Freedom of Expression
PEI councilor punished for denying unproven ‘mass graves’ narrative seeks court review
From LifeSiteNews
The Canadian Constitution Foundation has announced they are seeking a court review for PEI councillor John Robertson who was sanctioned by the town of Murray Harbour for placing a sign opposing the residential school ‘mass graves’ narrative on his lawn.
A Prince Edward Island (PEI) councillor who was punished for denying the unproven claim of mass graves at residential schools is seeking a court review.
In a February 4 press release, the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) announced they would defend PEI councillor John Robertson who was sanctioned by the town of Murray Harbour for placing a sign opposing the mass graves narrative on his lawn.
“You don’t need freedom of expression to protect expression everyone agrees with,” he added. “The reason we have free speech is because today’s minority viewpoint sometimes turns out to be correct tomorrow, and people can’t have those difficult conversations if those in power can prevent them from speaking.”
The controversy began in September 2023 when Robertson placed a sign reading, “Truth: Mass Grave Hoax. Reconciliation: Redeem Sir John A’s Integrity” on his lawn. Robertson later said he intended the sign to spark conversations surrounding the still-unproven claim that former residential school sites are the home to mass graves of students.
Many residents of the small town of Murray Harbour issued complaints over the sign and called for Robertson’s resignation. However, Robertson refused to step down, leading some of his fellow councillors to launch a Code of Conduct investigation into his actions.
Robertson was later issued a fine of $500, a six-month suspension, and ordered to apologize for the sign. Robertson refused to comply with the sanctions, and the provincial minister in charge has since threatened to remove him.
Currently, CCF is seeking a full judicial review into the sanctions in the Supreme Court of PEI. However, they have been informed that since they did not file the application within 30 days of the review, it is up to the judge if he wishes to hear the appeal.
Robertson’s Counsel, Brandon Forbes of Campbell & Lea, remained hopeful that the judge would hear the appeal, pointing out that the “questions raised in this application are of great public interest – not just to Mr. Robertson but arguably to all Canadians.”
While Robertson’s signs is certainly controversial in the mainstream sphere, what it implies is factually correct, namely, that there have been no mass graves discovered at residential schools.
Residential schools, while run by both the Catholic Church and other Christian churches, were mandated and set-up by the federal government and ran from the late 19th century until the last school closed in 1996.
While some children did tragically die at the once-mandatory boarding schools, evidence has revealed that many of the children passed away as a result of unsanitary conditions due to underfunding by the federal government, not the Catholic Church.
Public attitude shifted drastically in 2021 when the mainstream media ran with the unproven claim that hundreds of children were buried and disregarded by Catholic priests and nuns who ran some of the schools. Since then, over 100 churches have been burned or vandalized across Canada in seeming retribution.
Despite the lack of physical evidence of any such graves, mainstream media outlets and government officials have continued to perpetuate the narrative. The issue has gone as far as seeing MPs insist so-called “residential school denialism” be criminalized.
From LifeSiteNews
A 33 year-old Chinese filmmaker highlighted the biggest protests China has seen since Tiananmen Square using only film footage. For this crime of ‘provoking trouble,’ he has been sentenced to over three years in prison.
A Chinese filmmaker has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for creating a documentary about protests against the Chinese government’s heavy-handed COVID-era restrictions.
A Shanghai court sentenced 33-year-old Chen Pinlin, CNN reported, following his conviction for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a charge used to target dissenting Chinese political activists, including journalists.
Pinlin’s apparent crime was his creation of “Urumqi Middle Road,” a film that showed a glimpse of the Chinese government’s tyrannical COVID-19 crackdown and featured ensuing “White Paper” protests, named for white pieces of paper held up by street demonstrators in place of signs, to avoid Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censorship.
The protest movement was sparked by a deadly apartment fire in Urumqi which claimed at least 10 lives, reportedly due to COVID lockdown measures that prevented both the escape of inhabitants and timely rescue efforts. Street vigils cropped up in late November 2022 to remember the deceased, morphing into protests that caught on in several major cities of China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xi’an.
The protests became an outlet for the indignation and anguish caused by draconian COVID policies country-wide, and called for an end to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policies, which mandated that citizens be cruelly locked in their own homes for weeks on end. In Shanghai, for example, the government enforced residence confinement in some cases by sealing or padlocking doors.
At the time, China expert Steve Mosher warned that the deadly toll of Shanghai’s ongoing lockdowns would be “much greater” than any potential lives lost due to COVID, and predicted deaths by starvation, strokes and heart attacks.
According to CNN, the White Paper protests, which often directly attacked Xi Jinping, were the largest China had seen since the 1989 student-led Tiananmen Square demonstration. Pinlin’s documentary, still available on YouTube outside of China, includes film footage of White Paper protestors crying, “We want dignity!” “We want the truth!” “We want human rights!”
Masses of protestors also called for Xi Jinping to step down. Some cried for the “removal of traitor Xi Jinping,” and one man can be heard shouting, “Without the Communist Party, there would be a new China!”
The name of the English version of Pinlin’s film is “Not the Foreign Force,” in objection to claims by the CCP that “foreign forces” had fomented protests against the Chinese government.
“I hope to explore why, whenever internal conflicts arise in China, foreign forces are always made the scapegoat,” wrote Pinlin. The answer is clear to everyone: the more the government misleads, forgets, and censors, the more we must speak up, remind others, and remember. Only by remembering the ugliness can we strive toward the light. I also hope that China will one day embrace its own light and future.”subscribe to our daily headlines
Chen “has only ever served the public interest by reporting on historical protests against the regime’s abuses and should never have been arrested. We call on democracies to increase pressure on Chinese authorities to ensure that all charges against Chen are dropped,” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement in March.
List of items Canadians will pay 25% tariffs on includes US made orange juice, wine, beer, and clothing
Trudeau Promises ‘Fentanyl Czar’ and US-Canada Organized Crime Strike Force To Avert U.S. Tariffs
The Great Exodus from the Net Zero Banking Alliance has arrived
Trump’s dismantling of USAID is his biggest blow against the Deep State yet
-
COVID-192 days agoCanadian judge orders Purolator to compensate employees fired for refusing COVID shot
-
Business1 day ago90% of Ukraine news outlets get funding from USAID: new report
-
Business2 days agoUSPS suspends inbound packages from China, Hong Kong
-
DEI20 hours agoLiberal leadership candidate Mark Carney confirms he will pursue agenda of ‘inclusiveness’
-
Arts2 days agoTrump’s Hollywood envoys take on Tinseltown’s liberal monopoly
-
Business1 day agoCanada should match or eclipse Trump’s red-tape cutting plan
-
Business1 day agoImprove competitiveness, end capital gains tax hike immediately
-
Business17 hours agoTrump’s FBI questionnaire exposes shocking conspiracy