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Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Ontario gas stations, supermarkets and convenience stores to sell alcohol in 2026

By
Quinn Patrick
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government has announced plans to begin selling alcohol in all supermarkets, convenience stores and gas stations in 2026. 

Beer, wine and canned mixed drinks will all soon be available at those locations. 

The plan was approved by cabinet on Tuesday and Thursday.

The major expected changes are allowing corner stores and gas stations to sell beer, wine, cider and premixed alcoholic beverages, also known as ready-to-drink, or RTD, products like seltzers. 

It will also allow for all grocery stores to sell the same. Previously there had been a cap on the number of grocery stores that could have retail licences but that will be scrapped. 

The province is also ending restrictions currently in place that only allow for the near-monopoly retailer the Beer Store to sell cases of beer in units of 12 and 24.  

However, the changes won’t be implemented until Jan. 1, 2026, which is when the current provincial beer sales contract expires. 

The contract, known as the Master Framework Agreement (MFA) was signed between the government and the various multinational brewing companies that own the Beer Store.

The Beer Store will be allowed to remain open after the contract is terminated.

“We’re going to be continuing to negotiate with the Beer Store and they’ll still play an important role in the whole system,” said Ford during a news conference last month. 

In 2018, the Ford government made a promise to allow convenience stores and other retailers to sell beer and wine during their campaign, however the MFA put things on the back burner.

The MFA had been signed by the previous Liberal government under Kathleen Wynne, which capped the number of grocery stores permitted to sell beer and wine at 450 retail locations.

In 2019, the Ford government tabled a bill to scrap the MFA and the legislation passed.

However, the government never acted upon it because scrapping the agreement before it expired would cost the province financial penalties under the MFA’s terms. The money would have to be paid by the province to the breweries for an unspecified amount that could run as high as the hundreds of millions. 

Numerous closed-door consultations were held with industry officials over the last year, attempting to find ways of “modernizing” Ontario’s alcohol sales regime. 

All participants in the consultations were required to sign non-disclosure agreements but some industry sources have said that the Ontario government also plans to make changes in the taxation of wine and beer. However, they revealed no details regarding what those changes might look like. 

They also said that a certain amount of shelf space at retail stores will have to be reserved for Ontario’s craft brewers as well as its small-scale wineries.

The policy changes will have no effect on the LCBO or any of its retail locations.  

The Beer Store is expected to play a key role in distributing beer to the thousands of new locations at gas stations, supermarkets and convenience stores because of its already existing broad network for distribution.

OP-ED: Taking action on drought in Alberta

By
Rebecca Schulz
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Water is one of Alberta’s most precious resources. We all use it, consume it, and rely on it.

Most of the water that Albertans use to drink, grow crops, run our businesses and sustain our environment comes from rain and melting snow. The last three years have brought droughts and water shortages in various parts of our province, including most of southern Alberta this summer.

The world is also experiencing El Niño, a global phenomenon occurring for the first time in seven years. It’s causing less snow and rain, along with higher temperatures, around the world this winter. Recent forecasts indicate that there is a 62 percent chance that the unusually warm and dry conditions that we have experienced could continue until June 2024.

Alberta has five stages in its water management plan. Ranging from Stage 1, which is a minor drought, to Stage 5, which is a province-wide emergency. We are currently in Stage 4.

Our government is now preparing for the possibility of a serious drought next year. The good news is that Alberta is up to the challenge. This province has navigated droughts before and has a long, proud history of coming together during tough times.

Officials in the department of Environment and Protected Areas have stood up a drought command team and work is underway to finalize a drought emergency plan.

Meetings have been held with communities, farmers, businesses and others to prepare. Many have already taken action to implement conservation measures and adapt to reduced water levels. Our government has announced up to $165 million in federal-provincial drought relief for livestock producers. And, this summer and fall, Calgary, Medicine Hat and other communities adopted voluntary and mandatory restrictions on water use to help Alberta’s stressed river basins.

I commend the collective actions taken so far by so many people throughout Alberta.

Over the coming months, we will be carefully monitoring snowpack, rainfall, river levels and actual water use to develop our early warning capacity. We will use this information and scientific modelling to assess the risk of drought next year. We have launched alberta.ca/drought to keep all Albertans updated as we take these steps.

Together with our partners, we are doing everything we can to be fully prepared for whatever next year brings. An advisory panel of experts to help provide advice will be formed in the months ahead. And we are preparing for the future, looking at what long-term infrastructure is needed to help manage water supplies for future generations.

We cannot make it rain or snow, but all of us have a role to play. Conserving water can help your community, as well as Albertans downstream from you. In the coming months, we will all have to pull together to secure our province’s water supply. It is a challenge that I am confident Albertans will meet.

Rebecca Schulz is Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas.

The Candice Malcolm Show | Trudeau votes for HAMAS

By
Candice Malcolm
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Justin Trudeau and the Government of Canada voted in support of Hamas at the United Nations on Tuesday.

Breaking with Canada’s long-standing support for Israel, Trudeau has stabbed Jewish Canadians in the back and is now calling for Israel to lay down its weapons and more or less surrender to Hamas.

Make no mistake: voting for a ceasefire is support for Hamas. It’s a call for Israel to stop its campaign to destroy Hamas, which will allow the terrorist organization to regroup and start planning more attacks. It’s a vote to give up on the remaining hostages and to simply go back to the way things were on Oct 6th.

Why did Trudeau do this, and how could he be so unprincipled?

The answer is simple: It’s transactional. It’s all about votes.

On today’s episode of the Candice Malcolm Show, Candice breaks it all down and explains how Trudeau’s cynical vote-banking schemes aren’t just damaging our stature on the world stage – they’re tearing apart the fabric of our country.

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Alberta faces over 25% surge in opioid deaths, government intensifies recovery efforts

By
Isaac Lamoureux
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Alberta has witnessed a sharp increase of over 25% in opioid poisoning deaths this year compared to the same period last year. 

According to Alberta’s Substance Use Surveillance System data, Edmonton and Lethbridge are among the hardest hit, with opioid poisoning rates soaring to alarming levels. 

In September alone, Edmonton reported 62 drug poisoning deaths, 60 of which involved opioids. The city’s rate of opioid poisoning deaths stands at 66.3 per 100,000 residents, a figure only surpassed by Lethbridge’s 117 fatalities per 100,000 the same month.

As of September, Edmonton has experienced an increase in opioid-related fatalities compared to the previous year, with 492 opioid poisonings reported in the first nine months, surpassing the 428 cases recorded during the same period in 2022.

Provincially, the situation is equally grim. A total of 1,411 Albertans have succumbed to opioid poisonings so far, a steep rise from 1,124 at this point last year, a nearly 26% increase. 

This increase is part of a disturbing trend that saw opioid-related deaths peak at 187 in April of this year.

A spokesperson for Alberta Mental Health and Addiction Minister Dan Williams said these figures are why Alberta’s government had committed to a drug recovery agenda.

“Every life lost from the deadly disease of addiction is a tragedy, and it reinforces our focus on making recovery possible for every Albertan,” said press secretary Hunter Baril.

The statement highlighted significant strides in expanding addiction treatment services:

Baril said that the province has added more than 10,000 addiction treatment spaces since 2019, meaning 10,000 more people get access to services yearly. 

“The province has removed all fees for publicly funded treatment, including the $1,240/month user fee that was in place under the NDP,” said Baril. 

Additionally, Alberta has expanded the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program to ensure same-day treatment is available through lifesaving medication anywhere across the province. 

Baril also noted the progress in establishing long-term treatment facilities:

“So far, we have opened two out of 11 recovery communities, and look forward to opening doors to more next year so that more people can get access to long-term treatment across the province,” he said. 

Albertans suffering from opioid addiction can seek immediate help through the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program. This service offers same-day access to medication treatment at no cost, with no waitlist. For assistance, individuals can visit VODP.ca or call 1-844-383-7688.

LEVY: Toronto teachers debating union donation to controversial UN Palestinian agency

By
Sue-Ann Levy
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At a private meeting Thursday afternoon, the executive of the Toronto high school teachers union will vote on whether to donate to the disgraced United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Although the proposed District 12 Toronto Teachers Bargaining Unit (TTBU) donation recommended is a relatively small $300, UNRWA has been unmasked for its repeated ties to Hamas and history of teaching anti-Israel hate in its globally-funded schools.

The bargaining unit is part of the OSSTF, the union representing public secondary school teachers.

Recently there was a report that one of the Israeli hostages was held in the attic of an UNRWA teacher for up to 50 days, when that hostage was released during a temporary ceasefire in the fighting.

According to the agenda of Thursday’s private meeting, the executive will also vote on whether to endorse an Ontario Federation of Labour  statement from  Oct. 22 calling for an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.

Sources close to the union say Jewish teachers with District 12 are planning a Hanukkah celebration at the exact time of the meeting and the vote – a vote which they find distasteful.

The agenda states that the donation motion has been moved by Ben Salfer with Kipling Collegiate and Seth Bernstein of Ursula Franklin Academy.

Saifer signed an open letter from Jewish teachers in 2016 in support of virulently antisemitic teacher Nadia Shoufani. She was suspended from the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board for her anti-Israel diatribe.

When subsequently reinstated a year later, she wrote an article in Arabic in al-Meshwar (a Holocaust-denying Arabic newspaper) that she’d triumphed after a “fierce Zionist campaign.”

Bernstein, who appears to be a long-time organizer, designed and teaches a Grade 12 course called economic justice.

The agenda shows that Saifer and Sarah Vance, a teacher at Riverdale Collegiate, have moved the call for an immediate ceasefire.

Vance, a former organizer with the radical Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), claimed in a 2021 article that she became more active with her teachers union once Premier Doug Ford was elected.

This is not the first time OSSTF and its affiliates have donated to UNRWA.

During the last conflict between Israel and Hamas in 2021, the OSSTF came under fire by Jewish union members and Jewish advocacy groups for giving $5,000 from members’ dues to UNRWA.

Educator Neil Orlowsky said at the time: “I am disheartened to know that my union has donated $5,000 of our union dues to UNRWA when our dues are earmarked for professional development, collective bargaining rights and to improve the educational environment for students and teachers in Ontario.”

Recently a human rights complaint was filed on behalf of Jewish CUPE workers claiming antisemitism against CUPE Ontario and its president Fred Hahn, who has repeatedly posted calls for resistance in Gaza on his X feed.

CUPE National has also passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire.

COP28 climate agreement reached to “transition away from fossil fuels”

By
Isaac Lamoureux
-

Representatives from nearly 200 countries at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai have agreed on a climate pledge to transition away from oil and gas. 

This agreement, reached after extended negotiations, signals a commitment to move away from oil and gas, although it stops short of explicitly recommending a phase-out.

The deal, marked by its absence of the term ‘phase-out,’ instead promotes a gradual shift away from oil, gas, and coal. 

The text calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”

Over 100 nations advocated for strong language in the COP28 accord to eliminate the use of oil, gas, and coal — which account for about 80% of the world’s energy. These nations faced significant resistance from the oil producer group OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, which contended that global emission reductions are achievable without the categorical exclusion of particular fuels.

This approach aims for net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, with the goal of limiting the average global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It also calls for accelerating and substantially reducing non-carbon-dioxide emissions globally, particularly methane emissions, by 2030.

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” expressed COP28 president, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber. “Together, we have confronted realities, and we have set the world in the right direction.”

Despite the consensus, the deal has faced criticism for not being ambitious enough, especially from environmental leaders and smaller, climate-vulnerable nations. The absence of ‘phase-out’ or ‘phase-down’ terms has been particularly contentious.

“It’s not the phase-out that the president promised, but it would be a significant step forward, especially at a COP that has been so visibly captured by the fossil fuel lobby,” said Caroline Brouillette, an environmental campaigner with Climate Action Network Canada, according to CBC.

The agreement’s focus on transitioning towards renewable energy and enhancing energy efficiency by 2030 has been supported by several countries, including Canada. The agreement calls for tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. The agreement also suggests using carbon capture facilities and other technologies to prevent greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere. 

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) expressed concerns on Wednesday, claiming the agreement had loopholes and didn’t go far enough.

“The text does not speak specifically to fossil fuel phase-out and mitigation in a way that is, in fact ‘, the step change that is needed,’” said the AOSIS, an alliance that represents the interests in international climate change of 39 small island and low-lying coastal developing states. 

A major element of the summit was the establishment of a global climate damage fund. This fund aims to assist developing countries in coping with climate change impacts like floods and rising sea levels. The fund gained the support of over 120 nations.

Germany and the United Arab Emirates emerged as the leading contributors to the climate fund, each committing $100 million USD. Canada also contributed, pledging approximately $12 million USD to the initiative.

“We are what we do, not what we say,” Al Jaber remarked. “We must take the steps necessary to turn this agreement into tangible actions.” 

The Andrew Lawton Show | Canada endorses UN pledge to phase out oil and gas

By
Andrew Lawton
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Countries at the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit have agreed to “transition away” from oil and gas, which Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is trumpeting as a “global consensus” for clean energy. True North’s Andrew Lawton says the UN and Canada are in lockstep when it comes to harming the Canadian economy and killing jobs while doing nothing for the climate. He discusses with ClimateDepot.com publisher Marc Morano

Also, a new anthology gives former Ontario premier Mike Harris his due as a “transformational premier” who influenced Ontario politics and Canadian politics. Alister Campbell, editor of “The Harris Legacy,” joins the show to discuss.

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The Daily Brief | Trudeau calls for a ceasefire

By
William McBeath
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Source: Wikimedia

The Trudeau government broke with years of Canadian foreign policy by voting in favour of a non-binding UN resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Plus, despite the government’s costly carbon tax, Canada feell to 62nd out of 67 on the Climate Change Performance Index.

And the Trudeau government paid $323 million for a COVID vaccine factory that never produced anything.

Tune into The Daily Brief with William McBeath and Noah Jarvis!

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CBSA says it has seized 68,000 guns smuggled into Canada via Canada Post

By
Quinn Patrick
-
Source: Facebook

A new report from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) revealed that over 68,000 guns have been seized by federal agents in cross-border mail from 2018-2022.

“Ninety-six per cent of Canada Border Services Agency firearm seizures, which includes parts, magazines and ammunition, occurred in the postal mode,” reads the report.

Between 2018 and 2022, agents seized 71,003 firearms with 68,338 of those being contraband in cross-border mail, according to the Toronto Sun. 

Currently, only postal inspectors are permitted to intercept suspicious packages, not police under the Canada Post Corporation Act, however that may soon change.

Senate bill S-256, if passed, would allow police to intercept suspicious packages in transit.

“Traffickers have spread the word that there is much less risk of their packages being intercepted if they send them through Canada Post rather than through any other private courier company such as FedEx, UPS, Purolator or DHL,” said Sen. Claude Carignan. 

“This bill will finally close the loophole that traffickers have been exploiting in the Canada Post Corporation Act. This loophole, which only applies to items sent by Canada Post and not through other courier companies, means that traffickers prefer to do business with Canada Post,” said Carignan, who sponsored the bill.

Many gun rights activists are not surprised to learn that the illegal guns sales aren’t coming from within Canada.

“I think I could speak for many gun owners by asking MPs and Senators how the Liberals’ bill C-21 addresses any of these obvious concerns,” Rod Giltaca, CEO and executive director of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, told True North.

Bill C-21 is now in its third reading in the Senate and aims to make stricter laws around what firearms will be prohibited and to introduce stronger penalties for those caught. 

Gun rights activists have said the bill is too heavy-handed with law-abiding gun owners and doesn’t take seriously enough gun smuggling, which is widely regarded by law enforcement as being the leading source of illegal firearms.

“To be honest, it’s exceedingly difficult to see verifiable information like this floating around in media and law enforcement while the government, including the Senate, passes legislation that has virtually no effect on the true sources of crime guns in Canada,” said Giltaca.

Cabinet members admitted that they do not know how many guns are smuggled into Canada through the use of road, rail or by marine freight.

According to the report, detector dogs cost $7.7 million per year but track few actual smuggled firearms. 

The dog teams are primarily most effective at frightening smugglers rather than actually catching them. 

“If the liberal NDP government genuinely cared about keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals, they would be crafting legislation that directly addresses the sources in this story. To this government, legislation is a political tool to be used against those unlikely to vote for them. All while leaving Canadians longing for a safer Canada,” said Giltaca.

Convoy organizers to appear in court over $290 million class-action lawsuit

By
Quinn Patrick
-

Lawyers representing Tamara Lich and Chris Barber and other defendants will appear in court Thursday, attempting to dismiss a class-action lawsuit brought forth by Zexi Li and several other residents of Ottawa.

The defendants have filed an application to dismiss the $290 million class-action lawsuit as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP), meaning a lawsuit designed to silence the expression of peaceful protesters.

The lawsuit was filed against Tamara Lich, Chris Barber and other participants in the Freedom Convoy in February 2022, according to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF).

It was filed on behalf of Ottawa residents and businesses by Li and Geoffrey Delaney, Happy Goat Coffee Company, and a local union. The lawsuit is seeking damages against peaceful protesters for allegedly causing a nuisance. 

Additionally, the lawsuit is seeking damages from citizens who donated to the Freedom Convoy. 

“The fundamental Charter freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly must be vigorously protected and defended, whether they are attacked directly by government or indirectly through a misguided civil action,” said JCCF president John Carpay.

SLAPP lawsuits are utilized to silence the freedom of expression through litigation, which is why the JCCF is seeking to have this case dismissed as a SLAPP action. 

“Zexi Li’s lawsuit engages the very purpose that ‘anti-SLAPP’ legislation was designed to address: an attempt to silence peaceful expression, and the right of defendants to participate in public debate,” said lawyer James Manson, who will be arguing the motion on Thursday.

Anti-SLAPP motions are available to any defendant who has proceedings against them.

The defendants must demonstrate that the proceeding against them is rooted in their expression which “relates to a matter of public interest.” 

If the defendant successfully demonstrates that their expression is a matter of public interest then it is incumbent upon the plaintiff  to present an argument that their lawsuit has “substantial merit” and that the defendant’s case is not valid. 

A judge must then decide if the defendant’s expression outweighs the plaintiff’s allegations of harm. 

Lich and Barber’s defence argues that the proceedings against them do come from their expression, as well as that of the people who donated to the protest. 

They also argue that their expression against the Government of Canada’s response to Covid mandates is of public interest. 

Additionally, they argue that Li’s class-action lawsuit does not have “substantial merit” as it lacks a factual and legal basis. 

Finally, they argue that their defence is valid in that their defendant’s expression does outweigh any nuisance accused of them. 

If the defence is successful at demonstrating to the judge that the class-action lawsuit is a SLAPP action, brought forth to punish the defendants for participating in the protest, then all or part of the lawsuit will be dismissed. 

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