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Saturday, July 19, 2025

Bank of Canada increases interest rate to 3.75%, predicts recession in 2023

By
Andrew Kozak
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For the sixth time since March, the Bank of Canada (BoC) has hiked its benchmark interest rate in an effort to combat the inflation crisis – to 3.75% from 3.25%. 

In its latest Monetary Policy Report, the central bank is echoing the warnings of many economists that a recession is possible in the first half of 2023. 

“GDP growth is then projected to slow to between 0 per cent and 0.5 per cent through the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023,” reads the report. 

“This suggests that a couple of quarters with growth slightly below zero is just as likely as a couple of quarters with small positive growth.”

The BoC predicts inflation will eventually decline and hit its 2% target by 2024. Last week, Canada’s inflation rate declined slightly to 6.9%, but the price of food continued to increase.

StatsCan revealed that “in September, prices for food purchased from stores (+11.4%) grew at the fastest pace year-over-year since August 1981 (+11.9%).” This means the ongoing rise in food prices has hit a 40 year high.

Several economists have warned that the Canadian economy faces an imminent recession.

Prior to the BoC’s admission that a recession is likely in 2023, economists from Desjardins Group and the Royal Bank of Canada warned Canadians to brace for further economic woes.

“Our view is that we’re going to see a continued slowing of sales activity in Canada, and continued weakness on the price side going forward,” said Desjardins Group economist Randall Bartlett.

The BoC’s next rate announcement is scheduled to take place on December 7.

Day 9 Recap of Emergencies Act hearings | Feds had plan to meet truckers before invoking Emergencies Act

By
Harrison Faulkner
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On Day 9 of the Emergencies Act hearings, evidence was presented to the commission showing that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet had a plan for the federal government to meet with protesters the same day that he invoked the extraordinary powers to quash the protests. 

On Tuesday, Marcel Beaudin, an inspector and lead negotiator with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) revealed that he was asked to assess a proposal that he had worked on with the RCMP to have a federal representative meet with convoy leaders before Trudeau’s invocation.

The proposal stated that protest leaders had to leave the protest zone and denounce any unlawful activity taking place in downtown Ottawa. Upon doing so, a representative of the federal government would commit to meeting with the protest organizers but only to listen to their grievances. 

A line specifically states in the proposal that “no negotiations” would take place in this proposed meeting. 

Deputy Minister of Public Safety Rob Stewart had reached out to Beaudin during the protests to indicate to law enforcement that there was interest from representatives of the federal government to meet with protest leaders. A meeting which never came to fruition. 

Convoy lawyer Brenden Miller informed Beaudin in cross examination that the proposal which had been deemed satisfactory by RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki as well as Deputy Minister of Public Safety Rob Stewart was addressed and discussed inside cabinet on the same day as Trudeau’s invocation.

“Did you know that the cabinet and incidence response group of the political executive was meeting and that your proposal was provided to them?” Miller asked Beaudin.

“No”, Beaudin responded.

Miller closed his questioning by informing Beaudin, “It was, I can tell you that. And then they invoked the Emergencies Act.”

The testimony indicates that the federal government was given a choice to engage protest leaders in dialogue or pursue last resort emergency measures to quash the protest. Justin Trudeau’s government ultimately chose the latter option. 

Beaudin testified as well to intelligence that convoy leader Tom Morazzo told him that he was confident that he could get 60% of the trucks to leave Ottawa. This testimony gives further strength that the proposal put to the federal government to meet with convoy leaders could’ve produced results.

Prior to Miller’s cross examination of Beaudin, commission lawyers pressed Beaudin on his engagement with Deputy Minister Stewart and their collaborative efforts to coordinate a meeting with convoy leaders and federal government representatives.

An email exchange between Stewart and Beaudin indicated that Stewart was concerned about the safety of meeting with convoy leaders, asking Beudin in an email, “would the person going to the meeting be putting themselves at risk?”

Beaudin testified that it wasn’t a concern to him and “there wasn’t a pile of risk there.”

Stewart also asked Beaudin in the February 12th email exchange for a list of convoy leaders that would be at the meeting, but when asked by commission lawyers if Beaudin ever did provide that list to Stewart, Beaudin testified that the meeting had been abruptly called off by the federal government the next day.

“He called me the next morning and said that he was not able to make this happen ultimately,” Beaudin told the commission.

Commission lawyers asked Beaudin if Stewart had given him a reason for calling off the meeting given that OPP was on board, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) was on board and the RCMP was “provisionally on board”.

Beaudin responded that he was “definitely not involved in the conversations that stopped that from happening.”

OPS inspector Russel Lucas testified prior to Beaudin and commission counsel asked him if he agreed with the intelligence directorate that the level of support for the Freedom Convoy was unprecedented. 


Lucas responded by taking aim at the divisiveness of vaccine mandates and public health restrictions.

“The topic of mandates, restrictions, vaccinations is an extremely divisive topic. I’ve seen it in my own family and you see that those challenges arise and it becomes a polarizing topic of discussion.”


Documents made public by the commission today shed light on Ottawa mayor Jim Watson’s plan to seize trucks from protesters and then sell the trucks to cover the city’s costs for dealing with the protest.

In an exclusive True North report, those documents show that the lawyer representing the City of Ottawa, David White, told Watson that there was no “legal authority” to permanently seize a protesters truck and sell it. 
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and provincial health minister Sylvia Jones are going to challenge the summons issued to them by the commission using “parliamentary privilege” to duck the summons.

The Ontario Attorney General’s statement yesterday states that Ford intends to “set aside the summons and receive a stay under the grounds the summons are inconsistent with the members’ parliamentary privilege.”

What happens next?

The Emergencies Act hearings resume tomorrow morning at 9:30 am ET.

Senior police officers from the OPS and the OPP are still to testify along with former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly who resigned from his post during the Freedom Convoy.

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

Majority support private health care options or reimbursements for surgeries abroad

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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A new poll commissioned by SecondStreet.org found that a majority of Canadians supported introducing private clinic options or reimbursements for health care work done abroad in order to reduce surgery backlogs. 

The poll was conducted by Leger from Oct. 2 to Oct. 7 and surveyed 1,534 Canadians. 

When asked whether they wanted to see a system similar to the European Union, where people have the right to visit health care providers in neighboring countries for services and be reimbursed, 72% supported the idea. 

“Canadians also really like the idea of copying a policy in the European Union that allows patients to be reimbursed for surgeries abroad,” said President Colin Craig in a press release on the poll. 

“It’s not a perfect solution, but it could provide immediate relief for patients who are suffering and reduce waiting lists.”

Another 64% were open to having governments hire private clinics to help reduce backlogs. Only 20% were against the idea. 

“Canadians appear to be very keen for governments to move forward with health reform,” said Craig. 

“Overall, reform has been slow, but we’re seeing some positive changes in Canada, such as governments hiring private clinics to reduce surgical waiting lists. Canadians overwhelmingly support that approach.”

When asked whether Canadians should be allowed to use their own funds to pay for private health care, 51% found the idea favourable. 

Canadians also supported requiring provincial health ministers to provide annual updates on how many people have died due to health care backlogs and wait lists. 

Across Canada, hospitals have reported growing backlogs and wait lists as the health care system struggles to recuperate from the pandemic. 
A prior report by SecondStreet.org found that over ten thousand Canadians died due to delays and cancellations from 2020 to 2021.

Lawyers want CBC, other outlets, to testify over Freedom Convoy “misinformation”

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Lawyers representing Freedom Convoy protestors want legacy media outlets like the CBC to take the stand at the Public Order Emergency Commission for what they describe as fake and misleading reporting on the movement earlier this year. 

As first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms wants the CEO of CBC, Catherine Tait, to answer for the public broadcaster’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. 

Kheir’s submission cited the testimony of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Supt. Pat Morris who criticized media reporting on alleged extremism and violence that wasn’t substantiated by the facts on the ground. 

“Supt. Morris’ evidence made it clear that members of the media were reporting unsubstantiated and false claims. As the head of Canada’s national broadcaster, Ms. Tait should answer questions on her organization’s role in perpetuating misinformation,” explained Kheir. 

The request by the JCCF alongside the Democracy Fund and Freedom Corporation comes following a report by the Commission which found that the media played a big role in disseminating inaccurate information about the convoy. 

“A question for the Commission would be who the key social media actors were who seeded the convoy movement, both individual and media, and who amplified it,” wrote the report titled Mis-, Dis- and Malinformation And The Convoy: An Examination Of The Role And Responsibilities Of Social Media.

Inaccurate reports spread by the mainstream media at the height of the convoy protests included the far-fetched claim that Russia was involved in organizing the movement. 

As exclusively reported by True North earlier this month, CBC Ombudsman Jack Nagler found that the public broadcaster breached its journalistic standards by linking Russia to the Freedom Convoy. 

“The fundamental flaw, in my view, was the use of a speculative question when it was not called for,” wrote Nagler. 

“Instead, Power & Politics presented its question without attribution. It was not clear to viewers whether anyone was offering evidence that Russia was involved in the convoy – or why they would have such a concern. As*king the question in this way left room for people to surmise that CBC believed such evidence existed.”

Other misleading reports by legacy journalists included allegations that convoy protestors were involved in an unrelated arson attempt at an Ottawa apartment building. 

Lawyers warned military that Covid-19 vaccine mandate could be illegal

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Upon seeking legal and medical advice on implementing a Covid-19 mandate for the military, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) was told that a mandatory vaccination requirement was unnecessary and could be illegal. 

Prior to introducing mandatory vaccination last year, Gen. Wayne Eyre was warned by advisers in a briefing note dated August of that year. 

“We get lots of legal opinions out there, but we can’t allow one legal opinion from stopping us from doing the right thing,” Eyre told the Canadian Press. 

Despite lifting the mandate this summer, Eyre has doubled down on punishing CAF members who made a personal medical decision and refused to receive the vaccine. 

As exclusively reported by True North, unvaccinated CAF members were subject to an “unsuitable for further service” release that comes with additional career consequences. 

The release applies to members who “either wholly or chiefly because of factors within his control, develops personal weakness or behaviour or has domestic or other personal problems that seriously impair his usefulness to or impose an excessive administrative burden on the Canadian Forces.”

The warning was unveiled by Edmonton lawyer Catherine Christensen through an access to information request who claims that it shows that decision-making by top military brass was driven more by politics than public health in drafting their order. 

“Prior to full approval of the vaccines under Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations, CAF members ordered to receive COVID-19 vaccination might argue that they are being ordered to accept a new and potentially dangerous medical substance into their body,” the legal note given to Eyre states.

“There is a significant risk in ordering CAF members to accept COVID-19 vaccination, as it may not constitute a legal order.”

“It also warned that such a mandate would “not only be punitive in nature, but would also be counter to the successful efforts made to date to encourage maximum voluntary uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine.”

The CAF’s treatment of unvaccinated soldiers earned criticism from the Conservatives with MP Cheryl Gallant blasting military officials for treating the unvaccinated worse than convicted serial killer and rapist former CAF colonel Russell Williams. 

FUREY: A growing anti-woke movement in Canada’s schools

By
Anthony Furey
-

More Canadians are pushing back against woke ideology being taught in schools, and this was more apparent than ever during Monday’s municipal election as a number of anti-woke candidates put their names forward for school board trustee.

While many of these candidates were not successful, it’s clear that there is a growing anti-woke movement that is happening in Canada as many parents are fed up with extreme leftist ideologies being taught to their kids.

True North’s Anthony Furey discusses Monday’s municipal election and what this means for the future of Canada’s schools. 

EXCLUSIVE: B.C. school board to move O Canada after land acknowledgement

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

A British Columbia school board on the Sunshine Coast that aims to “decolonize” public education is proposing updated protocols for graduation ceremonies which would have the national anthem sung after an Indigenous land acknowledgement and a “welcome song.” 

A document on ceremonial protocols before School District No. 46’s (SD46) Board of Education details the plan. 

“(The graduation) ceremony shall begin with the acknowledgement, followed by the welcome song, followed by O’ Canada,” the updated policy stated as of Monday. 

The following day, the graduation ceremony protocol was updated to no longer include the welcome song. 

“We are committed to Truth and Reconciliation and proud to celebrate Canada through tradition and protocol. We believe this to be one and the same and not mutually exclusive,” the executive assistant to SD46’s superintendent Stephanie Murawsky told True North.  

Several acknowledgements of First Nations are provided by the document.

“Before any other comments or introductions which are directly concerned with the ceremony itself, acknowledge the First Nations territory where the ceremony is being held,” the policy instructs.

“I would like to acknowledge that we are on the unceded lands and waters of the Skwxwu7mesh uxwumixw.” 

According to British Columbia’s School Act, boards are required to ensure that the Canadian national anthem “shall be sung at each school assembly” and that said assemblies “promote loyalty to the Crown, respect for Canadian traditions, laws, institutions and human values.” 

It is unclear whether singing the national anthem at the end of a sequence violated these requirements. 

SD46 is one of many school boards that have undertaken efforts to “decolonize” public schooling in Canada. A recent pedagogical approach adopted by SD46 entitled “Ensouling Our Schools” details a ten step path to “decolonized instruction.”

Some of the labels on the diagram cites “deconstructing otherness, anti-racism, two eyed seeing, personal and professional medicine walks” and the impact of “privilege on relationships and social justice.” 

Debates about the singing of the national anthem at schools have come to a head following national conversations around reconciliation exacerbated by claims of residential school graves in Kamloops and elsewhere. 

Last year, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board debated whether making students sing O Canada was distasteful or whether it should be replaced. 

“With respect to standing and singing of O Canada during opening exercises in school, (educational assistant Lili Miller) expressed the opinion that this practice is distasteful and should be replaced with something more healthy and positive,” the council meeting’s minutes describe. 

“Chair Manatch suggested that Indigenous students be permitted to sit and not participate in the singing of O Canada. Elder Dumont expressed the opinion that the government of Canada needs to hold people accountable for the deaths of students at residential schools.”

LEVY: Non-woke Waterloo trustees prevail, as some NDP members ousted

By
Sue-Ann Levy
-

The good news is that two of the loudest voices of the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) NDP cabal got ousted in Monday night’s school board elections.

Trustees Laurie Tremble, who made the vexatious Code of Conduct complaint against trustee Mike Ramsay, and Jayne Herring, a former WRDSB employee and a shill for the board’s woke ideology, went down to defeat. 

Not only did Tremble craft the complaint against the board’s only black trustee but her sister, Dianne Bramble, repeatedly harassed Ramsay on social media from her home in Ottawa.

The great news is that despite a well-orchestrated campaign by the board’s NDP cabal and the whacky education director Jeewan Chanicka to silence him, Ramsay was resoundingly re-elected. Like-minded non-woke trustee Cindy Watson was also returned to office.

Ramsay has indicated he will seek the board’s chairmanship.

The bad news, however, is that the current chairman Scott Piatkowski was reelected  — despite being the target of two judicial reviews and a $1.7-million lawsuit by former Waterloo teacher Carolyn Burjoski.

In January of this year, Piatkowski shut down Burjoski four minutes into her presentation about two highly sexualized books in the board’s elementary school libraries.

While Burjoski was silenced and even threatened with criminal charges, Piatkowski happily participated in media interviews, calling her transphobic and insisting her presentation could cause trans people to be attacked.

It was an outrageous abuse of his power, as were his attempts to silence Ramsay with a Code of Conduct complaint using pricey Bay St. lawyers.

By rights, Piatkowski should have stepped aside, or at least apologized. But he did not.

Whether Piatkowski will now attempt to remain as chairman is unclear.

While his cabal has been diminished with the loss of Tremble and Herring, several woke trustees have been elected to replace them, including two retired teachers, Marie Snyder and Maedith Raedlin (the latter appears to be a proponent of divisive anti-black racism education, a buzz word to describe Critical Race Theory).

The other new trustee is a professional candidate and former teacher. Carla Johnson ran for councillor in 2018 and for the Green Party in this year’s provincial election.

I guess three times lucky.

She has already blocked me on Twitter, which suggests that she’s not exactly a proponent of openness and transparency.

The bottom line is that with this mish-mash of candidates and Piatkowski still looming large, along with his chosen education director Chanicka, the next term at the WRDSB is bound to be tumultuous, if not divisive.

It is indeed a godsend to parents that Ramsay decided to run again and that Burjoski has pursued legal means to expose the former board’s abuse of power.

Nonetheless, parents need to remain vigilant and continue to demand transparency about the kind of edicts coming from the board.

Trustees like Piatkowski and the remaining members of his NDP faction count on that not happening. 

City lawyer nixed Jim Watson’s plan to seize and sell convoy trucks

By
Andrew Lawton
-

Days after Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson mused about seizing and selling trucks towed from the convoy protest, the City of Ottawa’s lawyer stepped in to say it wasn’t possible.

A Feb. 24 memo from city solicitor David White to Watson and Ottawa city councillors said the city has “no existing legal authority” to permanently seize people’s trucks, regardless of the reason.

“It is my considered view that there is no existing legal authority by which the City could lawfully take possession of the vehicles seized by police for the purposes of sale or disposal by the City,” White wrote in the confidential memo, which has been included in documents submitted by the City of Ottawa to the Public Order Emergency Commission.

On Feb. 20, Watson said in a CTV interview that the City of Ottawa should recoup policing costs by selling off the dozens of vehicles it towed from the so-called Red Zone in downtown Ottawa.

A memo from the City of Ottawa’s lawyer to Mayor Jim Watson said there is “no existing legal authority” for the city of Ottawa to seize and sell the vehicles it towed from the so-called Red Zone.

“How can we take possession of all of those trucks that have been towed away? How can we confiscate those and sell those trucks to help pay for some of our costs?,” Watson asked. “I don’t think the taxpayers of Ottawa should be paying for this multi-million dollar bill that we’re going to be saddled with because of the irresponsibility and the illegal activities of a bunch of truckers and others who showed little regard for our community and its people.”

Policing the three-week-long protest earlier this year cost the Ottawa Police Service $35 million, though this was later reimbursed by the federal government.

Watson’s proposal prompted an analysis by White on the “authority to seize and sell vehicles,” which he concluded does not exist.

Downtown Ottawa was cleared by police over a two-day operation Feb. 18 and 19 this year. Owners and operators were able to retrieve towed vehicles from an impound lot a week later, Feb. 26.

White noted that police are able to obtain a court order to retain property for use at trial, but this authority does not allow for the property to be sold.

Similarly, the Ontario attorney general could pursue seizure under civil forfeiture laws, but this would also require a court application and could not be initiated by the City of Ottawa.

“In light of the above, unless the continued detention of the property can be justified by police pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada and/or the Provincial Offences Act and/or the Attorney General steps in with an application under the Civil Remedies Act, the law requires that the property be returned to its owner,” White advised Watson.

White said if a vehicle was not retrieved from the impound lot there were mechanisms available for the city to sell it, but the proceeds would have to be paid to the owner and could not be put towards the police service budget.

City lawyer nixed Jim Watso… by Andrew Lawton

Antifa supporter, anti-cop candidate running for Winnipeg City Council

By
Noah Jarvis
-

A far-left activist who supports Antifa and has amplified notorious anti-police slogans is running in Winnipeg city council’s Wednesday election.

Omar Kinnarath, who is running to unseat an incumbent in the city’s Daniel McIntyre ward, has multiple pictures on his Instagram page of him participating in Antifa rallies, degrading the police, and promoting a “Cancel Canada Day” event.

Kinnarath’s social media page displays several pictures of him proudly attending Antifa demonstrations and flaunting an assortment of Antifa flags, kerchiefs, stickers and more. 

Another post from Kinnarath’s page reads, “F*** cops! End the Police” while depicting a cop as a pig. Kinnarath’s post caption is “#acab,” an acronym that’s alternately described as “all cops are bad” or “all cops are bastards”. The ACAB slogan has previously been associated with groups that have engaged in violence against police.

Kinnarath also uploaded a graphic promoting the anti-government ideology of anarchism in a May 2017 post.

In a September 2017 post, Kinnarath claims that his professor gave him an assortment of Antifa stickers. Kinnarath’s campaign website lists him as attending the University of Winnipeg Collegiate.

Kinnarath was the subject of a CBC story earlier this year that looked at what they described as his previous “misogynist, homophobic and antisemitic tweets.” 

The candidate told CBC he is a changed person and repudiates his tweets – some of which are a decade old – including ones where he discusses how he plans to treat women “like sh–”.

But Kinnarath’s far-left and anti-police views are more recent and, in a statement provided to True North, he appears to stand by them.

“I’m an antifascist and I’d rather not talk to right wing rags that spread mis-information,” Kinnarath wrote in response to a question from True North. 

Kinnarath also advocates for the cancellation of Canada Day, sharing a graphic that reads “No Pride In Genocide” and claiming the holiday was created by white supremacists. 

Winnipeg’s residents will vote for their mayor, city councillors and school board trustees on Wednesday, October 26.

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