https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLw7JU7h63U&ab_channel=CTVNews
Pierre Poilievre accuses a parliamentary reporter of being a 'liberal heckler'
https://globalnews.ca/news/9155887/pierre-poilievre-denounces-abuse-against-wife/
Poilievre denounces ‘abuse’ against wife allegedly from Diagolon founder who shook his hand
WATCH: Pierre Poilievre walked down an Ottawa street with a crowd including James Topp, who had previously appeared on an episode of Jeremy Mackenzie's podcast in which the latter described wanting to “bring down the government.” – Jun 30, 2022
In a statement posted on Twitter Monday morning, Poilievre said he had been made aware of “disgusting comments made by Jeremy McKenzie and another man, where they discuss sexually assaulting my wife.”
He called the men “odious” and “losers,” and added he has reported the comments to police.
In the video, a social media account of “Jeremy Mackenzie” can be seen lighting up as the speaker before a man can be heard talking about Anaida Poilievre as he and co-hosts debate her ethnic background, before he goes on to say: “let’s rape her.”
“It’s not really a sex thing, we just want to show people we can do things to you if we want to,” he adds.
Global News attempted to contact Mackenzie on Monday about the threats allegedly made against Anaida Poilievre. No response has yet been received.
The Canadian Press reported Monday afternoon that in an interview with Mackenzie, he said he was drinking when he made the comments and nobody meant any harm by it.
Poilievre said in his statement that he had not known about Diagolon until “about a month ago.”
Global News sent a list of questions to Poilievre’s Conservative leadership campaign back in July, shortly after he attended an anti-COVID public health measures march with a man called James Topp, who had previously appeared on an episode of Mackenzie’s podcast in January in which the latter described wanting to “bring down the government.”
Co-hosts of that episode also described wanting “to assemble the gallows on f—ing Parliament.”
When asked if Poilievre was concerned that supporting figures like Topp who have appeared on Mackenzie’s podcast could be interpreted as support for far-right views, and whether he would denounce comments by Mackenzie’s co-host about wanting to see a gallows on Parliament Hill, Poilievre attacked Global News.
His campaign posted a 238-word statement accusing Global News of being “unprofessional” and attempting to set “disingenuous traps.”
“Your tactic seems to be to demand Mr. Poilievre answer for all the words and deeds of not just everyone he has ever met, but also everyone they have ever met,” his campaign said. “Each of those people is individually responsible for their own words and deeds.”
Poilievre faced questions last month after a photo circulated online showing him shaking Mackenzie’s hand at a campaign event in Nova Scotia. A spokesperson for Poilievre said on Aug. 20 that he has “shaken hands with literally tens of thousands of people at public rallies.”
“It is impossible to do a background check on every single person who attends my events,” Poilievre’s campaign team said in response to Global News’ request for comment on Aug. 20.
“I didn’t and don’t know or recognize this particular individual.”
Over recent weeks, an ongoing torrent of abuse, threats and hate against the journalist in question and other female Canadian journalists covering the far-right has continued to escalate, including from supporters of Diagolon and Mackenzie himself.
“You deserve worse and with the trajectory you’re on, you’ll get it,” Mackenzie tweeted on Aug. 12 about the onslaught of threats against female journalists covering the far-right.
He also urged his thousands of followers: “Hate them as hard as you can.”
His account was suspended shortly after and remains so.
Diagolon took on additional prominence during the convoy blockades earlier this year, particularly the blockade in Coutts, Alta. RCMP said at the time they had become aware of a small, organized group that had “a willingness to use force against the police.”
In a subsequent raid, Mounties uncovered 13 long guns, handguns, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition and body armour. They also found two tactical vests — adorned with what Canadian Anti-Hate Network researchers believe were Diagolon patches.
Mackenzie has denied the patches are affiliated with his group.
Global News obtained the City of Ottawa permit application for the march Poilievre attended alongside Topp last month. Listed as the “primary event contact” on the form was Stephanie McEvoy, a woman who described herself online in social media posts as “pro-ProudBoy.”
The Proud Boys are a listed terrorist entity in Canada.
Poilievre’s campaign did not respond to questions at the time asking if he knew McEvoy was involved.
Topp’s lawyer has served Global News with a complaint about a previous Global News article and indicated that any statement suggesting Topp is a “a member of the far-right” or an “extremist” is false and defamatory.
With files from Global News’ Rachel Gilmore.
James Topp serves Global News with notice of libel over white supremacy claims
Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veteran James Topp has retained a lawyer and has served Global News as well as its parent company Corus Entertainment Inc. with a notice of libel for falsely painting him as a white supremacist.
Topp made headlines when he marched across Canada to protest Covid-19 mandates earlier this year. He is currently facing a court martial after refusing to comply with the CAF’s mandatory vaccination policy.
The notice filed by lawyer David Elmaleh names journalist Rachel Gilmore and her employers. It references an Aug. 18 article titled ‘Good PR’: Why anti-hate experts are urging politicians to step up vetting practices which covers a meeting between Topp and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
“The defamatory article, inclusive of the URL tag, referred to Mr. Topp as a white supremacist, among other things,” the notice reads.
Global News has since changed the URL of the article but originally it included the words “james topp white supremacists far right.”
“(Defendants published this) without providing any evidence supporting their statements,” writes Elmaleh.
“(Those named) also included various ‘tags’ on the defamatory article, further implying that Mr. Topp is a white supremacist, extremist and member of the far right.”
An editor’s note on the article currently states that the URL was revised “to omit a reference to ‘white supremacist’ to avoid any misunderstanding that persons named in the URL are associated with that label.”
“Take notice that Mr. Topp intends to plead that the defamatory words were made deliberately, irresponsibly and with malice,” the claim continues.
“The intended defendants knew that the defamatory words, and the innuendo arising from them, were false, yet expressed them in any event in order to generate headlines, expand the reach of the defamatory article and garner interest from as many members of the public as possible.”
Topp is alleging that the false claims “lowered his reputation, and has caused and will continue to cause reputational and financial harm, along with emotional pain and suffering.”
The notice calls on the named parties to immediately publish an apology on all platforms and warns that Topp will seek damages in future proceedings.
Chris George is an Ottawa-based government affairs advisor and wordsmith, president of CG&A COMMUNICATIONS. Contact: ChrisG.George@gmail.com
LINK: https://niagaraindependent.ca/lament-for-our-post-national-state/
Lament for our post-national state
Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
From his earliest revelations about wanting to transform this country into a post-national state, PM Justin Trudeau and his enablers have been on a mission to hollow out the idea of Canada. There is to be no core identity, no proud history, no mainstream traditions, no sense of belonging. Seven years into his mission, the country marks its 155th birthday with chaotic and politically charged gatherings across the land that, at best, reflect a shaken sense of nationhood; but, perhaps more accurately, they signal Canadians’ social contract has been forsook.
Whether it’s the PM’s response to the truckers or the Liberals embrace of the World Economic Forum’s agenda, Canadian editorialists and political pundits now openly debate the damage being done by the Trudeau Government’s constant undermining of the Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights, its destabilization of the country’s resource economy, and the rewriting of Canada’s history to shame our cultural and societal legacies.
Andrew Coyne’s commentary this week in the Globe and Mail identifies “the vacuum at the centre of Canadian politics” with politicians degrading and disregarding “obligations to common sense, or the ordinary routines of democratic politics, or the rule of law.” Independent journalist Matt Gurney suggests our lack of political leadership has Canadians settling for mediocrity. Numerous columnists including William Gairdner are documenting how the government has morphed from soft socialism to soft totalitarianism. Some like Rupa Subramanya and Warren Kinsella often write on the perverse nature of Trudeau’s authoritarian kleptocracy.
So, this day’s scenes of unrest in the Nation’s Capital and its various cross-country protests against the celebration of “Canada” speak directly to the crisis of our nationhood’s legitimacy, a crisis that is continuously being stoked by the Trudeau Government. Trudeau’s ceaseless use of wedge politics has effectively eroded Canadians’ trust and faith in one another. The PM and his operatives do not let a single opportunity pass by without virtue signaling a division between Canadians. Case in point is most recently when Trudeau and his senior ministers infused the U.S. political maelstrom on abortion into Canada’s public debate, purposefully to 1) embolden his progressive base, and 2) highlight the moral and political divides on this contentious issue.
In the Financial Post, Joe Oliver offers his Lament for a misgoverned nation: “As they prepare to celebrate their country’s 155th birthday, Canadians are suffering at the hands of a divisive, incompetent government that has undermined prosperity, freedom, parliamentary responsibility, the independence of institutions, national unity and our country’s global standing.”
From the deluge of hapless news coming out of Ottawa these days, it seems that the very fabric of our nation is threadbare. Consider how these situations will end.
Canadians are being told there has been no impropriety or “undue influence” exercised with the latest scandalous news that RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki “made a promise” to Public Safety Minister Bill Blair and the Prime Minister’s Office to use the mass murders in Nova Scotia to help pass the Liberals gun control law. Senior Mounties have exposed the political power play. Yet, the same people who caused the obstruction of justice scandals involving Jody-Wilson-Raybould and SNC Lavalin, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, and the WE Charity payouts, claim the senior Mounties are fabricating their story.
Canadians are now camping out for days in front of federal government offices with hopes that they might get their passports in time for their summer and fall vacations. To address the snake-like lineups moving at glacier speed, PM Trudeau announced a 13-member ministerial taskforce committee that (in his words) “will help guide the work of the government to better meet the changing needs of Canadians and continue to provide them with the high-quality services they need and deserve.” The committee will begin meeting in early July.
Inflation last month hit almost 7.7 per cent, the highest it has been in 40 years when the current PM’s father was PM. Unfortunately, the Trudeau Liberals now know nothing more of how to handle runaway inflation as the Trudeau Liberals did then. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s latest budget included more fiscal stimulus, more debt, more regulation and more taxes. Recall, she appeared beside the Bank of Canada governor to pronounce inflation was “transitory.” Recently, when asked about government actions to tamper inflationary pressures, she claimed the government has “done enough already.” In another interview when asked about the frustrations Canadians are experiencing with rising prices, Freeland offered “it is okay to be mad.”
Gas pump prices in Canada continue to climb causing increasing strain for daily commuters, suburban families, and commercial drivers. Though Canadians are being told this is a global pressure in part caused by Russia, the fact is our country has the highest and highest-rising prices of any oil-developing nation. In comparing pump prices in Niagara Falls, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York the gap has widened to more than 33 per cent more per litre. (News Thursday from an internal Department of Environment report tells us that new regulatory taxes on gas to be imposed July 1, 2023 will have a direct impact on prices by as much as 36 cents per litre.) The Americans are considering tax relief for motorists; any type of gas tax relief is something the Trudeau government has repeatedly rejected.
More horrors were reported from Ukraine this week when missiles hit residential buildings in Kiev and one missile struck a shopping centre, killing 16 and injuring over 40. While this news shook the world, PM Trudeau was hamming it up at the G7 meetings in Germany, mocking Vladimir Putin and photos of him bare-chested horseback riding. The Canadian PM had nothing more to offer his colleagues at the NATO summit. In the past couple of years, it is evident Canada has been marginalized in international affairs – left out of AUKUS, no mention with the QUAD Alliance, and our diplomats are MIA in any discussions of defending Ukraine. Still our Trudeau Government boasts its hashtag diplomacy: #IStandWithUkraine.
Finally, consider the news that Canada Day in Winnipeg has been replaced with “New Day” celebrations, a solemn statement to support Indigenous rights and to stand with those who hold grievances against Canada as a nation. Queen’s University professor Bruce Pardy makes this observation in an Epoch Times article, “The cancellation and renaming of Canada Day… reflects a kind of cultural self-hate that has gripped the body politic in Canada.”
Professor Pardy homes in on the sobering significance, “Our institutions have embraced the premises of critical theory, an anti-Western ideology that insists that Canada and other Western nations are fundamentally unjust, systemically racist, oppressive, and destructive… the most serious threat to Canada may be its conditioned disgust with its own history and traditions.”
So, returning to Joe Oliver’s column and his use of the adjective “misgoverned”. Oliver assumes the Trudeau Government is rudderless and unfocused when, in fact, there is plenty of evidence what is at play here is more than incompetence. On this Canada Day, Parliament Hill is off-limits. The PM is insulting “those people” again, purposefully dividing and erasing the idea that we should celebrate our country.
Oh Canada, this is lamentable.
About Chris George
Public Affairs Advisor, Issue Manager, and Writer
Chris George offers discreet counsel, attentive issue management, and reliable communications support services. For more than 25 years, Chris has provided his advocacy expertise to organizations, interest groups and businesses. He has served as lead public affairs advisor to CEOs/Presidents, Boards of Directors and senior executive teams, as well as professionals looking to raise their profile and manage their reputation.
Learn more about CG&A Communications by visiting the website @ www.cgacommunications.com and reading the posts in the CG&A COMM Reflections.
Contact: 613-983-0801 or e-mail cgacomm@gmail.com.
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