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Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Ethics Commissioner fines CBC CEO Catherine Tait for conflict of interest violations

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
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Source: X

Following an investigation into her finances, Canada’s ethics commissioner has fined the CEO of the taxpayer-funded Canadian Broadcast Corporation for conflict of interest violations.

As required by the Conflict of Interest Act, Canada’s ethics commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein disclosed that he has fined CBC CEO Catherine Tait for failing to disclose a “material change” of her assets. 

According to the disclosure, Tait was found to have violated subsection 22(5) of the Conflict of Interest Act by failing to disclose a material change relating to assets within 30 days and fined $200, which she has paid.

“If there is a material change in any matter in respect of which a reporting public office holder is required to provide a confidential report under this section, the reporting public office holder shall, within 30 days after the change, file a report with the Commissioner describing the material change,” the section she was found to have breached states.

In a statement released by the CBC on Friday, the organization said Tait purchased a corporate bond with her personal pension savings account “without knowing” that it was considered a controlled asset, which is forbidden for reporting public office holders to have under the Act.

According to the Act, a controlled asset is an asset that could be directly or indirectly affected by government decisions or policies. Examples include publicly traded securities of corporations and governments, such as stocks, bonds, stock market indices, trust units and more.

By law, public office holders are “generally” prohibited from holding such assets, the Act states. Those with controlled assets are required to divest from those assets by selling them in an “arm’s-length transaction” or by placing the assets in a blind trust. 

The Act states that RPOHs with such holdings must publicly declare the divested assets in a summary statement, providing information about the nature, source and method of divestment of the assets “but not their value or number of units held.”

“As soon as the president was made aware of the non-compliance, she instructed her investment advisor to sell the bond and provided proof of the sale within ten business days to the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, as requested,” the CBC said in its statement.

It said that Tait has complied with her requirements to disclose her assets since her appointment in April 2018.

“Every year since 2018, the President and CEO has filed documents with the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner on all of her personal finances to fulfill the annual review obligations as an RPOH under the Conflict of Interest Act,” the statement said. “She has been fully compliant every year since becoming President.”

Rachael Thomas, the Conservative heritage critic, took to X, renewing calls to defund the state broadcaster and for the CBC president and CEO to testify before a committee about the fine.

Michael Barrett, the Conservative ethics and accountable government critic, tied the incident to the growing list of ethics violations under the current government.

“Another Trudeau Liberal has been found guilty of breaking Canada’s ethics laws. This is after 9 years of the NDP-Liberals, with Trudeau twice found guilty of breaking the law himself,” he said on X. “They’re not worth the corruption. Call a carbon tax election. Fire Trudeau.”

CBC representatives responded to True North’s requests to comment by pointing to the statement it released Friday morning.

“This is par for too many politicians and bureaucrats – they break their own ethics rules. In this case, the federal government should not have a state broadcaster, period,” Kris Sims, the Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, told True North in an email.

She said the federal government should not be in the media business, and from an ethical standpoint, journalists being paid for by the state is a “gigantic conflict of interest” in itself. She noted what the CTF considers “huge government waste” from other instances where Tait billed Canadian taxpayers for travel expenses to her $5.4 million residence in Brooklyn, NY.

“If the head of a private media company wanted to declare their legal address to be in Brooklyn, NY, or the planet Mars, and commute into work on their own dime, it would not matter to taxpayers, and the ethics commissioner wouldn’t be involved at all,” Sims said. “But in this case, the feds have their own media wing, and taxpayers pay through the nose for it.”

Sims said it’s high time Canadians defunded the CBC, and the recent ethics violation is just another reason to do it.

“The CBC is costing taxpayers $1.4 billion this year. This is a huge waste of money,” she said. “With that kind of money, we could pay the salaries for 7,000 paramedics and 7,000 cops for the year instead.”

State-backed Chinese hackers have infiltrated Canada’s networks for years: study

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: Pexels

Chinese hackers have been accessing computers, networks and other IT infrastructure in Canada for some time to monitor and steal highly sensitive information, according to a paper from the country’s leading authority on cyber security. 

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security released its “National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025-2026,” a paper which revealed that there is nothing new about state-sponsored Chinese hackers engaging in digital espionage. 

According to the research, Chinese hackers have been engaging in cyber espionage for at least the last five years, aiming to gain strategic, economic, and diplomatic advantages.

“PRC state-sponsored cyber threat actors persistently conduct cyber espionage against federal, provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous government networks in Canada,” reads the paper. 

“PRC cyber threat actors have compromised and maintained access to multiple government networks over the past five years, collecting communications and other valuable information.”

The agency’s findings conclude that “all known federal government compromises” have since been resolved, but insists that these nefarious hackers have dedicated “significant time and resources” to learn about the target networks, suggesting that they could resurface at any time. 

According to the Cyber Centre, these hackers weren’t looking around for any information, instead, the cyber attacks were highly calculated. 

For example, any government official critical of the Chinese Communist Party was a target back in 2021, especially members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. 

These members would receive emails designed to attach trackers onto the victim’s devices to gain network reconnaissance.

Advanced robotics, 6G networks, intelligence computing centres, quantum computing and advanced aviation all appear to be top of mind interest for these Chinese hackers, as the paper noted that private sector companies in these fields were major targets. 

The paper’s release comes in the wake of the federal government issuing a statement saying that Chinese hackers have operated “multiple reconnaissance scans” throughout this year, targeting “Government of Canada departments and agencies, and includes federal political parties, the House of Commons and Senate.”

“They also targeted dozens of organizations, including democratic institutions, critical infrastructure, the defense sector, media organizations, think tanks and NGOs,” the statement said.

An inquiry into foreign interference in Canada’s electoral system remains ongoing, with China being among the primary suspects involved. 

The paper concluded that cyber threat actors present a “persistent threat to Canada’s economic prosperity and national security,” saying that as a wealthy country, it will remain a valuable target for financially motivated cybercriminals.

“Meanwhile, the threat to Canada from state-sponsored cyber threat activity will be influenced by geopolitical events beyond our borders, the status of Canada’s foreign relations, and an international environment defined by economic and technological rivalry,” reads the paper.

“The threats in cyberspace will increasingly reflect a global system where an array of actors are forging networks of varying strength and convenience in pursuit of their own self-interests.”

OP-ED: Too many bad ideas imposed on classroom teachers

By
Michael Zwaagstra
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The Waterloo Region District School Board recently announced it would remove garbage bins from classrooms, before suddenly reversing itself.

Strange as it sounds, the school board planned to replace classroom waste bins with larger bins in common areas outside of classrooms, ostensibly to reduce the amount of waste produced by schools. Apparently, the facilities superintendent and senior facilities manager (the people behind this idea) think garbage magically appears when garbage bins are in classrooms and disappears once you get rid of these bins.

Of course, reality is quite different. Students still must dispose of dirty Kleenex tissues, empty pens and used candy wrappers. The aborted plan gave students a ready-made excuse for extra hallway trips. To prevent this from happening, teachers would have to provide makeshift garbage bins of their own.

This is a prime example of administrators trying to impose impractical directives on teachers for the sake of virtue signalling. No doubt Waterloo school board officials wanted to be recognized as environmental leaders. Getting rid of garbage bins in classrooms is an easy and effortless way to look like you’re doing something good for the environment,

Indeed, teachers typically bear the brunt of bad ideas imposed on them from above. As another example, British Columbia K-9 teachers must now issue report cards with confusing descriptors such as “emerging” and “extending” rather than more easily understood letter grades such as A, B and C. A recent survey revealed that most parents find the new B.C. report cards hard to understand. While most had no trouble interpreting letter grades such as A, less than one-third could correctly identify what “emerging” and “extending” mean about a student’s progress.

While the B.C. Ministry of Education claims these new report cards are built on the expertise of classroom teachers, its own surveys found that 77 per cent of teachers were unhappy with the grading overhaul. Of course, their feedback was ignored by education bureaucrats, which means teachers must implement something most disagree with, and then bear the brunt of parental frustration.

And one can never forget the nonsensical “no-zero” policies imposed on teachers in every province, which prohibit teachers from giving a mark of zero when students fail to hand in assignments or docking marks for late assignments. The reasoning behind no-zero policies is that zeroes have too negative an impact on student grades.

Fortunately, no-zero policies have become less popular in Canadian schools, particularly after Edmonton physics teacher Lynden Dorval was fired for refusing to comply with his principal’s no-zeroes edict. Not only did the public overwhelmingly support Dorval at the time, but the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld an arbitrator’s ruling that Dorval’s firing was unjust. In the end, taxpayers were on the hook for paying Dorval two years of salary, along with topping up his pension. But this doesn’t mean no-zero policies have disappeared entirely. Plenty of assessment gurus hired by school boards still push them on gullible administrators and unsuspecting teachers.

Finally, there are the never-ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training sessions—possibly the worst fads ever imposed on Canadian teachers. In an obvious desire to justify their jobs, DEI consultants provide many hours of professional development to hapless teachers who have no choice but to attend.

When teachers push back, as Toronto principal Richard Bilkszto did during a DEI session a couple years ago, they’re subjected to harassment and derision. In this case, the social impact on Bilkszto was so negative he eventually and tragically took his own life.

The Bilkszto case had a chilling effect—teachers should go along with whatever they’re told to do by their employer, even when a directive doesn’t make sense. This is not healthy for any profession, and it certainly doesn’t benefit students.

Classroom teachers have far too many bad ideas imposed on them. Instead of making teachers implement useless fads, we should just let them teach. That is, after all, why they became teachers in the first place.

Michael Zwaagstra is a public high school teacher and a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute.

Parental rights, carbon tax, and provincial autonomy take centre stage at UCP AGM

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
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Source: Isaac Lamoureux

United Conservative Party members convened in Red Deer on Saturday, putting forth several new policy resolutions on key social and economic issues. The policies address a wide range of topics, from parental rights and gender in public spaces to Alberta’s stance on the federal carbon tax.

Both electoral districts and individual members can propose policies. Individuals who wished to submit a policy resolution had to have the backing of their respective district in the form of a sponsorship. 

Party policy resolutions are non-binding, meaning the UCP government would not be required to act on the policy if it passes. 

The AGM also saw Alberta Premier Danielle Smith garner 91.5% in her leadership review, which occurs at every third AGM in a non-election year. She will stay on as party leader. 

The AGM featured 20 governance resolutions and 35 policy resolutions. Some of the policy resolutions are already set to be implemented as amendments to the Alberta Bill of Rights.

Before voting on the 35 resolutions, members voted on the Alberta Bill of Rights. The vote resulted in a resounding yes, with almost all of the attending members voting in support. 

Each resolution was voted on by the majority of the 6,085 members at the AGM — a record setting number. Prior to the voting, a 30 second to one minute video highlighting the resolution was shown and members were invited to both the “Yes” and “No” microphones to argue for or against the motion.

A few motions had no speakers show up to argue at the “No” microphone, whereas others featured people not against it but seeking further clarification or small wording changes, although amendments to motions were not permitted. The same few speakers frequented the “No” microphone on various occasions.

One of the most contentious policies, calling to abandon net-zero targets and remove the designation of CO2 as a pollutant, was particularly notable. It passed with nearly 100% support, as many policies did. However, a few members were brave enough to speak against it, arguing that too much CO2 could be a detriment to the planet. They received boos, to the moderator’s chagrin. The supporters said the opposite, noting that CO2 has been much higher historically but still permitted life and Earth to function.

Of the other 34 policy resolutions, 17 of them stood out across major categories. 

Major themes included parental/minor rights, which applied to three and education also applied to another three. Transgender and biological sex also made an appearance. Removing DEI was surprisingly not related to education, as the removal would apply to all Alberta Public Service and Crown Corporations.

Many policies suggested that Alberta should further distance itself from the federal government, by gaining more control over immigration, prohibiting any carbon tax from being implemented in the province, and “continu(ing) to distance itself from the federal government in as many facets as possible as a productive member of Confederation.” 

While some of the policies called for resolutions already to be featured in the Alberta Bill of Rights, one called for a Bill of Parental Rights, which would “acknowledge that a parent’s prior right and responsibility to raise their children precedes government legislation and doe’s not flow from it.” 

All 35 policy resolutions had majority member support. No policy resolutions were voted against.

The AGM was attended by roughly 6,085 UCP members, a record-setting number. While policy votes are non-binding, Smith and other ministers say that they take influence from the grassroots members and their wants and needs.

Earlier in the day, Smith hosted an “Accountability Session,” where she discussed motions from previous years and the reasoning for them passing or not.

Danielle Smith emerges victorious from leadership review with overwhelming 91.5% support 

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
-
Source: Facebook

United Conservative Party leader and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will remain at the helm of the party after she secured 91.5% support in a leadership review at the party’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday.

Every third AGM in non-election years features an automatic leadership review. Members voted by secret ballot on the question, “Do you approve of the current leader?”

To be eligible to vote, voters had to be party members since at least Oct. 11, 2024, registered for the AGM, and physically present at the meeting. 

To avoid a leadership election, leaders need to receive at least 50% “Yes” votes on the yes or no question from the secret ballot.

Former premier Jason Kenney resigned after receiving only 51.4% approval in the last review, despite surpassing the 50% approval threshold required to avoid the leadership election.

Smith’s decision to stay on was made much easier, given she received 91.5% on the vote.

Approximately 6,085 people attended the AGM and the majority voted in the leadership review. Additional ballots on some UCP board member voting were provided to members on top of their leadership review ballot.

Members voted discreetly and then deposited their ballots into a box, which would be counted later.

Some members who attended wanted Smith to win but voted against her to teach her a lesson. 

For example, Wyatt Claypool, journalist and former Conservative candidate, told True North that he voted no despite wanting Smith to win. He argued that she had not been clear enough on some key issues like tax cuts and would learn nothing if she got a 100% vote. 

He said he was 100% sure Smith would win given that even Kenney won his review, despite widespread opposition. He resigned despite receiving just over the 50% threshold. 

Smith said that it was a miracle the votes were tallied so quickly, given that no tabulators were used.

The AGM, held in Red Deer, began on Friday with discussions among MLAs, opening ceremonies, governance debates, and voting.

However, things escalated on Saturday with speeches, reports, and the board election and leadership review. 

Smith also gave a keynote speech, and policy debates and voting occurred before the leadership review results were announced at 5:30 pm

Every of the 35 policy resolutions passed, but they are non-binding. 

Smith took the stage once more after being reaffirmed as leader, thanking her members for the overwhelming support and promising to defeat NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi in the next election.

This leadership review was the first Smith faced since she became leader in 2022.

Had Smith lost the vote, a leadership election would have been held. Leadership candidates for the election would have had to have been party members for at least six months, be Canadian citizens, be at least 18 years old, provide a nomination petition signed by at least 500 members, and more. 

The Alberta Roundup | Smith urges Poilievre to protect additional rights of Canadians

By
Isaac Lamoureux
-
Source: Facebook

As Alberta Premier Danielle Smith prepares to amend the Alberta Bill of Rights, Smith is urging federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to promise further free speech and other rights protections at the national level.

Plus, the Alberta government has launched a legal challenge against the federal government’s carbon tax exemption for heating oil.

And UCP members will decide the fate of Smith’s leadership this weekend at the UCP AGM in Red Deer.

These stories and more on The Alberta Roundup with Isaac Lamoureux!

Gov spent $1.7 million on podcasts with barely any listeners 

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: Facebook

Millions of Canadian taxpayer dollars are going to pay for government-produced podcasts hardly anybody is listening to. 

An access-to-information request obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation revealed the details behind podcasts hosted by several federal departments. 

The podcasts in question require millions of dollars in taxpayer money to operate, including paying the salaries of public servants involved in the podcasts’ production.  

“Canadians need the government delivering passports, not podcasts,” said federal director of the CTF Franco Terrazzano. “Can anyone explain why taxpayers are paying for government bureaucrats to spend a bunch of money on podcasts nobody listens to?”

According to government documents and records obtained by the CTF through freedom of information requests, at least $1.7 million has been spent on podcast production as of November last year.

However, that figure does not include the total cost to taxpayers, as the departments did not generally include salary expenses for the staff employed on the podcasts. 

In the records where salary expenses were included, they accounted for the largest expenses by far. 

“This isn’t providing taxpayers value for money, these podcasts are make-work projects for government bureaucrats we don’t need,” said Terrazzano. 

One podcast called the Eh Sayers Podcast launched by Statistics Canada covers topics like climate change, systemic racism, gender identity and misinformation. 

Of the 21 episodes produced since January 2021, it has an “estimated” 229 subscribers and cost $971,417 to date. 

This means taxpayers were billed $4,241 for every subscriber. 

The Eh Sayers Podcast, which requires three to five full-time Statistics Canada employees to produce, averages 1,414 downloads per episode and currently has 39 reviews on Apple. 

In an episode discussing gender identity, the podcast opens with a “drag story time” reading from “drag king” Cyril Cinder.

In another episode entitled, “A Little Less Misinformation, A Little More True Facts, Please,” the host and guest discuss the problem of giving “both sides of an issue equal time or consideration.”

“If Statistics Canada bureaucrats want to produce podcasts on gender ideology, climate change or misinformation they can fill their boots on their own time with their own dime,” said Terrazzano. 

“If you want proof there are too many bureaucrats in Ottawa with too much time and tax dollars on their hands, look no further than these podcasts.”

Canadian Heritage also produced a podcast which aims to “preserve” the country’s history “through interviews with current and former staff members” called CCI and CHIN: In Our Words.

The podcasts ran from 2019 to 2021 before being discontinued, producing a total of seven episodes and garnering 17 reviews on Apple. 

It cost taxpayers $155,736 or a little over $22,000 per episode. 

These costs included $9,000 for “podcast training and consulting,” $2,000 for equipment and another $115,000 in salary expenses for the full-time staff assigned to it. 

Another podcast by Agri-Food Canada cost taxpayers $30,000 in expenses to present the “freshest ideas in agriculture and food.”

Another, called “Healthy Canadians” launched by the Public Health Agency of Canada, had four full-time employees which racked up a bill of $67,000, not including salary costs.

Including pay, pension, paid time off, shift premiums and other benefits, the average compensation for each full-time federal employee is $125,300, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada also produced a podcast during the COVID-19 pandemic called Business Unusual, which employed 13 government workers, including two deputy ministers and two executives. 

“No wonder the government is more than $1 trillion in debt when it’s scheming up useless make-work projects for bureaucrats that accomplish nothing more than burning through tax dollars,” said Terrazzano.

“With massive deficits and soaring debt, these taxpayer-funded podcasts should be the first thing on the chopping block.” 

Alberta introduces additional protection for youth in healthcare, education, and sports

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
-
Source: Facebook

The Alberta government released a new suite of legislation on Thursday, improving parental rights, fairness in sports, and protecting “transgender” children from making irreversible decisions that they may regret later in life.

The three amendments focusing on gender identity are part of the 13 bills the party highlighted and plans to introduce in this legislative session, focusing on personal autonomy, property rights, and legal firearm ownership. 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the changes are intended to protect youth.

“The changes we’re introducing are founded on compassion and science, both of which are vital for the development of youth throughout a time that can be difficult and confusing,” she said. 

The proposed amendments to the Health Statutes Amendment Act would prohibit health professionals from performing sex reassignment surgeries on minors. Additionally, children aged 15 and under would not be able to access puberty blockers or hormone therapies. Children aged 16 and 17 could use hormone therapies and puberty blockers with parental, physician, and psychologist approval.

“These policies are designed and intended to help preserve the choices children have before they make serious decisions about their bodies, or the ability to have children of their own one day, or undergo potentially permanent procedures where the benefits and risks are not yet fully understood,” said Smith.

One person who had personally lived with the risks of gender transition was present at Alberta’s press conference, Kellie Lynn Pirie — a detransitioner and co-founder of DeTrans Alliance Canada. Pirie shared her experience of living with a mother who married a convicted pedophile and being in a household full of drugs, alcohol, and chaos.

Feeling uncomfortable in her own body, Pirie underwent a complete social transition, began taking testosterone, had a complete hysterectomy and a bilateral mastectomy, and legally changed her sex marker and name between 2005 and 2008.

“In 2010, I realized that many of the feelings I had felt prior to and through my transition were not fully explored,” said Pirie. “I also realized that transitioning did not help me in any of the ways I thought it might.” 

She added that given that she, a 37-year-old woman with a post-secondary education, couldn’t even understand the consequences of a life-altering decision, how could children be expected, supported, or encouraged to?

“The decision to medically transition has impacted me psychologically. I will have type two diabetes for the rest of my life. It has had lifelong impacts on my confidence and my self-esteem. This is simply not a decision we can expect children to make,” she said. 

The Alberta government also tabled the Education Amendment Act, which will require parental consent for any child aged 15 and under who wants to change their name, gender, or pronouns at school. Sixteen and 17-year-olds will not need parental consent, but their parents will need to be notified. 

Currently, parents can opt their children out of lessons that teach sexual orientation and gender identity curriculum. With the changes, they will have to opt them in. Also, the Minister of Education will have to review and approve all learning and teaching resources that deal with gender identity, sexual orientation, or human sexuality. 

Lastly, the Alberta government introduced Bill 29, the Fairness and Safety in Sports Act.

If passed, sports divisions will be created that are limited to female-born athletes, prohibiting transgender athletes from participating. Co-ed leagues will be created for transgender athletes. 

“All three pieces of legislation have been developed, drafted and tabled with the express purpose of striking the right balance for the health, safety and wellbeing of all children and youth in our province,” said Smith. We’re also upholding the rights of parents to care for, teach and protect their children. These amendments are about being fair and supporting children and youth.”

Another person speaking at Alberta’s press conference was Hannah Pilling, an 18-year-old track and cross-country athlete. She was recently awarded female rookie of the year at the Alberta Athletics Conference for cross-country running.

Last year, Pilling failed to qualify for provincials after losing to a biological male in a race.

“It was crushing. I had trained for years with this goal in mind. Afterward, many of my fellow racers were left in tears knowing that the outcome wasn’t fair,” said Pilling. “The sense of hopelessness was overwhelming. I pleaded with the meet director, explaining that it was unfair for a biological male to compete in high school girls’ sports.”

She said that the director seemed sincerely sorry, but rules were rules.

“Then the rules need to change,” said Pilling.

If passed, Bill 29 will apply to school divisions, charter schools, private schools, Francophone schools, post-secondary schools, independent academic institutions, provincial sporting organizations, and more. 

Police recover 363 stolen vehicles in Toronto

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: Facebook

Police busted a major auto theft and trafficking ring in Toronto arresting 59 suspects who face a total of 200 charges.

The bust was the result of a months-long investigation dubbed “Project Thoroughbred.” The operation was first launched in July and resulted in the recovery of 363 stolen vehicles, valued at around $14 million. 

Investigators discovered that the alleged scheme involved ServiceOntario employees who would assist the thieves in registering phoney Vehicle Identification Numbers to legitimate licence plates.

The compromised employees would allegedly use fake documentation to register real Ontario licence plates to fake VINs according to Toronto police. 

The vehicles would subsequently be sold as “legitimate, properly plated” vehicles. 

However, police noted that there are currently no ServiceOntario employees included in the 59 people who have been charged as part of the investigation.

Through the work of Project Thoroughbred, officers identified several “chop shops” in Toronto where stolen vehicles would be stripped down before being shipped overseas.

“Vehicles brought into these facilities are quickly dismantled, making them difficult to trace and reducing the chance of detection,” said Toronto police in a news release on Friday.

Additional stolen vehicles were retrieved from shipping containers bound for overseas locations, with one shipping container holding stolen vehicles discovered in Belgium. 

Police confirmed that said vehicles are in the process of being returned to Canada.

The Ford government also announced new legislation on Friday to crack down on auto theft. If passed, it would create a new provincial offence for fraudulent vehicle registrations which carries with it potential jail time and penalties of up to $100,000 if convicted.

“VIN fraud and careless driving are on the rise in Ontario,” said the province’s Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria in a news release.

“That’s why our government is taking steps to protect unsuspecting buyers and giving police the powers they need to keep our roads and communities safe. Our tough new legislation will target car thieves and other reckless behaviour, particularly in instances causing bodily harm or death.” 

Police said that Project Thoroughbred remains ongoing and that they expect further charges in the future. 

OP-ED: The controversial call for ICC involvement in Canada’s residential school crisis

By
Dotan Rousso
-
Source: Government of Canada

On October 29, 2024, Kimberly Murray, Canada’s Special Interlocutor on unmarked graves, unveiled her final report during a gathering in Gatineau, Quebec. This pivotal moment confronts the painful legacy of residential schools, underscoring the urgent need for a national Indigenous-led commission to investigate the estimated 6,000 disappearances and deaths of Indigenous children in these institutions. Moreover, the report calls for these actions to be recognized as crimes against humanity, warranting a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The accusations detailed in Murray’s report reveal severe systemic abuses that have left deep scars on Indigenous communities across Canada. Families were often left in the dark regarding the fates of their children, compounding the trauma of loss with a denial of closure. The proposal for a 20-year mandate for an Indigenous-led commission represents a vital step toward truth and reconciliation. Yet, while this call for accountability is valid, it also opens the door to significant questions about the broader implications of involving international bodies in domestic matters.

The call for ICC involvement raises questions about the intentions of those supporting this report. Established in 2002, the ICC aims to hold accountable individuals responsible for serious international crimes, including genocide and war crimes. The invocation of the ICC in this context—comparable to historical cases like the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which claimed approximately 800,000 lives, and the ethnic cleansing during the Balkan wars in the former Yugoslavia—suggests a recognition that the systemic failures within Canada’s residential school system require global scrutiny.

However, this potential referral carries significant implications for Canada’s national identity and reputation. Bringing such charges to the ICC could challenge the perception of Canada as a country with a reliable justice system and may adversely affect its standing in international relations. Such a move risks portraying Canada as a nation that has failed to adequately address its historical injustices, which could lead to a loss of credibility on the world stage. Furthermore, inviting external scrutiny might undermine Canada’s image as a global leader in human rights and reconciliation, presenting an image of national weakness rather than one of resilience.

Critics of this ICC intervention may argue that it aligns with broader ideological trends that seek to deconstruct existing political frameworks, particularly those associated with progressive and “woke” movements in the West. These movements often aim to critique and dismantle perceived injustices, presenting established systems as inherently flawed and unjust. While acknowledging historical injustices is paramount, it is crucial that the discourse surrounding these calls for accountability does not devolve into radical ideologies that prioritize destruction over constructive improvement.

Within this context, the call for an ICC investigation may be perceived as part of a larger agenda aimed at discrediting Canada as a sovereign nation, rather than genuinely seeking justice for Indigenous peoples. This perspective suggests that certain ideologies may exploit historical injustices to undermine national unity and foster societal division. Critics may contend that emphasizing external intervention, rather than focusing on domestic solutions, risks framing Canada as incapable of resolving its own issues, perpetuating a narrative of national inadequacy and failure.

Ultimately, while the need to address the historical injustices of Canada’s residential schools is undeniable, the call for an ICC investigation may not be the most constructive path forward. It risks framing Canada’s national identity in a way that overshadows ongoing efforts for reconciliation. In the words of Indigenous leader Justice Murray Sinclair, “Reconciliation is not an event. It is a process.” We must prioritize dialogue and collaboration with Indigenous communities over external scrutiny that may distract from the essential work of healing and justice within Canada. By focusing on homegrown solutions, we can forge a more meaningful path toward accountability and reconciliation that honors the memories of those who suffered.

Dr. Dotan Rousso was born and raised in Israel. He holds a Ph.D. in Law—a former criminal prosecutor in Israel. He lives in Alberta and teaches Philosophy at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).

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