Calgary to open '2SLGBTQIA+ community centre' downtown

https://www.westernstandard.news/news/calgary-to-open-2slgbtqia-community-centre-downtown/74458

Coming very soon to Calgary's downtown is a "2SLGBTQIA+ community centre," called the Calgary Rainbow Room.

Reported by Postmedia, the centre is set to open on June 29 and will become a permanent space for "LGBT" gatherings.

According to Kelly Ernst, the President of the End of the Rainbow Foundation (ERF), "A lot of people are very excited. We literally have 300 people signed up for our opening.”

Montreal and Toronto already have "LGBT" centres, known as Le Village and the Church-Wellesley Village.

Ernst claims the Beltline is Calgary's "unofficial gay community."

The centre will offer services that will include, "hosting the Calgary Rainbow Room, Calgary’s 2SLGBTQI+ Community Centre; hosting the Calgary 2SLGBTQI+ Refugee Centre; the Calgary 2SLGBTQI+ Private Sponsorship Program settling SOGIESC refugees from outside Canada; and hosting a variety of volunteer run support groups and mentor services."

The "LGBTQ+ Private Sponsorship Program" assists "refugees persecuted in their home countries due to being LGBTQ+" who wish to move to Calgary after they have been assisted by "the UNHCR [UN Refugee Agency] or the Canadian Government to flee unsafe countries."

The money given to these people will help them find "housing or shelter, food, clothing, language training, career development, and all the other things that [they] will need to get established in Calgary."

The ERF claims on its website applications for the sponsorships are currently closed for the 2026 season "due to the volume of submissions."

Similarly, they also have a Calgary "LGBTQ+ Refugee Centre" which they claim provides services to get people "resettled in Calgary."

The space will also have a "2SLGBTQIA+ specific library" anyone can access.

“When we’re living in a time where things are coming off of library shelves and books are being banned, this will still give people choice in literature,” stated the service centre lead, Kerry Rasmussen.

The ERF is a charity that has previously received taxpayer money from the feds, most recently in 2025, receiving $4,778 for youth "particularly those who face barriers to employment with access to work opportunities."

It also received $137,000 from the feds in August 2024 for its project, which "investigate[s] where gaps in 2SLGBTQI+ services exist in the Calgary region."

Winnipeg Police Launch 10-Day Operation Against Open Drug Use and Trafficking

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/winnipeg-police-launch-10-day-operation-against-open-drug-use-and-trafficking-6054243?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_med=section-1

Winnipeg police have launched a 10-day enforcement initiative targeting open drug use, saying it is intended to deter public drug use, disrupt drug trafficking, and connect people struggling with addiction to support services.

Chief Gene Bowers said the move is aimed at addressing open drug use “where it creates harm,” and that addicts would be connected with health services, outreach teams, and community partners. Police were not criminalizing addiction, he said.

The Winnipeg Police Service has recently seen a significant increase in open drug use and drug trafficking in public places in the city, according to a June 26 news release.

Police launched the initiative in response to complaints received over several months about a rise in the use of fentanyl and other drugs in bus shelters, parks, and other public spaces, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said during a police press conference on June 26.

“I’ve heard from transit riders, parents, business owners, people who work in the downtown, and people who simply want to use public spaces safely,” he said.

“People should not have to breathe in toxic drug smoke when they’re waiting for a bus. Parents should not have to worry about needles in the park. Business owners should not have to deal with open drug use at their front doorstep.” Continue…

Carney Shielded From at Least 17 Files Through Ethics Screen

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/carney-shielded-from-at-least-17-files-through-ethics-screen-6053994?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_med=section-1

On at least 17 occasions, Prime Minister Mark Carney had to be kept out of government discussions and decisions due to potential conflicts of interest.

The information was disclosed in letters provided by the Privy Council Office (PCO) to the House of Commons ethics committee.

PCO, sometimes referred to as the “prime minister’s department,” plays a key role in administering Carney’s conflict-of-interest screen. Carney had multiple corporate board roles before entering politics and placed a sizeable portfolio of assets into a blind trust before ascending to the highest office.

PCO has been giving quarterly updates to the ethics committee on situations where the screen has been applied since it was established. The letters have been obtained by The Epoch Times.

In the latest letter, dated May 15, PCO Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet Mala Khanna told the ethics committee clerk that Carney’s screen has been applied in 17 situations.

Details of some of the circumstances have not been provided, as the issues aren’t in the public domain. Continue…

Ontario overhauls foreign worker program amid fraud concerns

https://nationalpost.com/news/national/ontario-overhauls-foreign-worker-program-amid-fraud-concerns/wcm/5d0566fb-589a-45ac-9700-e2d53b133eb0

Due to concerns about fraud in one of Ontario’s most important economic immigration programs, the Ford government is effectively tearing it down and starting again.

On Friday, Labour Minister David Piccini announced a sweeping overhaul of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), which allows the province to fill gaps in local labour markets by asking the federal government to fast-track permanent residency for a set number of foreign workers with in-demand skills.

According to Piccini’s office, an audit of the program conducted last year convinced the government it would be simpler to overhaul it rather than fix it piecemeal. Continue…

Psychiatric assessments ordered for pair charged in Halifax antisemitism case

https://nationalpost.com/nova-scotia/halifax/psychiatric-assessments-pair-charged-halifax-antisemitism-case-swastikas-synagogues/wcm/2e1e6b5c-7e1e-4379-b29d-ea3a75194794

A judge has ordered psychiatric assessments for two Halifax men accused of spray-painting antisemitic graffiti at three locations last September.

Gezim Topalli, 31, and Russell Jared Currie, 33, are both charged with three counts of mischief related to religious property, three counts of property mischief, and one count of public incitement of hatred.

During a recent appearance in Halifax provincial court, defence lawyers said they would like opinions from forensic psychiatrists on whether the defendants were suffering from mental disorders at the time of the incidents that could have rendered them not criminally responsible for their alleged actions. Continue…

The Dead Communist Behind Mamdani AND the CFR's Post-Trump Plot - June 27, 2026

https://www.prometheanaction.com/the-saturday-wrap-up-exposed-the-dead-communist-behind-mamdani-and-the-cfrs-post-trump-plot-june-27-2026/

Barbara traces the DSA candidates backed by Mayor Mamdani — and the Council on Foreign Relations' "post-Trump" project — to one dead communist, Antonio Gramsci, and the British imperial networks that have always used communism against their rivals.