Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said on Friday his government would fire pricey consulting firms that are wasting taxpayer dollars under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The promise came as Poilievre addressed the Conservative caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
“A Poilievre government will cap government spending,” he said. “Cut the waste, and fire the high-priced consultants so that we can put the money back in the pockets of our people.”
Poilievre did not say which consultants he plans to fire.
Earlier this month, Poilievre called for an investigation into consulting firm McKinsey & Co. He said Canadians need answers about more than $66 million of government contracts.
“Neither the company nor the government is willing to explain what the money was for,” he said. “We need to know what […] influence McKinsey has had.”
True North previously reported that Trudeau’s government increased funding to McKinsey & Co. by thirty-fold, compared to the government of former prime minister Stephen Harper.
A parliamentary committee last week announced it will investigate the combined total of more than $100 million of contracts between the Liberal government and McKinsey & Co.
The CBC gets the whole legacy media to rally against Alberta Premier Danielle Smith with a story based on anonymous sources and emails that their journalists never even glanced at before publishing their story. To make matters worse, the state broadcaster doubled down, refused to retract their story and ran another story attacking Smith.
Next on the show, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa plays the segregation card by inviting a “Black-only” audience to their latest theatrical showing. It’s not racist, it’s inclusive!!
Lastly, a woman at the Globe and Mail seems to think that the life of a husband is so great that she can’t help but want to become one too. Yes, women can be husbands too apparently.
Tune into Fake News Friday with Andrew Lawton and Sue-Ann Levy on True North!
The Toronto Police Chief and head of the Toronto Police Services Board are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to make immediate changes to criminal law and bail procedures citing an uptick in crime across Canada.
In a letter to the prime minister, Chief Myron Demkiw and board chair Ainsworth Morgan called for specific reforms to the justice system. The letter comes at a time of increased pressure from all 13 premiers to tackle the issue of the revolving door justice system.
According to the Toronto Sun, the letter asks Trudeau to ensure that only judges have the adjudicate bail hearings and not justices of the peace in the case of crimes that involve firearms.
Additionally, they want the Criminal Code altered so that those convicted of killing somebody with a gun in a public setting receive first degree murder charges and are required to serve at least two-thirds of their sentence before being eligible for parole.
As it stands, the law only requires convicts to serve one-third of their sentence.
Trudeau has faced growing pressure from the police community and others to clamp down on crime, including random assaults in major cities like Toronto, Vancouver and elsewhere.
Yesterday, Demkiw announced that the Toronto Police Service would allocate up to 80 uniformed police officers at transit stations across the city daily following a string of assaults targeting public transportation workers.
“We will do this primarily through a significant number of callback shifts, which are filled by off-duty officers in an overtime capacity,” said Demkiw.
Shortly before the announcement the national president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) urged Trudeau to follow through on commitments to deal with the situation.
“Today, we heard from the prime minister who made a commitment to have these discussions about how we can tackle violence on transit systems. I hope and anticipate that it’s not just talk and that our office gets a phone call,” said John Di Nino.
According to Di Nino, transit workers face up to 3,000 reported assaults per year.
Currently, a bill sponsored by Conservative MP Tracy Gray is making its way through the House of Commons. Bill C-283, also known as the “End the Revolving Door Act” has received the support of Kelowna, BC, which held the highest crime severity rate in all of Canada last year.
A day after the United States and Germany each announced they would be sending tanks to the Eastern European country, Canadian officials confirmed Canada will donate battle tanks to Ukraine as well as send Canadian Armed Forces to train Ukrainian soldiers.
Plus, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has released this year’s annual rental market report and notes that in part migration continues to drive higher demand for rental space.
And Canada joined two climate coalitions last week – and an economist says one of them will definitely raise prices for consumers.
These stories and more on The Daily Brief with Anthony Furey and Cosmin Dzsurdzsa!
Maybe the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau occasionally does things that aren’t to do with climate change. Maybe.
But you’d only notice that if you’re an Ottawa bubble policy junkie who follows the ins and outs of Parliament.
Zoom out though and from a bird’s eye view, it seems that all the Liberals do is roll out a never-ending series of climate-related projects.
Consider the speed and volume of some of the recent announcements:
There’s the upcoming increase to the carbon tax that will happen this April. This will see the carbon tax price per litre on gas go up to 14 cents.
On December 20, Trudeau’s plastic bag ban came into effect. Consumers now have to either bring their bags or pay $3 – that’s the price of a large canvas bag at Walmart – to carry home their purchases.
Also last month, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced that the government was mandating the percentage of automotive sales of new vehicles that must be electric vehicles – beginning with 20% in 2026 and 100% by 2035. It’s truly bizarre to think the government believes it’s their job to legislate private sector sales ratios.
This month, the government rolled out their push for what they call Just Transition legislation – where they will be working to aggressively phase out jobs in the oil and gas sector. They promise to replace them with high-paying green jobs, but their projections may not come to pass as they’re all based on magical-thinking.
Then – no, I’m not done yet – there are the fertilizer reduction targets aimed at farmers that the government is still working on. The goal is to reduce emissions from fertilizer usage by 30%. A number of experts have said that – surprise, surprise – a 30% reduction in fertilizers could lead to a 30% reduction in yields. This means less food and more prices.
Finally – still not done! – there are the climate coalitions the government joined during the World Economic Forum the other week. Yes, that’s coalitions, plural.
The government signed Canadians up for two different international coalitions designed to reduce emissions usage throughout the global supply chain. An economics professor from the University of British Columbia said this will increase the price of goods.
That’s a lot of climate frenzy in such a short span of time. And I’m surely leaving one or two things out. Given all of this activity, you’ve got to think that the Liberals are done on this front. There’s got to be nothing left to do.
But don’t be so sure. In fact, things may only be ramping up. This frenzy shows no signs of slowing down.
Whenever the PM speaks, whatever he speaks about, he always brings it back to things green. It’s clear that this is his driving policy issue.
Trudeau is even willing to let heads of state like Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz come all the way to Canada and ask for our resources on live TV only to be publicly rebuffed just so our PM can be seen dunking on the oil and gas sector yet again.
As it becomes increasingly clear that Trudeau is nearing the end of his time as Prime Minister, he may focus even more so on personal pet projects and things that appeal to his base. The green agenda fits this bill perfectly.
Besides, if you are a true believer that we’re facing an imminent existential climate crisis, it only makes sense that you’d use your last year or months in office to do everything you can on this file.
The majority of Canadians in all provinces but Quebec want the “notwithstanding clause” abolished, according to a recent survey.
The Angus Reid survey released on Thursday says 55% of all Canadians would scrap the clause, whereas 63% of Quebecois say it should stay put.
The majority of Canadians say the rising use of the clause is concerning.
The notwithstanding clause is a term in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms which allows for certain rights to be overridden when bringing in new legislation.
The clause was used in 2022 by the provincial governments of Ontario and Quebec to usher in legislation that would otherwise be illegal. Most Canadians (58%) said this rising use is concerning.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s attempted use of the clause to undermine an education-workers’ strike was unacceptable to six-in-ten Canadians, the survey said.
Inside Ontario, opinions were strongly tied to political leaning.
Those who voted Conservative in the province’s 2022 election were nearly six-times more likely to say Ford’s move was acceptable than their counterparts who voted Liberal or NDP.
Quebec Premier François Legault’s use of the notwithstanding clause to restrict English-speaking in the province was considered acceptable by roughly six-times more Quebecois than Canadians from any other province.
Federal Conservative voters were nearly twice more likely than Liberals to say the notwithstanding clause does not damage national unity.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is proposing a sustainable jobs alternative to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “Just Transition” proposal, which she says would face “irrepressible opposition” from Alberta.
The federal government has yet to table “Just Transition” legislation, but Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said it would be a priority this spring.
In an open letter, Smith said the leaders have reached a crossroads in Alberta’s relationship with the Federal Government.
“We can continue with the endless court challenges, legislation to protect jurisdictional rights and inflammatory media coverage over our disagreements,” she wrote.
“Or, as is my strong preference, Alberta and Ottawa can work in partnership on a plan that will signal to all Canadians and investors from around the world that our governments have cooperatively designed a series of incentives and initiatives.”
Those initiatives, the premier wrote, would seek to achieve objectives of substantially decreasing Canada’s and Alberta’s net emissions and accelerating private and public investment in infrastructure that utilizes and develops Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage, Bitumen Beyond Combustion, Geothermal technology, petrochemicals, hydrogen, lithium, helium, zero-emissions vehicles and nuclear technologies.
They would also seek to attract a larger skilled workforce to positions in the conventional energy sector and emerging industries and increase LNG exports and other responsibly developed conventional oil and natural gas resources to Europe, Asia, and the United States, she said.
“Prime Minister, all of the above objectives need to be clearly articulated and integrated into any Federal legislation or policies your government seeks to implement in the coming months, or that legislation will face irrepressible opposition from Alberta,” Smith wrote.
“I genuinely do not want to see that happen,” she added, inviting the prime minister to meet with her in February to discuss the matter.
“Just transition” emerged from the 2015 Paris Agreement, an international climate change treaty. The goal is to reduce the harm to workers as economies move from high-carbon activities to a green economy.
Last week, Blacklock’s Reporter uncovered a June 1 briefing note to Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson which said a “green economy” would still require workers without “green skills,” like janitors and truck drivers.
The memo said more than 2.7 million Canadians face “significant” disruptions in sectors that will be affected by climate change programs.
“The transition to a low carbon economy will have an uneven impact across sectors, occupations and regions and create significant labour market disruptions,” it reads.
“How many jobs will be lost in the oil and gas sector as a result of the Government of Canada’s climate change actions?”
Department staff said the answer depends because not every job that exists in today’s economy “has a perfect twin in a net zero economy.”
“And it’s not to say the transition will not be accompanied by change and uncertainty for some workers and communities where the labour force requirements of the future will differ from those of today.”
Smith has said “Just Transition” is a social justice term meant to phase out the coal industry
“To use that terminology, they’re virtue signaling to an extreme base that is openly advocating to shut down oil or natural gas,” she said last week.
In her letter, she also implored Trudeau to drop the name “Just Transition” and refer to the proposal as the “Sustainable Jobs Act.”
“Vow that all provisions of any forthcoming legislation will be designed to incentivize investment and job growth in both the conventional energy sector as well as in emerging industries,” she wrote.
“Demonstrate that no provision of the Act will be designed to phase out or reduce Alberta’s conventional oil and natural gas sector and workforce.”
The federal government has yet to respond to Smith’s letter.
On Tuesday night in Hamilton, Ontario, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was once again heckled by a large group of protesters. At a cabinet retreat dinner, Trudeau and his cabinet thought it would be a good idea to get together at a downtown restaurant and think nobody would notice. Well, sure enough, people did notice – and True North was on the scene.
Plus, before getting to the restaurant, Harrison Faulkner caught up with Trudeau for a must-see interaction that took place in a nearby mall.
Tune in to the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner.
Tune into part two of Rupa’s interview with author of “The Covid Consensus,” Thomas Fazi as they continue their discussion about the World Economic Forum and its impact on sovereign nations like Canada.
The WEF Annual Meeting may be over but many questions still remain – what interest do hundreds of business executives and world leaders have in meeting every year in Davos? Will global policies affecting climate, digital ID and vaccines effect Canadians? How much influence does the WEF actually have?
The heated reaction to the Ford government’s announcement of coming reforms to incorporate for-profit clinics in the Ontario healthcare model has been “irresponsible” and overblown, says a well-known Ontario doctor.
Last week, the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford announced a three-step plan that would allow for-profit clinics to perform a number of surgeries and procedures currently done in hospitals to clear Ontario’s backlog.
True North spoke with Macdonald-Laurier Institute senior fellow Dr. Shawn Whatley about the reforms and the reaction to them from politicians and unions.
Dr. Whatley, a former president of the Ontario Medical Association, told True North that he hopes to see an overall increase in patient services for procedures and surgeries and increased innovation in procedures that hospitals are normally charged with conducting.
Among the chief critics of the Ford government’s healthcare plan NDP federal leader Jagmeet Singh and the incoming leader of the Ontario NDP, Marit Stiles.
In a Twitter post attacking the Ford government’s proposals, Stiles claims that patients will be “left behind” under the new system and that implementing a two-tiered healthcare system needs to be avoided.
“Private, for-profit health care means the clinic’s bottom line will take priority, NOT patient care. It means more health care workers driven out of our system. Longer wait times. Hidden fees,” reads Stiles’ post.
However, Dr.Whatley said that politicians making the claim that patients will have to wait longer and pay hidden fees will need to present the evidence backing their claim.
“Show me the evidence,” said Dr. Whatley. “We are increasing the number of OHIP-covered services. How will that not increase your access to MRIs, CAT scans and all the rest?”
Critics also claim that the Ford government’s plan would exacerbate healthcare staffing issues by diverting doctors and nurses from hospitals to private clinics.
A joint letter between Ontario’s five biggest healthcare unions asserted that opening up for-profit options would become a drain on hospital staff.
“Funding private clinics will further damage the ability of Ontario’s public hospitals to provide high-quality care and make it even more challenging to retain front-line,” said the letter.
However, Dr. Whatley says that the government can rectify the current shortage of healthcare practitioners with reforms to the system.
“Most of the shortages we have aren’t absolute shortages – they are relative shortages created by an absolute lack of freedom,” said Dr. Whatley.
“We put arbitrary rules and ratios, make them jump through hoops and have all these procedures and protocols that waste a ton of time. Also, there are a ton of part-time and recently retired nurses and physicians that aren’t being tapped into. They don’t want to come back because it’s so toxic to work in hospitals,” added Dr. Whatley.
Politicians and unions alike have referred to the Ford government’s healthcare announcement as an “Americanization” of the system.
The aforementioned joint letter from healthcare unions said, “We are now alarmed that Ontario’s public health care system is at further risk because of the PC government’s scheme to support American-style, private for-profit hospitals throughout the province.”
NDP leader Singh said via Twitter, “Conservatives who want American-style health care have begun privatizing health care and Justin Trudeau is doing nothing to stop them.”
However, Dr. Whatley says that bringing up the American healthcare system to compare the Ford government’s plan is “irresponsible” and hopes that most Canadians can see through the spin.
“If we are actually having a discussion, I’d say, please define what you mean. Because we are talking about OHIP-covered services, universal healthcare and comprehensive care,” says Dr. Whatley.
