fbpx
Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Federal public service new hires nearly tripled since 2015

By
Quinn Patrick
-

Under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, jobs in the federal public sector have seen threefold growth since he was first elected in 2015, with record growth being reported last year. 

Additionally, more public servants changed positions, resigned or were investigated than in any other period under Trudeau.

The Public Service Commission of Canada’s annual report revealed that the federal public service grew to 274,218 employees by the end of the last fiscal year on March 31, 2023. 

According to the report, there was an increase of 6.5% year-over-year and a cumulative growth of 40.4% more than at the end of the 2014-2015 fiscal year. 

Figures from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat corroborate the report, revealing that certain departments and agencies not included in the tally also grew by 30% over the same period, hitting a record number of 357,247 additional employees. 

The government hired 71,000 external employees throughout the 2022-2023 fiscal year, an increase of almost 10% from the previous year. The report also noted that 59.3% of external hires and internal promotions last year were done through non-advertised processes. 

Since 2014-2015, the share of promotions and new hires that were conducted without advertised postings increased by 21.7%.

Another notable increase was the dramatic spike in personnel expenditures, up 39.9% since 2021-2022, as reported by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. 

Spending on professional and special services also increased by 14.7% over that same period.

“The obvious question from a citizen taxpayer point of view is, ‘We have 40 per cent more people in government, am I getting 40 per cent faster service?’ I don’t think most people feel that value for money,” Aaron Wudrick, director of domestic policy with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute told the Globe and Mail. 

In the past fiscal year, almost 37% of federal public servants were moved to other positions, promoted, or appointed to acting positions, another record high since 2013-2014.

Additionally, the number of investigations launched by the commission into public servant employees over allegations of improper political activities or other irregularities tripled from 34 in 2021-2022 to 109 last year.

The bulk of those investigations were related to alleged errors, omissions or improper conduct regarding the external hiring process, up 66% from the previous year, with investigations into alleged fraud increasing by 40%.

“The pandemic and the ability to work remotely has created a huge surge in demand for public-sector work. I think that is a good thing, we want it to be highly competitive to work in the public sector,” said Wudrick. “But that only holds if the government doesn’t continue to just create jobs and inflate the size of the public sector for its own sake.”

Wudrick believes that surging demand for public servant employment is because it “has always offered a different value proposition in terms of work-life balance and job security and a pension.”

The Daily Brief | Canadians feel worse off financially since Trudeau elected

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

A new Nanos poll has revealed that over half of Canadians say their personal finances are worse off today than they were in 2015, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first took office.

Plus, the Saskatchewan government makes good on their promise to stop collecting the federal carbon tax on natural gas and electrical heat.

And a group of concerned citizens in Abbotsford established a multi-day overnight camp to protest gender ideology in schools on a 24/7 basis.

Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Noah Jarvis!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY BRIEF

The Andrew Lawton Show | Justin Trudeau says he’s not going anywhere this year

By
Andrew Lawton
-

Justin Trudeau is starting off 2024 defiant. In one of his year-end interviews with the legacy media, Trudeau said his declining popularity in the polls has nothing to do with him. He has been steadfast in his commitment to lead the Liberals into the next election. Do you think he’ll be able to hold onto his leadership all year? True North’s Andrew Lawton weighs in.

Also, Saskatchewan is no longer collecting the carbon tax on natural gas and electrical heat in protest of the federal government’s carbon tax exemption on home heating oil, mostly benefitting Atlantic Canadians.

Plus, SecondStreet.org’s Colin Craig joins the show to discuss how wait times in Canadian hospitals are getting worse and what Canada can do to address this glaring issue.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

OP-ED: Restoring citizenship in the age of identity liberalism

By
Patrick Keeney
-
Source: Parl.gc.ca

December 10 marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). The relatively small set of universal principles articulated in the UNDHR recognizes every individual’s inherent dignity and value.

There is much to celebrate about human rights. They have helped millions achieve better living standards and greater freedom, enabling individuals to pursue their potential and live in dignity and freedom.

The concept of “rights” dates to ancient times. However, in the past, rights were granted to members of a particular community, such as a nation-state or religious group. For instance, the French Revolution 1789 proclaimed the “Rights of Man And Citizen.”

By contrast, the “human rights” enumerated in the UNDHR are universal. This is revolutionary. It extends rights to the individual regardless of their membership in a community. This universality owes much to the Christian theological concept of Imago Dei (the image of God), which affirms the inherent dignity and worth of every human being as a reflection of God’s creation.

Nevertheless, a robust human rights regime remains the goal of democratic movements worldwide. A recent film set in the conflict regions of Myanmar – Will There Be A Tomorrow? – tells of a courageous nurse who provides health care to remote villages. She eloquently summarizes the essence of human rights: “I am working for humans, not for a religion or race.”

Yet these universal principles are now under siege by a political philosophy that rejects the primacy of individual rights and instead emphasizes collective identities based on ethnicity, race, gender, or sexuality. This philosophy, which the American writer Mark Lilla calls “identity liberalism,” has had profoundly detrimental consequences for Western societies.

Identity liberalism, as Lilla explains in his book The Once and Future Liberal, is a political orientation that prioritizes the recognition and representation of specific identity groups over the common interests and obligations of citizenship.

This is a radical departure from the classical liberal ideal of a society where individuals are judged by their character and merit, not by their skin colour or other immutable traits. It is also a rejection of the vision of Martin Luther King Jr., who dreamed of a colour-blind society where people of all races and backgrounds could live together in harmony.

Instead of fostering a sense of unity and solidarity among citizens, identity liberalism has created a culture of fragmentation and resentment. It has divided citizens into competing factions and has encouraged them to seek symbolic gestures, superficial diversity, and protection from dissenting opinions. It has eroded the civic culture and the public sphere, essential for a healthy democracy.

Identity liberalism has now evolved into a pervasive ideology that goes by the acronym of DIE: Diversity, Inclusivity, and Equity. DIE is an ideology that claims Western society is inherently and systematically racist, sexist, and oppressive towards non-white, non-male, and non-heterosexual individuals. It demands that society be restructured and reformed to address these alleged injustices and compensate for marginalized groups’ historical and present disadvantages.

DIE advocates for policies and practices that categorize and rank citizens according to their race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality and allocate resources and opportunities based on these criteria.  In our universities, for example, many faculty positions are now restricted by race.

A recent job posting at the University of Victoria for a full-time assistant professor specifies that “selection will be limited to members of the following designated group: Black people.”

B.C.’s human rights commissioner, Kasari Govender, rather than condemning such a blatant case of racism, defended it by asserting that “It is very important for our human rights system to allow for this kind of progress to be made.” It is mystifying how one can reconcile claims of “progress” with race-based preferences that undermine the core academic mission of a university.

DIE also seeks to silence and censor any voices that challenge or question its assumptions and prescriptions. Like all ideologies, it imposes a rigid, sterile, and dogmatic worldview that leaves no room for nuance, complexity, or dialogue. Rather than allowing citizens to engage in a robust debate and a free exchange of ideas, controversial or critical viewpoints against DIE are cast out of the public conversation.

Like any religious doctrine, DIE forbids the questioning of its first principles. The result is a censorious public square.

Focusing on immutable identity categories reinforces divisions and erodes mutual understanding, threatening the norms of the liberal order that values individual rights and freedoms.  This mindset destabilizes the values and institutions that have made democratic societies successful and resilient. It erodes the social fabric and the civic culture that binds citizens together. It creates a fragmented, polarized, and hostile society, dividing citizens into competing tribal identities. 

Lilla offers a way out of this impasse: a return to the concept of citizenship, which emphasizes the common good and the shared responsibilities of all citizens, regardless of their identities. Focusing on what unites us rather than what divides us can restore a sense of civic virtue and a vision of the public interest. He calls for reviving the civic education and engagement necessary for a functioning democracy.

Re-establishing a unifying sense of citizenship is critical if Canada is to maintain a liberal order where fellow citizens are perceived as individuals and not as placeholders of this or that race, ethnic group or sexual orientation.  This task requires empathy, imagination, humility, and a commitment to the common good – essential civic virtues for maintaining a liberal democracy worthy of the name. In sum, Canada must abjure identity politics and adopt policies that once again respect individual rights, which is the essence of the liberal order.

Government’s migrant farm worker program is “racist,” $500-million lawsuit alleges

By
Quinn Patrick
-

A $500-million dollar class-action lawsuit filed by two former migrant farm workers alleges the government of Canada’s foreign farm worker program is “racist.”

In the 1950s, Canadian government officials briefly considered making migrant farm workers work for a specific employer, however they later rejected the notion because they said it would be akin to slavery. 

“It would be contrary to the whole Canadian belief in freedom of the individual,” said then-immigration minister Walter Harris. 

However in 1966, the government allowed guaranteed work permits for particular employers, allowing for what would become known as “tied employment.”

Prior to the change, the majority of workers came from Europe. Later, migrant workers began coming predominantly from the Caribbean.

Now a $500-million class-action lawsuit has been filed against the federal government on behalf of migrant farm workers who have been working in Canada for the last 15 years. “Tied employment” is among the claims.

Until the lawsuit is certified by a judge, it cannot proceed as a class action.

Using historical records, the lawsuit claims that the same employer-specific permits that are currently still in place, have been imposed on black and Indo-Caribbean farmworkers as a result of their race and “motivated by overtly racist policy objectives.”

Additionally, the lawsuit is seeking restitution for the Employment Insurance money paid by migrant farmworkers, because, were they to lose their jobs, they wouldn’t be eligible to receive those benefits.

Earlier this year, a separate class action lawsuit was proposed, seeking to have closed work permits of any kind deemed unconstitutional.

This most recent case only deals with farmworkers, alleging that the original justification for tied employment was rooted in explicit racism. 

“The wrongdoing we challenge in this case has been ongoing for more than half-a-century,” said lawyer Louis Century, who is working on the case. “These coercive conditions that were imposed in the 1960s for overtly racist reasons continue to be imposed more than 60 years later.”

The Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada released a statement saying  that work is “underway” to introduce a sector-specific work permit, instead of an employer-specific work permit for temporary foreign workers.

No details have been released as to when such a permit would be available.

A spokesperson for the department noted that temporary foreign workers may apply for an open work permit should they feel they are being abused at their job, however the lawsuit claims that those permits are “an inadequate and ineffective half-measure.” 

Over 50,000 migrant workers come to Canada annually to work in the agricultural sector.

Century said that the freedom to leave a job is “the most important measure of self protection that any worker has.” 

With tied employment, migrant workers will be deported if they leave their job. However, prior to the 1966 program change, European farm workers were able to leave their program without fear of deportation and were offered alternative options to permanent residency. 

“Tied employment … was imposed as a means to obtain the labour of racialized workers while subjecting such workers to more coercive conditions of employment,” reads the lawsuit.

Former Jamaican migrant farm worker Kevin Palmer is one of two plaintiffs in the case. He worked on a farm in Leamington, Ont. for eight months a year from 2014 to 2019.

In 2019, he was laid off with a number of other workers and sent back to Jamaica early due to problems with the crops. Following the termination of his contract, he wasn’t eligible for EI, despite having paid into it for six years.

“They’re taking this money but we don’t get anything back,” Palmer told the Toronto Star in a phone interview from Jamaica..

The lawsuit claims that migrant farm workers have contributed over $472 million in EI premiums to the federal government since 2008, with the government fully aware that they would not be able access those benefits later on. 

Under the Employment Insurance Act, the recipient has to be living in Canada and “capable of and available for work” to have access to the benefits. 

Most Canadians say they’re financially worse off since Trudeau elected: poll

By
Quinn Patrick
-

A new Nanos poll has revealed that over half of Canadians say their personal finances are worse off today than they were in 2015, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first took office.

In 2015, Trudeau ran on an election campaign promise to “help the middle class and those aspiring to join it.”

However in 2023, with the high cost of living, inflation and interest-rate hikes, millions of indebted Canadians said that they will be voting with these issues being their top priority.

The polls saw 53% of respondents saying that their personal finances are worse now than they were eight years ago.

The poll, conducted by Nanos Research on behalf of Bloomberg News, found that only 24% of respondents said that they were better off financially today than in 2015, while the remaining 21% said that there had been no change in their finances.  

Respondents aged 35 to 54 years old were the most likely to be taking a negative hit financially, with 61% of that cohort saying that they were now worse off.

Polls like this are a good indicator as to why Trudeau and his Liberal government are suffering from such low approval ratings lately.  

“When the economy is flat and people worry about paying the bills they get grumpy and look to punish the incumbent government,” said the polling firm’s chief data scientist Nik Nanos. 

“If you are struggling to pay for housing or the groceries, you might think, ‘What do I have to lose with a change in government?’”

Should a federal election be held today, polls suggest that about 45% of Canadians said that the cost of living, things like housing, groceries and energy bills, would be the determining factor in who they voted for. 

Below the cost of living concerns were the environment at 14% and healthcare at 12%. 

Inflation is beginning to ease in Canada, holding steady at an annual pace of 3.1% in November, down drastically from 8.1% in June of last year. 

However, it’s still at record highs in terms of generational inflation for things like food and nondurable goods, like clothing and soap for example.

In the early 1990s, the Bank of Canada adopted inflation targeting, which kept inflation around 1.8% annually up until the pandemic began in 2020. 

Shelter and food inflation are now both almost 14% higher than they were just three years ago. 

The Bank of Canada recently announced that housing hasn’t been this unaffordable since the beginning of the 1980’s.

While the next official election isn’t scheduled until 2025, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has repeatedly laid the blame of high housing costs and food and energy prices at the feet of Trudeau.  

“After eight years, Justin Trudeau is not worth the cost,” Poilievre often says in interviews and in the House of Commons. 

dage appears to be resonating, as Poilievre is often leaps and bounds ahead of Trudeau across numerous polls. 

Recently, the Liberals announced a $4 billion dollar fund to help cities build new housing as well as changes to competition laws, in an attempt to reduce grocery store prices.  

“People are working hard to keep up with the cost of living,” said Trudeau Dec. 15. 

“That’s why our government never stops fighting to secure the promise of Canada — the promise that each generation stands on the successes of the previous one and can achieve even more.”

However, after eight years in power, many Canadians are finding much of what Trudeau and his administration have to say as little more than familiar rhetoric. 

“Inflation kills governments,” said Mike Moffat, a former economic advisor to Trudeau from 2013 to 2015. 

“There is this discontent. People see costs going up and up and up and don’t necessarily see their paychecks going up,” he said. 

The Nanos poll was conducted by telephone and online between Nov. 30 and Dec. 2. 

It had 1,069 Canadian participants with a margin of error of 3 percentage points or 19 times out of 20.

CANTIN NANTEL: Israel has exposed woke academia’s hypocrisy and double standards

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
-

For years, there has been a debate about free speech in universities amid woke supporters of “diversity, equity and inclusion” ideology claiming that heterodox ideas and viewpoints make students feel “unsafe.”

The woke claim that speech is violence and that academic freedom cannot include “harmful and pedagogically unjustified language.” Campuses ought to be safe spaces, they argue, where students are shielded from perspectives that may trigger “microaggressions” and trauma.

More often than not, universities have aligned themselves with the woke, facilitating of campus spaces where “we do not debate others’ life experiences,” mandating the use of preferred pronouns, including “they/them,” “ze/zir,” “xe/xir,” and “e/em,” and encouraging professors to issue “trigger warnings” before presenting  “potentially disturbing content.”  

Individuals who’ve dared to challenge the woke’s “safe space” doctrine have meanwhile faced often successful cancellation campaigns.

Canadian professors and lecturers have been investigated, reprimanded, suspended and even fired amid believing in biological sex, using the n-word in an academic context, opposing affirmative action, and criticizing Indigenization.

Events featuring heterodox speakers have also been shut down in order to preserve “safe spaces” – including, a panel on “the stifling of free speech on university campuses” at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson).

Then, Oct. 7 happened, with Hamas committing the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. It triggered an alarming wave of antisemitism in the West. Father than stand in solidarity with Jews on and off campus, the woke leaned into its hatred of Israel.

Woke Canadian academics voiced support for Palestinian “anti-colonial resistance,” while York University’s student unions said the attacks against “so-called Israel” were “justified and necessary.” They also shared calls for intifada (armed rebellion). At Concordia University, a woman who uses “they/them” pronouns was accused of calling someone else a “k*ke,” an antisemitic slur.

The same wokists who silence speakers they disagree with defended their anti-Israel actions, which sometimes included support for the genocide of Jews, as “free speech.” They also accused universities of suppressing academic freedom when they finally  took some action against the most blatant acts of campus antisemitism. 

Many were  quick to point out the obvious hypocrisy and double standard. But, as philosophy professor and former Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship president Mark Mercer told me, these different standards are a key part of the woke’s ideology.

“They distinguish between the equity deserving groups and the rest of us. And they’re happy to have rules that apply to those outside these groups and rules that apply to those within these groups,” he said.

“They want freedom of expression for causes that are socially progressive in their minds, the ones that aid the protected groups and the equity deserving groups.” 

Basically, the woke see everyone as either oppressor and oppressed – a staple of Marxism – and use intersectionality, a theory which states that “systems of inequality based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, class and other forms of discrimination ‘intersect’ to create unique dynamics and effects,” to determine if one is an oppressor or an oppressed.

A major issue with this intersectional ideology is the way that it views Jews. 

Despite Canada’s Jewish community being the target of 67% of religiously motivated hate crimes while only making up 1% of the population, the woke view Jews as oppressors. 

Don’t take my word for it. A recent Harvard-Harris poll revealed 67% of people aged 18-24 agree that “Jews as a class are oppressors and should be treated as oppressors.” Some members of the woke class have also pushed the notion of “Jewish privilege,” accusing Jews of being “white passing.” 

The woke’s ideology is repulsive, and plays into antisemitic stereotypes – something some members of the Jewish community have warned about for years.

These intersectional double standards disqualify the woke’s argument that academic freedom must be sacrificed to protect the mere feelings of certain students.

Hence, it’s time for a reckoning.

Universities cannot be places where Marxist ideology determines whether one group faces arbitrary censorship or gets the absolute right to say whatever it wants – including appalling calls for genocide.

They must instead be neutral institutions that embrace the Chicago Principles that allow  for “the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn” while explicitly excluding language that violates the law, as well as speech that is defamatory or “constitutes a genuine threat or harassment.”

The Daily Brief | Predictions for 2024

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

It’s a special New Year’s Eve edition of The Daily Brief! True North’s Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Noah Jarvis look into 2024 and make a few predictions of their own.

Will the Trudeau government back down on its ambitious immigration targets?

Will Poilievre Derangement Syndrome reach a new high in 2024?

Which historical figure will the far left cancel in the new year?

Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin and Noah!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY BRIEF

Pierre Poilievre’s top five legacy media takedowns of 2023

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
-

Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre has been outspoken in his criticism of Canada’s legacy media, which is frequently accused of having a bias against Conservatives.

True North has compiled the top five exchanges Poilievre had with reporters in 2023. 

5. Canadian Press journalist skewered over outlet’s CBC ties

Poilievre slammed a Canadian Press reporter in April at an Edmonton press conference after she asked a question about CBC funding.

The Conservative leader responded to the question by asking her if she was in a conflict of interest, saying the state broadcaster is the wire’s biggest client. “Have you checked with the ethics commissioner on whether you’re in a conflict of interest in asking about CBC funding, given that it’s the principal source of money for (the Canadian Press)?”

The reporter responded by saying she would “check” with her editors.

Poilievre then added that the CBC negatively impacts all media and is a “biased propaganda arm of the Liberal party.” He said that, for example, the Canadian Press must favourably report on the CBC to keep its large, taxpayer-funded client happy.

4. “Are you serious?”: Poilievre baffled by CTV reporter on violent crime  

Poilievre lambasted a CTV News Parliamentary Press Gallery reporter in May after he asked if the issue of violent crimes committed by criminals on bail was the fault of society not providing things like proper social services, instead of it being caused by flaws in the bail system. 

Poilievre responded by fervently asking “are you serious?” Adding “are you honestly saying that it’s society’s fault if a repeat violent offender commits 60 or 70 offences?”

“I think (the) criminal is to blame for his own actions,” said Poilievre “He is personally responsible. We’re not talking about some kid who made a mistake when he was 19, we’re talking about people who do 60, 70 violent offences.” 

The CTV News journalist followed up by asking Poilievre “but why are they criminals?” To which Poilievre replied, “because they do crime.”

“I think we’ve solved the riddle here.”

3. Oblivious journalist gets caught trying to smear Poilievre

Poilievre scorned a Prince Edward Island journalist this August after she asked at a press conference if he was trying to court the far-right vote through “dog whistles.”

Poilievre responded by repeatedly asking her who had claimed he was trying to court the far-right, she said, “a number of different experts.” But when asked to name an expert, she couldn’t. 

The Conservative leader hence told her, “your question seems to be based on a false premise. You can’t even tell me who these experts are. It sounds like it’s just a CBC smear job.”

Poilievre added that Canadians are attracted to him because he has “a common-sense agenda to axe the carbon tax, bring home powerful paychecks, clear the way to build affordable homes, to put people in housing that they can afford.”

“Justin Trudeau’s supporters are so desperate to distract from that because his political career is falling apart, so we’re seeing an attempt here to distract, and protect Justin Trudeau.”

2. Poilievre trips up reporter over false accusation

Poilievre turned the tables on a Canadian Press journalist, who accused him of spreading misinformation about the Canada-U.S. border explosion by implying he had falsely called it terrorism. Poilievre had not called the explosion terrorism. 

“Actually, you’re wrong,” said Poilievre, who went on to grill the reporter’s employer. “(The Canadian Press), just for everyone’s knowledge, did have to make three corrections for falsehoods that they put into a single article. I think that might be unprecedented, I’m actually thinking about checking with the Guinness Book of World Records.”

He added, “what I said, and I was right, was that there were media reports of a terror related event.  By your admission, there were media reports of a terror related event. And that media report, according to CTV, unless you’re questioning their integrity now, came from security officials in the Trudeau government.” 

“So do you think that CTV was irresponsible in putting out that tweet?”

Poilievre finished off by saying, “I just hope you’re not going to print something that you have to apologize for again.”

1. Apple-munching Poilievre wipes the floor with reporter

Poilievre casually challenged questions posed by the editor of the Castanet, a local Okanagan paper, while eating an apple during a fall interview at an orchard. Among other things, the reporter asked Poilievre for supposedly taking “the populist pathway” and using pages from “the Donald Trump book.”

Poilievre asked several times for the reporter to give him examples of the right-wing populist playbook which he was using, but he could not provide any. 

The reporter eventually gave up, saying “okay, then forget that, why should Canadians trust you with their vote?” To which Poilievre said, “Common sense. Common sense, for a change,” while continuing to enjoy his apple. 

The exchange went viral, receiving over 1.5 million views on X (formerly Twitter), and receiving reactions from prominent American figures including Elon Musk and Megyn Kelly. 

LEVY: Vindication for Zionist defamed by former Toronto restaurateur

By
Sue-Ann Levy
-

A Jewish designer and proud Zionist has been awarded $85,000 in damages from an Ontario court for being defamed by the controversial former owner of Toronto’s Foodbenders.

The judgment by Ontario Superior Court Justice Gina Papageorgiou, which came down late last Friday, determined that Kimberley Hawkins defamed Shai DeLuca with the “dominant purpose of malice” in a series of Instagram posts in July of 2020.

“This case illustrates what can happen when a person’s passionate views and their discourse about social or political issues cross the line and become defamatory attacks against an individual,” Papageorgiou wrote.

She added that during her testimony, Hawkins showed “considerable animosity towards the IDF, Zionism and those who support Zionism … she stated her belief that Mr. DeLuca stood for the ideology of terrorism, as such.”

The award and judgment represent a three-year-long court battle against Hawkins and her Foodbenders business after she used her Instagram account in the early summer of 2020 to comment on the last conflict between Israel and Hamas. 

Lawyer David Elmaleh said he’s so pleased for his client, DeLuca, who he said has been “publicly vindicated in court” following a full and fair trial.

“This hard fought precedent-setting case will deter some (but sadly not all) from the antisemitic vitriol that we have seen online targeting Jews, Israelis and the brave IDF soldiers and first responders,” Elmaleh said. “This case is the first we know of involving a successful defamation action advanced by an IDF veteran in Canada relating to his military service.”

Hawkins was represented by Stephen Ellis, who is also representing Sarah Jama, the member of Ontario’s legislature who was kicked out of the NDP caucus in October for her anti-Israel rants, which continue to this day.

I broke the story of Hawkins’ anti-Zionist posts on July 2, 2020 after she posted #Zionistsnotwelcome in her Bloor St. shop.

Over the course of that year, I did upwards of a dozen stories detailing how she faced human rights complaints, a city licensing complaint, deplatforming by UberEats and DoorDash and this defamation suit.

Like DeLuca, I was harassed on social media by Hawkins and her vicious supporters.

DeLuca, who appears on Cityline regularly, says his experience with Hawkins commenced in early July as well when he shared articles and other people’s posts about #zionistsnotwelcome on his Facebook page.

On July 4, while at the barber across the street from her shop, Hawkins spotted him taking pictures of her shop.

According to the judgment, she followed them and “yelled profanities at them.”

While Hawkins claimed DeLuca had been “pestering” Palestinian supporters of her store (the same comments she made about me), the judge found no evidence of that.

The defamatory posts began on July 6 of that year when Hawkins reposted an Instagram comment stating that DeLuca was gathering “other whining Zionist friends to attack Palestinians and others in support of @foodbenders. He’s an IDF soldier (aka terrorist) yet he’s using the BLM movement for likes. How can you sit here and post about BLM when you have your sniper rifle aimed at Palestinian children.”

Hawkins tried to distance herself from the antisemitic claims made about her by posting a press release on July 16 claiming she “loved Jewish people.”

But the judgment says she never apologized for the July 6 post against DeLuca or printed a retraction.

After DeLuca appeared on Breakfast Television, the sister news program to Cityline, to discuss antisemitism and the July 6 post, Hawkins doubled down on July 30 on her Instagram page.

She referred to DeLuca as a “racist,” a “vicious” hater of Palestinians and a “killer” who was trying to “cancel” her.

Papageorgiou concluded that none of the statements in the July 6 post could be considered “fair comment” and that by also inviting her followers to write to City TV to “cancel” DeLuca in the July 30 post she was also demonstrating “ill will and intent.”

The judge awarded an extra $10,000 in punitive damages – on top of the $75,000 in general damages – to express the court’s “outrage and so as to deter a defendant and others from engaging in similar conduct.”

“It is required to deter the defendants and others from the kinds of irresponsible and defamatory posts made by the defendant,” said Papageorgiou.

Elmaleh says while it may not deter antisemitic hatred, this precedent-setting judgment puts Canadians on notice.

As he notes: “You will be held personally liable and you will sustain personal financial loss by maliciously and recklessly spreading falsehoods, hate and defamatory content over the internet.”

1...373374375...1,460Page 374 of 1,460

Related stories

© 2025 True North | Privacy Policy