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Monday, July 21, 2025

Farmers “very nervous” about fertilizer emission targets: Ontario Federation of Agriculture

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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The head of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) told parliament that farmers were anxious about losing fertilizer inputs, citing Liberal government targets to reduce emissions from fertilizer use by 30%. 

OFA President Peggy Brekveld told the House of Commons agriculture committee last week that the government was “making a mistake” in the way it was approaching the issue. 

“One thing I will say is that farmers are very, very nervous about the potential of losing the ability to use inputs, including fertilizer,” said Brekveld. 

“There has been clarity that the government is looking to reduce emissions, and I understand that, but on the other side, many farmers see that if we measure using fertilizer, we’re probably making a mistake, because when we use fertilizer, if we don’t use enough, we actually degrade the soil.” 

“I think the better way to measure for emissions would be to use a reckoning of how many best management practices farmers are using on the land. We know from research that those actually will reduce emissions, and I do think that it also will provide us with the ability to continue to produce more and more food for the world,” she continued.  

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2020 climate plan included a voluntary target for farmers to cut emissions from fertilizer use by 30% below 2020 levels in the next ten years. 

Despite warnings from farmers that meeting the target would mean a drastic decline in yields, Liberal Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau has dismissed the fears as “a lot of misinformation.” 

While testifying at the committee, former Conservative MP and farmer Ted Menzies blasted the policy as a “regulatory burden” at a time when agricultural producers are already paying record prices for fertilizer inputs. 

“You will have seen a report out of Brazil, where they’re very concerned about next year’s crops because, with the price of fertilizer, farmers have reduced their inputs. Brazil is a major food source for all of South America, so that is another concern simply because of the cost of fertilizer, and that’s without a regulatory burden placed on top of it,” explained Menzies. 

Earlier this week, the President of Yara International – one of the largest fertilizer companies in the world – told shareholders during a third quarter meeting that the world was on the cusp of a food crisis due to dwindling fertilizer supplies. 

“The world’s food supply cannot be maintained without nitrogen,” said Svein Tore Holsether. 

“We are deeply concerned about the state of global agriculture… Yara’s markets have never been more challenging than what we have seen in the past 12 months with European production costs reaching an all-time high.”

Ottawa police circulated report full of false claims about Freedom Convoy

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Source: True North

A report circulated by the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) made numerous false and misleading claims about the Freedom Convoy. 

As first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the memo titled Examining U.S. Support and Funding for the Canadian Trucker Contoy was published by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).

The ISD made several false and since disputed claims including that funding for the convoy was from “international sources.” 

“Funding appears to be coming from a host of U.S. and international sources,” claimed the ISD.

Testimony and evidence tabled before the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) have revealed that the convoy was in fact grassroots and domestically funded.

The ISD is an international think tank based out of the United Kingdom that focuses on “disinformation and extremism.” It does not have any offices in Canada. 

According to the minutes of a meeting between Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director David Vigneault and federal officials tasked with responding to the convoy, the top intelligence chief told the government that CSIS saw no evidence of foreign funding. 

“There [are] no foreign actors identified at this point supporting or financing this convoy. FINTRAC is supporting this work/assessment and the banks are also engaged,” said Vigneault. 

“There is not a lot of energy and support from the U.S.A. to Canada. CSIS has also not seen any foreign money coming from other states to support this.”

The ISD report sent to former OPS chief smeared the convoy as extreme and radical based on videos posted by users on TikTok. 

“The convoy is attracting violent and harmful content and commentary from TikTok users particularly in posts that target Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” claimed the ISD. 

False claims of foreign involvement were also spread by legacy media outlets like the CBC. At the height of the convoy, a host with CBC’s program Power & Politics implied on air that Russia was behind the convoy without any evidence. 

Lawyers representing demonstrators have since demanded that the POEC makes CBC CEO 

Catherine Tait take the stand and answer for the Crown corporation’s coverage of the convoy. 

“The Commission is mandated to investigate misinformation that led to the declaration of emergency. The biggest source of misinformation was the corporate press,” JCCF lawyer Hatim Kheir wrote to the Commission.

Musk responds to tweet urging him to fight Trudeau’s Bill C-11

By
Noah Jarvis
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Source: Flickr

Tesla founder Elon Musk has responded to a tweet urging him to take action against the Trudeau government’s online censorship legislation Bill C-11, saying it’s the first he’s heard of the controversial bill. 

Musk recently acquired social media platform Twitter in a $44 billion deal that takes the once-public company private under Musk’s leadership.

After news of Musk’s long-awaited acquisition went public, conservative social media group Canada Proud tweeted at Musk, asking if he would take steps to fight against the Trudeau government’s Online Streaming Act.

“Hey [Elon Musk]”, now that you own Twitter, will you help fight back against Trudeau’s online censorship bill C-11”? Canada Proud posted.

“First I’ve heard,” Musk responded, in his typical short-form way of posting.

If Bill C-11 is passed in its current form, it will enable the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to regulate what’s labelled user-generated content, including turning down the visibility of content deemed ‘not Canadian enough’.

The law would affect platforms like YouTube, Netflix, Facebook, and Musk’s Twitter, potentially forcing these platforms to adjust their algorithms to comply with CRTC guidelines. 

In the lead-up to taking complete control of Twitter, Musk has been vocal about his desire to make Twitter a free speech-friendly platform and engage in less censorship.

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” said Musk this past April.

“It is no beuno. We’ve been fighting it in Parliament for some time, but it’s on track to become law,” said Conservative MP Michelle Rempel-Garner, in response to Musk’s comment. She shared an OpenMedia petition to have Bill C-11 amended before becoming law.

Bill C-11 is currently being evaluated by the Canadian Senate’s Transportation and Communications committee, after which Senators may propose amendments and will vote for or against the legislation in the bill’s third reading. 

Day 11 Recap of Emergencies Act hearings | Lucki considered bringing in the military

By
Harrison Faulkner
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On Day 11 of the Emergencies Act hearings, disclosed text messages reveal that RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki considered calling in members of the military to wear RCMP uniforms and act as unarmed cops against Freedom Convoy protesters. 

Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique testified today that he was on the receiving end of Lucki’s message to have Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) soldiers brought in to hold protest areas after they had been cleared.

Lucki’s message to Carrique on the 13th reads, “I was thinking we use CAF but in our uniforms as unarmed Auxiliaries or Spl. Csts. to supplement us in teams.”

Another message to Carrique from Lucki reads, “Could you see a role CAF in any of this…fir (sic) example, after we secure and all is back to “normal”, maybe keeping sites secure or patrolling unmanned POEs etc.”

Lawyers representing the Government of Canada pounced on this opportunity while questioning Carrique to try and infer that Carrique had also wanted the government to send in the military to hold protest areas that had already been cleared.

Government lawyers asked Carrique, “You’re actively considering whether or not the Canadian Armed Forces should be involved from the Ontario perspective?” 

“No, I was not,” Carrique responded. “That was a discussion that was taking place, and you can clearly see from my communication that that was not what I was recommending.” 

“I thought you were suggesting that the CAF shouldn’t play a role off of government properties but you could use special constables controlled by police from the CAF for unarmed patrols.”

“No, absolutely not sir. Not special constables from the Canadian Armed Forces…At no point in time did I ever support, suggest or recommend the deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces.” Carrique responded.


As is becoming routine throughout these hearings, more evidence has been presented to indicate that law enforcement did not need the legal powers granted to them through the invocation of the Emergencies Act.

Lawyers for the commission asked Carrique if he agreed with OPP Supt. Pat Morris’ previous testimony saying, “(Morris’) evidence was that there were no threats that materialized and that there were no credible threats to national security, do you agree with that?”

“I do agree with that,” Carrique responded. “That’s a very important part and piece. When you move from strategic intelligence into operational and tactical intelligence and establish thresholds for mandates and charges, that further analysis needs to be done to determine whether it’s credible and whether that threat actually came to fruition.”

Convoy lawyer Brendan Miller questioned Carrique on the lack of required intelligence between all levels of law enforcement throughout the Freedom Convoy that would justify the invocation of the Emergencies Act.

“It’s fair to say that based on all OPP intelligence and the intel provided by the RCMP and federal intelligence agencies to the OPP, to your knowledge there was no credible threat to Canada as defined in Section 2 of the CSIS Act?” Miller asked.

“That would be my understanding, yes. As determined by Supt. Patrick Morris in consultation with CSIS and the RCMP,” Carrique responded.  

Miller also asked Carrique about whether or not a federal bureaucrat or civil servant told him that the Freedom Convoy posed a credible threat to Canada.

“In your interactions with the members of the federal civil service prior to 11:59 pm of February 13th, isn’t it true that no civil servant ever said to you there was a credible threat of that defined by Section 2 of the CSIS Act?” Miller asked.

“That’s true.” Carrique responded.

“And they never said to you that they had reasonable grounds to believe that such a threat existed, did they?”

“Nobody ever said that to me.” Carrique responded. 

Further evidence from text exchanges between Lucki and Carrique were made public today indicating that by February 5th, just one week into the Freedom Convoy protests, Brenda Lucki told Carrique that the federal government had lost confidence in the Ottawa Police Service. 

Lucki’s message to Carrique on Feb. 5 reads, “between you and I only, Government of Canada losing/lost confidence in Ottawa Police Service (OPS). We gotta get to safe action/enforcement. Because if they go to the Emergencies Measures Act, you or I will be brought into lead. Not something I want.”

Commission lawyers asked Carrique if he had lost confidence in the OPS at this time, Carrique said he wouldn’t describe it that way.

“I did feel that with the support we were providing, that there was an opportunity to develop and executive a plan that would bring upon a resolution to this and ultimately that’s what happened.”

Although Carrique told commission lawyers that there was “no credible threat to national security” from the convoy, Carrique agreed with government lawyers that law enforcement agencies collectively identified the Freedom Convoy as a potential “risk to national security.”

Carrique also agreed with government lawyers that the Emergencies Act as an “extremely helpful tool.” 

What happens next?

Hearings resume tomorrow morning at 9:30 am ET.

Former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly is scheduled to testify tomorrow.

True North will continue to have daily coverage of the ongoing Emergencies Act hearings.

The Rupa Subramanya Show | Trudeau’s crumbling case against the Freedom Convoy (Ft. Ari Goldkind)

By
Rupa Subramanya
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The Trudeau government told Canadians that the Freedom Convoy was a group of violent protesters bent on overthrowing the government. They told Canadians that war-time measures were needed to quash the protest and invoked the Emergencies Act, giving law enforcement extraordinary powers to crack down on Canadians.

Unfortunately for the government, their rationale for invoking the never-before-used act has fallen flat on its face because of testimonials given at the Public Order Emergency Commission in recent weeks.

Criminal defence attorney Ari Goldkind, who openly admits he was no supporter of the convoy, says the government’s narrative doesn’t add up and that the Emergencies Act was not justified. Ari joins The Rupa Subramanya Show to share his thoughts on the inquiry and what Canadians can expect when the commission makes its ruling.

This is the first part of Rupa’s must-watch interview with Ari. Tune into Rupa Subramanya Show!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE RUPA SUBRAMANYA SHOW

Ratio’d | Justin Trudeau is laughing at you

By
Harrison Faulkner
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On Saturday night in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined his buddies in the Parliamentary Press Gallery to laugh at the plight of Canadians facing unprecedented attacks on their freedoms and record high inflation. It’s evident from the types of “jokes” that Trudeau made that the target of these “jokes” is us.

Also on the show, legacy media journalists were up in arms after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith fixed her sights on the World Economic Forum (WEF). The new premier announced that the deal signed between Alberta Health Services and the WEF will be ripped up and Alberta will have nothing to do with the global organization. Cue the legacy media outrage!

Tune in to the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner now!

Canadians visited food banks 1.5 million times in March

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Canadians are visiting food banks at record levels, an annual report by Food Banks Canada reveals. 

After looking at over 4,750 food banks across the country, researchers found that Canadians visited food banks 1.5 million times in March – a 15% increase compared to 2021. 

Food Banks Canada CEO Kirstin Beardsley and Board Chair John Bayliss said that the situation is unprecedented. 

“There has likely never been a more difficult time for food banks in Canada. Across the country, more people are turning to food banks than ever before in our history. Many people are visiting for the first time, making the difficult choice to ask for help because their money simply isn’t stretching far enough to cover their expenses.” wrote Beardsley and Bayliss in the introduction to the report.

“Further, food banks are dealing with incredible volatility, from changes in the availability of food donations, to decreased access to methods of transporting food where it’s needed, to climate weather crises that call on food banks to operate through floods and fires, as they did this past year in British Columbia in particular.”

On the same day the report was published, Conservative deputy leader Tim Uppal blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the situation in the House of Commons.

“The Liberals are completely out of touch with the economic crisis that Canadians are facing because of their reckless spending,” said Uppal. 

“Interest rates went up again today. The cost of groceries is at a 40-year high, forcing too many Canadian families to use a food bank. It is becoming a luxury to heat a home in this country. On top of that, the Liberals will be raising the carbon tax, making everything more expensive.” 

Last month, Calgary’s Mustard Seed food bank expressed concerns that it could not continue to deliver services adequately due to the effects of inflation and a declining donor base. 

“If we were to compare to, let’s say 2019, which was a normal year, the donations are down. But on top of that . . . some of our regular meal sponsorships are also down, and meal sponsorship is directly tied to volunteers,” said street director Andrew Gusztak.

“Many of our sponsor groups without even showing up, kept giving. But there are a number of companies, organizations, groups, partners of ours and churches that have stopped sponsoring and stopped coming.”

BONOKOSKI: Canada’s healthcare system is in worse shape than they let on

By
Mark Bonokoski
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When judged from within, it appears Canada’s health system is in worse shape than even the grim headlines maintain, and that there is no political party capable of coming to its rescue.

In a survey conducted by Angus Research for Blu Ivy Group, a major employer brand consultancy, 44% of Ontario’s healthcare workers agree their workplaces are “highly toxic,” and that 25% are planning to get out in less than a year and 28% within two years — with or without a Plan B.

Some 92% of those same workers call the nurse shortage the “most dangerous to patients.” This was followed by shortages of physicians (61%) and surgeons (21%).

As to which federal political party would best cure what ails the system, there was no consensus other than no party stood out, with 41% saying they “have no confidence any current party is equipped to address the healthcare situation in Canada.”

When pushed to choose one party, only 14% gave the present Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a hope in hell of curing the mess. The NDP, the last bastion for a wing and a prayer, was seen by 28% as the best hope at providing an answer to the dilemma.

The Conservatives were given a 15% shot.

“It’s obvious from talking to healthcare workers that this crisis is not about extra beds, or facilities,” said Stacy Parker, co-founder of Blu Ivy Group. “The healthcare industry can keep vitally needed workers from quitting with an emotionally compelling strategy that attracts, engages and builds pride with employees and job seekers alike.

“(But) a record number of newly registered nurses are starting their careers in workplaces described by tenured colleagues as “highly toxic.”

“Imagine the impact that has on their passion for the field, their own wellbeing and potential turnover,” said Parker. “This national crisis simply will not be resolved until our healthcare sector shifts its thinking to focus on building people-first workplace cultures.”

Blu Ivy Group had Angus Research conduct the study by interviewing 359 healthcare workers (consisting of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers including medical technicians and paramedics) who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would yield a margin of error +/- 5.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The list of what ails healthcare, or worsens the present situation, rarely varies. Included are chronic/communicable diseases like Covid, an aging population, geographical disparity, lack of pharmacare, access to a family physician, health policies and ethics.

The Blu Ivy study provided a list of some of the other woes within the healthcare system.

  • 90% of healthcare workers categorize the ‘healthcare system in Canada right now as worse/not good. 94% of doctors and 93% of nurses.
  • 49% of nurses and 44% of doctors describe the morale at their workplace as very poor/poor. Fully 48% of healthcare workers report “low morale” in the workplace.
  • 56% of nurses described their workload as very poor/poor vs. 46% of doctors. Fully, 49% of healthcare professionals described their workload as very poor/poor.
  • 40% of healthcare workers describe their work/life balance as very poor/poor. 43% of male workers described it as very poor/poor vs. 39% of female workers.
  • Fully, 38% of healthcare workers rated the level of investment/support in their hospital clinic as very poor/poor.

According to another report, this time by the Fraser Institute, over one million Canadians—3% of the entire population—are waiting for a medical treatment.

Today even more procedures are being postponed due to the lack of beds because of the resurgence of Covid-19 and the reappearance of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in children.

Canada’s healthcare system? It’s sick, very sick.

Premier Smith will pull out federal programs that aren’t in Alberta’s best interest

By
Rachel Parker
-

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has announced her government will pull out of new federal programs or avoid federal consultations that aren’t in Alberta’s best interests.

The premier published a letter to her cabinet on Thursday outlining strategies to move forward on consultations with the federal government. As premier, Smith said she must ensure Alberta’s freedoms and interests are protected from federal institutions.

“There may be cases where Alberta will seek to opt out of new federal program if they aren’t in Alberta’s best interest,” she wrote. 

The new premier said Ottawa often avoids “meaningful engagement” with Alberta. The federal government must provide early, open and honest communication so the province can demonstrate its progress and propose alternatives to federal intervention where necessary, Smith wrote. 

“If the federal government does not honour cooperative federalism through meaningful engagement, we will simply not participate in their consultations.” 

Smith was sworn in as premier two weeks ago, after winning the United Conservative Party leadership race in which she campaigned on protecting Alberta’s jurisdictional rights from Ottawa. At the party’s annual general meeting on Saturday, she said her government will not  enforce federal laws and policies that attack Alberta’s economy or violate the rights of our people.

In the letter, Smith said Alberta is consistently treated as a subordinate level of government with unilateral federal decisions that landlock resources, undermine provincial prosperity and make life less affordable for Albertans.

“On major policy issues, our government will be discussing a push back strategy to address issues such as the federal oil and gas emissions cap fertilizer reductions, and the firearms confiscation program,” Smith wrote. 

“The Alberta Sovereignty Act is a critical part of that strategy.”

At the UCP annual general meeting on Saturday, Smith said work on the Sovereignty Act has already begun, with the expectation legislation will be ready to be tabled by the time she takes a seat in the legislature. Smith’s proposed Sovereignty Act was a hallmark of her leadership campaign, pitched as a way to assert Alberta’s autonomy in the face of a hostile legislative agenda from Ottawa.

Until that proposal becomes law, Smith is warning her ministers to carefully consider the effects of federal spending on the province. Targeted, time-limited federal funding agreements often focus on federal priorities at the expense of Alberta priorities, fail to address the disproportionate financial burden Alberta carries when Ottawa spends money, and undermine the constitutional responsibility of provinces in key areas like resource development, health and social programs, she said.

Furthermore, she said such agreements often target municipalities directly in an attempt to circumvent provincial authority, create expectations from stakeholders that Alberta will continue to fund federal priorities after the federal funding expires.

“We must hold our ground when federal policies and funding threaten Alberta’s interest,” Smith wrote.

She said moving forward, cabinet ministers must consider the constitutional division of powers, equal orders of government, accountability to citizens and jurisdictional diversity.

“Alberta is to be treated as an equal owner of government under the constitution and not as a stakeholder,” Smith wrote. “Alberta has its own legislation, policies, priorities, and procedures. Alberta’s government is accountable to its residents, not to the federal government.”

Ministers were told to share all information related to federal funding and federal funding proposals with Intergovernmental Relations to ensure the government’s approach is unified and effective. 

Convoy lawyer wants CBC to testify at Emergencies Act hearings

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
-

Throughout the Freedom Convoy, Canada’s state broadcaster and other legacy media outlets ran several negative and false stories about the peaceful protest.

In fact, the Trudeau government used reports from the legacy media to justify its use of the never-before-used Emergencies Act to quash the convoy.

This is why lawyers are demanding that CBC President & CEO Catherine Tait testify before the Public Order Emergency Commission.

True North’s Elie Cantin-Nantel discussed the matter with Convoy lawyer Eva Chipiuk.

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