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Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Prominent Quebec media figures speak out against drag queen story hours

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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Multiple prominent Quebec media figures, including columnists and radio hosts, are speaking out against the presence of drag queens in libraries, schools and daycares.

This comes amid Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) leader Eric Duhaime’s campaign to put an end to drag shows for kids in public places. The PCQ leader, who is openly gay, doesn’t believe taxpayers should be funding these controversial events. 

Renowned Quebec media personality Denise Bombardier said in a Le Journal de Montreal column that she feels uneasy about kids being exposed to drag queens. She added that the latter are “a character in an adult show where sauciness and sexual transgressions are appreciated.”

Bombardier also asked if society will begin telling children “the recognition of a third gender” – something that is already happening in schools across Canada as school boards have included radical gender ideology in classrooms.

Meanwhile, 98.5 FM radio host and former municipal politician Luc Ferrandez, said “I don’t really agree with drag queens in schools” amid there being a lack of parental choice. He also said he’s “convinced that it’s a counter job for a drag queen to be in a library,” because the latter is political. 

Ferrandez says he believes “sexual identity is a public health issue.” 

104.7 FM radio host Michel Langevin said, “I think we should wait until our children are a little older, so that they understand well, so they don’t get mixed up,” amid several young children being gender confused.

Journalist and Radio X personality Jerome Blanchet Gravel said he believes “the problem with drag queens is not their existence as artists, personalities and free human beings, but the fact that they are now serving a political agenda, that of converting the population to gender theory.”

Columnist Sophie Durocher wrote in Le Journal de Montreal that “a man dressed up as a woman, with huge nails, fake eyelashes, fake boobs, a sequined dress, jewelry everywhere, isn’t that a huge ‘stereotype’?”

Le Journal columnist and QUB Radio host Richard Martineau asked “how is it the role of public libraries to promote gender deconstruction?”, while Le Devoir columnist Christian Rioux said, “let’s give schools back their neutrality and libraries back their innocence” amid the fact that “the mixing of genders has not always been a success.” 

Earlier this month, the National Library and Archives of Quebec put out a statement saying it was proud to platform drag artist Barbada de Barbades (who True North previously interviewed) for story hours. It claimed purposes of the activity include teaching children gender ideology.

“Drag story hour is an activity adapted to the age of its participants. Children can hear stories about love, well-being, self-expression, respect for differences and the deconstruction of gender stereotypes, all while having fun,” wrote the national library.

It should be noted that the nuance of opinions on drag shows for kids coming from the Quebec media is different from the anglophone legacy media – who have embraced and promoted the controversial concept.

Canada’s public broadcaster CBC has, among other things, run a segment that tried to normalize drag for children. 

Meanwhile, Global News published an article in January claiming drag events in Canada are facing a “crisis of hate” amid peaceful protests from parents and other community members. 

This is not the first time that Quebec society has been critical of wokeism. In the past, several of the province’s media figures, columnists and politicians denounced cancel culture and discrimination against white people to promote “diversity.” 

Quebec Premier Francois Legault has also rejected narratives that his province is systematically racist. 
A petition started by the Conservative Party of Quebec calling on governments to cease all funding for drag shows for children and respect parental consent now has over 40,000 signatures.

Trudeau’s online censorship law, Bill C-11, passes parliament

By
Andrew Kozak
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The Trudeau government’s online censorship law passed the final stage of voting in the Senate, received royal assent and became law on Thursday evening.

Bill C-11, which updates Canada’s Broadcasting Act, will subject digital content creators to regulation by the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). 

Senators voted 52-16 in support of the bill becoming law.

Critics of the bill have argued that Bill C-11 will allow the government to interfere with the algorithms of content that Canadians are able to consume online. The government claims that the bill will not apply to individuals who post on social media.

“Today, we are standing up for our stories, our artists, our producers and our creators. We’re standing up so that Canadians have even more opportunities to see themselves in what they watch and listen to,” Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Thursday in a statement. 

A previous Senate amendment to exempt user-generated content from the bill was rejected by senators on Wednesday evening. 

“The fact that we’ve spent so much time and deliberation on this legislation isn’t justification to now pack it in after one round,” said Conservative Senator Leo Housakos.

“All that the Senate did was to take the government up on its claim and to test its commitment. But when put to the test, the government failed. It effectively declared that it would continue to reserve the right to permit the CRTC to regulate user-generated content if required,” said Senator Don Plett.

Senators voted 47-17 against insisting the amendment be included in the bill.

Earlier this month, documents from the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada show that the agency pressured Facebook and Twitter to delete a Toronto Sun article that criticized the refugee determination system.

There were 214 instances of federal staff members asking social media companies to remove content between January 2020 and February 2023.

In March, the Liberal government struck down debate in the House of Commons on Bill C-11 in order to force the legislation through Parliament.

The Bloc Quebecois and the NDP have supported the Liberal government’s push to get the bill passed into law.

Famed Canadian authors Margaret Atwood and David Adams Richards are among novelists who have warned against Bill C-11.

“That what George Orwell says we must resist is a prison of self-censorship,” Richards said during a speech in Canada’s Senate, where he sits as a Senator. “This bill goes a long way to construct such a prison.”

Margaret Atwood shared the video in support of Richards’ speech, saying that it “needs a listen.”

The CRTC will now be required to develop regulations following consultations with the public. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect the fact that C-11 has received royal assent and has become law.

Ratio’d | How can he say this with a straight face?

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claims he never forced anyone to get vaccinated, but instead made sure that all the incentives were there to get vaccinated. Is this guy serious?

During the pandemic, if you wanted to get a on a plane to attend your fathers’ funeral, you had to be vaccinated. If you wanted to keep your job working as a nurse, a cop, a firefighter or a paramedic, you had to be vaccinated. If you wanted to keep your job as a trucker, you had to be vaccinated. If you wanted to keep your job as a member of the armed forces, you had to be vaccinated.

Trudeau was responsible for overseeing some of the worst and most authoritarian lockdowns in the world. His mandates and restrictions on the God-given rights and freedoms of Canadians will be part of his legacy as prime minister, but now it appears he wants to hide from his past comments and write a new narrative.

Watch the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner!

Edmonton’s 2022 record crime rate on track to be topped this year

By
Rachel Parker
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Edmonton saw the most number of violent crimes ever reported in a single year in 2022 — and the Alberta capital is on track to see even higher numbers this year.

Sean Tout, Edmonton Police Service’s executive director of information management and analytics, said violent crimes during the first quarter of 2023 were up by about 6% compared to the same period in 2022.

“The volume of violent crime, the severity of violent crime and violence perpetrated against these victims continues to increase in the city of Edmonton at alarming rates,” Tout said at a news conference last week.

Last year, at least 15,040 violent crimes were reported in Edmonton. That’s an increase of 16.5%  from the year before. Crime categories with the biggest increase during the time period include assaults, intimidation, and robbery.

Data also shows that at least two out of every ten violent crimes took place in downtown Edmonton.

There was also a 25% hike in violence that involved a firearm last year. But firearm-related crimes jumped 75% between January and March of this year compared to the same period last year.

Just last month, two Edmonton police officers were shot to death while responding to a call in the city’s northwest. Prior to that incident, the last Edmonton city police officer killed in the line of duty was Const. Daniel Woodall in June 2015.

Tout said between 2013 and last year, around 70%  of victims who were attacked in transit centres did not know their offenders. That’s far above the city average, where 36% of victims didn’t know the attackers during the same period.

The service also released data on violent crimes before and after the 2019 passage of Bill C-75, federal legislation that gave courts and police authority to ease bail provisions.

Edmonton police data shows that 2,880 people were arrested and released in 2017. Of those, 1,784 people, or 60%, were involved in violent crimes again, including three homicides between 2017-19.

After Bill C-75 was passed, at least 3,647 people were arrested and released in 2020 in Edmonton. Of those, 68%, were engaged in violent crimes again, with 26 homicides between 2020 and January 2023.

“We know we have a small number of individuals disproportionately responsible for a large number of the volume of occurrences that equates to a large resource draw in identifying these individuals and holding them to account,” Tout said.

At a press conference in Edmonton earlier this month, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wondered “what’s happening to our cities” following a string of violent attacks and stabbings across Edmonton and Calgary. 

That week, Edmonton police confirmed a man found dead in his apartment over the weekend had been shot to death in a homicide. That same day, a teenage boy was attacked in an Edmonton mall and was brought to the hospital in serious condition.

Poilievre said the situation is the same across Canadian cities following eight years under the Trudeau Liberals. For example, the same 40 offenders were arrested 6,000 times in 2022 in Vancouver, he said. 

“That’s 150 arrests per offender per year,” he said. “You don’t have a lot of criminals in Canada. It’s a very small number that do the vast majority of crime.”

He attributed the crime wave to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “costly coalition with the NDP” and their policies that allow the same repeat violent offenders loose on the street to “terrorize innocent people.”

“We’ve got to replace these crazy catch-and-release crime policies with a common sense criminal justice reform, and that’s exactly what a Pierre Poilievre government will do,” he said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been attempting to stem the criminal activity by hiring more police officers. Her government also launched an Edmonton public task force to respond to issues of addiction, homelessness and public safety. 

9 in 10 Canadians interested in a four-day workweek

By
Andrew Kozak
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93% of Canadians are interested in adopting a four-day workweek model, according to a study by job search platform Talent.com.

57% of those who responded to the survey said they would put the model in their top three benefits that they would like their employer to offer. Next was insurance (52%) and choosing their own working hours (47%).

44% reported that they are not equally productive on each day of the week and said they do not want to work more than 36 hours per week. Half of those surveyed said they were not interested in switching to a format where they would work four 10-hour shifts.

The top reasons for a four-day workweek included decreasing feelings of burnout, stress and being overwhelmed. Many also said a shorter week would improve work-life balance.

80% of respondents said they have concerns when it comes to implementing the shorter model with nearly half who are worried about being paid less even if they worked less. More than a third believe they would end up working longer days and that they would be asked to work overtime without extra pay.

Of the reasons Canadians support a four-day work week, having extra free time followed by time to attend personal appointments and complete household chores topped the list.

“Successful pilot programs for a four-day work week have been implemented in markets around the world, resulting in improved productivity,” said Robert Boersma, Head of Sales Strategy at Talent.com. “Canadians too are showing an increased desire for the concept.”

A Toronto-based arts education charity called VIBE Arts is implementing a four-day workweek for their employees starting on May 1 while still receiving full-time pay.

OP-ED: A new kind of “unrestricted warfare”

By
Rita Smith
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Some years ago, my military son recommended I read the book “Unrestricted Warfare.” 

“It will help you understand a lot of what is going on,” he advised seriously. “Most people wouldn’t even recognize it, if we were at war already.” 

“Unrestricted Warfare” was written by Chinese military strategists Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui and published in 1999.  It proposes that warfare can be conducted not just on the conventional battlefield, but also in domains such as economics, finance, cyberspace, information, politics, culture, and law, without boundaries. These non-military tactics blur the lines between war and peace.

When I joined my church’s Life Committee, it was mainly focused on helping new moms raise healthy babies and preventing abortion. However, at the very first meeting I attended, opposing Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAiD) program had become an urgent priority. We refer to it as “government-induced death” and celebrated when euthanasia where mental illness is the sole underlying condition was at least delayed.

A meeting later, the skyrocketing rates of transgenderism among teenagers came up. 

As moms and grammas, we are dismayed that young people are being offered the chance to have their endocrine systems disrupted with hormones or their bodies surgically altered to such a degree that many of them will never be able to become natural parents. “Gender fluidity” can actually mean sterilizing young adults, but no one is talking about that. 

Post-Covid, Gynecologist-Obstetrician Dr. James Thorpe has found a 1200-fold increase in severe menstrual abnormalities, a 57-fold increase in miscarriage, a 38-fold increase in fetal death or stillbirth rates. His research found 15 other major pregnancy complications.

“Pushing these experimental COVID-19 vaccines globally is the greatest violation of medical ethics in the history of medicine, maybe humanity,” Thorpe says. 

Another topic that deserves discussion but is still hidden in the fog is the alarming increase in mortality in the 18-64 age group recently disclosed by life insurance companies: all-cause mortality 40% higher during the third and fourth quarters of 2021 than it was pre-Covid. Apparently, no one knows why. 

And the opioid overdose deaths! 

In 2021, more Americans died of opioid overdose than in the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined: 100,306 opioid deaths versus fewer than 70,000 war deaths. For two decades, a generation was awash in doctor-prescribed Oxycontin. Now, fentanyl, carfentanyl and other illegal opioids are wiping out thousands of citizens in the prime of their lives.

These drugs, and the untreated mental illness which is so consistently a comorbidity of addiction, are the root cause of horrifying homelessness in Vancouver, Portland Seattle and Los Angeles. How can a loving, caring, compassionate society view such suffering and neglect without rushing to help?

Last night, I skimmed videos on YouTube. The first one that popped up featured a tremendously fat woman laughing skeptically into the camera at the idea that “obesity” existed as a condition. 

“There is no such thing as ‘obesity!’” she insisted confidently. “It’s a made-up condition. It’s a social contagion. ‘Obesity’ does not exist.” 

This culture of embracing avoidable death now threatens human beings from before birth to the early grave.

Our Life Committee, well-intentioned as it is, has been focused on traditional threats against life: abortion is one, yes. Now, euthanasia is another. Promoting gender fluidity is another; flooding communities with legal drugs and untested vaccines, and normalizing obesity are others. 

Under “Unrestricted Warfare,” government propaganda may seem gentler than enemy bullets and bombs. 

By the same token, body positivity and harm reduction sound a lot nicer than abortion. 

In any case, we are dealing with a new kind of unrestricted warfare: not against a political enemy, but against Life itself. 

LEVY: Toronto Catholic teacher tweets incessantly about 2SLGBTQI issues

By
Sue-Ann Levy
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He’s a Grade 7 and 8 teacher in the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) who appears to be obsessed with 2SLGBTQI and trans rights.

Paolo De Buono teaches at St. Antoine Daniel School in the Jane and Wilson Ave. area of Toronto.

His Twitter feeds suggest he spends far more time tweeting about LGBT and trans issues than teaching students.

He has two Twitter feeds, one in his own name @misterdebuono, which he claims is his personal account and another called @pdbclassroom or The Rainbow Room, which according to him, is his school account.

The lines are constantly blurred between the two, with both mostly full of tweets exhibiting his obsession with gay and lesbian issues and with getting a religious book called Fully Alive (which preaches family values) out of the Catholic system.

His Twitter activity was brought to my attention by a series of teachers who believe his constant postings to be highly inappropriate given that he is a teacher in the faith-based Catholic system.

Even though his tweets appear to go against many provisions of the TCDSB social media policy–which indicates that violations may result in discipline or termination –nothing seems to have been done to stop him.

That policy states that personal accounts “should not identify a person’s position” or contain content that relates to a teacher’s “daily activities at school” (he appears to try to protect himself by claiming some of his messages do not relate to the TCDSB).

The policy states all social media interaction must be “formal, courteous and professional in tone” and pictures of classrooms or the school environment “must not be shared” on personal social media accounts.

He appears to violate the privacy issue with this tweet, among others:

His Twitter feeds regularly include a video of him making various pronouncements about gay and lesbian issues:

On the recent International Day of Pink, he wore this mask declaring he was against homophobia and transphobia. It was on his school account:

He has also bragged that he intends to the first Catholic teacher to bring Drag Queen story hour to his classroom:

In the past few days, he’s been obsessed with delivering a deputation to the York Region Catholic School Board about flying the Pride flag during Pride month at all of that board’s schools.

One wonders when this activist – who seems to perceive himself as a kind of messiah – actually has time to teach his students. Apparently, the only religion to which he’s exposing them is that related to activism.

I wrote to him asking him for comment on whether he felt his Twitter activities were appropriate. He did not respond by e-mail but recently posted this as if goading me to do a story:

As I’ve discovered, De Buono is not alone in his ability to tweet controversial and inappropriate comments with impunity.

This kind of activity is far more rampant in the woke public boards.

However, it makes one wonder who is running the show.

The teachers unions? The principals? Board directors?

Or has education in this province become one massive free-for-all where a Catholic teacher spends more of his time pushing his gender and 2SLGBTQI agenda than actually providing his students with a good grounding in academics?

UCP environmental plan won’t impose regulations to achieve zero emissions

By
Rachel Parker
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Alberta’s United Conservative Party has released an aspirational environmental plan which aspires to carbon neutrality by 2050.

The plan was outlined by Environment Minister Sonya Savage, who said it didn’t contain “random targets” because the government is still studying what’s achievable.

“We have an aspiration to get to net zero,” she said last week. “Albertans want results, they don’t necessarily want targets and especially targets that aren’t aren’t achievable.”

Savage said the plan includes actions like modernizing the electricity system to help keep energy secure and affordable and enabling a lower emissions electricity grid.

She said the government plans to achieve results by supporting the development of new technologies to green and diversify electricity, like carbon capture projects. She also touted advancements in hydrogen, small modular nuclear reactors, geothermal, renewables, and energy storage systems.

The government will also form a new committee of Indigenous people and youth.

“Emissions reduction and energy development plan is the next chapter in a long history of environmental leadership in Alberta,” Savage said. “It will build a thriving economy while cutting emissions. It will guide Alberta on its path to becoming an even stronger and more prominent global leader in emissions reductions, innovation and technology, and sustainable resource development.”

Savage said the plan doesn’t include interim reductions targets, proposed regulation or legislation because background work on achievable targets is ongoing. She said Alberta wants to examine the provincial economy sector by sector.

“The question isn’t whether you legislate the targets,” she said. “It’s about having realistic pathways to get there and providing the supportive policies.”

Notably, the plan does not include a provincial carbon tax, though Alberta is still subject to the federal carbon tax.

Former premier and NDP leader Rachel Notley introduced a carbon tax in 2015. The federal carbon tax did not take effect until 2017.

Kris Sims, Alberta Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, says carbon taxes have been making people poorer in Canada since 2008 while failing to reduce emissions. Sims also said Notley’s NDP government was wrong to impose a carbon tax on Albertans in 2017 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is wrong to impose a federal one.

“Albertans are about $700 poorer this year because of the carbon tax, even with the rebates factored in,” she said.

“If governments want to try to reduce emissions by using better technologies, that’s up to them, but they can’t keep slapping people with a carbon tax because it’s just a tax grab that makes everyday life more expensive for people.”

Opposition New Democrat environment critic Marlin Schmidt said the UCP plan lacks credibility.

“By their own admission, this so-called plan is purely aspirational, does not set firm targets, lacks accountability and relies on technology that is yet to be deployed,” he said.

The NDP have pledged a net-zero electricity grid by 2035 and tax credits for investment in clean technologies.

Feminist group calls out Regina YWCA for inviting trans activist to lecture women

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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The Canadian chapter of the Women’s Rights Network (WRN) is calling out the Regina Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) for inviting controversial trans activist Fae Johnstone to give a keynote speech at a women’s awards night.

Johnstone, a biological male who now uses “she/they” pronouns, serves as a YWCA Canada board member – in addition to being the executive director of progressive organization Wisdom2Action.

The YWCA is a community organization intended to provide support for women and families through programs such as childcare and housing.

WRN wrote on Twitter, “What are you thinking (YWCA Regina)? Are you not aware that women have had enough of these males identifying as women taking our awards, spaces and opportunities?”

The WRN is also taking issue with one of the finalists for the Regina YWCA Women of Distinction awards being a biological male. Trans activist Cat Haines, who wrote a Master’s thesis about “Transmisogyny,” “Girlcock” and BDSM, has been nominated for the YWCA Igniting Equity award. 

Haines previously made headlines for launching a “trans youth” mentorship program that connects teenagers with older, “experienced” transgender adults.

Amid the backlash from the WRN and other women, the Regina YWCA locked their Twitter account.

SCREENSHOT: YWCA Regina’s locked Twitter

Meanwhile, Johnstone responded to the criticism by claiming that “Twitter transphobes are bullying a feminist organization in Saskatchewan – (YWCA Regina) – for inviting me to be the keynote speaker at their upcoming awards ceremony,” and called on those who support “trans inclusive feminism” to donate to the YWCA.  

Johnstone also shared calls to boycott a Regina small business because its female owner shared her opposition to the YWCA’s decision to platform Johnstone on Facebook.

SCREENSHOT: Johnstone retweets a post calling for the boycott of a Regina small business because its female owner objects to the YWCA’s choice of keynote speaker.

Johnstone has become notorious, for, among other things, being a staunch opponent of feminists who are critical of transgender ideology. 

Johnstone has claimed that trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) are “acting as a smokescreen for far right extremism” and has called for these feminists to be “so vilified” that “they don’t dare speak their views publicly.”

Johnstone also faced backlash after being featured in a Hershey’s International Women’s Day campaign. The latter had led to calls to boycott the company, with Hershey receiving criticism from several prominent figures including American Conservative commentator Matt Walsh, for platforming Johnstone.

Johnstone has also shared support for biological males being allowed in women’s prisons, and attempted to cancel a talk by renowned Canadian author and psychologist Jordan Peterson in Ottawa – an effort that failed. Peterson spoke to a packed arena in Ottawa, while no protestors were seen outside.

True North reached out to Johnstone and YWCA Regina for comment but neither responded in time for publication.  

The Rupa Subramanya Show | Do Canadians have any sympathy for public servants?

By
Rupa Subramanya
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The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents roughly 155,000 federal workers, have gone on strike. As a result, Canadians are subject to a number of disruptions, including processing income taxes at the Canada Revenue Agency, passport services such as renewals and deliveries, and delays when applying for licenses, certificates and registrations.

The PSAC has a number of demands, including pay raises, more remote work options and even more funding for its “social justice fund.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has been highly critical of PSAC demands, arguing federal employees are out of touch and are asking too much while Canadians are struggling to make ends meet.

CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano joins The Rupa Subramanya Show to discuss the ongoing public service strike.

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