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Monday, July 14, 2025

Liberals to force Google and Facebook to pay CBC, legacy media

By
Noah Jarvis
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In another effort to save unprofitable legacy media from going under, the Trudeau government has tabled Bill C-18, a bill that would force “online communications platforms” to fork over ad revenue for news appearing on their feeds. 

The legislation would exempt news corporations from the Competition Act and anti-trust laws, requiring social media platforms and search engines like Facebook and Google to pay news media from ad revenues generated by news content. 

As reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the CBC would be the largest beneficiary of the bill, with ad revenue sharing based on existing market shares, and the state broadcaster having the largest share of digital news traffic of any Canadian news corporation. The CBC estimates in-house digital advertising revenues to be worth $54.8 million a year.

If Bill C-18 is passed, the government-run Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) would be granted the power to decide which media organizations qualify. These organizations will then be able to force ‘online communication platforms’ to negotiate a deal with them through a CRTC oversight board. 

The legacy media lobby group News Media Canada – which represents the Globe and Mail, Postmedia, the Toronto Star, Le Devoir and more – have pressured the Trudeau government to introduce the legislation in an effort to save many of the dying newspaper publications across Canada. 

“We thank Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage, and his officials for working diligently and quickly to bring forward legislation that will ensure we have a fiercely independent and commercially viable news publishing sector, where local community news thrives alongside a vibrant open web,” said Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada.

The bill has been modelled after similar legislation made law in Australia, which has resulted in payouts of over $190 million, most of which benefitting that country’s legacy outlets. 

Despite Google’s strong opposition to the Australian version of the legislation, the law passed in 2021. 

One of the biggest winners from the passage of this legislation is sure to be the CBC and other legacy media organizations. “This legislation is an important step in ensuring fair compensation for news content produced by CBC/Radio-Canada and supported by Canadians,” said Leon Mar,  corporate spokesperson for CBC.

The bill’s critics have been vocal about the legislation’s threats to competition and freedom of the press, as well as its reliance on big tech to keep Canadian media afloat.

University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist weighed problems with creating a ‘shakedown subsidy’ system in an Apr. 5 blog post, warning the bill minimizes press freedom. 

“Establishing a cross-industry subsidy model premised on little more than one sector being more profitable than the other further embeds the reliance on big tech,” said Geist.

Geist noted how the legislation compromises press freedoms and even how the lobbying process compels media organizations to give the government favourable coverage.

“I know of cases where opinion pieces have been spiked by mainstream media outlets because they criticized the previous Heritage Minister at a time when he was being actively lobbied on a potential media bill.” 

Rodriguez claimed that since 2008, more than 450 media outlets have closed down, and one in three journalism jobs has disappeared. These losses, he said, come as a result of Canadians abandoning cable and subscription newspaper services and opting instead for getting their news from the internet.

Former chair of News Media Canada and New Brunswick billionaire Jamie Irving complained that Facebook and Google were not sharing enough of their ad revenue.

“Canada’s news publishers are facing an existential threat with Google and Facebook now taking about 90 percent of online ad revenue,” said Irving.

“Ad revenue was down 35 percent in 2020. More than forty newspapers have closed permanently since the start of the pandemic.”

However, critics have pointed out that dozens of Canadian news organizations have been able to thrive online, and that the legislation is intended to insulate legacy media from competition. 

“A policy that favours the legacy companies that have struggled to adapt to the online environment is an approach that will harm competition and make the transition to digital, independent media even more difficult,” said Geist. 

As of this article’s publication, Bill C-18 is currently in second reading. 

43% of Canadians putting off plans to buy a house due to costs

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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A new poll shows that nearly half the country is delaying purchasing a home due to the out-of-control housing market. 

The survey conducted by Scotiabank found that in 2022, 43% were putting off a home purchase. Last year that figure was 33%, while in 2020 it was only 20%. 

Housing affordability hasn’t reached this level since 1990, according to the RCB housing affordability measure. 

“Rapid price escalation in the early months of 2022 has already raised the bar to impossible levels for many homebuyers,” said RBC senior economist Robert Hogue. “Worst-ever affordability levels could well ensue, putting buyers in a precarious spot.” 

With younger Canadians, the number of people delaying plans to purchase a house grows to 62% for the 18-34 age group. 

In Vancouver it would cost a household 73.9% of its income to buy a home, while in Toronto that figure is 68.6%.

“While income gains will provide a partial offset, it’s entirely possible RBC’s measure could spike to all-time highs in the year ahead. A shock of this magnitude would severely stress homebuyers and exert significant downward pressure on demand,” said Hogue. 

Canadians are also looking to move elsewhere for cheaper housing costs with 35% saying they are considering relocating. 

The survey comes in the wake of reports in January showing average price gains in 2021 at or near $100,000 or more in Victoria, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. 

Housing prices went up the most in the Greater Toronto Area, where they increased by $286,000 (31%) to about $1.2 million. Homes in Victoria saw their prices increase by $172,400 (24%) to $902,700. 

Housing prices in Halifax went up $89,162 (22%) to $490,127. Prices for the Greater Vancouver Area increased by $181,600 (17%) to about $1.2 million. 

As revealed in March, the federal Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) also awarded employees $48 million in bonuses while the rest of the country dealt with a housing affordability crisis. 

“Why is the CMHC patting itself on the back and handing out millions in bonuses while Canadians are facing a housing affordability crisis?” said Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano in a press release on the matter. 

“If its number one goal is housing affordability, then it doesn’t make sense for the CMHC to give its employees bonuses while Canadians are struggling to find homes.”

When broken down, that would be over $12,000 for each employee per year. According to ATIP documents, over 93% of CMHC employees earned a bonus last year. 

Constitutional lawyer fighting vax mandates: “We just need one good decision”

By
Harley Sims
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A constitutional lawyer on the front lines against ongoing COVID-19 vaccination requirements in British Columbia says that despite the province’s hard line, she has faith in the justice system and believes that one solid case will see the mandates start to fall.

Charlene Le Beau with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is representing B.C. healthcare workers who were fired for not complying with a vaccination mandate put forward by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry last fall.

The suit is one of several the JCCF has launched against B.C. over constitutional rights violations during COVID but is separate from another involving B.C. public servants who lost an injunction last week.

Le Beau told True North on Monday that although the province definitely seems out-of-step with jurisdictions that are dropping mandates and inviting unvaccinated workers back – including not only other provinces but also several B.C. municipalities including Victoria – she believes it is only a matter of time and one well-prepared case before things start to reverse.

“I feel that this has been an attack on our democracy, and I hope that we can provide compelling and persuasive evidence that will convince the judge that the government is overreaching their powers and that these measures are overbroad, and that they are hurting – just destroying – lives, really,” she said. “I do have faith in the justice system. And I do believe that justice will prevail. I do believe that wholeheartedly.”

“We just need one good decision. We need to convince one judge, and I think from there, then that will spread, and I think that other judges and other jurisdictions will follow suit.”

The B.C. health ministry revealed last month that it had fired thousands of healthcare workers who had failed to comply with the health order – one of many affecting B.C.’s government workers, contractors and public servants.

The province followed through with the terminations despite crippling shortages in healthcare personnel. The lack of staff was so acute that one week in January alone saw 27,937 shifts unfilled, according to Health Minister Adrian Dix.

Despite provinces including Alberta having already welcomed unvaccinated healthcare workers back to their jobs, Henry reiterated on Tuesday that B.C. requires them to be vaccinated.

Henry also explained that an earlier plan to force a vaccine mandate onto the province’s private-sector healthcare professionals would now lead to databases listing the vaccine status of every dentist, chiropractor and other regulated practitioner, allowing potential customers to choose where to go.

Le Beau has filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court on behalf of her clients, asking it to strike down the vaccination requirement because it violates their Charter rights and because Henry “has failed to provide a meaningful process for exemptions.”

Speaking to True North, Le Beau agreed that B.C. has earned its reputation as an outlier when it comes to the lifting of COVID restrictions and that many of the province’s decisions now seem arbitrary.

“We didn’t lock down as hard, but now everything’s in reverse,” she said.  “Contrary to what everybody else is doing in Canada, and the rest of the world, and the B.C. healthcare workers that were fired because they didn’t take the vaccine – Ontario didn’t go ahead with that. Neither did Quebec. And so, why B.C.? What’s different? What’s different in B.C. that Dr. Henry felt justified in doing this?”

As an example of what she called the “mystifying” way that the mandates have been applied, Le Beau added that some contracted healthcare workers do not have to be vaccinated in certain conditions. This has meant two things – that these contractors have kept their jobs while her clients were fired, and that some of the fired workers she represents have been contacted to apply for those contracting jobs.

Le Beau said she filed her clients’ petition on March 16 and that she hopes to have it heard in the summer. Moving forward, however, she said she would prefer the government just reverse course.

“I really hope that Dr. Henry changes her mind and says, ‘Okay, you know, we’re not going to go ahead,’ or ‘I’m going to rescind these orders against the healthcare workers.’ But a lot of the damage is done. I sure hope that they will be rehired, but they were actually terminated. It’s just so severe.”

“I just do hope that in the end, there will be a good decision, and that that will just be like a domino effect for the other cases everywhere in the world.”

B.C. is slated to lift its vaccine passports this Friday – the last province in Canada to do so.

Guilbealt says “climate change is killing people,” opposes cuts to fuel prices

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Claiming that “climate change is killing people in Canada,” Liberal environment minister Steven Guilbeault has said that he opposes provincial governments reducing the cost of fuel by cutting gas taxes. 

Guilbeault made the comments on Tuesday during an interview on CPAC’s Prime Time Politics, saying the recent move by Alberta and Ontario was counterproductive to the government’s climate goals. 

“It goes against our efforts to fight climate change,” said Guilbeault. We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we’ve gone through a pandemic, there’s a terrible crisis happening in Ukraine, we’re seeing inflation.” 

“But all of these crises will go, and climate change will still be there, and climate change is killing people in Canada. They’re just going for the easy solution, and probably one that is short-term in terms of political popularity.” 

As of 2019, provinces that had not implemented their own carbon scheme were forced to adopt the federal carbon tax. At the beginning of April, the tax rose to $50 per tonne, which directly led to a two-cent spike in gasoline prices in affected provinces – on top of the record-breaking costs worsened by the Ukraine-Russia war. 

As of April, Albertans have had a pause on their provincial fuel tax until June 30. The tax cut has temporarily reduced the price of fuel in the province by 13 cents per litre.

In the footsteps of Alberta premier Jason Kenney, Ontario premier Doug Ford introduced a plan to temporarily reduce taxes on gasoline and diesel in the province. 

If passed, the legislation would cut the gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre and the fuel tax by 5.3 cents per litre for six months, beginning in June. 

“The people of Ontario and across the country have just been getting gouged, day in and day out,” said Ford. “You see the gas prices, just skyrocketing, unprecedented prices. And it’s about time that the government starts putting money back into the people’s pocket instead of the government’s pocket.” 

Both Kenney and Ford have been vocal critics of the federal government’s climate plan. Most recently, Kenney called the Liberals’ recently revealed greenhouse gas targets unachievable. 

Earlier this week, Kenney referred to Guilbeault as a “former Greenpeace radical” who is part of“a full-frontal attack on the 800,000 people who work in the energy sector.” 

Contrary to Liberal government’s claims that carbon tax rebates would actually make taxpayers more money than they were paying, a recent report by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has revealed that “most households will see a net loss” from the carbon tax. 

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation emphasized the PBO’s findings that Canadian households are losing as much as $845 dollars annually to the carbon tax, even after rebates.

Is Justin Trudeau a dictator?

By
Candice Malcolm
-

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is overseeing a series of significant crises in our country. Whether it’s Trudeau’s handling of the freedom convoy or his disregard for Parliament, Trudeau’s handling of these crises is dividing the country and making us weaker. But is it fair to compare Trudeau to a dictator? The legacy media and Liberal MPs don’t think so.

Last week, journalists in legacy media lost their minds when a Conservative MP echoed the sentiments of many Canadians and compared Trudeau to a dictator.

On this episode of the Candice Malcolm Show, we will do a comprehensive fact-check on this claim to determine whether or not Justin Trudeau is in fact a dictator.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CANDICE MALCOLM SHOW

Feds silent on employee who took part in anti-convoy protest

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

The Trudeau government is refusing to comment after a project manager in Ottawa penned an op-ed bragging about his involvement in counter protests against the Freedom Convoy and describing convoy demonstrators as “white male roughnecks.” 

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Canadian Food Inspection Agency biologist Nicolay Hristozov published his positions in the Ottawa periodical Glebe Report. 

“I soon found myself in the front ranks of every counter protest. I should emphasize these are my personal impressions as a sturdily built white male. I could blend in with the protesters,” said Hristozov. “The backbone of this group was the archetypal roughneck: white, male, relatively young and likely engaged in some type of physical labour.”

Hristozov’s article, titled Anatomy Of An Occupation: The ‘Freedom Convoy’ In Downtown Ottawa, also went on to complain of “hundreds of honking pick-up trucks adorned with Canadian flags.”

“The core identity of the protest came through and was rather uglier than my first impression,” wrote Hristozov. “Accounts of harassment and assault started trickling in. At the same time we learned more about the convoy organizers and their far-right reliefs. A climate of fear settled on downtown.”

Under the Public Service Employment Act, federal employees are prohibited from engaging in partisan activity without the permission of supervisors. Partisan activities include “any activity in support of, within or in opposition to a political party.”

Additionally, the Treasury Board’s Values And Ethics Code For The Public Service, government workers are required to “act at all times in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny” while exercising “fairness and civility” in upholding public trust. 

“Maintain the tradition of political neutrality,” the code outlines. 

When confronted with Hristozov’s political activity by Blacklock’s Reporter, the Food Inspection Agency declined to comment. 

Opposition to convoy demonstrations has ranged from counter protests – including those in Ottawa – to calls for violence, and even a hit-and-run. While protests were ongoing in February, a man drove his vehicle into a group of four Freedom Convoy demonstrators in Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

Alexander Zegarac, 42, faces 11 charges for the hit-and-run incident. While Zegerac was promptly released on bail, convoy organizer Tamara Lich was initially detained for her involvement in organizing convoy demonstrations.

In February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to quash truckers demonstrating against pandemic measures. Currently, the justification for the use of emergency powers is being put under scrutiny.

Several key testimonies in the House of Commons have dismissed earlier claims by the Liberal government about the convoy including that foreign extremists were involved in organizing the protest. 

Quebec government to keep mask mandate in place

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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The Quebec government has announced that it will continue to require people to wear masks indoors, making it and Prince Edward Island the only provinces in Canada to do so. 

The news comes amid what health experts describe as a sixth COVID wave, fuelled by the BA.2 Omicron subvariant. 

Quebec’s public health director Dr. Luc Boileau had recommended that the government maintain the mask mandate.

“The pandemic is not over, it’s still here,” said Boileau on Tuesday. He did, however, reassure Quebecers that the government’s intention “is not to keep [masks] forever.” 

The province reported 1479 hospitalizations and 2615 new cases Tuesday, which is up from last week’s 1153 hospitalizations and 2171 cases confirmed via PCR testing.

The Quebec government’s mask mandate, which is the longest lasting in Canada, has been in place since Jul. 18 2020. 

Quebec had previously opted to join other Canadian provinces by lifting most indoor masking requirements on Apr. 15. The measure will now remain in place until at least Apr. 30.

The decision to continue forced masking, including for children 10 and older, has been applauded by some health experts in the province who had called for the measure to remain in place.

Dr. Cecile Tremblay, an infectious diseases specialist at Montreal’s CHUM hospital, had told CBC last week she supported keeping the mandate in place. 

“Ten to 12 people a day die from COVID. You know, that’s a lot of people dying,” said Tremblay. “Is this what it means to be living with the virus? Not for me. I don’t accept that.”

Tremblay is also calling for the reimposition of capacity limits in some high-risk businesses including restaurants.

However, others have shared their disapproval of today’s announcement, including Quebec Conservative leader Eric Duhaime, who accused Quebec premier Francois Legault of hiding behind public health. 

“François Legault does not have the courage to announce his bad decision,” said Duhaime. “He is still hiding behind public health. Mr. Legault is only announcing the news that brings votes to the CAQ.”

Quebecers are currently some of the only people in Canada who are still required by their government to wear masks indoors. The only other Canadian province that still has a mask mandate in place is Prince Edward Island, which had previously implemented a “COVID Zero” approach. 

Saskatchewan was the first province to lift its mask mandate on Feb. 28, following the peak of the Omicron wave and historic anti-mandate trucker convoy protests in Ottawa and across Canada. 

Other provinces including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Ontario followed suit.

All 50 U.S. states have also lifted their mask mandates, as well as many European nations including England, Ireland, France, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Poland.

While Quebec’s health minister Christian Dubé said that “people need to learn to live with the virus”, Boileau didn’t rule out new government restrictions to deal with the sixth wave. 

He told Radio Canada last week that “​​(a)ll options are on the table [but] this is not our current focus.”

In prior waves, the Quebec government imposed some of the strictest restrictions in the Western world, which included lockdowns, curfews, bans on gatherings, interprovincial travel restrictions and the closure of places of worship. 

The province also introduced a vaccine passport regime that went as far as limiting access to groceries for those who chose not to take the COVID-19 vaccine. 

While the mask mandate is the only remaining government pandemic restriction in Quebec, the province currently has higher infection rates than many provinces that do not have a mandate.

Infection rates over the last seven days were 229 per 100,000 people in Quebec, 132 per 100,000 in Ontario and 26 per 100,000 in British Columbia.

Quebec also recently began offering fourth doses to vulnerable populations including the immunocompromised, those living in long-term care and retirement homes and people over the age of 80. 

However, despite being quadruple-vaccinated, those people will still be required to wear masks.

Applications to join RCMP down by nearly 50% and projected to worsen

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Canadians’ interest in joining their country’s storied national police force has tanked, with applications down by almost half since last year, and a third of recruits backing out of training before they finish.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, National Police Federation President Brian Sauve told parliamentarians at the Commons human resources committee that a decline in applications is projected to continue. 

“Policing is no longer considered as attractive a career as it used to be. Police services across North America are seeing a decline in applicants,” said Sauve. “For perspective between April and December 2021 the RCMP had received 6300 applications. When looking at the previous fiscal year the RCMP had received close to 11,800 applications. This shows a decline of almost 47 percent. In addition the RCMP is projecting an even further decline in applicants.”

Not only are applications to join the RCMP down, but a third of those who are accepted for training back out from the process completely before they become uniformed officers. 

“We are losing one in three before graduation. I feel policing is being unfairly spotlighted. We support and protect every Canadians’ right to be treated fairly and equally. In return we ask for respect and fairness for our members who put their lives on the line every day,” Sauve told MPs in 2020. 

“We are hearing more cases of members being yelled at, confronted, spat on and assaulted while on duty. This is unacceptable. All Canadians should be free from harassment and assault including those on the front line.”

The decline comes after policing across North America has been painted in an increasingly negative light by Black Lives Matter and other anti-policing movements. 

In 2020, there were calls throughout Canada to defund police forces citing incidents of police brutality and racially charged violence. 

In Toronto, Mayor John Tory proposed 80 different reforms to defund the Toronto Police Service in the wake of ongoing George Floyd protests.  

Although fewer people are deciding to become police officers, cities including Toronto are plagued with violent and gang related crimes.

Toronto has already seen 18 homicides this year – matching the homicide rate of 2021. 30% of those incidents were shootings. 

News of a declining interest in law enforcement also comes in the wake of the Freedom Convoy protests, which saw a joint force of municipal, provincial and federal police crack down on peaceful protesters in Ottawa after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act.

The never-before-used legislation also allowed the RCMP to investigate donations to the convoy as potential terrorist funding.

Jean Charest pledges to beef up Canadian military

By
Noah Jarvis
-

Former Quebec Liberal premier and Conservative Party leadership candidate Jean Charest has promised to restore strength to the Canadian Armed Forces, pledging investments in personnel and equipment, support for veterans and safeguards for women and LGTBQ+ members. 

In a Nova Scotia campaign stop on Monday, Charest pledged to increase the military’s funding to meet the G7’s target of at least 2% of the nation’s GDP on defence. The announcement comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered concerns by NATO that made spending on defence a renewed priority. 

“We were left unprepared to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion,” Charest said in a press release. “We also share an Arctic border with Russia. We must protect our sovereignty in the north.”

In light of the European conflict, countries including Germany – which have historically undershot NATO’s recommendation of spending 2% of GDP on defence – are quickly reversing course. In contrast, the Trudeau government has not made similar commitments.

Charest criticized the Trudeau government for not taking Canada’s military seriously, accusing them of underspending on their defence obligations and delaying their purchase of F-35 fighter jets. 

“The irresponsible delay on beginning procurement of the F-35 is just one of many examples of critical purchases of essential military equipment and materiel left in the hands of the Liberal Party putting politics ahead of properly equipping our troops,” Charest said.  “A Jean Charest government will ensure that our national defence comes first.”

Charest also reprimanded Trudeau for not taking the Russian threat seriously enough, especially with Canada’s shared Arctic border with the eastern European country.

Such weakness, Charest argues, is why Canada has “(b)een left out of important strategic defence agreements involving Australia, the UK, and the US to counter the disruption and increasing aggression from China.”

Charest also mentioned how the Trudeau government has done little to combat “systemic and unfair obstacles” for women, minorities, and members of the LGTBQ+ community, saying that Canada needs safe and merit-based environments. 

The Trudeau government has instead focused more on social initiatives within the Canadian Armed Forces, like creating the Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination in 2020, which greenlit the creation of ‘gender-neutral’ military uniforms. 

Other commitments Charest made were to introduce a Canadian Armed Forces Service Benefits Act, invest in cybersecurity, fix Canada’s model for procurement of military servicemen and women and make sure that “(t)he right equipment gets to the right people.”

He also pledged to restore the pre-2006 Pension Act benefits “to ensure veterans in 2022 are looked after equal to or better than veterans of World War II, Korean War, and operations since.” 

No criminal record for woman who vandalized Vancouver church

By
Shawn Thompson
-

A woman who pleaded guilty to vandalizing a Vancouver Catholic church in the wake of reported discoveries of unmarked residential school graves last year has been given a conditional discharge along with a $1,250 fine.

Emily Luba, 27, was charged with mischief after witnesses recorded her splashing orange paint on the wall of St. Jude’s Parish in East Vancouver.

The incident occurred on Jul. 1, 2021, amidst a wave of vandalism and arson following the alleged discovery of unmarked graves at a former residential school site in Kamloops.  

As reported by True North, the unrest behind the unverified reports led to prominent statues being knocked over and at least 68 churches across Canada being either vandalized or completely burnt down. 

Luba was seen with her twin sister by two witnesses who recorded the vandalism and attempted to intervene. 

The Vancouver Police Department executed a search warrant at the twins’ residence and found clothing with orange paint on it. Police also found evidence on the women’s cell phones, including selfies of the pair on a bus with orange paint on their clothing. 

Luba was charged with mischief for damage to the church, along with mischief in relation to another protest in April 2021.

According to provincial court Judge Gregory Rideout, 12 B.C. churches had suffered similar attacks since May 2021, with many “splashed with red paint or orange paint… the colours of clothing associated to the young residents of the residential schools.”

Rideout noted at the time of the offence that Luba was following a protest group known as the Braided Warriors, which Rideout said has the goal of defending the land from colonial violence. 

“Their mission includes their opposition to all resource extraction,” Rideout said. “One of their goals is to stop the insurers of the Trans Mountain expansion project and the related work they facilitate through the staging of protests at the premises of various insurance companies.”

“One of them was wearing a jacket that had the words, ‘The Church is Complicit’ written on the back,” the judge noted in his court ruling.

Police said they also found a sign at the church that read, “Every Child Matters; Support the Ninety-four Recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission”.

Rideout said he did find Luba remorseful for her actions. 

“I think of the church congregation who felt scared to worship due to the fear of escalating actions after I covered their church in orange paint,” she told the court. “The congregation is composed of people, mostly elderly, none of whom are to blame for residential schools.”

Luba was given a conditional discharge, which means she won’t have a criminal record. She will need to write a 500-word letter of apology to the congregation, serve 40 hours of community service and submit a report to a probation officer.

Luba will also need to pay $1,250.

As reported by True North, many prominent commentators have excused the mob behaviour that led to the burnings of churches last summer. Some looked for ways to justify the attacks while others even cheered them on. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s friend and former principal secretary Gerald Butts has said that burning churches isn’t cool, but it “may be understandable.”

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