National
Erin O’Toole names Shadow Cabinet
The Honourable Erin O’Toole, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and of the Official Opposition, today announced the Conservative Shadow Cabinet for the second session of the 43rd Parliament.
“Today, I am proud to present the Conservative government in waiting that will defeat Justin Trudeau’s corrupt Liberal government in the next election,” O’Toole said. “In the coming weeks, we will be presenting a plan to put hardworking Canadians first, lead our nation out of this crisis and rebuild our great country.”
Conservative House of Commons Leadership Team:
- Deputy Leader: Hon. Candice Bergen (Portage – Lisgar, Manitoba)
- Quebec Political Lieutenant: Richard Martel (Chicoutimi – Le Fjord, Quebec)
- House Leader of the Official Opposition: Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, Quebec)
- Chief Opposition Whip: Blake Richards (Banff – Airdrie, Alberta)
- Deputy House Leader of the Official Opposition: Karen Vecchio (Elgin – Middlesex – London, Ontario)
- Deputy Opposition Whip: Alex Ruff (Bruce – Grey – Owen Sound, Ontario)
- Caucus-Party Liaison: Hon. Tim Uppal (Edmonton Mill Woods, Alberta)
- Question Period Coordinator: Eric Duncan (Stormont – Dundas – South Glengarry, Ontario)
- National Caucus Chair: Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, Alberta)
Conservative Shadow Cabinet:
- Leona Alleslev (Aurora – Oak Ridges – Richmond Hill, Ontario) – National Security Committee
- Rob Morrison (Kootenay – Columbia, British Columbia) – National Security Committee
- Lianne Rood (Lambton – Kent – Middlesex, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food
- Alain Rayes (Richmond – Arthabaska, Quebec) – Shadow Minister for Canadian Heritage, Official Languages & Quebec Economic Development
- Cathy McLeod (Kamloops – Thompson – Cariboo, British Columbia) – Shadow Minister for Crown-Indigenous Relations
- Dane Lloyd (Sturgeon River – Parkland, Alberta) – Shadow Minister for Digital Government
- Kenny Chiu (Steveston – Richmond East, British Columbia) – Shadow Minister for Diversity and Inclusion and Youth
- Warren Steinley (Regina – Lewvan, Saskatchewan) – Shadow Minister for Economic Development & Internal Trade
- Hon. Peter Kent (Thornhill, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion
- Dan Albas (Central Okanagan – Similkameen – Nicola, British Columbia) – Shadow Minister for Environment and Climate Change
- Michael Barrett (Leeds – Grenville – Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for Ethics
- Tracy Gray (Kelowna – Lake Country, British Columbia) – Shadow Minister for Export Promotion & International Trade
- Jamie Schmale (Haliburton – Kawartha Lakes – Brock, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for Families, Children and Social Development
- Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Carleton, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for Finance
- Richard Bragdon (Tobique – Mactaquac, New Brunswick) – Shadow Minister for Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
- Hon. Michael Chong (Wellington – Halton Hills, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill, Alberta) – Shadow Minister for Health
- Brad Vis (Mission – Matsqui – Fraser Canyon, British Columbia) – Shadow Minister for Housing
- Raquel Dancho (Kildonan – St. Paul, Manitoba) – Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
- Gary Vidal (Desnethé – Missinippi – Churchill River, Saskatchewan) – Shadow Minister for Indigenous Services
- Hon. Andrew Scheer (Regina – Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan) – Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Communities
- James Cumming (Edmonton Centre, Alberta) – Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Industry
- Chris d’Entremont (West Nova, Nova Scotia) – Shadow Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs & Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
- Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park – Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta) – Shadow Minister for International Development & Human Rights
- Hon. Rob Moore (Fundy Royal, New Brunswick) – Shadow Minister for Justice and the Attorney General of Canada
- Mark Strahl (Chilliwack – Hope, British Columbia) – Shadow Minister for Labour
- Hon. Erin O’Toole (Durham, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for Middle Class Prosperity
- James Bezan (Selkirk – Interlake – Eastman, Manitoba) – Shadow Minister for National Defence
- Greg McLean (Calgary Centre, Alberta) – Shadow Minister for Natural Resources & Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor)
- Philip Lawrence (Northumberland – Peterborough South, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for National Revenue
- Eric Melillo (Kenora, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for Northern Affairs & Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor)
- Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia – Lambton, Ontario) – President of the Queen’s Privy Council & Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario)
- Shannon Stubbs (Lakeland, Alberta) – Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
- Pierre Paul-Hus (Charlesbourg – Haute-Saint-Charles, Quebec) – Shadow Minister for Public Services and Procurement
- John Nater (Perth – Wellington, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for Rural Economic Development
- Rosemarie Falk (Battlefords – Lloydminster, Saskatchewan) – Shadow Minister for Seniors
- Pat Kelly (Calgary Rocky Ridge, Alberta) – Shadow Minister for Small Business & Western Economic Diversification (WD)
- Stephanie Kusie (Calgary Midnapore, Alberta) – Shadow Minister for Transport
- Luc Berthold (Mégantic – L’Érable, Quebec) – Shadow Minister for Treasury Board
- John Brassard (Barrie – Innisfil, Ontario) – Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs
- Jag Sahota (Calgary Skyview, Alberta) – Shadow Minister for Women and Gender Equality
- Todd Doherty (Cariboo – Prince George, British Columbia) – Special Advisor to the Leader on Mental Health and Wellness
- Tony Baldinelli (Niagara Falls, Ontario) – Special Advisor to the Leader on Tourism Recovery
Addictions
Ontario to restrict Canadian government’s supervised drug sites, shift focus to helping addicts
From LifeSiteNews
Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government tabled the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act that will place into law specific bans on where such drug consumption sites are located.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is making good on a promise to close so-called drug “supervision” sites in his province and says his government will focus on helping addicts get better instead of giving them free drugs.
Ford’s Progressive Conservative government on Monday tabled the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act that will place into law specific bans on where such drug consumption sites are located.
Specifically, the new bill will ban “supervised” drug consumption sites from being close to schools or childcare centers. Ten sites will close for now, including five in Toronto.
The new law would prohibit the “establishment and operation of a supervised consumption site at a location that is less than 200 meters from certain types of schools, private schools, childcare centers, Early child and family centers and such other premises as may be prescribed by the regulations.”
It would also in effect ban municipalities and local boards from applying for an “exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) for the purpose of decriminalizing the personal possession of a controlled substance or precursor.”
Lastly, the new law would put strict “limits” on the power municipalities and local boards have concerning “applications respecting supervised consumption sites and safer supply services.”
“Municipalities and local boards may only make such applications or support such applications if they have obtained the approval of the provincial Minister of Health,” the bill reads.
The new bill is part of a larger omnibus bill that makes changes relating to sex offenders as well as auto theft, which has exploded in the province in recent months.
In September, Ford had called the federal government’s lax drug policies tantamount to being the “biggest drug dealer in the entire country” and had vowed to act.
‘No’ new drug sites in Ontario, vows Health Minister
In speaking about the new bill, Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said the Ford government does not plan to allow municipal requests to the government regarding supervised consumption sites.
“Municipalities and organizations like public health units have to first come to the province because we don’t want them bypassing and getting any federal approval for something that we vehemently disagree with,” Jones told the media on Monday.
She also clarified that “there will be no further safe injection sites in the province of Ontario under our government.”
Ontario will instead create 19 new intensive addiction recovery to help those addicted to deadly drugs.
Alberta and other provinces have had success helping addicts instead of giving them free drugs.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, deaths related to opioid and other drug overdoses in Alberta fell to their lowest levels in years after the Conservative government began to focus on helping addicts via a recovery-based approach instead of the Liberal-minded, so-called “safe-supply” method.
Despite public backlash with respect to supervised drug consumption sites, Health Canada recently approved 16 more drug consumption sites in Ontario. Ford mentioned in the press conference that each day he gets “endless phone calls about needles being in the parks, needles being by the schools and the daycares,” calling the situation “unacceptable.”
The Liberals claim their “safer supply” program is good because it is “providing prescribed medications as a safer alternative to the toxic illegal drug supply to people who are at high risk of overdose.”
However, studies have shown that these programs often lead an excess of deaths from overdose in areas where they are allowed.
While many of the government’s lax drug policies continue, they have been forced to backpedal on some of their most extreme actions.
After the federal government allowed British Columbia to decriminalize the possession of hard drugs including heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, meth and MDMA beginning January 1, 2023, reports of overdoses and chaos began skyrocketing, leading the province to request that Trudeau re-criminalize drugs in public spaces.
A week later, the federal government relented and accepted British Columbia’s request.
Alberta
Alberta government announces review of Trudeau’s euthanasia regime
From LifeSiteNews
Alberta announced it ‘is reviewing how MAID is regulated to ensure there is a consistent process as well as oversight that protects vulnerable Albertans, specifically those living with disabilities or suffering from mental health challenges.’
The Conservative provincial government of Alberta is pushing back against the Canadian federal government’s continued desire to expand euthanasia in the nation, saying it will launch a review of the legislation and policies surrounding the grim practice, including a period of public engagement.
The United Conservative Party (UCP) government under Premier Danielle Smith in a press release said the province needs to make sure that robust safeguards and procedures are in place to protect vulnerable people from being coerced into getting euthanatized under the MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) program.
“Alberta’s government is reviewing how MAID is regulated to ensure there is a consistent process as well as oversight that protects vulnerable Albertans, specifically those living with disabilities or suffering from mental health challenges,” said the government Monday.
The government said a online survey regarding MAiD open to all Albertans who have opinions about the deadly practice will be available until December 20.
“We recognize that medical assistance in dying is a very complex and often personal issue and is an important, sensitive and emotional matter for patients and their families,” said Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General Mickey Amery.
Amery said it is important to ensure this process has the “necessary supports to protect the most vulnerable.”
The government said that it will also be engaging with academics, medical associations, public bodies, as well as religious organizations and “regulatory bodies, advocacy groups” regarding MAiD
The government said all information gathered through this consultation will “help inform the Alberta government’s planning and policy decision making, including potential legislative changes regarding MAID in Alberta.”
When it comes to MAiD, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government sought to expand it from the chronically and terminally ill to those suffering solely from mental illness.
However, in February, after pushback from pro-life, medical, and mental health groups as well as most of Canada’s provinces, the federal government delayed the mental illness expansion until 2027.
Alberta’s Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams said that the UCP government has been “clear” that it does not “support the provision of medically assisted suicide for vulnerable Albertans facing mental illness as their primary purpose for seeking their own death.”
“Instead, our goal is to build a continuum of care where vulnerable Albertans can live in long-term health and fulfilment. We look forward to the feedback of Albertans as we proceed with this important issue,” he noted.
The Alberta government said that as MAiD is “federally legislated and regulated” it is main job will be to try and make sure that it protects “vulnerable individuals” as much as possible.
Alberta’s Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange reaffirmed that the Alberta government “does not support expanding MAID eligibility to include those facing depression or mental illness and continues to call on the federal government to end this policy altogether.”
The number of Canadians killed by lethal injection under the nation’s MAiD program since 2016 stands at close to 65,000, with an estimated 16,000 deaths in 2023 alone. Many fear that because the official statistics are manipulated the number may be even higher.
To combat Canadians being coerced into MAiD, which LifeSiteNews has covered, the combat pro-life Delta Hospice Society (DHS) is offering a free “Do Not Euthanize Defense Kit” to help vulnerable people “protect themselves” from any healthcare workers who might push euthanasia on the defenseless.
-
conflict1 day ago
US and UK authorize missile strikes into Russia, but are we really in danger of World War III?
-
Business2 days ago
Carbon tax bureaucracy costs taxpayers $800 million
-
Brownstone Institute2 days ago
The Most Devastating Report So Far
-
Alberta2 days ago
Province considering new Red Deer River reservoir east of Red Deer
-
John Stossel2 days ago
Green Energy Needs Minerals, Yet America Blocks New Mines
-
Alberta1 day ago
Early Success: 33 Nurse Practitioners already working independently across Alberta
-
armed forces22 hours ago
Judge dismisses Canadian military personnel’s lawsuit against COVID shot mandate
-
ESG2 days ago
Can’t afford Rent? Groceries for your kids? Trudeau says suck it up and pay the tax!