The Democracy Fund slams Rouleau report

In a Monday press release, Canada's Democray Fund accused the Rouleau Commission of using a "standard [which] was flexed in favour of a government that used unprecedented emergency powers against its ideological opponents." 

The Democracy Fund slams Public Order Emergency Commission final report | Western Standard - Lee Harding:

February 27, 2023 - "The Democracy Fund says it understands why some Canadians are “puzzled” that the Public Order Emergency Commission justified Ottawa’s use of the Emergency [War Measures] Act against freedom convoy protesters.... 'If anything, it seemed like the Freedom Convoy was remarkable for its lack of violence, especially for a protest of its size.  Any violence that did occur was minor and atypical of the protest dynamic,' the TDF legal team wrote in a Monday press release....

"TDF suggested Roleau could reach this conclusion not because it was the one most likely, but because it was reasonably possible. 'The federal government did not need conclusive proof that there were acts or threats of serious violence for ideological purposes. They only needed to show there were "reasonable grounds" to believe that there were,' the release said.... The organization suggested the use of this standard had a dubious history of uses against minorities.

 It is the standard that police use when deciding to arrest a person without a warrant, which they have historically done to the detriment of certain minorities in our country. 

That’s not because the standard is inherently bad. Rather, it’s because the standard is inherently flexible…it generally flexes in the direction of our beliefs and prejudices or in the direction of what is popular or expedient. It can also flex in accordance with external pressures....

"Canada received international criticism for its use of Emergencies Act. One month later, while [he was] visiting the European Parliament, some members criticized the Prime Minister. Mislav Kolakusic, a Croatian lawyer and MEP, said Canada had become a 'symbol of civil rights violation'.... 'We watched how you trample women with horses, how you block bank accounts of single parents so they can’t even pay their children’s education and medicine, that they can’t pay utilities, mortgages for their homes,' said Kolakusic....

"German MEP Christine Anderson, who recently toured Canada, also condemned Trudeau as a 'disgrace for any democracy' last March. 'A prime minister who openly admires the Chinese basic dictatorship, who tramples on fundamental rights by persecuting and criminalizing his own citizens as terrorists just because they dared to stand up to his perverted concept of democracy should not be allowed to speak in this house at all,' she said....

"The TDF believes the commission had comments of this sort in mind when rendering its decision. 'How would it look if Canada exercised emergency powers against its own citizens when there were no grounds to do so? It might look like Canada is not immune from the authoritarianism we criticize in other countries,' said TDF. ''The Emergencies Act was also on trial, in a way, as it had never been invoked'….

What we do know is that the standard was flexed in favour of a government that used unprecedented emergency powers against its ideological opponents. The use of these powers against Canadians has set a new and dangerous precedent for what constitutes an emergency in a free and democratic society and what actions the government is justified in taking against its own people in the future. The protestors were Canadians who were ignored, mocked, and suppressed by a government that refused to engage with them....

The future will tell whether the feelings of division and mistrust driving this protest will be exacerbated by the report and whether the commissioner should have used the flexibility of the reasonable grounds standard to send a different message to this government.

"Founded in 2021, The Democracy Fund is a Canadian charity dedicated to constitutional rights, advancing education and relieving poverty."

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/the-democracy-fund-slams-public-order-emergency-commission-final-report/article_e04bcd80-b6e4-11ed-b515-dbc87faa6688.html

Read full Democracy Fund response here: https://www.thedemocracyfund.ca/tdf_responds_poec_report  

Liberal MP allegedly nominated due to CCP help

As critics push Trudeau on China interference, Liberal MP says he has become ‘target’ | Lethbridge News - Canadian Press:
December 23, 2022 - "Politicians including a Liberal MP and a senator say they fear allegations of Chinese interference in the 2019 federal election will lead to anti-Asian racism.... In an interview with The Canadian Press, Liberal MP Han Dong suggested that claims of Beijing’s interference have been light on detail. 'If it’s so vague, then I think a lot of Chinese Canadians feel that they might be targeted,' he said. 'I have a big target on the back.' 

"Global News reported last month that after the 2019 election, senior officials had briefed Trudeau about a 'vast campaign of foreign interference' allegedly waged by China’s consulate in Toronto. The allegations, which The Canadian Press has not been able to verify, involve the Chinese Communist Party flowing funds to a pro-Beijing network in Canada that included at least 11 Liberal and Conservative candidates who ran in that election....

"Dong argues the reporting has left unanswered questions that could cause people to make assumptions based on anti-Asian tropes.... 'The worst of vagueness is (that) it’s very easy to trigger another round of anti-Chinese racism or anti-Chinese hate we saw during the pandemic,' said Dong, who immigrated to Canada from China in his youth. 'I’m worried that the outcome of it will negatively hurt the Chinese Canadian community here'....

"In spring 2021, the Conservatives had objected to a suggestion Trudeau made that their questions about Chinese interference could wade into intolerance.... Former Tory MP Kenny Chiu, who was born in Hong Kong, had compared Trudeau’s response to the communist regime’s tactics of conflating dissent with anti-Chinese sentiment. In an interview this week, Chiu said that Dong’s argument follows the same logic, whether intentionally or not.... Chiu lost his seat in the 2021 election, during which he was the subject of a Chinese-language disinformation campaign that he suspects was linked to Beijing, although authorities have never confirmed this."
Read more: https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2022/12/23/as-critics-push-trudeau-on-china-interference-liberal-mp-says-he-has-become-target/

News report identifies Liberal MP helped by Chinese interference | True North - Cosmin Dzsurdzsa: 
February 25, 2023 - "Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) sources and documents claim to show that Liberal MP Han Dong received assistance from the Chinese consulate in Toronto during his nomination race in 2019. Global News reporter Mackenzie Gray tweeted on Friday that the consulate was involved in transporting seniors and students to vote for him at a party meeting. It is alleged that CSIS had urged senior officials in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office to rescind Dong’s nomination due to the alleged foreign influence involved.

"It is alleged that the seniors were told to vote for Dong to be the candidate by having his name written on their arms. It is also alleged that Chinese international students were also equipped with fake residence addresses and sent to the nomination meeting in support of Dong under the pretense that not doing so could threaten their student visa status. Dong told Global News that he denies the allegations, claiming instead that his nomination followed ordinary procedures.... 

"The Prime Minister’s Office has also responded to the story, saying that there was 'factual inaccuracies' to the report. 'As you are aware, we are unable to comment on your questions regarding secret or top secret matters. That is the law. There are so many factual inaccuracies in your questions that it is not possible to even begin to answer your questions,' wrote the PMO. 'Han Dong is a strong representative who served his community through the pandemic and consistently works to make life better for people, including calling out discrimination that is too often targeted at the Chinese Canadian community.'”
Read more: https://tnc.news/2023/02/25/news-report-identifies-liberal-mp-helped-by-chinese-interference/ 

"Is Justin Trudeau in Trouble?", Ratio'd, True North, Feb. 28, 2023:

Is the free market just a Big Myth?

Is the free market just a myth dreamed up and propagandized by big business and libertarian economists?

The Big Myth Is Full of Recycled Anti-Capitalist Cheap Shots | Reason - Phillip W. Magness:

February 25, 2023 - "New academic 'histories' now appear on a near-monthly basis, each blaming a variety of social ills on the conspiratorial machinations around a single idea: the free market. Almost everything in this genre follows the same formula. When the American electorate fails to embrace the political priorities of an Ivy League humanities department, these disheartened authors cast about for a blameworthy culprit. They settle on 'market fundamentalism' or 'neoliberalism.' The explanation then takes a paranoid turn, declaring the targeted theories a 'manufactured myth' arising from the 'inventions' of 20th century business interests.... All eventually settle on a mundane conspiracy of business interests and libertarian economists, who allegedly derailed America from its progressive path by convincing people that markets work better than government at solving problems.

"At some 550 pages, The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us To Loathe Government and Love the Free Market is among the most loquacious entrants into this crowded literature. Harvard University's Naomi Oreskes and California Institute of Technology historian Erik Conway lay out their conspiracy theory with formulaic precision, but their book is atypical in one significant way. While most of the other works in the anti-neoliberalism genre manage at least to excavate some interesting archival findings about libertarian economists (before badly misinterpreting them), this book is remarkably light on original content.... A reader ... will be left wondering why this same story needed yet another repackaged recitation....

"The Big Myth is structured in sequential vignettes about various themes and figures such as Ludwig von Mises, Leonard Read, Friedrich Hayek, Rose Wilder Lane, and Milton Friedman, all of whom are portrayed as either willing propagandists for big business or hapless dupes of the same. The authors expend almost no effort on understanding the arguments of the thinkers they set out to debunk.

"A revealing example appears in the book's treatment of Leonard Read's 1958 essay "I, Pencil." Read's story is a fairly straightforward allegory for Adam Smith's famous concept of the "invisible hand," showing how complex social coordination arises from routine economic exchanges and signals in the absence of a centralized design. To Oreskes and Conway, however, the metaphor is literally the hand of God working from above to ensure the market system provides. As they put it, 'God made the marketplace and the marketplace made the pencil; ergo God made the pencil'....

"Interpretive peculiarities continue in their treatment of Ludwig von Mises' Socialism. After initially acknowledging that the book was written in German in 1922, Oreskes and Conway soon drift into anachronism by insinuating that it was intended as a critique of President Franklin Roosevelt. ("Mises's use of the term socialism was misleading," they contend, "because no credible American political leader in 1944 was advocating central planning.") They augment this ascription of prophecy with a sleight of hand, replacing the revolutionary Marxists of Mises' original commentaries with the comparatively benign Norman Thomas as their own preferred avatar of socialism. Like other texts in the anti-neoliberalism genre, The Big Myth removes 20th century free market authors from their historical context by hand-waving the Soviet Union out of existence and proceeding as if socialism means nothing more than a narrow swath of modern Scandinavian social democracies.

"Such errors are frequently paired with another recurring theme: the authors' fundamental inability to approach their opponents with anything remotely resembling intellectual charity. The book is filled with gratuitous swipes, many of them comically ahistorical. This usually means either a false accusation of racism or a disparaging attack on a target's qualifications. Mises receives both types of abuse. After dubbing him an 'absolutist who sympathized with fascism,' Oreskes and Conway launch into an extended attack on the Austrian economist's migration to the United States in 1940. In their telling, Mises ... struggled to find a respectable academic job until 'dark money' funders created a succession of positions for him at New York University..... Meanwhile, Mises' academic work in the United States gained higher honors than either Oreskes or Conway has ever achieved.... 

"They casually brand Milton Friedman a 'racist extremist' and defender of segregation, but not for any actual defense of segregation. The authors simply disagree with his argument that markets were more effective tools for bringing about integration than government edicts.....

"They accuse Friedrich Hayek of eschewing 'the essence of scholarship,' which 'is to look past the immediacies of time and place,' while themselves constantly processing history through their modern partisan commitments. They accuse free market economists of venturing outside their scientific expertise while offering their own decidedly nonexpert opinions on everything from economic inequality to COVID-19.

"The authors' discussion of the latter subject, which closes the book, is unintentionally comedic. Oreskes and Conway use the pandemic to contrast U.S. 'market failure' with the alleged success of 'countries that mounted a strong, coordinated response,' China foremost among them. As their book went to press, China's centralized 'zero-COVID' regime was collapsing into the same unfettered disease spread that Oreskes and Conway ascribe to free markets. But readers should not expect any self-interrogation from this pair."

Read more: https://reason.com/2023/02/25/the-big-myth-is-full-of-recycled-anti-capitalist-cheap-shots/

Rouleau report not last word on Emergencies Act

Justice Rouleau’s deferential report is not the final word on the Emergencies Act | The Hub -Joanna Baron:

February 21, 2023 - "Commissioner Paul Rouleau’s report on the federal government’s invocation of a public order emergency ... was produced on an exceptionally tight timeline following six weeks of sittings and clocks in at over 2,000 pages, including exhibits. The nub of the report sees the judge concluding that Cabinet was justified in invoking the Emergencies Act on February 14, 2022: 'There was credible and compelling evidence supporting both a subjective and objective reasonable belief in the existence of a public order emergency. The decision to invoke the Act was appropriate.' Its tone is cautious and measured. It is an exercise in pointed diplomacy and balancing, but perhaps wanting for clarity.

"First: for Rouleau to have arrived at his conclusion, given the posture of federal Cabinet witnesses at the hearings, implies an extraordinary amount of deference to assiduously shielded government decision-making. The entire basis of Cabinet’s concern that the protests had evolved into an unmanageable situation remained opaque to the Commission. Attorney-General Lametti claimed that Cabinet, in invoking the Act, was acting on the basis of a legal opinion that held that 'threats […] to the security of Canada', were met within the meaning of the Act. It was necessary to refer to this legal opinion because the overwhelming evidence from actors who were receiving on-the-ground intel from Ottawa was the contrary.

"During the hearings, we heard that the director of CSIS had concluded the Act’s threshold of 'threats to the security of Canada' was not met. We also heard leadership of the Ottawa Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the RCMP, state that existing criminal law tools were sufficient. No other threat assessment or assessment of the inadequacy of existing legal authorities was performed independently of the country’s law enforcement. There was virtually no substantive basis upon which Cabinet could have concluded that the circumstances in Ottawa met the threshold for invoking the Act....

"A requirement for invoking the Act is that it is a measure of last resort, specifying that 'The emergency could not be effectively dealt with by any other federal law.' (Emphasis added.) The report emphasizes the word 'effectively', calling it an “important modifier”, and seems to confuse this requirement that all other avenues of action be exhausted with a sort of argument of convenience.... 

"Evidence of law enforcement was that, at best, the boost provided by the Emergencies Act was helpful but did not substantively alter a plan to clear the protests that already was in place.... Laws under the Criminal Code gave law enforcement the tools it needed — and ultimately used — to clear disruptive protests, compel tow truck operators to remove illegally parked trucks, and call in reinforcement police forces from across the country.... Not a single law enforcement witness testified that they requested the invocation of the Act, nor that they needed more tools than those already at their disposal....

"Finally, the report wholly accepts the federal government’s coup de grâce legal argument — that ... 'two different decision-makers, each interpreting the same words in the context of different statutes, can reasonably come to different conclusions as to whether the threshold is met.' This argument is dangerously misguided..... The report accords Cabinet a wide ambit of reasonableness in invoking the Act that is thoroughly unsupported by the statute’s strict definition. The justice doesn’t quite find that an actual situation presenting threats to national security had crystallized: in his conclusion, he writes that 'the situation [Cabinet] was facing was worsening and at risk of becoming dangerous and unmanageable' ... — and, fearful of that whiff of danger, Cabinet was reasonable in invoking emergency powers.

"This scope of latitude and deference is the appropriate standard for assessing on-the-ground, contingent actions of police — who, indeed, we rightly accord wide operating bandwidth. However, the same standard is wholly inappropriate for a sitting, properly briefed Cabinet’s sober deliberations in the face of a well-established and rightfully high legal threshold for invoking extraordinary powers to detain peaceful protestors, freeze bank accounts without due process, and suspend insurance throughout all of Canada. 

"A federal court judicial review, brought independently (unlike the Commission, which was convened and appointed by government), of the invocation of the Act remains pending. That decision will carry the binding force of law, unlike the Commission report. The matter is not yet finished, and there may yet be consequences for the government’s actions."

Joanna Baron is Executive Director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a legal charity that protects constitutional freedoms in courts of law and public opinion.

Read more: https://thehub.ca/2023-02-21/joanna-baron-justice-rouleaus-deferential-report-is-not-the-final-word-on-the-emergencies-act-matter/

Convoy organizer lawyer Keith Wilson reacts to the Emergencies Act inquiry report, CPAC, February 18, 2023:

Estimated 1-1.5 million Covid deaths in China

Communist China claims to have less than 85,000 Covid deaths, the lowest per capita rate of any country during the pandemic. But researchers estimate the actual death toll at between one and 1.5 million. 

Your Thursday Briefing: 1.5 Million Covid Deaths in China? | New York Times - Amelia Nierenberg:

Feb. 15, 2023 - "After China relaxed the world’s most stringent Covid-19 restrictions in December, the virus exploded there. Four separate academic teams have come up with broadly similar estimates suggesting that one million to 1.5 million people died during the surge, far more than China’s official count.

"Researchers believe that the country’s official figure, as of Feb. 9, of 83,150 deaths during the entire pandemic is a vast undercount. That number would give China the lowest death rate per capita of any major country over the whole of the pandemic. But at the researchers’ estimated levels of mortality, China would already have surpassed the toll in many Asian countries that never clamped down as long or as aggressively. 

"The estimates also align more closely with the evidence of overwhelmed hospitals and crematories than the official figures do.

"Two of the estimates were in papers published in academic journals or posted for peer review. Two others were shared by epidemiologists in response to queries from The Times. All of the researchers consulted by The Times cautioned that without reliable data from China, the estimates should be understood as informed guesses.... 

"Some used past outbreaks in Hong Kong and Shanghai to estimate how quickly the virus might have spread in mainland China. Others used travel data and demographics to model spread and mortality. Scientists also used sampling data from China’s testing to infer that 90 percent of the population had been infected in little more than a month.... 

"One researcher started with a simple assumption, that the fatality rate for people infected in China was roughly the same as it was in the U.S. That means that if between 40 and 65 percent of China’s population was infected — a conservative estimate — then between 900,000 and 1.4 million Chinese people might have died, he said."

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/15/briefing/china-covid-deaths-scotland-asia.html

Covid charges against Ontario pastor dropped

Crown prosecutors in Windsor and Stratford, Ontario, have dropped charges of violating Covid orders against Windsor pastor Aaron Rock, who still faces one charge in another jurisdiction.

Charges against Windsor pastor dropped | Justic Centre for Constitutional Freedoms:

Pastor Aaron Rock. Harvest Bible Church.

February 22, 2023 - "The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is pleased to announce that charges against Pastor Aaron Rock were withdrawn at the request of the prosecuting Crown Attorney in Windsor on February 6, 2023. Pastor Rock was facing another charge in Stratford, Ontario which was withdrawn at the request of the Crown on February 16, 2023.  In both jurisdictions Pastor Rock was charged under the Re-opening Ontario Act (ROA). 

"In December 2020, the Ontario government implemented a series of restrictive measures which purported to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Government’s Order made under the ROA banned any religious gathering of more than 10 people. Aaron Rock is the lead pastor of a Christian Church in Windsor, Ontario.  He was alleged to have breached the Order by hosting a Christian worship service that exceeded 10 people.

"The primary evidence presented by the Crown was a video recording filmed outside of Pastor Rock’s Church. The video showed some individuals leaving the building, but these individuals were not identified or charged with any offence. Pastor Rock did not appear on the recording. The Crown agreed with defence counsel that there was insufficient evidence to prove the alleged breach of the ROA and withdrew both charges.

"In Stratford, Pastor Rock was alleged to have spoken at a public gathering, the purpose of which was to protest Ontario’s COVID19 response. On that charge, Pastor Rock entered into a Diversion Agreement where he voluntarily made a modest charitable donation. The charge was then withdrawn with no admission of guilt....

"Rock’s lawyer, Christopher Fleury, says that 'he is pleased to see that Crown Attorneys across the Province are taking a more reasonable and practical approach to prosecuting these types of offences. There is at least some tacit acknowledgement among Crowns that the public interest in continuing to prosecute ROA breaches is minimal to non-existent.' Mr. Fleury also added that 'his client is satisfied with the outcome of these charges and will continue to fight one remaining charge in a third jurisdiction.'

"Pastor Aaron Rock’s legal defence has been funded solely by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms."

https://www.jccf.ca/charges-against-windsor-pastor-dropped/ 

CSIS documented Chinese election interference

Documents leaked from Canada's top spy agency, CSIS, indicate that Communist China interfered in the 2021 federal election to back the election of a Liberal minority government.

Report claims China allegedly interfered in Canadian elections | Hindustan Times - Anirudh Bhattacharyya: 

February 19, 2023 - "China may have undertaken an operation to influence the results of the 2021 Federal elections in Canada in favour of the ruling Liberal Party, an expose in Canadian media on Friday claimed. The investigative article by Robert Fife and Steven Chase in the national daily, the Globe and Mail, noted, 'China employed a sophisticated strategy to disrupt Canada’s democracy in the 2021 federal election campaign as Chinese diplomats and their proxies backed the re-election of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals – but only to another minority government – and worked to defeat Conservative politicians considered to be unfriendly to Beijing.'

"The report was based on documents from Canada’s spy agency, Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS. It added that 'the intelligence reports show that Beijing was determined that the Conservatives did not win. China employed disinformation campaigns and proxies connected to Chinese-Canadian organizations in Vancouver and the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), which have large mainland Chinese immigrant communities, to voice opposition to the Conservatives and favour the Trudeau Liberals.'

"A CSIS report cited an unidentified Chinese consulate official as saying, 'The Liberal Party of Canada is becoming the only party that the PRC can support.' However, Beijing also preferred to restrict the Liberal Party Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to a minority as it 'likes it when the parties in Parliament are fighting with each other, whereas if there is a majority, the party in power can easily implement policies that do not favour the PRC.'

"Among the opposition Conservative Party incumbents targeted in the operation, according to the report, were Kenny Chiu and Alice Wong in British Columbia and Indo-Canadian Bob Saroya in Ontario. Each of them lost in the September 2021 Federal elections, which resulted in the Liberals returning to power with another minority Government, having secured 160 seats as against 119 for the Conservatives.

"Among the MPs targeted was also Jenny Kwan of the New Democratic Party or NDP in British Columbia, though she was re-elected. She told the outlet CBC News, 'They (the Government) cannot try to shield this information just because it may be that it’s the Liberal who will be benefiting, potentially, from these activities.'

"Trudeau said on Monday that he has repeatedly noted that China is trying to interfere in Canadian democracy, including its elections. However, he has consistently maintained, such interference did not impact the results of the Federal polls. However, principal opposition Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre ... told reporters on Friday, “Justin Trudeau knew about this interference, and he covered it up because he benefited from it.' Poilievre added, 'He’s perfectly happy to let a foreign, authoritarian government interfere in our elections as long as they’re helping him.'"

Read more: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/report-claims-china-allegedly-interfered-in-canadian-elections-101676727875856.html

Saskatchewan gov't rejects Rouleau conclusion

Saskatchewan Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre thanked the Rouleau Commission for its work, but noted that her government disagrees with its conclusion that invoking the Emergencies Act was justified. Other provincial parties' reactions were also negative.  

Negative reactions to the Emergencies Act Inquiry Report across Saskatchewan | Western Standard - Christopher Oldcorn: 

February 17, 2023 - "There is a universal negative reaction to the Emergencies Act (EA) Inquiry Report in Saskatchewan. The purpose of the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) was to determine whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government were justified in invoking the EA, formerly the War Measures Act. This was the first use of the EA.

"Trudeau used the EA to stop an anti-vaccine and COVID-19 restrictions protest in downtown Ottawa, which went on for several weeks and attracted worldwide attention. Trudeau invoking the EA is one of his most controversial decisions as it gave extraordinary powers to law enforcement to arrest and remove the protesters and tow away their vehicles. Also, the government could freeze the bank accounts of the protesters.

"Commissioner Paul Rouleau said the Trudeau government invoking the EA met a 'very high' threshold as a 'lawful protest descended into lawlessness, culminating in a national emergency.... Invocation of the Emergencies Act is a drastic move, but it is not a dictatorial one,' said Rouleau.

"Saskatchewan’s Justice Minister and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre said 'Saskatchewan’s position has always been invoking the act was unnecessary and that appropriate and effective action to deal with the protests and blockades last year could have been taken under existing federal, provincial, and municipal laws.' Eyre 'is currently reviewing the extensive report findings and recommendations' and 'would like to thank the commission for its work.'

"Sask NDP Official Opposition Justice Critic Nicole Sarauer commented on the EA Inquiry Report. 'The use of the Emergencies Act was unprecedented and will have implications moving forward,' said Sarauer. 'Although we accept the findings of this report … we still believe that there was an opportunity to limit its use to specific regions impacted by blockades, rather than Canada-wide.'

"Buffalo Party’s Mark 'The Grizzly Patriot' Friesen is not surprised with the outcome....'We have judicial corruption across this country, at every level. Why would we expect any difference in the case of the Emergencies Act Commission?'

"Sask United Party Leader Nadine Wilson MLA said 'the vast majority of protesters were clearly exercising their democratic right to peacefully protest. As such, I do not believe the circumstances to invoke the Emergencies Act existed, and do not agree with Commissioner Rouleau's expansive interpretation of it.'

"Kelly Lorencz, The People’s Party of Canada Western Canada and Northern Territories lieutenant, found nothing unexpected in the report.... 'All this report has done is solidify many Canadians' discontent not only with this Liberal government but all elected officials in Ottawa,” said Lorencz.... The implications of this report have the potential to fuel further Western alienation sentiments and create an even bigger divide in Canada'... 

Nadine Ness of Unified Grassroots issued a statement [saying in part] ... 'I am disappointed, however, not surprised that Justice Rousseau ruled in this way. The man is a Liberals supporter and should have never been the one ruling over this.... It’s clear the legal definition was not met and the Liberals simply made up their own. This only further proves that we have lost the impartiality in our public service and to an extent our court system. To most Canadians and everyone else around the world, this will be seen as a dark stain in our history and to freedom as a whole.'"

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/negative-reactions-to-the-emergencies-act-inquiry-report-across-saskatchewan/article_26168b3e-aee3-11ed-b356-b3843c4c545f.html

"Saskatchewan premier discusses use of Emergencies Act," CPAC, February 18, 2022: 

Trudeau got off with slap on wrist, says Lich

Lich says Rouleau condemning Trudeau ‘slap on the wrist’ | Western Standard - Jonathan Bradley:

Feb 19, 2023 - "Freedom Convoy co-organizer Tamara Lich said the part of the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) report denouncing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s language was 'a slap on the wrist.' 'Our prime minister went on public television and called Canadians who don’t believe in his views racists and misogynists and asked if we should be tolerated,' said Lich at a Sunday press conference.... 

"The POEC determined on Friday the Canadian government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act in response to the Freedom Convoy.  

"POEC Commissioner Paul Rouleau said Trudeau's comment about the Freedom Convoy containing a small fringe minority of people with unacceptable views were interpreted by many as referring to all protestors.... 'In my view, more of an effort should have been made by government leaders at all levels during the protest to acknowledge that the majority of protestors were exercising their fundamental democratic rights,' said Rouleau. 

"The press conference started off with Lich saying Freedom Corp was disappointed with the report.... When the POEC began, she said Freedom Corp hoped it would be a fair, objective process. As the process wore on, it became concerned about how it was done. Reading the report, she said the Canadian government 'used innocent Canadians who participated in good faith at the hearings as nothing more than puppets for the government’s political theatre designed to protect the prime minister'.... 

"The co-organizer went on to say government incompetence is the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act now. She said people know the truth about what happened in Ottawa. 

"Chipiuk Law lawyer Eva Chipiuk, who is representing Freedom Corp, said she has met amazing, hardworking Canadians in the past year whose most serious crime was holding the government to account.... [T]he prime minister of Canada engaged in a misinformation and disinformation campaign to vilify, cause hate and divisiveness among Canadians, friends, and families,' said Chipiuk. Trudeau has accused innocent people of domestic terrorism. Chipiuk said no one has been charged with domestic terrorism....

"Wilson Law Office lawyer Keith Wilson, who is another lawyer with the case, said the POEC report does not mean it is over. 'In fact, it’s a clear indicator that all we need to engage even more as Canadians in the democratic process,' said Wilson.... In order to obtain the donations to the Freedom Convoy, he said they need to have the class action lawsuit dropped, criminal charges removed, and the civil forfeiture order from the Ontario government scraped. He said he expects Lich and Freedom Convoy co-organizer Chris Barber’s case to go to trial, as Trudeau wants to make an example of them. 

"Lich said she has zero regrets.... She concluded by saying this moment affirmed to her every second of the experience was worth it.  'The biggest thing I’ve learned through the convoy is the unity,' she said. I’ve never been more proud to be a Canadian than I was last winter and still am today.'"

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/watch-lich-says-rouleau-condemning-trudeau-slap-on-the-wrist/article_87fa8e74-b0b2-11ed-a4ae-8ba2f70337b6.html

A Big Disappointment - The Emergencies Act Inquiry Report is out, Canadian Constitution Foundation, February 17, 2023:

Rouleau 'reluctantly' OKs Emergencies Act use

Commission 'reluctantly' rules Trudeau justified in using Emergencies Act | National Post - Jim Bronskill, Canadian Press:

February 17, 2023 - "The Public Order Emergency Commission delivered its report today on the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act to end the Freedom Convoy protests that paralyzed the streets around Parliament Hill and jammed several Canadian border points last year. Justice Paul Rouleau said the government met the threshold for invoking emergency powers.

“'I have concluded that in this case, the very high threshold for invocation was met,' commissioner Rouleau wrote in his report, tabled in parliament Friday. But, he added, 'I have done so with reluctance'....

"It was the first time the Emergencies Act had been used since it was created in its current form in the 1980s. The commission, mandated by law to review the act’s invocation, heard from elected officials, police, protesters and Ottawa residents.... In addition to setting out findings and lessons learned, Rouleau was asked to make recommendations on 'any necessary modernization' of the emergencies law, as well as on 'areas for further study or review.'"

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/public-order-emergency-commission-emergencies-act-freedom-convoy

NDP leader: Freedom Convoy was "fascist" coup attempt

Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, has accused unidentified "security forces" of colluding with Freedom Convoy 2022 to try to overthrow the federal government "in a fascist way."

Singh says Freedom Convoy organizers aimed to overthrow government in 'fascist way' | Western Standard - Matthew Horwood:

February 16, 2023 - "NDP [New Democratic Party] Leader Jagmeet Singh claimed Thursday the organizers of the Freedom Convoy wanted to overthrow the federal government in a 'fascist way.'

'They wanted to overthrow a democratically elected government with a committee of their own choosing,' Singh claimed during a Thursday press conference. 'Their goal was not an innocuous goal. Their goal was to overthrow government and to replace it in a fascist way without having any elections.'

"Singh's comments were in response to a question about the Emergencies Act report, set to be released Friday. Singh said the fact the act needed to be invoked to deal with the Freedom Convoy meant it was a 'failure on all levels of government to respond to this serious problem.' The NDP leader accused then-Ottawa mayor Jim Watson and Ontario Premier Doug Ford of not taking the protest seriously. According to Singh, Ottawa residents were harassed and intimidated for wearing masks.... 

"Singh also highlighted reports that some police officers 'colluded' with Freedom Convoy protestors. Convoy lawyer Keith Wilson said the organizers received leaked police intelligence from sympathizers within various forces on several occasions. According to Singh, the convoy organizers had a 'very clear goal' of overthrowing the federal government and replacing it with their own. This, combined with the sympathy some police officers showed for the movement, was 'pretty serious.'

"'Canada Unity and convoy organizer James Bauder wrote in a 'memorandum of understanding' the Senate and governor general could join them in forming a committee to order the revocation of COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.' {Note: Bauder actually wrote the MOA in 2019, for a different protest. He did post it again on his website during the Freedom Convoy protest, but the other organizers did not endorse it and he took the page down. - GD] Then at a press conference during the protest, organizer Tom Marazzo proposed the organizers and their supporters could sit at a table 'with the Conservatives, and the NDP, and the Bloc as a coalition.'"

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/singh-says-freedom-convoy-organizers-aimed-to-overthrow-government-in-fascist-way/article_bc0f6898-ae31-11ed-8a21-8f194204681c.html

World Unity Convoy rolls into Winnipeg

Manitoba's got itself a convoy | Western Standard - Linda Slobodian:

February 15, 2023 - "Two large convoys — one coming from the west, the other from the east — will roll into Manitoba Thursday. Patriots from Victoria, BC to the heart of New Brunswick, with vehicles falling in line along the way, are headed to the February 17-20 World Unity Convoy event. It aims to address a myriad of problems Canadians face, and to promote a united front just like the logo says: We Move As One, We Stand As One. RCMP and Winnipeg Police Service will be on hand to monitor traffic and ensure the convoys arrive safely at their destination — Camp Hope in Dugald, five-km east of Winnipeg.

"World Unity Convoy, packed with events and guest speakers, comes on the heels of the one-year [anniversary of] Freedom Convoy 2022 ... when truckers, cheered on by the world, descended on Parliament Hill to peacefully protest COVID-19 mandates and the Liberal government’s shocking assault on rights and freedoms. Our truckers played a paramount role in getting the feds and the provinces to lift crippling, sometimes senseless, COVID-19 restrictions. But, as popular Unity Convoy participant Ron Clark said on a Facebook post Wednesday, 'There’s still a lot of work to do.'

"Canadians know their freedoms — held in the palms of globalists and at the mercy of bad government decisions — are still at risk, So, they're again lining up on roads and overpasses to cheer the convoys on. Not many rigs rolling down the highways this time, it’s mostly private vehicles with people from different walks of life. But once again, so many glorious Canadian flags waving in the wind to behold!

"How many will show up at Camp Hope isn’t known, since registration wasn’t required. Organizers anticipate anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 and possibly more."

"'The purpose of the event is to bring people together and work towards unity,' said Westlock AB’s Benita Pederson, who's helping with program coordination.... 'In order for us to have unity we do not need to agree on all things. We just need to agree on one or more things,' said Pederson, a freedom advocate since February 2021. She runs All Fired Up For Freedom, an organization that promotes and organizes events that work towards the protection and restoration of individual rights and freedoms....

"Meanwhile, organizers have been working closely with the RCMP and WPS. 'The law enforcement agencies are well aware of our plans and in some ways they’ll be supporting us. They may even have a presence close to Camp Hope over the weekend and we think that’s terrific'.... Organizers don’t want distractions from their agenda — to promote unity, freedom, hope, love and find solutions."

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/opinion/slobodian-manitobas-got-itself-a-convoy/article_209393d8-ad84-11ed-a70a-1719ef49f3ad.html

"World Unity Convoy 2023" with Serena Freedom Bear, Maverick News, January 3, 2023:

More than 10% of Covid-vax doses wasted in USA

82 million doses of COVID19 vaccines, just over 11% of those distributed in the USA, were wasted.

The U.S. has wasted over 82 million Covid vaccine doses | NBC News - Joshua Eaton: 

June 6, 2022 - "Pharmacies, states, U.S. territories and federal agencies discarded 82.1 million Covid vaccine doses from December 2020 through mid-May — just over 11 percent of the doses the federal government distributed, according to data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] shared with NBC News. That’s an increase from the 65 million doses the CDC told the Associated Press had been wasted as of late February [2022].

"Two retail pharmacy chains, CVS and Walmart, were responsible for over a quarter of the doses thrown away in the United States in that time period, in part due to the sheer volume of vaccine they handled. Five other pharmacies or dialysis centers — Health Mart, DaVita, Rite Aid, Publix and Costco — wasted fewer overall doses, but a higher share: more than a quarter of the vaccine doses they received, well above the national average. Two states also discarded more than a quarter of their doses: Oklahoma, which tossed 28 percent of the nearly 4 million doses it received, and Alaska, which threw away almost 27 percent of its 1 million doses, according to the CDC data.

"The overall amount of waste is in line with World Health Organization estimates for large vaccination campaigns. But public health experts said the waste is still alarming at a time when less than half of fully vaccinated Americans have a booster shot... The millions of wasted vaccine doses include some that expired on pharmacy shelves before they could be used, others that were spoiled by the thousands when power went out or freezers broke, and still others that were tossed at the end of the day when no one wanted the last few doses in an opened vial.

"Unlike most other immunizations in the U.S., the coronavirus vaccines come in multidose vials, which means all the doses must be used within hours once the vials are opened — or discarded. State health officials and pharmacies said that’s been a major contributor to vaccine waste. Some also said the vaccines come in such large minimum orders that they are left with more than they need.

"Some pharmacies, including CVS and Rite Aid, said their priority has been offering the vaccine on demand. If getting a shot into an arm means opening a new vial and wasting the unused doses, that’s a tradeoff they’re willing to make. CVS wasted nearly 11.8 million doses, or about 13 percent of the 89.9 million it received.... 

"Walgreens, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains, wasted 8.3 million doses, or about 10.5 percent of the nearly 79.6 million doses it received. In a statement, the company pointed to no-show appointments, cancellations and open vials expiring as reasons for the waste.... 'The latest CDC guidance advises that providing COVID-19 vaccinations should be prioritized, even if it leads to vaccine waste,' the company said....

"The CDC said it is working with manufacturers on smaller, single-dose vials for the Covid vaccines to reduce waste."

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/covid-vaccine-doses-wasted-rcna31399

US House Republicans investigating Covid's origin

House GOP asks Fauci and dozens of health officials to testify in investigation into Covid origins | CNBC - Spencer Kimball:

February 14, 2023 - "House Republicans have asked former White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony to testify before Congress as they launch a new investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. The GOP leaders of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and Committee on Oversight and Accountability sent a letter to Fauci on Monday requesting a transcribed interview. Fauci said in November that he would cooperate with any oversight hearing in the Republican-led House.....

"'Fauci ... was the public face of the U.S. pandemic response during the Trump and Biden administration. He stepped down from his posts at the White House and at the helm of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in December.

"House Republicans also sent letters requesting testimony from EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak and former National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins. EcoHealth Alliance provided funding, which originated at NIH, to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to study coronaviruses. The inspector general at the Health and Human Services Department found that EcoHealth Alliance received about $8 million in funding from NIH during 2014 through 2021, according to a report published last month. About $600,000 of that money went directly to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to study the threat posed by bat coronaviruses.

"The study of bat coronaviruses at the virology institute in Wuhan, China, the city where the pandemic first began, has raised suspicions among some scientists and investigators that Covid-19 could have escaped from a lab. But Fauci, Collins and many others have maintained that a natural origin in which the virus spilled over from bats through an intermediate animal into people is more likely....

"In 2021, President Joe Biden ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to provide their analysis on how the pandemic began. Four agencies assessed with low confidence that the pandemic began through natural exposure, while one assessed it was the result of a lab accident. Three other agencies could not agree on either explanation.

"House Republicans on Monday also sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines requesting classified briefings with seven intelligence and law enforcement agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation. They also sent a letter to Health Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting interviews with more than two dozen U.S. health officials.

"Republicans, who won control of the House with a narrow margin in last November’s midterms, had vowed to launch several investigations into the pandemic’s origins, the federal response, and how taxpayer money was spent."

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/14/gop-asks-fauci-to-testify-in-investigation-into-covid-pandemic-origins.html

"Viral: The Origin of Covid 19" with Matt Ridley | Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, December 1, 2022: 

Canada's federal bureaucracy is "broken," Parliamentary Budget Officer testifies

Parliamentary budget officer testifies federal government's systems are 'broken' | Western Standard - Matthew Horwood: 

February 8, 2023 - "The federal government is 'broken' and bungles basic tasks with little cabinet scrutiny, Budget Officer Yves Giroux said yesterday ... according to Blacklock's Reporter. 'There is a system that is broken,' Giroux told the Senate national finance committee, [pointing] to failures at Passport Canada as an example. 'We still see that in announcements. The government will ‘invest’ or will spend that many millions to do this and that. Okay, but what will be the result?' 

"Giroux said while the federal government has hired hundreds of public servants, many Canadians are still left wondering 'okay, but when will I get my damn passport?' 'I’d be curious to see in the next Departmental Results report what Passport Canada will claim was their achievement,' said Giroux. 'I wouldn’t be surprised if they claim some sort of success despite the disaster we’ve seen the last couple of months'....

"Giroux said cabinet ministers 'are not very well equipped' to manage their departments, adding that self-serving Departmental Results reports are used to conceal mediocrity. 'The targets in Departmental Results reports are determined in large part by the public servants responsible for delivering the programs themselves: assistant deputy ministers, approved by deputy ministers, approved by ministers,' said Giroux. 'But in my experience, ministers are not very well equipped to challenge their own officials.'

"'We end up in a situation where it is public servants responsible for delivering programs that set their own targets and they usually set the bar not too high so it doesn’t look too easy, but neither too low so it’s fairly easy to achieve most of the time,' he said. 'Yet by their own assessment they fail to deliver on many of these. So there is a system that is broken.'

"'I just find it kind of astounding; is the public aware of this?' asked Senator Larry Smith (QC). 'I think if you asked anybody who asked recently for a passport, Employment Insurance, Old Age Security and the list goes on, they are probably very well aware the level of service Canadians are getting is not what one could expect from a world class public service,' replied Giroux.

"Giroux said Canada has seldom had unemployment rates so low, yet it still takes several weeks for people to claim Employment Insurance and receive their cheques. 'There needs to be a crack of the whip, big time, or a change of some sort in that department. Another one, passports, seems to be better but it’s still not great. Access To Information requests, anybody who places an Access To Information request, they take the time it takes and that’s it'....

"Giroux said federal departments routinely dismissed his requests for financial data, even though the Budget Office is entitled to compel disclosure of records under the Parliament Of Canada Act.... 

"'You can hold the government to account,” Giroux told the Senate national finance committee. “I can testify at committees like this and speak my mind and lose the only maybe two or three friends I have left in the public service..., I can help you hold the government to account. I cannot do this just by myself.'"

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/parliamentary-budget-officer-testifies-federal-governments-systems-are-broken/article_77766f00-a7bb-11ed-9dad-ef4020503f46.html

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux says Canadians are not well served by the public sector | Todayville Red Deer, February 10, 2023:

Hersh: US blew up Nord Stream pipelines

American journalist accuses US Navy of Nord Stream pipeline attack | RFI - Michael Fitzpatrick:

February 11, 2023 - "Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh alleges that US Navy divers laid the bombs that destroyed the Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea last September, cutting Russian gas supplies to Europe. The Pentagon has denied the claim but Moscow, which Western countries suspect of involvement, says it should be taken seriously.

"According to a blog written by Hersh on the site Substack, American navy divers planted remotely triggered explosives that wrecked three of the four pipelines built to carry natural gas from Russia to Europe. Hersh claims that the US Navy planted the explosives under the cover of a Nato maritime exercise, Baltic Operation 22, known as BaltOps, which involved vessels from 14 Nato member states and took place in the Baltic between 5 and 17 June 2022....

"Hersh puts the motivation for the attack down to a simple political calculation. 'With Russian troops massing on the Ukrainian border and the bloodiest war in Europe since 1945 looming,' he writes, 'President Joseph Biden saw the pipelines as a vehicle for Vladimir Putin to weaponise natural gas for his political and territorial ambitions'.... Putin would now have an additional and much-needed major source of income, and Germany and the rest of Western Europe would become addicted to low-cost natural gas supplied by Russia – while diminishing European reliance on America."

"The September 2022 explosions were blamed by Western countries on Russia, adding to the anger against Moscow in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. Investigations by Swedish, Danish and German authorities have not pinned the blame on any one country or actor. Swedish investigators have already said they believe the blasts were the result of 'gross sabotage'. 

"Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden warned that the Nord Stream 2 project connecting Russia and Germany would not move forward if an attack took place. This led some commentators to suspect US involvement when the pipelines were destroyed seven months later. 'If Russia invades – that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine, again – then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2,' Biden said on 7 February 2022. 'We will bring an end to it.'

"Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Lt. Col. Garron J. Garn says 'the United States was not involved in the Nord Stream explosion'. 'This is utterly false and complete fiction,' stated Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.... 

"Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Hersh's work is a 'very serious' article that offered 'deep analysis'. 'It would be unfair not to give it attention,' he said.... Peskov added that Moscow had information "on the involvement of the Anglo-Saxons in the organisation of this act of sabotage', a claim Russia has made repeatedly but without providing any evidence publicly."

Read more: https://www.rfi.fr/en/international/20230211-american-journalist-accuses-us-navy-of-nord-stream-pipeline-attack

America's looming budget battles

The Fight Over the Debt Ceiling Is Just Beginning | Reason - Veronique de Rugy: 

February 9, 2022 - "People are uneasy about the debt ceiling fight. Many think it's unhealthy and a sign of poor fiscal management, and they are right. However, they should get used to it. These budget fights will keep getting more frequent and more intense. That's because no one wants to talk about budget restraints. The truth is that existing spending commitments are rapidly shrinking the share of the budget that politicians have control over....

"Those who believe that government is the answer to all problems are always full of ideas about new programs to be funded. They want to prepare for the next pandemic or emergency by funding new government capabilities. They want government to engineer an energy revolution while simultaneously paying off all outstanding student loans as well as all future enrollments. They also want the government to relieve parents of the financial burden of raising children, while expanding the military and funding every project on the books.... But I wouldn't count on the completion of any of them — and that's not just because the government usually fails to deliver on its loftier goals. Rather, it's because these ambitious objectives will mostly have to be funded from the discretionary part of the federal budget, which is melting away....

"[T]he discretionary budget is what pays for homeland security, most of the military, farm subsidies, education, and much more. It's the only part of the budget legislators directly and regularly control. Today, discretionary spending accounts for 30 percent of total spending. In 1970, it was 62 percent. Defense spending is about half of it and 14 percent of the total budget.

"By contrast, the amount spent on non-discretionary programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid has doubled as a portion of total spending, from 31 percent of the budget in 1970 to around 62 percent in 2023. Meanwhile, interest payments on the national debt are another fast-growing mandatory-spending component of the federal budget. Altogether, mandatory spending on entitlements and interest payments accounts for over 70 percent of the budget and is projected to consume more than 80 percent by 2040.... 

"What's more, many mandatory spending programs are growing even faster than the economy and will therefore rely heavily on borrowing. Above and beyond the debt problems we might face, this reality has serious implications for all those politicians who believe they can fund their new projects or expand existing ones with the discretionary side of the budget. The budgetary turnip is rapidly running out of blood.

"So expect more intense budgetary battles. While discretionary spending is still growing in nominal terms, albeit at a slowed rate, legislators will increasingly fight over how to spend this constantly diminishing budget while overall spending is simultaneously exploding. There won't be much room politically to grow discretionary spending out of borrowed money. And with fewer dollars to go around, competition for each one of them will become increasingly fierce....

"Of course, with our debt and deficit growing, legislators will try to collect more taxes. If they succeed, the revenue will be a drop in the bucket full of mandatory red ink. However, I predict that their effort will fail. A look at the data shows that no matter the federal tax rates under the current regime, since the 1940s, collections have never been more than 20 percent of GDP. That's in part because politicians are pressured to redistribute lots of resources back to taxpayers through the tax code with provisions like the child tax credit and other deductions. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that higher marginal tax rates slow the economy and eventually limit the scope of tax collections as Americans make less money.

"If you're tired of debt ceiling fights, I'm sorry to report that they're just the beginning of a long series of fights over fiscal management."

Read more: https://reason.com/2023/02/09/the-fight-over-the-debt-ceiling-is-just-beginning/

Michael Tanner, America's Debt Crisis Explained - Prager U, 2014:

CBC president picks fight with Opposition Leader

CBC president Catherine Tait has publicly attacked Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre (who claims the state broadcaster is politically biased, and has pledged to defund it), accusing him of 'CBC-bashing' just to raise funds.

CBC president bashes Poilievre for making people hate the network | Western Standard - Jonathan Bradley 

February 7, 2023 - "CBC President Catherine Tait denounced Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre for inciting attacks on the news outlet. 'There’s a lot of CBC bashing going on — somewhat stoked by the leader of the Opposition,' said Tait in a Tuesday interview with the Globe and Mail. 'I think they feel CBC is a mouthpiece for the Liberal government.' Poilievre said in March [2022] at his Axe the Carbon Tax Rally in Ottawa he would defund the CBC, which received thunderous applause.... 

"Tait hit back at the Conservative campaign to defund the CBC, saying it's a tactic to solicit donations. The Conservatives set up a fundraising initiative which says they will save people $1 billion by defunding the CBC, so they should send in $20. The CBC received about $1.2 billion from the Canadian government in 2022, which was two-thirds of its funding. 

"Tait said it's working with the same budget as 30 years ago. It did linear television and radio 30 years ago. Now it does those two mediums, CBC Gem, streaming radio, and digital platforms. She said it has 'completely tripled our output, yet we’re doing it with less money'.... Tait said it is the one broadcaster in the system which has the obligation to serve all Canadians. She added rural audiences might be limited to their television, so it is not going to abandon them."
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/cbc-president-bashes-poilievre-for-making-people-hate-the-network/article_0421c88e-a70b-11ed-a237-338919707b33.html

To delight of Conservatives, CBC’s president bad mouths Poilievre | Toronto Sun - Lorrie Goldstein:

February 8, 2023 - "Within hours of Tait accusing Poilievre of 'CBC bashing,' inciting attacks on the public broadcaster and calling his campaign to defund the CBC a fundraising slogan (which it is, along with an election promise), the Conservatives were out with a fundraising email giving Poilievre’s response.... 'The President and CEO of Trudeau’s $1.2 billion propaganda arm, the CBC, is now openly attacking me. They’re not even pretending to be unbiased.' 

"No doubt the CBC’s supporters agreed with what [Tait] said and no doubt similar views are expressed in CBC boardrooms and newsrooms every day. But for the CBC president and CEO to say it explicitly, in public, is manna from heaven for the Conservatives. They aren’t trying to convince people who support the CBC to change their minds. They’re re-enforcing the perception of bias that many Conservative supporters have about the CBC, now using its most senior executive to do so.

"Asked later by a CBC reporter whether she was concerned her comments about Poilievre would undermine working journalists at the CBC by pitting the public broadcaster against one political party, Tait said she wasn’t because she’s not a journalist (which is obvious) but the CEO. As the CEO, Tait said, she has a responsibility to communicate to Canadians, including politicians, the value of the public broadcaste.... The problem is, she walked into what a newspaper publisher rightly described to me years ago as, 'six minutes of satisfaction, followed by six miles of bad road,' in this case for CBC journalists, particularly on Parliament Hill.

"While many Canadians — present company included — believe the state-funded broadcaster is culturally more sympathetic to Liberal policies than Conservative ones (just as Postmedia, the company I work for, is the reverse) it’s also true that CBC journalists have done many investigations and produced many series and articles critical of the Trudeau government, exposing things the Liberals didn’t want the public to know. If Tait wanted to defend the CBC from allegations of pro-Liberal bias, she could have highlighted many examples, instead of attacking Poilievre.

"But, as she says, she’s not a journalist. She’s a CBC executive heading a government-funded corporation that at times makes bone-headed moves such as suing the Conservative Party 11 days before the 2019 federal election, alleging copyright infringement for using some short CBC news clips in an online political ad and tweets. Anyone who understands the defence of 'fair dealing' for copyright infringement knew the CBC would lose, which it did, while re-enforcing the perception of anti-Conservative bias."
Read more: https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-to-delight-of-conservatives-cbcs-president-bad-mouths-poilievre

67% say everything feels broken in Canada: poll

67% of respondents told a Postmedia/Leger poll that everything feels broken in Canada right now; and 50% of respondents say they're angry about it.

Most Canadians agree 'Canada is broken' — and they're angry about it: National poll | National Post - Adrian Humphreys:

February 6, 2023 - "A majority of Canadians looking at the country they see around them say everything seems to be broken. Concerned about rising costs, the state of health care, affordable housing, jobs and more, half of us are also angry about the way Canada is being run, a national opinion poll says. But before settling on the easy image of old, malcontent men skewing the survey, consider this: A higher percentage of women agreed Canada is broken than did men, and more in the youngest age brackets than among the oldest.

"Nor is it just Albertans, famous for their distrust of Ottawa, or Quebecers, where public opinion often deviates from the rest of Canada. Yes, the sentiment is higher in Western Canada than in the East, but a solid majority of respondents in every measured region agreed that everything feels broken right now, according to the Postmedia-Leger national poll. Two-thirds of those asked (67 per cent) agreed everything feels broken — almost half of those even strongly agreed — while 25 per cent disagreed, only seven per cent strongly....

"'I didn’t think it would be that high. I thought maybe it was more a noisy minority as opposed to a prevailing majority opinion,' said Andrew Enns, an executive vice-president at the market research company Leger, and lead researcher for this data.... Enns said his team heard talk for months about systems seeming to be falling apart or broken.... With the concept becoming a hot button issue, it seemed time to see what Canadians think about it, Enns said. Leger gauged attitudes of adult Canadian residents on their satisfaction with how the country is running....

"Asked to describe how they’re feeling when they think of how Canada is being managed, half of all respondents said they felt 'angry.' That includes 30 per cent who said they’re 'somewhat angry,' but also 20 per cent who specified they were 'very angry'.... There are some people content with things, but it’s a minority — 41 per cent of respondents said they were “happy,” but precious few said 'very happy,' only four per cent. The remaining nine per cent said they didn’t know....

"More women said they were angry than men (51 per cent compared to 48 per cent). Of those who said they were happy, more were men (44 per cent compared to 39 per cent). The same held for everything feeling broken: 70 per cent of women agreed compared to 64 per cent of men; 32 per cent of those women felt it strongly, while 27 per cent of the men did.... It’s the intensity of anger where men are tops. Angry men tend to be angrier than angry women: 17 per cent of angry women said they were very angry, while 22 per cent of angry men took it up a notch.... 

"Respondents in Alberta were the least likely to say they were happy — just 29 per cent. Respondents in B.C. were the happiest, at 46 per cent, followed by Quebec at 44 per cent, Ontario at 42 per cent, which is the same as the Atlantic provinces (which are measured together), followed by Manitoba and Saskatchewan (measured together) at 40 per cent. Sixty-one per cent of Alberta respondents chose angry, with almost half of them dialling it up to very angry. That 30 per cent of very angry Albertans far exceeded respondents in other regions: 17 per cent in both Quebec and Atlantic Canada; 19 per cent in Ontario and B.C., 22 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan....

"Respondents were asked to choose the issues that have the most impact on them and their family: Rising costs and inflation topped the list, named by 68 per cent of respondents. Next came health care, named by 59 per cent. The other issues, in descending order, were: Affording a place to live (43 per cent), jobs and the economy (40 per cent), environment and climate change (35 per cent), crime (30 per cent), homelessness (29 per cent), schools and education (24 per cent), COVID-19 (21 per cent), labour shortages (20 per cent), affording post-secondary education (15 per cent), immigration/passport system (15 per cent), state of local roads (14 per cent), substance use (14 per cent), Canada’s response to the war in Ukraine (14 per cent), public transportation (12 per cent), airport/travel delays (12 per cent), state of highways (11 per cent)....

"The public opinion poll studied responses from 1,554 adult Canadian residents through online surveys, randomly recruited through Leger’s online panel from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22. Results were weighted according to age, gender, and region, as well as by education and presence of children in the household in order to ensure a representative sample of the population. As an online survey, traditional margins of error do not apply, according to Leger. If the data had been collected through the same-size probability sample, the margin of error would be reported as plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/canada-is-broken-poll

Canada falls out of Human Freedom Index top 10

According to the 2022 Human Freedom Index published by Canada's Fraser Institute and the USA's Cato Institute, Canada dropped out of the world\s top 10 freest countries in 2020, falling from seventh-freest nation to 13th.   

Canada drops out of top 10 ‘freest’ countries | Western Standard - Christopher Oldcorn:

Jan 26, 2023 - "Canada dropped out of the top 10 freest countries in the world, according to a new study released by Canada’s Fraser Institute and America’s Cato Institute. The last time Canada did not rank in the top 10 of the Human Freedom Index (HFI) was back in 2012. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government limited Canadians' movements, freedom of expression and assembly, and other freedoms, according to Fraser Institute Fellow and co-author of this year’s HFI Fred McMahon ... 

"The HFI measures personal freedom across several factors, including 'the rule of law, safety and security, identity and relationships (i.e. the freedom to choose your relationship partner), freedom of movement, speech, assembly, and religion … alongside economic freedom, the ability of individuals to make their own economic decisions.' Canada rank[ed] the 13th freest country in the world based on 2020 data, which was the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions, dropping from sixth in 2019. Switzerland maintained its top spot, followed by New Zealand, Estonia, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Egypt, Iran, Venezuela, Yemen, and Syria are the five least-freest countries."

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/business/canada-drops-out-of-top-10-freest-countries/article_d6ee1ffc-9d87-11ed-9fca-b742955ccf4c.html

Human Freedom Index 2022: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/human-freedom-index-2022

Chart courtesy Reddit

Study finds little to no evidence masks stop Covid

A major review by the Cochrane Institute has found little to no evidence that surgical masks made any difference to Covid infection or death rates. 

Does this finally put the mask debate to bed? 'Gold standard' analysis of 78 studies and 1million people finds face coverings made 'little to no difference' to Covid infection or death rates | Daily Mail = Caitlin Tilley:

February 2, 2023 - "Masks made 'little to no difference' to Covid infection or death rates, according to one of the most comprehensive meta-analyses of face coverings. The research - carried out by the Cochrane Institute, the 'gold standard' of evidence-based reviews - looked at 78 global studies involving over a million people. Results indicated that surgical masks reduced the risk of catching 'Covid or a flu-like illness' by just five percent - a figure so low it may not be statistically significant. The researchers [also] said harms caused by masks - including hampering children's schooling - were poorly measured in the studies, meaning any small benefit on infection rates may be outweighed....

"While initially viewed as a virus prevention measure, masks have become a prominent symbol of the Covid culture wars in the US. Officials issued mixed messages about their effectiveness at the beginning of the pandemic. Studies that came later failed to show definitively that masks prevented Covid — yet millions of Americans were forced to abide by mandates. 

"Some of the researchers involved in the Cochrane review previously analyzed the evidence on masks in November 2020. That review was criticized because it did not include any studies from the Covid pandemic due to limited research at the time. A separate Danish study in the spring of 2020 with over 6,000 participants found that wearing a mask made no statistical difference to whether or not people got Covid. But its researchers struggled to find a prominent journal willing to publish the results. 

"The Cochrane researchers updated their review with 11 additional studies involving more than 600,000 people, bringing the total number of studies to 78. The analysis was published this week in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews journal. Some of the additional studies looked at Covid, while others were conducted before the pandemic and looked at flu and other respiratory illnesses.  They included Covid pandemic trials - two from Mexico and one each from England, Norway, and Bangladesh, plus the Danish study.... The main outcomes the Cochrane researchers measured were the number of flu- and Covid-like illness cases and any adverse events that came about from the intervention.... The researchers noted a high risk of bias in the studies and a 'relatively low adherence with the interventions', making it difficult to draw firm conclusions....

"To compare the effect of masks on preventing the spread of Covid and flu, the Cochrane researchers looked at 12 trials — two in healthcare workers and 10 in the community. They found that in the community, wearing a face mask reduced the risk of catching either flu or Covid-like illness by five percent. The study suggested that there is actually a one percent increased risk of testing positive if you wore a mask, but the margins are too small to say this for certain. The team said both these results were 'moderate certainty evidence'.

"They also looked the effect of higher grade masks such as N95s compared to standard surgical masks but were less sure of their impact. The CDC only recommended that people wear N95s two years into the pandemic. This part of the analysis looked at five studies — four in healthcare workers and one in households — with 16,000 participants in total. They found that wearing a mask reduced chances of clinical respiratory illness by 30 percent. But Professor Carl Heneghan, of the University of Oxford, who was an unlisted author on the paper, recognized that 'harms were rarely measured and poorly reported', meaning it was 'very low‐certainty evidence'. N95 masks are even more uncomfortable than surgical masks because of their thick material and tight fit. Nurses who wore them for long periods of time during the pandemic reported cuts and scarring on their faces as a result....

"The debate around masks first turned sour in 2020 when health officials flip-flopped on their effectiveness.... The CDC website currently states that masks can help protect the wearer and others from Covid. The agency is still recommending Americans wear masks in places with high transmission levels, such as on public transport."

Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11702865/Masks-make-little-no-difference-Covid-infections-massive-cross-country-meta-analysis-finds.html

Read study: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/full

Kids lost avg. 4 months' learning during pandemic

Children Lost One-Third of a Year of Learning During the Pandemic, Analysis Finds | Reason - Emma Kemp:

February 3, 2023 - "According to a new analysis of over 40 studies from around the world, children lost an average of one-third of a year of school during the coronavirus pandemic. Researchers say the loss is largely due to the disruption and damage school closures — and the subsequent shift to distance learning—brought on children's physical and mental health. This latest assessment is further evidence that pandemic school closures contributed to historic learning loss among children — a loss that seems increasingly difficult to repair.

"Published on Monday by the Nature Human Behaviour journal, the analysis compiled the results of 42 studies examining pandemic learning loss from 15 countries around the globe. It found that, globally, children lost 35 percent of a school year's worth of learning during the pandemic.

"The studies also indicate that attempts to reverse the severe learning loss caused by COVID school closures have been far from successful. Upon returning to the classroom, the deficits created during the pandemic have remained 'incredibly stable," indicating that pandemic-era learning losses are likely to follow children throughout the rest of their academic careers. The deficits are particularly pronounced in mathematics, which ... 'might be due to parents being better equipped to help their children with reading, and children advancing their reading skills (but not their maths skills) when reading for enjoyment outside of school.'

"Learning loss was more pronounced in the middle-income countries, like Mexico and South Africa, included in the analysis. Indeed, middle-income countries accounted for the three highest estimates of learning loss. Studies from low-income countries were excluded due to poor data quality, though researchers note that 'learning deficits are likely to be even larger in low-income countries, considering that these countries already faced a learning crisis before the pandemic, generally implemented longer school closures, and were under-resourced and ill-equipped to facilitate remote learning.'

"Even in a high-income country like the United States, the magnitude of learning loss remained steep. One study included in the analysis found that the average public school student in third grade through eighth grade lost half a year of math learning and a quarter of a year in reading.

"However, two countries studied, Sweden and Denmark, managed to experience no significant learning losses. Sweden famously managed to avoid most school closures during the pandemic and notably never closed primary schools. While Denmark did have school closures, one study theorized that the lack of learning loss could be due to the country's 'reliable digital infrastructure with Denmark being one of the absolute top-scorers in digital skills, broad-band connectivity, and digital public services in Europe'....

"Currently, the picture for American children is bleak. Without immediate intervention, 'learning loss will be the longest-lasting and most inequitable legacy of the pandemic,' Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist who reviewed the analysis, told the New York Times. According to the Hoover Institution, U.S. children attending school during the pandemic are likely to experience a 5 percent reduction in their lifetime earning potential — a number that rises to as high as 9 percent in some states."

Read more: https://reason.com/2023/02/03/children-lost-one-third-of-a-year-of-learning-during-the-pandemic-analysis-finds/

Read study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-022-01506-4

Legacy media's TDS led to loss of credibility

The U.S. legacy media's Trump Derangement Syndrome, which reached a climax with the Russiagate hoax, led to its current loss of credibility.

Getting Trump Was More Important to Some Journalists Than Getting the Story Right | Reason - J.D. Tuccille:

February 3, 2023 - "To retain journalistic credibility, getting a story right is more important than pursuing a crusade. That's a fair takeaway from a report published this week by the Columbia Journalism Review dissecting the so-called Russiagate saga, during which former President Donald Trump was accused of colluding with Russian officials to win the 2016 election. While pursuing the story, many journalists went well beyond their traditional role of scrutinizing powerful officials and not only openly picked a side in America's escalating political warfare but committed to proving a literal conspiracy theory true, no matter the evidence. 

"It didn't go well. 'The end of the long inquiry into whether Donald Trump was colluding with Russia came in July 2019, when Robert Mueller III, the special counsel, took seven, sometimes painful, hours to essentially say no,' former New York Times reporter Jeff Gerth writes at the beginning of his detailed analysis. His old employer was at the center of the frenzy and its editors still defend their efforts, he adds. 'But outside of the Times' own bubble, the damage to the credibility of the Times and its peers persists, three years on, and is likely to take on new energy as the nation faces yet another election season animated by antagonism toward the press. At its root was an undeclared war between an entrenched media, and a new kind of disruptive presidency, with its own hyperbolic version of the truth.'

"The whole piece is worth reading, but make yourself a pot of coffee or crack open a bottle of wine — it's long. Nobody comes off looking especially good. That's true of the former president, though the flaws it reveals in Trump are nothing new.... It's true of the FBI agents who joined with too many journalists to fan each other into a hopeful frenzy over the Steele dossier and its assertions that Trump was Putin's puppet. And it's especially true of those members of the press who shed credibility by committing to a narrative that didn't pan out. 

"'Before the 2016 election, most Americans trusted the traditional media and the trend was positive, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer,' Gerth notes. 'Today, the U.S. media has the lowest credibility—26 percent—among forty-six nations, according to a 2022 study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism'. That Reuters study is echoed by other studies finding minimal trust in the media. But distrust is unevenly spread. 

"'Americans' trust in the media remains sharply polarized along partisan lines, with 70 percent of Democrats, 14 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of independents saying they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence,' according to Gallup polling in October 2022. That divide is explained by the public perception that the media is not only biased, but out to push an agenda without regard for honesty. Americans "suspect that inaccuracies in reporting are purposeful, with 52 percent believing that reporters misrepresent the facts, and 28 percent believing reporters make them up entirely,' a Gallup/Knight poll found in 2020....

"Strictly speaking, there's nothing wrong with journalists having a point of view, so long as they're open about it and emphasize getting the story right. You're reading a libertarian publication right now.... A partisan press is well-rooted in American history, from the newspapers that gleefully tormented the early presidents to the Republican and Socialist newspapers over which my grandparents screamed at each other. Efforts at 'objectivity' in news coverage—however successful—didn't really become the norm until after World War II. And it's likely a passing norm as journalists re-embrace partisanship....

"Beyond Objectivity: Producing Trustworthy News in Today's Newsrooms, published last week by the Knight-Cronkite News Lab, found that 'a growing number of journalists of color and younger white reporters, including LGBTQ+ people, believe that objectivity has become an increasingly outdated and divisive concept that prevents truly accurate reporting informed by their own backgrounds, experiences and points of view." Authors Leonard Downie Jr., formerly of the Washington Post, and Arizona State University journalism professor Andrew Heyward wisely recommend that post-objectivity newsrooms should be open with their staff and the public about their core beliefs. But, troublingly, they also suggest that newsroom leaders should 'move beyond accuracy to truth.' It's really hard to get to any sort of truth if you bypass accuracy....

"If more of the journalists pursuing the Russiagate story had been scrupulous about getting the facts right, they might have noticed that a story that many wanted to be true was remarkably thin and, ultimately, inaccurate. Failing to perform due diligence did the media no favors when the facts finally emerged and further eroded public trust.... In the end, no matter what ideologies or causes motivate journalists, nobody will put faith in us if we fail to get the story right."

Read more: https://reason.com/2023/02/03/getting-trump-was-more-important-to-some-journalists-than-getting-the-story-right/