Emergencies Act Inquiry to hear CSIS evidence on ‘Freedom Convoy’ in secret
OTTAWA—A judge leading the federal inquiry into the Liberal government’s use of a special emergency law to end the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests has agreed to hear evidence from Canada’s spy agency at a secret hearing.
In a ruling made public late Wednesday, Justice Paul Rouleau said the federal government asked for a secret hearing — behind closed doors and without other parties present — in order for his commission counsel to examine employees of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service on evidence related to the convoy protest that the agency claims is classified.
It all centres around evidence not yet tabled at the inquiry. And it is unclear what is the subject of the CSIS intelligence that the spy agency wants to protect.
What do they have to hide?
How China Threatens the Midterms
A pro-China online network is attempting to undermine voter confidence ahead of the midterms in one of several disinformation campaigns targeting the United States, cybersecurity firm Mandiant said on Wednesday.
Researchers at the Google subsidiary said the campaign by “Dragonbridge,” a known information operation with alleged links to Beijing, may signal China’s official entry into U.S. election interference. However, it hasn’t been very effective.
Dubious online accounts have been pushing narratives including a claim that APT41, a hacking group with alleged ties to China’s Ministry of State Security, is backed by the U.S. government, Mandiant said. Others allege U.S. involvement in the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions.
Hmmm … I am not convinced the US Deep State didn’t destroy the Nord Stream Pipelines. It’s a fact they conspired to bring down a legitimately elected President making them capable of any crime no matter how heinous in my view.
Iran protests rage overnight after Mahsa Amini memorial
Protests have raged through the night in Iran after thousands of mourners marked 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini, which sparked a wave of unrest across the Islamic republic.
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died on 16 September, three days after her arrest in Tehran by the morality police for allegedly breaching the Islamic dress code for women.
Anger flared at her funeral last month and quickly sparked protests led by young women who have burned their headscarves and confronted security forces, in the biggest wave of unrest in Iran for years.
The moment Iranian protesters stormed the governor's office in the city of Mahabad in the country's northwest. pic.twitter.com/ubupmtxEUq
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) October 27, 2022
Food bank usage across Canada hit all-time high in March: report
The number of people using food banks across the country surged to an all-time high earlier this year, with high inflation and low social assistance rates cited as key factors in the rise, a new report from Food Banks Canada indicates.
The annual report released Thursday said there were nearly 1.5 million visits to food banks in March, a figure that was 15 per cent higher than the number of visits in the same month last year and 35 per cent higher than visits in March 2019, before the pandemic hit.
GOLDSTEIN: Ford’s reasons for not testifying at EA inquiry are absurd
As far as we know, King Charles III is not planning to imprison Premier Doug Ford for something he said in the Ontario legislature.
Given that, it’s absurd for Ford to invoke parliamentary privilege to avoid testifying before the public inquiry examining whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end the Freedom Convoy protest was justified.
They made doors, gum and jerry cans. Ontario’s ‘essential’ workers in manufacturing accounted for more workplace COVID deaths than any other sector — even health care
These are some of the workers, praised by the province as essential, who succumbed to COVID infections they caught while working in factories across Ontario:
A general helper at Concord Confections, a candy factory in York Region that makes Dubble Bubble gum.
An assembler at Concord-based door manufacturer, Masonite International.
A supervisor at Diana Dolls Fashions, a baby clothes maker in Hamilton.
It was readily apparent from the start of the Scamdemic that if you knew the right people you got to make your Movie or your chewing gum while the Great Unwashed suffered economic hardship or Wuhan Flu exposure for the unfortunate in Doug Ford’s Pandemic Mills.
The lockdowns did more harm than good ultimately though it can be argued that if the time had been used to shore up the defenses of Long Term Care homes and other vulnerable institutions then their limited usage could be justified.
To my view the family of the deceased chewing gum worker and others in their shoes have a legitimate cause to sue the government for wrongful death.
RCMP investigating Chinese ‘police’ stations in Canada
The RCMP says it’s investigating Chinese “police” stations in Canada.
This comes after the Spain-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders reported that more than 50 exist worldwide, including three in the Greater Toronto Area in predominantly Chinese communities.
They include a residential home and single-storey commercial building in Markham and a convenience store in Scarborough.
Climate ‘victim’ nations try to Sharm-el-Shake the money tree
IS global warming really happening? Don’t bother to think – your answer no longer matters. Experts have decided, and the media now shriek ‘climate emergency!’ every time it rains a bit harder.
Earlier this year it rained much harder and in Pakistan there was disastrous flooding. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says scientists have determined that the deluge was due to climate breakdown.
He claims it is ‘the responsibility of the developed countries, who caused these emissions, to stand by us’ and he will be seeking ‘climate justice’ from the international community.
John Ivison: It’s becoming clear that the federal government overreached to shut down the Freedom Convoy
The Ottawa Police Services superintendent led the mission that finally cleared the Freedom Convoy in February, and on Wednesday was being grilled by the counsel for the Public Order Emergency Commission, Frank Au, on the impact the government’s proclamation of an emergency had on his plans.
Bernier said the invocation of the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 for the first time in Canadian history did not significantly impact the planning process for the operation that cleared the streets of protesters around Parliament Hill four days later. “The plan I was developing was based on existing authorities,” he told the commission. “I was satisfied we were going to have all the authorities we needed to take action.”
Germany Agrees to Sell Stake in Largest Port to Chinese Shipping Giant
The left-wing government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has approved the controversial sale of a stake in the port of Hamburg to a Communist Chinese state-owned shipping giant, despite warnings from Germany’s intelligence community on becoming over-reliant on Beijing as it previously did with Moscow.
Coalition Presents Letter Signed by Canadian Scientists, Asking Health Officials to Affirm COVID Vaccine ‘Safety Risks’
A coalition of over 20 public interest groups is calling on the federal government to publicly affirm the “material risks and scientific uncertainties” related to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, presenting a letter signed by 19 doctors, scientists, and academics across the country.
Coming together as the “Citizens’ Group,” the coalition wrote the letter to Jean-Yves Duclos and Dr. Theresa Tam dated Oct. 13, asking for “transparent answers” to all questions and concerns revolving around COVID-19 vaccines.
Ottawa’s ‘net-zero’ transit plan disconnected from reality
In case you haven’t heard, the Trudeau government has a plan for Canada to become a “net-zero” emitter of greenhouse gases by 2050 with an interim plan to 2030. As some analysts (including myself) have observed, this is a quixotic endeavour doomed to failure, at the cost of many billions of taxpayer dollars and a great deal of economic wastage. And according to the most recent wisdom from Greta Thunberg, even if “we carried out all of our climate action plans, we’d still be in trouble. Net zero by 2050 is simply too little, too late. There is just too much at stake for us to place our destiny in the hands of undeveloped technologies. We need real zero.”
WEF Calls for ‘Interventions’ in Free Speech to ‘Improve Safety’
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is calling for increased censorship and “interventions” in free speech rights to “improve safety” online.
In a new twist, German economist Klaus Schwab’s organization claims it is “thinking of the children” with its new push for online content moderation.
The group’s “formative content” senior writer lays out its new “protect the kids” agenda in a piece published on the WEF website.
The WEF argues that Big Tech companies must ramp up censorship efforts by removing content and applying warning labels to people’s posts to “enhance safety in digital spaces.”
How Big Pharma monetised depression
America has been sold a lucrative myth
We are, if you believe the headlines, living in the midst of an unprecedented mental health crisis, exacerbated by the stress and isolation of the pandemic. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at the end of May, nearly 40% of American adults had experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety during the past month, with nearly a quarter filling a prescription for an antidepressant or other psychiatric drug. The rise in mental health problems has been particularly dramatic among the young: the New York Times reported in July that between 2017 and 2021, antidepressant use rose by 41% among American teenagers.