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Sunday, June 29, 2025

Privacy commissioner investigating Trudeau’s ArriveCAN app

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Canada’s privacy commissioner has launched an investigation into the controversial ArriveCAN app amid complaints that the app is collecting travellers’ personal information.

“Our office has received and is currently investigating a complaint that raises concerns with respect to the collection of personal information through ArriveCAN and subsequent use of that information,” said the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in an email dated July 27.

While Global News asked the privacy commissioner for more information regarding its investigation, the privacy watchdog said “given the ongoing investigation and consultations, we do not have further details to provide at this time.”

According to Global News, technology expert Bianca Wylie emailed the privacy commissioner asking if there were privacy concerns about the ArriveCAN app. 

In response, the privacy commissioner’s office stated that there was currently an investigation and that the commissioner consulted the government and made recommendations to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Canada Border Services Agency when the app was first developed. 

At the time, the commissioner recommended limiting the type of data being collected and ensured the use of the app was relevant to monitoring and enforcing the government’s Covid measures. 

A number of privacy and legal experts and politicians have raised concerns about the type of personal data collected by the ArriveCAN app.

In June 2020, Conservative MPs asked the privacy commissioner to investigate the app due to concerns about the misuse of personal data. At the time, the commissioner said he reviewed the app’s privacy conditions and didn’t have any concerns.

This isn’t the first time the federal government has been accused of collecting the personal data of Canadians. 

In December, it was revealed that PHAC secretly spied on 33 million mobile devices of unsuspecting Canadians to monitor its lockdown measures. Part of the project involved collecting the cell tower locations of devices and other mobility data. 

Ontario’s former privacy commissioner and Executive Director of Global Privacy and Security by Design Ann Cavoukian told True North that Canadians must demand accountability from PHAC for tracking their devices without consent.

“They are collecting all of this mobile data,” she said. “33 million mobile devices and mobile devices are usually linked to personal identifiers, and you have to take some measures to remove them and de-identify the data in a strong way so it can’t be reidentified. We have no assurances to that effect whatsoever.”

“I don’t trust any of this. Zero trust, that’s where we have to start and we have to have some privacy commissioner’s office go in and take a look at this under the hood. Audit what they’re doing.”

Trudeau’s Covid rules disrupt Israeli terror survivors’ trip to Wonderland

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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A summer camp trip to Canada for young Israeli victims of terror was derailed by the Trudeau government’s random mandatory arrival testing scheme.

The National Post reported that organizers of a charity-sponsored Israeli camp trip woke up Wednesday to news that 15 of the 33 camp children were randomly selected to be tested. 

The feds resumed the controversial testing program for fully vaccinated travellers on July 19. The testing is now being done offsite. Under the new rules, travellers selected for random arrival testing must get tested before midnight the following day.

The mandatory testing caused havoc for the Israeli campers, who had all tested negative prior to coming to Canada, because many did not speak English and were being housed in different places throughout Toronto.

“The kids can’t do it themselves, as they speak Arabic and Hebrew, but even crazier, there’s no way to make an appointment,” a camp organizer said.

The organizer says they helped the children fill out the necessary paperwork and find LifeLabs locations where all the campers could be tested. This time-consuming endeavour led to the cancellation of planned and pre-paid trips to Canada’s Wonderland and Niagara Falls.

Conservative MP and transport critic Melissa Lantsman, whose office has been assisting the camp children amid the random testing debacle, slammed the Trudeau government’s “Covid theatre”.

“These kids have seen some of the worst horrors in life,” Lantsman told the National Post. “Instead of enjoying their time here they are forced to do unnecessary tests so this government can continue their Covid theatre.”

“There was no science shared to test fully-vaccinated travellers, no science shared to pause the testing, and no science shared about re-establishing the random testing,” Lantsman added.

Canada stands out for having reintroduced Covid restrictions for travellers, at a time when most of the western world has returned to a pre-pandemic normal.

Current federal mandates and restrictions at the border are set to remain in place until at least September 30th.

CTV “journalist” strikes again

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Freedom Convoy organizer and political prisoner Tamara Lich was released on bail this week, much to the disappointment of Canada’s legacy media. In particular, one familiar journalist to many supporters of the convoy – Glen Mcgregor. Mcgregor was very upset! As Tamara Lich was exiting the Ottawa courthouse on Monday, video footage emerged of Mcgregor getting physical and shouting at Lich supporters. To everyone’s surprise, Mcgregor failed to mention the altercations with supporters in his reporting.

Also on the show, Pope Francis has been on a week-long apology tour in Canada billed as a “spiritual pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation”. The Pope did what was asked of him by former residential school students – to apologize on behalf of the Catholic Church on Canadian soil. Unfortunately for the Pope, his apology wasn’t accepted by radical activists who instead want the Pope to “decolonize” the church.

To wrap up the show, Canada’s agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau takes home the Ratio of the Week award for failing to address the real concerns of Canada’s farmers and instead telling us that Canada will ban single-use plastics in December.

Tune into Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner now!

Leslyn Lewis will not attend Conservative Party’s third leadership debate

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis will not be attending the party’s third official debate set to take place in Ottawa on August 3.

Campaign spokesperson Micheal Hettrick told CTV News that Lewis “made commitments to meet with local grassroots members in person next week.” 

“She will be honouring those commitments.”

Lewis had previously published an open letter to the party’s Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC), where she said she could not in good conscience attend the third official debate if it revolved around previously discussed topics such as the carbon tax and the federal budget.

“I cannot in good conscience fritter away an opportunity to meet thousands of Canadians who are desperate for answers so that I could attend an impromptu meeting with leadership candidates to discuss questions to which the answers have already been memorialized in previous debate videos that exist online,” said Lewis.

According to Lewis, there was a lack of details on the debate’s format and the party chose a date she explicitly said was unavailable. 

Lewis also said that “despite our team being in regular communication to confirm whether there was going to be a third official party debate, we were granted only two weeks notice to change our travel plans, cancel events with grassroots members, and were threatened with a fine of $50,000 if we didn’t cooperate with this sudden change of plans.”

In her letter, Lewis said she would of liked to see candidates debate issues surrounding the Liberal’s Net-Zero Policy, the World Economic Forum, the WHO Pandemic Treaty, the effectiveness of Covid vaccines, as well as the injuries vaccines have caused and the topic of abortion.

She added that “it is easy to survey the party’s 675,000 members and cherry pick some ‘member asked questions’ that are safe and paint our party in a media friendly light.”

Lewis has often engaged in Question & Answer sessions with attendees at her campaign rallies. Members have been able to ask her direct questions on a variety of issues.

She is the second candidate to drop out of the party’s controversial third debate, which is set to take place during what campaigns say is the middle of the Get Out The Vote (GOTV) period.

The campaign of presumed front-runner Pierre Poilievre has also announced that he would not be attending the third official debate.

“The Party’s proposed third debate is smack dab in the middle of the get out the vote period,” said the Poilievre campaign. 

“The sole objective of the campaign now is to get new members and existing members to fill out their ballots and submit them before the September deadline.”

The party’s spokesman Yaroslav Baran previously confirmed to the Canadian Press that attendance is mandatory.

Candidates who skip the debate are set to face an “automatic” $50,000 fine, as per party rules.

There have already been two leadership debates organized by the party,  another debate hosted by the Canada Strong and Free Network and various events including forums and fireside chats.

Chaos in Canada’s airports (Ft. Duncan Dee)

By
Rupa Subramanya
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Some of Canada’s airports have seen the worst delays in the world in recent weeks. A number of airlines have put the blame on the government’s Covid measures, meanwhile the government has pointed the finger at “out of practice travellers.” Who’s actually to blame for the chaos in Canada’s airports?

On this episode of the Rupa Subramanya Show, the former Chief Operating Officer of Air Canada Duncan Dee joins the show to discuss what’s plaguing Canada’s airports and what can be done to help alleviate the delays.

Rupa and Duncan discuss the Trudeau government doubling down on its Covid measures at our borders, how politicians and industry experts are pushing back and how other countries are managing their airports post-Covid.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE RUPA SUBRAMANYA SHOW

UCP leadership candidate sold party memberships at Trudeau event

By
Rachel Parker
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United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership candidate Leela Aheer revealed she sold 25 party memberships at a Calgary Stampede pancake breakfast with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Earlier this month, Aheer refused to answer True North’s questions about whether she attended the event to campaign for the Alberta premiership and UCP leadership. 

In a media scrum following the first official UCP leadership debate on Wednesday night, Aheer was asked about attending the breakfast. 

There are many Albertans who vote for the federal Liberals, but for the Conservatives provincially, she said.

“I was so privileged to be invited. Doesn’t matter to me what party you’re part of, but I have sold 25 memberships that day,” Aheer said. “So it was fantastic.”

There are two Liberal MPs in Alberta. There were zero before the 2021 federal election.

The Calgary Stampede event was hosted by Liberal MP George Chahal on July 10. True North previously reported that Aheer was invited to the event by Chahal, one of her childhood friends.

Aheer is considered the most progressive of the UCP leadership candidates. She called the overturning of Roe v Wade “devastating” and has defended Covid restrictions. She also told the Calgary Herald that moderate Conservatives must purchase UCP memberships or the race may already be over, with the victory going to libertarian Danielle Smith. 

On Wednesday, Aheer told reporters she’s the “average conservative” because she’s fiscally responsible and socially liberal. 

“That’s exactly where 90% of the small ‘c’ Conservatives sit,” she said. 

The leadership candidate also said she’s sold just over 3,000 memberships in total, but said it’s hard to tell because “we’re working in a lot of different organizations.” All candidates have a portal that can track every membership sale from their campaign. 

Aheer is also quick to compliment her opponents and show a collaborative spirit, which she said is part of her plan to bring together good ideas and create a strong team.

Her efforts could benefit her on election day. The victor will be chosen by ranked ballot, meaning members could place her higher on their ballot because she’s shown a willingness to work with their first-choice candidate. 

Despite not registering any support in a recent Leger poll, Aheer said she believes she has a shot at winning. 

“It’s preferred ballot,” she said. “So anything is possible at this point in time.”

Danielle Smith on defense in first UCP leadership debate

By
Rachel Parker
-

UCP leadership candidates took no shortage of shots against front-running candidate Danielle Smith in the party’s first official debate.

Contestants sparred off at the Halo Air Ambulance hangar in Medicine Hat on Wednesday night. 

Five of Smith’s six opponents — Rebecca Schulz, Brian Jean, Travis Toews, Leela Aheer, and Rajan Sawhney — used their time to draw Smith into the debate and challenge her Alberta Sovereignty Act, as well as her comments on early detection of cancer. Only Todd Loewen, who’s aligned with Smith on many policies, steered clear of giving Smith the gears.

The tactic favoured Smith, who remained calm in the face of coordinated attacks while being granted more air time to pitch her policies during the two hour debate. 

In a media scrum following the debate, Smith said the debate was a “great discussion.”

“I think you saw seven cabinet ministers up there,” she told True North.

The debate format worked as such: a candidate was chosen to answer one of seven questions for two minutes, before choosing an opponent to answer the question for 90 seconds.

Topics included affordability, healthcare, the environment, and party unity. 

The two candidates then debated each other for four minutes. The remaining five candidates were given four opportunities to rebut their rivals’ at the end of the rounds.

Sawhney went on the attack immediately in her opening remarks. The party needs more than “a talk show host” to unify and win a general election, she said, in an apparent hit at Smith who had just touted her history as a radio journalist.

While debating Smith on environmental policy, Sawhney accused the former opposition Wildrose party leader of creating chaos with her promise to deliver the Alberta Sovereignty Act. The Act would bar federal legislation deemed harmful to Alberta. 

The proposal is “seductive,” but there’s nothing about it that makes sense, Sawhney said, noting that responding to Ottawa with anger may feel good but candidates “must not be risky and hot-headed.”

Schulz said she would advocate for Alberta’s interests with help from like-minded provinces. Some aspects of the Alberta Sovereignty Act make sense, but many don’t — especially those that break the rule of the law, she said. 

The Sovereignty Act is redundant because we already have the constitution, which enshrines areas of provincial jurisdiction, Aheer argued. 

“It would be great to wish away all our problems with this thing called the Sovereignty Act,” Toews added. But to do so would be “delusional,” and would drive away investment, he said.

While addressing healthcare, Sawhney said there are issues with Alberta Health Services and it might be time to move back to regional boards. She’s promised a public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic response, if elected. 

The former transportation minister also said Smith’s comments on cancer were hurtful and diminished the experience of cancer. 

In a podcast last week discussing naturopathy medication, Smith said preventative treatments and early detection could lead to better outcomes for cancer patients, who have no alternatives to chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery in the late stages of cancer. 

Toews, Schulz, and Jean also used the stage to condemn Smith’s comments. When Jean brought up the topic for a second time later in the debate, he was booed by the audience. 

Smith encouraged everyone to listen to her full podcast to see the context of her comments. Her mother-in-law died of ovarian cancer which caused her to become a proponent for early detection, Smith said. 

In a media scrum following the debate, Smith said, “I think it was a clear misunderstanding, and I apologize to anybody who was hurt by my comments.”

A recent Leger poll pegged Smith at the front of the leadership race, with 22% of support from party members, followed by Jean (20%), and Toews (15%). Schulz and Loewen each had 2% support, Sawhney had zero, and Aheer did not register any support in the poll.

Toews and Jean had a heated debate on party unity. Toews positioned himself as the best candidate to win Alberta’s general election against the NDP next year, and said he can quickly get to work as he already has the endorsement of 27 MLAs.

“Unity is mission critical,” Toews said. 

Jean said Independent MLAs Drew Barnes and Loewen were kicked out of the UCP caucus while Toews was in cabinet. The former Wildrose party leader said the next leader must know how to manage caucus, adding that he’s never had a caucus member quit or “cross the floor” — another shot at Smith. 

Toews fired back saying that Jean has been “sniping” from the sidelines and causing division over the last year, while he was raising concerns in the appropriate setting of the cabinet table.

Loewen intervened and said he stood up during Covid, but Toews never did. Loewen was removed from the UCP caucus after calling for Kenney’s resignation over his pandemic handling and for failing to make progress with Ottawa on a fair deal for Alberta. 

“Jason Kenney’s record is your record,” Loewen said. 

The MLA also came out strong on affordability, saying Alberta must control its debt and interest payment. Loewen asked the former Finance minister how he plans to repay the $4 billion in pandemic spending.

“We’ve watched this train wreck coming,” Loewen said. 
Spotty internet connection in the hangar led the debate livestream to cut out several times, but those interested in watching the debate can do so here.

Fully-vaccinated woman ordered to quarantine for not using ArriveCAN visited by authorities

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
-

A fully-vaccinated woman who was ordered into quarantine for not using the Trudeau government’s ArriveCAN app says she was visited by authorities checking-in on her compliance.

As exclusively reported by True North, 71-year-old Burlington resident Joanne Walsh was told to isolate for 14 days when she came back from Niagara Falls, New York last week because she refused to use the government’s ArriveCan app. 

The video of Walsh being ordered to quarantine by a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer has received over a million views in a matter of days.

Walsh claimed Monday she has been receiving “nasty” calls from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) related to her quarantine order.

“I’m not at peace right now… I have been getting these nasty calls from Health Canada, and it’s stressful. And it’s bothering me,” she said in a video posted to Twitter.

Walsh told True North Tuesday afternoon that authorities have also come to her house.

“I’ve got [PHAC] at my door asking questions, a person knocking on my door. Can you believe that?”

Walsh says a screening officer informed her he was visiting to check on her compliance.

“He came to see if I was quarantined. I said no.”

In an audio recording obtained by True North, Walsh is also asked if she has enough food for the remainder of her quarantine.

The man then asked her if she was fully vaccinated, to which she replied yes. Walsh says the officer then told her he would be writing up a report and proceeded to take a picture of her house number.

In the recording, the man appears to say “I’ll do a report and say you’re fully vaccinated and everything is good.”

While Walsh was frustrated with the situation, she said the officer wasn’t rude and did not come off as threatening.

Walsh also heard from the office of her Liberal Member of Parliament, Karina Gould. She had previously called out Gould on Twitter for ignoring her calls and emails.

True North obtained a copy of the email sent by one of Gould’s staffers.

“We want to assure you that Minister Gould is aware of your concerns and has seen your video,” wrote the staffer. 

“We have also taken the liberty to share your concerns with Canada’s Minister of Transport the Hon. Omar Alghabra and Minister of Health the Hon. Jean Yves-Duclos for their awareness and due consideration”

The email also claimed that ArriveCAN “continues to be an essential and intuitive tool to protect Canadians as we reopen our borders, and fire up our economy” and that the app “is part of ongoing efforts to modernize cross-border travel in Canada.”

Walsh said she is not satisfied with the response from Gould’s office, telling True North “she doesn’t address the problem at all.”

She also said the entire ordeal has been upsetting, and that she is having trouble recognizing the country she grew up in.

“This is Canada. I just can’t believe it. Right. This could happen.”

True North reached out to PHAC for comment regarding Walsh’s situation but was told that “due to privacy concerns, we cannot comment on specific cases.”

PHAC spokesperson Tammy Jarbeau did however confirm that the agency is “still sending contracted security services to travelers’ places of quarantine or isolation for compliance verification visits.”

“[Officers] are to report on the level of compliance of the individual in quarantine or isolation, based on the information provided or available during the visit,” she added.

According to the Government of Canada’s website, those ordered to quarantine may “receive in-person visits from a screening officer” in addition to live or automated calls.

Walsh is not the only Canadian frustrated with the Trudeau government’s prolonged use of the ArriveCAN app.

Many industry experts and politicians, including an NDP MP, have also called on the government to end the ArriveCAN requirement. 

Alberta agriculture minister says Ottawa’s fertilizer reduction target is ‘pulled out of the air’

By
Rachel Parker
-

Alberta Agriculture Minister Nate Horner says Ottawa’s edict to reduce fertilizer use by 30% seems like a target  “pulled out of the air.”

The Trudeau government is looking to impose a requirement to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizers by 30% as part of its overall effort to reduce emissions by 40 to 45% by 2030.

The mandate will result in less food production at a time when the world needs increased capacity that Canada could supply, or higher production costs which will ultimately be passed to the consumer, Horner said.

“It’s just another issue where we feel that the feds either don’t understand or they don’t completely care about the consequences,” he told True North.

As Ottawa undergoes consultation about its target, Horner said provincial agriculture ministers hoped the reduction was up for discussion. But, he said he was disappointed to learn from his federal counterpart Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau that the 30% target would not be reconsidered. 

The consultation process will only consider how Ottawa can achieve its objectives, Horner said. 

“They’re going to consult on the process, but they weren’t going to change their goal.”

He said Ottawa doesn’t have a good “baseline” understanding of the work already being done to reduce emissions in the prairies. And “unless you’re going to look at emissions per unit of production, (Ottawa) is not being really upfront about the two different challenges that we face,” he said.

The first challenge is the demand to increase production “in a big way,” and the second is that farming is becoming less financially viable, especially with the ever-increasing carbon tax.

All seven United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership candidates have also opposed the edict and promised to fight back, should they be elected Premier in October. 

In the Netherlands, farmers have been in the streets for weeks protesting strict emission targets. Tens of thousands of farmers and their supporters have formed convoys throughout the country demanding a referendum on the Dutch government’s measures. As a result of the chaos, farmers have even been fired upon by police.

Now, the head of one of Canada’s premier agricultural groups is warning that strict domestic emissions targets could spur a similar reaction from the industry. 

“But, you know, all I can say is, if you push farmers back right up against the wall where their livelihood is at stake and it’s a direct result of government overreach and non science based policies, then, who knows what could happen?” Western Canadian Wheat Growers president Gunter Jochum told True North in an interview earlier this month.

Horner said new research and technology is working to reduce emissions and farmers will continue to “naturally go down that path.”

“But if it’s forced…it’ll cost farmers more (and) maybe they’ll use less and they’ll produce less,” he said.

B.C. man paralyzed from Covid vaccine eagerly waiting government support

By
Andrew Kozak
-

Julian Scholefield experienced paralysis from the waist down just 12 days after receiving his second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. 

According to Castanet, it’s been over a year since Scholefield was paralyzed and he has yet to receive any support from the government’s Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP).

On July 25 2021, the Summerland resident was out on Okanagan Lake with his family when he noticed that his left leg started to get tingly.

“Then it started to go up on my right leg as well. And that gave me a little bit more worry. So we decided to head back to shore and we were back at the dock within two hours. And at that point, I was actually paralyzed from about my midsection down, and I couldn’t hold myself up.” 

Scholefield was rushed to Kelowna General, where he spent three weeks before being moved to Penticton Regional for five weeks. He was then moved to G Strong in Vancouver to go through rehabilitation for an additional five weeks. 

Since then, Scholefield has had to have his house outfitted to accommodate his wheelchair, at a cost to his family.

“We’ve got a three-floor lift and that was a significant cost, obviously out of pocket. That cost may or may not be covered by the vaccine injury support program. We don’t know. And so at this stage, it’s a debt that’s sort of lingering, sitting there.”

Scholefield has been unable to work as a result of the injury and is on disability. A GoFundMe started by his wife Angela helped raise money for basic needs such as the wheelchair, physical therapy and an elevator for his home.

 “I can’t thank the donors from $5, up to over $1,000 from individual donors, I can’t thank them enough for their generosity and support.”

Scholefield was diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), where inflammation in the brain and spinal cord damages protective nerve fibres, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Through a process of elimination, doctors have found that the condition was caused by his reaction to the vaccine. “They were able to just eliminate every other possible cause. And there’s this outlier, where I had the vaccine,” said Scholefield.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) stated on their website that the conditions can occur up to six weeks following vaccination. Side effects can happen from vaccines and “vaccine safety is continuously monitored to identify any serious adverse events.”

“To date, no cases of ADEM have been reported in association with the COVID-19 vaccines in BC,” said the BCCDC when Castanet reached out for comment. “All adverse events following immunization reported to BC public health are investigated and are further reported to the national surveillance system,” they added.

“ADEM is a very rare condition considered to be autoimmune in nature, of which about 40 cases are reported each year in BC (due to non-vaccine causes), with a distribution across the age span.”

In addition to alternative medicine therapies, Scholefield has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment to bring down swelling in his spine.

“It’s a year later, and I’m still finding out how to make things work, how to do things in day-to-day life. Getting up in the morning is probably the worst,” he said. “It’s the hardest. I wake up every day and I’m like, ‘Yep, still can’t feel my legs’, and look over and there’s the wheelchair and then it’s like, okay, yeah, this is still real, this is still true.”

“This was a government-mandated vaccine, I followed the rules, I did what I was told. And so far, I feel like the government does not have my back.”

Scholefield is still waiting for government compensation after applying to the VISP in October 2021. According to statistics provided by the government website, 774 claims have been received between June 1 2021 and June 1 2022.

“My file is still under review. And what that means is kind of on a bi-weekly basis, I check in and say ‘Hey, where’s my file at?’ And they say, ‘Still waiting.’ And I’ve called in, emailed in, followed up, and it’s still under review and to me, that’s just taking too long.”

So far, eight claims have been approved by the Medical Review Board. 

In May, Ross Wightman from Lake Country had his vaccine injury certified and was eligible for compensation, being one of the first in Canada. 

“I’d like to get some recognition from the government that I did follow the rules. I did follow the government-mandated vaccine and this is what occurred to me. I’m not wanting to cast blame,” Scholefield said.

Scholefield said he reached out to local officials including the province’s top doctor Dr. Bonnie Henry letting them know what had occurred. No one responded.

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