The issue of Canada imposing digital restrictions on US products flared once again on Friday after a meeting between top officials from both countries.
While in Cancún, Mexico, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai pressed Liberal International Trade Minister Mary Ng to drop impending digital services taxes on American products.
Tai also urged the Canadian government to allow US shopping channels to operate in Canada, according to a readout from Tai’s office.
“Ambassador Tai underscored the need for Canada to fully meet its USMCA commitments, including on home shopping. In addition, she urged Canada to refrain from imposing a digital services tax while the OECD process continues this year,” the readout states.
Meanwhile, the readout from Ng’s office made no mention of Tai’s request related to shopping channels and only briefly skimmed over details of the digital services tax.
“Minister Ng urged Ambassador Tai to implement the OECD global tax arrangement,” Ng’s office claimed.
This isn’t the first time that US has raised concerns about the Canadian government’s push to impose restrictions on digital goods.
Last year, Tai raised similar concerns about recently passed legislation, Bill C-11 and Bill C-18.
The trade representative “expressed concerns” about how both laws would discriminate against US businesses and content creators.
“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,” said Tai.
With Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act, receiving royal assent, both Google and Meta have threatened to completely put an end to the sharing of Canadian news content on their platforms.
Effectively, Bill C-18 would ask social media giants to pay Canadian legacy media companies for links.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has condemned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent refusal to denounce Sikh terrorism after last month’s pro-Khalistani rally, which coincided with the 38th anniversary of the Air India Flight 182 bombing that killed 280 Canadians.
“They are wrong,” said Trudeau when asked by reporters about India claiming his government is soft on Sikh extremism. “ Canada has always taken extremely seriously violence and threats of violence.”
“We’ve always taken serious action against terrorism and we always will.”
“We have an extremely diverse country and freedom of expression is something we have,” said Trudeau in response to the rally in Toronto which displayed posters honouring Talwinder Singh Parmar, who orchestrated the bombing.
India took issue with Trudeau’s comments, claiming that Trudeau is pandering for votes.
“The issue is not about freedom of expression,” said official MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. “But it’s misuse for advocating violence, propagating separatism, and legitimizing terrorism.
“Canada should not pander to vote-bank politics,” said Bagchi.
Trudeau also refused to explicitly condemn the rally’s celebration of the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and instead gave a general disavowal of all extremism.
“We will always make sure that we are pushing back against violence and extremism in all its forms,” said Trudeau.
Earlier this year, protests featuring Khalistani extremist symbols erupted in front of the Indian consulate in Vancouver, causing concern for Indian diplomats.
“It is expected that the Canadian government will take all steps which are required to ensure the safety of our diplomats and security of our diplomatic premises so that they are able to fulfil their normal diplomatic functions,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Trudeau is not the only Canadian politician who has not condemned Khalistani violence.
In 2018, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh gave a speech at a pro-Khalistani rally in San Francisco where images of Parmar depicted as a hero were present. While Singh condemned the Air India bombing, he did not mention Parmar by name.
After the 2019 election debates, Singh spoke about the need to have the right to peacefully advocate for independence but did not condemn Khalistani actions.
A man in his 30s was stabbed Thursday afternoon in a Toronto subway car and his assailant, who’s still at large, is wanted for attempted murder.
A video of the violent episode shows an altercation in the subway car between two men arguing that quickly escalates into a flurry of punches and kick, before one of the combatants turns away and runs with blood seeping through his white shirt.
The other man, wearing a grey hooded sweater, gives chase as passengers, who include the cameraman, flee frantically.
The video depicts a trail of blood on the subway car floor as a woman can be heard yelling, “He’s stabbing him! He’s killing him!”
Shortly after, the train stops at Eglinton Station and the assailant, wearing a backpack and carrying another in his right hand, disembarks and walks away calmly.
Toronto police said the victim, who was transported to a trauma centre with life-threatening injuries, is now in stable condition.
The police describe the suspect as 25 to 30 years old, 5’10” with a thin build, shaved head and no facial hair. He was wearing a grey sweater, which said “GAP” on the front, black pants, black shoes and was carrying a green backpack.”
The stabbing is the latest in a long line of violent attacks on the TTC over the past couple of years.
Toronto’s mayor-elect Olivia Chow was asked by reporters how she could prevent incidents like this from happening again, but she appeared caught off guard.
“For example, they have private security guards, they have looking at ways to have people support like, they talked about, social workers in TTC to support people that hav different issues,” Chow responded.
“I have not gone into details precisely how we could increase the safety in TTC, so it’s a bit too early to answer that question.”
The Trudeau government is struggling to meet Canada’s national security and international defence obligations as the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) faces a severe shortage of personnel.
According to a federal briefing note obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, only 5,242 Canadians volunteered to join the CAF in 2022, a 35% drop from 8,069 in 2021.
The briefing note, titled “Recruitment And Retention,” admits that the CAF is struggling to fill its ranks due to the Covid-19 pandemic and challenges related to encouraging people to apply for service.
“The Canadian Armed Forces serves Canada by defending our values, interests and sovereignty at home and abroad. However, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is experiencing a shortfall in personnel that has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and Canada-wide labour shortages,” the briefing note obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter stated.
The document also reveals the government’s plan to boost recruitment by lowering standards and promoting diversity over merit.
Instead of focusing on attracting qualified Canadians who are willing to serve and defend the country, the government is resorting to identity-based quotas to fill the gaps.
The briefing note says the CAF will “streamline and redesign” the recruitment process to speed up applications, recognize past experience, and allow permanent residents to apply.
It also pushes for more representation of women, indigenous, and LGBT people in the CAF, claiming a need to “see the Canadian Armed Forces as a first-rate career choice where they will feel welcome, valued and safe.”
The briefing also cites the recent decision to eliminate “binary uniform and appearance choices,” giving members the option to choose their preferred uniform.
“Through these efforts, the CAF will become a first-rate career choice that will attract talented Canadians for years to come, thereby ensuring that the Forces is optimized to meet current and future security needs at home and abroad,” claimed the CAF.
As reported by True North last year, the CAF has opted to promote drag queen bingo and critical race theory (CRT) instead of dealing with the critical issues behind recruitment.
An anonymous source familiar with the matter told True North that CAF members had to sit through “CRT sessions we all had to endure and book recommendations from high ranking people.”
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is facing backlash from trans activists, Liberal politicians and some Progressive Conservatives over changes to education policy 713. Under the revised policy, parental consent is required in order for a child under the age of 16 to officially change their name or pronouns at school.
Two PC cabinet ministers resigned following the policy change while several PC riding presidents filed paperwork in a first step to initiate a leadership review of the premier. Higgs has however continued to hold the line in defense of his parental rights policy, and now New Brunswick parents are standing up and showing their support for the premier and his policy.
True North’s Elie Cantin-Nantel spoke with New Brunswick mother & TV personality Faytene Grasseschi about the province’s fight for parental rights. Grassehchi has started the Don’t Delete Parents campaign, which aims to support Premier Higgs, promote parental rights and advocate for school choice.
Did the Trudeau Liberals remove food price tags in a photo op lauding the government’s grocery rebate payment?
Plus, the founder of the Don’t Delete Parents campaign predicts parents will push New Brunswick premier Blaine Higgs to victory if a leadership review unfolds.
And former prime minister Stephen Harper calls for stronger global ties between Hungary and conservative parties.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Elie Cantin-Nantel!
Halfway up the Transport Canada tower in Ottawa is a secure emergency action facility with all the bells and whistles needed if something goes horribly wrong in any of the ministry’s many jurisdictions—from train wrecks to oil-spilling ocean cargo ships.
In this situation room, there are cameras capturing on-scene visuals from possibly thousands of kilometres away, and state-of-the-art walky-talkies to get updates from key personnel on the ground, or helicopters circling the disaster site.
The facility has a Star Trek vibe.
Ten years ago, on July 6, that room was focused on the lakeside town of Lac-Megantic, Que., when an unattended runaway train derailed with 72 oil tankers aboard. The explosion was epic. Forty-seven residents were killed and half the town of 6,000 was burned to the ground.
From that room halfway up Ottawa’s Transport Canada tower, specialists watched a live-stream video of Lac-Megantic’s horror, discussed scenarios with key personnel at the scene, and watched as a thousand firefighters struggled to stifle the blaze that burned two full days.
The Canadian Press reported on how Transportation Safety Board chair Kathy Fox was in the school auditorium a year later to deliver the agency’s report on the tragedy – and the failures that allowed an unattended train carrying 72 tankers full of crude oil to careen off the rails at over 100 km/h, bursting into flames in the heart of the community.
“You can imagine the grief, the shock, the anger, all the emotions,” Fox recalled. “It was a hard day.”
In that briefing, as well, were 27 orphaned children.
Fox, reported by the Canadian Press, kept on her desk a photograph of the Lac-Megantic streetscape before the accident. Framed in view were the Musi-Café—where 30 of the victims were killed when the fireball erupted and, in the distance, the local church.
“It is a daily reminder of what happened,” Fox said. “We don’t ever, ever want to see another Lac-Megantic.”
I have been in that situation room halfway up the Transport Canada town when Lisa Raitt was minister and I was her communications director and speech writer.
There had been a substantial oil spill in the Vancouver Harbor, and being in that room was the next best thing to being there.
Lac-Megantic must have been organized chaos.
During her term as transport minister, Raitt worked tirelessly to get safer tanker cars than the DOT-111, which were the majority in both Canada and the United States, retiring them when replaced by a more modern and safer rail car.
The new law would require new DOT-111 tank cars be built with thicker steel requirements, as well as a top fitting and head shield protection.
In an interview with CBC Radio’s The House, Raitt said she planned to meet with officials from Canada and the United States to figure out what to do with the existing stock of DOT-111 rail cars.
“The problem is that there is a higher demand for cars,” she said. “Now the good news is that as the demand increases and the new cars are being added to the line, they are going to be at a tougher new standard, there’s no question.
“But you’re right — what do you do with the other over 100,000 DOT-111 cars that are still out there?”
In 2009, according to the Railway Association of Canada, there were 529 carloads of Canadian crude oil shipped by rail across North America. By 2013, the year of the Lac-Megantic tragedy, that figure had jumped to 160,000 carloads.
In the United States that year, the Association of American Railroads said there were roughly 228,000 DOT-111 rail cars in operation.
In 2016, then-Liberal Transport Minister Marc Garneau issued a directive to accelerate the phasing out the legacy DOT-111 tanker cars which were the least crash resistant.
Furthermore, all DOT-111 cars must be completely phased out for all flammable liquids by April 30, 2025.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper has called for more collaboration between conservative parties dedicated to democratic values globally on the tails of a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Harper made the comment in a tweet posted to his official Twitter account.
Harper also gathered with other center-right leaders in Budapest this week for the International Democratic Union (IDU) Alliance conference.
“I was pleased to meet with Fidesz Party Leader (Viktor Orbán) today in Budapest. We discussed the IDU’s strong support for Ukraine and the importance of centre-right parties strengthening their collaboration,” tweeted Harper.
As @IDUalliance Chairman I was pleased to meet with Fidesz Party Leader @PM_ViktorOrban today in Budapest. We discussed the IDU’s strong support for Ukraine and the importance of centre-right parties strengthening their collaboration. pic.twitter.com/dPU1Q7Oi5r
The former prime minister has maintained strong ties with Hungary since leaving office. In 2018, Harper congratulated Orbán on winning his fourth term in office.
Since then, Orbán has made great strides implementing various conservative policies in Hungary, much to the chagrin of the Canadian legacy media and the EU bureaucracy.
Under Orbán’s leadership, the country has adopted a number of pro-family policies such as tax exemptions for young mothers and spending 5.5% of the nation’s GDP on social support programs for families.
Recently, Hungary’s policies have earned the praise of psychologist and renowned author Dr. Jordan B. Peterson.
“My impression of your family policy is that if people understood it internationally, it would be very popular with most people,” Peterson told the Hungarian Conservative in May.
Harper currently chairs the IDU, which is dedicated to promoting the values of freedom and democracy globally. Its member states include 84 parties across 65 different countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Germany, France, Austria, Spain, Japan and elsewhere.
While at the conference, Harper also met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
While on a recent G7 meeting trip, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used the conference as an opportunity to take a political jab at Meloni’s opposition to gender ideology and accuse her of having a poor record on LGBTQ rights.
Speakers at the IDU conference also included former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and former president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.
My thanks to all @IDUAlliance members who participated in the IDU’s 40th anniversary Forum in London! It was a pleasure to gather with centre-right leaders to discuss freedom, democracy, and the geo-political challenges we face. Special thanks to our outstanding speakers,… pic.twitter.com/AHGgzKGjOY
The New Brunswick mother behind a campaign supporting Premier Blaine Higgs says if a leadership review were to happen, Higgs would come out victorious with the support of parents given the popularity of his parental rights policy.
In an interview with True North, Don’t Delete Parents campaign founder Faytene Grasseschi praised Higgs’ changes to Policy 713, which among other things, brings in a new requirement stating that parental consent must be given before a child under the age of 16 can officially change their name or pronouns at school.
Grasseschi said, “Parents should never be deleted from the lives of their children on any level” and also urged other governments to cultivate education systems that believe in parents.
For Grasseschi and other families, the debate over Policy 713 is not about gender identity, but rather about respecting parental autonomy. “This actually isn’t about gender identity, it’s about parents.”
“I brought my child into this world, I fed them with my own body, and I deserve to be informed on these important issues of health and wellbeing.”
“If you’re going to delete me from my child’s life in this area, what other areas are you going to delete me from my child’s life in?” she asked. “If this is okay, then what else is okay?”
While intended to reflect the role of parents, Policy 713 changes have been criticized by trans activists, Liberal politicians and some Progressive Conservatives.
Guys like Pierre Poilievre talk a good game about freedom.
But not all kids are free to be themselves at home.
Not all parents are accepting. Not all homes are safe. Schools can be. Schools should be.https://t.co/7awFKObN4y
Two PC cabinet ministers resigned following the policy change and several PC riding presidents have submitted letters to initiate a leadership review. They hope to remove Higgs as premier.
“If people are catching what’s happening here, my gut sense is that if this goes to a vote with the members… he’s going to win,” Grasseschi said. “The people that are trying to oust him are probably gonna walk away with some egg on their face” because “they’ve picked the wrong issue.”
“There are too many parents that are waking up, that love their kids,” and “this is a line… when you start to mess with what is most precious to us and that is our children, that’s where people start to get involved, that in the past maybe haven’t been involved.”
Grasseschi noted that good legislation looks at the whole picture and finds appropriate ways to deal with issues that come to light. Most parents are loving, kind, generous and engaged and that simply want the best for their children. Hence education policies need to work for everyone.
“We need to cultivate a system that believes the best about parents,” said Grasseschi. Such a system must “make sure that we’re supporting good parents, rather than just playing defense against parents who are actually amazing.”
“Don’t assume every parent is a villain. I am not a villain,” added Grasseschi.
The revised Policy 713 contains directives for schools to follow if a child does not yet feel comfortable discussing their gender identity with their parents.
“If it is not possible to obtain consent to talk to the parent, the student will be directed to the appropriate professional to work with them in the development of a plan to speak with their parents if and when they are ready to do so,” and if that “is not in the best interest of the child or could cause harm to the student (physical or mental threat),” then “the student will be directed to the appropriate school professional for support.”
A Leger poll commissioned by SecondStreet.org found that 69% of Maritimers agree that schools should make parents aware that their kids are wishing to change genders or pronouns, while several PC Party executives say the “silent majority” stands with the premier.
Grasseschi’s Don’t Delete Parents campaign is built around three goals; supporting Premier Higgs, not deleting parents and implementing school choice.
A new site has been launched in support of Premier Blaine Higgs as he stands for parents & families. The site also highlights some important values: Don't delete parents & the money should follow the families educational choices: https://t.co/pjGq6RxZiPpic.twitter.com/yHkw6aOitr
The campaign also has three calls to action; signing a pro-Higgs petition, emailing New Brunswick MLAs and sending the Premier a message of support. Grasseschi says copies of her pro-Higgs’ petition will be physically delivered every time it reaches 5000 signatures.
Grasseschi is the founder of 4MyCanada, an organization that “works to keep Canadians up to date on national items of interest and gives direction on how they can use their time, talent and influence to effect positive change.” She is also the host of Faytene TV, a show “speaking directly to the issues shaping Canada.”
You probably didn’t realize that Canada is under attack right now. According to Justin Trudeau, this “attack” is comparable to the fight against the Germans in the Second World War. Seriously.
Trudeau told Canadians that we are in fact on a war footing in the fight to save Canadian democracy — all while standing in a grocery store.
Trudeau views Meta and Google’s decision to block news links on their platforms due to the passing of Bill C-18 as some sort of act of war. Does the Prime Minister realize just how ridiculous he sounds? Is he losing it?
Don’t let the Trudeau government cut you off from True North. Subscribe today: tnc.news/subscribe
Tune in to the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner!
