RCMP PR official claims Bill Blair pressured RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki

https://tnc.news/2022/06/29/rcmp-official-scandal/

Another RCMP staffer has come forward with claims that Commissioner Brenda Lucki was letting political pressure influence her direction of the investigation into the 2020 mass killings in Nova Scotia.

The former head of communications for the Nova Scotia RCMP Lia Scanlan confirmed in an April 14, 2021 email that RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki attempted to interfere in the RCMP’s Nova Scotia mass shooting investigation to advance the Trudeau government’s gun control agenda.

Scanlan raised concerns in an email with Lucki, calling her conduct in a meeting with Nova Scotia RCMP representatives “appalling, unprofessional and extremely belittling.”

Scanlan specifically called out Lucki for operating based on political considerations set out by Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, to support the government’s gun control policies.

The email was released by the Mass Casualty Commission, which is investigating the massacre. Continue…

High profile BC politicians attended Communist Party of China celebration

https://tnc.news/2022/06/29/bc-ccp-hong-kong/==

Several high profile British Columbia politicians attended an event celebrating China’s takeover of Hong Kong alongside Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials last week.

According to Richmond News, the Hong Kong Economic Trade office held an event on Jun. 23 on the anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Among those who attended as VIP guests were Chinese consul general Tong Xiaoling, former Conservative MP Alice Wong, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and Asia Pacific Foundation CEO Jeff Nankivell.

The event was met by a group of anti-CCP protestors calling for China to stay out of Hong Kong’s affairs.

“Given the huge influence of Hong Kong immigrants, or those who came by way of the Hong Kong pathway, seeking refuge here in Canada to start a new life in the past two or three years, I think we cannot allow ourselves to just be so naive, or just be so wilfully blind to just look at the invitation as no harm and it’s just standard practice,” said Vancouverites Concerned about Hong Kong protestor Fanella Sung.

“When people attend those events, you are not just being polite, you are encouraging and fostering the relationship with that foreign power. You’re like not cultivating a relationship with your electorate or community. You are fostering and building relationship with that foreign power with their representatives there.”

In 2020, Chinese authorities moved into Hong Kong and introduced a National Security Law which allowed the communist government to deport and arrest dissidents within Hong Kong.

The law was met by weeks of rolling protests and demonstrations. Critics claimed that the move effectively ended the “one country two systems” agreement in place in Hong Kong since 1997.

Last month, the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Services David Vigneault warned in a speech to the University of British Columbia that public officials should be weary of foreign interference from countries like China.

“Elected and public officials across all levels of government, representing all political parties, staff, and public servants are also potential targets of foreign interference. Virtually anyone with input into or influence over the public policy decision-making process — is an attractive target for those looking to advance their interests covertly,” said Vigneault. -Continue…–

NATO leader chides Canada for slipping further from 2% of GDP defence target

https://tnc.news/2022/06/29/nato-defence-canada/

Amid growing international hostility, Canada continues to slip further away from its NATO commitment to spend a minimum of 2% of GDP on the nation’s defence.

NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made the message clear that all NATO allies are expected to meet the 2% target as a minimum and that Canada needs to step up.

“I expect all allies to meet the guidelines that we have set,” he said. “So of course, this is a message to all allies, including Canada.”

His comments came as NATO leaders arrived in Munich on Tuesday to take part in a major NATO summit.

Prime minister Justin Trudeau defended his government’s defence spending at a press conference on Tuesday at this year’s G7 summit.

“We, like others, are developing plans to be able to scale up rapidly and those are conversations I very much look forward to having over the next couple of days.”

Despite the commitment made in 2014 to increase Canada’s defence spending to 2%, the Trudeau government has not outlined how they will reach this goal, instead choosing to remain vague.

According to a NATO press release, Canada’s defence spending as a share of GDP has dropped from 1.42% in 2020 and 1.32% in 2021 to 1.27% in 2022.

While the Trudeau government has committed to increasing Canada’s military spending in the latest federal budget, the increase from $41.5 billion to $51.1 billion by 2026-27 will only increase Canada’s defence spending rate to an estimated 1.6%.

The parliamentary budget office estimates it would take $75 billion over the next five years to reach the target.

Currently, Canada falls behind the NATO guidelines and the NATO average as Canada places 24 out of the 29 NATO member nations in defence spending as a share of GDP. Continue…

RCMP reveal spyware capable of tapping into phones, webcams

https://tnc.news/2022/06/30/rcmp-spyware/

The RCMP has admitted to using spyware and other questionable methods to hack into phones and other electronic devices.

Malware and other hacking methods were only used in extreme circumstances when other options proved ineffective, the national policing force affirms.

According to the RCMP, it used these methods in 10 investigations between 2018 and 2020.

“This is a kind of capability that they have done everything possible to keep incredibly quiet,” senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab Christopher Parsons told Politico.

“This is a remarkable finding and, for the first time, publicly reveals that the RCMP is using spyware to infiltrate mobile devices, as well as the broad capabilities of their spyware.”

The federal force cited the proliferation of encrypted communication methods as a reason for employing the tactics.

Revelations about the RCMP’s secretive methods came in a recent House of Commons filing, which detailed how “on-device investigative tools” helped the RCMP in investigations.

Among those are viruses “installed on a targeted computing device that enables the collection of electronic evidence.”

Malware capabilities include sweeping text message data, emails, photos, videos and other files as well as financial information.

The RCMP could also tap into “audio recordings of private communications and other sounds within range of the targeted device.” The malware also gave the federal police access to “photographic images of persons, places and activities viewable by the camera(s) built into the targeted device.”

“In less than a generation, a high number of Canadians migrated their daily communications from a small number of large telecommunication service providers, all of which provided limited and centrally controlled services to customers, to countless organizations in Canada and elsewhere that provide a myriad of digital services to customers,” wrote the disclosure.

“That decentralization, combined with the widespread use of end-to-end encrypted voice and text-based messaging services, make it exponentially more difficult for the RCMP to conduct court-authorized electronic surveillance.”

The RCMP also admitted that the federal privacy commissioner was not notified before the program was initiated in 2016.

'We need some $5 billion every month, you know that,' Zelensky demands additional funding from NATO

https://www.rebelnews.com/zelensky_demands_additional_5_billion_from_nato_as_conflict_with_russia_continues

'It’s either urgent aid to Ukraine sufficient for victory, or a delayed war between Russia and you,' Zelensky told NATO.

As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to rage on well into its fourth month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has raised a demand of $5 billion from NATO.

The demand for increased military funding comes following the tens of billions already provided to Ukraine’s government in the form of military equipment, munitions, humanitarian aid, and raw financial aid.

Speaking to the NATO summit in Madrid on Wednesday through video link, Zelensky urged NATO to step up, claiming that the defeat of the Ukrainian government in Kyiv would result in a “delayed” war between Russia and the entirety of Western Europe.

“It’s either urgent aid to Ukraine sufficient for victory, or a delayed war between Russia and you,” Zelensky told his NATO counterparts.

According to Zelensky, Ukraine needs both direct military and financial aid, with some $5 billion a month needed to cover its budget deficit.

Ukrainian government officials have repeatedly called on their western allies to provide funding for the country’s military efforts against the Russians.

Ukrainian officials have also teamed up with private western enterprises such as corporations to provide both charitable donations for humanitarian aid as well as donations in the form of military equipment by lobbying private military companies.

“Financial aid for Ukraine has no less significance than arms deliveries,” Zelensky said. “We need some $5 billion every month, you know that. And this is a fundamental thing, needed for defense and protection.”

“To help Ukraine now end this war with a victory on the battlefield, that is, to give a really strong response to Russia’s actions – this is what we, and the entire alliance, the whole Euro-Atlantic community need,” stressed the Ukrainian leader.

Following the end of the conflict, Zelensky stressed that Ukraine be provided with a decent place under the wing of its western allies, which it expects to provide with security. Zelensky said that the country does not want to remain a “grey zone” between NATO block countries and Russia.

“We need security guarantees, and you must find a place for Ukraine in the common security space,” he stated.

Dutch farmers violently protest job-destroying climate change policy

https://thecountersignal.com/dutch-farmers-protest-climate-change-policy/

Dutch farmers are fighting for their very livelihoods, taking to the streets over a climate change policy that will cap nitrogen emissions and lead to mass job loss.

Video shows several farmers on the streets attacking police and emergency vehicles with sledgehammers while others chase the vehicles down and launch kicks against the windows.

In another video, farmers, who brought their own tractors, can be seen outside the Minister for Nitrogen and Nature policy’s house spraying what appears to be manure on the house and police vehicles while other protesters attempt to flip a car.

According to Bloomberg, yesterday, several farmers also brought their cows to parliament to protest the policy, going so far as threatening to slaughter them on the spot.

“If the nitrogen measures are adopted, one of these two ladies [cows] will not go home but will receive a one-way ticket to the slaughterhouse,” farmer Koos Cromwijk told Dutch news agency ANP outside parliament.

The policy in question will require Dutch businesses to reduce nitrogen emissions nationwide by 50% and up to 95% in some provinces by 2030, with cows and fertilizers being significant contributors.

“The honest message … is that not all farmers can continue their business,” a government statement reads.

The agriculture industry isn’t the only one being targeted, though — aviation has also come under fire.

According to Climate Change News, by the end of 2023, Schipol airport, one of the busiest in Europe, will be forced to limit annual flights to accommodate just 440,000 passengers (12% less than the number of flights in 2019).

“This is a difficult message for the aviation sector that is still recovering from the far-reaching consequences of the coronavirus pandemic,” said transport minister Mark Harbers.

Climate change activists are, of course, thrilled by the developments, with Greenpeace calling the cap on airport traffic a “historic breakthrough.”

“It is good that the Cabinet realizes that Schiphol has, for years, been flying beyond all boundaries when it comes to noise, nitrogen, ultrafine particles and the climate,” Greenpeace activist Dewi Zloch said in a statement.

Trudeau government extends ban on unvaccinated foreigners

https://thecountersignal.com/trudeau-extends-ban-on-unvaccinated-foreigners/

The Trudeau government just announced they would be extending the ban on unvaccinated foreigners until September 30 (the start of flu season).

“Today, the Government of Canada announced it is extending current border measures for travellers entering Canada. Requirements for travellers arriving to Canada are expected to remain in effect until at least September 30, 2022,” a Public Health Agency of Canada news release reads.

It should be noted that while unvaccinated Canadians can (at least in the short term) board a plane to travel abroad, the ban on the unvaccinated remains on both sides of the Canada-US border, an apparent unspoken agreement by both countries to not budge on the unvaccinated travel ban until the other does.

Moreover, the latest announcement states that unvaccinated Canadians will still be forced to quarantine for 14 days upon their return to Canada.

Additionally, the government says that the ArriveCan app — which has led to delays so bad it has become an international embarrassment — will remain in place.

As for good news, mandatory random COVID tests at airports are now paused — but only for the vaccinated. This is Transport Minister Omar Alghabra’s half-hearted attempt to keep Canada’s airports “strong, efficient, and resilient” after being disgraced by former NHL player Ryan Whitney.

“In addition, the pause of mandatory random testing will continue at all airports until mid-July for travellers who qualify as fully vaccinated… Mandatory random testing continues at land border points of entry, with no changes. Travellers who do not qualify as fully vaccinated, unless exempt, will continue to test on Day 1 and Day 8 of their 14-day quarantine,” the news release reads.