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Saturday, July 26, 2025

Alberta appoints first-ever chief firearms officer to takeover federal responsibilities

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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The Alberta government announced on Thursday that it will appoint its first-ever chief firearms officer.

According to a statement on the matter, the position was created in response to the Fair Deal report which sought to address Alberta’s unfair treatment at the hands of the federal government.

 “The role of the office includes determining licensing eligibility, compliance with legislation, overseeing the administration of firearms safety courses and other duties that previously fell to the federal government,” a press release claimed. 

Firearms advocate and former member of the Alberta Firearms Advisory Committee Teri Bryant was appointed to the newly-created role. 

“As a lifelong firearms collector and enthusiast, I could not be more excited for this opportunity to represent Albertans and stand up for our province’s way of life and lawful firearms culture. I cannot wait to meet with other passionate Albertans with Minister Madu on our tour to find out how we can get a fair deal for Albertans,” said Bryant. 

Alberta’s Minister of Justice Kaycee Madu addressed the appointment saying that Bryant’s role will fortify gun rights for the 326,519 licensed firearm owners in the province. 

“I am delighted to welcome the province’s first-ever designated chief firearms officer. I know she will be promoting a system of firearms administration in this province that is rooted in the values and priorities of Albertans, and will fight hard for the legitimate rights of Alberta’s lawful gun owners,” said Alberta’s Minister of Justice Kaycee Madu. 

Saskatchewan is also currently in the process of creating a similar role which would take over federal responsibilities. 

Last year, the Trudeau government announced that it would ban 1,500 different types of rifles. 

In response to the gun ban, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said at the time that the move “does little to target criminals.”

“Instead, Ottawa is singling out law-abiding Canadians who purchased their property legally, have owned these items safely for years, and who have committed no crimes,” he said.

CBC says vaccine is a “personal decision” for employees to make

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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CBC and its French-language counterpart Radio-Canada are not currently requiring mandatory vaccinations from its employees and staff.

CBC Director of Media Relations and Issues Management Leon Mar told True North that, as it stands, vaccination is currently a personal choice for the Crown corporation’s workers. 

“At present, vaccination is a personal decision for each employee to make,” Mar said in an emailed statement. 

“As we have since the outset of the pandemic, we will continue to work with public health officials and make decisions to ensure we can all do our jobs while keeping everyone safe and healthy. Our priority remains delivering our services to Canadians while protecting the health of our employees and their families.”

Earlier this month, the federal government announced that public service employees and federally-regulated industries would soon be required to be vaccinated. 

“The Government of Canada expects that Crown corporations and other employers in the federally regulated sector will also require vaccination for their employees. The government will work with these employers to ensure this result,” a Treasury Board news release from August 13, 2021 claimed. 

The Trudeau government has stated that they are working to implement a sweeping mandatory vaccination policy to be in place tentatively “by the end of October.” 

To date, the federal government has yet to reveal any extensive details about the vaccine requirement and whether there will be health-based or other exemptions for those who are unable to be vaccinated. 

CBC News has extensively given coverage to pro-mandatory vaccination views. Articles with titles like “COVID-19 vaccine mandates are coming – whether Candians want them or not” and “Conservative opposition to mandatory vaccinations is ‘irresponsible’ and ‘dangerous,’ says Trudeau” are a common sight in the network’s regular coverage. 

Additionally, as reported by True North, in their coverage of the federal vaccination mandate, CBC News ignored the fact that First Nations bands and services would be forced to get vaccines. 

Statistics Canada data shows that Indigenous Canadians and black Canadians have some of the highest rates of vaccine hesitancy across Canada. 

In total, only 56.6% of black Canadians are reporting that they would get the COVID-19 vaccine, while 72.5% of Indigenous people said the same. 

In his own statements on the matter, Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau also omitted any mention of the impact vaccine mandates would have Indigenous or black Canadians despite the fact that they make up a notable percentage of the public service, with black Canadians counting in at about  3.5% of the federal workforce. 

Trudeau pushes misinformation about Canada’s health care system

By
Candice Malcolm
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The Trudeau government spent years warning Canadians about the dangers of fake news and the need for government to crack down on it. It’s all too perfect that the Liberals are now being punished for pushing fake and misleading information during the federal election.

When Chrystia Freeland got caught red-handed posting “manipulated media” about the Conservatives and Canada’s health care system, the Liberals didn’t apologize or delete their tweet. Instead, they doubled down – this week, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau dumbed down the message even more and released an astonishingly stupid video.

On this episode of The Candice Malcolm Show, Candice breaks down Trudeau’s superficial video and explains why Canadians deserve an honest debate on health care.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CANDICE MALCOLM SHOW

O’Toole warned Trudeau about crisis in Afghanistan in July

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to warn him about the looming crisis in Afghanistan in July, prior to Trudeau calling the federal election.

On Thursday, O’Toole tweeted a copy of the letter he wrote to Trudeau on July 22, 2021. 

“The withdrawal of American military forces and NATO partners in Afghanistan have given rise to a sharp increase in Taliban activity in certain provinces,” read the letter. 

In the letter, O’Toole was particularly concerned about Afghan interpreters who assisted the Canadian Armed Forces during Canada’s mission in the country.

“As Afghan interpreters plead for assistance from your government to flee from these threats of danger, your government remains silent,” O’Toole wrote. 

“Members of the Canadian Armed Forces who served alongside these Afghan interpreters are pleading for your government to listen to their calls. We must do the right thing and support them at a time when they need us most.” 

On Thursday, O’Toole said Trudeau “wasted months with inaction” and called an election in the middle of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. “The Trudeau government failed to act, and they have abandoned people on the ground,” O’Toole said.

Trudeau defended his government’s reaction to the crisis during a campaign stop in Quebec on Thursday.

“We have been working day and night over the past months, past weeks to get as many people out as possible. So I understand the heartbreak to those who were not able to get out as the temporary air bridge is closing,” Trudeau said.

“We will continue to work with partners, with allies, with regional partners to make sure we’re continuing to do everything we can both to bring tens of thousands of Afghans with their families to Canada, but also to keep putting pressure on the Taliban to ensure that people can leave Afghanistan.”

Critics of Trudeau argued that his decision to call a snap election was unnecessary and was an attempt to gain a majority government.

In a recent poll by Leger, 62% of Canadians described the 2021 election as a “power grab” by Trudeau and 69% of Canadians believe that the “election could have waited until next year or later.”

Following the end of Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan on Thursday, an unknown number of Canadians and their families remain trapped in the country. 

Global Affairs Canada sent an email telling citizens that the Canadian evacuation effort in Afghanistan had officially ended and no more evacuation flights were coming. Canadians were instructed to “shelter in place.”

Conservatives gain one-point lead over Liberals in latest poll

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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A recent poll by Nanos found that the Conservatives are narrowly leading over the Liberals when it comes to voting preferences among Canadians. 

The August 25, 2021 telephone survey found that the Conservatives are polling nationally at 34.4% while the Liberals are trailing behind at 33.6%. 

Meanwhile, the NDP is sitting at 18.9% nationally, followed by the Bloc Québécois which is polling at 5.3%, the Green Party which is at 4.3% and the PPC which currently sits at 3.1%. 

According to Nanos, the poll surveyed 1,200 eligible voters and a similar survey would have a margin of error of ±2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. 

The Conservatives are gaining ground as Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau struggles to gain traction in the early weeks of the election campaign. 

According to another recent poll published by EKOS Politics, the Conservatives have been closing in on the Liberals since last week.

Their poll, which was conducted between August 15th and 18th had the Conservatives sitting only one point behind the Liberals at the time. 

Trudeau has faced several challenges on the early campaign trail including a number of gaffes and federal inaction on the evolving crisis in Afghanistan.

Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole recently accused the Liberals of being slow to act when it comes to evacuating people from the region.

“We were calling for action to get people out, to work with our allies. We’ve been demanding this for months and, in some cases, years. The Trudeau government has failed to act and they have abandoned people on the ground in Afghanistan,” O’Toole told reporters on Thursday. 

Canadian citizens trapped in Afghanistan as evacuation effort ends

By
Caitlin Rose Morgante
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An unknown number of Canadians and their families remain trapped in Afghanistan following the end of Canada’s military mission. 

On Thursday, Global Affairs Canada sent an email telling citizens that the Canadian evacuation effort in Afghanistan had officially ended and no more evacuation flights were coming. Canadians were instructed to “shelter in place.” 

On the same day, two explosions in the Kabul airport resulted in many casualties and killed four US Marines. Citizens had been warned not to approach the airport as an attack by the Islamic State had been anticipated.

Canadians in Afghanistan had previously received urgent emails from Global Affairs Canada on August 24, urging them to go to hotels for evacuation. The bungled evacuation effort left some Canadians vulnerable on the streets of Kabul, waiting for Canadian Officials who never showed up. Others were turned away by US troops or beaten by the Taliban.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan had initially stated that all Canadians were “safely on their way back to Canada,” but a Twitter post by the department urging Canadians in Afghanistan to return home later revealed that many citizens had been left behind.

Evacuation aboard military flights began on August 4 when a Canadian Armed Forces aircraft landed in Toronto with approximately 40 passengers onboard. Afghan refugees thought to be local workers at the Kabul Embassy filled most of the plane. It remains unclear as to why diplomats did not evacuate all citizens at that time. 

Afghanistan’s collapse did not come as a surprise to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which predicted the situation currently unravelling in a 2019 report titled Afghanistan: The Precarious Struggle For Stability. 

“Many Afghans who can leave are doing so,” read the report. “Many believe that if the economy, stability and human rights did not improve after almost eighteen years of foreign attention, there is little hope for Afghanistan after abandonment by the US and its allies.”

The Intelligence Service warned that “Afghanistan’s army is undertrained, crippled by corrupt suppliers and no match for the Taliban without US support. Much depends on how long US forces remain in Afghanistan. If the US reached a clearer agreement with the Taliban and then withdrew before a final agreement on a transitional government was concluded, the government of Afghanistan could collapse quickly…”

“An early withdrawal of US forces could result in a new Taliban offensive and the end of the current regime.”

Critics of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claim his government has bungled the Afghanistan crisis by failing to evacuate Canadian citizens, diplomatic staff and Afghan nationals who helped Canada’s military in a timely manner and taking a soft approach with the Taliban.

Trudeau was forced to clarify the government’s position on the Taliban after Liberal Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau did not rule out the possibility of recognizing the terrorist group as the legitimate government in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, women and gender equality minister Maryam Monsef referred to the Taliban as “our brothers.” When asked about her word choice, Monsef said it was a cultural reference.

Liberal government gave Canadian Press $2 million during pandemic

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

The Liberal government paid the Canadian Press (CP) $2 million in taxpayer funding over the past year. 

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the company was paid $1.6 million through a sole-sourced federal contract and an additional $100,000 in federal grants. 

A 2020 letter from the company’s President, Malcolm Kirk, explained to the House of Commons finance committee that Canadian Press was seeking taxpayer funds to “to fully offset subscription fees paid by CP’s media clients.” 

Kirk sought “instant relief” and “flexibility to extend the funding depending on the duration and economic fallout related to the COVID-19 crisis.”

“We have already received numerous calls from clients who worry they will not survive through this crisis to serve their communities and have asked for fee holidays,” wrote Kirk. 

“CP itself is not in a financial position to defer revenue and maintain its staffing levels to ensure the coverage it currently provides.”

Meanwhile, the Canadian Press has been acting as a “truth-tester” verifying claims by Canadian politicians. 

As reported by True North, a recent “truth test” by the outlet was found to be heavily biased and lacking an objective approach to Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole’s views on universal healthcare. 

“The Truth Test is a project of the Canadian Press that examines the accuracy of statements made by politicians,” claimed the company.

“Each claim is researched and analyzed to provide Canadians with facts instead of spin.”

The article contained only perspectives from universal public health-care advocates and failed to offer an objective analysis of O’Toole’s claims. 

Based on two expert opinions, the Canadian Press concludes in their article that O’Toole “has not explained” his healthcare policy, despite the fact that the Conservative Party platform dedicates a significant portion to healthcare commitments. 

Erin O’Toole says flags should be raised to full-mast

By
Andrew Lawton
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Conservative leader Erin O’Toole says flags at government buildings should be restored to full-mast, asserting that committing to reconciliation need not come at the expense of celebrating Canada.

Canadian flags have been at half-mast nation-wide for nearly three months after Justin Trudeau ordered them lowered following the announcement of unmarked graves at a former residential school near Kamloops, BC.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon in Ottawa, O’Toole said he is committed to Indigenous reconciliation, but added the time has come to raise the Canadian flag.

“I do think we should be proud to put our flag back up,” O’Toole said.

“It’s not a time to tear down Canada. It’s a time to recommit to build it to be the country we know it can be. Reconciliation is very important and should be important to all Canadians. I think to recommit to Canada, you have to be proud of Canada. You can’t cancel the one day a year that you commit to your country. You need to use that day to recommit to the path of reconciliation.”

The Government of Canada has a standing half-mast order for flags at all government buildings in Canada, including the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill, to mark “discovery of remains at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.”

The order is in effect “until further notice.”

The flags were initially lowered May 30, and remained at half-mast on Canada Day July 1.

Liberals still have no message, but plenty of gaffes

By
Andrew Lawton
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Liberal Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef’s “our brothers, the Taliban” line is just the latest in a string of gaffes in a Liberal campaign without a message. True North’s Andrew Lawton says it was clear Monsef’s faux appeal to the Taliban was to give the illusion to Canadians that the government is handling the situation – but it isn’t.

Also, Maxime Bernier is excluded from the leaders’ debates, and one city’s debates are barring unvaccinated local candidates from attending.

Plus, Maverick candidate Tariq Elnaga joins the show to talk about how he fell in love with the west, and why the west needs a better deal.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

O’Toole proposes plan to address mental health crisis brought on by lockdowns

By
Caitlin Rose Morgante
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Government-mandated lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a mental health crisis in Canada and Conservative leader Erin O’Toole believes the federal government should play a vital role to alleviate the suffering.

“The mental health crisis is the epidemic within the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated O’Toole at a Wednesday press conference. 

O’Toole’s Conservatives propose to build a mental health system that “will serve all Canadians.” He claimed that his plan involves the “largest increase in federal health spending in generations. 

If elected on September 20, the Conservatives would ”massively boost health transfers to the provinces to 6% annually, doubling the Liberal commitment and representing $60 billion more health care dollars over the next ten years.” 

The goal is to “invest in mental health as the health priority it is with the goal of providing enough funding through health transfers for an additional million Canadians to receive mental health treatment every year and cut the waitlists for help.”

Although the transfers to provinces would be given unconditionally, O’Toole said he would partner with provinces to ensure the spending stays on track to tackle mental health issues.

To ensure consistent help is available across the nation, O’Toole said he would start a three-digit nationwide suicide prevention hotline as well as “provide $150 million over three years in grants to nonprofits and charities delivering mental health and wellness programming.”

To incentivize employers to add or boost mental health coverage to the employee benefit plans, O’Toole would offer a tax credit for 25% of the cost of additional mental health coverage for the first three years.

Lockdowns have had severe consequences on Canadians’ mental health. Restrictions on social gatherings and the economic toll of lockdowns have exacerbated pre-existing mental health conditions and left many feeling isolated and struggling to stay afloat financially. 

An unprecedented number of one in ten Canadians have contemplated suicide since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a survey conducted by the Canadian Mental Health Association in September 2020. Prior to the pandemic, the rate of suicidal ideation was lower at 2.6%

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