Last year, some Canadians declared that because of the apparent discovery of unmarked graves near residential schools, Canada was guilty of the worst crimes imaginable and that our country was built on colonialism and genocide.
Before we accept the worst accusations levelled against our country, it’s important to learn the facts, consider the context and examine our history with a fair and even-handed approach.
On today’s episode of The Candice Malcolm Show, Candice is joined by Professor Tom Flanagan. Tom is professor emeritus at the University of Calgary at the school of public policy and recently co-wrote an op-ed about the misleading claims surrounding the residential school narrative.
Candice and Tom examine some of the myths perpetuated about residential schools, and discuss some ideas and solutions about how Canada can work towards bringing the living standards of First Nations people up to levels of other Canadians.
The Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) has alleged that the province’s former top doctor Horacio Arruda resigned because Legault’s controversial tax on the unvaccinated was a “bulls**t” COVID-19 measure.
On its social media pages, the party posted a clip of Arruda dating back to Oct. 2020. In the clip, Arruda says he would resign if he ever felt the government’s COVID-19 measures were “bulls**t.”
The post claims, in French, “here is the REAL reason why Horacio Arruda resigned from his position.”
Arruda’s resignation came hours before Quebec premier François Legault announced a tax on unvaccinated Quebecers, and as the province was reportedly considering requiring the vaccine passport for grocery stores and pharmacies that offer delivery.
Arruda made the comments at an Oct. 2020 press conference while answering a question about making public recommendations to Premier Legault.
Arruda had stated he wanted to be clear that he would not publicly announce COVID-19 measures that he’s not comfortable with. He later added that he would resign if he felt the government’s COVID-19 measures were “bulls**t” because he preferred not losing his credibility.
The 61-year-old doctor had been Quebec’s public health director for almost 12 years when he suddenly resigned on the evening of Jan. 10, 2022.
In his resignation letter, Arruda made no mention of the government’s anti-vax tax or other strict COVID-19 measures. Instead, he cited criticisms of his opinions – which he felt had created an erosion of public trust – as the reason for his departure.
Premier Legault and the province’s former top doctor have had disagreements on Quebec’s response to COVID-19 in the past.
Arruda revealed at a committee meeting in December 2020 that he had recommended restaurants remain open in the red zones of Quebec’s COVID-19 framework. However, Legault opted to shut them down, a closure which lasted nearly 240 days in the Greater Montreal Area.
With an election set to happen in Quebec on Oct. 3 of this year, the PCQ is hoping to gain the support of right-leaning voters disgruntled with Legault and his party’s hardline COVID-19 restrictions.
The PCQ recently chose conservative columnist and radio host Eric Duhaime as their new leader. They also gained a seat in Quebec’s National Assembly after former Legault MNA Claire Samson joined the party.
Legault has since chosen Dr. Luc Boileau to replace Arruda as Quebec’s public health director.
Canada’s inflation rate for the month of December was up 4.8% compared to last year, representing the highest the country has seen since 1991.
Prices for gas rose more than 33% compared to last year’s figures, accompanied by record inflation numbers at the grocery store. Food prices nationwide are up more than 5%, with the cost of buying meat now 9% more expensive and the cost of dairy products 3% more expensive.
Real estate costs are not counted in the federal government’s consumer price index although the Canadian Real Estate Association reported Monday that the cost of owning a home in 2021 was 26% more expensive compared to 2020.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole and Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre blasted the Liberals over their “failures on the economy.”
O’Toole said in a statement that “the high-tax, high-debt lockdown agenda of the Trudeau government has set the stage for inflation and COVID policies are making supply chain challenges worse.”
BREAKING: Canada's inflation rate rises to 4.8%.
The cost of living is skyrocketing across Canada. The Trudeau Liberals need to realize the impact this is having on you and your wallet.
The Conservative leader added, “Canadians are tired of the hollow words of Justin Trudeau who never delivers on what he promises and doesn’t understand the challenges Canadians are facing.”
BREAKING: Inflation rises again to 4.8%, the highest in over 3 decades. And, because the consumer price index does not account for house prices, it doesn’t even account for the 26% housing inflation.#JustinFlation
The December consumer price index continues an upward inflationary trend in Canada, with November’s CPI at 4.7%.
The federal budget released last year projected a deficit of $354 billion dollars in 2020-2021 and an additional $154 billion of spending for 2021-2022.
In June 2021, the Parliamentary Budget Office reported that the federal government would not return to a balanced budget until 2070. In the same estimate, the PBO projected that the federal government would tack on another $2.7 trillion in debt before returning to a balanced budget.
Canada’s current debt is estimated to be around $1.2 trillion, with the share per person now over $31,000.
Christian Heritage Party leader Rod Taylor voiced his concerns Monday about the federal government’s recent suggestion that provinces might want to consider making COVID vaccination mandatory, calling the idea “shameful and cowardly.”
“Recent statements by the Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, minister of health—regarding the possible imposition of mandatory vaccinations—have heightened tensions and added to the concerns felt by many Canadians about the erosion of our rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Charter,” said Taylor in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Taylor went on to tell Trudeau that proposing vaccine mandates was “a shameful and cowardly act by your government and should be withdrawn immediately.”
He said Canadians have endured “far too much intrusion into their lives, far too much intimidation, far too much violation of their personal choices and their entitlement to medical freedom.”
The damage caused by COVID-19 restrictions, Taylor added, have outweighed the benefits. He said when the effects of these restrictions on mental illness, drug abuse, suicides and socialization of children are considered, “it is obvious that the policies now in place have caused tremendous damage to our nation and to nations around the world.”
Taylor said that he would be happy to introduce Trudeau to doctors and scientists who could help “chart a more effective course so we can turn the corner on this pandemic.” He added there have been thousands of people who have been terminated from their jobs and should be rehired as soon as possible.
“We need them to help us rebuild our shattered economy, our groaning healthcare systems and crumbling social institutions,” he said. “Mr. prime minister, you have an opportunity, if you act quickly, to mitigate some of the damage caused by the ill-conceived policies of the last year and a half.”
The Canadian government is proposing to force millions of unvaccinated Canadians to receive vaccines against their will.
Duclos said on Jan. 7 that unvaccinated people are “a burden on health care workers,” and that provincial governments should consider making COVID shots mandatory.
“That’s why I’m signalling this is a conversation which I believe provinces and territories, in support with the federal government, will want to have over the next weeks and months,” Duclos said.
Quebec became the first province in Canada to make vaccination mandatory for adults, with fines for those who do not comply. Premier Francois Legault announced on Jan. 11 that unvaccinated Quebecers would be charged a fee for refusing the vaccine.
Canada has been rated the sixth most miserable country to live in among advanced global economies according to a new study by the Fraser Institute.
The ranking, which weighed Canada against the International Monetary Fund’s 35 most affluent nations, was largely driven by high inflation rates and growing unemployment nationwide.
“Canadians are rightly concerned about the country’s high inflation and unemployment rates, and when compared to other developed countries, Canada is not doing well,” said Fraser Institute executive vice-president and report co-author Jason Clements.
Canada scored 10.88 on the “Misery Index”, a ranking system developed by American economist Arthur Okun.
Among the countries that scored higher than Canada were Spain (17.61), Greece (15.73), Italy (11.96) and Iceland (11.26).
According to the latest Statistics Canada data, inflation has reached an 18-year-high in Canada, with the country’s Consumer Price Index reporting a rate of 4.7%.
“The fact that we are again discussing the Misery Index and Canada’s high ranking on it is bad news for all Canadians, who will suffer as a result,” said Clemens.
“Governments across Canada, particularly the federal government, should prioritize those policies that will make Canadians less miserable by lowering inflation and unemployment.”
Meanwhile, the US scored considerably higher on the index, scoring in at 9.72.
A recent report by the MNP Consumer Debt Index found that half of Canadians were struggling with their personal finances and paying off debt.
According to the consumer report, 43% of Canadians said that they were having trouble paying off debts while 45% had concerns about meeting their living expenses.
In response to the economic situation, the Conservatives have recently called for Commons Finance Committee hearings into Canada’s ballooning inflation levels.
“We have an emergency in this country,” said Conservative Finance Critic Pierre Poilievre. “And it is that our economy has become a gigantic inflated balloon.”
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) has filed a lawsuit against Seneca College in Toronto on behalf of four students who are not permitted to return to campus unless they get COVID-19 shots.
“Seneca College has violated these students’ rights of conscience, bodily autonomy, privacy and has discriminated against them based on their medical status,” states JCCF constitutional lawyer Allison Pejovic on Tuesday. “The college has also broken its contract with the students, causing them financial hardship and severe stress.”
The JCCF’s press release said these students have chosen not to take a vaccine at this time and that a court date is coming soon.
Seneca College was the first post-secondary institution in Canada to require all students and staff coming to campus to be vaccinated.
The JCCF is representing four Seneca students including Mariana Costa (a third-year fashion arts student), Crystal Love (a second-year veterinary technician student), Alexandra Badowich (a fourth-year crime and intelligence student) and Angelina Mandekic (a second-year practical nursing student). All four were expected to complete their programs and begin their careers in April.
Love is a single mother who has been working to provide a better life for her kids, according to the JCCF. They said Badowich is having a baby later this year and was blocked by Seneca from attending a one-hour administrative meeting for her work placement, despite her internship being online.
The JCCF wrote letters on behalf of Costa and Love in July 2021, threatening Seneca with legal action if they did not lift the vaccine requirement. According to the press release, these letters never received responses.
The JCCF added that none of the students can complete their programs online, which will leave them struggling to pay back their student loans. They said these students have employment in lower-paying jobs than the careers they were expected to begin in April.
“They are devastated that they will not be able to commence their new careers this April as they had planned,” said Pejovic.
The JCCF had announced in August 2021 that they would be suing Seneca on behalf of Costa and Love for the college’s mandatory vaccine policy. The organization said the policy is stopping students from completing their education and is “unlawful and unethical.”
Seneca could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
Canadian trucking companies are already reporting that truckers are leaving their jobs after the federal government implemented a vaccine mandate on cross-border truckers.
Unvaccinated Canadian truckers currently re-entering Canada must quarantine upon arrival and show proof of a negative test taken within 72 hours before re-entry. All unvaccinated US truckers will be denied entry into Canada. On Jan 22., however, Canadian truckers will need to show proof of vaccination to enter the US.
Robert Penner is president and CEO of one of Canada’s largest trucking companies, Bison Transport. Penner confirmed that Bison lost close to 10% of their employees before the trucking mandate took effect on Saturday.
According to prior estimates by the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) the vaccine requirement could force 10% to 20% of Canadian truckers off the job, resulting in the removal of anywhere between 12,000 and 22,000 frontline Canadian truckers off the road.
Mark Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, warned the government about potential goods shortages before the mandate took effect, saying “we already have a fractured supply chain, and if we damage that, the supplies that we need for our own health and safety – we’re going to see a shortage.”
According to Transport Canada on an average day, 30,000 truckers cross the Canada-U.S. border and deliver more than $1 billion in trade.
Trucking organizations have been warning the federal government since November that a vaccine mandate for truckers would be “devastating” to the economy and that the mandate would put more pressure on supply chains that are already stretched thin.
Canadian Trucking Alliance president Stephen Laskowski has warned that the mandate will have “severe ripple effects throughout the entire North American economy.”
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole also warned the federal government last week that Canada “would be short tens of thousands of truckers if the government doesn’t very quickly address this issue.”
Last week it appeared as though the federal government had reversed course on the mandate when a spokesperson for the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) said that the government was not going to follow through.
Sixteen hours later, however, federal Liberal health minister Jean-Yves Duclos said that the message had been provided “in error” and that barring unvaccinated truckers was “the right thing to do.”
Truckers began protesting the mandate over the weekend at the Manitoba border crossing, forming a convoy to block all lanes heading south to the United States and northbound entering Canada.
A nationwide convoy is also being organized from as many border crossings as possible, intending to do a “slow roll” across major transportation routes to further protest the mandate.
Those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 make up the lion’s share of people currently hospitalized with the virus in most provinces across Canada.
True North has compiled a list of current hospitalization rates broken down by vaccination status using the latest data reported by various provincial and territorial health authorities. It is to be noted that reporting on hospitalization varies by region and that some provinces have not provided statistics on hospitalization by vaccination status.
ICU admissions were also included although reporting varied widely by region.
In Canada, 77.10% of the population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Tuesday. It is also to be noted that, due to being a smaller share of the population, unvaccinated Canadians will make up a smaller statistical portion of hospitalization numbers.
For information regarding the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines please visit the Government of Canada’s official vaccination resource hub.
The following data is current as of January 18, 2022.
A number of Canadian cities saw house price increases averaging at or near six figures in 2021, according to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter on Tuesday.
Members of the Finance Committee in the House of Commons reviewed the figures with Statistics Canada chief statistician Anil Arora on Monday.
“Housing inflation is homegrown,” said Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre. “The average family must spend two-thirds of their gross income on monthly payments for the average home in Toronto or Vancouver.”
CREA data showed that 666,995 homes were sold across Canada in 2021.
The year-over-year average Canadian home price increased 18% to $713,542 in December, according to the data.
“There are currently fewer properties listed for sale in Canada than at any point on record,” said CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart in a statement to Blacklock’s. “Unfortunately the housing affordability problem facing the country is likely to get worse before it gets better.”
Figures showed average price gains at or near $100,000 or more in Victoria, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.
Housing prices went up the most in the Greater Toronto Area, where they increased by $286,000 (31%) to about $1.2 million. Homes in Victoria saw their prices increase by $172,400 (24%) to $902,700.
Housing prices in Halifax went up $89,162 (22%) to $490,127. Prices for the Greater Vancouver Area increased by $181,600 (17%) to about $1.2 million.
Arora said housing prices are going up because of all of the people wanting to buy.
“First and foremost is demand,” said Arora. “We are seeing because of COVID a desire of people to have more open space.”
He said interest rates are also leading to higher housing prices, with record-low mortgage rates encouraging people to buy homes.
Canada’s inflation rate spiked to an 18-year high of 4.7% in October, according to Statistics Canada data.
The high rate is the most inflation Canada has seen since February 2003.
The cost of housing has increased by 4.8% in the last year alone.
The situation is worsening for families at Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Vancouver who are still being told to get their young children COVID shots.
The reaction of one family to RMH’s new vaccine policy made international headlines, first appearing on True North and later on Fox News and numerous other outlets. Austin and Lindsey Furgason, whose four-year-old son Jack has leukemia, have since left RMH for nearby Easter Seals House, which has no vaccine policy. The Furgasons, whose children were both under the policy’s five-year age threshold, had chosen not to get the COVID shots themselves.
Two parents of another family who are still at RMH tell True North they are already fully vaccinated but will not get the shots for their children. They did not want to share their names for fear of reprisal and say they are torn between gratitude toward the staff at RMH and frustration with the board for adding more stress to their lives.
“I’m not going to risk them using my kids like a lab mouse,” one parent told True North. “I’ll be honest – it’s killing me.”
“We weren’t going to do a shot with (our sick child) because we were pretty adamant that from the treatment procedure, there’s no way he could take this,” said the other parent. “It would probably kill him. It’s not tested on a child with (his disease).”
Last week, families staying at RMH in Vancouver received a letter stating that “everyone five years and older who are working, staying or visiting our facilities” would be required to show proof of full vaccination (two shots) or an “accommodation” approved in writing by RMH Charities by Jan. 17. Those already staying at RMH had until Jan. 31 to receive their first dose – a so-called “grace period.”
The parents said the policy created immense stress and confusion, especially upon learning that the decision was not a government mandate. They said the policy’s threshold, which involves children only recently eligible for the COVID vaccine, wasn’t made with kids in mind.
“We’d do anything in our lives for our kids,” one of the parents said. “You’d probably jump in front of a car for your kid. But as the decision-makers of a company, you can’t make that decision. You should leave it to people to make that decision. But give some alternatives.”
The parents say they chose to get their own shots out of precaution and because of increasing difficulties with accessing services but that they made the decision not to vaccinate their two children, both of whom are under ten. The parents say they suffered reactions to the shots and that the experience steeled their decision to not risk their children.
They and their severely ill child are staying at RMH while receiving aggressive treatment at nearby B.C. Children’s Hospital. Their other child stays during cherished family visits, partaking of RMH’s long-standing policy and slogan, “Keeping Families Close.”
RMH did not respond to True North’s request for comment, but the charity’s statement to other media claimed that “(a)ll requests will be approved for exemption for child patients undergoing treatment, and therefore unable to be vaccinated. Ronald McDonald House will support any family in need of alternate accommodation if needed after the grace period. No family will ever be evicted from our House.”
The parents told True North that after much scrambling and stress they were able to obtain a temporary exemption for their sick child and that he would be able to stay at RMH until after his current stage of treatment.
When the next stage begins, however, it is unclear whether he will be allowed back in.
Last week, the family received a letter from a social worker saying they could “postpone (the child’s) COVID vaccination” until an interim period of his treatments and that staying at RMH might not be an option in the future. The parents noted that their child’s treatments are expected to continue for up to two years.
The parents are also concerned about other families. They say some of them are getting themselves and their children vaccinated just so they can stay because moving isn’t an option. They gave the example of an extremely sick child whose mother and siblings hardly ever leave the hospital.
“You just got air-flown in, you just landed, you’re on the eighth floor, you’re finished your treatment. Oh, you’re not vaccinated? Sorry, I thought you were going to Ronald McDonald House. No, you can’t go there. That’s my worry right now.”
“This just puts more stress on them, and they’ve been living in a hospital for two weeks.”
The parents say that because they will not vaccinate their other young child, their family visits will also no longer be possible. They appealed to RMH to make testing an option, arguing that COVID can be spread asymptomatically with or without shots, and that RMH families have always been extremely vigilant about not exposing their children to outside illnesses.
They say they were turned down.
“How do we keep the family together now?” said one parent. “We can’t. There’s so much confusion and no answers. It’s beyond stress.”
“Are (they) trying to say, ‘we’re Ronald McDonald House; we’re here for vaccinated people’ – if you’re unvaccinated, go somewhere else?”
They confirmed that while RMH has offered to refer noncompliant families to Easter Seals House a short distance away, RMH is by far the best suited to their needs. Not only is RMH right across the street, they say, but it also offers programs and amenities specifically tailored for families in their situation.
“Being able to walk across the street is a lifesaver,” one of the parents said. “An average treatment for (our child) could be three to four days in the hospital – one day he could be in for 4 hours, one day he could be in for 8.”
“It takes the worry of daily life out of it so you can focus on getting your kid healthy.”
“Places like this have to exist,” the parent said. “It’s not the people, it’s the board. And the only way you get up to the board of directors is that they have to hear from people. They have to hear from their donors, hear from sponsors, saying ‘hey, what’s going on?’”
