Former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford is the last surviving of the first ministers involved in the drafting and adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. This week, Peckford announced he’s suing the government over its vaccine mandate for air travel, arguing it violates Canadians’ mobility rights, as well as the rights to life, liberty, and freedom from discrimination. Peckford joined True North’s The Andrew Lawton Show to discuss the lawsuit, and the growing problem of governments trampling on fundamental freedoms.
On Day 5 of the Truckers for Freedom Convoy, the Western fleet was met by huge crowds as it rolled through the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the Eastern fleet headed across New Brunswick and billionaire Elon Musk declared, “Canadian truckers rule.”
Throngs of cheering supporters greeted the Western fleet of the convoy on Wednesday as it made its way through the GTA.
Supporters gathered at Vaughan Mills mall outside of Toronto to celebrate the truckers and to hold a rally of their own.
This was the scene over another 401 overpass today.
Supporters of the freedom trucker convoy are being picked up on traffic cameras all over Ontario, Canada filling up the overpasses. pic.twitter.com/D118q7e3Nv
Here is the convoy rolling through Port Hope later on.
The beginning of the “freedom convoy” has just passed through Port Hope. The truckers, as best we can tell, are driving in multiple groups and they’re running behind schedule. The bulk of the convoy was supposed to arrive in Kingston at 5pm. pic.twitter.com/bKuYg0Qnek
This is what’s waiting to greet the convoy of truckers in Oshawa as they head east towards Port Hope, Kingston and eventually Ottawa. It’s a similar scene at dozens of overpasses along HWY 401. pic.twitter.com/2CizCuJNDn
In Ottawa, Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole finally decided to join the rest of his caucus in supporting the convoy, saying in a video posted to Twitter, “this policy on our truckers is an attack on common sense, and it’s an attack on every Canadian’s household budget.”
O’Toole went on to say, “we need to show our truckers we appreciate their hard work and that we are going to stand up for their right to peacefully protest.”
Truckers were our heroes at the start of the pandemic.
Now Trudeau and his Liberal allies want to smear and demonize them. Let’s get the truth out. 👇 pic.twitter.com/xwkDft5mP6
Before entering a caucus meeting this morning, Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre was asked by a legacy media reporter about “the extremist elements trying to latch on to the truck convoy”.
In response, Poilievre told reporters that truckers “have kept all of you alive over the past two years.”
Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre responds to the legacy media’s attempts to brand the #TruckersForFreedom convoy as “extremists,” and stands up for the brave truckers heading to Ottawa. pic.twitter.com/PMcOYLzPuE
Joe Rogan also endorsed the truckers in a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, saying, “apparently, they are all being mandated to be vaccinated. They’re like, ‘Hey, we’re not even in contact with anybody. We’re in our truck. Like, we just drive.’”
Former NHLers Theo Fleury and Mike Fisher chimed in as well.
Mike Fisher said on Instagram, “to the truckers, I can’t thank you enough. You guys are going to change the country for the better.”
The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) doubled down on its far-left antics this week rather than take steps to reverse the decisions that have made it the laughingstock of Ontario.
The meeting should have begun with an apology from WRDSB chair Scott Piatkowksi to parents, and more specifically to the teacher whom he and other trustees rudely cancelled in the middle of her presentation on Jan. 17.
Instead, Piatkowksi belittled those who criticized the board’s decision, saying his critics “may not understand the subtle code words” used to further marginalize trans people and “delegitimize their existence.”
Christine Burjoski, a teacher for 20 years, was cut off merely for trying to discuss the age appropriateness of two highly sexualized books now widely available in elementary school libraries.
Piatkowski insisted her presentation violated the Ontario Human Rights Code, and ordered her to stop. Burjoski found herself placed on leave and under review the very next day. A few days later, Piatkowski tweeted that the customary YouTube video of the meeting would not be posted because of the “harm” it could cause.
Piatkowski even had the chutzpah to play the victim card despite having caused so much harm to Burjoski’s career.
“In the past week I and other members of the board have had a taste of the abuse and hatred that trans folks experience everyday,” he said. “While frankly it has been an awful experience, it pales in comparison to the harm that would have been caused to trans students, staff and the community if I had not acted when I did.”
When Mike Ramsay – the board’s only non-white trustee – endeavoured to speak about the “moral panic” created by Piatkowski and his fellow bullies on the board, the chairman quickly cut him off.
“You’re out of order,” he said more than once, then with lips pursed, “Stop! Stop!”
Piatkowski then gave the floor for more than an hour to activist speakers, some from outside Waterloo Region, who further defamed Burjoski.
David Alton, who appeared online sporting a blue and red hat and similarly coloured circles around his eyes, claimed Burjoski illustrated just how queer identities are in “the firing line in an organized system of hate.”
Alton – a self-described they/them/queer/non-binary person – was one of two speakers who followed Piatkowski’s lead by calling Ramsay, the WRDSB’s only black trustee, “harmful.”
The day after the meeting, Alton tweeted that he had been the target of an organized TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) campaign.
I have become the target of an international terf campaign. They use twitter to organize and to harrass folks who don't obey cishet rules. Please join me in reporting them and pressuring @twitter to shut down their organizing. https://t.co/imwduxvwUQ
But the true star of the show came one hour into the circus of tears.
Jodi Koberinski – a University of Waterloo doctoral fellow and self-described queer-identified mom – contended there was an “outrage machine” in motion, saying that “our children must not become pawns in some identity politics from the far right.”
She then insisted that Ramsay be censured, suggesting his Twitter threads were “dangerous and harmful.”
When I pointed out to her on Twitter that her rights clearly took precedence over those of a black man, she blocked me. Asked following the meeting how he felt being silenced by the chairman, Ramsay said he now knows how Ms. Burjoski felt when she was shut down on Jan. 17.
I agree with Ramsay.
It was all an attempt by the board’s white and woke trustees to silence criticism by exploiting vulnerable groups – an action I believe that has made the WRDSB a joke across Ontario.
It is clear that the legacy media is blind to radicalism on one hand and obsessed with extremism on the other. They apply few if any criticisms to their coverage of left-wing protests but treat a movement of conservative-minded Canadians as racists who shouldn’t be welcome in polite society.
Nowhere has this been more obvious than with the media’s coverage of the grassroots Truckers for Freedom Convoy currently making its way to Ottawa.
Liberal-minded journalists and columnists have come out in droves to malign the tens of thousands of truckers opposed to unconscionable vaccine mandates and erosions of freedoms, calling them bigoted, evil and even domestic terrorists.
Comparisons to the Jan. 6 US Capitol riots have been their favourite, fear-mongering go-to message, part of an effort to convince everyday Canadians to see their fellow citizens as monsters.
Varied outlets have deployed these smears in lockstep with one another. Global News, CBC News, National Observer and the Toronto Star have all engaged in the same unified spin – demonizing convoy truckers and Canadians fighting for freedoms as enemies of all.
And yet when it came to the various left-wing-inspired demonstrations targeting Canada’s critical infrastructure in the past few years, the same sort of vehemence toward protestors was nonexistent.
When in 2020 far-left provocateurs were illegally blockading roads and bridges and lighting train tracks on fire, the mainstream media didn’t once compare them to terrorists. Such comparisons would even have been warranted, since there were plenty of arrests and criminal charges laid as these so-called protests held the nation hostage. Instead, reports from the press waxed poetic about the justice of the movement, avoiding any concerns about further violence.
The mainstream media’s double standard is also on display with the most recent iteration of left-wing protests targeting the BC LNG pipeline.
For example, Global News reporters wrote in one-sided reports about Edmontonians marching “in solidarity” against the project, while Londoners were out “in support” with the so-called Wet’suwet’en protestors.
Truckers, workers and their supporters who defend their jobs and liberties are not afforded the same sympathy, instead being branded as “white nationalists” or “far-right.”
As for CBC News, the state broadcaster jumped on board with other media outlets accusing the freedom convoy of being extremists.
Meanwhile, the top brass at CBC are seemingly fine with partnering with radical anarchist Franklin López to produce a one-sided “viewpoint documentary” about the BC LNG pipelines – supporting protests that have led to equipment sabotage and workers being stranded without food.
López is an individual who has published such videos as “Oil Pipelines Are Easy to Shut Down” and “How to Paralyze a Country,” videos that have found their way onto extremist anarchist websites that call for violence and celebrate criminal activities across the country.
The fact is, overblown claims of extremism about the convoy arose from the media itself. Their claims are propped up by anti-hate activists touted as “experts” – people whose careers profit from maligning freedom-oriented Canadians as racist and hateful.
As much as the legacy media tries to spin the Freedom Convoy as a radical uprising, and to paint Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a figure beset by extremists, the message is not catching on. People around the world are siding with the convoy.
Among the hundreds of thousands who support Canada’s freedom movement are billionaire Elon Musk, podcaster Joe Rogan and actor Rob Schneider. And those are only the ones who have made it public.
Although the media will likely try to inflate a few bad actors, journalists need to be reminded of something once again – something Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre put so succinctly on Thursday morning – that these truckers “have kept all of you alive for the last two years by filling your grocery shelves with the food that you eat and filling your homes with the products that you rely upon.”
At first the media ignored the trucker convoy on its way to Ottawa. Now that it’s become too big to ignore, the media and political elites have turned their attention to vilifying the convoy based on some isolated examples of nasty rhetoric from people who aren’t representative of the vast majority of supporters. True North’s Andrew Lawton says the convoy is growing for a reason, and that’s why Conservative MPs and Canadians of all stripes have been more vocal in sharing their support.
Also, former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford joins the show to talk about his Charter challenge against the federal government’s air travel vaccine mandate.
Some vaccinated Quebecers have launched services for those who are unvaccinated by offering to get them items such as groceries and alcohol from stores covered by the government’s strict new vaccine mandate.
Quebec premier Francois Legault banned unvaccinated people from government-run liquor and cannabis stores on Jan. 17, and from retail stores over 1500 square meters on Jan. 24. He is also planning to charge unvaccinated Quebecers a “significant” health tax.
While the retail mandate excludes grocery stores and pharmacies, the Quebec government said it did not consider Walmart or Costco to be grocery stores. Those who are unvaccinated are barred from grocery shopping at those establishments.
Quebec made an exception for the pharmacy sections of big box stores, but unvaccinated customers wishing to access them must be accompanied by store employees to make sure they do not purchase non-pharmacy items.
The policy effectively reduces access to food for the unvaccinated, leading some vaccinated Quebecers to offer to run errands for those who are barred from popular stores due to their personal medical choices.
Le Journal de Montreal reported that people are posting ads offering shopping services on sites including Kijiji and Facebook. Most are charging a small fee for their time.
True North came across postings on Kijiji for such services, including one from a woman named Angie who lives in the Mirabel Area north of Montreal. She is offering both shopping and delivery services.
Angie charges $10 if the person requesting her help is willing to meet her at the store to collect their items, and between $10 and $20 if she has to deliver them. This delivery fee varies according to distance.
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in support of the Truckers for Freedom Convoy on Thursday as protestors approached Ottawa to demand an end to COVID-19 mandates and the deterioration of civil liberties under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Tens of thousands of truck drivers are currently passing through southern Ontario as supporters cheer from bridges and the sides of highways. Another fleet of the convoy is making its way in from the East Coast.
Musk was not the only American to support the freedom movement brewing in Canada. In applauding the truckers, Musk stood with world-famous podcaster Joe Rogan who, in a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, pointed out the huge number of truckers who have joined the convoy.
“It’s a giant convoy of trucks,” said Rogan. “That’s apparently some insane amount of people. Fifty thousand trucks are headed to Ottawa to protest the vaccine mandates by Trudeau.”
“Apparently, they are all being mandated to be vaccinated. They’re like, ‘Hey, we’re not even in contact with anybody. We’re in our truck. Like, we just drive.’”
Musk and Rogan’s support for the convoy comes in addition to other celebrities speaking out, including actor Rob Schneider and former NHLers Theoren Fleury and Mike Fisher.
The freedom convoy was prompted by the federal Liberal government implementing a vaccine mandate requiring all cross-border truckers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to continue driving their routes.
News of the mandate prompted immediate condemnation from within the trucking industry and some members of the Conservative opposition.
Most recently, Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre blasted the legacy media for unfairly painting the truckers and their supporters as extremists. Poilievre pointed out Thursday how hypocritical their coverage was when left-wing protestors took to the streets.
“Well, you know, what I think is interesting is that when there’s a left-wing protest on Parliament Hill, we don’t see the Liberal media going through every single name of the people who attend to try and find one person they can disparage the whole group with,” said Poilievre on Thursday.
Parts of the convoy are expected to arrive in Ottawa today and to continue pouring in until Saturday, with protests planned throughout the weekend.
The Freedom Convoy is uniting and inspiring Canadians. After being complacent and rule-abiding for too long, Canadians have finally reached their breaking point. They’re coming together, ten of thousands of them, to show that they still believe in the ideals of freedom and opportunity in Canada.
On today’s episode of the Candice Malcolm Show, Candice covers the latest from the convoy, including our deranged prime minister and his cheerleaders in the legacy media trying their best to diminish and discredit this incredible movement.
They can’t – the movement is too big to ignore and social media shows a side of the protest that the Liberals don’t want you to see: it is a positive, family-friendly, hopeful, courageous, inspiring, legitimate and peaceful protest against government overreach.
Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre gave mainstream media reporters a smackdown on Thursday after they attempted to smear the Truckers for Freedom Convoy as extremists.
“Well, you know, what I think is interesting is that when there’s a left wing protest on Parliament Hill, we don’t see the Liberal media going through every single name of the people who attend to try and find one person they can disparage the whole group with,” said Poilievre.
Poilievre made the comments in Ottawa after journalists asked for comment on allegations that “extreme elements had latched onto the truck convoy.”
Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre responds to the legacy media’s attempts to brand the #TruckersForFreedom convoy as “extremists,” and stands up for the brave truckers heading to Ottawa. pic.twitter.com/PMcOYLzPuE
A number of articles by mainstream outlets have sought to paint the truckers convoy which is protesting COVID-19 mandates and deterioration of freedoms as so-called “white nationalists,” “far-right” and “domestic terrorists.”
“The CBC for example has been accused by its own employees of systemic racism and yet we don’t see the media here generalize that everyone who works at the CBC is a racist,” Poilievre added.
“Whenever you have five or ten thousand people who are part of any group, you’re bound to have a number who have or say unacceptable things and they should be individually responsible for the things they say and do,” Poilievre added.
“But that doesn’t mean we disparage the thousands of hardworking, law-abiding and peaceful truckers who quite frankly have kept all of you alive for the last two years by filling your grocery shelves with the food that you eat and filling your homes with the products that you rely upon.”
Poilievre’s statements were echoed by former CPC leader and infrastructure critic Andrew Scheer on Twitter.
Pierre nails it! “When there is a left wing protest you don’t see the Liberal media going through every single name… to try to find one person that they can disparage the whole group with.” The corporate media are working overtime to discredit the protests. https://t.co/wVKKHAUR6h
“Pierre nails it!” wrote Scheer. “The corporate media are working overtime to discredit the protests.”
Besides penning an op-ed yesterday, CPC leader Erin O’Toole has largely been silent on whether he supports the trucker’s convoy, going so far as to repeatedly evade questions about whether he would meet with organizers when they arrive in Ottawa.
A number of Conservative EDAs have called for an early leadership review on O’Toole’s 2021 election performance and according to a recent poll 17% of CPC supporters preferred Poilievre over O’Toole who only scored 10% in support.
Spotify is removing Canadian-American singer Neil Young’s music from its streaming platform after the artist told it to choose between his songs and “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Young – perhaps best-known for his 1989 hit “Rockin’ in the Free World” – had made the ultimatum to Spotify on Monday. According to him, “The Joe Rogan Experience” was pushing misinformation on impressionable youth.
“They can have Rogan or Young,” he had said. “Not both.”
Spotify began steps to remove Young’s music Wednesday. While Young’s channel has about 6 million listeners per month, Rogan’s podcast has an estimated 200 million.
Young said he was taking his position because Spotify, through Rogan’s podcast, was “spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.”
“I want to thank my truly great and supportive record company Warner Brothers-Reprise Records for standing with me in my decision to pull all my music from Spotify,” said Young in a statement on his website on Wednesday. “My friends at Warner Brothers-Reprise stood with me, recognizing the threat the COVID misinformation on Spotify posed to the world.”
The musician said most of the people who are listening to Rogan are “24 years old, impressionable and easy to swing to the wrong side of the truth.”
These people, he said, believe Spotify would never broadcast misinformation, but they are wrong. He said he had to point out these lies.
Young thanked the many people who reached out to him praising him for taking his position, saying that he has “never felt so much love coming from so many.” He called on other artists to move off of Spotify.
“The Joe Rogan Experience” is the most popular podcast on Spotify in Canada and the English-speaking world.
Young has a history of supporting left-wing causes.
In 2014, he criticized former prime minister Stephen Harper and Alberta’s oilsands, saying that Canada was “trading integrity for money.”
In 2006, he released a song called “Let’s Impeach the President,” which demanded former U.S. president George W. Bush be removed from office.
