Danielle Smith’s former campaign manager organizing “two thousand Muslims” to support the premier at the AGM

Rachel Parker, True North Wire
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Danielle Smith’s former campaign manager organizing “two thousand Muslims” to support the premier at the AGM

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s former campaign manager has said privately he’s mobilizing “two thousand Muslims” to come to the United Conservative Party annual general meeting to support Smith as she faces a leadership review. 

Smith will face a vote on her leadership at the party convention on Nov. 2. 

Matthew Altheim ran Smith’s leadership campaign and is part owner and executive producer of Nordic Media, an Edmonton-based marketing agency. The firm was given two sole-sourced contracts by the Alberta government, and more recently, a contract valued at $1.5 million. Altheim is frequently seen at events alongside the Premier.

In an audio recording provided to True North, Altheim said he’s mobilizing Muslims to gather at the convention. The audio was given to True North by a source whose name is being withheld for fear of retribution. 

The source tells Altheim that UCP members are unhappy about Smith’s promises to implement Halal mortgages and funding for Islamic schools. 

“I hope you got a lot of busloads of Muslims to counter the people that are going to be pretty pissed off about this,” the source says to Altheim, as heard in the recording. 

“Well yes, I have two thousand of them,” Altheim responds. “I’m not too worried.” 

“You better have a couple thousand of them,” the source counters.

“I do. I have two thousand Muslims,” Altheim says. 

Altheim did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Thursday. 

The revelation follows speculation about two emails that were posted on X in which two Muslim schools in Edmonton appear to invite students to attend the UCP AGM with all costs paid. The emails tout Smith’s support of the Muslim community and said the AGM is a chance to back her. 

One apparent email claims the Premier arranged a private meet and greet for Muslim students at the party convention.

True North was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the recording or the emails. The schools referenced — the Al Mustafa Academy and the Edmonton Islamic Academy — did not respond to repeated requests for comment from True North.

The Premier’s Office forwarded a request for comment about the emails to the UCP who said it is within the rules for community groups and constituency associations to sponsor fees so long as each individual purchases their own membership. The party said Smith is not involved in organizing the sponsorship of AGM fees for members.

“It’s common for individuals and constituency associations to organize around these efforts, and the party ensures all rules are followed,” said UCP spokesperson Dave Prisco. 

Smith’s office and the party did not respond to a request for comment about Altheim.

Asked whether the Premier would be meeting with Muslim students as one email claimed, Prisco said Smith “will be speaking with as many members of the United Conservative Party as possible at the AGM.”

Ratio’d | Release the names of the alleged traitors…ALL OF THEM

Harrison Faulkner
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Ratio’d | Release the names of the alleged traitors…ALL OF THEM

In his testimony at the foreign interference inquiry Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he has seen a list of current and former Conservative parliamentarians who were allegedly involved in foreign interference operations. This is getting absurd.

We now have political leaders in Canada fighting each other over who is sheltering more traitors in their respective parties than the other.

The state of Canadian politics was entirely preventable, but this is where we are now. It’s time to put an end to these shenanigans. Trudeau must release the names of these alleged traitors. Canadian deserve the truth.

Tune into Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner.

Repeat violent offender arrested after vicious attack on tourist in Vancouver

Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
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Repeat violent offender arrested after vicious attack on tourist in Vancouver

A woman visiting Vancouver was sent to the hospital after a man who was on probation with a history of four previous random assaults allegedly assaulted her in front of a cruise ship terminal.

According to a Vancouver Police Department news release, 30-year-old Massimo Rosario Falvo faces an aggravated assault charge after he allegedly attacked a 35-year-old tourist while she was walking near the cruise ship terminal at Canada Place in Vancouver before 9 am on Sunday.

“She was assaulted by a stranger. She was repeatedly punched and kicked in the face, and sustained multiple injuries that required medical attention at a hospital,” the report said.

Police said the attack was “unprovoked,” and the two did not know each other or had any previous interaction before the alleged assault occurred.

“We’re thankful to the bystanders who called the police so our officers could respond immediately and collect valuable evidence that led to the quick arrest of the suspect,” VPD Sergeant Steve Addison said in the statement.

Police said they obtained video of the suspect from the crime scene. The suspect, who had been known to police, was arrested at a residential building near East Pender Street and Columbia Street around 12:30 p.m. by a VPD canine officer and service dog.

Falvo appeared in court Wednesday and has a bail hearing scheduled for Oct. 22.

In an interview with Global News, Addison said the man had been convicted of “similar offences” and was on probation.

In 2024, Falvo was convicted for assaulting four separate individuals, each of which involved the suspect punching the victims in the head. After being convicted, Falvo was given three years of probation and one day in custody after spending 22 days in custody before sentencing.

“There’s an expectation that community, that if a person is arrested once, twice, three times in now four times for serious offences, violent unprovoked stranger attacks that there will be meaningful consequences,” Addison said in the interview with Global News.

John Rustad, the leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia shared the news on X saying if he wins the election scheduled this Saturday, he will put a stop to the rampant random assaults. 

“I find that completely unacceptable that we are allowing to see this sort of thing happening in our society. Tourists are feeling unsafe. Citizens are feeling unsafe. Businesses are being attacked. Businesses or having losses,” he said in a video posted to X. “This has to come to an end.”

Rustad blamed the current Premier of BC and his main competitor in the upcoming election for having soft-on-crime policies allowing attacks like this.

“David Eby’s catch and release policies in this province and his soft on crime (approach) have created this environment that is unsafe for people in this province,” Rustad said. “A conservative government will deliver law and order again in British Columbia. We’ll make sure these people are put behind bars where they belong. We’ll make sure that people can once again feel safe on the streets of British Columbia.”

Eby did not respond to True North’s request to comment.

Trudeau accuses Jordan Peterson and Tucker Carlson of being funded by Russia

Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
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Trudeau accuses Jordan Peterson and Tucker Carlson of being funded by Russia

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Canadian author and psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson, as well as American media personality Tucker Carlson, of being funded by Russia without providing any evidence to substantiate his claims.

While testifying at the ongoing foreign interference inquiry on Wednesday, Justin Trudeau accused the two conservative media personalities of being on the Russian payroll. 

He noted a recent US Department of Justice indictment which implicated the conservative media company Tenet Media was involved in a foreign influence scheme perpetrated by employees of Russia’s state broadcaster “Russia Today.”

“We’ve recently seen that RT is currently funding bloggers and other YouTube personalities of the right, such as Jordan Peterson, other names that are well known, Tucker Carlson as well, to amplify messages that are destabilizing democracies,” Trudeau testified.

Neither Peterson nor Carlson were named in the DOJ indictment.

Peterson took to X, denying the accusation and joking about the absurdity of the claims.

“Hey, Russians! Where the hell is my money?! Justin Trudeau strikes again, whiffing at a foul ball,” Peterson said on X. “Rubles are stuffed in my mattress. Comfortable. Tee hee Justin Trudeau.”

Carlson did not respond to True North’s requests for comment before the deadline provided.

Trudeau was asked about the potential that Russia instigated the Freedom Convoy in 2022 “from the outset,” a connection made by a CBC journalist during an interview with Trudeau’s Public Safety Minister at the time, Marco Mendicino. Mendicino left the assertion unchallenged during the interview.

“The propaganda and disinformation, misinformation activities on the part of Russia have been fairly constant in our social media, in our Canadian democracy,” Trudeau said. “On the part of Russia to say that one is directly linked to the other (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Freedom Convoy), I wouldn’t feel comfortable to say that if I did have more concrete evidence to make that connection.”

Despite saying he wouldn’t assert that there was a connection between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Freedom Convoy without “concrete evidence,” Trudeau did not provide evidence that Peterson and Carlson were on the Russian state payroll and did not respond to True North’s requests for comment.

Trudeau said that Russian influence amounts to amplifying existing debates in the West, which could cause further divisions.

“Russia amplified the chaos and the disputes and conflict in Canada, surrounding the convoy, they’re very opportunistic in that sense that they will amplify any disagreement or differences of opinion, especially in our democratic process and our democracy,” Trudeau said at the hearing.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Trudeau of lying about Pierre’s ability to know if members of his caucus were implicated in foreign interference during his testimony on Wednesday.

Trudeau said that by refusing to read the confidential, unredacted version of a National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians report on foreign interference, he was incapable of knowing who in his party was acting as an agent to adversarial foreign governments.

“I have the name of a number of parliamentarians, former parliamentarians and or candidates in the Conservative Party of Canada who are engaged or at high risk of or for whom there is clear intelligence around foreign interference,” Trudeau said.

Poilievre has refused to read the NSICOP report because doing so would prevent him from sharing the names of MPs who are accused of knowingly abetting foreign state actors whose names are being shielded by the government.

In a statement released on X, Poilievre said he had consulted with several intelligence agencies and government officials under the CSIS Act which allows for him to be briefed without having to be sworn to secrecy.

He also said his Chief of Staff has received the confidential briefings Trudeau is accusing the Conservatives of ignoring.

“At no time has the government told me or my Chief of Staff of any current or former Conservative parliamentarian or candidate knowingly participating in foreign interference,” Poilievre said. “If Justin Trudeau has evidence to the contrary, he should share it with the public.”

Four more Liberal cabinet ministers announce they won’t be seeking reelection

Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Four more Liberal cabinet ministers announce they won’t be seeking reelection

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will have to reshuffle his cabinet once again in the wake of four cabinet ministers announcing that they won’t be seeking reelection. This comes as Trudeau faces a growing movement within the Liberal caucus calling for him to step down as leader. 

Minister of National Revenue Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Sports Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Economic Development for Southern Ontario Filomena Tassi and Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal informed Trudeau that they won’t be running again in the next federal election.

All four were elected in the 2015 election.

Bibeau said she may consider a run for mayor of Sherbrooke when the city has its election next fall. 

While Trudeau has yet to announce an exact date, sources told Radio-Canada that a cabinet reshuffle is coming in the next few weeks as all four positions will require replacements. 

The prime minister was told by some of his advisors to wait until the U.S. election has concluded before making the new appointments, which would mean a cabinet shuffle wouldn’t occur until at least Nov. 5. 

News of their departure marks as many as 24 elected members of the Liberal caucus who now won’t be seeking reelection. 

Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan and Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez both announced they would be stepping down in recent months. Rodriguez has indicated that he will be seeking the Quebec Liberals leadership.

Outside of cabinet ministers, seven MPs have also resigned since the last election in 2021, including former ministers Marc Garneau, David Lametti and Carolyn Bennett.

The prime minister conducted a major shuffle last year, however, it failed to give Trudeau an edge over Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the polls, whose party currently holds a 20-point lead over the Liberals. 

Multiple sources within Trudeau’s circle recently told the media that a plan has been in the works for MPs to call for him to resign over a week behind closed doors.

They are expected to inform Trudeau personally at the next caucus meeting on Wednesday. 

That news is in addition to Liberal backbencher Sean Casey being the first MP to publicly call for Trudeau to resign as an internal petition demanding he step down circulates among MPs. 

The Charlottetown MP told CBC News in an interview that Trudeau’s leadership is a prominent problem for many voters in his riding. 

“The message that I’ve been getting loud and clear — and more and more strongly as time goes by — is that it is time for [Trudeau] to go. And I agree,” said Casey on Tuesday. “People have had enough. They’ve tuned him out and they want him to go.”

Casey’s comments make him the first MP to publicly call for Trudeau to step down, however, multiple sources told the media that the sentiment has reached the Liberal cabinet behind closed doors. After two major byelection losses this year, first in Toronto-St. Paul’s and then  LaSalle––Émard—Verdun in Montreal, many MPs feel Trudeau is to blame.

The Daily Brief | Poilievre accuses Trudeau of “lying” about foreign interference 

Lindsay Shepherd
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The Daily Brief | Poilievre accuses Trudeau of “lying” about foreign interference 

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of “lying” during Trudeau’s testimony at the public inquiry into foreign interference on Wednesday, in which Trudeau alleged the Conservative leader didn’t have the proper security clearance to be briefed on foreign interference by law enforcement. 

Plus, United Conservative Party members will have an opportunity to oust Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at the party’s upcoming annual meeting. 

And a petition that calls for Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow to be fired over her snub of a vigil for the victims of the October 7th terrorist attack has reached 11,000 signatures. 

Tune into The Daily Brief with Lindsay Shepherd and Isaac Lamoureux! 

Liberal MPs to call for Trudeau’s resignation at next caucus meeting

Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Liberal MPs to call for Trudeau’s resignation at next caucus meeting

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership has been hit with another blow after a number of MPs spent the last 10 days quietly organizing their plans to call for his resignation next week.

Multiple sources have told CTV News that the plan has been in the works for over a week behind closed doors, which is expected to be brought to Trudeau personally at the next caucus meeting on Wednesday. 

This comes in the wake of Liberal backbencher Sean Casey being the first MP to publicly call for Trudeau to resign as an internal petition demanding he step down circulates among MPs. 

The Charlottetown MP told CBC News in an interview that Trudeau’s leadership is a prominent problem for many voters in his riding. 

“The message that I’ve been getting loud and clear — and more and more strongly as time goes by — is that it is time for [Trudeau] to go. And I agree,” said Casey on Tuesday. “People have had enough.They’ve tuned him out and they want him to go.”

Casey’s comments make him the first MP to publicly call for Trudeau to step down, however, multiple sources told the media that the sentiment has reached the Liberal cabinet behind closed doors. 

Following two major byelection losses this year, first in Toronto-St. Paul’s and then  LaSalle––Émard—Verdun in Montreal, many MPs feel Trudeau is to blame. 

This has led to a series of covert meetings being organized by Liberal MPs to discuss the party moving forward without Trudeau at the helm. 

While Casey didn’t attend any of those meetings himself, he expects that the collective efforts of his colleagues to oust Trudeau will reach some sort of climax next week once MPs return to Ottawa. 

According to multiple sources, a document is being passed around demanding a change of leadership in the face of Trudeau and his supporters refusing to step down. 

While the document is being kept tightly away from the public eye, sources said that it has already been signed by as many as 20 MPs and will be brought forth once it has enough signatures. 

Those responsible for organizing the pledge fear that if it’s released too early, the Prime Minister’s Office will be able to push back and divide support among those trying to have him ousted as leader, something that happened once already following the Toronto byelection loss.  

Casey said he hasn’t been offered to sign the document himself but he did say he’s heard about it “second hand,” adding that there is a “high level of anxiety” within the Liberal caucus over Trudeau’s continued leadership.

“I would say it’s wider than meets the eye. There are a lot of people who have concerns,” said Casey. “But those who have come to the same conclusion as me seem to be becoming more emboldened with the passage of time.”

Israel’s diaspora ministry report exposes antisemitism in Canada

Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
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Israel’s diaspora ministry report exposes antisemitism in Canada

A report published by the Israeli government paints a damning picture of Canada’s inability to address a skyrocketing rise of antisemitism in the country.

Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs released the report Monday, which details the rise of antisemitism in Canada, several key figures who play a role in its proliferation, and documents 17 attacks on the Jewish community since May this year.

“Since October 7, 2023, Canada has experienced a significant surge in antisemitism, marked by a 670% increase in incidents compared to the previous year,” the report said. “This rise has included violent attacks, such as shootings targeting Jewish institutions and arson attacks targeting schools, Synagogues, and other community institutions.”

The report used news articles from both Canadian and international news outlets as well as social media posts from individuals deemed to be promoting antisemitism in Canada.

“Despite Jewish people comprising only 1.4% of Canada’s population, they account for 70% of religious hate crimes,” the report said. “In Toronto alone, 19% of all hate crimes in 2023 were directed at Jews, a figure that spiked dramatically in the final quarter of the year, aligning with escalating tensions in the Middle East.”

The report said that pro-Palestine protests have contributed “significantly” to the rise of antisemitism in Canada, saying the issue is particularly prominent among campus activist groups and leftist organizations. It said many of these groups connect anti-Israel sentiments to “broader pro-Indigenous revolutionary ideas.”

Jewish rights groups in Canada, such as B’nai Brith and many in the Jewish diaspora in Canada, have asserted that Jewish people are indigenous to Israel, despite anti-Israel activist’s claims.

The report said the marrying of those leftist and anti-colonialist causes with the anti-Israel movement has led to “increased expressions of support for groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah,” and increased violence at protests in major Canadian cities and prominent universities.

It called out Ontario MPP Sarah Jama, the recently listed terrorist entity Samidoun, former CBC radio host, Samira Mohyeddin, realtor and social media personality Brandon Taylor Moore, and former Department of Canadian Heritage consultant, Laith Marouf as key actors in the proliferation of anti-Jewish hate in Canada.

The report also listed 17 antisemitic attacks since May of 2024 in the report. In May, an arson attack set fire to the entrance of Schara Tzedeck Synagogue in Vancouver, B.C.

In June three synagogues were pelted with stones, resulting in shattered windows, a Holocaust Museum billboard was vandalized, and activists desecrated an Israeli flag with Nazi swastikas and stomped on it during the annual “Walk with Israel” rally.

July was an active month for antisemites in Canada. The report noted various arson and vandalism incidents at several Jewish sites, including community centres, buses and kosher grocery stores, and a fire which damaged a Jewish day school after the arson of a Jewish school bus. 

Jewish graves were desecrated with the reorganizing of memorial stones into the shape of Nazi swastikas, and Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, a Jewish person, was told to “get out of Canada” and called a neo-Nazi due to his pro-Israel stance. Another synagogue in Toronto was vandalized with three of its signs set on fire, and Quebec electronic road signs were hacked to display phrases like “globalize the Intifada” and “escalate now.”

The report detailed instances of anti-semitic threats on a subway in Toronto, a swastika was burned into the turf of Whitby Park, antisemitic graffiti at a school in London and vehicles displaying pro-Hamas symbols such as inverted red triangles and quotes from Hamas leadership driving around Mississauga, Ont. in August.

It documented a firearm being discharged at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School, a Jewish girls’ school in Toronto, on Yom Kippur this month. However, it did not mention that this was the second time a firearm was discharged at the school since May.

“While many Canadian Jews express concern for their safety, we also hear of Israelis, who usually travel globally, now hesitant to visit places where they might be attacked because of their identity. Tragically, Canada is one of those places,” Richard Marceau, the Vice President of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, told True North. “This is a sobering reflection on the failures of leadership in this country over the past year, during which multiple terror plots targeting Jews were thwarted.”

He said that the government’s tolerance for antisemitic and extremist “pro-Hamas” mobs has led to the rise in antisemitism and that it should be “no surprise” when the allowed antisemitic rhetoric turns to action.

Rachel and The Republic | Harris PANICS and BLUNDERS in last-ditch attempt to appeal to male voters

Rachel Parker
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Rachel and The Republic | Harris PANICS and BLUNDERS in last-ditch attempt to appeal to male voters

Today on Rachel and the Republic with Rachel Parker, Rachel is joined by True North columnist Sue-Ann Levy. The two discuss the Harris campaign’s big blunders in trying to appeal to men including trotting out vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and Harris’ husband. Rachel wonders if the left is appealing to same toxic masculinity it accuses the right of.

Tune in now!

SHEPHERD: A cultural appropriation scandal? In 2024?

Lindsay Shepherd
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SHEPHERD: A cultural appropriation scandal? In 2024?

What a lovely gift we received this past Canadian Thanksgiving weekend: a cultural appropriation controversy. It’s almost like it was 2015 again! Ah, I remember first seeing those “My Culture is Not Your Costume” posters, urging Halloween partygoers not to dress up as Pocahontas or a geisha. There’s nothing like autumnal nostalgia. 

A new episode of the business pitch show Dragon’s Den aired on October 10, featuring Chinese-born actor Simu Liu as a celebrity guest investor. Enter Quebec City’s Sebastien Fiset and Jess Frenette, the owners of ready-to-drink bubble tea company Bobba, seeking $1 million in exchange for 18% of their company. The company was a success since its inception, profiting $300,000 in their first year and $600,000 last year.

Liu was adversarial from the outset: among his concerns was that the drink’s can didn’t mention Taiwan, where bubble (boba) tea comes from.

“What respect is being paid to this very Asian drink that has blown up around the world and is it in your teas? Is it in your product development?” he asked. Fiset replied that the tea is formulated in Taiwan, and that he travels to Taiwan to meet with his supplier.

Fiset said that his boba was a “healthier” experience, and that he is “disturbing this $4 billion dollar market.” He claimed his product had three simple ingredients: tea, juice, and popping boba (pearls). 

“I’m concerned about this idea of disrupting or disturbing bubble tea,” Liu said.

“Why? There can be new takes on things. Not everything has to be traditional,” replied investor Manjit Minhas, the CEO of a beer brands manufacturer.

You would think that Minhas would be the voice of reason here. Just because a food item originates in Asia, that doesn’t make it untouchable. People are allowed to discover culinary products from countries that aren’t their own and reformulate recipes to suit the tastes and preferences of another region. In any case, bubble tea originated in the 1980s in Taiwan – are milk tea boba makers paying homage to the early pastoral farmers of Western Europe who first milked cows for human consumption? Are the makers of sugary boba tea paying homage to the New Guineans of 8000 BC, who first started chewing on sugarcane?

Minhas made a deal with Bobba – $1 million in exchange for 18% of the company. “I believed in you from moment one,” Minhas said to Fiset and Frenette after the couple accepted her offer. Dragons Arlene Dickinson and Michele Romanow had also made a joint offer for the same amount.

Meanwhile, Liu lamented, “It makes me sad how successful this business is.”

Alas, Tiktok and Instagram commenters were starved for an opportunity to complain about cultural appropriation, and leapt to mock and criticize Bobba. Many made fun of Fiset’s remark that bubble tea “is not an ethnical product anymore.”

On Sunday, Minhas released a video on Instagram where she said, “After more reflection, due diligence and listening to many of your opinions, I will not be investing in Bobba tea.”

Next up: an Instagram apology from Bobba. “We want to deeply apologize for the harm we have caused by our words and actions on the show… we welcome this learning opportunity.”

Cue the stories about the “important conversation” that Liu sparked. 

Predictability can be so comforting.

Admittedly, the scandal had me intrigued, and I was about to grab my coat and walk over to the grocery store in search of Bobba. I used to drink bubble tea frequently in high school (15 years ago), but the tapioca pearls always had my stomach feeling heavy so I never again sought it out. But if Bobba was offering lighter, popping pearls, perhaps it would be quite tasty.

I quickly checked Bobba’s ingredients on their website, and sighed in disappointment. Artificial flavour and food colouring. I hung up my jacket, as I don’t wittingly consume artificial flavour.

Bobba stated in their October 13 Instagram post that while on Dragon’s Den they were introducing a new formula with no artificial colour, flavor, or preservatives, as well as a lower sugar content. If true, this is promising. 

But the founders of Bobba may never get to launch the natural version of their tea, as they’ve been marked as “cultural appropriators.” Cultural appropriation outrage probably doesn’t mean much in the francophone Quebec market, but Simu Liu’s mob has tainted Bobba’s name in the English-speaking world – and Liu sees himself as a hero because of it.

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