STILL??? Housefather still ‘thinking’ on Liberal future as eyes turn to Israel arms exports

Liberal MPs say that they hope their Montreal colleague Anthony Housefather stays in caucus after he said he was “reflecting” on his future with the party following a debate and vote on a non-binding NDP motion over recognizing Palestinian statehood.

That comes as Canada’s foreign minister faces questions over the country’s arms exports to Israel.

“I am going to be thinking for a while,” Housefather said in a text message to Global News on his future with the party.

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Secret RCMP report warns Canadians may revolt once they realize how broke they are

A secret RCMP report is warning the federal government that Canada may descend into civil unrest once citizens realize the hopelessness of their economic situation.

“The coming period of recession will … accelerate the decline in living standards that the younger generations have already witnessed compared to earlier generations,” reads the report, entitled Whole-of-Government Five-Year Trends for Canada.

h/t DS

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Free office space and tax breaks: These are some of the concessions Toronto has made to FIFA as part of World Cup

Documents obtained by CTV News Toronto are shedding light on the extent of the city’s obligations to FIFA in hosting games for the 2026 World Cup, including tax breaks and a requirement that public transportation fares be free for ticket holders.

The 242 pages of documents were obtained through a Freedom of Information request and contain the host agreement signed by the city in 2018, as well as a 2022 addendum, though many of the pages are redacted.

They lay out the terms under which the city is responsible for bearing many of the costs of the games, including providing FIFA with office space and equipment “of the highest quality”; city beautification; free public transport for pass holders, ticket holders and media during the games; setting up ticket facilities and covering any municipal taxes FIFA might incur.

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Montreal newspaper’s political cartoon showing Netanyahu as a vampire decried as antisemitic

A political cartoon in a French-language newspaper depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire has sparked accusations of antisemitism.

The cartoon appeared in Wednesday’s edition of La Presse, a prestigious digital-only newspaper. It shows Netanyahu with long claws, pointed ears and wearing an overcoat — imagery reminiscent of Count Orlok, a vampire from the 1922 silent film, Nosferatu.

This is pretty tame by Palestinian standards.

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The Melting Pot Myth Is Destroying America – Ilhan Omar is proof.

Nobody, to my knowledge, has ever accused Rep. Ilhan Omar of being a nationalist. But if her recently surfaced comments about Somalia are any indication, she is, in fact, an ardent one — just not for the nation of America.

A few months ago, controversy broke out surrounding comments Omar made during a speech about Somalia (delivered to a predominantly Somalian crowd in Minneapolis): “We are people of brotherhood, people of blood, people who know themselves to be Somalis, to be Muslims,” Omar thundered, according to the English-translation subtitles. “We are a gifted set of individuals with a patriotic spirit that acknowledges our homeland and strives to protect it.” In a shockingly candid admission, Omar openly bragged to the crowd about her ambition to serve the interests of a foreign nation while ostensibly representing American voters in the U.S. government: “The U.S. government will do what we tell the U.S. government to do,” she boasted. “That is the confidence we need to have as Somalis.… For as long as I am in Congress, no one will take over the seas belonging to the nation of Somalia and the United States will not support others who seek to steal from us.”

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The world’s 100 worst polluted cities are in Asia — and 83 of them are in just one country

All but one of the 100 cities with the world’s worst air pollution last year were in Asia, according to a new report, with the climate crisis playing a pivotal role in bad air quality that is risking the health of billions of people worldwide.

The vast majority of these cities — 83 — were in India and all exceeded the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines by more than 10 times, according to the report by IQAir, which tracks air quality worldwide.

The study looked specifically at fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which is the tiniest pollutant but also the most dangerous. Only 9% of more than 7,800 cities analyzed globally recorded air quality that met WHO’s standard, which says average annual levels of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

Justin will have no choice but to raise the Carbon tax now!

h/t DS

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Justin Trudeau isn’t meeting China’s threat to our democracy. Here’s one thing he could do right now

As U.S. legislators race to disconnect the world’s most downloaded app and prevent TikTok’s massive American data from potentially feeding Chinese security agencies, Ottawa should demonstrate equal resolve.

Canada’s Bill C-34 — proposed legislation to prevent foreign investors from harbouring foreign intelligence services — is in its home stretch of Senate review, before going to the House of Commons for final discussions.

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Stabby Saskatoon man gets two-year sentence for nightclub knifings

Wahdan Yahia Ismaeil kissed his girlfriend and hugged friends and family before being taken straight back to jail.

Following his goodbyes to those who turned up for his sentencing at Saskatoon provincial court on Monday, Ismaeil was taken away to serve his sentence for two counts of assault causing bodily harm and other charges. In February, Ismaeil pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm for stabbing two people during a brawl at Divas Nightclub in downtown Saskatoon in the early hours of Dec. 4, 2021.

h/t JB

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Stop the carbon price increase? Poilievre threatens non-confidence

A Conservative motion to “spike the hike” and stop the April 1 carbon price increase will face a vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday as the environment minister says, “We can’t put climate change on pause.”

Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre introduced a motion earlier this week to stop the annual carbon price increase, which is set to rise to $80 per tonne on April 1 from the current $65 per tonne.

Performative but necessary I suppose.

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