Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has to face a leadership review eventually – why not just get it over and done with?
After all, if O’Toole can’t convince party members to support him, how will he convince Canadians to support him in the next election?
Anthony Furey discusses in his latest video.
The Toronto Christmas Market has rebranded into the “Distillery Winter Village” in an attempt to move away from the traditional festive celebration.
“The Toronto Christmas market will not operate in 2021. The Distillery District will be holding a separate winter event called the Winter village,” a statement on the market’s website states.
The website also notes that Creative Director Mathew Rosenblatt, who has planned past markets, will not be involved with the new event.
According to the event’s new website, the “Winter Village” will concentrate more on providing a shopping and dining experience instead of the original trappings associated with Christmas.
“The Distillery Winter Village is an intimate, picture-perfect holiday experience, where friends and family gather to explore the rich history of The Distillery District, take-in the timeless romance of the holidays, and enjoy a curated selection of Toronto’s finest craftspeople, local shops, restaurants and cafes,” the website describes.
Despite the change, a Christmas tree lighting ceremony took place at the start of the festival on Nov. 18.
The event will also feature live entertainment including Christmas carolers.
Attendees will be required to purchase tickets and present a vaccination certificate upon entry.
Other attractions include a Santa photo booth and various winter-themed photo walls.
Sen. Denise Batters is no longer welcomed in the Conservative national caucus, but she remains a member of the party’s Senate caucus.
Conservative senators have chosen to keep Batters despite Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s decision to remove her from the party’s national caucus after she launched a petition calling for a review of his leadership.
Conservative Senate Leader Don Plett’s communications director Karine Leroux told The Canadian Press on Thursday that Batters remains a current member of the Conservative Senate caucus.
Leroux declined to elaborate, saying that it would encroach on caucus confidentiality.
While Plett tweeted out his support for O’Toole removing Batters from the national caucus on Tuesday, the other 17 Conservative senators had other thoughts on the matter. After meeting to discuss it, they have decided to keep Batters in the fold.
The decision to keep Batters’ in the Conservative Senate caucus suggests they are defying O’Toole, who warned on Wednesday that anyone supporting her petition would be kicked out of national caucus for not being a team player.
In comparison, when former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer kicked Sen. Lynn Beyak out of national caucus in 2018, the Conservative Senate caucus followed suit.
Batters started a petition on Monday to hold an early leadership review of O’Toole prior to the national convention in 2023. Batters claims O’Toole betrayed conservative principles, lost the last election by every measure and appears to be unable to win the next election.
The petition has seen thousands of signatures since it was launched, including the support of former Conservative MP Phil McColeman.
“Conservatives of all stripes are stronger when we are unified. Delaying a leadership review until just prior to the next election will only serve to fracture our party further,” said McColeman.
“A leadership review in 2022 gives us an opportunity to unite behind O’Toole or enough time to galvanize behind his successor to win in 2023. I applaud Senator Denise Batters for putting forward this petition. I was honoured to sign it.”
The RCMP moved to clear a blockade erected by protesters at a Coastal GasLink site in northern BC after over 500 pipeline workers were left stranded with no access to food and water.
On Thursday morning, the RCMP revealed they would be enforcing a court-ordered injunction on the site.
Members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation Gidimt’en clan were notified of the injunction when authorities arrived and some were arrested as the police broke up the barrier.
“We were hoping that a solution would be reached without the need for police enforcement, however, it has become very clear to us that our discretionary period has come to an end and the RCMP must now enforce the (court) orders,” an RCMP statement claimed.
According to Chief Supt. John Brewer, authorities have had “serious concerns” about the protesters’ activities, which include damaging machinery and cutting down trees in the area in an effort to prevent access.
Although protesters claim to have the support of First Nations, elected Wet’suwet’en chiefs support the LNG project, as do all of the Indigenous tribes along the pipeline’s route.
Tensions came to a head earlier this month after a number of protestors were arrested for damaging millions of dollars worth of heavy equipment.
“The RCMP is aware of the recent events that have included mischief and damage to equipment related to industry working on the CGL pipeline. An investigation is currently underway,” RCMP North District media relations spokesperson Cpl. Madonna Saunderson told True North at the time.
Among those who spoke out in support of the stranded Coastal GasLink workers was BC Liberal MLA Ellis Ross.
“The workers are not at fault here. They are just doing the job they were supposed to do under a contract with the company. They should not be exposed to anything, other than just doing a job that was lawful,” said Ross.
“I’m not sure what’s happening up there right now because we have a government that doesn’t actually disclose what’s happening, or they have no idea … And I used to think that the NDP were playing politics with Aboriginal issues. Now, I think it’s a combination of arrogance, ignorance and incompetence.”
It’s Fake News Friday on the Candice Malcolm show. On today’s episode, Candice discusses how a major newspaper company took two sets of taxpayer bailouts from the federal government this year, only to turn around and fire over 100 journalists.
Not only is Canada’s government-funded media complex corrupting, it’s also ineffective at saving local journalism.
Plus, Candice dissects the media’s obsession with demonizing Conservatives.
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UCP MLA Jason Stephan denounced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the Alberta legislature on Wednesday, accusing him of inflaming separatism and being the first “NDP Prime Minister in Canada.”
Stephan made the comments while debating equalization.
“I’m wondering if that socialist tendency to forsake self-reliance – you know, Justin Trudeau, first NDP Prime Minister in Canada. I’m wondering if the members opposite as well are being influenced by their socialist tendencies against self-reliance,” said Stephan while addressing the Alberta NDP.
“He is also Canada’s first separatist Prime Minister. Justin Trudeau appointed Stephen Guilbeault as Canada’s new environment minister, and appointed Jon Wilkinson to be the minister of resources.”
Stephan also went on to say the Liberal government has it out for Albertans.
“Alberta businesses and families should not be subject to unprincipled federal politicians who have demonstrated that they will not hesitate to attack the livelihoods of Alberta individuals and families to further their political ambitions for power,” said Stephan.
“Canada is spending itself into oblivion, threatening to take Alberta down with it, adopting policies of economic self-destruction, undermining the capacity of Alberta businesses and families to provide for themselves and others. What Canada was is less important to what it is and what it’s becoming. When legal plunder displaces work as a ruling principle, a sustainable society is lost. I mean this in all sincerity.”
Critics of Trudeau have accused him of alienating the province through his anti-oil policies, including his announcement at COP26 of a cap on emissions in the energy sector.
In response to the announcement, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney chastised Trudeau for ignoring the needs of Albertans and not consulting with his government on.
“I don’t know why they would make such an announcement without consulting the province with the most oil and gas reserves in Canada,” Kenney said.
“The (federal government) has zero chance of achieving its greenhouse gas reduction goals without Alberta’s oil and gas industries. Let’s be a partner in that.”
Former CRTC commissioner Timothy Denton compared Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to censor the internet to authoritarian policies pursued by China and Russia.
Denton, who is the chair of the Internet Society in Canada, called out the Liberal government’s intended crackdown on open internet publishing in a podcast hosted by Canadian Senator Pamela Wallin.
“We’re not living in a very liberal era when it comes to speech. We’re living in an era that has many anxieties verging on hysteria about the dangers of unfettered discussion. There seems to be very little belief on the part of recent college graduates in the ability of society to find for itself reasonable accommodations with dissent,” said Denton.
According to Denton, proposed Liberal laws like Bill C-10 and Bill C-36 are opposed by civil liberties advocates from “every corner of the political spectrum.”
“It is creepily totalitarian, something you might expect out of China or Russia,” said Denton.
“They are going to be unworkable and they are going to be, I think, unconstitutional in the old-fashioned sense of outside the powers of the federal government. I think they are almost certain to be taken down on Charter issues of freedom of speech. But they are really very unpleasant pieces of legislation.”
Prime Minister Trudeau has pledged to re-introduce Bill C-10 and to crackdown on so-called “online hate” prior since being re-elected.
Recently, the federal government sought to consult the public on a proposed plan to regulate online content.
Among the groups that made submissions against the federal plan were the Independent Press Gallery of Canada (IPG), University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab and a number of other civil liberties groups.
Since the consultation period ended, the Liberals have refused to reveal the results.
Denton is not the only CRTC official to have spoken out against Trudeau’s plans for censorship. Earlier this year, Denton was joined by former chair of the CRTC Konrad von Finckenstein in signing a petition that described the plan as “reminiscent of actions taken by authoritarian governments.”
Canada’s inflation rate has risen to a 20-year high, affecting the price of everything from to groceries are families and small businesses are already grappling with the pandemic’s financial toll. Despite this, Justin Trudeau infamously said he doesn’t think about monetary policy, and the government’s response has been virtually non-existent. In this edition of The Andrew Lawton Show, we do a deep dive into inflation, debt and spending – and impact they have on Canadians. Joining this discussion are Macdonald-Laurier Institute senior fellow Philip Cross, Working Canadians president Catherine Swift, and Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano.
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British Columbians are reporting empty grocery shelves as recent flooding and weather events have put a strain on the province’s supply chain.
Businesses and distributors have been forced to alter their transportation routes to deal with significant highways and roads being completely cut off for motorists, including the Coquihalla Highway.
“There’s one grocer that supplies most of British Columbia from Calgary. So they won’t be having problems getting stuff to the Interior, but they’d have to send any trucks headed for Vancouver Island through Washington State,” the Retail Council of Canada’s Director of government relations Greg Wilson told the Globe and Mail.
Frenzied shoppers seeking to hoard supplies have prompted BC’s Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth to issue a condemnation stating that overstocking supplies could harm recovery efforts.
“Yes, we have routes that are challenged, but you know what? There are large areas of the province where those routes are not compromised and supplies are going to get through,” said Farnworth.
“One thing you would hope we’d have learned a lesson in the beginning of the pandemic, but I don’t think we did – panic-buying wasn’t helpful and it also wasn’t necessary. You don’t need a year’s worth of toilet paper.”
This week, heavy rains and flooding caused the city of Merritt to be evacuated by emergency crews, while places like Abbotsford have seen extensive flooding in the Sumas Prairie forcing many to abandon their homes or farms.
Provincial emergency services have begun to deliver meals and supplies to those stranded in remote areas.
“Please do not hoard items. What you need, your neighbours need as well,” said BC Premier John Horgan.
Canadians hoping to help the relief efforts can donate to a number of charities or fundraisers directly for cities and families impacted by the flooding.
Former Conservative MP Phil McColeman was the latest signatory to join over 3,700 others in signing Senator Denise Batters’ petition to hold a referendum on an early leadership review of Erin O’Toole.
McColeman, who represented the riding of Brantford–Brant from 2008 until 2021, blasted the party for delaying a leadership review until 2023.
“Conservatives of all stripes are stronger when we are unified. Delaying a leadership review until just prior to the next election will only serve to fracture our party further,” said McColeman.
“A leadership review in 2022 gives us an opportunity to unite behind O’Toole or enough time to galvanize behind his successor to win in 2023. I applaud Senator Denise Batters for putting forward this petition. I was honoured to sign it.”
Conservative Leader O’Toole kicked Saskatchewan Senator Batters out of the party’s caucus earlier this week over the petition.
“Seemingly, Mr. O’Toole cannot ‘tolerate’ criticism. After the election, I raised my concerns with Mr. O’Toole directly. He did not respond and he did not act. I then asked publicly that our members have a voice. His response now is to kick me out,” said Batters.
“Several weeks ago, my fellow Conservative Senate Caucus colleague levelled similar complaints against Erin O’Toole, even going further to call for his resignation. Yet, he remains a member of National Caucus while I am expelled. Why the double standard?”
In response, O’Toole has stood by his decision, claiming that it was done for the well-being of the CPC caucus.
“It was a necessary decision to make for the well-being of our caucus, our Parliament and our country,” said O’Toole.
As exclusively reported by True North, former Conservative house leader and current Leader of the Maverick Party Jay Hill also decried the ejection of Batters, calling it an affront to western Canadians.
“The situation with Senator Batters plus the silence of her prairie MP colleagues on issues she identified… equalization, carbon tax and increases, emissions cap, etc. is disgusting for most Alberta and Saskatchewan citizens,” Hill told True North.