The issue is not guns, it’s civil liberties

black panthers

Viva Frei on Trudeau’s gun ban on “assault-style” weapons:

Global News, what a ban on “assualt-style” weapons means for legal gun owners:

Brian Lilley, Trudeau’s gun ban will do nothing but cost us money:

CBC (2013), Gun Culture in Canada:

CTV News, Premier Ford criticizes federal assault rifle ban, buyback program:

True North, Scapegoating lawful gun owners:

Michelle Rempel, Trudeau’s firearms confiscation must be stopped:

CCFR, Trudeau Assault Weapons Ban:

 

 

Civil Liberties

 

Let’s just get right into this. We are two months into the biggest violation of Canadians’ civil liberties as we all try to #stayhome during a government imposed lockdown. Now for lack of better tools, it has served to battle the Covid19. But with still no end date to this isolation mandate, it has felt more like Covid1984. There has been a lot of positives to come out of this lockdown and it may be necessary to save lives. But while people are getting ticketed, for walking dogs or sitting on benches, by Gestapo-like police task forces Trudeau came out this week curtailing our freedoms even more by effective immediately making 150 guns illegal to own in Canada. Once again, Canadians are less liberal by this “liberal” government.

 

Ezra Levant covers Ontario mom handcuffed after taking daughter to playground:

 

While no one is really surprised by this, because the liberals campaigned on gun bans, it just falls so tone deaf and opportunistic that I believe it’s truly revealing the depth of the modern liberal ideology. With people forced to stay home we cannot discuss this among our friends and peers. We would be mocked and condemned if we attempted to form a protest that disrespected the physical distancing guidelines in any way. MPs have been told to conduct their parliamentary duties virtually as glitches and literacy issues compromise any useful content. The official opposition leadership has been suspended up to now and there’s no way that Canadians would accept an election right now with everything going on so it would be political suicide to bring forth a non-confidence vote. Combined with these emergency measures that have empowered this government, they implemented this new legislation without passing it through the house of commons for debate and critique.

We can agree to disagree on gun bans themselves but that’s a totally separate issue from what we can agree is a completely undemocratically implemented law from a minority government whos new law affects a majority of Canadians who would not have voted Liberal in the first place. This isn’t just a debate, by the way. This is something that affects 2.2 000 000 Canadians. These are real, living, breathing people who are directly impacted by these bans. That deserves a debate in the house of commons at the very least. But with the stroke of a pen Trudeau declared many of these people criminals. With a 2 year grandfather clause and buy-back initiatives but that doesn’t change the fact that these weapons have now been criminalized. It’s really not that the Trudeau government dislikes disparities themselves, they just want to ensure that the disparities travel in only one direction.

 

CCFR Channel on legal gun owners:

CTV News with Erin O’Toole wanting gun control measures to go through the house:

 

 

Canadian VS American Gun Culture

 

Now I’ll just be totally upfront. I don’t own a gun nor do I feel the need to own a gun. I don’t sport shoot or hunt even though I have been to shooting ranges several times for fun and would love to go hunting someday. I don’t know that I can sufficiently build the most appropriate defence for gun ownership but as a free individual this ban still affects me as it still infringes on my freedoms. And in many circumstances in the past, Canadians have been put in seriously compromising and dangerous situations.

 

TVO Steve Paikin in discussion with Christie Blatchford on her book Helpless:

 

Situations like Caledonia as thoroughly documented by Christine Blatchford’s book Helpless. Where police, at the behest of politicians and political agendas, refused to enforce the law and put hundreds or law abiding Canadian lives at risk. Perhaps things would’ve gone differently if they had formed their own local militia. But despite all odds, locals appealed to their better nature and did not devolve into a tribalized gun culture seeking to emancipate themselves from civilization at the first sign of trouble.

It’s important to note that often when we see politicized coverage of gun culture, most of that comes from the states. Where there is a big difference between gun rights and gun issues than here in Canada. The biggest difference being that gun ownership is an actual constitutional right whereas here in Canada is it a privilege in the same way that obtaining the licensing to drive vehicles is a privilege. Which are two totally different conversations. I think we do a piss poor job at protecting civil liberties and after seeing how easy it is for politicians to bully law abiding innocent people, I believe it serves to argue in favour of the American model more than the Canadian.

The problem with honour systems and privileges is that authoritarians love trampling all over them. Establishing a privilege as a constitutional right builds in protections for the people against the government. But It seems to me that Canadians have generally become reliant on government to the extent that we like being controlled. We like being told what to do because then we don’t need to think for ourselves. It’s no wonder that politics has become about as tribalized as professional wrestling because if you’re going to forfeit your liberties you want your team at the helm.

That’s ok. We just need the right politician leading the country to make liberals regret this more than ever for them to wake up to the reality of the value of independence. We’re seeing that in America right now. America’s republic has much better controls in place to prevent abuse of power by authorities but with the expanding the power of executive orders over years has now backfired against democrats there as Trump has leaned on executive orders to govern basically however he wishes, regardless what senators say on matters. So be it, they get what they deserve. Maybe they’ll scale back executive orders once Trump is out of office.

In one country if you’re arguing for gun control you’re arguing against individual constitutional rights. That’s different than regulating a privilege. I personally feel that Canada has the better approach to guns. If someone abuses their privileges then those privileges can be taken away. But a free and democratic society acknowledges individual sovereignty and so to curtail those liberties is an extremely serious thing. This is why I am so disturbed by modern liberals who seem hell bent on constantly lecturing us all on what type of Canadian is a “good” Canadian. Modern liberals who regard our social safety nets to be more of a kind allowance by daddy politician, as moralized budgetary spending items continue to trend.

Most Canadians are not gun owners. And an unfortunate side effect to that is a lot of ignorance around guns, gun laws and gun owners. And like everything else, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that something should just be banned when you have little expertise to draw from when evaluating complex issues. It’s no different than censoring free speech. We all want to have the freedom to express ourselves but the second we hear something we don’t like we want to condemn it, deplatform it, contest it in every way possible. It’s the laziest method of debate but we all engage in it because we’re all scared that just maybe we’re the ones who are wrong. That could reveal some disturbing details about ourselves that would be far more comfortable to ignore.

“Facts don’t care about your feelings,” -Ben Shapiro

Styxhexxenhammer666 speculates on Trudeau’s Gun ban:

 

Gun Issue(s)

 

What I want to invite everyone to do here is to attempt to broaden the conversation that’s being had. If we’re going to discuss negative gun issues then we can’t also ignore the positive gun issues. Just think to every social justice movement of the past. What if the black panthers didn’t have access to guns. Could they have been as effective? Were lives lost as a direct result of their actions? Yes. They were effectively domestic terrorists. But they forced all of America to have a very uncomfortable conversation. A conversation that America struggles to have even today. I don’t think removing the use of the word “nigger” from Huckleberry finn is going to produce the same results. Gun rights are black rights.

And while we’re reviewing the days of old, let’s rate how successful the prohibition was. I mean, it made for great business for Canada and started organized crime in America. Just collateral damage for a greater cause. They argued back then too that nobody “needs” booze. And now the LCBO is an essential service. And this all coming from the guy who legalized weed. Now Trudeau is demanding a border shut down while Trump is calling for open borders. What the actual fuck is going on? This truly is clown world.

The whole necessity argument liberals make is precisely the slippery slope gun owners worry about. Who “needs” alcohol? Who “needs” weed? Who “needs” cigarettes? Access to public discourse, sugar, tanning salons, harmful cosmetics, excessive caffine, etc, etc, etc? Amidst a morbid obesity epidemic it would seem totally reasonable to ban unhealthy eating habits. You can make a case for why you don’t need anything but air and sustenance. But this isn’t about needs, is it? It’s about wants. And what I want is to have complete control of my life and my life choices. Who needs a ruling elite constantly deciding for you what your needs are?

One of the many differences between men and women is that women are far more vulnerable to domestic violence than men. There are women who check the back seat of their car every time they get in. They experience anxiety from merely having someone walking behind them in confined spaces like parking garages. Some women check every room of their home when they walk in. Personal security is a women’s issue. It’s always confused me why women weren’t more supportive of female gun ownership. If she’s packing, now it’s the dude who’s at the disadvantage. Gun rights are women’s rights.

This to say nothing about sports and hunting and farming and animal population control. You can actually be a gun collector and not Hitler at the same time. This is not so different from the abortion debate or drug legalization and others. These are complicated issues that require more voices not less. I’ve said many times before and I’ll say again that I have no right to tell an Albertan not to own a gun and an Albertan has no right to tell me not to get an abortion. Not to say that I, personally, would ever require one. I’m sure there’s a better example out there somewhere.

Sweeping blanket solutions often fail to work for anyone. And this is where I fall back on my libertarian sentiments and believe that it is not the role of the federal government to dictate terms to the provinces. In fact it should be the other way around. The feds should embody what it is the provinces are championing. Policy making should be a bottom-up approach, not top-down. Quebec has decided to prioritize it’s cultural identity of secularism and francophone language and tradition over pluralism. You are allowed to practice your personal faith and traditions within your own home, within your community but when you are representing the government in any way you must convey Quebec values first and foremost.

There’s no doubt that it is discrimination and if this is truly something Quebecers want then they should put it to a vote and then respect the outcome of the referendum. Using the non-withstanding-clause is no way to implement such significant policies. But if that’s truly what Quebec wants, we should all be prepared to respect the outcome of that referendum. Part of the agreement during confederation was that Quebec was to keep it’s language, culture and traditions. That was the day Canada became a multicultural country. On the basis of acknowledging provincial sovereignty.

That is the only way we’re going to produce the most ideal outcomes to these complex issues. It needs to be left up to the provinces. And from there it’s up to those within the province to sort out. Right now the government is telling the entire country what to do based on a mandate given to them by Ontario. How’s that for a disparity? Would today’s Canada allow Quebec to keep that culture? Is that very tolerant? I think Quebec could find a much better way of handling other faiths and religious symbols and I hope they do strike a better balance to respect individual freedoms as I do feel this is in conflict with the federal charter of rights to practice one’s faith freely. But again, that is not my battle. As a Canadian I am a voice in that discussion but as an Ontarian, it’s not my place to dictate terms to Quebec. That’s all Ontario is doing with gun bans. Toronto is free to ban whatever gun it likes as cities should be in control of their own destiny. But it should end there.

News and narratives

 

Notice that I have yet to really talk about guns. Because I don’t need to be a gun owner to be impacted by this curtailing of freedom. But I suppose it’s time to more specifically address the elephant in the room. And that has to start with the wolf in sheep’s clothing, the head of the G20 debacle in Toronto, Bill Blair. If you know anything about guns or gun laws as they existed prior to this new ban, you can easily see right through Blair as his overt mischaracterizations and outright lies are totally transparent. He has placed himself as the authority over otherwise non-partisan police departments.

 

Sheila Gunn Reid covering CCFR interview with Bill Blair back in Oct. 2019:

True North, Politicizing a tragedy:

In this True North clip specifically at 15:15 – 18:20 you see the moment the spokeswoman for the RCMP actually turns to Bill Blair for him to take control of questioning to interject the political narrative. Both Trudeau and Blair talking about how important it is for a non-partisan RCMP investigation and statement and yet the RCMP directly taking a back seat to the political narrative that would go on to support Trudeau’s gun ban. And of course the question at hand was towards the legality of the Nova Scotia shooters guns. It’s shit like this that is driving people crazy. Everywhere we turn our news media is not informing us, they are managing us.

The Weekly Briefing with Wendy Messly interviewing Tony Bernardo:

Canadas gun lobby agrees with NRA

It’s important to observe people’s reactions to media’s reporting on guns and gun violence. It’s generally pretty split in terms of likes and dislikes and the top comments tend to flow against the grain of the messaging the media is trying to propagate. But it doesn’t stop them from promoting their one sided reporting anyway. To get better coverage you literally have to travel back in time to watch older content when they at least allowed contrarians on the show to rebut their propaganda. These days you don’t even get that. The only devil’s advocate they play are ridiculous straw man arguments and the only people they feature are the typical weaker, more controversial pundits that they can easily contend with in debate. The people out there making the best arguments has effectively been deplatformed by partisan media outlets.

 

You Can’t do Moore with Less

 

John Moore, morning show host of Moore in the Morning on Newstalk 1010, is a good example of the kind of Ontario liberal who seems to have adopted this god complex where everything liberal equals good and everything conservative equals bad. He used to be a voice that I relied on to make sense during the Harper years when he actually worked to understand both sides of the argument. Now it seems like in his later years he’s lost the appetite for a good debate and feels obligated to tow the party line and only argue in one direction. Some of the most absolutely most ridiculous straw man arguments around conservative perspectives has come from John’s mouth. And it makes me very sad as a guy who admired him for so many years and widely regarded him as a sense maker who could shake off the tribal filters.

John writes in the Toronto Sun in an article titled “gun owners, you’re on your own“. He basically spends the whole article whining about how mean Twitter is to him. John, seriously? You can’t post a bunt cake recipe without expecting at least a handful of threats. Twitter is not representative of reality. It’s the birth place of trolls of all stripes and more divisive than 4chan. What the fuck did you expect? You don’t get to brag to your friends that you have a million followers and then try to complain when those million individuals take exception with something you posted.

John tweeted, “I support gun rights for hunters and target shooters. I don’t know why anyone needs automatic weapons.” It’s easy to understand why this shouldn’t be a controversial statement. But John Moore, whether he acknowledges it or not, is a prominent voice in Toronto and he, like most liberal media covering this issue, is getting his facts wrong. The guy who constantly harrangs on and on about “science and facts” can’t even bother to look into this issue enough to realize that this is not a ban on automatic weapons. there is already restrictions in place on automatic weapons.

This is addressing semi-automatic weapons. And it highlights the very reason the word assault-“STYLE” is being paraded around. Because to liberals ALL guns are assault weapons. Hell, to liberals WORDS are assault weapons. And so to embrace this vast generalizing vagueness around material property that people own is nothing more than an all out war on guns in general. They don’t like guns and they just want to take them away from you, regardless whether data and science support it.

John’s tweet just reeks of the same ignorance that gun owners hear around the clock by the media, mischaracterizing the entire reality of the situation. Just like when John always references Australia’s gun ban while totally ignoring that Australia doesn’t share a border with one of the largest gun producing countries in the world. The same border that is used to smuggle illegal guns into the country on a daily basis. Australia doesn’t have that border problem because it is an island, John.

London has a gun ban and are now effectively trying to ban all knives because of stabbings. It’s almost like there’s a criminal element at play that’s not getting discussed. And as innocent as your tweet appeared to be, John, maybe people are just sick and tired of others refusing to have the whole conversation. Not just the parts liberals want to talk about. So I’m sorry your words didn’t illicit the claps and props you liberals trade for currency. I’m sorry you didn’t get your daily dose of dopamine from the usual suspects who agree with everything you say.

Funny how when you’re away from the microphone sometimes it becomes your turn to listen and you discover that really you just like when it’s your turn to talk. But this is why I don’t have twitter. It’s too anonymous and encourages the worst aspects of tribalism and enables bullying and toxic mob justice group think. It’s not a legitimate consensus of reality nor does it facilitate effective dialogue. I’m not saying you deserved that abuse John, but I do think if you’re too tired to participate in the discussion then maybe you should just retire your position to a more honest broadcaster.

To write off 2.2 million gun owners because a handful of them are mean on twitter is the laziest excuse to write off a group of people you clearly already had every intention to write off. It genuinely pains me to see John Moore become just another partisan hack. I genuinely had a man crush on him when he was on the cocktail hour. I’m sorry that rant was way too long for the likes of John Moore but I think it speaks to my absolute heartbreak over just how much it hurts to see someone I always referenced and looked up to as a sense maker now fall from grace. But this is what liberals do when they realize they have lost the argument. They decry victimhood and attempt to discredit the opposition in place of forming better arguments. I guess that’s it, John, I’m done with you too.

 

Discerning between Evidence and Emotions in the Face of Tragedy

 

And I suppose the other elephant in the room we must address is what happened in Nova Scotia. And gun violence all together. Because none of this is to suggest in any way that we don’t have a gun problem. But what we have more precisely is an illegal gun problem. And this is the greatest sleight of hand played by the vast majority of Media. They report on firearms statistics as though there is no difference between illegal and legal gun owners.

Canada has some of the strictest gun regulations in the world. It’s not the wild west as the media portrays it as while showing footage of Americans shooting at hurricane Irma. Or they would infer that legal gun owners if anything facilitate the illegal activity. The reality is that the opposite is true. Convicted felons have more rights than legal gun owners. Pedophiles are not tracked like legal gun owners are tracked by police.

 

The Free White North Debunking the Gun Ban:

True North in discussion with CCFR Gun Lobby:

Bill Maher in conversation with Colion Noir about America’s gun culture:

TVO’s Steve Paikin sits down with Ed Burlew on gun rights:

 

In the Globe and Mail article, “Toronto Sees record number of shootings in 2019, but fewer deaths,” Tom Cardoso goes on to explain that Toronto alone saw 490 shootings in 2019. Contrasting that to 2005’s “year of the gun” with 262 shootings. What the article leaves out are how many of those shootings were from legally owned guns and which of those were illegal. I know anecdotally from the daily news I follow I have yet to hear of a single shooting that was from a legal gun owner. This is backed up by the account of retired OPP Mark Mendelson when speaking to Jerry Agar on news talk 1010. Mendelson had a 14 year career with Toronto Police as a lead homicide squad investigator and now owns a consulting firm. He claimed (anecdotally) that from his experience 99.99% of gun crimes committed were done so with illegal guns. Though Mendelson supports the gun ban he’s made clear that this ban will do nothing to curb gun violence as it only targets legal guns.

 

 

The Globe article goes on to point out that both the city and the police know exactly the neighbourhoods that are ripe with gang activity that is contributing to the black market of illegal guns and the gun violence that is terrorizing the city. The Jane and Finch community, the Rexdale and Regent Park communities. It was after the Danforth shooting that the province dumped millions into a special police task force to deal with gangs and guns. Aside from arrests and seizures Toronto Police also held 18 town halls across the city in 2019. Toronto Mayor John Tory initiated a gun buyback program which resulted in 3,100 firearms being turned in.

Some of the findings that came out of those initiatives was that Ontario courts need to reform bail. Police accounts of arresting individuals who have discharged an illegal firearm, booked them and brought them before the court for judgement just to, later on that day, respond to yet another shots fired 911 call only to discover the exact person whom they had arrested and booked previously that same day.

Gang bangers operate with such impunity and brazenous that in a townhouse complex (named Acorn place) 5 minutes from where I live. Despite John Tory and Mark Saunders proclaiming in their press conferences, “this isn’t Toronto, this isn’t the GTA, etc,” the reality is we’ve been trending upwards since 2014 with shootings spiking over the last 4 years. The reality is this IS Toronto, this IS the GTA. And the real problem here is a reluctance in this province to hold criminals to account. And continually legal gun owners are being blamed for the brazen actions of criminals with illegal guns.

Since 2014 we’ve seen many changes within the GTA. Political correctness has fostered a toxic anti-cop sentiment to grow through our communities. Cops have been booted from their presence in schools for the absurd reason that they “target” black students. Carding practices have been banned for accusations of racism. Let’s be clear, there have been credible accounts of abuses of power by police with citizens. We can have that discussion, not so dissimilar to the one had in New York around stop and frisk laws. But to write off the entire practice itself as systematically racist in nature rather than a rooted in the poor judgement of the individual officer enforcing it, is nothing more than grossly misrepresenting reality and ignoring all of the positive outcomes from the practice.

Peel Regional Police Chief Jennifer Evans spoke out herself to attribute the spike in violence to be directly related to the carding ban specifically. And of course you had all the media unilaterally come out to condemn her as a racist and a bigot and calling for her to be fired. Because it’s perfectly fine to entertain controversy or have difficult dialogue as long as it supports the agreed upon narrative. Because political correctness is apparently more important than saving lives.

 

CityNews, interviews Peel Police Chief Jennifer Evans on the Carding Ban:

https://toronto.citynews.ca/video/iframe/593482582001/SyxzIeNcgb/5803295136001?auto_play_switch=false

 

Coffee with Cops

 

So interested for me to watch this lockdown unfold with people cheering on gestapo-like police harassing people for just being outside of their homes. Yet when it comes to gang violence it’s just purely racist and fascist and cannot be tolerated. We can absolutely collapse our economy because “saving lives is more important than your mani-pedi.” But I guess lives are just collateral damage when it comes to police walking the beat in known problematic communities.

A virus justifies overcompensating to address the threat but when an Arab man shoots up the Danforth, with a little girl and teenager among the dead, we just have to shrug our shoulders and decry the plight of mental illness. Okay, fine, as long as we’re being consistent.

But there’s just no doubting at this point that these things have contributed to the problem rather than improving anything. The Pride Parade has banned police now for several years in a total rejection of police presence outside of security details for the event. There was no path forward laid out by pride. No road to redemption for a police force needing to improve it’s relationship with the community.

It was nothing more than a complete rejection of relationship building between the gay community and police. Sending the clear message that if you’re a gay police officer you don’t get to wear both hats. If you want attend pride you must do so without a uniform. You must closet your identity to conform with the community guidelines. Because that’s exactly what Pride is all about, right? How inclusive.

As if it wasn’t clear enough that this was the product of a complete ideological takeover of Pride by radicals who do not represent the entire LBGTQ community, you began to see police ban trends in the Vancouver parade and others across the country. And even across the globe in other countries. These divisions planted the seeds for more segregation and condemnation of police. Such as the protests that have emerged from positive events such as “Coffee with a cop“.

With the absolute toxic attitude towards police today who the hell would want to become an officer in today’s political climate? You’re no longer the hero, you’re the villain. Even when you do good you can rely on the media and activists with political agendas are going to represent you as the villain regardless. Between this and the struggles with the courts, police now have developed the habit of FIDO, “Forget It, Drive On.” Where if they see a situation that could possibly backfire on them or put their employment in jeopardy they just opt out entirely rather than doing their duty.

You don’t think any of this can be correlated to gang activity or to the surge in shootings? This is why so many people are arguing right now that these measures aren’t actually aimed at decreasing violence. Because none of these politically correct motivated initiatives have ever helped the situation. They’ve only made things worse. And if all police departments across the country unilaterally agree that the issue is illegal guns, not legal guns then why isn’t trudeau targeting illegal guns? Why isn’t he cracking down on the smuggling operations going through the border? Why is he granting a native exemption to the new law when we know the smuggling is occurring at the border along the native reserves?

These are questions that aren’t just ignored by the politicians implementing this legislation, these are questions that aren’t even being put to them by the media we are relying on to report accurately on these situations. And any independent journalists who are trying to ask these questions are getting blasted as hateful and discriminatory. Convenient.

 

The Time to Act is Now

 

The reality is we will always have mass murderers among us in the same way we will continue to have the mentally ill among us. The mass murderer problem is a complex problem but to call it a gun problem is missing the point. There’s a reason why, in the bible, the first humans to be born on the earth are Able and Cain. What modern liberals fundamentally do not understand is that people are not blank slates who merely need to unlearn the patriarchy that has fostered their toxic behaviors.

 

Jordan Peterson with message to school shooters: past, present and future:

 

It’s rules and boundaries that contain the depraved sinner within. We are just animals at our core and we are all capable of evil and to dismantle the structure that comes with those boundaries is to unshackle the monsters deep within. The mass murderer complex is a deep resentment of life itself and a death wish to seek revenge against God. This is largely documented by academics like Camille Paglia and Jordan Peterson.

There’s a commonality that you can find between mass murderers from the colombine kids, the parkland shooter, the vegas shooter and now the Nova Scotia shooter. And it runs far deeper than mere guns. The Nova Scotia killer burned people alive in their homes. Are we going to ban fire? The incel driver attack on Yonge street killed 6 and injured 13 before he was arrested. Do we ban rental vans?

It’s just so frustrating because this ban will be about as effective as reducing highway speed limits to try and minimize pedestrian collisions on side streets. Yes they both have to do with cars. Congratulations, you’re a natural born detective. Clap, clap, clap. To end my epic rant here I just want to reiterate that banning things is usually more of an indication that the banner isn’t really fully informed on what it is they wish to ban. Because bans largely do not work or fuel a backlash.

Most issues are more complex than that. But it’s a typical liberal concept that everyone but them are just idiots who need to be told what to do. I, and many like minded, freedom loving, real flesh and blood, living, breathing Canadians are just exhausted at the lazy liberal argument about whether or not we “need” this or that. Do we really need those guns to hunt deer? First of all, you’re not allowed to hunt deer with restricted firearms anyway. They can only exist in secured lock boxes and on RCMP regulated sports facilities.

Aside from that, why is it liberals can only formulate their arguments around what they personally deem to be necessary for how others get to live their lives? When do I get to have a say on the necessity of renewable energy, or bike lanes or carbon taxes? These are the same people who occupy condo boards and ban pets from the buildings becuase a few assholes don’t stoop and scoop. The same “Karens” who call and complain to the bylaw officers because they can hear kids bouncing basketballs.

And it comes from the same place in our own thought processes when we become so reliant on government intervention that when we can simply see litter on the ground our first reaction is, “someone ought to clean that up,” but we never come to the conclusion that that “someone” should be us. As Canadians we are far too dependent on government and we moralize social services to justify deficit spending but does that really come from a place of compassion or from a place of greed?

We want to improve our lives but the only person who can do that is you. And while we may actually like the structure that comes with being told what to do, is that really any sustainable way to live your life? And frankly if liberals are using the “necessity” debate then I have no faith that it will end with guns. People who love freedom and liberty need to push back against this authoritarianism and reject this far left modern liberalism.

Otherwise Trudeau and those like him will continue nudging us until we find ourselves up against the wall and they will argue that we actually wanted this because when they pushed us we did not do enough to prevent it from happening. That’s consent to a liberal. They will continue to socially engineer society by “unlearning” all the things that are problematic to their political agenda and they will continue to micro manage and lecture us about being the right kind of Canadian. Whether you own a gun or not, you are less free this week thanks to the liberal party of Canada.

 

Sign this petition to tell Trudeau HANDS OFF OUR GUNS

woman draped in a flag of canada
Photo by Andre Furtado on Pexels.com

 

 

The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.

-Thomas Jefferson

Lockdown Update: Are we being manipulated?

red and white signage
Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

 

First of all I want to start off by saying that it’s not my intention to spend my time during this situation playing these whackadoo conspiracy theory games. I’m pointing out what I am seeing, rightly or wrongly. I am not doctor or scientist. I am not an expert on viruses. I am also not trying to downplay the seriousness of Covid19 by comparing apples to oranges. I am merely asking what I believe to be necessary questions during an unprecedented lockdown that has brought this entire country to a halt. I am speaking from what I’m hearing from my customers as I continue to work as an essential worker, as a small business contractor. Also, I am an outspoken conservative advocate but my intention here is not to turn this serious situation into a game of politics, even if I believe the media has already done that. I will not shy away from my political opinions but my focus on this blog is on the lockdown itself first and foremost.

Spiked: Brendan O’Neill discusses the lockdown with Heather MacDonald

That being said, I’d like to share some resources I’ve been observing lately and I want to make my case for why I believe we need to set a deadline of no more than 3-4 weeks to return to work. It can be a soft return where those below the age of 45 without pre-existing health problems return first. It doesn’t even need to be all businesses necessarily. But the idea that places like the Home Depot and Canadian Tire must close their doors is totally ridiculous. I believe that the real epidemic here is uneducation. This is a virus, not an alien invasion. And this lockdown is a cure that is worse than the virus itself.

Taiwan is not locked down. Taiwan has children in school, consumers at food courts and employees going to work. Business is open and yet they are right beside China and were dealing with this sooner than Canada was. Aside from a tracing app imposed on phones that shakes my libertarian sentiments, that may be something that’s necessary. But otherwise I’m very impressed by all their initiatives they’ve taken since the beginning. They use temperature readers to assess people at all travel junctions, terminals, events and other large gatherings. Taiwan is retrofitting hotels to quarantine people which is aiding hospital ICU capacity. They’ve even implemented a neighbourhood watch type of initiative to help communities self police the spread.

worldometer

taiwan canada

While politicians who are scared shitless are telling us how unrealistic it would be to end the lockdown, in Taiwan it’s equally unrealistic to even consider a lockdown. We have heard models and projections now but one fact that is indisputable is there is no scenario where we have an outcome of zero risk. We face risks every single day from a broad spectrum of things. Even if we manage to bring our infection rate down to 0%, this virus is widespread around the world. Through trade, travel and immigration, the risk will continue. Taiwan knows this. It has calculated those risks and it is moving forward. While our politicians are too terrified to even conduct that cost/benefit analysis. And they are failing us as a result.

Again, I am fully aware that Covid19 is much more contagious than the typical flu. But we are not getting a full context. We are sitting in our homes, locked down, while watching these daily press conferences by all levels of government. The only data they are sharing, if any at all, is Covid19 data. And even those numbers really are totally arbitrary because we aren’t testing everyone. Even with the testing, you need to tick enough boxes just to qualify for a test. So those who are confirmed are only those with severe enough symptoms.

Combined with unconfirmed reports of anywhere from 30-60% experience no symptoms at all. That means if we’re calculating a mortality rate out of who lives and dies based on who is submitted to hospital, that’s going to be a way higher mortality rate than if we were to include all of those other cases outside of hospitals. But we’ll never know that entire number because we aren’t testing everyone. So this is one way that we are not getting a clear picture on the reality of this virus.

death stats

So what I would like to do is simply share more data to contrast and to add context to what we are already hearing. In this Statista chart it shows that in 2017 we had 20.2 deaths per 100 000 people. That’s a death rate of 0.0202% or roughly 7500 deaths for the year. Did you get your flu shot in 2017? Maybe you did but most don’t. And we certainly haven’t been social distancing until now. Contrasting that to the 2,147 deaths currently from Covid19.

death stats3

The death rate among the opioid crisis, according to Canada public health services, was 10.6 per 100 000 in 2017 from Jan-Sep at about 0.0106%. That’s roughly 3,750 deaths. From January to September of 2017. And we all know that death rate has only gone up since then. Yet we don’t force everyone into rehab. Not that that would necessarily even work. Contrasting that to the 2,147 deaths currently from Covid19.

death stats2

The death rate for suicides in Canada, according to Wikipedia, from 2017 was 11.3 per 100 000 people for 0.0113%. Roughly comparable to the opioid numbers. We don’t have everyone on suicide watch. We do have suicide watch but I think we could all comfortably say there is so much more we could be doing to battle suicide. Contrasting that to the 2,147 deaths currently from Covid19.

According to Carsurance.net 27% of all motor vehicle fatalities are linked to speeding. That statistic would go to 0%, or close to it, if we just reduced all the speed limits to all roads to 25 kilometers per hour. But we don’t. Why? Those speed related fatalities are most likely to occur from the age group of 16-24. So why don’t we change the minimum age requirement to 25 before you can apply for a license?

Now I get it. These are apples and oranges comparisons. Speeding and opioids and suicide isn’t contagious. But if you’ve been following the Covid19 news media and listening to these press conferences then you’re hearing an emphasis on worst case scenario modelling. There is no disputing that news media is fear mongering people to stay home. But these are the same people who a month ago were mocking and sneering people for wearing masks.

Now these people are mocking and sneering at people for not wearing masks. These are the people warning about disinformation while lying to us on a daily basis, cherry picking data and platforming Chinese communist apologists. We are not being informed, we are being managed. Maybe you trust that big brother has your best interests at heart but I personally like to see the world for what it is and decide for myself.

 

Viva Frei: Why the Media is failing us now:

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Viva Frei: CBC is fake news, eh? From Scheer to Trudeau:

Viva Frei: Canada to criminalize “disinformation?”

True North: Fake news journalists need to be called out for their dishonesty

 

Yes, this virus has killed a lot of people and will kill many more before we’re through with it. It’s revealed a great blindspot of incompetence in our senior care homes and in how we interact with one another on a daily basis. But there is a lot that kills us every year and we don’t let that terrify us into submission. This lockdown may have a purpose and is effective right now but we are not hearing any economic numbers alongside of the health statistics. Because there are just as many risks, if not more that can also result in death that are intrinsically tied to the economy.

To confine people to their home and even ban them from going on walks to the park is almost method of torture. To give people no sense of when this is over makes it impossible for people to plan or set goals. There’s literally nothing to look forward to. We are creatures of habit and there’s no telling how this isolation is messing with our heads. In some ways this manifests itself in domestic violence. Maybe already stressful situations now seemingly unbearable with the added stress. Maybe existing mental health situations find themselves now unable to fully access their support network. Domestic violence can result in death too. There is no approach to this situation that is truly risk free.

 

TVO: Domestic Violence during a pandemic

 

The economy is not just a long line up of people getting manicures and pedicures. A lot of these hashtags and finger wagging about people staying home is coming from people who are able to work from home or just continue to collect a paycheck. Maybe you’ve qualified for the government EI. Maybe $2000 is enough for you to cover your bills. But there’s a big difference between your rent and business rent and there’s a whole lot more of you guys than those guys. Yet it’s those guys who are the backbone of our economy. And they’re rent is still due, regardless whether or not they can be evicted. It’s not the landlord telling them to stay home. It’s the government.

If we follow the money from the business to the landlord it eventually takes us to banks. But the banks don’t seem to be taking the same hit that the rest of us are taking. Sure they’ve made concessions but unless the government can convince the banks to drastically compromise these arrangements then what the government is effectively doing is asking the private sector to die. And out of a lack of ability to build consensus due to isolation and from our hysteria around this virus we are effectively cheering it on.

And to just take one quick second to speculate even further. I can’t help but notice that this lockdown is like a socialist and environmentalists wet dream. Every day in these press briefings I’m watching Trudeau handing out billions here, billions there, billions everywhere like we have Oprah for president. And in his briefing yesterday where he announced event students would get 9 billion, including volunteers, I was just exasperated. We are beyond deficit spending. The more accurate description of what’s going on right now I can only articulate as a redistribution of wealth.

What students were handed in the guise of a “bail out” amounts to nothing less than universal basic income. And immediately I saw “experts” going to media to comment on UBI being inevitable. This is something that deserves to be debated in the house of commons and put forth to the nation during an election. You don’t just use state of emergency privileges to put forward your own personal political agenda.

We already saw the liberals try to make a power grab out of emergency budget legislating. Why would we believe that they’re going to be any less ideological with these stimulus packages. How do we not know that the liberals are capitalizing on this disaster to implement their political ambitions now that they have more power than they did as a majority government? Through the Kathleen Wynne government and now with most of those people working with the feds it’s clear that a liberal ambition is to bloat the government even further. There’s a direct link between government and union workers and the liberal voting base. I myself saw a unifor daily bulletin board with a poster that depicted Andrew Scheer with devil horns drawn on him that read “anything but Scheer” during the last election.

As the private sector dies so too does services like daycares, health related and management services. Exactly the things liberals always campaign on wanting to take care of for us. All day kindergarten and all that type of stuff. Because liberals think they’re the nannies to our children because a mother is just a CEO being denied her access to the marketplace. How am I supposed to believe that Trudeau isn’t intentionally allowing the free market to die so he can step in with a great excuse to take over these sectors once they’ve gone belly up?

We have soldiers in our senior care homes right now. Maybe that’s perfectly necessary seeing everything that’s come out of them. But Trudeau talks about making changes once this is over. Sure these failings and loop holes need to be called out for what they are. But what exactly is going to happen to this area once government takes control of it? And will there ever be a return to normal? Or will the government do us “the favour” of taking it over 100%?

Liberals have been talking for years about Alberta needing to find a new method of generating revenue aside from the energy sector. Now the energy sector is in dire straights right after blockades, protests and investor disregard. With the exception of a short term bump, Trudeau has yet to provide Alberta with any kind of long term plan.

Sure, now isn’t exactly the time to be having lengthy debates over things that aren’t the lockdown or Covid19 but I can’t help but be suspicious. Every day we’re being told the border is locked down yet more arrivals come. We’re being told that airport security has ramped up and PPE is being provided. Yet that’s been proven to be completely false. The story coming out of the Nova Scotia massacre, about the mounty who only got 2 surgical masks a day and had to drive in daily just to pick them up. This isn’t the PPE he boasts daily that he’s providing widely across the country. So what else isn’t true.

This is the government that worked to develop the 2030 UN Global Compact goals. Things that read like a communist manifesto if you dig deep into it. We were told that none of the compact was legally binding. So then why did we sign onto something if we had no intention of implimenting it’s initiatives? Why did Australia refuse to sign on citing it would compromise their national sovereignty to make independent decisions on policies? Is the whole country of Australia a bunch of hateful nazis? Blame Trump for that too?

 

TED: UN Global Compact Goals

Stexhexenhammer666: We must oppose and stop the UN Global Compact

Rebel News: What they won’t tell you about the UN Global Compact

 

Well the things that Trudeau is talking about in his daily press briefings could be pulled right out of these sustainability goals that he signed onto. After hearing his tirade on the Earth day briefing I have little doubts. At a time when the conservative party has suspended their leadership race? Who’s going to put forward a vote of non-confidence now? What party is actually going to endorse an election right now? It’s the perfect time for them to push this because for all they know the conservatives will hold true to their previous threat of an October vote of non-confidence over the handling of the railroad blockades.

I’m just saying that I think the liberals are enforcing this lockdown for ulterior motives and are arguing to stay home in bad faith. And they’re getting bad advice from experts with ulterior motives as Dr. Tam herself works directly with the WHO. And I think the politicians are scared shitless and are suffering from optimism bias. So I think it’s about time there be some pressure to push back against this concept that saving the economy isn’t worth adopting any risk at all. Because I think that’s wrong. I know it’s wrong. And I believe if we don’t act now we could see a death of the free market in Canada as the country shifts to be reshaped to be socialist.

global

These businesses represent great sacrifice, great vulnerability and great risk taking. Entrepreneurs investing everything they have on the gamble that they can make their business work. Families that are all in to do their part in keeping that business afloat. Couples who have daily conversations on costs and risks and how to pay for their children’s education. And now these businesses are sitting at $0 profit with bills continuing to come in.

The fallout of the economic lockdown represents disputes, divorces and broken homes. It represents addiction, abuse and disorder. It represents longer lines at the foodbank and those too proud to do so. It represents self harm, mental illness and suicide. Not all business owners are relaxing on their yacht while things are locked down. Most business owners do not own a yacht. Maybe we should go down to the food bank que and you can tell these people what it is they don’t understand about physical distancing.

My point is that I believe a lot of this lockdown is coming from the part of our brain that deals with disgust and fear and it’s our societal sense of entitlement that lead us to the privileged position of self preservation. We are naturally risk adverse to begin with. It’s an unusual thing for people to become entrepreneurs. That’s why I enjoy watching shows like dragons den and shark tank because you see so many rich stories of people who put everything on the line to promote their ideas. To be so bold to challenge the world to be a better place with more accommodating things in it. And to dare to be those people to make that happen.

Being commission based, myself, in my job. I’ve noticed that the vast majority of people in my line of work over the years are far more interested in receiving a base pay to offset their commission, then taking a lower commission percentage as a result. It’s always confused me because as I apply the math to my own work I find every time I would be getting paid less for doing the same work. That is assuming that I continue to get calls. Which puts me at odds with this lockdown as I’m only receiving 20-30% of the calls I normally get.

My point is that this virus is triggering our collective senses of fight or flight and due to the vast majority of us reacting with flight, we find ourselves in this indefinite lockdown. We are running out of the burning building rather than looking for a way to put the fire out. All the while the building continues to burn, becoming less salvageable by the minute. The problem with this is that that building is our home. That building is our nation.

 

True North: The economic toll of the shutdown

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When we talk about a recovery, there has to be enough left to work with to rebuild. But as anyone who’s dealt with insurance companies before, there comes a point where the whole thing is just a write off. I think part of what’s rallying us all behind this lockdown is an unfortunate factor of optimism bias. I saw it when people and institutions were largely apathetic to this virus until it affected the markets. We saw it when the recession hit in 2008 and suddenly car companies were asking for bailouts after we always heard that they were “too big to fail” when in actuality they were so big they were doomed to fail. I’m saying that if we don’t return to work soon I don’t think there will be a recovery.

People like Camille Paglia have documented in detail civilizations that have collapsed under their decadence. We need to ask ourselves if we have lost our way in knowing how to run a country, a province, a city or even our own households. What I see in our leaders is a deficit in leadership. I see people scared shitless about litigation. I see people who have failed to prepare for our current challenge despite the fact that pandemics are nothing new to the human experience. Even if we’ve never experienced it within our lifetimes.

In our secular society we have divorced ourselves from the sacred concepts and virtues of God but I don’t think we’ve done so with a complete understanding of the role of worship and spirituality build within our very DNA. What I’m saying is that we can’t simply remove that guidance that has lead us for thousands of years and just instinctively know the path ahead. It’s not as simple as just being a “good person” or just “living your life” without God.

You remove God, you remove the ultimate ideal. And you can’t help but attempt to replace that ideal. But there isn’t anything adequately available to do so. Because no celebrity or mathematical equation or philosophy is perfect like God is perfect. In the same way the strong shame the weak and the beautiful shame the ugly, the ultimate ideal shames us all. It’s far more preferable to look away from the light that burns too bright. Doesn’t mean the sun’s going anywhere just because you have a problem with it.

We have effectively replaced God with “experts”. People of science and facts and peer review who we have placed at the top of our social hierarchy. But the problem with an expert is the same problem with taking your love advice from Kim Kardashian. They are only human. And humans are far from perfect and our deep personal failings permeate our better judgement. Trudeau props up Dr. Tam as the ultimate authority on this situation despite we elected him to lead us as Prime Minister. Dr. Tam gets her guidelines from the World Health Organization despite the evidence and consensus that the WHO has been compromised ideologically by the Chinese Communist Party.

 

Rebel News: Secret ballot at WHO

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These failings manifests itself when information was coming out of China about human to human transmission, longevity of covid19 living on surfaces and in air, methods of transmission and most mainstream media and experts initially dismissed all reports simply because they hadn’t gone through some tedious peer review process. Because the tribal membership that comes with belonging to the sacred expert community is such that those in leadership positions prop up recommendations and guidelines which served to actually get people sick. In telling us all not to wear masks, to take march break into our own judgement, refusal to shut down borders, condemning people for not wanting to shake hands or visit Chinatown as racist, etc.

To go against the grain to a holy sacred system of experts and bureaucrats is nothing more than blasphemy and must be called out and condemned. And that is how it seems perfectly logical that an expert would sincerely believe that the best thing to do is to lock ourselves away until the sky stops falling. Because they’re faced with an enemy that doesn’t respect their religious-like routines and protocols and traditions. They don’t know what to make of it. Nothing about this is ideal but we now find ourselves in a situation of people running the country are playing hot potato with our very survival over a deeply ingrained behaviour of cover your own ass.

These are the same people who regularly work to rule because they’ve resigned themselves to the mediocrity of segregated duties. The kind of mentality that comes with a cushy government job with benefits like jobs for life. You just punch in the time clock and push your broom and keep your head down until it’s home time. Till the little bell rings and boss mommy lets you go home for the day. Not even any homework. Swell. They override any sense of humanity or obligation simply because it isn’t in their job description. These are the people who are more than happy to reduce their very existence to a mere job description. Who stare at the clock instead of taking their place in the greater destiny of the world. I fear that these are the people leading us now.

That probably means we’re all going to just go extinct now because it’s not our job to survive. Trudeau keeps saying that once we have a vaccine we can open back up. But for the entire time we had SARS there was no vaccine ever found. Unconfirmed, un-peer reviewed reports are saying that as this virus travels the world it’s mutating and there could currently be up to 30 different variants of Covid19 abroad. So we come up with a vaccine for this strain in Canada. And them someone comes over from Turkey to visit family and that lone traveler brings with them the second wave. Or maybe by then it’ll be the fifth wave. Do we just lockdown again until we have a vaccine for each individual new wave? That just isn’t an option. Let’s all be on the same page here for a second when I say if we don’t find a way to return to work ASAP then we are in fact committing suicide as a nation and a province. With implications that could even break up confederation. We are quite literally at the brink of collapse.

 

TVO: Planning Ontario’s economic recovery

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Rebel News: Trudeau’s new censorship initiative

 

What we know is that China had to lockdown Wuhan and take their economic hit. Now we’re being told to do the same. Trudeau now talks about cracking down on the spread of disinformation. Would he be referring to the WHO when they told us not to worry because there was no human to human transmission of the virus? When they delayed in deeming this a pandemic until several epicenters had formed outside of China? When they held press conferences to praise China for their lockdown despite it’s authoritarian iron fist methods. Praised China for apparently giving us months to prepare in advance when we know if China had acted sooner this outbreak would’ve affected the world 95% less? No, I’m pretty sure Trudeau is talking about the independent media that called his government out for sending PPE to China without replenishing it and for sending almost a billion dollars to the biolab in Wuhan where this all began.

The point I am trying to make in all of this is that we have been lulled into a false sense of confidence over this lockdown by our leaders, their experts and the manipulative reporting of the media. We are forgetting that what we are dealing with is a virus at the end of the day, not an alien invasion. And out of hysteria we are allowing this virus to hit us like a nuclear bomb. And we need to seriously question why the media isn’t doing more to educate us on viruses and how best to protect yourself from infection. It’s time for a giant national classroom WHIMIS discussion, so why aren’t we having it?

How many of you out there are taking the time to educate yourselves on this virus? For all your worrying about it, what can you really explain about how it functions, spreads or how to even put on PPE? We all need to be preparing for the return to work and so we must prepare for the second wave. Government isn’t our mommies or daddies. It’s up to us to protect against infection. Given how many millennials still have their parents do their laundry, I guess that’s not surprising to me. We are a generation that has been infantilized ever since the participation trophy and now is our opportunity to define our generation and to define the generations to come.

 

CDC: How does Covid19 spread?

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CDC: What older adults need to know about Covid19:

CDC: How to properly put on PPE:

CDC: How to properly take off PPE:

CDC: How long can Covid19 survive on surfaces and in air:

CDC: Can Ibuprofen make Covid19 symptoms worse:

CDC: How to prepare for an emergency:

CDC: Can you contract Covid19 through stool?

CDC: How to tell if you have the flu:

CDC: Social distancing:

CDC: managing anxiety and stress:

CDC: Answering questions about Covid19:

 

 

Stop whining about now getting more allowance from your government and learn how to live in the world that has come upon you. Learn how to live your lives! Do something for this country to preserve what our ancestors built for us to inherit! Make a mark that you can point to the next generation as your contribution to them. Be brave! End this lockdown! Expand ICU capacity, stockpile PPE and ventilators, impliment hygiene tools and practices, practice physical distancing and let’s keep calm and carry on. Let’s be the ones who saved Canada!

 

 

Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.

-Theodore Roosevelt

We need to talk about the lockdown

person holding sign
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

China lied, people died. Let me preface what I’m about to say with this, this virus has caught the entire world off guard. Except for Taiwan. But otherwise the problems we are facing here in Canada is not so dissimilar from pretty much every other country in the world. I acknowledge that the measures taken by government is in many ways an experimentation in leadership and we’re doing the best we can with what limited options are available to us.

Though I often reference my belief that Trudeau is the worst prime minister in Canadian history and I stand by that, my intention here is not to play partisan games or whataboutism cheap shots. That’s not to say the feds or the province or even municipal government is above scrutiny. Questioning is necessary in these times. But we should all be taking off our partisan hats and prioritize the truth above all in these dire times. I just feel before I form my argument I first want to acknowledge all levels of government are working their asses off for us all and I deeply appreciate all the work everyone is doing. Especially front line workers like myself and all the healthcare professionals out there. Nothing I’m about to say takes away from any of that.

 

Leaving everything up to “the experts”

So I’ve been trying to pay as much attention as possible to this whole pandemic stuff and how it’s impacting the world. I’m no economist, I’m no healthcare professional, I’m no politician, I’m nothing more than a plumber. So take that for what it is. But the thing I can’t seem to wrap my head around with this whole lockdown stuff is what happens after the lockdown? First it was for 2 weeks. Then that became a month. Now cities are cancelling all events up to August.

All the politicians are citing the “science and facts” that they’re basing their decisions on. But to me there’s just something fundamentally flawed about deferring all policy making and security decisions up to unelected individuals. Especially when there is so much mounting evidence to suggest the experts are actually getting it wrong. So what will happen if they do get it wrong? “well what do you want? I’m leaving it up to the experts. Not my fault if they get it wrong. Well, yeah, actually it is. You’re the one promoting their guidance so you own it.

What advice is that expert going to give when they’re trying to cover their ass? The only people I see at these press conferences are more scapegoats than experts. But they wear many hats, I’m told. But it’s no surprise their advice is to shut it all down. Who wants to take the blame for when someone’s kid gets sick at school or someone’s grandparent collapses during lunch at the old folks home? And so they may be an expert but they are functioning mostly as bureaucrats. We elected the people in power to lead us. not to delegate all their responsibilities away. They rightfully fear the liability of risking public health but why is there no sense of responsibility for the health of the economy?

 

True North: The Economic Effects of Covid19 explained in 8 minutes

 

I get it, no one planned for this. This thing has caught us all off guard. But panic does not make for sound policies or pilot projects. This needs to be called out as the half baked plan that’s going to do more harm than good. And if it isn’t reevaluated now, I believe things will actually be worse off once this lockdown is finally ended, defeating the entire point of the lockdown to begin with. The lockdown may be winning a battle but it’s not even thinking about the war against this super virus. We need a long term plan, not just billions of band aids. I get it, there is no plan. That’s exactly the problem.

On top of that, with everyone harping on and on and on about misinformation, I’ve found Dr. Tam has been pretty misleading herself. First when the virus first arrived here the narrative was that it was very racist for people to avoid Chinatown and chinese restaurants like “Wuhan noodle” in Markham. To blame China for the virus would be to blame a culture for the virus and that’s just racist apparently. It was Dr. Tam who came out early and discouraged social distancing in this way and who claimed that border restrictions and travel bans were not helpful. And we all know in the coming days and weeks suddenly it became necessary to close the border and shut down travel. Duh.

According to Dr. Tam masks do nothing, in fact they actually increase the risk of contracting the virus because we’re all too stupid to figure out how to wear a mask. Now she’s had to back peddle and admit that if you have access to a face shield of sorts then it would be good to use one. If you ask any other doctor not standing at a podium they’ll tell you of course it’s helpful. Why are flight attendants wearing them? Why do the doctors and nurses start their shift with them? I think we all know what Dr. Tam is really saying. She just doesn’t want everyone hoarding the medical supplies like we have been with toilet paper. So just say that. But like most modern liberals, they believe we’re all too stupid and reactive for us to know the truth. So the best approach in a crisis is to lie.

Liberals told us to lock it down while people were still arriving into the country and not receiving testing or questioning. they were to self isolate and this was all done purely on honour system. There’s no coincidence that after march break things blew up, because of the absolute lack of guidance provided by our leaders. The legacy media decided to mock and sneer anyone wearing a mask in public. Now those people are working from home and preaching to us the importance of taking this seriously. I wonder how many people contracted the virus because they were too embarrassed to wear a mask. Oh but as long as the media has Trump to blame, they don’t have to take any accountability.

 

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These are complex issues that demand dramatic change that not everyone has the capacity for. Most people aren’t plugged in to what’s going on in their own community let alone around the world. The hoarding actually isn’t our fault. Are there greedy, selfish people out there taking advantage? yes. But these people aren’t the majority. In fact these people are in the fringe minority. All it takes is for half of us to go to the store and pick up only one of anything before we would see shortages of that one item. Supply chains need to step it up to compensate and stores need to place purchase limits. Naming, shaming, doxing and ridiculing others who are distressed and acting irrationally, or who are mentally ill, not only does zero good but it’s actually detrimental. This is not the time to throw empathy out the window because we’re all being inconvenienced.

 

True North: Do Canadians like being controlled?

 

Self preservation instincts kick in when you’re vulnerable and afraid and have the ability to bring the best of us low like the worst of us. As a plumber I often deal with people in vulnerable positions and I can tell you it sure doesn’t bring out the best in them. You definitely find the best aspects of humanity once we are in a semi secure state of being but we’re just animals in a habitat like every other habitat on the earth. But really, why weren’t the stores limiting supplies from the start? They have no problem limiting the sirloin roasts when they go on sale. Why wouldn’t they limit medical supplies since day one?

This is an aspect of the plan we will have to develop to tackle future outbreaks. Pandemic planning needs to be at the forefront of every election now. Because the problem with war time measures is they are often in place with the consideration that this will ideally never happen again. However we could have another pandemic next year given the right cocktail of mutation vs poverty. The measures we are taking could actually destroy our entire country. I’ve been absolutely floored watching what’s been unfolding. This virus is all over the globe and varying strains from continent to continent. Even if we do come up with a vaccine it’ll only be effective until a new strain makes it’s way here thanks to globalization. There’s no turning that back, it’s unavoidable. So I’ve been paying attention and these are my thoughts.

The lockdown is only useful to give the hospitals time to prepare for the coming surge. To replenish medical supplies and to buy time for industry to provide new ventilators, masks, gowns, face shields, etc. That is worthy of a lockdown. For the sake of those who get sick and need hospitalization, yes, we all need to do our part to flatten the curve. But once the hospitals have been prepared and perhaps other alternative facilities established (such as converting some of these empty community centres or army relief camps) then we all need to go back to work. This country needs to begin it’s economic recovery literally as soon as possible. Or else we are fucked. I just don’t see it any other way.

It’s when we go back to work, we will be entering a new world. A world where social distancing is the norm. Look at Taiwan. Their first case was January 20th. Ours was Jan 24th. Our total cases per 1 million people is at 228 and deaths per 1 million people at 3. Taiwan’s total cases per 1 million people is 14 and deaths per million is 0.2. The total cases of covid19 in Taiwan is only 322 meanwhile here our total is currently at 8,612. Why is that? Taiwan, to my understanding, is far more densely populated than Canada. We should be the ones easily able to socially distance. So what are the Taiwanese doing that we’re not?

Just looking at Taiwan really reminds us that what we are dealing with here is a virus. It may be highly contagious and that’s scary and worth taking seriously but at the end of the day it’s just a virus. Like South Korea we need to ramp up our testing to make testing available to everyone and anyone at any time. We need to be able to identify who has the virus and those people need to be quarantined. And if we can manage to get this thing under control then perhaps we can do more than the honour system to ensure these individuals are in fact respecting the guidelines. The cases we see developing are indicating these people are not respecting the rules.

and I don’t even fully blame them, the government has been a complete wet noodle more concerned about identity politics than pandemic precautions since day 1. We need to ramp up our testing greatly. We also need to ramp up the production of PPE. This may require all of us to lend a hand in making our own protective gear for ourselves and for others. Let the official stuff go to the healthcare workers. They need it most.

And if we can start implementing new protective measures then we can start going back out into the world. Measures like clear physical barriers in food courts, transit terminals, etc. Floor/ground markings to indicate where to stand in line ups to respect social distancing. Sanitizer provided at virtually every single entrance and exit and hand wash stations available at places of business, parks, etc. And above all, individual responsibility. Hand washing before touching our face or eating. Then more hand washing! Some variation of mask to use in enclosed/confined spaces/indoors to protect from respiratory droplets. Showering every time we get home after being outside.

The police need to back the fuck off. If government wants scary headlines saying those not respecting social distancing will be fined $1000 then go ahead. But to actually fine people $1000 in a time when people are facing losing their homes? You’re a sick fuck and you apparently love robbing others of their civil liberties. If you’re throwing a 50 person party then yeah in these times of crisis I believe that would constitute a crime. A night or two in a jail cell should suffice for that sort of thing. That’s much less harmful than $1000.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-bylaw-parks-fines-1.5523154

But yet we see police handing out $750 fines to people just out, sitting on park benches. If you’re respecting social distancing then you’ve done nothing wrong. If police play this game too hard you are going to see a push back that will be really ugly. Desperate people loot, steal, mug, or worse. And this love for authoritarianism is going to blow up in all of our faces in a big way. We cannot abandon our principals and values just because it’s inconvenient right now. It’s precedent setting and you’re wrong if you think the goal posts will move back once this pandemic is over. This is a democracy and police exist to serve and protect. Period. This type of crime is best socially enforced, not legally. PERIOD.

And we need accurate, truthful, uncensored flow of information. I said it before and I’ll say it again. Censorship is nothing more than a partisan effort to control and bias the flow of information. We are really being let down by the legacy media right now. This is a direct result of narrative based activist reporting. The other day the Ontario press conference went on for an hour before someone finally asked a single question about the duration of the lockdown. I’ve heard more questions about Trump than anything about this lockdown or anything to guide us through it.

 

Viva Frei: The media is failing us now:

 

TVO: Data from Polly:

 

True North: More misinformation from public health:

 

True North: The media pushes fake news left, right and centre:

 

Rebel News: China’s Virus Lab Intentionally harvested bats for their virus potential:

 

Let’s be clear. The average Canadian, whether they like Trump or not, doesn’t give a flying fuck about Trump right now. What the Americans do is up to them. They can block aid but why don’t we have the necessary supplies as it is? Why aren’t we able to produce the most absolutely necessary protective gear? Why did we allow ourselves to become vulnerable in the first place? Ask those questions instead. And while you’re at it, find out when we can go back to work so we don’t lose our homes. Instead of seeking truth everyone is just bunkered down trying to find a way to interpret reality through their narrative filter. And it’s hurting the public.

The very media screeching about misinformation are the same media praising China over this outbreak. Claiming they did us all just such a huge favour by “buying us time”. I can’t even begin to explain why that is so incredibly ignorant and obviously aimed at people who don’t follow news at all and are only tuning in to be told what to think because they’re sheep. If China acted a month sooner the virus would’ve been 95% less impactful to the rest of the world.

 

True North: China Lied, People Died:

We need to take this next month to isolate for our healthcare workers and until we can get PPE restocked and distributed but after that we MUST GET BACK TO WORK. Otherwise we are utterly fucked. I very much fear for the future of this country if we don’t begin our recovery as soon as possible. I was suspecting our kids and grandkids would have a large financial burden but this is making the future look more like mad max than anything else.

And I do not doubt that one day we will be watching an HBO mini series next to Chernobyl called “Coronavirus” and even though it’ll be a different series, it’ll be the same story. Because it’s always the same story when it revolves around a communist regime that does not value human life. China does not value human life. We don’t even know totally whether or not this was actually intentional for China to reset the global economy with them on top, amid their Trump trade war and tariffs. This isn’t even close to being over yet. And we need to decide which team we’re on. Team America and Capitalism or Team China and Communism. If you love freedom and liberty you must be team America and Capitalism. Et tu Brute?

 

True North: The economic toll of the shutdown:

 

I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to even talk about this whole thing. I decided to just share my thoughts on what has been happening and my thoughts on where we need to go from here, for whatever that’s worth. But I think what I will be working on from here on out is a chronological timeline of this pandemic. That is truly difficult. There is so much happening every single day that there is just no way to capture every single detail or do so all in one single post. So I think what I’ll be doing is covering more actions than speculation and projections and offering resources covering these developments and presenting this timeline in the form of chapters like in a book.

Still not sure how it’ll play out but I do think these times are very important to document since I believe this pandemic will change the world. And so as I wake up every day and check for updates, I will seek to record these updates through my blog. So stay tuned as I struggle to document this ongoing challenge. Also follow my instagram @The301Champ for more optimistic, fun content which I think will serve as good medicine in these times.

What we don’t have is a 10 step plan for handling viral outbreaks in the future. I think what I’d like to do while compiling all this information is work on what MY 10-point plan would be for the future and see if we can discuss the effectiveness of such plans. Like a modern day zombie apocalypse strategy. By the way, here were some very good Joe Rogan podcasts that I found extremely helpful:

 

Joe Rogan Experience: Michael Osterholm

 

Joe Rogan Experience: Dr. Peter Hotez

 

 

The 301 Champ’s 5 step viral strategy:

Phase 1: A viral outbreak appears to be at or on the verge of an epicentre in a country.

  • This country must accept experts with peacekeeper escourts to observe the outbreak and gather data/assist with containment.
  • countries must send aid to assist with containment.
  • There must be weekly press conferences to update the world on developments.

Phase 2: The viral outbreak has broken containment and has began to spread outside of the epicentre.

  • Governments hold weekly press conferences informing people how to appropriately and responsibly stockpile 72 hours worth of goods in the event that anyone needs to self isolate (and how best to utilize food delivery services in the event of prolonged quarantine).
  • grocers implement shopping limitations on goods to prevent hoarding.
  • Governments- begins PPE resource stockpiling to prepare hospitals for possible outbreaks.

Phase 3: Cases appear on home soil.

  • Social distancing guidelines are made mandatory for places of businesses, public parks, etc.
  • weekly Press conferences held from municipal, provincial and federal governments to share all projections and available data on what is current on the outbreak.
  • commercials and ads are bought on which masks are appropriate for use and  to remind people when and how to wash their hands to avoid contracting viruses. also to inform people on what viruses are and how they are spread.
  • Restaurants and public events must set in place measures to respect social distancing guidelines. (such as dine in tables being spread 6 feet apart, markings indicating where it is appropriate to stand in line ups, etc)
  • The border and airports must conduct testing on all travelers entering and exiting the country. Social distancing must be explained to travelers and masks must be provided and made to be worn for those entering the country.

phase 4: An outbreak has escaped containment.

  • Social distancing guidelines are now enforced with threat of possible fines.
  • Restaurants must close dine in options and only operate take out and delivery options.
  • Border must be closed to non-essential travelers.
  • testing must be made mandatory and accessible to everyone. those who test positive must be connected with what is essentially a parole officer to ensure they are respecting the quarantine orders.
  • Travel bans may be implemented.
  • airports and transit terminals and grocery and department stores must embrace high security measures to disinfect public spaces on a regular basis daily and be able to provide sign off sheets to confirm cleaning is being done.
  • Government issues curfew orders for all businesses to be closed collectively at a certain time and for citizens to stay indoors after a certain time. (with an exception to essential services like plumbers, hvac, healthcare workers, truck drivers, etc)

phase 5: Projections anticipate hospitals about to reach max capacity with patients.

  • Military must be called in to set up relief care spaces and to provide aid in distributing PPE and other necessary resources.
  • Military set up safe off-site testing drive through facilities to begin testing the public regularly and constantly. This may involve retrofitting hotels, prisons, community centres or other local facilities.
  • Government issues self isolation lockdown orders
  • government declare essential services and provide strict timeline for lockdown. (any financial aid or compensation or tax cuts must be determined BEFORE the government calls for a lockdown)
  • Municipal, provincial and federal governments must conduct daily press conferences to update the public on all data and projections and modelling.
  • public amenities and all community centres and services must be closed to the public but as long as the curfew and social distancing guidelines are being respected, the public can enter parks, off leash dog parks, paths and green spaces.

 

 

I am just reflecting on measures that have been taken thus far and trying to think of how we could articulate these in more structured step by step initiatives. The government could create a website that goes into deeper detail between all 5 phases. But the problem with the slow trickle down of information and word salad that’s been going on at these press conferences is that in some cases they just cause more confusion than offer any clarity. In this regard a government could just simply say we’re implementing phases 1-3 and people would know what that means. or could at least easily look it up. maybe these 5 phases could be stretched into 10 to be able to highlight features better. I just feel the government really needs to improve their communications during a crisis. This is what we are learning today. Feel free to share your thoughts or add suggestions to the list.

 

 

 

 

Life isn’t valuable because of it’s abundance. It’s valuable because it is finite. It’s the brutality, challenge and unfairness of life that allows us to shine. Whether it’s watching the home run hit bounce out of the stadium, the figure skater landing that triple axel, the basket ball finding the hoop after dribbling off the rim. These moments of greatness come from our inner greatness. Covid19 is yet another trial for us. It wasn’t the first and it’s definitely not the last. I say good. We will endure it not because we want to but because we must. And we will emerge not just alright but better. Because we have the inner greatness and antifragility to shine through our adversity.

-Me

 

We need to talk about Meghan Murphy

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Gender Identity: What Does It Mean For Society, The Law and Women?

hosted by: Radical Feminists Unite

CBC: ‘I’m not going to reconsider’: Toronto’s top librarian refuses to bar speaker critical of transgender rights

CBC: Tory ‘disappointed’ in Toronto Public Library for hosting speaker accused of transphobia

CBC: Ontario writers blast Toronto Public Library for booking speaker accused of transphobia

NOW: Toronto Public Library facing Pride ban over Meghan Murphy event

NP: Event featuring Meghan Murphy ignites debate about libraries’ role as forum for free speech

Jonathan Kay: Meghan Murphy, the woman behind trans wars breaking out at the public library

NP: Hundreds protest as Meghan Murphy speaks on gender identity at Toronto library

Barbara Kay: How feminist Meghan Murphy fell victim to progressives’ double standards

Jonathan Kay: The silencing campaign against Meghan Murphy is a disgrace

 

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So who the hell is Meghan Murphy and why is everyone so upset? She’s an academic of women’s studies who writes for the website Feminist Current and others like Vice. Here are some of her works:

Canada’s New Prostitution Bill Is Far From Perfect

Japan Is Still Denying the Sexual Slavery of Chinese ‘Comfort Women’

Prostitution by Any Other Name Is Still Exploitation

It’s time for feminists and the left to support free speech before it’s too late

Women warned you: Yaniv’s human rights case is the inevitable result of gender identity ideology

 

So tonight was the Megan Murphy event and what looked like about a hundred protestors showed up and held signs that read: “Let us live, no hate in our city, binaries are for computers, Meghan Murphy hates women, fuck the binary, trans rights are human rights, fuck transmisogyny, no platform for hate, our library should be a safe, space not a hate space, turf the terf, no free speech for hate speech, support sisters not just cisters, etc.”

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They chanted things like “who’s library? Our Library! Trans right are human rights! Terfs go home! Hey, hey, ho, ho, these terfs have got to go! Trans women are women!” and others. Things got a little tense when the crowd swarmed the back exit when discovering the police were escorting people out the emergency exit. But luckily there were no violence or vandalism that I could see. No altercations between police or attendees.

I am not one who will ever recommend anything that comes out of feminism, regardless what denomination of feminism it comes out of. However I am not prepared to silence anyone, that includes feminists. I warn of the dangers coming out of academia but to suppress anyones free expression is to deny them their civil rights. I would not be defending someone like Meghan Murphy if we weren’t living in the upside down clown world we find ourselves in today but here we are.

Where I do agree with Meghan Murphy is that there is something disingenious going on with this latest trans movement. The thing with Trans people is that, well, they’re transitioning. You know, from man to woman or woman to man. They align on the same binary that the rest of us work with. These activists who seem to find themselves at the helm of every complaint, grievance and (micro)aggression seem to all have something in common. They’re self proclaimed “non-binary”. Which apparently means that they do not fit within biological norms. Even though most of them do.

It appears to me that this is the true defining difference within the LBGT community. The non-binary seem to be a signal of their position that biological sex is a social concept. And all that power junk that’s deeply imbedded in neo-marxism and the socialism rhetoric peddled by the far left. If this is true then Meghan Murphy has every reason to fear these people. Even the modern “feminism book” points out on page 287, “a new type of feminism,” that “cisgender feminists exclude trans women, saying they cannot know what it is to be a woman” and as such are agents of “division”.

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So if you believe in biological differences between women and men then you are without a doubt a perpetuator of patriarchy and white supremacy. This is what happens when progress peaks. It progresses until it inevitable progresses backwards. Modern feminism is not the bra-burning, sexual liberation movement that it was for our parents. Today’s feminism is just an extension of socialism and intersectionality. What the protestors are really saying is you’re either with us or against us and if you’re with us then you must swear allegiance to a socialist revolution of the west.

So by default if you stand for womens’ rights, for free speech, for freedom and liberty for all then you are in the conservative camp. Which may be the inevitability for progressivism. I mean, once you’ve accomplished all the things you’ve been progressing towards, you would then seek to preserve those values. When I was younger the issues were of equal rights between the sexes. Gay marriage, equal opportunities, etc. We have that now. Now in order to have pride we find ourselves celebrating pedophilia and beastiality. The LBGT community has become an umbrella party for even the most obscure deviants and once they are under that umbrella you cannot criticise any of them over anything they do at any time. Because fuck you.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against trans people. I follow several trans people over social media such as blaire white and I’m personally intrigued around trans people and trans issues. And I am happy that despite all the craziness going on, it’s still never been a better time to be trans. Everyone deserves our respect and trans people are no exception. I’m glad society has become so empathetic towards trans people. And I just hope all this assault on free speech doesn’t actually hurt trans people by painting them all with the same brush. Make no mistake, the non-binary crowd hate you, me and the entire western world and it will never stop. At least not until we begin calling out the callout artists themselves.

So I support Meghan Murphy and I applaud her for having the resilience to take a stand in such crazy times. I also believe that the protestors have the right to peacefully protest, her detractors have the right to call her a piece of shit. That’s all free speech. But no one has the right to prevent the other from talking. If what she has to say is so shit then that’s for others to discern from her speech. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. However these activists need to ask themselves why exactly she’s only gaining more followers. Maybe they’re the ones who are on the wrong side of history.

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Oh and Meghan is not the first career feminist who is being utterly defamed and destroyed by cancel culture. Check out these other feminists and you tell me if modern feminism REALLY has womens best interests at heart. What do they all have in common? They’re biological reality is what makes them unique and special. Sounds like what Christians preach. Sounds like conservative traditions. Sounds like women who want what’s best for women should find themselves networking within the Conservative tent.

Conservatives are the only ones who will advocate for you now. Your liberal partners have unpersoned you and exiled you along with the straight white men that you worked so hard to cancel. One says “trans-exclusionary” but another hears “pro-lesbian”. Not everything is so black and white. And we need to be able to make up our own minds about these issues. Under a conservative government you will have the freedom to express yourself. So you choose. Stand with Meghan. Stand with women.

 

Christina Hoff Sommers

Germaine Greer

Melanie Phillips

Camille Paglia

 

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“If we don’t believe in free expression for the people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”

-Noam Chomsky

We need to talk about Greta Thunberg

greta 4

Greta Thunberg is a 16 year old Swedish environmental activist who became famous after media coverage of her habit of skipping school to protest the Swedish government to do more about climate change. Since then she’s been hosted by multiple countries to deliver speeches about her activism and embarked on a 15-day sail boat voyage to New York City to raise awareness of climate change.

Her comments stir up reactions from all along the political spectrum. Some cheering her on for her harsh critique and others questioning how much of this is Greta’s idea or if those in her inner circle are using her as a political pawn for their own agenda. Lately conservative pundit Michael Knowles has been banned from Fox News, according to the Washington Examiner, for calling Greta “mentally ill” in a recent interview. This, although not exclusively, has sparked a debate over how one contends with Greta through the conversation she, herself, is trying to initiate. Broadcasters like John Moore and others on newstalk 1010 along with others on the political left have taken the position that to criticise Greta in almost any capacity is nothing more than a personal attack on her and amounts to bullying a minor.

 

Watch the Washington Post video about Fox News because apparently YouTube’s algorithm will only recommend content through Liberal media:

 

When black face photos surfaced of Justin Trudeau, liberals experienced cognitive dissonance.  Black face is clearly racist. Justin Trudeau was clearly an ally of racial minorities. But then how could Justin Trudeau wear blackface at multiple occasions and still not be a racist? While some of the same broadcasters and journalists who preach to us on a daily basis that Donald Trump’s racism needs to be called out, for this, they were more than keen to “listen” to what people had to say about it. While Trudeau continues to struggle to get his campaign back on track, those on the political left miss the entirety of what made his black face controversial.

Nobody believes Trudeau is a racist. Has he done or said racist things? Yes, we can now definitively say yes, he has. But is Trudeau a racist? No. He is a hypocrite. And this is something those on the left fail to even perceive. Hypocrisy is the main theme among the leftist movement as a whole. And this is why those on the left cannot understand how anyone could disagree with Greta Thunberg. So any critique of her must only be personal prejudice.

Liberals today just don’t understand anyone who disagrees with them. And contrarianism threatens them because it questions them. Maybe reading a news feed that has been 100% tailored to your individual worldview can have that effect on a person. Rationality threatens the cause and so all dissenting opinions must be suppressed at all costs. That is why instead of answering questions or making arguments they merely slander their opposition. That’s why everyone and everything is racist and bigoted. That is why anyone who disagrees with or disapproves of Greta Thunberg is attacking a minor.

nick sandman.png

Like everything else, we need context. So I think of the Covington debacle. Nick Sandman was the name of a minor who participated in a pro-life rally called the March for Life. He decided to wear a MAGA hat during the event. After the event had wrapped up and Nick gathered with his classmates to wait for their bus to take them back to their school another group of protestors confronted the group of school children. A native group and a group called the black hebrews were also there protesting that day. The MAGA hats being worn by nick and others had caught the attention of these other groups and they converged on the students.

One native protestor who was playing a native drum had noticed Nick and singled him out. He confronted the minor, banging his drum, within inches from Nick’s face. One of the black hebrews captured this image with his phone and uploaded the photo to Twitter. There for the world to see was a MAGA wearing, white man facing off with a native man. Without any context the image quickly became a symbol and it garnered explosive outrage across social media from all regions of the world. It was received as Trumpian racism and ignorance facing off against a community of marginalized, vulnerable individuals. Even if that wasn’t the reality of the situation, it’s how it was communicated.

Since CBC thinks sharing tweets counts as journalism, I will also share with you some hard hitting, in depth, journal-isms. This was some of the fallout that happened over social media regarding Nick Sandman. Remember, Nick was a minor at this time:

covington 9

The highschool had to be shut down for several days because they received multiple threats. The Sandman family experienced a multitude of harassment and had to lawyer up after media decided to feature his face and identity in their news reports. Nick and his family, and the school itself, is still dealing with the fallout of the incident. Twitter, who operates under a self imposed hateful conduct policy, did not ban any of the verified accounts who incited violence or doxing against the students or the school. They have, however, permanently banned Megan Murphy for misgendering Jessica Yaniv. The point is that some of the same people who are condemning people for criticizing Greta today are the exact same people who called for violence against Nick Sandman.

covington 1

Watch Viva Frei break down the WaPo lawsuit dismissal:

 

I also think about Omar Khadr. He traveled to Iraq, pledged allegiance to the Taliban and after helping build improvised explosive devices he was arrested and pleaded guilty to killing an American medic and blinding another American soldier with a grenade. He was 15 at the time. To us, here in Canada, he would be legally considered a minor. In Iraq he would be considered a full grown man where many that age would be either starting a family or on track to start one. He committed the worst crime possible and did so under the flag of a terrorist group who has called for the deaths of all Canadians.

Omar Khadr now lives in Canada, enjoying ten million dollars given to him from a settlement out of court by the liberal government. But that’s it’s own story not worth glossing over too many details for the sake the of conversation I’m trying to have about Greta here and now. We are also living in such a different world today than the world we lived in before september eleventh. Both in government policy, socially and technologically.

When I was in highschool I did stupid things like ride the top of my buddy’s car and steal street signs. We would make stupid jokes about everything to try and shock one another. Jokes about everything. Back when “edgy” was something that can get you arrested for today, at least in the UK. But those jokes and that behaviour is not online. Even by adjusting our conduct today to match the standards of the day, we are still the subject of scrutiny from anything that can be dug up and exposed today. In today’s climate, context does not matter.

Justin Trudeau can use his “privilege” as an excuse for a “blind spot” to justify his lapse in judgement but I guess for everyone else whos daddy wasn’t prime minister we get no second chances or get out of jail free cards for our mistakes. We get fired. We get banned. We lose our friends. Maybe rightfully so. This is exactly why we need to be extremely careful about our conduct. Because you never know what will come back to haunt you in an uncertain future.

The whole reason why there are publication bans on court cases involving minors is purely to protect the identity of those minors. So nothing can be held against these individuals before they enter adulthood. Where they will be held accountable for their actions. Their actions as adults. But social media has made that an impossible standard because everything we do online is now saved, archived, recorded and sold to anonymous third parties. On a regular basis.

Raising a child in this environment in a way that won’t affect their future is almost impossible. You can’t just cut your child off of technology until they’re an adult. You’d be raising an illiterate mess who is incompatible with almost any workplace they will enter. let alone damage their ability to socialize with others. You also can’t expose your child to everything without scandalising them. The parental tight rope gets thinner and thinner every year. So it’s easy to see how so many people view Greta as a victim.

I do not know Greta and I am not trying to speak on her behalf. I, like most everyone else, is trying to just understand where we stand today as a society. Is Greta a victim of child abuse? Is she being used by those around her? Will everything she says and does be held against her in her future? She has admitted to having aspergers and we know that people’s mental illnesses work against them in job interviews. So I think we can say there is evidence that her inclination to polarize may work against her in certain situations. And I think we can all agree that she’s too young to really appreciate the implications of that. So I think there is actual credibility in peoples concern for her.

Ultimately we will need to wait and see what becomes of young Greta. Where she ends up. If she ends up becoming some politician, this will serve to her advantage. But what if Greta kills herself? Some of us rejoice in hearing her brutal critique of governmental indifference but some also hear a hysterical young girl who has become too cynical about the world in a time when she should be smiling and laughing with friends. Does she at least have a therapist to help her cope with her cynicism, depression and celebrity status? What do you think goes on in the mind of a girl who says, “you’ve stolen my dreams and childhood from me”? Or when she talks about extinction?

There is value and developmental benefit of children having a chance to lead happy, fun, worry-free lives before entering adulthood. That may be too late for Greta and I think we could all agree we would rather our children be competent than just simply safe and you don’t do that by raising a naive child. But I can’t help but feel like some people are using Greta to help them struggle with their world view, is anyone helping Greta struggle with hers?

 

Watch Emma Gonzalez speech at the “March for our lives” rally:

 

It also reminds me of David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez. The two main student activists that rose to fame with their appearances after the parkland school shooting. In an interview with 60 minutes Emma Gonzalez mentioned that when they first gave their speech before the Parkland community they had no conceptualization that they were being broadcast for the entire world to see and react to. Now they find themselves thrust into the public spotlight. The whole thing felt coerced to me. A local rally could serve to be a part of the healing process but it’s another thing to have CNN hold a town hall and get children to go on stage and yell at politicians. And then later be given an award for journalism. It’s no wonder so many people are confused about the reality we’re living in.

There’s no doubt that Greta has achieved a certain type of celebrity status and maybe that itself is healing to her. But It sure comes with a boat load of implications that need to be considered. The reality of the situation we are faced with is simple. You cannot enter discourse without expecting there to be discourse. We can all agree that discourse should be civilized and much of it is. But as always you have liberals taking the fringes of discourse and using it to write off the whole conversation.

Regardless how you feel about Michael Knowles referring to her as mentally ill, that is actually what she is. Aspergers is now considered part of the autism spectrum and is in fact a disorder. He didn’t call her deranged or crazy, he called her mentally ill. And it brings into question the conduct of parents of children with mental illness. Parents who seem to have no problem subjecting her to the world stage. I have no doubt if this were regarding a social conservative cause such as pro-life these parents would have their children taken away. You know, like when Kathleen Wynne made it a removable offense for parents to misgender their own children. And made it so teachers must exclude a student’s parents from discussions around sexual identity. And no I can’t find a citation right now so take it or leave it.

 

Watch Matt Walsh discuss whether climate alarmism is child abuse:

 

My take on all of this is that it is absolutely wrong to attack this girl on any superficial level. She is asking for debate, so contend with her ideas. Leave out the comments about her appearance or her gender or age. We can all appreciate young people becoming more engaged politically than ever before. But it is equally as uncivilized to refuse to participate in the debate she is literally asking for. To disqualify any argument or opinion as nothing more than attacking a minor is a lazy response to genuine reaction. What it’s actually saying is that their ideas and arguments are above scrutiny. Nothing is above scrutiny. Not even Greta herself.

You can’t treat Greta like an adult when she wants to speak and then infantilize her when it’s her turn to listen. The only way we’re going to navigate our way through this culture war is by doing as much listening as we do talking. Questioning climate activism isn’t climate denial and propping up children to take the place of science only hurts climate initiatives. A child can never be the face of the public relations battle for trust. And by hurting real conversations around actual change, we are working against Greta’s ambitions, not towards them.

Trudeau’s blackface isn’t a question about racism but of integrity. The concerns around Greta Thunberg doesn’t actually revolve around the environment. And in hypocrisy the only thing you will ever find is comedy and that’s why hypocrisy hurts trust. I disagree with Greta that the environment is our number one issue. Not because the environment isn’t an issue. Because she claims we are doing nothing about it. We are. At least here in Ontario, Canada where we currently have more forestry today than we did two hundred years ago. These issues aren’t solved overnight and as long as you keep demanding they are, we’ll never find a solution.

 

I disagree with Greta but I do admire her. I am glad people are becoming more engaged with issues that impact our daily lives. I just hope Greta can live a happy life. You know how it goes, childhood celebrities never ever develop any issues into their adulthood.

 

 

 

“The Earth is what we all have in common.”

-Wendell Berry

Justin Trudeau is the Trump of the North

Trudeau Black Face

Time Magazine releases a yearbook photo of Trudeau at an “arabian nights” themed gala

Why are we talking about black face? Because it’s 2019. Time Magazine has exposed old yearbook photos which feature Justin Trudeau wearing black face in a gala themed “Arabian Nights”. Turban, robes and all. Now is it distasteful? Yes. Do I really give a shit about a mistake made 20 years ago? No. I do not believe skin colour means anything. I believe culture isn’t skin deep. Our similarities and differences transcend pigment. But by the rules of intersectionality, it’s not my place to have an opinion. It’s my job to shut up and listen. So I will humbly not make this about myself and hold Mr. Trudeau to his own intersectional criteria.

So, what does this mean? Well by the criteria set by the Liberals MP themselves, this doesn’t just make him a racist. This is a dog whistle to white supremacy, therefore it propagates white supremacy therefore Trudeau himself is a white supremacist. And now everyone who has ever taken a photo with Trudeau is now also a white supremacist by proxy due to guilt by association. They expressed these views at a free speech hearing where Liberal MPs told Lindsay Shepherd that because she appeared on a podcast with someone who has been deemed a white supremacist then she herself possessed guilt by association. Also anyone who has been found in a picture with Faith Goldy has also been deemed a white supremacist by association.

But let’s be real. Trudeau isn’t going to be held to that standard. Even if the media does slam him on this, Liberals are just going to shrug this off like everything else Trudeau has done. There is literally nothing that Trudeau could do to prevent his base from endorsing him. Even if they secretly hate him, they will support him. Because we are so entrenched in our hyper partisan tribalism that the ends justify the means and he is just a necessary evil so we can defeat “the enemy”.

Well I hate to break it to you but no evil is ever necessary and there are no actual enemies here. We’re all Canadians. But we are no longer voting on issues or policies. We are using our votes to fight the culture war. The more I watch things unfold the stronger I believe that this is no longer actually a culture war but a full blown civil war. I’m sorry, we are subverting our elections to be used to wage battle against the caricatures we have created out of our own hyperbole. This is a civil war. I just hope it stays within the boundaries of strategic voting and social media shit posting. The best case scenario is we butcher our democracy without butchering each other. I won’t even entertain what the worst case scenario could look like.

Trudeau and Trump may be on polar opposites of the political spectrum but they are both symptoms of the same problem. And in that sense they are the same. Trudeau is our Trump and I’m going to explain to you exactly how. Trump shocked the world when he won the election of 2016 after he had said and done so much that many felt had disqualified his candidacy. Time and time again Trump demonstrates that despite the controversies and the unorthodoxy of his presidency, it only ever seems to empower his base. Likewise, Trudeau has faced scandals, conflicts of interest, controversy and yet nothing seems to disqualify him for anything nor does it appear that Liberal voters are willing to hold him accountable to any degree.

  • Trump had the Billy Bush tape and the Stormy Daniels affair and God knows what else, Trudeau has the Kokanee grope.
  • Trump initiates a Muslim ban and Trudeau on the opposite end of the spectrum welcomes back Islamic State fighters like Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi.
  • Trump makes himself a laughing stock while visiting other countries, hurting America’s relationship with other governments. Trudeau gave us the whacky India trip where the Indian government snubbed him for dressing up like a bollywood clown. Despite all the PC culture he spews he had no problem “culturally appropriating” a bunch of ceremonial attire, while actual government officials were just walking around in three piece suits. He brought along Jaspar Atwal who was convicted of attempting to murder an Indian dignitary. And then when he came back to Canada he accused the Indian government of trying to sabotage his trip. That’s not even to mention his strained relations with the Philippines. Not that the garbage issue was his creation but the Philippines did declare war on us over it technically. For whatever that means. But I suppose the UN adores him so there’s that.
  • Trump gets accused of anti-semitism all the time but at least he did what many presidents before him promised to do but never delivered on. He moved the embassy to Jerusalem. Held a vote in support among allied countries and Canada abstained from the vote thanks to Trudeau. On top of that Trudeau’s team brought forth the motion 103 to investigate “Islamophobia”. Opposition moved to amend the motion to include anti-semitism and other forms of hate crimes and the Liberals used their majority power to veto the amendment. Now if I said that this was evidence of anti-semitism your Liberal apologists would call me a conspiracy theorist. But we all know that under intersectionality, in which he adheres to, Muslims are seen as superior to Jews. Jews have white privilege, don’t you know. Since 1942.
  • Trump shocked people when he praised Kim Jong Un but, again, people shrugged when Trudeau openly grieved Castro’s death and delivered an emotional outpour of support on behalf of all Canadians. I guess it’s understandable, Castro never did anything wrong, right?
  • Trump is largely criticised for un-presidential conduct when operating within government. A lot of people argue he’s abusing his powers with all his executive orders. But Trudeau’s Liberals have consistently used their majority power to shut down corruption probes and has now interfered with the RCMP trying to investigate criminal corruption charges. Rob Ford was criticised for turning city hall into a circus with some of his antics. Like the time he stormed through council to aid his brother and fellow councillor Doug Ford, knocking over Pam McConnell. This confirming in most people’s minds that Rob Ford was just the worst. But more shoulder shrugging when Trudeau man-handles two opposition members in the house.
  • Trump’s wall is synonymous with Trudeau’s pipeline.
  • The media has been obsessed with whether or not Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. However an extensive investigation and report by Robert Mueller failed to link Trump to an indictable offense. At least America got a Mueller report. Trudeau’s Liberals blocked any further probing into the SNC-Lavalin scandal where The Globe and Mail broke a story alleging the PMO had directly and consistently attempted to politically interfere with the attorney general. Allegedly under the direction of the PM himself. After an investigation of the ethics commissioner he found the PM was indeed in a conflict of interest. So I guess at least Trump had plausible deniability if there was any guilt on his part at all. Trudeau actually was guilty of political corruption. So I guess in that sense Trump isn’t as bad as Trudeau.
  • Trump may make up words like covfeffi but Trudeau is a gaf master himself if you manage to catch him in a scrum about exactly the topic he doesn’t want to talk about.
  • Trump cancelled a meeting with the Taliban in light of the 911 anniversary and people called the whole thing disgusting. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand that. But it’s not like Trump gave a convicted terrorist $10 000 000 in a settlement out of court. Oh that’s right, that was Trudeau’s Liberals who just gave Omar Khadr $10 000 000. The man who was convicted of killing an American medic and injuring another American soldier. Oh, I almost forgot. Trudeau also apologized to him.

Justin Trudeau is the Trump of the north. They have both done things that should absolutely disqualify them but what we see is their base double down, rally around and openly endorse them. He’s just as populist. He campaigned in the last election to end hyper partisanship but the country is more divided now than ever before and political discourse has devolved to witch hunts where social justice is mob justice. The political correctness he peddles is hurting this country. With 311 shootings this year alone in the greater Toronto area all politicians can do is spew more rhetoric around gun bans because even they are afraid to be labelled a racist for suggesting all neighbourhoods may not be equal.

What I see are unprecedented developments from and unprecedented government who is unashamed of how they have disgraced this country and at every chance they get they double down again and again and again. And people just dismiss it. “All politicians are bullshit,” they say. Liberals will vote liberal, conservative will vote conservative and I fear everyone else is just going to stay home and probably watch something 20 years old, when times were simpler and fun.

Justin Trudeau is the worst Prime Minister Canada has ever seen and he has set this country back at least 15 years in regards to unification and what progress use to mean. Of course Trudeau did black face. Of course he’s a bigot. He’s a spoiled trust fund preppy boy who had life handed to him. Identity politics is nothing more than a game to him where attention is the currency of the day, it was never about any actual standards or code of conduct. Voting Liberal in the last election was the biggest mistake of my life and I’ll always regret it. I’ve never been more ashamed to be a Canadian. And the part of all of this that depresses me most is that people seem more concerned over whether or not black face makes a person racist rather than the verified ethical violation by the prime minister of canada. Why? Because it’s 2019.

 

 

“Identity politics is a sick game. You don’t play racial, ethnic, and gender identity games. The Left plays them on behalf of the oppressed, let’s say, and the Right tends to play them on behalf of nationalism and ethnic pride. I think they’re equally dangerous.”

– Jordan Peterson

Crowder Vs Maza? Free Speech Vs Censorship? Private Company Vs Public Utility? I don’t know anymore.

M v C

 

Watch a Mary Ham break down the situation surrounding Carlos Maza and Steven Crowder (4:56):

Watch Phillip Defranco covering the situation:

Watch Tim Pool’s report on the situation:

Watch Tim Pool follow up on of the adpocalypse:

Watch Lauren Chen cover the situation:

Watch Joe Rogan’s reaction to the situation:

CNN business interviews Maza over situation:

Watch 1791 profile Carlos Maza:

Watch 1791 follow up with “The Aftermath”:

Watch Glenn Beck’s reaction to the situation:

Watch Glenn Beck interview Steven Crowder:

Watch Jimmy Dore react to the situation:

Watch David Pakman break down the situation:

Watch Secular Talk break down the situation:

Watch Sargon of Akkad react to the situation:

Watch the Quartering react to the situation:

Watch Ben Shapiro cover the situation:

Watch Steven Crowder in his own words, “I’m not sorry”:

 

It may be Steven’s right to say whatever he wants but let’s not kid ourselves, there is speech that you just can’t defend. Using the word “fag” on a t-shirt you sell as merch, that’s not a hill worth dying on. Nor is it something I would want to support or sympathize with. He’s used the word fag regularly like in events held with Milo. Youtubers are more than just commentators, they’re role models to their audience. But when you look at what crowder actually says about Maza it’s always in the context of rebuttal.

He’s never said anything remotely close to anything like “this is the problem with the gays” or “people like Maza” or “he’s like this because he’s gay”. No. It’s always been an attack on Maza himself as an individual. And I’m sorry but when you create political commentary content where you’re whole shtick is criticising others, it’s just plain fair game that others are going to react to what you say. What is Maza actually asking for here? And by going after youtube Maza is demonstrating the very mob behaviour and targeting that he claims youtube enables in others. Critics have been parodying each other forever. Crowder denounces all forms of doxing and online bullying. This is not just to formally cover his ass, he knows and makes clear that is is exactly what people like Maza want so they can claim that sweet, sweet victimhood and it plays right into their narrative. Online bullying is never ok and never helps anyone. Crowder understands this and always denounces it. The responsibility of creators for their followers is another conversation.

When he exaggerates Maza’s excentricisms, is that homophobia? If you’re someone I don’t like, I might call you a cock sucker. If you were gay but I didn’t know, would I be a homophobe? If I did know you were gay and still called you that, would I be a homophobe? If you subscribe to intersectional doctrine then yes, as a CIS, white male I have no right to criticise anyone above me on the hierarchy. And my insult will be found to be discrimination of some kind. If it’s directed at a gay man, it’s homophobic. If it’s directed at a woman it’s misogynist. If it’s aimed at a “person of colour” then it’s racist. And if it doesn’t comfortably meet the definition of racism then we’ll just call it coded language to dog whistle white supremacy.
In the context of intersectionality, CIS white males will inevitably be found to be guilty and tainted and problematic because that is the status of my identity group. Despite the fact that when I’m using such language, I’m never thinking about the act itself. Nor am I using it to bring about visuals of such acts being performed by the people such comments are targeting. I’m probably just using that language because I think it’ll offend you. And if I’m using that language I probably want to offend you. I’m just intending to piss you off, nothing more, nothing less. But thoughts, actions and the intention around them are irrelevant. If you are not a member of the protected class then you will face the consequences of your actions and cited as an example of things like “genocide”. That all being said… did I have to call the person a cock sucker in the first place? Probably not.
This leads me to an email I sent to Steven Crowder about 2 years ago. I had just created a youtube account to investigate this whole youtube thing after the Trump election and crowder was one of the first channels I discovered. After so long following him closely I felt the need to email him a critique. I wrote to him that I felt he was wrong to use words like Faggot. Even if it is in talking to Milo Yiannopoulos through mutual respect. I don’t recall him ever using the word Nigger but he’s always engaged in real spicy language. I told Crowder that he may have every right to say absolutely whatever he wants but the reality is having an audience makes him a role model as much as he is a comedian or commentator. And his advocacy for conservative values and free speech is noble. But his careless use of spicy language really just makes him look like a bully and that he only wants free speech to be an asshole.
I believe in absolute freedom of expression but free speech doesn’t mean freedom against consequence. However this regulation should always be socially enforced and not legislated into law. The government regulation of speech will always be a gross conflict of interest. If you’re not scared of a liberal telling you what’s acceptable to say or do, try having a conservative telling you what you can say or do. This is not the role of government. Public discourse is best left up to the public. And the amendments we currently have on free speech is already borderline too much but fair enough. Defamation, incitement of violence, etc. Fair enough. People will get in line with their tribes based on what’s socially acceptable to say. This plays out every day as we all self censor over controversial issues.
So I warned Crowder that if he insisted on using, what I have been calling, “indefensible speech” then one day he would be targeted and his arguments would be reduced to  holding him to account for this spicy language. Using words like Faggot isn’t a hill worth dying on. And freedom of individual expression is far too important to be taken down by such shallow defenses. These are words that are so morally powerful they bind and blind people and recruit free speech opposition quicker than any advocacy argument could ever back them off that cliff. And here we are today, Crowder being accused of hate speech. Not because of his “change my mind” segments or his one-on-one interviews or his comedic sketches or his collaborations. It’s over the word fag.
He can be as ‘not sorry’ as he wants, the damage is already done. Not from his base but to his credibility to those sitting on the fence. The more he frames things as “us versus them” and the more he appeals to tribalism the more he contributes to polarization. And that’s why Crowder is in the wrong with this issue. I can play devils advocate for Crowder in this situation and I believe Maza is also wrong and also disingenuous but that doesn’t mean Crowder is right. They’re both wrong for their own reasons. These issues need to be contended with responsibly and with the seriousness they deserve. Crowder is not doing this and no amount of “some of my best friends are fags” style defense will ever make him right.
He’s making money and gaining subs despite his demonetization so if money is the only measure of success then sure, he’s winning. I only see an empty victory. Is Crowder a comedian? Not in the traditional sense of a comedian but if Stephen Colbert, Fallon and Kimmel pass as comedians then Crowder does as well. But their partisanship doesn’t grant them the kind of pass I would grant people like Kevin Hart or Bill Burr, etc. Crowders show is clearly intended to be a political commentary dressed up with entertaining sketches and bits to make it more palatable. That does not exempt him of scrutiny nor has he ever shied away from challenges. Provocation is part of his style and that is aimed at shock value and intended to challenge you. This is also not a defense for indefensible speech.
When I engage in road rage on the highway I don’t stop and think rationally of what the most appropriate wording of outrage would be to use so that I don’t offend my perpetrator. Instead of “dumb bitch” I use “silly goose” and instead of “mother fucker” I say “non-gender-conforming parental guardian consentual fornicator”. Look, I’m not equating delivering a speech to the world to the same standard as road rage but sometimes an emotional reaction can result in impulsive inappropriateness. And as Freud said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
My point is Crowder doesn’t like Maza. Why would he give a shit about Maza’s feelings? Sure, you’re a content creator and you shouldn’t appeal to outrage. And in an ideal world we would all be polite to one another. But Maza does the exact same thing by demonizing those he criticizes. Maza’s advocating for one identity group being a protected class over another identity group. Again, it always comes down to socialism with these guys. Political correctness is just fascism with manners. If social media wants to start promoting some content while censoring other content then how does this not make them a publisher? News media relies on all social media for their reporting now, it’s cited as a publisher source constantly. But everytime they favour one voice over another they are actively in conflict with constitutional rights. You guys want to end discrimination? Then there can be NO protected category of ppl over other ppl. period. Every time any protected class is favoured, all those outside the protected class are discriminated against.

Now as for Maza. All I can say is the guy isn’t real journalism, it’s the exact activist based narrative propaganda that he himself is so critical of. Crowder isn’t fooling anyone by using the word “Figs” instead of “Fags” on his shirt. Maza isn’t fooling anyone by advocating for acosting people with milkshakes isn’t an incitement for violence. I’ll tell you right now if you ever threw a milkshake at me I’d beat the ever living fuck out of you. I have my own hateful conduct policy. Kill me or regret it. So he violates actual laws but you’ll never see it enforced because society is adhering to this social justice rhetoric around protected classes.

I can appreciate that he may call himself a gay wonk and that doesn’t automatically exempt others from scrutiny for engaging him with the same language. I believe the word Nigger is reprehensible and should never be used. However I don’t care when I hear it in a song or in the context of news and the like. But the main point here is that Maza has entered the public domain to target and criticize others. This is his career. He gets paid to do this. This puts him squarely smack dab in the middle of the marketplace of ideas. His ideas and opinions are just as up for scrutiny as those he targets. He, himself, engages in the same demonizing language he’s critical over Crowder using.

He thinks he’s right based on his race and sexual orientation and Crowder is inherently wrong as a measure of his race and sexual orientation. Maza is wrong. He claims Youtube doesn’t care about it’s LGBTQ creators. This is a lie and his calls for protest are all simply aimed at damaging youtube and the creators on their platform. He even admits himself this isn’t really about Crowder. And he chose to do all of this at the same time of a vox walkout and during pride month. It’s calculated, manipulative and disingenuous. His proclamation of victimhood is, in my opinion, purely aimed at harming others. The mainstream hit pieces that have followed reinforce my feeling that this is just another attempt to reclaim lost ground against alternative media.

 

He’s doing it for the clicks clap

He’s doing it for the clicks clap

He’s doing it for the clicks clap

 

 

Watch Philly D cover new main stream media hit pieces:

Watch Tim Pool’s coverage of Media hit piece:

Watch The Quartering react to the media hit piece:

Watch 1791 cover the media hit piece:

Watch Secular Talk cover the media hit piece:

Watch Ben Shapiro’s coverage of the media hit piece:

 

So in closing, I need to ask. What exactly are we talking about here? Is this just a fight between Crowder and Maza? Well neither knows each other personally and it’s pretty clear that both parties have their own personal agendas behind their faux feud. So this really isn’t a conflict between these two. Is this a conversation about censorship? Maza makes clear that it’s not enough to demonetize creators channels, citing websites like patreon. Youtube has nothing to do with Patreon. Is it not enough to censor a creator? Must there be a collaborative effort to destroy the lives of those we deem ‘problematic’? Youtube can change it’s policies every hour if they want, I don’t think that’s what the issue is really about.

I think this all comes down to the big question of what is social media? Is it a private company that is allowed to ‘hire’ and ‘fire’ anyone they deem harmful to their brand? Is it a publication that produces us with news? Well all mainstream media has no problem citing social media for anecdotes in their work. All media utilize social media for their content to reach far beyond the municipal boundaries of their broadcast. Is social media really just a company that aims at only making money?

Well if social media wants to continue to regulate content then it increasingly fulfills the role of publisher as it guides our attention and calculates it’s recommendations. Maybe a better question is what is social media to us? Internet in general is now considered a basic human right as more people do their banking, communications and coordination through their smart devices or computers. Trying to live without a phone or access to internet truly does present very real barriers to thriving in a society that demands instantaneous communication.

Here are a few other good questions. If you cannot network, plan, promote, advertize or advocate on social media, how does that impact your professional and/or social life? Would you suffer damages by being barred from utilizing social media? What advantages would others have over you if you were not allowed access to social media while running for political office? While others have access to it but you don’t. How would that impact the election of your riding? Better yet, could you ever become president/prime minister without a presence on social media? I don’t think you could run a competitive campaign without some degree of social media activity.

How significant is our online avatar? Is our online presence as significant as our physical self in real life? If you disappeared from social media, would it have a measurable impact on your real life friendships? Could that lead to falling out with certain friends? Your profile, your avatar, your page, your library. Are these personalized home pages shares? Does holding a personal account/home page equate to holding a share within the company if it’s profitability is derived from your account/content? Is there an argument there that your account is a form of equity? Canadian government ruled that points accumulated on reward cards like air miles is a form of equity that is owned by the card holder, not air miles. This after Air Miles attempted to retroactively apply an adjustment to terms and conditions around accumulated points. Government ruled that unconstitutional. They ruled that digital equity could be property. Does my participation on social media produce equity that I should be entitled to?

Are these companies monopolies? What relationship do we have with social media? Is it addictive? Could it be so intrinsic to our functionality that social media can become a symbiotic relationship with us? It may be true that social media are private companies. This also means they are unelected officials regulating the centre of public discourse. So what responsibilities do these companies have in the symbiotic relationship their products have with our lives? Are these platforms an open forum? I don’t have the answers but I think after seeing just how far you can flesh out the significance of social media it tends to feel more like a public utility than merely a private platform. Perhaps how it functions goes beyond it’s intended design. But if it meets the definition of a public utility then we cannot ignore the conversation around civil rights. And if access to these platforms is a civil right then it’s pretty clear the conversation around regulation is far from over and far more complex than it seems.

 

 

“A lie told often enough becomes the truth”

– Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Apparently beheading the premier isn’t hate.

queens park 2

This week there was yet another protest outside Queen’s park because #fuckford. It will forever be the conservative burden to inherit deficits in the billions, make the unpopular decisions necessary to balance the budget. Then they inevitably find themselves dethroned by tax and spend liberals who go back to running up deficits. We have created a culture in our politics where funding is commensurate with compassion. And unless we’re spending money on it, we don’t care about it.

By the way, ignore the marxist flag donning the hammer and sickle. Marxism is a conservative conspiracy. It doesn’t exist on the left or in academia or anywhere. The marxist lie is a conservative straw man. It’s probably photoshopped, right? PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN!

queens park 1

If teachers experience cuts, the PC government must hate teachers. If healthcare experiences cuts, the PC government must hate doctors and nurses. If cut taxes then this must only mean the PC government loves evil corporations. Are we really making the case that government has been 100% efficient and there is no room at all for cuts of any kind? Are we really arguing that while the rest of us in the private world have to endure the fluctuating risk the economy threatens us with every day, those who work for the government, whose payroll exists off of the taxes we pay, should never have to worry about their job security? Are we really arguing that there is NO wiggle room for innovation  to find efficiencies in government at any level?

What’s been really bothering me since the election is to see the change in Andrea Horwath. The language she’s been espousing has been increasingly unparliamentary and she now has taken a position to simply oppose anything and everything proposed by this conservative government. The latest example was her absolute opposition to free dental care for seniors. I believe Horwath is now in part responsible for an increase in vitriolic anti-government activism we’re seeing unfold.

TVO featured “Ontario’s new political landscape” where a panel reacted to the election results where Brittany Andrew-Amofah of the broadbent institute literally said, “what happened last night was a false majority that can only be produced under a first-past-the-post system.” Keep in mind that the conservatives took 76 seats out of the total 134 seat legislature, the NDP won 40, the Liberals 7 and the Green 1. To form majority a party only needs 63 seats. With 76 seats awarded to Doug Ford’s PC government, I have no problem speculating that even if we had used a different method besides first-past-the-post we likely still would’ve seen a conservative majority.

What Brittany is really saying that unless they have a political party who promotes their ideologies then that government will be illegitimate in their eyes. In the panel discussion Steve Paikin asks Brittany, “Are you prepared to give this guy a chance or do you see job one right now as defeating him?” This was Brittany’s response:

I see job one right now as amplifying the need for progressive movement within our province and also discussing what will potentially be at stake. So the search for efficiencies is a very scary search. Where are we going to be cutting from? Where are the efficiencies going to be coming from? And I think that needs, that deserves interrogation and hasn’t been interrogated enough. When we talk about efficiencies are we talking about social services? Are we talking about the money that is being given to our shelter system?

Steve: Well you do know he’s got a pharma care plan. It might not be as good as the other two parties but he’s got something. He’s got a childcare plan. You may not like it as much as the other two parties but he’s got one. He’s got a mental health spending plan as well. He’s got a transit plan. It may not be –

Steve’s interrupted by Brittany, “as in depth as it probably should be.”

“Or might be,” Steve continues, “but he’s got something to say about these things. Does that help you at all?”

Brittany, “no, because this party has been focussed on talking about efficiencies and talking about cleaning up what’s happening at Queen’s Park. Yes, Wynne has gone wrong and maybe several different areas when it comes to hydro, when it came to a number of different issues but there are a lot of progressive gains that need to continue to be made and that needs to be built upon from when Wynne had left. So I think that’s a risk here and if we’re focussing solely on his (she then performs air quotes) “search for efficiencies” then I don’t know how true those statements are.

Let me remind you that the recording of this episode took place the day after election day. This is her reaction to the conservatives the DAY after election day. What we see here isn’t a realistic critique of job performance or policy legislation, this is her simply disqualifying the new majority government as elected by the people due to nothing more than their political identity. This is what hyper partisanship looks like. She sits there and equates budget cuts to punishment and uses it to fear monger that this government will use their power to punish the weak and marginalized. It’s not a political analysis, it’s a post-modern style deconstruction framed around intersectional narratives. Notice her inability to acknowledge minority group support for Doug Ford and Ford Nation? Because it’s counter narrative, which could never be true, so it’s obviously just lies. Conservative Rhetoric. Misinformation. Fake news. Far-right conspiracies. etc, etc, etc.

This was the rhetoric coming out of those left of the political spectrum the day after election day. The NDP put forth more radical candidates than ever before. Like Laura Kimiker who ran in my riding of Mississauga Center was a self described Marxist and called Poppies war glorification. I’ve greatly respected Andrea Horwath throughout her role as opposition throughout my lifetime watching provincial politics. She’s a veteran in the game and I truly believe she sincerely advocates for truly vulnerable people and for opening opportunities to everyone. However she’s seen how greatly her party benefited from a more populist, radical campaign message and she’s changed her tune to appeal to exactly this populism.

That’s why Andrea Horwath today has no problem openly calling Doug Ford a ‘dictator’. Which if it came from a conservative, would be called a dog whistle promoting violence and hate. So what is it when it’s done on the left? Oh, NOW it’s just free speech. Horwath has the freedom to express any view she wants. And I’m equally allowed to call her a silly fucken hack for choosing to do so. I believe the more she shifts towards the social radical marxist types, the more she will dispossess the grass roots supporters of the parties who just wanted better health care, not a marxist reform. My prediction is once the party is nothing but radicals then this will simply disqualify them and I think we will see more surge in Green support as an alternative to what has been the alternative for decades. I think Green will replace the NDP.

Horwath

She’s had no problem throwing out slurs, parliamentary disruptions, calls to activism and yet she refuses to take responsibility for how discourse has been changing around Queens park. If you only pay attention to the mainstream news outlets, CTV, CBC, Macleans, etc, you’d believe that the only reason conservatives are surging in support around the country is believe of Facebook fake news and white supremacy. When in reality we’ve seen, in my opinion, more openly hateful protests against conservatives than anyone else.

doug ford 1

The following images were taken from the office of MPP Laurie Scott’s office upon amending the minimum wage bill.

Labour Minister Laurie Scott 3Labour Minister Laurie Scott 1Labour Minister Laurie Scott 2doug ford 2

 

Several months ago truckers from around the country rallied and drove to Ottawa to show their support for pipelines. They donned yellow vests inspired by french protests against their carbon taxes. They felt Trudeau has turned his back on Albertans and waste billions of dollars and Saudi Oil rather than cycling it back to the Canadian economy. There were online forums where these people organized and shared talking points. Apparently some have shared anti-immigrant sentiments. Faith Goldy and Rebel Media also attended the protest. The media took these details and slandered the entire protest as one of promoting hate and violence. The convoy was portrayed as just a group of white supremacists. The usual slurs aimed at disqualifying dissent and aimed at banning wrongthink.

united we roll

The only point I’m making here is simply this. Populism is increasing as polarization increases. This is not just happening among conservatives but also with liberals. If not more. We all need to hold ourselves accountable at the individual level. But this is just another example of the media’s bias against conservatives. Conservatives simply show up to peacefully protest and they’re labelled racists. But if you’re protesting conservatives, that’s just your civil right. Despite how inappropriate your conduct is.

Like, what exactly are they trying to say here? If you question social justice initiatives you disqualify yourself from public discourse? Well, that seems to be the case from what I’m seeing media wide. You watch how the media treats Scheer or Ford versus how they treat Trudeau and Horwath and it’s easy to see. If you have anything to say about Trudeau’s #welcometoCanada? Guess what, you’re a nazi. Bring a guillotine to Queens Park and behead an effigy of Doug Ford? That’s just you’re civil right.

Do these people have a right to call for the death of politicians? Actually no, that’s incitement of violence. Murder and policy critique are two very different things. If I followed the same logic that the social justice leftists follow then Andrea Horwath would be a Marxist for having posed for pictures with a group who had Marxists among them. However I don’t follow social justice logic so, no, I don’t think Andrea Horwath is a Marxist by association. But when she’s posing next to a skeleton and signs reading #fuckford then I simply have this to ask you. What if roles were reversed and it was Doug Ford protesting an NDP government by posing with skeletons and hashtags #fuckhorwath. All media everywhere would be reporting this as a KKK rally. So if it would be inappropriate to one party, it should be equally condemned on the other front.

queens park 3

But what we’re seeing here isn’t any effort to consider any of that. Even if this conservative government for some reason matched the same policies as the previous liberals and their government mirrored one another, you would still see vitriolic protests. There is nothing this government can do to appease the angry social justice mob. It’s not about the cuts or the budget. It’s about capitalism and hatred. Hatred for everyone who disagrees with the social justice narrative. Feminist narratives of empowering women fall short when conservative female MPPs need to hire security over death threats. It is literally and metaphorically a call for the death of our political system and a call to complete reform to socialism. And while the conservatives come under constant attack on all fronts, they’re tasked with saving this province from itself. Remember this in 3 years when we’re back at the ballot box.

Even Slavoj Zizek himself thinks that political correctness is exactly what perpetuates prejudice and racism. So put that in your Marxist Vape Pens and smoke it 500 metres away from any public entryway.

 

 

“one needs to be very precise not to fight racism in a way which ultimately reproduces, if not racism itself, at least the conditions of racism.” – Slavoj Zizek

At least you got a Mueller report

crime scene do not cross signage
Photo by kat wilcox on Pexels.com

We’ve been hearing a lot about the Mueller investigation in the news lately. Devastating a lot of democrats to find out that there will be no further indictments into the Russian collusion probe. I can’t help but sit back, looking at the state of affairs here in Canadian Politics in juxtaposition to our neighbours south of the border screeching in satisfaction and think to myself, “at least you’re lucky enough to have the checks and balances in place to even have the investigation take place at all.”

Here in Canada, apparently when a majority government doesn’t want the public to know about something they can just use and abuse their majority power to shut down all attempts to bring about an investigation. And it begs the question, does our majority government have too much power? What exactly is going on with the SNC-Lavalin situation? Is it a scandal? Is it out right corruption? Bribery? A violation of ethics? And apparently according to most media, why should any of us really even care? Well, let’s review what’s been going on and attempt to ask some of those tough questions.

The first breaking article from the Globe and Mail, “PMO pressed Wilson-Raybould to abandon prosecution of SNC-Lavalin; Trudeau denies his office ‘directed’ her,” was published on Feburary 7th. It’s now March 27th and we still have yet to hear the whole story from Jody Wilson-Raybould who was the initial whistleblower to the SNC-Lavalin controversy. At first the justice committee didn’t even feel the need to hear any testimony at all. They were satisfied with Trudeau’s initial rejection of the Globe and Mail article.

But as questions mounted and most mainstream outlets and opposition the Justice committee finally granted Wilson-Raybould the opportunity to sit before the Justice Committee and testify. Wilson-Raybould would not share her story with the media because she was concerned that due to solicitor-client privilege she could be disbarred if she were to disclose any details regarding the situation around the SNC-Lavalin deferred prosecution agreement. Given that her role at the time was as Attorney General of Canada.

Watch what is a deferred prosecution agreement and what does it mean?:

What does the Attorney General of Canada do?

Also known as “MOJAG” the Attorney General litigates on behalf of the Crown and serves as the chief legal advisor to the Government of Canada. Most prosecution functions of the Attorney General have been assigned to the Public Prosection Service of Canada. The Salary of the Attorney General is $255,300 per year (2017).

Finally on Feb 27 Jody Wilson-Raybould delivered a 37 minute testimony and then answered questions for about 2 hours afterwards. Wilson-Raybould tells the justice committee she came under “consistent and sustained” pressure — including veiled threats — from the PMO, the Privy Council Office and Morneau’s office to halt the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

What were the key details of her testimony?

  • Wilson-Raybould was asked by the PMO to overrule the prosecution decision not to grant a DPA to SNC-Lavalin because of Canadian jobs and that there was an election coming up. Wilson-Raybould turned down the requests citing political reasons as an inappropriate reason to overrule the prosecution.
  • The “consistent and sustained pressure” she received from the PMO to overrule the the prosecutor’s decision went on over the course of 4 months by multiple MPs (and the PCO Michael Wernick who is supposed to be non-partisan)
  • Trudeau’s principal secretary, best friend, Gerald Butts (whom Trudeau has asserted speaks for him) told Wilson-Raybould’s chief of staff at one point that there “is no solution here that doesn’t involve some interference.Gerald Butts then resigned on Feb 18 after the Globe and Mail article.
  • Then Trudeau’s Chief of staff Katie Telford tells Wilson-Raybould’s chief of staff, “we don’t want to debate legalities any more.
  • After the cabinet shuffle the then deputy minister was given directives that the new Attorney General David Lametti was holding conversations with the PM emphasizing the priority of the SNC-Lavalin case.
  • During questions Wilson-Raybould was asked if she thought the pressure was illegal and she said, “no”. (important to note that the only thing she claimed was not illegal was whether or not SHE THOUGHT the PRESSURE PUT ON HER was ILLEGAL and that’s very important to remember given how frequently Liberals are now citing this question as a total exoneration of their conduct and justification to shut down the SNC-Lavalin probe.)

 

Long story short, After Wilson-Raybould determined that she would not grant SNC-Lavalin a DPA there was a cabinet shuffle where she was removed as attorney general and appointed the position of Minister of Veterans Affairs. This demotion was seen as a direct punishment for not giving in to the PMO insistence of granting SNC-Lavalin a DPA. This was at the heart of the interference allegation, since it was seen that the newly appointed Attorney General would now seek to pursue the DPA for SNC-Lavalin, the issue Wilson-Raybould has already made her decision on. The then deputy minister was given directives that the new Attorney General David Lametti was holding conversations with the PM emphasizing the priority of the SNC-Lavalin case.

The only problem with her testimony was that Trudeau had not completely lifted solicitor-client privilege and so there were holes in Wilson-Raybould’s testimony of details she could not disclose. Details like specifically what was discussed in closed door and official meetings. Essentially the meat and potatoes to her whistle blowing. Trudeau has slightly lifted privilege for her testimony which, as he continuously references, was unprecedented. The new Liberal buzzword. And the fact alone that this was unprecedented he now cites as his excuse to why he isn’t fully lifting solicitor-client privilege so Wilson-Raybould can fill in the gaps of her testimony. To justify shutting down the SNC probe over the simple reason for it being unprecedented is literally a political way of saying, “well this has never happened before so there’s no reason to start doing it now.” These are unprecedented times with unprecedented conduct so we need to hear the whole truth on whether this is a scandal or not.

Since Wilson-Raybould’s testimony we have heard from the PCO Michael Wernick twice and Gerald Butts who have all out-right refuted Wilson-Raybould’s claims. Trudeau himself has had every opportunity during every single development to comment to the situation himself. But Jody Wilson-Raybould has never been given the opportunity to return to rebuttal all the allegations now against her from all the other testimony nor has privilege been lifted for her to tell us the whole truth. And now the Liberals have shut down the entire probe and unless the opposition or someone can bring about new information then that’s where this whole thing dies. And that’s not right, this is an abuse of power over something that’s even attracted the attention of the OECD over suspicion of bribery.

The following is my paraphrasing of the Liberal narrative (with citations) since the globe and mail story broke to serve as a cliffnotes summary of the entire Jody Wilson-Raybould/SNC-Lavalin scandal:

  1. (Trudeau reacts to Globe and Mail article) Trudeau: there’s nothing to this and the globe and mail article is fake news. We didn’t direct anyone to do anything. wilson-raybould’s account of events are being misconstrued and misinterpreted and her seat on cabinet should speak for itself. Nanny-nanny-boo-boo, get rekt opposition. LOL.
  2. (Wilson-Raybould resigns from cabinet and lawyers up) Trudeau: well I’m very sad to see her go but I’m very confused and if she had any concerns then she should’ve brought this to my attention, which she never did. This whole thing is just really one big misunderstand.
  3. (then Butts resigns) Trudeau: Well it’s the respect Butts has for our institutions is the reason why he’s stepping down because he felt it would be best and he continues to have my full confidence and friendship and gratitude. It wasn’t Butts who failed us, it was all of us who fail him. And by us I really mean you. All of you.
  4. (After Wilson-Raybould’s testimony) Trudeau: Well this has been a tough last few weeks because of a few minor disagreements. But first let’s talk about all this great stuff we’re doing that’s really more important. like progressive reforms over criminal justice. Jody spoke today and she really was great and fantastic and her truth is just so beautiful. but I already told you, we didn’t direct shit. So we just agree to disagree. Her decision about SNC-Lavalin was hers alone to make, not mine. I’m no lawyer. So I disagree with everything she said. But hey, we got ourselves an ethic commissioner on the payroll, I’m more than happy to let this dude with no legal authority to look into whether or not anything criminal went down. More than happy to let that guy and that guy alone to look into this.
  5. (At a press conference to discuss a Lunar mission) Trudeau: There was a time when people used the stars to navigate, the sun to tell time and that’s just cool man. You see I brought my daughter with me? I’m doing my part guys! Girls in STEM! We all know science is better when we embrace feminism. Let’s talk science! Can’t we all just get along!? STOP ASKING ME QUESTIONS ABOUT SNC-LAVALIN!!!
  6. (then Jane Philpott resigns over lack of confidence in Trudeau) Trudeau: Well Philpott did great work and we appreciate it and will continue it. But this is just an example to how we embrace diverse opinions and points of view and Ms. Philpott is entitled to her truth and I’m entitled to my truth and we’ll continue to listen with open ears and open hearts and oh and by the way, did I mention climate change is really important?
  7. Wernick’s testimony: Jesus H double hockey sticks guys, there is just SO much partisanship going on here right now with all these questions that I really think come the election, we’re gonna see some assassination attempts. Everyone is just bullying us and that’s not fair! I didn’t do nothing wrong!
  8. Butt’s testimony: Jody’s fantastic and credible and did I mention fantastic? And she has her truth and in her truth she experiences things very truthfully. However in MY truth she’s a lying fucking bitch. And I’m also entitled to my truth.
  9. Trudeau: Well you know it’s my job to protect jobs so if protecting jobs makes me wrong, I don’t wanna be right, baby. That all just comes with the pressure of the job and I guess the pressure of such burdens was too much for Jody. She could’ve come to me but she didn’t and boy-o-boy I wish she had. Dialogue is crucial and it’s clear this was a case of an erosion of trust. My daddy and me have different governing styles but one thing we both really cared about was the principle of justice. Daddy always wanted a just society and those are the values he raised me on. So justice is something I’m really passionate the most about out of every one of us. Speaking of justice, did I mention that reconciliation and justice for our first nations people is what really matters here? Let’s talk about that.
  10. Wernick’s 2nd testimony: I HAVE SUBMITTED ALL MY FACEBOOK COMMENTS BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SO MEAN TO ME AND I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW ABOUT IT! SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT A PLACE FOR NEGATIVE COMMENTS! HOW DARE YOU OR ANYONE ACCUSE ME OF PARTISANSHIP! I’VE BEEN A CAREER POLITICIAN SINCE PAUL MARTIN. I HAVE MADE GOOD FRIENDS IN MY CAREER, AND SOME OF THOSE FRIENDS NOW WORK AT SNC-LAVALIN AND HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO MY OFFICE WITH MY DIRECT EXTENSION TO REACH ME PERSONALLY AT ANY TIME! THEY EVEN INVITE ME TO ALL THEIR OFFICE GET TOGETHERS! WE’RE BASICALLY FAMILY! THEY MIGHT AS WELL JUST PUT ME ON THEIR PAYROLL!!! *oppositions’ jaws drop to the floor*
  11. (days later Wernick declares his retirement and effectively resigns from office) Wernick: YEAH WELL THE CONSERVATIVES ACCUSE ME OF NOT LIKING THEM, WELL GUESS WHAT I DON’T LIKE THEM EITHER! HOW DARE THEY ACCUSE ME OF PARTISANSHIP! THOSE DIRTY FUCKING CONSERVATIVE NEANDERTHALS!!!
  12. *Opposition tables an emergency meeting to call Wilson-Raybould back before the committee to speak with full solicitor-client privilege lifted* *Liberals use their majority power to immediately end the meeting before anyone can take a vote on the matter and then use their majority to finally end the SNC-Lavalin probe before presenting the new federal budget to the house and for the media to now report on the budget rather than SNC-Lavalin* Opposition:COVER UP!
  13. *Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes resigns the Liberal party and declares she will be running as an independent in the next election and also alleges mistreatment and hostility from the PM* Trudeau: Look, we’ve been over this. Her truth, my truth, blah blah blah, whatever she was a fucking bitch anyway.
  14. Liberals/Trudeau: Guys, look at our budget, see what I did there? Money for millenials, money for the seniors, money for all! I’m giving you all the money we’ve got! Actually, technically, I’m taking money from your children and grandchildren and giving that to you as well. Name 1 person you know who’s more generous than me. THAT’S RIGHT! YOU CAN’T! What’s that? Who? Who? Wilson-Raybould? Oh, shit, I remember her! Yeah, see, the thing is we COULD get more testimony and we COULD lift solicitor-client privilege BUT, BUT, BUUUUUUT, we’ve heard from so many different people and there’s just so much information out there and I mean, how many times do we expect Jody to talk afterall? I mean, I could lift privilege but that’s never been done before so… why would we do that now? She could always stand up in the house and talk for 60 seconds without privilege lifted. Man, oh, man, I really spoil her. She’s spoiled.
  15. Jane Philpott: ‘There’s much more to the story that needs to be told’

 

 

Why does any of this matter?

 

This situation IS important to follow and to know about. And it does make us ask a lot of tough questions:


1. Can the attorney general operate as a partisan MP?

Does the attorney general need to be completely detached from the government? If the government that ran on ethics and reform and transparency and progressivism in such a big way STILL allows corporate lobbyists to gain direct access to the PMO then we have a real problem. And so we need to figure out how to prevent future interference from happening. Simply replacing the government with another party won’t solve this problem. If interference CAN happen it inevitably WILL happen. That being said, I do believe that SNC-Lavalin has every right to donate to a party and lobby that party for favours. But I expect that party to operate within the boundaries of the law, not just create loop holes to create a system of rewarding those within the party’s inner circle and punish those who aren’t. and sure, there’s a lot of that that goes on at all levels of government but apathy is not the correct response to this behaviour. This is the kind of thing you’d expect to see in Russia with Putin. Not Canada.

We need reforms. and I believe the DPA remediation agreements reeks of just this. There may be a role for DPA if it prevents corporations from fucking around with their taxes but if it protects companies like SNC-Lavalin then it’s not right. BUT a court ruled that SNC wouldn’t qualify for a remediation agreement. So maybe the DPA itself isn’t the problem here. It’s a complex issue that’s going on here and I think the real issue now is that the cover up is becoming worse than the crime. We won’t get a chance to even find out what exactly went wrong here unless we can get the whole truth from Jody Wilson-Raybould. A person who I think, honestly, is a modern day hero for not letting partisanship interfere with her role as attorney general.

 

2. When is it appropriate to impose public/legal investigations on a majority government? (And how do we prevent opposition from abusing this process?)

With the Liberal majority government simply shutting down the scandal probe, there really are no sufficient checks and balances in place to hold the government accountable in moments of conflict like this. The only real option the opposition has here is to put forth a motion of non-confidence but I don’t even really know if anything would come of that and without any third party investigations it seems way overkill over something we are in the dark about. First Wilson-Raybould comes forth as a whistle blower. And the Liberals basically treated her as a rabble rouser, a fringe conspiracy theorist and there was nothing to see here. and if it wasn’t for the opposition and great work from almost exclusively the Globe and Mail, they would’ve just swept this under the rug.

Then Butts resigned, signalling just how big of a deal this could be if he was going to be a fall guy. considering how close he worked with Trudeau and how firmly Trudeau affirmed that Butts speaks for him. Then Jane Philpott resigned. Not some backbencher MP, the head of the treasury. directly denouncing the government and their handling of the situation. everything but out right cries of corruption. and we’re not supposed to listen to that? Everything that’s developed since Wilson-Raybould’s testimony has only further validated everything she’s come forth with and contradicted everything Trudeau has said. Except for the testimony of individuals who have resigned over the issue.

but after everything that has transpired Trudeau still refuses to lift privilege to allow Wilson-Raybould to give us the whole truth of what is at the heart of the reason for her whistle blowing. And when the opposition tried to table an emergency meeting to call for a second testimony they used their majority power to adjourn the meeting immediately. Just simply shut down all debate over the subject. If this is not a direct act of contempt for the operations of a democratic operations of our parliament then I do not know what is. And as easy as it is to dismiss howling conservatives proclaiming “cover up! cover up!” I just don’t see how at this stage in the game these actions would be defined any other way. I do believe that we are witnessing a direct attempt to cover something up that the majority government is using their power to keep in the dark. and although Wilson-Raybould said no one has broken the law, that doesn’t mean ethics violations are criminal acts and it’s the severity of the ethical violation that is the very reason why the OECD has come out stating it is concerned about this government’s actions. And if they suspect bribery then how the hell do we not demand answers?

 

3. What do Liberal voters do now with their vote?

If this liberal government is guilty of corruption, let’s just say, then what do liberal voters do come election time? This is why I wanted vote reform. I don’t know what that reform would look like. It’s hard. but majority of us vote against parties rather than for them. That’s what I’ll be doing in election time. I believe this government has broken most of it’s promises and crossed too many ethical lines and I think this government has polarized this country more than it’s united us. So I will be voting conservative to bring down the Liberal government. And then maybe in another 4 years I’ll find myself voting Liberal to bring down that Conservative government, assuming they win. Even if they don’t, at least to hopefully reduce them to a minority government to limit the powers they clearly have no problem abusing.

As much as Trudeau wants to label the conservative government as like the ghost of stephen harper, it really is a renewed party with fresh faces. The party fails an election and they hold new leadership races and others step down to make way for new candidates. And some of those new faces are really remarkable people who were clearly born to do this. Yes, they operate within the same conservative governing philosophy but this is as close to a new party as we get. The liberal party transformed several times before they finally took government. People forget that it was the NDP who were official opposition before the last election. And I think it’s perfectly fair that if a party fails to meet their major promises or crosses an ethical line that people choose to vote them out of power. And if that means trying out a reformed conservative party then so be it. If it means voting for the first time for the NDP, so be it. It sends a clear message to Liberals that, “no we are not happy with the direction you’ve gone. go back to the drawing board and bring something new to the table.” and that may very well lead to a stronger, better party. OR we see that the reformed conservative party has actually done a bang up job and we decide to grant them another 4 years to keep it up. Or NDP. We are the ultimate deciders when it comes to politicians term limits.

But that’s also part of the problem with the way we vote. I’m not actually voting against a party or for a party even though that’s the way my vote functions. I’m actually just voting on a local representative to be my MP. even though I’ll likely never meet them or have a conversation or any interaction with them. Or I may really like my MP and insist on voting for them, even if I hate the party leader and caucus members. But am I now meant to punish the MP I like best and vote for my second choice or third choice MP to be able to have my vote act as protest to the leader and caucus I oppose? Do I vote against my philosophical values and preferred governing style to vote against the actions of the party philosophically and governing style-wise I align with so I can punish their reprehensible behaviour? You can’t vote for the devil you know without then voting for the devil.

And I really believe we all do better when we are more focussed on our local municipalities than we are focussed on the country as a whole. I may be pro-choice without a religious upbringing but why should I care what a pro-life bible thumper in alberta thinks? That doesn’t affect my life or my community. So why should my vote impact alberta? why should alberta’s vote impact me? again, I don’t have the answers to these things but this is a big question that needs to be asked because it’s a really relevant one that affects us all.

Politicians and most of the commentators really aren’t asking these questions and having these conversations. To the media, this is all just a big game as if election time is just a new season of game of thrones. Politics actually isn’t sports. and to treat it so flippantly is to just to avoid actually trying to improve the country. Media has a responsibility to do more than merely react to news, they are supposed to be facilitating the debate around it so we can move forward together. not stand stagnant and indifferent and watch everything deteriorate around us. But I say let’s not respond to these things with apathy, let’s do our best to care and to value our vote as we value our own existence and our voices and roles in society to make it function and thrive. So however you vote, make sure you believe in it.

 

 

“Governments don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. That is against their interests. They want obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept it.”
– George Carlin

A Chronology of The SNC-Lavalin/Jody Wilson-Raybould Affair

climate action nowJustin Trudeau holding a Ford Nation rally, I mean, a press conference on climate change while the SNC-Lavalin situation unfolds, in a desperate attempt to change the conversation. You know, because it’s 2019.

Watch what you need to know about the SNC-Lavalin Scandal:

 

*Before going through the entire series of events throughout the scandal, CTV does a very good condensed summary of events that you can check out here*

 

Because there is so much here I won’t be offering my comment on the media I share. I will simply post events and reactions and leave my conclusions for later posts. This will clearly go into the election so I’m going to just treat this as a chronology which I will keep up to date. So feel free to revisit as time goes on to catch up on what’s new as I sift through all the clutter of clickbait and mainstream promotion which is causing a lot of fog and confusion around these important issues. Thanks!

The following is a sequence of events from the initial SNC-Lavalin charges in 2015 to our current day situation surrounding Jody Wilson-Raybould:

 

2015

Feb. 19

The RCMP lays corruption and fraud charges against Montreal-based engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin, over allegations it used bribery to get government business in Libya. SNC-Lavalin says the charges are without merit and stem from “alleged reprehensible deeds by former employees who left the company long ago.” A conviction would bar the company from bidding on Canadian government business, potentially devastating it.

The charges included:

A statement from the RCMP said it had charged SNC-Lavalin, SNC-Lavalin Construction Inc., and SNC-Lavalin International Inc. with offering $47.7 million in bribes to Libyan officials between 2001 and 2011.

It also charged the three companies with defrauding Libya of $129.8 million over the same time period. (CanadianLawyerMag.com)

Watch Global News video on the SNC/Libya connection:

Read Former SNC-Lavalin CEO pleads guilty in fraud case

 

Oct. 19 

The Liberals win a federal election, taking power from the Conservatives. Two weeks later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau names Jody Wilson-Raybould minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. She is the first Indigenous person to hold the post, which combines duties as a politician (heading the Department of Justice) and a legal official (overseeing prosecutions).

Watch CBC coverage of the 2015 federal election:

2018

March 27

The Liberals table a budget bill that includes a change to the Criminal Code allowing “remediation agreements,” plea-bargain-like deals between prosecutors and accused corporations in which they can avoid criminal proceedings by making reparations for previous bad behaviour. SNC-Lavalin had lobbied for such a provision in Canadian law.

Watch Pierre Poilievre connect the remediation agreement within the budget bill to the Globe and Mail article alleging the PMO pressured the former Attorney General:

 

Spring

Although the bill has yet to pass, SNC-Lavalin contacts Public Prosecution Service lawyers to ensure they have all relevant information for a possible invitation to negotiate a remediation agreement. During the next three months, in response to requests from prosecutors, SNC-Lavalin provides detailed information it sees as making a strong case for an agreement.

 

Sept. 4

The prosecution service tells SNC-Lavalin in writing it will not invite the firm to negotiate a remediation agreement.

 

Sept. 17

Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould discuss the SNC-Lavalin file. As attorney general, Wilson-Raybould could overrule the prosecution service, directing it to negotiate an agreement with the company. Trudeau later says that Wilson-Raybould asked him if he planned to tell her what to do concerning the prosecution — a conversation that he says ended with him telling her any decision was hers alone.

 

Sept. 18

SNC-Lavalin representatives meet with Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick (Canada’s most senior civil servant) and Finance Minister Bill Morneau to discuss issues including “justice and law enforcement.”

michael wernick

 

Sept. 21

The remediation-agreement provisions come into legal force.

 

Oct. 9

The director of prosecutions confirms again in writing that she will not invite SNC-Lavalin to negotiate a remediation agreement, a decision the company challenges in Federal Court. That challenge is ongoing.

 

Oct. 10

SNC-Lavalin issues a news release saying it strongly disagrees with the director of prosecutions’ position and remains open and committed to negotiating a remediation agreement. SNC-Lavalin shares fall nearly 14 per cent, closing at $44.86 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. That’s the lowest close since March 2, 2016.

 

Oct. 11

SNC-Lavalin meets with Elder Marques, a senior adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office, to discuss “justice and law enforcement.”

Elder Marques

 

Nov. 5 and 19

SNC-Lavalin meets with Mathieu Bouchard, a senior adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office, to discuss “justice and law enforcement.”

Mathieu Bouchard

 

December

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Wilson-Raybould raises the remediation case with Gerald Butts, the prime minister’s principal secretary, and he tells her to talk to Wernick, the Privy Council clerk.

Gerard Butts

2019

Jan. 14

Trudeau shuffles his cabinet after the resignation of Treasury Board president Scott Brison. Wilson-Raybould is moved from Justice to Veterans Affairs, widely seen as a demotion. David Lametti, a Montreal MP and former law professor, becomes justice minister. Wilson-Raybould posts a long letter outlining her record as justice minister and noting a great deal of work remains to be done toward reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

David Lametti

 

Feb. 7

Citing unnamed sources, the Globe and Mail newspaper reports that Trudeau’s aides attempted to press Wilson-Raybould, while attorney general, to intervene in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, and that exasperation with her lack of co-operation was one reason for shuffling her out of the justice portfolio. Trudeau denies any impropriety. Citing solicitor-client privilege, Wilson-Raybould refuses to speak about dealings she had on the case when she was attorney general.

Read PMO pressed Wilson-Raybould to abandon prosecution of SNC-Lavalin; Trudeau denies his office ‘directed’ her

Other related articles:

Watch question period in the house of commons:

Watch Brian Lilley cover Trudeau’s denial of justice interference:

Watch Trudeau react to the globe and mail article: 

Watch Evan Solomon featuring Robert Fife’s reaction to Trudeau’s accusation of the Globe and Mail article being false.

 

Feb. 11

Federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion says he’s beginning an investigation. At a public appearance in Vancouver, Trudeau says he’s spoken to Wilson-Raybould and confirmed with her that he said any decision on the SNC-Lavalin prosecution was entirely hers. Her continued presence in his cabinet speaks for itself, he says.

Mario Dion

 

Feb. 12

Wilson-Raybould resigns as veterans-affairs minister and says she’s hired former Supreme Court justice Thomas Cromwell to advise her on the limits of solicitor-client privilege. Trudeau says he’s surprised and disappointed that Wilson-Raybould has quit, and that if she felt undue pressure in her role as attorney general, she had a duty to report it to him.

Jody Wilson-Raybould’s resignation letter

Watch CBC cover Jody Wilson-Raybould’s resignation letter:

Watch why Jody Wilson-Raybould can’t talk:

Watch Can Trudeau waive solicitor-client privilege in SNC-Lavalin affair:

 

thomas cromwell

Watch Justin Trudeau react to Jody Wilson-Raybould’s resignation:

(OR) Watch Ezra Levant’s breakdown of Trudeau’s reaction:

Watch Don Martin’s reaction to Wilson-Raybould’s resignation:

 

Feb. 13

The House of Commons justice committee debates its own probe of the issue. Liberals use their majority to call one closed-door meeting and hear from senior officials (Lametti as justice minister, the top bureaucrat in his department, and the clerk of the Privy Council) who can talk about the tension between the minister of justice’s duties as a politician and his or her responsibilities as attorney general of Canada. The Liberals say this is a first step in a cautious investigation, but the opposition calls it a coverup. Behind the scenes liberals engaged in a ‘whisper’ smear campaign against Jody Wilson-Raybould. Although few media outlets report on this beyond Trudeau’s public apology for not doing more to prevent the high school-like bullying of Wilson-Raybould.

Watch Opposition leader Andrew Scheer referring to the closed-door meeting as proof of a cover up:

https://globalnews.ca/video/embed/4938923/

Watch CTV Don Martin’s The Last Word on Wilson-Raybould’s solicitor-client privilege:

Watch Justin Trudeau’s apology to Wilson-Raybould for not condemning the whisper campaign sooner:

https://webapps.9c9media.com/vidi-player/1.5.5/share/iframe.html?currentId=1616434&config=ctvnews/share.json&kruxId=ImoeZsch&rsid=ctvgmnews,ctvgmnewsglobalsuite&cid=%5B%7B%22contentId%22%3A1616434%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%5D

Read The Globe and Mail’s “The shameful mistreatment of Jody Wilson-Raybould on full display”

Read Global News report on ‘racist and sexist’ attacks on Judy Wilson-Raybould amid SNC-Lavalin affair

Read CBC Op-ed co-authored by academics condemning the whisper campaign against Wilson-Raybould by fellow Liberal MPs:

The co-authors on the CBC opinion piece “From star Liberal MP to difficult and incompetent? Really?”

Signed:

Joyce Green, professor of Political Science (University of Regina)
Gina Starblanket, assistant professor of Political Science (University of Calgary)
Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark, associate professor of Political Science (University of Victoria)
Renae Watchman, associate professor of English and Indigenous Studies (Mount Royal University)
Sarah Hunt, assistant professor of First Nations and Indigenous Studies, and Geography (University of British Columbia)
Lianne Marie Leda Charlie, instructor (Yukon College)
Christine O’Bonsawin, associate professor of History (University of Victoria)
waaseyaa’sin Christine Sy, assistant professor of Gender Studies (University of Victoria)
Jeff Corntassel, associate professor of Indigenous Studies (University of Victoria)
Patricia M. Barkaskas, instructor at Peter A. Allard School of Law  (University of British Columbia)
Dallas Hunt, lecturer in Native Studies (University of Manitoba)
Mary-Jane McCallum, professor of History (University of Winnipeg)
Damien Lee, assistant professor of Sociology (Ryerson University)
Chelsea Gabel, assistant professor of Social Sciences (McMaster University)
Tasha Hubbard, associate professor of Native Studies (University of Alberta)
Sarah Nickel, assistant professor of Indigenous Studies (University of Saskatchewan)
Robyn Bourgeois, assistant professor od Women’s and Gender Studies (Brock University)

Watch Conservatives demand apology from B.C. Liberal MP for sexist comment in response to Raybould’s testimony:

https://globalnews.ca/video/embed/5009723/

 

Feb. 15

Trudeau says Wilson-Raybould asked him in September whether he would direct her one way or another on the SNC-Lavalin question. He says he told her he would not.

Watch Trudeau speak to his accounts of events regarding Jody Wilson-Raybould and SNC-Lavalin:

 

Feb. 18

Butts resigns as Trudeau’s principal secretary. He denies any impropriety but says his continued presence in the Prime Minister’s Office has become a distraction.

Gerald Butts’ resignation letter

Watch who is Gerald Butts:

Watch Ministers react to the resignation of Gerald Butts:

Watch Scheer & Trudeau’s full exchange on Butts’ resignation:

Watch Thomas Mulcair react to Gerald Butts resignation:

Watch Wilson-Raybould’s father comment on Butts’ resignation:

Related:

 

Feb. 19

Wilson-Raybould stuns observers by attending a meeting of the very cabinet from which she had resigned a week earlier. Trudeau says she had asked to speak there and was invited to do so but cabinet confidentiality means nothing can be revealed about why or what was said. After the meeting, Wilson-Raybould says she is still talking to her lawyer about what she can and can’t say publicly.

Watch Power & Politics covering question period to Butts resignation and cabinet meeting with Wilson-Raybould despite her no longer being a member of the cabinet:

 

Feb. 20

Trudeau says that while an airing of the facts is needed, he is confident the examinations underway by the ethics commissioner and the justice committee will provide it. The Liberals use their House of Commons majority to defeat an opposition motion calling for a public inquiry into allegations the Prime Minister’s Office pressured Wilson-Raybould.

Watch City News cover liberals defeating the motion for a public inquiry:

 

Feb. 21

Wernick launches a vigorous defence of the government’s handling of the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, bluntly declaring allegations of political interference to be false and even defamatory. The Privy Council clerk also challenges Wilson-Raybould’s assertion that solicitor-client privilege prevents her from responding to allegations.

Watch the question period in house of commons held before Wernick’s testimony:

Watch the full testimony and questioning of Michael Wernick before the justice committee:

Watch Power and Politics analyze Wernick’s testimony before the justice committee with several panelists and commentators:

Watch CTV’s Question Period with Evan Solomon react to Wernick’s testimony:

 

Feb 22

Justin Trudeau travels to Nova Scotia to apologize for alleged racial profiling.

Watch CBC coverage of Trudeau speaking with two black Nova Scotians who claim they were racially profiled while visiting parliament hill:

Watch Don Martin’s Last Word on the SNC-Lavalin situation:

 

Feb. 25

Trudeau partly waives both solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality for his former attorney general, paving the way for Wilson-Raybould to tell her side of the SNC-Lavalin saga to the justice committee and ethics commissioner. The order specifically notes, however, that she cannot speak publicly about communication she had with Kathleen Roussel, the director of public prosecutions.

Watch CBC’s Vassy Kapelos breakdown the details surrounding Wilson-Raybould’s upcoming testimony before the justice committee:

 

Feb. 27

Wilson-Raybould tells the justice committee she came under “consistent and sustained” pressure — including veiled threats — from the PMO, the Privy Council Office and Morneau’s office to halt the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. Trudeau rejects her characterization of events. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer calls on Trudeau to resign. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh calls for a public inquiry.

Read Wilson-Raybould alleges ‘consistent and sustained’ effort by Trudeau, officials to ‘politically interfere’ in SNC-Lavalin case

Watch question period in house of commons before Wilson-Raybould’s testimony:

Watch Jody Wilson-Raybould testify and take questions before the justice committee:

Watch Justin Trudeau react to Wilson-Raybould’s testimony:

Watch Andrew Scheer and Jagmeet Singh react to Wilson-Raybould’s testimony:

Watch Justice Committee members react to Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony:

Watch Power and Politics breakdown Wilson-Raybould’s testimony, featuring David McLaughlin (former chief of staff for David Mulroney), Irwin Cotler (former attorney general) and Peter MacKay (former attorney general):

Watch Evan Solomon table a panel discussion of Wilson-Raybould’s testimony:

Watch former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond react to Wilson-Raybould testimony:

Watch Indigenous Services react to Wilson-Raybould’s testimony:

Watch Bob Fife commentary on the fallout of Wilson-Raybould’s testimony:

Watch Christie Blatchford react to Wilson-Raybould’s testimony:

Watch Jody Wilson-Raybould’s father react to her testimony:

Watch Don Martin’s Last Word on SNC-Lavalin and Trudeau’s broken brand:

 

Feb. 28

Butts asks to testify before the justice committee while Trudeau holds press conference to declare Canada will join the Lunar Gateway moon mission.

Watch Question Period in the House of Commons in wake of SNC-Lavalin affair:

Watch CBC cover Trudeau’s Lunar Gateway press conference:

Read Trudeau’s trusted former top adviser Gerald Butts to testify on SNC-Lavalin prosecution

 

March 1

Trudeau makes longtime MP Lawrence MacAulay his new veterans-affairs minister. Marie-Claude Bibeau replaces MacAulay as agriculture minister and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef takes on the additional portfolio of international development. All three express support for Trudeau.

Watch question period:

 

March 3

Jody Wilson-Raybould declares she will run as Liberal in fall federal election for the Vancouver Granville riding.

Watch CBC coverage on Jody Wilson-Raybould’s decision to run as Liberal:

 

March 4

Philpott quits cabinet, saying she has lost confidence in the way the government has dealt with the ongoing affair and citing her obligation to defend the cabinet as long as she is a part of it. Trudeau names Carla Qualtrough interim Treasury Board president. While attending a climate change rally in Toronto amid the SNC-Lavalin scandal, Trudeau says the ongoing affair “has generated an important discussion” about how ministers, staff and officials conduct themselves. “Concerns of this nature,” he says, “must be taken very seriously and I can assure you that I am.”

Watch who is Jane Philpott?

Watch Trudeau’s reaction to Philpott’s resignation:

Watch Power Play speak with Bob Fife on Philpott’s resignation:

Watch Green party leader Elizabeth May react to Wilson-Raybould and Philpott:

Chrystia Freeland, 2018 diplomat of the year, reacts to Philpott resignation:

Listen to Newstalk1010 The Rush Round Table discussion over SNC-Lavalin

Listen to Evan Solomon breakdown the significance of Philpott’s resignation

Listen to Moore in the Morning Round Table discussion over SNC-Lavalin

Read Jane Philpott resigns from cabinet: Full statement

Read The Philpott earthquake

 

Watch Trudeau’s climate change press conference at the Danforth Music Hall in full:

 

March 5

Trudeau cancels a trip to Regina to hold emergency cabinet deliberation regarding SNC-Lavalin scandal. Rumours he is considering a message of contrition.

Watch CBC cover trip cancellation over SNC-Lavalin scandal:

Watch David Menzies take a pulse of the public reaction to the SNC-Lavalin scandal outside the Danforth Music hall:

Listen to Mark Towhey deem Jessica Prince hero of the week and Trudeau Stupid of the week

 

March 6

Butts tells the justice committee that Wilson-Raybould never complained about improper pressure to halt the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin until Trudeau decided to move her out of her coveted cabinet role as justice minister and attorney general. Wernick disputes parts of her testimony as well. Drouin provides more details about the timeline.

Watch Bob Fife (Globe and Mail) and Tonda MacCharles (The Toronto Star) speculate on Gerald Butts upcoming testimony:

Watch Power and Politics coverage of Butts’ full testimony and questioning complete with member reactions and commentator reaction:

Watch Andrew Scheer react to Butts’ testimony:

Watch former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond react to Butts’ testimony: 

Watch Ezra Levant’s commentary on Butts’ testimony:

Watch Ezra Levant compare Trudeau’s Kokanee grope response to Butts’ testimony:

Listen to Newstalk1010’s Evan Solomon discuss Butts’ testimony with Peter MacKay

Listen to Barb Digiulio talk with Lisa Kinsella, political consultant, about Trudeau’s Feminist Brand

Watch Michael Wernick’s full second testimony before the Justice Committee:

Watch CTV’s Power Play panel discuss Wernick’s testimony in SNC-Lavalin scandal:

Watch CTV’s Power Play: The strategy session panel discuss Butts and Wernick testimony:

Watch Don Martin’s Last Word on the SNC-Lavalin situation:

Watch Andrew Lawton’s commentary of Wernick’s testimony:

Watch Andrew Coyne on why Trudeau should appear before the justice committee:

 

March 7

Justin Trudeau holds press conference on SNC-Lavalin situation.

Watch Trudeau’s press conference on the SNC-Lavalin scandal:

Watch Jagmeet Singh react to Trudeau’s press conference:

Watch Andrew Scheer react to Trudeau’s press conference:

Watch Power & Politics analyze Trudeau’s press conference:

Watch Ezra Levant’s commentary on Trudeau’s press conference:

Watch Power & Politics cover Trudeau’s apology for mistreatment of Inuit with tuberculosis:

Listen to Newstalk1010’s The Rush round table discuss the SNC-Lavalin Scandal

Read Trudeau speaks on SNC-Lavalin: A guide to what he said Thursday

Read The 2 minute crisis fix for Trudeau. You’re welcome.

Read Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould, before the fall

Read Michael Wernick’s SNC-Lavalin problem

Read Justin Trudeau’s sorry non-apology

 

March 8

The federal court rules against deferred prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

Watch cpac coverage of federal court decision on SNC-Lavalin:

Watch cpac discuss SNC-Lavalin losing court bid to avoid criminal prosecution:

Watch Christie Blatchford commentary of the SNC-Lavalin scandal to date:

Listen to Newstalk1010 The Rush Round Table discuss the SNC-Lavalin Scandal

Listen to Newstalk1010 Spin Doctors discuss the SNC-Lavalin Scandal (part 1)

Listen to Newstalk1010 Spin Doctors discuss the SNC-Lavalin Scandal (part 2)

Read Wernick raised prospect of taking ‘public interest argument’ to director of Public Prosecutions in talks with SNC-Lavalin chief

Read Finally addressing SNC-Lavalin affair, Trudeau seems to be stuck in between old and new politics

Read Trudeau, government officials tried to use legal principle to justify political interference in SNC-Lavalin, former attorneys-general say

Read Recall Jody Wilson-Raybould, opposition MPs will urge after forcing emergency justice committee meeting

Read SNC-Lavalin CEO pushed for meeting with Trudeau over prosecution

Read On SNC-Lavalin, ‘every one of us owns a piece of the truth’

 

 

 

March 9

News breaks of Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes alleging that the Prime Minister met her with hostility when she informed him she would not be running for re-election. The PMO denies the allegation.

Celina Caesar-Chavannes

Celina Caesar-Chavannes 2

Watch CBC cover Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes allege mistreatment:

Watch Wendy Mesley discuss the 2 faces of Justin Trudeau and Caesar-Chavannes:

Read Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes cryptic message

 

March 10

Watch Andrew Scheer discuss the latest in the SNC-Lavalin affair:

Watch Evan Solomon hold a week in review panel discussion around the SNC scandal:

Watch Evan Solomon hold panel on calling back Jody Wilson-Raybould with privilege lifted:

 

March 12

In 1999, Canada signed on to a global anti-bribery convention overseen by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The OECD’s working group on bribery announced on March 11 that it is concerned by the SNC allegations and would monitor the outcome of the various investigations.

 

Watch Power & Politics discuss OECD ‘concerned’ about SNC-Lavalin affair:

Watch OECD chair Drago Kos discuss concerns regarding anti-bribery convention:

Read OECD says potential job losses not a reason to shelve SNC-Lavalin prosecution

Read OECD ‘concerned’ by allegations Trudeau interfered in SNC-Lavalin case

Read OECD anti-bribery officials ‘concerned’ by SNC-Lavalin affair, plan to ‘closely monitor’ case

Read OECD’s statement on SNC-Lavalin is only its second-ever about specific bribery allegations

Read The inconvenient reality: Economic interest has nothing to do with SNC-Lavalin getting a DPA

Read Andrew Scheer’s LavScam fumble

Read The world is watching, Justin Trudeau

Read Does Justin Trudeau know what he’s doing?

 

 

March 13

The Liberal-dominated House of Commons justice committee shut down opposition parties’ attempt on Wednesday to recall former attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould for further testimony about the pressure exerted on her to abandon the fraud and bribery prosecution of engineering and construction giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.

Half an hour into an emergency meeting of the justice committee, Liberal MPs used their majority to adjourn without holding a vote on whether to recall Ms. Wilson-Raybould, drawing cries of “shame,” “despicable” and “cover-up” from opposition MPs.

Watch Opposition proclaim “cover up” while Liberal majority shuts down emergency meeting:

Watch CBC table panel discussion around SNC-Lavalin situation:

Watch Power & Politics panel Liberals shut down an emergency meeting:

Watch CBC hold SNC-Lavalin Q&A:

Watch Andrew Scheer allege a Liberal cover up around the SNC-Lavalin scandal:

Watch MPs react to the Liberal shutdown of the emergency meeting:

Watch Andrew Lawton discuss the Liberal shutdown of the emergency meeting:

Watch David Menzies drive around Ottawa with the JailTrudeau.com truck and speak with the public about their approval on Trudeau:

Read Liberals quickly shut down debate on recalling Jody Wilson-Raybould to testify again

Read Bring back Gerry Butts

 

 

March 17

Watch highlights in question period regarding the budget:

 

March 18

Michael Wernick attends a swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday, March 1, 2019. He announced plans to step down as clerk of the Privy Council less than a month later. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Former deputy prime minister, justice minister and attorney general Anne McLellan has been tasked with examining the relationship between the Prime Minister’s Office and the dual role of justice minister and attorney general. She’s due to give Mr. Trudeau her findings by June 30.

wernick statement

Watch highlights from question period:

Watch Tom Mulcair react to Michael Wernick resignation:

Watch Adrian Batra and Lorrie Goldstein react to the cabinet shuffle:

Watch Power & Politics cover cabinet shuffle:

Watch Leo Knight discuss Anne McLellan appointment:

Watch Michelle Rempel discuss Anne McLellan appointment:

Watch CTV covering Michael wernick retirement:

Watch Tom Mulcair on his take over the Michael Wernick retirement:

Read Trudeau appoints Anne McLellan to advise PMO on the role of justice minister, attorney general in cabinet

Read Michael Wernick to quit before the next election: Full text of letter to PM

Read Scott Brison has retired from politics—but politics haven’t retired from him

 

 

March 19

Following five weeks and 13 hours of testimony, behind closed doors Tuesday, The Parliamentary Justice Committee has ended its study on the SNC-Lavalin issue without the further testimony from Jody Wilson-Raybould that opposition MPs had demanded. Citing that the committee has spent enough time on the matter and needs to move on. That the overall coverage on the SNC-Lavalin/Wilson-Raybould situation was “unprecedented”. Although during the closed door meeting Liberals released confidential documents to media which were tweeted out to the public. Later on that day the Liberal government released their federal budget for 2019.

Watch Opposition halt the meeting to confront to confront the media about reporting on confidential documents:

https://webapps.9c9media.com/vidi-player/1.5.6/share/iframe.html?currentId=1639151&config=ctvnews/share.json&kruxId=ImoeZsch&rsid=ctvgmnews,ctvgmnewsglobalsuite&siteName=&cid=%5B%7B%22contentId%22%3A1640362%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639700%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639202%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639154%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639127%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639151%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%5D

Watch opposition discuss what went on behind closed-door meeting of the house justice committee:

https://webapps.9c9media.com/vidi-player/1.5.6/share/iframe.html?currentId=1639127&config=ctvnews/share.json&kruxId=ImoeZsch&rsid=ctvgmnews,ctvgmnewsglobalsuite&siteName=&cid=%5B%7B%22contentId%22%3A1640362%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639700%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639202%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639154%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639127%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639151%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%5D

Read Liberals drop SNC-Lavalin study at justice committee

Watch opposition accuse Liberals of silencing Jody Wilson-Raybould:

https://webapps.9c9media.com/vidi-player/1.5.6/share/iframe.html?currentId=1639154&config=ctvnews/share.json&kruxId=ImoeZsch&rsid=ctvgmnews,ctvgmnewsglobalsuite&siteName=&cid=%5B%7B%22contentId%22%3A1640362%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639700%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639202%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639154%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639127%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639151%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%5D

Watch Andrew Scheer react to the Liberal shutdown of the SNC-Lavalin probe:

https://webapps.9c9media.com/vidi-player/1.5.6/share/iframe.html?currentId=1639202&config=ctvnews/share.json&kruxId=ImoeZsch&rsid=ctvgmnews,ctvgmnewsglobalsuite&siteName=&cid=%5B%7B%22contentId%22%3A1640362%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639700%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639202%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639154%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639127%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22contentId%22%3A1639151%2C%22ad%22%3A%7B%22adsite%22%3A%22ctv.ctvnews%22%2C%22adzone%22%3A%22embed%22%7D%7D%5D

Watch CTV news cover the ending of the SNC-Lavalin probe:

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Watch Federal budget speech 2019:

Watch Andrew Scheer react to the federal budget:

Watch Jagmeet Singh react to the federal budget:

Watch Adrian Batra and Lorrie Goldstein react to the new budget:

Watch CPAC cover Budget 2019:

Watch the True North initiative react to the federal budget:

Watch Financial Post breaking down the 2019 federal budget:

Watch Global News discuss federal budget:

Watch Conservatives shout down finance minister in house budget speech:

Watch Tom Mulcair react to the budget:

Read a federal budget from a government that has abandoned its poetic phase

Read Christie Blatchford: Liberals shut down SNC probe with dazzling duplicity

Read Trudeau will fail at making the SNC-Lavalin affair fade away. We will learn the truth

Read The Liberals just can’t quit the SNC-Lavalin scandal

Read Nothing to see here, says party desperately hiding something

 

March 20

MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes quits the Liberal Caucus.

Watch Don Martin discuss Mp Caesar-Chavannes resignation:

 

March 21

Macleans publishes an interview with Jane Philpott where she claims “there’s much more to the story that needs to be told”. Also MPs worked through the night to get through 257 separate confidence votes needed thanks to a Conservative filibuster 30-hour voting marathon in the House of Commons over the SNC-Lavalin affair introduced as a protest against the government shutting down its investigation into the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Read Maclean’s ‘There’s much more to the story that needs to be told’

Read Jane Philpott speaks: ‘An attempt to shut down the story’

Read Anne McLellan’s appointment: one more bumbling bid to bury the SNC-Lavalin affair

Read What Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott can actually say — and where

Watch Trudeau respond to questions on SNC-Lavalin:

Watch CBC coverage on Wilson-Raybould providing a written statement on the SNC-Lavalin issue:

Watch Power & Politics interview Justice committee chairman Anthony Housefather over written statement by Wilson-Raybould:

Watch Michelle Rempel and Jagmeet Singh on the shut down of the justice committee

Watch Don Martin’s Last Word on Jane Philpott:

Watch BNN Bloomberg interview SNC-Lavalin CEO Neil Bruce:

Watch CTV continued coverage and panel discussion of SNC-Lavalin:

Watch Power & Politics on what’s preventing Wilson-Raybould and Philpott from speaking in the commons:

Watch Christie Blatchford on Trudeau needs to let Wilson-Raybould and Philpott speak:

Read Trudeau calls SNC affair a ‘pretty serious difference of opinion’

Read Wilson-Raybould will table more evidence of political meddling in SNC-Lavalin affair

Read Anne McLellan says she’s keeping an open mind as she reviews role of attorney-general, justice minister

Read Politics Briefing: The SNC-Lavalin show goes on as Philpott speaks out

 

March 25

Opposition attempts to open new SNC-Lavalin probe with ethics committee and Liberals once again use their majority to vote down the motion. Jody Wilson-Raybould submits a written statement to the Justice Chair for further review in a plea to allow a second testimony and to reopen the SNC-Lavalin probe.

Watch CityNews report on Wilson-Raybould Submits documents to ethics committee:

https://toronto.citynews.ca/video/iframe/593482582001/SyxzIeNcgb/6018928659001

Watch ethics committee vote down new ethics probe into SNC-Lavalin:

Watch Andrew Scheer on Trudeau’s excuses over SNC-Lavalin “widely debunked”:

Watch SCC pick may have lead to tension between PM and Wilson-Raybould:

Watch Lisa Raitt demands investigation into SCC appointment leaks:

Watch CPAC discuss the Jane Philpott interview:

Watch CPAC discuss SNC-Lavalin scandal’s influence on the 2019 elections:

Watch Evan Solomon on Wilson-Raybould and Philpott should speak in parliament:

Watch Evan Solomon panel discussion on Philpott’s bombshell interview:

Watch opposition call argument against ethics committee probe a “red herring”:

Watch does Wilson-Raybould need an additional waiver to speak?:

Watch Power & Politics cover Liberal blocking of new SNC-Lavalin ethics probe:

Watch Power & Politics discuss ethics committee probe controversy:

 

March 28

Read the transcript of the secretly recorded call between Jody Wilson-Raybould and Michael Wernick

Watch Trudeau discuss “changing processes” in PMO:

Read: COMMENTARY: Justin Trudeau’s handling of the Jody Wilson-Raybould matter likely wouldn’t fly in the corporate world

 

April 2

In a bid to unite the Liberal Party ahead of the 2019 election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ejected Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from caucus for their public dissent over the government’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Watch Trudeau announce he has kicked Wilson-Raybould and Philpott from party:

 

April 4

Watch Robert Fife on Wilson-Raybould’s demands: ‘What’s wrong with an apology?’:

 

April 7

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says that Prime Minister Trudeau threatened to sue him over his criticisms of the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

Watch Andrew Scheer explain being threatened by the Prime Minister:

Watch Trudeau answer questions around lawsuit threats to Scheer in scrum:

Watch Question Period with Evan Soloman hold panel with Bob Fife:

 

April 9

Jane Philpott speaks out about how the PM broke party policy by removing her without a caucus vote. 

Watch CTV covering Jane Philpott’s accusation:

 

April 14

Jane Philpott contemplates her political future and contends with accusations of being “attention seeking”.

 

April 24

Jody Wilson-Raybould attacks Liberal’s lack of real progress within the indigenous community.

 

April 30

A confidential document sent to the Liberal Party of Canada in 2016, and obtained by CBC/Radio-Canada, reveals how top officials at SNC-Lavalin were named in a scheme to illegally influence Canadian elections.

 

May 3

Globe and Mail Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife said he was worried for weeks after breaking the SNC-Lavalin story that has rocked the Liberal government, fearing that former cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould would refute his reporting. He spoke to Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos.

 

May 24

Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott, former Liberal cabinet ministers who resigned over the Liberal government’s SNC-Lavalin controversy, say they will make announcements Monday about their political futures.

Watch Power & Politics discuss political future for Philpott and Wilson-Raybould:

 

May 27

Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott declare they will run for re-election in the next federal election as independents.

Watch Wilson-Raybould discuss her running as an independent:

Jody Wilson-Raybould’s riding association members quit Liberals to work for her campaign as an independent.

 

May 29

There is enough evidence against SNC-Lavalin for it to be tried on fraud and bribery charges, a Quebec Court judge has ruled. The engineering giant spent months lobbying Ottawa to avoid a trial, and the case is at the centre of an upheaval for the Trudeau government.

Jody Wilson-Raybould plays a recording of Michael Wernick to the justice committee in an appeal to reopen the SNC probe. The Liberal majority voted down the reopening of the SNC probe despite the new evidence. The media reports on suspicion over Wilson-Raybould’s judgement in conducting an illegal recording, given her status as a lawyer. They do not discuss the things disclosed by Wernick throughout the call which verified all of her testimony and disproved all claims by Trudeau through his various press conferences since the time of the Globe and Mail article. The media narrative then shifts to questions of whether or not Wilson-Raybould and Philpott hurt the Liberal party’s chances of getting re-elected.

 

June 3

Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott sit down with Evan Solomon on running as independents in the upcoming Federal election:

June 14

Justin Trudeau sits down with Celine but she will not be returning to the Liberal party

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Related Content:

Watch analyst breakdown over Trudeau’s brand post SNC-Lavalin scandal:

The MPs who got the boot or left their caucus over the last four years:

Read The Liberals can’t shut down what they don’t control

Read SNC-Lavalin never claimed jobs were at risk, CEO Neil Bruce says

Read Crimes, deals and fines: A guide to deferred prosecution agreements

Read From the archives: The inside story of SNC-Lavalin’s Gadhafi disaster

Read Justice, jobs and SNC-Lavalin: How much does the engineering giant matter to the economy?

Watch True North debunk Trudeau’s justification for interference:

 

Disclaimer:

The following TVO episode serves as a perfect example of the toxic nature of hyper partisanship. The reason why people use terms like “shill media” is because mainstream media which is supposed to be held to a standard and with at least SOME expectation of non-partisan reporting and reasoned analysis. This episode of the agenda is so disgusting that I do not see how the show can continue with any credibility. As far as I’m concerned I will now be referencing TVO as Canada’s Liberal equivalent to Fox news.

Greg Sorbara, former ontario liberal finance minister actually states, with regard to the SNC-Lavalin scandal, that he ‘can’t see the mischief”. And regarding Ms. Wilson-Raybould “if you don’t like being under undue pressure, don’t take a cabinet seat.” He is well within his right to state such disgusting opinions but having gone almost completely unchallenged and then by Paikin shifting the conversation to the OPP commissioner situation surrounding Doug Ford (where it isn’t a scandal or illegal or immoral to appoint friends with the OPP commissioner, as McGuinty did before him, openly calling his OPP chief his “great friend”) really shows the true hyper-partisan bias of TVO and their producers.

If you are one of these people who discredit Rebel Media as being “stunt journalism” then you must watch this and understand that media plays a role in the discourse of the country. and TVO has made it clear that their role is to influence the province to develop a liberal bias by refusing to hold Liberals to anywhere near the same standard as conservatives. In a time when the province voted overwhelmingly for a conservative government, TVO no longer speaks on behalf of the province. From now on I will be referring to TVO as I refer to CBC, as activist based narrative reporting. TVO should be ashamed to ruin their reputation over cheap partisan bias. It’s a damn shame and I hope Paikin is losing sleep at night for the reputation he’s dragging through the hyper partisan swampy mud. This isn’t news, it’s propaganda and I am only sharing this so you can see exactly what that looks like:

Read Are 9,000 SNC jobs really in peril? A reality check on the job market

Read How Jody Wilson-Raybould could speak her truth, even if Liberals block return to justice committee

Read Did SNC-Lavalin enable Gadhafi’s brutality?

Read The impossible position: Canada’s attorney-general cannot be our justice minister

Read OECD says potential job losses not a reason to shelve SNC-Lavalin prosecution

Read The Globe canvassed all liberal MPs on SNC, here are their responses

Read Indigenous leaders applaud Wilson-Raybould, but stay clear of criticizing Trudeau

Read Wilson-Raybould on SNC-Lavalin and Trudeau: What you missed from her bombshell testimony, and what it means

Read What are the PMO and PCO, and what do they do? A guide for the SNC-Lavalin affair

Read SNC-Lavalin, Jody Wilson-Raybould and Trudeau’s PMO: The story so far

Read Jody Wilson-Raybould and the paradox of reconciliation in Canada

Read Jody Wilson-Raybould’s accusation goes to the very heart of Canadian justice

Read Trudeau has lost the moral mandate to govern

 

Watch Abacus CEO discuss the impact of the SNC-Lavalin affair on the Trudeau government:

 

Watch Power and Politics visualize key dates and events outlined by Wilson-Raybould’s testimony:

 

Watch Steven Ledrew judges Trudeau’s transparency test on SNC-Lavalin:

 

Watch Steven Ledrew argue for why Trudeau should resign over SNC-Lavalin:

 

Watch Lorrie Goldstein scrutinizing Trudeau’s track record to date and handling of SNC-Lavalin affair:

 

Watch: MP Michelle Rempel breakdown the sequence of events from the RCMP charges against SNC-Lavalin to the testimony of Jody Wilson-Raybould:

 

Watch CBC compare Butts’ and Wilson-Raybould’s versions of SNC-Lavalin affair:

 

Watch Andrew Coyne’s reaction to Gerald Butts testimony and the SNC scandal:

 

Watch Jody Wilson-Raybould comment on the Colten Boushie court case (on indigenous relations and the justice system):

 

Watch Trudeau’s year end sit down with Evan Solomon ‘Canadians expect me to stand up for the rules’:

 

Watch Trudeau speak about energy east pipeline July 20, 2015:

 

Watch Christie Blatchford ask why Liberals are so cozy with SNC-Lavalin:

 

Watch BLG perform a body language reading of Trudeau’s response to Wilson-Raybould’s testimony: