Canada’s most famous coffee and donut chain, Tim Hortons, announced it will begin opening locations across South Korea.
The first location opened in Seoul Dec. 14, with a second store near Seolleung Station in Seoul opening Dec. 28.
The coffee chain said it has plans to open around 150 more locations by the end of 2028.
“South Korea is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing coffee markets and we’re excited to be introducing South Korean Tims guests to some Tim Hortons classics — along with some unique local menu items,” a spokesperson for Tim Hortons told the Toronto Star.
One change from the Canadian business model is that the prices at the Korean locations are expected to be significantly higher than those in Canada.
For example, an Original Iced Capp will run customers in Korea about 5100 won, according to Business Korea, a financial magazine, equivalent to $5.26 Canadian. That beverage is on the menu in Canada for $3.59.
Tim Hortons said the changes in price are to compete with Korea’s domestic market, which is already saturated with coffee specialty shops, especially Starbucks.
Tim Hortons is part of the RBI group, which includes other fast food franchises like Burger King and Popeyes.
Currently, there are about 5,700 Tim Hortons locations in 17 countries.
The new location in Seoul will mark its seventh country in the Asian market, following locations being opened in China, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Singapore and the Philippines.
Saskatchewan is leading the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from crop production, according to a new study by the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS).
The study, which examined the carbon footprint of canola, wheat, lentils and field peas, found that the province’s farmers have adopted practices that vastly enhance soil carbon sequestration.
Analysts compared the carbon intensity of each crop per tonne of output in Saskatchewan with other major producing regions in Canada and around the world.
The results showed that Saskatchewan’s emissions were significantly lower than the global weighted average for all four crops, and also lower than the Canadian average for three of them.
For example, Saskatchewan’s canola production had 67% lower emissions than the global weighted average, and 32% lower than the Canadian average.
The province also outperformed other countries such as France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, which had higher emissions due to factors such as higher fertilizer use, lower yields and more tillage.
Data also showed that Saskatchewan’s lentil production had a negative carbon footprint, meaning that the crop sequestered more carbon in the soil than it emitted during its growth. This was attributed to the use of no-till farming, which minimizes soil disturbance and preserves organic matter.
Saskatchewan’s lentil emissions were 130% lower than the global weighted average, and 32% lower than the Canadian average. The province also had a huge advantage over Australia and the U.S., which had much higher emissions due to lower soil carbon levels and higher energy use.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Hideo Okochi, said that the findings demonstrate the environmental benefits of Saskatchewan’s crop production systems.
He said that the province’s farmers have been adopting sustainable practices for decades, and that their efforts have paid off in terms of reducing their carbon footprint.
The study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but GIFS plans to make it available to the public soon.
Despite the remarkable work Saskatchewan farmers have done towards lowering carbon emissions, the Liberal government continues to claim that Canada is among the worst offenders when it comes to carbon emissions from agricultural production.
This week on the Alberta Roundup with Rachel Emmanuel, Rachel is joined by Jeff Park, executive director of the Alberta Parents Union.
Emmanuel and Park discuss a recent incident at a Medicine Hat high school where students were given pamphlets on safe drug consumption at a wellness fair. The pamphlet included material on “safe crack smoking” and “safer crystal meth smoking.”
Park says the school’s response has not done anything to repair the damage and mistrust caused.
Also on the show, Rachel responds to questions from True North insiders.
A group of concerned citizens in Abbotsford, BC have established a multi-day overnight camp to protest gender ideology in schools on a 24/7 basis.
Kanwaljit Singh, 41, is one of the activists who has been spending his week sleeping on a mat in a tent adorned by signs that read “Teach geography not pornography” and “Stop sexualizing our children.”
For over 90 days, the group has been protesting SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) curriculum in schools on a daily basis.
“Last Sunday at noon I took it upon myself to be here 24/7. I thought I would just be alone here. But all our brothers and everyone… they’re like, no, we’re not going to let you be alone here,” Singh recounted to True North.
Kanwaljit Singh (left) and another protester show the inside of the tent they have been sleeping in.
Three to four people have been staying overnight in the tents at the intersection of South Fraser Way and Clearbrook Road, which is privately-owned land.
The group receives frequent honks of support, especially in the evenings which become quite lively with dozens more protesters and the occasional speaker.
Singh said that upwards of 100-200 people protest at the camp at different points throughout the day, with many of the supporters being local teachers who feel stifled within the education system, as well as Christians and Eastern Europeans. However, the core group of protesters are Punjabi.
“Many teachers come here and say, ‘we cannot go public, but we are with you,’” Singh said.
The individuals on-site said they are not paid to be there and they are not associated with any particular organization. The tents, generator, heater, hot beverages, portable washroom, signboards, and all other equipment were self-funded or donated by friends.
Singh is able to be at the camp full-time because he lost his software engineering job two months ago due to his earlier anti-SOGI activism during the 1 Million March 4 Children on September 20.
One of the group’s concerns is pornographic material in school libraries, and while they are not affiliated with any political party at any level, they commended Conservative Party of BC MLA Bruce Banman for calling attention to the issue in the BC Legislature by reading a lewd passage from a novel available at school libraries.
“I don’t care which party they are, as long as they’re against SOGI and they’re willing to say it publicly, we’re with them” Singh stated.
“It’s sort of becoming an indoctrination. Like rainbow flags all over the place. We’re not against it, but the amount it’s happening is disproportionate.”
The activists shared that some of their daughters have complained about biological men claiming to be women and gaining access to female-only washrooms.
“There should be a dedicated washroom for trans people like there is for disabled people,” Singh offered.
Canada’s federal laws around “conversion therapy” also concern the protesters.
“Our signs here could potentially get me locked up in prison for two years, because it might be stopping someone from transitioning. But on the other hand, anyone can come and tell my children that they should transition, there’s nothing stopping them from doing that.”
“My hands are being tied up at the back. And then someone has been given a boxing glove to punch me as hard as I could. That’s how it feels like,” said Singh.
Singh established the overnight camp on December 24th and plans to maintain the 24/7 presence until the 31st and perhaps into the new year.
Despite the group’s long-standing daily and now overnight presence, local media has ignored their activism.
“This is tyranny, what’s happening to children. And so what if I’m cold?” Singh said.
“If it makes a difference and I can create some public awareness, that’s why I’m here.”
Ontario universities are at a crossroads. York University, where I went, stands out in all the worst ways. The controversies at York began less than a week after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, which resulted in the killing of around 1,200 people and the kidnapping of approximately 240 others.
The York Federation of Students, Glendon College Student Union, and York University Graduate Students’ Association released a Statement of Solidarity with Palestineon Oct. 12.
The statement called the attack a “strong act of resistance” and said “resistance against colonial violence is justified and necessary.” The authors portrayed it as: “‘decolonization’ and ‘land-back’ actualized as we continue to see the Palestinian people stand firm in their resistance against their oppressors.” York University came down hard on the unions, claiming they breached the regulations for student organizations. York gave the student unions several remedial action warnings on Oct. 20.
Not only did the university demand the unions retract their statements, but they also called for the resignation of student union executives and a public statement against antisemitism. The unions were also given the option to prove no breach occurred. The student unions had to respond to the university’s demands by Oct. 25.
Instead of complying, the unions called York’s actions an “attack on student autonomy.” They released a second statement, labeling York’s response as being “rooted in racism.” Several campus protests took place in support of the unions. According to the university, the unions are undergoing a process under the regulation’s non-compliance section.
To add to the university’s woes, York is now subject to a $15 million lawsuit for decades of alleged negligence in responding to antisemitic incidents on campus. In addition, three university employees were recently suspended by York for allegedly defacing an Indigo bookstore in downtown Toronto.
York represents a microcosm of a much broader issue, which contains a hidden irony.
While purporting to take the high road, universities such as York are responsible for the radical actions of its students. For years, York has been fostering ideologies such as diversity, equity, and inclusion; intersectionality; anti-racism; decolonization; etc. Most universities have integrated these ideas into the core of their institution. Today they’ve become the academic orthodoxy.
York has a comprehensive DEDI (decolonization, equity, diversity, and inclusion) strategy. The university describes itself as a “colonial institution” and its website lists the university’s objectives to implement DEDI ideas through funding, awards, grants, and committees. When an atrocity happens like the Hamas attacks, decolonization and anti-oppression theories are the immediate response. The tragedy of the occurrence and loss of life are a secondary focus. Decolonization becomes the single filter through which these events are seen. The student unions applied the decolonization ideas – indirectly fostered in the classroom and the broader university atmosphere – to the Hamas attacks, viewing the events as the colonized rising against the colonizer.
Universities bombard students with these ideas through classes, workshops, campus services, and campus clubs. Therefore, the reaction from York’s student unions is inevitable. The unions are a product of an environment that only promotes these ideologies.
York is in the unenviable position of having fostered the ideologies of the student unions and now having to backtrack. These events are not exclusive to York. Across North America, a reckoning moment is happening for academia. The consequences of these extreme ideas have become unequivocally clear. If the right steps are taken, this pivotal moment could create a more objective educational environment.
What will it take to break up the convenient alliance between these pernicious ideas and the university? I don’t have all the answers, but, for starters, universities, especially York, must grapple with this reality: any academic institution is liable for the actions of its students when both groups share similar ideological frameworks. Unless York examines its role in fostering these ideologies, its response remains futile.
Additionally, York and other universities must protect the independence of students, professors, and community members who criticize DEDI and similar ideologies.
A general hope lies in the fact that these unfortunate events at York received a fair amount of backlash. This may lead to greater public and academic awareness of these ideological practices. People must discuss the consequences of these ideas to create change.
But if nothing changes, don’t be surprised. There will be more embarrassment at university campuses for years to come.
David Clarke is a writer and recent alumnus from York University. He currently writes for Excalibur, York’s Student Newspaper.
2023 was another newsworthy year for Canadian campuses, which are reeling from the influence of woke far-left ideologies like “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI), Critical Race Theory and others. Universities and colleges have also seen a concerning rise in antisemitism this year.
True North has compiled the notable stories that took place on Canadian campuses this year – including many that were exclusively reported through the Campus Watch series.
Unprecedented wave of campus antisemitism since Oct. 7
On Oct. 7, Hamas committed the worst massacre of Jews since the holocaust, killing 1200 people, including babies, raping women and taking people hostage. In response to the atrocities, several Canadian professors took to Twitter to voice support for what they saw as “anticolonial resistance.”
At York, three student unions issued a statement saying the events that took place in “so-called Israel” served as “a reminder that resistance against colonial violence is justified and necessary.” The unions also later shared calls for Intifada (armed rebellion). At McGill, a pro-Palestine student group described Hamas’ action as “heroic” and “monumental” in a Facebook post – cheering on the launching of rockets into Israeli territory and the taking of hostages.
At Western and McMaster, students were recorded ripping down posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas, while at the University of Calgary, a public washroom was vandalized with violent antisemitic Islamist graffiti. At Concordia, an anti-Israel brawl saw three people get injured. At the brawl, one woman, who uses “they/them” pronouns, was accused of calling someone a “k*ke” (an antisemitic slur), and a University of Montreal professor told a student to “go back to Poland, sharmouta (wh*re in Arabic).”
Today at @Concordia in Montréal Jewish and Israeli students set up a table to call for the release of hostages currently held by HAMAS.
They were attacked, berated and harassed, and this lovely young lady in particular decided to call a Jew a k*ke.
Amid all of this, Jewish students told True North “it’s best not to be visibly Jewish” on campus.
Racial discrimination and six-figure salaries in the name of DEI
Canadians were abhorred to see universities adopt racial segregation in the name of woke DEI practices this year. As exclusively reported by True North, several of Canada’s top universities held segregated graduation ceremonies and freshmen orientations for black students. Several other racially segregated campus events took place throughout the year, including at UBC, the University of Guelph, McMaster University and Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) – while the legacy media celebrated the opening of segregated black student lounges.
As for the people hired to run DEI programs, a June 2023 True North investigation into the Ontario Sunshine List found that several DEI officials make more than $100,000 per year at the province’s top universities – with the highest being a DEI official at Queen’s University took home $346,376.
Merit, racial colorblindness cause “microaggressions” and “whiteness” must be “unlearned”
While caucasian students were not invited to several segregated DEI events, they were made to participate in DEI training. At Western University, students were mandated to take part in a training module on how to become “anti-racists,” while housing staff at the school were warned at a DEI workshop against supporting merit-based hiring and racial colour blindness, claiming the latter cause “microaggressions.”
Slides from a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Decolonization (DEID) workshop held at @WesternU yesterday. Mandatory training for all housing staff (eg. residence dons, front desk staff, student advisors). Microaggression: "I believe the most qualified person should get the job." pic.twitter.com/PiGgH2bhHY
Meanwhile, at Toronto’s Humber College, Caucasian employees were encouraged to join a DEI group designed to help them “unlearn” and “dismantle” their “whiteness.”
Compelled “they/them” pronoun use… for dogs?
A True North investigation into the gender identity policies of Ontario universities found that several institutions mandate pronoun use with the threat of reprisal.
For example, Ottawa’s Carleton University said that refusing to use one’s preferred “they/them,” “ze/zir,” “xe/xir,” and “e/em” pronouns is a violation of its human rights policy, and established an online portal to report incidents of “misgendering.” McMaster University, Humber College and the University of Toronto also have gender identity policies that cover speech.
Meanwhile, a University of Guelph Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) style guide noted that “they/them” pronouns should be used when referring to animals because animals reportedly don’t have a gender.
Let kids see adult genitalia and take part in “gender play”
UBC journalism professor Katja Thieme drew international criticism this year after she advocated for children to be exposed to adult genitalia to prepare them for the possibility of seeing naked transgender individuals in locker rooms. Thieme, who uses “she/they” pronouns, made the comments in response to American swimmer and women’s rights advocate Riley Gaines – whom Thieme labelled a “transphobe.”
Here is UBC journalism professor Dr. Katja Thieme saying children should be exposed to adult genitalia to prepare them for seeing naked transgender individuals in locker rooms. #campuswatchpic.twitter.com/zrXVCVU4TO
In response to Thieme, Gaines wrote “You. Are. Deranged. And. Should. Be. In. Prison.”
True North also reported on “non-binary” University of Manitoba recreation professor Fenton Litwiller organizing drag and gender play workshops for “queer children” to help them affirm their “complex gender identities.” Among other things, Litwiller’s “explicitly queer space,” allows children to try on clothing of the opposite gender. “For trans youth, genderplay is an opportunity to be real.”
Heterodox campus speakers aggressively shut down
Non-woke heterodox speakers continued to face censorship, despite provinces mandating that universities implement free speech policies.
In February, a scheduled talk by former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson about “how wokism threatens academic freedom” at the University of Lethbridge was cancelled by the university amid pressure from activists. Widdowson opted to do the Feb. 1 talk anyway, in the UofL Atrium but was met with a large group of left-wing protesters, who interfered with her ability to give the talk. Widdowson, the professor who organized the talk and a student are now suing the university.
At McGill University, Renowned King’s College London human rights law professor and gay rights advocate Robert Wintemute had a seminar violently shut down by trans activists due to his belief that the LGB should split from the TQ+. The University of New Brunswick philosophy department meanwhile cancelled a planned lecture featuring a conservative Christian.
Crisis caused by utterance of “N-word” by white guest speaker
The debate over the use of the “N-word” in academic contexts continued in 2023.
In March, Markham deputy director of people services Janet Ashfield gave a human resources management presentation at George Brown College in which she offered a real-world case study of two firefighters losing their jobs over offensive social media posts. She quoted one of the offensive posts that contained the “N-word”, saying the word out loud, which triggered students in the class.
Some guest speaker at George Brown College used the N-word in a presentation. So the college president (who formerly ran @BrockUniversity during its own descent into woke madness) is offering students counselling for presumed trauma, & urging them to file human rights complaints pic.twitter.com/iVYBTkMmSM
Ashfield apologized, but that didn’t stop the City of Markham from placing her on leave. The college meanwhile offered students trauma counselling and told them they could file a human rights complaint.
Did climate change really cause the Canadian wildfires? Did Danielle Smith’s office really try to meddle in a criminal investigation in Alberta?
Does anything the legacy media tell you ever turn out to be true?
It’s the FINAL Fake News Friday episode of 2023, and hosts Candice Malcolm and Harrison Faulkner are here to deliver the WINNERS (or should we say losers?) of the Fake News Friday 2023 Awards for biggest legacy media hoaxes of the year.
Nearly seven in 10 Canadians believe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should resign in 2024, before the next scheduled federal election in 2025, according to a new survey by Ipsos.
That belief is strongest held in Alberta, where 81% of respondents said Trudeau should step down as prime minister.
In Saskatchewan and Manitoba that number was 73%, in Ontario 70% and in B.C. 66%.
Trudeau appeared to retain the most support in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, however, even in those regions, 63% and 62% of respondents said they would like Trudeau to resign in 2024.
Despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of Canadians would like to see Trudeau step down, only 28% of respondents believe that he actually will. Whereas 63% respondents believe Trudeau will stay on as prime minister and as the leader of the Liberal party, with a third of those saying it’s very unlikely that he would resign.
Canadians in Alberta (71%) and Atlantic Canada (76%) were the most convinced that Trudeau wouldn’t step down.
That sentiment was also felt highest amongst Canadians over the age of 55 (72%).
Younger Canadians, those aged 18-34, believe that Trudeau’s resignation does have a likely outcome, with 38% responding that they think this will happen in 2024.
Whether or not he does, six out of 10 Candians believe that a federal election will be called in 2024.
Should that be the case and Trudeau does remain on as the Liberal party leader, polling shows he would likely lose to the Conservatives by a landslide.
The poll was conducted between Dec. 8 to 11, and a sample of 1,000 Canadians over the age of 18, were interviewed.
Canadians who have extended family members in the Gaza Strip will soon be able to apply for temporary visas for them to come to Canada, but the government isn’t committing to providing safe passage out of the conflict zone.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the new temporary immigration program, which will be for those living in the Gaza Strip who have Canadian relatives.
“We will do our utmost to assist but cannot guarantee safe passage,” said Miller at a press conference.
Miller said he expects to have a temporary visa program up and running by Jan. 9, calling the current state of Gaza “unlivable.”
Miller told reporters that he’s received no guarantee from Israel, Hamas or Egypt as to who will be allowed to leave on any given day.
The Rafah border crossing is under the strict control of Israel and Egypt as part of negotiations mediated by Qatar. While Canada has provided them with a list of names to consider, they have not returned any guarantees as to who will be allowed out.
As of Dec. 15, about 170 Canadians remain trapped in Gaza, according to a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada.
Those with loved ones still in Gaza are saying the wait until Jan. 9 is an unsettling one.
“Every second that passes, it’s a long time for us,” said Israa Alsaafin, a Palestinian Canadian who lost her brother on Oct. 13, after he fled his home with his wife and baby.
Alsaafin said her nephew is now her responsibility.
“Nobody deserves to live these emotions and feelings,” said Alsaafin while speaking at a press conference put on by the National Council for Canadian Muslims.
Canada has been focusing its efforts on getting the roughly 660 Canadians, permanent residents, their spouses and children out of Gaza but will soon extend that effort to include applications for people with extended family who want to escape.
This would include parents, grandparents, siblings and grandchildren.
Additionally, the spouses and children of those extended family members will be eligible as well.
Miller said that people will be required to present documents in order to leave Gaza and will have to undergo further screening and fingerprinting in Cairo, Egypt.
The Canadian immigration department has advised families who wish to have loved ones apply begin gathering all necessary documents, like proof of their family relationship, as soon as possible.
The Canadian government will offer three-year visas for those who meet the admissibility criteria.
While the exact number of people who will be eligible for the program has not yet been determined, Miller expects it to be in the hundreds, according to CP24.
“Israelis and Palestinians already in Canada who feel unsafe returning home at this time will also be eligible for the fee-exempt study or open work permits,” said Miller.
Only 15% of Canadians aged five and up are continuing to get their Covid-19 shots, according to new data from the Government of Canada.
Under one-third of Canadians over the age of 60 have received the latest vaccine and only about 44% of people over the age of 70.
There is a slight increase up to 48%, for those over the age of 80 being “up to date” with their boosters.
“Why that gap exists is both an interesting and difficult question,” Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious diseases specialist with Sinai Health in Toronto told CBC News. “I think it’s because people just aren’t getting the message about how much of a risk COVID is.”
Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam has been urging people to keep getting their shots, saying that there is “room for improvement” amongst older Canadians.
“That’s the group, of course, that has the highest risk of severe outcomes,” said Tam. “They’ve been protecting themselves. They’ve been getting vaccinated,” she added. “But the vaccine base protection can wane over time… even protection against severe outcomes wanes over time.”
The ultimate reason could be that Canadians don’t want to maintain a regimen of vaccines that wear off over a short time frame or fears over vaccine side effects.
This sentiment could be further substantiated by the fact that hospitalizations have remained stable and the rate of Covid-19 deaths has steadily been in decline since October, according to the latest data.
Infectious diseases specialist at McGill University Dr. Donald Vinh said that the latest vaccine formula “produces antibodies that neutralize a lot of variants within the XBB lineage.”
“But it won’t protect people from necessarily getting infected,” said Vinh, who believes that those with an increased risk of severe illness from Covid-19 should “definitely” get the new shot.
“We also think that people who live in congregate settings … like in long-term care homes, foster care homes, homeless people in shelters or inmates who are incarcerated … definitely should get it,” said Vinh.
