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Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Ottawa vaccine mandate still applies to nearly 14,000 US truckers

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

While Ottawa has walked back requiring COVID-19 vaccination for Canadian truck drivers, border guards are still set to turn away thousands of US truckers who haven’t had their shots.

On Wednesday, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced that it would not require unvaccinated Canadian truckers to quarantine after several industry leaders warned that the mandate would wreak havoc on Canada’s supply chain. 

The reversal means that nearly 10% of Canada’s 120,000 truck drivers will get to continue delivering essential supplies across the border. However, according to the American Trucking Association (ATA), nearly half of the 28,000 US truckers who regularly enter Canada will still be turned away under the new program. 

“We want everybody to get vaccinated. We’re not anti-vax. But this is a group of folks, for whatever reason – I’m not going to point fingers – they’re not vaccinated at a high rate,” said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. 

Not only will the mandate require the CBSA to turn away essential workers, but it will also create strains on border wait times and processing for truckers who are vaccinated. 

“As the new measures are rolled out on Jan. 15, truck drivers may experience delays at port of entry due to the modified public health measures,” a CBSA spokesperson told trucknews.com. 

“The CBSA will monitor volumes and wait times and be prepared to allocate resources and adjust staffing levels to minimize processing times and potential delays at our ports of entry. The CBSA will not compromise the health and safety of Canadians for the sake of border wait times.”

Canadian trucking organizations have been warning for some time now that a vaccine mandate could have devastating effects on Canada’s economy, potentially leading to shortages of goods across the country. 

According to Canadian Trucking Alliance President Stephen Laskowski, the mandate “is not a trucking issue at all. This is a supply chain issue that can have severe ripple effects throughout the entire North American economy.”

Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole also called for an end to the mandate, urging the federal government to reverse course. 

“We will be short tens of thousands of truckers if the government doesn’t very quickly address this issue,” said O’Toole.  “That doesn’t mean that I don’t think people shouldn’t be vaccinated; it means we have to deal with the reality of the fact that there will be a small number of unvaccinated.”

Ontario first province to correct misinformation on COVID hospitalization numbers

By
Jonathan Bradley
-

Ontario is the first province in Canada to update its COVID-19 reporting system to better distinguish patients hospitalized because of the virus from those who tested positive for it after coming to hospital for other reasons.

Ontario health minister Christine Elliott made the announcement on Tuesday, saying that “while this doesn’t change the serious situation in Ontario’s hospitals, it is important to share this data to provide additional context on the state of the pandemic.” 

Elliott announced 3,220 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those patients, 54% were admitted for COVID-19 and 46% came in for other reasons but tested positive for the virus upon being admitted to hospital. 

Of the people in the ICU, Elliott said 83% were admitted for COVID-19 and 17% came in for other reasons but tested positive on admittance.  

Ontario has administered about 28.7 million vaccines, and more than 141,000 doses were injected on Monday. About 88% of Ontarians five years old and up have received one dose, and 82% have two doses. 

There were 7,951 new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario announced on Monday. Fully vaccinated people in hospitals with COVID now outnumber those who are unvaccinated and those with one COVID shot. This is not, however, the case with ICUs. 

As of Monday, Ontario had 1,612 fully vaccinated people in hospital, 552 unvaccinated and 123 partially vaccinated. For ICUs, Ontario reported 138 unvaccinated people, 14 partially vaccinated and 158 fully vaccinated. 

British Columbia and Alberta have also suggested they will look at changing the ways COVID hospitalization numbers are reported. 

B.C. chief medical officer of health Bonnie Henry admitted last week that the province’s COVID-19 hospitalization numbers are unspecific when it comes to telling who is sick with the virus from who tested positive for it. She said that the province is currently counting everyone in hospitals with a positive test as a hospitalization from COVID-19. 

“We’re trying to tease apart people who are in hospital from COVID, people who are in hospital with COVID, and people who are in hospital because COVID exacerbated one of the underlying conditions,” said Henry. “It’s not easy to do that, except by going and looking at every individual chart.”

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said on Tuesday that many COVID-19 cases in Alberta’s hospitals are situations where the virus is not the primary reason for hospitalization. 

Kenney said that 40% of COVID-19 patients in Alberta hospitals and about 79% patients in ICUs are there because of the virus. 

“On the non-ICU side at least, we can expect that a significant number of COVID-related hospitalization figures are for people who are not primarily hospitalized or affected by COVID,” he said. 

Neither B.C. nor Alberta has provided a timeline for updating its reporting system.

EVIL: Ronald McDonald House evicts family of 4-year-old battling Leukemia over vaccine status

By
Candice Malcolm
-

True North’s Harley Sims was the first reporter in the world to cover this story, and to interview the father, Austin Furgason, about his decision to fight back against this cruel policy to evict his family. 

The Furgason family’s story has now gone viral and been covered in the news all over the world. 

On today’s episode of the Candice Malcolm Show, Candice sits down with Harley to discuss this harrowing story, the despicable and heartless treatment of this family, and the evil direction our country is heading.

Read Harley’s report.

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Privacy commissioner to audit Ottawa’s surveillance of 33 million devices

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Canada’s privacy commissioner is going to audit the federal government for spying on 33 million devices without Canadians’ consent. 

The move was prompted by the revelation that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) secretly monitored the movements of the public using cell tower data. 

As first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, PHAC claimed that the surveillance was a way to track the success of COVID-19 measures and that the data had been “de-identified” of personal information.

However, in an exclusive interview with True North, Ontario’s former privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian stated that Canadians should have “zero trust” in the government’s assurances. She had also called for privacy commissioners to probe the government’s activities. 

“They are collecting all of this mobile data. 33 million mobile devices and mobile devices are usually linked to personal identifiers, and you have to take some measures to remove them and de-identify the data in a strong way so it can’t be reidentified. We have no assurances to that effect whatsoever,” Cavoukian told True North.

“I don’t trust any of this. Zero trust, that’s where we have to start, and we have to have some privacy commissioner’s office go in and take a look at this under the hood. Audit what they’re doing.”

Experts have also pointed out that location data can be used to identify sensitive information about end users. 

“We were not asked for advice as to whether the means taken by or on behalf of the government provided adequate safeguards against re-identification,” said Privacy Commissioner of Canada spokesperson Tobi Cohen. “The government relied on other experts to that end, which is their prerogative.” 

“Now that we have received complaints alleging violations of privacy, we will turn our attention to the means chosen to de-identify the data mobility information relied upon by the government for public health purposes.”

The ensuing public outrage had prompted the opposition to call for immediate hearings into the surveillance at the parliamentary level. 

“This was done in secret,” said Conservative MP John Brassard.  “No Canadian among the 33 million Canadians who were being followed through their cellphone data knew this was happening.” 

“It is vital we do not allow the Covid response to create a permanent backslide of the rights and freedoms of Canadians including their fundamental right to privacy. There are rightly some questions that need to be asked of the Agency as it relates to privacy, security, the data that are being collected, what it’s being used for.”

FUREY: Half of Ontario’s COVID hospitalizations are “incidental”

By
Anthony Furey
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Ontario has changed the way they publicly report COVID hospitalization and ICU data by introducing “incidental hospitalizations,” which means patients who test positive for COVID-19 but are in the hospital for another reason.

The latest data reveals that half of Ontario’s COVID hospitalizations are in fact “incidental.”

Anthony Furey explains why this matters in his latest video.

Judge rules father can’t see son over anti-vaccine Facebook posts

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

A Quebec court has ruled that an unvaccinated father can no longer see his child after posting anti-vaccine content on social media. 

Judge Jean-Sebastien Vaillancourt ruled on Dec. 23 that the man had lost his visitation rights after his ex-wife made the request and submitted his Facebook posts to the court.

According to the ruling, which was given in French, visitation by the father would “normally be in the best interest of the child to have contact with his father, but it is not in his best interest to have contact with him if he is unvaccinated and opposing health measures in the present context.”

Vaillancourt called the father a “conspiracy theorist” and “anti-vaccine” in the judgment. 

Despite the father’s claims that he has continued to follow all other public health rules, the judge ruled the court had “strong reasons” to doubt him and that it was “too dangerous” for the child. 

According to public health data, children are at a minuscule risk of severe outcomes after contracting COVID-19. 

Health Canada revealed only six “COVID-related” deaths in the 0-14 year old age group. Other statistics show that only 2% of those hospitalized for COVID-19 nationwide were under the age of 20. 

According to Vaillancourt, the suspension of visitation rights was temporary and “shouldn’t last too long.” He claimed the suspension could potentially be reversed once the pandemic dies down or the father decides to get the COVID-19 vaccine. 

The father is set to return to court on Feb. 8. 

Health Canada is urging parents to vaccinate children over the age of 5 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In some places including Nova Scotia and the Niagara Region of Ontario, children can receive a COVID-19 vaccine without their parent’s consent. 

Civil liberties group condemns tax compelling Quebecers to get COVID shots

By
Jonathan Bradley
-

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) has denounced the Quebec government for its plan to financially punish people who have not gotten COVID shots.

“Premier Legault is taking the unprecedented step of taxing Canadians based on their personal medical choices,” said CCLA lawyer and spokesperson Cara Zwibel in a statement on Tuesday. “He is proposing a direct penalty for being unvaccinated- compelling individuals to undergo medical treatment.” 

Zwibel said that allowing the Quebec government to put fines on people who disagree with its recommended medical treatment is “a deeply troubling proposition.” To justify this tax, she said, Quebec needs to “provide clear and compelling evidence and demonstrate that there were no other reasonable alternatives.”

Zwibel added that the tax was an equity issue. Despite Canada having universal public health care, she said the country does not fine people who make poor diet and exercise choices nor those who participate in high-risk occupations and recreational activities. 

Some unvaccinated people face barriers to accessing health care, Zwibel argued, and many of them do not trust the health care system because of past negative experiences. 

“This is a divisive measure that will end up punishing and alienating those who may be in most need of public health supports and services,” she said. “The government should abandon this divisive and constitutionally vulnerable proposal.” 

Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced Tuesday that unvaccinated people would be forced to pay a health fee.  Premier Francois Legault said the fee has not been determined but that it would be “significant.” 

“I think right now it’s a question of fairness for the 90% of the population who made some sacrifices,” said Legault. “I think we owe them this kind of measure.”

Trudeau government greenlights Chinese purchase of Canadian lithium company

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

The Liberal government allowed a Chinese state-owned company to bid on a Canadian lithium mining operation without launching a formal national security review into the purchase.

As reported by the Globe and Mail, Chinese firm Zijin Mining and Canadian Neo Lithium Corp. have agreed to an acquisition and are close to completing their business deal. 

The deal has been in the making since October when Zijin Mining first announced that it was looking at buying the Toronto company for a price tag of $960 million. 

In 2021, Canada categorized lithium as a critical mineral. Lithium is predominantly used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries and is a comparatively rare element. 

Additionally, in cooperation with US regulators, the two governments struck a deal to acquire battery minerals in order to outcompete China, which plays an outsized role in the rare earth mineral market. 

According to Neo Lithium spokesperson Carlos Vicens, the Liberal government only conducted a brief initial security screening before giving the deal a green light. 

“The law states they have 45 days after announcement to start a review if they believe there is a specific concern,” Vicens told the Globe and Mail. 

“The timeline passed in early December and no review was done.”

This is not the first time that Chinese state companies have sought to break into the nation’s natural resource and mining sector by acquiring Canadian companies. 

In December 2020, the federal government rejected a bid by Chinese corporation Shandong Gold Mining Co. to acquire TMAC Resources Inc.’s Nunavut Hope Bay mine for $149 million. 

The deal triggered a formal national security review which prevented the acquisition from proceeding.

According to Centre for International Governance Innovation senior fellow Wesley Wark, the latest acquisition attempt by China would likely trigger a formal review. 

“I would imagine that this would go to [a formal security review] because it’s an early test case with the new strategy that the government is developing on critical minerals,” Wark told the Globe and Mail.

The Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada did not respond to requests for comment. 

Trudeau’s environment minister wants to phase out fossil fuels in two years

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Liberal environment minister Steven Guilbeault said in a recent interview that he hopes to phase out fossil fuels within two years. 

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Guilbeault made the comments to the left-wing outlet The Narwhal, which receives taxpayer funds from the federal government. 

“My timeline is two years,” Guilbeault said. “So in the next two years, more stringent methane regulations, zero-emission vehicle standards, net-zero grid by 2035, cap on oil and gas and obviously phasing out fossil fuels – all of these things must be in place in the coming eighteen months.”

“I mean, maybe 2024, but that’s the type of time frame we have to work with and it’s going to be tough because on the one hand some people are going to criticize us for not giving them enough time to be consulted, but the state of climate change is such that we need to learn to do things faster and that’s certainly true of us as a government,” Guilbeault added. 

“As a minority government it would be optimistic to think we have more than two years.”

The Narwhal was given $254,655 by the federal government while Guilbeault was still Minister of Heritage. The outlet has also received extensive foreign and domestic funding including $518,360 from the Wilburforce Foundation of Seattle, $117,228 from the European Climate Foundation and $74,442 from Tides Canada Foundation. 

Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole blasted Guilbeault’s remarks, calling the former radical Greenpeace member an “out of touch activist.” 

“When Trudeau’s Environment Minister says he wants to ban all oil and gas in two years he needs to answer how Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet are going to heat their homes,” said O’Toole in a statement. 

Guilbeault was handed the environment portfolio in October after Trudeau retained a minority government during the 2021 election. 

In 2001, while still involved with Greenpeace, Guilbeault was arrested by police after illegally scaling Toronto’s CN Tower with a fellow radical environmentalist. 

“I think in many ways… I’m still this guy who climbed the CN Tower,” Guilbeault said in an interview with the National Post. 

“But to me, civil disobedience was never a goal in and of itself. It was just a tool. And now I’m using different tools.”

Where is Erin O’Toole?

By
Candice Malcolm
-

Justin Trudeau is unravelling before our eyes. His rhetoric is increasingly angry and unhinged, and his policy ideas – including the insanely authoritarian suggestion of forced vaccination – are equal parts radical and delusional. 

This presents the perfect opportunity for the Leader of the Opposition – Conservative MP Erin O’Toole. 

O’Toole could be out there striking a different tone, showing a different path for Canadians and demonstrating a more moderate approach. 

But instead, Erin O’Toole seems to be absent from the federal scene. 

We didn’t hear any opposition from him over the latest lockdowns, Trudeau’s lashing out at unvaccinated Canadians or even on Trudeau’s health minister suggesting it’s time for a forced vaccination campaign.

On today’s episode of The Candice Malcolm Show, Candice is joined by True North journalist and senior researcher Cosmin Dzsurdzsa to discuss. 

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