Conservative MPs took to social media this week to blast the Liberal government’s inaction on recent incursions into Taiwanese airspace by China.
Both MP Michael Chong and recently-elected MP Melissa Lantsman made separate statements on social media calling for immediate action to support the island nation.
“China’s latest actions against Taiwan are unacceptable and needlessly provocative. Canada must stand with our democratic allies in the Indo-Pacific region, and publicly state our support for Taiwan as have our Australian, American, British, and Japanese allies,” wrote Chong.
Recently, Taiwanese defence minister Chiu Kuo-cheng warned that China could invade Taiwan by 2025.
“With regards to staging an attack on Taiwan, they currently have the ability. But [China] has to pay the price,” said Chiu.
“We will make preparations militarily. I think our military is like this — if we need to fight, we will be on the front lines.”
Recently, 150 bombers, including airplanes with nuclear capabilities, buzzed Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone.
The incursion has been called “the most serious” in over 40 years by Chiu.
“China’s latest incursions into Taiwan’s air identification zone are needlessly provocative and only serves to destabilize the security of the region. Canada must support our friends in democratic Taiwan. The silence on this is deafening,” tweeted Lantsman.
Following China’s recent incursion, the Liberal government made no statement condemning the Communist country for the incident.
In the past, critics have accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of failing to stand up to China with regard to Taiwan.
In September, the Canadian government refused to support a bid by the island nation to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
In just over one week, Albertans will vote in a referendum on ending equalization, a constitutional program that has funnelled billions of dollars from Alberta and other wealthy provinces to have-not provinces like Quebec. Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes says this is an important vote for Albertans who want a fairer deal in confederation. He joined The Andrew Lawton Show to explain.
The “woke” Toronto District School Board (TDSB) brass and its new director would like the Desmond Cole disaster to simply go away.
But it seems principals, outraged with the way it was mishandled two weeks ago, aren’t prepared to let it go.
One elementary school principal who spoke to True North on condition of anonymity says TDSB principals and vice-principals were left “shocked, angry and hurt” at the accusations of racism and oppression levelled at those who attended a mandatory series of seminars given by “anti-racism” activist Desmond Cole.
The principal said they are calling for the person who organized the event to be fired, or at least disciplined, and to be forced to “take responsibility” for a gross error in judgement, noting the content was contrary to TDSB’s own guidelines.
Principals and vice-principals felt Cole attacked them personally and professionally and If they had carried out such discussions in their own schools, they’d be disciplined and the subject of a human rights complaint, the source noted.
Cole was paid $16,000 for four sessions on Sept. 20 and 23.
True North learned that he was permitted to continue with the second set of talks on Sept. 23 even though there were several complaints to the board brass about the hateful rhetoric expressed during the first two talks.
Many attendees were taken aback at the Sept. 20 sessions when Cole addressed the “illegal occupation of Palestine territories” by the Jewish state — repeating “Free Palestine” several times.
Jewish groups have called “Free Palestine” a dog whistle which promotes the eradication of the Jewish state.
“I can say Free Palestine … as many times as I want to because I am not an educator … there’s not much the people who invited me here can do,” Cole said defiantly.
He continued to use typical misinformed anti-Semitic tropes about Israel’s “theft of land” and “settler colonialism” — berating those who attended for “taking the side of the oppressor.”
The source told me it’s not just the rants about “Free Palestine” or Cole’s curious examples of “oppression” in TDSB schools, it’s that no one — from director Colleen Russell-Rawlins on down — has taken any responsibility for the debacle.
Russell-Rawlins, who returned to the TDSB in August after a year at the troubled Peel District School Board (PDSB), issued a milquetoast apology in a Sept. 24 e-mail to staff.
In fact, she only apologized to those who endeavoured to question Cole and were rudely interrupted and berated for doing so.
“It is clear that we should have done a better job providing space for staff to unpack these complex conversations and I want to apologize for the harm that may have caused,” she wrote.
A follow-up e-mail on Sept. 27 conceded that the format of the sessions “did not result in the kind of experience” they wanted all participants to have.
Russell-Rawlins’ second email, another word salad, takes no responsibility for the hateful rhetoric spewed by Cole.
Instead, she claimed that if they stay focussed on their commitments, “the dialogue in the classrooms will result in less hate, exclusion and discrimination.” She didn’t elaborate.
Little wonder there has been no apology. It appears Russell-Rawlins has focussed her work on “anti-black racism” and oppression to the exclusion of other equity issues. In fact she was part of a panel while at the PDSB supported by Black Lives Matter and featuring leftist columnist Shree Paradkar.
In response to questions about who organized the events and Cole as speaker, board spokesperson Ryan Bird said the learning sessions were a locally-planned event that “grew in interest.” (completely ignoring my questions about who hired Cole.)
Asked whether the director will apologize to Jewish students, teachers and principals for Cole’s anti-Semitic rhetoric, Bird said she’s already apologized directly to staff who attended the sessions (not characterizing which staff he meant or admitting the Cole’s rant was anti-Semitic.)
The board source feels the TDSB is in disarray with a new director who “does not care” about her leaders.
“She is creating division and a polarization that has never been seen before,” the source said. “This is not a good start for her and many feel it could be her demise.”
Another board insider said the trend as of late has been only to appoint people to the role of superintendent who are either black activists or incredibly “woke” and that anti-Semitism is “running rampant” within the board.
Both sources say teachers and principals are too terrified to speak out for fear of reprisal.
A Georgina, Ont., woman who pleaded guilty to defrauding the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) of $2.4 million has been given a four-year prison sentence, according to a press release issued by the York Regional Police on Thursday.
47-year-old Jennifer Guertin pleaded guilty in 2020 to charges of theft over $5,000, breach of trust, two counts of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and unauthorized use of a computer with intent to commit a crime.
Guertin was given a four-year prison sentence and ordered to pay $100,000 to the OMHA.
The OMHA said in a statement that this organization is content this situation has now come to an end.
“At the core of all not-for-profit organizations is a measure of trust and love of their particular sport,” said the OMHA in a statement. “Unfortunately, our trust in our long-term employee created a situation in which she was able to exploit that trust to our, and our members’, detriment.”
The organization said they have learned valuable lessons through this experience. They have since established more stringent financial protocols and oversight, and they redeveloped their internal financial procedures and processes to prevent and detect potential fraud.
“We are fortunate that the ultimate result of one person’s actions did not have an impact on the OMHA’s operations and that the lesson learned was not at the expense of our members’ ability to continue to play and grow the wonderful game of hockey,” they said.
Guertin worked as the director of finance at the OMHA for 17 years.
Detectives with the Financial Crimes Unit began an investigation in 2018 after receiving a report of missing funds from the OMHA. Investigators determined that during Guertin’s term as director of finance, she took about $2.4 million from the association within a six-month timeframe.
She was fired soon after the investigation commenced. She was charged in 2019.
The OMHA serves as the governing body for minor hockey in Ontario, and it oversees 225 minor hockey groups with about 300,000 members.
At the time of the theft, there had been a massive amount of money from tryouts and registrations going into the organization’s coffers.
The Calgary Chamber mayoral debate was off to a rocky start after Councillor Jeromy Farkas accused opponent Councillor Jyoti Gondek of being compromised by special interest groups like unions and backroom developers.
“The truth is Coun. Gondek… doesn’t answer to you. She doesn’t answer to anyone remotely resembling everyday people. She answers to the money. She answers to the backroom union bosses,” said Farkas.
“It’s not out of the kindness of their heart. It’s to buy a city council that will put their interests ahead of anything else.”
Farkas referred to an endorsement by Calgary’s Future – a third-party advertiser funded by several unions that represent municipal workers – which he claims have spent $1.7 million on an “American-style” campaign to buy politicians.
In response, Gondek accused her main opponent Farkas of “telling lies” without addressing numerous criticisms.
“We have an immense opportunity to reclaim our socioeconomic advantage. The next four years at city hall will require a steady hand, and a leader that is willing to build a team that is focused on our collective well-being,” said Gondek.
According to polls, both Farkas and Gondek are mayoral front-runners, with Gondek in the lead at 27% of decided voters and Farkas following closely behind with 24%.
Additionally, councillor Jeff Davison sits at 12% while Brad Field is polling at 5% and Jan Damery is in last place with 3% support.
“Running the city from the extreme left or the extreme right doesn’t work for Calgary anymore,” said Davison.
“If we’re going to be successful we’ve got to get out from under this cloud of negativity some of us up here have actually created in Calgary.”
Calgarians head to the polls on Monday, Oct. 18 to elect a new mayor.
Justin Trudeau’s vaccine mandate for federal public servants is so broad, it even applies to employees who do their jobs remotely from their own homes. This mandate proves what’s become increasingly apparent in recent months, that the federal government is more interested in control than public health, True North’s Andrew Lawton says.
Also, Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes joins the show to explain why Albertans need to vote ‘yes’ in the October 18 referendum to end equalization payments.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore has advised children “not to yell” while trick or treating and wear masks over fears that it could lead to the spread of COVID-19.
Dr. Moore made the comment during a COVID-19 briefing on Thursday.
“They’ll have masks on it’s just not to yell too exuberantly, I think the purpose of that comment was not to aerosolize and it’s just a risk reduction strategy, said Dr. Moore in response to a question from a reporter.
“Clearly you have to make your presence known when you get your treat and you have to be able to knock as well as ask for the treat. We just ask not with a high volume that can potentially aerosolize. It’s an abundance of caution.”
Ontario currently has some of the harshest COVID-19 policies across the country despite having one of the highest vaccination rates.
Unvaccinated Canadians are prohibited from eating in mall food courts, attending gyms, salons, conferences or other venues without proof of vaccination status or a government-approved medical exemption.
Constitutional rights groups like the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms have called the system “authoritarian” and a violation of Canadians’ Charter rights.
“Coercing Ontarians to inject COVID vaccines which are still undergoing human trials, or submit to any other drug or medical treatment, interferes with bodily autonomy, an interest that is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” explained the JCCF in a September news release.
“Vaccine passports also violate the principles of equal treatment under the law protected under the Charter. Individuals who have not been vaccinated for a variety of reasons including religious belief, creed, and medical issues will now be segregated and their participation in society will become limited to what is deemed “essential” by the government.”
After an underwhelming performance by the Conservatives in Toronto and Vancouver in the last federal election, the Chinese-Canadian Conservative Association (CCCA) is calling on Conservative leader Erin O’Toole to resign as the leader of the party.
At a Toronto press conference Thursday morning, the CCCA accused O’Toole of becoming a “Liberal lookalike” and alienating Chinese voters with a tough-on-China message, resulting in the loss of ridings with large Chinese populations.
Two-time MP Bob Saroya lost in Markham–Unionville, long-time MP and former cabinet minister Alice Wong was unseated in Richmond Centre and former MP Kenny Chiu lost in Steveston–Richmond East.
Chiu has said his campaign faced an online assault from forces possibly directed by China.
The CCCA put more blame on O’Toole’s campaign than China, however.
“Mr. O’Toole, your hatred message on China is dangerous as that would easily be translated into an ‘anti-Chinese’ message,” a statement from the CCCA said. “That message eventually made Chinese-Canadians pay the price, (due to) more anti-Asian incidents because of the same people that believe in your words.”
CCCA founder Joe Li failed to provide any examples of these “hatred messages” from O’Toole, when asked. Instead, he went on to say O’Toole wasn’t able to articulate any of the positive impacts Chinese-Canadians have on the country.
O’Toole’s platform said a Conservative government would stand with Chinese Canadians while standing up to the Chinese communist party.
“We must stand up to the Communist government of China,” the platform said. “Our quarrel is not with the people of China – part of an ancient civilization that has contributed much to humanity. We stand especially with Chinese Canadians whose contributions to Canada are immeasurable and who are enduring an appalling rise in anti-Asian hate and discrimination.”
The CCCA also took aim at O’Toole’s attempts to court Liberal and progressive voters at the expense of his party’s conservatism.
“As a grassroots conservative association, we believe Mr. O’Toole failed all conservatives by becoming a ‘Liberal look alike,’” the organization said.
“The CCCA is urging Mr. O’Toole to step down immediately to make room for the members [of the party] to choose a true Conservative leader who can lead us to victory in the next election.”
Li said his organization has the support of some Conservative caucus members, though he declined to name any of them.
Trudeau apologized for his ill-advised beach trip during Canada’s first-ever Truth and Reconciliation Day – sort of. He apologized for “travelling on September 30” – which is not why Canadians are mad.
We’re mad that he misled us about what he was doing. And we’re annoyed that Canada’s loudest virtue-signaller doesn’t actually care about honouring those who went to Residential Schools.
And, as Candice Malcolm explains – the story is getting worse by the day for Justin Trudeau.
On Thursday, we learned that the owner of the luxury beachfront mansion that Trudeau stayed in LOBBIED the Federal Government, including Trudeau’s office.
Was it a quid pro quo? Is this another Ethics violation? Candice breaks down all the facts in Trudeau’s latest unravelling scandal.
The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has questioned the sincerity of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s apology after he took a family vacation in Tofino, BC on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, NWAC CEO Lynne Groulx believes Trudeau only apologized after public backlash for his Tofino vacation.
“Sadly, we recognize this moment of contrition comes after much public pressure, not necessarily because you have suddenly seen the light,” Groulx said in a statement.
“It will now be up to you to rebuild trust with our communities.”
Over the weekend, the Prime Minister’s Office hastily revised Trudeau’s itinerary after it falsely claimed he was in Ottawa for “private meetings” when in reality he was strolling down the beach and staying at a luxury beach resort property.
Soon after the incident made national headlines, reporters caught the prime minister walking down the beach and photographs revealed him enjoying a glass of beer with his wife on the property’s balcony.
When pressed on the callousness of taking a vacation on a day of reflection, Trudeau stated that he was sorry.
“Traveling on September 30 was a mistake and I regret it,” Trudeau told reporters on Wednesday.
At the time of his vacation, Trudeau was repeatedly invited by Kamloops, BC, Tk’emlúps Nation Chief Rosanne to a ceremony to honour residential school victims but Trudeau was a no-show.
Other Indigenous leaders also condemned the timing of Trudeau’s vacation.
“Given the fact this is a nationally recognized holiday in regards to truth and reconciliation, it would have been appropriate for the prime minister to fully acknowledge this day,” said Union of BC Indian Chiefs Grand Chief Stewart Phillip.
“Rather than do that, he has chosen to turn his back on the historical significance of today and hide out in Tofino.”
