The conversation then turns to British Columbia. David Eby has called an election of opportunity, trying to justify it with Donald Trump’s tariff threats, but Fanarredha argues this just distracts from problems at home. Crime. Homelessness. The opioid crisis. Healthcare. The economy.

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Immigration is another major focus of the episode. Canada has brought in large numbers of TFWs and international students. But how can housing, healthcare, infrastructure and the job market keep up? The episode examines the pressures and the questions facing governments and the people.

The labour market is also under pressure. Fanarredha points to a Costco job fair in Windsor to highlight the competition facing young Canadians. Youth unemployment is a growing concern, as are stagnant wages and the rising cost of living.

Finally, Fanarredha looks at the overall state of the healthcare system in Canada, focusing on the story of a cancer survivor who — feeling they had no choice — left Canada for treatment in the United States.

“Why have we accepted this mediocrity?” Fanarredha asks.

The episode ultimately comes back to accountability. Canadians are facing mounting pressures on multiple fronts. This episode’s discussion asks what it will take for Canadians to demand better for future generations.

“We want to leave a better country for our children… We shouldn’t accept mediocrity. We can do better. We have to do better.”

Watch the latest episode of Sonduren Uncensored

Nine Islamic schools across Canada have increased security after receiving an anonymous email threatening to kill Muslims, just days after a shooting at an Ontario synagogue and the arrest of a Whitby man accused of threatening another.

The Muslim Association of Canada says the same email reached several schools in Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec over a 24-hour period this week.

The message, signed “Citizen Vigilante,” threatened the “slaughter” of Muslims and said Canada would become “Islam free,” according to the letter shared with The Canadian Press.

Police forces in multiple jurisdictions are investigating.

Peel Regional Police said Friday that its hate crime unit is investigating a letter containing “hate-motivated threats” against Islamic institutions. Officers have increased patrols near mosques and schools.

Police in London and Waterloo Region are also investigating threatening emails.

Ottawa police said there was no indication of a “specific or imminent threat” but have increased their presence at affected locations.

The threats to Islamic schools come just days following two separate attacks on Ontario synagogues during Yom Kippur.

On September 18, Durham Regional Police received information from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation about online messages threatening a shooting at a synagogue in Durham Region.

Officers searched a Whitby home the next day and arrested Alexander Parfitt, 19. He was charged with threats motivated by hate, and Durham police increased patrols around Jewish places of worship.

The allegation has not been proven in court.

Then, on the evening of September 20, a gunman opened fire on an officer stationed outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville as worshippers attended Yom Kippur services. Constable Jeff Smith was shot multiple times, but no worshippers were injured.

Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd said Thursday that investigators had determined the shooting was a deliberate, hate-motivated attack on the Jewish community.

The gunman, identified as 29-year-old Sean Ward, later died of his injuries.

Muslim Association of Canada spokesperson Nabil Sultan told reporters that the organization has hired paid security. He said the organization has received threatening emails before, but threats to their schools are new.

“The targeting of children, the targeting of schools, in that kind of way is something that shook us to our core,” Sultan said.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree called the threats “deeply disturbing,” saying every child deserves to learn in safety.

Police have not identified who sent the threatening emails to Islamic schools.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Health Minister, Marjorie Michel, has reportedly denied rumours that the Liberal government intends to drop a Trudeau-era commercial ban on nicotine pouches but admits that the ban isn’t stopping contraband products from entering Canada online.

When asked about reports that the Carney government might relax some of its nicotine pouch restrictions at the beginning of the month, Health Canada did not respond to Juno News’ requests for comment. Similarly, on Friday, Juno News requests to confirm the reports were ignored.

According to a Canadian Press article released Wednesday, however, Michel said she’s not considering changing regulations restricting nicotine pouch sales, despite her agency’s study showing that some Canadians have used the products to successfully quit smoking tobacco.

The now over-two-year-old ban restricting the commercial sale of nicotine pouches relegates the product often used as a smoke-cessation tool to pharmacy sales, which critics argue makes nicotine pouches less legally available.

Michel reportedly said she was not “considering” returning the ability to sell nicotine pouches to convenience store owners but acknowledged that nicotine pouches such as Zyn’s were still prevalent in the Canadian market despite the ban.

She also noted that the “failure to enforce” the regulations puts Carney’s government in a “very tricky situation” and opens the door to “weakening regulations,” but insists that that flaw in the system is what “industry” exploits.

Former RCMP experts on contraband tobacco have warned that blanket bans on tobacco products widen black markets where health regulations are lacking and the proceeds of which often fund organized crime.

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Author: Jonathan Barazzutti, C2C Journal

The Centre for Heterodox Social Sciences (CHSS) annual conference in Buckingham, England, this past summer brought together hundreds of academics from around the world to discuss the malign impact that woke policies and attitudes are having on their universities – what many have called the Great Awokening.

But unlike most events of this nature, the mood was upbeat and positive.

The Great Awokening has deeply damaged Western universities. The most obvious proof is the vast supply of DEI offices that oversee the exclusion of certain applicants, most often white males, from school job postings.

Other telltales include research agendas obsessed with gender and race and the acceptance that certain views should be banned from campus. This narrowing of opinions together with outright discrimination and censorship has deeply eroded the moral authority and research capabilities of higher education throughout the West.

Despite such a surfeit of bad news, however, Canadian academic and CHSS founder Eric Kaufmann used the Buckingham conference to create a “post-progressive agenda” meant to push back against wokism and reclaim merit and openness on campus. “Let’s Get Started!” he told the crowd. And while there’s a long way to go, conference attendees discussed many encouraging ways in which wokism is now being rolled back.

The most common form of pushback can be seen in new seminars and courses being created that deliberately expose students to a broad range of opinions.

For example, the University of Toronto’s Victoria College offers students a weekly lunchtime seminar that forces participants to engage in difficult or controversial topics rather than simply demanding that opposing views be cancelled.

At the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, Renaud-Philippe Garner and Brad Epperly created a new course called “Dangerous Ideas” that similarly requires students to grapple with complicated issues. Interestingly, students are randomly assigned various positions, so it is impossible to pass the course without considering both sides of many hot-button topics.

At a broader level, some schools are renaming or shutting down their DEI offices. While this may be merely performative in some cases, it still points to the fact that officially sanctioned discrimination is no longer universally popular.

Universities are also rediscovering the long-lost notion of institutional neutrality. This requires school administrators to abstain from entering political debates not directly related to their own operations.

Institutional neutrality has become an important force across many U.S. universities. And while it is less prevalent in Canada, it is growing.

Another avenue for change lies in programs that bring together dissenting scholars from different schools. The Heterodox Academy, founded by well-known social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, promotes open inquiry and intellectual diversity throughout academia, allowing members to network and share ideas.

Kaufmann’s CHSS, located at the University of Buckingham and with members worldwide, is another important component in this process. In an interview, Kaufmann explained that he created the CHSS “to promote viewpoint diversity and really ask the questions and pursue the viewpoints that have been either actively discouraged or shut down in mainstream academia.”

He argues that the creation of institutions such as the CHSS capable of producing original research is crucial to bringing down the woke regime.

“I’m relatively pessimistic about the mainstream system being able to change,” he said. “I think the only way to do this is to have separate centres…that can create entire atmospheres that are non-progressive.”

The deep-seated nature of woke ideas suggests that many universities are unlikely to change on their own. Kaufmann and others at the conference agreed that some form of external or political pressure will probably be needed to complete the process.

The strongest example of this comes from Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis has enacted a suite of legislation designed to rebalance the state’s education system. This includes shutting down DEI offices and forbidding the imposition of ideological positions on students and faculty.

In Canada, there is much less action on this front, although both Ontario and Alberta now require free speech mandates from their universities. Unfortunately, neither of these policies includes a functional enforcement mechanism to ensure students or faculty who’ve had their speech rights infringed by mobs or school administrators are properly protected. There’s certainly more work to be done.

The final option for removing the scourge of institutionalized academic Marxism is a root-and-branch rethink of the entire concept of a university. The most ambitious example of this clean-slate approach is the University of Austin at Texas (UATX), which markets itself as having “the fairest and most honest admissions in America.”

The school’s race-neutral entrance requirements are based entirely on test scores. As with any new offering, UATX has faced some growing pains. Still, it offers the most ambitious and comprehensive solution to the Great Awokening — bypassing the tired old education model to create something entirely new.

As the CHSS conference heard, there are many different ways to push back against wokism and restore credibility to the university system. This pressure can come from both internal and external sources. It may be incremental, or it can involve dramatic change. Regardless, bringing sanity back to campus will never be a quick fix. The seeds of wokism were sown over many decades, and its roots and vines are now deeply entrenched.

But however long it takes, this process is vitally necessary if universities are to reclaim their historical role as places that offer the freedom to engage in the truest and most important form of diversity — diversity of thought.

Jonathan Barazzutti is a graduate student in Economics at the University of Toronto.

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Nearly 1,000 prayer or “quiet” rooms have been designated across federal buildings, according to newly tabled documents, following an earlier push for religious accommodations for Muslim public servants.

Cabinet disclosed 934 prayer or “quiet” rooms in response to an Order Paper question from Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux, who asked how many such spaces exist on federal premises.

The total does not include another 306 rooms at passport and Employment Insurance offices managed by Employment and Social Development Canada and accessible to the public, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

Federal departments stressed that many of the rooms are multipurpose spaces rather than dedicated religious facilities.

“These spaces are available to all employees and may be used for a range of purposes including private conversations, quiet reflection, prayer and informal collaboration,” Transport Canada said.

The department, which reported 63 such spaces, said rooms are not categorized according to whether they are used for prayer, wellness or other quiet activities.

Health Canada reported 101 rooms but similarly said it does not maintain specifically designated prayer rooms.

“Health Canada does not have specifically categorized prayer rooms,” the department said. “Isolated, enclosed rooms are categorized as wellness rooms or quiet rooms.”

The Public Prosecution Service reported 31 spaces, saying “all quiet rooms can also be used as prayer rooms,” while the Privy Council Office reported 21.

The disclosure follows an earlier campaign by Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s former Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, advocating greater religious accommodation for Muslim federal employees. Her position was abolished in February 2026 and replaced with a broader federal advisory council on rights, equality and inclusion.

In workplace material previously obtained through Access to Information, Elghawaby argued that barriers to religious accommodation could constitute workplace Islamophobia.

“Islamophobia in the workplace looks like many things,” she wrote. “It can manifest when Muslim employees face challenges in accessing reasonable accommodations for religious practices such as prayer breaks, fasting during Ramadan or dress code requirements.”

About two per cent of federal employees identified as Muslim in the 2024 data cited in the records.

Documents previously reported by Blacklock’s showed Elghawaby’s office was also preparing correspondence to deputy ministers concerning issues raised by the Muslim Federal Employees Network.

A Managers’ Guide To Supporting Muslim Employees produced by the network said Muslims have five obligatory daily prayers and that as many as three can fall during a standard 9-to-5 workday.

“Prayers must be performed within their allocated time periods which vary day to day,” the guide said, adding that prayer breaks typically take between 10 and 15 minutes.

The guide also advised managers about Islamic practices involving physical contact, saying “physical contact between opposite sexes unless married or closely related is forbidden.”

Elghawaby publicly promoted religious accommodation during her tenure. In 2024, she praised VIA Rail for piloting a contemplation space at its Ottawa station for passengers and employees who wanted a designated place to pray or meditate, calling it “a win for diversity and inclusion.”

Her former office was established in 2023 following deadly attacks targeting Muslims in Canada.

When Elghawaby left the position in February, she said its work had focused on ensuring Muslim Canadians could live with “dignity and equality.” The federal government thanked her for helping advance its efforts against Islamophobia and other forms of hate.

The newly disclosed figures do not establish that all 934 spaces were created as Muslim prayer rooms or as a result of Elghawaby’s advocacy. Departments explicitly described many of them as multipurpose quiet or wellness spaces that employees can also use for prayer.

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Vote Palestine, an organization pegged by NGOs as having glorified listed terrorist organizations, has been caught saying that the Quebec election is a great opportunity for them to “create a crisis for the political establishment” and pressure candidates to take a stand on Palestine.

The coalition is now demanding measures including closing Quebec’s Tel Aviv office, providing health coverage to Gazans and divesting the province’s pension fund from companies tied to Israel’s military.

According to one speaker at a September launch webinar, “Elections are truly strategic moments when we can create a crisis for the political establishment and force candidates to take a stand on Palestine, since they’re more susceptible to pressure.” Keep reading.

An award-winning Jewish journalist at the CBC was also conspicuously taken off the air after recording an anti-Israel mob outside a synagogue service in Toronto during Yom Kippur.

However, when asked whether his filming of the anti-Israel protesters — which he says were “trying to taunt and intimidate” worshipers — was the reason he was apparently disciplined, the CBC wouldn’t comment. Keep reading.

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A citizen petition is now calling on the government to investigate and deport all agents of the Islamic Republic operating in Canada and pass new laws banning the glorification of terrorism.

The petition, created by 18-year-old Daniel Pinsk, aims to expel IRGC agents in Canada in an effort to protect Canada’s Jewish and Iranian populations amid escalating attacks on both, especially in the wake of back-to-back shootings targeting synagogues and Iranian-owned businesses.

It has since been sponsored by Conservative Party Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman. Keep reading.

A 45-year-old man, Ousmane Bah, from Quebec was also arrested by the RCMP on Friday for threatening to harm the Prime Minister and White people more generally, whom he blames for a death in his family.

The charges were laid on Friday. According to police, the charges were for “uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm to a person” and for “willfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group,” making him potentially the first person in Canada to be explicitly charged for hatred against White people. Keep reading.

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On today’s episode of Straight Up with Marc Patrone, political commentator Leo Knight joins to speak on the state of B.C. politics and the risks Eby may be taking by calling an early election given his track record.

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The discussion looks at the Conservatives’ recent leadership turmoil, the departure of Kerry-Lynne Findlay, and the installation of interim leader Lorne Doerkson.

Knight also points out divisions within the B.C. NDP and misgivings over Eby’s time as Premier. Specifically, he points to the province’s $13.8-billion projected deficit and a range of provincial issues as potential challenges for the government, along with other significant shortcomings in infrastructure and housing.

Our discussion then turns to the federal implications of the B.C. election and how it might impact Prime Minister Mark Carney’s ability to maintain his slim parliamentary majority and whether this might influence Carney’s thinking about calling an early federal election of his own.

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The Royal Canadian mounted police have arrested and charged a 45-year-old male resident of Québec City over Facebook posts where he threatened to murder Prime Minister Mark Carney and White people more generally, blaming them for a death in his family.

The RCMP announced on Friday that its Eastern Region policing division had arrested and laid charges against Ousmane Bah for “uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm to a person” and for “willfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group,” making him potentially the first person in Canada to be charged for hatred against White people.

A look at Bah’s Facebook page shows that the man blamed all White people for the alleged actions of some individuals and the federal government for the alleged mishandling of a case that he says resulted in the death of a family member.

Bah then threatened to kill King Charles III, Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner, Prime Minister Mark Carney and, in another post, seemingly “the first White people” he sees as “the only solution”.

“White people invited themselves into my family: my mother Aminata Bah has become very very sick, I informed the Federal Court [translated],” he said in a post on Facebook in French. “From now on ... Eye for Eye is the only solution, dead for death of King Charles 3 + Richard Wagner’s death + Mark Carney’s death [translated]”.

In another post, he accused the Court of Quebec, Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette, Carney, Wagner, and the King of Canada of “committing murders in my family.”

He also blamed White people for him losing his 20-year career.

“Whites invited themselves to kill my father in Mid-2006… I should have my revenge on the first white people murder [translated],” he said in French.

Other posts from Bah show him calling leaders of other countries “Adolf Hitler”, and he showed that the Federal Court of Appeal had rejected a complaint he filed against “His Majesty the King.”

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Organizers of Votons Palestine described the Quebec election as a chance to “create a crisis for the political establishment” and pressure candidates to take a stand on Palestine.

“Elections are truly strategic moments when we can create a crisis for the political establishment and force candidates to take a stand on Palestine, since they’re more susceptible to pressure,” one speaker said during the campaign’s September 8 launch webinar, according to the supplied English transcript.

The coalition wants Quebec to close its office in Tel Aviv, provide provincial health coverage to Gazans who arrived on a special federal visa, and press the province’s pension fund to sell investments in companies the organizers say support Israel’s military actions or occupation.

It also wants Quebec-made military equipment kept from reaching Israel. Arms export permits are issued by the federal government.

During the webinar, Boutaïna Chafi advised supporters that some candidates might refuse a conversation as soon as they heard the word “Palestine,” suggesting they may wish to open with “international business issues” instead.

Chafi is described on the Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East website as “an active organizer in the Palestinian Youth Movement.”

The coalition includes Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), Greenpeace, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Fermons le bureau de la honte and Désinvestir pour la Palestine.

Federal corporate records list the same Montreal office suite as the registered address for IJV and CJPME.

Webinar speakers described the Quebec campaign as building on earlier federal and Montreal municipal Vote Palestine campaigns.

Of the 362 federal candidates who signed the Vote Palestine pledge, only 25 were elected. In Quebec, 40 Québec solidaire candidates have been reported to have endorsed all four Votons Palestine demands.

Three members of the Votons Palestine coalition appear in a 2024 NGO Monitor report mapping Canadian groups that it says have glorified listed terrorist organizations and regularly worked in coalition with Samidoun — these include the Palestinian Youth Movement, Independent Jewish Voices, and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.

In October 2024, Canada listed Samidoun as a terrorist entity after the report was published. The federal government referred to Samidoun’s close links to listed terrorist organizations, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

While the Palestinian Youth Movement describes itself as an independent movement organizing Palestinian and Arab youth, NGO Monitor is concerned about what it calls “a blatant lack of transparency regarding the funding sources” of organizations in this network.

In August 2025, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate PYM’s funding and tax-exempt donations, citing its events with Samidoun and statements he said supported terrorist groups.

Juno News requested comment CJPME, PYM, IJV, and the Votons Palestine campaign.

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A cell tower could soon be proposed and built near your home without anyone having to tell you.

At least, that is one of the changes Ottawa is considering as it looks to speed up the construction of wireless infrastructure across Canada.

The federal government says its proposed overhaul of cell tower siting rules would reduce the regulatory burden on companies building towers. Frank Clegg, chairman and CEO of Canadians for Safe Technology, says the price could be paid by residents who lose their chance to speak up.

“One of the biggest changes is they are proposing that there’s no notice that needs to be given if the cell tower is less than 15 metres in height,” Clegg told Juno News in an interview.

An exemption for towers under 15 metres already exists, but telecommunications operators, third-party tower owners, and broadcasters cannot currently use it.

Ottawa is considering extending it to those companies, allowing qualifying towers to proceed without public notice or consultation with the local land-use authority, usually a municipality.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) is also asking whether 15 metres is the right cutoff.

For towers that still require consultation, the government proposes replacing municipal tower-siting processes with a single national process. A sign at the proposed site would direct people to information on an online portal.

Residents with questions would contact the company proposing the tower.

Municipalities would have 45 calendar days to say whether they agree or object. If they do neither, ISED proposes treating the tower as approved. The department also plans to define which concerns would count as valid grounds for a municipal objection.

Clegg worries a council could miss that deadline before it has had a proper chance to examine a proposal.

“Local towns and councils, they don’t even meet every 21 days,” he said while discussing a shorter deadline that he says Bell has requested. “It’s possible this tower notice could go up before the council even has a chance to meet.” Bell’s reported request has not been independently verified for this article.

Clegg acknowledged that municipalities do not have the final say over federally regulated towers. Their role, he said, is to raise concerns and work with companies on a suitable location. In his experience, that discussion can result in a tower going ahead at a different site.

Better coverage matters, particularly in rural communities. Clegg said his group is not asking Ottawa to stop building towers.

“We’re not saying don’t expand the cell tower network,” he said. “What we’re saying is you don’t eliminate anybody’s right to give you feedback and say, look, maybe there’s a better way to do this.”

The changes to tower siting remain under consultation. ISED has extended the deadline for replies to submissions until October 6. The outcome of the consultation will determine how much notice neighbours receive, how long municipalities have to respond, and how readily a company can proceed when no objection arrives.

Bell, Rogers, Telus, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities did not respond to a request for comment.

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Parks Canada has confirmed that an active investigation is ongoing after a natural stone in Banff’s protected national Park was vandalized.

An image began circulating online of the boulder with several names on it, most of which seemed to be of Indian origin, appearing to be signed on September 18, 2026.

On Friday, Parks Canada confirmed with Juno News that the natural park preservation department was investigating the graffiti and warned that graffiti on natural objects in protected parks is considered illegal.

“Parks Canada is aware of images circulating online that show graffiti near the Devil’s Thumb in the Lake Louise area of Banff National Park,” a spokesperson for Parks Canada told Juno News in an email. “The matter is currently under investigation.”

The spokesperson warned that “destroying or damaging natural objects like rocks, trees and plants is strictly prohibited in national parks.”

“National parks are shared spaces, and visitor actions matter. Graffiti on rocks is considered damage to a natural object and is illegal under Section 10 of the Canada National Park Act General Regulations,” the spokesman said. “Violators may be required to appear in court and could face fines of up to $25,000.”

He also urged anyone with information that may assist with the investigation to contact Banff Dispatch at 403‑762‑1470.

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Chiang and Joe Tay are both candidates for one of Markham’s four regional councillor seats in the Oct. 26 municipal election.

Chiang represented Markham–Unionville as a Liberal MP from 2021 until Parliament was dissolved in 2025. During the subsequent federal campaign, reports surfaced that Chiang had suggested someone could take Tay to the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto and collect a HK$1-million bounty.

Tay is a Canadian citizen and outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party.

Hong Kong police issued an arrest warrant for Tay in December 2024 under the territory’s national security law. Authorities also offered a HK$1-million reward for information leading to his arrest.

The Canadian government condemned the bounty as an attempt at transnational repression.

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Besides the $82 million for ocean monitoring, it was revealed this week that

Chiang made the remarks during a Chinese-language media event in January 2025, when Tay was seeking the Conservative nomination in Markham–Unionville. The comments became widely known after the federal election campaign began.

Chiang later apologized and described his remarks as “deplorable.” He stepped aside as the Liberal candidate on March 31, 2025, after the RCMP confirmed it was examining the matter following a complaint. The outcome of that examination remains unclear.

Tay has said the remarks placed him and his family in danger. His wife, Angie Tay, told Juno News that the consequences continue to affect them.

“Shortly after his comment went public, the RCMP showed up at our door to inform us they had intercepted a credible threat against Joe’s life,” she said.

“To this day, whenever we run into him at events, I cannot stop thinking about the trauma he brought into our lives.”

Chiang’s current campaign material highlights his 28-year policing career and former service as an MP. It does not mention the controversy that ended his 2025 campaign.

Chiang did not respond to Juno News’ request for comment.

Markham voters will now decide whether to return Chiang to public office or elect Tay to the same regional council seat.

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A Hamilton, Ontario, man convicted of sexual offences against a 15 year old after following her onto a dark trail has failed in his bid for a shorter jail sentence that would preserve his right to appeal a potential deportation order

Harpreet Singh, 30, a permanent resident originally from Punjab, India, was convicted in the Ontario Court of Justice of sexual interference, making sexually explicit material available to a child for the purpose of facilitating sexual interference, and exposing himself to a person under 16 for a sexual purpose.

Singh sought a sentence of 182 days in jail followed by two years of probation, arguing that a longer sentence could have serious immigration consequences.

Justice Joe Patrick Paul Fiorucci rejected the request and instead sentenced Singh to 15 months behind bars followed by three years of probation, according to the National Post.

“Mr. Singh, a permanent resident of Canada, asks the court to impose a sentence that would preserve his right to appeal a deportation order arising from his convictions,” Fiorucci wrote in his September 15 decision.

“I find that such a sentence would be neither fit nor proportionate.”

Singh’s lawyer told the court that a sentence of 183 days or more could cost him the right to appeal a removal order and seek relief on humanitarian grounds.

Fiorucci acknowledged those potential consequences but ruled they could not justify reducing Singh’s sentence to a level he considered inadequate given the seriousness of the offences.

“While immigration consequences are entitled to serious consideration, they cannot be permitted to dominate the sentencing exercise or create a separate sentencing regime for offenders facing possible removal from Canada,” he wrote.

The offences occurred on May 1, 2023, after Singh and the 15-year-old girl, who didn’t know the man, travelled on the same Hamilton city bus.

According to the decision, Singh watched a sexually explicit video on his phone during the ride. Both exited the bus at the same location at approximately 11:23 p.m.

Singh then followed the girl onto a dark trail.

“He followed her onto a dark trail, grabbed her by the collar (and hair) from behind, then moved in front of her holding his erect penis in one hand and his phone in the other while displaying the sexually explicit video to her,” the decision states.

The teenager fought back, elbowing and pushing Singh away before fleeing.

Her identity is protected by a publication ban.

The court heard that the attack profoundly affected her sense of security. She described the offences as “humiliating, terrifying, and deeply violating” and said she subsequently experienced anxiety, panic and fear while using public transit and visiting places where she had previously felt safe.

Fiorucci characterized Singh’s conduct as “highly aggravating.”

“These were deliberate and predatory acts directed at a vulnerable child,” he wrote. “Mr. Singh’s degree of moral blameworthiness is high.”

The Crown had sought between 12 and 15 months in jail followed by three years of probation.

Fiorucci found that reducing the sentence to 182 days would “materially understate both the gravity of the offence and the offender’s moral culpability” and fail to adequately reflect the seriousness of the offences and the harm suffered by the victim.

Singh had no prior criminal record and received counselling following the offences. A social worker concluded that although historical factors placed him in an above-average relative risk category compared with other sexual offenders, he currently posed a low risk of sexual reoffending, according to the decision.

The judge also noted Singh had strong family and community support and had volunteered within his religious community.

However, Fiorucci gave somewhat less weight to letters submitted on Singh’s behalf because several supporters continued to maintain that he had not committed the offences.

Singh is single, has no children and was unemployed at the time of sentencing. His family had been arranging a marriage for him, but those plans were put on hold while his criminal case proceeded.

Despite Singh’s rehabilitation prospects and the potential immigration consequences, Fiorucci concluded that reducing his sentence to 182 days would be neither fit nor proportionate.

Singh was ultimately sentenced to 15 months in jail followed by three years of probation.

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A Jewish Canadian Broadcasting Corporation journalist has reportedly been disciplined by the state broadcaster after recording a group of anti-Zionist protesters outside of a synagogue service in Toronto on Yom Kippur.

Neil Herland posted a video to X on Monday, during his time off, documenting protesters that he said were “trying to taunt and intimidate” worshipers as they attempted to enter Meridian Hall for the Jewish religious service.

“My late father was an Austrian Jew who survived the Holocaust in Romania. And came to Canada as a refugee. This year I got an Austrian passport, in case Canada becomes unsafe for me as a Jew,” he said in the post. “ I fear that moment is approaching, here in Canada and elsewhere.”

On the same day as the protest, a lone shooter targeted the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, injuring a police officer and firing over 20 shots into the synagogue filled with worshipers.

Herland continued in the post saying that “Jewish Canadians are living in a parallel world where police stand guard with guns outside synagogues. And Jewish schools, religious sites and businesses are targeted with bullets.”

He said, “most Canadians have no awareness or understanding.”

According to reporting in the Toronto Star by columnist Warren Kinsella, the CBC investigated and held a disciplinary hearing with Herland on Thursday for the post, including “quietly” pulling Herland “off-the-air.”

When asked to confirm that Herland was disciplined and to respond to criticisms online that the move by the state-funded broadcaster was evidence of antisemitic bias and an unfair action, Chuck Thompson, a spokesperson for the CBC, told Juno News that he won’t comment on internal matters.

“We respect the privacy rights of our employees and won’t comment on internal matters. However, we are aware of reporting on this matter that contains errors and mischaracterizations,” he said.

When asked to point out what “errors and mischaracterizations” were present in Kinsella’s reporting, Thompson told Juno News again that “We won’t comment on those details fully respecting the privacy of the situation.”

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A former senior Alberta finance official is pouring cold water on Alberta independence projections, warning a sovereign province could carry $364 billion in interest-bearing debt.

Lennie Kaplan, formerly of the Alberta Treasury Board and Finance and a MacKinnon Panel executive director, is challenging key assumptions behind the Alberta Transition Council’s fiscal plan.

The ATC’s Forward to Freedom report argues an independent Alberta could maintain existing services, take over federal responsibilities and still have between $22.2 billion and $32.1 billion in annual financial room.

Its separate Budget and Costing Report puts one-time transition costs at roughly $5 billion over three years, plus $3.63 billion annually in additional permanent costs.

Kaplan argues the plan leaves major fiscal questions unresolved, particularly over federal debt, borrowing costs and replacing federal services.

“The Alberta independence movement, including the ATC, should not assume that by virtue of Alberta becoming independent, the provincial government can magically grow its way out of deficit and financial debt,” Kaplan told Juno News.

Kaplan estimates Alberta could be allocated $238 billion in federal debt, bringing total interest-bearing debt to $364.1 billion — or $68,871 per person — by 2029.

His $238-billion estimate credits Alberta for roughly $130 billion in historical net contributions to Ottawa, with the remaining federal debt allocated on a per-capita-like basis.

After financial assets are counted, Kaplan puts net financial debt at $183.6 billion, falling to $81.2 billion when other federal assets are included.

Debt to GDP would hit roughly 63 per cent, with annual servicing costs reaching $12.3 billion, including a $2.38-billion borrowing risk premium.

“At these debt burden levels, an interest rate premium of around 100 basis points would make an independent Alberta’s fiscal consolidation efforts more severe,” Kaplan wrote.

Kaplan also projects a $16-billion deficit in 2028-29 and nearly $75 billion in cumulative deficits over five years.

“A fiscal consolidation or adjustment of $16 billion, about 10% of program expenses, $3,027 per person or 2.8% of GDP, could be required in 2028/29 just to bring the Government of Alberta back into surplus,” he wrote.

The former bureaucrat describes his analysis as a “best-case scenario.”

His $364.1-billion figure measures total interest-bearing debt, unlike the ATC’s roughly $5-billion estimate for one-time transition costs.

However, the gap extends beyond debt.

Kaplan calculates the ATC accounts for roughly $13 billion annually in additional expenses from assuming federal functions and obligations. The University of Calgary, using broader assumptions, modelled $60.2 billion.

University researchers also modelled a tougher scenario in which Alberta’s economy would be 16 per cent smaller after 20 years, employment five per cent lower and annual deficits could exceed $30 billion.

A more favourable outcome assumes continued trade access, resource development and government efficiencies.

Kaplan’s own previous analysis estimated separation could carry $206.8 billion in initial costs and $57.6 billion in annual expenses, while shrinking Alberta’s economy by roughly $39 billion.

He argues the ATC does not fully model potential economic, employment or trade impacts, or costs surrounding trade access, payment systems, passports and migration.

Kaplan estimates trade friction could cost at least $10 billion annually and NATO-style defence spending roughly $10.9 billion.

“Uncertainties and risks are treated as things to negotiate later on after separation,” Kaplan wrote. “But once you uncork the bottle and drink from the potentially bitter wine of separation, there is no turning back.”

The ATC acknowledges it does not forecast output, employment or trade, but stress tests several adverse scenarios.

Under its combined stress test, the council projects $13.5 billion in additional annual costs while still leaving $8.7 billion to $18.6 billion in financial room.

Kaplan argues a realistic independence plan requires a fuller accounting of Alberta’s finances.

“Clearly, developing a realistic plan for fiscal sustainability will have to be an independent Alberta government’s first priority,” he wrote, warning it could require “some difficult policy decisions.”

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Prime Minister Mark Carney says Ottawa is ahead of schedule in balancing its operating budget. However, Canada’s parliamentary budget watchdog projects the government will instead miss its original target by a year under its current outlook.

A new Parliamentary Budget Officer report projects the federal operating budget will not be balanced until 2029-30 — one year later than the government’s 2028-29 target.

The PBO projects the shortfall will be relatively small, however, and says $500 million in targeted operating restraint would be enough to meet the original deadline.

“I can announce today that we are on track to balance the operating budget next year, one year ahead of schedule, while maintaining the lowest overall deficit in the G7,” Carney told the Canada Investment Summit last week.

The PBO says it cannot yet assess what is driving Carney’s newer 2027-28 projection, with Budget 2026 expected to provide the information needed to evaluate it.

Balancing day-to-day spending was a central Liberal campaign promise in 2025. But the PBO says whether Ottawa meets that target depends heavily on what the government classifies as operating versus capital spending.

Spending classified as capital does not count against the operating budget target, meaning Ottawa could balance its operating budget while continuing to run overall deficits and add to the federal debt. The government has not set a deadline for balancing the traditional federal budget.

Ottawa also dropped its previous fiscal anchor requiring a declining debt-to-GDP ratio.

“Thus, there is not a similar constraint on total debt accumulation,” the PBO said.

The watchdog has repeatedly questioned what Ottawa counts as capital.

Then-interim PBO Jason Jacques previously concluded that 30 per cent — or $94 billion — classified as capital spending in Carney’s first budget would instead be considered operating spending under the PBO’s methodology.

Testifying before a House committee in January, Jacques said Ottawa’s definition was unusually broad.

“We are unaware of any advanced jurisdictions that would define capital in that way,” Jacques said, pointing to corporate income tax credits and operating subsidies.

The latest report similarly notes that Ottawa’s definition extends beyond traditional public accounting and international practices.

The PBO also acknowledged benefits to the framework, saying it provides greater transparency into which spending Ottawa considers investment and avoids incentives to redesign programs simply to fit traditional accounting definitions.

However, the watchdog described some classifications as contradictory and called for a clearer, more formal methodology.

“For example, film tax credits are included as capital while journalism tax credits are not,” the PBO said.

Ottawa disputes the PBO’s timeline.

John Fragos, spokesperson for Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, said the fall budget will show the operating budget being balanced one year earlier than originally promised.

“This is in keeping with our plan to spend less on operating expenses, giving us more to invest in capital expenditure that will support the economy, draw investment, spur innovation, and advance our growth and competitiveness agenda,” Fragos told The Globe and Mail.

Conservative finance critic Michael Chong called Ottawa’s operating-versus-capital distinction a “smoke screen.”

“The Carney government’s nonsensical definition of operating vs. capital is a smoke screen and creates confusion about what actually is going on with federal finances,” Chong said.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation also called on Carney to cut spending.

“Carney is continuing on a course of unaffordable borrowing, and the PBO report raises serious questions about the prime minister’s own promise to stop borrowing money to cover operational spending,” CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano said.

The CTF noted Ottawa is projected to spend $58.7 billion on debt interest this year — more than the $57.4 billion in federal health transfers to provinces.

“Carney needs to put down the credit card because taxpayers can’t afford to pay more than $1 billion every week to cover interest on the debt,” Terrazzano said.

The dispute comes as PBO projections point to continued deficits and rising debt-servicing costs.

Current Parliamentary Budget Officer Annette Ryan told a House committee in March that “a rising debt-to-GDP ratio is of concern,” also stressing that the level of debt must be considered and saying she did not believe the PBO had concluded Ottawa’s fiscal track was unsustainable.

Her office projected in June that federal deficits would average roughly $64 billion annually over five years.

Separate PBO projections show debt service costs rising from 10.6 per cent of available federal revenues to 13.1 per cent by 2030-31, or from roughly $1,300 to nearly $1,900 per person.

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is demanding Ottawa scrap all taxes on diesel through at least Canada Day as fuel prices soar and U.S. President Donald Trump backs restricting diesel exports.

Poilievre unveiled what the Conservatives call an emergency “Diesel Price Relief Action Plan,” warning higher fuel costs are hammering farmers, businesses and families.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that we are now facing a full-scale diesel price crisis,” Poilievre said Thursday in the House of Commons.

Poilievre noted diesel had climbed as high as $2.76 per litre, citing a Bruce County, Ontario, farmer who spent $3,000 on fuel in a single day. Conservatives say a combine can burn more than $1,100 in diesel daily, while one Saskatchewan family farm faces an extra $91,000 in fuel costs.

“Diesel prices in the U.S.: $2.44 a litre. Global average diesel price: $2.33 a litre. Here in Canada: $2.76 a litre,” Poilievre said.

His plan calls for eliminating all diesel taxes until at least Canada Day and providing emergency pre-permitting and tax relief for fuel refining and transportation infrastructure.

“We should not have to rely on the Americans to give us diesel that comes out of our own ground,” Poilievre said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney blamed higher prices primarily on global pressures and provincial taxes.

“There are things in Canada called provinces,” Carney said. “The provinces put taxes on diesel.”

Carney said Ottawa is extending its federal fuel excise tax reduction and working with refiners to maximize diesel availability. He also pointed to the Build Canada Strong Act as a way to facilitate new refining capacity.

The impact of diesel prices extends beyond what Canadians pay at the pump. Diesel powers much of the machinery and transportation used to produce and move food and other goods, meaning higher fuel costs can ripple through household expenses.

Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano argued Ottawa could ease those costs by cutting fuel taxes.

“The fastest, simplest and easiest way for the government to make life more affordable is to stop taking so much money in the first place,” Terrazzano told Juno News.

He called on Ottawa to permanently scrap its fuel tax and carbon taxes while cutting spending to avoid adding to the debt.

“Fuel taxes make it more expensive to drive to work and take your kids to school,” Terrazzano said. “And because fuel taxes also hit diesel, they make everything trucked to store shelves more expensive.”

Adding to the uncertainty is the possibility of restrictions on U.S. diesel exports.

Trump said Tuesday that he supports banning diesel exports, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said officials were examining whether a full or partial restriction would be feasible. No restriction has been announced, and it remains unclear whether Canada would be affected.

Despite those concerns, Canada does not currently face a national diesel-volume shortage.

Canada was a net exporter of distillate fuel over the 12 months ending June 2026, exporting roughly 190,800 more barrels per day than it imported. Finished distillate imports were also relatively small, accounting for about 0.8 per cent of demand in Quebec and 1.3 per cent in Ontario.

The potential vulnerability is instead concentrated in regional supply chains.

Ontario and Quebec produce virtually no crude oil and rely on supplies from western Canada, the U.S. and overseas. In 2025, Quebec imported about 126,000 barrels of crude per day from the U.S., while Ontario imported roughly 87,000.

Ottawa has emergency powers to redistribute petroleum during a shortage, but the logistics of replacing disrupted U.S. supplies have not been fully tested.

The Conservatives argue years of insufficient pipeline and refining development have left Canada unnecessarily exposed to decisions made in Washington.

“More Canadian fuel, more ways to get it to Canadians, and supply set aside for emergencies would have made us more self-reliant,” Conservative MPs Shuvaloy Majumdar, Carol Anstey and John Barlow said.

“Canadians need fuel to bring in the harvest and get to work. They cannot afford a government that waits for a shortage before making a plan.”

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A new citizen petition, sponsored by the Conservative Party’s Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman, calls on the government to investigate and deport all agents of the Islamic Republic operating in Canada and pass new laws banning the glorification of terrorism, along with hiking fines against vandalism targeting religious institutions.

Daniel Pinsk, an 18 year old, put forward the petition, aiming to expel IRGC agents in Canada in an effort to protect Canada’s Jewish and Iranian populations amid escalating attacks on both.

In an interview with Juno News, Pinsk pointed to weeks where there were back-to-back shootings targeting synagogues and Iranian-owned businesses, stating that even the Toronto Police Chief Myron Dimkew said guns for hire could be used by the Islamic Regime through proxies in Canada.

“I don’t want to specifically say the recent shooting in Belleville was one of those opportunities, but I’m — What I do want to say is that there are criminals for hire that are connected to the IRGC,” he said. “This should be nonpartisan in a sane world. Taking out terrorists should be nonpartisan.”

The petition submitted to the House of Commons in September currently has just over 30 signatures, but Pinsk hopes that even if it doesn’t move the federal Liberals to take the issue of antisemitism seriously in Canada, he hopes that it can keep up the pressure for them to take action and prevent future terrorist attacks.

The petition calls on the Government of Canada to “immediatly investigate, deport and publish an update on the 700 suspected IRGC officials” living in Canada.

It also calls for the feds to “Heighten the security screenings surrounding immigration and refugee applications, while not infringing on Canadians’ privacy rights” and to “Work with provincial and municipal governments to improve security measures and precedents around vulnerable events and places of worship (specifically but not limited to synagogues)”.

The petition also calls on Canada to “finally condemn anti-Zionism as the modern form of antisemitism” and “protect Jewish Canadians and Canadians as a whole against further terrorist attacks” allowed by the current government.

It also calls on the federal government to pass two private members' bills currently on the floor in this parliamentary session.

Pinsk said that Bills C-257 and C-255 should be passed to ban the willful promotion of terrorist groups and to give harsher penalties for mischief targeting religious institutions such as synagogues, respectively.

“I have a charter right for freedom of religion, but that isn’t stopping me from having to walk through metal detectors just to pray. Freedom of speech is the most important, right,” he said.

He said promoting listed terrorist groups that have kidnapped and killed Canadians is “not free speech,” it’s “inciting hatred and violence.”

The petition also calls for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality, and Inclusion” to be replaced with a “house special committee on terrorism and hate crimes.”

“This is not what Jewish Canadians want,” he said, referencing Carney’s council made in an effort to stop antisemitism in Canada. “The liberals have shown that they don’t stand with Jews. They banned imports from Judea and Samaria, and they don’t care about Jewish lives.”

Pinsk said the Liberal Party of the 90s would be more likely than the current government to stand with the Jewish and Iranian diaspora today and kick agents of a terrorist regime out of Canada.

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Despite promising — and apparently delivering — a reduction in immigration, it’s now been revealed that the reductions seen were greatly exaggerated.

On Wednesday, Statistics Canada published new population estimates, revising previous immigration figures from those first reported.

For instance, in the third quarter of 2025, StatsCan originally said Canada’s population dropped by ~76,000, but the new figure says Canada actually grew by at least 115,000. Keep reading.

Carney also recently chose to make his wife, Diana Fox Carney, Canada’s Ocean Envoy, later promising $82 million over five years to bolster ocean monitoring.

Fox Carney made her first appearance as Ocean Envoy alongside her husband this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

She has previously bragged that being the wife of the prime minister gives her “special access” to people and opportunities that she would otherwise not have. Keep reading.

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Besides the $82 million for ocean monitoring, it was revealed this week that Ottawa shelled out $5.8 billion in foreign aid in 2025.

This includes $217 million in foreign aid to Palestine, nearly twice that given to Ukraine (excluding $25.5 billion in multifaceted assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022).

Other countries that received close to or exceeding $100 million in foreign aid last year include Ethiopia, Haiti, Mali, Bangladesh, and South Sudan, which received only $88.6 million. Keep reading.

The PM is also now preparing for a ‘War with America’ over annexation jests made by Donald Trump.

Carney argued that it would be “irresponsible” not to ready Canada’s military for an imminent invasion, but further commented that he believes this is an “extreme tail risk.” Keep reading.

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Fanarredha reacts to videos allegedly showing armed men driving through Brampton with a pistol and shotgun, arguing authorities are failing to adequately confront illegal firearms and violent crime.

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“This is totally unacceptable,” Fanarredha said, arguing governments should focus on criminals with illegal firearms rather than licensed gun owners.

Fanarredha also reacts to the case of six-year-old Jayla Chang, who was killed after being struck by a vehicle in Surrey in 2025. A Surrey man now faces more than a dozen charges, including dangerous driving causing death, impaired driving and failing to stop after an accident.

He then turns to illegal dumping, calling for heavier fines, mandatory community service and tougher consequences for people caught dumping garbage in Canadian parks and waterways.

Fanarredha praises Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for proposing tougher penalties for illegal dumping, including minimum $10,000 fines and up to two years behind bars, but argues governments should go further by requiring community service and making offenders pay for remediation.

Finally, Fanarredha highlights Canadians cleaning up garbage in their communities, urging others to follow their example and take responsibility for keeping the country clean.

“We all have a role and responsibility to clean our home, which is Canada,” he said.

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