Authorities are on the hunt for a man who shot a woman outside her home in Markham, Ont. while posing as a construction worker.
The victim was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The woman was lured from her home after being approached by the suspect whom she believed to be a construction worker.
However, upon attempting to re enter her residence she was gunned down.
The shooting took place in the area of Lee Avenue and Noble Street on Tuesday evening.
Police arrived on the scene after receiving reports of the incident where they located the woman who was suffering from a gunshot wound.
Investigators believe the woman to be the victim of a targeted shooting.
WATCH: Yesterday, a Markham woman was lured out of her home by a man posing as a worker, wearing a reflective vest, mask and a hard hat. After speaking with him briefly, the woman turned to head back inside when she was suddenly shot from behind.https://t.co/xcc8UmWfiv#cdnpolipic.twitter.com/C8eg4XyXeO
The York Regional Police District Criminal Investigations Bureau is asking that any witnesses of the shooting come forward as they search for the suspect.
Officers are also seeking any surveillance video or dashcam footage from the area at the time of the shooting.
“Video recovered from the area shows the suspect arrived in a dark-coloured, Audi A4 sedan. The suspect is described as male, Asian, skinny build, wearing a high-visibility vest, construction helmet, a dark-coloured hooded sweater, black pants and a medical mask,” reads the YRP press release.
The victim exited her home to speak with the suspect and as she was returning to her residence the suspect shot her.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the York Regional Police #5 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7541, or leave an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, or online at www.1800222tips.com.
Today on the Rachel Parker Show, Rachel is joined by David Knight Legg, a former special advisor to Premier Jason Kenney, who explains how Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is being received by the new Trump administration. Legg says Smith’s efforts to engage the Americans have been successful while the federal government has been noticeably absent from negotiation efforts this week.
Later on the show, Rachel is joined by Alberta’s mental health and addictions minister who has an update on Alberta’s recovery model.
Chrystia Freeland attempted to sweep ties to the globalist World Economic Forum under the rug by having them scrubbed from the internet days before announcing her bid to be the next Liberal leader.
The former deputy prime minister and finance minister quietly stepped down from the WEF Board of Trustees which she joined in 2019 alongside the likes of fellow Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney.
She left without announcing her departure, either from her or the WEF.
Freeland’s profile page on the WEF’s website, which had listed her career highlights, has been taken down.
During the COVID-19 pandemic and under Freeland’s authority as finance minister and deputy prime minister, the Trudeau government issued nearly $3 million dollars in payments to the WEF in taxpayer-funded grants and contributions.
According to the transfer payments section of the 2020-2021 Public Accounts of Canada, the WEF received $2,915,095 from Canadian taxpayers.
Funding was provided by two departments – the Department of Environment and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.
The largest of the transfer payments to WEF was a $1,141,851 contribution from the International Development Assistance for Multilateral Programming. WEF also received another $1 million grant under the same program.
Other payments were cited as “contributions in support of conserving nature” and for the “establishment and management of conservation measures.”
The WEF would later be heavily criticized for its handling and influence of COVID-19 pandemic mandates.
In addition to distancing herself from the globalist-oriented network, Freeland deleted or archived all previous posts from her Instagram account, which now only displays posts related to her leadership campaign.
During her campaign launch in Toronto on Sunday, Freeland positioned herself as the best leader to take on U.S. President Donald Trump.
“I’m a tough negotiator,” she said in a campaign video. “During the first Trump administration, I fought hard to protect Canadian jobs, the Canadian economy, and our way of life. And we won.”
Freeland went on to say that she left Trudeau’s cabinet because she knows what needs to be done to fight back against Trump and his “billionaire buddies.”
“I left Trudeau’s cabinet because I know what we need to do to win that fight again,” said Freeland. Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies think they can push us around. Trump thinks we’re for sale. That he can take what isn’t his. We’re not gonna let him,” said Freeland.
She served under Trudeau’s government for nine years.
Both Freeland and the WEF did not respond to True North’s request for comment.
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board trustees nearly unanimously voted against a motion to reverse its decision not to fly any flag other than the Canadian and Ontario flags from flagpoles at its schools.
After Tuesday night’s committee meeting and one school board trustee’s motion to enable the Pride flag to be flown at schools on the board was defeated, the Canadian flag, provincial flag, and DPCDSB flag will be the only ones allowed to fly.
The Canadian flag will be flown on the first flag pole. If there is a second flag pole at one of the school boards buildings, the Ontario flag will be flown, and in the rare case of three flag poles, only the DPCDSB flag can be flown.
Every trustee except for Brea Corbet, who put forward both the original defeated motion in June and Tuesday night’s motion, voted against the motion. All three student trustees also voted with Corbet though their votes aren’t counted in the decision, and if they were it wouldn’t have swayed the vote.
The meeting heard from over twenty delegates Wednesday night, most of whom were against the school board’s previous decision to limit flag pole use to civic flags.
For those in favour of flying the Pride flag, a common theme of wanting to protect kids from bullying and potential suicide was shared throughout, and the desire to ensure that kids who identify as LGBT+ know that they are welcome in the school board.
Matthew Wojciechowski, the Vice President of Campaign Life Coalition, and a father of four children in the school board spoke on behalf of his “pro-life and pro-family” organization against the defeated motion and the Pride flag.
Along with a petition that garnered over 30,000 signatures from community members and the testimony of community members against the motion, Wojciechowski credits the Archdiocese of Toronto for swaying the on the fence trustees to follow Church teaching instead of “gender ideology” during the vote.
“I think what really sealed the deal is the leadership of trustee Paula Dametto-Giovannozzi who was the only one to reach out to the Archdiocese of Toronto,” he told True North in an interview.
Dametto-Giovannozzi read out a response she received from recently appointed Cardinal Frank Leo affirming that the cross and the sacred heart of Jesus symbols were the most appropriate and sufficient symbols for inclusion, love, mercy and acceptance in the Catholic faith.
The statement affirmed that the Archiocese was behind those who voted against flying the Pride flag at DPCDSB schools and they had the Cardinal’s blessing.
“We’re talking about Catholic education, which, under the constitution, is protected. We have denominational rights in Ontario under the constitution for Catholic education,” Wojciechowski said.
In a pastoral letter released in June last year, Leo affirmed that “ the crucifix and Sacred Heart of Jesus were the “authentic and unsurpassed symbols of love, welcoming and compassion.”
“When it comes to Catholic education…You go to the bishops, you go to the church leaders. So it only makes sense that when there’s an issue like this that comes up in a Catholic school board – parents, teachers, the school board should seek counsel and advice from those who know Catholic teaching the best, which is the bishops and the diocese.”
Through out the debate on Tuesday Demetto-Giovannozzi repeatedly asked the speakers if they had consulted with their bishops or cardinals before making their statements. The only two who said that they had was one Catholic student against the raising of the flag and Wojciechowski.
When one delegate who was in favour of the Pride flag being flown was asked if she did so or if she believed that the Bible was the word of God, she replied only that she “believes in human rights.” While another said that she believes in the teachings of the Catholic church but that “human rights trumps” church teaching – a statement Wojciechowski said was utterly “un-Catholic.”
“If this was a conversation in the town hall, the City Hall, okay, you can have your opinions, and we can have a healthy debate about that…but we’re talking in the context of a Catholic school board so we have to align ourselves according to Catholic teaching,” he said. “When you have these Catholics and these union activists and these LGBT activists coming to our Catholic school board, and their intention is to change Catholic teaching. Well, I’m sorry, man, but that’s that’s not how it works.”
Many of the pro-Pride speakers were mobilized by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association.
OECTA did not respond to True North’s requests to comment.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he would slash the public sector to get the budget in line.
“I’m going to reduce the size of the bureaucracy and the state,” said Poilievre in French in an interview with Radio-Canada.
Poilievre said that the Liberals have added 110,000 public servants since Justin Trudeau took office, contributing to the deficit and tax increases.
The cost of federal bureaucracy surged by 73% during Trudeau’s tenure with a 42% rise in the number of federal public servants. During this period, Canada’s population increased by only 14.7%.
A previous poll revealed that almost half of Canadians want to shrink the number of jobs in the public sector.
Asked whether working from home was appropriate or not, Poilievre said that the result is what matters. He said that there needs to be proof that the work is done.Accomplishing that, Poilievre said, would require clear tasks and monitoring as to whether it is completed.
“Now I see in the federal government, the work isn’t getting done and we need to put methods in place to make sure the work gets done, and we need fewer civil servants too. We have way too many civil servants in the federal government,” said Poilievre.
In the interview, Poilievre also positioned himself as the best candidate to take on the Trump administration, which has vowed to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian products as early as Feb. 1.
“Do you think you’re the right person?” asked host Marie-Claude Julien.
“I’m the only person,” said Poilievre.
He said that none of the frontrunners in the Liberal Party of Canada leadership election race are up to the job.
Poilievre said that Freeland is “very, very weak” after agreeing to all of Trump’s demands in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“And Mr. Carney is even weaker, with policies even further to the left than Justin Trudeau,” said Poilievre. “He wants to increase spending, raise taxes. It’s a gift to Donald Trump because it forces companies to leave the country and go to the United States.”
Poilievre previously said that all of the Liberal leadership candidates were “just like Justin.”
He said he called on the Liberals to put Canada ahead of the party’s interests by recalling Parliament so that parties can work together in addressing tariff threats.
Poilievre added that the Liberals should have held the leadership race two years ago when “it was clear that Justin Trudeau was incompetent.”
Trump decided to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement. Poilievre was unclear on whether he’d follow suit but said that the best way Canada can help reduce global emissions is by accelerating energy production. Other countries can become less reliant on coal by Canada exporting more natural gas.
He added that he would remove the federal government from approval decisions so that provinces can accelerate green projects like hydroelectricity.
Trump also ordered the United States out of the World Health Organization. Poilievre said he would not follow suit.
Another Executive Order signed by Trump declares that the United States would only recognize two sexes: male and female.
Poilievre said he wasn’t sure the Canadian government was even involved in defining those definitions. However, he said he would protect women by ensuring that no men are allowed in women’s prisons, bathrooms, or sports.
In the 1976 movie Network, Peter Finch, as veteran news anchorman Howard Beale, delivers a famous on-air tirade: “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Many Canadian Jews feel similarly today — angry and frightened by a Canada they barely recognize. They are weary of political figures responding to antisemitic hate crimes with platitudes like “this is not who we are” or “this is not what Canada stands for.”
Without effective leadership from government, police, universities, and school boards, the community and like-minded Canadians are left questioning: What does Canada stand for?
Recent Events
In North York, six gunshots were recently fired at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School, the third such attack on the Jewish girls’ school last year. This followed the firebombing of Congregation Beth Tikvah, the seventh attack on a Jewish institution in that city within 14 months. Around the same time, riots in Montreal erupted during anti-Israel/anti-NATO protests. Demonstrators torched cars, smashed windows, and burned Israeli flags, while one performed a Nazi salute and proclaimed, “the final solution is coming your way.”
At Queen’s University, anti-Israel protesters took over administration offices, displaying signs such as “All the Zionists are Racists” and “Glory to our Martyrs,” punctuated by the inverted red triangle (banned in Germany) used by Hamas to target its victims. In Toronto, a protester at TMU dressed as a masked terrorist.
These are only examples of the hatred on our streets and in our campuses.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow condemned the latest shooting at Bais Chaya Mushka, saying, “Enough is enough.” Yet, condemnation of antisemitic violent incidents is an inadequate response. What infuriates the Jewish community is the seeming indifference to hate-filled protests and demonstrations that embolden these attacks. Antisemitic hate speech has been normalized in Canada.
Hate Speech on Display
Since the Oct. 7, 2023 massacres, protesters have blocked roads and intersections, chanting for the elimination of Israel, by any means necessary. They claim Zionists—which include 91% of Jews—are racist, genocidal, and evil. They celebrate terrorist leaders, offering up bullets for their use and chant slogans like “From the River to the Sea—Palestine Shall be Free” and “From Water to Water – Palestine Shall be Arab.” They call for “Global Intifada,” while burning Israeli and Canadian flags.
One particularly egregious demonstration in Montreal included a prayer for the eradication of Zionist aggressors: “Allah, count every one of them, and kill them all, and do not exempt even one of them.” Despite its obvious incitement to violence, this hate-fest incurred no legal consequences.
Weekly pro-Hamas demonstrations in Toronto, at Sheppard Avenue and Bathurst Street include disturbing imagery. Yahya Sinwar’s death was reenacted in a bloody chair, and Jews were offered “free flights” to Amsterdam, the scene of a recent pogrom. Recently, a masked demonstrator wore a cloak bearing the Hamas emblem, and a sign stating that “Israel’s only friend is the gharqad tree”, referencing a Hamas charter passage about judgment day, where all other trees and stones will reveal the location of hiding Jews to be killed by Muslims.
Legal Protections and Failures
Criticism of Israel is protected speech, even when offensive or one-sided. However, demonizing Zionists and Israelis and calling for Israel’s destruction through violence is hate speech. The Supreme Court of Canada’s 1990 Keegstra decision upheld laws criminalizing the wilful promotion of hatred, emphasizing the harm it causes by emotionally damaging targeted groups and inspiring discrimination and violence.
Despite these legal protections, current laws—including those against criminal intimidation (which specifically addresses the blocking of roads), unlawful assembly, disguising with intent to commit a crime, incitement to hatred, and interference with the lawful use and enjoyment of property (mischief) —are never, or sparingly used, in cities like Toronto and Montreal. This lack of enforcement emboldens extremists, who can close down streets and intersections and preach hatred with impunity.
Why Aren’t the Police in Toronto and Montreal Enforcing the Law?
Several factors contribute to the lack of enforcement, although ultimately, non-enforcement is most readily explained by a failed approach to de-escalation and a lack of political will.
:Many police officers and prosecutors lack training on the legal tools available to combat hate. They are also unfamiliar with modern antisemitism and fail to recognize how anti-Zionism is used to demonize Jews.
Authorities may fail to recognize terrorist emblems, flags, genocidal chants, sometimes deliberately uttered in Arabic, or terrorist groups operating in Canada.
Investigations into hate crimes and related terrorism offences lack proper coordination between agencies, resulting in inconsistent or uneven results. Related to this are the inconsistent legal interpretations between various police agencies and prosecutors, which result in withdrawals of fully investigated charges.
Police in Toronto and Montreal appear to believe that preventing immediate violence constitutes successful de-escalation, regardless of the hate-filled content of protests. However, their approach merely emboldens extremists, and ignores the intrinsic harm caused by unregulated hate activities that take over our streets.
The Role of Political Will
While civilian policing oversight bodies and municipal governments cannot direct police in their day-to-day operational decisions, they establish policies that inform how police do their work. The Toronto Police Service Board has no existing policy on policing protests, demonstrations and occupations. Such a public order policy is long overdue and must be prioritized. It should demonstrate zero tolerance for antisemitic (and other forms of) hate and support the robust use of criminal offences and municipal bylaws to address hate activities.
The cities of Montreal and Toronto must show true leadership, lacking to date. Mayors and City councils must, at a minimum, not merely condemn antisemitism but make clear that it includes the demonization of Zionists (including the vast majority of Jews) and denounce chants such as “Zionists are evil, genocidal and racist” as hate. They should also set clear limits on activities permitted on city property and support the robust use of existing laws to combat hate and ensure accountability.
Education, training and policy-making should be informed by the IHRA definition of antisemitism (and the supporting federal government booklet on its application), and the House of Commons Justice Committee’s report on antisemitism.
A Call to Action
The police are not powerless to act. Existing laws, while imperfect, are more than adequate to address extremism and hate. Police in jurisdictions such as Ottawa have shown a clearer understanding of their enforcement role.
The Jewish community is entitled to be angry – not at individual officers, but at the failed approach taken to hate speech and unlawful protest activities. They should insist that the authorities enforce the law. And that leaders show the will to do so.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed while conducting a traffic stop in Vermont close to the Quebec border in the Swanton Sector. The suspected shooter was also fatally shot and another suspect was rushed to the hospital.
Agent David Maland was fatally shot on Monday afternoon as well as a German national who was in the U.S. on what the FBI call a valid visa.
An injured suspect was also shot and taken into custody and is being treated at a local hospital.
While much of the details remain unknown, sources told U.S. media outlets that the agent was fatally shot in the neck and died.
However, no immediate information is available on the motivation for the shooting or who was involved.
The case is now being handled by the FBI.
“Every single day, our Border Patrol agents put themselves in harm’s way so that Americans and our homeland are safe and secure. My prayers and deepest condolences are with our Department, the Agent’s family, loved ones, and colleagues,” said Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman in a statement.
Malan was killed close to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Newport Station, which is part of the Swanton Sector, an area of land known to be a hotspot for illegal crossings used by those trying to illegally enter both countries.
The Swanton Sector runs 475 km along both Ontario and Quebec and U.S. states Vermont, New York and New Hampshire.
Quebec Premier François Legault announced that his government would begin deploying the Sûreté du Québec to patrol that area last fall to prevent a potential onslaught of illegal immigrants from entering Canada.
The Quebec government feared that a surge of illegal immigrants would overwhelm the Quebec border in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential election after he promised mass deportations for those found to be residing in the U.S. illegally.
“We can’t afford to have a Roxham 2.0,” Legault said in November.
Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint released a joint statement expressing their condolences to the Malan’s family, saying that Border Patrol agents “deserve our full support in terms of staffing, pay and working conditions.”
Our hearts are heavy as we send our deepest condolences to the US Border Patrol's Swanton Sector after Agent David "Chris" Maland was fatally shot yesterday in the line of duty in Coventry, Vermont. All affected by this tragedy are in our thoughts and prayers. pic.twitter.com/6SeCd7e4N0
Ottawa parents and a local community association are calling on the provincial government to regulate “safer supply drugs” to stop them from being resold into their neighbourhood.
Northwood Recovery Centre, an addiction clinic on a strip mall on Wellington Street West and Merton Street in Ottawa, has been the source of concern for the Hintonburg Community Association and parents of children from neighbouring schools.
Along with the addiction clinic and pharmacy, the neighbourhood is home to two elementary schools – St. Francois d’Assise and Sainte-Marie Mère de Dieu – plus a shared public park and a community centre 70 metres away from the strip mall.
Parents and community advocates say the presence of the addiction centre has created an unsafe environment around the school communities where theft, trafficking, discarded pill bottles – allegedly from patients of the clinic – and drug use have become regular occurrences.
Cheryl Parrott from the Hintonburg Community Association said she was assured by the owner of the facility in June that the “safe supply” site would have no impact on the neighbouring community. This hasn’t been the case, she said.
“They opened Sept. 9, and by Sept. 11, we saw people openly injecting nearby, and then we started finding empty prescription bottles, and it just escalated daily from that point on,” Parrott told True North in an interview. “We started finding empty prescription pill bottles discarded in the community with the labels on them, so we knew what they were prescribing and the quantities.”
Parrott claimed doctor from Northwood Recovery is prescribing opiate drugs such as Dilaudid to patients after assessing them over the phone. The clients are then allegedly directed a couple of doors down to Victoria Pharmacy, where they get their drugs and leave the premises. The clinic did not respond to a request for comment from True North.
“They’re not adequately monitoring or controlling the patients, so what we’re seeing is diversion of these drugs and drug dealers being drawn to the community to buy, trade or steal these medications from the patients,” Parrott said. “It’s creating a lot of social disorder. And real unsafe conditions.”
Though Northwood Recovery did not respond to True North’s requests to comment, the manager of Victoria Pharmacy, Kim Stewart, said she was aware that patients from Northwood use the pharmacy.
She said it’s the prescribing doctor’s responsibility to decide if the patients have to stay on-premises to ingest their drugs. Stewart said pharmacists just follow what the prescriptions call for.
The Ottawa Police Service declined to comment specifically on reports of illegal activity around the site, but a spokesperson did speak out about diversion.
Acting Sgt. Paul Stam with Ottawa Police Service’s neighbourhood policing directorate acknowledged an uptick in reports of “pop-up pharmacies” that distribute “safer supply drugs.”
“From a policing standpoint, we don’t want prescription drugs being diverted into the general community. You know, they should be using used by the people that they’re intended to be used by,” he told True North in an interview.
“The current structure of the safer supply program, given the government regulations, allows for these drugs to be prescribed very freely by doctors,” Stam said. “That’s what these ‘pop-up clinics’ are taking advantage of, and that is increasing the amount of diverted drugs in the community in general.”
He said the diversion of prescription drugs into communities is harmful and not something that police want to see continue.
Ruth Lobo, a concerned parent at the Sainte-Marie Mère de Dieu school, echoed the community association’s concerns in an interview with True North.
She said that the community started to see an increase in safety concerns related to drug paraphernalia and “street-looking people hanging around” in September when Northwood Recovery became more known to the public.
Lobo said children and families have had to change the routes they take to get home as Hintonburg Park, across the street from the recovery center, has become dangerous due to loitering drug users. She said a bus stop outside of the school has become a “haven for drug dealing” and “unsafe-looking people.”
“Those people will talk to our kids and say hi to them. If they’re on drugs, then they’re not safe people for our children to be around,” she said. “Our school is experiencing unease and unrest of sending our kids outside for recess because there’s added risk that’s present once you have people on drugs in an area where there’s school.”
Lobo said the school has had to create additional safety measures, such as installing security cameras and education to make sure the kids, some as young as five years old, aren’t picking up drug paraphernalia.
Adam Zivo, the founder of the Centre for Responsible Drug Policy, told True North that the federal and provincial governments must mandate witness consumption of safer supply drugs to stem the diversion crisis.
“This is something which we already do for many addiction medications such as methadone and Suboxone,” he said. “If you use those medications to manage your withdrawals, it is required that you consume these drugs under supervised consumption, at least until you show, you know, significant signs of stability and you build a relationship with your with your prescriber”
He said there is “basically no requirement” under the current “safer supply” models for addicts to take the drugs under supervision.
“We give drug addicts bottles and bottles and bottles of opioids, and we just say we trust you to use them as intended, which is insane. So, witness consumption would be very important. That would immediately cut out most of the diversion, almost all of it,” he said.
Public Health Ontario did not respond to True North’s requests for comment.
On today’s episode of the Candice Malcolm Show, Candice is joined by Canadian writer and broadcaster JJ McCullough. They discuss the latest headlines, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s direct diplomacy in Washington, and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves Francois-Blanchet surprising agreement with Smith.
Candice and JJ discuss Trump’s latest statements on trade, Poilievre’s strategy of staying out of the feud and Kevin O’Leary’s advocacy in pushing for a better deal between Canada and the United States.
JJ correctly points out that Canada hitching its wagon to Mexico in negotiating with the U.S. no longer serves our interests and it’s time to break out on our own and cut a better deal with America to secure the future of North America.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reconvene Parliament immediately, citing a national “emergency.”
Plus, Iranian Canadians told the federal foreign interference commission that the government needs to crack down on officials from Iran freely entering and living in Canada.
And Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the blame for incoming tariffs lies squarely on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s shoulders.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Clayton DeMaine!
