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Tuesday, July 29, 2025

University of Ottawa president apologizes after media banned from filming Chinese ambassador

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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University of Ottawa (U of O) president Jacques Fremont has apologized following backlash over the school’s decision to ban media from filming a speech given by Chinese ambassador Cong Peiwu at the campus.

In a tweet Wednesday morning, Fremont wrote, “we made the wrong decision at the last moment. We apologize to the media involved. We should have done better to protect the freedom of the press.”

As reported by Radio-Canada, Cong participated in a conference at U of O Monday titled “China and the World: Development, Trade and Governance in the 21st Century.”

The event was attended by several members of the media. However, Radio-Canada reports that the university told their cameramen that he had to leave after Cong requested cameras be banned.

Radio-Canada notes that the university also lowered the blinds in the room to hide a protest outside that was in solidarity with the Uyghur people, a group that China has been accused of committing genocide against.

The ambassador’s appearance at the university came amid unprecedented protests against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its zero-Covid agenda. Citizens continue to be subjected to long and extreme lockdown measures as well as mass testing and contact tracing.

As reported by The Canadian Press, Cong defended the CCP’s policies at the U of O event. “In China, the policy works well,” he said. “The central government in China, our philosophy is putting people first, putting life first.”

The banning of journalists was met with backlash, including from the federal Liberal government.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in French “for me, they made a mistake in banning the cameras. In Canada, we open (things) especially to people who have a public profile. The media must have access.”

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus also spoke on the matter. 

While the university did not return True North’s request for additional comment, it did tell Radio Canada that “in order to ensure that this regrettable situation does not happen again, the university will try in the future to be clearer with its speakers before holding events, on the possible presence of media.”

Almost half of Canadians support some limit on abortion: poll

By
Rachel Parker
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A new Angus Reid poll shows almost half of Canadians believe there should be some limit on abortion. The survey was conducted in the wake of the latest Roe v. Wade discussion south of the border.

According to the survey, 8% of Canadians say abortion shouldn’t be available at any point during a pregnancy, while 15% believe it should be available up to 15 weeks. Nine per cent think it’s okay after a heartbeat commences but before viability, referring to the time when a fetus could survive outside the womb, generally considered to be about 24 weeks.

Another 3% say abortion should be an option after fetal viability outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks, while 14% said they aren’t sure. 

Of the respondents, 52% say abortion should be available at any point during a pregnancy. 

The Angus Reid Institute conducted the online survey from Aug. 29-30, 2022 among a representative randomized sample of 1,805 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. 

Canada currently has no abortion laws, meaning there is no restrictions to access abortion. However in the United States, even liberal states such as New York and California have some time window restrictions on abortion access.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waded into the issue after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States. 

“My heart goes out to the millions of American women who are now set to lose their legal right to an abortion. I can’t imagine the fear and anger you are feeling right now,” Trudeau tweeted in June.

“No government, politician, or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body.”

The government then announced $3.5 million to fund abortion services in Canada.

Despite Trudeau’s firm stance, the Angus Reid poll shows Canadians are quite divided on the issue of abortion.

Overall, half of Canadians identify as “completely pro-choice” and believe abortion is acceptabe at any point during a pregnancy. Another 8% say they are “completely pro-life” and believe that abortion is never acceptable except under exceptional circumstances where the physical health of the mother is in danger. Two-in-five (41%) say they don’t identify with either side of this debate and find themselves somewhere in between.

The survey also found that women between the ages of 18 and 34 are notably most likely to be either “completely pro-choice” (65%) or “completely pro-life” (14%).

Individuals who say religious faith plays an important role in their lives are most likely to identify as completely pro-life (40%), while the same number (39%) say that they are somewhere in between the two extremes, and one-in-five say they are completely pro-choice (21%).

Among women who’ve had an abortion, the number who believe abortion should be available at any point during a pregnancy rises to 58%. Another 6% of these women say it shouldn’t be an option at any point during a pregnancy.

Among respondents who carried an unplanned pregnancy to term, 44% say abortion should be available at any point during a pregnancy, while 13% don’t want abortion to be an option at all.

More benefits will make media dependent on Liberal government, says former CRTC rep

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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A former Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (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.

As first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the owner of Global News, Corus Entertainment Inc., submitted a petition to the House of Commons finance committee on Monday urging Ottawa for 25% payroll rebates via tax measures for media companies. 

“Unlike other Canadian news and broadcast content, Canadian broadcast news is not entitled to ongoing, direct financial support from the federal government,” the petition claimed. “Corus urges the federal government to redress this inequity.”

Specifically, Corus wants to have access to a maximum $13,750 payroll rebate per employee introduced under the Income Tax Act media bailout in 2019. Currently, broadcast and TV news is not included in the $600 million package. 

According to former CRTC vice-chair Peter Menzies, Corus’ arguments are problematic on several levels, including the fact that the 5-year bailout program was specifically created to help newspapers transition into a digital medium and not broadcasters like Global News.

Additionally, broadcasters enjoy other benefits that print publications don’t.

“Corus/Global and other broadcasters were given significant financial relief during the pandemic in terms of the waiver of fees by the CRTC,” explained Menzies, also a former newspaper executive. 

“As CRTC-licensed broadcasters, Corus/Global enjoy a number of benefits not available to newspapers such as – and this is significant – being protected from competition, permitted use of a scarce public resource (spectrum) and having CRTC-mandated carriage on cable and satellite networks.”

Menzies also told True North that should the government revise the terms of existing agreements “to give further financial benefits to already profitable and – some might say – pampered companies such as Global/Corus it will do so at the disadvantage of the more than 200 innovative and entrepreneurial news websites that have launched in recent years.”

“It would also be a step further towards the creation of a permanent co-dependence between the Liberal party being in power and Global/Corus’s ability to produce news,” he continued. 

The petition comes only months after a Corus executive told the Senate that Global News was “on the brink.” 

“Our ability to provide local, fact-based news in large parts of the country, in small markets, in places like the English-language minority community in Montréal, it all teeters on the brink,” said the company’s executive vice president Troy Reeb. 

“It’s a money losing business in television that is subsidized by entertainment programming,” said Reeb on Sept. 15. 

Corus hasn’t fared any better on the stock market where shares in the company have lost nearly 80% of their stock value over the past five years. 

“The position taken by Reeb appears to ignore all of this and represents an inflated sense of corporate self-importance: if Global no longer wishes to produce news it is free to appeal to the CRTC for relief of its regulatory obligations or – as it appears to resent doing news – turn in its license. I have no doubt there are other entrepreneurial companies more than ready to take their place,” explained Menzies. 

He also added that broadcasters could soon benefit from $240 million annually should Bill C-18 become law. 

According to a recent update to investors, the company blamed “prior imposition of public health restrictions” and “public sentiment about the pandemic” for advertising disruptions.

“Disruptions caused by the prior imposition of public health restrictions, public sentiment about the pandemic, and continuing COVID-19 infection rates can negatively impact the Company’s operations and financial performance,” Corus stated in a press release on Sept. 9. 

“The Company continued to be impacted by pandemic-related conditions in the past quarter, primarily due to disruptions to consumer behaviour patterns and supply chains affecting both product and service advertising categories.”

Quebec gets off the hook on carbon tax hikes: taxpayers group

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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A taxpayers group is accusing the federal government of preferential treatment for Quebec when it comes to federally-mandated carbon taxes.

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), the Liberal government is giving Quebec a “special deal” on carbon taxes while the rest of the country has to fork up 14 cents per litre of gas by next year. All provinces, other than Quebec, will have to raise the carbon tax on fuel to 37 cents per litre by 2030. On the other hand, Quebec will only have to pay an additional 23 cents per litre on gas by the end of the decade due to its provincial carbon pricing scheme.

“Trudeau is giving Quebec a special deal on carbon taxes and giving other Canadians higher gas prices and heating bills,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano.

“The solution is simple: Trudeau should scrap his carbon tax and lower gas prices and home heating bills across Canada.”

As of 2019, all provinces that don’t have a carbon pricing scheme that is adequate in the eyes of Ottawa are required to pay a federal levy under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. Several provinces including Quebec already had a carbon tax in place at the time the law went into effect. Quebec’s government currently participates in an international emissions trading scheme with the state of California.

As of 2014, the province has had a cap-and-trade agreement with the US state which places a total greenhouse gas emission limit on the entities involved who can then convert it into tradable emission allowances to make it easier to meet the targets.

“Trudeau’s special deal for Quebec shows the carbon tax was always about politics, not the environment,” said Terrazanno.

Ottawa moved forward on increased fuel carbon charges earlier this year despite protestations from the Conservatives, who say that Canadians are already under enough financial pressure as it is due to inflation and rising cost of living. In an exclusive interview with True North, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh of running an “inflationist government” that has raised taxes on Canadians.

“At the end of the day it will be up to Jagmeet Singh to decide how long he wants to perpetuate an inflationist government that has contributed to doubling housing prices, 41-year-highs on inflation, major tax increases on home, heating, gas and groceries and countless other attacks on working class people,” said Poilevre.

Pierre Poilievre on the Emergencies Act, firearms, drugs and provincial sovereignty

By
Andrew Lawton
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In his first appearance on True North since becoming leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre sat down with Andrew Lawton for a wide-ranging interview about his agenda and priorities.

Poilievre and Lawton discuss the Public Order Emergency Commission and broader implications of Justin Trudeau’s invocation of the Emergencies Act.

They also discuss the drug epidemic sweeping Canadian communities, Liberal gun bans and Alberta’s new sovereignty act, among other things.

SUBCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

Trudeau accused of double standard after China protest comments

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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On Tuesday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau broke his silence on the ongoing protests in China, saying he supports the rights of Chinese citizens to “express themselves” as the communist regime in Beijing faces widespread protests over its extreme Covid-19 lockdown measures. 

But Trudeau is also facing criticism for not showing the same tolerance for the trucker convoy protests that took place in Ottawa earlier this year.

“Obviously, everyone in China should be allowed to express themselves, should be allowed to share their perspectives and indeed, protest,” Trudeau said, when asked by media about the events in China.

“We’re going to continue to ensure that China knows we’ll stand up for human rights, we’ll stand with people who are expressing themselves.”

In China, many thousands of protesters took to the streets in at least eight major cities after a fire killed people locked down in their homes in Urumqi. 

Last week, the prime minister testified before the Public Order Emergency Commission on his use of the Emergencies Act to stifle Canada-wide Freedom Convoy protests opposed to the Liberal government’s Covid-19 mandates and travel restrictions. 

During his testimony, Trudeau claimed that he found it troubling that protesters in Canada were demanding changes in public policy before he invoked the emergency powers.

“Using protests to demand changes to public policy is something that I think is worrisome,” said Trudeau. 

Political advisor and conservative commentator Stephen Taylor asked on Twitter whether Trudeau was “a hypocrite” for his stance on the matter. 

Journalists Licia Corbella and Sophie Corcoran also took to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with Trudeau’s statements. 

Other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak offered condemnations of China’s crackdown on its own citizens. 

“We recognize China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests — a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism,” said Sunak.

“Instead of listening to their people’s protests, the Chinese government has chosen to crack down further, including by assaulting a BBC journalist.”

The Daily Brief | Western drops vax mandate

By
Anthony Furey
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Pierre Poilievre sits down for an exclusive interview with True North, where he highlights what he describes as the problems with the Liberal government amendments to its firearms legislation.

Meanwhile, Western University has quietly reversed its controversial vaccine mandate for students, although its mask mandate remains in place.

And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ended his silence on the ongoing protests in China. Is what he said enough?

Tune into The Daily Brief with Anthony Furey and Cosmin Dzsurdzsa!

EXCLUSIVE: Poilievre opposes firearms bill amendments, pledges to repeal C-21

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has come out against the Liberals’ proposed amendments to ban almost all semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.

Poilievre told True North’s Andrew Lawton during an exclusive interview that he would fight to repeal the bill and that the latest amendment wrongly bans hundreds of thousands of firearms that are used for hunting. 

“I oppose both Bill C-21 and the amendments that they most recently brought in. This amendment effectively bans hundreds of thousands, if not millions of firearms that are in Canada today that are used for hunting. These are hunting rifles and hunting shotguns,” responded Poilievre. 

The Liberals in committee last week had proposed an amendment that effectively would expand their ban in C-21 to virtually every semi-automatic rifle and shotgun, including some small calibre 22s.

The full list of firearms the Liberals are proposing to prohibit includes several single-shot guns as well.

“There’s no evidence that the massive increase in violent crime in our inner cities is the result of people in the country using hunting rifles or shotguns,” Poilievre added. “So obviously, Conservatives oppose that and we’d repeal it.” 

Instead of a blanket firearms ban, Poilievre said his government would create a committee composed of law enforcement officials, First Nations, hunters and sport shooters to determine how firearms are classified. 

“My approach is to put that right in law. So it’s very clear and the government and politicians can’t constantly and suddenly change the rules at great cost, both to the lawful property owner but also to the taxpayer,” said Poilievre citing projections which state that a government buyback scheme could cost taxpayers billions. 

During the interview, Poilievre also reiterated his support for peaceful protesters who took part in the Freedom Convoy. 

“I think Justin Trudeau provoked this entire crisis with an entirely unnecessary and unscientific vaccine mandate on truckers,” said Poilievre. 

On the Alberta Sovereignty Act proposed by Premier Danielle Smith, Poilievre said that such legislation would not be necessary if he were prime minister. 

“When I’m prime minister, bills like this will be unnecessary because I’m going to respect provincial jurisdiction,” said Poilievre.

The full interview will be released Wednesday at www.tnc.news.

An earlier version of this story said that the Liberals are not banning 22s. It has been updated to reflect that they are banning some 22-calibre models.

The Andrew Lawton Show | Justin Trudeau failed to defend the Emergencies Act

By
Andrew Lawton
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After six weeks of testimony, the Public Order Emergency Commission has wrapped its fact-finding phase. Canadians have been able to hear from themselves that there simply was no national emergency of any kind, let alone one that needed such an extreme measure to address, True North’s Andrew Lawton argues. In this edition of the show, Andrew breaks down the highlights from Justin Trudeau’s and Chrystia Freeland’s testimony and talks about the big themes and memorable moments to emerge from the hearings.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

FUREY: Behind-the-scenes school mask mandate drama continues in Ottawa

By
Anthony Furey
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Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) trustees are continuing to squabble about the very heated yet failed attempt to push a mask mandate on students, as the board itself sends damage control messages home to parents.

Last Tuesday’s board meeting that was open to the public had to be postponed due to disruptions from the audience. They reconvened on Thursday, with the motion failing 6-6… 8 against when you count the non-binding votes from the two student trustees who opposed it and, as has been remarked by many onlookers, were the most articulate voices in the room.

It’s all quite something and yet another sign that controversial newly elected trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth, who put forward the motion, has caused nothing but trouble with her single-minded focus on mask mandates.

But, wait, there’s more.

An email update, sent to parents and guardians of all OCDSB students on Friday, begins with the following line: “This was a challenging week for the OCDSB community.” It goes on to explain how the issue “generated a lot of discussion” and that “after much debate, the motion did not pass.”

Then there’s this condescending doozy of a paragraph:

“Public discourse and the debate of ideas is important. Critical thinking is important. Criticism, attacks, and abuse of others for their beliefs or ideas are not okay. As a community, we need to learn from and move past the difficult experiences of this week. We all deeply care about the health, wellness and education of students. They would be well-served by our commitment to listen, learn and engage with one another in a respectful manner, supporting the dignity of every person.”

What on earth is going on here? There’s clearly some Dawson’s Creek-level drama going on in the subtext of this weepy lament. What else is happening behind the scenes that they’re not disclosing? 

I emailed the board to ask if there have been any actual attacks and abuse occurring as a result of the mask mandate (and, no, mean tweets don’t count). I’ve yet to receive a response.

And what’s with this whole “debate of ideas is important” but “criticism… of others for their… ideas are not okay.” What are they even trying to say here? And why would a school board send such paternalistic ramblings out to all parents?

Then again we do know the “debate of ideas” was still going on between the trustees following the meeting, and maybe that’s what the letter to parents was all about.

In an email exchange the day after the vote – an exchange that all trustees could see that members of the media were CC’d on  –  trustees were still getting into it.

“It was, in my opinion, a bad motion and it appears others agreed. Accept that and move on,” Trustee Donna Blackburn wrote in an email to Kaplan-Myrth.

The whole email thread began when a parent wrote to all trustees to celebrate the defeat of the mask mandate and criticize Kaplan-Myrth’s overzealous conduct.

After one trustee wrote back to defend Kaplan-Myrth, the good doctor herself chimed in to say: “I look forward to continuing to work with each of the Trustees over the next four years, and I hope that, as colleagues, we stand together against anyone who threatens or attempts to intimidate or insults others.”

But Blackburn clearly felt this was disingenuous, saying in her email: “The challenging of my commitment to our staff and students is unacceptable and must stop. I have been called a baby killer. Do you think that is acceptable?”

Blackburn appears to be referring to the narrative stoked by Kaplan-Myth that those opposed to mask mandates somehow wish ill health upon people.

“We are going to have a very long four years if we don’t all agree to follow certain respectful ground rules,” Blackburn adds. “Please stop suggesting that any Trustee voted last night based on intimidation.”

Blackburn’s certainly right about the long four years, but this is all so very embarrassing – and none of it has anything to do with student excellence.

Do you have information to share about the ongoing Ottawa school board antics? Email [email protected]

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