United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership candidate Leela Aheer jumped in front of a bull and pushed it off a boy it was trampling.
The heroic action occurred this weekend in Aheer’s riding at the Strathmore Stampede during the Running of the Bulls event.
In a video circulating on Twitter, a boy in lime green shorts is seen standing on the tracks, when suddenly, a bull turns around, runs at the boy and tramples him to the ground. Aheer can be seen jumping off a fence and pushing the bull off the boy, while the bull kicks at the boy beneath him.
“I just jumped in, I didn’t think,” Aheer told True North. “I thought he was gonna die.”
If you ever wonder what kind of leader @LeelaAheer would be…
Yesterday she grabbed a bull. Jumped right in front of it. Pushed it, to save someone who was stuck under.
Running of the Bulls has been an event since 2005, Aheer said. Those participating must sign a complete waiver and follow a “humongous set of rules…one of them being not to touch the animals, I might add,” she said.
The leadership candidate said there’s three sets of bulls that pass onlookers, referred to as the young guys, the angry teenagers and the senior bulls.
Organizers told event attendees to stay on the fence during the event, Aheer said.
The Chestermere-Rocky View MLA can be seen straddling the fence in the video, along with other event attendees who are all wearing red shirts.
A black bull from the senior group passes her, before turning around and charging at the boy and trampling him to the ground. Aheer jumps off the fence and rushes to the boy’s aid within seconds.
A man in a cowboy hat joins her seconds later and together, the two push the bull off the boy. Aheer grabs the boy and helps him over the fence.
Aheer said she can still feel the bull’s hair in her hands. She was in so much shock following the incident, she didn’t remember what happened until she saw the video, she said.
“I don’t remember anything after that other than scooping that kid up, because I can lift him up and get him onto the fence.”
After watching the video, Aheer said she almost fell off her chair.
“I had no idea that that’s what had happened,” she said. “I actually have a hard time watching the video simply because I didn’t realize how seriously he had been bowled over… I just thought he was gonna die.”
The boy was a “farm kid” and he was “tucking and rolling” under the bull, she said. She said the boy was scraped up, but turned up later that night to “party with his friends.”
Aheer also said she didn’t know why the boy was standing in the tracks when organizers told event attendees to stay on the fence. True North was unable to contact the boy in the video.
UCP members will elect a new leader and Premier on October 6.
On this week’s episode of Reality Check, Jasmine Moulton debunks the claims that “Canada’s healthcare is the best,” “privatization would increase wait times” and other misleading leftist talking points.
Politicians like Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland often go after Conservatives for taking different approaches to health care with the claim that they want to “Americanize” our health system.
It’s time for a reality check.
Reality Check with Jasmine Moulton is a weekly show that debunks the left’s favourite flawed arguments. Tune in every Wednesday and make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
CBC management gave its employees nearly $12 million in raises and $15.4 million in bonuses in 2021 – all the while claiming it was under “immense pressure” during the pandemic and pleading for more government funding.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, access to Information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) confirmed the pay hikes and bonuses even as cabinet approved the CBC for another bailout.
“It’s not fair to ask struggling taxpayers to pay higher taxes so the taxpayer-funded CBC can give itself millions in bonuses and pay raises during a pandemic,” said federal director of the CTF Franco Terrazzano.
“If it has enough money lying around to hand out millions in bonuses and pay raises during a pandemic, then taxpayers have every right to question why the CBC is taking so much money from us.”
Despite receiving a $1.5 billion annual grant from the federal government, the CBC has constantly reported decreasing revenues.
In the first quarter of 2020, the CBC reported a $15 million decrease in revenue and $10 million increase in government funding as compared to the first quarter of the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The second quarter saw a further decrease in revenue by $10 million and $4 million decrease in government funding.
To compensate for repeated years of declining ad revenue, the CBC has repeatedly asked Parliament for more funding.
“The Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges of covering it put immense pressure on CBC’s workforce, operations, finances and systems,” said an April 20, 2021 cabinet briefing on Funding Support For The CBC.
This isn’t the first time the state broadcaster has rewarded its employees while reporting lagging revenues.
The CBC paid $30 million in Covid bonuses to over 1000 employees amounting to roughly $15,000 each in 2020 and 2021, even though the state broadcaster reported draining ad revenue and a lack of funding from the government at the time.
“It is tone deaf for the CBC to hand out pay raises and bonuses while many taxpayers and workers in the private sector took pay cuts and lost their jobs,” said Terrazzano.
You have probably seen the videos ofdutch farmers protesting in the Netherlands. In fact protests have erupted all across Europe.
The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte wants to severely limit the amount of nitrogen their farmers can emit, among other unnecessary and unfair rules.
Highways have been blocked, capitals have been filled with protestors riding tractors and other farm equipment.
Canadians have been watching it unfold from a distance, but now, our own Prime Minister Trudeau, perhaps feeling a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out), wants to do thesame thing here in Canada.
As part of their overall eco-agenda, the Liberal Governmentwants to reduce the amount ofnitrous oxide emissions in Canada. The government claims it has nothing to do with going after farmers or the food they produce, but the only way to reduce nitrogen emissions is for farmers to cut back on their fertilizer use.
In case these politicians forgot Agriculture 101: nitrogen is the main ingredient in fertilizer, its plant food. It’s what helps our farmers grow crops, and get the most food out of each plant they grow.
If you limit fertilizer use, the yield on crops goes way down.
Further, in case these politicians also forgot Economics 101: if you reduce supply, while demand remains unchanged or goes up – you end up with food skyrocketing in price, and people who can’t afford to buy that now expensive food go hungry or worse. They starve.
You’d think going after the people who produce our food would be a really bad idea that no one slipping in the polls would touch with a 10-foot pole, but here we are.
Mind you, the prime minister fighting against major sectors of our economy is nothing new. He’s been doing it for most of his time in Ottawa.
We all know of his outright dislike for Alberta and our country’s best-in-the-world energy sector. Even now, while Trudeau goes and tells Germany we’re upping production to help them with their energy crisis, he turns around and tells Canadians he’s planning on enforcing new unfair emissions caps which will hamper that very production.
Now he has his sights on Canada’s farmers.
We’re already being warned aboutfood shortages because of the war in Ukraine. Wheat will be in shorter supply coming up.
We’re the 5th largest exporter of food to the world, imagine doing anything to damage that? The government’s plan would harm the bountiful harvest Canada’s farmers produce, and will guarantee a lot of hungry people in the months and years to come should the government move forward with its latest climate scheme.
It could also end up costing Canadian farmers nearly $50 billion.
Our farmers use the best technologies, the best techniques, and the most efficient systems to create the food that feeds Canadians, along with much of the world.
Why our government wants to ban or severely reduce fertilizer use is almost unfathomable. It appears to be a combination of Trudeau wanting to be seen as cool by European politicians, as well as his commitment to a radical eco-ideology which ignores the realities and needs of everyday people who need affordable food, among other things, to live day-to-day.
Polling shows that some 50% of Canadians are already struggling to put food on the table. Food banks arestretched thin. And many are having to skip meals to ensure they can afford to pay their bills.
This attack on our farmers is unfair, uncalled for, and goes against all common sense.
Our farmers feed our cities, our families, our children. Doing anything to make their job harder is harmful and wrong.
The Prime Minister needs to leave our farmers alone and let them do their job – a job they already do exceptionally well.
If he doesn’t, I think we could expect similar tractor-laden protests to come knocking on Trudeau’s door in short order.
We’ll be LIVE for the Conservative Party of Canada’s final leadership debate!
True North’s Andrew Lawton will be hosting tonight’s discussion, and will be joined by Harrison Faulkner, Rachel Emmanuel and Elie Cantin-Nantel.
Only three out of the five leadership candidates will be attending tonight’s debate, as both Pierre Poilievre and Leslyn Lewis declined their invitations. Will this still be a lively and worthwhile debate? Tune in tonight to find out.
Our show begins tonight at 5:30pm ET / 3:30pm MT and we’ll be streaming the debate afterwards, which begins at 6:00pm ET / 4:00pm MT.
University of Washington computer sciences professor Stuart Reges is speaking out about the use of Indigenous land acknowledgements, which he calls “meaningless.”
This comes as many institutions in both Canada and the United States are increasingly reminding people they are on “unceded” traditional native land.
According to Native Land Digital, “all settlers, including recent arrivants, have a responsibility to consider what it means to acknowledge the history and legacy of colonialism.”
Reges told True North he believes “a lot of people hate land acknowledgements.”
University of Washington Professor Stuart Reges (@realStuartReges), who believes Indigenous land acknowledgements are “performative acts of conformity that should be resisted”, tells me they are also “meaningless if they aren't paired with some kind of concrete action.” pic.twitter.com/ynsuaKx0vG
“They are meaningless if they aren’t paired with some kind of concrete action. And I think the only people who are made to feel better by them are the people who say them.”
He added that it gets those people “off the hook from having to do anything because they feel like they’ve done what they’re supposed to do by saying it.”
Reges, who opposes the “diversity equity and inclusion agenda,” said he believes woke activists on campuses made a miscalculation when they opted to promote land acknowledgements.
University of Washington professor Stuart Reges (@realStuartReges) says he opposes the “diversity equity and inclusion agenda.” He tells me he believes woke activists on campuses made a miscalculation when they opted to promote land acknowledgements. pic.twitter.com/7Kj73mUVeY
“I don’t think they realized how dangerous it was to ask people to make a political statement. Because if you ask people to make a political statement, then you have to allow them to say what they really believe.”
“You may not like the political statement they make,” said Reges, adding “that’s certainly what happened in my case.”
As previously reported by Bari Weiss’ Common Sense on Substack, Reges got in hot water with the University of Washington over a paragraph he inserted about land acknowledgements in a course syllabus – after the university recommended professors include an acknowledgement.
“I acknowledge that by the labour theory of property the Coast Salish people can claim historical ownership of almost none of the land currently occupied by the University of Washington,” wrote Reges in his syllabus.
Lawyers say the statement resulted in the university creating a censored version of Reges’ syllabus – which he was unable to modify. They also created a competing class that students could switch to, and launched an investigation into him.
Reges has since filed a lawsuit against the university, and says that he is confident in his case due to the First Amendment of the American Constitution – a protection Reges says Canada does not have.
“I don’t know that my case could be made in Canada. You know, but it’s a very clear case, I think in the United States,” said Reges.
While the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of expression, that right is subject to “reasonable limits.” The “wilful promotion of hatred” is also an offense under the Canadian Criminal Code.
True North reached out to the University of Washington for comment on Reges’ case.
Spokesperson Victor Balta said that “the University of Washington is aware of the complaint. The university continues to assert that it hasn’t violated Stuart Reges’ First Amendment rights and we look forward to presenting our position if called to do so.”
Land acknowledgements are becoming prominent in Canada, including at schools and universities, amid a push for Indigenous reconciliation.
However, their use has been the subject of debate.
New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservative government faced criticism after it banned provincial employees from making land acknowledgements in 2021, amid legal actions on Indigenous issues.
Meanwhile, NDP politicians have pushed for land acknowledgements to be read in the House of Commons.
“I know New Democrats have often felt, if we’re going to talk about changing the opening ceremony for Parliament, that we ought to have a land acknowledgement as part of that opening ceremony,” NDP MP Daniel Blaikie told reporters in May.
Land acknowledgements have also made their way into some church services – including at congregations who are part of the progressive United Church of Canada.
“Acknowledging the territory where we gather and the people who have traditionally called it home for thousands of years is a way to continue to live out the church’s Apologies to the First Peoples of North America,” reads a document posted to the United Church’s website.
According to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, over 700 scholars have been targeted for their words or scholarship since 2015.
Many students have also been the subject of censorship on college and university campuses, amid growing wokeness on many issues including Indigenous reconciliation.
After months of dismissing the country’s inflation crisis as a “global phenomenon,” the Trudeau government finally acknowledged the fact that Canadians were struggling with the costs of everyday goods and services. In June, the government unveiled an “affordability plan” to combat inflation – $8.9 billion of government programs.
While finance minister Chrystia Freeland touted the government’s plan as a means of putting “more money in the pockets of Canadians at a time when they need it most,” many economists pleaded with the government to stop spending, arguing that the burden of lowering inflation is falling on the private sector as the government continues to spend at record levels.
Now with a looming recession, many Canadians are looking to their leaders to steer Canada out of its current economic situation. Is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s gender-balanced cabinet capable of handling a recession? We intend to find out.
An analysis of the Trudeau government’s cabinet reveals that more than half have zero business experience – including finance minister Chrystia Freeland.
Out of 39 Cabinet members, only five hold degrees in Economics: Jean-Yves Duclos, Marie-Claude Bibeau, David Lametti, Bill Blair and Jonathan Wilkinson.
Ten members have experience owning or managing a small or medium-sized business, and four have degrees in Business Administration.
Only 14 members have experience working in higher positions of a business before entering politics.
Eleven members previously had careers in Law or studied the subject in university.
Six have experience in journalism or media, including Freeland and Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra. Five hold degrees in Political Science.
Below are the qualifications for each cabinet member:
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau – Prime Minister of Canada
Studied literature at McGill University and went on to complete the University of British Columbia’s education program.
He taught French and math before entering politics in 2008.
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Completed Bachelor’s degree at Harvard University, studying Russian history and literature.
Obtainted master’s degree in Slavonic studies from Oxford University.
Began her career in journalism, became a freelance correspondent in Ukraine for the Financial Times, the Washington Post and the Economist before her entrance into politics in 2013.
The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay – Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
Worked as a dairy and potato farmer in St. Peter’s Bay, PEI, before entering politics.
The Honourable Carolyn Bennett – Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health
Graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1974.
Before her election in 1997, Bennet was a family physician and founding partner of Bedford Medical Associates in Toronto.
The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc – Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities
Earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Toronto.
Began his career as a lawyer before being elected in 2000.
The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos – Minister of Health
Earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Alberta, and master’s and doctoral degrees in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Served as President-Elect of the Canadian Economics Association.
Co-Founder of the Poverty and Economic Policy Research Network.
The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau – Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a graduate degree in Environmental Management.
Co-owned a tourism business in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
The Honourable Mélanie Joly – Minister of Foreign Affairs
Holds a Bachelor of Law from the Universite de Montreal.
Ran for mayor of Montreal and authored a book about policy and civic engagement.
The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier – Minister of National Revenue
Earned her Bachelor of Social Work from the Universite de Moncton.
Owner of the ‘La Ferme du Petit Moulin’ lodging outfitter.
The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan – Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada
Former member of the Vancouver Police Department.
Participated in four operational deployments in Bosnia and Afghanistan.
Started his own consulting business that taught intelligence gathering techniques to Canadian and American military personnel.
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough – Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion
Studied Political Science at the University of Ottawa and Law at the University of Victoria.
Before entering politics she was a lawyer and paralympic swimmer.
The Honourable Patty Hajdu – Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Victoria.
Was the Executive Director at Shelter House, Thunder Bay’s largest homeless shelter.
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne – Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
Holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Montreal
Was Vice-Presedient of ABB Group, a technology company.
Served as Strategic Development Director of Amec Foster Wheeler in the energy sector.
The Honourable Karina Gould – Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Holds a Master’s degree in International Relations
Worked as a trade and investment specialist for the Mexican Trade Commission in Toronto.
The Honourable Ahmed Hussen – Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion
Holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa.
Founded the Regent Park Community Council, facilitating a $500 million revitalization and redevelopment project in Regent Park, Toronto.
Practiced criminal defence, immigration and refugee law before entering politics.
The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr. – Minister of Labour
Studied Marketing Strategies at INSEAD in Paris, France.
Former regional correspondent for CBC Radio and CTV National News, host of ‘Canada AM’.
The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor – Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Holds a Bachelor’s degree in social work from the Universite de Moncton.
Worked as a social worker and the Victims Services Coordinator for the Codiac Regional RCMP.
The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez – Minister of Canadian Heritage and Quebec Lieutenant
Earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Sherbrooke.
Oversaw management of international projects for a Montreal-based NGO.
The Honourable Bill Blair – President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness
Earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Criminology.
Served 39 years with the Toronto Police Service.
Worked with Covenant House, the United Way, and Children’s Aid Society of Toronto.
The Honourable Mary Ng – Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development
Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto Scarborough, majoring in Political Science.
Grew up in her family’s small business.
The Honourable Filomena Tassi – Minister of Public Services and Procurement
Bachelor of Laws from Western University, Master of Religious Education from the University of Toronto.
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson – Minister of Natural Resources
CEO of QuestAir Technologies and former CEO of BQE Water.
Earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Saskatchewan and Masters degrees in International Relations, Politics, and Economics From Oxford and McGill.
The Honourable David Lametti – Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from the University of Toronto.
Former professor of Law at McGill University
The Honourable Joyce Murray – Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Pursued an executive Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
Built an international reforestation company that has planted 1.5 billion trees. (Brinkman and Associates Reforestation.
The Honourable Anita Anand – Minister of National Defence
Holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies from Queens University, a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University and a Master of Laws from the University of Toronto.
Former professor of law at the University of Toronto
Was Director of Policy and Research at the Capital Markets Research Institute, Rotman School of Management.
Appointed to the Government of Ontario’s Expert Committee to Consider Financial Advisory and Financial Planning Policy Alternatives.
The Honourable Mona Fortier – President of the Treasury Board
Worked as the Chief Director of Communications and Market Development at College La Cite and managed her own strategic communications consulting firm.
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault – Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Studied Political Science at the Universite de Montréal.
Co-founded Equiterre, an environmental organization in Quebec.
Worked as Director and Campaign Manager for Greenpeace.
Strategic Advisor at Cycle Capital Management, dedicated to developing green technology.
The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino – Minister of Public Safety
Studied Political Science at Carleton University and Law School at the University of Windsor.
Served as a federal prosecutor for ten years in Toronto.
The Honourable Marc Miller – Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Earned a Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science at McGill University.
Was a practicing lawyer before entering politics.
The Honourable Dan Vandal – Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Received a degree in Social Work from the University of Manitoba.
Former city councillor in Winnipeg and Deputy Mayor.
Worked as a social worker.
The Honourable Omar Alghabra – Minister of Transport
Holds a Master of Business Administration.
Former member of the community editorial board of the Toronto Star.
Mechanical engineer by trade.
The Honourable Randy Boissonnault – Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
Studied at the University of Alberta before enrolling at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
Former lecturer at the University of Alberta.
Former journalist and political commentator for Radio-Canada.
Spent 15 years helping small and medium sized businesses through his consulting company.
The Honourable Sean Fraser – Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Holds a law degree from Dalhousie University and a Master’s in Public International Law from Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Worked as a lawyer practicing commercial litigation and international dispute resolution.
The Honourable Mark Holland – Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Majored in Political Science and History at the University of Toronto.
Served as a Durham Regional Councillor .
Former Executive Director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
The Honourable Gudie Hutchings – Minister of Rural Economic Development
Attended Acadia University.
30 years of experience as a small business owner in the Atlantic Canadian tourism industry.
The Honourable Marci Ien – Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth
Graduated with a degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson University.
Former journalist.
The Honourable Helena Jaczek – Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Holds a Master of Health and Sciences from the University of Toronto and a Master of Business Administration from York University.
Practiced medicine at the Women’s College Hospital in Toronto.
Leader on the board of Reena, a non-profit organization providing services to people with developmental disabilities.
The Honourable Kamal Khera – Minister of Seniors
Earned a Bachelors of Science in Nursing at York University.
Worked as a registered nurse in oncology at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto
The Honourable Pascale St-Onge – Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
Holds a Bachelor of Arts in Literary Studies from the University of Quebec in Montreal and a certificate in journalism from the University of Montreal.
Served as Secretary General then President of the Federation nationale des communications et de la culture.
A poll conducted by Maru Public Opinion of 1,517 Canadian adults found that 62% of total Canadians said the economy is headed in the wrong direction. This number went up to 65% for Atlantic Canadians and 77% for respondents from Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
A majority of Canadians have also seen their wages outpaced by inflation. Wages rose 2.7% over the last two years, compared to 3.4% inflation over the same period of time.
Economist with the firm Macquarie Group David Doyle predicts that Canada could face a worse recession than the US this time around. “When [Canada] has recessions, the lion’s share of the weakness in gross domestic product tends to come from residential investment,” said Doyle.
“We think the effect of the recession will be much more severe in terms of the drawdown on GDP growth, in terms of how high unemployment will rise. That will be much more severe in Canada than what we foresee in the United States.”
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) has fundraised more money than the federal Liberals and NDP combined.
Data released by Elections Canada reveals that the Conservatives were able to raise nearly $4.4 million dollars in the 2022 second quarter.
The Liberals were able to raise just over $2.7 million in the same amount of time, with the NDP raising over $1.1 million despite the Liberal-NDP coalition holding more seats in the House of Commons than the Conservatives.
The Bloc Québecois was only able to raise $248,000 despite being the current third-place party in the House of Commons. On the other hand, the Green Party was able to nearly double its fundraising numbers with almost $450,000.
Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada raised nearly $200,000, despite not having any parliamentary representation.
Much excitement around the Conservatives has been driven by the party’s leadership race that began in February after the party’s caucus dumped former leader Erin O’Toole.
The Conservative Party’s leadership contestants individual fundraising campaigns were able to raise more money than all the other political parties combined, totalling over $8 million.
Perceived frontrunner Pierre Poilievre raised just over $4 million, and Jean Charest was the only other campaign to raise over a million dollars in Q2, raising nearly $1.4 million.
Leslyn Lewis was able to raise $709,000, Roman Baber $505,000 Scott Aitchison $364,000 and Patrick Brown was able to raise $542,000 before being disqualified.
A recent poll by the left-leaning pollster Abacus poll has the Conservatives beating the Liberals by 5 points if an election were held today, with the Conservatives earning 35% of the popular vote compared to the Liberals 30%.
The Conservative Party has signed up a record amount of members during the leadership contest, with nearly 679,000 members eligible to vote in the leadership election.
Conservative leadership candidates Pierre Poilievre and Roman Baber slammed the University of Toronto’s decision to mandate Covid-19 vaccine boosters for students and staff living in residences.
On Thursday, the university’s vice-president and provost Cheryl Regehr and the vice-president of people strategy, equity and culture Kelly Hannah-Moffat announced that the university would be reinstating its vaccine mandate.
“Recently, U of T reinstated the vaccination requirement for students and employees living in university residences,” they said.
“Students living in residences this fall will be required to have a primary series of a COVID-19 vaccine and at least one booster dose before moving in.”
The two leadership candidates took to Twitter to criticize the university’s decision.
Now universities want to shut out students who are not triple vaccinated.
“Now universities want to shut out students who are not triple vaccinated. Enough. Let students take back control of their lives. End Covid vaccine mandates. Now,” Poilievre tweeted.
Baber echoed Poilievre’s opposition to vaccine mandates for students.
CMOH Dr.Moore said Ontario can't recommend boosters for everyone, since young persons should assess the small risk of hospitalization vs 1 in 5,000 risk of myocardisis. Shame on @UofT for forcing students to factor in the risk to their education. #cdnpolihttps://t.co/YXYGZpVcQT
“CMOH (Canadian Medical Officer of Health) Dr. Kieran Moore said Ontario can’t recommend boosters for everyone, since young persons should assess the small risk of hospitalization vs 1 in 5,000 risk of myocarditis. Shame on U of T for forcing students to factor in the risk to their education,” said Baber.
According to U of T, the renewed vaccine mandate doesn’t apply to students or staff living off campus, but the university says that mandate “may be reinstated on short notice if public health conditions or guidance change.”
Several Canadian post-secondary institutions implemented vaccine mandates for students and staff last year, and several professors were fired for refusing to comply with vaccine mandates, including Huron University College ethics professor Julie Ponesse, who went viral for telling her story.
“I am facing imminent dismissal after 20 years on the job because I will not submit to having an experimental vaccine injected into my body,” Ponesse said in her video.
“It’s ethically wrong to coerce someone to take a vaccine.”
“I’m entitled to make choices about what does and does not enter my body, regardless of my reasons. If I’m allowed back into my university, it’s my job to teach my students that this is wrong.”
The US Department of Justice says a Montreal man imported fentanyl from his Canadian prison cell, which led to 15 overdoses and four deaths.
Jason Joey Berry, 39, is facing a life sentence in the US after pleading guilty to conspiracy to import and distribute fentanyl.
US authorities alleged Berry and another inmate arranged from a prison cell in Canada for the distribution of the lethal drug and similar products from Canada and China into the US.
Berry was arrested by Canadian authorities in 2019 and extradited to North Dakota in 2021. His sentencing will take place on Jan. 17, 2023.
In response to the opioid crisis, the Trudeau government recently announced that in 2023, possession of small amounts of hard drugs including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine will be decriminalized in British Columbia.
According to the federal government, Canadians over the age of 18 will be able to possess up to 2.5 grams of opioids, methamphetamines, MDMA and opioids. Those found to possess such substances will not be subject to arrest or having the drugs seized.
The exemption will go into effect on Jan. 31, 2023 and will last until Jan. 31, 2026.
“For far too long, this wave of loss has been a reality in British Columbia and across the country,” said Federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett.
“Today, we take the first steps in the much needed bold action and significant policy change.”
Canada has an overall rate of 19.3 deaths from opioids per 100,000 people. Communities across Canada have been ravaged by the lethal drug.
In November, Yukon surpassed British Columbia and Alberta to have the highest opioid death rate in Canada.
The territory’s chief coroner Heather Jones revealed that Yukon has a rate of 48.4 opioid deaths per 100,000 people. British Columbia previously led the country on opioid deaths with the current rate of 40.4 deaths per 100,000 people.
