A new anthology explores the political legacy of former Ontario premier Mike Harris, shedding light on the influential policies that had a lasting impact on both the province and the broader landscape of Canadian politics. “The Harris Legacy” editor Alister Campbell joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to discuss his latest release, and offer a nuanced perspective on the former premier’s multifaceted legacy.
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CBC’s president and CEO, Catherine Tait, has claimed the top spot on the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Naughty List, an annual ranking of public officials accused of squandering public funds.
Tait’s inclusion comes as she faces scrutiny for announcing job cuts for hundreds of CBC employees just weeks before Christmas, coupled with her decision to retain executive bonuses for herself and other top staff.
Franco Terrazzano, the federal director of the CTF, lambasted Tait’s actions accusing CBC’s management of taking money from taxpayers while leaving workers unemployed.
“It takes a special type of Scrooge to lay off hundreds of employees weeks before the holidays and not be willing to give up your own bonus, but that’s exactly what taxpayers heard from CBC big shots,” said Terrazzano.
Joining Tait on the Naughty List are Senator Pierre Dalphond, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston.
Dalphond faces backlash for delaying and diluting the carbon tax exemption for farmers, drawing ire from the taxpayers’ group.
Trudeau was criticized for offering carbon tax relief exclusively to furnace oil users, while neglecting other forms of home heating.
Premier Houston made the list for using inflation as an excuse to raise income taxes in Nova Scotia.
On the flip side, the Taxpayer Nice List recognized individuals who have championed responsible financial practices.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew earned praise for reducing fuel and income taxes, putting more money into the hands of Manitobans.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer was commended for enhancing accountability and transparency in Ottawa, uncovering instances of government waste and mismanagement.
In Alberta, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi found themselves on the Naughty List for increasing property taxes while giving themselves a pay raise.
Conversely, the village of Ryley secured a spot on the Nice List for utilizing recall legislation to oust a spendthrift politician from office.
“’Tis the season for giving, but Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi shouldn’t be giving their residents steep tax hikes while they give themselves a raise,” said CTF Alberta Director Kris Sims.
“The entire Alberta village of Ryley made Santa’s good books for using recall legislation to boot a big-spending politician.”
One Quebec university’s principal is among a growing number of critics towards the provincial government’s proposed language policy overhaul.
Quebec recently announced that out-of-province students attending English universities will now have to learn French to an intermediate level and pay 33% more money in tuition.
Quebec’s Higher Education Minister, Pascale Déry, announced that English-language universities in Quebec are now facing a new requirement. By the start of the 2025-26 academic year, 80% of their non-Quebec student population must achieve Level 5 French proficiency.
If the universities fail to meet this quota, their funding will be reduced.
“My role is to say: You have a target, funding will be conditional on that target, and we will obviously measure francization activities from year to year to ensure that at the end, we reach an acceptable level,” Minister Déry stated.
While students at Bishop’s University are also expected to reach level 5 French proficiency by the completion of their studies, unlike their counterparts at McGill and Concordia, the government funding for Bishop’s will not be contingent upon meeting this specific linguistic benchmark.That is because the demographic and linguistic situation in the Estrie region is distinct from that of the greater Montreal area, according to the Minister.
“These measures are bad for Quebec. I think that there were other ways to reach the government’s objectives,” Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, the principal and vice-chancellor of Bishop’s University, told CBC.
This requirement, part of Quebec’s strategy to counter the perceived decline of French in the province, has raised significant concerns among students and university administrators.
McGill law student Carolyn Moore from Ontario described the goal as “very difficult,” highlighting the challenges students face without access to immersive language environments.
“I’ve been in Montreal now since September and I’m even taking two courses in French at the moment and I don’t feel like my French has improved at all being in Montreal because there’s a lot of English around,” Moore said.
She added that she went through the Ontario French curriculum and studied in a French immersion school for five weeks in Quebec to reach level 5 proficiency, something she claimed would not have been possible solely through an app like Duolingo.
Quebec’s French language proficiency framework spans 12 levels, where level 5 signifies the beginning of intermediate proficiency.
Per the guidelines provided by Quebec on French language competence, someone at level 5 in oral comprehension can understand the gist of conversations on everyday topics. They understand factual, explicit, and concrete statements formulated in simple or sometimes complex sentences, and they understand a varied vocabulary.
Taylor Ireland, president and general director of ACA-Formation Linguistique, a French language school in Quebec City, told CBC that most students should be able to achieve level 5 proficiency over four years.
“You’re probably looking at hundreds of hours to get to that point, maybe say 300-400 hours,” said Ireland. “We’re probably looking at several months of intensive training.”
He said he reached level 5 proficiency in French six months to one year after moving to Quebec City. It took Ireland that long while being in what he described as “full-time French [mode].”
Financial pressures compound this linguistic hurdle. While Bishop’s University has some exemptions from tuition increases and francization targets, McGill and Concordia face significant challenges. McGill University’s president and vice-chancellor, Deep Saini, called the government’s plan “totally unrealistic, both technically and academically.”
The revised policy, although reducing the initial proposed tuition hike for out-of-province Canadian students attending English universities from $17,000 to $12,000, still represents a substantial increase from the current $8,992.
This has led to a decline in applications and concerns over the future appeal of these institutions to a diverse student body. Already, McGill and Concordia have reported a 20% drop in applications from out-of-province students, according to Radio-Canada.
Students from other provinces attending French-language universities will not face this hike.
“They will remain at the current rate of $9,000 and, eventually, we’ll see if we’re able to lower the rate,” said Minister Déry.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe blames the federal government’s climate policies for plunging Canadians into rising inflation rates and unaffordability.
In a year-end interview with Brian Zinchuk for the energy-focused outlet Pipeline Online, Moe accused the federal Liberals of being out of touch with reality and took a swing at the carbon tax specifically for accelerating inflation.
“You can ignore reality for a period of time and we see our federal government do that in many of their decisions. You can’t ignore the consequences of reality and we’re seeing that with much of the inflation that we’re experiencing as individuals and families. We fuel up our vehicle, when we go to the grocery store, when we go to the hardware store, it all can be traced back largely to an increase in the cost of fuel which was designed in the policy by this federal government,” Moe told the outlet.
“(The carbon tax) is pushing up the inflationary aspects of life that families and households are facing across this nation thereby pushing up our interest rates.”
The Saskatchewan premier also called the Liberal government out on the proposed Clean Electricity Regulations which will require the province to have an emission-free grid by the year 2035.
“Even if we desperately wanted it to, it still isn’t going to happen by 2035, it’ll cost $18 billion more and it isn’t possible. You won’t get there,” said Moe.
Earlier this year Moe outlined his administration’s intention to eliminate the carbon tax on natural gas heating.
This decision comes in response to the federal government’s recent announcement of a three-year suspension of carbon pricing for oil heating.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a temporary halt on the federal surcharge for oil heating in rural areas where it serves as the exclusive heating option.
Trudeau’s announcement prompted various provincial leaders, including Moe, to advocate for a similar pause in their regions for residences utilizing natural gas heating.
This week on the Alberta Roundup with Rachel Emmanuel, Rachel explains a recent controversy after pamphlets on how to use illicit drugs were found at a Medicine Hat high school wellness fair.
Also on the show, the Edmonton fire chief says homeless encampments are resulting in dangerous and even fatal fires in the city.
And finally, Rachel discusses Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s response to new federal regulations mandating electric vehicles.
Tune into the Alberta Roundup now!
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As Canada grapples with its own economic challenges, International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen announced Wednesday that nearly $10 million will be sent to support youth employment initiatives in Iraq.
Hussen explained that the Middle East and North Africa are key areas of focus for Canada’s foreign policy. The strategy for the Middle East focuses on stability, resilience, and economic development, he said.
“This is a long-term play, because investment in the stability and economic resilience of countries like Iraq and the Middle East is in Canada’s national interest,” said Hussen.
The $9.9 million will support vocational and technical education programs over the next five years, facilitated by a collaboration between the World University Service of Canada and Canadian Leaders in International Consulting. While based in Ottawa, these organisations focus on international projects.
The Training and Workplace Advancement Solutions for Opportunities in the Labour Force (TAWASOL) project, as outlined in the release by the World University Service of Canada, aims to empower over 20,000 students annually in Iraq through enhanced training and employment opportunities.
“The TAWASOL project is a five-year initiative (2023-2028) that seeks to create a more enabling and gender inclusive environment for youth employment to flourish in Iraq,” reads the statement.
The federal government has allocated $4.7 billion to its Middle East strategy since 2016. This funding is being used not only to combat extremism but also to develop strategies for post-conflict reconstruction, according to Hussen.
This announcement came during a cost of living crisis in Canada, largely felt by youth trying to buy their first home.
Youth unemployment in Canada in May was 10.7%, more than double the total unemployment of 5.2%, according to Statistics Canada.
Roman Baber, former member of Ontario’s parliament and now a federal Conservative candidate, expressed his displeasure with the announcement on X.
“Canada is sending $10 million to help youth unemployment in Iraq? How about unemployment and homelessness in Canada!?”
Cody Morgan, columnist and show host at Western Standard, raised similar concerns.
“Good thing there aren’t any economically challenged youth back in Trudeau’s Canada,” he said sarcastically.
According to CBC, Hussen said that supporting youth in Iraq will ultimately help Canada because the investment supports stability in the region overall.
Kirk Lubimov, a Canadian writer and commentator, posted his concerns on X, posting a facepalm in reaction to the announcement that this would help Canada.
“(Canada’s) youth will be paying for the Liberal’s debt and can’t afford to move out from their parents’ house,” Lubimov said. “The Liberals’ incompetence and cluelessness has no bounds.”
The new book Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools) constitutes a much-needed response to the moral panic unleashed on May 27, 2021, when the chief of the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc announced that ground penetrating radar had located the remains of 215 “missing children” in an apple orchard on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C.
In short order, the storyline of “mass unmarked graves” and “burials of missing children” ricocheted around Canada and much of the world. It received significant coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Guardian. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set the tone of the government response when he ordered Canadian flags to be flown at half-mast on all federal buildings to honour the “215 children whose lives were taken at the Kamloops residential school.” In this way, possible burial sites were elevated to the status of confirmed victims of foul play, making Canada sound like a charnel house of murdered children.
The discovery of the so-called unmarked graves was subsequently chosen by Canadian newspaper editors as the “news story of the year.” And the World Press Photo of the Year award went to “a haunting image of red dresses hung on crosses along a roadside, with a rainbow in the background, commemorating children who died at a residential school created to assimilate Indigenous children in Canada.”
Over time, a persistent narrative has grown out of that initial announcement in Kamloops. It can be summarized as follows:
These statements have combined to create a storyline about the inherently genocidal nature of Indian Residential Schools. But regardless of how many times such claims are repeated by native leaders, political activists, academics, and media commentators, the entire narrative is completely or largely false. Grave Error explains why.
This book is a collection of the best essays published in response to the Kamloops mythology pushing back against this widely-accepted narrative. The authors analyze and critique the false claims of unmarked graves, missing children, forced attendance and genocidal conditions at Indian Residential Schools. The book’s title, Grave Error, summarizes the authors’ view of the Kamloops narrative. It is wrong. Not just wrong, but egregiously wrong.
Among the 18 chapters is Montreal historian Jacques Rouillard’s essay “In Kamloops, Not One Body Has Been Found.” Originally published in The Dorchester Review and now closing in on 300,000 views, this piece has done more than any other single article to discredit the false narrative of unmarked graves and missing children. For the book, Rouillard has updated his original version to include other GPR claims made since Kamloops.
As of early August 2023, there had been 20 announcements of soil “anomalies” discovered by GPR near residential schools across Canada, but most have not even been excavated. What, if anything, lies beneath the surface remains unknown. Where excavations have taken place, no burials related to residential schools have been found.
In short, there are no “missing children.” The fate of some children may have been forgotten with the passage of generations – forgotten by their own families, that is. But “forgotten” is not the same as “missing.” To enter residential school, an application form signed by a parent or other guardian was required. The simple truth is that many Indian parents saw the residential schools as the best option available for their children.
Perhaps sensing the weakness of their evidence-free position, purveyors of the residential schools-as-genocide narrative are now doubling down, demanding that criticism of their ideology be made illegal – an argument some federal Liberal cabinet members seem to agree with.
So, here we are. A narrative about genocide in residential schools has become firmly established in the public domain without the need for actual evidence or rigorous scrutiny. And anyone who questions any part of this story is labelled a “denialist” and possibly threatened with criminal prosecution. To such a world, Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools) offers exactly what we have been missing so far – clarity, rigor and evidence.
Tom Flanagan is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Calgary and co-editor, with C.P. Champion, of Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools) published by True North.
The original, full-length version of this article recently appeared in C2C Journal.
While interest rates are expected to decrease in 2024, the Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem warns that the Canadian economy will still be in “transition” next year.
“We’re very focused on core inflation,” said Macklem in an interview with BNN Bloomberg.
Macklem went on to say that the Bank of Canada will need to see “a number of months with sustained downward momentum in core inflation” before it cuts interest rates.
“(If) you look at our projection, it’s some time next year, but I’m not going to put it on a calendar,” said Macklem.
Many economists predict a rate cut in the second or third quarter of next year.
The central bank started increasing interest rates in March of 2022, aiming to tame inflation with a long term goal of bringing it back to 2% in 2024.
In June, the inflation rate peaked at 8.1%, however it has steadily been decreasing since, coming in at 3.1% in October.
The Bank of Canada benchmark rate has been 5% for the past three rate-setting announcements and Macklem said he is becoming more assured that the central bank’’s approach is effective.
“We are certainly feeling more confident that monetary policy is working and increasingly, the conditions are in place to get us back to two-per-cent inflation, but that is not yet assured, we’re not there yet,” said Macklem.
“There are a few more things we need to see to be more confident that we’re headed back to two per cent and we’re watching those closely.”
While the Bank of Canada may be en route to hitting its long-term target, Macklem said Canadians can expect economic pain in the short-term.
“We do expect that it’s going to be a year of transition. The first part is not going to feel good, I’m not going to sugar coat it,” he said.
“But as we get later in the year, I think we can expect growth to be picking up, inflation should be continuing to be coming down, should be getting closer to the target by the end of next year. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there.”
In regards to the previous near-zero interest rates, Macklem said it’s unlikely that they will ever be returning to pre-pandemic levels in any case.
“I think it is reasonable to expect that they’ll come down, but they probably won’t come down to pre-Covid-19 levels,” he said.
“We had 10 to 12 years of unusually low interest rates post-global financial crisis. I think there’s good reason to believe that we’re not going back to those very low rates. That is going to be an adjustment.”
Interest rates are increased to slow the economy down, however they also raise the risk of a recession.
Should the economy shrink in the fourth quarter, Canada will have technically entered a recession, which is marked by two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
Macklem said he is confident that if Canada does go into a recession, that it won’t last long.
“We don’t need a deep recession, we can get inflation back to two per cent without a recession,” said Macklem.
“I’m not saying that we’re predicting virtually zero growth for the next two, three quarters. You could get some small negatives, you could get some small positives, but even if it’s small negatives, that’s not a deep recession.”
The number of eviction notices in Quebec has surged to more than five times what it was in 2020.
According to recent data compiled by the Coalition for Housing Committees and Tenants Association of Quebec, there has been a 132% increase in the number of notices issued to tenants this year.
This dramatic rise represents a jump from 1,525 cases last year to 3,531 cases in 2023, marking the highest count ever recorded by the tenant advocacy organization. In 2020, the number was 757, five times less than today.
“These figures represent a tiny fraction of the cases reported to housing committees. In reality, there are many more than that,” said Cédric Dussault, spokesperson for the organization, according to Le Soleil.
The figures gathered from around fifty housing committees across Quebec indicate a growing trend. These figures do not include evicted tenants in regions not covered by these committees or those who haven’t sought their assistance, meaning the actual number is likely higher.
Historically, evictions were predominantly concentrated in major centres like Montreal, which accounted for 85% of such cases just two years ago. However, the recent trend indicates a geographical spread, with evictions affecting tenants across various regions of Quebec.
“A year or two ago, some committees saw virtually no eviction cases. Now, many of them are in great demand from evicted tenants looking for help,” Dussault reported.
The increase in evictions has been partly attributed to landlords seeking to raise rents. With the housing market evolving, landlords are reportedly looking for ways to augment their income by increasing rental prices, often leading to the displacement of existing tenants.
The Civil Code of Quebec allows landlords to reclaim dwellings for personal use or family members or if they plan to renovate, demolish, or repurpose the property. However, evicting tenants solely for renovation without proper justification is illegal. The tenant coalition asserts that a significant portion of these evictions are under false pretenses.
“A large proportion of evictions are fraudulent. Landlords use a pretext to ask tenants to leave,” said Dussault.
In response to this escalating crisis, the housing group suggested that landlords be mandated to demonstrate the authenticity of their reasons for eviction a year after the act. This measure aims to curb instances of dishonest evictions. The coalition also recommends that landlords seek approval from the Administrative Housing Tribunal before issuing eviction notices.
Under current law, tenants have a month to respond to eviction notices.
Despite the upcoming enactment of Bill 31, which mandates landlords to appear before the housing tribunal and offers increased compensation for evicted tenants, Dussault remains skeptical about its impact on reducing evictions.
In reality, he said, “very few cases end up at the TAL because it’s difficult for the tenant to prove that the reason given by the landlord is true. Also, most of them don’t want to get involved in this procedure.”
A CBC reporter’s word choice about Israel that raised eyebrows on social media was unintentional, the network claims, blaming a “teleprompter glitch.”
Power & Politics guest host J.P. Tasker said during a broadcast of the state broadcaster’s flagship politics show that “Israel started the Hamas war.”
A clip was posted to X, where it garnered hundreds of thousands of views and almost exclusively negative backlash.
Rowan Thee Stallion, an online commentator, shared the original post.
“CBC News doing their part to foment anti semitism & create a dangerous environment for Canadian Jews with your taxes as John Paul Tasker recklessly claims ‘Israel started the Hamas war,’” said Rowan in his post. “When can Canadians expect an apology?”
While not exactly an apology, Power & Politics replied to the post.
“To clarify: There was a teleprompter glitch that cut off part of the prepared script, which read: ‘That’s just the latest protest taking place in Canada, since Israel declared war on Hamas following the October attacks that left 12-hundred dead.’ The error was not intentional,” said the X account.
Interestingly, the Power & Politics’ X account’s bio reads, “This account is no longer being updated.”
The attempt at clarification didn’t seem to dampen the concerns.
“Do your reporters not know facts? They only read what they are told?” asked Rebel News’ Yanky Pollak.
Most of the other replies to the Power & Politics’ comment were users criticizing the CBC and Tasker.
“I’m having a hard time believing this excuse. I have CBCNN on while I work. It’s 99% coverage of poor Palestine. Your coverage lacks what we see on social media each day. Not once have you played the thank you video from Hamas leader to Trudeau and Joly,” wrote one X user.
J.P. Tasker has not posted to his own X account in over one and a half months.
True North reached out to CBC and Tasker for additional comment but received no response by the time of publication.
