Canada

The Trudeau government has given the world a textbook on what not to do

With the prospect of assisted dying being legalised in the UK, the Canadian experience serves as a cautionary tale of what can go horribly wrong.

In 2015, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled that it is a fundamental right of Canadians who suffer from a “grievous and irremediable” medical condition to be assisted to kill themselves. The Court dismissed as fallacy warnings of a “slippery slope” leading to the devaluing of human life and potential harms to vulnerable persons. The Court reasoned that vulnerable persons could be protected though “stringent and well-enforced safeguards.”

H/T Patti Jo

WTF?

h/t Mauser

Statistics Canada’s latest financial security survey(opens in a new tab) shows a stark disparity between the wealth of homeowners and renters, even as it fails to capture the true scale what’s owned by Canada’s richest families.

The survey, conducted only every few years, shows home-owning families whose main earner was 55 to 64, and who had an employer-sponsored pension, had a median net worth of $1.4 million in 2023. Renters without a pension plan in the age group had a median net worth of $11,900.

Canada, bastion of agreeableness, is facing an “extremist threat.” Who are these dangerous terrorists, threatening to destroy the maple syrupy vibes we have so long enjoyed in America’s very polite, but very dull, neighbour? Apparently, it’s the people who still recall the difference between mommy and daddy, and refuse to pretend otherwise.

Earlier this year, Canada’s intelligence agency, CSIS, warned of an impending “extremist” threat. Based on a report by the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC), CSIS determined that the “anti-gender movement,” made up of Canadian citizens concerned about the various impacts of trans ideology on kids, women, and free speech, could “inspire and encourage serious violence against the 2SLGBTQI+ community.”

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Tuesday he will work with the other opposition parties to bring down the Liberal government after Ottawa failed to deliver what he wanted: a pension hike for some and further protections for supply-managed farm sectors.

After the NDP pulled out of its deal to prop up the Liberals, Blanchet stepped into the mix, saying he would back the Liberals on non-confidence votes if it passed two Bloc private member’s bills that hike Old Age Security payments for people between the ages of 65 and 74 and exempt dairy, poultry and eggs from future trade negotiations.

Canada’s Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently identified his country’s greatest threat: people freely speaking their mind. A new online harms law, if passed, could potentially enable judges to put people under house arrest if they’re viewed as likely to commit a hate offence.

You read this right. No actual crime would be required for this type of punishment.