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Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Bernier says he spoke with Conservative MP about joining the PPC over O’Toole rift

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxime Bernier claims to have spoken to one unnamed Conservative MP about joining the PPC as the official opposition faces a rift over Erin O’Toole’s leadership. 

In an interview with True North, Bernier said that he had reached out to the MP, whom he would not name, after learning of the MP’s dissatisfaction with the state of the Conservatives.

“Yes I reached one member of parliament about that, knowing that that person is disappointed,” Bernier told True North. 

“To that member of parliament, I said ‘if you’re not happy there and you’re not able to speak your mind then come with us. You would be free to speak. You know our policies and I know that you agree with our policies so our doors are open.’ And the answer to that was ‘I’m not ready right now’ so we will see what will happen.” 

The rift over O’Toole’s leadership escalated this week after Conservative Senator Denise Batters announced a petition to request a referendum on holding an early leadership review. Critics of the referendum have accused Batters of stoking division and airing the party’s dirty laundry. 

Bernier says he would be willing to speak to any other of his former CPC colleagues after parliament returns on November 22, 2021, which is also the date when MPs will be required to be vaccinated if they hope to sit in the House of Commons. 

“Conservative MPs that have decided to not have the two shots, if they go public about it they won’t be able to sit, they won’t be able to travel to Ottawa. That could be the beginning of something,” said Bernier. 

 “But I will tell you that on the 22nd of November, if I know more people that are not happy with the leadership and the direction of that party I’ll reach out to them for sure.” 

Bernier himself recently announced that a PPC leadership review is currently underway over his performance in the 2021 federal election. PPC members can currently vote on the matter until December 3, 2021. O’Toole has not committed to a review until 2023. 

“I don’t believe that changing the leader will solve their problems. The majority of (the party establishment’s) members are more like the Liberals,” said Bernier.

That’s why I said that this party is intellectually and morally corrupt. They are doing politics based on polling and we are living in a socialist era right now and their only goal is to be in government so that’s why they’re going to go to the left with Erin O’Toole or without Erin O’Toole.” 

“What a joke!”: Australian senator slams Trudeau’s net-zero emissions target

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

An Australian senator slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s net-zero emissions target prior to world leaders jet-setting to Glasgow, Scotland to attend the COP26 climate change conference.

On October 20, 2021, Senator Matthew Canavan observed that despite Trudeau’s net-zero approach, Canada’s emissions have gone up while he was in power. 

“Canada has legislated net-zero emissions but—guess what?—emissions this century in Canada have gone up. They had a reduction due to COVID last year, but until 2019 Canada’s emissions had gone up under the Trudeau administration,” said Senator Canavan. 

“You wouldn’t realize that if you just listened to our mainstream press. In New Zealand, they have also legislated the net-zero emissions target. They have exempted their agriculture industry, which accounts for half of their emissions. What a joke! The rest of the world is not doing this thing. They are walking away from it.” 

This is not the first time that Australian authorities have criticized the Canadian prime minister for his handling of climate change. 

As exclusively reported by True North in May, Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja called out Canada’s abysmal record in reducing pollution. 

“When we compare our effort, our 19% reduction since 2005, with New Zealand on 1% and with a 0.1% reduction in Canada, this is something we should all be celebrating. We have overachieved on our target by 639 million tonnes. Our emissions fell faster than in Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the United States, and were more than double the OECD average,” Seselja said.

While at the COP26 summit, Prime Minister Trudeau pledged to cap Canada’s oil and gas industry until it reaches net-zero by 2050. 

Critics of the policy include Alberta Premier Jason Kenney who called the initiative “totally unrealistic.”

“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.

“Their approach seems to be, well it’s totally unrealistic, and their approach, if they were to actually achieve their targets without using these transition technologies, would be devastating to the entire global economy.”

“Democracy is never out of order”: Senator defends petition for referendum on O’Toole

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Conservative Senator Denise Batters is responding to critics who say her petition calling for a referendum on Erin O’Toole’s leadership is unconstitutional and even helpful to the Liberals.

Speaking on The Andrew Lawton Show on Tuesday, Batters said Conservative members deserve to have a say about O’Toole’s leadership promptly – not in two years when the party is planning its next convention.

“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.” 

Batters’ petition is calling for a referendum by no later than June 30, 2022.

Soon after Batters launched her petition, Conservative president Rob Batherson published an open letter calling the petition “out of order,” and inconsistent with the mechanisms allowed by the party’s constitution.

Batters’ disagreed with Batherson’s interpretation, claiming that a petition to hold a referendum was entirely within the scope of the constitution. 

“Frankly, I’m a lawyer. We’ve looked at this carefully and I briefly considered Mr. Batherson’s response. I don’t agree with it. He refers to particular parts of the constitution that deal just with the leadership selection process and says that my referendum request is not allowed because it doesn’t comply with the requirements for that, but I’m not asking that this be a leadership selection process. I’m simply asking that the party conduct a referendum of the members in order for them to be able to decide whether there should be a confidence vote in Erin O’Toole’s continued leadership,” said Batters. 

“There is no indication in the constitution anywhere that these types of referendums are limited by any particular matter so I think this is in order and frankly democracy is never out of order.” 

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner called on Batters to withdraw her petition, accusing the senator of waging “open warfare.” 

“We can have differences internally in caucus, we can have vigorous policy debates … but this open warfare that’s happening right now, the Liberals are popping Champagne to you,” said Rempel Garner. 

According to Batters, the caucus approach is “one avenue” to deal with the matter and she noted that during the latest caucus meeting, the party had granted itself powers under the Reform Act.

“Caucus voted to give itself the right to review Mr. O’Toole’s leadership if caucus chose to do that. That’s one avenue – however, to sideline the membership of the party is not a good thing to happen. We need to let them have a voice in this whole process and then they can decide whether this is acceptable to them or not,” said Batters. 

“Election night, Erin O’Toole said that our members needed to have the courage to change and so if after all of those dramatic policy reversals we have already seen including the carbon tax, guns and conscience rights … if we’re only just starting to go down the road of increased numbers of dramatic policy proposals, the members need to buy into that and have a say on what they think about that.” 

Economic freedom declining across Canada: report

By
Jonathan Bradley
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Canadian provinces continue to lag behind US states in economic freedom, according to a report from a Canadian think tank released on Tuesday. 

The report from the Fraser Institute, called “Economic Freedom of North America,” defines economic freedom as the ability for individuals to make their own decisions about what to buy, where to work and whether to start a business. 

The report’s co-author Fred McMahon said in the press release that economic freedom is fundamental to prosperity. 

“Higher levels of economic freedom lead to more opportunity, more prosperity, greater economic growth, more investment and more jobs for Canadians,” said McMahon. 

The report measured government spending, taxation and labour market restrictions across 92 jurisdictions using data from 2019. The rankings consist of 50 American states, 32 Mexican states and 10 Canadian provinces. 

Alberta fell from first place three years ago after seven straight years at the top of the rankings, and this year tied for 33rd place with Oregon. 

British Columbia was the second-highest ranking Canadian province (47th), followed by Ontario (52nd), Saskatchewan (54th), Manitoba (55th) and Quebec (56th). 

The four Atlantic provinces — New Brunswick (57th), Nova Scotia (58th), Newfoundland and Labrador (59th) and Prince Edward Island (60th)- have the lowest levels of economic freedom among all Canadian provinces and American states, but they outrank all of the Mexican states. 

New Hampshire came in first place in the report. Florida ranked in second place, followed by Idaho (3rd), South Carolina (4th), Utah (4th) and Wyoming (4th). 

Baja California was the highest-ranking Mexican state by coming in 61st, followed by Nayarit (62nd), Tlaxcala (63rd), Jalisco (64th) and Chihuahua (64th). 

The Fraser Institute’s report comes at a time when Canadians are starting to feel the effects of inflation and the global economic supply chain crisis.

The 18-year-high in inflation levels has Canadians remarkably stressed out according to a recent poll.

The Angus Reid Forum surveyed 1,500 Canadians and found that increased cost of living was a source of financial stress for 67% of Canadians.

“We’re approaching the end of 2021, a year that many were looking to with optimism, but Canadians are feeling anxious about the highest inflation rate we’ve seen in a long time,” said PolicyMe CEO Andrew Ostro.

“Whether it’s keeping up with the rising food, fuel, or housing costs, people are stressed about the increased cost of living — and parents are feeling it the most.”

MPs making more, but sitting less: report

By
Jonathan Bradley
-

Earnings for Canadian members of parliament have increased by thousands of dollars over the last decade despite there being fewer sitting days, according to a report from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

The CTF’s analysis examined sitting days in the House of Commons over 10 years and found it was scheduled for 33 fewer days each year than a decade ago.

In 2012, the House of Commons sat for 129 days. There will be 96 sitting days for 2021. 

This year marks the third in a row that the House of Commons will sit for less than 100 days. The year of the 2011 Canadian election included more sitting days than each of the last three years. 

“Taxpayers expect their MPs to deliver accountability,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano. “But politicians are spending significantly less time in the House of Commons debating policies and expect taxpayers to pay their higher salaries.”

An analysis done by the Globe and Mail found between 1945 and 1975, the House of Commons sat for 138 days on average. Since this timeframe ended, the chamber has been in session for 123 days per year on average. After the Liberals formed government in 2015, the chamber has sat for about 106 days on average during the last five calendar years. 

Despite sitting for fewer days, MPs are making more money. Over the last 10 years, the prime minister’s annual salary has increased by $54,560, salaries for ministers have gone up by an average of $40,094, and backbench MP salaries went up by $27,280. 

MPs received two pay raises during the COVID-19 pandemic. Another is scheduled for 2022.

Terrazzano said MPs pocketing two pay raises during the pandemic is disrespectful to the millions of Canadians struggling – many because of government-imposed restrictions. 

“It shouldn’t be rocket science, and taxpayers expect our politicians to do the right thing and reverse their pandemic pay raises when Parliament resumes,” said Terrazzano. 

Heather Bradley, the communications director for the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons, did not respond to a request for comment. 

Canadian society is obsessed with race

By
Candice Malcolm
-

Canadian society used to strive to build a country that had moved past racial animosity, where people were not judged by their race, and where people could succeed based on their competence and character. However, this is no longer the case.

The demise of University of Saskatchewan professor Dr. Carrie Bourassa shows that our society is obsessed with race — and things are getting ugly.

On this episode of The Candice Malcolm Show, Candice discusses CBC’s thorough and creepy investigative report into the heritage of Dr. Bourassa and explains how success is no longer based on skills and efforts but rather on race and country of origin.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CANDICE MALCOLM SHOW

Major media outlet took taxpayer funding but then fired employees

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

The Halifax Chronicle Herald took taxpayer-funded media rebates but then ended up firing its employees. 

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the media outlet, which is part of the company Saltwire Network Inc., fired 111 employees on September 1, 2020. 

In the same year, the company received an undisclosed amount of taxpayer COVID-19 funding and was also benefiting from payroll rebates passed by the Liberal government in 2019. 

Under the rebate program, the company could have received up to $13,750 per employee. 

Court records show that six former employees pursued legal action with regard to their dismissal. 

“SaltWire contends in March 2020 its business was significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Revenues were substantially reduced,” wrote Justice Kevin Coady. 

According to Justice Coady, those fied “range in age from 50 to 58 years” and had decades of service for the company.

In a separate court case, one SaltWire employee was awarded $88,000 in damages because of this termination. 

“Jerry Slater lost his job with the Herald after a career of almost four decades through no fault of his own. There is dignity in work,” wrote Justice Jamie Campbell. 

Lawyers representing the paper argued that the company “owed him nothing at all.” 

When the Liberal government passed the legislation to subsidize government-approved outlets, then Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez called the loss of even one job a “tragedy.” 

To date, numerous legacy outlets have applied for taxpayer funding including FP Newspapers Inc which owns several publications including the Winnipeg Free Press.

As of May, the company received $6.2 million in taxpayer funds, a majority of which were in COVID-19 subsidies and payroll rebates. Federal grants made up 54% of the company’s revenues this year. 

Waterloo school board wants to rename three schools due to “systemic racism”

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

The Waterloo Region District School Board is seeking to rename three schools citing their namesake’s alleged legacy of racism and systemic discrimination. 

A November 15, 2021 final report by the board’s Ad Hoc School Naming Review Committee calls on trustees to approve a list for “renaming identified as a high priority.” 

The schools being considered to be renamed are AR Kaufman Public School, Ryerson Public School and Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School.

Deliberations regarding Ryerson Public School and Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School have been ongoing since the summer but this is the first time that AR Kaufman Public School has been identified for renaming by the committee. 

“The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) acknowledges that systemic racism exists within the education sector and within the WRDSB. The WRDSB is committed to engaging in meaningful and sustained dialogue about racism, systemic discrimination and oppression,”  the committee report claims. 

“The list of schools and facilities provided below reflects the Committee’s identification of school names with a high (immediate) potential for concern. The list of mascots and other named spaces that reflect consideration for renaming will be referred to the respective school communities for implementation.”

AR Kaufman was a prominent local businessman and philanthropist in the 20th century who was also an advocate of eugenics. As a member of the Eugenics Society of Canada, he advocated for birth control and other measures. 

Kaufman also generously donated to the development of public works and services in Kitchener,  establishing three parks in the area.

Similarly, the legacy of Canada’s first Prime Minister Sir John A Macdonald and Canadian educator Egerton Ryerson have come under scrutiny by activists who claim that statues and commemorations of the two figures cause harm to minorities and other disadvantaged groups.

Supporters of the two have noted Macdonald’s positive influence as a father of Confederation and Ryerson’s impact on establishing the public schooling system in Canada.

Several cities throughout Canada have taken steps to remove statues of Macdonald including the City of Regina. Additionally, a statue at Ryerson University was toppled by protestors and the university has moved to change its name in response. 

LEVY: Hamilton school board pushing “anti-black” racism agenda for kindergarten kids

By
Sue-Ann Levy
-

A new epidemic is spreading through public school boards in Ontario and it has nothing to do with a student’s physical health.

In the past year, school board officials have used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to push their woke oppression and “anti-black” racism agenda.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District school board (HWDSB) is the latest to come to light with a series of lesson plans called Learn.Disrupt.Rebuild for kids as young as kindergarten age.

HWDSB officials unabashedly claim the program came out of COVID-19 and that it draws on the very dangerous critical race theory (CRT) to teach Hamilton students. 

“(The virus) highlighted two pandemics in our society: one related to the virus itself, and one related to social inequities the virus intensified, like anti-Black racism,” officials say in the preamble to their new lesson plans.

Asked what percentage of Hamilton students are black, board spokesman Shawn McKillop said they are currently conducting a census and have no data at the moment.

However, the latest demographics show that less than 4% of Hamilton’s current population of 579,000 identify as black.

Work on the modules began last September, according to McKillop, but was just posted for public consumption on the board website a few weeks ago.

In the Learn.Disrupt.Rebuild program, primary teachers are asked to “bring race into the conversation” – a “necessary and important” way of disrupting the development of racist beliefs.

“Be aware that race is a heavy burden many racialized students carry even at a very early age due to their lived experiences,” the lesson plans say.

The final module for the primary grades is intended to teach K-Grade 3 students how to identify black racism.

Those who prepared the program say their definition of racism is grounded in CRT, an activist movement that claims racism maintains white dominance and creates an uneven playing field for black people.

The anti-racism module says CRT includes assumptions that racism is the normal way society does business and that it  “serves the interests of white people in power materially”.

The staff that put the lesson plan together warn that if a racialized (K-Gr. 3) student is unwilling to be present for these kinds of conversations, it could be because of “personal triggers.”

“Please make informed and empathetic decisions regarding ensuring a safe and inclusive setting to engage in these brave conversations,” the instructions contend as if kids that young even understand what racialized or oppression or inclusive means.

The modules for Grades 4-6 ramp things up further with lesson plans on the three Is of racism: Interpersonal, Institutional and Ideological racism.

The piece de resistance is a lesson on understanding the Black Lives Matter movement – one that has proven itself to be anti-Semitic and violent.

As a successful graduate of the Hamilton public school system at a time when academic excellence was celebrated, I feel sorry for students going through this Orwellian experiment that seeks to dumb down the curriculum and indoctrinate them using groupthink. 

One wonders if Ontario Premier Doug Ford or his education minister Stephen Lecce have their eye on the ball or have they simply allowed the woke anti-oppression activists still embedded in the education ministry from the Kathleen Wynne days to run the show.

A board source who spoke to True North on condition of anonymity said she was “shocked” when the modules came to her attention in the spring.

When she dared to question the contents, repeated attempts were made to shut her down. After several attempts to get information, the school board director e-mailed her to say his staff had been directed to no longer respond to questions about the program.

“The intimation certainly is that I’m a bad person who does harm to racialized minorities,” said the source. 

Asked whether Hamilton school board teachers are required to teach this divisive propaganda, McKillop said educators are legally obligated to “promote fundamental human rights” under human rights legislation – and the Learn.Disrupt.Rebuild program is the resource used by the board to meet these obligations.

“Educators may edit or revise these modules,” he said.

Still, if we are to classify human rights as the rights of all minorities – people of colour, of Muslim heritage, Jewish, queer or transexual, East Indian and South Asian – isn’t it rather racist of the officials at the Hamilton school board to single out the black experience?

I can’t imagine any of this will prepare their students for the real world.

Conservative senator seeks early O’Toole leadership review, cites “growing rift” in party

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Conservative Senator Denise Batters is calling on the Conservatives to hold a review of Erin O’Toole’s leadership within the next six months.

In a video statement released Monday morning, Batters launched a petition for Conservative members to seek a referendum on O’Toole’s leadership, accusing him of causing division within the party. 

“On behalf of Conservative activists and members from coast to coast, we started this petition because we don’t want to see the party ripped apart again,” said Batters. 

“Under Erin O’Toole’s leadership, the rift in our party is growing – he told us ‘This is not your grandfather’s Conservative party’ and warned campaigning MPs they must agree 100% with his ‘new direction’ – which constantly changes – or get out of caucus.” 

Additionally, Batters accused O’Toole of flip-flopping on key promises and issues important to the Conservative base. 

“Whether it was on carbon tax, firearms, or conscience rights – Mr. O’Toole flip-flopped on policies core to our party within the same week, the same day, and even within the same sentence. The members didn’t have a say on that, but we must have one on his leadership,” she said. 

“He won the leadership race claiming to be ‘True Blue’ but ran an election campaign nearly indistinguishable from Trudeau’s Liberals.”

Batters’ petition calls on the Conservative Party of Canada to hold a leadership review on O’Toole by June 30, 2022, earlier than the scheduled review at the party’s 2023 convention.

According to Section 12.3 of the CPC constitution, any party member can submit a petition requesting a referendum if it is signed by more than five percent of the party’s membership in at least five provinces. 

Batters is the latest prominent party member to break with O’Toole. Since O’Toole lost the 2021 election and was unable to make any gains, a number of people have called for O’Toole to be recalled. 

“Erin O’Toole lost this election by every measure. Our party lost half a million votes, claimed fewer seats, and a lower popular vote than in 2019. We lost diverse seats and MPs in the GTA, Alberta and in Vancouver’s suburbs,” said Batters.

Another petition initiated by beleaguered National Council member Bert Chen calling on O’Toole to be removed from leadership has garnered over 5,500 signatures. Since the petition was released the party has launched a sweeping inquiry into Chen including demands that he hand over private communications. 

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