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Thursday, July 10, 2025

Author of Emergencies Act calls for “extraordinary accountability” from feds

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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The author of the extraordinary law used by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to crack down on Freedom Convoy protesters in Ottawa is once again raising concerns about government accountability.

Former defence minister Perrin Beatty penned the legislation as a replacement for the War Measures Act in the late 1980s. 

When drafting the law, Beatty included a requirement that a mandatory public inquiry be called within 60 days of the Emergencies Act being used and revoked.

“This was one of the problems back in the time of the War Measures Act, where the government said in essence, `if only you knew what we knew, you’d support the invocation of the act.’,” Beatty told the Globe and Mail. 

“That was very much in my mind at the time that we brought in the new act. To ensure public confidence, you had to have the greatest level of transparency possible.”

Although the Trudeau government has launched the necessary inquiry, questions have arisen about its transparency. Reports reveal that the judge appointed to oversee the investigating committee – Ontario Appeal Court Justice Paul Rouleau – was once a Liberal donor and political aide. 

Additionally, the Trudeau government has cited cabinet confidence in an attempt to seal access to the information they claim justified the never-before-used measure. 

“Was invoking the act the right thing to do in the first place? Did it meet the high threshold that was anticipated, that was required under the act?” Beatty asked. “The only thing that I can say, as the author of the act, is that wherever you have extraordinary powers, there must be extraordinary accountability.”

Trudeau public safety minister Marco Mendicino has also not committed to investigating whether the use of the act was proper. 

“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,” Mendocino responded when reporters asked him about waving cabinet confidence and allowing the sealed information to be made public. 

In a separate court challenge, lawyers representing the Crown are also attempting to block the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) and other civil liberties groups from accessing the classified information. 

“To discharge its constitutional function, the court must have before it a full record and consider those materials in a fully adversarial proceeding,” the CCF said in its filing. “Without these materials and procedure, this court may feel ‘a little bit like a fig leaf.’”

Alberta has since joined the case as an intervenor, citing federal overreach into provincial jurisdiction. 

Federal “No More Pipelines” law is unconstitutional, Alberta court rules

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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A majority of judges with the Alberta Court of Appeal has voted to strike down the Trudeau government’s Bill C-69 as unconstitutional.

Alberta premier Jason Kenney – who branded the environmental impact assessment bill the “No More Pipelines Law” – praised the 200-page ruling on Tuesday as a “historic victory” nearly three years after the law first received royal assent.

“An historic victory, and central part of our strategy to fight for a fair deal!” tweeted Kenney. 

According to the Alberta government, the bill was an infringement on provincial powers and a federal attempt to gain control of the oil and gas sector. 

“The federal government’s invocation of concerns about the environment and climate change that all provincial governments and Canadians share is not a basis on which to tear apart the constitutional division of powers,” the Alberta Court of Appeal wrote. 

“This legislative scheme allows the federal government to essentially render worthless the natural resources of individual provinces by stopping their development. If upheld, the (act) would permanently alter the division of powers and forever place provincial governments in an economic chokehold controlled by the federal government.”

Since the ruling, Liberal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said that Ottawa will appeal the decision with the Supreme Court of Canada. 

Last year the Supreme Court shut down a similar ruling by the Alberta Court of Appeal which found the federal carbon levy to be unconstitutional. 

The government of Ontario and Saskatchewan also joined the legal battle against Ottawa. 

Advocacy groups including the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) – which was an intervenor in the case – praised the latest court ruling as a big win for Canadians. 

“Today’s court decision against Ottawa’s No More Pipelines Law is a big win for taxpayers,” said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano. “We need to be able to develop Canadian resources to create jobs and get our neighbours back to work, and we also need these projects to help us pay for hospitals, schools and lower taxes.”

The CTF has estimated that a lack of pipelines could cost Canadians $12.8 billion in revenue by 2023.

“Resource projects help pay the bills and when they aren’t able to generate that revenue, politicians start looking to families to fill the budget gap,” said Terrazzano in a press release.

 “Taxpayers are being dragged further into debt because politicians are roadblocking Canadian resource projects and this court ruling makes it clear those legal obstructions are unconstitutional.”

Conservative Party of Quebec leader Eric Duhaime talks francophone conservatism

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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Conservative Party of Quebec leader Eric Duhaime gave a keynote speech at last weekend’s Canada Strong and Free Networking (CFSN) conference in Ottawa, and True North’s Elie Cantin-Nantel had the opportunity to talk to him afterwards.

Duhaime said he chose to give a keynote at the CFSN because it is important to have links, adding his party has a similar vision to other conservative parties when it comes to issues like fiscal responsibility, tax cuts and the development of natural resources. 

It should be noted that Quebec’s centre-right politics have often been absent from the Canadian conservative movement.

Duhaime said that as a Quebec nationalist, he supports Quebec’s Bill 21, which bans the wearing of religious symbols by the public service and is more controversial in English-speaking Canada than francophone Quebec. He added that there is a consensus of support among Quebecers when it comes to the bill, and he would not want to “reopen a can of worms”.

When it comes to the issue of abortion, Duhaime said he is not going to allow the debate to be reopened – despite the Campaign Life Coalition noting that not a single pro-life elected official sits in Quebec’s National Assembly.

Duhaime added that he is the first openly gay leader of a Canadian conservative party.

During his keynote, Duhaime admitted having voted for Quebec premier Francois Legault’s Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) party in the past. During the pandemic, Legault implemented some of the harshest restrictions in the Western world, including curfews and a vaccine passport that limited access to groceries.

Duhaime said that it is not only Legault’s “abusive” measures that have turned him away from the CAQ, but also the party’s abandonment of fiscal responsibility and natural resources. He added that the CAQ had become a “Parti Quebecois 2.0.”

When it comes to comparing the Quebec conservative movement to that of English-speaking Canada, Duhaime said that conservatives in Quebec believe in provincial autonomy. He added that he believes conservatives in Canada need to be more in favour of decentralization. 

In 2018, the Conservative Party of Quebec received 1.46% of the vote, although many polls now put them in second place. The party also outperformed the Liberals in a recent by-election.

Quebec’s next general election is set for Oct. 3.

Canadian Forces veteran makes it to Ontario, with under 2000km left to go

By
Harley Sims
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Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veteran James Topp embarked on the last and longest leg of his protest march to Ottawa this week, crossing into Ontario from Manitoba on Day 79 of his trek and putting more than 2300km behind him.

“This is the final province but it’s huge, so we’ll be here for a while,” Topp posted from the Ontario border on Monday. “Thunder Bay is roughly 550km away, so you’re on notice! Roughly 1.5 months to get to Ottawa from here for your mental calendars.”

Ontario marks the final province of Topp’s journey, which began in Vancouver on Feb. 20. Topp is marching in opposition to government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic – in particular vaccine mandates that forced people out of work or pressured them “into taking part in medical procedures that they would not otherwise have accepted.”

The army veteran and his crew arrived in Manitoba on Apr. 26 and crossed the last of the prairie provinces in just under two weeks.

There were several highlights to the trek across Manitoba, including Topp calling out the CBC for ignoring his march. Last week, Topp denounced the state outlet – which received $1.4 billion last year from taxpayers and is mandated to reflect Canadian cultural expression – from the sidewalk in front of their Winnipeg headquarters.

“We just walked 2343 kilometers,” Topp said. “Check it out. And here we are in front of CBC Winnipeg/CBC Radio Canada here and, curiously enough, nobody from this organization has come to talk to us. Isn’t that interesting?”

“We’re only going to be marching from Vancouver to Ottawa, and we are at the halfway point here in Winnipeg. And so far, nobody in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has seen fit to come and talk to us about what we’re doing.”

To date, the CBC’s only reporting on Topp seems to have been in mid-February, when the state outlet contacted the Department of National Defence (DND) to ask for comment on active military members supporting convoy protests.

Topp, who is in the process of being removed from the CAF over his refusal to accept COVID shots, is also now being represented by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), which has retained lawyer and military veteran Phillip Millar.

Having moved into the reserves after his full-time career, Topp is facing what is known as a 5F release – or “Unsuitable for Further Service” – which “(a)pplies to the release of an officer or non-commissioned member who, either wholly or chiefly because of factors within his control, develops personal weakness or behavior or has domestic or other personal problems that seriously impair his usefulness to or impose an excessive administrative burden on the Canadian Forces.”

Millar argues that the 5F release was never meant to be applied in this way and that the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for military personnel is unjust and political.

“The mandatory vaccine is a flawed policy based on a stubborn refusal to acknowledge that the underlying justification for the mandate has changed,” said Millar in a press release. “The government is using the Canadian Armed Forces as a policy arm to promote its vaccine mandates. The policy hurts the operational effectiveness, morale, and integrity of the system.”

“We cannot let them get away with ruining the lives and careers of dedicated Canadians who serve their country,” he said. “Our soldiers, sailors and air force personnel deserve more. They are highly trained, and many have served their country for years.”

Topp expects to arrive in Ottawa some time in early-to-mid June.

Ontario Liberals pledge to make COVID-19 shots mandatory for school children

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
-

Ontario Liberal Party leader Steven Del Duca is promising to make COVID-19 shots mandatory for public school children and teachers if elected this June. 

Del Duca made the promise at a press conference on Saturday in Ottawa, and said adding the Covid vaccine to the list of other compulsory vaccines including polio and measles “will protect vulnerable kids.”

“The best way to get back to normal is to make classrooms safer. Ontario Liberals will do just that by expanding the list of universal vaccines to include the COVID-19 vaccine and requiring all frontline education workers to be vaccinated,” said Del Duca.

Del Duca also said that he is “offering people in Ontario a clear choice” between his Liberal government, which would “make classrooms safer with ventilation and vaccines,” and “four more years of the Doug Ford’s Conservatives’ cuts and classroom chaos.”

If the mandate were implemented, Ontario would be the first province in Canada to require parents to vaccinate their kids against COVID-19 in order for them to obtain an in-person public education.

The Ontario government currently mandates nine vaccines through the Immunization of School Pupils Act – including shots for measles and polio – but not the COVID-19 vaccines which have been at the heart of many controversial debates. Exemptions are offered under the act.

The Liberals received major pushback for the proposal, including from some members of the legacy media. Globe and Mail columnist Robyn Urback said on Twitter that the policy would “seriously alienate” and “strategically seems like a bad call.”

Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley also shared his thoughts on the matter, saying that Del Duca’s policy might anger parents and that it would backfire on the Liberals. 

Infectious diseases physician Zain Chagala also criticized Del Duca’s proposal, citing National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) advice stating that it is essential to support parents’ decisions on vaccinating their kids against Covid. 

NACI has also discouraged the stigmatization of parents who choose to or not to have their kids vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“Are we willing to accept some of our most marginalized kids out of school?” added Chagala.

Chagala also said that the politicizing of COVID-19 vaccination leads to “no good,” sharing an article which states that the politicization of vaccines has led to more hesitancy. “We need to keep encouraging proactive vaccines rather than pushing people away with mandates”.

According to government data, only 41% of Canadian kids aged 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Politicized Covid measures in education settings have also led to chaos and backlash in schools across the United States, with multiple videos showing heated moments at school board meetings.

The State of California had previously announced a mandatory vaccination policy for its students but has since opted to delay the mandate.

The Ford government previously opted not to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for educators, with education minister Stephen Lecce saying in October such a move could lead to 50,000 teachers being fired. 

The Ontario PC Party party has not publicly responded to Del Duca’s proposal and did not respond to True North’s request for comment by time of publication.

Along with mandatory vaccinations, Del Duca’s other education policies include bringing back “Grade 13” for a limited time. The extra year of high school – known officially as the Ontario Academic Credit – was phased out in 2003.

On Monday, the Ontario Liberals unveiled its platform which pledges billions in new spending for affordable housing, subsidized transit and an end to for-profit long-term care.

The 2022 Ontario general election will take place on Jun. 2.

Taxpayer funding for child sex changes offered on Ontario NDP platform

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

The Ontario NDP 2022 platform proposes full taxpayer funding for medically-induced gender transitions and operations for transgender youth. 

In the platform’s “health equity” section, NDP leader Andrea Horwath committed to providing “full coverage of transition drugs and medications” and to make it easier for people including kids to access sex change surgeries. 

“Immediately begin work to improve access to gender-affirming procedures and surgeries and make transition drugs free,” the platform states. “We’ll work to ensure full coverage of transition drugs and medications.” 

Currently, Ontario has several clinics which provide medical transition support services to youth. The province also doesn’t have an age of consent for gender reassignment treatment or counselling. 

“There is no general age of consent to treatment or counselling; instead, the issue depends on whether the young person is capable of consenting,” writes the Canadian Mental Health Association. 

Father and activist Chris Elston spoke to True North about the Ontario NDP’s proposed policy. Elston is better known as “Billboard Chris” for travelling across North America in an attempt to expose gender ideology and its effects on children. 

“The NDP has been completely captured by the most radical wing of their party who think that it is somehow loving and kind to try to change the sex of a child with unregulated, unproven, experimental puberty blocking drugs and opposite-sex hormones that leave children infertile, anorgasmic, and dependent on pharmaceutical drugs for the rest of their life,” said Elston.

“Historically, 80 – 90% of children with gender dysphoria simply grew out of it, and the majority grew up to be gay. So in addition to other problems with the ‘gender affirming care’ or ‘affirmation only’ model, this is very damaging to kids who would just grow up to be gay.” 

Elston pointed to a lack of proper clinical trials for puberty blockers like gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists and a ballooning mental health crisis among youth. 

“This is a mental health crisis that is being ignored, and the practice at gender clinics now is to simply affirm the child’s self-diagnosis as trans, and start them on a medical pathway that causes permanent physical damage. The NDP is also ignoring the huge numbers of children on the autism spectrum, or in state care who are presenting as trans,” Elston told True North.

Additionally, the opposition party squaring off against the ruling Progressive Conservatives in the upcoming election seeks to pass Bill-17, also known as the Gender Affirming Health Care Advisory Committee Act. 

The law seeks to speed up the process by which a person including a minor could access a medically induced gender transition. Transgender “youth” are specifically mentioned as a group represented by the policy. 

If passed it would lead to the creation of a Gender Affirming Health Care Advisory Committee which would advise Ontario’s Minister of Health on changes to the provincial healthcare system. 

Critics have also said that it would reduce the number of referrals required from doctors before transgender individuals can be operated on. 

“If this policy is enacted, more children will simply be fast-tracked into irreversible harm from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries, with no clinical basis to support that this is positive for their mental health,” said Elston.

“Thousands of children will end up sterilized, with health problems for life, in what is arguably the greatest child abuse medical scandal in modern medicine history.”

In the bill, gender affirming care is defined as “procedures, medical treatments and referral processes that align a patient’s body and physical presentation with their gender identity.”

Gender transitioning procedures include double mastectomies, facial feminization surgery and other surgical procedures. 

NDP MPP and sponsor of the bill Suze Morrison has also tweeted that the law encompasses increasing access to trans children.

Ontarians will head to the polls for the 2022 Ontario general on June 2. 

Legacy media got the Conservative debate all wrong

By
Candice Malcolm
-

On today’s episode of the Candice Malcolm Show, Candice gives a behind the scenes run-through of the first Conservative Party debate – which she moderated.

Candice describes the debate, shows her favourite moments of the night and defends the format and topics discussed against Liberal criticism.

The purpose of a debate is to exchange ideas, draw out contrasts between the candidates, and hear them defend their views and their record in office. The boring, biased and beholden legacy media would prefer a lifeless debate where everyone agrees – so long as they all agree with the boring legacy media’s take on the issues!

This debate provided something different – it was entertaining, interesting and lively. Candice breaks down the best and worst moments of the Conservative debate.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CANDICE MALCOLM SHOW

SNC-Lavalin seeking to pay Quebec $30 million to get out of new bribery charges

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

SNC-Lavalin Inc. could be paying the Quebec government approximately $30 million to end criminal bribery charges brought against the scandal-plagued company over its work on a Montreal bridge. 

As part of the deal reached between the accused and prosecutors, the company will be able to continue doing work with provincial, federal and foreign governments. The remediation deal has yet to be approved by the Quebec Superior Court, and a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. 

The bribery claims stem from work that occurred over two decades ago – from 1997 to 2004 –  while SNC-Lavalin handled the Jacques Cartier Bridge project. 

On Sept. 23, the province’s Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions brought charges against the company, and SNC-Lavalin’s lawyers began negotiations to settle the matter soon after. 

On that day, two former SNC-Lavalin executives Normand Morin and Kamal Francis were arrested by the RCMP as a result of the charges. 

In 2017 former president and CEO of Federal Bridge Corp. was also arrested after admitting to getting $2.23 million worth of bribes from the company in relation to the project. 

In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was found to have broken federal ethics rules by Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion after attempting to politically interfere in the justice system by having former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould intervene in a corruption trial against the company. 

According to Dion, Trudeau used his position as Prime Minister to seek to influence Wilson-Raybould’s decision on whether she should overrule the Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision on SNC-Lavalin.

“The authority of the Prime Minister and his office was used to circumvent, undermine and attempt to discredit the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions as well as the authority of Ms. Wilson‑Raybould as the Crown’s chief law officer,” wrote Dion.

The ruling was not the first time that Trudeau had been found guilty of breaking ethics laws. The prime minister also violated the Conflict of Interest Act in 2017 when he accepted a trip to the Aga Khan’s private island.

In 2020, former vice-president of SNC-Lavalin Sami Bebawi was found guilty of corruption of foreign officials, laundering proceeds of a crime and fraud charges in relation to the case. 

Another MP caught with his pants down during virtual parliament

By
Harrison Faulkner
-

After two years of virtual parliament, it appears some MPs are still not familiar with Zoom etiquette – specifically, with keeping pants on while on a call.

On Friday, Liberal MP Shafqat Ali was allegedly caught sitting in the bathroom while sitting virtually in the House of Commons after Conservative MP Laila Goodridge raised a point of order and said that the Liberal MP for Brampton Centre “might be participating in a washroom.”

According to the Ottawa Citizen, the alleged incident was only visible to MPs on an internal stream.

Assistant Deputy Speaker Alexandra Mendès confirmed that the MP “appeared to be in the washroom” while participating in a debate on Bill C-252.

“I would like to remind everyone that, especially online, we have to be very prudent with how we use our devices and be aware of the surroundings,” Mendès told MPs.

In response to Goodridge’s point of order, Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux accused the Conservatives of wanting to “embarrass people.” 

“I believe the most important thing is that members have the camera on and are in the room. I would not want to embarrass members, no matter what political party they might belong to. I do not think it would be appropriate to use the virtual Parliament as a mechanism to embarrass people.”

Ali addressed the incident on Monday in the House of Commons, asking for MPs to forgive him.

“I want to take this opportunity to apologize sincerely and unreservedly to all members of the parliament for the unfortunate event that transpired last Friday,” Ali said.

“I ask that the House and its members to forgive me for my lapse in judgment. I take this matter extremely seriously and I promise never to repeat this error again.”

On Monday, Conservative MP John Brassard raised a new point of order and asked the Speaker of the House to rule that Ali’s actions were in contempt of Parliament and to refer the incident to a committee for study.

“Those who witnessed the events quite clearly saw the Liberal MP enter what appeared to be a toilet stall in one of the men’s washrooms located on this very floor of this very building. The visible stonework, wooden door, and the stainless-steel door hinges and coat hook on the back of that door, which is part of the long side of the stall, all looked quite familiar,” Brassard said.

“A Member of Parliament was literally using the washroom while participating in a sitting of this House of Commons, the cathedral of Canadian democracy. I cannot believe that I just said those words,” Brassard said.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first – or second – time a Liberal MP has been caught with their pants down.

In 2021, Liberal MP William Amos was caught twice exposing himself while sitting in virtual parliament. 

In April, Amos was seen stark naked in his office on a Zoom call during Question Period. 

“It was an unfortunate mistake. My video was accidentally turned on while changing into work clothes after jogging. I sincerely apologize to my colleagues in the House of Commons for this involuntary distraction,” said Amos in a tweet which has since been translated from French. 

A month later, Amos was caught urinating during a House of Commons Zoom meeting.

Amos posted a statement on his personal Twitter account claiming that he had accidentally “urinated without realizing (he) was on camera” the night before. 

“It is important to have a safe workplace environment for everyone on Parliament Hill and we take these matters extremely seriously,” Liberal government whip Mark Holland told CBC News. 

“Mr. Amos has stepped aside from his role as Parliamentary Secretary and from his committee duties.”

Convoy protesters say seized items missing, police dispute numbers

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-
Darrin Calcutt

Freedom Convoy protesters who are trying to retrieve their seized belongings say Ottawa police are giving them a hard time, and that thousands of materials and other items are now missing and unaccounted for.

Ottawa Police Service (OPS) says it seized only 41 items when it cracked down on convoy demonstrations between Feb. 17 and 20. Among these are generators, heaters and barbecues which were either purchased by the protesters themselves or donated by supporters.

OPS claims that six of the 41 items have been returned but that 35 pieces of equipment remain locked up and in their possession.

“As with any property, the owner can provide proof of ownership to retrieve their item,” OPS told CBC News. “Receipts, serial numbers, and photos of items are acceptable means of identifying the property.”

According to several protesters, the OPS have blocked attempts to retrieve equipment and materials worth thousands of dollars. 

“As best we can tell, everything was kind of thrown in trailers and taken out of there as quick as possible,” said organizer David Paisley, who hosts Live from the Shed. “Time was the overarching priority, so everything was very rushed.”

“If they truly only have 41 items in their possession, then either a significant amount of items were thrown out, or there’s some contractor somewhere sitting on a large number of items.”

Paisley said that when he went to ask for his items back, police asked for the name of his arresting officer and a case number – information which Paisley says he was never given. 

Ben Froese – a crane operator who flew a Canadian flag in front of Parliament Hill – has been trying to retrieve his flag after he said police caused approximately $2,500 worth of damage to his truck.

“I still haven’t heard if it was actually taken somewhere as evidence. My flag is still a big question mark as to what they did with it, if they just threw it out to the garbage, I don’t know,” said Froese. 

Karl Duvall, who helped manage the protests’ Coventry Road distribution hub, said that “tens of thousands of materials” had been removed by someone and that police didn’t allow the protesters to take away the items themselves.

“It’s an incredible amount of stuff. There’s tens of thousands of materials there, if not hundreds of thousands of material there, that was taken off Wellington,” he said. 

“There’s a lot of stuff that shouldn’t have been taken.”  

As first reported by True North, the OPS has dismissed the majority of complaints launched by protesters against officers for their conduct during the February crackdown.

A report filed before the Ottawa Police Services Board found that only 3% of the complaints were forwarded to investigation despite 2022 seeing a 324% spike in the total number of complaints received. 

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