Tag: canada

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Projects Are Foundering in Five-Eye Nations. What Gives?

Canada and Australia shelve plans for retail CBDCs while the US could soon become the first country to explicitly ban the central bank from issuing a CBDC.   

As we warned in May 2022, a financial revolution is quietly sweeping the world (or at least trying to) that has the potential to reconfigure the very nature of money, making it programmable, far more surveillable and centrally controlled. To quote Washington DC-based blogger and analyst NS Lyons, “if not deliberately and carefully constrained in advance by law,… CBDCs have the potential to become even more than a technocratic central planner’s dream. They could represent the single greatest expansion of totalitarian power in history.”

At the time of writing that post, around 90 countries and currency unions were in the process of exploring a CBDC, according to the Atlantic Council’s CBDC tracker. Today, just two and a half years later, that number has increased to 134, representing 98% of global GDP. Around 66 of those countries are in the advanced stage of exploration—development, pilot, or launch.

But they do not include the United States. In fact, the US is not just trailing most countries on CBDC development; it could soon become the first country to explicitly ban the central bank from issuing a CBDC, to the undisguised horror of certain think tanks.

“CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act.”

In May, the US House of Representatives passed HR 5403, also known as the “CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act.” The bill, first introduced in September 2023 and sponsored by US Senator Ted Cruz, proposes amendments to the Federal Reserve Act to prohibit the US Federal Reserve from issuing CBDCs. It also seeks to protect the right to financial privacy and prevent the U.S. government from “weaponizing their financial system against their own citizens.”

If passed, HR 5403 will prevent the Fed from:

  1. Offering products or services directly to individuals.
  2. Maintaining accounts on behalf of individuals.
  3. Issuing a central bank digital currency or any digital asset that is substantially similar under any other name or label directly to an individual.

To become law, the bill still needs to clear the Senate, which is by not means guaranteed. But it is likely to receive added impetus from a new Trump administration, assuming Trump wins the election and isn’t assassinated before taking office or thwarted by a colour revolution, as Lambert posited yesterday. In January, Trump announced, to thunderous applause, at a New Hampshire that as president, he would “never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency.” Such a currency, he said, “would give a federal government, our federal government, absolute control over your money.”

Even a Kamala Harris administration is unlikely to fast-track a digital dollar, with progress set to continue to lag other jurisdictions, according to an article in The Banker. US voters — particularly Republican ones — are increasingly aware — and wary — of the threat posed by CBDCs, as demonstrated by the crowd’s reaction to Trump’s announcement. This, if nothing else, stands as testament to the power of social and independent media, and goes a long way to explaining why governments across the West are trying desperately to muzzle them.

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Smith urges Poilievre to amend Canadian Bill of Rights for broader civil liberties 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called on federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to promise further free speech and other rights protections at the national level as her government prepares to amend the Alberta Bill of Rights.

Smith encouraged Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to amend the Canadian Bill of Rights to strengthen protections that may be missing in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“I think that we should stop looking at the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as the full, comprehensive expression of all rights and freedoms we are endowed with,” said Smith.

The premier said she believed Poilievre could make these amendments if he’s elected prime minister without having a huge constitutional discussion. 

“I think we’re entering an era now where people are demanding that their governments respect them and not treat them the way they were treated during that terrible Covid era,” said Smith. 

Smith made the comments at True North Nation in Calgary on Saturday.

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Ontario man granted euthanasia for controversial ‘post COVID-19 vaccination syndrome’

An Ontario man in his late 40s with a history of mental illness died by euthanasia after his assisted death assessors decided that the most reasonable explanation for his physical decline was a post COVID-19 “vaccination syndrome.”

The term is controversial — Canada’s current vaccine reporting system for adverse events doesn’t include “post-vaccine syndrome” — and multiple specialists consulted before his death couldn’t agree on a diagnosis, raising questions as to whether the man’s condition met the criteria for an “irremediable,” meaning a hopeless, incurable condition.

The anonymized case is one of several highlighted in a series of reports issued by a 16-member MAID death review committee struck by Ontario’s chief coroner’s office in January.

Identified as “Mr. A,” the man experienced “suffering and functional decline” following three vaccinations for SARS-CoV-2. He also suffered from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and personality disorders, and, “while navigating his physical symptoms,” was twice admitted to hospital, once involuntarily, with thoughts of suicide.

“Amongst his multiple specialists, no unifying diagnosis was confirmed,” according to the report. However, his MAID assessors “opined that the most reasonable diagnosis for Mr. A’s clinical presentation (severe functional decline) was a post-vaccine syndrome, in keeping with chronic fatigue syndrome.”

There were no “pathological findings” at a post-mortem that could identify any underlying physiological diagnosis, though people’s experiences can’t be discounted just because medicine can’t find what’s wrong with them.

However, Canada’s assisted dying law requires people to have a grievous and irremediable physical condition. Psychiatric experts raised concerns about whether the man’s mental illnesses would or should have rendered him ineligible for MAID.

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Are Vaccine Passports Just Around the Corner? U.S., Canada, Mexico Launch Pandemic Preparedness Initiative

The U.S., Canada and Mexico launched a joint pandemic preparedness initiative they said will unite the countries’ public health agencies around a “One Health” approach to addressing future pandemics.

A critic of the new initiative warned the plan may empower the World Health Organization (WHO) — the architect of the original One Health Initiative — to impose global control measures like vaccine passports and new policies targeting the “infodemic.”

“Because this is an initiative from the WHO, I am deeply concerned,” said Nicholas Hulscher, an epidemiologist and fellow at the McCullough Foundation. “They appear to be seeking domain over plants, animals, and humans — globalized, central control over public health policies in all participating countries.”

The WHO defines One Health as “an integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and the environment.”

Public Health Canada says One Health “considers the relationships between the health of humans, animals, and the environment” — suggesting future pandemics or public health threats may cross from animals to humans.

Hulscher suggested bird flu could become the source of the next pandemic — and the basis for imposing global control. He said:

“The biopharmaceutical complex wishes for H5N1 bird flu to become a human pandemic, as it will give them another opportunity to implement draconian control measures and mandate mRNA injections.

“Their obsession with zoonotic diseases may be due to their potential for high mortality rates, which increases the probability of high vaccine uptake and adherence to strict countermeasures like lockdowns.”

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The Democracy Fund: Trudeau’s Online Harms Act could weaponize courts and stifle free speech

The Democracy Fund (TDF) has warned the public that the proposed Online Harms Act of the Canadian government could “weaponize” the courts and instill fear while doing little to curb social conflict and promote safety online.

In February, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Arif Virani proposed the Online Harms Act, also known as Bill C-63. The bill, which includes amendments to the Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act, claims to protect children from online sexual abuse, cyberbullying and self-harm.

Bill C-63 seeks to reinstate Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, a “hate speech” provision abolished in 2013 by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The bill would enable the government to target and remove specific online content.

The bill aims to create a Digital Safety Commission, a digital safety ombudsperson and the Digital Safety Office, all tasked with monitoring and regulating internet content.

Additionally, a five-person government-appointed panel would monitor internet platforms and hold “secret commission hearings” against rule-breakers. Under the bill, those who commit hate speech online could face severe penalties, including life imprisonment or fines of up to CA$50,000 ($36,150).

However, in a 26-page legal brief, TDF argued that the proposed bill would grant excessive government power to clamp down on online speech.

“Historically, the power to censor has been a weapon of authoritarian regimes. This power inevitably expands and eventually eliminates the civic process by which society adapts and progresses,” the TDF wrote in the legal brief. “It will not reduce social conflict. On the contrary, it is likely to exacerbate the problem of social conflict, weaponize the courts and the human rights tribunal for political purposes, and introduce fear into the online social environment.”

Moreover, TDF stated that “open dialogue and education” are better alternative solutions to address harmful attitudes rather than censorship.

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Canadian Lawmaker Calls for Increased Transparency After Images Surface of UAP Shot Down Over Yukon

New details have recently surfaced regarding an incident involving an unidentified object shot down over Canada’s Yukon territory in February 2023, including imagery obtained through a Canadian freedom of information act.

One of several shoot-downs that occurred in the days following an incident last year involving a Chinese spy balloon that traversed American airspace, Daniel Otis, a freelance investigative reporter writing for CTV News in Canada, revealed last month that he had successfully obtained images of the mysterious object obtained by pilots shortly before it was shot down. 

Following the widely-reported incident, Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre initially suggested the image should be released publicly, although the Canadian military did not officially approve such actions at that time. 

Despite pilot accounts that described the object as a metallic, cylindrical shape that appeared to possess a wire-tethered payload, secrecy on part of the Canadian government has only fueled public curiosity, giving rise to speculations about the object’s origin. 

Now, the release of the grainy, black and white image of the object adds a new layer of intrigue to the puzzling incident.

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Canada’s woke Stasi

Under other circumstances, former school trustee Barry Neufeld may have retired as one of your curmudgeonly, albeit amusing, elderly neighbours, equipped with a brash sense of humour, a glass of wine and a cigarette. Had he not introduced himself at a recent panel event I spoke on in Victoria, British Columbia (BC) about the harms of gender-identity ideology, I would never have pegged him as a supposed hate-monger. He seemed rather jovial, in fact. Yet the Canadian media and some of Canada’s most powerful unions see things differently. They have made Neufeld their nemesis.

Neufeld is now in his seventies. His troubles began in 2017. This was when he discovered a new gender-identity curriculum for kids coming down the pike in his school district of Chilliwack, BC. This was the year that the SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) 123 programme was implemented in public schools across the province, with the aim of making classrooms more ‘inclusive’ for LGBT-identified kids. That same year, Bill C-16 was passed by the national parliament, adding ‘gender identity’ to the list of protected characteristics under the Canadian Human Rights Act. Both pieces of legislation were introduced with little public debate and most Canadians were completely unaware of what was even happening.

But Neufeld noticed and spoke out on Facebook, criticising SOGI 123 for instructing ‘children that gender is not biologically determined, but is a social construct’. ‘At the risk of being labelled a bigoted homophobe’, he wrote, ‘I have to say that I support traditional family values and I agree with the [American College of Pediatricians] that allowing little children to choose to change gender is nothing short of child abuse’.

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Illegals Also Pouring Over The Northern Border–Including NY

Border Czar Kamala Harris has another headache: illegal aliens are sneaking across the northern border with Canada in sizable numbers. The mainstream media ran cover for years on the southern border, which has only recently come into focus on network news channels.

But the northern border has been a blind spot. The dense woods separating Canada from New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine provide excellent cover for illegal interlopers. While far less trafficked than the southern border, penetration in the north has increased by several magnitudes.

The area in question is comprised of three Border Patrol Sectors, named Buffalo, Swanton, and Houlton, respectively, from west to east. Six border stations patrol Buffalo sector, eight in Swanton, and six in Houlton.

The New York-through-Maine border is 1,204 miles long. Broken down by state, Canada’s border is separated from New York by 445 miles, Vermont and New Hampshire, 148, and Maine, 611 miles.

In Swanton sector alone–a mere 295 miles of that 1,204–over 19,000 illegals have crossed during the 2024 fiscal year.

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Did a US F-22 shoot down a UFO? Photo of aerial object adds to mystery

Remember February 2023? It was a wild time. There were cocaine-addled bears, mushroom zombies and Air Force fighters shooting sketchy, inflatable objects out of the sky left and right.

That month began with a Chinese balloon — the U.S. said it was loaded with spy equipment; Beijing claimed it was just a weather balloon blown off course — drifting across much of the contiguous United States and igniting a furor. That was before it was blowed up real good — the technical terminology — by an F-22 off the coast of South Carolina.

But February’s bizarre occurrences didn’t stop there. U.S. pilots soon shot down three more mystery objects over Alaska, Canada’s Yukon territory and Lake Huron in as many days.

None of those subsequent objects were ever recovered, with the official line indicating they were probably hobbyist or research balloons.

But one grainy image — it’s always a grainy image, isn’t it? — of the object shot down over the Yukon has now emerged, and it’s giving significant “I want to believe” vibes.

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Image released of mysterious object shot down over Yukon in 2023

An image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada’s Yukon territory in February 2023 has been obtained by CTVNews.ca.

Released through a Canadian freedom of information request, the grainy image appears to be a photocopy of an email printout.

Heavily redacted documents show how the image was approved for public distribution within days of the headline-grabbing incident, but then held back after a public affairs official expressed concerns that releasing it “may create more questions/confusion.”

CTVNews.ca has requested a higher resolution copy.

A U.S. F-22 fighter jet shot down the object on Feb. 11, 2023, shortly after it entered Canadian airspace in the Yukon territory, which borders Alaska. It was one of three unidentified aerial objects(opens in a new tab) blasted out of the sky that month following the high-profile Feb. 4, 2023 downing of an apparent Chinese surveillance balloon(opens in a new tab). Shot down over Alaska, Yukon and Lake Huron between Feb. 10 and 12, 2023, the three objects were reportedly much smaller than the towering Chinese balloon.

At the time, officials described the Yukon object(opens in a new tab) as a “suspected balloon” that was “cylindrical” in shape. A reported Pentagon memo(opens in a new tab) said it appeared to be a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it.”

Released as part of the freedom of information request package, an email from a Canadian brigadier-general offered what they described as the “best description that we have” of the Yukon object.

“Visual – a cylindrical object,” they wrote in an Feb. 11, 2023, email. “Top quarter is metallic, remainder white. 20-foot wire hanging below with a package of some sort suspended from it.”

The image appears to have been taken from an aircraft below it, although that has not been confirmed.

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