Canada has vowed to stop the import of products made with forced labour, but loopholes and verification challenges make it a difficult ban to enforce, critics have said. Conservative senator Leo Housakos has introduced a bill that would ban all products from Xinjiang, the site of China’s Uyghur labour camps. He joined The Andrew Lawton Show to explain.
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Beginning Saturday, people in New Brunswick who do not show proof of full vaccination can be barred from entering grocery stores to buy food.
The measure was announced as part of the province’s “winter action plan,” which allows any business, including grocery stores, the option of barring unvaccinated individuals.
According to Health Minister Dorothy Shephard, it comes as the province sees a “very concerning” rise in COVID infections over the last two weeks, particularly among unvaccinated Canadians.
The province reported 97 cases and 2 deaths since Thursday.
The new restriction belongs to the first level of a three-level escalating alert system.
“The measures are not difficult,” Shephard said, adding “the power to keep us in level one is in our hands.”
In a guide published by the federal government, Public Safety Canada names food as one of ten critical sectors of infrastructure, calling its preparation and delivery an Essential Service and Function.
While provinces have been free to manage their own restrictions and lockdowns during the pandemic, grocery stores across the country have until now remained open to everyone.
The announcement comes a day after Shephard warned New Brunswickers against making Christmas travel plans.
CBC loves dividing Canadians up by our race and pitting us against one another. There were two glaring examples this week from CBC’s Being Black series.
First, they published a story about the words CBC would like banned from the English Language because they sound like other words that could be racist.
Second, they published a story about how great it is to work from home because Black employees don’t have to deal with “microaggressions” from well-meaning but racist Canadians.
If these are the worst examples of “racism” in Canada, then, as Candice Malcolm says, we’re doing just fine as a country!
Plus, what is the point of having an Official Opposition when they give unanimous consent to a Leftist bill that bans free speech?
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The European Parliament accuses the Liberal government of being asleep at the switch since 2018 when it comes to levelling harsh sanctions on some of the world’s worst human rights offenders.
In a November report, the European Parliamentary Research Service reviewed Canada’s performance when it comes to sanctioning authoritarian countries like Russia and China.
The briefing, titled “Global human rights sanctions: Mapping Magnitsky laws: The US, Canadian, UK and EU approach” compares how countries have responded to international human rights violations.
“Canada’s (Magnitsky) list got off to a strong start but is currently dormant, with targets from just five countries and no new names added since 2018. Critics accuse Justin Trudeau’s government of failing to stand up for human rights,” the briefing states.
In 2017, the federal government passed the Sergei Magnitsky Law, otherwise known as Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, to sanction corrupt officials who commit serious human rights violations in other countries.
The law was introduced by Conservative MP James Bezan in 2016 and was named after anti-corruption Russian tax official Sergei Magnitsky, who died in police custody in 2009 after being denied medical attention.
To date, numerous Conservative MPs including MPs Bezan and Garnett Genuis have repeatedly pushed for the federal government to impose strong Magnitsky sanctions against human rights abusers from China, Russia, Sri Lanka and beyond.
Genuis spoke to True North, saying, “the Magnitsky Act provides an effective tool for holding human rights abusers accountable, yet the Liberal government has been very sparing in its use. This is sadly consistent with the lack of action we have seen from the Trudeau government on human rights in general.”
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Cabinet failing to acknowledge the Uighur genocide by abstaining in the vote declaring genocide against Uighurs in China – in the face of the most recent acts of Russian aggression across Ukraine’s Eastern border, the Trudeau government is nowhere to be seen.”
The last time the Liberals levelled Magnitsky sanctions was following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of those acting for Saudi Arabia. 17 Saudi nationals were sanctioned under the regulation.
Instead of using Magnitsky Law Sanctions, researchers note, the Liberal government has relied on the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA), specifically to put pressure on countries such as Belarus, China and Nicaragua. This has been the case since September.
The European Parliament report notes that while SEMA allows for human rights sanctions, it is an economic act that’s not specifically intended for human rights purposes.
The Magnitsky Law was designed to target the worst violators harshly.
“I certainly agree with this criticism,” Genius told True North. “Time and time again, Trudeau’s government has failed to adequately stand up for human rights, both in the House of Commons and on the international stage. Canada is a country built on the universal values of human rights, democracy, and freedom.”
“The Magnitsky Act gives the government a tool to use, but if the government is reluctant to use it then it fails to hold human rights abusers accountable,” he continued before calling for sanctions against Russian and Chinese human rights abuses.
“The Trudeau government’s lack of action on human rights reflects poorly on Canada at large on the international stage…We are compromising our values and losing influence at the same time.”
According to a statement given to True North by Global Affairs Canada International Development Spokesperson Geneviève Tremblay, the federal government has undertaken “11 rounds of important autonomous sanctions to address gross and systematic human rights violations” including against entities in Belarus, China and Russia through SEMA.
“Canada is gravely concerned by the serious human rights violations resulting in the repression of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) by Chinese authorities. We have taken measures to respond,” Tremblay told True North.
“In March 2021, Canada imposed targeted sanctions under the SEMA against four Chinese officials and a Chinese entity in response to gross and systematic human rights violations that have been committed by China in the XUAR.”
After losing by about 400 votes in October, Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party leadership candidate Shelly Glover has gone to court with a document she says proves that she won.
According to the Canadian Press, Glover’s campaign team received a spreadsheet even before Heather Stefanson was named winner of the 2021 leadership election. Glover said the spreadsheet showed a smaller tally of total votes.
There were 16,447 people who voted in the leadership election. Stefanson received 8,405 votes, claiming 51%. Glover garnered 8,042 votes, earning 49%.
Glover alleges there were irregularities when ballots were counted and wants a judge to order a new vote.
She is in court defending her claim during cross-examinations of affidavits in the case.
The challenge is scheduled for arguments before a judge on Dec. 10.
Manitoba PC leadership has told the court that the election was fair, and the spreadsheet was not intended to be the final tally of votes.
Manitoba PC president Tom Wiebe claims campaign leaders were aware the spreadsheet was never intended to be the final total.
Wiebe told the court on Monday that the election count was correct, and “the spreadsheet was…strictly to tell them who had voted.”
The 2018 Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leadership election saw a similar situation when leadership candidate Christine Elliott refused to concede to Doug Ford.
Elliott said she disputed the results because her campaign had been made aware of voting irregularities. The following day, she accepted the count and congratulated Ford.
Neither Glover nor Stefanson could be reached for comment in time for publication.
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam is urging “pregnant and breastfeeding people” to get vaccinated against COVID-19 instead of calling them women.
Dr. Tam made this and other remarks in a Nov. 26 statement issued by the Public Health Agency of Canada.”
“While Canada has achieved great success in vaccinating a significant proportion of our population against COVID-19, some groups lag behind in uptake. One key group that appears to have lower uptake of COVID-19 vaccines is people who are pregnant,” wrote Dr. Tam.
“…research shows that breastmilk of people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 have antibodies, which may provide some protection. More research is needed to determine the level of protection provided to babies as a result of vaccination during pregnancy and breastfeeding.”
This is not the first time that Dr. Tam has used woke language when speaking about pregnancy. In January, she issued a similar advisory urging “pregnant people” to get their flu shots.
Dr. Tam’s language echoes the Liberal government’s messaging on gender-inclusive language.
In 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau interrupted a woman after she used the word “mankind” and told her to use the term “peoplekind” instead.
In November, the Region of Waterloo Public Health Twitter account issued a similar COVID-19 vaccine announcement referring to “pregnant people.”
“Pregnant people are at an increased risk of severe illness requiring hospital care and admission to the ICU compared to those who are not pregnant. Getting the COVID-19 vaccine will help prevent bad outcomes for you and your baby,” read the tweet.
Critics of the term have accused those who use it of erasing the biological reality of women because people who transition from male to female are not biologically capable of giving birth.
The advocacy group Canadian Women’s Sex-Based Rights criticized Dr. Tam’s use of the term on Twitter in April for being an “insensitive phrase which erases women.”
With regard to the term “breastfeeding people” a BCCDC guide from August 2020 proposed the alternative “inclusive” term “chestfeeding.”
In the last two federal elections, the Conservatives have advocated pursuing a CANZUK alliance with Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom which would open up trade, movement and enhanced security cooperation between the four like-minded nations.
In this edition of The Andrew Lawton Show, Andrew discusses the proposed partnership in-depth with CANZUK International executive director James Skinner, Europe Economics chairman Dr. Andrew Lilico, and Conservative member of parliament and former diplomat Stephanie Kusie.
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Ontario New Democratic Party MPP Laura Mae Lindo proposed a bill on Thursday to embed “anti-racist strategies” in the province’s education system.
“Students, parents and education workers should never experience racism in Ontario’s public schools and post-secondary institutions,” said Lindo. “Yet every month we learn about new incidents of racism that leave students, families and their communities reeling.”
Lindo stated that the proposed bill “makes sure Ontario schools have the tools they need to develop anti-racist strategies that promote racial equity in Ontario from kindergarten to Grade 12 as well as throughout the post-secondary sector.”
The bill, called the Racial Equity in the Education System Act, would “ensure Ontario has equity strategies in public schools and post-secondary institutions to keep people safe.” The NDP press release goes on to state that it “was developed with assistance from educators, advocates, and racial justice experts across Ontario.”
The bill would also “acknowledge the existence of systemic racism and discrimination” in Ontario’s education system and “help educators, families, communities and students recognize and address racism in tangible ways.”
These methods include “collecting disaggregated race-based data” and “relying on anti-racism experts and communities to guide the process towards racial equity.”
Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario president Karen Brown praised Lindo for introducing the bill.
“Elected officials must take real action to dismantle systemic racism,” said Brown. “We urge all MPPs to do what is right and support MPP Lindo’s bill so that we can ensure every student and education worker learns and works in environments that are safe and inclusive.”
Lindo used to work as the director of diversity and equity at Wilfrid Laurier University before being elected in 2018. She was on personal leave when the Lindsay Shepherd affair thrust the university into the media spotlight. The diversity and equity office never apologized to Shepherd for the incident, and Lindo claims she has never listened to the recording of the incident.
The Premier’s office could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
A poll finds that a majority of Canadians do not want unvaccinated friends and family members in their homes. True North’s Andrew Lawton says even if the government’s vaccine segregation measures end, the social stigmatization will remain.
Also, CBC is trying to police your language, plus D. Jared Brown joins to discuss how Canadian lawyers are taking a stand for civil liberties with the Free North Declaration.
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The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba will not admit unvaccinated Canadians over the age of 12.
“As of September 7, in compliance with the current public health order in Manitoba, all Museum visitors 12 and older must provide official proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 along with photo ID,” the museum’s website states.
To be considered fully vaccinated in accordance with Manitoba public health rules, Canadians must be able to prove that they have received two shots of an approved COVID-19 vaccine. These include Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD.
After public outcry, museum CEO Isha Khan issued a separate statement.
“Currently, the law specifically allows us to admit only those visitors who have been double vaccinated against COVID-19 or children under 12 accompanied by fully vaccinated adults from their household,” Khan wrote.
Khan became more defensive when addressing concerns that the human rights museum’s policy itself amounts to a form of human rights discrimination.
“Discrimination is defined in law as treating a person differently on the basis of some characteristic that goes to the root of who they are as a human being (where there is no reasonable cause to do so). These characteristics include age, ancestry, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, religious belief, gender identity and disability. We have to be careful about equating a choice not to get vaccinated with these protected characteristics when looking at what can be considered discriminatory.”
According to Khan, “reasonable restrictions on individual behavior for the broader health” of the general public are legitimate.
Currently, unvaccinated Manitobans are unable to access basic services such as restaurants, sports and entertainment venues, or any other business that requires proof of vaccination.
Additionally, according to federal laws, unvaccinated Canadians over the age of 12 can no longer board trains or planes across Canada.
“I’d like to emphasize that these regulations are temporary and intended to suppress the virus and help end the pandemic,” added Khan. “I encourage everyone to get vaccinated – it’s the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and those around us.”