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Friday, October 10, 2025

Windsor Imam says teacher’s tirade was “a huge shock” for Muslim community

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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A Windsor Imam says a local teacher’s tirade against Muslim students who did not participate in the school’s pride day shocked the city’s Muslim community.

Last week, True North released exclusively obtained audio of a teacher at Northwood Public School going on a tirade where she tells her class that Muslim students’ abstaining from pride was “disgusting” and “an incredible show of hatred” that made her not want to be their educator.

According to Life Site News, approximately 600 out of the school’s 800 students stayed home on the school’s pride day – a 75% absentee rate.

In a statement to True North, Imam Abdullah Hammoud of Windsor’s Al Hijra Mosque said, “It was a huge shock for us as a community to see this educator in a public school, deal with a group of children at these tender ages, in such a manner.”

“The parents trust them to teach their children and care for their well-being but did not expect it would be in such a harsh way.”

In the audio recording, the teacher instructs the students to challenge their parents’ beliefs amid them choosing to keep their kids home. She also condemns the Muslims students after they tell her they can’t change their religion to have it support LGBTQ lifestyles.

For Hammoud, the latter was an overstep in her role as a teacher.

“She didn’t even try to understand why they were absent. She began attacking them and their faith.” 

Hammoud believes the teacher should apologize to the Muslim students for her “unacceptable behaviour.”

“She is saying this is a public school and in a country whose foundation is built upon freedom of speech, religion, and democracy,” noted Hammoud. “What type of example is she (giving), and what is she teaching them about our country by telling them they don’t belong in Canada if they have these beliefs?”

Hammoud believes Canada was built on a mosaic of diversity, and unity and that “this type of behaviour is geared to splitting our communities rather than strengthening their ties.” 

As previously reported by True North, Northwood principal Dustin O’Neil apologized to families shortly after the incident took place. In his Jun. 20 apology letter, O’Neil said the teacher’s comments were inappropriate.

Hammoud told True North the Muslim community found the apology to be “a positive gesture on their part.”

“Hopefully this type of incident won’t be tolerated, or repeated and it will be a lesson for all of us, specifically the educators in the public system.”  

In a statement to the press, the GECDSB said the incident “is being addressed internally.”

GECDSB Superintendent of Education Clara Howitt also told CBC News she could not confirm if the teacher is still at the school or in the same classroom.

Canada launching 988 suicide hotline on Nov. 30

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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Canada will be launching a new nationwide three-digit 988 suicide hotline on November 30th, which will provide Canadians dealing with mental health challenges with a free texting or calling service.

Former Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett made the announcement Monday, along with a commitment to invest $156 million over three years in the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to facilitate the hotline.

“Every day, an average of 12 people die by suicide in Canada,” said Bennett in a news release. 

“We are taking action to support people across the country who are in crisis or experiencing suicidal thoughts. Today’s investments take us one step closer to launching the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline, which will provide an immediate, confidential, and judgement-free suicide prevention support for Canadians in need – when they need it most.”

The implementation of a three-digit national crisis hotline has been a long way in the making.

Conservative MP Todd Doherty first proposed the idea in December 2020 and introduced a motion on the matter before the House of Commons, which passed unanimously.

The Trudeau government then formally announced the hotline in August 2022.

Bennett said the government has been working with partners, including the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), ahead of the launch.

One of the things that needed to be addressed was the implementation of 10 digit dialing nationwide. 

The United States implemented a 988 suicide hotline in July of last year – which has since handled millions of inquiries.

Bennett says Canada has “been working closely with our American counterparts on the implementation process and learning from their experience in launching and delivering this service.”

While the new three-digit hotline hasn’t yet launched in Canada, mental health support remains available for Canadians in need. 

Talk Suicide Canada can be reached by calling 1-833-456-4566, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or via text to 45645 in the evenings. This service offers bilingual crisis and suicide prevention support. 

Residents of Quebec can also call 1-866-277-3553 or visit suicide.ca for support by text and online chat.

Children and young adults in Canada in need of mental health support and crisis services can contact the Kids Help Phone, or text CONNECT to 686868 from anywhere in Canada, any time, about anything.

RCMP spending $15 million to study how it’s systemically racist

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Canada’s federal police force has set aside over $15 million in taxpayer funding to collect “race-based data” and study how the profession is systemically racist towards minorities. 

According to a May 5, 2023, Question on the Order Paper filed in the House of Commons by Conservative MP John Brassard concerning all federal IT projects costing taxpayers over $1 million, the $15,200,000 in funding is promised until March 31, 2027. 

A summary of the project translated from French describes that the project will analyze “race-based data to address systemic racism” within the RCMP.

“This project will collect, analyze and communicate race-based data to address systemic racism and discrimination and to improve the cultural awareness of employees and the ability to provide culturally competent policing,” the government explains. 

True North reached out to the RCMP for comment and clarification concerning the project.

“Race-based data collection is a priority modernization initiative for the RCMP. The collection of this information is imperative to understanding the experiences of Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals and communities during their interactions with RCMP,” wrote spokesperson Cpl. Kim Chamberland in an emailed statement. 

“The information is not used to single out individual members based on their interactions, but to identify and address systemic issues that may exist between the RCMP and the communities we serve.”

According to Cpl. Chamberland, funds will be used for community consultation, training and policy development nationally. 

“It involves investments in people, technology, and tools to make sure we get it right, learn and improve, and involve communities, members, stakeholders, and partners along the way.”

Data collected will encompass police interactions with the public “to identify trends and patterns of disparities and disproportionalities for Indigenous, Black and other racialized peoples.”

The RCMP did not provide a definition of “systemic racism” despite being asked to do so. 

In May, the RCMP’s Management Advisory Board raised the alarm about the force’s recruiting crisis, saying that if retiring members are not replaced, the police force will not be able to meet its demands. Some have pointed to the effects of shifting attitudes towards police and accusations of racism as being behind the drop in the number of people becoming police officers.

“There is no question that recruitment is the top priority within the organization at this time, and we have been building and flying at the same time,” said RCMP chief human resources officer Nadine Huggins in May. 

“I think that policing writ large is going through a reckoning. The RCMP is no different.”

In 2020, former RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki admitted that Canada’s national police force was systemically racist but when pressed to provide examples of said racism she claimed that the six-foot broad jump requirement for recruits was racist. 

“Yes, there’s absolutely systemic racism. I can give you a couple of examples that we’ve found over the years,” said Lucki.

“Evidence told us that the average person can broad jump their height. Of course, how many six-foot people do we hire? And there are people in all different cultures that may not be six feet, including there’s not a lot of women that are six feet tall, that would not be able to get through that type of test.”

With files from Harrison Faulkner.

The Andrew Lawton Show | Will Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle change anything?

By
Andrew Lawton
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Justin Trudeau has made a change to almost every single position in his cabinet, while keeping Chrystia Freeland as finance minister and Steven Guilbeault as environment minister, among a few other people. Marco Mendicino and David Lametti are among those out of cabinet altogether, while Bill Blair has been promoted to defense minister. Most importantly, Trudeau himself remains in power, so will anything change? True North’s Andrew Lawton discusses with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Aaron Wudrick.

Also, CBC has run a hit piece on a group of Christians who’ve decided to get involved in politics, accusing them of advocating for a world that is “unsafe” for “marginalized groups.” 4 My Canada founder Faytene Grasseschi joins The Andrew Lawton Show to respond.

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Poilievre accuses Mendicino of lying on behalf of Trudeau after cabinet shuffle

By
Andrew Kozak
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Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre reacted to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle Wednesday by accusing former Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino of lying on behalf of Trudeau and calling for the prime minister to step down. 

“I am glad to see Marco Mendicino out,” Poilievre told reporters in Timmins, Ontario. “He lied about the use of the Emergencies Act, claiming the police told him to do it.”

“He lied when he said that Trudeau wasn’t going to ban hunting rifles,” Poilievre continued. “He lied about his knowledge of the government’s transfer of Paul Bernardo out of a maximum-security penitentiary.”

“I think he was telling those lies on behalf of Justin Trudeau.”

Trudeau announced his new cabinet Wednesday which saw many new faces as some ministers switched roles and several opted not to seek re-election.

Mendicino was ousted from cabinet following a scandal involving his oversight of the transfer of Canadian serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison earlier this year. Mendicino was also dogged by his handling of the Freedom Convoy last year.

Dominic LeBlanc was named as the new Minister of Public Safety to replace Mendicino. Former Defense Minister Anita Anand will become the new Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat while Bill Blair will take over her former position.

MP Arif Virani is set to take over David Lametti’s role as Canada’s Minister of Justice while Pablo Rodriguez will act as the new Transport Minister, replacing Omar Alghabra.

Former ministers Mendicino, Lametti, Mona Fortier will be leaving cabinet while Carolyn Bennet, Helena Jaczek and Alghabra will be leaving politics altogether.

“Justin Trudeau may have fired many of his Cabinet Ministers today, but he’s just as out-of-touch as ever, doubling down on his inflationary, high-spending and high-taxing ways,” wrote Poilievre in a statement. 

“The Minister that really needs to be shuffled out is Justin Trudeau. His record is one of failure, and he is shuffling nearly his entire cabinet in a desperate attempt to distract from all that he has broken.”

Poll shows Conservatives well ahead of Liberals, including with women

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
-

A new poll released this morning ahead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle shows the Liberal party trailing the Conservatives by 10 points – with the CPC now leading among women and all age groups.

Meanwhile, just 19% of Canadians believe Trudeau should be re-elected, as his approval rating continues to drop.

According to Abacus Data’s latest national survey, if an election were held today, 38% of Canadians would vote Conservative (up 4% from late-June), while 28% would vote Liberal (down 1% from late June). 

18% would vote NDP, (down 2% from late-June), 7% would vote for the Bloc Quebecois (unchanged), 5% would vote for the Green Party (unchanged) and 4% would vote PPC (down 1% from late June).  

The poll shows that the Conservatives now lead with women and Canadians aged 18-29 – two groups who traditionally vote Liberal or NDP. 

32% of Canadian women support the Conservatives; while 28% would vote Liberal, 23% would vote NDP, 5% would vote green, 7% would vote Bloc Quebecois and 4% would vote PPC. 

Support for Conservatives also remains strong among Canadian men.

31% of Canadians aged 18-29 now support the Conservatives; while 26% would vote Liberal, 26% would vote NDP, 10% would vote Green and 3% would vote PPC. 

Conservatives are most popular with Canadians aged 45 to 59.

Regionally, the Conservatives are ahead in every Canadian province or region except for Quebec and the Maritimes. 

The Bloc Quebecois and Liberals lead the Conservatives by 12% and 10% respectively in Quebec, and the Liberals lead the Conservatives by 1% in the Maritimes.

The Conservatives have the most support in Alberta (55%), followed by Saskatchewan and Manitoba (53%). They also have 39% support in battleground Ontario and British Columbia.

Canadians say their top issues are cost of living (72%), healthcare (45%) and housing affordability, the economy, and climate change. (43%). More Canadians also say they’re concerned about immigration compared to last month.

Among those who ranked the economy as a top 3 issue, 47% believe the Conservatives are the best party to handle it.

The Abacus Data poll has also found that even fewer Canadians are keen on re-electing Justin Trudeau. Just 19% say the Liberals deserve to be re-elected, while 81% want to see a change in government. 

Trudeau’s approval rating has also fallen to 29% – a new low for him in the Abacus tracker. 

Amid his decreasing popularity, Trudeau has decided to embed the Liberal government with fresh faces in a major cabinet shuffle Wednesday.

Trudeau has also removed several top ministers from the cabinet, and changed the portfolios of a majority of his ministers. Ministers no longer in cabinet include David Lametti, Mona Fortier, Marco Mendicino, Joyce Murray, Helena Jaczek, Carolyn Bennett and Omar Alghabra

Reacting to the poll’s results, Abacus Data Chair & CEO David Coletto said “the national picture remains quite challenging for the federal Liberals and Prime Minister Trudeau,” as “the Prime Minister’s negatives remain elevated all while the cost of living, healthcare, and housing are in focus for most Canadians.”

“Today’s cabinet shuffle needs to signal that the government is responding to these concerns and the government should relentlessly focus on those issues.”

Coletto added that “for the Conservatives, while these results might feel good, there’s evidence that neither Poilievre or the party as a whole is making much progress comforting Canadians with the idea of a future Conservative, Poilievre-led government.”

“This remains a real and present danger for the Conservatives.”

The Abacus Data survey was conducted with 2,486 Canadian adults from July 20 to 25, 2023. The full results can be viewed here.

LEVY: What really goes on at “equity” indoctrination sessions

By
Sue-Ann Levy
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Bill Dennis lasted barely an hour at an equity session given by the KOJO Institute before pushing back on the sheer inanity of it all.

During a recent telephone interview, the Sarnia city councillor said the session for eight council members was “cut short” by Kike Ojo-Thompson when he accused her of pushing “critical race theory” and wasting their time.

“She’s very very militant,” he said.”She was very self-righteous, smug and condescending.”

Her session was no help “whatsoever,” he said.

In fact, it was sold to councillors as training to help welcome the great number of international students coming into Sarnia. But it ended up being nothing of the sort.

“It was turned into a radical (session) and if you’re white, you should feel ashamed of yourself,” said Dennis.

“I had a heck of a time with her…it was a horrible experience.”

The sessions – that were supposed to be for city staff, council and the Sarnia police – cost $6,000, he said.

She never did the police and cut council short but kept the $6,000, he added.

I spoke to the councillor in the wake of the news that celebrated Toronto District School Board (TDSB) principal took his life last week after feeling intimidated and harassed at two equity sessions given by Ojo-Thompson in April and May of 2021.

Bilkstzo had recently filed a $750,000 lawsuit against the TDSB alleging breach of contract, defamation of character and reprisal by the board’s senior bureaucrats following the two KOJO sessions during which he says he was berated, repeatedly labelled a “white supremacist,” shamed and humiliated by Ojo-Thompson.

The lawsuit alleges the race “expert” took great exception to Bilkszto’s attempts to politely challenge her assertions that Canada is more racist than the United States.

She even suggested in a subsequent session that the TDSB take action against the 24-year principal for choosing not to “unlearn” his white supremacy.

A week after Dennis and another trustee pushed back at their session, KOJO sent a letter refusing to complete the contract because of the alleged “hostility” of some councillors. 

“She didn’t feel safe even though we were on a Zoom meeting… which was a real joke,” he said.

He said, like she did with Bilkszto, she plays the race and woman card with those who push back on her.

“She has a chip the size of a mountain on her shoulder,” he said.

An unnamed person from the KOJO institute responded by sending an Integrity report penned by Paul Watson, a former Kathleen Wynne candidate, that Dennis had harmed the trainer.

Dennis said council opted not to mete out punishment. The report cost $6000-$7000, he said.

Sarnia council’s two-hour training was an in-camera session allegedly because Ojo-Thompson was concerned about releasing “trade secrets.”

She was recommended to Sarnia council by the Ontario Municipal Association.

“If the general public had seen what she was teaching and heard some of the vitriol and the absurd ideas coming out of her mouth …” Dennis said.

He said they heard many of the same ideas relayed in Bilkszto’s statement of claim such as Canada being a racist country and how Canada’s institutions are all racist including the police.

“She’s a huge police hater,” Dennis said..

He said the letter from KOJO got leaked to the local paper to try to disparage his reputation before the 2022 election but he got re-elected with the highest vote count of all councillors.

Nevertheless he had to endure having his car keyed, angry calls on his cellphone, “horrible messages on his cellphone” and a letter sent to his house saying his Golden Retriever was going to be killed.

He got called racist too many times to count.

“The cancel culture mob… these people are nuts,” he said. “It was absolutely brutal.”

He said he felt “sick to his stomach” when he heard about the Bilkszto tragedy.

“As far as I’m concerned Richard is a hero … to take a stand like he did,” said Dennis.

He added that he hopes Richard’s family continues with the lawsuit.

The Daily Brief | Comedian cancelled for “offensive joke”

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Top doctors and scientists have taken to the British Medical Journal to call on Canada to launch an inquiry into “major pandemic failures.”

Plus, the Ontario government will review the circumstances surrounding the recent suicide of a Toronto District School Board principal who sued the school board after a confrontation which occurred during a “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” training session.

And a Vancouver comedy club cancelled a comedian for an “offensive joke” about residential schools.

Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Lindsay Shepherd!

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Trudeau announces new cabinet in major revamp

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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In an attempt to revive decreasing popularity and embed the Liberal government with fresh faces ahead of a return to Parliament this fall, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new picks for a cabinet on Wednesday. 

Speculation that Trudeau would be switching out some of his past core team members have circulated in Ottawa for some time now. 

Trudeau announced his new picks today in an hour-long affair in Rideau Hall and they included several key portfolios. 

Dominic LeBlanc was named as the new Minister of Public Safety to replace outgoing MP Marco Mendicino following a scandal involving his oversight of the transfer of Canadian serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison earlier this year. Mendicino was also dogged by his handling of the Freedom Convoy last year. 

As for Anita Anand, she will be moving from her role as Defence Minister into the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat portfolio, while Bill Blair will be taking over her former role. 

Additionally, MP David Lametti will no longer serve as Canada’s Minister of Justice, as his role will be taken over by Arif Virani. Lametti faced several hurdles while in cabinet, including the fallout from the invocation of the Emergencies Act by Trudeau and questions surrounding the federal government’s assisted suicide legislation. 

Similarly Joyce Murray was replaced by Diane Lebouthillier as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans after deciding to abandon her role as MP for Vancouver Quadra. 

“My work in politics and time serving my community both federally and provincially as an elected official has been the honour of my life,” said Murray on Tuesday. 

Omar Alghabra is also out and will be replaced by Pablo Rodriguez who will act as the new Transport Minister. On Tuesday, Alghabra announced that he would not be running in the next federal election and would be stepping aside from cabinet – freeing the spot for his successor. 

MP Helena Jaczek revealed she will no longer run for re-election and vacated her role as Public Services and Procurement Minister to Jean-Yves Duclos. 

Meanwhile, the new Mental Health and Addictions Minister Yara Saks will replace outgoing MP Carolyn Bennett.

BONOKOSKI: What can Canadians expect from the imminent cabinet shuffle?

By
Mark Bonokoski
-

Four Trudeau cabinet ministers cancelled press conferences on the same day, and Carolyn Bennett, former health minister suddenly announced she was not seeking re-election.

Something was obviously afoot.

All fingers pointed to an imminent cabinet shuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

What else could it be? Four cabinet ministers scurried for cover, while a senior one in Bennett wanted to make sure everyone knew she was leaving of her own accord before her name was noticed absent from Trudeau’s pre-election shuffle.

Ditto with Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, who is also not running — also Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray and Public Services and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek.

These are the things wise politicians do so as to not get in the way, or to ensure that no solid reputation suffers.

Meanwhile, Trudeau, who called all his ministers back to Ottawa, was hunkered down and out of touch with private meetings.

According to Radio-Canada, CBC’s French-language arm, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault are not changing portfolios.

Ditto with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

But Marco Mendicino, minister of public safety, very well might be.

Mendicino has been under intense pressure due to the controversy over the transfer of serial killer Paul Bernardo to La Maceza, a medium-security prison in the Quebec Laurentians known for handling sex offenders. The minister also has come under fire over his management of the government’s gun control legislation and the foreign interference file.

Coincidentally, the week Bernardo arrived at Lac Maceza, defrocked priest Brian Boucher, who was serving eight years at La Maceza for sexually assaulting two boys, was charged with additional sex crimes allegedly committed in prison. 

Asked last week whether he still had confidence in Mendicino, Trudeau skirted a direct answer.

“I have an amazing team in Ottawa and an amazing group of MPs right across the country who are committed to serving their country every single day, and anyone in my cabinet by definition has my confidence,” he said.

Senior government sources told the CBC that the focus of the shuffle, expected Wednesday, will highlight housing as well as the shoring up of cabinet to meet the next election. The government also wants to establish key communication strategies on important files.

Because of this, it is expected there will be multiple cabinet ministers being dropped.

This comes ahead of a scheduled cabinet retreat next month in P.E.I., which should give new ministers a few weeks to familiarize themselves with their portfolios.

Trudeau undertook a similar retooling of his cabinet in July 2018, prior to the 2019 federal election campaign. That shuffle saw five ministers added to cabinet and new portfolios created for seniors, intergovernmental affairs and border security.

Philip Cross, former chief economic analyst at Statistics Canada, reported in a recent essay for the Fraser Institute that Canada’s per-capita GDP growth rate is at its lowest level since the Great Depression.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland acknowledged this crisis in her 2022 budget speech.

She described it as, “the Achilles heel of the Canadian economy … We are falling behind when it comes to economic productivity. Productivity matters because it is what guarantees the dream of every parent — that our children will be more prosperous than we are. This is a well-known Canadian problem — and an insidious one.”

That one paragraph—alone—should grip every parent in Canada.

We’re letting our children down.

That’s mainly because of the Trudeau Liberals and the $1.1 trillion debt imposed on this nation.

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