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Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Selective NHL theme policy leaves fans and commentators shaking their heads

By
Isaac Lamoureux
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Cole Redhorse Taylor designed the mask for Fleury
Cole Redhorse Taylor designed the mask for Fleury

Hockey fans and commentators have questions about the National Hockey League’s specialty jersey policy after Minnesota Wild’s goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, decided to wear a custom mask on Native American Heritage Night to honour his wife’s heritage. 

After Fleury, his hockey team, and his agent shared the unique design to X (formerly Twitter), the NHL said that wearing it would violate the league’s rules. 

The custom-designed mask created by Cole Redhorse Taylor featured quotes of Fleury’s dad on the back and had the names of his children. 

The NHL informed Fleury that he could not wear it during the game or during warmups. 

Not only did the NHL threaten Fleury with fines, but they also threatened the Minnesota Wild with an additional significant fine. 

Despite the looming threat, Fleury wore the mask in warmups. He served as a backup and did not play during the game.

On the team’s X post showcasing the helmet, fans who heard about the threat of fines urged Fleury to wear the mask. 

A source told ESPN that no punishment is expected for Fleury disobeying the NHL and wearing the mask despite their multiple threats to sanction the player. 

In June, the NHL implemented a new policy prohibiting teams from wearing “specialty” jerseys during warmups, practices, or games. This policy was further extended to uniforms, gear and covers themes such as Pride, military appreciation, or ethnic heritage nights. 

The NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the ban without objection from the National Hockey League Players Association. The ban followed instances where players declined to participate in Pride Night warmups last season due to personal or religious reasons.

Fleury’s mask is not the first instance against this policy this season. Previous exemptions have been made already. In October, the NHL revised its initial ban on Pride tape. The change came immediately after Arizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott used Pride tape during a game. Dermott faced no punishment. 

“Players will now have the option to voluntarily represent social causes with their stick tape throughout the season,” the NHL said in a statement following Dermott’s act of defiance. 

Despite the league rejecting Fleury’s request to wear a mask for Native American Heritage Night, it permitted Florida Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky and Seattle Kraken’s Phillip Grubauer to don specialty masks for Hockey Fights Cancer nights. 

ESPN reported that a source familiar with that decision said those exemptions were granted because the goalies had previously worn cancer-awareness masks prior to the ban and due to the nature of the cause they were supporting. 

Conversely, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson was not allowed to put a cancer ribbon on his helmet. 

The NHL have been proudly advertising the claim that “Hockey is for everyone” for the last few seasons. However, given the recent decisions, one of the league’s most prominent agents, Allan Walsh questioned whether it is. 

“The NHL refusing to allow Marc-Andre Fleury from wearing a custom designed mask [during] Native American Heritage Night (even in warm ups) is all you need to know about Gary Bettman’s NHL,” said Walsh, posting to X. 

Veteran sports journalist Michael Farber echoed that sentiment during an interview with Mitch Melnick on TSN radio. 

“You can’t say hockey’s for everybody and pull this because it clearly isn’t,” said Farber.

Farber said Fleury was one of the league’s favourite goalies and a likely hall of famer. He questioned why the NHL couldn’t have a certain amount of flexibility in this situation.

Mitch Melnick, host of Montreal 690, agreed with Farber.

“I’m shaking my head going, what is wrong with these people at the National Hockey League,” said Melnick.

Melnick explained that the NFL had a similar issue with players wearing specialty cleats. He explained that they have since come to their senses and allow players to do what they want with their cleats. 

“Pushing the narrative of hockey is for everyone; this would have been a great opportunity. It’s one that not only went by the wayside but ended up getting mud splattered on the NHL logo,” said Farber.

Nathan Murdock, a sports YouTuber, and previous employee for the NHL and Sportsnet, highlighted the contradictions. 

“In trying to avoid ‘controversy’, the NHL has once again embarrassed themselves,” he said. 

The mask Fleury wore during warmups was put up for auction. The bid at the time of publication was $17,100. 

Canadians could lose out on $300 million in wages to Stellantis foreign workers

By
Quinn Patrick
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Hiring temporary foreign workers from South Korea and Japan to install equipment at the new EV battery plant in Windsor, Ont. will cost Canadian skilled labourers around $300 million in lost wages and contractor fees, according to Canada’s Building Trades Union. 

Union executive director Sean Strickland said that local contractors in Windsor have been submitting quotes for installing equipment at the battery plant since August but have had no response from NextStar, the company in charge of running the factory. 

News of NextStar hiring temporary foreign workers only thickens the plot of the controversial Stellantis and LG Solutions deal, which is being subsidized with taxpayer money to the tune of $15 billion.

Nextstar disclosed that they would be hiring 900 temporary foreign workers to install the equipment at the plant last week and that they will leave Canada once the work is finished. 

The 900 foreign workers who will come from South Korea and Japan, would work alongside an additional 700 Canadians to install 300 machines.

Once the factory becomes fully operational, there would also be “Koreans at the battery plant working alongside the 2,500 local workers,” said Liberal MP Irek Kusmierczyk in an interview with the Globe and Mail. Kusmierczyk is also the Parliamentary Secretary to the Employment Minister.

Around 1,600 South Koreans are expected to work at the EV battery plant, according to the Windsor Police Service. 

However, the exact number can’t be announced yet, says Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne.

“I mean you can’t tell a number. You’d have to talk to the people who know these things. You have to look at, you know, what’s the machinery? Where’s the equipment coming from?” Champagne told reporters in Parliament. “Anyone who’s guessing numbers, they don’t know what they’re talking about. You have to talk to the engineers on the ground, to the people. … you know, there is a number of things. It’s very detailed.”

Strickland estimates that the jobs being given to temporary foreign workers will amount to an estimated 2.8 million hours of work and $300 million in lost wages and contractor fees. 

An estimate that Strickland said is conservative at best, as it doesn’t factor in potential overtime.

The Conservatives have been putting pressure on the Trudeau government to release the details of their contract with NextStar to ensure that Canadians will be hired to work at the plant. 

Kusmierczyk argued that there was nothing abnormal about bringing in foreign workers to install equipment at plants and that it was commonplace in the auto industry. 

The Conservatives rebuked that since Canadians are the ones who are subsidizing the plant, they have a right to know the details of the contract. 

If the government fails to release the contract to the public, the Conservatives have argued that the committee should be able to ask the House of Commons to make an order to force them to reveal the contract to MPs. 

Thus far, the Liberals have opposed their request on the basis that the contract contains material that is commercially sensitive and could discourage companies from investing in Canada in the future. 

Last week, MP’s serving on the Commons industry committee decided to review the contract behind closed doors but agreed not to make its details public. 

Conservative industry critic Rick Perkins said that Canadian taxpayers have a right to see the fine print of the contract themselves as they are paying out billions in subsidies for it.

Conservative MP Andrew Scheer said the Canadians are being treated like ‘second class shareholders,’ while speaking before the Committee on Monday.

The Candice Malcolm Show | Ontario MPP: “Put the IRGC – the ruling party of Iran – on the Canadian terrorist list”

By
Candice Malcolm
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Today on the Candice Malcolm Show, Candice is joined by Ontario PC MPP Goldie Ghamari.

Ghamari is a proud Canadian and advocates for immigrants like herself to put Canada first and to embrace Canadian values. Growing up, her parents always told her: “Always remember that first and foremost you are a proud Canadian.”

She is now an outspoken critic of terrorism and extremism in Canada, and sometimes even gets called “Islamophobic” by those who seek to minimize terrorism or defend the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In their interview today, Ghamari says it’s time that Canada lists the paramilitary branch of the Iranian government – the IRGC – as a terrorist entity so that our government can freeze their Canadian assets and expel senior members of the regime who live in Canada.

House leader Karina Gould denounces Liberal MP’s post linking Poilievre to shooting

By
Quinn Patrick
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Government House Leader Karina Gould condemned the comments of fellow Liberal MP Ken Hardie while speaking with reporters on Tuesday. 

Hardie made a post to social media on Monday suggesting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was responsible for a shooting in Winnipeg on Monday that left four people dead. 

The shooting occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, killing four people and leaving one person severely injured in a residence on the 100 block of Langside Street.

Winnipeg Police Services have not yet confirmed whether or not the shooting was targeted and no suspects have been identified in the case, however, the victims in the shooting were known to local police. 

Hardie took to social media following the news of the shootings to lay the blame at Poilievre’s feet, writing, “Beyond troubling to see another mass shooting in Canada, now in Winnipeg.  And we’ve lost so many police officers. Might it be the anti-social ‘burn everything down’ far-right attitude we’re seeing creeping in from the US? And the ‘creep’ on the Canadian side? Pierre Poilievre?”  

The post received a swift and large backlash from many Canadians.

On Tuesday, Gould was asked if Hardie’s comments were appropriate for a Liberal MP to make.

“No, they’re not,” she responded. 

Gould was then asked if she would be speaking with Hardie about the issue. 

“Yes,” answered Gould. “It is absolutely inappropriate and it’s not something anyone should be suggesting from any political party.” She went on to say that she had plans to tell Hardie just that.

Hardie has since posted an apology for his previous comments on X, writing, “A reaction to the reaction to my post yesterday:  It was unacceptable on my part to leave any suggestion of a direct link to the tragedy in Winnipeg.  There was not.  For that, I apologize.”

Guilbeault misleads Canadians about Smith’s Sovereignty Act

By
Isaac Lamoureux
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Source: Facebook

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault wasted no time responding to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s invocation of the Sovereignty Act. 

Shortly after Smith officially broke the news, Guilbeault responded with a statement misinforming Canadians about the federal government’s role in forcing Alberta to resort to the measure. 

In a joint statement with Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson, Guilbeault took aim at Smith and her government. 

“Premier Smith is choosing to create fear and uncertainty over collaboration and positive results for Albertans,” reads the statement. 

The statement mentions collaboration numerous times. Smith had previously been clear about her intention to collaborate with the federal government to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, however, Ottawa has insisted on accelerating the target year to 2035.

In a press conference on the same day, Alberta’s Minister of Affordability and Utilities, Nathan Neudorf, reiterated that many other nations shared Alberta’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, which has been enshrined in international agreements. 

He said this goal would be attainable while maintaining grid reliability and affordability, which would be impossible if the goal were pushed to 2035.

“We wanted the federal government to negotiate with us in good faith so that we can work together and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 in a realistic and feasible manner, one where Albertans won’t have to freeze in the dark or have costs go through the roof,” said Neudorf. 

“Unfortunately, Ottawa has yet to demonstrate they are willing to work with us and listen to our realities.”

While Guilbeault emphasized working collaboratively with Alberta throughout his statement, Smith had previously complained that his government acted unilaterally with little concern for Alberta’s energy situation. 

“Over the past several months, the federal government has been engaging in good faith with the Alberta government on clean electricity investments and drafts regulations, very much including through the Canada-Alberta working group,” claimed Guilbeault in his recent statement. 

Smith has also disputed Guilbeault’s claim that the federal government was acting in good faith, pointing to a past table discussion.

“They have not been acting in good faith because every other week, we hear an announcement from Steven Guilbeault that he wants to go outside that table discussion: wants to have more aggressive emissions reduction caps on methane, wants to have a cap on oil and gas emissions, wants to bring through a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. All of those are unconstitutional,” said Smith. 

Smith had said this directly after the Supreme Court’s decision on the unconstitutional Impact Assessment Act.

On the same day she announced the Sovereignty Act, Smith said Guilbeault’s reaction had been extremely disappointing. 

“He is acting like the Supreme Court never rendered a decision on the Impact Assessment Act. They’re carrying on as if that didn’t occur,” she said.

Guilbeault claimed in his statement that at no point in time did the Alberta government raise the Premier’s intent to introduce the Sovereignty Act motion.

Despite Guilbeault’s claim, True North reported Smith’s intent to invoke the Sovereignty Act two months ago to combat the federal government’s clean electricity regulations — which Smith just followed through with.

Guilbeault criticized Smith for spending millions of Albertan taxpayer dollars on “a national anti-clean electricity advertisement campaign that has no basis in fact.”

Smith criticized that if Guilbeault continues to bulldoze ahead with his net-zero electricity grid regulations, a private sector assessment suggested that it would cost the Canadian economy between $1 trillion and $1.7 trillion.

“The lion’s share of that falling upon us,” said Smith.

National Citizens Inquiry final report calls for review of all Covid court cases

By
Isaac Lamoureux
-

The long-awaited report by a citizen-led pandemic inquiry says to restore public trust in the judiciary, decisions on Covid cases need a thorough review.

The National Citizens Inquiry released its final report Tuesday, a 5,324 page document with dozens of recommendations for lawmakers, public institutions, and citizens.

The report, compiled by four independent commissioners, addresses the extensive impact of the pandemic and government response on all segments of Canadian society.

“The policy, legal, and health authority interventions into the lives of Canadians, our families, businesses, and communities were, and to a great extent remain, significant,” said one of the commissioners, engineer Kenneth Drysdale, highlighting the widespread effects of the pandemic response.

The report describes the profound damage done to Canadian society by governments’ Covid measures, illustrated through testimony from people who experienced adverse vaccine reactions, disruption of livelihoods and education, impaired mental health, reputational damage, professional discipline and censorship. 

The expert witnesses used in the report include doctors, scientists, lawyers, economists, teachers, psychologists, morticians, risk management analysts, and experts in public policy, emergency management, occupational health and safety, aviation safety, pharmacy, policing, and journalism. 

The National Citizens Inquiry had 24 days of hearings in eight cities, during which commissioners heard testimony from 300 witnesses. The inquiry issued what it calls ‘subpoenas’ to 63 members of government and regulatory bodies, but none of them appeared.

“These testimonies provide irrefutable evidence that an unprecedented assault has been waged against the citizens of Canada. Not since World War II has the nation experienced such a devastating attack on its people,” said Drysdale. 

The independent inquiry was citizen-led and funded. It was deliberately structured to be impartial, unbiased, and free from political influence, with no funding from the government or large corporate backers. 

The four commissioners were Drysdale, an executive engineer; Heather DiGregorio, a senior partner in a law firm; Janice Kaikkonen, an educator and elected school board trustee; and Bernard Massie, an independent consultant in biotechnology. 

The NCI’s report outlines the need for a full judicial investigation of the authorization process for Covid-19 vaccinations in Canada, potentially exploring criminal liability under existing Canadian law.

“A full judicial investigation of the process under which the COVID-19 vaccinations were authorized in Canada must be carried out,” the report demands.

It also calls for a thorough review of the Canadian courts’ handling of pandemic-related cases to rebuild public confidence in the justice system.

Further, the report recommends examining and reforming the extent of executive authority during emergencies and establishing clear frameworks for public health authorities’ decision-making processes, balancing public health needs with individual rights and freedoms.

In terms of healthcare, the report emphasizes safeguarding healthcare professionals’ freedom of expression and conducting an independent inquiry into the governance of professional colleges, especially those governing medical professionals.

In the education and labour sectors, the NCI insists on maintaining in-person learning as the primary mode of education, with remote learning as a contingency, and calls for a review of labour laws to protect employees during health emergencies.

Additionally, the report highlights the importance of supporting vulnerable populations during crises, the necessity of informed consent in medical treatments, and the development of a Judicial Panel to investigate human rights violations during the pandemic.

The report also proposes the establishment of a National Crisis Oversight Council (NCOC) to monitor and investigate government actions during crises and calls for a national dialogue on the church’s role in society, emphasizing the need for policy watch to protect the rights and freedoms of faith groups. 

“The establishment of the National Crisis Oversight Council (NCOC) is essential to safeguard democratic principles, protect individual rights, and maintain public trust during future emergencies, such as pandemics. The NCOC will serve as an independent, multi-disciplinary body tasked with monitoring, policing, and investigating government actions during crises,” read the report.

“The attempt to silence religious speech over the last three years should not go unnoticed.”

CAMPUS WATCH: Multiple York University employees suspended amid Indigo vandalism charges

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
-

York University has suspended multiple employees, including a sociology professor, following charges in connection to the vandalism of a Toronto Indigo bookstore that targeted the company’s Jewish CEO.

However, the university’s faculty union is fighting back, calling the suspended employees “peace activists.” It wants them reinstated.

As previously reported by True North, York associate professor Lesley Wood was charged with Mischief Over $5,000 and Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence.

Now, she and at least two other York employees have been suspended, the Globe and Mail reported.

In a statement to True North, York spokesperson Yanni Dagonas confirmed that “the university has placed the community members named in the Nov. 23 Toronto police media advisory on leave.”

Dagonas declined to offer further comment, citing “confidential employment matters.”

In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Wood accused Toronto police of “dragging our names through the mud.”

She added that “hate crime charges used to stop those speaking out against hate” are “grotesque” and “Orwellian.”

According to Wood, the charges laid seek to target “those who work for a peaceful, freer and more just future for both the Palestinians and the Israelis.”

She also said that her great-grandparents fled from pogroms (violent attacks on Jews) in Poland, and that she was raised to be “proud but private” about her Jewish identity. 

The York University Faculty Association is siding with Wood and other pro-Palestine faculty members.

In an email obtained by Quilette journalist Jonathan Kay, the union said “we stand with York faculty, staff, students, and alumni! We call upon York University to stop campus reprisals.”

It added that “the arrests are an effort to repress Palestine solidarity peace activism at a time when the majority of people in Canada support a ceasefire.”

The union is planning a campus walkout and protest Tuesday afternoon against the reprisals. 

This is not the first time that York has been in the news for radical anti-Israel activism since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack.

As previously reported by True North, the York Federation of Students, York University’s Graduate Student Association and the Glendon College Student Union said in a joint statement that the attacks on “so-called Israel” serve as “a reminder that resistance against colonial violence is justified and necessary.” 

The unions have also promoted controversial anti-Israel rally chants, including “no peace on stolen land” and “long live the Intifada” (armed uprisings).

Meanwhile, York Instructor Dina Zaid Alkilani gained attention after she boycotted her social justice classes to protest the university’s condemnation of Hamas.

Wood and the York University Faculty Association did not respond to a request for comment. 

The Andrew Lawton Show | National Citizens Inquiry delivers scathing report on Covid measures

By
Andrew Lawton
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Canada’s first ever citizen-led inquiry, the National Citizens Inquiry into the country’s Covid-19 response, has come to a close, issuing its commissioners’ final report this morning. The report exposes harms caused by lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and other Covid interventions by the government, calling on the government to put civil liberties front and centre moving forward. While the inquiry is damning, it has no official status and was boycotted by all invited public officials. Does it matter? True North’s Andrew Lawton discusses with National Citizens Inquiry administrator Ches Crosbie.

Also, a Liberal member of parliament is blaming Pierre Poilievre and the “far-right” for a shooting in Winnipeg.

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Journalists flock to UBC’s “Bug Bake Off” to eat edible insect treats

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Canadian journalists were so eager to attend the University of British Columbia’s Bug Bake Off on Tuesday to get a taste of edible insect creations that the event was booked to capacity the night before.

Students from the university’s land and food systems faculty took part in a judged culinary competition on Nov. 28 to “showcase insect-laden dishes that are delicious, nutritious and environmentally friendly.” 

According to the UBC website, judges include the university’s executive chef David Speight and the competition took place at Vij’s Kitchen on the East Mall side of campus. 

Former CBC producer and UBC media relations specialist Sachintha Wickramasinghe told True North on Monday that the event was at capacity.

“There’s been significant interest since this morning and we are already at capacity for media,” said Wicramansinghe. 

Media attending the event will have an opportunity to try the insect-laden dishes and conduct interviews with the student chefs. 

The competition is a part of the university’s applied biology course “Insects as Food and Feed.”

“One of my goals is to reduce the negative perceptions people may have of eating bugs,” said the course’s instructor, entomologist Yasmin Akhtar. 

“In addition to being really tasty, there are two main benefits of eating insects.” 

According to Akhtar, the main benefits are that insects are “incredibly nutritious” and are beneficial to the environment. 

“They produce much lower greenhouse gas emissions than cattle or pigs, for example. It also encourages the sustainable use of diverse insect species, rather than relying on a small number of traditional livestock species to meet the world’s needs,” said Akhtar. 

Akhtar suggests that those interested in adopting insects into their diet should consider purchasing insect flour and powder online. 

“You can purchase insect flour online and simply replace wheat flour in any recipe with the insect flour for tasty, high-protein baked products like muffins or as filling in samosas,” said Akhtar.

“Barbecuing insects is another great option: they absorb flavour really well, and dry out to become very crunchy. Barbecued crickets are my favourite. I also really like chocolate-covered ants, and adding insect powder to green tea.” 

There has been growing interest by governments and the private sector to warm consumers up to the idea of edible insects. The Liberal government has lavished edible insect cricket farming companies with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of subsidies. 

International organizations like the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization have argued that insect-based “meat” could be a viable alternative to slow down the consumption of traditional animal-derived proteins which are considered to produce a high amount of carbon emissions. 

The Daily Brief | Trudeau’s new comms expert was a radical lockdown advocate

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new communications and marketing expert was radically pro-lockdown and pro-vaccine mandate during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Plus, Montreal Jewish leaders are sounding the alarm about a “frightening” rise in antisemitism after a Jewish community centre was attacked with a Molotov cocktail.

And ahead of this week’s United Nations COP28 summit in Dubai, one of the key architects behind the Paris Agreement – to which Canada is a signatory – said that breaking the law was necessary to advance climate goals.

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

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