Jewish organizations in Canada are far more likely to condemn tragedies and attacks against the Muslim community than Muslim organizations are to condemn attacks on Jews.
This finding comes from a recently released analysis from the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy which examined how the leading Muslim and Jewish organizations in Canada reacted to major acts of religiously motivated violence against one another’s communities.
The research report’s author, Rahim Mohamed, took ten Jewish-Canadian organizations and looked at if they had condemned 2017’s Quebec City shooting and 2021’s London, Ont. attack.
The report found that Jewish organizations had by and large condemned the attacks, with nine of the ten condemning the Quebec City shooting and six of the ten condemning the London attack. The only organization that had not condemned any of the attacks is Chabad-Lubavitch.
On the other hand, ten leading Muslim organizations were analyzed to see whether or not they had condemned the Oct. 7 attack against Israeli civilians and condemned Hamas.
Of the ten organizations studied, eight of them stayed silent and refused to condemn the Oct. 7 attack. Those organizations include the Muslim Association of Canada, National Council of Canadian Muslims, Canadian Council of Muslim Women, Canadian Muslim PAC, Islamic Society N.A., Muslim Students Association, Agmadiyya in Canada, and The Ismaili Canada.
Only Muslims Facing Tomorrow and the Global Imams Council condemned Hamas after the Oct.7 attack. While the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community expressed condolences for Israelis killed in the attack, they did not condemn Hamas.
Instead, the report notes that some Muslim organizations released statements expressing solidarity with Palestinians and laid the blame for the attack at Israel’s feet.
Mohamed concludes that there is cause for concern that Muslim organizations did not condemn such a deadly act of religiously motivated violence, suggesting a decay of cross-community links.
“The failure of most major Muslim-Canadian organizations to issue condemnations of Hamas in the days that followed suggests a fraying of the bonds of interfaith solidarity that underpin religious plurality in Canada,” reads the report.
Since the Oct. 7 attack, waves of pro-Palestinian protesters have taken to Canadian streets in opposition to Israel’s counter-attack against Hamas and its general right to exist.
Some protests had been organized in Jewish communities, with one protest occurring outside of Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital – a historically Jewish hospital.
Source: 1 Wing Royal Canadian Air Force Visits 10th CAB
Canadian Forces personnel undergoing specialized cyber training in Ottawa have been forced to rely on food donations due to lack of military support, while the Oromocto and Area Food Bank near the Canadian Forces base in Gagetown, N.B., has witnessed a doubling in military personnel seeking assistance since the onset of the pandemic. Veteran and author Tom Marazzo joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to discuss.
In the aftermath of the Recall Gondek campaign, petitioner Landon Johnston is set to meet with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to discuss potential changes to Alberta’s recall legislation.
Johnston had to collect 514,284 signatures in 60 days, representing 40% of eligible voters of Calgary’s population. During the last municipal election, Gondek received 176,455 of the 393,090 votes cast.
Despite receiving a fraction of the necessary signatures, Johnston said he felt the process was successful. He said he started this process alone and didn’t expect to receive any signatures at all.
“With the boundaries dealt to us through this process, that number is incredible,” he said.
“My hope was that people that disagree on things would have a conversation and realize they have more in common than they tend to be told,” he added.
Johnston told True North, in an interview, that he was motivated to start the recall campaign because Gondek’s policies have cost Calgarians a lot of money.
“She doesn’t seem to think that matters to us. And that made me really mad. And, I saw an opportunity through the legislation to get my voice heard, and I took it,” he said.
Johnston elaborated on the numerous boundaries. He said that the campaign fell in the middle ground between not being a campaign and being one, disallowing them from putting up campaign signs where they’d normally be allowed. Johnston added that finance rules were very confusing or non-existent for recall campaigns. Lastly, he said that people used the campaign for their own gain.
“Whether that was the NDP, the Liberals, or the UCP to gain data and donations under the premise of the petition itself,” he said.
True North previously reported that the two women caught defacing a Recall Gondek sign won’t be criminally charged but will be required to do a program for first-time offenders.
“It’s open season for election signs. If there’s no consequences to those actions, then a lot of people are going to use that as an opportunity, which is really sad,” said Johnston. He filed a Freedom of Information Act to receive the investigative report and bodycam footage to determine why they weren’t charged and awaits a response.
The campaign featured hundreds of unpaid volunteers who worked daily for multiple hours.
“Support from Calgarians was insane. Nobody asked them to; nobody forced them to do this. Nobody paid them. They did it because they care about their city,” said Johnston.
He added that numerous businesses stepped up, allowing the campaigners to sit in their establishments to collect signatures. He didn’t want to name names given potential recourse from “evil people” but said he considered the businesses brave and honourable for offering support.
During the 60-day process, Johnston did not take a day off and worked 12 to 16 hours daily.
Johnston is self-employed and owns an air conditioning and furnace installations business. His wife is a nurse who helped financially support him during the months he took off.
He said that his fear, anxiety, and urge to quit was offset by the many people who came up to him and gave him high fives, hugged him, and thanked him.
“I don’t regret anything. I’m glad we did it. We really pushed the boundaries of this legislation, and hopefully, we did a good enough job to prove it would be impossible to get 500,000 signatures for the least favourable mayor in the history of Calgary,” said Johnston.
In a ThinkHQ survey from December 2023, Mayor Gondek’s approval stood at 30%.
Despite being happy with the campaign’s outcome, Johnston said he does not expect Gondek or the municipal government to take anything away from this process.
“They do not care about the people. They do not care about what happens to average Calgarians. Their first thought when they wake up is: How do I get re-elected? It’s never what’s best for us, what’s best for the city. They’re always thinking about themselves. We need more people in politics that are going to put the people above themselves,” said Johnston.
Throughout the 60-day process, Johnston said that one of the main lessons he took away was that politicians do not care about the average person.
“They win because people are fed up, and they have these campaign promises. And if you look at this mayor’s campaign promises, she did not fulfill or even get close to fulfilling any of those promises she made,” he said.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pledged to sit down with Johnston after the campaign to explore improving the legislation.
“I’m going to really pressure her to make this a fair legislation. It should never be easy, but it should at least be fair and possible,” said Johnston.
He said that the first change he will recommend is to base the requirement on the votes cast in the last election. For example, 35% of the 393,090 votes cast in Calgary’s last election would be 137,581 votes.
He also plans to suggest extending the campaigns to 90 days, saying that 60 days was not enough time to get started and get the ball rolling.
Had the requirement been 137,581 votes, Johnston said the goal would have been attainable. Out of every 100 people he approached, he said five or six said they did not like the mayor but didn’t want to waste their time with an impossible task.
He pledged to work to reform the legislation with Smith and act as a future resource to those who want to file future petitions.
True North reached out to Mayor Jyoti Gondek for comment but received no reply.
Former NDP MLA Gwen O’Mahony will be running under the B.C. Conservative party’s banner in the next provincial election this year.
She served as an NDP MLA for Chilliwack—Hope from 2012 to 2013 after winning a byelection and will now represent Nanaimo—Lanzville as the Conservative candidate in the riding.
In a video posted on X by the Conservative Party of B.C., O’Mahony announced why she no longer supports the provincial NDP government of British Columbia. She said the NDP has changed, not her.
Former NDP MLA Gwen O'Mahony shares her journey and concerns around so-called "safe" supply of hard drugs, parental rights in schools and Democracy.
— Conservative Party of BC (@Conservative_BC) April 4, 2024
O’Mahony spoke to True North over the phone to discuss her exodus from the NDP. “I am still the same person,” O’Mahony said. “I’m the same Gwen, with the same values. The Left left me.”
O’Mahony was originally drawn to the NDP because she had a traditional working-class family who always supported the party.
“My family and I saw the NDP as the people who are champions for us, the working class, concerned about affordability and universal healthcare.”
But she no longer sees it that way. She believes the B.C. NDP has demonstrated that it no longer prioritizes the working class.
“If we look at the most recent policies, let’s look at the carbon tax, for example. That’s increasing the cost of living for people here in British Columbia.”
According to a Leger study in 2023, most British Columbians spent more than 50% of their income on housing.
“Right now, in the midst of an affordability crisis, the last thing British Columbians need is yet another expense,” O’Mahony said.
She said she believes in the B.C. Conservatives now because, with them, she can fight for issues that matter to her, such as safety, affordability, health care and personal freedom.
“I really like a lot of their (Conservative) policies that they’re developing right now. Most importantly, I like the fact that you can have frank conversations with the party members and the party leader.”
According to polls from 338Canada, they project a 99% chance the Nanaimo—Lanzville riding remains an NDP stronghold.
O’Mahony began feeling ostracized by her former party for bringing up issues which mattered to her.
She said both her local MLA and MP ignored her after she called to set up a meeting to discuss the new drug policies the province was introducing.
She personally witnessed six overdoses and felt stirred to call her representatives.
“I used to be an MLA, so I know how it works,” she said. “People can make an appointment with their elected member, and they can slot some time in and have a conversation, and it’s usually the best way to do it.”
In the message she sent to them, she clearly stated who she was and that she wanted to discuss some important issues, and it wouldn’t take longer than half an hour.
Both representatives have attended O’Mahony’s events in the past.
“I was just surprised. that the local representatives wouldn’t even take a meeting,” she said.“I didn’t get a callback. Nothing, which was really bizarre to me, and I just realized they don’t want to know.”
“When you raise issues or concerns, you’re either ridiculed, downplayed or ignored,” she said.
O’Mahony also felt betrayed by her former party when she received a routine fundraising call from the party.
“They said, ‘Hey, we know we’ve seen that you get money in the past, and they’re asking for you to dig down and do it again,” she said.
According to O’Mahony, fundraising calls are a perfect time to let your party know how you feel about them.
In the case of the B.C. NDP, O’Mahony knows that the party notes and “pays attention” to concerns on these calls.
So when they called, she told them she was withholding additional donations until the party could “work on some issues.”
One of the issues she was advocating for was transgender prisons or adding a trans wing to current prisons to address safety concerns from female prisoners.
As she continued to list her concerns such as rising crime and SOGI in schools, the caller told her they couldn’t take any more notes and would get back to O’Mahony before disconnecting the call.
She didn’t receive a call until weeks later when they were again looking for donations. She raised the issue again with a similar result.
O’Mahony suspects her reputation with the party was tarnished after she moderated a panel in Nanaimo, BC, last October. The panel discussed gender identity ideology, safety in women’s spaces, and parental rights.
Ford Motor Company says it’s delaying the beginning of electric vehicle production at its new plant in Oakville, Ont. by two years.
Taxpayers have committed $590 million to Ford in the form of a subsidy partnership between the federal and provincial governments.
Now, Ford has said the plan will go into operation in 2027, not next year as originally proposed.
The company says it will take longer than expected to overhaul the Oakville assembly plant into an electric vehicle and battery assembly operation.
Work will start this year but the equipment required to assemble the EVs won’t be completed for another three years.
According to Ford spokesperson Said Deep, that means some workers will get laid off.
“We are committed to taking care of our valued Oakville employees through this transition,” said Ford Canada CEO Bev Goodman.
“While this change requires a revision to the timeline, it will support a viable and growing future for our company, employees and dealers.”
When the corporate bailout scheme was first proposed, the hefty pricetag of the subsidies received heavy criticism.
Groups like the Canadian Taxpayers Federation slammed the company, saying that Ford has enough money to cover the cost of the plant itself.
When announcing the funding in 2020, Trudeau claimed that the subsidies would “create many good middle-class jobs.”
The Canadian government has another deal with Volkswagen which involves up to $13 billion in grants and subsidies for a new factory in St. Thomas, Ont., sparking further controversy over corporate handouts.
This investment aims to establish the largest plant in the country, promising 3,000 direct and 30,000 indirect jobs.
Costing $7 billion, the subsidies will apply post-completion, with the factory’s opening slated for 2027, covering an area equivalent to 378 football fields.
In a recent essay, C2C Journal senior features editor Peter Shawn Taylor argues that despite claims of racism in Canada’s housing market, credible evidence suggests otherwise, with studies showing significant variations in housing outcomes among racial groups but no evidence of systemic racism. Taylor joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to discuss.
This week on the Alberta Roundup with Rachel Emmanuel, Rachel explains Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s positive take on the federal government’s wasteful $42 million gun buyback program which has yet to confiscate a single gun.
Also on the show, Rachel has an update on the axe the tax protest which has been ongoing for a week and an Alberta MLA is facing criticism from a prominent Jewish organization over her anti-Israel commentary.
Finally, Smith said there’s a “worrying trend” of prescription opioids seeping into the illegal market
Five provincial premiers have personally sent letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging him to convene an emergency first ministers’ meeting to discuss the carbon tax.
The unified stance follows recent polling showing that seven in 10 Canadians oppose the carbon tax, and an equal seven in 10 provincial premiers previously called for carbon tax relief.
Just before the April 1carbon tax increase of 23%, the first premier to write a letter last Saturday was Newfoundland and Labrador’s Andrew Furey.
I have asked the Prime Minister to convene a meeting to discuss alternatives to the carbon tax, as I continue to ask for a pause to today’s planned increase. pic.twitter.com/dEkowjpngC
Furey told Trudeau that increasing the costs of necessities would not achieve the policy’s intention without sufficient alternatives.
“Today, a gas-powered truck drives fishing gear to the wharf in a rural Newfoundland and Labrador community. After April 1, there will be an additional carbon tax, but that same truck still must drive fishing gear to the wharf. There are no alternatives available. So, the key intent of this policy, to lower emissions, is not being achieved at this time,” wrote Furey.
The premier explained that his province has reduced emissions to the lowest level since 1992. He added that realistic change can only come through investment, not taxes.
“Solutions sought through a collaborative approach will lead to real and meaningful changes,” wrote Furey.
I agree with Premier Furey's call for an emergency meeting about the carbon tax. You can read my letter to the Prime Minister here. pic.twitter.com/BXhWvgADIa
“Your government’s policies — and in particular, the carbon tax — are fuelling inflationary pressures that are driving up the cost of food, fuel, and other important consumer goods,” wrote Higgs.
The premier echoed Furey’s concerns that alternatives were unavailable.
Higgs echoed the concerns he shared with the parliamentary committee on Thursday in his letter, saying that Canada has missed the opportunity to reduce global emissions on a notable level while punishing its citizens less.
“I am prepared to work with you to develop alternatives that will restore Canadian leadership in the global climate crisis while protecting our economy and our citizens from paying a disproportionate price for these efforts,” wrote Higgs.
Next to put Trudeau on the chopping block was Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who sent him a letter on Thursday.
My colleagues and I are asking you to convene a meeting of Canada’s First Ministers to discuss the carbon tax and its impact on our economy and people.
She said that “Albertans and Canadians are facing a cost-of-living crisis not seen in decades,” and that her province had been calling on Ottawa to eliminate the carbon tax since 2019.
Smith explained that the parliamentary budget officer said the net cost to Albertans will increase to $2,700 by 2030-31.
“In March, natural gas was selling at less than $1.80 a gigajoule. Now that the carbon tax has increased to $4.09 per gigajoule, the tax alone is more than double what it costs Albertans to heat their homes. This is not just reckless, it is immoral and inhumane,” wrote Smith.
She said that without a carbon tax, Alberta’s plan will allow the province to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.
PM Trudeau refuses to say if he is willing to meet with Premier Smith after she wrote him a letter requesting another meeting on the carbon tax. Instead, Trudeau lashes out at Smith and defends the tax. pic.twitter.com/y3P8CrDGrb
“Our small businesses are getting crushed by this because [the carbon tax] keeps on going up. They don’t do rebates to small businesses or large businesses, and all of those costs end up getting handed down in the cost of the goods that people buy. And that’s the reason why we continue to have an inflation crisis,” said Smith.
True North previously reported that inflation in Saskatchewan and Manitoba fell quicker than expected after cutting the carbon tax.
On Friday, the most recent provincial premier to write Trudeau a letter was Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe.
Today, I joined Premiers Furey, Higgs and Smith in calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to convene a First Ministers’ meeting on the carbon tax.
It’s time for leaders to listen to the overwhelming majority of Canadians who oppose the carbon tax and the way it is increasing the… pic.twitter.com/Q7e626r5PL
He mentioned how the federal government exempted home heating oil from the carbon tax, unfairly benefiting Atlantic Canada.
“As a result, on January 1, 2024, Saskatchewan stopped collecting the federal carbon tax on natural gas and heating and on electric heating through our Crown-owned utilities, not because we want to challenge federal law, but because it was the only way to ensure Saskatchewan residents are treated fairly within the Canadian federation,” wrote Moe.
Moe was the fourth premier to write Trudeau a letter demanding an emergency meeting on the carbon tax.
Trudeau interviewed with CBC on Thursday, saying he already met with the premiers in 2016.
On Friday, the prime minister was further questioned about the ongoing carbon tax feud.
He explained that the parliamentary budget officer’s report shows that families in Alberta receive $1,800 in carbon tax rebates. He failed to mention that the average family pays a net cost of $710 even after receiving the rebate.
This morning, I wrote to the prime minister to echo the calls of my fellow premiers for an urgent meeting on the federal carbon tax.
It’s time we came together as leaders to address the concerns of Canadians and do everything we can to help them keep costs down. pic.twitter.com/PMVdEO8lf9
“This carbon tax has to go, or in a year and a half, the prime minister’s going. It’s as simple as that. He will be going. I’ll guarantee you,” said Ford.
In a Friday press conference, Ford spoke about the letter he sent Trudeau.
“Taxing people doesn’t reduce emissions, and that’s what they’re doing. They’re hurting the economy. They’re hurting people. Unacceptable.”
Earlier this week, Danielle Smith told reporters that Alberta is “not going to do anything to help” the Trudeau government confiscate legal firearms, celebrating Ottawa’s failure to confiscate a single gun four years after announcing its “buyback” program. Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights CEO Rod Giltaca joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to discuss.
The Canadian government monopoly on health care isn’t working, and people are realizing it.
This is highlighted by new research showing Canadians know that throwing more money at our health system ‒ already one of the highest-spending in the world ‒ won’t solve the problem.
A new Leger poll commissioned by SecondStreet.org, the Montreal Economic Institute and the Canadian Constitution Foundation shows just how deep the dissatisfaction with the system runs.
A majority, 64%, believe that the Canadian health care system needs “major changes.” Another 27% think minor changes are needed, while only 5% think that throwing more money at the system will fix it.
This is a staggering number. Here’s another way to think about it: imagine you’re planning a dinner party with 100 friends. Almost all of you agree you’d like to go either to a nice steakhouse or a local burger joint, but five friends insist on a seedy fish place known for causing indigestion.
Where do you think you’d want to hold that party? If Canadian governments were in charge, they’d likely pick the fish place. They just can’t seem to stomach the idea of meaningful health reform.
The federal government continues to push misinformation around reforming the system. Health Minister Mark Holland recently went on an uninformed diatribe saying health systems that allow patients to pick private options are “an abject disaster.”
Of course, he was unable to cite any such system and ignored that every other developed country with a universal public system (most have better outcomes than Canada) allows patients to pay for care if they choose. In countries such as Sweden, most patients use the public system, but when some patients decide to pay for private care, it takes pressure off the public system.
Ottawa rejects this approach. Last year, the feds reduced funding to provincial governments that allow patients to pay for private diagnostic scans, such as MRIs, outside of the public system. Again, no other nation on earth does this.
Rather than listen to Canadians, the federal government seems dead-set on creating more problems in the system. Look at how it insists on bringing the worst parts of the current health care system to pharmacare. Despite how much Ottawa has pushed for single-payer pharmacare, a mere 3% polled listed this measure as a top priority when it comes to health reform.
Instead, Canadians’ top priorities are access to family doctors (46%), shorter wait times at emergency rooms (16%) and shorter wait times for common surgeries and other treatments (10%).
The federal government is clearly failing patients, but some provinces are at least making marginal steps towards the last item on that list. Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and more have been contracting publicly-funded, privately-run clinics to perform more surgeries. This is a start, as it has been proven to help patients, but much more needs to be done.
Why don’t some provinces make a bold decision and keep our public system but allow patients to pay for private options? This is already legal in Quebec and, as mentioned earlier, the rest of the developed world. Countries like Sweden, Australia, and many others that outperform Canada all allow this option. It may lead to a political showdown, but it would help reduce wait times.
Provinces could also put patients first by copying a policy in the European Union known as the Cross-Border Directive. This policy allows all EU patients to travel to other EU countries for surgery, pay for it, then be reimbursed for up to what it would have cost the government to provide the surgery locally.
If Canada copied this policy, lower and middle income patients would especially be helped. Instead of being stuck on long waiting lists for years, they could travel to another province or perhaps to another developed country and receive surgery in weeks.
These are just a couple of common-sense ideas that could help. Whether or not they’re implemented, one thing is overwhelmingly clear. The status quo is not working, and Canadians are sick and tired of being sick without a reliable health system to take care of them.
Dom Lucyk is the Communications Director for SecondStreet.org, a Canadian think tank.
