It happened in Manhattan under former leftist mayor Bill DiBiaso and continues to occur in Toronto under the current mayor John Tory.
I’m referring to a short-sighted and disastrous policy of putting homeless with addictions and mental issues in tiny hotels left empty during Covid.
In Toronto, the hotel shelter policy was only supposed to be a stopgap measure to provide accommodation to the homeless occupying downtown parks.
But many leases with hoteliers – happy to make a quick and steady buck – have been extended two and three times.
One of the most disastrous has been the Novotel hotel, owned by the Vancouver-based Silver Hotel Group, a shelter which opened in February 2021 under secretive circumstances and which has wreaked havoc on the Esplanade neighbourhood.
Residents of neighbouring condos in this tourist district are more than fed up with the lawlessness, vandalism, aggressive behaviour of some of the shelter’s nearly 200 residents (many of them addicted to hard drugs) the screaming and, the presence of EMS vehicles day and night and the appearance of drug dealers who prey on the shelter’s residents.
They say the whole tone of a once wonderful neighbourhood has changed and many are wary of venturing out at night.
Recently one of Toronto police’s largest drug busts involving $28.5 million worth of crystal meth and coke occurred in a condo directly beside the Novotel hotel.
But their concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Tory and his council do not seem to care.
To add insult to injury, this month the city’s Auditor-General released a scathing audit of the hotel shelter program, indicating negligent city officials paid out some $15-million extra for charges not covered by the hotel leases, vacant rooms and various other “facility surcharges” on meals.
Audit chairman Stephen Holyday recently told True North he can’t believe whoever signed off on these payments didn’t understand the terms of the contract.
“Fifteen million dollars buys a lot of shelter for people,” he says. “That amounts to a ½% tax increase.”
It is yet to be determined whether the city will ever recoup this horrendous abuse of tax dollars.
Greg Tobin is the Digital Strategy Director for the Canada Strong & Proud Network.
Despite bold policy claims and announcements, Prime Minister Trudeau’s plans won’t have lasting impacts on the environment, but will leave long-term, negative impacts on Canada’s natural resources sector, and the thousands of workers it employs.
Through empty promises and optimistic statements, Trudeau has done everything to look like he cares – except tangible action. Liberal cabinet ministers change their positions on the energy sector rapidly, adjusting to the most popular international issues of the day. At the recent G7 summit, for example, Trudeau’s ministers refused to sacrifice their climate goals to help our allies in Europe facing supply shortages due to sanctions against Russian oil. Yet Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said, “in the short term,” Canada may be able to supply Europe with liquified natural gas (LNG) from Atlantic Canada.
That endeavour, however, is expected to take at least five years – which falls well short of Europe’s urgent needs. Thus, the Trudeau government gives the appearance of stepping up to help our allies’ energy crisis while still appealing to their voter constituencies by standing firm on the Liberal government’s climate commitments. But their “help” is just an empty promise.
Meanwhile at home in Canada, the government has highlighted future projects in the East Coast as critical investments into clean energy, while willfully attacking similar projects in Western Canada in their appeals to Central Canadian voters. Through their politicized messaging, Trudeau’s cabinet has introduced new uncertainty to the energy sector – reducing the chances of new investments into clean energy. However, the Trudeau government’s plan calls for just those kinds of investments.
Instead of a sin tax on carbon, using innovations like carbon tech would be a modern approach to reducing carbon emissions. Carbon tech traps carbon dioxide from their industrial source – such as steel, oil and gas, cement, or fertilizer – then permanently stores it by inserting them into underground rock formations or by repurposing them to create new products like cement or soap.
Detractors say it’s unproven, pricey, and dangerous, yet Canadian innovators show that carbon tech works. CO2MENT in B.C. uses carbon tech to pipe the airborne pollution through filters which screen out the carbon particles in the air and reuse them for CO2-cured concrete – storing the carbon indefinitely.
Canada has the resources, innovation, and skilled workforce needed to become a global supplier of clean and responsible energy. We have what it takes to replace energy from autocratic states. And, to their credit, the Trudeau government has signaled they recognize carbon tech and other clean energy innovations as a core part of their climate plan. Ministers Guilbeault and Wilkinson even penned an op-ed to that effect noting the need for carbon tech as part of the solution.
However, the industry needs tangible, consistent financial support to achieve a pathway to net-zero emissions, not promises. Trudeau’s oil patch tax credit is a weak olive branch. The government cannot claim they want to invest in the industry’s green energy transformation at the same time they vilify the sector, hindering the very profits they are asking the industry to reinvest. The sector needs a supportive and consistent government – and a clear path forward. And in this unpredictable economy, it’s what Canadians deserve instead of lip service to ineffective environmental policy.
Every day, it seems like Canadians are paying more at the pumps for the fuel they need to get to work, school, and home. According to Trudeau, the surge in gas prices is the result of everything but their tax increases. By trying to build a legacy as an environmentalist, Trudeau is more likely to be remembered for making life unaffordable for Canadian families, or “painful” to quote Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull’s recent comments. Amidst a global conflict and affordability crisis, Trudeau jacked up the carbon tax, without a thought for family budgets.
For decades, the energy sector has supported Canada’s economy and development – and created the jobs we need to thrive. We have an opportunity to provide an ethical solution to Europe’s energy crisis, but we need a government that won’t hold us back. We’re leaders in clean, ethical energy – and we can supply affordable and responsible products to the world.
Canada can have both environmental reform and a stable energy sector, however, the vilification of Canada’s natural resources industry, accompanied by short-sighted “lip service” to environmental policy, will lead to its failure. Canadians can’t afford to wait and see on this issue – and they can’t afford to have unreliable energy. They need a better plan than what Trudeau has offered.
Greg Tobin is the Digital Strategy Director for the Canada Strong & Proud Network.
Canadians are questioning the benefit of the $6.6 billion in foreign aid Ottawa sends to other countries annually.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, a Department of Foreign Affairs report titled Canadians’ Views On International Assistance Tracking Study shows that most people are worried that their taxpayer dollars are funding corrupt regimes abroad.
“Many Canadians think international aid is ineffective and that corporations, the United Nations and international non-government organizations can do more to reduce poverty than the Canadian government,” wrote department officials.
The department polled Canadians on how they viewed foreign aid spending and 58% of those polled felt “a lot of international aid from Canada ends up in the pockets of corrupt politicians in the developing world and that most international aid does not get to the intended recipients.”
“Results also reveal only one in four Canadians, 26%, believes government spending on international aid is effective,” researchers observed. “Almost twice as many, 42%, think government spending is ineffective.”
A total of 3,056 across Canada were included in the study which was conducted by Ekos Research Associates for $73,709.
When asked whether Ottawa should increase or decrease foreign aid spending, 23% of those polled said that it should be reduced.
“To effectively bridge the gap between Canadians’ experiences and issues happening thousands of kilometres away, the department requires a solid understanding of how the Canadian public views international assistance,” the report stated.
At the height of the pandemic, the Trudeau Liberals announced a whopping $485 million in additional foreign aid to go towards delivering vaccines to developing nations.
Prior to that, the Liberals also used the pandemic to announce $109.5 million in new foreign aid spending on “women’s reproductive health” and other initiatives.
“Canada’s investment in these programs is in line with its feminist international assistance approach, since this global crisis has the potential to exacerbate inequalities and reverse development gains,” wrote Global Affairs Canada.
Pierre Poilievre’s campaign is calling on the Commissioner of Elections Canada to investigate his Conservative leadership race opponent Patrick Brown over alleged elections law violations.
According to a letter obtained by the Toronto Star, the Poilievre camp is going after Brown over a report by Rebel News that claimed that the mayor of Brampton was employing city staff to work on his campaign.
The Poilievre camp alleges that having municipal staff work on a campaign amounts to a campaign donation from a municipal corporation.
“In light of the apparent violation of the Canada Elections Act, I respectfully request that Elections Canada investigate, and take such enforcement steps as may be warranted,” wrote Alberta MP Chris Warkentin who was a signatory of the letter.
The Jun. 9 report alleged that senior staffers in Brown’s office were working with Brown in Vaughan, Ont. and some were flying with him on the campaign trail.
Six Brampton staffers were named including Babu Nagalingam, Margaret Beveridge, Kuldip Gollee, Sri Vallipuranathar, Iqbal Singh and Yeshwa Younas.
Three of them responded to requests by Rebel News and said that they were working on his campaign on a voluntary basis.
Brown himself has denied the allegations.
“There are no Brampton city staff being paid by Brampton on Patrick Brown’s campaign,” said his spokesperson Chisholm Pothier.
“There are many staff who believe in Patrick Brown’s vision for the party and Canada that are helping out on their own or taking a leave from their city job.”
The Commissioner of Elections Canada told the Toronto Star that it could not confirm whether there is an ongoing investigation or if they’ve received a complaint.
“In keeping with the confidentiality provisions of the Canada Elections Act, the Commissioner of Canada Elections generally does not confirm whether it has received a complaint or has initiated an investigation into a particular issue,” spokesperson Véronique Aupry said.
Poilievre has also went after the Brampton Mayor over allegations that Brown’s team was offering to refund membership fees to new members who he signed up.
“The surreptitious reimbursement of membership fees by supporters allows campaigns to receive donations in excess of individual donor limits, outside the party’s directed donation scheme, and results in a campaign incurring unreported expenditures,” wrote MP Tim Uppal in a letter.
The party’s leadership organizing committee is currently investigating the complaint.
Alberta-based independent media outlet the Western Standard has rescheduled its previously cancelled Conservative leadership debate in Calgary. However, contender Leslyn Lewis has announced she will not attend.
It’s official: The Western Standard CPC Leadership is back on. July 8, 2022. https://t.co/bFbO9Mtk0b
The debate was originally cancelled after only five of the six leadership candidates confirmed their participation. Conservative sources told True North that Pierre Poilievre was the lone candidate to decline.
“We’d originally planned the debate for July 9 at a massive venue, but without the confirmed participation of all candidates, it would not have been financially viable,” said Western Standard president Derek Fildebrandt.
The rescheduled debate is set to take place on Friday, Jul. 8 at 3:00pm MT at the Calgary Petroleum Club.
Fildebrandt said that following the debate cancellation announcement, many people reached out asking for an alternative to be organized.
“Well, we’ve caved to pressure and done just that,” Fildebrandt said.
The outlet said that all leadership candidates except for Poilievre had confirmed their attendance to the newly scheduled debate; however, Leslyn Lewis has indicated that she will not be able to attend the event.
“After the Western Standard canceled the debate in Calgary, I adjusted my calendar in order to make sure I could reach as many ridings in person as possible,” said Lewis in a statement. Adding that she made a commitment to be in the North.
Lewis also said the Western Standard’s announcement of the new date and time was made without her knowledge.
True North reached out to other leadership campaigns to ask if they had confirmed their attendance before the new debate details were made public.
Jean Charest’s communication director Michelle Coates Mather explained that their campaign was “informed of the new date for the Western Standard debate on Wednesday afternoon.”
Mather added that their campaign is “considering all opportunities to talk to members and donors across Canada,” and that unless they hear otherwise, Charest will be at the debate.
Scott Aitchison campaign spokesperson Jamie Ellerton said that their campaign “has been in contact with the debate organizers throughout this week,” and confirmed Aitchison’s attendance.
Patrick Brown campaign spokesperson Chisholm Pothier would not comment on internal communications, but told True North that Brown is still planning on attending the Western Standard debate.
The Roman Baber campaign did not provide a response in time for publication.
Fildebrandt says candidates will debate equalization, carbon taxes, media bailouts, pipelines and energy, gun rights, civil liberties, provincial autonomy, as well as other topics.
He added that the debate “won’t be a boring all candidates forum. And it certainly won’t include sad trombones,” referring to a buzzer used in the official English Conservative Party debate when candidates attacked each other or mentioned Justin Trudeau.
Tickets for the Western Standard’s Calgary Conservative leadership debate are currently on sale for $25 on Eventbrite.
The Liberals blocked a motion calling on Ottawa to provide all documents used to justify restricting travel for Canadians during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, during Thursday’s House of Commons transport committee, NDP MP Taylor Bachrach sponsored a motion requesting “a copy of all relevant documents containing public health advice and scientific modeling received by the Minister of Transport” used to justify quarantines, masking, mandatory vaccination and other measures.
“All of a sudden there was a decision to suspend the mandates without really an explanation of what changed,” Bachrach explained.
“The way it’s supposed to work is the public health officials provide the advice to the government and then the government takes action. What we’re interested in is when did the public health officials first start advising the government these specific measures were no longer effective and could safely be suspended?”
Liberal MP Churence Rogers cited cabinet confidentiality before shutting down the motion.
According to Rogers, the government has a right to protect information “that could cause harm” if the public became aware of it.
“Every government regardless of political stripe needs to protect certain kinds of information for reasons of confidentiality, which I think most members understand, and to protect legally, commercially sensitive information that could cause harm were it to be made public,” said Rogers.
“For us to try to pass a motion that requests ‘all relevant documents,’ I think that’s a bit of a stretch. It sets a precedent is what it does. It sets a precedent which is not good.”
The Liberals have repeatedly resorted to citing cabinet confidentiality in recent weeks to prevent opposition parties from gaining access to confidential information.
As the inquiry into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act unfolds, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has refused to wave cabinet confidence to unseal the information the government relied upon to invoke the powers.
“We’ve afforded Justice Rouleau with the power to compel witnesses, information, and documents and, in fairness, we’ve contemplated that he would get access to classified information,” said Mendicino.
Additionally, lawyers representing the Crown in a case challenging the government’s use of the Act also cited cabinet confidence to prevent civil rights groups from accessing government information.
Earlier this week, the federal government announced that travel mandates would be suspended beginning on Jun. 20. However, some restrictions still remain – including mandatory quarantines for the unvaccinated and mandatory proof of vaccination for incoming flights.
It’s Fake News Friday on The Candice Malcolm Show! Guest host Andrew Lawton and True North producer Harrison Faulkner discuss this week’s most egregious examples of fake news in the legacy media.
By now, most Canadians know the Trudeau government relied on the CBC’s misleading reports to justify invoking the Emergencies Act to quash the Freedom Convoy. This week, during the committee on the Emergencies Act, Conservative MP Larry Brock grilled Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland for relying on the CBC’s fake news but Freeland repeatedly refused to answer questions. This exchange went viral, but instead of apologizing for misleading Canadians – the CBC published an editorial and stood by its faulty journalism.
Plus, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez repeats the Trudeau government’s mantra – “Everyone who disagrees with me is pushing misinformation!” As the government rushes its online censorship bill through committee without debate, Rodriguez claims Conservatives are pushing misinformation about Bill C-11 – despite the fact that the CRTC confirmed the online censorship bill gives the government the power to regulate user-generated content.
And as more Canadians tune into independent media outlets like True North, trust in the legacy media is at an all-time low. Instead of criticizing the legacy media for its out-of-touch journalism, Justin Trudeau’s former top advisor Gerald Butts relies on a Twitter thread by an unhinged leftist activist and attacks True North.
Tune into Fake News Friday! We’ll be discussing these stories and much more!
United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership candidate Danielle Smith says that if elected, she will propose legislation that would give Alberta the power to refuse the enforcement of federal laws or policies if it feels the law attacks the province’s interests.
Smith pledges to introduce the “Alberta Sovereignty Act” on her first day as premier.
As your Premier, on day 1, I'm introducing the Alberta Sovereignty Act. It's time put Alberta First! To become your Premier and stand up to Ottawa, I need to win the @Alberta_UCP nomination. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/jRX6xaQcu5
“Simply put, we need less Ottawa in our lives,” said Smith in a video posted to social media. She says the federal government has “landlocked our resources, destroyed so many livelihoods, and made all the basics we need to live so much more expensive.”
Smith says the biggest concern she hears from Albertans is that the province needs to stand up to the Trudeau government.
“When I hear from moms everyday on the campaign trail, how worried they are about their kids right now, after the last two years, it brings such urgency on what we need to do next”, Smith says in her video.
Alberta has had a tumultuous relationship with the federal government since Justin Trudeau became prime minister. Many policies proposed by the feds have had a direct impact on the energy sector in Alberta.
Bill C-69, deemed the “no more pipelines act” by its critics, and the federal carbon tax resulted in the Alberta government taking the Trudeau government to court.
While the Supreme Court ultimately deemed the carbon tax, the province recently saw a win in its fight against Bill C-69 with the Alberta Court of Appeal ruling that the bill was unconstitutional. The Trudeau government is in the process of appealing that decision.
Smith is one of eight candidates who are seeking to replace Jason Kenney as both leader of the UCP and premier of Alberta.
Other candidates include MLA and former cabinet minister Leela Aheer, MLA and former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean, independent MLA Todd Loewen, Amisk mayor Bill Rock, MLA Rajan Sawhney, MLA Rebecca Schulz and MLA and former finance minister Travis Toews.
Independent MLA Drew Barnes, current Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon, and Calgary Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner have also expressed interest in running.
Albertans wanting to vote for the next UCP leader have until Aug. 12 to obtain or renew their party membership.
The House of Commons’ vaccine mandate will be ending on Monday, Jun. 20 – the same day as the federal mandates for domestic and outbound travel and civil servants.
Trudeau’s house leader Mark Holland put forward a motion on Thursday to end the mandate on the House of Commons precinct. The motion received unanimous support.
In response to the mandate being lifted, Conservative house leader John Brassard told True North “it’s about time that the federal government follow the rest of the world as we get back to some normalcy.”
Meanwhile, Conservative Party leadership candidate Scott Aitchison said, “today’s news that the government is finally listening to science and ending vaccine mandates in the House of Commons is welcome news.” Adding that “more still needs to be done.”
True North also heard from leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre, who pointed out that the border mandates for truckers are still in place.
“Justin Trudeau has admitted that it’s safe to sit next to an unvaccinated person on a plane or even in the House of Commons. But he still won’t let a trucker who sits alone all day in the cab of his truck go back to work by crossing the border.”
By unanimous consent, the #HoC adopted a motion regarding the suspension of measures affecting COVID-19 vaccination during House and committee proceedings, effective Monday, June 20, 2022.
The strict policy requiring anyone wanting to access the House of Commons precinct, including elected Members of Parliaments, provide proof of vaccination against Covid-19 has been in place since Nov. 2021.
The mandate was introduced by the House’s Board of Internal Economy, an administrative body which the Speaker of the House later ruled did not have the authority to make such a policy.
However, the Speaker’s ruling was overruled as the governing Liberals, with the support of the NDP, had passed a hybrid parliament motion a week prior which contained a vaccine requirement for those wishing to access the precinct.
The Liberal motion also tightened the rules around medical exemptions, by only allowing the limited exemptions offered by the Ontario government.
In Dec 2021, Holland cast doubt on the high number of medical exemptions in the Conservative Party caucus, the only party caucus where MPs were not required to be vaccinated.
The tightened rules led to some medical exemptions, including an exemption Yorkton – Melville MP Cathay Wagantall had obtained, to be invalidated. Wagantall accused the Liberals of politically interfering with the work of the House of Commons nurse.
Wagantall was removed from the House of Commons precinct earlier this month after attempting to defy the mandate by entering the House of Commons without disclosing her vaccination status.
While the vaccine mandate has been lifted in the House of Commons, the mask mandate will remain in place, making it one of few places in Ottawa where masking is still required.
On Tuesday, the Liberal government announced they would be suspending their vaccine requirement for air and rail travel passengers. Though it may seem like a big victory for Canadians, attorney Keith Wilson says the battle still isn’t over. He joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to discuss his ongoing challenge against the federal vaccine mandate, the legality of travel restrictions, and why the government must be held accountable.
