House of Commons speaker Anthony Rota is facing calls to resign after inviting a 98-year old Ukrainian veteran of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS to the House of Commons on the day of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech. Justin Trudeau’s office has blamed Rota, who has apologized, though many are saying this isn’t enough. True North’s Andrew Lawton weighs in.
Plus, CBC is sitting on $400 million worth of real estate and the Liberal government spent $275,000 on its cabinet inflation summit. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Kris Sims joins the show to discuss.
Jewish groups are demanding an apology after MPs gave a standing ovation to a Ukrainian veteran who served in a Nazi military unit during the Second World War while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Parliament.
Plus, after days of silence surrounding the One Million March for Children, Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should “butt out” when it comes to parental rights and the debate around gender ideology in Canadian classrooms.
And in response to the nationwide parental rights protest last week, a TDSB trustee says parental rights do not exist in Canada and that there’s only children’s rights.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Lindsay Shepherd!
Although fewer consumers are buying fake plant-based meat products and companies like Beyond Meat are struggling to rebound, one industry group says that meat alternative products have a bright future.
Citing a study by Ernst & Young, Protein Industries Canada CEO Bill Greuel says he expects Canadians to indulge in the next wave of products which seek to simulate more tender cuts of meat and even salmon steaks.
According to Greuel, Canada needs to consider policy options to make it easier for alternative protein companies to break into the market.
“We need to really think about how competitive our jurisdictions are in this country relative to the incentives put in in the U.S.,” said Greuel.
The Ernst & Young study commissioned by Protein Industries Canada claims that the fake meat industry will reach $139.4 billion USD by 2035 – up from $16.5 billion USD in 2021.
That would mean an annual compound growth rate of 16.5% each year.
Other companies like CoBank have disputed these projections. In a recent report, analysts found that as of July 2, fake meat sales were down 21% when compared to last year.
The Trudeau government has waded into the field of protein alternatives.
A recent government-funded program for start-up businesses in the field included one business that specializes in edible insects.
The company, Bug Mars, works on “sustainable alternative proteins” like crickets.
Additionally, the Trudeau government put out a call to recruit small businesses involved in the insect and alternative protein industry to attend a UK conference on the future of food supplies.
“The program will include pitch sessions and (business to business) meetings with selected top-tier UK SMEs focused on alternative proteins,” wrote Protein Industries Canada.
“For the purpose of this mission, alternative proteins will include firms leveraging plant-based, cellular agriculture, insect and fermentation technologies.”
In a shocking case of alleged “pretendian” identity fraud, three women from Ontario have been charged with two counts of fraud each for allegedly falsely claiming to be Inuit and obtaining grants and scholarships meant for First Nations beneficiaries.
The women are twin sisters Amira and Nadya Gill and their mother, Karima Manji. They allegedly applied for and received Inuit beneficiary status as “adopted Inuit children” between October 2016 and September 2022, according to the Iqaluit RCMP.
“The women used this Inuit beneficiary status to defraud the Kakivak Association and Qikiqtani Inuit Association of funds that are only available to Inuit beneficiaries by obtaining grants and scholarships,” an RCMP statement said.
The alleged scam was exposed earlier this year by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), an organization that verifies claims of Inuit ancestry in Nunavut. At the time, they declared that they were investigating allegations of fraud against the Gill sisters and their mother.
NTI removed the three women from the beneficiary list in April and referred the case to the RCMP.
NTI president Aluki Kotierk said in a statement that the organization takes identity fraud very seriously and if the Gill sister’s are found guilty, they should return the funds they receive.
“”When we receive an application and it indicates who the birth family are and they’re Inuit, and we know that they’re Inuit, we’re not questioning every Inuk to say, ‘Did you give birth? Did this happen’,” explained Kotiierk.
“I would say that the process has worked, in the sense that when there were community members who came forward and said something’s not right, that we’ve looked into it.”
The issue of people who make false claims of Indigenous ancestry, often called “pretendians,” has been gaining attention across Canada. In some instances, individuals do it for personal or professional gain, while others do it out of a romanticization of Indigenous cultures. In other cases, unsubstantiated claims of Indigenous heritage are passed down through families and never questioned or challenged.
Jean Teillet, a Métis lawyer and author, told Global News earlier this year that she prefers to call it fraud rather than pretending, because it causes real harm to Indigenous communities and individuals.
“I’m not greatly fond of (the term) because ‘pretend’ sounds harmless, right? Like, kids pretend. And so it sounds like there’s no harm that comes out of this,” she told the outlet.
“I prefer to call it fraud because the definition of fraud is intentional deception to obtain a material gain and that’s what we’re talking about here.”
The Gill sisters are scheduled to appear in court in October.
Jewish advocacy groups are demanding an apology and explanation after members of parliament gave a standing ovation to a Ukrainian veteran who served in a Nazi military unit during the Second World War.
On Friday, MPs applauded when Yaroslav Hunka was recognized in the House of Commons during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to Parliament. Hunka fought with the First Ukrainian Division, formerly the 14th SS Division Galicia, a Nazi unit made of Ukrainian soldiers.
Speaker of the House Anthony Rota rose after Zelenskyy’s address to Parliament to recognize Hunka.
During President Zelenskyy's visit to Canada, MPs gave a standing ovation to Ukrainian veteran Yaroslav Hunka, who fought against the Soviet Union in World War II with the “First Ukrainian Division” – the 14th SS Division Galicia, a Nazi unit made up of Ukrainian soldiers. pic.twitter.com/H3aSV9vrdP
“We have here in the Chamber today, a Ukrainian Canadian veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today even at the age of 98. His name Yaroslav Hunka,” Rota said to a standing ovation from MPs of all party stripes.
“I am very proud to say that he is from North Bay and from my riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming. He is a Ukrainian hero, Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service,” Rota continued.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a Jewish advocacy group, posted on X that it was “deeply troubled and disturbed” to learn that MPs gave Hunka a hero’s welcome.
We are deeply troubled & disturbed that a Ukrainian veteran of the infamous 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Nazi SS – which actively participated in the genocide of Jews – was celebrated with a standing ovation in the Canadian Parliament. #Canada's Jewish community stands…
“We are deeply troubled & disturbed that a Ukrainian veteran of the infamous 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Nazi SS – which actively participated in the genocide of Jews – was celebrated with a standing ovation in the Canadian Parliament,” CIJA posted.
“Canada’s Jewish community stands firmly with Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. But we can’t stay silent when crimes committed by Ukrainians during the Holocaust are whitewashed.”
FSWC is appalled that Canada’s Parliament gave a standing ovation to a Ukrainian veteran who served in a Nazi military unit during the Second World War implicated in the mass murder of Jews and others.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC), an advocacy group dedicated to educating Canadians about the Holocaust, said it was “appalled” to learn about the incident and demanded an apology and explanation.
“FSWC is deeply disturbed over the Canadian Parliament’s recognition of a Ukrainian veteran who served in a Nazi military unit during the Second World War implicated in the mass murder of Jews and others. FSWC is further outraged that parliamentarians in the House of Commons gave a standing ovation to the former soldier on Friday,” FSWC said in a statement.
“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.”
The reports of this individual’s history is very troubling. The Liberal Government should explain why he was invited and honoured. #cdnpoli
Zelenskyy joins Canadian ovation for veteran who fought with Nazis – The Forward 👇 https://t.co/A7HO2jgkFH
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, the Jewish daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, called the reports about Hunka’s history “very troubling.”
“The Liberal government should explain why he was invited and honoured,” she wrote.
Rota apologized in a statement Sunday afternoon, saying the decision to invite Hunka was his alone.
“I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision,” Rota said. “I particularly want to extend my deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world. I accept full responsibility for my actions.”
The Soviet Union fought against Nazi Germany in the Second World War and was part of the Allied forces comprising the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The Soviet Union suffered the largest number of casualties during the war.
Thousands of Canadians gathered for the nationwide “One Million Person March for Children” – demanding greater parental rights and an end to gender ideology teachings in schools, unions, trans activists, the legacy media, and progressive politicians denounced them as hateful.
One union member went as far as claiming that the protesters were “fundamentally racist” anti-gay and anti-trans facists, while the legacy media ran headlines smearing the protest as “anti-LGBTQ.”
True North’s Elie Cantin-Nantel was on the ground in Ottawa to get protesters to react to these accusations.
Over the years, Canada’s institutions have experienced a noticeable leftward drift, a trend which seems especially prominent in post-secondary education. University teacher Brock Eldon has penned a three-part non-fiction novella titled “Ground Zero in the Culture War” for C2C Journal, which documents his journey as a graduate student in a culture characterized by over-heightened social awareness. He joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to discuss. You can read the first part of his series here.
The Canada Border Security Agency (CBSA) plans to convert a wing of its immigration detention centre into “high risk” cells as they will soon no longer be able to rely on provincial prisons to house dangerous migrants.
The director-general for the CBSA, Carl Desmarais, said that a section of the border force’s immigration detention centre in Laval, Que., would soon undergo renovations to install 48 beds for “high risk” migrants.
The cost of the renovations remains unknown for now, but Desmarais told the National Post in an interview that the money would come from an already existing budget. Once completed, the agency plans to make similar renovations at detention centres in Toronto and Surrey, B.C.
Initially, high risk migrants were detained in provincial prisons throughout the country, however that arrangement is set to expire next week.
High risk detainees are those considered to be a threat to the agency officers, other detainees and the community. They were placed in prisons if their risk level was unmanageable at an immigration holding centre, according to the CBSA website.
Human rights groups have become increasingly critical of the CBSA for incarcerating certain immigrants, especially children, in what they view to be “abusive” prison conditions.
Throughout 2022, groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have led a number successful campaigns to get provinces to end their prison arrangements with the CBSA.
A one-year sunset clause was issued for the CBSA to make other arrangements for high risk detainees in provincial prisons.
The CBSA was given an additional three months to resolve their issue by Alberta and B.C. but that timeframe is set to expire by the end of October.
As of Aug. 25, there were 169 inmates detained in the three CBSA immigration centres who are deemed to be low-medium risk offenders, according to Desmarais. Alberta and B.C. are currently holding an additional 61 high risk offenders in provincial prisons.
Depending on their individual immigration files, the 61 offenders will need to be released, deported or shipped back to the Laval detention centre by the end of October.
Once the renovations are complete in Laval, there should be enough space to accommodate the number of high risk offenders, although time is of the essence.
“We have to pivot really rapidly. The availability of our existing facilities is our primary response, and I think we can build capacity from that point on,” said Desmarais.
“You’re probably familiar with the time it takes for infrastructure projects to fruition,” he added.
While Desmarais believes the retrofitted wing will be large enough to host the current number of high risk offenders, he does worry if that will still be the case in the near future, given the government’s plan to increase the annual number of immigrants to half a million by 2025.
“I think there is an expectation that as immigration continues and population grows, there is a proportional increase in the need for immigration detention; it’s just simple math. I think eventually, we’ll have to look at our overall capacity,” said Desmarais.
“It is not a concern immediately, but we have to look beyond the next few years,” he added.
The City of Toronto has demanded a long-standing Etobicoke go-kart track cease operations and vacate Centennial Park by Nov. 30, despite it having a groundswell of support from the community.
City Hall has not relented on its planned eviction of Centennial Park Mini Indy.
Centennial Mini Indy president Don Duggan told True North the city failed by not consulting the park’s businesses, who he said were being forced to shut down by the city’s master plan for Centennial Park.
“By getting rid of the Mini Indy, they’re basically giving the middle finger to all the people that do attend [the Mini Indy], and all the staff that’s going to lose jobs, especially in a day and age where Toronto is going hat in hand to the federal government for money,” he said. “Why would you say no to something that makes you money?”
As part of Toronto’s Centennial Park Master Plan, released in 2021, the city is refusing to renew the Mini Indy’s property lease. City officials ordered the business out with minimal consultation, Duggan said.
The master plan will also see the scrapping of Toronto’s only remaining batting cages and the park’s volleyball courts, replacing them with four new baseball diamonds.
The Centennial Mini Indy, which has been there for 37 years, is renowned for having the longest go-kart track in Ontario.
News of the Centennial Mini Indy’s imminent closure upset many of its 150,000 annual visitors, prompting Duggan to start a petition in July.
Since then, Duggan said he has managed to collect over 29,000 signatures urging the city reverse course, 18,000 of which are hard copy signatures from the Mini Indy’s customers, with the rest coming from customers of the batting cages and volleyball courts.
However, Duggan said City Hall has been unresponsive.
“Basically, the decision was made during the Covid period of 2021,” said Duggan. “Who was really consulted? Nobody talked to me. Absolutely nobody.”
In a July interview with CBC, Etobicoke Centre Coun. Stephen Holyday said that he and his family have had “a lot of fun” at the Mini Indy and batting cages, but insisted that the master plan’s vision for Centennial Park was necessary.
“I’ve been to the batting cages with my family and I’ve been to the go-kart track with my family,” Holyday told CBC.
“It’s an amusement. It’s a lot of fun. I can’t argue with that. But it is part of the Centennial Park vision to change this area, to create more soccer fields and a baseball hub.”
In response to Holyday remarks, Duggan noted that Centennial Park already has seven baseball diamonds that are underutilised, even during the summer months.
“They [the baseball diamonds] are used one or two times a week through the summer months only and on the odd weekend somebody has a permit to use it. The rest of the time they sit empty,” said Duggan.
Duggan implored City Hall to reach out for a conversation with himself and the owners of the businesses affected by the master plan.
“I would really like Oliva Chow and Stephen Holyday and any councillors that agree with us to please talk to us, just talk to us,” said Duggan.
“However it works out, it works out, but let’s have the conversation.”
Hamilton Citizenship Ceremony / Copyright: JOEY COLEMAN / THEPUBLICRECORD.CA
A new study says that despite record immigration targets, newcomers are underperforming economically and the federal government needs to make reforms to provide better opportunities.
The independent public policy think tank Fraser Institute recently published a report titled Enhancing the Labour Market Outcomes of Immigrants to Canada. The report argues that Ottawa could do more to improve employment rates and productivity.
“As Ottawa increases immigration targets, government policies can do more to increase the ability of immigrant workers to more fully contribute to the economy,” said Fraser Institute senior fellow Jock Finlayson.
This year, Canada is set to admit 465,000 new immigrants, with that target reaching 500,000 newcomers by 2025.
According to the Fraser Institute, for Canada to continue benefiting from immigration, Ottawa needs to tackle language and credential barriers.
One of the key recommendations includes selecting a greater percentage of permanent immigrant workers from the temporary foreign workers and international students already in Canada.
Another way Canada could increase economic productivity of immigrants is to select immigrants based on English or French language capabilities.
Programs that also improve language and communication skills for immigrants should also be developed to ensure that they can effectively enter the workforce.
Barriers on licensing for professional or occupational jobs need to be reviewed and any unnecessary red tape removed so that newcomers can more easily enter their professions, according to the Fraser Institute.
“If the federal government wants to improve the employment outcomes of permanent immigrant workers, it must enact targeted reforms,” said Fraser Institute senior fellow Steven Globerman.
Canadians are divided over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s record immigration targets and many are expressing concern that they are negatively impacting housing availability.
A recent Nanos poll found that 55% of Canadians say that the government should roll back the number of newcomers entering Canada.
