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Sunday, August 10, 2025

LEVY: Toronto elementary students given “gender inclusivity” training

By
Sue-Ann Levy
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Students as young as nine years old at a midtown Toronto public school were forced to undergo gender diversity and sensitivity training last week.

The workshops – run by the nonprofit Get REAL – were conducted at Forest Hill Public School following a “number of homophobic/transphobic incidents,” according to Toronto District School Board (TDSB) spokesman Ryan Bird.

The exact content of the workshops is unknown, as are the transphobic/homophobic incidents that reportedly justified them.

According to social media posts, however, students in grades 4-8 were subjected to training on how to diversify their social media, how to use the correct pronouns and how to neutralize language.

According to their website, the Get REAL Movement is a Canadian non-profit focussed on combatting 2SLGBTQ+ discrimination, racism and bullying in schools.

Judging from the bios of the team, many appear to be young activists who use unconventional pronouns. Several declare themselves either gay, trans or non-binary.

A few weeks before the workshops, a poster was put up in the K-8 school promoting transgendered, nonbinary and gender diverse students. 

The poster, created by Egale Canada, showed pictures of a young student – seemingly transitioning from male to female — with a flat chest. There was also a picture of a female student with binding over her pubescent breasts.

Several comments under the tweet were highly critical of the poster, noting it is much too confusing for young children and that the educrats are “gender pushers.”

One parent said she raised her concerns with the school’s principal, Adam Thompson, but that he brushed them off.

These parents’ concerns are similar to those raised in January by Waterloo Regional District School Board (WRDSB) teacher Christine Burjoski to that board’s trustees. Burjoski, who has taught for 20 years, had made a presentation to the board questioning the value of two highly sexualized books about LGBT and trans issues widely available in elementary school libraries.

As I reported at the time, Burjoski wasn’t even allowed to finish her presentation. She was silenced, mocked, put on leave and subjected to a review – merely for stating what was on the minds of many parents.

I can’t help but wonder if the TDSB, WRDSB and other school boards are using such young kids as a bizarrely inappropriate social experiment. 

It’s up to parents to pay more attention to what is occurring behind closed doors and demand answers from their school administrators. 

Make no mistake – as a gay woman who spent far too many years in the closet, I have no issue with teaching respect to students. 

Being gay is not a choice.

But for heaven’s sake, these are kids as young as nine years old who just want to play video games and buy candy at the nearby convenience store (I know because I’ve seen them there at lunchtime).

Let them be kids while they’re kids. 

Expert panel declares the pandemic in Canada over

By
Andrew Lawton
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As governments tip toe into prolonged “reopening plans,” a team of scientists and policy experts has gotten together to put together a real reopening plan, starting with the immediate lifting of all Covid restrictions. The Canada Science & Policy Committee to Exit the Pandemic has laid out a concrete roadmap governments in Canada could follow, noting that they’ve been blindly “following the science” while ignoring the policy implications of their pandemic response measures. Committee co-chair Irvin Studin joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to discuss the plan, and what needs to happen now to set it in motion.

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Poll shows Canadians oppose lifetime expense accounts for governors general

By
Jonathan Bradley
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The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is telling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to scrap lifetime expense accounts for former governors general after a recent poll found overwhelming opposition.

“This survey confirms what we already knew: taxpayers are not OK with seeing their money cover expensive entitlements for former governors general,” said CTF Quebec director Renaud Brossard in a press release on Thursday. “Frankly, what’s most surprising is how long it’s taking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do something about it.”

A Leger poll commissioned by the CTF suggested 78% of Canadians were opposed to post-retirement expense accounts for former governors general. This compared to 13% of respondents who supported the policy and 9% who didn’t know.

This policy received the most opposition in Quebec, with 88% of respondents saying it should be scrapped, compared to 75% in the rest of Canada. The poll also suggested that Canadians 55 years old and up were more likely to oppose this policy (87%) compared to 18-to-34 year olds (62%).

Documents obtained by the CTF through access to information requests show that former governors general can bill taxpayers for up to $206,000 per year in expenses for the rest of their lives, and even up to six months after their deaths.

Trudeau promised in 2018 to review the expense accounts of governors general. A report recommending changes was prepared for him in 2019, but he did not follow through with it.

“No saving is too small to be enacted when your government is dealing with a twelve-figure deficit,” said Brossard. “Scrapping those expensive taxpayer-funded expense accounts doesn’t just make sense; it’s also a popular measure.”

Conservative senator Claude Carignan proposed a private member’s bill in 2021 that would have seen former governor general Julie Payette lose her pension and benefits. The bill would also have seen governors general lose their benefits if they resign before completing their terms.

The move came after Payette resigned after a report alleged harassed and abused her staff as governor general. Under the current system, she receives an annual pension of almost $150,000 per year and an annual expense budget of up to $206,000.

The Leger poll was conducted with 1,537 Canadians 18 years old and older through online surveys between Feb. 11 to 13. The margin of error is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20.

Convoy donations came from fed-up people, not terrorists: FINTRAC

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Darrin Calcutt

Canada’s chief financial intelligence agency has once again shut down claims by the Trudeau government that donations given to the truckers’ Freedom Convoy constituted terrorist funding. 

Blacklock’s Reporter reported Friday that Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) deputy director of intelligence Barry MacKillop had declared the money raised for the convoy protests came from people supporting a cause they believed in. 

“It was their own money. It wasn’t cash that funded terrorism or was in any way money laundering,” MacKillop told the Commons finance committee.

“These were people who supported the cause before it was declared illegal. There were people around the world who were fed up with Covid and were upset and saw the demonstrations. I believe they just wanted to support the cause.” 

The Liberal government and legacy media have repeatedly claimed that the protests sweeping Canada for the past month have somehow been supported by funding from foreign extremists.

This is not the first time that FINTRAC has poked a hole in the Liberal government’s narrative regarding the convoy’s funding. 

MacKillop told parliamentarians on Feb. 10 that there were no signs that the Ottawa protests were a form of ideologically motivated violent extremism and that no transactions related to the demonstration had been flagged by his department. 

“The money… what’s happening in Ottawa has not been identified to my knowledge as ideologically motivated violent extremism,” said MacKillop. 

“No, the sources of funding we’ve seen to date – we have not seen a spike (in suspicious transactions), and as you know I can’t speak to individual reporting or reporting on any individuals or organizations. But we have not seen a spike in suspicious transaction reporting for example related to this.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 to crush demonstrations in Ottawa. The law also expanded the scope of terrorist and money laundering laws to include crowdfunding platforms. 

“This will help mitigate the risk these platforms receive illicit funds,” Freeland said to justify the decision.

“We are making these changes because we know these platforms are being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity which is damaging the Canadian economy.”

According to Department of Finance officials, as little as $20 in donations was enough to trigger a bank account freeze and an investigation under the act. 

Trudeau repealed the Emergencies Act earlier this week. 

The future of conservatism in Canada (feat. William Gairdner)

By
Andrew Lawton
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The federal Conservative party has lost three elections in the last seven years, and is now about to see its third leadership race in the same span. Every election cycle, the Conservative Party of Canada is forced to ask itself what kind of party it wants to be, and what its place, if any, in Canadian politics is.

In this special edition of The Andrew Lawton Show, True North’s Andrew Lawton speaks with author and former Olympian William Gairdner about conservatism’s intellectual underpinnings and its past, present, and future in Canada.

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Ontario judge rules with mother who doesn’t want COVID shots for her kids

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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In a sharply worded ruling about the pandemic’s effect on society, an Ontario judge has shut down a father’s attempt to force his ex-wife to get their two children unwillingly vaccinated against COVID-19.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Alex Pazaratz sided with the mother and two children, ordering that she be made the sole-decision maker over whether the children get the shots. 

In his Feb. 22 ruling, Pazaratz lamented the polarization the pandemic has caused in society, and how it has divided people even in close relationships. 

The judge also criticized the father’s tactic of trying to smear the mother’s character over her political views – including his pointing out her membership in the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) – rather than focus on the issues of the lawsuit.  

“When did it become illegal to ask questions? Especially in the courtroom?” wrote Pazaratz.

“And is ‘misinformation’ even a real word? Or has it become a crass, self-serving tool to pre-empt scrutiny and discredit your opponent? To de-legitimize questions and strategically avoid giving answers… Each party always has the onus to prove their case and yet “misinformation has crept into the court lexicon. A childish – but sinister – way of saying ‘You’re so wrong, I don’t even have to explain why you’re wrong.” 

The case in question was protected under a publication ban due to the involvement of minors. The father – known in court documents as J.N. – wanted his children aged 12 and 10 to receive COVID shots against the mother’s wishes. 

In his case, the father “relied on numerous downloads from the mother’s social media accounts” to accuse her of misinformation and being an “anti-vaxxer.” 

“In contrast, the father focussed extensively on labelling and discrediting the mother as a person, in a dismissive attempt to argue that her views aren’t worthy of consideration,” wrote Pazaratz. 

Additionally, the father accused the mother, C.G., of spreading misinformation and being a member of the PPC.

“Have we reached the stage where parental rights are going to be decided based on what political party you belong to?” asked Pazaratz. 

Throughout the court process, the children were independently interviewed once with each parent present. Both of them insisted that they “don’t want to receive the COVID vaccines.” 

Recognizing their views, Pazaratz wrote that “the father is asking me to ignore how they feel and force them to be vaccinated against their will.” 

“Rather than simplistically accept or reject what children say they want, the court must engage in a complex and sensitive analysis of the weight to be attributed to each child’s stated views,” wrote Pazaratz. 

In the end, Pazaratz ruled that the father’s motion was dismissed and that C.G. should “have sole decision-making authority with respect to the issue of administering COVID vaccines for the children.” 

“Her current concerns about the vaccines are entirely understandable, given the credible warnings and commentary provided by reputable sources who are specifically acquainted with the issue,” wrote Pazaratz. 

It remains to be seen what precedent Pazaratz’s decision will set for cases involving COVID vaccination of children with separated parents. Several cases across the country have seen judges ruling against the ex-partner who opposed the vaccine for their children, including a case in New Brunswick where a father temporarily lost custody of his son for being unvaccinated himself. 

The media isn’t finished smearing Canada’s truckers

By
Candice Malcolm
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It has been almost one week since the trucks left Ottawa and Justin Trudeau’s fake emergency concluded, but the media isn’t finished trying to smear the Canadians that peacefully protested Justin Trudeau’s mandates.

This week. the media highlighted anti-trucker voices to mislead Canadians into thinking the convoy was an “occupation,” journalists obsess over an outspoken character to smear the entire movement and legacy media elites call the protesters “anti-social yobs” and “half-wits.”

It’s Fake News Friday on the Candice Malcolm Show, and Candice is joined by True North producer Harrison Faulkner to discuss the worst examples on fake news this week.

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Veteran protesting COVID mandates prepares to march over B.C. mountains

By
Harley Sims
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In a scene right out of Rambo (First Blood), Canadian Armed Forces veteran James Topp reached the town of Hope, British Columbia on Thursday evening, completing the first 170km of his march from Vancouver to Ottawa and preparing to take on the Cascade mountains.

His journey’s GPS Live Tracker can be found here.

Topp, who is marching to Ottawa to protest overbearing government mandates under COVID, arrived with 9 followers at the parking lot of Rolly’s Restaurant at 6pm PST, where they were greeted by a small crowd.

James Topp is marching to Ottawa from Vancouver to protest overbearing government mandates under COVID

Topp, who departed from the Terry Fox monument at B.C. Place last Sunday, announced that he would be taking a couple of days before heading onto the next leg of his journey – likely the Crowsnest Highway through Sunshine Valley and Manning Park to Princeton.

He told True North it “was going well” before heading off for some well-deserved rest.

Since appearing at a Surrey border protest to announce his mission two weeks ago, Topp has gained thousands of online supporters.

Since appearing at a Surrey border protest to announce his mission two weeks ago, James Topp has gained thousands of online supporters.

He first declared his intention to walk to Ottawa on Feb. 12, when he made the decision to appear in full uniform at the Pacific Border Crossing. For that, he said, he is currently facing an investigation by the CAF and severe career consequences.

“Anybody can stand there and beak off,” he told True North. “But the uniform was the only mechanism I had available to me with the strength of the convictions I now have to get the message out there to people to start doing something.”

Topp has said he will not accept money, urging any cash donations go to WoundedWarriors.ca. 

He is, however, looking for places to stay along the route as well as help with other details of the march, including fuel cards for his support vehicle. He’s also asking for volunteers who can contribute 10 hours of their time.

James Topp, who is marching to Ottawa to protest overbearing government mandates under COVID, arrived with 9 followers at the parking lot of Rolly’s Restaurant at 6pm PST, where they were greeted by a small crowd.

Topp’s team can be reached via CanadaMarches.ca and its corresponding Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages.

As reported by True North’s Lindsay Shepherd last fall, Rolly’s Restaurant made headlines by refusing to adopt B.C.’s vaccine passport, citing the privacy rights and medical freedom of its customers. The restaurant was shut down by a court order in October.

Alberta balances budget, forecasts surplus for next year

By
Jonathan Bradley
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The Alberta government has announced a balanced budget for the first time in 14 years. 

“Due to spending restraint + dynamic growth in every sector, Alberta projects first surplus in 14 years,” said Alberta premier Jason Kenney in a tweet on Thursday. “Alberta leads (Canada) in growth.”

Kenney announced that Alberta’s economy was diversifying and that the latest budget was moving the province forward into a better future. 

Alberta finance minister Travis Toews said that the province was seeing increased revenue across the entire budget because of “this government’s relentless pursuit of pro-growth, open-for-business policies.” 

“Balancing the budget requires more than good fortune,” said Toews in a speech in the Alberta legislature. “It takes discipline and leadership.” 

Toews said that the previous NDP government under Rachel Notley had increased spending by 4% every year. Even considering the increased energy price projections in the latest budget, he said, Alberta would have had a $6 billion deficit this year if it had continued with Notley’s rate of spending. 

“This government has made the difficult decisions,” he said. “Decisions that weren’t always popular, but decisions Albertans sent us to this house to make and decisions that have put us on a much stronger fiscal path for future generations.” 

Toews said the balanced budget would include “expanding health-care capacity and helping Albertans develop their skills and find jobs.”

“The government’s focused, responsible fiscal management and relentless pursuit of economic growth has put the province on a more sustainable fiscal trajectory,” he said in a press release. “Budget 2022 will help Alberta move forward into a very hopeful and prosperous future.”

The Kenney government has said it expects to see a surplus of $500 million for 2022-2023, compared with the forecast deficit of $3.2 billion for 2021-2022. 

Surpluses of $900 million and $700 million have been forecast for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. 

Ottawa Police tweets shredded by international pushback

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
-

Twitter announcements put out by the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) during last weekend’s crackdown on Freedom Convoy protesters have received some unflattering international attention.

As law enforcement moved in on the Ottawa demonstrators, the OPS continually put out statements –  some containing threats –  in order to deter protesters and to keep residents of the city updated on the situation. 

The tweets made it far beyond Canada’s capital, however, drawing reactions from foreign politicians, journalists and other public figures and organizations. 

The most controversial tweet by far was where the OPS declared they would actively look to track down and charge anyone seen at convoy demonstrations. 

Over 20,000 people commented, and over 10,000 shared the tweet. 

Respondents included Texas Republican senator Ted Cruz, who retweeted it saying, “this is what happens without the First Amendment.”

Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany described the tweet as “unreal,” while the Libertarian Party of Kentucky accused Ottawa cops of being tyrants and enemies of freedom.

The statement even got the attention of CNN contributor Mary Katharine Ham, who tweeted, “who is running this account?”

On Feb 18, demonstrators including an elderly Indigenous woman were reportedly injured after police used riot horses to disrupt the crowd.

The OPS claimed on Twitter that police on horseback were brought in due to “aggressive” behaviour from protesters and that a bicycle had been thrown at one of the horses. A review of several videos and photographs of the incident appears to show no such incident, however.

The OPS also said that there had not been any serious injuries from the trampling even though there were reports of people being sent to hospital as well as an investigation launched by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

Responding to the tweet, US activist and former Navy SEAL Carl Higbie invited the OPS to “(n)ame one person who assaulted an officer… Your officers advanced INTO protesters and you used horses to push them back even further.” He added that the department was “full of sh*t.”

Social media personality Mike Cernovich also chimed in, calling the OPS “liars.”

Meanwhile, a tweet by the OPS put out last Saturday morning also received a lot of attention when it accused protesters of being “assaultive and aggressive” and stated police would respond with helmets and batons.

Conservative commentator Dave Rubin made strong accusations in his quote tweet, writing, “(y)es they (the police) are Nazi’s and no I will not apologize for saying it.”

Ukrainian-American author, podcaster and columnist Micheal Malice facetiously rephrased the tweet, saying, “(y)ou were aggressive with the horses that were trampling you,” then referred to the OPS as “the filth”. 

Talk radio host Michael Berry tweeted, “(t)he beatings will continue until morale improves.”

TPUSA personality Benny Johnson shared the OPS tweet, adding, “(y)ou are assaulting Journalists.” 

This came after police shot Rebel News reporter Alexa Lavoie in the leg with a gas canister at point-blank range.

Police also pepper-sprayed True North journalist Andrew Lawton. A lawyer has since been retained on behalf of Lawton and True North for an upcoming lawsuit.

The tweets from the OPS also resulted in a lot of memes, including some that poked fun at the claim that a bicycle was thrown at one of the horses.

Parody accounts of the police department were also created, including one called Ottawa Gestapo, whose bio reads, “we do it for your health and safety”

The account has multiple amusing tweets, with some resembling those put out by the verified OPS account.

Another Twitter account going by the username @911policeottawa also parodied the OPS account, although Twitter has since suspended it for violating the platform’s rules.

The OPS has since established a secure zone around downtown Ottawa following the invocation of the Emergencies Act last week. 

Despite the Act being revoked on Wednesday, police can still be seen controlling access to the city’s downtown core. 

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