The United States government has waded into the fight against two digital regulation laws being considered by the federal Liberal government.
US Trade Representative and Ambassador Katherine Tai met with Canadian Minister of International Trade Mary Ng on Wednesday to discuss Bill C-11 and Bill C-18.
In a readout of the meeting, Tai stated that the US side “expressed concern” about the two laws discriminating against American businesses and content creators.
“Ambassador Tai expressed concern about Canada’s proposed unilateral digital service tax and pending legislation in the Canadian Parliament that could impact digital streaming services and online news sharing and discriminate against U.S. businesses,” wrote Tai.
A similar statement of the meeting posted by Global Affairs Canada made no mention of the US side’s concerns about the bills.
“Minister Ng and Ambassador Tai discussed a range of other issues relating to the Canada-US trading relationship, including softwood lumber. They agreed to continue working closely together to strengthen this relationship, as well as our respective ties around the world, especially with the Indo Pacific,” claimed the readout.
Bill C-11 proposes to give the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulatory powers over virtual streaming platforms. Under the law, the CRTC would order tech giants like YouTube and Netflix to promote Canadian content as it is defined by the government.
Meanwhile, C-18 targets digital businesses like Facebook by forcing them to strike deals with Canadian news outlets in order to compensate them for their content being shared on the respective platform.
Critics of both laws have raised concerns about giving the government powers to regulate content posted online by ordinary Canadians as well as questions surrounding press freedom.
Several other major players including YouTube and Twitter CEO Elon Musk have dipped their feet in the fight against Canada’s incoming digital regulation laws.
Soon after acquiring Twitter, Musk responded to a comment urging the Twitter CEO to fight back against Bill C-11.
China’s vice premier Sun Chunlan has come out to say that the omicron virus is “less pathogenic” and is indicating that the Beijing Communist government may be somewhat loosening its covid zero grip.
An exclusive True North report has discovered that the Canadian government says it’s completely prepared to pay the US Navy double the amount originally agreed upon in 2014 to acquire torpedo upgrade kits for its Victoria-class submarines.
And Canadian think-tank Cardus is calling for Liberal Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti to explain his recent comments on assisted suicide.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Anthony Furey and Andrew Lawton!
In the summer of 2017 I sat beside activist Desmond Cole at the Toronto police services board meeting as he and members of Black Lives Matter tried to bully the board into getting rid of the successful cops in schools program.
A long list of teachers and students from across the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) appeared that day to relay their positive experiences with the program.
One former York Memorial student bravely told the meeting that certain black students don’t like police officers because of the “whole gang related stuff going on.”
A subsequent $30,000 review of the Student Resource Officer (SRO) program found the majority of students, staff and parents surveyed reported that cops in schools made them feel safer. Many said they were less worried about bullying, drugs, weapons and vandalism with an SRO in their schools.
Yet the politicians and trustees, including Mayor John Tory, took a knee to the activists — believing their mantra about students being “marginalized” by the cops.
Since the program was cancelled nearly five years ago, there has been a steady decline in the quality of life in many TDSB high schools, culminating in a rash of deadly shootings and stabbings this fall.
In the past year with activist education director Colleen Russell-Rawlins and her caring and safe schools/anti-oppression/anti-black racism/hug-a-thug agenda in existence, there are few consequences for bad behaviour.
Suspensions and expulsions are virtually non-existent and violence is ignored to the point where teachers have walked off the job at York Memorial Collegiate — according to recent reports — fearing for their safety from almost daily fights in the hallways and an actual fight club in the school’s hallways.
School administrators are left to helplessly watch as inmates run the asylum.
Yet the politicians continue to offer the best definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over and over and expecting a different result.
Over the years, Toronto city officials have thrown more than $300 million at poverty and youth equity programs – to convince youth not to turn to violence and the gun – with absolutely no accountability for the dollars spent.
In late 2018, then minister of border security and organized crime reduction Bill Blair tossed another $7-million down the drain on social programs to tackle youth violence in Toronto.
With accountability virtually non-existent it is clear none of these programs have worked and have only permitted those in the poverty industry to grow their ranks.
One would think that at this point, it’s time to admit these measures have not tackled the epidemic of violence.
It should be obvious to our politicians and Toronto school board trustees that thugs, gang members and drug dealers are not interested in summer jobs, community centre activities and basketball courts.
But the politicians refuse to admit they’ve made a big mistake cancelling the cops in schools program.
So this week Toronto mayor John Tory released a statement – after meeting with TDSB education director Russell-Rawlins and chair Rachel Chernos-LIn– indicating they’ve decided to prioritize schools that need “enhanced youth programming”, mental health supports and more free breakfast programs. They also intend to better partner with community organizations (the same that have achieved very little to nothing over the past five years).
Russell-Rawlins and Chernos-Lin released their own statement indicating that they will create a Safe Schools Audit team to work with schools to ensure Caring and Safe schools policies are being followed, that they will ensure every high school has a student safety engagement team and will add more safety monitors, social workers and youth counsellors to schools.
As I said, these political decision makers represent the best definition of insanity.
It’s sad to think they can’t admit their solutions aren’t working and that by giving in to the BLM/defund the police activists and promoting their hug-a-thug programs, they’ve created a crisis.
So much so that violent crime is becoming a weekly and sometimes daily event at Toronto high schools. On Thursday, there was another lockdown of a Scarborough school following reports of a person with a gun inside the premises.
On Monday, the TDSB is having an emergency meeting to discuss school violence. Sources say some trustees will recommend returning cops to some TDSB schools.
Just this past week Vancouver’s school board voted to bring back cops to a select number of high schools–a campaign promise of new mayor Ken Sim. They were ousted in April of 2021.
If Vancouver’s politicians can reverse course, so can Toronto.
Unless saving face is more important to Toronto’s politicians than saving lives.
Justin Trudeau broke his silence Monday on the ongoing protests in China against the Xi Jinping’s authoritarian Covid policies. Trudeau told reporters that he stands up for everyone’s right to express themselves, make themselves heard and “indeed protest.” Except, of course, if you want to protest Trudeau’s Covid policies. Trudeau doubled down on his hypocrisy the next day when he reaffirmed his support for the Chinese freedom protesters.
Trudeau’s inconsistency was blasted on social media as the rest of the world jumped at the opportunity to remind him how he chose to handle Canadian protesters who’d had enough of lockdowns and mandates.
Tune in to the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner.
A think-thank is calling for Liberal Justice Minister David Lametti to explain his recent comments stating that doctor-assisted suicide “provides a more humane way” for Canadians to end their lives.
Executive vice-president of Cardus Ray Pennings accused the minister of dehumanizing those who seek to end their lives.
“Minister Lametti’s remarks about suicide are dehumanizing both for those who seek death and for the medical professionals who are called upon to cause it,” said Pennings.
“While the minister acknowledges it is ‘difficult when you lose a loved one to suicide,’ he fails to recognize all suicides as tragedies or as evidence of our collective failure to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in Canada.”
Lametti made the comments earlier this week on Toronto Star’s “It’s Political” podcast.
“Remember that suicide generally is available to people. This is a group within the population who, for physical reasons and possibly mental reasons, can’t make that choice themselves to do it themselves,” said Lametti.
“And ultimately, this provides a more humane way for them to make a decision they otherwise could have made if they were able in some other way.”
Pennings said that Lametti’s statement indicates that he believes suicide is a form of medical care and the state has a right to facilitating it.
“How does he see suicide fitting into the primary objective of health care policy, as set out in the Canada Health Act, ‘to protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of Canada?’,” asked Pennings.
“This primary objective would appear to recognize the dignity of the person at any and all stages of life; doctor-assisted suicide does not meet this objective. Does the minister genuinely see suicide as medical care?”
Canada’s assisted suicide laws have garnered international condemnation. Recently, the Liberal government voted to expand access to assisted suicide to those who suffer from a mental illness.
In an October letter, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre blasted the policy saying that the role of the government is to promote the health of Canadians.
“It is important that legislation addressing medically assisted dying is clear and includes necessary safeguards. I do not support expanding physician assisted suicide to minors or people who are unable to truly consent,” writes Poilievre.
“Nor do I accept assisted suicide as a solution for mental illness. My government will always promote and prioritize the health of Canadians across the country. We need to promote policies that prioritize compassionate palliative care, rather than making medically assisted dying the only option.”
Chinese citizens have risen up in protest against Xi Jinping’s zero covid policies and authoritarian lockdown measures. As the rest of the world moves further away from covid, China’s tightening of restrictions has pushed many citizens over the edge. Footage from the streets of China has been breaking through the firewall and flooding social media platforms, giving the West an unprecedented view on truly unprecedented protests against Xi Jinping and the Communist Party.
Joining Rupa on the show is the host and anchor of NTD’s China in Focus, Tiffany Meier. Tiffany and Rupa discuss the origins of the mass protests breaking out all across China, the future of Xi Jinping’s iron grip on the country, the internal party fighting going on behind the scenes between Xi and his political rivals, and the covert interference that China has on Western nations.
Tune in to the latest episode of The Rupa Subramanya Show!
University of Western Ontario students tell True North they’re happy to see the school end its controversial vaccine mandate, but also say that the university should end mandatory masking and issue an apology.
On Tuesday Nov. 29, Western quietly ended its vaccination policy that would have required students to take a booster shot by Jan. 9, 2023.
“Based on the latest consultation with our medical experts and local public health, we are revoking our vaccination policy and will no longer require students, employees, and visitors to be vaccinated to come to campus,” Western wrote on its website.
Although their mask mandate — which a lot of students reportedly don’t follow anyway — remains in place.
However, Western also said it will continue to require people to wear masks in instructional spaces for the foreseeable future, claiming that it made that decision following “careful consultation with health experts and members of our community.”
Western students reached out to True North to express their relief over the lifting of the vaccine mandate.
Aidan Haskell, a fourth year engineering student who sought legal counsel over the mandate, told True North “Praise the Lord” when asked his thoughts on the vaccine policy ending.
He added that the latter was something he and many others had been praying for. Haskell also said that “although (the mandate) never should have been put in place to begin with, I was grateful and relieved to see Western revoke its policy.”
He also criticized Western’s decision to maintain the mask mandate, calling the decision “ridiculous and authoritarian”.
“The reason I oppose (the mask mandate) is because it is not based in truth,” Haskell said, adding that “currently I do not wear a mask on campus, and I would encourage other students not to as well… the mask has become a symbol of submission, and a sign of surrender.”
Haskell believes Western should “reinstate all students who were removed for their vaccine status,” and “issue a public apology regarding their treatment of these students.” Furthermore, he says the student union should “seek to prevent these measures from happening in the future,” but does not believe this will happen.
True North also heard from second year physical therapy grad student Julie Pranger, who believes that Western ended the vaccine mandate because “they didn’t have the societal support for it any longer, and it was damaging their reputation.”
She also slammed Western’s decision to maintain mandatory masking, claiming the school did so because they “can’t give up complete control.” Pranger believes that “masks teach us that we need to be afraid of the virus, which is what allowed all these mandates to be tolerated by people in the first place.”
Pranger says Western should acknowledge that it was wrong to mandate vaccination, in addition to re-accepting “anyone who dropped out because of the mandate but wishes to come back.”
She also noted that some students chose to take the Covid vaccine because “they were in a vulnerable position,” explaining that “as a student, if you lose your education, you lose out on all potential careers in that area. Even this year so many students were anxiously waiting to see if the mandate would be dropped and could not plan for their futures”
Western’s announcement in late August that it would be mandating vaccines and masks caused outrage. It also led to the creation of a campaign called Enough is Enough Western, which organized a protest against the mandates on campus earlier this year.
Following Western’s reversal Tuesday, Enough is Enough also called for the university to apologize, reinstate students who were deferred, expelled or dropped out, as well as offer back pay to staff who were suspended over the mandate.
APOLOGIES AND REPARATIONS!
Back pay for workers and reinstatement of students who deferred, were expelled, or were pushed to drop out. https://t.co/bzJuOXZ8dw
The Canadian government is prepared to pay the US Navy double the amount originally agreed upon in 2014 to acquire torpedo upgrade kits for its Victoria-class submarines.
On Sept. 24, 2014 the US Congress was informed of a $41 million deal to sell 12 MK-48 Mod 7 Advanced Technology Torpedo Conversion Kits and related logistics to the Canadian military.
$21 million of the price tag was for “major defense equipment” (MDE) while the remainder was for technical and support services.
That cost has since doubled to a new price of $89 million due to “cost increases, obsolescence, hardware failures and hardware rework,” according to an Oct. 20 transmission to Congress.
“The production of the conversion kits has experienced material cost increases, obsolescence, hardware failures, and hardware rework, which have delayed delivery to Canada. The estimated total MDE value will remain $25 million. The non-MDE value will increase by $48 million, resulting in a new estimated total value of $89 million,” claimed the notification.
In an emailed statement given to True North, the Department of National Defence (DND) confirmed that Canada was prepared to accept the higher costs, although it has not received a formal request for the extra funding.
“Canada has not yet received a formal request from the United States Navy for additional funding. Though details have yet to be finalized, DND is aware that this request is forthcoming, likely in early 2023,” DND Media Relations told True North.
“We acknowledge this issue and are prepared for a higher cost than originally expected. Based on current class maintenance schedules, we now expect upgrades will be completed fleet-wide by 2027.”
It is unclear whether the price could further grow by the time the torpedo kits are delivered. According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the federal government should explain itself as to why military procurement always goes over budget.
“How come every time we hear about military procurement, we hear that the costs are going way over budget?” asked CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano.
“Someone in the bureaucracy needs to figure out how to do military procurement without always spending way over budget.”
Currently, Canada has four Victoria-class submarines stationed in Esquimalt, British Columbia. According to a recent disclosure tabled in the House of Commons maintenance and repairs for the submarines have surpassed $3 billion.
“The Heavyweight Torpedo Upgrade (HWTU) project will upgrade the main weapon of Canada’s Victoria-class submarines from the MK48 Mod 4M torpedo to the Mod 7AT torpedo,” explained DND.
“The HWTU project will provide the related torpedo upgrade kits, warshots, exercise torpedoes, simulators, trainers, and spare parts – thus ensuring that our Armed Forces have the tools that they need to keep Canadians safe.”
True North is interested in covering more stories on military affairs. Do you have information to share about a military contract or current issue? Let us know at [email protected].
The federal Conservatives are again calling for the $35-billion Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to be tossed on the scrap heap of Trudeau failures. And for good reason.
It has yet to have a successful project.
The latest failure had the “bank” of PM Justin Trudeau’s invention investing $655 million in a $1.7 billion-dollar project to build an underwater electricity cable that is now dead in the water due to financial volatility and inflation.
“The Lake Erie Connector Project is yet another failure for the Canada Infrastructure Bank – a $35 billion taxpayer-funded bank that has not completed one project in almost 6 years,” said Leslyn Lewis, the Tories’ shadow minister of Infrastructure and Communities.
“At a time when Canadians are struggling to put food on the table, this government keeps wasting taxpayer dollars. (This) $655 million was promised to a multi-billion-dollar company for an electricity project that ironically seems to have failed due to inflation, caused by this Liberal government,” said Lewis.
“One and a half years ago, the Liberals were gushing about their new partnership with Fortis Inc., a private company that rakes in billions in revenue every year, promising tons of low-carbon energy, billions in GDP and hundreds of Canadian jobs.
“Conservatives warned from the beginning that this was a risky and inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars,” recalled Lewis. “We were ignored.”
The CIB was set up in 2017 as an arm’s-length agency with a mandate to persuade private capital to invest in public infrastructure, in exchange for a share of the returns on those investments – like from user fees.
To sweeten the deal, the bank would kick in money from its own capital fund of $35 billion. The goal was to raise four dollars in private capital for every one dollar of public money.
What’s not to like? Well, lots.
“There has been no transparency,” said Lewis. “Only when Conservatives demanded answers in Parliament did the government or the Bank provide any update on a massive project that was quietly cancelled back in July.
“We also still don’t know the details of the Fortis agreement or where the cost overruns were. That’s unacceptable for a taxpayer-funded bank.“
Conservatives will continue to call on this government to respect the only recommendation from the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities – that this $35-billion-dollar boondoggle be abolished. It has failed to attract the promised private investment, it lacks transparency, and it can’t get a project built.
“This drain on taxpayer dollars must end.”
Back in May, the Globe and Mail’s Andrew Coyne, among others, wrote about the Commons Transport Committee’s recommendation regarding the CIB—and that was to put it out of its misery.“
That was the striking recommendation — striking, both because of its finality (end it, don’t mend it) and because it was the only recommendation in the report,” said Coyne.
The headline writers at the time said the bank was “a good idea in principle but a bad idea in practice.”
While taxpayers’ money continues to circle the bowl, the bank somehow keeps hanging in.
“But the biggest obstacle to private investors’ participation may be the very thing the government hoped to lure them with — that juicy $35-billion dollop of public funds,” wrote Coyne. “It’s a bad idea in policy terms, since the subsidy, so far as it makes an investment less reliant on user fees, undermines the very market discipline that was supposed to justify it.”
“But it is also likely to make private investors leery, since public money always – always – comes with political strings attached,” he added.
“Want to save the Canada Infrastructure Bank? Make it more like an actual investment bank, and less like another government slush fund.”
Or do what the majority keeps wanting — abolish it entirely.
It appears Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is angling to challenge Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s Sovereignty Act.
Smith introduced the Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act on Tuesday with the goal of empowering Alberta to mix federal legislation that is harmful to their province, but the following day Trudeau said he’s taking nothing off the table when it comes to potentially confronting the issue.
Meanwhile, a former CRTC vice-chair is criticizing a bid by Global News to gain access to secure payroll rebates via tax measures, warning that it could make media companies dependent on the Liberal government remaining in power.
Also, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is accusing the federal government of preferential treatment for Quebec when it comes to Justin Trudeau’s federally-mandated carbon taxes.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Anthony Furey and Jasmine Moulton!
