a global threat.

Another video posted to Pattar’s TikTok account, which has since been deleted, shows the farm owner posing with guns, shooting them in the air over a field, and a photo of a collection of over 25 guns.

Surrey RCMP is asking anyone with information regarding the incident or the identity of the individuals in the video to call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 and to “quote file 2024-112686” when they do.

Off the Record | Guilbeault tries to be hip and cool

By
Rachel Parker
-
Source: X

There’s poop everywhere, it appears. After an Ontario woman claimed people were pooping on the beaches of Wasaga, a photo of a man apparently pooping at a Brampton gas station sparked outrage online. What is happening in Canada?

Plus, how do you do fellow kids? Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault got ratio’d after he posted “Affordable housing IS brat.” So cringey.

And the CBC is very upset that Elon Musk shared a parody video of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Why didn’t they include his response in their coverage when he referred to “Professor Suggon Deeznutz?”

These stories and more with Rachel Parker, Isaac Lamoureux and Noah Jarvis!

Judicial watchdog issued expression of concern over judge’s Liberal donations

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
-
Source: Pexels

A judge has been issued an “expression of concern” from the Canadian Judicial Council for making political donations to the Liberal Party of Canada after being appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. However, the council avoided imposing further sanctions against the judge.

The National Post and the Investigative Journalism Foundation were the first to expose that Ontario Superior Court Justice Diana Piccoli had donated at least $700 to the Liberals after being appointed in 2019. They submitted their findings to the Canadian Judicial Council on Aug. 8 and published an article on Aug. 14.  

Piccoli self-reported the donations to the council on Aug. 15, 2023. 

“As has been noted in certain media reports (that the Council is aware of) it has been brought to my attention that in 2019 and in 2021, I donated a total of $700 to the Liberal Party of Canada,” wrote Piccoli in her letter to the council.

She later revealed on Sep. 19, 2023, that she had found another receipt for a $200 donation to the Liberals. She said she doesn’t remember the donation, but it could have been in response to telephone solicitations.

A panel consisting of three judges issued their decision on Thursday. The trio decided to impose a public expression of concern to reflect the misconduct of Piccoli.

“This recognizes the serious nature of the conduct and the potential loss of public confidence in the independence of the judiciary,” reads the decision. “An expression of concern is the lowest level of sanction available to a review panel and would reflect the corrective actions taken by Justice Piccoli and her positive reputation.”

The current ethical principles for judges were adopted in 2021, replacing a version from 1998 that had been updated in 2004. The principles are not a code of conduct but an “aspirational guidance to federally appointed judges in relation to ethical issues,” according to the Canadian Judicial Council.

Jula Huges, dean of the law faculty at Lakehead University said that while some of the ethical guidelines are “aspirational” or “advisory,” others are straightforward.

“Political donations fall… in that second category of you’re just not allowed. All partisan activity must cease and that’s a must,” said Hughes.

The newest iteration of the principles contains the same section as the previous two, noting that judges must cease all political activity upon taking judicial office. They must also avoid any conduct that could imply that they were engaged in any political activity.

When a complaint is submitted to the council, it is first reviewed by a screening officer. Should they deem it worthy, it is further reviewed by a reviewing member. The reviewing member then determines its merit and, if deemed worthy, refers it to the council to establish a review panel.

The council’s review panel can issue a private or public expression of concern, a private or public warning or reprimand, and order the judge to apologize publicly or privately. The panel can also order the judge to attend counselling or a continuing education course.  

Piccoli was counselled by a lawyer named Scott Hutchison.

He argued that the breach should be considered “trivial” because the amounts were modest, and the review resulted from Piccoli’s self-reporting. 

“It is respectfully submitted that the present matter is ‘trivial’ in this sense in that, on sober reflection, it is a relatively minor and attenuated transgression by a judge universally regarded as an outstanding jurist, and who has taken active steps to address any lingering doubt about her commitment to the highest standards of judicial ethics,” wrote Hutchison. 

The panel determined that it could not be dismissed as trivial “because it has the potential to undermine public confidence in the independence of the judiciary from the other branches of government.”

They added that Piccoli should have known that the donations were an ethical breach. However, the panel noted that she self-reported to the council, took training on ethical issues for judges, and received various positive comments and letters of support from the legal community. 

A spokesperson for the Canadian Judicial Council told True North that when judges are appointed, they are provided a copy of the council’s ethical principles. They are also required to attend two one-week programs to receive training on topics including independence, ethics and conduct, and current legal issues.

“Judges are also provided with ongoing training opportunities throughout their time on the bench, and are actually required to invest a minimum of ten days per year in professional development,” said the spokesperson.

“The review panel agreed there was no possible basis on which Justice Piccoli’s removal from office could be justified in the circumstances,” reads the review panel’s full decision.

However, they also deemed that the complaint should not be dismissed because any donation to a political party from a judge, no matter the size, is not trivial.  

The full decision, including the expression of concern, was signed by the three judges on June 25, 2024. 

The panel emphasized that its response should be open and transparent. The three judges on the review panel believe that this was accomplished by publicizing the expression of concern.

True North reached out to the Ontario Superior Court for comment but received no reply.

The Daily Brief | Former Olympian speaks out about men competing in women’s sports

By
William McBeath
-
Source: X

One former Team Canada powerlifting competitor is calling sporting federations and the Olympic committee to bar males from competing in women’s sports, saying it’s endangering women, after a woman boxer abandoned her bid for the Olympic medal over safety concerns.

Plus, a new study is calling for Canada to reconsider its stance on gender-affirming treatments.

And Canada is becoming increasingly dangerous, according to a new survey.

Tune into The Daily Brief with William McBeath and Noah Jarvis!

Premier Doug Ford has overseen two out of three of Ontario’s highest provincial spending years: study

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
-
Source: Facebook

Though Ontario Premier Doug Ford ran on the promise of balancing the provincial budget in 2018, his government has spent more annually than any other provincial government in Ontario’s history, barring one, according to a new study.

The Fraser Institute released a bulletin reporting that the Ford government oversaw two of the three highest per-person spending years in the province’s history. Even after excluding one-time COVID-related expenditures, his government recorded the second and third-highest spending years.

“The highest single year of per-person spending between 1965 to 2022 was under Premier Dalton McGuinty in 2010, at $12,305. The next two highest years were under Premier Doug Ford in 2020 at $12,227 and $12,081 in 2021,” the report said.

After adjusting for inflation, the study reviewed Ontario’s annual per-person program spending since 1965. They found that the Ford government’s approach to spending growth has been nearly identical to that of his predecessor, Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne.

“Since day one, when Doug Ford became Premier of Ontario, he has been a very free-spending Premier,” Jay Goldberg, the Ontario director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, told True North in an interview. “He said that the Liberal government under Dalton McGuinty, and then Kathleen Wynne, had spent far too much money and that he would rein that in and get the budget under control. Instead, we’ve seen very big spending increases virtually every year over the past six years.”

Goldberg said Ford’s spending has led the province into $86 billion in new debt and some of the highest years of spending in the province’s history, with no clear sign of restraint in the future.

“It’s been a big disappointment overall, and I think Ontarians are concerned that this government was elected with a mandate to rein in spending and instead has gone full steam ahead,” he added.

Goldberg thinks the government should focus on making cuts to its tax-funded corporate handout programs, to lower its program spending and balance the books.

According to the Montreal Economic Institute, the Ford government spends about $9.1 billion yearly on corporate welfare.

“They can virtually balance the budget overnight if they cut out the money that’s being given from taxpayers’ wallets and into the pockets of big corporations,” Goldberg said. “Over the past year, Ford has announced money for big auto giants like the Ford Motor Company, Honda, Stellantis and other auto companies.”

Besides Ford’s corporate handouts to the auto sector and other industries, Goldberg questioned the Ford government’s infrastructure spending, such as the Crosstown LRT and other transit expenditures.

“We’ve seen examples of other subway expansions in Toronto that have gone billions and billions of dollars over budget. That’s all deeply concerning,” he said. “(Ford’s government) tried to blame it on its inflation. But we all know that inflation doesn’t cause a doubling or tripling of the cost of certain projects.”

He also thinks that compensation for government employees should be brought “back in line with reality and what folks are paid in the private sector” if the Progressive Conservative government wants to begin conserving taxpayers’ money.

“We’re in a situation right now where folks that work for the government make about 9% more than those who are working in the private sector, and they get all these benefits that the folks in the private sector who pay the bills don’t,” Goldberg said. “If you were to bring the wages that are being given to government employees in line with what a comparable worker would get in the private sector, you could shoot billions of dollars off of the budget this year.”

Doug Ford’s office did not respond to True North’s requests for comment before the given deadline.

Ontario’s health minister shares concerns about Poilievre’s comments on forced drug treatments

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: X

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones is at odds with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over recent comments he made that he was “open” to the idea of forced treatment for people dealing with drug addictions amid Canada’s growing opioid crisis. 

“I have concerns that involuntary treatment would not lead to the outcomes that we want,” Jones told reporters at Mount Sinai Hospital on Wednesday.

“But having said that, when we see the opportunity and the need for intervention, and people are willing to take on those treatments to make a difference, that’s when we can show them our government is committed.”

Jones was asked about involuntary treatment in response to comments made by Poilievre in London, Ont. last week in response to a question from True North.

Poilievre said he was “open” to the idea but that he would need to see more evidence of its effectiveness first. 

“I don’t know if you can take someone off the street that has not committed a prison offence and successfully rehabilitate them. If we can, I’m open to it, but I’d need to see more evidence at this point,”said Poilevre. 

“I need to study it more. I need to understand how it would work. I want everybody who’s on drugs to be in treatment and rehab to get off drugs. What I haven’t been able to figure out is, if someone doesn’t want to be rehabilitated, can you require them to be?”

Poilievre made the comments during a press conference to decry the utility of safe supply cites in a public park that was located close to a so-called safe injection location.  

He pledged to cut federal funding to safe supply programs if elected and accused them of ultimately causing an increase in addictions and opioid-related deaths.

Jones said that Ontario has a new addictions plan of which “treatment is a very large portion” with “an additional 500 treatment beds” but also one that it may involve “other access to treatments that are not always as highly interventionist.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford froze approvals of supervised drug consumption sites last fall, following the death of a 44-year-old mother who was killed by a stray bullet fired during an altercation at the South Riverdale Community Health Centre in Toronto.  

However, the premier recently said that he would “fight like a pitbull” for Ontario should the federal Conservatives act against the province if elected next fall. 

1...154155156...1,460Page 155 of 1,460

Related stories

© 2025 True North | Privacy Policy