The Government of Canada banned TikTok from government devices, saying the Chinese social media app poses unacceptable risks to privacy and security.
Liberal MP Mona Fortier made the announcement on Monday, saying TikTok would be removed from devices on Tuesday and devices would no longer be able to download the app.
“TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone,” said Fortier. “The decision to remove and block TikTok […] is being taken as a precaution.”
The statement said Canada sees clear risks of using TikTok, but has no evidence any government information was compromised thus far.
The news comes amid a string of alleged transgressions from the Chinese Communist Party.
The Canadian government is currently embroiled in a debate about whether China interfered in two federal elections, and recently settled on an aerial object controversy stemming from a Chinese spy balloon traversing Canada’s airspace.
Fortier said that while the government must take action against TikTok, the broader Canadian public can choose whether or not to expose themselves to the risks.
The decision comes two months after the United States banned TikTok from government devices, and days after the European Union similarly issued the same ban.
The Chinese election interference story continues to get worse for Justin Trudeau. On Friday, Global News reported that sources inside CSIS warned the Liberal Party before the 2019 election about concerns that Liberal MP Han Dong was involved in a Chinese Communist election interference operation. Among many explosive details, the Global News report alleges that the Chinese consulate in Toronto threatened international students with removal from Canada if they didn’t help Han Dong become the Liberal nominee in the Don Valley North riding.
In response to this reporting, Justin Trudeau has played the race card and is now accusing those who are concerned about the integrity of Canada’s elections and Han Dong’s role in this scandal of stoking “anti-Asian racism.”
Tune in to the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner.
The Victoria Police Board has turned down a 2023 budget reduction requested by the City Council.
Earlier in February, Victoria passed a motion to demand “a new 2023 draft budget that caps the property tax increase at inflation (6.96%) and that the Police Board develop a new draft budget at the same rate.”
Such a reduction would cap the net budget increase at $4.345 million instead of the requested $6 million – a 9.6% increase.
In a Feb. 23 letter, the Police Board’s Finance Committee chair Doug Crowder wrote that such a budget reduction would threaten its ability to properly deliver policing services to the community.
“Although the board acknowledges the difficult choices council has to make during this inflationary period, the board is still of the position that the budget it has presented is one that meets the legislative requirements under the Police Act to provide adequate and effective policing to the city and Township,” wrote Crowder.
“Therefore, the Board is not prepared to amend the budget as requested by Council.”
Under the Police Act, City Council has the ability to reject the Police Board’s assertions. Should Victoria barrel ahead with a budget cut, Crowder warned of unforeseen consequences.
“However, choosing these items is a difficult decision for Council to make independently as the impact of doing so may not be obvious,” said Crowder.
“For the Board to remove items would conflict with our legislative requirement to provide adequate and effective policing; therefore, the Board will not preemptively make any adjustments.”
The latest policing budget dispute comes after several interventions in which the British Columbia government has had to step in to prevent cuts from municipal police forces.
In 2021, the province had to intervene to prevent a budget cut to the Vancouver Police Department.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denied allegations that Liberal MP Han Dong is an affiliate of Chinese interference networks.
Trudeau made the statement at a press conference on Monday, denying allegations made by anonymous sources in last week’s report from Global News.
“Han Dong is an outstanding member of our team,” said Trudeau, “and suggestions that he is not loyal to Canada should not be entertained.”
Global’s report last week said Trudeau ignored national security warnings about Dong, citing anonymous sources at Canada’s intelligence service.
The sources said Dong was considered a witting affiliate to Chinese interference networks, and was boosted by Chinese Communist Party efforts in the 2019 election.
After a stream of related news reports over the last two weeks, even close partners to the Liberals have requested investigations.
On Monday, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh announced his party wants answers – calling for an independent investigation.
“The way to stop alleged secret Chinese interference is to refuse to keep their secrets for them,” said Singh.
Singh joined a diverse list of Canadian voices, including former security officials, former Liberal staff, and standing politicians.
On Saturday, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre forwarded a social media post saying Trudeau couldn’t be trusted.
John Ivison: We simply can’t trust Trudeau’s word on China’s electoral interferencehttps://t.co/pcvWzTLJ9P
On Sunday, former Trudeau principal secretary Gerald Butts said the allegations warrant a robust policy response.
I agree with Bruce. Foreign interference is either a real threat that deserves a robust policy response or it’s not. I’m firmly in the former camp. The times and tools have changed and 🇨🇦 needs a better defence against them. https://t.co/SBVtMyUNXa
Beaconsfield, Quebec has cancelled the performance of a black entertainer over allegations that he used a “blackface” puppet.
Beaconsfield City Council made the decision to axe Franck Sylvestre’s play L’Incroyable Secret de Barbe noire after receiving complaints from the West Island Black Community Association (WIBCA).
“The puppet triggers a lot of old memories of blackface, which is traumatic for many adults. We’ve come a long way over the years and we don’t want to go back to the past,” claimed WIBCA president Joan Lee.
“Maybe the play was considered acceptable in other communities, but not in the West Island. People don’t want their tax dollars used to present this play.”
Actor and storyteller Franck Sylvestre has claimed that the allegations are false and that the puppet is simply a caricature of himself.
“This is a very serious precedent for creation, the freedom of artists and freedom of expression,” Sylvestre said in French.
“The puppet is impressive, it is made like a mask. It’s me, exaggerated, I caricatured myself.”
Sylvestre told those who found the puppet offensive to “live with it.”
“I understand that it can raise old ghosts, but you have to live with it,” he said.
“We cannot change the whole landscape around us because it does not correspond to our personal sensibility.”
Sylvestre has since accused the local city council of “political interference.”
“It’s political interference in cultural programming. I am amazed that elected officials made such a quick decision,” claimed Sylvestre.
Beaconsfield made the decision to cut the play after considering WICBA’s claims to be “credible.”
“The West Island Black Community Association is considered credible, and they believe that this kind of presentation is not representative of their culture,” said mayor Georges Bourelle.
On the other hand, the City of Pointe-Claire has decided to keep the show in its programming.
“We took the complaints into consideration, but we also took into account the history of the play and the actor, and the fact that he is endorsed by the Conseil des arts de Montréal,” said a municipality spokesperson.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing a growing chorus of calls to do something about election interference from China, including from his former top advisor Gerald Butts.
Yet another public opinion survey shows that people think things are broken in Canada, echoing sentiments voiced by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
And a new conservative political party is forming in Saskatchewan, determined to challenge the current governing party.
Tune into the Daily Brief with Anthony Furey and Andrew Lawton!
According to a Canada Revenue Agency document, the federal government paid $37.7 billion in wage subsidies to businesses with tax debts and $1 billion to insolvent companies, in the latest example of Ottawa’s poorly targeted spending programs and poor fiscal management during the pandemic.
Temporary federal government programs implemented during COVID such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) cost hundreds of billions of dollars. And a recent study published by the Fraser Institute found that of 33 industrialized countries, Canadian governments—including federal, provincial and local—borrowed more money than any other country (except Japan) during the pandemic.
Unfortunately, all that borrowing didn’t translate into stronger economic performance compared to our peers. Despite accumulating more debt than nearly every other industrialized country, Canada underperformed on key economic growth metrics in 2020 and 2021.
For instance, Canada generally had higher unemployment rates and relatively low economic growth rates compared to peer countries. Put simply, it looks like we didn’t get much bang for our taxpayer bucks.
This is perhaps unsurprising, given all the issues with the federal government’s COVID response. Indeed, a 2020 study examined nearly $82 billion of COVID spending and estimated that 27 per cent—more than one in four dollars—was poorly targeted, representing $22 billion in wasted taxpayer money.
This included up to $11.8 billion in CERB payments, which went to eligible dependent young people (ages 15 to 24) living with parents in households with at least $100,000 in household income, and up to $7.0 billion in additional CERB payments went to eligible spouses in families with at least $100,000 in household income.
Moreover, a recent report by Canada’s auditor general (AG) found $4.6 billion in ineligible CERB payments and other benefits paid to individuals, and recommended that the government investigate the nature of another $27.4 billion in COVID-related spending. Overpayment recipients included 1,522 prisoners, 391 dead people and 434 children too young to be eligible. In addition, the report identified 51,049 employers that received $9.9 billion in CEWS payments who did not demonstrate a sufficient revenue drop to be eligible for the subsidy.
The AG also criticized Ottawa for failing to require social insurance numbers for workers in firms that applied for CEWS, which means proper verification and tracking cannot be completed. (It was this report that prompted the further investigation into subsidies to insolvent businesses and those with tax debts.)
Put simply, Ottawa wasted billions of dollars in taxpayer money and accumulated far more debt than was necessary to stabilize the economy and help those in genuine need during the pandemic. This should prompt a closer review of all government programs and transfers to ensure that spending is effective, targeted and well-managed in the future.
Tegan Hill and Jake Fuss are economists at the Fraser Institute.
A recent posting for a grounds technician with the Waterloo District School Board (WRDSB) asks that the candidate be prepared to repair turfgrass and fences.
It says the board is looking for experience with felling small trees and pruning trees, along with a Chainsaw Operator’s Certificate.
But at the end of this online job posting – as with any postings now for jobs within the board — officials claim that they are committed to fair and equitable hiring practices.
That means, they say, that staff should reflect the “diversity of the community” and demonstrate a “commitment to equity and inclusion” in the classroom.
I’m not really sure why a grounds technician who is able to use a chainsaw and fell trees needs to be committed to equity and inclusion in the classroom.
But job postings with the WRDSB are no longer making any secret of the fact that officials will give unique consideration to applicants who check off a laundry list of equity/oppression/intersectional boxes.
It is yet another example of “wokeness gone mad” at a board under the leadership of radical activist Jeewan Chanicka (who spells his name all in lower case).
The board says it is “actively encouraging” applications from members of groups with barriers to equity, past or present:
At the top of the list is First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples and all other Indigenous peoples, even though Aboriginal persons comprise only 1.7% of the population in Waterloo Region.
Special consideration will also be given to:
Members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, colour, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin;
Persons with visible and/or invisible (physical and/or mental) disabilities; Persons who identify as women; Persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.
It used to be and perhaps still is that prospective employers were not permitted to ask or discriminate against candidates based on age, sexuality, religion and any other personal details that really have nothing to do with one’s ability to perform a particular job.
That was when one’s ability to nab a job was based on merit. But now it seems — at least at the ridiculously woke WRDSB — prospective candidates can use their oppression credentials to get to the front of the line.
Let’s see now. Men who identify as women but are still biological males will get preferential treatment as opposed to just women.
Since gay and lesbian people are already freely accepted in the workforce of 2023, I suspect the board is referring to those who are pansexual or genderqueer or non-binary or even asexual.
But again, just like the terribly intrusive census sent out to kids as young as nine about their gender and sexuality, this is really no one’s business.
If one is qualified for the job, it shouldn’t matter if you engage in polyamory or choose not to have a medical intervention to become a man or woman.
But as this wokeness spreads like an epidemic, it has become clear that boards such as the WRDSB don’t really care about a candidate’s ability to do the job — just that they fit into the proper oppression box.
For educators who constantly claim they care about kids, this is yet again proof they don’t.
The Globe and Mail dropped a comic after the illustrator made remarks deemed racially insensitive.
On Sunday, Globe announced it was dropping the renowned “Dilbert” comic because creator Scott Adams made discriminatory comments. The Globe was no doubt referring to a YouTube video Adams posted earlier in the week, which spurred a string of cancellations of the cartoon across America.
“While we respect and encourage free speech,” wrote the Globe, “his views do not align with our editorial or business values as an organization.”
Cartoonist Scott Adams’ YouTube video posted on Wednesday focused on the results of a public-opinion poll concerning race relations.
“This is the first political poll that ever changed my activities,” he said.
Adams referred to a Rasmussen poll, in which he said 26% of Black respondents agreed it’s not OK to be White, and 21% said they didn’t know if it’s OK to be White.
“The way things are going,” said Adams, “the current advice I’d give to White people is: get the hell away from Black people. […] Because there’s no fixing this. This can’t be fixed. You just have to escape.”
“So I’m going to back off from being helpful to Black America because it doesn’t seem like it pays off. I’ve been doing it all my life and the only outcome is I get called a racist.”
“Now we should be friendly. I’m not saying start a war or do anything bad. Nothing like that. I’m just saying… get away. Just get away.”
On Monday, CNN reported that last week hundreds of papers in The USA Today Network, as well as The Washington Post, dropped Adams and his Dilbert comic.
The Alberta Progressive Conservative government of Danielle Smith is putting a lot of effort into tackling addictions and they’re doing it by focusing on treatment.
But they’re not the only ones. The NDP government in British Columbia under new Premier David Eby is also going hard on treatment. They’ve even been toying with the idea of involuntary treatment for people who face multiple overdoses.
It’s rare to see a policy approach be embraced by two politicians of such different partisan outlooks.
Anthony Furey discusses the push to tackle opioid addictions across Canada in his latest video.
