OTTAWA – The Canadian military says nearly 1,000 members have been denied exemptions from the military’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
Vice-chief of the defence staff Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen says more than 1,300 members of the Canadian Armed Forces requested exemptions for medical or religious reasons.
Allen says only 158 of those requests have been approved, while about the same number of requests are still being assessed.
Ottawa is bracing for the arrival of another convoy of protesters this weekend, just four months after the so-called “Freedom Convoy” began a weeks-long blockade of the capital’s downtown core.
The “Rolling Thunder Ottawa” event will see hundreds of bikers and other demonstrators march through downtown streets and stage several rallies on Parliament Hill starting Friday evening.
Justice Minister David Lametti repeatedly invoked cabinet confidentiality in his appearance before a special committee tasked with investigating the government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
Lametti was asked pointed questions Tuesday evening about federal consultations with provinces and others before declaring an emergency, and when the government received advice to revoke the declaration. On multiple occasions, he responded that he “would not betray cabinet confidence.”
TORONTO — Census data released Wednesday offers an unprecedented snapshot of Canada’s transgender population, showing 0.33 per cent of residents identify as a gender that differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.
The data collected during last year’s national household survey shows about 100,815 people are transgender or non-binary, including 31,555 who are transgender women, 27,905 who are transgender men and 41,355 who are non-binary.
h/t RM
On May 2, Switzerland and Greece are set to remove all COVID-related travel restrictions. Visitors will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination, proof of recovery or a recent negative test. The Swiss, who are 70 per cent fully vaccinated — a rate much lower than Canada’s approximate 81 per cent — removed virtually all domestic pandemic restrictions a month ago, and friends and family there tell me that life is back to pre-pandemic times.
Tamara Lich has been awarded The George Jonas Freedom Award for her part in organizing the Freedom Convoy truckers protest that drew international attention for occupying Ottawa’s downtown core in February.
The latest census data from 2021 shows for the first time since the end of the baby boom, the boomer generation in Canada makes up less than a quarter of the country’s population.
The data also shows seniors over the age of 85 are among the fastest growing age groups in the country.
It’s another milestone on the slow march to what experts warn will be a crisis in care for Canada’s elders.
The federal government should appoint a regulator with the power to force social media companies to disclose information to help fight far-right extremism, an anti-hate group told MPs Tuesday.
Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said an ombudsperson could put more pressure on tech companies to do more to reduce online harms.
On April 24, there was an anti-Israel rally in downtown Toronto, at which participants could be heard shouting “God is great” after it was announced that Israel had been hit by two rockets. Such hate-filled events are not uncommon in Toronto, as we witness every year at the Al-Quds Day parade. As a practising Muslim observing the sanctity of the holy month of Ramadan — which is about contemplation, reflection and the renewal of our ethics and morals — I feel I must speak out.
If you are one of those who have self-righteously preached to the rest of us about the benefits of diversity and multiculturalism then don’t act shocked.
You reap what you sow.
Enjoy your Islamophobia!
Teachers and experts in child development fear that the pandemic’s disruptions on “regular” school life may impact the social, emotional and language development of children.
The number of illegal border crossings at Roxham Road keeps increasing, with a majority of the migrants being unvaccinated. Does the government have a plan to address this ongoing issue?
Ottawa needs more codebreakers — but spy agency says finding them isn’t easy
… Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who is helping to oversee Ottawa’s national cybersecurity strategy, said that one of his goals is to scale up the cybersecurity workforce.
Part of that effort, he said, could involve looking abroad.
“I think we should be creating dedicated pathways to attract talent in cybersecurity,” said Mendicino.
I bet he hires from China and North Korea.
Systemic racism is rampant throughout the Canadian Armed Forces, “repulsing” new recruits and putting at risk the country’s national security if jobs continue to go unfilled, according to a bombshell report.
In stark terms, the report probing racism in the Canadian military lays out the rationale for why fixing the “toxic” environment goes to the heart of the military’s ability to do the crucial jobs entrusted to it.
To sum it up: more and more Canadians will have no interest in joining until the military fixes its longstanding, interconnected issues of racism, abuse of power, gender discrimination and sexual misconduct.
No one wants to join a Woke Supremacy outfit.
To Canadian national security officials, Samy Nefkha-Bahri is a supporter of “armed jihad abroad,” who had “dubious associations” and wanted to take part in “combat in Syria.”
Classified government reports obtained by Global News allege he led a group that was preparing to travel “for the purpose of participating in the activities of a terrorist group.”
But instead of arresting and charging the Montreal resident, federal officials grounded him: they denied him a passport “to prevent the commission of a terrorism offence.”
