Last week, the New York Post uncovered that New York City is busing illegal migrants with taxpayer-funded bus tickets up to Plattsburgh, New York where they then take shuttle buses and flood through Roxham Road – an illegal access point into Canada. This move follows months of debate between New York City mayor Eric Adams and Texas governor Greg Abott over sending migrants to the Big Apple. Adams described the practice of busing migrants from Texas to New York as “horrific”, but now he’s busing migrants into Canada and doing the exact same thing.
Quebec provincial politicians are furious and are demanding that the feds respond, but so far, nothing from the Trudeau government. Quebec Liberals have even gone so far as to accuse those who want to shut Roxham Road as promoting Trump-style immigration politics.
Harrison Faulkner breaks down this outrageous story on the latest episode of Ratio’d.
Farmers groups have called on the federal government to immediately end tariffs placed on fertilizers imported from Russia and Belarus as a result of the war in Ukraine.
In a press release on Thursday, Ontario Bean Growers executive director Ryan Koeslag said that while it welcomed the fact that Ottawa has set aside the $34 million acquired via the measures, it should immediately scrap the tariffs citing the fact that Canada was the only G7 nation to impose such sanctions.
“While this is good news, it does not address that the tariff is still in place,” said Koeslag. “Canada is the only G7 nation that is penalizing its own farmers with this tariff, the United States has never imposed a tariff on fertilizer from Russia or Belarus.”
Other farmer groups, including the Atlantic Grains Council, the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, the Grain Farmers of Ontario and the Grain Growers of Quebec,d also joined in on the effort.
Farmers also asked that the federal government reimburse the agriculture sector for the losses it accrued due to the retaliatory tariffs.
“Direct compensation for the costs Canadian farmers have incurred already due to this unfair fertilizer tariff, is the right thing to do,” said Koelsag.
“In a time of global uncertainty, reimbursing Canadian farmers for the tariff will balance some of the inflationary costs and help farmers grow more crops and food we need to feed Canadians and the world.”
The tariffs were first announced in March of last year and to date $115 million of their proceeds have been sent directly to fund the Ukrainian war effort.
Farmers groups have been calling on the federal government to drop the tariffs for some time, although Ottawa has not budged to the demands.
Some have criticized the Liberal government for unfairly targeting the agricultural community via its policy.
As exclusively reported by True North in the Fertilizer Files, Agriculture Canada floated the idea of forcing a carbon tax-like “regulatory backstop” onto farmers should voluntary efforts to reduce nitrogen emissions by 30% below 2020 levels not meet federal standards.
“A number of policy measures could be put forward for consideration beyond just a ‘voluntary agreement,’” wrote Agriculture Canada officials.
A new documentary produced by an Ontario pastor delves into government treatment of churches and faithful during the pandemic.
The pastors featured in the film include Albertans James Coates and Tim Stephens, who both spent time in jail after refusing to shut down their churches. Pastor Steve Richardson from Tillsonburg and Saskatoon Pastor Steve Flippin, who both face charges, are also interviewed.
The documentary, Antichrist and his Ruin, first premiered in November 2022 and has now been released widely to the public in digital format.
Waterloo Pastor Jacob Reaume explains that the title of the film comes from a book authored by the Puritan, Non-Conformist Pastor John Bunyan who spent years in jail because he refused to regulate his church gatherings in 17th-century England.
Reaume was the driving force behind the film, raising the funds and creating the storyboard. He then hired filmmaker Jeremy Bundy to bring the project to life.
According to Reaume, the documentary seeks to “put the lockdowns in the context of Canadian history and in the context of the Scriptures.”
In the second part of Rupa’s interview with the former medical health officer for Haldimand-Norfolk, Dr. Matt Strauss tells us more about how his story was skewed by the Toronto Star.
Dr. Strauss also sheds light on the fact that Canada’s healthcare system was already on thin ice before the first waves of Covid arrived and how the pandemic stretched healthcare to its very limits.
Rupa and Dr. Strauss also talks about the political response to the pandemic in Canada and around the world and why authoritarian policies were common.
In late January, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Amira Elghawaby, presently employed by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, as Canada’s first Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia.
Her mandate is to aid Ottawa in tackling hate against Muslims, providing advice to the federal government in developing inclusive policies and programs, as well as supporting efforts to increase public education and awareness around Islamophobia. The office comes with a $5.6 million budget.
To say Canadians have questions about this appointment is an understatement. Even if an argument could be made for singling out Muslims as deserving of this special office – other than attracting votes from continuously growing Muslim communities – why Elghawaby?
A cursory Internet search would have turned up journalistic writings and statements, particularly about Quebec, that cast shade on what should have been a sunny debut.
The foremost question in my own mind, one that cries out for clarification is: How does Amira Elghawaby define Islamophobia? Is it fear or hatred of Muslims? Or of Islam? Much depends on the answer.
According to the definition set out in the federal anti-racism strategy, Islamophobia “[i]ncludes racism, stereotypes, prejudice, fear or acts of hostility directed towards individual Muslims or followers of Islam in general. In addition to individual acts of intolerance and racial profiling, Islamophobia can lead to viewing and treating Muslims as a greater security threat on an institutional, systemic and societal level.”
But a fear-mongering report on an alleged “Islamophobia Industry” in Canada published at the end of September, which defines Islamophobia as “hatred of Islam and Muslims,” is reportedly “endorsed” by Elghawaby.
In any case, Elghawaby seems to have tipped her hand on this question in a response to a tweet in June, 2021, by Kaveh Shahrooz, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Sharooz wrote: “We should combat anti-Muslim hatred, not opposition to Islam. The term Islamophobia conflates the two and poses a risk to speech.” Elghawaby responded curtly, “No.”
In a Nov, 2020 National Post column, Shahrooz warned about the consequences of what such a “conflation” portends, following gruesome decapitations in Nice and Paris committed by Islamists enraged over republication of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Trudeau’s response to this news had been: “Freedom of expression is not without limits. We owe it to ourselves to act with respect for others and to seek not to arbitrarily or unnecessarily injure those with whom we are sharing a society and a planet.”
Shahrooz wrote: “Reading between the lines, Trudeau seems to suggest that he disapproves of the terrorists’ violent methods, but not of their demand that others refrain from criticizing or ridiculing their religion. This is effectively a call for enacting blasphemy laws.”
From the Liberals’ electoral point of view, the most politically problematic response to the announcement arose in a sulphurous cloud from Quebec, where Elghawaby is considered persona non grata by Quebec politicians and francophone media.
And not without reason. She has made a number of anti-Quebec statements that have been widely reported. But the most serious allegation, namely her allegation that anti-Muslim sentiment is rampant in Quebec, turns out to have been based in misinformation.
In 2019, Elghawaby co-wrote, with Bernie Farber (chair of the Antifa-supportive Canadian Anti-Hate Network), an Ottawa Citizen column denouncing Quebec’s secularism law, Bill 21, which proscribes religious accessories for teachers (amongst other civil servants), including the hijab.
The duo provocatively stated that a “majority of Quebecers appear to be swayed not by the rule of law, but by anti-Muslim sentiment.” Blowback from Quebec was swift and brutal, including an all-party denunciation of her appointment to the position by the National Assembly.
Elghawaby attempted to clarify her and Farber’s charge, explaining it was based on a Leger Marketing poll finding that 88 percent of Quebecers who held negative views of Islam supported Bill 21 (my emphasis: quite different from a majority of Quebecers).
Telecommunications consultant Mark Goldberg, who can take credit for having brought the Laith Marouf scandal to public attention, tweeted a 13-part thread demolishing her defence.
It’s worth reading, first because he shows that Elghawaby and Farber did not take their conclusion from the poll itself. They instead took it from a newspaper article about the poll that excludes crucial information, such as the actual numbers of Quebecers who hold negative views of Islam.
The thread also illuminates the “innumeracy” and carelessness in which some advocates have the chutzpah to trade because it serves their interest as anti-hate champions. This is done, namely, by ramping up fears that are not justified by the data.
Goldberg concludes, “Speaking as a statistician, I am concerned about the possibility that innumeracy led to an offensive generalization about Quebec, and indeed that may have inappropriately shaped the views of the authors.”
This appointment has gestated for two years. The position was first proposed at the 2021 National Summit on Islamophobia, in which Elghawaby was prominently involved. It’s a compelling and troubling story in itself, into which investigative reporter Terry Glavin took the deepest dive.
This appointment was allegedly presented as the culmination of “an open, transparent, and merit-based selection process,” clearly not the case. Indeed, the obvious lack of “process” here is entirely commensurate with Trudeau’s character and history.
The evidence suggests that the fix has been in for this office and Elghawaby’s appointment to it for years. Trudeau wanted her endowed with this office, and the prestige it confers, because he likes the cut of her ideological jib.
My greatest fear is that, through Elghawaby’s ministrations in this powerful new role, with Trudeau’s approval, Canada is going to end up with a blasphemy law inspired by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which invented the intentionally vague term “Islamophobia” for the express purpose of criminalizing criticism of Islam.
Amira Elghawaby’s (unelected) assumption of political power in a democratic nation where division of church and state is the nominal rule is a concerning one.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has sent a fundraising letter out to supporters this week accusing the CBC president of smearing his name and reaffirming his plan to defund the public broadcaster.
The Conservative leader wrote that CBC President Catherine Tait recently showed CBC is openly biased, and the Conservative Party will need donations to campaign in ways that help them circumvent the broadcaster.
“We need to go around the CBC and other Liberal pamphleteers, and get our message out to millions of Canadians,” Poilieivre wrote. “That’s why I need your help.”
Poilievre was referring to a recent interview between Tait and The Globe and Mail, where Tait said Canada’s public broadcaster is under fire.
“There’s a lot of CBC bashing going on – somewhat stoked by the Leader of the Opposition,” said Tait. “I think they feel that CBC is a mouthpiece for the Liberal government.”
Poilievre’s promise to defund the CBC, she said, was a strategy to rally donations.
Conservative communications director Sarah Fischer called Tait’s comments an overt attack, and said it will not work.
“We are not backing down on the promise to defund CBC,” she wrote.
A new memo reveals that national security officials were warning the federal Liberal government back in 2017 of Chinese Communist attempts to infiltrate the government, seemingly clashing with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s assertion that he was not briefed on election interference attempts.
Plus, the former head of the federal public service says that the government’s use of McKinsey and other contractors suggests that the public service itself is weakened.
And a new survey sheds light on how Canada’s gloomy economic forecast is affecting Canadians’ retirement plans.
These stories and more on The Daily Brief with Anthony Furey and Cosmin Dzsurdzsa!
Manitoba’s Covid-19 vaccine verification app is the latest in a series of government programs to have its plug pulled due to a lack of use and relevancy.
Despite lifting vaccine requirements last year, the Manitoba government indicated that it would keep the application around citing a demand from businesses who wanted to continue using it.
“We’ve heard from some venues, some businesses, that they are interested in keeping the proof of vaccine beyond that date,” said Manitoba’s chief public health officer Brent Roussin last year.
“We can confirm that the Manitoba immunization card and the verifier app will be available beyond March 1 [2022] for those who want to continue to use that.”
As of Feb. 8, the Government of Manitoba website still stated that the app could be used by businesses and venues wishing to require proof of immunization.
“Some businesses / venues may choose to continue to require proof of immunization for access. Manitoba’s immunization card and verifier app will continue to be available for this purpose,” the website states.
Other pandemic-related government applications have also been discontinued as Canada moves out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last year, Ottawa pulled the plug on ArriveCAN after facing pushback from airline industries complaining that it was an unnecessary burden that contributed to airport delays and long lineups.
Originally costing $80,000 the program ballooned to a $54 million pricetag due to maintenance fees.
The federal government also scrapped the Covid Alert infection tracking application.
Despite dumping $20 million into the program, Canada’s top public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam admitted that it went underused.
“The app was not being utilized to a huge extent. Not all innovations might work,” wrote Tam.
“(It was) a good go at trying to utilize another tool in the current era of apps to try and protect the population.”
An Indigenous man charged with first-degree murder of a rookie police officer was out on bail in part due to equity concerns, hearing records show.
On Wednesday, The Globe and Mail released portions of the transcript from a previous bail hearing of Randall McKenzie, who is accused of murdering 28 year old OPP officer Cst. Grzegorz Pierzchala in December.
The portions show Ontario Superior Court Justice Harrison Arrell ruled in favour of bail for McKenzie after consideration that Indigenous people are overrepresented in Canada’s prison system.
“I know your first position,” Arrell told the prosecutor, “is [McKenzie] should not be released. He’s got a record, this was a gun case, this was a lot of violence in the middle of the daylight with his young son right there, a gun was involved, maybe a screwdriver and not a knife […] and that he has breached conditions in the past.”
“But I do want to hear from you about what I’m supposed to do, since everyone is First Nations and […] First Nations people are grossly overrepresented in the prison system, especially in pre-trial custody.”
McKenzie, who would later be charged with first-degree murder of a police officer, was awaiting trial for allegedly stabbing a former girlfriend’s new partner and smashing the man’s car windshield while children, including one of his own, were inside the vehicle.
“The accused is Indigenous, and it is a well-known fact that such individuals are overrepresented in our prison system, especially in pre-trial custody, because of their challenges with poverty, lack of education and addiction issues,” said Justice Arrell. “All of these factors are present in this case.”
The Globe and Mail reported that McKenzie previously violated bail conditions multiple times, was alleged to have possessed weapons after being ordered by a court not to, was convicted of armed robbery, and had strong evidence against him in the case for which he was awaiting trial.
The transcripts showed prosecutor Steve Kim argued against the decision to release McKenzie on bail, saying McKenzie’s risk to reoffend was too great, and the release would reflect poorly on the Ontario justice system.
Less than a month after Pierzchala was killed, Canadian premiers sent a collective letter to Ottawa, asking for immediate action to tighten the country’s bail system.
Conservatives have been pressuring the Liberal government since.
In the House of Commons last week, Conservative MP Raquel Dancho pointed to Pierzchala’s death, saying the Liberal government could have prevented it by enforcing better policy.
“We saw a young, new constable in the Ontario police, Grzegorz Pierzchala, who was murdered by a violent, repeat offender who was out on bail,” she said.
Dancho said the Liberals have been too slow to act.
“They brought forward no new ideas of how to address the need for immediate bail reform in this country.”
Justice Minister David Lametti announced the same day the government is considering changes to deal with violent, repeat offenders. He said he would urgently meet with counterparts to discuss bail policy.
The number of Indigenous residents in Ontario amounts to less than 1% – .8% to be exact.
But in an act of extreme virtue signaling and pandering to a few, York University is now offering a Bachelor of Education degree that specializes in Waaban Indigenous Education.
To make matters worse – and further proof that those who oversee our education system are determined to dumb down standards – Indigenous candidates will be able to apply even if they only have a high school diploma.
Those without a university degree – the standard prerequisite to get into teachers training – will be eligible to teach primary-junior grades (Grades K-6) once they complete the Waaban studies, the York University documents state.
Non-Indigenous applicants must have a university degree, however, along with knowledge of Indigenous language, history, culture, experiences and perspectives, York U materials say.
Waaban is an Anishinaabe word which means “it is tomorrow.”
According to York U, the name represents the university’s commitment to a holistic program that “acknowledges the impacts of colonialism” and uses ancestral teachers and contemporary leaders to return Indigenous futures to Indigenous hands.
Here I thought the Canadian government was already committed to Indigenous self-government.
“Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education will educate a new generation of teachers prepared to address the needs of First Nations, Metis and Inuit students, families and communities,” says the York U document.
When the next set of applicants commence in May 2023 they will learn such courses as Teaching for Diverse and Equitable Classrooms in Ontario and Inclusive Education along with the standard Language and Literacy, Math, Science and Technology, Phys Ed, Social Studies and Culture, all with a focus on Indigenous education.
They will also have opportunities to learn from and with Indigenous educators, the course materials say.
The standard practicum placements (student teaching) will occur in Toronto District School Board (TDSB) public and Catholic schools, in the York Region public and Catholic boards, along with a few other “woke” school boards including Peel and Hamilton-Wentworth.
They must also complete community practicum placements but there is no mention of whether that will be with a native organization or even on a reserve, which would make sense to me.
The program, a two-year condensed degree in collaboration with the TDSB Indigenous Education Centre (of course), will be offered at the Kapapamahchakwew–Wandering Spirit School of Toronto.
This is a TDSB school where First Nations children can learn about Anishinaabe cultural traditions in a “nurturing caring environment,” says the TDSB description on the school.
The program was developed by Susan Dion, the inaugural associate v-p of Indigenous initiatives in York’s education faculty.
She is described as a Lenape and Potawatomi scholar and the first Indigenous tenure-track faculty member hired by York’s faculty of education.
Originally from Oklahoma and Delaware, Lenape natives are also located in Canada, mostly in southwestern Ontario.
Potawatomi natives are situated in the Great Lakes region.
According to the York U education faculty, this is a response to the Truth and Reconciliation report – just like the mandatory Grade 11 Indigenous English course recently approved by the TDSB for all of its schools.
Once again, I have no issue with teachers obtaining some background in Indigenous education but it should be a training course over a few days when teachers are off for the summer – not a full degree.
The degree reeks of favoritism and selectively – particularly the criteria to apply.
Are professors in the York University faculty of education feeling so guilty post Truth and Reconciliation that they don’t even care if applicants have the proper education credentials?
Just as long as they’re Indigenous, academics don’t matter?
But they do matter. These are would-be teachers of vulnerable young kids.
Cursive handwriting is a thing of the past and Canadian kids raised on iPhones, tablets and video games now print their names like English is their second language.
I fear we will soon have a whole generation of kids who won’t be able to spell, add and subtract and certainly not be able to express themselves eloquently in writing.
However, they will know all about colonialism, white supremacy, oppression and understand who are victims and who are not.
Institutes of higher learning like York University are doing our school kids no favours.
