All parties are calling for House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to resign after he took responsibility for inviting a Nazi soldier to Parliament. But will Rota’s resignation be enough to justify such an embarrassing incident? Should the government apologize too?
Plus, Pierre Poilievre taunted the CBC on Monday, hinting that he would convert the Crown Corporation’s $400 million worth of real estate holdings into housing for Canadians.
And is there a future for fake meat alternatives in Canada? One industry group seems to think so.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Noah Jarvis!
All parties in the House of Commons have now called for House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to resign, with some sources saying he is likely to step down this afternoon. The Conservatives have said it’s Justin Trudeau and the Liberals who have to own this, however, not only Rota. Do you agree? True North’s Andrew Lawton discusses with Macdonald-Laurier Institute domestic policy director Aaron Wudrick.
Also, in the 28 months since the Liberals enacted an order-in-council banning 1500 types of firearms, Canadian gun businesses have been saddled with huge amounts of inventory that they can’t sell or return, with the government’s promised “buyback” program nowhere to be seen. Wes Winkel from the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association joins The Andrew Lawton Show to discuss the effect of Trudeau’s gun grab on these Canadian small businesses.
Experts warn that if the growing dispute between Canada and India leads to a trade war, the consequences will be far worse for the Canadian economy than for India’s.
Tensions between the two countries have been mounting since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s explosive allegations against the Indian government.
In a speech to the House of Commons last Monday, Trudeau said there were “credible allegations potentially linking” agents from the Indian government to the murder of a Canadian Sikh activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Indian officials denied the allegations as both countries responded by expelling each other’s diplomats. Federal Trade Minister Mary Ng cancelled an upcoming trade discussion with India.
While Canadians are unlikely to see any immediate effects of this dispute at the grocery store, a leading food researcher says further escalation could lead to devastating consequences for the Canadian economy if India sanctions imports from Canada.
“India isn’t a major distributor of food globally nor is it a major trading partner with Canada,” said Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at Dalhousie University who researches food distribution, safety and security.
“Even if India bans the export of rice to Canada, the cost of rice shouldn’t increase, because Canada has other options like Thailand to purchase from.”
However, sanctions against imports from Canada on the other hand could prevent billions of dollars worth of goods from going to India, Charlebois said.
He fears India might be going in that direction.
“Canada sends $12 billion dollars worth of materials to India annually, and has already shifted to India from China. If Canada doesn’t secure its own interests there won’t be any potential for economic growth,” Charlebois said.
India was Canada’s tenth largest trading partner last year, according to Global Affairs Canada, making up a large share of Canada’s agriculture market.
Canada is a world leader in the production of pulse crops which include peas, lentils, beans and chickpeas, with the majority produced in Saskatchewan.
Last week, Saskatchewan Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison told Ng, after her cancelled trip, that damage to trade relationships with India will financially hurt Saskatchewan more than other provinces.
“Saskatchewan exports to India usually rank first or second amongst the provinces and territories and are worth over $1 billion to our provincial economy. In fact Saskatchewan trade with India accounts for 30 to 40 per cent of all Canadian trade with India in any given year,” Harrison said in the letter.
Canadian exports to India were over $5 billion during 2022, according to the United Nations database on international trade.
Pulse crops and potash fertilizer are Canada’s second and third largest exports to India. Canada’s largest export to India is crude oil and its related products.
India is a key player in the Indian pacific partnership and is well positioned to find other countries to purchase from, said Charlebois.
Canada will have a hard time finding another market as large as India and might find itself isolated, as other countries seem to be staying out of the dispute, he added.
Nijjar, a Sikh activist who was designated a terrorist by the Indian government for his involvement in the Khalistani separatist movement, was shot dead outside a Sikh gurdwara in Surrey, B.C. in June.
India temporarily halted all visa services in Canada, and issued an advisory warning Indian nationals and students in Canada of “anti-Indian activities.”
In turn, Canada updated its travel advisory for India to include warnings about “negative sentiments” towards Canadians.
The Liberal government is now calling on House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to resign, four days after he honoured a Ukrainian veteran who fought with the Nazis as a “hero.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said the incident was “completely unacceptable.”
“It was an embarrassment to the House and to Canadians, and I think the Speaker should listen to members of the House and step down,” she told reporters Tuesday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says that House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota should step down after taking responsibility for the invite of a Nazi soldier to Parliament. pic.twitter.com/HPgmg4r8jc
Joly’s comments are a departure from the approach taken by Liberal House leader Karina Gould a day earlier. On Monday, Gould expressed her disappointment in the speaker but stopped short of calling for his resignation.
Gould herself struck a different chord Tuesday, saying Rota would not continue to have the support of Liberal members of parliament and should step down.
Liberal House leader Karina Gould says House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota has lost the confidence of Liberal MPs. She is calling on Rota to step down. pic.twitter.com/jUEQXiWJmM
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said house leaders from the respective parties would be having “very important conversations” Tuesday.
“I’m sure (Rota) is reflecting now on how to ensure the dignity of the House going forward,” Trudeau said. “I know that House leaders are going to be meeting later this morning and I’m sure they will have very important conversations.”
NDP MP Peter Julian asks House Speaker Anthony Rota to resign after he took responsibility for inviting a Nazi soldier to the House of Commons. pic.twitter.com/PPX3WZMAkA
The standing ovation given for a 98-year old Ukrainian veteran who fought for a Nazi unit has garnered global media attention.
On Friday, Yaroslav Hunka, who fought with the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, was recognized and given a standing ovation in the House of Commons, a scandal that has been picked up by media outlets across the world.
Speaker of the House Anthony Rota has since apologized for his recognition of Hunka and said that he was unaware of his past.
The embarrassing incident has led to opposition parties the NDP and Bloc Quebecois to call for Rota to resign. A number of Jewish advocacy groups have also expressed their outrage at the poor decision making of Rota.
The incident isn’t solely a domestic embarrassment but one felt throughout the West, with dozens of media outlets reporting on it in the U.S., U.K. and Europe.
The Guardian wrote about the incident, saying “Canada has become embroiled in an escalating political controversy after members of its House of Commons were encouraged to join in a standing ovation for an individual who fought in Ukraine with a Nazi military unit accused of war crimes during the second world war.”
South of the border, the story was covered by the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC News, and Fox News, among other outlets.
“It seemed like a touching and timely tribute by Canadian lawmakers to a 98-year-old war “hero” who fought for Ukraine’s independence during World War II. But it soon emerged that the man was in fact part of a notorious Nazi unit, leading to fury at the standing ovation he was given in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy” wrote NBC News.
Fox News wrote about the pivotal role that the Soviet Union played in helping the Allied forces defeat the Nazis in the Second World War.
“The Soviet Union played a pivotal role in defeating Nazi Germany, including during the Battle of Stalingrad, which marked a turning point in the war. The U.S. Department of State outlines on its website that “without the remarkable efforts of the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front, the United States and Great Britain would have been hard pressed to score a decisive military victory over Nazi Germany,” wrote Fox News’ Emma Colton in her coverage of the incident.
In Ukraine, the Kyiv Post’s reporting included a statement from the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC), which said that affair overlooks “the horrific fact that Hunka served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, a Nazi military unit whose crimes against humanity during the Holocaust are well-documented,” read the statement by the Jewish advocacy group.
“An apology is owed to every Holocaust survivor and veteran of the Second World War who fought the Nazis, and an explanation must be provided as to how this individual entered the hallowed halls of Canadian Parliament and received recognition from the Speaker of the House and a standing ovation,” it continued.
Russian state media was undoubtedly thrilled to use the opportunity to call into question why and how Hunka was able to receive sanctuary in Canada for all these years.
“Whether Trudeau (and his Stepan Bandera-sympathizing deputy PM Chrystia Freeland) knew about Yaroslav Hunka or not, the question remains: why was he never brought to justice? He, or any of the other 2,000 SS Nazis Canada reportedly took in in the years following WW2. Having been accepted as anti-communist refugees with little to no scrutiny, these suspected war criminals and collaborators have been allowed to live out the rest of their days in peace, and most of them have done so openly under their own names,” wrote RT News.
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo will be voting on a bylaw amendment which would categorize making people “feel harassed” on gender identity or other grounds as “prohibited activities” on any regional properties in the wake of nationwide parental rights protests.
A report submitted to the region’s Community and Health Services Committee purports to “address harassment based on race, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation” that occurs on property owned by the region like community centres, swimming pools or other facilities.
If approved, the amendment would add “communicating, causing or permitting communication, with any person in a way that causes the person, reasonably in all the circumstances, to feel harassed” as a “prohibited activity.” Communication includes written, verbal, visual and other forms.
The report defines “being harassed” as “feeling tormented, troubled, worried, plagued or badgered.”
Additionally, it includes anybody “experiencing objectionable or unwelcome conduct, comment, bullying, or actions that could reasonably cause offence or humiliation.”
This comes about a week after parents from across the country gathered to protest gender ideology in schools and call for parental consent for children who want to use different pronouns while at school.
Hundreds of parents attended a One Million March for Children rally at Kitchener city hall last week. Additionally protests were also held in Guelph and Waterloo. All three cities are affected by Waterloo regional policies.
The report also cites how two municipalities in Canada have already introduced bylaws that limit the ability to protest controversial issues on public properties.
“To date, two Canadian municipalities, London and Edmonton, have recently supported the use of the municipal bylaw making authority to create laws that are responsive to expressions of hate or racism on public lands,” the report reads.
“In the instance of Edmonton, this initiative involved the amendment of its public places bylaw to include harassment based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation and other identifiers as behaviors resulting in a fine of $250.”
If adopted, those who break the bylaw will be issued an offence notice or be asked to leave public properties.
The Canadian government honoured an actual Waffen-SS Nazi volunteer in the House of Commons on Friday. Every single MP, Senator and guest in attendance at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to Parliament on Friday gave Nazi solider Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation. In fact, even worse, Speaker of the House and Liberal MP Anthony Rota described Hunka as a “Canadian hero and a Ukrainian hero.”
Zelenskyy’s trip to Canada was a disaster. The decision to tarnish the visit by applauding an actual Nazi soldier has given the Russian Federation an entirely unnecessary propaganda victory and it is yet another massive international embarrassment brought upon all Canadians by the Trudeau government.
Watch the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre taunted the CBC on X by hinting that he would convert the Crown Corporation’s over $400 million worth of real estate holdings into housing for Canadians.
“It warms my heart to think of the families that will move into a home they can afford, at the former headquarters of the CBC” wrote Poilievre on X.
The comment is also likely a nod to Poilievre’s promise to defund the CBC if elected Prime Minister as well as his recently unveiled home building plan, which includes a review of federal properties and a pledge to sell off 15% of certain holdings to developers.
Poilievre’s comments cited a recent response by the CBC to a question on the order paper in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Adam Chambers revealing how much real estate wealth the taxpayer funded broadcaster has amassed in recent years.
It warms my heart to think of the families that will move into a home they can afford, at the former headquarters of the CBC. https://t.co/KiumHlcnJh
The CBC owns almost half a billion dollars worth of real estate holdings and of that property, over two-thirds of it is caught up in their broadcasting centre in Toronto, according to newly released documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).
In May, Chambers wrote an order paper question, asking the state-owned broadcaster to list the 12 corporation-owned properties throughout Canada. The real estate portfolio was valued at $444,414,469.
The CBC’s Toronto Broadcast Centre, at 250 Front St. West is priced at a whopping $313.8 million alone. Opened in 1992, the 13 floors building is 1.7 million sq. feet and the broadcasters primary production facility for all English language operations.
Their second most valuable property is the CBC broadcast centre in Vancouver. Valued at $99 million dollars, it was originally built in 1975 and later renovated in 2009.
The media outlet’s corporate headquarters is located in Ottawa, in a leased building on Queen Street, not far from Parliament Hill.
Other notable CBC broadcast centres include two in Winnipeg, Manitoba, valued at $11.7 and $1.5 million dollars, a building in St. John’s, Nfld. worth $4.4 million, another in Fredericton valued at $2.8 million, one in Charlottetown worth $2.6 million, a property in Saguenay worth $2.5 million and another in Whitehorse worth $1.8 million.
Only two of the broadcaster’s properties are valued to be less than $1 million These include a studio in Thunder Bay, which is valued at $537,000 and a CBC facility in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, valued at $314,600.
Internationally, the CBC leases 72 other properties, however, no financial records were released and what was included in the documents has been redacted on the basis of commercial confidentiality.
“As indicated in the document, the Government has withheld the information because lease payments are considered sensitive third-party commercial information,” CBC spokesperson Leon Mar wrote in an email to the National Post, responding to questions about the international redactions.
The response document revealed that there are an additional 67 actively leased properties across the country and in five other countries,
“It sure seems the CBC is spending way more on its buildings than competitors spend, but what value do taxpayers get for all these properties?” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation.
“Taxpayers have every right to question why we’re paying for all these CBC buildings in Canada and in other countries.”
The CBC currently leases two offices in the United States as well as offices in the U.K., India and France.
Within Canada, the majority of CBC offices are leased, including three separate offices all located in Montreal.
In 2022, the CBC’s annual report showed that they received $1.24 billion dollars in federal government funding.
That does not include the $42 million dollars that was paid out in two $21 million dollar grant installments to the CBC so they could” offset revenues losses related to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Why does the CBC need to lease these properties in far-flung countries, let alone multiple properties in smaller Canadian towns, and how much is all of this costing taxpayers?” asked Terrazzano.
“The CBC costs taxpayers more than $1 billion every year, so at the very least it owes Canadians full transparency.”
A Victoria, B.C. city councillor wants to take advantage of an exemption in the federal government’s order to decriminalize open drug use in the province by making it illegal again to consume substances near “child-focused spaces.”
Coun. Stephen Hammond is set to introduce a motion banning “possession and use of illicit drugs near child-focused spaces” Thursday to the city’s Committee of the Whole.
Last year, Health Canada granted an exemption to British Columbia under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act effectively decriminalizing possession and consumption of certain illegal drugs.
Hammond’s motion cited how the federal government’s order allows for municipalities and the province to add a list of public locations where drug use would remain illegal.
“At the very least, we can take action as a city to ensure children are protected from the harms of open illicit drug use and to ensure such harmful and life-threatening behaviour isn’t normalized,” wrote Hammond.
Hammond’s motion calls on Victoria to ban “use and possession of illegal drugs” within 30 metres of “child-focused spaces.”
“Child-focused spaces” are defined as sports fields, tennis courts, picnic tables, bus shelters, libraries and community centres.
Earlier this month, B.C. Premier David Eby announced that use of illicit drugs would be banned within 15 metres of playgrounds, spray pools, wading pools and skate parks.
Additionally, the City of Victoria has already banned drug use within eight metres of any area where children congregate. About a dozen municipalities including Prince George, Nelson, Campbell River and others have moved to add additional banned locations under the exemption.
Several British Columbia mayors have spoken out against the recent expansions to banned areas as not going far enough, with Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West saying the bans should apply to sport fields and other public spaces.
“The same rationale that says you shouldn’t be smoking crack or using fentanyl in a children’s playground should apply to sports fields where children are playing soccer and baseball,” said West.
“When the province rolled out decriminalization, these are the types of things that they should have thought about at the beginning.”
Some have even suggested a full ban on drug use at all public facilities.
The NDP and Bloc Quebecois are calling for House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to resign after inviting and honouring a veteran who fought under the Nazi Waffen-SS Galicia Division in World War II.
Rota recognized 98-year old Yaroslav Hunka, who was sitting in the House of Commons gallery at Rota’s invitation, as “a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero,” prior to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to parliament.
Anthony Rota is a Liberal MP and the current speaker of the House of Commons.
Hunka, a resident of Rota’s northern Ontario riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming, received a standing ovation from MPs and dignitaries in the House of Commons on Friday.
NDP house leader Peter Julian called for Rota’s resignation in a point of order Monday morning, saying that the episode was an “unforgivable error” and that “a sacred trust has been broken.”
“It’s for that reason, for the good of the institution of the House of Commons that I say, sadly, I don’t believe you can continue in this role. Regrettably, I must respectfully ask that you step aside,” said Julian.
Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet said “we invite the Speaker of the House to act responsibly and relinquish his office” in a statement provided to the media.
Rota apologized in a statement on Sunday for his recognition of Hunka, reiterating it verbally in the House of Commons Monday morning.
Rota’s initial statement said he had “subsequently become aware of more information” that has made him “regret” his decision to invite Hunka. In the statement, Rota also said that he extends his “deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world.”
He also took full responsibility for the decision, acknowledging that recognizing Hunka was entirely his own initiative.
“I wish to make clear that no one, including fellow parliamentarians and the Ukraine delegation, was aware of my intention or of my remarks before I delivered them,” he said.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions,” he concluded.
Opposition parties have accused the Liberal government of not doing its due diligence when it comes to vetting guests.
“This is an appalling error in judgment on the part of Justin Trudeau, whose personal protocol office is responsible for arranging and vetting all guests and programming for state visits of this kind,” Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre tweeted on X.
“Mr. Trudeau must personally apologize and avoid passing the blame to others as he always does,” added Poilievre.
“There was a guest in the gallery whose presence fed into the Russian propaganda and narrative about the bogus justification for Putin’s illegal invasion.” said Conservative MP Andrew Scheer in the House of Commons on Monday.
“But there are still many, many questions that need to be answered as to how the Prime Minister’s office so completely dropped the ball on this,” said Scheer.
Liberal MP Karina Gould said that she and many others were unaware of Hunka’s past.
“Mr Speaker, I would just like to respond to my honorable colleague because I think we both share the frustration about what happened on Friday,” said Gould.
“But I do want to reiterate. And as you have made very clear in your statement, Mr Speaker, that this was your initiative, the government of Canada had no knowledge of this individual coming to the government had no knowledge. The speaker is responsible for this chamber. He invited him of his own accord and he made the decision himself to recognize him. Neither the government of Canada nor the delegation of Ukraine had any knowledge of this,” she said.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, said that his party will be dealing with their concerns directly with the government “about how this was allowed to happen.” Singh released a statement saying that, “He was not a guest of the NDP and we were not aware of his background or association with the Nazi regime in World War 2.”
