Canadian Green MP compares installing solar panels on her local church to Jesus’ work

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/canadian-green-mp-compares-installing-solar-panels-on-her-local-church-to-jesus-work/

Green Party MP Elizabeth May, from British Columbia, said, 'As some may know I am a practicing Anglican and try to follow the path of Jesus Christ in my work.'

Canada’s only Green Party MP used her first opportunity to speak in Parliament this year to compare the installation, and subsequent blessing, of solar panels at her local church to Jesus’ work.

Green Party MP Elizabeth May, from the Saanich-Gulf Islands British Columbia riding, made her comments via video link, saying, “As some may know I am a practicing Anglican and try to follow the path of Jesus Christ in my work.”

“I am a practicing Anglican and parishioner at a little parish called St. Andrew Anglican Church in Sidney, British Columbia,” she said.

May explained how it was a “great honor of our bishop, the Right Reverend Anna Greenwood-Lee, to come to St. Andrews.”

“She went up, believe it or not, in a cherry picker, a bucket, to the roof of the church hall to bless the solar panels. We had prepared and worshipped together with a liturgy for the blessing of solar panels.” Continue…

Toronto Police Lay Charges After Victims Lose $500,000 to Taxi Scam

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/toronto-police-lay-charges-after-victims-lose-500000-to-taxi-scam-5875724?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_cnt=b

Toronto police say they’ve laid more than 100 charges in a taxi scam that saw victims lose an estimated $500,000.

Toronto Police Service (TPS) made the announcement at a June 19 news conference, where they said they’ve arrest 11 suspects, and are still looking for two more.

Det. David Coffey said the taxi scam involved the suspects gaining possession of victim’s credit or debit cards, and pin numbers.

“The scam involved the suspects masquerading as legitimate taxi operators,” Coffey said. “Unsuspecting victims were picked up and asked to pay for the ride using a credit or debit card. During the transaction, the suspects discreetly swapped the victim’s card with a card that looked like theirs. The real card and their pin is then passed on to accomplices.”

He said with the stolen cards, the suspects would withdraw money from ATMs and deposit fake cheques to “artificially inflate account balances.”

They would make “high value purchases,” which included electronics, gift cards, and luxury clothing. Continue…

Ontario Turf Wars: Why Police Are Cracking Down on Violence in Towing Industry

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/ontario-turf-wars-why-police-are-cracking-down-on-violence-in-towing-industry-5876008?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_cnt=b

Toronto-area police have been working to dismantle a push by organized crime groups to take control of the local tow truck industry, leading to multiple arrests and hundreds of charges laid this month.

The Toronto Police Service this week announced the arrests of 20 suspects linked to a group known as “The Union,” an alleged crime syndicate suspected of engaging in criminal activities and violence to gain control over the towing industry.

The announcement comes two days after a separate investigation by the Peel Regional Police resulted in the arrests of 18 people linked to a suspected tow truck organized crime group engaged in violent extortions and insurance fraud schemes.

The organized crime takeover of the tow truck industry has been a source of concern for several years, marked by conflicts arising from turf wars and rivalries. The violence ramped up last year and has continued into 2025, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said during a recent press conference.

There were 63 shooting and firearm discharge incidents in Toronto last year connected to tow truck-related conflicts, representing nearly 13 percent of the total shootings and firearm discharges in the city.

Up to this point in 2025, 15 percent of all shooting incidents in Toronto have been attributed to the industry. Continue…

House Speaker Splits Major Projects Bill for Two Separate Votes, Expected Friday

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/house-speaker-splits-major-projects-bill-for-two-separate-votes-5876112?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_cnt=b

Members of Parliament will hold two separate votes on the government’s major projects bill Friday, after the House Speaker ruled the legislation has two distinct parts.

Bill C-5, also known as the One Canadian Economy Act, contains measures to tackle internal trade barriers and gives the government sweeping new powers to approve major projects.

A closure motion the government passed to limit debate says the House won’t adjourn Friday until debate wraps up on C-5 and votes are held.

Friday is the final day of the House sitting until September. The Liberals promised during the election campaign to pass a law to break down interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day.

Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday called the legislation the “core” of Canada’s domestic economic response to U.S. tariffs.

The Bloc Québécois called for the bill to be split to allow MPs more time to study the measures that deal with major projects, but the government refused to do that. The interprovincial trade portion of the bill has broad support from all parties.

On Friday, New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan asked House Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia to hold separate votes on third reading.

The House Speaker has the power to divide legislation if the government is seeking to enact or amend more than one law and there is no common element connecting the provisions.

In his ruling, Scarpaleggia told the House the bill has two distinct parts without a clear common element.

“While they are ultimately designed to strengthen the Canadian economy, they deal with different issues that could very well stand independently from one another. Moreover, there is no direct relationship or cross-reference between the two parts of the bill,” he said.

The ruling means that two votes will happen in the House of Commons on third reading. It’s expected that both votes will succeed.

The Liberals are pushing the legislation through the House of Commons with the support of the Conservatives and look to have it passed by the end of the day.

Then it will be sent to the Senate, which is set to wrap up its examination of the bill by June 27.

The legislation was amended Thursday to withdraw the power it gave cabinet to sidestep the Indian Act after weeks of criticism from First Nations leaders and following a marathon committee hearing on Wednesday.

Ottawa Spent Nearly $18 Billion on ‘Specific Claims’ Settlements by First Nations Since 2015: Study

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/ottawa-spent-nearly-18-billion-on-specific-claims-settlements-by-first-nations-since-2015-study-5875925?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_cnt=b

Canada’s federal government has spent nearly $18 billion to settle ‘specific claims’ by First Nations since 2015, including more than $7 billion in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, a new study indicates.

Specific claims are filed by First Nations and are based on the government’s alleged violation of the Indian Act, relating to the administration of land or other assets, or the fulfilment of a treaty. These claims have been accepted by the federal government since 1974.

“Specific claims are for past treaty breaches, and as such, their number should be finite,” said Tom Flanagan, the author of the study published by the Fraser Institute on June 19. Flanagan is a Fraser Institute senior fellow and professor emeritus of political science at the University of Calgary.

Flanagan noted in a release that the claims have been growing over the past decade “instead of declining over time.”

The federal government spent more than $7 billion to resolve 69 specific claims in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the study found, adding that this represents an “extraordinary increase” from the 2015-2016 fiscal year, which had 15 claims that cost the government $36 million.

There were 31 settlements in the 2017-2018 fiscal year, which worked out to more than $1.2 billion in government spending. The number and value of claims had increased gradually until 2017, when both began to rise at an “extraordinary rate,” the study says.

The surge in specific claims “seems correlated” with the approach introduced by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in 2015, the study found. The policy change was formalized in 2019 by then-Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and instructed the justice department to negotiate First Nations claims instead of litigating them. Continue…

Firearms Buyback Program Expected to Cost Over $340 Million

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/firearms-buyback-program-to-cost-a-third-of-a-billion-dollars-5875647?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_cnt=b

The federal government’s buyback of recently banned firearms will cost over $340 million, based on police estimates of firearm ownership rates that are over a decade old.

Marcia Jones, director general with the public safety department, testified before the Senate National Finance Committee that budgeted costs to collect 12,000 firearms were $20 million, but that there are “additional costs for the program relating to … destruction of firearms by a third-party destruction services provider.”

Jones said $4.8 million has already been invoiced to date for the business phase of the program. “In addition, there are other services-related costs and staff costs,” she said, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

An additional $75,459,007 would be paid to provinces and territories this year to assist with the broader program of collecting prohibited firearms from legal owners, while $260,033,407 has been budgeted to compensate gun owners.

In total, the expenses since 2024 are estimated at $342.6 million, although Jones acknowledged the number of firearms to be purchased is not certain. She said the estimate of 180,000 “assault-style firearms” to be collected through the program is based on RCMP data for previously registered firearms.

“This allows us to forecast anticipated program costs for the individual phase in terms of what we will be collecting,“ she said. ”We are also in the process of establishing compensation amounts for the individuals phase.” Continue…

Tory MPs Criticize Bill C-2 Provision Banning Cash Transactions of $10,000 or More

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/tory-mps-criticize-bill-c-2-provision-banning-cash-transactions-of-10000-or-more-5875931?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_cnt=b

Conservative MPs are criticizing a provision in Bill C-2 that prohibits cash donations, deposits, or payments of $10,000 or more.

“I am hearing from my constituents that they are concerned,” said Conservative MP James Bezan during debate in the House of Commons on June 18, which was first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Bezan noted it was not uncommon for small businesses and farmers to make five-figure cash deposits, saying that a small farming business such as a strawberry U-pick could “easily” collect over $10,000 in cash per day.

“There are ways we can still enforce the money laundering and terrorist financing rules in this country without going after people legitimately collecting cash in their day-to-day business activities,” he said.

Bill C-2, also known as The Strong Borders Act, states that banks, credit unions, charities and other federally registered businesses must not “accept a cash payment, donation or deposit of $10,000 or more in a single transaction or in a prescribed series of related transactions that total $10,000 or more.” Mandatory reporting of $10,000 deposits is already required under the Proceeds Of Crime And Terrorist Financing Act.

Conservative MP Michael Ma said cash is “very much part” of Canadian society, with some companies using it to avoid credit card fees. Continue…

New Border Security Bill Could Impact Charter Rights, Justice Department Says

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/new-border-security-bill-could-impact-charter-rights-justice-department-says-5876028?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_cnt=b

The Liberal government’s wide-ranging bill framed around the need to secure the Canada-U.S. border has multiple provisions which could impact rights protected by the Charter, the Justice Department has said.

The department released its Charter statement on Bill C-2 on June 19, providing its analysis of how some of the clauses could affect issues such as protection from searches, and security of the person.

The bill, also known as the the Strong Borders Act, intends to amend multiple acts and change longstanding traditions, such as making the Coast Guard an intelligence collector and disseminator, or allowing Canada Post to open letters.

Canada Post can currently open other types of mail, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that some requirements haven’t been met or that the content could be a dangerous substance or contraband.

The amending of the Canada Post Corporations Act would extend the power to letters, which “has the potential to engage section 8 of the Charter,” the department said. Section 8 protects against unreasonable search and seizure.

The department argues that because the same requirements would apply to letters as currently applies to the inspection of other types of mail, the amendment is consistent with section 8. Continue…

Canadians stuck in Israel abandoned by embassy that closes at 4:30 p.m.

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/adam-zivo-canadians-stuck-in-israel-abandoned-by-embassy-that-closes-at-430-p-m

Don't expect more than an automated email response from Global Affairs Canada

JERUSALEM — After Israel closed its airspace last Friday due to the threat of Iranian missile attacks, about 40,000 tourists — including over 6,600 Canadians — were left unable to return home on their own. While many countries are scrambling to evacuate their citizens by land and sea, some Canadians say that they have been abandoned by their government and left to fend for themselves. Continue…

Northumberland County shifts emergency shelter to higher-barrier following public outcry

https://www.rebelnews.com/northumberland_county_shifts_emergency_shelter_to_higher_barrier_following_public_outcry

Residents of Cobourg finally feel heard after County Council made a major pivot, moving forward with plans to transform the emergency shelter into a higher-barrier facility to address public safety concerns.

In a bold move to address escalating concerns over public safety, Northumberland County Council has voted to transform its sole emergency shelter in Cobourg from a low-barrier to a higher-barrier facility. The decision, passed on Wednesday, follows disturbing video evidence and firsthand accounts of crime, violence, and drug use plaguing the streets of downtown Cobourg, once a quaint, tourist-friendly community. Continue…

WHO urges Canada to hike sin-taxes, bolster foreign aid

https://www.rebelnews.com/who_urges_canada_to_hike_sin_taxes_bolster_foreign_aid

As one of the top ten WHO funders, Canada has given billions to the organization, often criticized for prioritizing corporate interests over genuine global health outcomes.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged governments to immediately implement "sin taxes" on "unhealthy products" in an attempt to offset the decline in global health aid. The decline comes as a result of Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. funding from the private organization. Continue…