Police in Calgary and Edmonton moved in on anti-Israel encampments at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta on the weekend, while McGill University in Montreal is fighting in court today for an injunction to clear the occupation on its campus. More than two years ago, the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act to clear out Freedom Convoy demonstrators in Ottawa – a decision that has since been ruled unconstitutional by the Federal Court. Where is the line between a legitimate (albeit disruptive) protest and an illegal occupation? True North’s Andrew Lawton discusses with Canadian Constitution Foundation lawyer Josh DeHaas.
Weeks after the federal government finally conceded there might be too many temporary foreign residents in Canada, Immigration Minister Marc Miller has suggested one way to decrease the numbers – convert them to permanent residents instead.
Also, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s annual Teddy Awards – honouring the very worst in government waste – have been released, with a federal agency a lifetime achievement award for paying seniors to talk about their sex lives and CBC being honoured for paying millions of dollars in executive bonuses. CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano joins the show to discuss.
Despite a Liberal Minister’s attempt to disrupt the event, Rebel News successfully hosted its first Rumble Live event on Friday, which featured prominent guest Donald Trump Jr.
Plus, antisemitism and far-left extremism are a common occurrence at protest encampments across Canadian universities.
And anger towards government, economy and policies reaches a record high among Canadians.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Lindsay Shepherd and Isaac Lamoureux!
The Justin Trudeau government is still agonizing over whether to “responsibly list” Iran’s murderous Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, as countries including the U.S. did long ago.
The IRGC’s thousands of innocent victims include 63 Canadians killed when the IRGC shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS572 near Tehran’s airport. The Trudeau government is even less interested in going after Samidoun, a pro-Hamas terrorist-linked group that’s actually headquartered in Vancouver.
Yet it hesitated not at all in crushing a small group of Canadian oddballs who had broken no laws and disavowed violence and racism. These were the Canadian wing of the Proud Boys, a mainly U.S. organization some of whose members participated in the U.S. Capitol Building riot three years ago. The Canadian group was pronounced a “terrorist entity” a month later.
But new Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) research recently conducted by a fellow researcher and myself, and published for the first time here and in C2C Journal, reveals virtually the entire surrounding Liberal narrative as exaggerated if not false:
Neither the Proud Boys’ Canadian chapter nor any of its members are known to have broken any laws before or since the organization’s terror entity designation on February 3, 2021;
There’s no indication Canada’s Department of Justice prepared the dossier of evidence that, as Public Safety Canada’s anti-terrorism-related web pages explain, is required before any group can be designated a terrorist entity. It must show “reasonable grounds to believe that the entity has knowingly carried out, attempted to carry out, participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity….” There’s no evidence this was done afterwards, either. There’s no evidence any such dossier exists at all;
Trudeau’s ministers held no other apparent evidence to substantiate their heated public accusations that the Canadian Proud Boys had engaged in violence, were planning to do so and posed a substantial threat thereof;
The Trudeau government showed no interest in the Proud Boys until after the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, for which the U.S. Proud Boys were soon accused of playing a central role and for which a number were charged and imprisoned;
Following Canada’s terrorist listing, Public Safety officials were unable to muster any compelling reasons or hard evidence in support despite persistent questioning from news media;
Substantially all of their “evidence” comprised U.S. news media reports pertaining to events and organizations in the U.S.; and,
The terrorist designation did not trigger any known law enforcement action against the Canadian chapters or their former members.
Canada’s Feb. 3, 2021 terror listing placed the Canadian Proud Boys officially on par with Al-Qaida, ISIS and Boko Haram. Legally at least, this meant Canada’s government considered the Proud Boys worse than the IRGC or Samidoun.
Ottawa urgently needed to act, insisted Public Safety Minister Bill Blair. Asked by one reporter whether the Proud Boys “pose a current, serious security threat to Canada”, Blair replied, “Absolutely yes”, and added, “There is a great deal of evidence to support that there has been a serious and concerning escalation of violence, not just rhetoric…” (Quote drawn from the ATIP documents.)
But the Liberals had nothing on the Proud Boys. No violent acts, no criminal records, no bomb-making plans, no law-breaking at all. Their most aggressive act came when five of them – five – expressed concern over the impending destruction of a statue of one of Canada’s most important historical figures in Halifax on Canada Day 2017, offending some Indigenous activists. For this – and for not hating Western civilization – the Proud Boys were routinely maligned as “white supremacist”, “misogynistic” or “far-rightist.”
Contrast them with any randomly selected name from Canada’s terror list – like Ansar al Islam, which “was responsible for a coordinated double suicide bombing…that killed more than 60 people and wounded over 200 others,” or Boko Haram, whose members hack the heads off people belonging to different religions.
Canada’s Proud Boys appear to have been designated terrorists mostly because incoming U.S. President Joe Biden needed help in building the Democratic narrative that the J6 riot was a “violent insurrection”. Canada’s move, indeed, was instant news in D.C. and, the ATIP documents show, was discussed in a cabinet-level meeting between the two governments.
ATIP-provided records also show Public Safety analysts tracking J6 media accounts involving the Proud Boys – after their bosses decided on the terror entity designation. If this was Ottawa’s sole “assessment”, it would make Canada’s terror listing illegal.
Further circumstantial evidence that it was a purely political act is the absence of subsequent law enforcement action against the Proud Boys. Normally, a terror designation unleashes the legal hounds of hell upon the target, everything from property and asset seizures to placing members on no-fly lists, to comprehensive surveillance and harassment, and onward to criminal charges.
But none of this happened. In response to over 30 emails and follow-ups, I received a mix of buck-passing, non-answers, refusals to respond, ghosting, and mischaracterizations of my inquiry. Normally the RCMP brags about the great things it does.
Nor is there any criminal or civil case law involving Canadian Proud Boys members indicated on Canada’s free case-search website. Very strange for a group of dudes officially considered as terrifying as Hamas’s rapists-mutilators-kidnappers-murderers.
Still, the Trudeau government crushed Canada’s Proud Boys (who announced their dissolution in May 2021, reiterating they were never a white-supremacist group). Based not on a carefully assembled dossier of hard evidence, but on ideological prejudice and media reports – many exaggerated, distorted or plain false – about a U.S. group whose Canadian affiliate had nothing to do with any of it. If that’s how things now work in Canada, one can only ask: who might be next?
Rumble, the video platform dedicated to protecting freedom of expression online, brought some of its top personalities to Toronto for an event aimed at combatting Bill C-63, the federal Liberal government’s so-called Online Harms Act.
The show, Rumble’s first ever live event, featured Donald Trump Jr., who hosts the “Triggered” podcast on Rumble, along with award-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald and Canadian lawyer and streamer David Freiheit, better known as Viva Frei.
The guest speakers also included Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski, and former Fox personality Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is now engaged to Trump Jr.
There was a common thread among the panellists. As David Menzies of Rebel News said, “Bill C-63 is the most censorious bill ever to be introduced in the Western world.”
The panellists criticized C-63 for its retroactive ability, the poor definition of hate speech, and its ability to punish individuals for future speech.
As long as an individual can remove something online, they can be held accountable for it, even if it was 15 years ago, despite not being illegal at the time the “hatred” was posted.
Freiheit pointed out that much of what the bill purports to do is already illegal.
“Bill C-63 itself doesn’t do anything, as far as I can tell, that existing law does not already deal with. The idiocy of slapping massive penalties on so-called ‘hate speech’ is absurd,” Freiheit told True North. “These types of bills exacerbate the very problems they purport to resolve. This is not going to make people hate people less; it is actually going to make people hate people more and bury or use darker methods to communicatethat hate.”
During his livestream segment, Freiheit mentioned that those who hate him should have their speech exposed so that he can know his opponents and potentially grow from their criticism.
“I want to know who hates me, and I want to know why they hate me; there might be a good reason,” he said on stage. He thinks having some people be protected classes that can’t be criticized while others are free game for hate is only going to create divisions in society.
“Every human should be a protected class period. The idea you’ll ban hate speech for protected classes, but not for others, might be sort of one of the reasons why we’re seeing churches burning in Canada at a very high rate. Nobody calls that a hate crime,” he said. “(The bill) will create the division that it purports to try to turn to end.”Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich was in attendance and told True North in an interview that the current fight against this censorship bill is just an extension of the battle for freedom she helped organize, which led to the Freedom Convoy in February 2022 in Ottawa.
“What’s happening in Canada, especially if Bill C-63 goes through, I think we need to be concerned about all of it,” Lich said. “It is an assault on free speech. If Bill C-63 were already implemented, I would be in the gulags right now. I would be gone.”
She said everyone who cares about their country, future, kids and grandkids needs to be aware of what the Liberal government is trying to do with this bill.
“(The government) is why we did what we did (in 2022). It was to stop government overreach, and it’s still happening today. So I hope people pay attention, follow this (bill), contact their MPs on every level and express their concern,” Lich said.
Other issues with the bill highlighted by the speakers were that hate speech is ill-defined and could be used in various ways depending on who holds the reins of government.
A section of the bill could allow people to be under house arrest and other limitations if it is reasonable to believe that they will commit a speech crime in the future.
Ezra Levant, the founder of Rebel News, warned that the bill could be used against Rebel and other independent media that differ from the cultural orthodoxy.
Canadian Jewish students are speaking out after seeing protesters openly praise terrorists, as well as presence of outside agitators and radical ideology in their universities’ anti-Israel encampments. They say the encampments make many in their community feel unsafe.
Encampments began popping up on Canada’s campuses two weeks ago, with participants demanding that universities divest from Israel. They were inspired by far-left students at American Ivy League universities like Columbia.
Tents have been put up at McGill University, the University of Toronto, the University of Ottawa, the University of British Columbia, McMaster University, Ontario Tech University, and Western University.
Many are now calling for the encampments to be removed, citing among other things the threat they pose to Jewish students after many instances of antisemitism and hate from protesters.
"Go back to Europe" sings a pro-Hamas mob in Montreal at Jewish Canadians.
When a Jewish person says their family is from Iraq, they're told to go there.
Iraq has no Jews. They fled mobs there too, in Iraq & across the MidEast. Most sought safe-haven in Israel. pic.twitter.com/rLXeZufezG
‼️🚨 When people show you who they are, believe them. We are deeply disturbed by this photo of a protestor at @uOttawa proudly wearing the Hamas logo on their back. Hamas is a listed terrorist organization in 🇨🇦 — one that targets Jews not just in 🇮🇱 but around the 🌎 ⁰⁰That… pic.twitter.com/Kg9ZIfg2QH
It is worth noting that the encampments come after an already hostile school year for Jewish students, who have been the target of increased hate and harassment following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Back in November, Jewish students told True North it was “best not to be visibly Jewish” on Canadian campuses amid a rise in antisemitism.
University of Toronto student Max Rotenberg and University of British Columbia student Chaim Yoel Ben Adama recently visited the encampments occupying their university campuses. What they saw was shocking.
Max Rotenberg, left, and Chaim Yoel Ben Adama, right.
They both spoke to True North about their experiences.
Rotenberg told True North he visited the U of T encampment with some of his friends last weekend. While organizers had been banning those who support Israel from entering, he says they were let in.
“It was pretty scary,” he recalled. “On almost every tent and poster they had something about the intifada, they had the Hamas red triangles, there were a lot of flags of the Islamic regime of Iran.”
DISTURBING: Multiple Hamas red triangles spotted at the University of Toronto anti-Israel encampment. Also seen is the glorification of "Intifada" – armed Palestinian uprisings that has in the past included suicide bombings. #CampusWatchpic.twitter.com/BI6XgQL45t
“It was just a whole mess,” he added. “They’re openly supporting organizations that are designated as terrorist organizations by the Canadian government.”
Rotenberg said that he and his friends were followed around while at the encampment.
“They were following us around, but they didn’t cause any issues with us,” he said.
“We took some pictures and videos, and then afterwards just walked around outside, recorded the chants and took pictures of the Hamas posters and signs.”
Ben Adama had a different experience.
He said he was initially invited into the encampment by one of the protesters, who wanted to show him that it was a peaceful and inclusive protest. However, soon after he got to the encampment, he was told to leave because some protesters reportedly felt “unsafe” with the presence of a “known Zionist.”
“Within 20 minutes, I was removed from the premises because apparently me being there as a ‘known Zionist,’ whatever that means, made people feel unsafe,” he said.
“For that, I had to leave.”
Ben Adama noted that it was rather hypocritical that protesters who often wave signs and yell chants calling for the violent destruction of Israel which caused many Jewish students to feel targeted, suddenly felt unsafe with the mere presence of a Jew who believes in Israel’s right to exist.
“It’s quite funny, you see, on the one hand, (they chant) ‘there only one solution, intifada revolution,’ ‘globalize the intifada’… (but) where’s the toughness when someone is actually there, wanting to sit down?”
“It is quite a double standard.”
Both Rotenberg and Ben Adama noted that many of the people protesting at the encampments were not students.
“A lot of them aren’t even students or faculty, and aren’t even part of the UBC community,” said Ben Adama
Rotenberg, on his part, said that some of the U of T protesters were “recognized to be from other cities.” He also said that there were parents who brought their children, as well as middle-aged and elderly people, to the encampment.
Rotenberg and Ben Adama also said many of the protesters have a fundamental misunderstanding of what is truly going on in Israel.
“From the conversations that I managed to have inside, they have no idea the political reality of what it’s like in Israel,” noted Rotenberg.
Ben Adama said that a lot of students from privileged backgrounds seem to cling to whatever is the current thing to stay relevant.
“(The Palestinian movement) seems like some social cause that people want to cling to,” he said, noting that “most of them chant about rivers and seas, but they couldn’t tell you which river and which sea.”
“They don’t know, they don’t know what was there before 1948,” he added. “They learned about the conflict maybe six months ago on TikTok.”
Ben Adama also said that protesters are misrepresenting Zionism.
“Zionism is just the idea of Jewish autonomy, Jewish self-determination, in our ancestral homeland, the land of Israel. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less,” he said. “Zionism is not about removing Palestinians or Arabs. It’s not about any kind of violence. It’s not about any kind of evil.”
“It’s just self-determination,” he added.
Rotenberg wants to see the encampments removed both at U of T and across Canada.
“They’re creating a very hostile and toxic environment for Jewish students, and especially Israeli Jewish students. And that’s just not acceptable at an academic institution,” he said.
Ben Adama added that he knows many people who are scared of walking around campus amidst the presence of the encampment and pro-Palestinian activists who are covering their faces. “When someone’s covering their face, you don’t know what their intentions are.”
He also said that many of his visibly Jewish female friends have told him they feel unsafe.
B’nai Brith Canada manager of research Richard Robertson, condemned the encampments in an interview with True North. “The situation on campus, enhanced by the encampments, is untenable for Jewish students,” he said.
Robertson also wants to see the protest encampment removed, noting that what is currently going on “cannot be tolerated by the leaders of our academic institutions and by our society in general.”
Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu says the Liberal government has been playing political games when it comes to the tabling of legislation meant to combat interference in Canadian democratic processes by hostile foreign actors.
In an exclusive interview with True North, Chiu slammed the Liberal government for tabling the Countering Foreign Interference Act, or Bill C-70, at a time convenient for the government and not sooner.
“I think the Liberals have again proven that they are the best political manipulators in terms of timing, they see everything in their benefit and they time it the best,” said Chiu.
The Countering Foreign Interference Act was tabled by the Liberals on Monday, containing provisions to create a foreign agents registry and expand the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s powers to prosecute those aiding a foreign actor at the expense of Canada, among other things.
The former British Columbian MP criticized the government for tabling the legislation years after the issue of foreign interference in Canada’s democracy had been raised by the Conservative party.
Chiu sees this week’s tabling of the Countering Foreign Interference Act as a political manoeuvre to act on the issue of foreign interference before the Foreign Interference Commission’s Justice Marie-Josée Hogue could table her final report on the matter.
“They drafted all these legislative changes long before she [Justice Hogue] finished compiling the initial report or even I suspect the testifying even began in early April. Because one needs not only to draft it, but also need to go through the House of Commons legal department and come back with changes, and then translation into French and all that, all of these things take time,” said Chiu.
Chiu had served as the member of Parliament for Steveston–Richmond East for one term, before losing in the 2021 election to the Liberal Parm Bains.
However, as confirmed by testimony at the Hogue Commission, Chiu’s campaign was targeted by a foreign disinformation campaign orchestrated by the People’s Republic of China, as he was an open critic of the communist regime and advocated for a foreign agent registry.
Chiu says that while a foreign agent registry on its own cannot stop foreign interference in Canadian elections, he says that such a registry would allow the public to hold the foreign agents to account and could have helped to mitigate foreign interference in his 2021 re-election campaign.
“I believe they [foreign agents] see the registry as a huge threat to them in being able to conduct clandestine and deceptive operations. And this is not my words, this is CSIS’s characterization.”
“It would have probably gave me a better chance had this legislation been law in 2021. Canadians would be able to see the people who are helping to spread all the disinformation, the mechanism of how it works, and their linkage to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department.”
Chiu said that he is considering running for the Conservatives in Steveston–Richmond East again, to help deal with the “shithole” that the Trudeau government has created.
“I’m seriously considering. I’ve been saying that this whole debacle, it’s not about Kenny Chiu, it’s not about Steveston–Richmond East. But through Steveston–Richmond East we see how big a shithole that we’re in, that Canada is in.”
Rebel News hosted the first Rumble Live event this Friday near Downsview Park in Toronto, Ont., featuring prominent guests such as Donald Trump Jr.
The event was held to protest Canada’s latest censorship bill, C-63, and promote exclusive shows on the free-speech-oriented video platform, including Trump Jr.’s “Triggered.”
In addition to Trump Jr. speaking, award-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald and Canadian lawyer David Freiheit or Viva Frei, and the regular Rebel News cast, were also guest speakers.
Source: True North / Clayton Demaine
The speakers at the event targeted the Online Harms Act, which they collectively agreed is a dire threat to freedom of speech in a democratic society.
Prior to the event starting, local MP and Liberal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Ya’ara Saks took to X and condemned the event.
She accused Rebel News, a Jewish-owned outlet, of espousing “hateful and extremist” views, islamophobia and antisemitism on X.
“While I am a strong supporter of the right to free speech, let me be clear that the vile views espoused by Rebel News are not welcome in York Centre, nor do its residents support them,” Saks said. “They claim to support the Jewish people but traffic in the Great Replacement and Soros conspiracies – antisemitism by any other name.”
After letting the public know where the event was, she urged police to ensure the safety of those in attendance.
“While I deplore that this conference is taking place, I urge Toronto’s police to take steps to keep all participants safe.”
Ten uniformed police officers and 18 private security workers were in attendance after Saks’ concerns were raised.
No protesters attended the event, but Ezra Levant, the founder of Rebel, told True North at the event that the Canada Lands Company, who controls the land where the private venue is, demanded the venue and event organizers pay for the police, security, port-a-potties and barriers, which was now required for the event to continue.
Though run by a private venue, the government owns the land as it used to be a military base.
BLACKMAIL: Trudeau’s thugs try to cancel Rebel News conference
Our annual 'Rebel News Live' conference almost didn’t happen — because Trudeau’s staff tried to blackmail us.
A few months ago, we signed a contract with a Toronto event venue for the conference. They were excited… pic.twitter.com/dZLhyFNRgp
“At the last minute, (CLC) made an extortion demand for nearly $50,000 worth of extra security for all the protesters they said, were going to come,” Levant said. “Of course, there’s not a single protester here. There wouldn’t be. We’ve never had protesters in nine years of having these events.”
According to Levant, Allen Schacht, CLC’s senior property manager, was their primary contact for the “extortion.”
“(CLC) demanded that we provide barriers for hundreds of protesters they claimed were coming. We had to provide security for them, too,” Ezra wrote in an article on Rebel News. “And Bizarrely – they demanded we pay for portable toilets for those imaginary protesters, too.”
The venue was away from residential or commercial areas, with little traffic; prospective protesters would have to go out of their way to stand outside the building.
Rumble decided “the show must go on” and foot the bill, continuing with the significant security presence.
“I’m grateful to (Rumble) in a way, but I am also appalled that the Government of Canada extorted nearly $50,000 from an event because we’re conservative and Donald Trump Jr. was involved,” Levant said to True North. “I think it’s a disgrace to Canada. I believe that the Canada Land Company should return the funding.”
“I have no beef with the individual officers. But we were told if we didn’t pay for them (the event couldn’t happen,)” he said. “Why do we have to? Since when do you have to pay for police?”
CLC did not respond to True North’s emails by the deadline.
Many Canadians expressed their discontent with a newly announced Parks Canada policy allowing “newcomers to Canada and new Canadian citizens” free admission to all national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas as part of a new policy.
According to the Parks Canada website, for the next year “admission to all national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas operated by Parks Canada.”
“Using the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s Canoo mobile app, enjoy free admission to all places administered by Parks Canada across the country for one full year,” it reads.
However, the free admission policy is limited solely to newcomers and new Canadian citizens, if you’re already a tax paying citizen, you’ll be paying full price.
“Get back to nature and unwind amidst the spectacular scenery in Canada’s national parks and marine conservation areas,” reads the website. “Celebrate your arrival in Canada or your citizenship with great Canadian experiences,” it continued.
“Check out some of the most awesome places in Canada. We look forward to welcoming you!”
The 1998 Parks Canada Agency Act established Parks Canada as a separate Government of Canada Agency, which currently reports to Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
While daily admission and service fees and single-location passes are variable depending on the location, camping fees for a family pass begin at $151.25.
The announcement was met with strong disapproval on X, with the overwhelming majority of comments frustrated with the new policy.
“But Canadian citizens have to pay $150…. Your priorities are completely backwards. Do better,” wrote one user on X.
But Canadian citizens have to pay $150…. Your priorities are completely backwards. Do better.
“How about collaborating for Canadian Citizens that have lived here for decades and are struggling with costs of just about everything!” another user wrote.
How about collaborating for Canadian Citizens that have lived here for decades and are struggling with costs of just about everything!
According to the Parks Canada website, revenue collected from park pass purchases helps to fund the management of Canada’s national parks.
Active members of the Canadian Armed Forces, veterans and their immediate families were also granted free access to national park sites earlier this year.
Additionally, the parks are free to children aged 17 and under as well as support persons aiding a visitor with a disability.
The Canadian government remains consistent in trying to appease both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The United General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution to upgrade Palestine’s rights, granting them status as an Observer State without offering full membership.
“By adopting this resolution, the General Assembly will upgrade the rights of The State of Palestine within the world body, but not the right to vote or put forward its candidature to such organs as the Security Council or the Economic and Social Council,” said the United Nations in a press release.
The modifications will not take effect until the General Assembly convenes its new session on Sep. 10.
Once the changes take effect, Palestine will gain seven rights.
Palestine will be able to be seated among Member States, make statements on behalf of a group, submit proposals and amendments, and introduce them. It will also be able to co-sponsor proposals and amendments.
Palestine will be able to propose items to be included in the provisional agenda. Members of the delegation of Palestine will be able to be elected as officers in the Main Committees of the General Assembly. Lastly, Palestine will gain full and effective participation in UN and international conferences and meetings convened under the General Assembly or other UN branches.
The vote resulted in 143 countries voting in favour, nine against, and 25 countries abstaining.
The matter will proceed to the 15-member UN Security Council, where the United States of America is expected to veto it, having voted against the initial resolution. If rejected by the Security Council, Palestinians will still earn a seat in the UN as of Sept. 2024 but will not be granted a vote.
Canada was one of the countries that abstained from the vote.
“Canada’s position on questions relating to Israel and Palestine remains, and has always been, guided by our historic and unwavering commitment to a two-state solution,” said Global Affairs Canada in a release.
Canada admitted that Hamas brutally murdered over 1,200 people in its Oct. 7 attack.
However, Canada stated that three principles have always guided its approach.
The country believes that “Israel has the right to exist, and to defend itself, in accordance with international law.” That “the Palestinian people must be able to realize their right to self-determination.” And that “the protection of civilians is paramount and a strict requirement under international humanitarian law.”
Global Affairs Canada said that the United Nations recommendation to reconsider full membership for Palestine has resulted in the prospects of peace being bleaker than ever.
“Canada has decided to abstain on the General Assembly resolution in response to efforts to prevent the realization of a two-state solution,” said Global Affairs Canada.
“We must redouble our efforts to fully realize the vision first articulated by the General Assembly in 1947. We owe it to the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, who deserve a brighter future and a sustainable peace,” concluded Global Affairs Canada.
Israel’s Ambassador Gilad Erdan criticized the UN for its decision, arguing that the organization was originally established to prevent the rise of powers like the Nazis, whose goal was to annihilate the Jewish people.
“Today, you are doing the opposite… welcoming a terror state into its ranks,” said Erdan.
“You have opened up the United Nations to modern-day Naziism. It makes me sick,” he added.
Concluding his remarks, Erdan displayed a mini portable electric document shredder and proceeded to shred the cover of the UN Charter.
Draft resolutions only reflect the official stance of the General Assembly after they are officially adopted.
The level of anger felt by Canadians towards the government, economy, and current events is increasing, reaching record levels, according to Pollara’s Rage Index.
The index asks Canadians about their levels of pleasure with the federal and provincial government, the national economy, Canadians’ personal finance situation, the types of changes happening in Canada, and the latest stories in the news.
The average percentage of Canadians annoyed or angry about the six topics in the Rage Index was 58%, a 5% rise since January. The number of Canadians who were very angry about the six topics saw a 4% rise to 21%.
“The Rage Index hit a new high in April, with record levels of anger about the Canadian economy, and both federal and provincial governments,” said the report.
The highest levels of anger or annoyance came towards the Canadian economy, followed by the latest stories in the news, with 67% and 63% having an overall annoyed or angry sentiment towards the two.
While anger towards the provincial government was highest in Ontario, at 60%, B.C. saw the biggest increase. Anger towards the provincial government in B.C. jumped from 38% in January to 54% in Apr., an increase of 16%.
While Alberta and Ontario saw 9% and 8% increases, respectively, anger towards the provincial government in Quebec fell by 1% between January and April.
Gen X (44-59 years old) was the angriest generation, with the highest level of people who were annoyed/angry towards the federal government, the Canadian economy, and the types of changes happening in Canada. Political affiliations also influenced Rage Index levels. Conservative voters were more annoyed/angry and very angry in almost every category. Liberal voters were the most content, with NDP and Bloc Québecois supporters being nearly tied in their anger index levels.
The poll also found that only 31% of polled Canadians were familiar with the details of the 2024 federal budget.
Liberal voters had the most positive and least negative reviews of the budget. 78% of Conservatives had a negative view of the budget, while only 1% of Conservative voters had a positive view; the rest were neutral. Bloc Québecois supporters were also very critical of the budget, with 66% having a negative view.
Only 9% of Canadians had a positive feeling towards the budget, while 53% felt negativity. The rest were neutral or had no emotion towards the budget. This is worse than previous polls, which showed 21% of Canadians supported the federal budget.
Canadians were asked about which specific measures in the budget they were familiar with.
The measure that was most familiar to Canadians was the increase in the capital gains tax, with 71% of respondents hearing about it or being familiar with some details. This was followed by the Liberals running a $40 billion deficit and allowing a 30-year mortgage for first-time home buyers, both at 64%.
Those aged 60 and older were most familiar with specific budgetary measures.
The least supported budgetary measure was the Liberals’ $40 billion deficit, which had 58% of Canadians with a negative outlook. This was followed by the capital gains tax, at 35%.
The most supported measures in the budget were mental health care and school food programs, with 60% and 59% support, respectively.
Mental health care was the most popular budgetary measure in every region except B.C. and Atlantic Canada, where school food programs took first place.
When looking at support for specific budgetary measures based on who respondents support federally, the most supportive voters of specific measures within the budget were NDP voters, who had the most positive emotions towards specific measures in eight of 14 instances.
The data were gathered from a survey conducted between Apr. 22-26 and featured 1,507 randomly selected Canadian adults.
