Yves-François Blanchet has said that he will not do anything to alleviate western Canada’s frustration. Speaking to reporters, Bloc head Blanchet said that he would not lift a finger to “create an oil state in western Canada.”
These remarks came after Blanchet’s meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa today. Trudeau has been meeting with the leaders of the federal parties to prepare for parliament reopening on Dec. 5. After this meeting, Blanchet stated that he will support Trudeau’s minority government in emission-reducing initiatives, however, he will fight the Liberals on the TMX pipeline.
The Bloc’s intent to halt the pipeline will not cause Trudeau trouble in controlling the majority of the House.
Blanchet also indicated to reporters that he did not expect the throne speech to get in the way of Quebec’s secularism bill. Bill 21, the deeply controversial bill that stops public employees from wearing religious symbols, has created tension between English and French Canada.
Over the previous week, Trudeau has been meeting with provincial leaders, as well as Andrew Scheer, in an attempt to placate the increasing sentiment of alienation in western Canada. Blanchet’s most recent comment will only likely further this rift.
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Coke, meth, and over $12,000 cash seized in Montreal-area police raids
The Surete du Quebec has confirmed that a series of raids came up big, as the K9-squad aided missions found cocaine, meth, and over $12,000 cash.
According to a report from the Surete du Quebec, a tag-team effort from the Monteregie organized crime division and the Rouisslon Police, along with police from the MRC des Jardins de Napierville division conducted searches over months of investigations in order to make the big bust.
In total, a house, three apartments, and a car were searched. In total, police seized:
• Roughly 240 grams of cocaine
• Roughly 380 tablets similar to methamphetamine
• Roughly 40 prescription drug tablets
• $12,400 in cash
• Drug paraphernalia as well as scales
• A pontoon boat
• Gun ammunition cartridges
A spokesperson from the Surete du Quebec said, although suspects were apprehended during the raid, there have not been any arrests or charges laid as of yet. Arrests may be made tomorrow.
The five searches were conducted at the following locations, as per CTV:
• Apartment on rue de l’Église Nord, Lacolle
• Residence in Saint-Georges-de-Clarenceville
• Apartment and car on rue Saint-Roch, Saint-Constant
• Apartment on rue Saint-Henri, La Prairie
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Iranian-Canadians, community leaders mourn victims of flight 752 in Montreal
Iranian-Canadians and community leaders gathered Thursday night at the Iranian Islamic Centre of Montreal to commemorate the lives lost in the tragic shooting down of Ukranian flight 752 by Iranian missiles.
Those who attended included Mayor of Lachine/Lasalle/Dorval, Maya Vodanovich; Assistant of Mayor of Pierrefonds, Sophie Mohsen; MP of Lachine, Anju Dhillon; City councillor for Lachine, Michele Flennery; and Imam Saleh Sibeveih, Director and Cleric of the Islamic Centre of Montreal Canada and Zurich Switzerland.
Imam Saleh Sibeveih spoke at the solemn gathering, one of many such gatherings across Canada during this time of mourning for the 176 victims of the murderous act by the Iranian regime.
The Islamic Centre of Montreal is an orthodox Islamic Centre and cannot be dismissed as fringe or discredited by the Iranian regime.
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Activist acquitted by Quebec court due to lack of English prosecutors
Left-wing activist Jaggi Singh has been released of all charges in a Quebec City court, due to the city’s inability to hold a trial in English.
Singh, who was facing charges of Obstruction of Justice, was also facing charges of impersonation after being arrested by police and giving the name “Michel Goulet,” with a home address of “the Colosseum,” attempting to impersonate a former Quebec Nordique of the same name.
After 29 months of charges being laid, the trial began—but Quebec’s chief prosecutor Steve Marquis had to postpone the trial.
Mainly due to the fact that the main prosecutor, Marie-Helene Guillemette, has been absent on maternity leave.
This meant that Marquis would have to carry out the trial, but due to his very limited English, the trial would not be proceeding as planned.
Judge Guillemette had set the trial for January without mentioning that she would be absent on maternity leave, something that judges say boiled down to disorganization.
With no one able to hold the trial, Justice Bordeleau announced that Singh would be acquitted of the two charges against him.
In an interview after the decision, Singh chalked up the acquittal to the court “self-sabotaging,” knowing that the Crown would lose in a full trial.
Singh later returned to Montreal, telling media that his struggle “is not in the courtrooms,” but is rather against the “far right.”
Singh’s “activism”
Singh has a long history of activism in his hometown Montreal and throughout Canada.
In 2002, Singh participated in an anti-Israel protest against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, held by the Hillel club at Concordia University. The talk was later cancelled, as the event turned into a violent clash between protestors and security.
In January 2003, Singh was deported by Israeli authorities after having gone to the West Bank.
On April 19, 2006, Singh was arrested at a pro-Palestinian poetry event at El Salon cafe. There are conflicting reports as to why Singh was arrested, though local police say they were responding to an alleged assault on a taxi driver.
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Wexit would devastate Saskatchewan: Ralph Goodale
Former Saskatchewan MP and Liberal cabinet minister Ralph Goodale said the nascent Wexit separation movement threatens Conservative parties in the province and “would be devastating” economically.
“Because where will those votes come from in the first place, those votes that would support the Wexit movement if it became a party? Those votes would come primarily from the Conservatives and the Sask Party,” Goodale told CBC Saskatchewan.
“So it is in the interests of the Conservatives and the Sask Party to ensure that the Wexit movement does not become a political party that would take votes from them.”
Goodale had served as Regina-Wascana’s MP since 1993 but lost his seat to Conservative Michael Kram in last year’s 43rd general election, leaving the province without a single seat in the House of Commons.
The former Finance minister (PM Paul Martin) and Public Safety Minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s previous majority government also said separation would have immediate economic consequences for Saskatchewan.
“When you actually go to the dollars and cents and the nuts and bolts of it all, it would be devastating,” he said.
“We would lose right off the top, for example, $1.7 billion in transfer payments that come into Saskatchewan because of the government of Canada. We would lose things like the RCMP Training Depot at Regina. That would be gone. That’s $40 million every year into the economy.”
Goodale went on to suggest that the Wexit debate itself was “counterproductive.”
“It leads people to have great and furious arguments. It leads to divisions being created and it takes people down a counterproductive rabbit hole,” he said.
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