Australia’s Northern Territory has imposed a sweeping vaccine mandate for customer-facing workers, and its chief minister, Michael Gunner, says anyone who opposes it is an anti-vaxxer, even if they’re fully vaccinated. True North’s Andrew Lawton points out the ridiculousness of the claim that someone could be triple-Pfizered with a side of Johnson and Johnson and still be “anti-vax” if they support personal choice.
Plus, Franco Terrazzano of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation joins to break down the Liberals’ throne speech.
Despite the Trudeau government’s grandstanding on fighting climate change, the federal environment commissioner’s latest findings reveal Canada has the worst climate record out of all G7 nations.
As reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, Commissioner Jerry DeMarco’s findings were revealed in a series of audit reports on the federal government’s climate change plans.
“Canada was once a leader in the fight against climate change. However after a series of missed opportunities it has become the worst performer of all G7 nations,” said Commissioner DeMarco.
“All too often Canada’s environmental commitments are not met with the actions needed.”
According to one of the reports, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions continued to climb even after 2018 when the Liberal government passed the federal carbon tax. That very year, emissions grew by 15,000,000 tonnes and by one million tonnes in 2019.
“Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions have thus far not been on a downward trajectory,” the Emissions Reduction Fund report claimed.
“In fact, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions rose by 21% between 1990 and 2019.”
Recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a cadre of his cabinet and public servants attended the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland. As exclusively reported by True North, Canada sent the most delegates to COP26 out of every other G7 nation including the host-state the UK.
According to the United Nations, Canada sent 276 delegates to COP26 including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself, numerous federal ministers, several provincial premiers and dozens of federal staff and media.
While at the summit, Prime Minister Trudeau pledged to cap emissions on Canada’s oil and gas sector with the goal of reaching net zero by 2050.
“There is a need for the federal government to achieve real outcomes on environmental protection and sustainable development, not just words on paper or unfulfilled promises,” said Commissioner DeMarco.
“All too often Canada’s environmental commitments are not met with the actions needed.”
The commissioners report also found that the $675 million Emissions Reduction Fund introduced by the Liberals last year was mismanaged and did very little to lower emissions.
“We found that when designing the onshore program, Natural Resources Canada did not apply greenhouse gas accounting principles or the concept of additionality,” the report claimed.
“That is, emission reductions attributed to the program should be in addition to what would have happened without it. As a result more than half of the total reductions targeted by the program had already been accounted for.”
In the wake of a decision by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to suspend potato exports from P.E.I. to its longstanding American partners, the P.E.I. Potato Board is urging Canadians to work together to protect potato farmers.
“Each year, our hard-working farmers, supported by their network of partners, deliver more than 270 million pounds of fresh and wholesome potatoes to the U.S.,” said P.E.I. Potato Board general manager Greg Donald in a press release issued on Thursday.
“Over the past 20 years, there has not been a single incidence of potato wart – in any market – attributable to Prince Edward Island potatoes. We have faith in our potatoes, and so does everyone, even the minister of agriculture herself.”
The board said the potato industry is worth more than $1.3 billion to the island’s economy annually and that more than 5,000 people are employed in the potato industry.
The U.S. market provides $120 million to the Prince Edward Island potato industry annually. Donald said these potatoes feed an estimated nine million people in the USA each year.
“At a time when consumers are already facing rising food costs and food bank use has increased, trade restrictions with no scientific rationale are not good for anyone – farmers, retailers or consumers,” said Donald. “Our message to the CFIA and our U.S. trade partner is ‘let our potatoes go.'”
The P.E.I. Potato Board is calling for an immediate reversal of government-imposed restrictions on the movement of fresh potatoes. It is asking for representatives in Canada and the USA to resolve this issue.
The CFIA suspended shipments of potatoes to the USA because there were two detections of potato warts in fields that were under surveillance. These potatoes were not going to be shipped to any market.
Potato wart was first discovered on the island in 2000, and for more than 20 years, management protocols have been in place, according to the P.E.I. Potato Board. There has never been a single incidence of potato wart in any markets that can be attributed to P.E.I. potatoes.
Potato wart poses no risk to human health. All it does is affect the appearance and marketability of potatoes.
The P.E.I. Potato Board said these trade restrictions will lead to higher grocery store prices for American consumers because of a lack of available product. These restrictions will lead to shortages of products for some processing facilities, with potential layoffs happening.
Closer to home, there will be layoffs and other economic impacts on potato farms, trucking companies and packing sheds if this decision is not reversed soon.
New Statistics Canada data shows that the price of some grocery items across Canada is surging in the double digits.
The latest monthly update by the department indicates that common grocery items have been affected by inflation.
The Alberta government is investigating a privacy breach on its vaccine passport portal after receiving reports of its website giving people the wrong vaccination certificates.
Alberta Health said in a press release Thursday evening a “technical issue,” rather than a security breach, was to blame. Alberta Health received a dozen complaints from people who were given vaccination records that weren’t theirs when trying to download their QR-coded vaccine passports.
The statement said only a person’s name, date of birth and COVID-19 vaccination information are contained in the records, not other health or personal data.
Health Minister Jason Copping apologized for the breach and promised a full investigation.
“Alberta Health took immediate action by taking the website and the updated record down,” said Copping. “I want to assure Albertans they will be kept informed once the investigation is complete and the updated record for travel will be available as soon as the technical issue is addressed.”
The Alberta Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has been informed about the investigation.
Millions of Albertans have accessed about five million QR code vaccine passports since Oct. 1. Albertans can use a QR code at businesses participating in the program and while travelling to other provinces.
Alberta’s vaccine passport was updated to meet the recommended Canadian standard for domestic and international travel on Wednesday.
Despite the breach, Copping defended the integrity of the vaccine passports, and said Albertans should make use of them for travel.
“Millions of vaccinated Albertans already have a secure QR vaccine record and they can still use it to safely enjoy activities within our province,” he said. “An updated QR code will allow those who want to travel to quickly and easily provide proof of vaccination.”
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam has said that the government could start vaccinating babies against COVID-19 early next year.
Tam made the comments while speaking to CBC Radio-Canada.
“Children do have a robust immune system and I expect that they will mount a good immune response to the vaccine as well,” said Dr. Tam.
“And for their parents as well, it’s sort of offering them some further hope.”
Pfizer-BioNTech is currently running clinical trials for those aged six months to just under five years.
Dr. Tam said she anticipates seeing results from the clinical trials for those aged two to five first. Dr. Tam is hoping to see some trial data toward the end of this year.
“Which means for the youngest age group, the most likely timeline is optimistically at the beginning of next year,” she said.
The move comes at a time when the federal government prepares to vaccinate children across Canada between the ages of five to 11.
Recent Health Canada data shows that six kids under the age of 15 have died from COVID-19. Additionally, children only made up 2% of those hospitalized for COVID-19 infections.
Dr. Tam has stated that it would be “quite difficult” to convince Canadian parents to vaccinate their kids.
“There are parts of the country that are still under-vaccinated,” she said.
“We do know parents who are unvaccinated. It’s probably going to be quite difficult to convince them their kids need to be vaccinated.”
In Ontario, as vaccines are being rolled out for youth, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath recently stated that she believes that kids from the five to 11 age group should also be subject to vaccine passports.
“I believe so, absolutely,” said Horwath prior to saying that it’s up to public health officials to decide.
Woke climate activist David Suzuki apologized on Thursday for saying that pipelines are going to be “blown up” if politicians do not pay attention.
“The remarks I made were poorly chosen and I should not have said them,” said Suzuki in his apology. “Any suggestion that violence is inevitable is wrong and will not lead us to a desperately-needed solution to the climate crisis. My words were spoken out of extreme frustration and I apologize.”
Suzuki said the world has to find ways to stop environmental damage, and they need to be implemented in a non-violent manner.
He made his controversial comments during an interview with CHEK News on Saturday after a protest in Victoria when asked what might happen if government leaders do not address climate change.
The woke climate activist said in the interview that climate change has led to the world being in deep trouble.
“This is what we’ve come to,” he said. “The next stage after this, there are going to be pipelines blown up if our leaders don’t pay attention to what’s going on.”
His remarks set off a firestorm on social media, with many people expressing concern that his comments could incite acts of violence.
Suzuki’s comments prompted a response from British Columbia Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth on Monday, who said statements like these are harmful.
“Have a climate action plan,” he said. “That’s the way forward, that’s the way we’re going to address climate change. Not by making statements that alarm people or cause concern.”
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in a tweet on Monday that Suzuki’s comments were wrong.
“This incitement to violence by David Suzuki is dangerous, and should be condemned universally,” said Kenney. “In Canada we resolve our differences peacefully and democratically, not with threats of terrorism or acts of violence.”
Alberta Government House Leader Jason Nixon introduced a motion in the Alberta Legislature on Tuesday to condemn Suzuki’s comments. Nixon said these remarks called for intentional destruction of energy infrastructure, and they were “incitement of violence and eco-terrorism.”
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said on Wednesday that the Liberal government was “shockingly silent” after Suzuki said pipelines would be blown up if protestors did not have their way.
“What is happening in this country when the prime minister won’t condemn language like that?” said O’Toole. “What is happening in this country when we no longer value the hard work done by people to put food on the table for their kids or a roof over their heads?”
O’Toole said instead of uniting, the Liberal government has been dividing.
Why are we rushing to vaccinate little kids against a virus that doesn’t make them sick?
Why do legacy media reports on this topic look like infomercials for pharmaceutical companies?
Today on the Candice Malcolm show, Candice exposes the biased legacy media and their unapologetic advocacy on behalf of vaccinating little kids.
What she presents may surprise you: including that only SIX children under the age of 14 have died from Covid over a two-year period.
Or, that the National Advisory Council on Immunization does not advocate for kids to be vaccinated. Contrary to what activists in politics and the media say, these scientists say, “it is not justified to vaccinate children only to benefit others.”
Get informed and hear from both sides before you make the decision for your family.
A Bank of Canada researcher who works from home is being threatened with termination after he declined a COVID-19 vaccine.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Joseph Hickey, who is also the executive director of the Ontario Civil Liberties Association, said the Bank’s position was unreasonable.
“I’m working from home. There is no reason why I should not be allowed to continue,” Hickey told the outlet.
“The Bank essentially tried to coerce employees into becoming vaccinated even if they worked from home. This is a clear case of coercion.”
Hickey, who was suspended without pay on November 22, 2021, worked as a PhD researcher in the analytics division.
A letter sent to him by the Bank claimed that his “employment may ultimately be terminated if you remain non-compliant.”
“I believe in the necessity of being true to your conscience. This is who I am. That absolutely should be sufficient, and that’s really the heart of the matter, isn’t it? If we’re at a point where the government can violate individual freedom of conscience in such a direct and brutal way then we are in a really dangerous place,” said Hickey.
“If you are not going to allow individuals to do that then you are making society very fragile. You are subjecting people to the dictates of a central authority, and that central authority is human and fallible and can be wrong. Where does it go next?”
On November 12, Hickey wrote to the Bank and requested an exemption as a remote worker and based on the fact that he’s an observant Catholic.
“My personal conviction is informed by the values imparted to me from my upbringing as a member of the Catholic Church and as a student in Catholic elementary and middle school in Ontario,” wrote Hickey in the letter.
“These include the values expressed in the philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas who believed that ‘conscience is the consideration of a specific case in light of one’s moral knowledge.’”
Shortly after, the Bank rejected the exemption without explanation.
“We are not unionized. We don’t have a union we can turn to with questions. This came out of the blue. It was a change to terms of my employment that I do not agree with. There was no offer of severance, no offer of Employment Insurance,” Hickey told Blacklock’s Reporter.
“They are strong-arming me to get vaccinated. My salary was removed, my benefits were removed and access to my computer. It was very quick, very harsh.”
The Department of National Defence (DND) has confirmed to True North that unvaccinated members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) could face an “unsuitable for further service” release.
According to the Queen’s Regulation and Orders for the Canadian Forces (QR&O), an “unsuitable for further service” release applies to officers or non-commissioned CAF members who “either wholly or chiefly because of factors within his control, develops personal weakness or behaviour or has domestic or other personal problems that seriously impair his usefulness to or impose an excessive administrative burden on the Canadian Forces.”
DND Chief of Operations Major Christopher Daniel told True North that as of Wednesday, 4% of CAF members eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine have not yet done so.
“As of 15 November 2021, CAF members who have not complied with the policy by remaining unvaccinated without an approved accommodation are subject to administrative action up to and including release from the CAF,” said Major Daniel.
“This process is underway in a number of cases but there remain options for members to reverse their decision and receive their vaccination. As such, it would be inappropriate at this time to speculate on potential future releases for non-compliance.”
The regulations that govern releases from the CAF include several categories such as misconduct, unsatisfactory service, voluntary release, medical release or service completed. The “unsuitable for further service release” applies to the service completed release category.
When pressed further on the exact release process that would be applied to those CAF members who refuse to be vaccinated under any circumstances, Major Daniel confirmed that the “unsuitable for further service” release could be applied.
“That will be determined in the process but it could be ‘unsuitable for further service’,” Major Daniel told True North.
Additionally, an “unsuitable for further service” release would be noted on the private military record of those who have been subjected to that process.
With regard to those who are seeking religious or pre-existing medical condition accommodations, they will have an answer to their accommodation requests by the end of this month.
“In accordance with Government of Canada direction, the Acting Chief of the Defence Staff directed all CAF members be fully vaccinated unless they are unable due to a certified medical contraindication, religious ground, or any other prohibited ground of discrimination as defined in the Canadian Human Rights Act,” said Major Daniel.
According to Major Daniel, fewer than 25 CAF members eligible for voluntary release from the CAF have applied to do so instead of complying with the directive.
“To date, less than 25 members eligible to release from the CAF voluntarily have opted to do so rather than comply with the Acting Chief of the Defence Staff’s direction,” said Major Daniel.
As outlined by the QR&O, voluntary releases can apply to those who make a request, on the completion of a fixed period of service or other causes.
Those CAF members who refuse to be vaccinated and do not have any approved accommodations will be subject to a process including being given a written warning, a grace period to reconsider their decision and finally be put through an administrative process. Ultimately, if they continue to refuse, there will be a recommendation to the chain of command for release.
Nearly one-quarter of Canadians are grappling with mental health issues thanks to their jobs, a new report finds.
The LifeWorks Mental Health Index, a mental health database, for October found there is a negative mental health score among Canadians for the 19th consecutive month.
“Our research shows that the impact of the pandemic has not only negatively impacted mental health but also workplace relationships,” said LifeWorks president and CEO Stephen Liptrap in a press release. “This is concerning as both are major factors in overall wellbeing and work productivity.”
Liptrap said the coming months will be a critical period for employee well-being.
The LifeWorks Mental Health Index claimed the overall mental health score among Canadians is -10.2 compared to the pre-pandemic benchmark, a slight improvement from September.
About 24% of Canadians reported that work has hindered their mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase from 20% before the pandemic started. This group has a mental health score 10 points below the national average.
There were 20% of respondents that reported they feel in crisis or have concerns about their ability to cope. These groups have mental health scores more than 20 points below the national average.
A third of respondents under 40 indicated they feel in crisis or have concerns about their mental health or ability to cope, according to the index. About 12% of individuals 50 and older report the same.
Parents are more than 50% more likely than non-parents to indicate that they feel in crisis or have concerns about their mental health and their ability to cope.
Managers are more than 70% more likely than non-managers to report the same concerns.
The index said 10% of respondents report their work experiences with peers have not been positive since the pandemic started, an increase of 4% since before the pandemic. This group has the least favourable mental health score.
There were 11% of respondents that claimed their experiences with their manager have not been positive since the pandemic began, an increase of 2% since before the pandemic. These strained relationships have resulted in a productivity score more than 16 points below the national average.
LifeWorks senior vice president, research and total wellbeing Paula Allen said that ways of working and many of the connections supporting wellbeing have changed.
“The finding that more of us indicate that work hinders wellbeing is concerning and needs to be addressed,” said Allen. “Digital tools and manager training are two practical ways to integrate well-being into today’s work.”
Allen said as businesses reshape how they operate, the most successful organizations will invest in employee wellbeing and workplace relationships.
The monthly survey by LifeWorks was conducted online in English and French from Oct. 6 to 12, 2021, with 3,000 respondents in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted to ensure the regional and gender composition of the sample reflects this population.
This data comes after worsening mental health indicators among children in Alberta is leading some doctors to call it a crisis.
Doctors told the Edmonton Journal in November that diagnoses and severity of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders have increased by at least 20% in the last four months, and some of them believe the worst is coming soon.
While COVID-19 restrictions are looser than they were one year ago, mental health issues stem from return-to-school stress, less social time, more screen time, and worries about the pandemic.
