The NDP is throwing its support behind Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s motion to call on the government to expand its carbon tax pause on all forms of home heating. The non-binding motion will be voted on Monday afternoon.
Plus, a new study finds the narrative perpetuated by the Canadian federal government and various institutions that Canada is systemically racist simply isn’t true.
And Canadian business insolvencies shot up by 41.8% in 2023.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Lindsay Shepherd!
You may have noticed that many professors in Canada and the US openly defend Hamas. Many go so far as to even support this religiously fundamentalist and truly genocidal organization.
Perhaps worse than their support of an organization that sows chaos and misery in Israel and the Palestinian territories, academics act as though they are being moral, just, and honourable in their support for barbarism and depravity.
“By any means necessary,” you may have heard them say.
I noticed this post over the weekend, where a State University of New York professor calls for a ceasefire and reminds his followers that “history did not start on October 7th.”
Yes. I called for a ceasefire. That’s not an endorsement of Hamas. It’s a call for peace. And no, history really didn’t begin on October 7. We must actually study the full past to properly understand (and avoid repeating) what led to that awful event, and the resulting crisis. https://t.co/naHLIEc0Ia
He urges us to “actually study the past” – as if that’s the guide to siding with the Palestinian leadership class.
Well, I too have “actually studied the past” and my conclusions couldn’t be further than his.
In fact, I once naively believed in a two-state solution where Israel made more land concessions, loosened security restrictions and allowed free travel and resettlement for Arab Palestinians. The more I began to read and understand the region (including visiting and interviewing people on both sides), however, the more clear it became that:
1) Jews have an historic claim to the land, at least 1,500 years before Muslims. Jews are the traditional landowners, so to speak. While they’ve been conquered and displaced by a dozen different empires over the past 2,500 years, when the Ottoman Empire fell after WWI and the Brits and French began carving out new countries, one was promised to the Jews living in the region. (Arab Muslims were given control in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and eventually took over Lebanon).
2) Israel clearly wants peace and has made concessions, given away land, and agreed to peace deals half a dozen times, each time flat-out rejected by the Arabs.
3) Yes, ethnic cleansing took place: when about one million Jews were forced out of every Muslim country in the Middle East over the past 100 years, nearly all of whom were resettled in Israel. Wealthy Arab states do not accept or resettle Arab Palestinian refugees. Why is that? Why don’t they receive international pressure to do so?
4) Yes, there is apartheid: Jews cannot safely enter neighbouring Arab countries, including and especially the Palestinian territories. There are zero Jews living in Gaza. Arab Israelis, by contrast, make up 20% of the population of Israel and seem well-integrated, successful and happy. Arab Palestinians were given visas and work permits to enter Israel, a program that was sadly manipulated by Hamas and used to help plan the October 7th massacre.
5) The fundamental problems in Gaza clearly stem from lack of responsible governance: namely, no rule of law, no accountability, no economic foundations, and a leadership class that prioritizes terrorism over basic infrastructure and steals from its people so much that the leaders of Hamas are literal billionaires while most Palestinians don’t have access to clean water.
Knowing and understanding all of this after “actually studying the past” helps us draw the following conclusions about this conflict:
1) October 7th happened DURING A CEASEFIRE. So why on earth would Israel agree to going back to another one? Calling for another ceasefire is de facto siding with Hamas in saying that they can exist and go on just as they did before October 7th.
Israel can never and should never agree to that.
2) Calling for a ceasefire is not calling for peace, because there can never be peace with Hamas in charge (just ask Hamas, who reminds us daily that they will never accept a Jewish state and will never stop waging war against Jews).
If you want peace, call for Hamas to unconditionally surrender, return all hostages and turn over its leaders to be tried for war crimes.
It’s easier to blame the Jews for all the misery in Gaza, but a sober analysis shows that Palestinian leadership has utterly failed its people, that Islamist antisemitism — not land disputes — is the driving geopolitical force behind this conflict, that Israel must defend itself, and that woke academics are seriously radical and should not be in charge of shaping the minds of the next generation.
When western countries first began pushing the net-zero agenda, electric vehicles quickly emerged as one of the most promising solutions for achieving the ambitious targets. Copenhagen Consensus Center president Bjørn Lomborg spoke with True North’s Andrew Lawton about the false promise of electric vehicles as a meaningful solution to climate change.
Earlier this week, prominent political and cultural figures gathered in London, England, for the first ever Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Forum. Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis spoke with True North’s Andrew Lawton about her role within the organization, and what she hopes will come from the inaugural event.
Canadian business insolvencies shot up by 41.8% in 2023 when compared to the third quarter of last year.
According to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, a total of 1,120 businesses filed for bankruptcy, up 3.6% from the second quarter.
Those numbers far surpass the amount of bankruptcies filed before the pandemic. In the third quarter of 2019, for example, only 827 businesses filed for bankruptcy.
The Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals (CAIRP) believes businesses are struggling to stay afloat due to a combination of economic challenges.
Businesses no longer have support from government Covid-19 benefits, record high interest rates, and a dip in consumer spending are all contributing factors.
“Many companies emerged out of the pandemic already over-leveraged and now they have the added pressures of higher borrowing costs, less access to capital, and high inflation leading to increased costs. It is inevitable that some will be significantly challenged, especially those in consumer-facing sectors,” said CAIRP chair André Bolduc in a press release.
Bolduc warns that the current insolvency estimates are conservative at best as many businesses will choose to close up shop and walk away without going through the insolvency process.
“The official statistics don’t reveal the full scale of serious indebtedness because many wait years before they consider legal debt-relief options,” said Bolduc.
“Many are struggling to keep up with the rising price of essentials and taking on more debt as a temporary measure to make ends meet but it ends up becoming unmanageable.”
In September, the Bank of Canada announced that it would retain its key interest rate at 5% until it sees the full effect of a stricter monetary policy permeate through the economy.
The public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections is scheduled to begin hearings in early 2024.
The inquiry will primarily focus on China and Russia, as well as other foreign actors to investigate what influence they had over the federal elections of 2019 and 2021.
Additionally, the inquiry will attempt to answer whether or not Ottawa has the capabilities of detecting foreign interference.
The first inquiry report is due in February and a final report will be due by the end of next year, according to CBC.
“Our timeline is ambitious and it will require the inquiry, and all interested parties to work expeditiously and cooperatively with each other,” said inquiry commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue in a statement. “I look forward to working with all those involved.”
Hogue said the inquiry would provide as much information as possible to the public “within the bounds of the law and without jeopardizing national security.”
“While this will be a difficult balance to strike, I will do my utmost to achieve it, as both objectives are paramount,” said Hogue.
The inquiry stems back to allegations that China had interfered in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. The allegations have since been denied by the Chinese embassy.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had initially appointed former governor general David Johnston to be a special rapporteur on potential Chinese interference, however Johnston resigned due to mounting public pressure that his appointment was a conflict of interest.
Johnson faced criticism due to the fact that he was family friends with the Trudeaus and his previous role on the Trudeau Foundation.
In his role as special rapporteur, Johnson had recommended against calling a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections.
On Thursday, Hogue confirmed that the inquiry would focus primarily on the two federal elections.
“The first phase will focus on the interference that China, Russia and other foreign actors may have engaged in, and any impact it had on the 2019 and 2021 elections,” the inquiry wrote. “The inquiry will also examine and assess the flow of information within the federal government in relation to these issues, and evaluate the actions taken in response.”
Public hearings will begin at the beginning of next year and in the fall of 2024.
Beginning on Nov. 10, more information about the process will be made public and interested parties may apply to be part of the inquiry as well. Members of the public will be allowed to submit information and observations.
Christine Anderson, a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, found herself at the centre of a political firestorm after being labeled a “Nazi” by Liberal MPs and the legacy media due to her strong views on Islam and immigration reform.
But after inviting and applauding a literal Nazi in the House of Commons, should Liberals be so quick to throw around such an egregious title?
Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre also condemned Anderson, claiming her views had no place in politics and insinuating regret over the MPs who met with her. Anderson staunchly rejects these characterizations.
On this episode of The Rupa Subramanya Show, Rupa meets with Anderson to discuss this and more.
As 3,800 United Conservative Party members descend on Calgary for the party’s annual convention, key organizers are describing a fight for the heart and soul of conservative politics in Alberta.
“We’re trying to remind the people in power that they serve the people,” said David Parker, the founder of Take Back Alberta. “They’ve kinda forgotten that and I think they need to be regularly reminded of that. That’s why democracy was built the way that it was.”
Parker claims Take Back Alberta’s efforts are responsible for “about half” of the total convention delegates, many of whom were registering on-site even by Saturday.
“After this annual general meeting, the grassroots of the UCP will be in charge,” Parker said.
Back at the UCP AGM in Calgary. Premier Danielle Smith is set to speak at 1p MT, followed by a press conference. Then delegates will vote on the 30 policy resolutions that have made it to the floor. pic.twitter.com/54aZPtXq4J
The AGM is where the party elects its governing board and votes on official party policy. While the UCP government is not bound by any of the policies adopted at the convention, they reflect the “spirit of the party” and Danielle Smith ought to listen, Parker said.
Take Back Alberta has promoted a slate of board candidates to its members to support, with some mainstream media commentators lamenting the UCP is likely to be “Take Back Alberta‘s party” by the end of the weekend.
Take Back Alberta has been particularly focused on resolutions to do with protecting bodily autonomy and banning electronic vote tabulation.
Another organizer, Craig Chandler of the Progressive Group for Independent Business, says getting people engaged in the process before elections is important for the party’s longterm success.
“We want to influence policy but we also want to get people engaged,” said Chandler, who claims to have 573 delegates at the convention. “If we get them engaged now, we can train better people so for the next election we actually have people who are trained.”
While Chandler’s group and Take Back Alberta are endorsing different board candidates, they are aligned on several of the key policy resolutions, including on parental rights and freedom of speech.
While Take Back Alberta was instrumental in the effort to oust former UCP leader Jason Kenney, Parker was quick to say he supports Premier Danielle Smith – but wants to make sure she stays the course.
“I actually want this to be a show of support for the premier,” Parker said. “I think she’s done amazing things. Everyone I talk to is very happy with her. We’re not happy with some of the people around her (though).”
Here’s the registration for Canada’s biggest ever political convention. Close to 4,000 delegates registered for this weekend’s Alberta United Conservative Party AGM. (And they’re taking registrations on site too). pic.twitter.com/jS9F8kEi06
These concerns were echoed by Chandler, who warned that a split, as happened when the Wildrose Alliance formed in protest of Ed Stelmach’s PC government, is likely if the UCP government loses its way.
“This convention’s the most important convention ever,” Chandler said. “It’s really about who we are as the soul of the party. We’re at a fork in the road: Are we going to include people or are we going to just become Liberal light and give people a reason to vote the other way anyway? People want real conservatism.”
Parker is married to a True North reporter who did not contribute to this story.
The United Conservative Party of Alberta is currently in the throes of its Annual General Meeting, as members deliberate on 51 resolutions members hope will influence the province’s political landscape.
Nineteen resolutions focus on internal UCP governance, though 30 are about the UCP’s official policy.
Policy resolutions are not binding on the province’s UCP government, but are an important barometer about where the party’s grassroots stand on key issues.
The policy resolutions are categorized broken up into several categories: autonomy and economy, healthcare and medical rights, education and youth, civil liberties and rights, infrastructure and development, judicial and legal reforms, and finance and commerce.
Resolution 1 contends that the government should defend Alberta’s economy and autonomy by opposing all attempts by the federal government to impose net zero by 2035.
“The Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act defends Alberta’s interests by giving our province legislation to push back on federal laws and initiatives that negatively impact the province,” reads the resolution.
In the sphere of healthcare and medical rights, Resolution 10 is set to ignite intense debate.
It proposes opposing the federal expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) qualifying criteria to include those suffering solely from mental illness and the future legalization of MAiD as a care option for minor children.
“Healthcare workers in any facility shall not be allowed to present or promote MAiD to a patient as a care option. The procedure must be considered a tragic last resort and only be discussed with a patient of legal age upon request by said patient or their proxy,” reads the resolution.
Turning to education and youth, Resolution 9 stands out, advocating the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices in post-secondary institutions.
“The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices at universities, colleges, and post-secondary institutions have become the enforcement arm of woke ideologues on campuses. By removing them, it will become much easier to effect changes from 202.4 a), which intends to guarantee freedom of speech on campuses,” reads the resolution.
Among the civil liberties and rights, Resolution 5 protects Albertans’ right to access goods and services using cash and the option to bank with provincially regulated institutions that supply cash instead of digital currency.
Many reasons are given, one being that “the federal government has shown their willingness to freeze bank accounts and Central Bank Digital Currency makes it easier,” reads the resolution.
As for infrastructure and development, Resolution 23 suggests collaborating with Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories, as well as the American states of Alaska and Montana and all associated First Nations as partners, to secure transportation utility corridors (TUCs) to strategic locations like the Hudson Bay, the Mackenzie Delta region, and/or Alaska.
“The UCP supports pipelines, but railways can be paid for with oil tariffs, and then continue to serve communities more efficiently than remote highways can. The more options we have to send our exports to the world and to make Alberta a hub of transcontinental trade and logistics the better,” reads the resolution.
In the judicial and legal reforms category, Resolution 24 proposes splitting the Minister of Justice role into separate ministries of Attorney General and Solicitor General. This move seeks to delineate responsibilities more clearly and enhance the effectiveness of the justice system in Alberta.
“The Justice Minister’s role is to protect the government’s legal interest and the Solicitor General’s role is to protect the public’s legal interest. We currently have a problem given the public has no representation since the roles have been combined,” reads the resolution.
In finance and commerce, Resolution 27 advocates for the repeal of no-fault Insurance legislation in Alberta. This resolution could help alleviate Alberta’s auto insurance issue.
“No-fault insurance has only benefited the insurance companies and has increased the costs of good drivers’ insurance in Alberta,” reads the Resolution.
Other proposed policies include keeping biologically male offenders out of female penitentiaries and ending provincial funding for supervised drug consumption sites.
The number of Canadians in need of affordable housing is far greater than what was initially estimated by a federal crown corporation, according to a new report from the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate (OFHA).
About 1.4 million households don’t have access to quality housing, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has claimed in the past.
However, the OFHA published a report on Thursday called, “A human rights-based calculation of Canada’s housing supply shortage” that estimates Canada is short about 4.4 million affordable houses from meeting the current demand and not 1.4 million as CMHC claims.
Housing policy expert Carolyn Whizman produced the report, which projects a deficit of three million homes for low-income households that require monthly payments of $1,050 or less.
An additional 1.4 million homes are missing for median-income households that are currently in need of housing.
According to the report, the difference in estimates stems from the fact that the CMHC’S method only takes into account housing demand rather than housing need.
“It conflates demand for home ownership, which may be for speculative or investment purposes, with housing need. And perhaps most tellingly, it ignores the intent of both the National Housing Strategy and the National Housing Strategy Act, which is to focus on the housing needs of those who are most marginalized,” reads the report.
The OFHA report includes the homeless, students, people living in long-term care residents, those with disabilities and people who are living in shared housing.
The CMHC estimates that by 2030, an additional 3.45 million homes will need to be constructed, over and above the base level of 2.2 million homes.
The OFHA report suggests that over the next decade, an additional 9.6 million homes will have to be built, with a third of that cohort dedicated to Canadians with very low to moderate incomes.
“Canada needs a long-term plan to bridge the gap in its affordable housing supply. It must include significant, sustained government investment in non-market housing – such as cooperative, non-profit, and public housing. The ultimate goal is a sustainable housing system. The key ingredient to get there is a human rights approach that puts people first, and programs that respond to their needs,” said head of the OFHA Marie-Josée Houle in a statement.
The CMHC looks predominantly at middle-class home ownership while the OFHA report accounts for other groups as well like renters and students in particular.
“Students actually exist, homeless people actually exist, people in shared housing actually exist, but they’re not counted in housing need,” she told Global News.
“So, what the federal housing advocate asked me to do, because it’s a human rights-based report, is to start counting those people, to start looking at what they can afford and to start looking at what some of the targets might be if you started including those people who previously haven’t been counted.”
