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Friday, July 11, 2025

Heavy police presence as Rolling Thunder convoy wraps up in Ottawa

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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The Rolling Thunder motorcycle convoy in Ottawa has concluded, with Saturday and Sunday going relatively smoothly, despite some dramatic incidents.

Motorcycles were able to make their way to the city’s downtown, despite the rally’s initial plans having been jeopardized after the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said it would create “vehicle exclusion zones” to restrict “vehicle-based or supported protests.” 

Saturday started with the bikers taking part in the motorcycle rally meeting in the parking lot of the St Laurent Shopping Centre, located in Ottawa’s East End. 

At 10:00 AM, a large group of people assembled at the National War Memorial for a memorial service hosted by the volunteer organization Veterans for Freedom. Rolling Thunder organizer and veteran Neil Sheard (also known as “Brother Neil”) addressed the crowd. 

There were also other speeches and testimony from veterans, as well as prayers and bagpipes. 

The memorial service was followed by the scheduled Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally itself, which was facilitated by police. OPS allowed groups of 75 bikes to follow a designated route (which was changed for safety reasons) towards the city’s downtown. There was a total of four rounds of bikes. 

Supporters cheered the bikers from the roadside as they passed by  on Laurier and Elgin Streets, making a loop. OPS say an estimated 350 motorcycles took part.

On Saturday afternoon, demonstrators gathered for the second planned Freedom Fighters Canada rally on Parliament Hill. Some of them were making hot dogs on a grill, a sight familiar to those who attended the Freedom Convoy.

A number of people gave speeches, including Adopt-a-Trucker founder Chris Garrah, who said that his bank account had been frozen for 39 days following the Freedom Convoy. There were also some musicians who performed freedom-themed songs.

A few counter-protesters were present at the Parliament Hill rally, with some showing their opposition to controversial speaker Christopher Saccoccia (commonly known as Chris Sky). Saccoccia previously denied that six million Jews died in the Holocaust, and court documents allege he threatened to kill elected officials.

Other counter-protesters were present in downtown Ottawa throughout Saturday, including some in front of the National Arts Centre and the Prime Minister’s office. There was also an individual holding a sign that referred to the demonstrators as “Vanilla ISIS.” 

After the speeches on Parliament Hill wrapped up, participants marched through the capital, going down Bank Street, Gladstone Avenue and up Elgin Street in Ottawa’s Centretown neighbourhood. At one point during this march, protesters were reportedly egged from above. 

Police entered the apartment from which the eggs were reportedly being thrown. Police also arrested a driver who drove past a checkpoint, breaking his car windows to remove him from the vehicle. 

According to police, the man breached conditions imposed on him during the Freedom Convoy, and now faces several charges.

Police arrested a total of 10 people this weekend during the demonstrations, seven of whom were on Friday and three on Saturday. Bylaw officers also handed out multiple tickets and towed vehicles, including some that took part in the convoy blocking Rideau Street Friday.

Overall, police presence in downtown Ottawa was extremely heavy throughout the weekend, with OPS getting support from the OPP, RCMP and municipal forces including the Toronto Police Service and the York Regional Police.

As the sun set on Sunday, the crowds – as well as police presence – began to dwindle, making the night quieter than the lively ones of the Freedom Convoy.

Rolling Thunder Ottawa programming ended with a special church service at the Ottawa City Bikers Church – which was vandalised prior to the service taking place. Police are investigating the incident as hate-motivated mischief. 

Despite the vandalism, the service saw full capacity attendance with an overflow room downstairs. 

Rolling Thunder is the biggest freedom event to take place in Ottawa since the Freedom Convoy. Unlike the original convoy, which stayed in Ottawa for three weeks, Rolling Thunder Ottawa wrapped up on Sunday.

A message on Rolling Thunder Ottawa’s website reads “(s)ee you next time!”

The original Freedom Convoy was forcibly removed on Feb. 17-20 after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 – it was the first time in Canadian history that the act had been used.

What do Rolling Thunder protesters have to say to the residents of Ottawa?

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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Thousands of people flocked to Ottawa this weekend to participate in the Rolling Thunder convoy to demand their freedoms back, as several federal vaccine mandates continue to be in place.

While the protesters were in a cheerful mood, some residents of Ottawa were not pleased to see the “freedom fighters” return to their city.

True North’s Elie Cantin-Nantel was on the ground and asked demonstrators what they had to say to the residents of Ottawa.

Hamilton to fire unvaccinated employees at end of May

By
Harrison Faulkner
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The City of Hamilton is moving forward with its plans to terminate unvaccinated city staff. 

On Wednesday, the city council voted to keep the policy in place despite a staff report that recommended scrapping the policy. Hamilton employees will have until May 31 to show proof of vaccination.

A staff report released in April recommended the city drop its vaccine mandate for staff. The report argued that the city’s policy should be in line with the province. 

In February, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore said vaccine mandates have “served their purpose.” Ontario dropped its vaccine mandate in most settings in March. 

According to CP24, a union representing public transit staff in the city is vowing to fight the mandate. According to Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 107, the city’s decision could cost taxpayers “$500,00 for unnecessary litigation.” 

“It is irresponsible for this city council to cast a vote to terminate hard working employees, who have served on the front lines for the last two years during COVID-19, especially during times without any protection,” ATU Local 107 said in a statement.

“Those financial resources could have been better spent on upgrading air treatment equipment on our buses to better protect both workers and transit riders.” 

According to the City of Hamilton, 94% of employees have been deemed fully vaccinated. Approximately 500 people could face termination because of the city’s vaccine mandate. 

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger defended the city’s decision following the council’s vote. 

“Throughout the pandemic, the City of Hamilton has been steadfastly committed to supporting the health and safety of the broader community and providing a safe working environment for our employees, volunteers and students,” Eisenberger said.

“Ensuring high rates of vaccination remains one of the most important ways we can protect our community.”

Councilor John-Paul Danko, who also voted in favour of termination, said that those who had not yet been vaccinated had made a selfish decision.

“I think we do have to acknowledge that the people that are choosing not to be vaccinated, not because of the health reason, simply because they don’t want a vaccine,” said Danko, “I think we have to acknowledge the selfish entitlement that is involved there.”

“I am perfectly okay with putting the staff that are choosing not to be vaccinated on permanent unpaid leave indefinitely.”

Several cities in Canada continue to mandate vaccines for its employees, including Toronto. 

Majority of Canadians have “given up” on owning a home: poll

By
Harrison Faulkner
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A new poll is showing that 63% of Canadians who don’t yet own a home are no longer pursuing the dream of buying one.

According to the survey by Ipsos, six in 10 (63%) non-homeowners have “given up” on owning a home. The sentiment was highest in British Columbia (74%), Quebec (72%) and Ontario (62%). 

The poll also found that more than two-thirds of Canadians (67%) said they believed owning a home is “only for the rich,” while 77% of respondents agreed that buying a home is “the best investment a person can make.”

Some Canadians appear to be open to co-owning a home. Ipsos found that 74% of Gen Z respondents would consider co-owning a home with a family member or friends, whereas 58% of Millennials and 43% Gen X Canadians responded the same way. 

The Ipsos poll surveyed more than 1,000 Canadians between Apr. 14 and 19. 

The issue of homeownership has been discussed thoroughly during the Conservative Leadership race. Many candidates have released their plans to address the increasing cost of buying a home in Canada. 

Carleton MP and leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre announced that if elected Prime Minister, he would make federal infrastructure funding for municipalities contingent on building homes for Canadians.

Poilievre said he would target “severely unaffordable” big cities with a population of over 500,000 – including Toronto and Vancouver – by requiring them to increase their homebuilding by 15% annually.

Ontario MP and leadership candidate Scott Aitchison also released a plan to alleviate Canada’s housing crisis. The plan is called YIMBY: A Plan to Build More Homes for Canadians, which lays out the path to “(s)olve Canada’s housing crisis that will increase housing supply across the country.”

YIMBY – an acronym for “yes, in my backyard” – is an established term for a pro-housing movement contrary to NIMBYism (“not in my backyard”).

Aitchison’s plan sets out four objectives: ending exclusionary zoning in Canada’s big cities, expanding skilled trades, investing in public housing programs and cracking down on money laundering.

Arrests made and vehicles towed as Rolling Thunder convoy reaches Ottawa

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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Friday marked the first day of the Rolling Thunder motorcycle convoy demonstrations in Ottawa amidst federal vaccine mandates that still have no end in sight.

The “Rolling Thunder Ottawa” bike rally’s initial plans were disrupted after the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) announced it would be barring “vehicle-based or supported protests” from the city’s downtown core.

The news did not please organizer Neil Sheard (commonly known as “brother Neil”), who had asked Ottawa mayor Jim Watson to reconsider, warning that banning the protest would lead to a “free-for-all”.

A “free-for-all” could be one way of describing Friday’s events, which included thousands attending by foot and a takeover of Ottawa’s Rideau Street that was shut down by police in a matter of hours.

Throughout Friday morning and afternoon, videos posted to social media showed Rolling Thunder participants making their way towards the capital. 

A counter protest against Rolling Thunder – dubbed the “Unwelcoming Party” – took place in the afternoon at Ottawa’s Strathcona Park, where Communist Party flags were flown.

Downtown Ottawa remained quiet until late Friday afternoon, when a large group of demonstrators began gathering in front of Parliament. True North was on the scene to report.

Shortly after 7pm, the demonstrators began marching down Wellington Street towards Ottawa’s Rideau Centre – which had been shut down during the Freedom Convoy earlier this year.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered on Rideau Street in front of the Rideau Centre , where some rode motorcycles and a convoy made up of honking vehicles sat parked. The scenes were reminiscent of January and February, when the trucks from the original Freedom Convoy let their air horns blare.

OPS deployed numerous officers to clear the area – including some with helmets and shields – after they claimed the protesters were being “aggressive”.

Police officers cleared the street using some of the same tactics used to clear out the Freedom Convoy on Feb. 18-19. Vehicles were towed, including an RV, and multiple arrests were made. Police were also seen holding riot guns.

In an update, police said they arrested a total of seven people and towed 24 vehicles on Friday.

OPS also announced Friday evening that it would close the “vehicle exclusion zones” it had designated for all traffic except emergency vehicles.  

While the action was taking place on Rideau Street, another group of demonstrators with multiple large Canadian flags was seen marching down Elgin Street, chanting “Freedom.”

After being pushed off of Rideau Street, many demonstrators began making their way back towards Parliament Hill. Fireworks (which were common during the original Freedom Convoy protests) were also set off.

The Rolling Thunder Ottawa events mark the biggest freedom demonstrations to take place in Canada’s capital since the Freedom Convoy, which had been forcibly removed after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14.

LEVY: Waterloo school board offering woke workshop for teachers

By
Sue-Ann Levy
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An upcoming Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) virtual learning symposium will teach teachers how to create “meaningful and reflective” territorial acknowledgements for their schools, as well as inform them what “intersectionality” is all about.

The two-and–a-half-hour “Roots and Wings” symposium is scheduled for May 5 and will be introduced by superintendent of student achievement, Pam Kaur, who is in her first year at the WRDSB.

In her introduction from a year ago, Kaur indicated she is “passionate” about human rights, equity and inclusion and “recognizes her own intersectionality and privilege” as an English-speaking, educated middle-class woman.

The symposium offers 19 “amazing workshops,” including sessions on “intersectionality” and how white supremacy is embedded in social-emotional learning (SEL) ideologies.

SEL proponents advocate including social and emotional strategies in the classroom that ensure – among other things – students have a voice, that their identity is recognized and their qualities are affirmed. The WRDSB workshop suggests that racialized and marginalized learners are not treated equitably, even when this trendy concept is used.

Another session will offer advice on how to “decolonize” interacting with newcomers in the classroom. The session synopsis says it will offer a “dialogic expression that highlights newcomer and racialized experiences” in schools

Persons of African and Caribbean black ancestry will reportedly lead the session, where they will offer their “collective learning” of equity, inclusion and anti-racism work. This, according to the session write-up, will “advance a culture of care” by contributing “decolonizing possibilities for newcomer identities” in the WRDSB.

For heaven’s sake, all of this wokespeak makes one’s head hurt. 

In plain language, I suspect the session is about making new visible minority students feel more comfortable (with privileged white students) in the classroom.

There is also a session about how to rethink instructional and evaluative practices that “hold bias” toward English speakers. 

The session invites those interested to incorporate innovative thinking into their “scaffolding practices to create more equitable anti-oppressive conditions for learning for multilingual students at all levels of English proficiency.”

Scaffolding? 

I had to look that one up because it clearly doesn’t refer to a temporary structure in front of a building under construction. In education, it apparently refers to the methods used to ensure a student understands a certain concept. 

Could this program be more obtuse?

Another session is completely baffling. It involves sharing the “journey” of changing the board’s student dress policy using an “equity literacy case analysis framework.” 

It strikes me that this comes straight from Gender Studies 101 and Equity and Diversity 101 courses. Translated, it likely means allowing transgender or gender non-conforming students to wear the dress of their choosing. 

Now that we got that off our chest, the Roots and Wings symposium was originally promoted on Twitter a week ago with a link to the sessions and the names of those involved.

Presenters include this anti-Freedom Convoy mom, which is not surprising.

When journalist Jonathan Kay tweeted about it, however, the board did an about-face and declared the information private.

Some presenters also blocked conservative journalists like me. Perhaps they were taking their lead from WRDSB chairman Scott Piatkowski, who declared his twitter feed private in February after canceling 20-year teacher Carolyn Burjoski at a board meeting.

Burjoski got the woke trustees all upset for expressing her concerns about the highly sexualized content of two books offered in elementary school libraries. She was declared transphobic, forced on leave and subjected to an investigation.

She has since retired.

It seems Piatkowski and the teachers offering the Roots and Wings training on May 5 don’t feel they are accountable to taxpayers footing the bill or to concerned parents of students in the board.

Even upon the woke landscape of Ontario school boards, the WRDSB stands out as a laughingstock.

Woman who stood on Tomb of Unknown Soldier not affiliated with convoy

By
Harley Sims
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Yet another allegation against the Freedom Convoy was debunked this week as Ottawa police announced they had identified the woman who stood atop the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in January, saying she was not associated with the convoy truckers.

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said on Thursday that it had dismissed a case against a Quebec woman who was filmed at the National War Memorial on Jan. 29, the first Saturday of the convoy protests. The woman, whose name has not been released, was standing atop the Tomb of the Unknown soldier, yelling “freedom.”

As reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the OPS said in a statement that the woman was “spoken to, showed remorse for her actions and police are confident she will not re-offend.”

“There was no admitted association to the Freedom Convoy truckers,” said OPS spokesperson Carole Macpherson.

The incident was one of many during the Freedom Convoy that legacy media outlets and politicians blamed on the truckers and freedom protesters before any investigation had been conducted.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alluded to the incident in his first public statement about the convoy on Jan. 31, referring to it as a “desecration.”

“I know you’re wondering about what you saw in our capital this weekend,” Trudeau read from a prepared statement. “Freedom of expression, assembly and association are cornerstones of democracy, but Nazi symbolism, racist imagery, and desecration of war memorials are not.”

Many media outlets and commentators also used language involving “desecration,” “defacement” and “vandalism” to describe protesters decorating the Terry Fox statue with flags and signs.

Another MP who spoke out about the incident at the war memorial was Liberal veterans affairs minister Lawrence MacAuley at a committee meeting on Feb. 1.

“Everyone has a right to protest in this country, but this disrespect shown to the National War Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument was completely disgusting,” MacAulay told a veterans affairs committee.

“To see that from the protesters was shocking, disgusting and a slap in the face to every Canadian veteran. I hope we never, ever see anything like that again in this country.”

An investigation into the incident was sponsored by Liberal MPs on the committee, although the investigation was handed over to police on Mar. 9.

The announcement by the OPS is the latest of many to disprove accusations made towards the Freedom Convoy truckers and the freedom movement. Earlier this month, Ottawa police arrested a second suspect in a highly publicized arson attempt at a downtown apartment building, revealing that neither man had been attached to the convoy – as Liberal public safety minister Marco Mendicino has continued to allege.

Despite the OPS statement exonerating truckers from the incident at the war memorial, some legacy media outlets continued to refer to the Freedom Convoy when reporting it on Friday.

For example, CTV’s original headline – “Freedom Convoy: Woman who stood at War Memorial not charged” – appeared to have been changed to remove “Freedom Convoy.” The story does not, however, make any mention of police statements excusing the truckers. Meanwhile, the Ottawa Citizen reported the story as “No charges for convoy Tomb dancer, police say.”

In the days after the incident, freedom protesters – some of whom were veterans – took care to watch over the National War Memorial, placing flowers and sweeping away snow. Fences were soon installed around the site, but veterans and other protesters removed them on Feb. 12 – two days before Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to end the convoy demonstrations.

The Trudeau government relied on CBC’s fake news to freeze Canadians’ bank accounts

By
Candice Malcolm
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Despite the fact that the CBC publicly retracted a news story about the Freedom Convoy that erroneously claimed that support for the protest had largely come from foreigners, the Trudeau government relied on the state broadcaster to justify its use of the Emergencies Act. This week, Attorney General David Lametti confirmed that the government relied on false CBC reports when freezing the bank accounts of Canadians who supported the protest.

Plus, weeks after the legacy media freaked out about a Conservative MP calling Justin Trudeau a dictator, so-called journalists go silent after a Liberal MP accuses Premier Doug Ford of “crimes against humanity.”

Lastly, thanks to the CBC – if you didn’t have a favourite non-binary, pansexual, South Asian, Muslim comedian yet – now you do!

True North’s Candice Malcolm and Harrison Faulkner discuss these stories and more on the week’s edition of Fake News Friday on The Candice Malcolm Show!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CANDICE MALCOLM SHOW

Is Canada a conservative country?

By
Andrew Lawton
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As the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race goes on, candidates are putting forth visions not only for what they hope to bring to the party, but also how they want to present the party to Canadians. Macdonald-Laurier Institute managing director Brian Lee Crowley has published a collection of columns and essays articulating a vision for a modern, but solidly conservative, Conservative Party of Canada, arguing Canada is a fundamentally conservative country. Do you agree? Crowley joined True North’s The Andrew Lawton Show to discuss.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

Ford government pre-election budget higher than first year of pandemic

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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A pre-election budget put forward by the Doug Ford government in Ontario shows a $19.9 billion deficit, with plans to balance the books in 2027-2028. 

As reported by The Canadian Press, this year’s deficit is larger than the one the Ford government ran in the first year of the pandemic.  It comes even as the province’s Financial Accountability Officer had claimed Ontario was on track to have a balanced budget by next year.

The Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) government’s $198.6 billion 2022 Budget titled “Ontario’s Plan to Build Forward” is larger than budgets proposed by previous Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne, and plans for large investments in infrastructure including hospitals and highways and transit projects.

The budget does include a 5.7 cents-a-litre cut to Ontario’s gas tax for six months, and  mentions the child care deal with the Trudeau government announced last month. It also offers an elimination and reimbursement of licence plate renewal fees.

A new Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit is included, in addition to an enhanced Ontario’s Low-income Individuals and Families Tax Credit. Meanwhile, the low-income tax credit’s maximum amount is being raised from $850 to $875, and the government is giving more individuals the opportunity to qualify for the program.

Tax credits offered to film and television productions would also be extended to include online productions.

The budget would provide lower-income workers with additional tax relief averaged at $300 for the year 2022.

The PC budget – which is bound to be used as a platform for Premier Doug Ford’s re-election bid in June – has earned criticism from both right-wing and left-wing opposition parties. 

New Blue Party of Ontario leader Jim Karahalios has stated the budget “will continue the reckless spending legacy of the McGuinty-Wynne government that preceded this Ford PC government.”

Karahalios claimed that “(t)he Ford PCs will also try to hide the fact that for four years they have offered no tax relief for Ontarians” and that they “will try to hide the fact that they broke every single fiscal promise they made in the 2018 campaign.”

Meanwhile, NDP leader Andrea Horwath was skeptical toward the idea that Ford would follow through with his big spending promises, claiming he “is going to go right back to cutting the minute this election is over if we give him the chance.”

Liberal leader Steven Del Duca said the PC’s budget lacks ambition, while Green Party leader Mike Shriner described it as “pro-sprawl” and “anti-climate.”

Ontario’ finance minister Peter Bethlenfalvy defended the big-spending budget and its large deficit, saying that “sparing no expense during the pandemic was the right thing to do.”

“Rebuilding Ontario’s economy today is the right thing to do in a fiscally responsible way, which we demonstrated in this budget.”

During the 2018 Ontario election, Ford promised to find efficiencies and balance the budget by the end of his term – he  is now being accused of breaking that promise. 

While the COVID-19 pandemic did have a considerable impact on the provincial finances, it should be noted that Alberta’s Jason Kenney government recently presented its first balanced budget in 14 years.

The Ontario general election is set for Jun. 2. Currently, polls from 338Canada show Doug Ford’s PCs are on track to win another majority government.

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