Free Republic

The leaders of Canada’s “Freedom Convoy” are facing up to eight years in prison, an “abusive” sentencing recommendation critics are ripping as “political vengeance.” Tamara Lich and Chris Barber sat in an Ottawa courtroom for their sentencing hearings this week after being found guilty in April of mischief for organizing the trucker protest against then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ultra-strict vaccine mandate. The protest paralyzed the Great White North’s capital for three weeks in 2022. The Crown is seeking seven years for Lich, 51, of Alberta, and eight for Barber, of Saskatchewan — who was also found guilty of counseling...

The Republican’s transphobic policies are sparking panic among LGBTQ+ people, triggering a 10-fold increase in asylum applications so far this year. “In the first 24 hours after Trump’s re-election, we received 1,177 requests for assistance from the United States. Fifty-one percent of these requests were from trans people: 35% from trans women, 16% from trans men,” says Timothy Chan, spokesperson for Rainbow Railroad, an NGO with offices in Canada and the U.S. that helps LGBTQ+ people experiencing persecution and violence start a life in another country. Panicked by a government that threatens their civil rights, many LGBTQ+ Americans, especially trans...

Five Canadian ice hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman have all been acquitted by an Ontario judge in a case that has been closely watched in Canada. In a packed courtroom on Thursday, Justice Maria Carroccia reviewed testimony and evidence from the eight-week trial over several hours before declaring the men not guilty. The former players for Canada's world junior hockey team were accused of assaulting the woman, known as EM, in a hotel room in 2018 in London, Ontario, where they had been attending a Hockey Canada gala. Justice Carroccia said she did not find EM's evidence...

Eva Chipiuk, a lawyer known for her involvement in the Freedom Convoy and vocal criticism of Canadian institutions, has been blindsided after the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) terminated its banking relationship with her, citing risk-related concerns. According to an official letter the banking institution sent to Chipiuk, her “recent activity was outside of RBC’s client risk appetite,” and it would “no longer be in a position to continue serving her.” The bank has given her until August 18, 2025, to find an alternative financial institution. Chipiuk says the move came after a flagged transaction involving a bitcoin purchase. “The...

Countless truckers gathered for the 2022 Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, forming a gridlock, with a clear agenda and request to repeal all COVID mandates. The protest was peaceful and no one was injured. They fought on behalf of the world at a time when the global population was imprisoned by mandates that were later revealed to be falsified without any scientific backing. Then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau evoked the 1988 Emergencies Act, which is intended for an “urgent and critical situation” that “seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians.” Deeming a peaceful protest an act of terrorism is...

From Auschwitz to Abortion: The Tragedy of Henry Morgentaler It has long haunted me how Henry Morgentaler, sometimes referred to as Canada’s “father of abortion,” survived Nazi concentration camps only to go on to perpetrate similar horrors against the smallest and most vulnerable members of the human family: preborn children. How did a Jewish Holocaust survivor from Poland—someone who endured the worst of man’s inhumanity to man at the infamous Nazi camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau and later Dachau—go on to dehumanize and destroy tens of thousands of preborn human beings, robbing them of their most fundamental right: the right to life?...

More than 100 aid agencies and rights groups, including Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders, warned on Wednesday that “mass starvation” was spreading across Gaza, adding to calls for Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave. The joint statement is the latest attempt to draw attention to a growing hunger crisis in Gaza. It was released after the European Union and at least 28 governments, including Israeli allies like Britain, France and Canada, on Monday condemned the “drip feeding of aid” and said that civilian suffering had “reached new depths.” Doctors Without Borders in Gaza...

The preliminary agreement suggests there is a path forward to lowering the auto duties on other major trading partners, as well.President Donald Trump’s “massive” trade deal with Japan is buoying foreign carmakers — and alarming American car companies who fear they are now at a disadvantage.Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on all foreign auto manufacturers in early April, a duty that also applies to cars made by U.S. companies from parts imported from Mexico and Canada. But now, the president is planning to lower the tariff to 15 percent for Japanese autos and auto parts, the White House confirmed...

Following a day of talks focused on domestic issues, such as bail reform and health transfers, Canada’s premiers are wrapping up their three-day gathering in Muskoka presenting a united front in the ever-looming threat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. “We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said during a post-meeting press conference. “What’s happened is that the pressing threats that Donald Trump has made to our economy have meant that instead of occupying all of our meetings and squeezing out conversations about bail reform and immigration, we’ve been meeting a...

Microsoft warns patched systems remain vulnerable as attackers find new ways to infiltrate SharePoint servers. Microsoft has issued a critical warning about Chinese state-backed hackers exploiting security flaws in its SharePoint software. These vulnerabilities have been used to compromise a growing list of government agencies and private organizations worldwide, including the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). In a detailed blog post, Microsoft identified three hacking groups with ties to China. The groups, known as Linen Typhoon, Violet Typhoon, and Storm-2603, are believed to have taken advantage of SharePoint weaknesses that mainly affect customers who operate the software on their...

Toronto police say a 14-year-old boy has been charged with second-degree murder after stabbing a 71-year-old grandmother, Shahnaz Pestonja, in a parking lot while she was trying to load her groceries. Pestonji was rushed to an area hospital following the attack but ultimately succumbed to her injuries. Police described the attack as “unprovoked.” Although the suspect fled from the area, police announced the arrest after a “coordinated effort by multiple units.” A video the accused allegedly shared on social media, which has not been confirmed, relayed “excuses” for his monstrous act and might also have helped locate the suspect. Shahnaz...

The big problem with writing an adulatory story about someone is when you have to leave out a highly important fact that would completely upend the very premise of your fable. Such was the case with Simon van Zuylen-Wood singing high praises for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as somehow leading the resistance against President Donald Trump in his country. Mr. van Zuylen-Wood set the adoration scene of Carney early in his New York magazine story on Monday in "The Canadians Are Furious."

We need time to get our economic house in order before letting in more peopleConservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has long recognized what the Liberals have only started to acknowledge: immigration levels in Canada are too high and unsustainable. He has a plan to get things back under control, and it’s a sensible political strategy to take. Poilievre suggested a new immigration policy for the Conservatives in June. “We want severe limits on population growth to reverse the damage the Liberals did to our system,” he said at a press conference last month. “The population has been growing out of control,...

Key Points and Summary on Canada and F-35 – After a quarter-century of debate, Canada is in the final, critical phase of deciding the future of its F-35 fighter jet program. A comprehensive government review, expected by the end of summer 2025, will determine whether the nation proceeds with the full purchase of 88 stealth fighters.

Most Canadians want the government to take a “hard approach” in negotiations for a trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump as he threatens to slap a 35-per-cent tariff on products by Aug. 1, a new survey suggests. “For Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Canadian negotiating team, the approach appears to centre on keeping their head down rather than their elbows up,” according to the Angus Reid Institute in a report about the survey released Tuesday. “Canadians appear to want more push back.” Three-in-five respondents said Canada should take a “hard approach,” at 63 per cent, rather than a...

All detainees had previously attempted illegal border crossings and are now awaiting deportation proceedings.. A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman confirmed Tuesday that five Iranians were arrested while attempting to illegally cross the U.S. northern border with Canada. "On July 1, Border Patrol Agents from the Champlain, New York Station, responded to suspicious activity near Mooers Forks, NY," CBP's Swanton Sector said on Facebook. "Agents located a minivan occupied by five citizens of Iran and two citizens of Uzbekistan." The Champlain Station is part of the Swanton Sector. Swanton is a rural town in Vermont near Highway 89 just...

In October of 2023, the government of Saskatchewan passed Bill 137, otherwise known as “The Parent’s Bill of Rights”. The law prevents children under the age of 16 from changing their names or pronouns at school without a parent’s consent. The bill also allows parents to prohibit their children from receiving sexual education at school. When the bill first passed, education minister Jeremy Cockrill shared in a statement that parents have the right to know what is being taught at their child’s school. “The Parents’ Bill of Rights’ is an inclusionary policy that ensures that parents are at the forefront...

30 new cases reported in Alberta over the weekendAlberta has now confirmed more measles cases than the entire United States has reported this year. The province has been battling outbreaks since March and as of noon Monday, total case counts in the province had ballooned to 1,314. The latest update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that country has amassed 1,288 cases this year. "Looking at the numbers it saddens me," said Dr. Sam Wong, the president of the section of pediatrics with the Alberta Medical Association. "I think if we had gotten to it sooner...

It's another curveball in the Canada-US trade war - a new missive by US Donald Trump threatening an unexpected 35% tariff on Canadian goods starting next month. It came as the two countries engage in intense trade talks meant to produce a new deal in the coming days, and what the latest tariff threat means for these negotiations is unclear. But Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney, is beginning to face questions over whether he is able to stand up to Trump and secure the fair deal for Canada he promised. Carney won April's general election vowing to keep his...

Woke Canada keeps descending into pure madness, led by the Globalist Liberal party. Justin Trudeau is out, Mark Carney is in, but the dystopian developments continue unabated. For the canucks in power, it is progressive to defend mass migration, abortion and euthanasia, transgender dysphoria, ‘net zero’ and the church of climate change… the list is endless. But, of course, the majority of normal people in Canada need to be kept in check by their Liberal overlords, so common, ordinary behavior needs to be vilified. So now, warnings by Canadian Police arise that ‘people with traditional values could be extremists’. The...