The F$CKING Toronto Star

Did Justin Trudeau need the controversial Emergencies Act to stop the ‘Freedom Convoy’? A judge will hear the arguments for and against this week

OTTAWA — The shock waves — political, legal and historical — from the self-styled “Freedom Convoy” have crashed through Canadian society for more than eight months.

And they’re about to surge again.

On Thursday, long-anticipated — and delayed — public hearings are set to begin for the independent judicial inquiry tasked with probing what happened during those weeks last winter, when anti-government protests occupied the streets around Parliament Hill, blockaded key border crossings, and peppered Canadian politics with frustration, conspiracy theories and COVID-19 misinformation.

Pierre Poilievre a rising star for the world’s far right

Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones recently said he’s a big fan of Poilievre, calling him part of a global movement of far-right leaders.

You can’t get much lower — or more vile — than Alex Jones.

The far-right American radio host and conspiracy theorist is back in a Connecticut court this week, facing his second defamation trial over his “hoax” lies about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012.

But the trial hasn’t stopped Jones from hosting his regular Infowars show and website that together have millions of followers in the U.S. and around the world, including in Canada.

Just last week, Jones told his audience that he’s a big fan of Pierre Poilievre, calling him part of a “rising” movement of far-right leaders “all over the world.”

Meanwhile Trudeau has met and been photographed with child molesters, rapists, terrorists and all manner of deviants that make up the LPC family.

One of whom is being sentenced for sex assault today.

As the legal battle for control of the company which publishes the Toronto Star heads to court Monday, Star publisher Jordan Bitove sent a memo to staff vowing to protect the paper and addressing the allegation that NordStar is in default on a credit agreement.

“I have taken steps to defend against any adverse consequences that could arise from any steps taken by our lender, as a consequence of Mr. Rivett’s actions,” wrote Bitove, who’s battling Paul Rivett’s attempt to dissolve NordStar Capital, the company the pair created two years ago to buy Torstar.

Rivett didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

A legal battle between the owners of media properties including the Toronto Star is heading to court.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday morning in Ontario Superior Court over a dispute between Paul Rivett and Jordan Bitove, who purchased Torstar Corp. in 2020 for $60-million. Nordstar Capital Inc., in which Mr. Rivett and Mr. Bitove are equal partners, and which controls all of Torstar’s assets, is in breach of a credit facility, according to court documents. The two partners are at odds over how to address the debt.

Interesting fight ahead. The Star’s finances are not healthy.

The union representing workers at Torstar Corp. said it was “blindsided” by news of a court application to wind up the parent company, which has put the future proprietorship of the firm’s assets in doubt, including the Toronto Star.

Randy Kitt, director of media for Unifor, said the union had no advance notice a battle was under way between Paul Rivett and Jordan Bitove, who purchased Torstar in 2020 through a newly formed company called NordStar Capital Inc., in which they are equal partners.

Different priorities of the two owners of Torstar, which runs the Toronto Star, one of Canada’s largest newspapers, and a host of smaller papers, became obvious not long after they bought the media giant.

Torstar employees said Jordan Bitove started showing extraordinary emotion at meetings and staff gatherings when speaking of journalism’s mission and responsibility.

Ismael was just 17 when I told the story that made him a hero in the eyes of the world. Years later he made a shocking revelation

…. What happened next plays out in dramatic detail in the film — but it’s here, in the Star, where Ismael’s story first became public, that I need to correct the record first.

Ismael Abdulle wasn’t exactly who he had told me he was that day we first met. He told me now what had really happened. Al-Shabab had indeed kidnapped him, but not because he had resisted their recruitment. Instead, Ismael was trying to rob people at the local market when a couple of al-Shabab members came up and asked if they could see his gun. He gave it to them; they turned it on him, and said he was a thief and would be punished.

A lot of time, money and goodwill were wasted on this thief but the Star reporter can’t help but remark how clever he was for pulling it off.

MONTREAL — Until last Tuesday, Richmond-Arthabaska MP Alain Rayes was one of the Conservative party’s best-known and most influential members in Quebec.

Before spending the past six months in a leading role in Jean Charest’s leadership campaign, he had twice served as Quebec lieutenant, first for Andrew Scheer and more recently for Erin O’Toole.

In the last three elections, he bucked the Quebec trend by winning a riding that boasted little previous conservative history.