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Friday, September 26, 2025

Only 27% of Canadians believe the feds are doing enough on housing affordability: poll

By
Andrew Kozak
-

Canadians are more discouraged than ever about breaking into the housing market and many believe the federal government isn’t doing enough to address housing affordability, according to a new poll.

An Ipsos poll conducted for Global News found that 63% of Canadians who currently do not own a home have “given up” on ever owning one. The poll also revealed that only 27% of Canadians feel the government is doing enough to address housing affordability. 

While 76% of Canadians believe purchasing a home is the best investment choice, seven in 10 believe home ownership is only for the wealthy. This belief was most widely held by Canadians aged 18-24. 

A sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. The poll had a margin of error of ± 3.5 percentage points.

While home prices in Canada have decreased over the past year, many Canadians are discouraged by high interest rates. 71% of respondents said high interest rates are the reason they’re refusing to enter the housing market.

In an attempt to combat riding inflation, the Bank of Canada has increased its benchmark interest rate in order to curb consumer spending. The central bank has paused further rate hikes after raising interest rates to 4.5%. 

The Trudeau government has announced a number of initiatives to help Canadians break into the housing market, including a Tax-Free First Home Savings Account and a recently-launch housing accelerator fund, which encourages municipalities to build homes. 

However, Ipsos senior vice-president Sean Simpson says the government’s efforts are not translating into increased confidence among buyers.

“Despite consistently telling governments that housing is a priority, that we need to keep the dream of homeownership alive in Canada, Canadians believe that governments simply aren’t doing enough to act,” Simpson says.

Ontario civil servant sentenced to 10 years in $47 million fraud scheme

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

A former IT director with Ontario’s Ministry of Education will spend 10 years in prison after defrauding the government of over $47 million. 

Sanjay Madan is accused of exploiting his position and access to family support programs to conduct two separate fraud schemes. 

Prosecutors allege that while overseeing a Covid-19 relief benefit program, Madan and his family cashed fraudulent cheques. 

Madan first faced criminal charges in 2021 alongside another individual accused of defrauding the government. 

The accused is also ordered to pay back a total of $47.4 million. He has already paid back $30 million of the stolen cash. 

Upon leaving prison in 10 years, Madan will have five years to pay back the remaining sum. 

According to his defence lawyer, the accused entered a guilty plea in order to clear his family’s name. 

“So, Mr. Madan at the sentencing was – in taking responsibility – trying to drive home the point that it was him, and not his family, and that’s why it is he who is going to jail and why it is his wife who is having all charges withdrawn, and why his sons have not been charged at all,” said defense lawyer Chris Sewrattan. 

Madan was charged with two counts of fraud, two counts of breach of trust, money laundering and possession of property obtained by crime. 

The future of conservatism in Quebec (feat. Eric Duhaime)

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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The relatively new Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) saw impressive results in last October’s provincial election – going from the 1.46% it received in 2018 to the 12.92%. However, the party did not win any seats.

The PCQ’s rise can be attributed to many centre-right Quebecers being frustrated with Premier Francois Legault’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic – an issue that is no longer on the forefront of Quebecers’ minds amid restrictions being lifted.

True North’s Elie Cantin-Nantel spoke with PCQ leader Eric Duhaime at the Canada Strong and Free conference in Ottawa about the future of his party. They also discussed his attempts to court government backbenchers, Quebec’s opposition to woke ideology and Legault’s spending, among other things.

Self-defence classes sell out after increased violence on the TTC

By
Andrew Kozak
-

A new self-defence class in Toronto aimed at teaching subway riders has completely sold out due to large demand after increased attacks on the TTC.

The Toronto Krav Maga Academy aims to help riders know what to do if faced with an attacker on public transit.

“This seminar will be based on a handful of recent transit attacks that have made the news,” writes their website. “Including attempts to push civilians onto subway tracks, striking and weapons attacks.”

“It’s tough to function under stress. Your motor skills deteriorate your awareness, and you develop tunnel vision,” Chris Gagne, head instructor at the Toronto Krav Maga Academy, told NEWSTALK 1010’s Moore in the Morning as reported by CP24.

“We want people to be able to function even in those circumstances when they’re under duress. And that’s not easy.”

The program called the “Civilian Self-Defence Academy” promises to teach attendees situational awareness at bus stops and underground transit, techniques to defend themselves in confined spaces, and even surviving weapons attacks.”

Gagne is even offering participants seven free classes at several other self-defence gyms such as FIIT Co, Tanuki Martial Arts and Kombat Arts Training Academy.

“There was a huge demand leading up to us organizing and designing the courses,” Gagne said. “We had set up one, and with all the events that are happening…plus, you know, the media coverage as well, that people are really concerned and they sold out really quickly.”

According to their website, all April seminars are full with no options to sign up for classes until May.

Last week, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre held a press conference criticizing the Trudeau government’s bail reforms after several violent attacks in neighbourhoods across Canada.

“The crime wave is the direct result of Justin Trudeau and the NDP allowing repeat violent offenders onto the streets again,” said Poilievre. “They have flooded our streets with repeat, dangerous offenders and drugs and the results are plain to all eyes.”

16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaes was stabbed and killed in Toronto’s Keele station last month by a suspect who had an extensive criminal history after assaulting a man with a boxcutter last year.

Taxpayers paying $30 billion more for government workers: PBO report

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s (PBO) latest report shows that the ballooning public service is costing Canadian taxpayers 32.5% more over the last two years. 

Canadian taxpayers are paying $30 billion more than they were in 2019 to sustain costly government employees. 

According to PBO Yves Giroux’s report, the rise is attributed to two primary factors. The first being an unprecedented growth in the size of the public sector, while the second is the increase in pay for full-time public employees.

The expenditure on personnel witnessed an astronomical surge of $14.4 billion or a 14.4% annual increase from 2019-2020 to 2021-2022, primarily fueled by one-time expenses.

“Over the past two years, growth in personnel spending was largely driven by a significant expansion of the public service, accounting for approximately 60 per cent of the overall growth in personnel spending,” wrote Grioux. 

“While increases in salaries were the largest contributor in total, spending on pensions, overtime and bonuses grew at a faster rate.” 

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation blasted the federal government over the report, calling on Ottawa to reign in spending and a costly bureaucracy. 

“The Trudeau government needs to take some air out of its ballooning bureaucracy,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano. 

“Struggling taxpayers can’t afford more bureaucrats with bigger salaries and bonuses.”

According to data reported by the CTF, over 312,000 federal workers received pay raises during the pandemic.

 “Taxpayers can’t afford to pay billions more to fund a bloated bureaucracy,” said Terrazzano.

“Members of Parliament must speak out and reject the unreasonable demands coming from government union negotiators.”

Multiple bureaucrats stripped of security clearance for allegedly spying since 2017

By
Andrew Kozak
-

Since 2017, at least three employees working in Canada’s public service had their security clearance revoked due to allegedly spying or acting on behalf of a foreign country.

This shocking information was revealed by the government in response to an Order Paper question in the House of Commons from Conservative MP John Barlow. 

According to the government, two bureaucrats had their security clearance revoked in 2019 due to allegations of spying and another one in 2017. The public servants were employed by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

CBSA spokesperson Maria Ladouceur told The Hill Times that “the CBSA will revoke an employee’s security clearance when there is reasonable grounds to believe that the individual has engaged, is engaged, or may engage, in activities that constitute a threat to the security of Canada as defined in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act or has disclosed, may disclose, may be induced to disclose, or may cause to be disclosed in an unauthorized way, sensitive information.” 

The CBSA did not reveal which countries the employees were acting on behalf of nor if the employees were criminally charged. 

The Hill Times reported that there is no public record of the three bureaucrats being criminally charged. 

ESDC departmental spokesperson Mila Roy indicated that the individual who was employed by the ESDC had their employment terminated as well.

It is unclear if the other bureaucrats who had their security status stripped away are still employed by the public service. 

According to the government, approximately 308 bureaucrats have had their security clearance revoked for cause since 2016. Public Services and Procurement Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency, and Employment and ESDC had the most individuals who had their clearance revoked.

Earlier this month, questions surrounding the threat of foreign interference arose when Canadian Security Intelligence Service officials reportedly leaked documents to the Globe and Mail which alleged Chinese state actors made concerted efforts to interfere in Canada’s elections. 

Ratio’d | These men REALLY want to “read” to you kids

By
Harrison Faulkner
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The Ontario NDP’s Kristyn Wong-Tam introduced a private members bill in the legislature this week that would make it a criminal offence in Ontario to peacefully protest a “drag queen story hour” event within 100-metres of the venue. This comes as Calgary city council passed a bylaw to make it a criminal offence to protest these events targeted to kids.

The sad reality is, people are already being arrested and punished for protesting “drag queen story hour”. How does any of this make any sense? And why does the government feel the need to use our money to fund these events?

Tune in to the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner.

Federal lawyers claim Emergencies Act was “targeted and limited in scope”

By
Andrew Kozak
-
Source: True North

The third day of the legal challenge to the government’s use of the Emergencies Act saw federal lawyers argue that the powers used to end the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa were “targeted and limited in scope.”

“The use of emergency powers was targeted and limited,” said government lawyers. 

John Provart, a lawyer for the attorney general of Canada, claimed that the protests breached the threshold of what is considered lawful and pushed to portray the Convoy protests as going beyond reasonable limits. 

“Coercion and intimidation are not protected under lawful assembly.”

Provart said claims that the protests were under control before the emergency powers were invoked was “little short of revisionist history.”

The government made the case that the powers were invoked in order to end blockades and prevent further demonstrations in other parts of the country.

“The powers were used to prevent attendance, to limit harmful protest activities, and as a precaution to prevent amplification,” said Provart.

“The nature of the protest was massive, coercive, and filled with people with different motivations,” said government lawyers alluding to the minimal presence of off-colour flags and hate symbols. 

Federal lawyers stated that the measures were “balanced and well-proportioned” to the threats suggested by the Convoy, but provided no examples of violence or other serious threats to national security.

Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) lawyers brought the court’s attention to the freezing of personal bank accounts during the protests.

“There was no process for unfreezing bank accounts,” said CCF lawyers. “No one had their accounts unfrozen simply because they left Ottawa.”

Government lawyers claimed that freezing personal accounts were used as an “economic incentive” for people to leave protest areas.

CCF lawyer Janani Shanmuganathan said that the Emergencies Act infringed on Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, saying that the measures were too broad, affecting even people walking through protest sites.

“These are people who are engaged in peaceful political expression and whose only relationship with the people doing these so-called specific harms is simply being at the same event,” she said.

Justice Richard Mosley has reserved his decision until a later time. 

“Why continue to challenge the use of the Emergencies Act?” is a question we get a lot,” wrote the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in a statement after the hearings. “The answer is fairly simple: only the courts can assess whether the government’s use of the Act, and the measures it imposed, were legally justified and complied with the Charter.”

“The outcome of this case can’t change the past, but it can help guide future governments and provide transparency to Canadians about the use of exceptional emergency laws.”

In its official report released in February, the Public Order Emergency Commission has ruled that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act to quash Freedom Convoy protesters last year was justified. 

NHL goes all in on drag shows at hockey games

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

What have hockey games been missing all this time? 

Pre-game drag shows, according to the NHL.

Two recent Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks games began by having drag queens put on a performance for spectators in an effort to “celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.”

The Vancouver performance was a drag show “featuring Vancouver-based performers Mx.Bukuru, Carrie Oki Doki, Xanax and Jerrilynn Spears.”

Canadians took to social media to express their bewilderment about what drag shows have to do with the sport of hockey. 

Some noted how while they have no problem with drag shows, they did not pay to go to a hockey game to be entertained by one.

Others commented on how drag shows were a form of adult entertainment and not “family friendly” as sports events should be. 

The NHL has been reckoning with players who have refused to don pride-themed jerseys during pre-game warm ups. 

A number of players including most recently Florida Panthers players Eric and Marc Staal, San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer and Buffalo Sabers’ Ilya Lyubushkin have cited their religious beliefs as the reason behind refusing to wear the jerseys.

The Andrew Lawton Show | Some Canadians want a government-run grocery store chain

By
Andrew Lawton
-

As Canadians grapple with rising food prices, the NDP has decided to go to war against grocery store profits. According to a recent survey, a small number of Canadians, 4.5%, think a government-run grocery store Crown Corporation is the answer. True North’s Andrew Lawton says this would be a great way to bring the efficiency of the passport office to grocery shopping.

Also, Steven Guilbeault says Canadians should shut up about inflation because climate change is a bigger deal. Plus, Ontario’s NDP want to ban protests at drag shows.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

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