Transgenderism has become a very controversial cultural and political issue – amid it having consequential impacts on children, women and free speech.
Trans activists believe that children at any age should be able to transition, and this life-altering decision can be done behind the backs of parents. The activists believe that self-identification trumps biology, and hence biological males who identify as women should compete in women’s sports, and access women’s change rooms, bathrooms, shelters and prisons. They also believe that preferred pronoun use should be mandated by law and that those who object to their trans agenda are hateful and ought to be shut down.
However, not all transgender people are on board with the gender ideology and queer theory pushed by woke trans activists. True North’s Elie Cantin-Nantel spoke about the matter with Julia Malott – a transgender commentator from Ontario who has been critical of modern day trans activism.
Following the viral and international media coverage of a patronizing lecture from our Prime Minister in response to questions from a Muslim Canadian in Alberta, yet another leaked classroom audio has surfaced of a grade six teacher in a public school in Windsor lecturing her Muslim students about their absence from Pride activities at school.
The teacher guilts and shames her Muslim students in front of the class and attempts to use social proof and pressure to get kids to question their religious beliefs. Even at 11 and 12 years old, however, the kids have the wherewithal and the language to resist her bullying and draw a clear distinction between tolerance – which to Muslims means peaceful coexistence – and forced participation in rituals and ceremonies that celebrate sexualized cultures and belief systems that are contrary to their own.
The sloganeering of the TQ+ Rainbow activism and the classroom abuse of students by teachers identifying as social justice activists does not give us the vocabulary to understand the structure of the ideological divide we are currently straddling. The divide is between those of us who still respect democracy and the rights of fellow citizens to form and hold their own moral frameworks, and those who have been possessed by the idea that fellow citizens, even unto young children, must be compelled into moral participation and compliance with the official state cosmology that defends as an absolute matter of reality and law, that gendered souls sometimes get delivered to the wrong body.
The state doctrine, pushed by state actors in the state education system, tells young children, often in ways that undermine the “outdated” beliefs of their parents and the religions they were born into, that kids get to choose their sex; that sex is a spectrum; and even that biology is bigotry.
Today, the stooges enforcing the belief in gender identity, an epistemological framework not even four decades old, are the establishment. They are the universities, the public education system, the federal government, and most of the legacy media in Canada, which have all institutionalized contempt for traditional people. Those stooges have been using weaponized claims of provincial and federal Human Rights violations against individual parents and easily assailable groups, like devout Christians in Canada, for years.
But in the moment, Muslim Canadians, a cohesive group that for many reasons checks the intersectional boxes of oppression so revered by the progressive left, have become apostates to the gender religion and have the social justice activists, including our platitudinous Prime Minister, stymied.
In May this year, a few days before the launch of Pride Month, hundreds of Muslim leaders, scholars, teachers, and preachers in North America signed a statement of principles called: “Navigating Differences: Clarifying Sexual and Gender Ethics in Islam,” in which they share their religious beliefs around discussions of sex, sexuality, and identity in schools and affirm the Muslim position toward these matters.
It is impermissible for Muslims to take pride in identifying with labels that categorize them by their sins. It is important to note that the stance of Islam on illicit sexual relations goes hand in hand with its protection and promotion of the individual’s right to privacy. Islam prohibits prying into others’ private lives and discourages public disclosure of sexual behavior.
A Muslim dad I spoke with last year, who has since moved his children back to Egypt, who was instrumental in keeping almost 70% of kids home from an K-8 school in Ottawa in June of 2022, and who accumulated almost 8,000 signatures on a Change.Org petition before it was shut down for being “transphobic,” told me that Muslims do not push Islam on others, nor judge behaviour in these areas. They simply desire to practice their own religion without the beliefs of others in these matters forced upon them and their children.
The Day of Absence he helped organize at Vimy Ridge Public School went unreported in the press, but not unreported in the Muslim communities in Canada and the US.
The patronizing tone of our Prime Minister earlier this month presumed that Canadian Muslims are incapable of forming their own perceptions of reality when it comes to the bullying overreach of gender zealots in the public education system. In their extremism, public educators are unquestionably teaching the basics of Queer Theory and transgenderism to children the moment they introduce the concept of gendered pronouns, which presupposes the controversial idea that children can choose their sex.
We know from the Fact Patterns established in Ontario Human Rights Tribunal hearings in 2022, that schools and boards defend this practice in classes of six-year-olds, which bypasses the Sex-Ed curriculum. Up to now, these ideologues have successfully bullied the concerns of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and secular parents from across Canada into silence with name-calling, threats, and intimidation.
The pushback will only grow. The tactics of ignoring, gaslighting and even intimidating parents of all backgrounds about their concerns for their kids in schools are obviously failing and this issue and will likely be part of the national conversation in the next federal election.
The public rebellion against radical trans doctrines has finally reached Canada without the help of the “American Far Right.”
When it comes to gender ideology, we came to these concerns in good faith, all on our own, for the sake of getting gender-woke educators to leave our kids alone.
In an attempt to assuage fears that the Liberal government will falter in its negotiations with social media giants over Bill C-18 after its latest cabinet shuffle, the new Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge says she will pick up where Pablo Rodriguez left off and move full steam ahead.
According to the Globe and Mail, St-Onge said that there will be no compromise with tech giants despite bringing a fresh face to the role.
“Our government is going to keep standing our ground,” said St-Onge.
“Canadians expect tech giants to pay their fair share.”
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a massive cabinet overhaul, replacing top ministers in national defence, transportation and other profiles.
In response to Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act, receiving royal assent, both Meta and Google have threatened to completely block Canadian news from their platforms.
“Today, we are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act (Bill C-18) taking effect,” wrote Meta in June.
The US government has also threatened to embroil itself into the fight with Canada over its digital regulation.
Last year. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai pressed the Trudeau government on Bill C-18 and Bill C-11, claiming that both bills would discriminate against American businesses.
“Ambassador Tai expressed concern about Canada’s proposed unilateral digital service tax and pending legislation in the Canadian Parliament that could impact digital streaming services and online news sharing and discriminate against U.S. businesses,” wrote Tai concerning a meeting with Minister of International Trade Mary Ng.
St-Onge formerly held the role of Minister of Sport and is currently being briefed on the status of the Online News Act.
The latest statement from Google on Thursday also indicated that the company will continue to resist efforts by the Canadian government.
“We hope that the government will be able to outline a viable path forward before the law takes effect,” said St-Onge.
Canada could reduce the equivalent of all of its carbon emissions if it leads the charge in helping Asia replace 20% of its reliance on coal-fired plants with liquified natural gas (LNG), according to Energy for a Secure Future Chair Shannon Joseph.
Joseph told the outlet EnergyNow.ca that LNG remains the country’s “biggest card” in tackling emissions internationally.
“Canada could help deliver 680 megatonnes of emissions reductions, and that’s more than our whole country,” Joseph said.
“We should do it and shout it from the rooftops. We should move forward with LNG as an energy and emission solution.”
Joseph argues that the federal government should do more when it comes to promoting clean Canadian energy as a solution instead of a problem of climate change.
“We need to assert, confidently, the environmental value we would be delivering to the world,” said Joseph.
“If Canada wants to be relevant and to lead, we have to come to the table with solutions to this question, alongside the environmental one. LNG is our biggest card.”
According to Joseph, Canada is letting down its allies and giving space to competitors to fill the world’s energy needs, running the risk of falling behind during a crucial opportunity.
“Canada’s allies have come here asking for energy, and we should work directly with them to find a way to have our environmental contributions recognized,” said Joseph.
The United States has massively upped its LNG exports from 28,381 Million Cubic Feet in 2015 to 3,865,643 Million Cubic Feet last year.
Last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau turned down German Chancellor Olaf Scholz request for Canadian natural gas claiming that such a deal lacked a “business case.” Germany and other European countries have been scrambling to find alternative sources of energy in order to reduce reliance on Russian energy following its invasion of Ukraine.
The United States has largely stepped in where Canada has faltered. According to the International Energy Agency, the global market for LNG doubled last year reaching $450 billion.
US exports accounted for two-thirds of Europe’s imports that same year totalling 43 billion cubic metres.
Earlier this month, industry leaders at the Vancouver LNG 2023 conference called on Canada to take the lead when it came to supplying the world with energy.
I’ve been asked this a few dozen times over the past eight years. But articulating a well-rounded answer always required more rumination than appropriate for a light-hearted conversation with a well-meaning acquaintance. Other frequent questions have been, “How do you have so much patience?”, “How do you make sure they learn everything in the curriculum?” and “Aren’t you worried they won’t have friends?” My honest answer to the first is: I don’t; sometimes I have to fake it and sometimes I lose my temper. To the second: I buy lots of books, but believe me, your child doesn’t know everything included in the Ontario curriculum, either. And to the third: shockingly, children don’t need to be among 30 other kids every day in order to make friends. Ours made friends by socializing with the children of our friends and with other kids at synagogue. This was the easiest part of homeschooling.
The misconceptions surrounding homeschooling are many and the public mystification at times seems impenetrable (the disdain of education experts and intellectuals doesn’t help, either). I remember one irritated father telling me homeschoolers were people who naïvely thought they could educate their children better than professional teachers. I was neither offended nor annoyed; I had already encountered parents who assumed I homeschool because I’m against the education system or want my children to become free-spirited, anti-establishment hippies. So I was used to being judged unfairly. But neither did I think I could out-teach the pros, nor did I want to raise a trio of misfits.
“Aren’t you worried they won’t have friends?” Lindsy Danzinger faced this and many similar questions from other parents when she decided to homeschool her three children, reflecting the public mystification and misconceptions about the practice. (Source of photo: Lindsy Danzinger)
So again, the fundamental question: Why did we choose to homeschool? What did my husband and I set out to do when we pulled our sons out of preschool and rearranged our life plans by deciding to “do it ourselves”? The story began for several reasons and evolved as the years went on.
Motherhood began with a bumpy start. I was anxious and remember panicking when my son was only three months old that I had no idea how to potty train. My husband convinced me I had enough time to learn and helped me stop spinning catastrophes and start taking motherhood one day at a time. By the time our second son arrived 22 months later, I was a pro. Still, helping me remain calm and patient with my two toddlers was the following mantra, repeated often: “In a few years, they’ll be in school all day.” I relied on the thought that I would drop my sons off at school every morning, have the day to myself and pick them up later in the afternoon. I would only have to figure out how to pass the time with them on weekends.
This probably makes me sound like a monster. I didn’t hate spending time with my boys. I loved watching them grow and figure out how to speak and interact with the world around them. But as every mother knows, raising young children takes it all out of you. Every good mother kills her independent self and gives over body and soul to her children. Looking back, I only feel shame over my selfishness and lack of wisdom. I’ve since realized that I’m not a fully autonomous being whose children hinder her freedom. Rather, my purpose and meaning are derived from serving my relationships with my children, family, friends and community. The presence of my children is (almost) never a nuisance, only a blessing.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has been able to convince a former NDP candidate that he’s the best candidate to become Prime Minister.
According to the outlet SooToday, former Sault Ste. Marie NDP candidate Skip Morrison is now throwing his hat in with Poilievre after he accused Jagmeet Singh and the New Democrats of becoming “lapdogs” to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“I suspected at that time that Justin Trudeau was going to be a disaster for this country and I’ve watched the NDP become lapdogs to Trudeau with this so-called coalition support,” he told the outlet.
“I don’t see the current NDP having any policies on anything. They’re simply trying to stay viable and anyone who supports Justin Trudeau’s government is doing a disservice to this country.”
Morrison also spoke out about the NDP’s failure to stand up to government overreach during the Freedom Convoy.
“I’m seeing a constant erosion of individual freedoms,” Morrison said.
“That’s not just a cliche. The imposition of vaccine mandates and the absolute evil of seizing bank accounts that was done over a year ago ended any concept of the right of Canadians to own private property, and when your bank account can be seized simply because you make a donation to a cause that’s the end of private property rights in this country.”
Recent polls show Poilievre gaining popularity with groups that traditionally vote Liberal or NDP including young people and women voters.
A survey by Abacus Data found that 32% of women would vote for Poilievre, meanwhile only 28% said the same of the Liberals and 23% said they would vote for the NDP.
When it comes to Canadians aged 18 to 29, 31% of them said they would support the Conservatives if an election were to be held today. As for the NDP and Liberals, they are tied with 26% of support from that age group.
With the passage of bills C-18 and C-11, Justin Trudeau’s government has employed a massive takeover of the internet. While they claim they’re trying to protect Canadian content and save Canadian media, these bills are actually harmful to Canadian publishers and independent journalists – and by extension to the users seeking out their content.
In this special edition of The Andrew Lawton Show, Andrew looks at critiques of C-18 from the right and the left with Kris Sims from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and Matt Hatfield from OpenMedia. Then, he talks about how VPNs might help Canadians get around the regulations, but only to an extent, with Frontier Centre contributor Roland Renner. Lastly, Andrew is joined by True North chief operating officer William McBeath for a look at how True North is adapting to Trudeau’s internet regulations.
Former RCMP officer William Majcher was released on bail after being charged and arrested with two counts under the Security of Information Act for providing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with intelligence and services.
According to the RCMP, Majcher had been helping the PRC target Canadian citizens by using his network of contacts in Canada’s intelligence agencies and providing the PRC with sensitive information.
Majcher was granted bail on a $50,000 bond with the condition that he remain in Vancouver, report to a Burnaby RCMP station weekly and forfeit his passport and ability to leave the country.
Majcher had been charged with preparatory acts for the benefit of a foreign entity and conspiracy for alleged incidents of foreign interference between 2014 and 2019.
According the RCMP, Majcher had “used his knowledge and his extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services to benefit the People’s Republic of China.”
Majcher served as an RCMP officer for 22 years, going undercover to root out corruption in the financial sector and helping to bring down a Toronto lawyer accused of laundering money for a drug cartel.
Since leaving the RCMP, Majcher moved to Hong Kong and developed a successful career as a businessman, using his expertise and experience from his time as a Mountie to further his career.
Alleged incidents of foreign interference from the PRC have become a major point of contention in the last year, with leaks from CSIS revealing alleged cooperation between Canadian politicians and PRC officials.
MPs are currently in the process of negotiating the terms of a public inquiry into alleged foreign interference from China and other hostile foreign actors.
Canada has been unable to buck the trend of rising violent crime after reporting an increase in such incidents for the second year in a row.
On Thursday, Statistics Canada reported that violent crime was up 5% last year, following a 6% spike in 2021.
The data was measured using the Crime Severity Index (CSI), which takes into account several factors, including the nature of reported crimes and frequency to measure crime rates across Canada.
Crime rates haven’t been this high since 2007 and show no indication of slowing down.
“During the pandemic, because of lockdown restrictions, a lot of crime was reduced or went down — and a lot of that was driven by non-violent crime,” Statistics Canada analyst Warren Silver told CBC News.
“It might be too early to tell if this is just a readjustment or if we’re returning back to where things were earlier. But what we can say is that this is following five years of general increase, with the pandemic kind of interrupting trends.”
Crime was the highest in Manitoba, where the province saw a 14% spike in violent crime. The only provinces and territories to not see a spike in crime last year were New Brunswick, Yukon and Nunavut.
2022 was particularly troubling when it came to rises in homicide and sexual assault. Robberies and extortion also rose to 15% and 19%.
In total, last year there were 874 homicides marking an 8% increase since 2021.
As major cities across Canada struggle to deal with gun violence and drug-related incidents, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has called on the Trudeau government to act and reform Canada’s bail system.
“We would also get at the root cause of this, which is drugs. We believe that addicts need treatment, rehab and detox to get them off drugs, that is the only way to end their cycle of theft,” said Poilievre last month.
“A lot of people are stealing so they can pay for fentanyl and other powerful drugs. The only way to put an end to that is to get them off the drugs.”
Several venues have cancelled bookings by Canadian comedian Ben Bankas ahead of an anticipated cross-Canada tour after he posted a skit of Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow on social media.
Plus, a TDSB trustee is calling on the school board to suspend all dealings with a controversial DEI consultancy following the suicide of a long-time principal.
And the Toronto Police Association is slamming Mayor Olivia Chow for her silence on violence against cops.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Elie Cantin-Nantel!