After years of speculation about their marital status, Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie Grégoire today announced their separation after 18 years of marriage, asking for privacy to protect their children. Should Canadians care? True North’s Andrew Lawton weighs in.
Also, after years of campaigning on housing-related policies, Trudeau now says housing isn’t really a federal responsibility so, in other words, it’s not his problem. True North’s Andrew Lawton says this is a convenient way out of having to deal with one of Canada’s most pressing crises. Conservative MP and housing critic Scott Aitchison joins the show to weigh in.
An Ottawa man plans to organize a “Million Person March” to protest gender ideology and Pride month in schools, according to The Post Millennial.
Organizer Kamel El-Cheikh, a Muslim activist and businessman, is hoping to bring people of all faiths together from across the country on Sept. 20.
El-Cheikh has organized numerous protests in Ottawa over the last several months, bringing together various Muslim and Christian groups that oppose gender ideology and sex education in schools.
“I am optimistic – absolutely. You know, if [there’s] one thing that’s going to inspire Canadians from coast to coast to go down and protest it’s the kids and their innocence and it’s families,” said El-Cheikh.
He claims that some of the school pamphlets even directly target Muslim children such as one pamphlet that asks, “Can I still be Muslim if I am queer?” The pamphlet goes on to say that Islam and homosexuality are not in conflict with one another, which El-Cheik called “blasphemy.”
El-Cheikh went on to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his pressure on Muslim communities to accept his radical LGBTQ beliefs. El-Cheikh believes such ideology is akin to a “fatwa,” or a sin to the faith.
“The kids called them out on it and they told them, ‘Excuse me sir, you’re a liar.’ These are 14- year-old kids and they walked out of class anyway,” said El-Cheikh, referring to some children’s response to content presented in the classroom.
On June 13, El-Cheikh spoke at a protest urging both Muslims, Christians and others to come together to denounce the ideology in schools and protect children from the state.
“You know Canada’s built of Christians and Muslims and all denominations, why not celebrate that?” he said.
“We can coexist and I think that’s what absolutely these protests are illustrating is that Christians and Muslims and most Jews and of course a lot of common sense Canadians have a lot in common. That’s it’s not what Justin Trudeau is preaching.” said El-Cheikh.
“I’’ve talked to people in the so-called LGBT community who just say lay off, stop defining us absolutely you know let the state get out of this because stop telling me I have to vote Liberal.”
El-Cheikh says he is confused as to why both the Trudeau government and the school system seem to be so hellbent on teaching sexuality to children instead of prioritizing real education.
“Remember sex is between two consenting adults that’s a universal law right so how can kids consent to sexual indoctrination, sexual exploitation, sexual mutilation and all that kind of stuff? You know kids right now don’t know how to eat their lunch on time let alone go to sleep on time let alone all the other things that they need to figure out why aren’t we teaching math and sciences in the school?” he said.
El-Cheikh is assured the Muslim communities will be outspoken, that they are “not going to be silent about it and we’re going to be relentless … and that’s why we’re protesting September 20.”
He also criticized Justin Trudeau’s comment that parental rights were in some way tied to the ‘far right.”
“Apparently we don’t have the intellect or the doctrines or the Divine wisdom through our five daily prayers and our 30 days of fasting [during] Ramadan to know what is right from wrong.” said El-Cheikh.
Recently a poll revealed that Trudeau is losing favour amongst immigrant communities for his hardline anti-parent stance, leading to a growing opposition to the current government.
“We must recognize that there is a new movement from coast to coast that is fed up, that just wants Canada first, wants inflation to go down … wants mortgage rates to go down, wants Alberta to to thrive … wants Quebec to be a part of it and Alberta and everybody else and that’s the Canada that we want to see.” said El-Cheikh.
Twitter suspended El-Cheikh’s account on Friday following complaints that he had violated the company’s “hateful conduct rule.”
Kevin Klein — no, not the famous Hollywood actor, but an alleged actor nonetheless — has just been outed for presumably faking indigenous status, a phenomenon informally called “pretendianism.”
As one observer has rightly claimed, “Practically every month, somewhere in the country, some person comes under fire for claiming their ancestors frolicked with the moose instead of merely watching from the bushes.”
Manitoba’s Kevin Kline is the province’s energy minister, a portfolio whose energy sources are mainly in the bushes.
The Manitoba government’s website continues to identify Klein as Métis, even though Métis associations, a prominent Métis lawyer and Klein’s own brother all dispute the claim.
Klein says he belongs to the Painted Feather Woodland Métis, an organization not recognized by either the Manitoba Métis Federation or the Métis Nation of Ontario. Rather, it’s a for-profit company based out of a single-family residence near a small community northeast of Toronto.
Klein claims Métis status through his late mother, whom he has publicly identified as Indigenous.
“I’m not self-identifying, nor am I using it, nor am I mentioning it every time I open my mouth. It is a family issue for me and a connection to my mother,” Klein said in an interview during his failed run for mayor of Winnipeg last fall.
Genealogical research done by CBC News — some going back five generations — found no evidence, not a shred, that Klein’s mother has a Métis or other Indigenous ancestor.
The flags in this family tree denote the country of birth of Klein’s ancestors. CBC used modern-day flags to represent birthplaces. (CBC)
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said she won’t judge whether the former mayoral candidate and city councillor is Métis.
“Look, in our party we don’t police people’s identity and I think that Minister Klein does an incredible job in his ministerial portfolio. He also does a great job representing his constituents. Those are the things that we care about.”
This is a lame excuse if there ever was one, given the way indigenous identity fraud has roundly been condemned in recent years, resulting in the exposure and removal from their high-ranking positions of many famous people, something the premier surely knows.
That Kline may be a bullsh*t artist trying to parlay a fake pedigree to a better way of life seems to be of no concern to a political leader desperate to cling to power in an early October provincial election.
If he resigns or is removed from office, he would be the highest ranking elected Canadian politician to be de-platformed in this way.
Equally disconcerting is the way the deep-pocketed CBC has exposed countless frauds over the years, including most recently indigenous identity fraud, but does nothing except blindly accept other aboriginal frauds like the fake claim of genocide committed in the Indian residential schools.
Political hypocrisy has no limits, it seems.
Hymie Rubenstein is a retired professor of anthropology, The University of Manitoba, and editor of The REAL Indigenous Issues Newsletter.
The future of a provincial police force in Alberta to replace the RCMP is up in the air.
In Premier Danielle Smith’s mandate letter to both Justice Minister Mickey Amery and Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis, there was no mention of a directive to create a new provincial police force.
However, the idea isn’t completely off the table and will continue to be a topic of discussion with Albertans, said Amery in a recent interview with CBC.
“I would simply say to you that we are going to continue to listen to Albertans, to learn about their needs and their challenges and their concerns, and then bring that back to [cabinet] and to caucus for further contemplation,” responded Amery when asked multiple times if the plan had been shelved since it was no longer mentioned in the mandate letters.
The United Conservative Party has discussed the possibility of replacing the RCMP with their own Alberta police force for years but has come against opposition from municipalities and other Alberta groups regarding issues like cost and staffing.
Polling suggests that the majority of Albertans are not interested in the potential change.
The looming possibility has hurt morale amongst current Alberta RCMP members, according to Curtis Zablocki, the RCMP’s commanding officer for the province. He has called the idea “disruptive and distracting.”
Premier Smith also appears to have cooled off on the idea since last November when she sent mandate letters to her first cabinet, calling the plan a priority. During the provincial election however, she refused to campaign on the plan and was quoted at the time as saying, “Our sheriffs, for instance, are doing a great job.”
Paul McLauchlin, president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA), has opposed the idea of a provincial police force, saying, “I represent a pretty frugal bunch of folks that are pretty fiscally conservative. They want to see something that would cause results. And would changing the police force really change crime? Changing patches and changing car colours — we know that that’s not the issue,”
The RMA has been advocating against the decision for the past year and have stated that they would rather see bail reform and more effort put into mental health and support for addiction. McLauchlin asserts that many Albertans feel that a new provincial police force would be a “waste of time.”
In the new mandate letter, Amery has been directed to “implement a strategy to ensure violent criminals and gang members are detained and effectively prosecuted.”
Amery’s office will also work alongside Ellis to initiate “a specialized prosecution unit to address deteriorating safety in Alberta’s major urban centres.”
NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir believes that the underlying problem of rising crime in the province stems from other issues, not just the RCMP. “It’s a costly initiative … and there is no evidence that it will help us address the issues that are facing the whole justice system,” said Sabir. He also stated that he is waiting to hear Premier Smith “unequivocally” declare the idea of a provincial police force is no longer in pursuit.
In a statement posted on social media, Trudeau revealed that the couple would be parting ways.
“Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate. As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build,” she said.
“For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy.”
Grégoire Trudeau released a similarly worded statement.
A statement by the Prime Minister’s Office also confirmed the separation.
“Sophie and the Prime Minister have signed a legal separation agreement. They have worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward,” the PMO wrote.
“They remain a close family and Sophie and the Prime Minister are focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment. Both parents will be a constant presence in their children’s lives and Canadians can expect to often see the family together. The family will be together on vacation, beginning next week.”
The two first said their wedding vows in 2005, prior to Trudeau’s decision to wade into politics and become the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
At the time, Grégoire Trudeau was a well known TV host in French Canada.
Justin and Sophie have three children together, Xavier James, Ella-Grace Margaret and Hadrien Grégoire.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre are trading barbs over Canada’s growing housing crisis and if the matter is a federal responsibility.
The exchange was first sparked after Trudeau spoke on the issue in Hamilton, Ont. on Monday. Speaking with reporters at an affordable housing complex, Trudeau stated that housing is “something we can and must help with” but avoided taking responsibility for the increased cost of housing, saying that it’s “not a primary federal responsibility.”
The Prime Minister was in attendance to cut the ribbon on a housing complex where the average rent would be $1,400 a month, leading reporters to question him if this was the new standard for affordable living in Hamilton.
While speaking at a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded to the prime minister’s comments. “That’s funny because eight years ago he promised he was going to lower housing costs,” said Poilievre. “No wonder he wants to wash his hands of his horrendous and unprecedented record.”
In Hamilton, Trudeau also claimed that Polievre’s only plan to curtail the high cost of living was to cut programs, stoke Canadians’ fear and encourage their anger.
“His answer to everything is cuts and be angry,” said Trudeau. “That’s not Canada. That’s not how we build a stronger future. That’s not how we’ve gotten through the challenging times we’ve had in the past.”
In response, Poilievre said, “Justin Trudeau is upset that I am saying things are broken. Maybe he should stop breaking them,” the Conservative leader responded.
Trudeau has long since been outspoken on the issue of affordable housing, even before he was the Liberal Party Leader.
In 2008, while making his second-ever parliamentary comments, he said, “In my travels throughout my riding of Papineau, I heard time and time again how access to affordable housing is a major challenge for Canadian families … high housing costs mean young people and new Canadians cannot buy homes, which leads to increased pressure on existing affordable housing,”
It was also a campaign platform promise during the 2015 election. “We have a plan to make housing more affordable for those who need it most – seniors, persons with disabilities, lower-income families, and Canadians working hard to join the middle class,” said Trudeau.
However, at the onset of the Trudeau government, the cost of an average Canadian home has only skyrocketed. In 2015, the average cost of a home in Canada was $413,000, whereas now the Canadian Real Estate Association estimates that the average home cost sits at $702,409. An increase of almost 70% in seven years.
Those who rent are facing similar price hikes. When Trudeau first took office, the average rent prices for Canada’s largest 35 cities was $966 per month. In 2023, the average rent, according to Rentals.ca, suggests a median rent of $1,811 per month for a one-bedroom apartment.
While the federal government does not have direct control over housing costs as zoning and permitting are primarily decided at the municipal level, there are other decisions they can make to alleviate the stress put on the housing market.
Poilievre has campaigned on a promise to increase the Canadian housing supply by threatening to deny federal funding to municipal and provincial governments that can’t meet federal targets on home construction. One of which would be to, “require unaffordable big cities like Vancouver to increase homebuilding by 15 per cent annually or face big financial penalties and have portions of their federal funding withheld.”
Another factor adding to the rising cost of real estate is the Trudeau government’s immigration levels. Immigration has increased dramatically over the last several years resulting in over one million new residents entering Canada in 2022. Analysts, including Mortgage Advantage’s Robert Mogensen, argue that the government’s steep immigration targets has made it difficult for housing construction to keep up with the demand.
Meta is following through with its promise to end all availability of news on its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, following the Trudeau government’s passing of the Online News Act.
Plus, could the Trudeau government’s Online Streaming Act be used to regulate video games?
And a University of British Columbia professor is advocating to expose kids to adult genitalia.
These stories and more on The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Lindsay Shepherd!
While political polarization has been worsening in Canada for years, it got particularly bad during the pandemic. People view their political opponents negatively and grow comfortable in echo chambers not engaging with each other. A new report from the Public Policy Forum written by freelance journalist Justin Ling attempts to explain why this is. Ling joined True North’s Andrew Lawton for a conversation about the Freedom Convoy, cancel culture, partisanship, about why people from different ‘sides’ find it so difficult to talk to each other.
A few days ago, while visiting a temporary shelter in a North York church, new mayor Olivia Chow invited Toronto residents to rent any extra rooms they might have to asylum seekers.
She told the media at Revivaltime Tabernacle Church – one of two churches temporarily housing 200 asylum seekers – that she hopes residents will offer available rental units at or below the market rate to these asylum seekers through a Donate TO portal.
She also said the $97 million offered by the feds last week for temporary shelter was not enough and that she needs $157 million to pay for the 3,100 refugee claimants now in the system.
She wasn’t the first to raise this crazy idea. New York City Mayor Eric Adams did so a month ago, telling New Yorkers they’d be paid $125/night to do so.
Chow didn’t say while at the north Toronto church – to which she appeared to arrive in an SUV and not on her flowered bike – whether she or any of her fellow councillors would take the lead and offer up some space in their properties.
When I asked her media people at City Hall, I did not get an answer as to whether she was renting out one of her rooms.
I took that to mean she was not, which is par for the course considering our political leaders never seem to feel they should lead by example when they come up with bright ideas.
A city spokesman did tell me that as of July 27, the city has received four offers for available properties – a vacant nursing home (with 45 beds), a one-bedroom condo, eight more one-bedroom condos and about 10-12 apartments.
The spokesman said they‘re still looking for more distinct rental properties, garden suites, or a “spare room or extra space inside one’s home.”
The refugee claimants will be eligible to receive support to pay their rent from the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, the spokesman said.
I doubt seniors or singles, for example, would be willing to get started with such a naive proposal.
There has been no reference to who carries the liability should these asylum seekers not pay their rent, or trash the place or even worse still, vandalize their lodgings.
This is not to suggest they are any different from all other renters but these are people with no documentation and no credit – and judging how slowly government operates, it could be months before they get any documentation.
There are alternatives, of course, but I doubt Chow or the radical leftists she’s put in her office will ever consider them.
They can, of course, reverse Toronto’s Sanctuary City status and refuse to accept more asylum seekers instead of trying to squeeze money from a stone. The homeless looking for shelter should take precedence.
Alternatively, Chow can look to social housing – namely Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) – to absorb some of the homeless and/or asylum seekers in their units.
A few years ago, I wrote about all the TCHC units sitting empty, a testament to the absolute ineptitude of the housing authority.
At the time, then-Mayor John Tory promised to get on it and ensure as many vacant units as possible were filled.
Little has changed.
A recent TCHC report shows there are 1,792 units considered “non-rentable.”
Why?
Some 169 are being used for recreational purposes, for staff, for agency office use and get this – for contractor storage.
Another 385 need repairs, many of them costing $25,000 or more. Some 24 are out of use because of a fire or flood.
But the lion’s share – 1,166 – are either on hold for relocation purposes, pending demolition and under construction.
Imagine if Chow had even 1,500 units to house asylum seekers, at least temporarily.
She wouldn’t need to beg the feds for more money.
But that’s not how progressives operate.
They’d rather foist their ineptitude on hard-working, taxpaying Toronto residents.
Meta is following through with its promise to end all availability of news on its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, following the Trudeau government’s passing of the Online News Act.
According to the Canadian Press, after running some tests to limit news for a small percentage of users, the California-based tech company says it’s now ready to implement the ban on a mass scale.
“In order to provide clarity to the millions of Canadians and businesses who use our platforms, we are announcing today that we have begun the process of ending news availability permanently in Canada,” said Rachel Curran, who serves as head of public policy for Meta Canada.
Canadians will no longer be able to view or share news articles and content posted by publishers and broadcasters from within Canada or internationally. All news links to articles, photographs, reels and short videos are expected to begin disappearing from the platforms.
Those residing outside of Canada however will not be affected by the ban.
Several media outlets and even the federal government have already ended their advertising with Meta in response to the decision.
Meta said the move to block news is merely a consequence of the government’s Online News Act, a bill that passed earlier this year that would require Meta and other tech companies to compensate Canadian news outlets for sharing content on their platforms.
“For many months, we have been transparent about our concerns with the Online News Act. It is based on the incorrect premise that Meta benefits unfairly from news content shared on our platforms, when the reverse is actually true,” said Curran. “News outlets voluntarily share content on Facebook and Instagram to expand their audiences and help their bottom line. In contrast, we know the people using our platforms don’t come to us for news.”
The Trudeau government claims that the new bill will create a more level playing field between the financially declining news industry and online advertisers.
The government claims that since 2008, almost 500 media outlets have closed across the country. Despite large subsidies from the government, legacy media outlets have let go 20,000 journalists in recent years.
“In the future, we hope the Canadian government will recognize the value we already provide the news industry and consider a policy response that upholds the principles of a free and open internet, champions diversity and innovation, and reflects the interests of the entire Canadian media landscape,”said Curran.
The Liberal government continues to develop regulations regarding the Online News Act, which will come into effect by the end of 2023; however, Meta will no longer be subjected to the new requirements.
