Tag: taxes

Canadian Heritage buys millions of Canadian flag pins from China despite Liberal promise

The federal government has spent more than $194,000 on Canadian flag pins and desk flags manufactured in China, according to a newly released Order Paper response tabled in Parliament.

The disclosure comes in response to Question Q-1077 from Conservative MP Arnold Viersen, which asked Canadian Heritage to detail its purchases of Canadian flags, flag pins and related products since January 2022.

Records show Canadian Heritage purchased three million plastic Canadian flag lapel pins from a Chinese manufacturer in September 2024 at a cost of $143,400. The department also bought 44,117 floating metal flag pins from China in January 2023 for $14,999.78, another 72,400 metal flag pins in November 2024 for $20,996, and 8,770 desk flags made in China for $14,996.70.

In total, Canadian Heritage spent $194,392.48 on Chinese-made flag-themed merchandise while simultaneously purchasing most of its full-sized Canadian flags from Canadian manufacturer L’Étendard.

The department spent more than $2.5 million on Canadian-made full-size nylon flags between 2022 and early 2026, including orders ranging from 9,700 to 30,100 flags. It also purchased paper hand flags from Canadian suppliers Broadway Import Export and Tobermory Press.

When asked why foreign-made products were selected instead of Canadian manufacturers, Canadian Heritage offered a brief explanation.

“For purchase of products manufactured outside of Canada, purchases were made pursuant to current Government of Canada procurement processes,” the department stated.

The revelation stands in contrast to a longstanding Liberal commitment to source Canadian flag merchandise domestically.

In 2005, then-Liberal Public Works Minister Scott Brison pledged to end the practice of purchasing Canadian flag pins made in China after media reports highlighted the contradiction. At the time, the federal government announced it would seek Canadian suppliers for the patriotic merchandise distributed by MPs and government departments.

More than two decades later, millions of Chinese-made Canadian flag pins are still being purchased with taxpayer dollars.

The Order Paper response was signed by Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller and released on June 3, 2026.

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Crazy Wealth Tax Proposals In California And New York City

The socialists who have been taking over the Democratic Party lately have a problem—the state and local jurisdictions where they are able to seize power still have to compete with rival jurisdictions that are still relatively friendly to private property and capitalist businesses. The principal targets of egalitarian fury, namely possessors of great wealth, are strongly incentivized to escape from dystopian hell-holes created by socialists to saner locales. Even those who aren’t so clearly targeted as objects of envy suffer from the effects of economic and social decline and are also incentivized to leave.

Even worse from a socialist perspective, the US Constitution restricts what a state or local government can do in terms of seizing private property. The owner of any property taken for public use must be compensated, so a local socialist enterprise can’t get around the problem of having to raise capital (and later to cover the inevitable losses associated with socialist production) with the help of government funding. However, a government’s power to tax only applies within its own jurisdiction; rich people aided by clever lawyers can figure out how to break their tax “nexus” to an oppressive jurisdiction in order to shield themselves, their businesses, and most or all of the associated wealth in other, much less extortionate jurisdictions.

Two jurisdictions where mass flight from Democratic misrule is unmistakable are California and New York City, both of which have lately experienced a net emigration of more than 100,000 residents per year. While lower-tax states like Texas and Florida are well-known destinations for such blue state refugees, in the case of New York City even the just slightly-less overgoverned New Jersey has become a magnet for a lot of former New Yorkers—it takes a lot for a true Gothamite to suffer the indignity of making that move.

One of the consequences of such flight is that as the tax base shrinks, the pressure on committed socialist ideologues to extort whatever wealth remains even more rapidly (before it too flees from their grasp) mounts. Likewise, there is also pressure to tax things that have previously been left untaxed and might still be within reach, thus pushing the envelope of whatever forms of soaking the rich are permitted by the US Constitution.

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Obamacare Fraud Estimated To Cost $25 Billion This Year: Report

Taxpayers will foot the bill for up to $25 billion in improper Obamacare payments due to organized fraud and improper enrollments in 2026, according to a June 3 report from Paragon Health Institute.

Some 6.2 million enrollments in the healthcare exchanges during the most recent open-enrollment period were improper, the report said, accounting for 27 percent of all enrollments.

The conservative think tank has studied fraud in the Obamacare program since 2024.

The problem of improper enrollments persists despite recent attempts to curtail it, and appears to involve organized efforts by unscrupulous insurance brokers, the report concluded.

Meanwhile, some industry groups have criticized the findings.

Incentives For Fraud

Obamacare’s premium subsidies, which cover 100 percent of the health coverage policy for many beneficiaries, and referral bonuses offer an incentive for both enrollees and brokers to abuse the system, the report concluded.

Researchers identified improper enrollments by comparing Obamacare data to Census Bureau population estimates. The improper enrollments were calculated by a state-by-state comparison of enrollments in the lowest income category to the number of people having that income level in the state.

The lowest income category is 100 percent to 150 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $16,000 to $24,000 per year for an individual or about $27,000 to $41,000 for a family of three.

Enrollees with incomes at that level receive the highest subsidies. During the 2026 open enrollment period, 29 percent of enrollees chose a plan with a $0 premium.

That gives enrollees and the agents who sign people up for Obamacare an incentive to misstate their income, the report concluded.

The American Hospital Association has said Paragon’s research results are not valid due to flawed methodology. “The Census uses different income and household size definitions than the Marketplace so there is no possibility of the data matching,” the group said in an August 2025 statement. The association also said the Census relies on reported income but Obamacare asks for projected income.

The total value of Obamacare subsidies to be paid in 2026 is $88 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Agents who enroll individuals or families in Obamacare earn a commission averaging around $20 per enrollee per month for as long as the policy is active.

Obamacare received more than 23 million enrollments during the 2026 open enrollment period.

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ATIP records show Edmonton mayor deferred to NCCM during campaign against police chief’s Israel trip

As antisemitic hate crimes continue to surge across Canada, newly released access-to-information records reveal Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack was actively coordinating with and relaying the concerns of the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and affiliated activist groups during the controversy surrounding Edmonton Police Chief Warren Driechel’s trip to Israel.

The records raise an uncomfortable question: Why was city hall treating the NCCM coalition as its primary stakeholder while appearing to give far less weight to Edmonton’s Jewish community?

The controversy began after Driechel participated in a professional development trip to Israel alongside other North American police leaders. The trip focused on public safety, emergency management, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism.

Almost immediately, the NCCM, the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities and more than two dozen affiliated organizations launched a campaign against the chief, demanding answers and ultimately suggesting that, absent satisfactory responses, Driechel should resign.

Behind the scenes, the newly released records show Mayor Knack repeatedly directing police leadership toward NCCM.

“The best starting point for organizations to engage with is the letter sent by NCCM which lists out many organizations,” Knack wrote to the police chief and police commission chair.

Knack did not merely pass along the coalition’s concerns. He endorsed them.

“I think the three questions that community have raised are reasonable questions to be answers,” he wrote, referring directly to the demands contained in the NCCM-led coalition letter.

The mayor also offered city hall’s assistance in arranging a meeting between the activists, the chief and police leadership.

“Finally, NCCM would like to meet with Council and both of you all together. Our office is more than willing to help coordinate,” Knack wrote, adding that “this would be hosted by NCCM” and that “they would be leading the meeting.”

Knack went even further, recommending NCCM-connected figures as advisors to police leadership.

“Both were formally involved with the Edmonton and/or National parts of NCCM and have been taking calls and meetings non-stop since Tuesday and would have some excellent insight if there is interest,” he wrote.

The contrast with the treatment of Edmonton’s Jewish community is striking.

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BETRAYAL: House Bucks Trump, Passes Ukraine Aid Package with $9 BILLION to Ukraine and Sanctions on Russia – Here Are the 18 Republicans Who Voted Yes

The House of Representatives passed a bill approving an additional $9 billion in aid to Ukraine and placing harsh sanctions on Russia. 

Meanwhile, Trump is pushing for both Russia and Ukraine to make compromises, and Zelensky calls for face-to-face negotiations with Putin in a letter sent to the Russian President.

Trump addressed the letter on Monday, saying, “I think it would be great if they met” and calling on them to “get it done.”

When asked later about what compromises he wants to see made, the President declined to say but said that “they’re going to make both make compromises,” which he suggested.

“I’ve been very strong on the fact that they’ve got to get that over with,” he said. “I want them each to make certain compromises. I think they’re going to do that.”

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Brooke Rollins Details How Trump Admin Is Cracking Down on Food Stamp Fraud

Agriculture Department Secretary Brooke Rollins on Thursday during a hearing explained how the Trump administration is working to combat food stamp fraud.

Rollins wrote, “@USDA has NEVER had access to State SNAP data. Not until this Administration demanded it. That’s why every figure from years past is meaningless. From the 29 states that DID share data, we’ve already identified at least $3 billion a year in fraud. Extrapolated nationwide: more than $10 billion. This isn’t ‘erroneous payments.’ This is FRAUD — and yes, @RepAngieCraig, I know the difference. Do you?”

Rollins shared a clip of her exchange with Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN) in which the secretary explains that much of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamp, data they receive from states such as California and Minnesota cannot be trusted.

“The lowest fraud rate of any program in America is the SNAP program. You can’t be serious when you say that,” Rollins said.

She then said, “@RepShontelBrown just said the quiet part out loud: Democrats want as many people on welfare as possible. It’s remarkable.”

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‘Trade over Aid’: GOP Resolution Introduced to Phase Out U.S. Military Aid to Israel

Republican Reps. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) have introduced a resolution calling for the phased elimination of the $3.8 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel and its replacement with a partnership focused on trade, joint technology development, and strategic cooperation — a proposal endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The nonbinding resolution, introduced Wednesday, urges the United States and Israel to negotiate a memorandum of understanding before the current ten-year agreement expires in 2028. Under the proposal, direct military assistance would be gradually phased out and replaced by a framework centered on joint defense cooperation, co-development, co-production, and mutual investment.

The effort comes with Netanyahu’s backing.

Following a May 27 meeting in Jerusalem with Stutzman and Hamadeh, Netanyahu sent a June 1 letter expressing support for the initiative and embracing its broader vision of transitioning the U.S.-Israel relationship from one based on aid to one based on partnership.

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Kash Patel Unveils FBI’s “Most Wanted Fraudsters” List as Officials Announce New Medicaid Fraud Indictments

FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Wednesday that the FBI is launching a “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list as the Department of Justice investigates criminal fraud rings across the country.

Patel credited Vice President JD Vance, the chairman of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, for the idea. “Mr. Vice President, thanks to your vision, we’re here to deliver, and you see it here today,” he said.

“I want all Americans to take a look at these most wanted individuals and look at the amounts, the 10s of millions and billions of dollars in fraud that they have decimated our societies from,” Patel continued, urging Americans to provide tips on the fraudsters’ whereabouts.

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New DOJ Indictment Alleges Southern Poverty Law Center Funds Went to Hoods and Cross Burnings

On June 3, a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama returned a superseding indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center, a second, expanded set of charges building on an original April 21 indictment,  alleging that $4.1 million in tax-exempt funds paid informants inside extremist organizations who then recruited new members and purchased materials for cross burnings and Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods.

The new charges do not target the general practice of paying informants but the DOJ’s allegation that the SPLC made these payments without disclosing them to donors and while defrauding banks.

The superseding indictment retains the original 11 counts, six of wire fraud, four of making false statements to a federally insured bank, and one of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, while expanding the alleged misconduct to include an SPLC employee’s knowledge that donor money purchased KKK garments, fuel, and wood for cross burnings. The indictment also notes the organization’s revenue and net assets grew more than 200% between 2010 and 2023.

The original 11-count indictment, announced April 21 by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, alleged the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donor funds between 2014 and 2023 to at least nine informants embedded in groups including the Ku Klux Klan, the National Socialist Movement, the Aryan Nations-affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, and a participant in the planning of the 2017 Charlottesville Unite the Right rally.

Prosecutors alleged the informants, known internally as “field sources” or “the Fs,” were paid through shell accounts while the SPLC publicly presented itself as working to dismantle those same groups. The SPLC pleaded not guilty and called the allegations false.

The indictment identifies eight informants by designation and specifies payments by group. One informant, F-9, was affiliated with the neo-Nazi National Alliance and received more than $1 million over nine years while fundraising for the organization. Prosecutors allege F-9 also broke into the National Alliance’s headquarters in 2014, stealing 25 boxes of documents the SPLC used in a published report, then paid a second National Alliance member $6,000 to falsely claim responsibility for the theft.

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Far-Left ‘Guardian’ Mocks Obama Library as $850 Million ‘Klingon Prison’

Even the left-wing Guardian is laughing out loud at Barry Obama’s ugly-ass monument to himself.

“‘Like a Klingon prison’: inside Barack Obama’s audacious, near-windowless, $850m presidential library,” reads the headline, and the mockery doesn’t stop there.

We’re about two weeks away from this Chicago-based monstrosity opening to the public, and the Guardian, which I’m sure the Obama folks expected to be friendly, was not terribly impressed. Here are some highlights from their coverage:

“He might have seemed humble in office, but in his post-presidential, Netflix-producing afterlife, Obama has erected the largest, costliest and most audacious complex of them all,” the report explains. “Behold the $850m Obamalisk – or, as it sometimes feels morbidly like, the Obamausoleum.”

“It looks hewn and cleft, towering over the 19-acre campus like a stocky, truncated obelisk,” adds the Guardian, which goes on to describe the the library’s “ominous presence” and how it appears to be [r]ising above the low-rise, low-income neighbourhood” and looks like “a menacing sci-fi headquarters, with small chamfered openings suggesting portals from where drones might be launched, or lasers fired.”

Inside it’s all things Obama, and the report says,  “At some points, the Obamamania gets a bit much – there is even an Obama tulip variety in the garden[.]”

The Guardian is unhappy that “Obama’s is the first entirely digital presidential archive” and not run by the National Archives but by Obama’s “own private foundation.” This raises concerns “over objectivity,” but did free up space for “400 parking spaces.”

The “sky room” is described as a “blunder” sitting at the “tower’s summit, where panoramic windows frame the city, beneath a momentous white pyramid-shaped ceiling” that’s “intended to have a celestial quality.” Yet, for some reason, it “doesn’t culminate in a skylight, but a solid white plasterboard ceiling[.]”

Needless to say, the Guardian is not impressed with much about the library, especially how it comes off as a totem to Obama’s inflated ego.

Tickets are $30 per person, and as has been previously reported, if locals want to take advantage of an “Illinois resident” $4.00 discount, per the Obama Library website, they…

Must be able to provide proof of residency: “Be prepared to show proof of residency at the Museum with a valid photo ID, Illinois driver’s license, state ID, or city-issued ID. Guardians must be able to provide proof of residency for accompanying children.”

Obama opposes requiring a valid ID to vote in America, but he’s gonna need to see that government-issued ID before giving up those four bucks.

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