Volkswagen has chosen St. Thomas, Ontario as the site of its first North American electric vehicle battery plant. The federal and provincial governments haven’t said what they had to pay to make this deal happen, though the Financial Times reported that Volkswagen put plans for a European battery plant on hold because the company claimed it could get $15 billion in subsidies for a North American plant. Macdonald-Laurier Institute senior fellow Philip Cross joins The Andrew Lawton Show to talk about this latest round of corporate welfare.
Also, the Conservative party has disqualified a nomination candidate for the upcoming Oxford by-election. Pro-life political advocacy group RightNow says Gerrit Van Dorland was targeted because of his pro-life beliefs. Scott Hayward of RightNow weighs in on The Andrew Lawton Show.
Three months after it was announced, and after a shortage has largely abated, Alberta is still waiting for much of $80-million worth of children’s pain medication.
Following a scarcity of children’s medication throughout Canada last year, the United Conservative Party government announced it would import five billion bottles of acetaminophen and ibuprofen from Turkey-based Atabay Pharmaceuticals and Fine Chemicals in December.
The hefty price tag was not revealed until Health Minister Jason Copping told a budget estimate hearing last week that Alberta Health Services will spend $64.2 million in 2023-24 in a one-time expense following another $15.8 million in 2022-23.
The total cost is $80 million, he said, which includes $70 million for the medication and $10 million for shipping, waste disposal, and other administrative costs.
It’s been a “long process” to get the medication, Copping told reporters in the legislature Thursday.
“It is important to us, and still remains important to us, that this important medicine get in the hands of Alberta’s parents so they can treat their children,” he said.
In mid January, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that 250,000 bottles of children’s medication would arrive in the province shortly for use by Alberta Health Services. She said the province hoped bottles would be on the shelves earlier, but the process was delayed by Health Canada as it ensured five million units of children’s pain and fever medication was consistent with national standards.
The premier also said the remaining 4.75 million bottles will be for retail use at a later date, adding that those shipments were subject to additional delays because the bottles require a childproof cap.
“We are working on making sure that that approval process is taking place,” she said.
Opposition New Democrat MLA Rakhi Pancholi told reporters the government’s efforts fell short and came at great cost to taxpayers.
“I was a little surprised by how large the number was,” she said Thursday. “The reality is, we didn’t get the product. We didn’t get it when we needed it. And now we’re still paying top dollar.”
She also said the province may have ordered too much medication, with five million bottles for the province’s approximately 770,000 children under the age of 14.
Copping said the $80 million figure doesn’t account for any revenue amounting from the sale of the drugs.
“We have the supply that we need for Albertans now with this contract, but if we don’t need the entire contract then we’ll be able to share with others and then get revenue from that.”
He also said he’s expecting two other additional shipments to come “over the next little while.”
It seems the coolest “in thing” to do nowadays is to claim First Nation status. Validity seems unimportant . . . until caught, that is.
Hundreds of Indigenous scholars, administrators, students and elders from across Canada met virtually last year, for example, to talk about how to prevent people who falsely claim they are Indigenous from taking benefits that aren’t intended for them.
The National Forum on Indigenous Identity was organized by First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) in partnership with the newly formed National Indigenous University Senior Leaders’ Association (NIUSLA).
The event was announced last year after a CBC investigation into Carrie Bourassa, who at the time was Canada’s leading Indigenous health scientist, found she had falsely claimed to be Indigenous.
Jacqueline Ottmann, the president of FNUniv and co-chair of NIUSLA, said it is time for Indigenous people across the country to address this issue together.
She said while there have been pretenders around for years, the problem is getting worse because of a growing number of scholarships, grants and jobs intended specifically for Indigenous people.
“With the increase of these opportunities, it seems there has been an increase of people who are claiming Indigeneity,” said Ottmann.
Early this year, retired senator Lillian Dyck said she was “stunned” to see reports questioning the Indigenous heritage of former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, whose career she had celebrated.
Dyck, who is Cree and Chinese Canadian, said in an interview she thought “hallelujah” as Turpel-Lafond became Saskatchewan’s first Indigenous female judge in 1998.
It was “wonderful” to know Turpel-Lafond had overcome the numerous challenges Indigenous women disproportionately face in their personal lives and careers, said the professor emeritus in psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan.
“And then I found out, it was all a facade.”
Dyck said a CBC investigation convinced her that Turpel-Lafond lied about being Indigenous, specifically Cree, causing real harm by exploiting the identity of Indigenous women, of whom many in Canada are underserved and vulnerable.
“Canadians know now (Indigenous women) are more likely to face violence, more likely to be murdered, made missing, and she’s used that identity to enhance her curriculum vitae. And to me, that was like the lowest thing you could do.”
The appropriation of Indigenous identity by so-called “pretendians” deprives Indigenous people of jobs and opportunities to make change for the better, Dyck said, adding that it also affects future generations of Indigenous children.
In addition to the CBC investigation, Dyck said Turpel-Lafond’s “evasion” in response to questions about her heritage have contributed to Dyck’s conclusion that she is not Indigenous, with status recognized by the federal government.
“It would have been so easy for her to prove her identity. If she’s claiming to be a treaty Cree Indian, all she had to do was pull out her treaty card.”
Along with revoking Turpel-Lafond’s honorary degrees, Dyck said she wants to see the universities take a stand, stating publicly that it is unacceptable to pretend to be Indigenous, and there should be consequences, such as termination.
Now, another senior academic has stepped into it.
Amid scrutiny about her claims to Indigenous ancestry, the president of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador apologized Monday for the hurt she may have caused by invoking Mi’kmaq heritage.
Vianne Timmons said she will take temporary leave as the school’s board of regents considers its next steps through an Indigenous-led roundtable.
The university says, in fact, that Timmons is already on a six-week voluntary paid leave of absence.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will tackle the opioid crisis head-on if he becomes prime minister by taking aim at big pharma.
Plus, a True North exclusive reveals that a large volume of Twitter accounts tweeting about Beijing’s interference in Canada’s elections appear to exhibit bot-like behaviour.
And Calgary city council has approved two administrative recommendations to limit drag queen story hours protests, citing an increase in “transphobia and homophobia.”
Tune into The Daily Brief with Anthony Furey and Rachel Emmanuel!
This story has been updated to include a statement from the Conservative Party of Canada.
The Conservatives have rejected a pro-life candidate seeking the party’s nomination in the Ontario Conservative stronghold of Oxford, True North has learned.
Gerrit Van Dorland, a long-time Conservative activist from Otterville, Ontario, was disqualified in a 3-2 vote by the Conservatives’ National Candidate Selection Committee Tuesday evening.
According to a statement from pro-life political action group RightNow, Van Dorland was targeted for his beliefs.
“The party gave no reason for Gerrit’s disqualification,” said an email sent by RightNow co-founder Scott Hayward to the organization’s supporters. “The real issue is that Gerrit is pro-life and more than likely to win the nomination.”
A Conservative spokesperson told True North Van Dorland was disqualified for failing to disclose details in his application.
“Although the Conservative party does not typically discuss internal party matters, we are aware of information being circulated regarding the nomination contest in Oxford, Ont. that requires clarification and context,” the spokesperson said. “Gerrit Van Dorland, a nomination applicant in Oxford, was disqualified from standing in a nomination race by the party’s National Candidate Selection Committee (NCSC) due to a failure to comply with the obligation to disclose required information during the candidate application process. The recommendation to disqualify this individual was first made by the local Candidate Nomination Committee.”
Prospective candidates must complete a comprehensive candidate application that must include, among other things, a list of all current and former social media accounts and websites, a copy or publicly inaccessible online postings, and copies of all articles and media coverage about the candidate.
The party did not specify what details Van Dorland allegedly did not include in his application.
Van Dorland could not be reached for an interview, but his campaign manager, Bas Sluijmers, said in a statement the campaign would be appealing.
“We are very disappointed with the notice we received yesterday from the Executive Director of the Conservative Party informing us with no reasoning that Gerrit has been disqualified from the nomination race,” Sluijmers wrote. “We will be appealing the decision to the National Council in the coming days.”
Under the party’s nomination rules, candidates have the right to appeal National Candidate Selection Committee decisions to the party’s elected National Council.
Van Dorland was seeking to replace recently retired Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie in a forthcoming by-election. The hotly contested Conservative nomination has already drawn accusations of favouritism.
MacKenzie, who held the riding for the Conservatives from 2004 until his retirement earlier this year, accused Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre of backing lawyer Arpan Khanna’s candidacy.
MacKenzie’s daughter, Woodstock, Ont. city councillor Deb Tait, is also seeking the nomination, as is Toronto political strategist Rick Roth.
Khanna, who ran as a Conservative candidate in Brampton North in 2019, served as Poilievre’s Ontario co-chair in last year’s Conservative leadership race. His website contains an endorsement from Poilievre, though Poilievre’s office has said this was in relation to his work on the campaign and not his nomination bid.
Oxford has 6,000 Conservative members after the cut-off date to vote in the nomination. A source connected to Van Dorland’s campaign said just under half of those were sold by Van Dorland.
A motion before Calgary City Hall could allow residents to issue petitions to recall municipal politicians as soon as April 22, 2023.
The policy, which was devised to meet obligations outlines by Alberta’s Recall Act, would allow Calgarians to launch petitions to have specific City Council members, including the mayor removed from office.
The process would require the filing of a $500 application by organizers of a petition. To successfully recall a politician, 40% of the voter population of a specific ward would be required.
In the case of removing a mayor, that would mean 40% of the city would have to be a signatory on the petition.
According to estimates, it will cost between $19,000 to $400,000 for the city to verify petitions.
“The exact cost to verify a recall petition will vary based on how many petitions are received,” a funding estimate claimed.
“The range of operating funding is based on the need for additional limited term staff (based on a projected need ranging from three to ten positions) to complete the petition verification process.”
Petitions will be open until Dec. 31, 2024 and petitioners will have 60 days to gather the necessary signatures after their application was approved.
“If a recall petition for an elected municipal official is successful, the position is declared vacant at the next Council Meeting once the declaration of the sufficient petition has been made, and a by-election may be required,” Calgary’s Recall Petition Overview report states.
The Recall Act first came into force on April 7, 2022 while former premier Jason Kenney was still in office and it also applies to MLAs as well as school trustees.
“Elected officials have a responsibility to Albertans, and Albertans should be able to hold those officials accountable throughout their term, not just at the ballot box,” said Kenney at the time.
“Albertans have told government for years that they want a greater say in the democratic process, and this legislation will help give them that voice.”
University of British Columbia (UBC) students have voted to increase the cost of their health plan so that it covers “gender-affirming care” expenses for transgender individuals.
The referendum came after demands from trans activists, who claimed there was “a crisis of inequitable healthcare coverage” that systematically and intersectionally marginalized transgender students.
Activists belonging to the UBC Trans Coalition also said before the vote that “anything short of active support” would be “a conscious choice to ignore the urgent needs of the trans community.”
65.5% of students voted to increase the cost of the health plan specifically to cover “gender-affirming care.” A majority of students also voted in favour of a separate general monetary increase to the plan offered by UBC’s student union.
The passing of the two referendum items mean the union’s $277.50 Health & Dental fee will be increased by $60.50. The increase includes a new mandatory $8 charge dedicated for “gender-affirming care” coverage.
As reported by UBC’s student paper, The Ubyssey, trans activists took issue with the increase to cover “gender-affirming care” being made into its own referendum question. One activist claimed a specific vote on the matter would put transgender students at risk of violence.
“The way to work with us is to believe us when we say that having a trans-specific (referendum) question… puts us at risk and singles us out to trans violence and all sorts of attacks,” said a member of the UBC Trans Coalition during a student union meeting.
Another trans activist said that “it’s very important to recognize that… there is a deep assumption that Trans people are fundamentally different than cis people… which to me is really upsetting,”
“Gender Affirming Care” is defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a “supportive form of healthcare” consisting of an “array of services that may include medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services for transgender and nonbinary people.”
It should be noted many transgender procedures are already covered by the B.C. government, as reported by Global News.
Chest construction and reduction, orchiectomy, hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, vaginoplasty, vulvoplasty, clitoral release, metoidioplasty and phalloplasty are all covered by British Columbia. The province also pays for travel, out-of-province surgical aftercare, psychiatry services, and vocal feminization via the free Changing Keys program.
Meanwhile, UBC’s Equity and Inclusion office most hormone therapies are covered by the union’s current health plan – including testosterone, estrogen and blockers.
Cosmetic procedures like Adam’s apple reduction, nose feminization, and facelifts, as well as liposuction or lipofilling, voice surgery and hair reconstruction or restoration are not covered.
True North asked the UBC student union if the health plan would cover cosmetic procedures as part of “gender-affirming care”, but they did not respond in time for publication. The UBC Trans Coalition also did not respond to a request for comment.
A recent UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute study found that the number of young people who identify as transgender has doubled in five years.
2021 Data from Statistics Canada also shows a significantly higher rate of transgenderism in Gen Z, compared to other generations.
0.79% of Gen Z said they were trans or “non-binary”; compared to 0.51% of millennials, 0.19% of Generation X, 0.15% of baby boomers and 0.12% of the Interwar and Greatest Generations.
Calgary city council has approved two administrative recommendations to limit drag queen story hours protests, citing an increase in “transphobia and homophobia.”
City administration’s urgent recommendations were discussed at a lengthy city council meeting on Tuesday — days after a Calgary pastor was arrested and charged for protesting a drag queen story hour at a public library and following another protest held after a trans woman allegedly exposed male genitals to a teenage girl at a public pool.
Calgary City Manager David Duckworth said “the conduct of a few” are creating an environment where access to publicly available services is compromised due to safety concerns. He said the bylaw is not intending to prohibit protests.
“The proposed bylaws are simply to create safe access to public facilities,” Duckworth said.
The first proposal creates a “safe and inclusive bylaw” to establish access zones which would limit the time, manner, and location of protests within the vicinity of recreation facilities and libraries.
“Specifically, the bylaw would prohibit specified protests from taking place within 100 metres of an entrance to a city operated or other designated recreation facility or library during operational hours and an hour before and after,” Katie Black, general manager of community services, told council.
The second recommendation amends Calgary’s existing public behaviour bylaw, the street harassment bylaw, to include intimidation.
Black said there have been 21 planned protests specifically targeting LGBTQ+ events, programs and or policies since the start of 2023. Not all protests moved forward, she said, adding that some were cancelled out of “fear.”
“I want to note that the subject matter of discussion today includes disturbing content about lived experiences of hate transphobia and homophobia that may be triggering or traumatic for some,” she said.
“I also want to acknowledge what has been taking place in recent weeks of harm that is caused from members of the two LGBTQIA+ community and their families.”
Council voted 10-5 to pass the safe and inclusive bylaw, which would become effective immediately. Councillors Andre Chabot, Dan McLean, Jennifer Wyness, Sonya Sharp, and Sean Chu voted against the bylaw.
In an 11-4 vote, council also passed amendments to the city’s harassment bylaw.
Administration recommended the bylaws become law effective Tuesday.
Those found guilty of breaching the bylaw could be subject to a fine of up to $10,000 and up to one year in prison.
“The city respects the right to protest,” Black said. “And so the proposed bylaw strikes a balance between that right and ensuring that all people can access public spaces without being exposed to messages or behaviour that is hateful, intimidating, harassing or discriminating.”
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the city has a record of supporting human rights in the city.
During question period, Councillor Sharp wondered how many times people weren’t able to attend an event due to a protest.
“What I will say in answer to that question is that we don’t have a way of inventorying who doesn’t come to a facility,” city staff replied. “What we do know is what we’ve heard from people about their decision to stay away.”
Sharp also wondered how much of a risk there is of the bylaw receiving a constitutional challenge.
City solicitor and general counsel said the city can never predict whether a challenge will be brought.
“What I can tell you is that what is before counsel has found defensible arguments. It has been carefully thought through so anyone can bring a challenge for any reason, but it just doesn’t mean it will be successful.”
Councillor Jennifer Wyness said councillors have not had adequate time to get their questions answered.
“We acted swiftly because we are dealing with increasing intensity and urgency of a situation,” Black said.
Member of Parliament Garnett Genuis, the shadow minister for international development, asked an African legislator how Canada could ensure that its development assistance best serves the needs of local communities instead of “bringing in predetermined western priorities.”
Ugandan MP Lucy Akello spoke to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development this Tuesday, denouncing Canadian foreign assistance that is tied to the promotion of abortion.
“It seems no matter how much money will be spent on making abortion look good, our people still see through the money, marketing and mass education,” she said.
Throughout their time in office, the federal Liberals have championed “sexual and reproductive health and rights” (SRHR), a blanket term that promotes widespread access to abortion, contraception, family planning and other birth control methods.
Akello, who represents the Amuru District Women’s Constituency in Northern Uganda, argued that an “overwhelming majority” of Africans believe that abortion is “morally unacceptable.”
“Almost 80% of African countries have some sort of law prohibiting and restricting abortion. And it is predicted on a widely held belief that unborn babies have a right to live and deserve to be protected by law,” she said.
In recent years, the Liberals have taken their advocacy for SRHR to developing nations in Africa as well as parts of Latin America and the Middle East. In 2017, as “part of its strong commitment to gender equality and a feminist lens,” the Liberals pledged $650 million to fund abortion overseas.
Such projects are seconded by the United Nations, whose 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development suggests abortion as a means for women’s empowerment and emancipation.
Akello condemned funding tied to abortion as a type of “colonization,” where Western countries impose their views on nations in the developing world.
“Africa has a long history of colonization, just like Canada– of people, foreign governments, foreign-led organizations telling us what is good for us or what our priorities should be.”
In the face of a widespread pro-life majority in Africa, Akello recommended that the Canadian government spend more resources keeping “the girl child at school as opposed to giving them contraceptives.”
“I also recommend that you respect Uganda as a sovereignty,” she said.
McCain Foods will invest $600 million in its Coaldale facility, doubling the size of its southern Alberta plant and creating 260 jobs.
The funds mark the largest global investment in the company’s history.
“The development in Alberta marks our largest global investment in our 65-year history, totalling $600 million, while underscoring our commitment to the future of agriculture and innovation in Canada,” said chief executive officer Max Koeune.
“This will fuel continued growth for the business, allowing us to serve key markets further by bringing customers high quality potatoes that begin with our dedicated local farming community.”
Alberta Agriculture Minister Nate Horner said the announcement is “Great news for our rural economy!”
"The world’s leading French fry maker is making the largest investment in its history, announcing plans on Monday for a $600-million expansion of its potato processing facility in southern Alberta, creating 260 new jobs."
Alberta Conservative MP Dane Lloyd said the announcement would benefit Alberta potato farmers, many of whom are located in his riding.
Once construction is completed, the popular fries manufacturer will employ 485 hourly and salaried employees.
Coaldale, located near Lethbridge, has a population of 8,215 people and has hosted the plant since 2000.
Over the past five years, McCain spent $157-millon expanding its two facilities in New Brunswick, $100-million building its first plant in Brazil, $200-million to expand in Idaho and $300-million building out a facility in Washington State.
The majority of French fries produced in Coaldale will be sold in North America, though a small amount of future production will be exported to Asian and Latin American markets.
McCain also says the new facility will advance its goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions across its global operations in half by the end of the decade.
The expansion will include wind turbines and solar panels, providing 100% renewable electricity to the Coaldale site. Renewable biogas generated at the wastewater treatment facility will be maximized and transported to the steam boilers to offset natural gas demands. To further build on sustainability efforts, a water recycling system will be implemented to produce clean potable water to be used in the manufacturing process.
