Canada provides $40 million in new assistance for Palestinians

The Canadian Press
Thu, May 16, 2024 

OTTAWA — Canada is providing $40 million to help Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid concern over what it calls a catastrophic humanitarian situation, worsened by an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah.

Ottawa says the funding will support the provision of food, water, emergency medical assistance, protection services and other life-saving assistance in the region.

The money will go to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, as well as trusted partners in the region including the Canadian Red Cross and other Canadian non-governmental organizations.

The government says Canada’s funding has also helped establish an International Committee of the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah.

The hospital is being supported by the Canadian Red Cross with surgical equipment, medicine and supplies, diagnostic equipment, disinfection materials and personnel.

The need for humanitarian aid has become more dire in the last week following a ground offensive in Rafah by Israel, which said it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return hostages.

"Because of our extreme concern about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, we not only have to step up assistance, but we've also been relentless in our efforts to get more humanitarian aid in," International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said in an interview.

The $40 million is in addition to a $25-million payment Ottawa recently delivered to UNRWA as part of a multi-year commitment to help Palestinian refugees in the region, including those living in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the West Bank.

Canada temporarily suspended funding to the agency in January after Israel alleged some UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, when Hamas and other Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people and seized some 250 as hostages. The attack sparked the Israel-Hamas war, which Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry says has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, including combatants.

Canada lifted that suspension in March.

UN investigators are looking into allegations against 14 of the 19 staffers.

A separate review of UNRWA’s neutrality said last month that Israel had never before expressed concerns about anyone on the staff lists that UNRWA had given Israel every year since 2011.

The report said UNRWA has "robust" procedures to uphold the UN principle of neutrality, but cited serious gaps in implementation, including staff publicly expressing political views, textbooks with "problematic content" in schools the agency runs and staff unions disrupting operations. It made 50 recommendations to improve UNRWA's neutrality.

Canada helped with the report led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, said Hussen.

He said he accepts the report's recommendations and continues to uphold the organization as the "backbone" of aid in the territory.

"UNRWA's network, presence, expertise and logistics, and ability to provide direct support to Palestinians inside Gaza, is unmatched," he said.

"Other organizations also use their network and their connections to reach vulnerable populations inside Gaza, and that's why we're supporting them, because they're very effective."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press

Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press

Opposition says Sask. Party politicians should be investigated for 'cashing in' on gov't contracts

GOOD OLD CROOKED CONS-

- ERVATIVES

CBC
Thu, May 16, 2024 

Saskatchewan NDP politician Meara Conway has requested investigations into the conduct of two Saskatchewan Party politicians. (Alexander Quon/CBC - image credit)


The NDP is accusing two Sask. Party politicians of unethical dealings — suggesting they did not follow appropriate protocol as their private businesses received money from government.

Members of the Legislative Assembly can trigger an investigation if they have reasonable grounds to believe that another has breached the Members' Conflict of Interest Act.

Meara Conway, the Opposition's critic for ethics and democracy, triggered two investigations on Wednesday as she raised concerns about how public money is flowing to private companies connected to politicians.


"The Conflict of Interest Commissioner will have the final word on that," Conway told reporters after question period Wednesday, noting they have 90 days for the review.

Conway said she believes Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill breached Section 15 of the Act, which prohibits government contracts for elected officials unless they get an exemption.

She said Cockrill managed Fortress Windows and Doors in 2020 and after he was elected he continued with the business in the role of advisor and salesperson. The business received "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in contracts from SaskTel and the Battlefords Housing Authority.

She said Cockrill did not obtain an exemption for this work.

"When he was elected in 2020, he should have stepped away from this company if they were going to continue to do work with government," Conway said. "That's what Section 15 requires, and there's good reason for that. Otherwise it gives rise to concerns, on behalf of the public, that people are using their public offices to derive a public benefit."

Saskatchewan's education minister Jeremy Cockrill said he used a poor choice of words in the private meeting with Taya Thomas.

Saskatchewan's education minister Jeremy Cockrill. (CBC/Radio-Canada)

Conway also said she believes Minister Gary Grewal breached the act by not seeking an exemption from the Commissioner, related to his two motels in Regina.

The NDP said records show Grewal's motels did almost no business with the Ministry of Social Services prior to Grewal's election. However, after he was elected, "government business increased to $731,194 in a few short years."

The party has also accused Grewal of inflating prices when serving Social Services clients.

Conway said the evidence and rationale for her concerns are laid out in public letters to the commissioner.

The Saskatchewan Party did not put up Ministers Cockrill or Grewal for comment after Conway requested the investigations.

Instead, they put up Jim Reiter, Saskatchewan's Minister of Energy and Resources. Reiter broadly criticized the NDP, accusing the Opposition of repeatedly raising allegations against people without evidence.

In regards to the allegations against Cockrill and Grewal, Reiter said Wednesday he wasn't aware of the specifics but the party would "wait for the response from the conflict of interest commissioner. That's how it should be dealt with."

Meanwhile, the Conway tabled five private member's bills aimed at making existing laws require more transparency and documentation. The proposed amendments are:

The Members' Conflict of Interest Amendment Act. The NDP says it would "strengthen the Act and make provincial politicians disclose the business interests of their spouses and relatives that are held in private companies and/or holding companies."


The Lobbyists Transparency Amendment Act. The NDP says it would "close lobbying loopholes and require lobbyists to file monthly activity logs containing information about the dates, participants, particulars, and methods of communication for all lobbying activity, as well as monetary political contributions made within the month."


The Election (Fairness and Accountability) Amendment Act. The NDP says it would "ban out-of-province, corporate, and union donations to Saskatchewan political parties and set a yearly total donation limit of $1,275 for Saskatchewan residents."


The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Amendment Act. The NDP says it would "make the Saskatchewan government more transparent, including by speeding up and making FOI requests financially accessible, and strengthening the powers of the Privacy Commissioner to force public bodies to release documents."


The Child and Family Services (Betty's Law) Amendment Act. The NDP says it would "require the Minister responsible to preserve all records relating to Indigenous children in residential schools, and make these records more accessible for public inquiries relating to the child's safety, truth and reconciliation, and the pursuit of answers about deceased relatives in care or Indigenous people's grievances."

City of Saint John, NB,  'vicariously liable' for police officer's sexual abuse of children

"This has been going on for 11 years because the city has denied their responsibility every step of the way."

The Canadian Press
Thu, May 16, 2024 

HALIFAX — Hundreds of sexual abuse survivors in New Brunswick could be eligible for compensation following a decision delivered Thursday by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Canada's highest court dismissed a bid by the City of Saint John to overturn a ruling that found the city bears some responsibility for the sexual abuse of children by a member of its police force who served between 1953 and 1975.

As is its practice, the court did not give reasons to justify its decision not to hear the case.

"It is a final decision that the city is now on the hook and is responsible for compensating every single … child that (the police officer) abused while he was a cop in Saint John," Halifax lawyer John McKiggan said in an interview.

"This has been going on for 11 years because the city has denied their responsibility every step of the way."

A spokesperson for the city issued a brief statement Thursday, saying officials had just heard about the decision and were "getting advice on next steps."

In 2013, a private investigation company hired by the city to investigate allegations involving former police Sgt. Kenneth Estabrooks determined the number of potential victims was 263, though 33 people on that list were no longer alive.

Later that year, Saint John resident Robert Hayes, who is now 65, filed a class-action lawsuit alleging he had been sexually assaulted when he was a boy by Estabrooks, who died in 2005. In his statement of claim, Hayes accused the city, the police force and the police commission of failing to act to prevent the abuse in order to protect their reputations.

A key question in the case was whether the city could be held vicariously liable, meaning it was responsible for the actions of someone under its authority.

In March 2023, New Brunswick's Court of King's Bench decided the city was not vicariously liable for harm caused by the police officer, but that decision was overturned by the province's Court of Appeal in September 2023. That's when the city filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

McKiggan, who represents Hayes, said case law prior to the offences in question held that municipalities were not vicariously liable for the actions of officers while carrying out their duties.

McKiggan said the provincial Court of Appeal was aware none of the abuse happened while Estabrooks was actually doing his job, but the three-judge panel decided the city was partly responsible for his actions because it had granted him the authority of a police officer.

"They put him in a position of authority over these children, and he used that authority … to sexually abuse children," McKiggan said in an interview Thursday.

He said his client was thrilled with the decision.

"He was over the moon today," the lawyer said. "He's never wavered in his determination to follow this through to the very end."

McKiggan said the city has the option of negotiating a compensation package or insisting that each survivor appear in court for an individual damages assessment, which could take years to complete.

Allegations against Estabrooks first surfaced in 1975 when he was a 22-year veteran of the Saint John Police Force, and he resigned that year when confronted with sexual abuse allegations from two teenage boys.

Court heard Estabrooks confessed to his superiors about the assaults, but instead of laying criminal charges, the city transferred him to a job with the public works department, where he continued to sexually abuse children. The lower court found the city vicariously liable for Estabrooks's actions as a public works employee.

"He had confessed to abusing these kids, so they knew he was an abuser," McKiggan said.

In 1999, Estabrooks was convicted of indecently assaulting four young people between 1957 and 1982 and he was sentenced to six years in prison.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

— By Michael MacDonald in Halifax.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

DEMILITARIZE, DISARM, DEFUND

Crown declines to lay charges against Edmonton police officer who fatally shot unarmed man

DEMAND FEDERAL HATE CRIME CHARGES

CBC
Thu, May 16, 2024 

From left, Steven Nguyen's brother, nephew, mother and sister outside the Edmonton courthouse on May 15, 2024. (Madeline Smith/CBC - image credit)


An Edmonton police officer won't face charges for fatally shooting an unarmed man in 2021, despite Alberta's police watchdog finding reasonable grounds that the officer committed a crime.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) investigation concluded there are "problematic" pieces about the officer's account of what happened.

The family of Steven Nguyen identified him as the 33-year-old man who was killed in the north-central Rosslyn neighbourhood on the night of June 5, 2021. They've filed a lawsuit against the Edmonton Police Service, and the officer who shot Nguyen, who is identified in court documents as Const. Alexander Doduk.


The officer shot Nguyen four times "within seconds" of encountering him, according to the ASIRT report, released Wednesday.

"In this case while [the officer] subjectively believed that it was reasonable to shoot [Nguyen], objectively this belief is lacking," ASIRT executive director Michael Ewenson wrote in the report.

Doduk and his EPS partner were responding to a report from a resident who said he saw a man with a weapon that looked like a screwdriver or a knife.

The man who called 911 described the person he saw acting erratically, but not aggressively. A toxicology report later showed Nguyen had methamphetamine in his system at the time.

Steven Nguyen was fatally shot in Edmonton's Rosslyn neighbourhood on the night of June 5, 2021.

Steven Nguyen was fatally shot in Edmonton's Rosslyn neighbourhood on the night of June 5, 2021. (Submitted by Melisa Solano)

The agency referred the case to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service to consider a culpable homicide charge, but after a review, the Crown won't pursue a criminal case.

In a statement to CBC News, an ACPS spokesperson said the Crown prosecutor who assessed the case determined it couldn't be proven that the officer's actions were unreasonable.

"In hindsight, the perception of the constable was mistaken, and the result was tragic, but the action taken could not be proven to be criminal."

Nguyen's family members said Wednesday the decision left them shocked.

"What happened to him was not right. It was not fair. … We want the public to be aware of what is happening," Nguyen's sister Melisa Solano said.

Maria Nguyen leans on her grandson Christian Nguyen as she speaks about her son, Steven Nguyen, who was shot and killed by a police officer in 2021.

Maria Nguyen leans on her grandson Christian Nguyen as she speaks about her son, Steven Nguyen, who was shot and killed by a police officer in 2021. (Madeline Smith/CBC)

His brother, Chris Nguyen, said the family plans to keep seeking justice.

"Nobody deserves to die from the people that are supposed to protect and serve our community."

Doduk is facing assault charges in an unrelated case, and is scheduled to go to trial next year. According to an EPS spokesperson, he's currently on unrelated paid leave.

Details of the investigation

Doduk refused an interview with ASIRT investigators, but he provided his police report and notes. He wrote that Nguyen was reaching into his pocket despite commands to stop, and he pulled out a "black rectangular object" that the officer believed was a gun.

The object was actually a cell phone, the ASIRT report says.

A photo of the phone that Steven Nguyen was carrying the night he was killed is included in the ASIRT report investigating his death.

A photo of the phone that Steven Nguyen was carrying the night he was killed is included in the ASIRT report investigating his death. (ASIRT)

A blue barbecue lighter was also in Nguyen's pocket, which the report says could have been what the person who called 911 mistook for a weapon.

"No weapon of any sort was located on [Nguyen], and [the officer's] justification for shooting is that an item resembling a firearm was pointed at him in poor lighting conditions," Ewenson wrote.

According to the ASIRT report, a senior officer showed up after the shooting and told Doduk to leave the scene, but Doduk returned and took a photo of the phone found near Nguyen on the ground.

Ewenson wrote that Doduk's subsequent description of what he felt was a firearm "may be purposely tailored to fit the description of his photo of the phone."

Doduk's notes also repeatedly describe Nguyen being "engulfed in shadow" on the residential street where the officers found him past 11 p.m., with trees and bushes blocking the nearby streetlights and making it difficult to see.

Part of the ASIRT investigation included a recreation of the lighting conditions at the scene, finding they were "markedly better" than Doduk claimed.

The officer also said he didn't use his flashlight, but video from an EPS helicopter "captures a discarded and operational flashlight on the ground in close proximity to where [he] would have been standing when he fired the shots."

Lawyers call for transparency

Samantha Labahn, one of the lawyers representing the Nguyen family in their civil suit, said the Crown's decision not to lay charges in the case is "perverse."

"The Alberta Crown's refusal to explain itself most importantly to the Nguyen family, as well as Steven's loved ones, is reprehensible," she said.

"To make matters worse, we have no way to scrutinize it. … We're left wondering, why did the Crown make that choice?"

The ASIRT report says the agency received an opinion from the Crown about whether charges should be laid. The ACPS told CBC News that opinion won't be publicly provided because it's privileged, and therefore confidential.

Ewenson notes that ASIRT and the Crown are bound by different standards when they assess cases, and that can result in different outcomes.

Defence lawyer Tom Engel is one of the lawyers for the Nguyen family in a civil lawsuit. (Madeline Smith/CBC)

The decision follows two recent Edmonton-area cases where the Crown declined to prosecute police after ASIRT concluded charges should be considered.

In March, the ACPS didn't pursue a criminal case against RCMP officers who arrested an autistic 16-year-old boy in St. Albert. He was injured while in custody, and ASIRT concluded he was unlawfully detained.

Last year, no charges were laid against an Edmonton police officer who kicked an Indigenous teenager in the head, leaving him with life-altering injuries.

Tom Engel, also representing the Nguyen family, said there should be policy changes to ensure these decisions are publicly explained.

"The broader issue is the integrity of the criminal justice system when it comes to decisions made whether to prosecute police officers," he said.

"Because they're not transparent, they're opaque, I think the public is left with the inescapable conclusion that there's a double standard."

Poilievre would rather 'watch the country burn' than fight climate change: Trudeau

The Canadian Press
Thu, May 16, 2024 
 

MAY 12,2024 --- ALL MPS ARE CONSERVATIVES

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre's pledges to axe carbon pricing come at a time of wildfires and other disasters and Poilievre would rather "watch the country burn" than continue the fight against climate change.

Trudeau says when Poilievre talks about scrapping the price on carbon, it would also mean the end of the rebate cheques that most families receive.

He says the parliamentary budget officer had confirmed that 80 per cent of families get more back through the Canada carbon rebate program than the extra they pay for gas and home heating because of the price on carbon.

His remarks come after Poilievre called for a "vacation" from carbon pricing from the upcoming Victoria Day long weekend to Labour Day.

Poilievre told a news conference at a gas station in Vancouver that his vacation proposal would lower gas prices by 35.6 cents per litre on average.

But Trudeau says his Liberal government designed the carbon pricing program to make sure pollution isn't free, while giving more money back to Canadians.

"Eight out of 10 families in regions where the federal carbon backstop applies do better with the cheques that come in through the Canada carbon rebate four times a year than it costs them extra on a tank of gas, or to heat their homes," he says.

Trudeau says Poilievre would scrap the price on pollution and take those cheques away at a time when Canadians are struggling with the cost of living, and as wildfires, flooding and other extremes are affecting people across the country.

"His ideology is so strong, he would rather watch the country burn and Canadians suffer than continue to fight against climate change and put the Canada carbon rebate in their pockets," the prime minister says of the Opposition leader.

Poilievre has said that in government he aims to "axe the tax" and greenlight large resource projects to bring production home to what is "the most environmentally responsible country on Earth."

"We will liquefy gas and send it over to Asia to shut down coal-fired plants there," he said.

Poilievre was also asked Thursday about the use of the expression "climate criminal" to describe people who work in extractive industries or drive large trucks.

He responded by saying people who use such "incendiary language" are trying to intimidate taxpayers. "We see this kind of really radical, extreme and wacko language from the Trudeau Liberals, where they attack people for driving automobiles, they say they want to ban roads," Poilievre said.

"Meanwhile, Trudeau and the NDP have no problem importing more products made by coal-burning dictatorships like China, which is responsible for the largest emissions of any country on planet Earth."

Poilievre said the Liberal government, with the support of the New Democrats, has been "piling on punishing carbon taxes," while "the vast majority of Canadians are struggling just to eat, heat and house themselves."

"Canadians are struggling, and they are unable to even afford a vacation. They need a break."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

TOP PHOTO:  NORTHERN ALBERTA MAY 14, 2024

GRAPHICS THE WEATHERCHANNEL

 

WTF?! ATTACKING THE UCP BASE
The Rural Municipalities of Alberta fear trio of provincial bills are a power grab

FASCISTS DISUISED AS LIBERTARIANS

The Canadian Press
Wed, May 15, 2024 

EDMONTON — Alberta's rural municipalities are teeing off on a trilogy of provincial bills they say erode trust and attack local authority.

Paul McLauchlin, head of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, says proposed legislation giving the province the ability to take control of local emergency responses isn't salvageable.

He says Premier Danielle Smith’s government hasn't offered a clear explanation as to how this change will do anything other than confuse and complicate critical situations.

"They never really listened to what we wanted, which was better financial clarity as it relates to disasters -- more certainly financially when it comes to disasters -- and increased communication,” McLauchlin said in an interview.

The emergencies bill is one of three pieces of proposed legislation introduced in the spring sitting that sparked concern Smith's United Conservatives are making a gratuitous, unnecessary power grab.

One bill would give the province gatekeeping power to veto federal funding deals with cities and towns while another would give Smith's cabinet broad authority to fire councillors and overturn local bylaws.

Despite assurances from the government that the bills maintain the status quo, McLauchlin said he’s “starting to get paranoid.”

"Are you just trying to move authority more and more into ministerial positions, and (cabinet) ministers can start making these decisions without any input of municipalities?" he said.

Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said the emergencies bill is about clarifying existing powers, not creating new ones.

"Paul (McLauchlin) is quite frankly incorrect,” Ellis told reporters in the legislature Tuesday, calling the negative reaction “misinformation.”

“We are just creating a reporting structure, which is very common in any sort of critical incident.

"There is nothing nefarious in any of these bills.”

Ellis also promised that if the province does take over an emergency response, it will pick up the costs.

Last week, Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver, a former three-term councillor in Calgary, also rejected the suggestion the bills are an overreach.

He noted the province already has legal authority over municipalities.

“That is our reach,” said McIver.

“Not only our reach, it is our responsibility. They may not like the bills, I accept that, but using the phrase 'overreach' seems inappropriate.”

McLauchlin said he views the bills differently.

"We're being put into a smaller and smaller box and the government is taking more and more authority away from us, which makes no sense based upon our past relationship with this government," he said.

"It is extremely hard for a conservative government to make rural Alberta mad, and they've done that successfully in three acts.”

One contentious element of the emergencies bill would allow cabinet, during a crisis, to quickly direct water use and allow temporary low-risk water transfers between major water basins without the possibility for an appeal to the Environmental Appeals Board.

That board is an independent body that hears complaints about ministry decisions on things like water licenses and environmental protection orders.

Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz pledged last week that the government will engage with municipalities before approving large-scale inter-basin transfers.

“What this change allows us to do is enable or approve a low-risk inter-basin transfer for the purposes of providing drinking water to a municipality,” she said, a move that has rarely been made.

McLaughlin said with industrial users wanting to siphon water for things like fracking during droughts, the move from the government demands more debate.

"Creating legislation to deal with rare instances is not the best way to govern a society,” he said.

The emergencies bill, if passed, would also move the fixed election date to October 2027 instead of May that year in an effort to dodge the potential disruption of natural disasters.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2024.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press

Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government 'a disgrace' on women's rights

The Canadian Press
Thu, May 16, 2024 

CARAQUET, N.B. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.

During a news conference in Caraquet, N.B., Trudeau delivered his attack in response to a question about whether he would be campaigning with the New Brunswick Liberals ahead of the upcoming provincial election, which has to be held by October.

Despite his desire to "work with any government" in Canada, the prime minister said, "I do have issues with the current government of New Brunswick."

He said Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs doesn't respect a "woman's right to choose." The prime minister was referring to a New Brunswick regulation that prohibits public funding for abortions administered outside hospitals, a rule that was blamed for the closure earlier this year of Clinic 554, a private care provider in Fredericton.

The closure of that clinic, Trudeau said, and "the unwillingness to engage in allowing women to actually choose what happens to their future and their bodies is a disgrace."

"I will continue to call out the government of New Brunswick and any conservative leader who continues to go after women's rights."

Higgs's office did not return a request for comment. But in January after Clinic 554 closed, a provincial Health Department spokesman said abortions are publicly funded in the province by way of surgical abortion in hospitals or medical abortion with the pill Mifegymiso. Surgical abortions are offered at two hospitals in Moncton and one in Bathurst.

"The introduction of Mifegymiso as an alternative means of abortion has reduced demand for surgical abortions in New Brunswick," spokesman Sean Hatchard said at the time. "It is now the predominant form of abortion in our province and accounts for two-thirds of all abortions in New Brunswick."

Trudeau brought up the 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion in that country, saying Canada could suffer similar restrictions if conservatives are in power.

Restrictions on abortion, Trudeau said, are "more likely to happen in Canada, particularly with conservative leaders who continue to not stand up for women's rights."

The prime minister also criticized the Higgs government's changes to the provincial policy on gender identity in schools. The revised policy requires teachers to have parental consent before they can use the preferred names and pronouns of transgender and nonbinary students under 16.

Trudeau said Higgs and other conservatives in the country are trying to score political points off "incredibly vulnerable" transgender and nonbinary children.

Higgs, for his part, maintains that parents have a right to be informed if their children are questioning their gender identity.

Finally, Trudeau lashed out at Higgs's calls for the removal of the federal carbon price, saying the premier wanted to "scrap" Canada's fight against climate change.

In February, shortly before the carbon price went into effect in New Brunswick, Higgs said, "the federal carbon tax has and will continue to result in higher prices on everything."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press

Eby warns about United-Conservative merger, says B.C. voters face 'starkest choice'

The Canadian Press
Thu, May 16, 2024 


VICTORIA — British Columbia's election campaign was unofficially launched on Thursday, five months ahead of the Oct. 19 vote, with Premier David Eby depicting it as "the starkest choice of a generation," between the NDP and two opposition parties flirting with a merger.

The final day of the spring legislative session saw Eby summon his New Democrat MLAs and party staff members to the caucus meeting room at the legislature where he delivered an election-style speech focused on the months ahead.

Eby said BC United Leader Kevin Falcon and Conservative Leader John Rustad had "let the mask slip" this week that exploratory talks were underway about putting forward a co-ordinated centre-right political opponent to the New Democrats.


"They told us whose side they are on and it's not your side," Eby said.

He said "powerful interests are trying to arrange a marriage of convenience" between Rustad and Falcon.

"Well, I've got a message for these lobbyists and John Rustad and Kevin Falcon, the next election will be decided at the kitchen table, not the board room table."

Eby said to applause and cheers that Rustad and Falcon both represent the same interests and that if elected "people will pay the price with higher fees, fewer services and fewer supports at the time when they need it the most."

Falcon said Thursday that BC United had sent two envoys in recent weeks to find “common ground” with Rustad's Conservatives but a merger was not likely.

However, he said he was consistently approached by people who say, “can you please, please don’t allow an NDP government to be re-elected on the basis of vote splitting."

Historically, centre-right parties have repeatedly been elected in B.C. after successfully uniting the right-of-centre vote, including the former Social Credit and B.C. Liberals governments.

The New Democrats have meanwhile benefited in other elections by splits on the right of the political spectrum.

Falcon said he was committed to doing whatever he could to prevent an NDP re-election, but a merger with the B.C. Conservatives is "problematic."

"There's also real challenges," he said. "There won't be a merger as I've said before. There's practical reasons why, but there's also many of their candidates (who) are frankly too extreme. I can't merge with a party that has candidates that equate vaccination with Nazism and apartheid.

"It's just not going to work," said Falcon. "Or candidates that say getting a vaccine shot, a COVID-19 shot, is going to turn you into a magnet."

Rustad also said talks between the two parties had occurred recently, but the B.C. Conservatives plan to run candidates in each of the province's 93 ridings in the fall.

BC United bluntly turned down overtures by the B.C. Conservatives to work together late last year, Rustad said.

Falcon ejected Rustad from the B.C. Liberals, now BC United, in August 2022 after the former cabinet minister started posting views on social media rejecting the idea that climate change was due to carbon dioxide emissions.

"There's some people who have talked at a backroom level between the two parties about there being some sort of opportunity," Rustad said. "I'm always open to having conversations because obviously we want to bring everybody together (that) we can to defeat this NDP government in October, but as far as the Conservative Party stands we will be running 93 candidates in this next election."

Eby took aim at the Conservatives earlier this week on the issue of child care, mentioning Rustad and his party 10 times, while referring once to the Opposition BC United, signalling which party the NDP considers their main political threat.

The current standings in B.C.'s 87-seat legislature are 55 New Democrats, 26 BC United, two Conservatives, two Greens and two Independents.

In his remarks to the caucus, Eby said he wanted to quote Dolly Parton: "We cannot direct the winds but we can adjust the sails."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press

MAGA Rep’s Insane Biden Claim Is Too Much Even for Maria Bartiromo

Justin Baragona
Thu, May 16, 2024 at 10:33 a.m. MDT·3 min read


Fox Business Network


Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) made a bizarre claim Thursday, insisting that he has “evidence” to support his allegation that President Joe Biden was “jacked up on something” during the State of the Union address. He even offered to show his so-called proof to Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo “offline.”

The MAGA congressman’s wild accusation seemed to go too far for the pro-Trump conspiracy-loving Bartiromo, who once relied on “wackadoodle” claims made by a woman who thinks she’s a ghost to peddle 2020 election lies on Fox airwaves that eventually led the network to settle a massive defamation lawsuit.

Appearing on Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria, Murphy—a co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus— was asked to put his “doctor’s hat on” and give his take on the recently announced presidential debates between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

“Trump says he wants both of them to be standing for the two hours,” Bartiromo noted. “Biden says he doesn’t want a live audience, and it just has to be Trump and Biden, no [Robert F. Kennedy Jr]. How does this play out from your perspective?”

The North Carolina lawmaker immediately took a conspiratorial path that even Bartiromo wasn’t willing to fully follow.

Maria Bartiromo’s Strange Trip From ‘Money Honey’ to One of Trump’s Top Boosters

“I’ll just be very plain and simple. I was at the State of the Union address and Joe Biden must have been jacked up on something that day,” Murphy declared. “I absolutely believe that from a medical viewpoint, and have a good bit of knowledge that happened. He can’t stand, and he can’t stand under the lights for that long, and I don’t think he can keep a concept in his brain for that long.”

The congressman would go on to offer advice for Trump in the upcoming debates, urging the 2024 GOP hopeful to “stay presidential” and to “stay in his lane.” Bartiromo, however, wanted to get back to Murphy’s allegation about Biden receiving a pre-SOTU booster, asking what he meant about the president being “jacked up” at his speech.

“I believe they gave him something to sustain the lights and sustain the vigor that he had. That was not Joe Biden. I was in there. He screamed for two hours,” he replied.

While Fox News stars and Republicans have suggested the 81-year-old president was caffeinated or even given illicit substances for his fiery address, with Sean Hannity going so far as calling him “Jacked Up Joe,” none of them have claimed to have actual proof. Despite his bombshell allegations, Murphy wasn’t willing to reveal his hand publicly even as Bartiromo pressed him on air.

“Maybe we can talk offline and I’ll show you something that proves that,” he proclaimed, prompting a stunned Bartiromo to wonder what exactly he’d show her.

“I think I can have some evidence that shows that he was given something before,” the congressman responded.

With Bartiromo continuing to press Murphy on whether he meant “in terms of medicine,” the pro-Trump lawmaker pivoted to the octogenarian president’s physical appearance and purported “facelift” before alleging a vast Democratic-led conspiracy to prop up Biden.

“He’s been manufactured and puppeteered by the Democratic Party to be president of the United States, and I fully believe that has to do with pharmacology,” Murphy concluded. The Fox Business star, for her part, noted that she would follow up on his “compelling” accusations.

The congressman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking if he could provide further details about his supposed hidden proof of drug use.

 The Daily Beast.

Vladimir Putin Is Promoting A Bonkers Conspiracy Theory About Earth Yet Again

Kate Nicholson
Wed, May 15, 2024 

Russian president Vladimir Putin is a firm believer in the dubious "golden billion" conspiracy theory. MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV via Getty Images

Vladimir Putin has once again pulled out his favourite conspiracy theory in a new interview with a Chinese outlet to bash the West.

Speaking to news agency Xinhua last night, the Russian president said: “Earth is the cradle of humanity, our common home, and we are all equal as its inhabitants.

“I am convinced that this view is shared by most people on the planet.

“However, the countries that affiliate themselves with the so-called ‘golden billion’ do not seem to think so.”

According to NPR, the “golden billion” is a conspiracy theory that Putin has often referred to in his public speeches, although it dates back to the last few years of the Soviet Union.

The theory claims there is a secret faction of one billion global elites looking to hoard the world’s money and resources, while depriving everyone else.

Putin has regularly deployed this theory as a means to attack the West, and has previously described the supposed plot of the “golden billion” as “racist and neocolonial in its essence”.

Putin, an authoritarian leader who held a sham presidential election in March after eliminating all feasible opponents, is reportedly very wealthy, although it’s not clear how he has made his millions.

The Russian president also told the Chinese outlet that Moscow and its partners “reject Western attempts to impose an order based on lies and hypocrisy, on some mythical rules of no one knows whose making”.

He said: “We advocate for the primacy of international law, equal, indivisible, comprehensive and sustainable security at both the global and regional level with the UN’s central coordinating role.”

Putin overlooked his own role in causing international disruption by invading Ukraine more than two years ago in a conflict he rarely acknowledges as a fully-blown war.

The UN has openly criticised Russia’s illegal invasion, accusing Moscow of “unspeaking suffering and destruction”.

Naturally, Putin also took a direct pop at the US in his interview, saying: “US-led Western elites refuse to respect civilisational and cultural diversity and reject centuries-old traditional values.”

The interview was published just before Putin’s state visit to China, which the president called Russia’s “good neighbour and trusted friend”.

The US is worried about an invasion, but China could take control of Taiwan without firing a shot, war experts warn

Chris Panella
Thu, May 16, 2024

The US is worried about an invasion, but China could take control of Taiwan without firing a shot, war experts warn


The US and its allies are focused on preventing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.


A new report argues there's a lack of readiness for other ways China could take control of Taiwan.


An aggressive Chinese coercion campaign is far more likely than an invasion and already happening, experts warn.

With the US and its allies focused on what a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could look like, and how American forces could defend Taiwan if necessary, they're missing a glaring alternative strategy China could employ to capture Taiwan, a new report argues.

Defense experts say that an aggressive Chinese coercion campaign, short of war but still threatening, is more likely than a full-scale invasion and the US needs to prepare for such an event.

A new report co-authored by war experts from the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War explores a scenario where China undergoes a "coercion campaign that remains far short of invasion but nevertheless brings Taiwan under Beijing's control," identifying such an event as a "significant gap in US strategic thought."


Elements of such a campaign are already underway and include China's military exercises both in the Taiwan Strait and around the island, which are growing in scale and raising worries about escalation. Economic and diplomatic pressure is notable, and Chinese misinformation operations and the potential to slowly set up a blockade of Taiwan are also concerns.

The increasing Chinese military presence around Taiwan, the report says, could exhaust and overwhelm Taiwan's military and fuel a narrative that it is unable to defend the island, decreasing "trust in the military and feelings of security among the Taiwanese populace."

Taiwan's AAV7 amphibious assault vehicle maneuvers across the sea during the Han Kuang military exercise, which simulates China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) invading the island, on July 28, 2022 in Pingtung, Taiwan.Annabelle Chih/Getty Images

The report identifies four things key to resisting Chinese coercion. The first is a US-Taiwanese strategic relationship that foregoes concerns that "cooperation directly precipitates further escalation, whereas peace and prosperity are just around the corner if this partnership is halted."

Second, Taiwan's government must function despite Chinese efforts to undermine it in the eyes of the Taiwanese people through things like "economic warfare, cyber warfare, sabotage, rigorous (and pseudo-legal) inspections of ships carrying goods to Taiwan, air and sea closures, electronic warfare, and propaganda critical of government mismanagement."

These efforts include significantly degrading Taiwan's essential services, like clean water and electricity.

The third point is that Taiwanese people must resist Chinese "cognitive and psychological campaigns" aimed at breaking their rejection of the Chinese government, including "intimidating supporters of resistance, sowing doubt and fear among the population, and generating demands to trade political concessions for peace."

And lastly, there has to be resistance against "widespread information campaigns" that "aim to decrease the US public's and political leadership's willingness to support Taiwan." Such campaigns are already occurring, prompting anxiety that the US public and government may see getting involved in defending Taiwan as heightening risks of war at a significant cost with little to gain. The AEI and ISW experts argue that is not the case.

Notably, the report says that "Taiwan is strategically vital to the larger US-led coalition to contain" China, arguing that a US-friendly Taiwan links America's allies in the northwestern Pacific with US partners and allies to the south."

A China-controlled Taiwan, however, "would become a springboard for further PRC aggression and would seriously compromise the US-led coalition's ability to operate cohesively."

A US-made AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter launches flares during an annual drill at the a military base in the eastern city of Hualien on January 30, 2018.MANDY CHENG/AFP via Getty Images

The authors of the new report present coordinated actions China could pursue to prompt Taiwan and its partners to accept reunification, referring to it as a "short-of-war coercion course of action."

Some of Beijing's biggest problems are Taiwanese resistance to China, which continues to grow, especially after the historic election of Democratic Progressive Party candidate Lai Ching-te, who is currently the vice president, in January, and continued support from the US and its regional allies.

The new report looks at a hypothetical timeline that begins with the inauguration of Lai this month and leads into 2028, imaging how China and Taiwan could, by that point, come to a "peace" agreement. China could ultimately be successful in such a campaign, the authors say, if the US and its allies fail to recognize Beijing's coercive tactics or strategically plan to deter them.

The US must clearly "recognize the possibility and danger of a coercion campaign that is far more intense than the one currently ongoing against Taiwan and develop ways to prevent Taiwan's isolation through means short of war," they write.

The report's authors argue that "increased efforts in the information domain will be key to ensuring that the US government and friendly international audiences do not fall prey to [Chinese] information operations intended to reshape the way Americans and key international actors think."

CM-11 tanks fire artillery during the 2-day live-fire drill, amid intensifying threats military from China, in Pingtung county, Taiwan, 7 September 2022.Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

US-Taiwanese relations and concerns about an aggressive China in the Pacific region are often at the forefront of the minds of US officials and experts, but the focus is frequently on hard power elements, even if there is recognition of some of the coercive aspects of Chinese behavior.

In March, US Navy Adm. John Aquilano, then the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, stressed that China was pursuing a massive military build-up not seen since World War II and "all indications" pointed to it "meeting President Xi Jinping's directive to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027." He also told the US Armed Services House Committee China's actions indicated it would ready to unify Taiwan by force, if necessary.

Aquilano urged lawmakers to intensify the US' military development and posturing in the Pacific in order to deter such a fight.

And, earlier this month, over a dozen US lawmakers wrote to US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, raising concerns about what preparations were being made to harden the US presence in the Pacific and deter military action from China.

Of the lawmakers' concerns, the most prominent appeared to be the lack of active and passive defenses protecting US bases in the area, specifically on Guam and in Japan. "We are concerned about the alarming lack of urgency by the Department of Defense in adopting such defensive measures," they wrote, adding that "it is apparent that the Pentagon is not urgently pursuing needed passive defenses" to harden US bases and airfields from a vicious, preemptive strike by China's threatening missile force


Tracking China's 'grey zone' balloon flights over Taiwan

Thu, May 16, 2024 

Illustration shows Chinese and Taiwanese flags

By Jackie Gu and Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) - About a month before Taiwan's January presidential election, China began sending intruders over the Taiwan Strait: more than 100 balloons, some of which passed through the island's airspace or busy, Taipei-controlled air corridors for civil aviation.

Experts say the balloons could be psychological warfare, carry surveillance tools or simply gather meteorological data. On some days, as many as eight were detected within a few hours; at other times, weeks passed without any balloons at all. In the week leading up to Taiwan's presidential election on Jan. 13, an average of three balloons were spotted each day.

Then on April 11, they stopped altogether.

The increased frequency has raised alarms both domestically and abroad.

A senior Taiwanese security official briefed on the matter said Chinese balloon flights near Taiwan took place on an "unprecedented scale" in the weeks leading up to Taiwan's elections and described the incidents as part of a Chinese pressure campaign – so-called grey-zone warfare designed to exhaust a foe using irregular tactics without open combat.

Taiwan inaugurates its new president, Lai Ching-te, on May 20. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory despite the island's objections, has a strong dislike of Lai, believing him to be a dangerous "separatist", whose repeated offers of talks it has rejected, including one in May.

China's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office referred Reuters to its comment on Jan. 31, in which it dismissed complaints about the balloons, saying they were for meteorological purposes and should not be hyped up for political reasons.

Before Dec. 8, balloon data was not public, making historical comparisons impossible.

But Jan Jyh-horng, the deputy head and spokesperson of the Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan's top China policy-making body, told Reuters that in the past, a balloon would be spotted "maybe once a month".

Between December 2023 and April 2024, more than four balloons were detected on eight separate days. In total, just over a hundred balloons were flown during that period.

Three Taiwanese officials briefed on the matter confirmed that the number of Chinese balloons had increased significantly in recent months. The majority are weather balloons collecting atmospheric data, including wind, temperature and humidity, they said, but Taiwan still sees them as Chinese harassment.

The balloons have flown at an altitude of 11,000 to 38,000 feet, with a mean altitude of 22,294 feet – well under the usual altitude for meteorological balloons. According to the U.S. National Weather Service, weather balloons typically reach altitudes of more than 100,000 feet.

"Sending them over at that kind of altitude is dangerous," said Alexander Neill, strategic adviser on Indo-Pacific geopolitics formerly at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Royal United Services Institute. "You are within air traffic corridors, and the potential for a collision is concerning."

Jan agreed, saying the balloons are threats to aviation safety.

"They fly very slowly while planes move speedily," he said. "It could be too late when they were spotted, if they were sucked into the engines."

China's most frequent form of "grey zone" activity has been the almost daily air force and navy missions in the waters and skies around Taiwan, forcing the island's armed forces to repeatedly scramble to see off the intruders.

Other tactics Taiwanese officials have expressed concern about include sand dredging close to the Taiwan-controlled Matsu islands, which sit near the Chinese coast.

(For an interactive graphic tracking balloon’s over Taiwan, click )

A second senior Taiwanese senior security official said, citing intelligence gathered by Taiwan, that the data potentially collected by the balloons would be useful for the PLA's rocket forces, because atmospheric factors could affect missile launches.

"If China was planning to mount an air assault onto Taiwan, they would need to understand the meteorological conditions and wind patterns of the island," Neill said.

Wang Ting-yu, a senior lawmaker for Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party and chair of parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, told Reuters balloons are hard for military radars to detect unless their sensitivity is set to high levels.

But ultra-sensitive radars are likely to spot objects such as birds, and as a result, Taiwan's military might miss other vital targets such as incoming missiles.

"It's a challenging task," he said.

Raymond Kuo, director of the RAND Corporation's Taiwan Policy Initiative, says he thinks the purpose of the balloons is primarily psychological.

"I personally am sceptical of what additional intelligence China could get from balloons that they couldn't get from other platforms," Kuo said. "I think they're mostly meant to signal to Taiwan that they can't even defend their airspace."

(Reporting by Jackie Gu and Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard, and Ryan Woo in Beijing. Editing by Gerry Doyle)