York Catholic school board nixes flying Pride flag

 *Thank God! ✝️ Yet another Catholic School Board in Canada joining others to take a stand against the Communist/Woke/Gay Grooming agenda! 👌*

 

York Catholic school board nixes flying Pride flag

 

 

Straight Pride Flag should be flown

 

 Story by Kevin Connor

 

 

The York Catholic District School Board has voted against flying the Pride flag next month.

On Monday night, trustees voted 6-4 against flying the Pride flag outside the board’s Aurora building during Pride month.

The issue had been discussed for some time and drew many to the public gallery of the meetings at the Catholic Education Centre.

There were those for and against flying the flag and the discussions at times were tense with police even called to some meetings. 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/york-catholic-school-board-nixes-flying-pride-flag/ar-AA1bT60H 

 

This is our Positive response to the Drag Queen Story Time…

 

This is our positive response to the Drag Queen Story Time…Please join us for fun, age appropriate stories & songs to emphasize what a normal child story time should look like. Please share with your family, friends and groups!

 

 

Drag Queen Story-time Protest at Peterborough Public Saturday may 6th 2023 library was a great success!

Drag Queen Story-time Protest at Peterborough Public library  Saturday may 6th 2023 was a great success! 

Not a peace sign, V for Victory the original meaning.

 Sign of a protest supporter behind me reads "Trust the Science, Boys and Girls"

 

 

Was a Great Anti-Drag Queen Story-time Child Abuse protest at the Peterborough Public Library! Had 20 to 30 supporters of children on our side this time I was not alone!

 

 

I would like to thank all the couple dozen people and groups that showed up at the Peterborough Public Library to protest against Drag Queen story time.

Save Canada and various other Christian and non-Christian groups and people. We stood against Communists and Evil in quite a large group for an event in Peterborough! Not sure if we can top that but we sure as Heck will try and keep fighting! Deus Vult! End Child Grooming and Abuse! 

 

 

Communist Propaganda being handed out at Peterborough Public Library.

 

 

 "As the numbers of migrants attempting to cross the border between official ports of entry escalate rapidly, experts predict that more and more people will turn to human smuggling – unless Canada shores up its border enforcement."

 

 Why human smuggling attempts are on the rise on the U.S.-Canada border

 

By Ashleigh Stewart Global News

Posted May 19, 2023 7:00 am

 

 

Akwesasne has long been a gaping hole in the U.S.-Canada border – exploited by smugglers to ship tobacco, guns and, most horrific, people.

Organized crime rings have targeted it for its strategic location, wedged between Quebec, Ontario and New York state. And sometimes, those who believe in its reputation as an undefended portal to a better life end up paying with their own lives.

As the numbers of migrants attempting to cross the border between official ports of entry escalate rapidly, experts predict that more and more people will turn to human smuggling – unless Canada shores up its border enforcement.

In late March, two migrant families – one from Romania and one from India – died in a failed smuggling attempt on the St. Lawrence River. But they were not the first.

In 2015, two men from India drowned and a third was rescued while attempting to be smuggled into the U.S. on the St. Lawrence in a Seadoo when it capsized. Last year, an Indian family died near Emerson, Man., in a failed attempt to cross into the U.S.

Across the 9,000-kilometre stretch of U.S.-Canada border, encounters with migrants are on the rise, statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show.

 

 

 

 

In the year to March 2022, CBP officers recorded 109,535 attempts by migrants to cross into the U.S. Six months into the 2023 fiscal year, there have already been 84,555.

On the Canadian side, migrants typically leave from Cornwall, Ont., or nearby, boarding a boat helmed by a local. From there, it’s about a 15-minute trip to New York through the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne First Nation – an Indigenous reserve split in half by the U.S. and Canadian border.

Cornwall and Akwesasne police, as well as U.S. authorities, are routinely apprehending migrants using smuggling “agencies” – a clandestine operation linking brokers in Toronto and Montreal to locals in Cornwall and Akwesasne to ferry them over the river to a better life.

Locals speak of the smuggling industry with an air of indifference. For many, it’s been going on so long, it’s become part of the fabric of the area.

 

“The town has become apathetic towards it,” the owner of a local cafe, who asked not to be named, says.

“There was a restaurant who was busted for it a few years ago, and people will say, ‘Sure, they were done for smuggling but, you know, they do good shawarma.’”

In 2015, provincial police broke up a gun trafficking ring in Cornwall that operated out of a shawarma restaurant directly across the street from a police station.

Experts have differing ideas on what Canada should do to secure its land borders.

Kelly Sundberg, a retired Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer and now Mount Royal University professor, says the current land border security system – run by the CBSA and the RCMP – is “inefficient,” and the RCMP must be booted off the job for it to improve.

 

“If we’re really serious about people smuggling … the CBSA needs to be really ramped up. It needs resources. And it needs to be held accountable,” he says.

But the people of Akwesasne would disagree. If they had jurisdictional control over their community, local historian and journalist Doug George-Kanentiio says, the people smuggling industry would be “stopped overnight.”

“We’d have a Mohawk militia out on those waters and we know we could stop this ourselves.”

But all agree on one point. With an increasing number of migrants heading for the border, and the recent closure of Quebec’s Roxham Road – once a key route for people hoping to apply for political asylum in Canada – people will put themselves in increasing danger for a shot at a better life.

The Swanton Sector’s human smuggling industry

The St. Lawrence River is a treacherous expanse of water, separating Canada from the U.S., and in parts, Quebec from Ontario. On its northern banks sits Cornwall, Ontario’s easternmost town – which, like Akwesasne, is deeply entrenched in the smuggling industry.

 

Two years before the shawarma restaurant was busted, the Cornwall Regional Task Force busted a massive marijuana ring operating in the area, arresting about 37 people.

Human smugglers are busted, too, from time to time. But they are usually arrested and charged in isolation while the system continues to operate in the background.

In 2018, 39-year-old Louie McDonald of Snye, Que., was found guilty at trial on two counts of manslaughter and a breach of a probation order related to smuggling after two Indian men drowned while he was ferrying them across the St. Lawrence River on his Seadoo in 2015. He was sentenced to 13 months and 25 days in jail.

 

A co-accused in the case, Jacob Wesley Martin from Hogansburg, N.Y., was due to stand trial in 2017 but instead crossed into Canada and was deemed a “fugitive,” according to U.S. court documents. Later, the RCMP arrested him on charges related to the case.

Global’s attempts to track him down via the RCMP, the Correctional Service of Canada, the CBSA and his lawyers yielded no results.

Steve Shand, a Florida man facing smuggling charges linked to the deaths of four migrants who froze to death during a blizzard in Manitoba last January, will stand trial on July 18.

Two people were arrested by the RCMP on human smuggling charges in Cornwall late last year.

 

Global News asked the RCMP headquarters, as well as their Ontario and Quebec divisions, the CBSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for human smuggling data.

Border security is a shared mandate between the CBSA and RCMP. The CBSA is responsible for enforcing legislation at designated ports of entry, while the RCMP enforces the law between those ports.

The Ontario RCMP said in 2022 in Cornwall, they apprehended 142 people attempting to be smuggled southbound into the U.S., and just seven heading north into Canada. The disparity is likely due to Roxham Road still being operational in 2022.

From January to April 2023, Cornwall RCMP say they have intercepted 20 southbound human smuggling occurrences, with an unconfirmed number of people involved.

The CBSA said between 2016 and 2022, they opened 386 human smuggling criminal investigations across Canada. The agency laid charges in 167 of them.

 

The CBSA initially agreed to provide the entire 10 years of human smuggling statistics but later declined “after further review.” It also declined to break down the statistics by year.

Each of the other agencies refused to provide data.

The CBSA also would not comment on the case of the Iordaches, a Romanian family facing a deportation order who were one of the two families who died in the St. Lawrence River in March. Instead, it provided a general statement on removal orders.

“All individuals who are subject to enforcement action by the CBSA have access to due process and procedural fairness. Once individuals have exhausted all legal avenues of appeal and due process, they are expected to respect our laws and leave Canada or be removed,” the statement said.

Migrant numbers at the U.S.-Canada border are increasing

Experts worry that as the number of migrants heading to the U.S.-Canada border increases, many will resort to human smugglers and risky modes of transport.

 

Just six months into 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recorded 2,670 “apprehensions or encounters” with migrants crossing from Canada across the Swanton Sector – the most popular crossing point on the U.S.-Canada border. That’s more than double (1,065) what was recorded in 2022 as a whole.

The CBP defines an apprehension as “the physical control or temporary detainment of a person who is not lawfully in the United States, which may or may not result in an arrest.” An encounter is those who are either apprehended and expelled from the country or apprehended and allowed to go through routine removal proceedings.

January’s total of 367 surpassed the preceding January apprehensions for the past 12 years combined, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

 

 

 

Canada’s data is harder to track due to its convoluted border management system.

Statistics from the Immigration and Refugees Board (IRB) show that irregular border crossings into Canada leading to refugee claims have been climbing for months. In the first quarter of 2022, there were 2,772 claims from irregular border crossers. By the fourth quarter, that number had almost tripled.

The RCMP intercepted 39,611 irregular migrants entering Canada in 2022. Between Jan. 1 and March 31 this year, that number was already at 13,748.

Quebec RCMP noted a “significant increase” in southbound activity in recent months, but a “noticeable decrease” in northbound traffic following the closure of Roxham Road.

“Most times, these individuals that are interdicted by our officers are legally in Canada, sometimes having arrived in Canada days earlier through Toronto or Montreal airports,” a Quebec RCMP spokesperson said.

 

Experts worry that with the increase in numbers, and without the unofficial border crossing at Roxham Road, asylum seekers will attempt riskier crossing methods – leading to more deaths.

“People’s situations are not going to change just because Canada closed the border,” refugee and immigration lawyer Maureen Silcoff says.

“They still need a safe haven. That’s the dangerous part because we know people will fall prey to agents or smugglers who will put people in perilous situations.”

Not enough time has passed since the closing of Roxham Road for its impacts to be gauged, Silcoff says, but she believes other routes will likely open up along the border. She believes that the smuggling industry will “easily adjust itself” to Canada’s new rules, but “more people will be in harm’s way.”

“The government can still invoke public policy exemptions to mitigate that loss of life,” she says.

“People’s need for protection will not change.”

'The RCMP … do a substandard job’ 

 

Sundberg says the increase in the number of travellers attempting land border crossings is a reflection of global instability: a migration crisis, namely, owing to ongoing global conflicts.

Canada’s border services, he says, aren’t equipped to deal with it.

“Two organizations in many regards are addressing the same issue – to monitor irregular migration and protect our borders. It’s inefficient. The RCMP are our defacto border control, and they do a substandard job of it. They don’t have the bodies or the resources to do a better job,” he says.

To improve Canada’s border security, Sundberg says, Ottawa should consolidate border security and migration control under one agency: the CBSA. Officers should also be specially trained in geopolitics, migration and the psychology of human smuggling.

Sundberg also says there should be more officers abroad, especially at high commissions, and a closer working relationship with Homeland Security to understand human-smuggling patterns. Given that airport border security is now largely automated, the CBSA could pull its staff from there to support these new roles, he says.

“We have control of our airports, but we definitely don’t have control of our land borders.”

 

 

 

Some 'refugees' have found a way to exploit Canada's generous immigration system

Opinion by John Ivison

 

 

 

OTTAWA —  Sudanese people crossing the border from the U.S. to make fraudulent refugee claims are like “a trail of ants” who view Canada as a “the picnic table.”

That’s the view of Mariam, a Sudanese-Canadian, who is affronted that her fellow citizens would abuse this country’s generous immigration system.

Few people get as upset about the manipulation of the citizenship process as those who have gone through it themselves and played by the rules.

Mariam (not her real name: she was granted anonymity to protect her from any recrimination) contacted the Post after a story last week revealed that a number of Canadian citizens being processed after evacuation from war-torn Sudan had previously been granted refugee status in Canada, yet had returned to the country they claimed had persecuted them.

In the wake of that evacuation, Ottawa introduced measures to allow immediate family members of those who left Sudan to be fast-tracked into Canada free of charge. Processing staff were “encouraged to be flexible” and “err on the side of facilitation” when dealing with applications.

Mariam said the new measures went viral — “it was like a bomb going off on social media” — as Sudanese expatriates around the world were misled by unscrupulous agents to believe that Canada had flung open its doors to all Sudanese citizens.

One Facebook influencer with 11,000 followers urged them to apply for Canadian citizenship, claiming all Sudanese citizens are eligible. 

 

 

 

Ottawa has not helped itself. The portal accepting applications allows applicants to reach the point where they are permitted to submit biometric information, even though the form states clearly in English that eligibility is limited to spouses and dependent children. Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada said it did not have statistics on how many new applications it has received.

But the likely upshot is that delays for legitimate applicants from Sudan have been extended.

Mariam said the war in her homeland has created genuine refugees but that many of those already in Canada claimed fraudulently that they were escaping persecution in Darfur, a region in western Sudan that has experienced ethnic conflict since 2003. In fact, she said many claimants were members of the party led by Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s head of state between 1989 and 2019, who oversaw the war in Darfur and was accused of crimes against humanity there. He was deposed in a coup d’etat four years ago. “Many came here claiming to be opponents when they were really the oppressors,” Mariam said.

Canada has long been known as a soft target, with strong pull factors like generous benefits.

Mariam said she and her friends are ashamed at the behaviour of many Sudanese refugees. She laid out a “road-map” that typically involves living in a Gulf state, building a good travel history and then applying for a U.S. tourist visa, having already shipped treasured items to Canada. Once in the U.S., she said many head north to access Canada’s more generous welfare and child benefit regimes. One particular dodge involves applying for a special diet disability in Ontario. “The goal is to get as much free money as possible,” she said. “Once you are granted citizenship, you go back to the Gulf.”

She contrasted that with the route travelled by permanent resident applicants, who have to take a language test, save as much as possible and then “wait forever,” unable to make plans for family, school or vacations.

Once in Canada, you “live a simple life and forget about credentials or jobs held before arriving in Canada.” But above all, you work. “I would rather sell my kidney than live on social benefits,” Mariam said. 

 Canada has retained support for mass immigration, largely because economic migrants remain the majority (if you include the dependents of the applicant in that category) and because it is generally considered to be fair. Canada admitted 260,000 immigrants in 2014, the last full year of the Harper government, a number that is expected to rise to 451,000 in 2024. The Conservatives kept the percentage of refugees below 10 per cent, while the Liberals have expanded that number to around 14 per cent.

Yet a broad consensus still exists, outside Quebec at least, that immigration is a good thing, as long as it is based on economics and fairness.

That integrity is undermined by stories like Mariam’s.

She said her experience of Canada’s system being milked is not limited to Sudanese nationals. As an Arabic speaker, she volunteered to help Syrian refugees settle in Canada. She said nine of the 25 families she worked with had not lived in Syria for many years and, consequently, were not genuine refugees.

But she said many Sudanese have figured out how to exploit the system, including returning to their home country by flying to Egypt or Ethiopia and crossing into Sudan over land. That information is shared on Facebook and What’s App groups.

She said such behaviour unfairly stigmatizes people like herself and her family. 

 “My father couldn’t find work in Canada, so he worked in the U.S., saved up and went back to school, while working as a security guard at night. My mother studied, even with five kids. When we came here, we followed the rules,” she said. “If you’re capable, contribute to your country and your community.”

 *This sounds like True Conservative, Peoples Party Of Canada legislation! I think these Ministers responsible should join the PPC because this is not very Liberal of them to pass this bill that I agree with.* 

 

House passes official languages bill to enshrine francophone immigration in law

Story by The Canadian Press

 

 

OTTAWA — A bill that aims to enshrine a francophone immigration program into law is heading to the Senate after clearing the House of Commons.

Bill C-13 would modernize the Official Languages Act and recognize that French is the only official language in Canada that is under threat and therefore must be protected within federal workplaces.

The bill passed third reading in the House of Commons Monday with Montreal Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who has expressed concerns about its effect on the minority English-speaking community in Quebec, being the only one to vote against it.

"This is really a historic day. It's a really important day for this legislation and an important day for our country," said Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor following the vote in the House. 

The bill, if it becomes law, would introduce immigration in the Official Languages Act for the first time, and recognize its importance to the vitality of francophone minority communities outside Quebec.

 

The Liberal government believes this will help increase childcare, education and health-care services in French across Canada, where programs are affected by a lack of bilingual workers. 

"Through this modernization we're talking about putting in place an immigration policy with indicators and targets to make sure that we reverse that decline," Petitpas Taylor said. 

The bill would also require that all judges appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada are bilingual in order to improve access to justice and to ensure that future governments can't change the policy.

The bill has been described by MPs as having more teeth, which they said was needed because "baby teeth are not forever teeth," as Conservative MP Joel Godin said during a committee meeting. 

The bill would give more tools to the Commissioner of Official Languages. 

It also would give people working in federally regulated private businesses in Quebec — or in official-language minority communities outside of Quebec — the ability to work in French and be served in French. However, that won't apply to the broadcasting sector.

Strengthening the Official Languages Act had been part of the Liberals' 2021 election platform. 

A previous version of the legislation was introduced in 2021, but it never passed. Bill C-13 was later tabled in March 2022, and if it becomes law it will apply to all federal departments and institutions such as courts, post offices and Service Canada offices.

Petitpas Taylor has said it will also apply equally to all official-language minority communities in Canada, whether they are French-speaking people living in Manitoba, or English-speaking Quebecers.

Housefather broke away from the party line to vote against the bill on Monday and Quebec Liberal MP Sherry Romanado abstained from voting.

Throughout the committee's study phase, Housefather raised concerns because the bill's preamble references the government of Quebec's Bill 96, which was adopted last May before the federal bill was drafted, and requires all provincial businesses to operate in French. 

That provincial law was passed using the notwithstanding clause, which allowed the government to temporarily override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Warren Newman, senior general counsel in the federal Justice Department, told MPs during a committee study of the bill that the mention of Bill 96 will not limit services to English-speaking minorities. 

"I don't see that federal services from federal institutions would be in any way compromised by the mere mention of the fact that the Charter of the French Language and other linguistic regimes are matters that the government recognizes as part of the overall context," Newman said during a March committee meeting. 

Following the bill's passing in the House, Petitpas Taylor also took a moment to reassure English-speaking Canadians.

"I want to be very clear to anglophones listening to us today that C-13 in no way takes away any rights away from official minority communities, and that includes our anglophone communities in Quebec."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2023.

 

Anthony Furey denounces school’s woke removal of Mother’s Day sign

By

Noah Jarvis

-

May 11, 2023

 

 

 

Toronto mayoral candidate Anthony Furey denounced a TDSB school’s decision to remove a sign celebrating mothers for Mother’s Day, saying the decision was made by far-left administrators.

Furey is currently on leave as True North’s vice-president of editorial and content.

The Kew Beach Junior Public School had their Grade 6 students craft a heartwarming message to display on the school’s message board which read, “Life does not come with a manual, it comes with a mom.”

 

However, the school capitulated to demands to take the sign down after a few parents complained that the sign was “mega exclusionary,” and didn’t represent LGBTQ families with same-sex couples.

  The sign was replaced with a message free from any references to mothers, instead displaying a message featuring a glaring spelling mistake.

“M: Make this month count. A: Accoplish (sic) your goals. Y: You can do this,” the new signage reads.

Furey, the only candidate to weigh in on this issue, said that Kew Beach Public School’s decision to remove the Mother’s Day sign was proof that the TDSB has been captured by wokeness.

“Yesterday’s decision to remove a sign supporting mothers outside Kew Beach Public School is just more evidence that the TDSB is in thrall to political correctness and is in urgent need of reform,” said Furey.

 Furey commented on how the woke capture of the TDSB has created a sub-optimal culture that is resulting in poorer educational outcomes for its students.

“Time and again now we’ve seen how its far-left administrators are creating a culture of intolerance and left-wing zealotry in our schools. It’s bad for our kids’ education and it has got to stop,” said Furey.

Furey used the opportunity to announce that he would revive the TDSB’s school resource officer program that placed a police officer in schools.

“As Mayor, I would also call for the reinstatement of the School Resource Officer program, to help ensure our children and teachers have a safe place to learn and work,” remarked Furey.

Furey says that after consultations with Toronto’s parents, a Furey mayoralty would have Toronto’s schools focus on academic achievement and school safety.

“I’m hearing from parents of all walks of life across Toronto who say they just want a school system focused on academic excellence and safety,” said Furey.

“As Mayor, I will be the voice for parents who have grown tired of divisive ideologies holding so much sway in our schools.”

 

https://tnc.news/2023/05/11/furey-denounces-woke-sign/ 

 

Bernier says he will run to fill former CPC MP Candice Bergen’s Manitoba seat

By

Cosmin Dzsurdzsa

-

May 12, 2023

 

  

 

 

People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier will compete for a federal seat in rural Manitoba in a forthcoming byelection.

Bernier will be running to replace former Conservative Party interim leader and Portage–Lisgar MP Candice Bergen who announced she was leaving political life. In an announcement, Bernier pitted himself as the main opponent to the Conservatives – his former political home. 

“I’m proud to announce that I’m putting my name forward in the upcoming byelection in your riding,” Bernier told supporters. 

“I’m ready to be your representative in the House of Commons, because we know that families deserve a strong voice and I’m ready to be that strong voice for you and for the country.” 

According to Bernier, the byelection results will be a “major turning point” for Canada. 

Although the byelection has yet to be called by the Prime Minister, the Conservatives nominated candidate Branden Leslie to run in the riding. 

In the 2021 federal election, PPC candidate Solomon Wiebe came second to Bergen with 21.58% of the vote – among the best results the party has seen running federally. 

According to the latest poll, the PPC is currently sitting at 2% of the federal vote. 

During his speech, Bernier blasted the “woke cult” that is tearing down the traditional foundations of Canadian society. 

“The woke cult is tearing down the traditional pillars of our society and seeking to establish a twisted and deeply sick vision of the future,” said Bernier. 

“It is not the People’s Party that divides the Conservative vote, on the contrary, it is the Conservatives who move ever more to the left to divide the Liberal vote.”

 

https://tnc.news/2023/05/12/bernier-byelection-manitoba/ 

*Canadian National Gravel Throwing Champion Shane Marshall!* Trudeau gravel-thrower sentenced to 90 days house arrest, one year probation

 *Canadian National Gravel Throwing Champion Shane Marshall!*

 

 Trudeau gravel-thrower sentenced to 90 days house arrest, one year probation 

 Story by The Canadian Press

 

 

LONDON, Ont. — An Ontario man who threw gravel at Justin Trudeau during an election campaign rally was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest on Monday, with a judge denouncing the 2021 assault as an "expression of mob mentality."

Shane Marshall was handed a 90-day conditional sentence and one year of probation at his sentencing in London, Ont.

The former local riding executive for the People’s Party of Canada admitted to throwing gravel at Trudeau as he boarded a campaign bus to leave a protest-marred rally in London ahead of the September 2021 election. Trudeau was hit by some of the gravel, the judge said, but left uninjured.

Justice Kevin McHugh said acts of violence against public figures are "anti-democratic and need to be denounced in the strongest terms."

"This was not an expression of political beliefs. It was a manifestation of mob mentality, which if left unchecked allows anarchy to prevail," McHugh said as he issued Marshall's sentence.

Marshall, 26, pleaded guilty to common assault in March, on the same day his case was set to go to trial and after a failed attempt to get Trudeau to testify. Marshall was originally charged with assault with a weapon. 

    His lawyer, Luke Reidy, applauded the sentence as fair and balanced, saying Marshall acknowledged the seriousness and potential danger of his actions. The Crown had asked for a 30-day jail sentence.

"His goal now is to find a way to deal with his emotion, through counselling and to make sure this never happens again," Reidy said outside the London courthouse.

Asked whether Marshall had any plans to attend People’s Party of Canada political rallies, Reidy said "he has no immediate plans for that."

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/trudeau-gravel-thrower-sentenced-to-90-days-house-arrest-one-year-probation/ar-AA1aT7s9 

 

 

Canada's Housing Crisis: A Consequence of Aggressive Immigration Policy

  Story by Investing.com

 

 

 

By Ketki Saxena

Investing.com - The Trudeau government has taken a perplexing approach to tackling the ongoing housing affordability crisis in Canada. By implementing the most aggressive pro-immigration policy in history, they have intensified the demand-supply imbalance within the country. Consequently, population growth continues to soar, with Canada experiencing its highest ever annual growth rate at 2.7 per cent – an increase of more than a million people – last year.

As per David Rosenberg of Rosenberg Research, this strategy is nothing short of bewildering.

Rosenberg notes that the crux of the issue lies in Canada's inadequate supply, particularly for residential real estate, which cannot accommodate such immigration-driven population growth without further straining an already-overburdened housing market. The ratio of population to housing stock now stands at 40 per cent above historical norms, as does homeowner affordability ratio.

 He adds that the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) rate hikes over the past year would have succeeded in lowering real estate prices to more reasonable levels; however, this was thwarted by federal government’s unyielding immigration stance that maintained housing inflation intact. As a result, aspiring Canadian homeowners continue grappling with elevated prices and central bank-induced rates shock.

Ballooning debt remains necessary for many Canadians seeking home ownership; consequently pushing household balance sheets into precarious territory with a record-high debt/income ratio at 180 per cent. Over 14 per cent of incomes are now consumed by escalating debt-service costs while tight labour markets and growing earnings fail to offset higher rates and persistent exorbitant home prices, which are once again trending upwards.

With further rate hikes by the BoC seeming unlikely, Rosenberg believes that the only way to improve affordability for Canadians is for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. to tighten lending guidelines.

Rosenberg exhorts Ottawa to seriously contemplate adopting a less-ambitious immigration policy as its current approach causes more harm than good. A nation where individuals in their 30s face exclusion from the housing market due to prolonged periods of excessive home price inflation – a direct result of government policy – is far from content. This discontent may manifest itself in the upcoming elections, providing ammunition for opposition parties.

 Rosenberg is no less stringent in his criticism of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who he believes has facilitated some of the most burdensome housing affordability conditions ever encountered in Canada; and that this has had widespread negative implications on society as a whole.

To illustrate just how dire this situation is, he points out that homeowner affordability would need to witness an almost 30 per cent drop in home prices merely to revert back to its long-term average. However, such natural correction remains unattainable due to governmental immigration policies that maintain absurdly high price levels. Interest rates would have to plummet nearly two percentage points or incomes surge by 40 per cent instead.

The bottom line? Rosenberg notes that this precarious scenario cannot persist indefinitely; with little likelihood that income will increase by 40 per cent anytime soon, what's needed is for the BoC to facilitate lower rates while implementing fiscal and regulatory policies fostering reasonable home prices (regrettably at existing homeowners' expense) and sustainable low inflation (currently hindered by Ottawa’s spending and immigration strategies).

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/canada-s-housing-crisis-a-consequence-of-aggressive-immigration-policy/ar-AA1aI6Fd 

Federal government strips religious symbols from crown adorning Royal Coat of Arms

 *Another crime of Treason to add to the list of criminal acts perpetrated by Turdeau and his Fiberal/nDP Unholy alliance to attack Euro-Canadian Christian values, heritage, culture and traditions*

 

Federal government strips religious symbols from crown adorning Royal Coat of Arms

 Opinion by John Ivison

 

The top portion of Canada's Royal Coat of Arms as it currently looks, with a depiction of St. Edward's Crown, worn by Queen Elizabeth II.

 

 

 

OTTAWA — The Trudeau government is set to use the Coronation of King Charles III on Saturday as an opportunity to reveal a new design for the Canadian crown that sits on the Royal Coat of Arms.

Sources say the St. Edward’s Cross that has been part of the Coat of Arms since 1957 — and on a myriad of police and military badges across the country — will be replaced by what critics are calling “the Trudeau Crown,” a new design created by the Canadian Heraldic Authority, the body responsible for granting coats of arms in this country.

People who have seen the design say it replaces all Christian and religious symbols (crosses and fleur-de-lis) with maple leafs, snowflakes and stars, leading to claims that the Liberal government has politicized the symbol of the Crown and the Royal Coat of Arms.

“It means the proposed Canadian crown is totally unconnected to the King or the coronation, and it means the unity of the symbol of the Royal Crown that represents the sovereign throughout the realms will be broken, further distancing the King and the monarchy as an institution,” said Christopher McCreery, an author and historian with expertise on Canada’s relationship with the Crown.

“In essence, it is akin to a new national flag being raised on Canada Day, with no consultation or debate, developed in secret by those who wish to advance their personal vision of the country.”

Sovereigns have the right to choose which style of Royal Cross will represent their reign on coats of arms, coins, medals and other symbols of authority. 

 

 On Sept. 26 last year, Buckingham Palace announced that the new King would be represented by a Tudor Crown, instead of the St. Edward’s Crown used by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth. 

 

 Officials in Ottawa saw the announcement as an opportunity to introduce a new “Canadian Crown” and, over time, reinvent the supreme symbol of Canada, the Royal Coat of Arms.

The move is likely to provoke traditionalists, just as a similarly unilateral change upset conservatives in the mid-1990s. Then, Jean Chrétien’s Liberal government added a Latin inscription taken from the outer ring of the Order of Canada medal to the Coat of Arms: “Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam” (Desiring a better country).

Lack of consultation resulted in blowback in the House of Commons, where then Reform Party Leader Preston Manning asked then Heritage Minister Michel Dupuy who Canadian symbols belonged to: “To the sovereign, to the government, to some Liberal backbencher or to the people of Canada? Why were the people of Canada not consulted and involved in changes to the Canadian Coat of Arms?”

Such changes require the approval of the monarch but King Charles would have had little option but to say yes, if the new design was promoted on the advice of the Canadian government.

McCreery said there is a case to be made for adding some Indigenous symbols to Canada’s Coat of Arms “but this should be done cautiously and consultatively.”

The government could not provide comment on any consultations with Buckingham Palace by time of publication. 

 The Royal Coat of Arms was adopted by proclamation of King George V in 1921 and initially used the Tudor-style crown. In 1952, Queen Elizabeth adopted the St. Edward’s Crown, but it was not until 1957 that the government of Canada added it to the Canadian Royal Coat of Arms.

Aside from the addition of the Latin inscription in 1995, it has remained unchanged ever since. 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/john-ivison-federal-government-strips-religious-symbols-from-crown-adorning-royal-coat-of-arms/ar-AA1aEhx7 

 

Don Braid: Artur Pawlowski is guilty but martyred, with the unwitting help of Danielle Smith

The justice system thwarted Smith's personal preference for dropping 'political' charges. Pawlowski despises her for letting him down. And now he's forming a party to run against her

Author of the article:

Don Braid  •  Calgary Herald

Published May 02, 2023  •  Last updated 2 hours ago

 

 

 

Street preacher and political activist Artur Pawlowski speaks to reporters outside the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on Thursday, January 12, 2023. Photo by Lisa Johnson /Postmedia

 

 

Preacher Artur Pawlowski is very disappointed in UCP Leader Danielle Smith. As the election campaign began Monday, he counted her among “the snakes and the scorpions and the vipers already at each other’s throats.”

That’s ungrateful of him, it seems to me. Nobody has given Pawlowski more profile with the radical right than Smith.

Now he has more grist for martyrdom after being found guilty Tuesday of criminal mischief for his actions at the Coutts border blockade, as well as breaching a release order.

Smith foolishly took a phone call from Pawlowski in January. She voiced sympathy for dropping the charges against him, but said she couldn’t do it because prosecutors are so darned independent.

They proved that Tuesday.

The justice system thwarted the new premier’s personal preference for dropping “political” charges. Pawlowski despises her for letting him down. And now he’s forming a party to run against her.

Some phone call.

 

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/braid-artur-pawlowski-guilty-martyred-danielle-smith/wcm/e6e9723a-d4d5-4909-9a7a-38d607d40d9a 

 Freedom Convoy trucker faces four criminal charges

 

By Rachel Emmanuel May 2, 2023

 

 

  

 

A Freedom Convoy trucker has been told to turn himself in to the Ottawa Police Service as he awaits four criminal charges. 

Harold Jonker, who runs Jonker Trucking Inc. out of Niagara, Ont., has announced that he’ll turn himself in to the Ottawa police on May 10, where he’ll be fingerprinted and have a court appearance. 

He faces one charge of mischief for obstructing property; one count of intimation by blocking or obstructing highway; and two counts of counsel for an uncommitted, indictable offence.

Jonker said he’s surprised that he’s being charged 15 months after the 2022 Freedom Convoy ended. 

“I’m definitely scratching my head like, ‘Why now? Why not a year ago?’” he told True North. 

The Freedom Convoy protests emerged in winter 2022 over federal Covid-19 restrictions, including the vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers. 

In February 2022, Jonker drove up to Ottawa in his semi, along with 12 other trucks from his company. He was featured prominently in the Freedom Occupation documentary about the protest, which was distributed by True North. 

While 90% of his trucking business is from the US, Jonker said he participated in the Convoy because the restrictions were impacting everyone.

“It was never just about the truck drivers to us,” he said, adding that some of his drivers attended the protest despite being vaccinated. 

He was first contacted about the charges by the Niagara Regional Police Service and received a bond committing to turn himself in to Ottawa later this month.

In a video posted to YouTube on Monday night, Jonker said it was an “emotional week” as he learned he awaited charges for participating in a “beautiful” event. 

He called the charges “confusing,” but added, “I think this is what all the other wonderful leaders of the Convoy were charged with.”

 Jonker said he’s hoping to have a Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) represent him for the criminal charges. 

He’s already working with a JCCF lawyer after an integrity commissioner rule last summer that he broke the municipal code of conduct for participating in the Convoy when he was a part-time councillor for West Lincoln, a township near Niagara Falls, Ont. 

Jonker said no one else he knows from the Convoy has been charged recently. He said others are now wondering if charges will come, but they’re not afraid.

“When you have the truth on your side, it’s not that big of a burden,” he told True North.

In November, the Public Order Emergency Commission, which studied Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invocation of the never-before-used Emergencies Act to remove protesters from Ottawa, found that Trudeau’s was justified in using the powers. 

The commissioner also ruled that Trudeau used inflammatory language and worsened the situation when he said protesters were part of a “fringe minority” with “unacceptable views.” 

https://tnc.news/2023/05/02/trucker-faces-charges/

 

 *THAT IS WHAT YOU GET VICE WRITING BS ARTICLES ABOUT ME YOU COMMIE SCUM! HA-HA! *

Vice Media preparing to file for bankruptcy - NYT

 Story by Reuters

(Reuters) -Vice Media Group, the company behind popular media websites such as Vice and Motherboard, is preparing to file for bankruptcy, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing people with knowledge of its operations.

The media firm has received interest from five companies and might consider a sale to avoid bankruptcy, the NYT report said, adding that in the event of a bankruptcy, which could happen in the coming weeks, Vice's debtholder Fortress Investment Group could end up controlling the company. 

 

"Vice Media Group has been engaged in a comprehensive evaluation of strategic alternatives and planning. The company, its board and stakeholders continue to be focused on finding the best path for the company," the company spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.

Its potential bankruptcy comes as several other media and technology firms have had to downsize in recent months due to a challenging economy and a weak advertising market.

Earlier this month, BuzzFeed Inc said it would shutter its news division, which gained renown for its irreverent and probing coverage, but ultimately succumbed to the challenges of its digital-first business model.

Last week, Vice Media said it will cancel popular TV program "Vice News Tonight" as part of a broader restructuring that will result in job cuts across the digital media firm's global news business, capping years of financial difficulties and top-executive departures.

Vice Media was among a group of fast-rising digital media ventures that once commanded rich valuations, as they courted millennial audiences. It rose to prominence alongside its provocative co-founder, Shane Smith, who built his media empire from a single Canadian magazine.

(Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Mrinmay Dey; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/vice-media-preparing-to-file-for-bankruptcy-nyt/ar-AA1aBT88#image=1 

Liberals' online streaming Bill C-11 passes Parliament

 * Now the Liberal/nDP Government has complete control over the internet. *

 

Liberals' online streaming Bill C-11 passes Parliament

 

 

 

After years of political pushback and considerable parliamentary scrutiny, the federal Liberal government's Online Streaming Act known as Bill C-11 passed the Senate and has become law.

Thursday evening, Bill C-11 cleared its final legislative hurdle in the Senate, seeing senators agree to bill sponsor Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez's take-some-and-leave-some approach to amendments made by the upper chamber.

This clears the path for the contentious bill, focused on substantively reforming the Broadcasting Act for the first time since 1991 to take into consideration online content, to come into effect.

After years of political pushback and considerable parliamentary scrutiny, the federal Liberal government's Online Streaming Act known as Bill C-11 passed the Senate and has become law.

Thursday evening, Bill C-11 cleared its final legislative hurdle in the Senate, seeing senators agree to bill sponsor Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez's take-some-and-leave-some approach to amendments made by the upper chamber.

This clears the path for the contentious bill, focused on substantively reforming the Broadcasting Act for the first time since 1991 to take into consideration online content, to come into effect.

Senators voting 52 to 16 on a motion informing the House of Commons that the Senate agreed with the version of Bill C-11 the majority of MPs passed last month, made passing the bill possible. The House was then informed of the Senate's decision, and royal assent was granted by 6:55 p.m. ET.

 

Bill C-11 is aimed at ensuring increasingly popular and profitable social media platforms and streaming services such as Netflix, Crave, Spotify, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and YouTube are subjected to Canadian content requirements and regulations comparable to traditional broadcasters. The policy change comes with a requirement for these platforms to spend millions investing in Canadian content and creators.

While the NDP and Bloc Quebecois, as well as many in the "CanCon" music, film, and television industries, have backed Bill C-11, alarms have been sounded by critics that the Liberal proposal could have knock-on effects for content creators and what everyday users see online, due to provisions that would require platforms to promote Canadian content.

In their efforts to lobby against this bill, some of the tech companies have gone to great lengths, such as YouTube, which ran an online campaign warning users who earn money from making videos about how the legislation could impact their livelihoods. The Conservatives, arguing that the legislation will have the impact of censoring what Canadians see online, led the charge against Bill C-11 inside Parliament.

As a result of this divide, this piece of legislation has been under the parliamentary microscope in both the House and Senate for more than a year, following a failed attempt prior to the last election.

Between the more than 100 amendments contemplated by the House of Commons, and the longest study ever conducted by a Senate committee, the minister responsible for Bill C-11 has repeatedly emphasized the important contributions of parliamentarians to the final wording of the legislation, while asserting that the time had come to "move on."

"Today, we are standing up for our stories, our artists, our producers and our creators. We're standing up so that Canadians have even more opportunities to see themselves in what they watch and listen to," said Rodriguez, reacting to the bill's passage in a statement.

•  Read more about how Bill C-11 got to this stage, and the concerns raised

"With this legislation, we are ensuring that Canada's incredible talent has a bigger and brighter stage online. They tell our stories, they make our voices heard, they contribute to our economy, and they make our culture what it is: strong, diverse and unique," the minister said. 

Over the last two weeks, the Senate has been mired in a largely procedural battle over whether to assert itself and insist on the substantive amendments made by the upper chamber that were rejected by the majority of MPs.

Attempts to have the Senate stand its ground on certain amendments were unsuccessful, seeing the majority of senators vote against related motions on Wednesday evening. Though, the passed motion was amended to note the Liberals gave a "public assurance" that Bill C-11 "will not apply to user-generated digital content."

A key sticking point raised in the numerous hours of debate recently held was the Senate's attempt to instill further protections for individual content creators in Bill C-11.

The government asserted that the existing safeguards in the bill were sufficient and rejected this amendment on the basis that it would impact the government's ability to "publicly consult on, and issue, a policy direction to the CRTC to appropriately scope the regulation of social media services."

While the Conservatives have pledged to repeal Bill C-11 should they form government, for now, seeing the Online Streaming Act become law is a long-awaited political victory for the Liberals.

Complicating the back and forth between those who think Bill C-11's critics were doing the bidding of big tech, and those who fear the legislation's free speech implications, is that a lot is being left to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as the regulatory body to determine how the new rules will be enforced.

Now that Bill C-11 has passed, that regulatory work can begin.

The next step will be for the CRTC to get to work on drafting the policy framework for how the broadcasting and communications regulator will implement the new powers Bill C-11 grants, informed by a federal policy directive as well as public consultations.

The draft federal policy direction will be published in the Canada Gazette, for the public, artists, digital creators, and businesses to read and provide feedback on. The draft will then be updated and re-published, taking into consideration what the government hears. The CRTC will also give notice about its consultation plans, regarding how it intends to enforce Bill C-11. This will include multiple public proceedings.

It is expected that the consultations will be where stakeholders with outstanding concerns about the bill turn next. Marking Bill C-11's passage, internet advocacy organization OpenMedia accused the Senate of backing down and letting a version of the bill become law that is "largely unchanged" from the initial version tabled in Parliament in February 2022.

"Make no mistake: the fight isn’t over yet. While legal protection of our content was the best option, Heritage Minister Rodriguez can still issue a clear policy direction to the CRTC that tells them our user content should not be regulated in practice, and our choices must be respected. That's where the fight will go next," said OpenMedia campaigns director Matt Hatfield.

In an email to CTV News, TikTok spokesperson Danielle Morgan said that they plan to keep fighting for the interests of Canadian digital-first creators to be able to "create content for global audiences without being subject to gatekeepers or encumbered by regulatory red tape."

Remarking on the passage of Bill C-11, pro-Canadian broadcasting organization FRIENDS called it "one of the most epic Canadian stories ever told."

"While we wholeheartedly applaud the House and the Senate for the leading roles they have played in this suspense-filled drama, there is still work to be done before the credits roll on Bill C-11," said FRIENDS executive director Marla Boltman in a statement, indicating plans to push the CRTC to make sure the standards are equal for Canadian broadcasters and streaming giants' Canadian content requirements, or decades of "carefully crafted cultural policy" meant to protect Canadian talent could be undermined.

Also flagging concerns about the legislation as drafted leading to a two-tier system, the Canadian Media Producers Association said that it still welcomes the bill and expressed gratitude for Rodriguez' "heroic efforts" in securing its passage.

"We are on the precipice of a pivotal moment in Canadian broadcasting history. It took 30 years before the Broadcasting Act was updated. Since we don’t know when this opportunity will present itself again, it’s important that we get it right,” said the CMPA’s president and CEO Reynolds Mastin in a statement.

It remains to be seen what the timeline will be for Bill C-11's policy changes to come into effect. 

Copyright: CTV News/THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

 

https://www.iheartradio.ca/am-1150/news/liberals-online-streaming-bill-c-11-passes-parliament-1.19586846