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Friday, July 4, 2025

Bank of Canada warns discontinued phone number may be in hands of scammers

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Source: Pexels

A notice on the Bank of Canada’s website regarding potential fraud use with its old phone number has garnered some backlash from Canadians who feel this is an error that could have been easily avoided. 

The notice on the website’s home page warns Canadians that if they have called the central bank’s now discontinued phone number since February of this year, they may have been subject to a scam. 

“If you still hold Canada Savings Bonds, please be advised that the telephone contact number 1-877-899-3599 has been discontinued. If you called that number since February 2024, you may have been exposed to a scam. If so, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1‑888‑495‑8501,” reads the notice. 

Telephone and online fraud scams have skyrocketed in Canada in recent years with online scammers making off with $554 million in the last five years.

Data provided by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre show there has been a 46% spike in fraud claims since 2021.

One X user pointed out how for all the money the government is able to spend, it can’t “find $20/year to keep a Bank of Canada phone number active & prevent scammers from taking possession.”

“Ladies & gentleman, the notice on the front page of the 10th largest central bank in the world!” the post continued. 

It’s not just people at home who are being scammed either: modern fraudsters have become sophisticated enough to get millions of dollars out of government agencies as well. Online scammers took the government for $10 million last year alone. 

Phone scammers are doing quite well too, as the Canada Revenue Agency alone has now paid out $37 million in taxpayer money to alleged telecom scammers, according to an affidavit unsealed in April. 

Such an uptick in fraud scams has left some Canadians frustrated with the Bank of Canada’s negligence when choosing to discontinue its previous phone number without making the necessary precautions to ensure it didn’t wind up in the hands of criminals. 

The Bank of Canada said it was proactive about warning Canadians of the fraud risk when it learned of the issue.

“The number was discontinued when the Government of Canada wound down its retail debt program and responsibility for Canada Savings Bonds was transferred to the Bank of Canada,” a spokesperson for the Bank of Canada told True North. 

“As soon as we became aware that the old number was being used for potentially fraudulent purposes, we acted proactively to advise Canadians of the risk.”

The notice directs concerned consumers to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

True North reached out to the agency to see if there had been an influx of calls as a result of the number being available to potential scammers.

“After searching our database, I can confirm that we haven’t received reports related to the phone number you provided,” responded a Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre spokesperson.

Ratio’d | Another AVOIDABLE catastrophe strikes Alberta at Jasper National Park

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Source: X

The devastating wildfires ripping through one of Canada’s and the world’s most pristine landscapes were entirely avoidable if Parks Canada appropriately managed Jasper National Park.

Many on the left will be quick to blame this wildfire on climate change, but the facts say otherwise.

Jasper was allowed to densify for years and the federal government refused to address the growing pine beetle infestation throughout the park, which kills trees and creates a tinderbox within the forest.

Watch the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner.

Clean tech crown corporation board chair violated conflict of interest laws

By
Noah Jarvis, True North Wire
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Source: sdtc.ca

A former member of Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s board of directors was found to have violated the Conflict of Interest Act twice, while another just barely avoided violating the act on a technicality.

Following an inquiry requested by Conservative MP Michael Barrett, Canada’s ethics commissioner investigated former SDTC board chair Annette Verschuren and board member Guy Ouimet to determine whether or not they had violated the Conflict of Interest Act by using their position to benefit their private interests.

The ethics commissioner found that Verschuren had violated the conflict of interest act on two occasions in her role as an SDTC board member and chair of the board.

SDTC is an arms-length crown corporation, managed by Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, responsible for funding clean technology projects and companies, distributing hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Verschuren was found to have benefitted companies she is associated with, including the Verschuren Centre, a clean technology accelerator that she founded; NRStor, an energy storage company that she founded and remains as its majority shareholder; and MaRS, an innovation hub whose board of directors she chairs.

As chair of SDTC’s board, Verschuren played a critical role in helping to approve or reject applications for funding.

Both MaRS and the Verschuren Centre nominated 21 clean tech projects for SDTC seed funding between May 2020 and June 2023. 

While Verschuren is required to recuse herself from any meetings or decisions regarding all projects in which she has a conflict of interest, Verschuren only abstained from votes on 10 of these projects – voting on 11 of the projects nominated by MaRS and the Verschuren Centre.

For her lack of recusals from board votes on these matters, the ethics commissioner found that Verschuren had violated sections 6(1) and 21 of the Conflict of Interest Act. 

Verschuren also failed to recuse herself from votes to distribute COVID-19 emergency relief payments to SDTC-funded companies, which helped to benefit NRStor, a company she founded and of which she holds a majority of shares.

While NRStor had originally been granted funding from SDTC before Verschuren was appointed to SDTC’s board, Verschuren’s proposal to distribute COVID-19 relief payments equivalent to a 5% increase in funding benefitted NRStor with a payment of $106,176 in 2020.

The next year, SDTC granted similar COVID-19 relief payments to its portfolio companies, resulting in NRStor being granted a further $111,485, totalling $217,661.

“Ms. Verschuren participated in the decisions knowing that NRStor, the company she founded, leads, and owns as a majority shareholder, was one of the beneficiaries of that supplementary funding. She was required to recuse herself from those matters and failed to do so,” reads the report. 

In a statement to True North, Verschuren said that she did her best to follow the rules, but blamed SDTC’s business practices and the legal advice she received.

“In keeping with my career-long commitment to complying with the highest standards of governance and ethical conduct, I followed legal guidance to ensure compliance with all established guidelines during my time as Chair of SDTC,” said Verschuren.

“I also followed established board practices that pre-dated my tenure. However, the commissioner concluded that ‘a lack of consistency in the decision-making process at SDTC, coupled with incorrect legal advice,’ resulted in a potential perception of conflict. I accept his decision – just as he accepts that I took what I believed to be the right steps to manage any conflicts of interest.”

Barrett, the Conservative MP, made a video celebrating the ethics commissioner’s findings, while denigrating SDTC as Justin Trudeau’s “billion-dollar green slush fund.”

“This is of course unacceptable but not surprising after nine years of Justin Trudeau and his NDP-Liberal government.” said Barrett.

The ethics commissioner found that Guy Ouimet was in a conflict of interest with his role as an SDTC board member and his role in the battery recycling company Lithion, but excused his transgression due to a technicality.

Ouimet helped Lithion Technologies in the development of its business and financial plans in 2017 and 2018, helping to get the company incorporated in July 2018.

As reported by True North, Lition was approved for $3,842,000 in funding from SDTC on Aug. 29, 2018, just one and a half months after Lithion was incorporated. While Ouimet was offered a position on Lithion’s board and a 1% stake in the company after its incorporation, he didn’t exercise this option until November 2020.

Ouimet was informed of his appointment to SDTC’s board in October 2018 and formally appointed in November of the same year.

When SDTC’s board was considering sending out COVID-19 relief payments in 2020 and 2021 to its portfolio companies, which included Lithion, Ouimet did not recuse himself from these discussions and participated in the board votes.

In 2020, Lithion received $192,100 and $201,705 in 2021 from SDTC’s COVID-19 relief payments. 

While the ethics commissioner found that Ouimet had a private interest in Lithion putting him in a conflict of interest, the watchdog applied that principle of de minimis non curat praetor, meaning that the decision-makers are not concerned with trifling matters or small things.

Since Ouimet only holds a 1% stake in Lithion, the ethics commissioner determined that Ouimet’s interest in Lithion is only of a trivial nature, so the allegation was dismissed.

True North reached out to Ouimet for comment, though no response was received.

Liberal MP criticized for X post politicizing Jasper wildfire 

By
Élie Cantin-Nantel, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

An Ontario Liberal MP is facing criticism for an X post politicizing the Jasper wildfire by linking it to “climate denying conservatism.”

The fire inside Jasper National Park reached the town of Jasper, Alta. Wednesday evening, with structures and hotels in the town catching fire.

Parks Canada said Thursday afternoon that “multiple structures, including a number of businesses and homes, in and around the town of Jasper, have been lost.”

As the disaster unfolded Wednesday night, Windsor—Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk posted a politically charged message on X. 

“President Joe Biden tonight called climate change an existential threat. We see it in Jasper. As hearts break for Albertans, we pledge support. Get folks safe,” Kusmierczyk wrote. “But let’s also be real with each other: this is the world that climate denying conservatism will leave our children.”

The post led to instant backlash, with many calling out his attempts to politicize the tragedy.

“In the middle of a community being evacuated and firefighters and first responders risking their lives fighting to stop a town being burnt down, all this Liberal Parliamentary Secretary can think of is how to turn a tragedy into a partisan attack,” Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan wrote on X. “Pathetic.”

Conservative MP Chris Warkentin similarly called the comments “pathetic,” telling the Liberal MP he was choosing to not offer anything constructive.

“You should be supporting efforts to protect people and property rather than making partisan shots,” he wrote. “End this nonsense and support those in danger!”

Conservative MP Gerald Soroka also called out Kusmierczyk’s post.

Columnist Spencer Fernando asked “why do the Liberals tweet stuff like this when they are currently in power and have been for almost nine years? It makes no sense. What is the argument here? What is the point he is trying to make? Why exploit a tragedy like this?”

Rebel News founder Ezra Levant had some strong words for Kusmierczyk, calling his comments “ghoulish propaganda by a desperate Trudeau Liberal trying to score political points out of a tragedy. Reminds me of the Westboro Baptist Church holding political protests at funerals.”

Western Standard president Derek Fildebrant told Kusmierczyk to “shove it.”

Federal government says provinces are to blame for bail issues

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
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Source: X

Two federal cabinet ministers are saying it’s up to provinces to fix catch-and-release crime issues caused by the bail system.

After Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial premiers sent a letter urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to re-examine bail reform, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Justice Minister Arif Virani said the feds have already done their part and now provinces must do the same.

“We listened to the provinces and territories when they asked for changes to the Criminal Code — now they need to step up and enforce the law,” reads a joint statement from Virani and LeBlanc. “Provinces are responsible for the administration of bail, and more needs to be done to make sure police and prosecutors have the tools they need for effective monitoring and enforcement.”

The country’s 13 premiers recently called for a review of the implementation and application of Bill C-48, including an analysis of bail data since the bill was enacted.

“We urge the federal government to consider any necessary changes related to both bail and sentencing, including further legislative amendments, to ensure that the spirit of the commitments made during the special meeting of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers responsible for justice and public safety on this topic are fully reflected in the application of this law,” wrote the premiers. 

Virani and LeBlanc said that when Bill C-48 was passed last year, all provincial requests were addressed and community safety was prioritized. They added that $390 million is being transferred to provinces and territories through the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund. Virani and LeBlanc also touted the Liberals’ most recent gun control bill, C-21.

The National Police Federation joined the premiers by calling for a data-driven approach to bail reform last summer. 

“The current ‘catch and release’ system and lack of data-informed processes, supports, and monitoring compromises public safety across Canada, and increases safety risks for members of the RCMP, and all police,” said the president of the federation, Brian Sauvé.

Provinces fund and operate the major courts that hear bail hearings. Decisions to detain or release any person accused of a crime while they await trial are made by the police or by the courts. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms recognizes reasonable bail as a constitutional right.

While initially discussing bail reform following the premiers’ initial letter sent to the prime minister in Jan. 2023, all levels of government agreed to improve data collection.

Bill C-48 introduced an amendment that established a reverse onus on those facing charges to prove why they should be released on bail. The bill also requires courts to include an on-the-record statement that they considered the safety and security of the community when making a bail decision. 

The premiers said that Bill C-48’s amendments have made valuable progress, but clearly more needs to be done.

They pointed to the death of Tori Dunn, a B.C. woman allegedly killed by someone released from jail just days before the assault, despite the accused having a lengthy criminal history and facing current criminal charges for an unrelated robbery.

“Provincial prosecutors had urged that he not be released into the community. Clearly, in this case, Bill C-48 failed to keep a violent offender from posing a serious risk to public safety,” wrote the premiers. 

Documents provided to True North by the Parole Board of Canada show that Adam Troy Mann, the man charged with Dunn’s killing, was transferred to maximum security for poor behaviour during his previous conviction. A psychological risk assessment conducted in 2014 on Mann showed that he had a 76% probability of “violent recidivism.” As of 2019, Mann had 21 charges on his criminal record.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to Tori Dunn’s family. Her death is a tragedy,” said Virani and LeBlanc.

Montreal hate crimes unit investigating electronic traffic sign hijacking

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
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Source: X

The Montreal police hate crimes unit is investigating after electric traffic signs were hacked to display anti-Israel messages.

Road signs on St-Jacques Street near the intersection with Atwater Avenue in the southwest borough were hijacked to read “Globalize the intifada” and “Free Palestine, escalate now” on Wednesday.

“Intifada” refers to an uprising. The second intifada, in the early 2000s, was characterized by suicide bombings and other armed attacks on civilian areas in Israel, such as bus depots, restaurants and movie theatres.

“An investigation is currently underway to determine the circumstances surrounding this event,” a representative from Service de police de la Ville de Montréal told True North. “Investigators from the Hate Crimes and Incidents Unit have been informed of this event.”

Gonzalo Nunez, the city of Montreal’s public relations officer, told True North in French that a city subcontractor is responsible for the safety of the signs.

“The padlocks on the signs were broken, and someone manually wrote the unauthorized messages,” Nunez said. “As soon as the situation was discovered this morning, the subcontractor blacked out the signs and then returned the correct message. The contractor also replaced the padlock.”

Nunez said the city of Montreal “deeply regrets the incident,” calling it an act of vandalism.

Police received a call at 9:20 am reporting the signs which displayed a “hate message” to passersby on Wednesday.

According to police, they received several reports before the contractor in charge of the road sign took down the message.

Police said that when they arrived on the scene, the screen of the traffic signals had been blackened, and the message had been removed.

Clash MTL, an anarcho-communist activist group, claimed responsibility for the break-in on Wednesday.

“During the night, we hijacked traffic signs to send messages of solidarity with Palestine to the population. The genocidal state may try to ignore our anger, but we will never stop,” the group said on Instagram. “Avenge the martyrs and Free Palestine!”

Palestine Action Montreal, another activist group, was tagged in the post. A day later, Palestine Action Montreal still had the post on its page, presumably in support.

Both groups were connected to the McGill University encampment protests and have celebrated the vandalism of campus property, political offices and historical monuments with anti-Israel and pro-Hamas messages.

Members of the Jewish community in Quebec were concerned about the messages.

Well-known professor and author Gad Saad, a Jewish refugee to Canada from Lebanon, took the incident as his cue to leave Quebec and Canada, fearing for his family’s safety as antisemitic incidents in the city continue at an increasing pace.

“This is Montreal. My family and I need to leave. Quebec and Canada will pay a very hefty price for their parasitized suicidal empathy,” Saad said on X.

Some online, including Hampstead, Que. Mayor Jeremy Levi accused Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante of allowing the messages to air on the traffic signs, although her office has denied the allegation.

The Jewish advocacy group Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs noted that the incident disregarded drivers’ safety, preventing important safety information from being displayed on the board.

“Once again, ‘peaceful’ demonstrators are ready to endanger the citizens and motorists of Montreal to broadcast a call for violence,” the group posted to X. “The only reason to do this is to incite violence against Jews and Israelis. Intifadas have resulted in terrorist attacks that caused the death of thousands of civilians, Jews and Arabs alike.”

The Andrew Lawton Show | Poilievre says media should stop quoting “experts” who caused the drug crisis

By
Andrew Lawton
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Source: Facebook

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took aim at legacy media reporting on drugs at a London, Ont. press conferences, calling reporters “irresponsible” for interviewing the so-called harm reduction efforts who are profiting from the system and on whose watch things have gotten so out of hand. He also told True North’s Andrew Lawton that he’s open to making treatment mandatory but wants to see evidence on how or if it would work.

National Post columnist Adam Zivo also weighs in.

Plus, a new documentary from SecondStreet.org draws attention to the urgent need for healthcare reform. The organization’s president, Colin Craig, joins the show to explain why.

Canada has issued more international student permits this year than in same period last year

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
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Source: Flickr

The Liberal government is showing no signs of slowing its student visa program despite vowing to reduce the number of international students it brings into Canada.

Citing housing and cost of living issues and abuse of the student visa program, the government previously committed to lowering the number of temporary residents in Canada, though more international study permits have been approved so far this year than in the same period last year.

According to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, Canada approved 216,620 study permits for international students in the first five months of 2024. In comparison, 200,205 international student permits were issued by the same time last year.

Liberal Immigration Minister Marc Miller committed to reducing the number of temporary residents in Canada from 6.2% of the population in 2023 to 5% over the next few years.

In January, the government also vowed to cap the number of international students, which it said would reduce new study permits by 35%.

Immigration lawyer Sergio Karas thinks the program is “out of control,” saying the government is granting study permits “like it’s going out of style.”

“They need to have a moratorium on the program for a couple of years until they get a handle on all these numbers,” he told True North.

The IRCC’s figures show that 682,430 international students held new study permits in 2023. According to these numbers, the government would have to issue 238,851 fewer new study permits than it did last year to reduce the number by 35%, as the government vowed to do.

The government is already almost halfway to its goal of issuing under 443,580 new permits five months into 2024. Notably, trends in the IRCC numbers show that the second half of the year tends to have more new permit holders than the first two quarters of every year.

The immigration department and Miller did not respond to True North’s requests for comment.

Last week, Miller said in a Bloomberg interview that the international student program was being used as a cheap pathway to permanent residency and citizenship in Canada. Karas said this attitude has to stop.

“They need to devise a program where the international students that come in understand that not everybody is going to be a resident,” Karas said.

He thinks the government should link the international student program to skills that the Canadian economy needs, such as medicine or the trades.

“Regional agents are promising the students residency in Canada. They come with false expectations,” he said. “They’re taking courses that are typically useless to the Canadian economy, and then they expect to become residents. When they don’t, they throw a tantrum.”

The chart also shows an increase in students being imported from countries such as China and India.

From January to May 2024, Canada has taken in 91,510 international students from India, more than any other country. During the same period last year, Canada took in 85,805 Indian students, an increase of 5,705, or 6.3%.

Indian students received over 40% of new study permits issued last year.

Behind India is China, from which Canada has taken in 20,965 new students, a 25% increase over the 15,595 permits issued to Chinese students during last year’s first five months.

Karas is concerned about the influx of students from countries whose governments are adversarial to Canada, such as Iran and China. 

“We need to be very careful with what Chinese students are studying because, as you know, China is now a strategic enemy of the West. The government of China is involved in industrial espionage,” he said. “If they want to study something like nuclear engineering or something like that, I think we should be very concerned about allowing them to do that.”

He worried that Canada’s enemies would return to their countries with knowledge that could benefit them militarily.

Poilievre “open” to forced treatment for drug users – but wants to see the evidence

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: X

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he’s “open” to adopting a forced intervention and treatment approach to quell Canada’s growing drug problem, but he wants to see evidence that it would work first.

Speaking with reporters in a park in London, Ont. about rampant drug use and its perpetuation of crime, Poilievre called for an end to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “wacko policies” which he said distribute hard drugs in communities across the country.

True North’s Andrew Lawton asked Poilievre what his thoughts were on the Alberta government’s proposed plan to use legal means to push drug users into treatment, and whether he would support such an approach nationally.

“I don’t know, I’d need to study it more to understand how it would work. I want everybody who is on drugs to be in treatment and rehab to get off drugs,” responded Poilievre.

“What I haven’t been able to figure out is if someone doesn’t want to be rehabilitated, can you require them to be? I don’t know. I would like to see some evidence for and against before I make a judgement.”

Poilievre then cited a proposal of Conservative MP Tracy Gray to offer drug treatment in prisons, which could be mandated by judges along with a person’s sentence if their crime was drug related.

“Perhaps the offender was involved in theft, but we know the theft was linked to addiction, the judge could say, ‘While you’re in prison, you’re required to be drug-free and we’re going to provide you with high quality treatment behind bars,’” said Poilievre.

“That makes sense to me because they’re already going to be in prison anyway, they might as well be cleaning up their body and their souls and their addictions. But I don’t know if you can take someone off the street who has not committed a prison offence and successfully rehabilitate them. If we can, I’m open to it but I need to see more evidence at this point.”

Poilievre went on to say that Trudeau’s catch-and-release policies, which allow violent offenders to be repeatedly put back on the streets, in combination with drug decriminalization experiments, have led to an unprecedented crime wave.

“Today, Statistics Canada revealed that since Trudeau became Prime Minister, violent crime is up by nearly 50%. Homicides are up 28%, while sexual assaults, auto theft and extortion are up 74%, 45% and 357%, respectively,” said Poilievre in a statement released on Thursday.

Referencing Project Warlock, an Ontario police investigation that involved 18 offenders who were charged with over 150 crimes, Poilievre said it’s “a very tiny group of criminals doing all the crime.”

“Nine of them were already out on some sort of early release and since their arrest, six of them have been released again and what do you know, they’re out doing more and more crime,” said Poilievre. 

He told reporters about how the justice minister has had his vehicle stolen three times.

“Incredible. You’d think the criminals would be somewhat grateful that he keeps releasing them but no, they steal his car too and he is too dense to figure out that they should be locked up,” said Poilievre.

The Conservative leader argued that the data are clear that catch-and-release Liberal-NDP policies have not worked and have instead caused “one of the worst crime waves in Canadian history.”

Poilievre also called out the Liberal government’s record on firearms, insisting that its gun control measures have only made life more difficult for law-abiding gun owners rather than the criminals responsible for gun crime.

“I want to protect Canadians from criminals, while Trudeau and the NDP want to protect turkeys from hunters,” said Poilievre.

The Daily Brief | Joe Rogan takes on Justin Trudeau

By
Isaac Lamoureux
-

The Department of National Defence says rumours that Canada’s new chief of defence staff tried to get out of Iraq ahead of the troops she was commanding on a 2020 NATO mission are “entirely false, baseless and unfounded.”

Plus, Joe Rogan won’t return to Canada until voters “get rid of” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

And Canada women’s soccer staff gets sanctioned after getting caught spying on a rival team.

Tune into The Daily Brief with Isaac Lamoureux and William McBeath!

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