Liberals propose another year of hybrid Parliament

The Liberals are looking to keep Parliament by Zoom call in place for another year, with a motion to extend the hybrid House of Commons to be introduced this week.

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Liberal House leader Mark Holland announced the government’s plan Monday morning, as the House of Commons enters its final week before breaking for the summer.

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Redder Pastures

Over the past two years, I have written several articles on issues that (I believe) take Canada in the direction of being a more authoritarian State. The sources for these issues are diverse, from government policy and announcements of policy intentions to public statements by members of the punditocracy / commentariat to widespread public support for certain ideas. In all frankness, I am not the only one who senses this direction of movement (or is it drift?). But I think that enough pieces are now in place for us to take a step back and take a holistic view of what this movement / drift portends for us as a society.

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Russia claims 162 Canadian foreign fighters have been killed in Ukraine. There’s no evidence to back that up

Jordan Mullins doesn’t know exactly what hit him – he only remembers the pain he felt when shrapnel punctured his left calf.

Mr. Mullins, a 26-year-old from Oshawa, Ont., was fighting in Ukraine when his unit encountered a Russian armoured personnel carrier during a recent battle for a “coastal city” that Mr. Mullins prefers not to name. He said he and his unit – a volunteer formation known as the Georgian Legion, made up primarily of fighters from the country of Georgia – were “bounding across a street” when the Russians opened fire.

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Canada prepares to unveil plan for North America’s aging defences amid warnings on Norad

Expectations are high as Defence Minister Anita Anand prepares to unveil the federal government’s plans to upgrade North America’s aging defensive systems.

The announcement at an Ontario air force base on Monday morning comes amid warnings from U.S. and Canadian military officials and experts about the state of Norad, particularly in light of Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine.

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Ottawa police say this year’s Canada Day will see ‘unprecedented’ security response

An Ottawa police officer says this Canada Day will be “unprecedented and unique” with a never-before-seen security posture as the main events take place off Parliament Hill and protests are planned throughout the day.

Police are aware of the demonstrations and are “planning accordingly,” said the officer.

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O’Toole claims Chinese interference in 2021 election flipped Tory ridings — but ̷e̷x̷p̷e̷r̷t̷s̷ ̷ China Class urge caution

Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole claims foreign interference from China in the last election cost his party seats. But some media and national security experts are pushing back, arguing that it’s difficult to conclusively prove interference and that any intervention was unlikely to have been so decisive.

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Canadians Increasingly Losing Trust in Media, Study Finds

Only 29 percent of respondents indicated that the media is free from undue political influence, compared to 39 percent in 2017
A study on how people globally engage with the news found that Canadians are increasingly losing trust in the media.
report released Wednesday by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that Canadians who place their trust in the news fell from 58 percent to 42 percent over the last four years.
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British Columbia’s rejection of Britain

AFTER thirteen years in Northern Ireland where I began, I’ve returned to British Columbia and its capital Victoria on Vancouver Island. In my absence the city has undergone a sea-change.

When I left, the vast Empress Hotel on the harbour was the jewel in the city’s tourist crown. Opened in 1908, it was one of the majestic railhead hotels built across the country by the Canadian Pacific Railway whose steel rails sewed this sprawling landmass together.

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58% of Canadians think foreign aid ends up in corrupt hands

Canadians are questioning the benefit of the $6.6 billion in foreign aid Ottawa sends to other countries annually.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, a Department of Foreign Affairs report titled Canadians’ Views On International Assistance Tracking Study shows that most people are worried that their taxpayer dollars are funding corrupt regimes abroad.

This is the main function of government.

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Four of the five most expensive cities on either side of the border are Canadian: study

Four of the five most expensive cities on either side of the border when it comes to cost of living versus income are located in Canada, a new study shows.

Data released by Canadian insurance provider PolicyAdvisor suggests that New York City, Mississauga, Ont., Vancouver, Hamilton, Ont., and Toronto are the most unaffordable places to live in either country.

The study examined the 10 most populous cities in each country and compared the average cost of eight common necessities, items and services: a cinema ticket, a restaurant meal, a bottle of water, a cappuccino, a one-month gym membership, a one-way ticket on transit, a monthly pass on transit, and one month’s rent.

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What we can learn from 1935′s On-to-Ottawa Trek, a convoy of the disillusioned

Regina Riot

Earlier this year, a trucker convoy descended on Canada’s capital to complain about federal policies and what it saw as government inaction. But going to Ottawa to protest was a Canadian tradition long before that.

In December, 1910, for example, 500 Prairie farmer delegates marched up Parliament Hill and into the House of Commons, where they took over proceedings. The next year, a small delegation representing Saskatchewan Treaty 4 bands brought their grievances directly to senior Indian Affairs officials. But perhaps the most popular protest to take to the capital and capture the Canadian imagination was the On-to-Ottawa Trek, in 1935 – even though the intended cross-country demonstration never actually made it beyond Regina.

My Dad rode the rails during the depression, nearly froze to death. Later he would land in Normandy on D-Day. Wounds would keep him hospitalized for nearly 2 years.

Trudeau’s callous vanity seems hell bent on seeing history repeat itself.

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Liberals block release of data to justify travel restrictions

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, during Thursday’s House of Commons transport committee, NDP MP Taylor Bachrach sponsored a motion requesting “a copy of all relevant documents containing public health advice and scientific modeling received by the Minister of Transport” used to justify quarantines, masking, mandatory vaccination and other measures.

“All of a sudden there was a decision to suspend the mandates without really an explanation of what changed,” Bachrach explained.

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Freedom Convoy protesters set to return to Ottawa for Canada Day, stay through summer

They made Justin cry.

Ottawa police say they expect more protests and larger than usual crowds during Canada Day celebrations in the capital this July as groups related to the Freedom Convoy continue to plan protests.

In a statement, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said it is “working with Canada Day organizers and our policing partners to implement a public safety plan that allows all Canadians and visitors to freely and safely enjoy the capital during this celebration.”

Significant road closures and an increased police presence are expected. Police say additional resources from other services are being brought in.

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Mélanie Joly’s office missed e-mail alerting them to Russian embassy party

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly’s office staff did not read an e-mail that said her department was sending a representative to a Russian embassy party – missing a chance to avert an incident that has embarrassed Canada at home and abroad, two senior government sources say.

Global Affairs Canada sent the e-mail to Ms. Joly’s chief of staff, Sandra Aubé, and four other staff members before last Friday’s Russia Day embassy party informing them that deputy chief of protocol Yasemin Heinbecker would join the festivities, the sources said.

None of Ms. Joly’s senior staff read the department e-mail, because they were busy assisting Ms. Joly, who was attending the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, the sources said. The Globe is not identifying the officials as they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

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GUNTER: Canada’s nanny state wants to label ground beef unhealthy

I’m not sure there’s as much to worry about as ranchers and the Alberta government think there is. Still, it’s the principle of the thing.

Ottawa wants to stick preachy new labels on the front of ground beef packages warning that the contents are unhealthy. (And Health Canada means unhealthy to eat even after it’s cooked, not just raw, which we all already know.)

But it’s barbecue season. It’s getting hot out.

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