Trudeau minister says they found fake news this election 

There are moments when it begins to become clear that there has been a sea-change in public opinion.

And with it now being a year since Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were arrested and held hostage by communist China, such a moment has arrived.

The clearest example is what happened to Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman, who Tweeted what he apparently thought would be an innocuous photo of his meeting with China’s ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu.

Bowman was absolutely slammed for the Tweet, which went so far as to “thank” the ambassador for the meeting and mentioned working on “human rights,” while completely ignoring China’s horrific human rights record and failing to mention anything about Canada’s detained Citizens.

Bowman was totally ratioed, with over 500 comments and just a couple-dozen retweets. Bowman was slammed by some MPs, and even by Canada’s former ambassador to China.

But it was the response of regular Canadians that really stood out. People from across the political spectrum were outraged by Bowman’s fawning weakness.

The response reflected something that has been bubbling below the surface among Canadians: A real awakening to the danger posed by communist China, and a sense that enough is enough.

We Canadians are generally an easy-going people, but we have a strong inherent sense of right and wrong. And while the Canadian political and business elites may be able to overlook China’s actions, the Canadian People are not overlooking it.

Canadians have turned against China’s communist government, with surveys showing 90 percent having a negative view of the government led by Xi Jinping.

Whether it’s the destruction of freedom in Hong Kong, holding Canadians hostage, putting millions of Uighurs in concentration camps, forced organ harvesting, or the Orwellian surveillance state, Canadians are looking at China and seeing a country that simply doesn’t share our values, and is in many ways hostile to Canada itself.

There was a time when someone like Brian Bowman could have gotten away with his fawning Tweet, but that time has passed. Sooner or later, Canada’s elites will be forced to realize that they can’t hide the truth about China’s government, and they can’t suppress the real views of Canadians.

The pressure is mounting for a tougher approach to China, for reducing our reliance on China, and to move towards a political and economic decoupling from the ruthless communist State. Whether it starts happening now or down the road, the demands of the Canadian People will be translated into policy one way or another.

December 6 marked the two-year anniversary of a proclamation made by United States President Donald Trump, stating that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and instructed for the American embassy in Tel Aviv to be relocated to Jerusalem. 

To the worldwide Jewish community, prayer is always pointed towards Jerusalem. The concept of Zionism comes from the yearning for a return for Zion, a hill in the city limits of Jerusalem, and the idea to ensure that there is a Jewish state that has the right to exist. 

Historical and political evidence overwhelmingly proves that Jerusalem is the rightful capital of Israel.

Jerusalem is the holiest city in Judaism, it is the location of the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. The holiest site that Jews can pray at, the Western Wall, is in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was in Jerusalem where the sacrificial binding of Isaac took place. 

Jerusalem has always been the eternal capital of Israel for over 3000 years, well into the time of King David. There simply is a double standard set by the world at large that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. 

On May 14, 2018, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel, Trump’s embassy promise was realized upon the opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem. An important proclamation was quickly delivered to Israel and to the Jewish people around the world. 

Unfortunately, Canada has not followed the lead of the United States. It still does not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, even though its parliament, supreme court and residences of both the President and Prime Minister are located in the city.

Instead, Canada houses its embassy in Tel Aviv, where the majority of the world also houses their embassies. 

For the most part, in the past decade, Canada has had a very good record of supporting Israel (besides a very disappointing anti-Israel vote last month), has a vibrant pro-Israel community in the country and even hosted the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin this past spring. 

The world knows that after the United States, it usually Canada that comes to mind of being the strongest ally to Israel. Furthermore, the important alliance that Canada and Israel share is well known and documented, from coast to coast to coast. 

The Jewish community is united regarding this very issue and has frequently called on the federal government to finally follow on the lead President Trump has set, and move the embassy to Jerusalem. 

At last year’s Conservative Party of Canada convention, the membership voted to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. During the election, the Tories promoted that they would recognize Jerusalem. 

Yet the federal government, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has failed to recognize Jerusalem or move the embassy from Tel Aviv. Refusing to do this action will continue to leave a stain on Trudeau’s legacy in dealing with Israel and the Jewish community at large.

Trudeau continuously portrays the image of Canada and Israel being such strong allies, even though he and his government do not recognize the capital of their closest ally in one of the most hostile regions in the world.

The longer the Canadian embassy is in Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem is not recognized, the longer a continued strain grows. In a time when anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are on the rise, the federal government must realize that now is the time act on a foreign policy matter that is long overdue that would be celebrated around the world. 

As the United States and Guatemala have done, Canada does not need to move the embassy into East Jerusalem, rather into West Jerusalem, an urban area within the city limits of Jerusalem. 

At this point, a good start would be the opening of diplomatic offices in Jerusalem as many other countries, such as Brazil and Hungary have done. Opening a diplomatic office, such as a trade office would provide concrete evidence of the federal government taking an active role in further recognizing that Jerusalem is the de facto capital of Israel. 

Canada is far behind the United States in real initiatives that have supported Israel. Moving the embassy is indeed a major initiative that needs to be carried out, and there are still other matters in which Canada lacks the United States with regards to support for Israel. 

Canada has not frozen any funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), an organization that in part, funds terrorism and promotes anti-Semitism. The federal government has neither recognized the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory or stated that the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria (commonly known as the West Bank) are legal.

Under Stephen Harper, Canada froze funds to UNRWA and after Trump’s lead, the recognition of Jerusalem would have been proclaimed and plans certainly would have been underway to move the embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

In an interview with Israel’s largest newspaper, Israel Hayom, Harper said that “now that the U.S. has done it, there is really every reason for the government of Canada to do it, and certainly my successor as leader of the Canadian parliament.”

Joe Clark, the short-lived Prime Minister of Canada from 1979-1980 had also promised to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, however, due to security risks, the plan did not go through. 

Jerusalem is the heart and soul of the Jewish people and of the world’s only Jewish state, Israel. Ensuring that this special city, which is also heavily documented capital of the Holy Land, must finally be recognized.  

Trudeau and his Liberal government need to finally act on what is right and ultimately, recognize Jerusalem and commence plans to move the Canadian embassy to the eternal capital of Israel. 

It may not be a decision that the international community may condemn, but to Jewish Canadians, and the worldwide Jewish community, this is a moment that is worth rejoicing over.

The time is now for Canada to rightfully proclaim that Jerusalem, the golden jewel of the Middle East, is the true capital of Canada’s closest friend in the region, Israel.

The Trudeau government will be reducing government revenue by $3-6 billion in order to cut taxes by roughly $25 per month for working Canadians.

According to a motion tabled by Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Ottawa will increase the personal income tax exemption by $2,000, to $15,000.

The proposed amendment to the Income Tax Act would ensure that Canadians who make under $147,000 a year would pay no taxes on the first $15,000, with benefits being spread out over four years.

Interestingly, given the wording of the motion, a dual-income family earning nearly $300,000 would receive the full tax cut.

While some wealthy Canadians would receive the cut, nearly 1.1 million Canadians would pay no tax at all as a result of the increase.

Based on the government’s own estimates, implementing the cut will cost government revenues of $3 billion in the first year, rising to $6 by 2023.

While any tax cuts will be sure to be received well by Canada’s rather overtaxed population, especially when you look at the average tax rates across our southern neighbour, the timing of the cut may worry deficit hawks.

As of now, Canada is on track to hit a $27.4 billion dollar annual deficit, multiple times higher than what the Trudeau government promised, and on track to balance no sooner than two decades from now.

With 22 years needed to balance, according to the nation’s Finance Department, Canada could be in a problematic situation should a global recession occur.

Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre slammed the minority Liberal government and the media at a Sunday press conference in Ottawa, where he called on Finance Minister Bill Morneau to come up with a plan to “restart” the sagging Canadian economy that shed 71,000 jobs last month.

“Others here in the bubble, inside Ottawa, might be fascinated by the palace intrigue of leadership politics,” replied Poilievre to a reporter’s question about his party leader Andrew Scheer’s viability at the Conservative helm.

“But if you’re one of those 71,000 people who just lost your job in November, you probably couldn’t care less.”

Poilievre and the Opposition Conservatives are calling for on Morneau, “to present an urgent fall economic update to salvage Canada’s teetering economy.”

Last week, Statistics Canada posted the worst one-month job loss numbers in the country for a decade as 71,000 additional people were out of work for November 2019. This included 18,000 in British Columbia and 18,000 in Alberta. It was especially terrible news for Alberta as it has already shed more than 150,000 jobs since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first took office in 2015.

According to the Carleton MP, whose riding is on the outskirts of the “Ottawa bubble”, the update should come with “major tax cuts for entrepreneurs and workers, so they can spend and invest and get out economy moving again.”

The Conservatives also want the government to cut “the insane, high levels of red tape holding (entrepreneurs) down,” said Poilievre. “(And) reassure investors by presenting a reasonable plan to help phase out the deficit in the medium term.”

With just five sitting days in the House of Commons scheduled before the Christmas break, Poilievre took exception with media queries about whether there was enough time to accomplish the task.

“You seem to be suggesting that our prime minister spent his first 10 days after the election surfing rather than working… the election was in October, they’ve had plenty of time,” replied Poilievre, referencing Trudeau’s Tofino trip, a post-election holiday he took after the October 21 vote.

“The storm clouds of our economy have been gathering overhead for a long time (and) the average Canadian wasn’t surfing in November. The average Canadian was worried about his or her job…and then we got a report that south of the border they had a quarter million new jobs.”

“So this is a made in Canada problem. It requires urgent action and we’re calling on the government to take that action by calling for a fall economic update.”

As for Morneau, Poilievre said if the finance minister were “competent, he’s got it already written. But that is not a safe assumption.”

“We’re prepared to work through the Christmas break, if necessary… and I’m sorry if Liberals have vacation plans. Cancel them.”

Asked whether the Conservatives red-tape cutting, lower taxes mantra was in need of an overhaul in light of the previous election result that boosted Conservatives presence in the Commons but failed to unseat Trudeau, Poilievre bristled.

“The trendy pundits that you bring on CBC… they tell us that we need to abandon everything we believe in. That we need to embrace big government, high deficits and high taxes,” replied the Carleton MP.

“That is the absolute worst thing Conservatives could do. That would be an electoral, political and economic disaster for the country if we went down that road. Our goal is not just to fit in with the four socialist parties. Our goal will be to stand out. To stand out as the only voice of taxpayers.”