Some powerful nations use secret slush funds, send out spies, or deploy hackers to influence elections in other countries. Egypt posts on Facebook.
Egyptian consulate in Montreal published a Facebook status supporting Ann Francis on Friday morning. In the next federal election which is expected to happen in October, Mrs. Francis will be the Conservative candidate in the riding of Lac-Saint-Louis, in Montreal’s West Island.
The image was uploaded through the Consulate’s Facebook page with its own text in Arabic, making it seem as though the picture originates from the Consulate. It was not shared from a Conservative Party Facebook page.
A citizen may therefore wonder if Francis is the Egyptian government’s candidate, because the publication says “Congratulations to our 2019 candidate”.
Promoting a specific candidate in that part of town is no happenstance. The Egyptian Consulate knows where Egyptian nationals tend to live.
Montreal’s West Island is home to a vibrant community of Egyptian Coptic Christians. St-George and St-Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church is huge, and the church community is very close-knit.
Maybe she’s Egyptian
One may wonder if Egypt is pushing for Conservative Party candidates in general, or if this is a personal endorsement.
Whether she has Egyptian roots or relations doesn’t interest me actually.
I don’t know what motivates the Egyptian government to endorse one party or one candidate… and frankly, I don’t care.
Foreign governments should not be influencing Canadian elections.
The role of the consulate is to assist and protect the citizens of its own country, and to facilitate trade – and even friendship – between the people of our two countries.
Promoting a specific candidate – regardless of political affiliation – in an election year smacks of interventionism.
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Anti-Semitic depictions carved onto cars in Montreal, Quebec
Anti-Semitic depictions have been carved into the snow on several cars in the Plateau area of Montreal, Quebec. This incident took place on rue Jeanne Mance.
Photos of the markings appeared on Twitter, showing four cars that had the Nazi swastika marked onto the windshield and roofs of the cars alongside the Jewish Star of David.
Montreal has a thriving Jewish community with a recent census showing over 90,000 members of the community living in Quebec’s largest city. The Plateau area, in particular, was where the Jewish community first settled in the early 20th century.
Statistics by the Jewish advocacy group, B’nai Brith, have shown that anti-Semitism has been on the rise across Canada. In 2018, there were a reported 2,041 incidents of Anti-Semitism, which is a 16.5 percent increase from the previous year. Of these, 11 were deemed to have been violent.
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Montreal ‘bridge to nowhere’ costs city $800,000
A public art display in Montreal’s downtown core has drawn the ire of residents who believe the city’s spending is irresponsible.
According to Director Quebec of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Renaud Brossard, that $800,000 figure “is as much as the property taxes of 192 Montreal families.”
The bridge, which is used commonly in the summer months to sit on as it’s placed in a city square, has gotten harsh criticism from those in the Western provinces, as many feel it’s a wasteful way to spend $800,000.
This, though, isn’t confined to Montreal. Edmonton, Alberta recently coughed up a hefty $1 million towards a public art display.
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Hero driver is honoured by City of Montreal after using his SUV to save pedestrians
Montreal native Erick Marciano was honored by the city in Montreal after using his SUV to shield pedestrians from a speeding car. Marciano acted with bravery in a split-second decision to use his SUV to shield pedestrians from a car fleeing from police that was heading directly towards a busy intersection.
Marciano, a 48-year-old father-of-three told CTV News that “I figured I had to act,” after he saw the vehicle speeding towards the defenseless pedestrians. His mind immediately went to the terrible stories in Europe of drivers running over pedestrians and he rushed to act to prevent the same thing from happening in Montreal.
Marciano proceeded to honk his horn and put his SUV in front of the speeding driver before managing to get out of his car moments before the collision. The 19-year-old suspect who Marciano managed to stop was arrested and is now facing charges for his role in the incident.
Marciano, a general contractor has been incredibly humble about the incident, telling CTV It was just a natural thing to do, and if I had to do it again, I would do it again.” His wife Michelle commented on his modesty and selflessness at the ceremony honouring her husbands deed “He’s always thinking about others and always puts himself before others, so it’s just something he does.”
Marciano was given a certificate of honor by mayor Valérie Plante, telling journalists, “To commit such a bold act, at the risk of his personal safety, to protect the life of pedestrians is among the most admirable acts of bravery.” He was also given the honour to sign his name in Montreal’s Golden Book, which he said was last signed by climate activist Greta Thunberg.
When Michelle was asked if she would lend her SUV to her husband she told CTV while laughing: “Never, ever.”
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Man uses SUV to shield crowd from car fleeing police
A Montreal man is being praised as a hero after his bold actions saved roughly a dozen people from being seriously injured, or worse.
Erick Marciano was driving his SUV to a meeting Tuesday afternoon in Montreal’s downtown core, when he saw a car speed through a red light, with Montreal police hot on the vehicle’s tail.
When he saw the suspect vehicle making a sharp U-turn in front of him toward a crowd of roughly a dozen pedestrian and city workers, Marciano says he knew he had to act.
“I didn’t want him to hurt anybody,” Marciano told CBC’s Daybreak. “I figured, sacrificing a car was really no big deal. And that’s what I did.”
Marciano then swerved his SUV over the divider, blocking the vehicle from being able to speed into the crowd of pedestrians. The only people injured was the suspect, and police are praising his actions as heroic.
Marciano said the intersection was ripe with pedestrians crossing the intersection headed into Montreal’s downtown CHUM mega-hospital, with many workers out on their lunch break.
“It came into my mind, I said: ‘this isn’t going to happen here,” he said.
Marciano says he knew the vehicle would be able to absorb the hit, not even considering his overall safety. “I figured, he had a Honda, and there was no way he was going over the median,” he said. “For me, that was the safest thing to do.”
On Facebook, Marciano posted a comment about a story, saying “I guess I am a nice guy if only my wife would believe it lol [sic]”
After the impact, police were able to arrest the 19-year-old suspect at the scene. He will appear in court on Wednesday afternoon, and has been charged with “numerous criminal offences,” including impaired driving, failing to stop for police, assault with a weapon, driving with a suspended licence, dangerous driving, and driving a stolen vehicle.
Marciano’s actions have been praised universally. From police, who thanked him for risking his life, to the mother of the suspect.
The suspect’s mother thanked Marciano for stopping her son from injuring people. She said her son has had a history of mental health issues, and that it shouldn’t take these kinds of incidents for the government to realize that mental health needs to be made a higher priority.
Police were also grateful. “They were very, very thankful. Very thankful. Too thankful—it was embarrassing,” Marciano said to the Montreal Gazette.
Montreal mayor Valerie Plante also tweeted her praise of the bold action, tweeting:
“I salute the courage of Erick Marciano, whose heroic gesture saved the lives of many pedestrians [of downtown Montreal.] On behalf of myself and the Montrealers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mr. Marciano.”
(Translated by Google)
Though Marciano’s SUV was damaged in the collision, Marciano’s insurance company told him that we would not be held responsible for the wreck.
“What matters is the outcome, and everything’s well, and everybody could go home last night.”
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