Canadian and Chinese Banks Get Pandemic Relief

Canadians cry – “More punishment, please!”:

Taxpayers have paid pandemic relief to five banks operating in Canada including branches of the state-run Bank of China Ltd. The Prime Minister’s Office did not comment: “It’s not good news for anyone if local businesses have to close shop.”

 

 

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KNIGHT: Curfews are a breach of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Fifty years ago, I was a young teen growing up in Montreal. The fans of separation were being fanned by a group called Front de libération du Québec (FLQ).

The FLQ kidnapped British High Commissioner James Cross and days later, Quebec Minister Pierre Laporte. Laporte’s body was found in the trunk of a car at St. Hubert airport a week later.

Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau imposed the War Measures Act, which allowed him the ability to deploy troops to the streets of Montreal and extraordinary detention powers.

I remember some older teens in my neighbourhood were arrested just for going for a cocktail in a downtown club. In another incident, a bomb blew apart the mailbox at the corner of my street triggering a military response. It was a frightening time.

Looking at the video clips of the streets of Montreal on the weekend, when a curfew was implemented, triggered many memories for me. People just walking down the street were arrested just for drinking a coffee in public or trying to flag a cab in the downtown area.

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Calgary pastor says church will continue to break COVID-19 rules, days after health order issued

“I addressed the regulations theologically, scientifically, legally, and politically. I knew that receiving a fine would be a real possibility. Having received one now, the course is unchanged,” he wrote, adding that he would not be following the restrictions and reducing capacity to ensure physical distancing or enforcing mask use within the church.

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Why some warn Ontario having ‘no plans’ to curb local travel could fuel COVID-19 spread

In Ontario, where multiple levels of government are trying to prevent infected travellers from bringing the virus in from abroad, experts warn regional movement remains a far greater driver of transmission. But it may also be trickier to curb — even as the presence of several highly transmissible new variants of the virus make it crucial to slow local spread.

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Feds looking at declaring Proud Boys a terrorist organization in wake of U.S. rioting

“We’re very mindful of ideologically-motivated violent extremists, including groups like the Proud Boys. They are white supremacists, anti-Semitics, Islamophobic, misogynist groups. They’re all hateful, they’re all dangerous,” Blair said. “We’re working very diligently to ensure that where the evidence is available, where we have the intelligence, that we’ll deal appropriately with those organizations.”

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Dozens of $1,550 fines issued on the first night of Quebec’s COVID curfew

Police departments across Quebec issued dozens of $1,550 fines as the province’s curfew, which aims to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases, went into effect Saturday night.

In Montreal, the provisional count of infractions stood at 17 after a group of people were ticketed for protesting near the Mont-Royal métro station, said police spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils.

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Most new Order of Canada appointees are white men, despite diversity-boosting efforts

Of the 175 people picked for the prestigious civilian honour last year, just over one third were women. About 7.4 per cent were members of visible minorities — up two per cent from the previous year – and 5.1 per cent were Indigenous, according to analysis by immigration and diversity researcher and former government official Andrew Griffith.

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