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Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Senator expelled from Conservative caucus says O’Toole “cannot tolerate criticism”

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Senator Denise Batters is standing by her call for a referendum of Erin O’Toole’s leadership after being kicked out of the Conservative caucus.

Batters launched a petition for Conservative members to vote on whether O’Toole has a mandate Monday. By Tuesday evening, O’Toole had removed Batters from the Conservative caucus, accusing her of disrespecting her colleagues.

In a statement, Batters maintained her petition was within the party’s principles and policies, while accusing O’Toole of holding a double standard. 

“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?” 

Batters was referencing an Oct. 4 letter to Conservative MPs and senators from Sen. Michael MacDonald, calling O’Toole’s decision to court Liberal and progressive voters “a strategic failure.” 

“Part of the issue was that by the end of the campaign nobody knew what Erin stood for, including many card-carrying Conservatives,” wrote MacDonald. 

“He ran in the 2017 leadership as a bit of a red Tory, then in the 2020 leadership as ‘true blue,’ then as leader he turned the party back to the left. So people ask themselves, what is he — a red Tory centrist, a blue Conservative, or just someone who tacks with the wind and goes where the winds carry him?” 

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has stood by his decision to oust Senator Batters from Caucus and accused her of “not putting the team and the country first.” 

“It was a necessary decision to make for the well-being of our caucus, our Parliament and our country,” said O’Toole. 

“We’re united on our way forward as a team. People that are now allowing their frustrations and their own personal agendas or issues on the pandemic to interfere with our progress are not part of that team.

Erin O’Toole alienates the Conservative base

By
Candice Malcolm
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Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is attempting to quash dissent and silence his critics by booting Senator Denise Batters out of caucus, in response to her petition calling on the party to hold an early leadership review. While O’Toole’s sycophants are applauding him for this move, it’s clear this is a sign of weakness.

Whether it’s O’Toole’s flip-flop on the carbon tax or treatment of pro-life caucus members, O’Toole has alienated so many members of the Conservative base. It’s no wonder he doesn’t want a leadership review. Things are not looking good for the Conservative leader.

On this episode of The Candice Malcolm Show, Candice discusses the latest developments in the challenge of O’Toole’s leadership.

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Nigeria, Taliban and Kim Jong Un named worst Christian persecutors of 2021

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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The Christian rights organization International Christian Concern (ICC) has identified Nigeria, the Taliban and Kim Jong Un as the worst Christian persecutors of the year.

According to a 150-page report naming 24 of the world’s worst oppressors of Christian minorities, the three groups and individuals each received the top spot in their respective categories. 

2021 is the first year that the ICC has unveiled its Persecutor of the Year Award and is an evolution of the organization’s past Hall of Shame. 

Nigeria received the top spot as the worst country for religious freedom in 2021. 

“Nigeria is one of the deadliest places on Earth for Christians, as 50,000 to 70,000 have been killed since 2000. Nigeria is home to the infamous Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram, which has displaced millions of people and killed tens of thousands of others,” the report described. 

“Fulani militants killed more Christians in the past several years than Boko Haram and have displaced Christian farmers. In addition, conservative Islamic communities have allowed the forceful conversion and marriage of young Christian women and discriminated against Christians seeking employment.”

According to ICC President Jeff King, Nigeria has waged a “20-year war against Christians.” 

“There are millions, literally millions, 3-plus million Christians displaced,” said King who also noted the Nigerian government’s inaction to address the persecutions. 

“Their homes have been stolen, their lands have been stolen, their farms have been stolen.”

The group identified as the Persecutor of the Year was the Taliban. According to the report, the Taliban have been “going door-to-door to find out who is and isn’t going to the mosque” and making threats against Christians. 

According to King, Christians in Afghanistan are “tortured and given a chance to turn back to Islam. If you don’t, you’re going to be tortured more to find out what other Christians you know and then you’re killed.”

As for the worst individual Persecutor of the Year, North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un took the top spot. 

King noted that 30,000 Christians in North Korea have been estimated to be sent to prison camps, while over a million have been killed. 

The Kim dynasties have tortured and killed millions of Christians over the decades. And I think we are familiar that it’s very common for the Kims or … the regime put away three generations of one family when they’re identified as serious Christians,” said King. 

Statistics Canada reports 4.7% inflation rate in September

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Canada’s inflation rate has spiked to another 18-year high of 4.7% in October, according to Statistics Canada data. 

The high rate is the most inflation the country has seen since February 2003. 

Statistics Canada reports that all eight categories of goods tracked by the department have been impacted by the rising costs.

Transportation costs have been the most impacted and are currently up by over 10% this past year. 

Gasoline has seen major surges since October of last year and is currently up 41.7%. 

The cost of shelter has increased by 4.8% over the year and food has on average spiked up 3.9%. 

Overall inflation levels are slightly higher when compared to September when the Consumer Price Index was sitting at 4.4%. 

Critics of the Liberal government have called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to curb spending in order to stop the surge of prices. 

“Since the pandemic began (beginning of March 2020) the Bank of Canada has printed more than $380 billion,” Canadian Taxpayers Federation Federal Direction Franco Terrazzano told True North, referencing official Bank of Canada data. 

“The stats are showing what everyone is feeling: pain from sky-high cost of living. It’s time for the feds to take the printing press out of overdrive, rein in the overspending and provide tax relief.”

This week, Conservative Party Finance Critic Pierre Poilievre blasted the Trudeau government for making the “costliest cabinet ever” and not dealing with the evolving situation. 

“You’ve got a finance minister who has given us hundreds of billions of dollars of inflationary deficits, with more to come; you’ve got the housing minister that gave us the worst housing bubble in Canadian history, keeping his job; and of course you’ve got a radical Greenpeace activist who believes in much higher energy prices and shutting down industries that employ hundreds of thousands of people in charge of our environment,” said Poilievre. 

“It’s the costliest cabinet ever, which means more inflation, higher costs for fuel, food and housing. And that’s why my number one priority is to fight Liberal inflation and stand up for consumers and workers.”

Senator Denise Batters says Conservative members deserve a say in Erin O’Toole’s leadership

By
Andrew Lawton
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Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has kicked Senator Denise Batters out of the Conservative caucus after she launched a petition calling for a referendum on O’Toole’s leadership. In this interview on The Andrew Lawton Show, recorded before her expulsion from caucus, Sen. Batters said O’Toole needs a mandate to lead the party after flip-flopping on key policies and trying to remake the Conservative party in his image after the election.

Watch The full episode of Andrew Lawton Show.

Reliance on Toronto’s food banks reaches critical level: report

By
Jonathan Bradley
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There were approximately 1.5 million food bank visits in Toronto in 2021, the highest number ever recorded in the city’s history. 

According to an annual report released by Daily Bread Food Bank and North York Harvest on Monday, Toronto food banks saw visits go up by 47% in 2021 compared to last year. The number of visits in 2021 was 1.5 times higher than the previous record set in 2010 in the aftermath of the Great Recession. 

For the first time, new clients outnumbered existing clients at food banks with a 61% increase compared to the previous year, according to the report. 

While lockdown measures are easing and the economy is reopening, the report said there are many people living in a state of crisis. 

“These factors created an unstable foundation that compromised the ability of communities to adapt to the realities of the pandemic,” the report said. “COVID-19 has made it clear that our systems and structures were not, and are not, creating the conditions where communities can be resilient.”  

The report claimed 51% of food bank clients in 2021 missed a meal to pay for another expenditure. There were 31% of adults who reported going hungry at least once a week. 16% of children reported being hungry at least once a week. 

According to the report, 36% of clients visited a food bank because their income was too low. There were 20%  of clients who said they visited because they lost their job. And another 10% needed to use the food bank because they were unable to find work and were ineligible for government benefits.  

The poverty line for Toronto is $2,060 per month for a single individual. Among the food bank clients surveyed, the average monthly income was $1,106 per person. 

To address these problems, the report calls on governments to respond to urgent community needs created by COVID-19 by supporting renters and low-income households. 

“Until we address the chronic stressors that are producing and reproducing vast inequalities in our communities, we will never be resilient to future emergencies,” said the report. “Likewise, unless we are quick to respond to the hardships like COVID-19, we will only further entrench inequality into our communities.” 

If you’re interested in supporting Toronto’s food banks, please visit Daily Bread Food Bank’s website for more details.

Convicted terrorist sent back to prison after threatening residence staff

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

A man convicted of attempting to leave Canada to fight for a terrorist group, who was imprisoned but then released in 2020, will now be going back to jail after he made threats and broke his release conditions. 

According to Global News, the Parole Board of Canada ruled that 35-year-old Mohamed Hassan Hersi was an “undue risk to society” before sending him back to prison. 

Hersi will be able to apply for another conditional release within one year. 

The RCMP arrested Hersi in 2011 as he was trying to board a plane at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. According to investigators, Hersi was leaving the country to join the Somalian al-Qaeda linked terror cell Al-Shabaab. 

By 2014, Hersi was convicted and sentenced to serve 10 years in prison making him the first to be convicted for trying to leave the country to commit terrorism. 

Eventually in 2020, the Parole Board of Canada agreed to conditionally release Hersi if he lived at a community residence, worked and participated in a deradicalization program. Hersi also faced other conditions barring certain modes of communication. 

Prior to being let out of prison in 2020, the Parole Board also noted that Hersi continued to “to pose too high a risk for again becoming obsessed with Al-Shabaab or other jihadist organizations.”

According to records, Hersi violated his conditional release after he made comments to staff at the residence which they “interpreted as threatening.” Hersi allegedly told employees that he would make their lives hell and that he had “connections.” 

Hearing documents indicate that he “readily accepted responsibility for inappropriate actions and behaviours.” 

According to the Parole Board, Hersi had “no viable release plan” and had lost the faith of corrections officials working with him. 

“Despite acknowledged positive performance for the better part of your statutory release, the Board believes your attitude and behaviour has deteriorated to the point where your risk can no longer be managed on statutory release,” wrote the Parole Board.

O’Toole ejects Senator Batters from caucus over leadership review petition

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole has ejected Senator Denise Batters from the party’s caucus after she started a petition calling on the party to hold an early leadership review. 

According to Globe and Mail reporter Laura Stone, O’Toole accused Batters of a “clear lack of respect” towards the party caucus. 

“As the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, I will not tolerate an individual discrediting and showing a clear lack of respect towards the efforts of the entire Conservative caucus, who are holding the corrupt and disastrous Trudeau government to account,” O’Toole said in a statement. 

“Just eight weeks ago, Canadians elected Conservatives to hold Justin Trudeau accountable for his economic mismanagement, and fight the cost of living crisis, skyrocketing inflation and supply chain issues that are crippling businesses. That is our focus as a team.” 

In an interview with True North earlier today prior to her ejection from caucus, Senator Batters stood by her petition, claiming that it was a way to give members a choice over the direction O’Toole is taking the party. 

“Erin O’Toole has reversed Conservative party policies without consultation or input from party members and caucus as well,” Batters said. 

“It’s critical that party members be given a chance to have their voice heard, otherwise I’m very concerned that the party might split and that’s what I’ve been becoming increasingly worried about over the last several weeks.” 

According to reports, Batters petition has surpassed 2,000 signatures within 24-hours since it was released. 

Does O’Toole need a mandate to stay on as leader? (Ft. Sen. Denise Batters)

By
Andrew Lawton
-

Conservative senator Denise Batters says her petition for a referendum on Erin O’Toole’s leadership is about giving members – rather than simply caucus members – a say in the party’s future. She joins True North’s Andrew Lawton to explain why.

Plus, Andrew says Erin O’Toole needs to defend his decisions in September’s elections to members and conservative Canadians if he wants to remain the leader – but he hasn’t done this.

Note: After recording this, Erin O’Toole removed Sen. Batters from the Conservative caucus.

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The knives come out against Erin O’Toole

By
Candice Malcolm
-

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole and the elites running the party may be finally forced to face its base – and the Conservative base is not happy.

This week, Conservative Senator Denise Batters launched a petition calling on Conservative members to review O’Toole’s leadership within the next six months, ahead of the party’s planned 2023 convention. According to Batters, O’Toole flip-flopped on core policies without input from members and caucus, and he lost the last election by every measure.

In response, pro-O’Toole MPs and activists are desperately trying to defend the Conservative leader but are coming off incredibly weak and disingenuous.

Candice Malcolm says if the Conservative base wants a leadership review, the base should have a leadership review. It will be up to O’Toole to articulate why he should lead the party in the next election and if he is unable to do so, now is a good time to start looking for a new party leader.

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