Tag: canada

B.C. municipality considers recognizing legal rights for trees

A councillor in Saanich, B.C., is asking the municipality to recognize what supporters describe as the “rights of trees” by endorsing the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Tree.

The motion, introduced this week, would have Saanich formally implement the declaration, which sets out three core principles. It states that trees are living beings and a common good shared by humanity, that all life on Earth depends on their existence, and that people have a responsibility to act toward trees in “fraternity and solidarity.”

The proposal is intended to guide the municipality’s approach to protecting urban forests and recognizing the ecological importance of trees. Supporters argue the declaration reinforces the role trees play in biodiversity, climate resilience and public health.

If adopted, Saanich would join a growing movement to incorporate broader environmental rights into local government policies. The declaration itself is not legally binding, but supporters say it provides an ethical framework for municipal decision-making involving forests and green spaces.

Council is expected to consider the proposal as part of its ongoing discussions on environmental and urban forest policy.

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Our women’s rights billboard truck triggered a ‘hate crime’ investigation

Tonight on The Ezra Levant Show: police investigate our billboard truck over a hate crime complaint after it displayed a message defending women’s rights.

When a political message on a billboard truck is enough to trigger a hate-crime investigation, it raises serious questions about where public debate is heading.

In downtown Toronto, our Rebel News billboard truck carrying a message from the Canadian Women’s Sex-Based Rights (caWsbar) became the subject of a police investigation after a passerby complained about the advertisement.

The message was simple: women and girls deserve safety on the field, privacy and dignity in the locker room, and fairness on the podium.

The truck had been driving around Toronto for days, including during a busy downtown soccer event where the message was widely seen by passersby. But after driver Mark parked legally near St. Clair Avenue and briefly stepped away, everything changed.

When he returned and attempted to leave, an officer approached and told him the truck had to remain in place because it was being investigated for a hate crime.

Mark had not been parked illegally. He had not been accused of causing any disturbance. He was not asked for his licence or ID. He was simply told police needed to investigate a complaint about the message displayed on the truck.

A second and then third police vehicle arrived as officers dealt with the complainant, who had objected to the advertisement and claimed he felt “unsafe.”

When Rebel News reporters arrived and began filming, the complainant turned his camera toward them, questioned why they were recording him, and again told police he felt unsafe. Officers ultimately confirmed the journalists had every right to film in public.

After speaking with the complainant, police determined the billboard was a political statement, not a hate crime. No charges were laid, no ticket was issued, and Mark was allowed to drive away.

That is the real story: not just the complaint, but how quickly a political disagreement escalated into a police response.

The officers ultimately handled the situation properly. But the fact that a message about women’s safety and fairness was enough for someone to call police and trigger a hate-crime investigation should concern anyone who values free expression.

The truck will keep rolling. In fact, we will keep it on the road even longer as a reminder that free speech cannot depend on whether everyone agrees with the message.

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Canada’s Supreme Court restores mandatory jail time for child sex predators

Canada’s Supreme Court again restored a mandatory minimum sentence for those who have been convicted of trying to engage in sex acts with minors under age 18.

The restoration of a mandatory six-month jail sentence came after a 7-2 decision by the Supreme Court on July 10.

The new ruling means that a May 2024 decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal, which ruled that a mandatory minimum sentence for trying to engage in sex with a minor was unconstitutional, is now null.

The appeal of the mandatory minimum sentence came from a case involving then-61-year-old Mario Denis, who was convicted of communicating online with a minor for trying to obtain sexual services. Denis had clicked on an ad offering underage escorts that was a police sting operation and was arrested when he went to a room he thought the underage girl was in.

While Denis was found guilty and given a six-month sentence, he appealed that his sentence violated his Charter rights because it was cruel and unusual punishment. As a result, the Quebec Court of Appeal agreed with Denis that a six-month sentence was indeed unconstitutional, but his sentence was not reduced.

The recent court ruling is at odds with a 2025 Supreme Court ruling that found a mandatory one-year sentence for possessing or accessing child pornography is “unconstitutional.”

This ruling was blasted by both Conservative and even non-Conservative politicians alike, with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew saying anyone caught with child pornography should be “buried under the prison.”

Despite the outrage from left and right provincial leaders, the Canadian government under Prime Minister Mark Carney said it would not be looking to overturn via a constitutional tool the recent Canadian Supreme Court ruling that a mandatory one-year sentence for possessing or accessing child pornography is “unconstitutional.”

Child pornography and the sex trafficking of minors is a growing problem in Canada and the world.

As LifeSiteNews columnist Jonathon Van Maren noted in a recent blog, Canada is one of the world’s largest exporters of pornography.

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Canadians contacted at home by gov officials over social media posts after hate speech law passes: JCCF

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms says it is receiving reports that some Canadians have been contacted at their homes by government officials over social media posts made months or even years earlier, following the passage of Canada’s new hate speech legislation.

The organization said the reports come after Parliament passed Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, which expands Canada’s hate speech laws by creating new offences, increasing penalties, and removing certain legal safeguards that previously limited prosecutions for hate-related expression. The group said Canadians who are contacted by government officials over online posts should consider recording the interaction.

“If you believe your rights have been infringed or that you have been unfairly targeted, we encourage you to submit a case application through the Justice Centre’s online portal,” the organization said.

The Justice Centre provides legal representation to Canadians who believe their constitutional rights or freedoms have been violated by federal, provincial, or municipal governments or government entities, including universities, human rights commissions, professional associations, and public school boards. It said applications for legal assistance must be submitted online.

Canada would not be the first country to begin arrests for social media posts. The Times in the UK which used freedom of information requests to examine arrests in England and Wales under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988. The laws prohibit communications that are “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character,” as well as messages that are “threatening, or knowingly false.”

According to The Times, there were 12,183 arrests in 2023 and 1,119 people were sentenced. The newspaper also reported that more than 65,000 arrests have been made since 2017.

Jake Hurfurt, head of research investigations at Big Brother Watch, told The Times the trend is “seriously concerning.” “Police look to be wasting countless hours on arresting people for posting things online that, while offensive, are not illegal. Heavy-handed use of vague communications offences is a threat to everyone’s freedom to express themselves online,” Hurfurt said.

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Canadian court throws out Freedom Convoy leader’s partial acquittal

A Canadian appeals court overturned an earlier acquittal of intimidation against prominent Freedom Convoy protester and leader Pat King, saying that his earlier sentence was a “lenient penalty” and has thus ordered him to appear for new sentencing.

In a July 17 ruling, the Ontario Court of Appeal convicted King after prosecutors appealed one of his acquittals. They argued that King’s sentence given in early 2025 wasn’t severe enough.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, in February of 2025, King was handed a three-month conditional sentence for his role in the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest against COVID mandates of all forms. He was found guilty of a total of five offences in 2024, which included mischief, counselling mischief, as well as breaching a court order.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland had ruled that King must serve three additional months of house arrest and dedicate 100 hours to community service for his role in the Freedom Convoy. His original sentence would have been 12 months, but the court gave him credit for time served in jail before his trial.

King had used social media to organize protests of truckers in Ottawa in early 2022, in protest of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s COVID dictates.

While he was acquitted of three intimidation charges, the government Crown lawyers appealed one of the acquittals, which found King innocent of intimidation after he had obstructed a highway. The appeals court agreed with the Crown’s ask.

“The freedom to protest does not include the right to engage in illegal conduct, and this protest evolved into what can fairly be described as an illegal occupation of a significant tract of downtown Ottawa,” wrote the three-judge panel.

“Put simply, criminal conduct is not less criminal because it occurs during a lawful protest.”

The appeals court added that his original 2024 sentence was a “lenient penalty” and a stronger penalty was needed to send a message.

In 2022, King was granted bail after spending five months in jail for his involvement with the protests. He had to pay a $25,000 fine and was banned from speaking to other Freedom Convoy members and was placed under curfew.

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Black prisoners are assigned harsher living conditions in Ontario jails—thanks to AI

Black prisoners in Ontario’s jails are being assigned to harsher living conditions than other prisoners, through the use of an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that claims to predict their behaviour. A class action lawsuit says the province was aware its use of the software could disproportionately target Black prisoners, but went ahead with it anyway.

The Security Assessment for Evaluating Risk (SAFER) program has been operating quietly in Ontario’s jails since early 2021. SAFER inputs a prisoner’s personal information—including arrests, charges, and disciplinary records—into an algorithm. The program assigns each prisoner a score from 0 to 100 that determines whether they’ll be placed in minimum, medium, or maximum security detention.

Critics of the program argue that the data that SAFER is fed is racially biased: they cite documented patterns of police and courts handing out more severe punishments to Black people because of anti-Black racism. SAFER then uses that data to make harsher risk assessments of Black people who are sent to jail. 

The ministry responsible for Ontario’s prisoners agrees. It wrote in internal training documents viewed exclusively by The Breach that “Indigenous and racialized individuals face systemic discrimination in our justice system … As a result, assessments like SAFER would likely contribute to the overrepresentation of Indigenous inmates in maximum security.”

Despite this, the ministry has been using SAFER for five years. And while the province has included several measures in its rollout of SAFER to reduce the number of Indigenous prisoners in maximum security, it does not appear to have taken such steps for Black prisoners. “We are continuously evaluating to determine if it is necessary to make similar adjustments for other groups,” the same training document from the Ministry of the Solicitor General says. 

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Yet Another Way Canada Supports ‘Greater Israel’

In a bid to further subordinate Lebanon to US and Israeli dictates, Canada is devoting significant resources to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). If the country descends into civil war Canada will bear some responsibility.

On Tuesday Canada’s ambassador to Lebanon Gregory Galligan had “a productive discussion with Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Gen. Haykal on the evolving security situation and implementation of the pilot zones. Canada is proud to support the LAF and its role in preserving Lebanon’s security and stability.” A week earlier ambassador Galligan posted about providing “600+ hygiene kits to women and girls from families of LAF soldiers affected by conflict.” Two months ago the ambassador announced a “useful discussion today with General Haykal and the Lebanese Armed Forces on the ongoing crisis. Reaffirmed Canada’s strong support for the LAF and its essential role in maintaining stability and security in Lebanon.” In February Canadian officials announced the “handing over of three rehabilitated warehouses to LAF.”

The Lebanese military is a western proxy, receiving most of its funds from foreign countries. Since Hezbollah delivered a strategic blow to Israel in the 2006 war the US has given more than $3 billion to the LAF. Washington provides half its budget while the European Union, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have also provided hundreds of millions of dollars.

Through the Canadian Training and Assistance Team-Lebanon, Ottawa has donated tens of millions of dollars in equipment and other support to the LAF as part of an effort to turn it into a counterweight to Hezbollah. They’ve also trained over 2,000 LAF personnel and since 2019 Lebanon has participated in Canada’s Military Training and Cooperation Program.

The past four Canadian ambassadors have met the LAF head and often on multiple occasions. The Commander of Canadian Joint Operations, Major General JR Auchterlonie, and Canadian Brigadier General, Louis Lapointe, participated in at least two of those meetings. Two years ago in Beirut then foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly met then LAF head, Joseph Aoun, who became president last year.

On multiple occasions the Canadian, British and US ambassadors have met the head of the LAF together. Canada also partnered with Britain on a project to support the LAF.

As part of the US-overseen Israel-Lebanon framework agreement, Washington is pushing to have the LAF replace Hezbollah in the south where Israel has destroyed dozens of villages and killed thousands. According to the recent framework accord partly designed to undercut the US Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, the Israeli military is to withdraw from designated “pilot zones” that will be taken over by Lebanese troops vetted by the US military. The LAF is then supposed to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure and prevent the resistance organization from re-establishing itself in these areas. US officials in Beirut are overseeing an initiative that gives Israel justification for its illegal occupation.

Ottawa explicitly supports this odious initiative. Two weeks Global Affairs posted, “Canada will continue to support the efforts of the Lebanese government and Lebanese Armed Forces to disarm and demobilize Hezbollah.” But the Lebanese military is completely incapable of resisting Israel. In fact, the LAF immediately withdrew from the south when Israel was about to invade in September 2024. In the past when the LAF has offered any resistance to Israel the US has punished the force.

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Inside Montreal’s homeless hellscape

Tents, discarded belongings and makeshift camps are becoming increasingly common as governments spend billions on social programs while many vulnerable Canadians remain without stable housing or treatment.

Several homeless individuals in Montreal recently spoke with Rebel News about how addiction, rising rents, incarceration and personal choices pushed them onto the streets.

“I had a place to live, but I didn’t do what I needed to do. It cost me everything,” a person experiencing homelessness explained. Another said drug use contributed to his homelessness, but was not the only cause. “It contributed, yes. Of course. But it wasn’t the only reason.”

The interviews also revealed why some residents refuse to stay in shelters, despite the dangers of sleeping outdoors. “Because we don’t want anything to do with shelters,” one man said, citing schedules for meals, showers and curfews. “I’m 57 years old, you’re not going to tell me what to do.”

Others described theft, unsafe conditions and workers they claimed were not trained to handle overdoses. One resident said he lost “between $20,000 and $30,000 worth of belongings” over two years at a shelter.

Drug use remains visible throughout the encampments. One interviewee admitted: “I use a bit of cannabis and a bit of speed,” while another acknowledged using hard drugs and said he could remain awake for days.

Rebel News also questioned people about ‘harm-reduction’ policies. Asked whether providing free drugs helps, one replied: “No. Honestly, no.”

With winter approaching, many say they will remain outdoors. “We’re always afraid of winter,” one resident said. “Otherwise, we’ll reinforce the tents.”

The testimony paints a grim picture of a system struggling to move people from survival toward recovery, stability and reintegration.

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More Unhinged Behavior Exposed: Husband of Canadian Illegal Alien Who Attacked Teen and Threatened Local Politicians: ‘We Know Where Your Kids Go to School’

The Gateway Pundit reported that 33-year-old Kaitlyn Tracey, a Canadian illegal alien living in Allenhurst, New Jersey, assaulted a teenage girl earlier this month just because she wore patriotic clothing.

Before the assault, Tracey “verbally berated” the teenagers and kept approaching, harassing, and yelling at the teen girl and her friends over their clothing.

Video of the assault, which occurred in early July, was recently released.

Following the incident, Tracey was charged with simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child, harassment, and obstruction.

According to Fox News, a search of the ICE detainee locator confirms Tracey is in ICE custody at the Delaney Hall facility.

Tracey’s violent behavior is not the end of the story.  Her catapult to front-page news has also exposed disturbing behavior from her American husband, Matthew Geroni.

Initially, her husband took to social media to beg for help for his wife.

“My wife is being detained by ICE. She’s in Ocean County jail right now, and I can’t get ahold of her.”

But by stepping into the spotlight himself, he exposed his own disturbing behavior.

After his post gained traction, prior disturbing social media posts came to light, including one where he prayed that the entire Trump family, including “little kids,” be struck down by cancer.

I Meme Therefore I Am notes on X, PURE EVIL: The husband of the left-wing Canadian woman who assaulted a pro-Trump teen and was later detained by ICE has posted a series of DISTURBING videos.”

“In them, he prays for cancer to strike President Trump and his entire family, including ‘little kids and shit,’ prays for another assassination attempt against the president, goes on lengthy rants wishing Trump dead, celebrates Trump’s reported chronic medical diagnosis, and recently claimed Americans would celebrate if Trump were to die during the World Cup.”

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Canada: Indigenous Leaders Say Politicians Ignored Them as Communities Burned

Fast-moving wildfires in Ontario, Canada, destroyed an entire indigenous community this week whose leaders said politicians delayed evacuation orders, failed to help find lodging for the displaced, and ignored calls for help as the flames engulfed them.

Ontario formally requested federal assistance this week as dozens of wildfires threatened northern communities, some of which had already begun evacuating themselves or fleeing by boat. Canada does not have a federal emergency management agency or a federal fire authority, however, rendering its national government largely unable to address the country’s annual massive wildfires.

In a letter to federal Emergency Management and Community Resilience Minister Eleanor Olszewski, Dunlop said 15 communities were evacuating or considering evacuations. She warned that simultaneous air evacuations could exceed Ontario’s available aircraft and requested a federal response within 24 hours instead of the usual 48.

Federal officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail reported.

The request came after a fast-moving blaze devastated Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation, north of Thunder Bay. Chief Helen Paavola said residents escaped in small boats while watching flames swallow trees beside their homes. Some fled wearing only the clothes on their backs.

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