Failed gun grab? Canada’s National Firearms Association offers 'save firearms' strategy after low 'buyback' registration

https://www.rebelnews.com/failed_gun_grab_canada_s_gun_rights_association_offers_save_firearms_strategy_after_low_buyback_registration

Rebel News reports from the annual general meeting of the National Firearms Association, where the organization's leaders criticized the Liberals' gun grab, explaining low compliance with the 'buyback' and calling on Canadians to protect firearm rights. Continue…

Rejected asylum seekers keep free federal health coverage until deportation

https://www.rebelnews.com/rejected_asylum_seekers_keep_free_federal_health_coverage_until_deportation

The Liberal government has spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars since 2016 on health expenses for over 130,000 rejected refugee claimants.

Failed asylum claimants continue receiving taxpayer-funded federal health benefits, including cross-sex hormones, until they are physically removed from Canada, according to a new written response tabled in the House of Commons.

In an answer to Order Paper Question Q-915 from Dan Mazier, the Department of Immigration said rejected claimants remain eligible for the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) after losing their refugee cases and only lose coverage once deportation orders are carried out.

“Individuals who are ultimately found not to be in need of protection are eligible for Interim Federal Health Program coverage until they depart Canada after exhausting their right to due process,” the department wrote. “Interim Federal Health Program coverage ends automatically once a removal order has been enforced.” Continue…

Liberals spent more than $275M on healthcare coverage for rejected asylum claimants since 2016

https://www.rebelnews.com/liberals_spent_more_than_275m_on_healthcare_coverage_for_rejected_asylum_claimants_since_2016

Rejected asylum seekers have been receiving benefits like physiotherapy and free vision care while millions of Canadian citizens have no family doctor.

The federal government spent more than $275 million providing healthcare coverage to asylum claimants whose refugee claims were ultimately rejected, according to a newly released written response tabled in the House of Commons.

The figures were disclosed in response to Written Question Q-916 from Conservative MP Burton Bailey, who asked Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to detail costs under the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) since 2016.

The department reported that from fiscal year 2016–17 through 2024–25, total spending on rejected claimants reached approximately $275.2 million, covering basic medical care, supplemental health services, and immigration medical exams.

Annual spending rose sharply over the period:

2016–17: $10.1 million

2019–20: $23.7 million

2021–22: $41.5 million

2024–25: $53.4 million

The number of rejected claimants who accessed the program also increased significantly, from 4,375 in 2016–17 to 19,771 in 2024–25.

The government noted the totals include rejected claimants who were still pursuing appeals, legal recourse, or pre-removal risk assessments, meaning not all had exhausted every avenue to remain in Canada.

Officials also said their database does not track which rejected claimants had active enforceable removal orders, meaning they could not answer that portion of the question.

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner said the figures show misplaced priorities in a strained healthcare system.

“Six million Canadians have no family doctor, but the Liberals blew $250 million on healthcare for rejected asylum seekers — including services like free vision care and physio that Canadians don’t have access to,” Rempel Garner said in a social media post Thursday. “$250 million could’ve trained hundreds of doctors for Canadians.”

'Unsafe roads': Truckers say 'illegal drivers' crisis is spiralling out of control

https://www.rebelnews.com/_unsafe_roads_truckers_say_illegal_drivers_crisis_is_spiralling_out_of_control

A growing number of truckers and industry insiders sounded the alarm over what they describe as a deepening safety crisis on Canadian roads, an issue now taken up by Bloc Quebecois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval. Continue…

The Pender Harbour Area Resident Association ( @PharaBoard ) files updated legal action to strike down DRIPA (Declaration for the Rights of Indigeneous People Act) in BC:

https://breaking-news.ca/the-pender-harbour-area-resident-association-pharaboard-files-updated-legal-action-to-strike-down-dripa-declaration-for-the-rights-of-indigeneous-people-act-in-bc/

PHARA’s core claims are:

A) Beyond provincial constitutional authority (ultra vires) — The province lacks the power under Canada’s Constitution to pass this kind of law.

B) Breaches democratic rights (Charter s. 3) — DRIPA subjects citizens to governance by unelected Indigenous governments or entities that residents did not elect and that are not accountable to the B.C. Legislative Assembly or electorate.

C) Violates parliamentary supremacy — The Act unconstitutionally “ties the hands” of future provincial governments and legislatures by requiring them to make all laws “consistent with” UNDRIP, which PHARA says improperly constrains future elected parliaments.

D) DRIPA conflicts with existing Section 35 Indigenous rights protections in the Constitution and improperly transfers statutory decision-making powers (e.g., over land-use or dock permits as one example) via Section 7 agreements.

Excerpts from Lawsuit

CLAIM OF THE PLAINTIFF Continue…

More here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JVp8pB37aZg6kgJiKLOCeY_HZDgSJEAL/view

BREAKING: Ford government passes budget including FOI restrictions

https://www.westernstandard.news/news/breaking-ford-government-passes-budget-including-foi-restrictions/72950

The Ontario government has passed its spring budget after a late-night sitting at Queen’s Park, advancing controversial changes to Freedom of Information (FOI) laws that critics say will reduce government transparency.

The $244.2-billion budget, introduced by Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government, passed third reading by a vote of 57–33 after the government used its majority to fast-track the legislation and bypass committee hearings.

The bill includes provisions allowing cabinet ministers and the premier to withhold certain office records, including communications conducted on personal devices. The changes are retroactive, meaning they apply to past records.

The move follows a January court ruling ordering Ford to release call logs from his personal cellphone related to government business, in response to an FOI request filed by Global News and supported by Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

Ford had resisted releasing the records, arguing they could contain confidential constituent information, despite existing FOI processes that allow for redactions.

During debate, opposition members and observers in the legislative gallery voiced objections, with some chanting “F-O-I” as votes were counted.

Opposition parties said the changes weaken accountability and limit public access to information that has historically exposed government decisions and controversies, including the Greenbelt land swap and other policy missteps.

Interim Liberal leader John Fraser criticized the retroactive nature of the legislation during question period, suggesting it could shield past actions from scrutiny.

“By lunchtime today, it will be law and it will be retroactive,” Fraser said. “So there must be something really, really, really bad on your cell phone.”

Ford defended the changes, saying they are intended to protect sensitive constituent communications rather than obscure government activity.

“No premier in the history of this country has given his cell number out to actually help people,” Ford said in the legislature. “I’m not going to hand out personal information.”

The government has argued that the amendments align Ontario’s rules with practices in other jurisdictions and maintain that the majority of government records will remain accessible under FOI laws.

The budget also includes new spending and policy measures, such as increased funding for primary care, a tax cut for small businesses, expanded transit initiatives, and an extension of the One Fare program.

In legislative debate captured during question period, opposition members repeatedly linked the FOI changes to broader concerns about transparency and accountability, while government members emphasized economic growth, infrastructure spending and job creation as central priorities.

The legislature is now set to recess for a constituency week following the passage of the bill.

BC Court Awards $1.8 Million to Teen for Wrongful Arrest, Assault by Mall Security

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/bc-court-awards-1-8-million-to-teen-for-wrongful-arrest-assault-by-mall-security-6016172?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_med=section-1

A B.C. judge has awarded $1.8 million to a teen wrongfully detained and injured at a Burnaby shopping mall in 2019, finding that security guards used excessive force.

The B.C. Supreme Court ruling found that the security guards at the Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby had detained the 18-year-old—a transgender male who identified as female at the time—on the mistaken belief the teen was still subject to a mall ban issued months earlier for climbing over a security barrier.

The judge withheld the name of the plaintiff in the case, citing their young age at the time of the detainment.

Justice Francesca Marzari ruled the mall ban was not legally in effect on Nov. 23, 2019, and that the teen had committed no offence. The ruling said guards used force during the citizen’s arrest and held the teen in a detention cell for 45 minutes before the RCMP arrived. No criminal charges were laid.

The plaintiff also testified that a male guard did a chest pat-down during the search. The judge found that the mall’s protocol prohibits a male guard from searching a female detainee, noting no effort was made to clarify the plaintiff’s gender or offer a same-sex search even though a female guard was present. Continue…

Allowing Euthanasia for Mental Illness Would Trigger ‘Suicide Contagion’ in Canada, Psychiatrist Warns

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/allowing-euthanasia-for-mental-illness-would-trigger-suicide-contagion-in-canada-psychiatrist-warns-6016132?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_med=section-1

Canada will face a “suicide contagion” if medical assistance in dying (MAID) becomes an acceptable alternative for individuals suffering from mental distress, a psychiatrist specialized in severe mental illness told a parliamentary committee this week.

Barrie, Ont., psychiatrist John Maher told the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying in testimony on April 21 that MAID is effectively normalizing state-assisted death for people with mental illness.

“I had a patient today with schizophrenia very, very cavalierly saying, if he didn’t get a job and a girlfriend, he’s going to request MAID,” Maher said. “It’s been normalized. It’s suicide contagion.”

He cautioned that legalizing MAID for mental health problems would result in a rise in overall suicides, citing potential for the spread of a phenomenon known as the “Werther Effect” in which publicized suicide cases motivate more people to want to end their lives.

Suicide rates in countries such as Switzerland, where physician-assisted death has been legalized, “have risen much faster after it was legalized,” said Maher, who specializes in severe mental illness and is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Ethics in Mental Health.

Maher also said Canadians with mental illnesses are already receiving assisted death “under the guise of flimsy medical excuses.” Continue…

Equalization Program ‘Design Flaw’ Led to $10.5 Billion in ‘Overequalization’ Payments: Report

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/equalization-program-design-flaw-led-to-10-5-billion-in-overequalization-payments-report-6016201?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_med=section-1

A 2009 change to the equalization program meant to control costs has instead led to a $10.5 billion increase in payments since 2018, according to a new study.

A “design flaw” in the federal program increases transfers to provinces such as Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia every year even if their need for them decreases, according to a new report from the Fraser Institute.

This means that, since 2018, the “have-not” provinces have received approximately $10.5 billion more in equalization payments than they would have under a formula that adjusts to actual differences in provincial revenues, the report said. Provinces including Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan shoulder more of the burden. Continue…

Toronto police seize 'SMS blasters,' a cybercrime weapon never before seen in Canada

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto-police-seize-sms-blasters-cybercrime-canada

Police believe tens of thousands of devices were connected to the blaster over several months, and identified more than 13 million network disruptions

Toronto Police have made three arrests and seized several “SMS blasters,” a sophisticated cybercrime weapon not previously seen in Canada.

In a news conference on Thursday morning, Deputy Chief Robert Johnson and Detective Sergeant Lindsay Riddell said three men are facing a total of 44 charges in what they described as a first-of-its-kind cybercrime investigation in Canada.

The investigation, dubbed Project Lighthouse, began in November 2025 after police were alerted to a suspected SMS blaster operating in downtown Toronto.

SMS stands for Short Message Service. An SMS blaster mimics a legitimate cell tower, but when nearby phones connect to it, users receive fraudulent text messages that appear to come from trusted organizations.

These messages prompt recipients to click on links that lead to fake websites designed to capture personal information, a tactic known as SMS phishing or “smishing.”

This marks the first known instance of this technology being used in Canada and highlights an emerging threat to both public safety and financial security, police said in a news release.

“What makes this particularly concerning is the scale and impact,” Johnson said Thursday. “This wasn’t targeting a single individual or business. It had the ability to reach thousands of devices at once. And beyond the financial risk, there are real public safety implications. For instance, when devices are diverted from legitimate networks, even briefly, it interferes with a person’s ability to connect to emergency services.”

Police determined the device was mobile and being run out of vehicles, allowing it to be used in multiple locations. Continue…

Canadian astrophysicist among dead and missing scientists at the centre of U.S. probe

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-astrophysicist-among-dead-and-missing-scientists-at-the-centre-of-u-s-probe

A conspiracy theory suggesting a nefarious connection between the deaths, murders and disappearances of at least 10 individuals with ties to the U.S. scientific community has found its way to Washington and become the focus of a multi-agency investigation.

On Tuesday, in a statement to multiple media outlets, including CBS, the FBI announced that it was “spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists,” many of whom were reportedly involved in sensitive nuclear and aerospace research, including one murder victim who was an award-winning Canadian astrophysicist.

Meanwhile, state and local police across the country have found no evidence linking the cases, which date back to 2023, and family members have also dismissed any connection.

Here’s what to know as the story continues to develop. Continue…