Andrew Kirsch: I am a former CSIS intelligence officer. It would be nice if the PM took our security advice seriously

I first Googled “How do I become a Canadian spy” in July 2005. I was living in London, U.K. working in finance when a bus and several subway stations had just been blown up by domestic homegrown terrorists only a few blocks from my office. Fifty-two people were killed and 770 were injured. Just four years earlier when two passenger planes hit the Twin Towers murdering nearly 3,000, I was a senior at Brown University in Rhode Island. This was followed by terrorists killing 191 civilians on a Madrid train. For those who don’t remember this time period, it was the age of terrorism. It was an age where not only did you know what the threat was, but it felt very real and dangerously close.

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Trudeau government to dump housing costs for illegal alien invaders and so called refugees on local authorities in 2026

Ottawa Phasing Out Hotel Subsidies for Illegal Immigrants and Refugees by 2026

Ottawa is phasing out hotel subsidies for illegal immigrants and refugees, with local authorities being given the responsibility of finding “permanent, sustainable” housing for foreigners by 2026.

“Funding in 2026 will be conditional on provincial and municipal investments in permanent transitional housing solutions for asylum claimants,” the immigration department wrote the Senate national finance committee, as first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.

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Trudeau Vote Whoring: Federal gov’t sparks outrage for giving newcomers free access to Canada’s parks

 

However, people on social media were angry that all Canadians don’t get free admission.

“Why do we even pay taxes?” one person asked. “What is the benefit to living in Canada?”


New Canadians Get Free Admission to Parks

Newcomers to Canada and new citizens can explore the country’s national parks for free this year.

According to Parks Canada, national sites including the Canadian Rockies, parts of the Maritimes, and everywhere in between, can be accessed for free for those new to the country.

Free admission applies to Canada’s national historic sites, national parks, and marine conservation areas and can be claimed through the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s Canoo mobile app.

Oh that’s great nothing like a little ethnic vote buying.

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Renters — not mortgage holders — show most debt stress, Bank of Canada says

Canada’s renters are showing more signs of financial stress amid rising debt costs than homeowners facing higher mortgage rates, according to a new analysis from the central bank.

The Bank of Canada released its Financial Stability Report for 2024 on Thursday.

Overall, the central bank said that signs of financial stress were rising back to normal levels after “sharp declines” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Chrystia Freeland defends carbon tax, dismisses leadership speculation

OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stood by her government’s budget at a parliamentary committee Thursday, defending the carbon tax and the Liberals’ economic performance from Conservative MPs.

The House of Commons Finance committee took a break from a filibuster, where Conservative MPs have been pushing to have former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney testify, to have Freeland testify.

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Matthew Lau: Electric vehicle mandates mean misery all round

News of slowing demand for electric vehicles highlights the hazards of the federal government’s Soviet-style mandate that 100 per cent of new light-duty vehicles sold must be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035 (with interim targets of 20 per cent by 2026 and 60 per cent by 2030 and steep penalties for dealers missing these targets).

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Canada’s foreign student scam ‘mismatched’ job market, data shows

Canada’s foreign student push ‘mismatched’ job market, data shows

Canada’s recruitment of international students has tilted strongly toward filling spots in business programs, while doing little to meet the demand for workers in health care and the skilled trades, according to a CBC News analysis of federal data.

CBC obtained figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) showing the fields of education chosen by foreign students who received study permits from Ottawa to attend college or university in each year since 2018.

Experts say the figures demonstrate that neither federal nor provincial governments — nor Canadian colleges and universities themselves — focused international student recruitment squarely on filling the country’s most pressing labour needs.

There is no “Labour Shortage” there is a “Bodies needed to depress wages” crisis in Canada.

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Josh Dehaas: The Trudeau family tradition of invoking unnecessary emergency powers

As the government of Justin Trudeau appeals January’s Federal Court decision that found his invocation of the Emergencies Act in 2022 to be unlawful, history is repeating itself in uncanny ways. Newly obtained records from 1970 show that former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, like his son, also didn’t meet the legal threshold to invoke emergency legislation used to quell a national crisis.

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From yearning for a change to cost of living, why some Canadians have left or may leave the country

For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.

Canada is grappling not only with a surge of immigrants arriving in the country, but also those who are leaving.

The number of newcomers(opens in a new tab) leaving Canada has been steadily increasing since the 1980s, according to a 2023 study.

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Taxpayers Federation presents Teddy Waste Awards for worst government waste

CALGARY, AB: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation presented its 26th annual Teddy Waste Awards to CBC President Catherine Tait for handing out millions in bonuses while announcing hundreds of layoffs; the Mission Cultural fund for its sex-themed artistic performances; and the city of Regina for its Experience Regina rebrand fiasco.

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A Justin Trudeau Ally Nearly Quit the Party Over its Israel Policy But Decided He Could Better Serve Humanity By Doing Nothing

Justin Trudeau nearly lost a loyal Liberal lawmaker amid rising internal tensions in Canada’s Parliament over the Israel-Hamas war.

Anthony Housefather, an outspoken Jewish MP from Montreal, toyed with leaving his party to join the Conservatives after most of Trudeau’s Liberals voted in favor of a non-binding motion in the House of Commons that took direct aim at Israel. It’s the latest example of how the conflict is straining center-left politics across the globe — and challenging the place of Jewish leaders in mainstream progressive politics.

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Elon Musk Calls Online Harms Act an ‘Attack on the Rights of Canadians’

Elon Musk is once again speaking out against the proposed Online Harms Act, calling it an “attack” on free speech rights in Canada.

The billionaire owner of social media platform X called the proposed legislation “a terrible attack on the rights of Canadians to speak freely” in a May 7 post on X.

Mr. Musk waded into the issue in response to an article about the new changes being brought in with the proposed legislation, and in response to psychologist and author Jordan Peterson who also commented on the new bill.

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Top Indian diplomat lashes out at Canadian advocates for a Sikh homeland

OTTAWA — India’s envoy to Ottawa says Canadians who advocate for a separate Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab region are a “national security threat” and a “red line” in bilateral relations as diplomatic tensions between Canada and the government of Narendra Modi continue.

Speaking in Montreal on Monday, High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma said India does not recognize dual nationality, and that Indians who adopt Canadian citizenship are “foreigners” who have no right to weigh in on matters of Indian politics.

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CSIS warns that Chinese-backed interference isn’t going anywhere in latest report

As the dust settles on the landmark findings of the foreign interference inquiry, Canada’s intelligence agency is warning that China likely will back more meddling campaigns and expand its online pressure tactics over the coming year.

In its latest annual report, released Tuesday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service says the People’s Republic of China (PRC) remains “an enduring threat” to Canadian technology, democracy and diaspora communities.

“The PRC’s negative perceptions of select Canadian domestic and foreign policy initiatives may also drive more foreign interference, disinformation efforts and cyber activity in 2024,” said the report.

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A warning from the breakdown nations

At a time when two big economies, the US and India, are attracting a lot of hype for their enduring strength, it is worth looking at nations that not too long ago were billed as star performers but are now breaking down. All are among the world’s 50 largest economies and, so far this decade, have suffered both a sharp decline in real per capita income growth, and a fall in their share of global gross domestic product.

Led by Canada, Chile, Germany, South Africa and Thailand, these “breakdown nations” carry a lesson. Growth is hard, sustaining it even harder, so the stars of today are not necessarily the stars of tomorrow.

h/t Mauser

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