As speculation of an early election mounts, Ontario Premier Doug Ford will be rolling out a $200 handout to all Ontarians in an effort to alleviate cost of living concerns. However, economists have questioned the effectiveness of the planned handouts.
After weeks of speculation, the Ford government announced that as part of Ontario’s fall economic statement, the government would be rolling out $200 dollars to each Ontarian and an additional $200 to families with a child eligible for the Canada Child Rebate.
The plan is estimated to cost taxpayers $3 billion and is expected to be delivered in early 2025 to an estimated 12.5 million adults and 2.5 million children.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is questioned about his decision to send every resident in the province a $200 cheque and whether this could be considered an attempt to buy votes. pic.twitter.com/jAvo6ekMNM
Premier Ford says that the government is handing out $200 to Ontarians in an effort to alleviate cost of living concerns and the financial pain borne by the Trudeau government’s carbon tax.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep costs down for Ontario families, but the federal carbon tax and high interest rates are still hurting taxpayers across the province,” said Ford in a press release.
“This $200 taxpayer rebate will give Ontario taxpayers, especially families with children, some much-deserved help so they can make ends meet.”
Despite Ford and his government touting the policy as a means to alleviate affordability concerns, economists are questioning how much the planned handouts will help Ontario residents.
In a comment to True North, economist Trevor Tombe said that while the handouts may be too small to fuel inflation in the province, the financial aid may not have as big of an impact as the PC government claims.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is asked why the $200 he plans to send each Ontario taxpayer isn’t being used to reduce the province's $373.4 billion debt. pic.twitter.com/weJ7K1Z2vg
“If the aim is to boost household disposable income, then tax reductions would be preferable—since they would also encouraging work and investment incentives,” said Tombe.
“Sending out $200 cheques is a one-time boost, but doesn’t provide lasting incentives for economic growth, investment, employment, and so on.”
Tombe also warned that financing such a spending program by taking out debt can only mean higher costs down the line for taxpayers.
“There’s also the issue of debt. Borrowing to fund this policy means higher interest costs in the future, which could lead to higher taxes or reduced spending down the line to compensate,” said Tombe.
Before the fall economic statement, the Ontario government was projected to run a $647.0 million deficit in fiscal year 2023/24, down $666.0 million from initial projections. However, the $200 handouts will surely add to the province’s net debt which stands at $408.0 billion.
In fiscal year 2023/24, the Ontario government is expected to spend $14.1 billion on paying off debt interest.
In a comment to True North, laissez-faire economist Matthew Lau shared a column he had written in which he suggested that the Ontario government is quietly taking major sums from Ontarians in the form of taxes while loudly redistributing small sums of said tax dollars.
“Sending $200 cheques to every Ontarian might — as Thomas Sowell suggested — be a successful way for the Ford government to increase public support ahead of a potential provincial election,” said Lau.
“But the economic evidence suggests, assuming personal and business income tax revenues are used to fund these rebates, that for every $1 spent on this scheme will cost taxpayers more than $3 — a horrendous deal.”
Premier Ford has indicated that he will not be calling for a new election by the year’s end, but suggested that he might pull the trigger on calling for one in 2025.
True North reached out to Premier Ford’s office for comment, but no response was received.
The Leadership Debate Commission established by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has selected the CBC to “produce, promote, and distribute” the English leaders’ debate in the next election. At the same time, the broadcaster’s French counterpart, Radio-Canada will do the same for the Francophone debate.
The commission was established in 2018 to organize one French and one English debate in each general election.
The next federal election is set to take place no later than October 2025. However, both the Conservative and the Bloc Quebecois parties have vowed to push for an early election, and the NDP have ended a coalition agreement with the Liberals, meaning an early election is more likely than ever.
The commission appointed the public broadcaster, to stream the events across television and digital platforms, including social media and YouTube.
According to the announcement, the debates will also be available in “Indigenous languages and non-official languages, and accessible in ASL, LSQ, closed captioning and described video.”
The CBC selected the hosts with the direction that there would be only one moderator per debate.
The CBC and Radio-Canada’s mandate from the Commission was to select moderators who on top of being experienced television, panel hosts and journalists, could formulate and pose questions neutrally, were knowledgeable about the politics of the moment and could frame questions in an unbiased and non-partisan way.
Steve Paikin, The host of TVO’s “The Agenda with Steve Paikin” has been appointed to be the only moderator of the English debate, while Patrice Roy, a journalist and Anchor of Radio-Canada’s “Téléjournal avec Patrice Roy” will moderate the French debate.
A spokesperson for the CBC, Chuck Thompson told True North that the two moderators were chosen for their “wide ranging, extensive experience, particularly as it pertains to moderating debates and covering elections.”
Paikin has more than 40 years of journalism experience and moderated the federal leaders’ debates in 2006, 2008, and 2011 and the Ontario leaders’ debates in 2007, 2011, 2014, 2018, and 2022. Roy, a journalist since 1989, hosted the federal debates in 2019 and 2021 and the Quebec provincial debates in 2018 and 2022.
The Commission emphasized “overall fairness” for each leader in the debate rather than “strict enforcement of equal time.” The moderators will be responsible for keeping time.
“The moderator is to be on stage as a facilitator and act as the conductor of the debate, to get the debate flowing between the leaders, facilitate discussion and elicit exchanges between the leaders, while keeping the focus and attention on the content and on the leaders. And to allow leaders to challenge each other’s positions and leave rebuttals largely to them,” the commission’s framework reads.
According to the commission, the framework is designed to encourage “meaningful exchanges” between the leaders, help Canadians learn about the parties’ platforms and policy positions, shed light on the leaders’ character, and enable the voting public to make an informed decision at the ballot box while prioritizing information and content for the voting public over entertainment values.
The Alberta government has launched a legal challenge against the federal government’s carbon tax exemption for heating oil, contending that the Liberals’ carve-outs were illegal and unconstitutional.
Alberta filed an application with the Federal Court on Oct. 29, seeking a judicial review of the exemption. The province is asking the court to rule the exemption unconstitutional and unlawful, arguing that it contradicts the Liberals’ stated purpose for implementing the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.
“Last year, Ottawa decided Canadians in the East deserved a three-year break from paying the carbon tax on their home heating costs,” said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. “Albertans simply cannot stand by for another winter while the federal government picks and chooses who their carbon tax applies to. Since they won’t play fair, we’re going to take the federal government back to court.”
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Smith added that some parts of Alberta experience temperatures below -50°C with wind chill, and home heating is not optional.
“Here in Alberta, we don’t tend to think that more taxes are the solution for anything, let alone a tax on all the things our citizens need to live and thrive in this cold climate,” said Smith.
She added that putting financial burdens on Canadians facing a cost of living crisis is “cruel and punitive.”
Smith said that Alberta has been fighting against the carbon tax since 2019 and even took it to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2021.
“It was wrong when it was made into law, and it’s wrong now,” said Smith. “The federal carbon tax has always been unfair, but the selective way it’s being applied now is also unconstitutional.”
Alberta Minister of Justice Mickey Amery said that the province has been very successful in similar court cases in the past. He cited that the Emergencies Act was deemed unconstitutional, the courts struck down the plastics ban, and Bill C-69 was also said to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act was deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada. However, federal jurisdiction to regulate greenhouse gas emissions was limited to creating minimum national standards for carbon pricing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Albertan government said that the Liberals are no longer creating minimum national standards applied evenly across the country, as the Atlantic region and a specific fuel type have been favoured over others.
The percentage of households using home heating oil in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba is less than 1%. Conversely, 40% of households in Prince Edward Island use home heating oil, followed by 32% in Nova Scotia and 18% in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Worse still, Amery said that home heating oil is much less clean than natural gas, meaning the feds are rewarding other provinces for using a less environmentally-conscious heat source.
Since Apr. 1, 2024, when the carbon tax reached $80 per tonne, Albertans have paid 35 cents in federal taxes per litre of fuel, according to the Alberta government.
By 2030, some Canadians will pay more in taxes than they do for the gas itself.
Smith said that since the inception of carbon taxes, Alberta school authorities have paid more than $49 million to the feds without receiving any rebate. By 2030, she projects this number will rise to $60 million annually.
Alternatively, Smith said that money could be used to hire 495 teachers or 1,000 nurses.
The city of Calgary could have hired an additional 112 police officers or firefighters based on the money the city sent to the Liberals in carbon tax in 2023 alone, she said.
Alberta’s premier added that she recently texted British Columbia Premier David Eby and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe to congratulate them both on re-election. She invited Moe to join the court case. The two have joined forces before.
“This exemption is not only unfair to the vast majority of Canadians, but it is also unlawful as the federal government does not have the authority to make special exemptions for certain parts of the country under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act,” said Amery. “The federal government isn’t even following its own laws now. Someone needs to hold them accountable, and Alberta is stepping up to do just that.”
Amery said he expects the legal challenge to take approximately one year.
Smith said that Trudeau doesn’t have the mandate to impose the kind of policies he’s trying to, hence the recent Scrap the Cap campaign.
She noted that she hopes a federal election is called “sooner rather than later” so that a more constructive conversation can be had with the next government.
If it wasn’t for open border policies and an endless supply of cheap labour into the economy, would Canada technically be in a recession? While GDP is growing, Canada’s per capita GDP is continuing to decrease meaning Canadians are getting poorer. What does this mean for you and your family?
On the latest episode of The Faulkner Show, Harrison is joined by Russell Matthews, a Canadian financial commentator and real estate agent to discuss the crumbling state of Canada’s economy.
Russell Matthews on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@russellmatthews
A group comprising an Independent MP, an investigative journalist, and senior bureaucrats named four politicians and one government advisor allegedly involved in a China-led scheme to interfere in Canadian democracy.
Although the Trudeau government continues to withhold the list of elected officials named in a controversial foreign interference report, investigative journalist Sam Cooper claims to have uncovered several names of witting or unwitting officials working in favour of China from confidential whistleblowers. Two of those named by Cooper have denied the allegations.
Though Liberal International Trade Minister Mary Ng did not respond to True North’s request to comment, she denied the allegations on X.
“It’s unfortunate that Mr. Vuong recently gave Sam Cooper another platform to make insinuations about me, which I categorically reject,” she said. “Foreign interference is a serious matter of national security, and like all my Cabinet colleagues, I have been thoroughly screened by the top security experts in Canada.”
She took shots at Cooper’s credibility, saying his “conspiracy theories” have been “pushed from the main pages of Global News” to the “only place that will publish them” on his own website.
“It is not ok for him to continue fuelling this climate of suspicion against me,” Ng said on X.
Another individual named by Cooper, a Trudeau-appointed Liberal Senator Yuen Pao Woo, questioned whether Cooper’s “evidence ” in the press conference concluded foreign interference on his part at all.
“The press conference confirms my longstanding concern about the role of second-rate journalists, phoney experts, opportunistic politicians, and rogue officials in distracting Canadians from serious foreign interference issues and whipping up a frenzy that feeds on disinformation, partisanship, and bigotry,” Woo told True North.
Cooper also named the Liberal MP for Steveston—Richmond East, Parm Bains, saying he benefited from the PRC’s alleged foreign interference, Guo Ding, a journalist and advisor to B.C. Premier David Eby, and former Conservative senator Victor Oh as being involved in foreign interference.
Neither Bains, Ding, nor Oh responded to True North’s requests for comment.
The NSICOP report suggested that at least 11 unidentified officials were wittingly or unwittingly abetting foreign entities, primarily the People’s Republic of China and India, to interfere in Canadian democracy.
Only those with security clearances areallowed to look at the list, therefore, True North was not able to independently verify whether the four individuals named by Cooper were included in the NSCIOP report.
Cooper alleged that Ng and Liberal MP for Steveston—Richmond East, Parm Bains, benefited from foreign interference from the PRC. Cooper also alleged Guo Ding, a journalist and advisor to B.C. Premier David Eby, Victor Oh, a former Conservative senator, and Trudeau-appointed Liberal B.C. senator Yuen Pao Woo were involved.
In 2023, Cooper was fired from Global News following a lawsuit over his reporting on China-led foreign interference, which was criticized as lacking in evidence.
Cooper was joined at a press conference on Monday by Independent MP Kevin Vuong, a suspected target of a foreign interference plot. Charles Burton, senior advisor to the government on foreign policy with China, and Michel Juneau-Katsuya, former chief of the Asia Pacific desk at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, were also in attendance.
He said that a 47-minute recording from a Vancouver meeting leaked to him and evidence given to him by confidential whistleblowers allegedly proved his claims about Woo, Oh, Ding and Bains and Ng.
Cooper claimed that three national security sources told him that CSIS investigations identified Ng as one of 11 Toronto-area candidates that China’s United Front interference networks clandestinely supported in the 2019 election. However, Cooper said that CSIS assessed that Ng was unwittingly implicated in the alleged interference.
Public Safety Canada, citing an Australian report, notes that Beijing uses the United Front network to “stifle criticism, infiltrate foreign political parties, diaspora communities, universities and multinational corporations.”
Cooper claimed that CSIS was more specifically concerned with Ng’s staff, who allegedly met privately with a Toronto consulate diplomat, Zo Wei, to discuss China-related issues. He said CSIS identified Wei as a confirmed intelligence actor and alleged he worked with Ng’s staffers to “provide information on meetings of elected officials and their whereabouts” and was directed to privately report to the intelligence agent on Ng.
Cooper also alleged that Ding, Oh, and Woo were all connected to the “Canada Committee 100 Society.” According to Cooper, the organization has members with direct connections to Beijing’s overseas influence arm, The United Front Work Department.
Investigative journalist Sam Cooper alleges that Senators Yuen Pau Woo and Victor Oh have close links to China and that CSIS is investigating their possible connections to foreign interference. pic.twitter.com/eSdt1lL9H9
According to Cooper, many members, including journalists at the 100 Society meeting, which Woo was allegedly recorded speaking at later supported Bains, who said he would fight against a foreign influence registry and against Chiu, who later lost his seat.
Cooper played a transcribed version of the meeting during the press conference in which the Liberal Senator Woo “expressed his concerns” about Canada’s focus on the UFWD groups, saying being part of an organization that is part of the foreign influence arm of the PRC “should not be a litmus test” on an individual’s loyalty to Canada. Woo also said he was fighting very hard against such “litmus tests.”
Woo was granted intervener status in the Hogue Commission on Foreign Interference and has been criticized as a ‘mouthpiece” for China after he said Canada should be careful about criticizing China’s mass arrest and sterilization of Uyghur Muslims due to Canada’s alleged treatment of Indigenous people.
Cooper said Woo’s intervention in the Hogue Commission fulfilled his vow to fight against those who would question individuals based on their connections to the UFWD. He said Woo “repeatedly” filed submissions “undermining” Canadian intelligence and used Chinese intelligence talking points in the commission.
Cooper said Burton, who translated the briefing for him, said Woo’s briefing to the 100 Society “effectively enables the legitimacy of agencies of the Chinese Communist Party in our Country.”
Cooper also alleged that Ding, the head of the 100 Society, was “involved” in the 2022 Conservative Party Leadership Race with community leaders who were “officially connected” with the UFWD.
Conservative Senator Oh, one of the “Canada Committee 100 Society members,” was forced to retire in June 2024. Former Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said he had considered expelling Oh from the party due to suspected foreign influence, leading to his early retirement.
Oh was also found to have broken the Senate’s conflict of interest and ethics code in 2020 after accepting an all-expenses-paid trip to China in 2017.
Oh reportedly advocated on behalf of a Chinese-state-owned business and called former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu a liar after Chiu raised concerns about foreign interference in his campaign, which he lost to Liberal MP Parm Bains.
Cooper alleged one of his confidential sources in the intelligence community “repeatedly stressed” that Oh was a significant target in CSIS investigations into federal election interference.
The Liberal government has failed to meet Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves Francois Blanchet’s ultimatum to support two private members’ bills on increasing Canadian pensions and supply management for farming, leading Blanchet to push for an early election.
Following the NDP officially ending its coalition with the Liberal government during the lead-up to a Manitoba election, the BQ positioned itself to form a new coalition with the Liberal government to keep them in power in exchange for two of its private members’ bills being passed.
One of the bills, Bill C-319, proposed raising Old Age Security payments for seniors aged 65 and 74 by 10%. The other, Bill C-282, would exclude altering supply management in the dairy, poultry, and eggs sectors from any future international trade deals.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says the Bloc is working with other parties to ensure the government falls. pic.twitter.com/PKFmuiLfQ6
The BQ gave the government five weeks to pass these bills or it would consult with opposition parties to call an early election, the deadline of Oct. 29 came Tuesday, leading Blanchet to vow to push for an early election immediately.
“This government’s expiry date has passed, and it’s up to the people of Canada and Quebec to put together a new Parliament,” Blanchet said. “The government is in this situation. It could have made a proposal or accepted the reasonable proposal of the BQ, widely supported by the people of Quebec and Canada, or it could have tried to reach an agreement with the NDP that would be much further to the left than the people of Quebec and Canada want.”
He said he was convinced that the NDP were aware of how “toxic “ the situation was and only needed encouragement to trigger the next election.
“If the NDP, which voted in favour of our two bills, wants to be consistent, seeing that the government hasn’t delivered anything that Quebeckers and Canadians want, they should get some signs printed,” Blanchet said.
He said his party and those who voted alongside the bills “can’t turn our backs on pensioners and agricultural producers.”
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet: "The Prime Minister should walk to the house of the General Governor and say, 'OK, let's call an election.'" pic.twitter.com/AlQdd21TuJ
“As things stand, we are discussing the end of a government,” Blanchet said. “At the earliest opportunity, following conversations that the government will have with the leaders of the other opposition parties, its days are seriously numbered.”
The NDP did not respond to True North’s requests to comment on their level of support for an early election. Though Singh has said his party is ready for an early election but will consider each vote of non-confidence on a “vote by vote basis.”
When asked by reporters if Blanchet would reverse his rhetoric if the government decided to give in to his demands, he said only if they did so before the fall of the government, which he said could happen as early as tomorrow.
“Let’s say that if they give us exactly all we have asked for before they fall because if there’s a vote tomorrow, they might fall tomorrow, we will look into it and be coherent with all we have said so far,” Blanchet said. “We want precisely what is in Bill C-319, and in Bill C-282, bring that to us, and we’ll discuss, but in the meantime, they are seriously in danger to fall.”
Blanchet said this doesn’t mean the BQ will vote on every non-confidence motion.
“It depends on the way it’s written. You know, if it’s against the values of Quebec in terms of language, secularity of the state, immigration, the environment, we’re not stupid. We will not go against what we are,” he said. “The most simple way to do it is a motion that says that the chamber removes its support and confidence in this government, and that’s the end.”
He said his party is ready for an election. The five-week deadline they gave, he said, allowed them and every other party to prepare themselves for a potential Christmas election and for an election to be called as early as Wednesday, Oct. 30.
“Not only are we ready, but we might be expecting that with enthusiasm,” Blanchet said. “I do not believe that Quebecers want elections so much, but I do believe that they will understand that this is where we are now.”
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is asked if the Bloc is ready for an election. pic.twitter.com/MJLwDeWXeM
Conservatives most recently proposed a vote of non-confidence to trigger an election in September, though both the NDP and BQ voted against it.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his fellow Conservatives have vowed to continue to push for an early election, which they say will allow Canadians to vote on issues such as the Liberal carbon tax, crime and safety, the economy and housing, among other things.
A depiction of a woman in a hijab as part of a welcome sign at Montreal’s city hall will be removed amid public backlash and in response to criticism that the image is at odds with Quebec’s commitment to secularism.
The recently renovated city hall featured a welcome sign in the lobby with a drawing of three individuals, two men and a woman in a hijab.
The pencil-style sketch said “Welcome to Montreal City Hall!” written in French above them.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante told Radio-Canada during an interview on Sunday that the decision to remove the image was made in response to the “discomfort” it causes and also because institutions should remain secular.
“I think we can talk about diversity — the great cultural wealth of Montreal — while favouring secularism,” said Plante.
Additionally, an advertisement image of children reading at Montreal’s east end public library in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough featuring a girl wearing a hijab has caused a stir among some.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called both the city hall and the library images a sign that religion has started to invade the public sphere.
The image at Montreal’s city hall was initially unveiled last June following the building’s extensive renovations, however, there have been numerous calls to have it removed ever since.
The Mouvement laïque québécois, a group that advocates for state secularism, argued that the image “offends the vast majority of women and men of all religions or beliefs who want real and apparent secularism in their public institutions in the name of equality and freedom of conscience” in a July statement.
Another provincial women’s rights group, Pour les droits des femmes du Québec, called the image unacceptable in a letter to Plante earlier this year, describing the hijab as a fundamentalist religious symbol.
The group claimed that the city’s decision to display it does not “pass the threshold of social acceptability and can only weaken social cohesion.”
The Association of Iranian Women of Montreal also criticized the image being a representation of women’s oppression.
The Canadian Council of Muslim Women, which supports women who choose to wear the hijab, agreed that the image was poorly designed because it’s not an accurate representation of the full diversity of Montrealers.
However, the group said its removal sends the wrong message.
“The impression we get is that we should be invisible. We’re not part of the society, we’re pushed to the margin of society. So this is denying our presence,” Samaa Elibyari, co-chairperson for the group’s Montreal chapter, told CBC News.
Quebec’s Bill 21, which prohibits religious symbols from the public sphere passed in June 2019 and was met with strong criticisms that it disproportionately impacted religious minorities and those who hold more conservative values.
“Under the bill, personnel members of a body must exercise their functions with their face uncovered,” states the bill.
Bill 21 has been heavily criticized by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, who said, “regardless of what you believe or practice, and whether you subscribe to a particular set of religious beliefs or don’t, protecting freedom of religion is an important part of ensuring that all people are treated with equal dignity and respect.”
“The state should be neutral and impartial when it comes to matters of deeply-held personal beliefs,” it added.
A routine traffic stop in July escalated into a major police investigation that resulted in the seizure of 11 illegal firearms, tens of thousands of dollars in drugs, and nearly 160 charges against five Brampton residents.
Three of the five suspects were family members: two brothers and a mother. Two have already been released on bail and one was released on the same day they were arrested on an undertaking.
One of the alleged criminals, Navdeep Nagra, was out on bail at the time of his arrest. He alone is facing 105 charges and remains in custody; however, his brother and mother, who face three charges each, have both been released.
At a press conference on Monday, Peel police announced the results of “Project Sledgehammer,” an operation that began with a traffic stop and expanded into a months-long investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies. The investigation targeted the group suspected of drug trafficking in Peel and the Greater Toronto Area.
Detective Sergeant Chris Fiore, head of Peel’s gun and gangs unit, said the investigation led to raids on three homes in Brampton, one in Waterloo, and a storage facility in Caledon.
Police located 11 firearms, including assault rifles and a submachine gun, 900 rounds of ammunition, and 85 prohibited devices. Other items seized included 53 Glock selector switches that turn semi-automatic handguns fully automatic and an estimated $20,000 of cocaine. Additionally, 80 oxycodone pills and 100 other unknown pills were confiscated.
The Peel region has become a hub for illegal firearms. A previous record firearm bust in Peel highlighted that 97% of the guns were smuggled from the United States.
“On average, we are seeing an illegal firearm seized by our officers every 30 hours,” said Chief of Peel Regional Police Nishan Duraiappah. “Approximately 90% of these firearms that we seize are directly traced back to the U.S. And I can say in reality, the remaining 10% are also likely from the U.S; they just reflect the ability of the difficulty we have on tracing some of these firearms because they’ve been de-identified.”
Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich highlighted that illegal firearms seizures have increased by 87% this year. Similarly, shootings have increased by 80% compared to last year. He added that roughly half of those arrested are out on some form of release from previous crimes.
Regional Chair of the Peel Police Service Board, Nando Iannicca, said that individuals committing crimes while being out on bail has become a recurring theme of great concern.
“We have the privilege of representing the public,” said Iannicca. “Something’s fundamentally wrong when we have that privilege as elected officials, and we keep putting citizens and police officers in harm’s way because of what you referred to: bail — the revolving system of justice.”
Duraiappah said that the volume and accessibility to illegal firearms have skyrocketed.
The same day of the press conference from Peel Regional Police, the Ontario government released a statement urging the federal government to take immediate action on bail reform.
The provincial government made six demands from the Liberals, such as restoring minimum sentencing for serious crimes and removing bail availability for offenders charged with murder, terrorism, human trafficking, and other very serious crimes.
Female Uber passengers are being warned about taking late night trips without weapons for self-defence after an Edmonton woman was allegedly kidnapped and narrowly avoided being sexually assaulted.
The allegations were posted on Facebook on the afternoon of Oct. 19, saying that the crime had occurred earlier that morning. The post alleged that the Uber driver was named Jasdev Singh.
The post told the story of the woman, who was allegedly taken behind the Ikea of Edmonton South Common instead of being taken to her location after the Uber driver locked the doors. The driver locked the doors and is alleged to have tried to sexually assault her.
Thinking quickly on her feet, the woman contacted her boyfriend, who sped quickly to her location. Despite successfully rescuing his girlfriend from the car, the couple allegedly came under fire from the driver who shot at them.
Edmonton Crime Report, a Facebook page that highlights local crime, shared the story which prompted many locals to offer their two cents.
“Just like in India, they’re starting to do it here,” reads one post.
The over 400 commenters on the Facebook post had differing opinions on what might have happened at the scene.
Some said that the story was simply to spread misinformation and hate towards Indian people. Whereas others said that they believed the story 100%.
Some commenters said that similar situations have happened in Edmonton, in other cities, and to some of their friends.
The Edmonton Police confirmed with True North that they are investigating a sexual assault that occurred in the area near Ikea of Edmonton South Common on Saturday Oct. 19, 2024.
The police were unable to provide any more details as the incident remains under investigation.
True North reached out to Uber for comment but received no reply.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
