Tag: canada

Ringleader of $30M grandparent scam network preying on unsuspecting seniors finally arrested

The ringleader of a $30 million scam network that preyed on seniors across a staggering 46 states has finally been arrested and now faces decades in prison for the alleged fraud.

Gareth West of Canada was taken in custody Friday for the scamming ring, in which callers phoned the older Americans, pretending they were their grandchildren who had been arrested or hurt and were desperate for cash, according to the Economic Times.

The worried elders were pressured to act fast and not tell other family members about the dire situation.

The scammers would then connect the victims to phony lawyers or bail agents and facilitate getting the money, even using ride-share services or couriers, the outlet reported.

West, who was taken into custody by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the request of US officials, hired dozens of people to help him with the intricate scam, with operated from call centers in the Montreal area and spoofed American phone numbers.

Under the guise of being a successful Montreal real estate developer, West allegedly used the money he racked up from the scams for his high-end lifestyle that included luxury cars, properties and travel.

In all, 23 people who were part of the scam had been arrested in the months before the RCMP, working with US Homeland Security Investigations, the IRS and provincial police, were able to nab West, authorities said.

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‘Nothing was ready’: Inside Canada’s Vaccine Injury Support Program

A$50-million program the federal government created to help Canadians seriously injured by COVID-19 vaccines is in disarray, current and former staffers say.

The Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP), created during the pandemic, was designed to compensate people who have been seriously and permanently injured by any Health Canada-authorized vaccine administered in Canada on or after Dec. 8, 2020.

The Public Health Agency of Canada subsequently selected a consulting firm, Oxaro Inc., to administer the program. The Ottawa-based company vowed it had the “people, processes, and tools” to run the initiative with “industry best practices.”

However, a five-month-long Global News investigation, involving more than 30 interviews with current and former Oxaro employees, injured claimants and their attorneys, has uncovered allegations that the company was unequipped to deliver fully on the program’s mission, questions about why the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) chose this company over others, and internal documents that suggest poor planning from the start.

Global News also heard descriptions of a workplace that lacked the gravitas of a program meant to assist the seriously injured and chronically ill: drinking in the office, ping pong, slushies and Netflix streaming at desks.

The overall result: many claimants feel they have not received the “timely and fair” access to support that the government promised.

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Canada hands big win to Trump, suspends U.S. tech firm tax that had roiled trade talks

Canada announced Sunday night it was suspending a tax on U.S. technology firms that had caused President Trump to suspend trade negotiations between the two nations, handing a major victory to the American president.

The Canadian government said it was suspending enforcement of the tax that was due to be collected starting Monday, saying the action was taken “in anticipation of a mutually beneficial comprehensive trade arrangement with the United States.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney informed the Trump administration of the decision, and the two sides plan to resume trade talks on or about July 21.

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US Terminating All Trade Talks With Canada Over New Tax on US Tech Firms

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States is halting all trade negotiations with Canada due to Ottawa’s decision to implement a new tax on American tech companies.

“We have just been informed that Canada… has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately,” the US president added.

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Canadian PM Carney Calls for ‘Zionist Palestinian State’

In an interview Wednesday Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would only accept a “Zionist Palestinian state”. Two week earlier foreign affairs minister Anita Anand described Canada’s “unwavering support for Israel’s security” and next week an RCMP commissioner is set to speak at an event to assuage the concerns of Canadians who’ve fought in Gaza that they may be investigated under Canada’s war crimes legislation.

Canadian policy towards Israel is unique. No other faraway state has received a constant flow of Canadians joining its military. No other wealthy faraway country receives a remotely comparable amount of registered charity funds. No other state has a publicly financed special envoy to deflect criticism of its colonial violence or gets Ottawa to send letters threatening the International Criminal Court on its behalf. Nor is there another country in which the government sues to block proper labels on its wines or the Canadian embassy hosts parties for Canadians fighting in its military or the foreign minister says Canada would act as an “asset” for it on the UN Security Council.

I’ve written extensively about Canadian governments’ violating international law while professing its importance. In the case of Israel, the duplicity is even more glaring. Our governments have repeatedly failed to uphold Canadian law. The Minister of Justice, Global Affairs, RCMP and other government agencies have ignored their legal responsibilities regarding a genocidal apartheid state.

Issuing arms permits to Israel contravenes Canada’s Export and Import Permits Act yet Ottawa refuses to stop the flow of arms. According to the federal government, “Under the Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA), the Minister of Foreign Affairs must deny exports and brokering permit applications for military goods and technology if there is a substantial risk that the items would undermine peace and security, or could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws.”

By any credible account, the Israeli military has long committed “serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws.” Israel has launched a series of deadly wars on the besieged population of Gaza (2008, 2014, 2021). It’s also killed over a thousand in the West Bank and beginning in 2013 Israeli forces began bombing Syria on a near weekly basis.

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B.C. government realizes EV mandates not achievable: leaked slideshow

The Energy Futures Institute released a copy of a government slideshow presentation on Tuesday (June 24) that reveals the B.C. government is considering easing electric vehicle mandates due to slumping sales.

“It’s been obvious for a long time that B.C.’s electric vehicle targets were unattainable,” said Barry Penner, Energy Futures Institute chair and former B.C. Liberal environment minister, in a news release. 

B.C. passed the Zero Emission Vehicles Act in 2019, becoming the first jurisdiction in the world to mandate 100 per cent electric vehicle sales by a specific target date. The target is only for vehicles under a certain weight category. By 2026, 26 per cent of vehicle sales must be for electric models. By 2030, this must be 90 per cent and by 2035, 100 per cent.

Automakers selling cars in B.C. are required to demonstrate they are meeting the targets.

The slideshow, dated June 18 and presented by Nat Gosman, an assistant deputy minister from the Energy and Climate Solutions ministry, acknowledges that electric vehicle sales in B.C. have “levelled off” and reaching the mandated targets at this point will be “challenging.”

According to the presentation, sales were at 15.3 per cent in April after averaging 18.5 per cent in the first three months of 2025 and 22.4 per cent in 2024.

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US Military Integration Means Canada Already at War With Iran

On X a former advisor to Quebec’s economics minister Jean Phillipe Fournier posted, “The US will likely join the Iran-Israel conflict eventually. Canada should stop morally equivocating and do all it can to help Israel defend itself as well, with whatever capabilities it can spare. Preventing Iran from getting a bomb is in the World’s interest.”

A few others have made similar statements. As I’ve written, Canada has emboldened Israel to attack Iran by isolating and demonizing that country. They’ve also justified Israel’s attacks and enabled Zionist expansionism.

But are Canadian soldiers directly involved in its attacks? That’s likely.

The Canadian military is so entangled with their US counterparts that if its forces are engaged significantly somewhere, it’s likely Canadians forces are as well. And we know the US military is assisting Israeli operations. While it’s probably far more extensive than what has already been reported, US forces are refuelling Israeli fighter jets, delivering it arms and providing significant intelligence assistance to Israel’s war on Iran.

How might Canadian forces be assisting?

Through NORAD hundreds of Canadian soldiers assist the US with monitoring West Asia. NORAD supports missions led by US commands stationed worldwide.

Through Operation FOUNDATION Canadian forces members directly support the US Central Command’s (USCENTCOM) Middle East operations. Eighteen Canadian forces members are deployed to support these efforts in Qatar, Bahrain, Tampa and Jordan.

A few Canadian troops have also been coordinating US-UK strikes on Yemen. Three Canadian officers were formally added to the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian.

Other Canadians soldiers deployed at Canada’s base in Kuwait may also be assisting the US or Israelis.

The Canadian navy has also assisted US forces in the region. Through Operation ARTEMIS hundreds of Canadian personnel have been contributing to the Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a United States-led naval coalition of 44 member nations to monitor the region.

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Top Canadian bank studies possible use of digital dollar for ‘basic’ online payments

Canada’s central bank has been studying ways to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for use for online retailers, according to a new report, despite the fact that recent research suggests Canadians are wary of any type of digital dollar.

In a new 47-page report titled, “A Retail CBDC Design For Basic Payments Feasibility Study,” which was released on June 13, 2025, the Bank of Canada (BOC) identified a “promising architecture well-suited for basic payments” through the use of a digital dollar.

The report reads that CBDCs “can be fast and cheap for basic payments, with high privacy, although some areas such as integration with retail payments systems, performance of auditing and resilience of the core system state require further investigation.”

While the report authors stopped short of fully recommending a CBDC, they noted it is a decision that could happen “outside the scope of this analysis.”

“Our framing highlights other promising architectures for an online retail CBDC, whose analysis we leave as an area for further exploration,” reads the report.

When it comes to a digital Canadian dollar, the Bank of Canada last year found that Canadians are very wary of a government-backed digital currency, concluding that a “significant number” of citizens would resist the implementation of such a system.

Indeed, a 2023 study found that most Canadians, about 85 percent, do not want a digital dollar, as previously reported by LifeSiteNews.

The study found that a “significant number” of Canadians are suspicious of government overreach and would resist any measures by the government or central bank to create digital forms of official money.

The BOC has said that it would continue to look at other countries’ use and development of CBDCs and will work with other “central banks” to improve so-called cross border payments.

Last year, as reported by LifeSiteNews, the BOC has already said that plans to create a digital “dollar,” also known as a central bank digital currency (CBDC), have been shelved.

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Canada’s top doctor, who pushed COVID jabs and masks, resigns from her position

Canada’s top medical adviser, known for her promotion of masking and COVID vaccines, is stepping down as chief public health officer.

Dr. Theresa Tam will resign on June 20 from her role as Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO), ending her eight-year tenure during which she forced Canadians to follow dangerous COVID regulations, including masking and taking the experimental COVID shots.

“I’ve been in this role for over eight years now, so I think it has been an absolute privilege and honour. I never thought at the start of my career that I would end up here,” Tam told The Globe and Mail.

“Looking back, I put every ounce of my energy into this job. But I think it’s a purposeful job. It’s serving the public,” she continued.

Tam’s replacement has not been named.

In the early months of 2020, Tam became well-known by Canadians for leading the country’s response to the COVID “pandemic” and pushing arbitrary and dangerous regulations.

Initially, Tam assured Canadians that masking was unnecessary, ineffective, and could even pose health threats.

However, shortly after, Tam changed her policy, telling Canadians that they should even wear masks during sex. LifeSiteNews has published overwhelming evidence that masks are not effective in preventing the spread of COVID and can cause myriad health issues.

Additionally, Tam promoted experimental COVID vaccines for Canadians as young as six months old despite having no long-term studies on its effects.

LifeSiteNews has published an extensive amount of research on the dangers of the experimental COVID mRNA jabs that include heart damage and blood clots.

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Under Pressure From Pro-Israel Groups, Canadian Cities Are Restricting Protest

Civil rights advocates and Palestinian solidarity groups in Canada have raised alarm over a growing wave of municipal bylaws prohibiting protests outside houses of worship, schools, and other sites.

They say the measures — which have been passed in Canada’s largest city, Toronto, among other places, and are being considered elsewhere — infringe on freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly.

Activists have also warned that the bylaws are part of a wider push to stifle demonstrations against Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“It’s clear that this isn’t a response to an overall concern around the management of protest,” said Tim McSorley, national coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, a coalition of dozens of civil society groups in Canada.

Instead, the bylaws are “a response to the overwhelming and unsubstantiated attacks on pro-Palestinian protests across the country,” McSorley told Truthout in an interview. “It’s based in anti-Palestinian racism and based in the characterization of those who would protest in favor of Palestinian human rights, against the ongoing genocide, as all being supporters of terrorism, which is clearly not the case.”

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