GD's Political Animal: May 2023

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Danielle Smith wins majority government in Alberta

Danielle Smith won. Danielle Smith Derangement Syndrome lost | Substack - Andrew Lawton:

May 30, 2023 - "Danielle Smith won Alberta’s general election last night, just under eight months after winning over the UCP and becoming premier.... Her win is a strong rebuke to the myriad commentators who claimed she was too 'radical,' too 'crazy,' and too 'far-right' to win over anyone but her own party’s loyal members. Throughout the campaign, the media obsessed over whose wedding she attended, which of Albertans’ concerns she’d hear out, and even what a tattoo she has really means. (I’m not joking).

"But through it all, voters saw the real Danielle Smith, who put in the time and effort to rebuild her reputation and listen to Albertans... Not only is she amiable and compassionate, but also tremendously smart. She was successful as a broadcaster and a business advocate because she was unafraid to delve into the details and try to find solutions to complicated policy problems, from healthcare to energy and beyond. When it mattered during the Covid era, Smith was a culture warrior. She stood up for religious freedom despite not being religious herself and fought against vaccine passports and mandates when her party, then led by Jason Kenney, embraced them....

"The NDP and media (a distinction often not worth making in Alberta) attempted to pluck out whatever unflattering bits of Smith’s past work they could, but it didn’t stick. I wish Smith had been firmer in standing by some of her past statements throughout the campaign, but I realize politics is often about choosing battles. (In general, conservative politicians need to choose more of them). However, while the NDP was scouring through old Facebook Lives, Smith was pitching Alberta voters on a message of hope....

"A couple of weeks ago, NDP leader Rachel Notley held a press conference to appeal to conservative voters, who she presumed hated Smith so much they’d prefer to vote NDP. (Notley’s purported desire to reach conservative voters didn’t stop her from repeatedly banning conservative journalists from her press conferences). The move was as transparent as it was arrogant: the NDP tried to paint Danielle Smith as being outside the realm of acceptability.

"Now, the joke’s on the NDP and those who so eagerly carried water for them in the media. It’s Notley who was evidently out of the realm of what Albertans found acceptable. If Notley was as eager as she claims she is to purge Alberta politics of radicals, perhaps she should have stepped down as leader last night. In electing the UCP, voters rejected the smears and proved the NDP and its media allies failed in their attempts to make Smith into an absurd caricature."

Danielle Smith speaks after UCP victory | ALBERTA ELECTION | CTV News } May 30, 2023:

The only person who can stop Danielle Smith now is Smith herself | Western Standard - Cory Morgan:

May 30, 2023 - "When Smith invoked the late Ralph Klein in referencing his 'miracle on the prairie', she wasn't drawing an unfair parallel.... When Klein took the reins of the Progressive Conservative Party in the early 1990s, the party was in serious trouble. It was polling at 20% against Lawrence Decore's Liberals, and many were declaring the Progressive Conservatives as electorally dead in the water. The elites and chattering classes dismissed Klein as an uneducated bumpkin who stumbled his way into the premiership and who would become little more than a footnote in political history. Voters felt otherwise and gave Ralph Klein a reduced majority government.... The Alberta establishment was aghast and humbled.

"Fast forward to 2022 and we saw the governing UCP polling as low as 22% under the leadership of Jason Kenney. When Kenney was replaced by Danielle Smith, the usual establishment suspects were all but confident this would be the beginning of the end of the UCP's reign.... Smith proved her detractors wrong and pulled a reduced majority win from what was the most personal and negative provincial election campaign in living memory. While she may have fewer seats than the 1993 PCs did under Klein, she has a larger segment of popular support. Klein garnered 44.5% support in 1993. Smith's UCP took 52.6% of the electorate. Her opponents can no longer claim she hasn't a mandate from Albertans....

"The election may be behind Smith now, but her opponents are far from gone. Notley is remaining as leader of the NDP for now which ensures the negative tone of opposition will continue. Legacy media is as biased against Smith as ever and they will pan every move she makes.... Unions, academics and media will all oppose Smith's every move just as they did with Klein. People within Smith's own party will get nervous as opposition to her policies mounts. She will need to ignore her opponents and reassure her allies....

"Smith has a mandate and she needs to pursue it. She can't succumb to the temptation to pull the political reform band aid off slowly through minor, incremental policy changes. For one thing, her opponents will go wild when she makes even minor changes. Secondly, that's how Jason Kenney tried to govern and look how well that turned out.

"Albertans are willing to embrace positive political changes even when it comes to the healthcare system and the pension plan. Smith needs to bring about reforms quickly and to offer no quarter to opponents to her work. Changes need to be made in her first two years in power so positive results can be measured before she faces the electorate again. She can't let civil servants, union heads or her own advisors slow-roll her mandate. Hesitation would be her undoing."

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Ugandan president signs Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Uganda president signs anti-LGBTQ bill, which includes death penalty provisions, into law | CBC News - Thomson Reuters:

May 29, 2023 - "Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has signed one of the world's toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality,' in defiance of Western condemnations and potential sanctions from aid donors. Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as in more than 30 African countries, but the new law goes much further. It imposes capital punishment for some behaviour, including transmitting a terminal illness like HIV/AIDS through gay sex, and stipulates a 20-year sentence for 'promoting' homosexuality.

"The Ugandan president has today legalized state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia," said Clare Byarugaba, a Ugandan rights activist. "It's a very dark and sad day for the LGBTIQ community, our allies and all of Uganda.' She and other activists have vowed to launch a legal challenge to the law.... One group of activists and academics later on Monday petitioned the constitutional court seeking an injunction against enforcement of the law.

"A less-restrictive 2014 anti-LGBTQ law was struck down by a domestic court on procedural grounds, after Western governments had initially suspended some aid, imposed visa restrictions and curtailed security co-operation. Uganda receives billions of dollars in foreign aid each year and could now face another round of sanctions.

"The White House condemned the bill after it was first passed in March, and on Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden ... said the U.S. National Security Council will be evaluating the implications on 'all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda,' including Washington's ability to safely deliver services under The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), its flagship HIV/AIDS program. In a joint statement on Monday, PEPFAR, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said the law put Uganda's fight against HIV/AIDS 'in grave jeopardy'....

"The European Union reiterated a condemnation from March, while the United Nations human rights body said the law was a recipe for systematic violation of Ugandans' rights.... The British government said on Monday it was 'appalled' at the Ugandan government's new law and that it's firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances.... Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly called the law 'abhorrent, cruel and unjust.'

"Uganda's move could encourage lawmakers in other countries on the continent to follow suit. 'We're seeing similar patterns in other countries in the region. We've seen attacks on LGBTQ people in Burundi, very hostile rhetoric in Kenya and Tanzania from public figures and on social media. It's been extremely hostile,' Human Rights Watch researcher Oryem Nyeko told CBC's The Current in March.

"Museveni had sent the original bill back to lawmakers, asking that they tone down some provisions. The amended version stipulated that merely identifying as LGBTQ is not a crime and revised a measure that obliged people to report homosexual activity to only require reporting when a child is involved."

Ugandan President signs anti-gay Bill into Law | Citizen TV Kenya | May 29, 2023:

Monday, May 29, 2023

Alleged Chinese police stations received Canadian government funding

A Quebec charity suspected of hosting two secret Chinese overseas police stations has received more than $4 million from the Canadian government.

Secret Chinese police stations ‘funnel Canadian public funds’ | The Telegraph - David Millward:

May 21, 2023 - "A Quebec charity suspected of hosting two secret Chinese 'overseas police stations' has received more than $4.45 million (£2.65 million) from the Canadian government over the last three years. According to the Montreal Gazette, the Service à la Famille Chinoise du Grand Montréal (SFCGM), which purports to provide support to the Chinese community, is really used by Beijing to monitor and intimidate its citizens in Canada.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) believe this is one of two secret police stations in Quebec, which has nearly 92,000 people of Chinese origin. There has been growing anxiety about the network of secret Chinese police stations across the world, which are accused of routinely harassing exiles on behalf of Beijing’s authoritarian regime....

"Most of the cash came from Quebec’s Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration.... The ministry has since halted all remaining contracts with the group. Official records in Canada also show there were five contributions from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to the group. An ESDC spokesman said it had given $25,000 to the New Horizons project, which helped elderly Chinese people to use the internet to keep in touch with their families. Other donations included cash from the government’s Canada Summer Jobs programme, which provided employment for students.

"Benjamin Fung, spokesman for the pro-democracy group Action Free Hong Kong Montreal, said these schemes were typical of those used by Beijing to keep an eye on its citizens overseas. 'If this is really a police station from China, they can use the funds to expand their network and their connections,' he said. 'This is also one way to monitor the many international Chinese students that are here.'

"Tasha Adams, a police spokesman, said the RCMP was investigating the SFCGM as part of a larger investigation intended to 'detect and perturb criminal activities supported by a foreign state that can threaten the safety of people living in Canada'. However, SFCGM criticised the Canadian police in a statement on its website, warning that the inquiry could cause 'serious and potentially irreparable harm to the community'.

"It is believed Beijing has established a network of dozens of stations abroad, including in Canada, the UK and the Netherlands.

"Last month, it emerged that RuiYou Lin, a 40-year-old businessman who was allegedly connected to a secret Chinese police station in Croydon, south London, was also a prominent fundraiser for the [UK] Conservative Party. Mr RuiYou is vice-chairman of the Chinese Group for the local Conservative association in the Cities of London and Westminster constituency. He has been pictured with Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Sajid David.... When asked about his involvement, Mr RuiYou said he had been 'set up' by a rival company.

"Last month in the US, the FBI arrested two Chinese Communist Party agents who were allegedly operating two such stations in the heart of New York City. According to New York prosecutors, the Chinese National Police directed one of those arrested, who was a US citizen, to locate a pro-democracy activist living in California. The two men have been charged with obstruction of justice and accused of destroying evidence, as well as conspiring to act as agents of the People’s Republic of China."

RCMP investigating alleged Chinese police stations in Quebec | CTV News | March 9, 2023:

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Trudeau's special rapporteur insulted intelligence community, says ex-spy

CEO of Canadian risk consulting company with 30 years' experience in intelligence calls special rapporteur David Johnston's comments on Canada's intelligence community insulting and unfair.

David Johnston owes Canada's spies an apology | Ottawa Citizen - Phil Gurski:

May 26, 2023 - "I spent more than 30 years with Canada’s two intelligence services, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). I worked in collection, cryptanalysis, translation, analysis and distribution.... I know how intelligence is produced and how it is marketed, and a bit on how it can help decision-makers be better informed. In short, I know that intelligence has a purpose and makes a difference.

"You wouldn’t know that from former governor general David Johnston’s report on Chinese interference in our democratic process. While I imagine not many were surprised at how little he criticized the government of Justin Trudeau, Canadians should be told that his scathing words on our intelligence agencies were inaccurate, unfair and, frankly, insulting. Johnston says he met with the heads of CSE and CSIS.... In that, he is one fortunate Canadian, as he had access to information few would ever get. And yet, based on what I read in his 59-page report, he either didn’t listen or he failed to understand what he was being told.

"Johnston suggests — no, he boldly states — that our spies are getting the sharing of intelligence all wrong. He says that the distribution of intelligence is broken and puts the blame squarely on the backs of the agencies that produce it (and not on those who receive it as customers). Furthermore, he notes that intelligence is 'piecemeal' and hence of little value as it rarely provides the 'whole picture'....” Lastly, he accused the person who leaked CSIS reports to Canadian media on China’s election interference of having 'malicious' intent....

"For the reader’s (and apparently Johnston’s) sake, here is a primer on how intelligence works: Raw data is collected from a variety of sources (human, intercept, imagery, allies, etc.), processed, analyzed, corroborated across multiple sources wherever possible, summarized, put into a nice, small package (on average two to three pages maximum) and delivered to officials with the requisite security clearance. This distribution is often carried out by dedicated CSE/CSIS staff who are posted within the very buildings where clients such as senior government officials work, to insure personalized service and to be on hand to answer any questions, or pass feedback or requests for more intelligence along to headquarters.

"The product is often left with clients; they have the liberty to share it with others who have equal security clearances. (Whether or not they do is not a CSE/CSIS issue.) If an official in a given department decides that intelligence is not worth passing on (or that it inconveniently goes against entrenched policy) to those higher up the chain — including the prime minister — how can the fault for a lack of awareness be placed at the feet of the creators of the product? The intelligence bodies have done their job....

"[N]o one in intelligence is so arrogant as to believe that our product is the be-all and end-all of information that on its own can decide matters (although I have seen where it actually did that). We realize that there are other considerations but hope that the intelligence gathered is at least part of the calculation. It seems clear to me that the intel on China was almost completely ignored — for decades — by a number of federal governments.

"On the alleged reasons for the leak (note: I do not support leaks, on principle), I wonder how Johnston knows the individual responsible had evil intent. It strikes me that this unknown person may be a very frustrated public servant who is sick and tired of having decades of solid information ignored and took it upon him/herself to let Canadians know what this government (and previous ones) was (not) doing. How is that 'malice'?

"Those of us who worked, or are still toiling, in intelligence go to the office every day with one purpose only: to get the best data possible from sensitive sources and share that with senior officials to keep them informed. We do not expect everything we do to make a crucial difference but we do expect our customers to recognize our expertise and our commitment to Canada. To have our reputations sullied by people who have no background in the business is not fair.

"Phil Gurski is president and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting."

Was David Johnston the right person for special rapporteur job? | CBC News | May 26, 2023:

Saturday, May 27, 2023

WHO could gain power to impose lockdowns

Proposed amendments to World Health Organization (WHO) regulations would give the WHO the power to impose lockdowns, border closures, and other mandates.

WHO pandemic treaty could impose lockdown on UK, ministers fear | The Telegraph - Tony Diver:

May 25, 2023 - "Lockdown measures could be imposed on the UK by the World Health Organisation (WHO) during a future pandemic under sweeping new powers, ministers fear. Member states would be obliged to follow the agency’s instructions when responding to pandemics, including by introducing vaccine passports, border closures and quarantine measures, under a draft update to its regulations. A new 'pandemic treaty' under discussion would also force Britain to spend five per cent of its health budget on preparing for another virus outbreak.

"Ministers are understood to be alarmed by plans to increase the WHO’s powers enabling its governing body to require countries to hand over the recipe of vaccines, regardless of intellectual property rights, and to counter misinformation. Conservative MPs have written to ministers to warn of an 'ambition evident … for the WHO to transition from an advisory organisation to a controlling international authority'. In their letter ... they urge the Foreign Office to block powers that 'appear to intrude materially into the UK’s ability to make its own rules and control its own budgets'.

"Responding to the concerns on Thursday, Andrew Mitchell, a Foreign Office minister, told The Telegraph that he would block any law that prevents the UK from setting its own health policy. 'The UK is supportive of the pandemic treaty currently being negotiated by national governments,' ... he said. 'We’re clear that we would never agree to anything that crosses our points of principle on sovereignty or prevents the UK from taking decisive action against future pandemics.'

"The rule changes have been proposed as part of plans to update the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHRs) in light of the coronavirus pandemic and establish a new Pandemic Preparedness Treaty. The treaty was first proposed by world leaders including Boris Johnson in 2021 during the pandemic and was originally designed to improve alert systems, data-sharing and the production of vaccines....

"But among 300 proposed amendments to the IHRs are changes to make the WHO’s advice 'binding' and introduce a new requirement for countries to ... 'recognise WHO as the guidance and coordinating authority of international public health response…and undertake to follow WHO’s recommendations in their international public health response'. If passed, the change would mean the WHO could enforce border closures, quarantine measures and vaccine passports on all member countries, including the UK. A draft of the treaty itself would commit member states to spending five per cent of their health budgets, plus a proportion of GDP, to pandemic preparedness.

"Six conservative MPs led by Esther McVey, the former Cabinet minister, have written to Mr Mitchell to call for a Commons vote on the draft treaty and regulations before they are signed. Ms McVey said:... 'The plans represent a significant shift for the organisation, from a member-led advisory body to a health authority with powers of compulsion. This is particularly worrying when you consider the WHO’s poor track record on providing consistent, clear and scientifically sound advice for managing international disease outbreaks'....

"Campaigners also expressed concern about increasing the WHO’s role in identifying misinformation.... Molly Kingsley, co-founder of the UsForThem campaign group, said: “We should all be concerned about the WHO being ordained as an arbiter of pandemic truth, especially given its poor record during the pandemic, such as its claim that Covid was definitively zoonotic in origin and its April 2020 denial of the role of natural immunity in protecting against infection.”

WHO new treaty | Dr. John Campbell | April 27, 2023:

Friday, May 26, 2023

SCOTUS strikes down home equity theft

After the county government seized and sold her condo for $40,000 – and kept all the money – over a $2,300 tax bill, 94-year-old Georgina Tyler spent years arguing that it was an unconstitutional taking of property. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed with her.

The County Sold Her Home Over Unpaid Taxes and Kept the Profit. SCOTUS Wasn't Having It. | Reason - Billy Binion:

May 25, 2023 - "When local bureaucrats in Hennepin County, Minnesota, seized an elderly woman's home over a small tax debt, sold it, and kept the profit, they likely had no idea they would set in motion a series of events that would cripple the practice known as 'home equity theft' across the country. Yet that's what happened. The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled that the government violated the Constitution when it took possession of Geraldine Tyler's condo over an overdue property tax bill, auctioned the home, and pocketed the proceeds in excess of what she actually owed.

"Tyler, who is now 94 years old, purchased the Minneapolis-area condo in 1999. But a series of events, including a neighborhood shooting, prompted her to relocate to a retirement community in 2010, at which point it became difficult for her to pay both her new rent and the property taxes on her former home. She accrued a $2,300 tax bill, which turned into an approximately $15,000 bill after the government added on $13,000 in penalties, interest, and fees. Local officials then sold the home for $40,000 — and kept the remaining $25,000.

"Tyler spent years arguing that such a taking was unconstitutional. But ... she had no such luck in the lower courts. When her case went before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, its ruling was also unanimous — in favor of the government.... The Supreme Court forcefully overturned that decision today. 'A taxpayer who loses her $40,000 house to the State to fulfill a $15,000 tax debt has made a far greater contribution to the public fisc than she owed,' wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the Court. 'The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, but no more.'

"At the heart of the case is the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which stipulates that 'private property [shall not] be taken for public use without just compensation.' In explaining the justices' decision, Roberts traced the spirit of the law back to the Magna Carta, then to English law, and ultimately to the States, buttressed by several Supreme Court precedents which, as Roberts wrote, 'have also recognized the principle that a taxpayer is entitled to the surplus in excess of the debt owed.'

"Tyler is far from the only victim of this practice. Home equity theft is legal in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, and the District of Columbia, although today's ruling should hamstring those forfeiture schemes. How home equity theft has been executed across those states varies widely, although the life-wrecking consequences remain consistent.

"In Nebraska, for example, local governments sell tax debt to private investors behind a homeowner's back. The homeowner eventually receives a letter, after three years have gone by, giving them 90 days to satisfy the full tax burden, which has continued accruing over those three years, along with 14 percent interest and additional fees.... 'In Nebraska…people are shocked about how the law actually operates,' Jennifer Gaughan, chief of legal strategy at Legal Aid of Nebraska, told me in January. "It's usually elderly people, people who own their homes outright who don't have a mortgage, and there's usually some kind of intervening situation'....

"Prior to oral arguments before the Supreme Court last month, a cross-ideological coalition of organizations assembled in favor of Tyler. Few things are transpartisan these days. But it took a 94-year-old woman and a nearly 10-year crusade to establish the obvious: that the government should not be able to steal home equity from its own citizens."

U.S. Supreme Court rules on home equity theft | 6 News WOWT | May 26, 2023:

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Trudeau's special rapporteur rules out public inquiry into election interference

Canadian special rapporteur rules out inquiry into Chinese interference claims | The Guardian - Leyland Cecco:

May 23, 2023 - "An official named to investigate allegations that China attempted to subvert Canadian elections has announced he will not launch a public inquiry, prompting frustration from critics who say the decision only furthers Beijing’s interests. Special rapporteur David Johnston on Tuesday released a 55-page report on foreign interference in Canadian institutions, warning that subversive efforts represented an 'increasing threat' to democracy.

"But Johnston said he did [not] believe a public inquiry would be helpful because much of the relevant material needed to conduct the inquiry would remain secret. He said calling a public inquiry would be an 'easy choice, it would not be the correct one'. Instead, he called for public hearings to examine foreign interference and to help the public better understand the threats it poses to institutions.

"Johnston, a former governor general, was appointed by Justin Trudeau in March to investigate reports that the Chinese government attempted to meddle in two federal elections. In his report, Johnston said he saw no evidence Trudeau ignored previous intelligence briefings on Chinese influence operations, including threats against the Conservative lawmaker Michael Chong....

"Trudeau said he would adhere to Johnston’s recommendations and refrain from calling a public inquiry, amid mounting political pressure from opposition leaders. The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, criticized Johnston’s conclusions, calling him the prime minister’s 'ski buddy' and 'family friend' and suggesting conflicts of interest prevented the official from genuinely investigating Chinese efforts to tamper with Canadian elections.... All opposition parties have called for a public inquiry into foreign election interference.... The New Democratic party leader, Jagmeet Singh, said he respected Johnston but was 'disappointed' by the decision not to pursue a public inquiry....

"Johnston also critiqued internal leaks within the intelligence community, saying they were 'destructive and dangerous' and that the leakers needed to be caught. 'I recognize that absent the leaks, I would not have been appointed to undertake the work. However, that does not justify the leaks, which risk great harm to the Canadian interest.'

"Johnston also criticized a media report that alleged former Liberal lawmaker Han Dong advised China to delay releasing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. 'The allegation is false,' wrote Johnston, adding there was no evidence China gave $250,000 to 11 political candidates, also alleged by Global News. The news outlet is currently facing a lawsuit from Dong over the allegations.

"For communities affected by China’s influence and coercion in Canada, the decision came as a disappointment. Mehmet Toti, head of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, wrote in a tweet that Johnston’s rejection of public inquiry was 'stunning and absolutely, shockingly disappointing' and only helped China. 'This is not a good day for Canadian democracy,' he wrote.

"Johnston’s decision to not call a public inquiry surprised some analysts, especially since Johnston himself said he believed a public inquiry would be necessary when he was appointed by Trudeau. 'But my conclusion is that, in light of the material and information that would lie at the heart of any inquiry, it could not be done in public,' Johnston wrote. 'Now that I have reviewed [the files] I understand why it is treated so sensitively: foreign adversaries would readily discern sources and methods from this information. It could endanger people.'"

Special rapporteur David Johnston advises against holding public inquiry into foreign interference | CPAC | May 23, 2023:

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Adult-use cannabis to be legalized in Minnesota

Minnesota Will Be the 23rd State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana | Reason - Jacob Sullum:

May 22, 2023 - "Minnesota's Democratic governor, Tim Walz, today reiterated his promise to sign a marijuana legalization bill that arrived at his desk on Saturday. That will make Minnesota, which legalized medical marijuana in 2014, the 23rd state to allow recreational use. The Minnesota House and Senate, both of which are controlled by Democrats, had previously approved slightly different legalization bills. H.F. 100, which both chambers passed last week, reconciles those differences.

"Adults 21 or older will be allowed to possess two ounces or less of marijuana in public, share that amount with other adults, keep two pounds or less at home, and grow up to eight plants, four of which are mature. Those provisions take effect on August 1.

"The bill also establishes an Office of Cannabis Management to license and regulate commercial production and distribution. Marijuana products will be subject to a 10 percent retail tax, in addition to standard state and local sales taxes (which total about 8 percent in Minneapolis, for example). Local governments will be allowed to regulate retailers and cap their number but will not be allowed to ban them entirely. Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL–Coon Rapids), a co-author of the bill, said licensed sales should begin in 12 to 18 months.

"Cannabis consumption initially will be limited to private residences. But the law eventually will allow marijuana use at specially licensed businesses and events. Driving under the influence of marijuana will remain illegal. But Minnesota does not have a per se standard that makes a driver automatically guilty based on THC in his blood. Its law requires evidence of impairment.

"H.F. 100 eliminates some marijuana offenses and downgrades others. It requires automatic expungement of misdemeanor marijuana possession records, ... [which] a process that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says may take until August 2024 to complete. The bill creates a review board to consider resentencing of people with marijuana felony records.

"A recent SurveyUSA poll found that 64 percent of Minnesota voters support marijuana legalization, including 81 percent of Democrats and 49 percent of Republicans. That is similar to the national breakdown among American adults that Gallup reported last fall."

Minnesota House, Senate, approve adult-use cannabis bill | KARE 11 | May 21, 2023:

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Toronto's $12Billion+ Eglinton-Crosstown mess

As a long-time resident of Toronto's Eglinton-Crosstown corridor, I was happy to recently read this account of our ordeal with Toronto's rapid transit line there: 12 years of construction, a budget that's crept over $12 Billion, and no end in sight.

Heads should roll over the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT boondoggle | True North - Sue-Ann Levy -

May 20, 2023 - "It could be considered the boondoggle of the past decade and proof of how little accountability there is by provincial and municipal governments over major construction projects. I’m referring to the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT build, which is now in its 12th year of construction with no end in sight. The construction is at least $1B over budget (up to $12.5B which includes operating the system) and the actual opening is [at least] one year away – four years from the initial target date of fall 2020.

"The 19-km line – which is supposed to be ... managed by Metrolinx and built by a consortium led by Crosslinx Transit Solutions – has been plagued by legal issues, delays due to Covid and troubles digging under key stations with an existing subway like Yonge Eglinton. Several sources have contended that contractors encountered a water table when they dug deep at Yonge and Eglinton. If so, it is something that should have been anticipated long before construction began. But none of the players associated with this fiasco are admitting to anything except for uttering useless platitudes about how the Eglinton-Crosstown is a priority. The Ford government keeps blaming delays due to Covid and the contractor.

"Earlier this week, Crosslinx filed its second lawsuit against Metrolinx, claiming that the TTC – which will operate the line once done – has made never-ending demands on them. Another lawsuit in 2020 claimed that supply chain problems and absenteeism during the pandemic delayed Crosslinx from meeting its targets and hiked costs. A $325-million settlement was reached at the end of 2021 and the target completion date was pushed back a year. The latest lawsuit, which could shut down work entirely, has left the completion date completely up in the air.

"There’s been plenty of finger-pointing ... on this. The leftists, who believe the government should be responsible for building all projects, blame the private-public partnership model. But the P3 model works if its government overseers do their job. Both the Ford government and Metrolinx have been grossly negligent about keeping on top of Crosslinx. Toronto city officials – council and the mayor – sat on their hands, passing the buck to Metrolinx ... [and] the Ford government turned over the management of the Ontario Line build to Metrolinx as if they haven’t completely made a mockery of on-time and on-budget construction with the Crosstown.

"All any politician needed to do was come to my neighbourhood, where they’d have a bird’s eye view of the lack of productivity by all of the trades on the project. I have written much over the years about workers loafing at or near the job site playing with their iPhones for more time than constitutes a coffee break. At the stations near me, workers leave the job at 4 p.m. sharp or earlier, never to be seen on weekends or at night.... It was outrageous to see, especially as the years wore on and those of us living near the construction site had to endure being detoured and trapped in our streets, construction debris and an endless stream of trucks (even TTC buses) being diverted to our streets.

"I lost count of how many businesses, hidden behind construction hoarding, went bankrupt over the past 12 years [see video]. Those who managed to hang on during the construction and COVID lockdowns worked night and day to stay alive.... Construction-weary shop owners told me they have no clue what will happen next. They added that Toronto City Hall, in its wisdom, started to install bike lanes along the street – until the businesses got a one-year moratorium to recover from the construction. They worry that once the year is up, Toronto transportation officials will remove all parking on the street to put in the bike lanes.

"No end date in sight. No accountability. No concern for the residents and businesses impacted. No ownership of the issues. Heads should roll, starting with the overpaid head of Metrolinx and the point people on the project. But they won’t. It’s as if accountability has gone off the rails, along with the project itself."

‘I lost my house, everything:’ Restaurant owner says coronavirus has forced him out of business | CityNews | April 23, 2020:

This owner was forced to close his last remaining restaurant due to the first Ford lockdown. As the video explains, that was enough to force him out of business because the previous year he had been forced to permanently close his other, larger restaurant due to the Eghinton-Crosstown mess.

Monday, May 22, 2023

New York state to ban gas stoves in new buildings

New York state's new budget includes a ban on natural gas stoves in new construction.

Gas Stove Bans Promoted From Baseless Conspiracy Theory to New York State Policy | Reason - Christian Britschgi:

May 3, 2023 - "The government actually is coming for your gas stove. New York's new state budget includes a provision banning gas stoves in new residential construction. CNN reports that only electric stoves will be allowed in buildings under seven stories by 2026 and taller buildings by 2029.

"The policy is the latest successful attack on an appliance used and cherished by millions of Americans. Berkeley, California, was the first city to ban gas stoves in new buildings in 2019. A handful of other California cities have since followed suit. New York City adopted a local-level ban at the end of 2021. It goes into effect next year for smaller buildings....

"When Consumer Product Safety Commission member Richard Trumka Jr. suggested this ban could be adopted nationwide, gas stove owners everywhere flipped out. In response to the backlash, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) assured everyone that government gas-grabbing was a MAGA conspiracy theory. Mainstream media fact-checkers said much the same thing. In the senator's state, at least, the conspiracists did have something to worry about.

"Supporters of gas stove bans argue that the gas needed to fuel them is bad for the climate and that the emissions they produce within the home are bad for your health.

"Steve Everley, writing in National Review in January, covered several flaws in the most recent studies finding serious health impacts from gas stoves. Experimental studies that found links between gas stoves and child asthma used airtight rooms without ventilation. The author of another much-touted meta-analysis finding a link between gas stoves and child asthma said their study 'does not assume or estimate a causal relationship.' Masses of earlier studies, Everley notes, have found no health impacts from gas stoves.

"In the short-term, mandated electrification of appliances is probably worse for the climate. On-site use of gas stoves and furnaces uses almost all the energy in the gas. Generating electricity from gas and then using that electricity to power appliances is much less efficient. Of New York's 10 largest power plants, for instance, five are powered by natural gas.

"Another reason to oppose gas stove bans is that people like their gas stoves. 'Most home chefs — and pretty much all professional chefs — will tell you that electric stoves take a long time to heat up and are far less responsive when changing heat levels. Induction stoves, which are actually quite fast to heat up, require different types of cookware and kitchen thermometers, in addition to being a lot more expensive than electric stoves,' wrote Reason's Liz Wolfe earlier this year....

"Trumka's comments saw Republicans and Democrats in Congress propose legislation to protect the appliances from a federal ban. A recent federal appeals court case also struck down Berkeley's ban.... That decision was highly technical, however, and likely leaves other avenues for gas stove bans to be passed at the state and local levels."

Restaurant industry pushes back amid N.Y. move to ban gas stoves in new buildings | NBC News | May 4, 2023:

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Retired emergency planner slams Covid response

Retired emergency planner Lt. Col. David Redman testified at the National Citizens Inquiry that the response to the Covid pandemic in Canada "immediately destroyed our rights and freedoms worse than any terrorist attack ever could have done."

Colonel says lockdowns 'destroyed freedoms worse than any terrorist attack ever could have done' | Western Standard - Shay Bottomley:

April 28, 2023 - "A retired colonel testified his calls for an emergency management plan in response to COVID-19 were ignored. Lt. Col. David Redman, who spent 27 years’ serving his country, slammed Alberta’s response to the pandemic April 27 at the National Citizens Inquiry in Red Deer.

"Redman outlined the importance of Emergency Management Doctrinal Frameworks at the inquiry, and focused on the province’s response in the early days of COVID-19. He argued the aim of emergency management in a pandemic should be to 'minimize the impact of the disease on society' as a whole, rather than the medical system. Having lived through five pandemics since his birth in 1954, Redman said he hoped to see at least two more, but added \I never want to live through another pandemic managed like this one was'.... 'Public health is supposed to protect the citizens; the citizens aren’t supposed to protect public health,' he told inquisitors.

"Redman also advocated the use of target-focused protection for a virus where the average age of death was 82, arguing suggestions over an equal risk to all ages were 'completely untrue.' Lockdowns, or non-pharmaceutical interventions, as Redman described them, caused 'massive collateral damage' — an issue known as early as September 2019 thanks to a 60-page report from the World Health Organization prior to the pandemic.

"'There should have been a written plan issued through the mainstream media to every citizen [of] every province saying how the premier was going to lead the response to the pandemic and inviting feedback from the citizens,' Redman explained. 'We discarded emergency management, and it cost us dearly.' 'They [public health] immediately destroyed our rights and freedoms worse than any terrorist attack ever could have done.'"

Emergency Response Planning & COVID-19 / Guest Lt. Col. Dave Redman | Faytene TV | April 26, 2021:

Colonel says mainstream media acted as 'ministries of propaganda' during COVID | Western Standard - Shay Bottomley:

Apr 27, 2023 - "The mainstream media acted as 'ministries of propaganda' during the COVID-19 pandemic, a former colonel told an inquiry. Retired Lt. Col. David Redman, who was tasked with writing emergency management plans, specifically called out CBC, CTV and Global News, and said they worked with the federal government 'on the wrong side of the propaganda curve'.'

"Redman made the comments at the National Citizens Inquiry into COVID-19 ... in its second day of hearings in Red Deer. 'From the beginning of this pandemic, the mainstream media became, in my opinion, ministries of propaganda for the government of Canada and the premiers of Canada,' Redman said. 'They stopped becoming, in any way, investigative journalists.'

"In February 2021, Redman appeared on the Western Standard-produced Danielle Smith Show, an appearance which encouraged an unnamed reporter to contact him to arrange a two-hour interview for a documentary. Following the interview at Redman’s home, the reporter 'ghosted' Redman for four months, despite the latter providing further documents to help assist the investigation. It was only when Redman received a handwritten letter delivered to his home that he discovered the reporter had been coerced into halting production. 'Please never mention my name, please never admit I never did this interview,” [sic] read the note. Redman added he could see 'terror in his handwriting and his words that people were shutting him up.'

"'Sixty per cent of our population still believe lockdowns work, and vaccines were the only way out of the pandemic, and that’s because of the mainstream media,' Redman added."

Saturday, May 20, 2023

E-Verify could be a Trojan horse

E-Verify Is Deeply Dangerous | Brownstone Institute - El Gato Malo:

May 11, 2023 - "The e-verify program is one of those subtle Trojan Horses that government is so good at. It starts with a widely perceived problem that has widespread support: that the country is full of illegal workers. Whether or not this is actually a problem is a matter that can be debated, but ... [t]he relevant bit is that it’s popularly seen as such in many quarters.

"The solution looks simple: create e-verify. All employers are required to check citizenship/work eligibility when hiring. It seems simple, straightforward, and people will support it because it does not harm them, it keeps others from competing with them. we’re simply solving the problem of 'stop flooding into work, there are no jobs for you any more.' (Well, except in agriculture which is being carved out)....

"But there is a much more subtle twist here: it’s a classic trojan framing. You lose the minute you wheel this thing in. You have already surrendered, you just don’t know it yet. 'There is this seemingly simple thing you want' is dangled, but what it’s really doing is turning a right into a privilege and gathering the power to administer that privilege into the hands of an unelected, unaccountable government agency run by people you have never heard of and probably never will.

"I will remind you of Coyote’s Law: 'Before granting any power to government, first imagine that power wielded by the politician you hate most, because one day, it will be.' Try applying that here. You’re going to give a federal agency an individualized on/off switch for employment for everyone. Sure, you might like this one thing that they do with it, but what else might they use it for soon? Rep. Thomas Massie speculates.... [see video]

"I certainly cannot disagree. My only quibble is that I fear that this is the optimistic case and that this tool will inevitably expand in use to become a full-blown instrument of social credit systems and systems of social control....

You cannot hire her. She is an undesirable for her political views.
You cannot hire him. You are behind on your diversity requirements.
You cannot hire a new worker, inflation is too high.
You cannot hire at all. We don’t like you.

"Every scary thing that can be said about government-run digital currency also applies to government control over who may be hired. And if you think once they have made this a privilege managed by central control that they will not immediately start the mission creep or commence dreaming up a new crisis to justify massive expansion into some new area be it vaccines or DEI or who knows what, well, you should call your history teacher and ask for your money back....

"You’ve seen the slavering desire to shift, alter and force this sort of 'We get to decide who gets to go where and get what' all through government in everything from college admissions to hiring to lending. Do you really want to hand a tool this potent to people like that and trust that they will 'only use it to do nice things?'...

It’s always easy to get suckered into these things with a sympathetic use case. 'We’re just banning pro-Nazi speech!' sounds fine. Few want to hear it. Fewer will stand up for Nazis. But once you grant the power for such a ban, you have given up your right to free speech. The rest is just a negotiation about the terms of your censorship....

"Want to play again with your livelihood? This is not a wooden equid that should be allowed within the gates. Not now. Not ever. No on e-verify."

E-Verify Will Be Used to Surveil Americans | Free the People | Guest: Rep. Thomas Massie | May 19, 2023:

Friday, May 19, 2023

SCOTUS judge: Covid mandates among greatest peacetime intrusions on civil liberties in US history

U.S. Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch has criticized the use of emergency powers during the Covid pandemic, stating: "Since March 2020, we may have experienced the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country."

Gorsuch slams pandemic emergency power as intrusion on civil liberties | The Hill - Zach Schonfield:

May 18, 2023 - "Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch on Thursday slammed the use of emergency power during the pandemic as a mass intrusion on civil liberties. The high court on Thursday dismissed as moot a case seeking to preserve Title 42 after the pandemic emergency expired last week. The public health authority had allowed for the swift expulsion of migrants without allowing them to seek asylum.

"Gorsuch, in an attached statement to the court’s unsigned order, more broadly railed against the use of emergency powers since COVID-19 shut down normal life, referencing among other things, lockdown orders, a federal ban on evictions and vaccine mandates. 'Since March 2020, we may have experienced the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country. Executive officials across the country issued emergency decrees on a breathtaking scale,' Gorsuch wrote.

"The conservative justice throughout the pandemic has been a skeptic of how officials leveraged laws that grant additional executive authority during emergencies, often lamenting that COVID-19 was being used as merely a pretext. 'And it is hard not to wonder whether, after nearly a half century and in light of our Nation’s recent experience, another look is warranted,' Gorsuch wrote of those laws.

“'It is hard not to wonder, too, whether state legislatures might profitably reexamine the proper scope of emergency executive powers at the state level,' he continued. 'At the very least, one can hope that the Judiciary will not soon again allow itself to be part of the problem by permitting litigants to manipulate our docket to perpetuate a decree designed for one emergency to address another'....

"After a federal district judge struck down the policy, a group of GOP-led states appealed to the justices in their bid to intervene in the case to defend Title 42. The Supreme Court late last year issued an order allowing Title 42 to stay in effect as they considered the Republican states’ bid. Gorsuch joined the court’s three liberals in dissent, writing that 'the current border crisis is not a COVID crisis.'"

SCOTUS Justice Gorsuch criticizes US gov’t abuse of power during pandemic | Straight Arrow News | May 19, 2023:

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Green leader calls gun-grab opponents scum

Canada's Green Party leader Elizabeth May has accused the Conservative Party of having "hyped up" controversial gun-grab Bill C-21, and called on them to stop "to keep the scum from rising to the top."

Green Party leader calls Conservative supporters 'scum' for opposing Trudeau’s gun grab | Western Standard - Christopher Oldcorn:

May 17, 2023 - Green Party leader Elizabeth May MP (Saanich-Gulf Islands, BC) referred to Conservative supporters who disagree with Trudeau’s gun grab as 'scum.' May commented during a debate on Bill C-21 An Act to Amend Certain Acts and to Make Certain Consequential Amendments (firearms), while wearing a World Economic Forum pin in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

"'I do enjoy the use of Yiddish proverbs and one comes to mind from Tim Robbins Still Life with Woodpecker. The reason you have to keep stirring the stew, you have to keep stirring because otherwise, the scum rises to the top,' said May. 'So here in this place, we have to stir and stir and do what we should do for Canadians....

"'I ask in that context if he doesn't find it troubling the very bills that have been, I would say with due respect, hyped up in terms of the rhetoric by the Conservatives in this house are the ones that come back to him' said May....

"'Does he think that perhaps it would it would behoove my friends in the Conservative Party to try and be more balanced in what's wrong with a bill?' said May. 'What's good with the bill and how we work together to give Canadians the best possible meal and keep the scum from rising to the top.'

"Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, AB) responded and defended his constituents concerned about the 'overreach' of Trudeau’s gun grab.

“'I'm a little worried, Madam Speaker, that the way she just described my constituents who are emailing me on this issue. They deserve to be heard, not to be name called,' said Kmiec. 'They are concerned not because of what we are saying on the side of the house. They are concerned because the contents of the legislation is bad news for them.'

"Kmiec defended his constituents and said they came to him with their fears about Trudeau’s gun grab. 'I don't need to go around into my constituency raising fears. They are fearful on their own. I happen to have more meetings on C-21 and firearms legislation in the past six to eight months from constituents that do not reach out to me on a regular basis,' said Kmiec....

"May did not retract her 'scum' statement."

Video courtesy Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

BC cancer patients to be sent to USA for treatment

Some B.C. cancer patients to be offered radiation treatments in Bellingham, Wash. | CBC News: Loaded

May6 16, 2023 - "The British Columbia government says eligible cancer patients in the province will be temporarily offered radiation treatment in Washington state. A statement from B.C.'s Ministry of Health says the initiative, which begins on May 29, could help as many as 50 additional radiation patients a week.

"Breast cancer and prostate cancer patients will be the first groups eligible to travel to one of two clinics in Bellingham, Wash., located about 40 kilometres south of the Canada-U.S. border., for treatment. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the arrangement is temporary ... as the province works to expand its own cancer care services....

"Dix says the province is making the move because B.C. hasn't been meeting its target for ensuring cancer patients receive radiation therapy in a timely manner. Nearly 83 per cent of B.C. patients are starting radiation within 28 days of the date on which they're ready for the treatment, a timeline that does not meet the clinical benchmarks the province has set as a goal, Dix said. If the change doesn't lead to enough added capacity for radiation therapy in B.C.'s cancer care system, Dix says the program may be opened up to more patients.

"Eligible patients will have the costs of treatment, including travel, meals, and accommodation, covered through B.C. Cancer and the Provincial Health Services Authority. Patients can be accompanied by a caregiver, who will also have travel, meals, and accommodation covered. B.C. Cancer support staff will arrange appointments, co-ordinate travel plans and greet them when they return to their regional B.C. Cancer centre, the province says.

"Patients and caregivers travelling to Bellingham will need to have valid passports and any applicable visas. Dr. Kim Chi, chief medical officer with B.C. Cancer, said the initiative will not just help patients who can travel but also benefit those receiving care in B.C. by increasing overall capacity....

"More than 30,000 British Columbians were newly diagnosed with cancer in 2021. That same year, 11,000 people in B.C. died as a result of the disease. It is estimated that 50 per cent of B.C. residents will face a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.

"B.C.'s opposition parties blasted the move Monday, calling the decision a reflection of what they say is the province's crumbling health-care system. Shirley Bond, the health critic for B.C. United, said the decision to send patients to Washington for treatment was an 'acknowledgment by the government that we have a full-blown crisis on our hands'.... 'I think that most people will be shocked about the deterioration that we have seen in the wait time in British Columbia,' she told CBC News.... Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau said in a statement that people needed to receive health-care in the communities they lived in, so they can be close to family and support."

B.C. cancer patients decry U.S. treatment plan | CTV News Vancouver | May 16, 2023:

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Alleged Chinese agent arrested in Boston

Boston resident Litang Liang was arrested last week for acting as an agent of the Communist Chinese government without registering with the U.S. government.

Man arrested in Boston for allegedly acting as foreign agent for CCP, suppressing political dissenters | Post Millennial - Hannah Nightingale:

May 12, 2023 - "Boston, Massachusetts resident Litang Liang was indicted on Tuesday and charged with plans to act as an agent of a foreign government, according to Fox Business. Liang is accused of acting as an agent of the CCP beginning in or around 2018.

"'Litang Liang knowingly acted and caused others to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government, namely, the People's Republic of China, without providing prior notification to the United States Attorney General, as required by law,' the US District Court stated in its indictment. The US District Court alleges that Liang monitored and reported on individuals and organizations for the CCP ... as well as providing information on potential recruits.

"'Liang communicated with the PRC government officials – knowing them to be PRC government officials – in several ways,' the indictment states. 'These included telephone calls and messages using the social media application WeChat [...] All WeChat communications are stored on servers outside the United States.'

"Liang is the co-founder of the New England Alliance for the Peaceful Unification of China, created in January of 2019, [and served in] the anti-Taiwan independence organization through at least 2021....

"Liang pleaded not guilty on the charges of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and acting as an agent of a foreign government without notice to the attorney general. He was given a $25,000 cash bond. Liang is prohibited from leaving Massachusetts and will be electronically monitored. He has also been ordered not to have any contact with the Chinese government or members of the New England Alliance for the Peaceful Unification of China."
Read more: https://thepostmillennial.com/man-arrested-in-boston-for-allegedly-acting-as-foreign-agent-for-ccp-suppressing-political-dissenters?utm_campaign=64466

Boston man charged with spying on Chinese dissidents in U.S. | Washington Times - Matt Delaney:

May 15, 2023 - "The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that 63-year-old Litang Liang, of Brighton,... is accused of surveilling Chinese dissidents in the Boston area and relaying information back to the Chinese government between 2018 through 2022. He is also accused of organizing counter-protests against pro-democracy dissidents and identifying prospects for the PRC’s law enforcement arm, the Ministry of Public Security....

"Mr. Liang spied on Chinese family associations and community organizations that had pro-Taiwan leanings, according to prosecutors. He is also accused of taking photos of a person who “sabotaged” PRC flags in Boston‘s Chinatown neighborhood in October 2018. Further, he recorded a dissident at a 'Boston Stands with Hong Kong' march in August 2019 and took photos of anti-PRC dissidents who were demonstrating outside of the Boston Public Library in September 2019.

"All of the documentation Mr. Liang is accused of compiling was sent to either the PRC, the Ministry of Public Safety or the United Front Work Department, which reports directly to the Chinese Communist Party.... He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted."
Read more: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/may/15/litang-liang-boston-area-man-charged-spying-chines/

China Sentences 78-Year-Old US Citizen to Life in Prison on Espionage Charges | Statecraft | May 16, 2023:

Monday, May 15, 2023

Bernier to run in Manitoba byelection

BERNIER: Elect me to 'restore sanity in this country' | Western Standard - Linda Slobodian:

May 12, 2023 - "People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxine Bernier ... announced Friday he’ll run in Manitoba’s Portage-Lisgar by-election ... at a press conference in Portage la Prairie. Bernier said it will be a 'two-horse' race between him and Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) opponent Brenden Leslie. The seat was previously held since 2008 by Candice Bergen, CPC’s interim leader in 2022.... Bernier urged constituents to join the political revolution and compared the PPC to the old Reform Party....

"Bernier cited inflation 'eating away at our standard of living,' skyrocketing government and household debt, and a 'hopelessly broken' health care system.... 'But even worse than the state of our economy is the state of our culture. We are living in highly immoral times'.... 'We are living in a completely different society, one overtaken by evil'....

"'Radical cultural Marxists seized control of our educational system, the mainstream media, and governments. They push a program of anti-life, anti-family, and anti-Canadian values. Gender ideology and the trans movement are promoting confusion and the mutilation of children. It is useless to debate with these extremists. There is no common ground. They seek only one objective — to destroy Canadian society as we know it and upend the traditional structures of life which have underpinned our civilization. Their insanity is undermining our traditions, our history, and our nation'....

"He accused the Conservative Party of Canada of 'giving up.' 'Whether it's gender ideology, mass immigration, climate hysteria, the cult of diversity, or abortion, the CPC has refused to fight the necessary cultural battles. They are too scared of negative coverage from the mainstream media and being called bigots. They have sat on their hands as the radical left has taken over our society' [he said.] 'I am ready to fight. The PPC is ready to fight. That is why I am proud to announce I am putting my name forward in the upcoming by-election to be your representative, you the people of Portage-Lisgar, in the House of Commons. Because families deserve a strong voice.'

"In 2021, the PPC earned 5.1% of the vote [nationwide]. In 21 ridings the size of the PPC vote was higher than the number of votes Conservative candidates lost by....Bernier ran and lost in Beauce in 2019 and 2021 after he quit the Conservative Party in 2018 — after losing the leadership contest to Andrew Scheer — and formed the PPC. Bernier held several positions in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s government....

"The riding has been held by Conservatives since it was created in 1997. In 2021, the PPC won 22% of the vote.

"His opponent, Brendan Leslie, served as Bergen’s campaign manager. 'If Maxime Bernier does decide to leave his home province of Quebec in an attempt to boost his profile and raise money for his party, I think it will only further prove to the residents of Portage-Lisgar, and all Canadians, that Mr. Bernier is an opportunist who will go anywhere and say anything he thinks will get him the most attention,' said Leslie in [a] written statement."

UNCUT VIDEO: Maxime Bernier says race for byelection is between him & fake conservative | CBC Manitoba | May 12, 2023:

UPDATE: 4 federal byelections set for June in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba | Global News - Eric Stober:

May 14, 2023 - "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Sunday that four byelections will happen in June. The byelections will be held on June 19 in four districts:

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, Quebec
Oxford, Ontario
Portage—Lisgar, Manitoba
Winnipeg South Centre, Manitoba"

Sunday, May 14, 2023

The hidden dangers of the WEF's 'Great Reset'

The World Economic Forum's "Great Reset" may not be the crazy conspiracy that some claim. However, that does not make it any less dangerous.

Why it isn’t mad to oppose the World Economic Forum | The Spectator - Samuel Gregg, Coffee House:

December 11, 2022 - "The World Economic Forum (WEF) and its long-serving founder and Executive Chairman, Professor Klaus Schwab, are the subjects of many insane conspiracy theories.... It isn’t mad, however, to regard the WEF as a dangerous force in global politics. The WEF is a dangerous force in global politics. To adapt Joseph Heller, just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean the WEF isn’t after you....

"For many WEF critics, the vileness of the organisation can be encapsulated in one word: ‘neoliberalism.’ It’s a term that conjures up images of plutocrats and untrammelled markets ravaging the planet and exploiting blue-collar folk in the name of profit. Funnily enough, Chairman Schwab agrees with that assessment of the world’s ills.... In October 2020, Schwab stated that: '[S]hibboleths of our global economic system will need to be re-evaluated with an open mind. Chief among these is the neoliberal ideology. Free-market fundamentalism has eroded worker rights and economic security, triggered a deregulatory race to the bottom and ruinous tax competition'....

"Precisely how and where ‘free-market fundamentalism’ has run amuck remains a mystery. After all, we live in a world in which most governments in developed nations routinely control 40 per cent or more of their nation’s GDP. Nor does the regulatory and welfare state’s relentless growth in, say, the European Union, Britain and America suggest that free market radicals have been in charge.... Ignoring these inconvenient facts, Schwab believes that the world needs a ‘Great Reset.’ Covid, according to the WEF’s website explaining the global reboot awaiting the world, revealed all the ‘inconsistencies, inadequacies and contradictions of multiple systems – from health and financial to energy and education.’ The entire planet needs a new ‘social contract’ to reshape ‘the future state of global relations, the direction of national economies, the priorities of societies, the nature of business models, and the management of a global commons’....

"A key concept for Schwab’s vision of a reset world is ‘stakeholder capitalism.’ In his 2021 book Stakeholder Capitalism: A Global Economy that Works for Progress, People and Planet, Schwab defines it as ‘a form of capitalism in which companies do not only optimise short-term profits for shareholders, but seek long-term value creation, by taking into account the needs of all their stakeholders, and society at large’.... So who are the stakeholders who will collaborate to usher in the four Ps? For Schwab, they are ‘governments,’ ‘companies,’ and ‘civil society’ (NGOs, unions, etc.). At this point we arrive at the essence of Schwab’s grand redesign. For all his invocation of the predictable woke pieties, Schwab’s core commitment is to political and economic arrangements which used to be known as corporatism. Schwab is quite explicit about this....

"Corporatism is a broad concept. It can run the gamut from the hyper-authoritarian version embraced by Mussolini’s Italy to worker-boss structures of the type described by Schwab in postwar western Europe. All forms of corporatism, however, share some common themes. One is the necessity of limiting market competition in order to preserve social cohesion. Another is mandating cooperation between representative groups of different social and economic sectors – a process overseen and, if necessary, enforced by government officials for the sake of the common good. What, you might ask, could be wrong with this? The answer is: plenty.

"For a start, corporatism – including its Schwabian expression – isn’t big on freedom. It’s all about forming and then maintaining a consensus on economic and social policies. For this reason, corporatism doesn’t cope well with dissent. Indeed, it discourages any questioning of the consensus, whether the issue is tax-rates or climate change.... Not only does this generate groupthink. It encourages the marginalisation of those who dispute the consensus. Another problem is the collusion and cronyism fostered by corporatism. Corporatist structures facilitate client-patron relations between businesses and governments. That in turn produces insiders and outsiders. Insiders are those companies who sign up to the consensus, play the corporatist game, and consequently do very well out of their cosy relationships with governments. Outsiders are those who lack the resources to grease the wheel....

"Lastly, corporatist-style stakeholder capitalism is decidedly ambivalent about democracy. The emphasis is upon insiders negotiating with each other, and then presenting the populace with a series of faits accomplis about anything ranging from fossil fuels to ESG. There’s not much room for contributions from the wider populace to the decision-making process in Schwab’s stakeholder capitalist model, let alone popular assent to decisions taken.... On an economic level, corporatism discourages innovation, produces inflexible labour markets dominated by unions whose priority is maintaining the status quo, and riddle the marketplace with privileges for well-connected businesses. In political terms, even mild forms of corporatism significantly disenfranchise voters and put an ever-growing number of important decisions in the hands of unaccountable bureaucracies. In many ways, the EU’s [European Union's] governance structures – and the democratic deficit which they personify – exemplify such arrangements.

"Which brings us back to the WEF. It wields no formal political power... Nonetheless, since its founding in 1971, the WEF has become an organisation which embodies supreme confidence in the imperative of a particular type of person running the world from the top-down. In his famous 2004 essay entitled Dead Souls, the political scientist Samuel P. Huntington called this prototype ‘Davos Man’.... Davos Man was Huntington’s short-hand description of ‘academics, international civil servants and executives in global companies, as well as successful high-technology entrepreneurs’ who thought alike and tended to view national loyalties and boundaries ‘as residues from the past.’ Davos Man also looked with undisguised disdain, Huntington suggested, upon those who weren’t getting with the programme – whatever the content of the programme happened to be.

"Therein lies the deepest problem with the WEF. It’s one thing for people to come together in international settings to discuss problems, share insights, and network....It’s another thing for an outfit such as the WEF to decide that the time has come to rearrange the world from the top-down and remake the planet in a corporatist image. The ideal for which Schwab is aiming, judging from his speeches and writings, is something akin to a globalised EU, with its supranational and ingrained bureaucratic ways being transposed to an international level, and the levers of power vested in the hands of reliable Davos men and women....[T]he agenda ... is sufficiently alarming that anyone who believes in preserving things like liberty, sovereignty, and the decentralisation of power should be concerned."

Forget the Great Reset. Embrace the Great Escape | Reason TV - Zach Weismuller | February 23, 2022:

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Canada's Liberals swing sharply statist

Policy resolutions passed at this month's Liberal Party of Canada convention show a party structure and membership that want a far more authoritarian and interventionist federal government.

Abolish the free press, and other fringe policies just adopted by the Liberals | National Post - Tristin Hopper, First Reading:

May 10, 2023 - "One of the most notable items to emerge from last weekend’s Liberal Party convention was that party members voted to effectively abolish the existence of a free press. A resolution – passed without debate – said the party should 'explore options to hold online information services accountable for the veracity of material published on their platforms.'

"Party resolutions are non-binding and they’re typically more extreme than the platforms that parties will ultimately sell to voters come election time.... However, it’s notable that the Liberals are now entertaining far more extreme positions than they used to.... Now, party members are flirting with federal legislation to banish cars from cities, enact a guaranteed income and culturally remake the Prairies....

"[T]wo resolutions ... advocate ... unprecedented curbs on Canadian free speech. A resolution on 'combatting misinformation' says that the federal government should 'limit publication' of the online news media to those whose 'sources can be traced.' So, if you’re a news outlet employing anonymous sources – say, like [those] that first broke the SNC-Lavalin scandal – ... the federal government should ban you from the internet. And then there’s the 'truth in politics' resolution, which proposes the establishment of an 'independent body' that would impose 'sanctions' on political parties that it deems are not telling the truth....

"To remain 'culturally competitive' with the rest of the world, Canada should buckle down on building 'walkable and bikeable' cities. This resolution also warns that the goal is often compromised by misinformation.... As such, this resolution recommends the creation of a fund paying cities to close 'major commercial streets to car traffic'....

"[T]here is a resolution that calls for a wholesale cultural and economic restructuring of the Canadian prairies — the part of Canada that just happens to never vote Liberal. Entitled 'A Green Transition for the Prairies Provinces,' it proposes a widespread campaign of bringing 'electrified' transportation and non-oil jobs to the remote and 'alienated' peoples of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. And just in case this resolution didn’t ping absolutely every single Alberta anxiety about the Liberal Party, it makes sure to note that top-down federal controls during the COVID-19 pandemic provide a model as to how to achieve 'desirable results' in transitioning the Prairies....

"Speaking of COVID-19, delegates also favoured the creation of a kind of permanent CERB, a 'Guaranteed Liveable Basic Income.' The resolution states that such a policy would end poverty and actually cost Canada nothing because it would 'increase entrepreneurship by giving everyone the ability to take risks whilst also significantly improving health and educational outcomes'....

"Delegates want[ed] Canada to build a high-speed rail line from Windsor to Quebec City. And then, they wanted Canada to draw up an 'affordable, accessible, modern and practical rail system' to serve everywhere else in Canada that has railroad tracks. No mention is made of VIA Rail, the Crown corporation that essentially has that exact mandate, and generally just delivers money-hemorrhaging, chronically late passenger rail service....

"[A resolution to] end all ‘subsidies’ to the oil sector ... sounds fine.... But ... consider what qualifies as an 'oil and gas subsidy.' The environmental groups which popularized the term count absolutely anything that could be framed as an energy company receiving services or even abstract in-kind support from the government. In recent years, this has grown to include federal research funding to clean up oil spills, grants to transition transit buses from diesel to natural gas and even the costs of arresting activist groups who illegally blockade natural gas projects. So, under its 'Climate Crisis' resolution, the Liberal Party calls for all of this to end. The resolution also calls for all public investment funds to be forced to divest from fossil fuels."

2023 Liberal Convention – Preview with party strategists | CPAC – May 4, 2023:

Friday, May 12, 2023

Freedom Convoy backer charged 15 months later

Trucking company owner and former town councilor Harold Jonker is free on bail, after being arrested earlier this month for having participated in the Freedom Convoy well over a year ago.

Former Niagara area councillor facing 4 charges connected to truck convoy protests | CBC News - Aura Carreño Rosas:

May 4, 21023 - "Former West Lincoln councillor Harold Jonker is facing several charges for his involvement with the 2022 truck convoy protests.... Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) said Jonker was arrested April 29 ... after he turned himself in at a police station in Grimsby, Ont. Ottawa Police Service told CBC Hamilton in an email Jonker has been charged with two counts of counselling 'an uncommitted indictable offence,' one count of mischief/obstruct property and one count of intimidation by blocking or obstructing highway.

"Jonker was the Ward 2 councillor in West Lincoln before losing his seat by 180 votes to Joann Chechalk in the October 2022 municipal elections. While in office earlier last year, Jonker was suspended from the West Lincoln council for 30 days without pay due to his participation in the protests. In February, 2022 Jonker attended a council-related committee meeting virtually from Ottawa while occupying some streets around Parliament Hill.Jonker — who is also the operations manager at Jonker Trucking Inc. — had gone to Ottawa to participate in the convoy protest on Jan. 28, 2022.... The action was determined by Ottawa police to be 'unlawful' and led to a call by West Lincoln Integrity Commissioner John Mascarin for an investigation....

"During his time in office, Jonker's actions in Ottawa caused divisions locally. In a series of tweets on Feb. 11, 2022, Ward 3 councillor William Reilly said Jonker had missed several meetings and said he should consider resigning.... However, West Lincoln's former mayor, Dave Bylsma, supported Jonker....

"The protests began in January 2022 calling for an end to all vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions. Thousands joined the movement that clogged numerous downtown Ottawa streets for over three weeks before the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canada's history. Several protest organizers are also facing charges and are expected to face trial in September."

Harold Jonker arrested in relation to charges for freedom Convoy 2022 | Tim Jonker, YouTube, May 2, 2023:

Former Ontario township councillor released on bail over Freedom Convoy | Western Standard - Jonathan Bradley:

May 11, 2023 - "Former West Lincoln, ON, township councillor Harold Jonker is out on bail over his conduct related to the Freedom Convoy.... Jonker said on May 2 the Ottawa Police Service laid criminal charges against him for attending the Freedom Convoy.

"He came out the police station and said he is facing four charges ... one count of mischief, obstruction of property, one count of intimidation by blocking or obstructing highway, and two counts of counselling to commit an indictable offence.... Jonker said ... [that a] few trucks from his company showed up in Ottawa, and police escorted them to their spots. He said the charges do not make sense.

"While his bank account was not frozen during the Freedom Convoy, he said his trucking company was shut down for one week. This was tough for the company, but worse for the drivers.

"Jonker’s next court date is scheduled for June 7, but he doesn't have to attend. His lawyer will see the evidence and decide how to proceed. The main question his lawyer has is why was he charged 15 months later and what are police coming with?"

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Canada and China expel each others' diplomats

Liberals vote against expelling Chinese Communist agents, foreign agent registry | Western Standard - Christopher Oldcorn:

May 9, 2023 - "MPs went against the Trudeau government and voted 170 to 150 in favour of rounding up Chinese spies and requiring foreign agents to register in Canada.... A Conservative motion endorsed by New Democrat, Bloc Québécois and Green MPs demanded that the government 'expel China diplomats responsible for and involved in affronts to Canadian democracy' and 'immediately create a foreign agent registry similar to Australia and the United States.' Liberal MPs rejected the motion as too hasty even as the government finalized its first expulsion of a Chinese envoy, Zhao Wei.."
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/liberals-vote-against-expelling-chinese-communist-agents-foreign-agent-registry/article_a9e922a8-ee64-11ed-8c5d-873ac3112ea9.html

China expels Canadian diplomat in tit-for-tat move | BBC News - Chloe Kim & Kelly Ng:

May 10, 2023 - "China has expelled Canada's consul in Shanghai in retaliation for Ottawa sending home a Chinese diplomat accused of trying to intimidate a Canadian MP. On Monday, Canada declared China's diplomat Zhao Wei 'persona non grata' and ordered her to leave the country. In response, China on Tuesday ordered the removal of Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, Canada's diplomat in its Shanghai Consulate.... Both diplomats have five days to exit the countries. The censures mark a significant deterioration in relations between Ottawa and Beijing following reports of alleged Chinese political interference in Canada.

"Canada had accused China of targeting ... opposition lawmaker Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong after Mr Chong accused China of human rights abuses. Last Thursday, Canada summoned China's ambassador to reiterate that Canada would not tolerate interference in its affairs.... Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly on Monday declared Mr Zhao a 'persona non grata', a Latin phrase for an 'unwelcome person'. China called the move 'unscrupulous' and declared the same of Ms Lalonde - saying it was a 'reciprocal countermeasure'....

"The move by Ottawa follows a Canadian intelligence report, which emerged in the Globe and Mail newspaper, that accused Mr Zhao of being involved in gathering information about Mr Chong, 51, following his vocal criticism China's treatment of its Uyghur minority population.... Canada's spy agency [CSIS] believes China sought details about Mr Chong's relatives in Hong Kong in an effort to deter 'anti-China positions'. The politician put forward a motion in parliament in 2021 that declared China's treatment of Uyghurs a genocide. China has denied the accusations and sanctioned Mr Chong shortly after....

"'China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this and has lodged serious démarches and strong protest to Canada,' China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday. China last week accused Canada of 'slander and defamation' over the claims Beijing targeted Mr Chong and his family....

"The allegations come amid other intelligence reports, leaked to Canadian media outlets, that have accused China of attempting to interfere in Canadian elections. In March, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an independent special rapporteur to investigate the interference claims."
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65529185

China expels Canadian consul in retaliation for Ottawa expelling Chinese diplomat | CBC News, May 9. 2023:

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