As Trudeau cabinet meets, Liberal MPs look for signs of change following byelection loss

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with his ministers in Halifax on Sunday for the annual cabinet retreat, a gathering that comes after a year of dire polling for the government and disquiet among some Liberal MPs.

Some of those MPs are now calling for big changes — and for the prime minister to publicly show signs of contrition.

Cabinet is meeting for three days and is expected to tackle pocketbook issues and seek to strengthen Canada’s relationship with the United States ahead of the House of Commons’ return in September.

Nothing is going to turn LPC/NDP fortunes around.

Share

Liberal-NDP supply-and-confidence deal and U.S. engagement top items on cabinet retreat agenda

Against the backdrop of a record number of Atlantic Canadians voicing dissatisfaction with the Liberal government’s performance, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet will gather in Halifax for a crucial three-day retreat.

The retreat will focus on strategizing for the fall sitting of Parliament with key agenda items including the Liberal-NDP supply-and-confidence agreement, and Canada-U.S. relations.

Share

SLOBODIAN: Defending democracy is good, Trudeau should try it here

Canada “will always stand up for democracy and against hate.” So reads a statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Black Ribbon Day, August 23, the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union.

Observance of the day acknowledges the more than 100 million people who died in Europe because of war, genocide, starvation and other crimes against humanity under both Communism and Nazism.

Share

Right to enjoy property doesn’t trump freedom of expression: ‘Freedom Convoy’ defence

OTTAWA – In a contest between the Charter-protected freedom of expression and Ottawa residents’ right to the enjoyment of their property, there is no contest, the lawyer for “Freedom Convoy” organizer Tamara Lich argued Friday.

Lawrence Greenspon’s final arguments in the criminal trial focused largely on the fundamental freedoms that protect protest in Canada, and the failure of Ottawa police to enforce the law during the 2022 demonstration.

Share

Storm clouds still heavy around Liberals as cabinet meets for retreat in Halifax

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will kick off a three-day cabinet retreat in Halifax on Sunday, where the themes are fairness and Canada-U.S. relations, but the feelings are all about déjà vu.

A year ago in Charlottetown the cabinet hoped its annual post-summer retreat and the massive cabinet shuffle that preceded it would give new life to the Liberal government.

Spoiler alert: They did not.

Share

Canada banned military exports to Israel — but critics say there’s an ‘absolutely appalling’ loophole

OTTAWA — The Canadian government is being accused of backpedaling on its promise to suspend arms exports to Israel after the U.S. government announced a plan to sell made-in-Canada explosive mortar cartridges to the Israeli government.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved a sale to Israel of 50,400 explosive mortar cartridges worth roughly $83 million. The cartridges are expected to be manufactured by Québec-based General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc. and delivered in 2026, pending congressional approval.

Share

Mike Moffatt: The time has come to upend Canada’s temporary foreign worker program

Outside of 2020, when we were in lockdown, 2024 has been the worst year on record for teenagers to get a summer job, whether as a cashier at a convenience store or selling ice cream.

Despite the challenges teenagers are currently having in the job market, the number of temporary foreign workers approved for those same positions has never been higher, thanks to the federal government’s deregulation of the temporary foreign worker program in 2022.

Share

Foreign interference inquiry hears CCP agents worked on 2021 elections polls

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) operatives allegedly acted as Elections Canada poll workers in the 2021 campaign, according to documents submitted to a federal inquiry, per Blacklock’s Reporter.

Former Conservative MP Leona Alleslev in a sworn affidavit said she was told by Chinese Canadian constituents they knew of foreign operatives working at polling stations.

Share

The mischievousness in Trudeau’s appointment of Charles Adler to the Senate

Jaws dropped in Ottawa when then-Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper named long-time press-gallery gadfly Mike Duffy to the Senate in 2008. In the twilight of his journalistic career, the colourful Mr. Duffy was known for vehiculating conservative talking points. He was a “big name” in small-town Canada and popular among Conservative MPs.

Share

The sudden rise of temporary foreign workers in entry-level office jobs … But The Great Replacement That’s A Conspiracy!

Temporary foreign workers are no longer a rare presence in entry-level office roles.

Last year, employers were approved to hire more than 3,500 administrative assistants via the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, up from just 112 of those roles approved in 2016, according to figures published by the federal government. In addition, companies were authorized to hire nearly 2,000 administrative officers in 2023. (The TFW program accounts for a small share of foreign labour in Canada, so it’s likely that other pathways are being tapped for admin workers, too.)

What a scam, Trudeau and his cronies are working to alter Canada’s demographic so the Liberals can harvest votes and the corporate welfare class can profit by destroying the value of labour.

Share

Kelly McParland: Trudeau Liberals have a Biden problem, but lack a Pelosi to press the case

A month after kicking him down the White House stairs, Democrats welcomed Joe Biden to the stage of their Chicago convention, the better to profess how much they well and truly love him.

“We started out … with President Biden, who we all love, we all adore, we look forward to seeing him tonight,” convention chairperson Minyon Moore burbled Monday, the first day of the Democrat gathering, as delegates and party elders waited for the sitting president to speak his piece and get it done with.

Share

Misuse of the temporary foreign worker program is a business racket

Standing by a lectern with a sign that read “Bring Home Our Jobs,” Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre had words for both the government and for businesses that he implied were abusing Canada’s temporary foreign workers program.

“Trudeau has destroyed our entire immigration system,” he said, referring to the massive expansion of workers applying under the low-wage labour market impact assessment (LMIA) stream.

Share

How Global News’ investigation into Indigenous contracting unfolded

Global News’ collaborative investigation into billions of dollars in federal contracts awarded to Indigenous-owned enterprises began in late 2022, when a journalist noticed that some suppliers of personal protective equipment did not disclose a connection to a First Nation, Métis or Inuit community on their websites.

Vast sums of public funds are in play.

The scope is insane.

Share