Uncategorized
Woman who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart released from prison
DRAPER, Utah — A woman who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart when she was a teenager and stood by as the Utah girl was sexually assaulted was released Wednesday after spending 15 years in prison.
Wanda Barzee, 72, quietly left the state prison in the Salt Lake City suburb of Draper, avoiding a throng of reporters gathered outside, spokeswoman Kaitlin Felsted said. She did not disclose where Barzee was going.
Her release followed a surprise announcement last week that Utah authorities had miscalculated the amount of time Barzee should spend behind bars.
Smart, now 30, has said she was shocked and disappointed by the move and hopes Barzee will be closely watched and given treatment.
Smart has recalled some of the horrors she experienced as a 14-year-old when she was snatched from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 by Barzee’s then-husband, street preacher Brian David Mitchell. He entered the house through an open kitchen window in the kidnapping that triggered fear around the country.
Smart said last week that Barzee saw her as a slave during the nine months she was held by the couple and encouraged Mitchell to rape her.
“So do I believe she’s dangerous? Yes,” Smart said.
Her father Ed Smart said Wednesday that he’s glad Barzee will be watched over closely by federal agents during her five years of supervised release, but he’s concerned about reports that she still believes Mitchell’s ideas.
Mitchell’s so-called divine revelations prompted her to help kidnap his daughter and even sit next to her as Mitchell raped her, so he’s worried Barzee remains capable of abusing another child.
“My hope is that she won’t be a problem,” he said. “I think the way she treated Elizabeth was such that she doesn’t seem to have any psychic impairment, and I just don’t want to see her abuse some other child.”
Smart, now a married mother and activist for victims’ rights, posted on Instagram over the weekend that she’s fearful of Barzee and has taken precautions but refuses to let her release disrupt the life she’s built.
“I lived in absolute fear and terror for nine months, no matter the outcome I will not do so again,” Smart wrote.
As a condition of her release, Barzee was placed on the Utah sex offender registry, but her address was listed online Wednesday as the Utah prison. Authorities did not immediately return messages seeking details on when the information would be updated.
Barzee’s attorney, Scott Williams, has said his client has been diagnosed with several mental illnesses, but he’s not concerned about her being a danger to the community.
Federal agents have said Barzee won’t be homeless but declined to say whether she will live in a private home or a facility. Her mug shot on the sex-offender registry shows her with a wide smile, blue eyes and chin-length
Barzee’s niece Tina Mace said her aunt’s testimony against Mitchell seemed like a turning point, but her mental state appears to have changed in prison. Mace said she’s unaware of any family members who would give Barzee a place to live.
Barzee will be under federal supervision for five years. She could be returned to prison if she violates terms that include mental health treatment and an order against contacting Smart and her family.
Smart was found while walking with Barzee and Mitchell on a street in suburban Sandy by people who recognized the abductors from media reports.
Mitchell is serving a life sentence after being convicted of kidnapping and raping Smart.
Barzee was treated at Utah State Hospital for about five years following her arrest. She testified in 2010 against Mitchell and was given a plea deal on state and federal charges. She was transferred to the Utah prison in 2016 after finishing a federal sentence in Texas.
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole initially set a 2024 release date after Barzee decided against attending her own parole hearing in June. Her attorney questioned then whether the term included time Barzee had served in a federal prison. The board decided last week that she had served her sentence.
___
Associated Press writer Russ Contreras in Albuquerque, New Mexico contributed to this report
Lindsay Whitethurst, The Associated Press
Uncategorized
Poilievre on 2025 Election Interference – Carney sill hasn’t fired Liberal MP in Chinese election interference scandal

From Conservative Party Communications
“Yes. He must be disqualified. I find it incredible that Mark Carney would allow someone to run for his party that called for a Canadian citizen to be handed over to a foreign government on a bounty, a foreign government that would almost certainly execute that Canadian citizen.
“Think about that for a second. We have a Liberal MP saying that a Canadian citizen should be handed over to a foreign dictatorship to get a bounty so that that citizen could be murdered. And Mark Carney says he should stay on as a candidate. What does that say about whether Mark Carney would protect Canadians?
“Mark Carney is deeply conflicted. Just in November, he went to Beijing and secured a quarter-billion-dollar loan for his company from a state-owned Chinese bank. He’s deeply compromised, and he will never stand up for Canada against any foreign regime. It is another reason why Mr. Carney must show us all his assets, all the money he owes, all the money that his companies owe to foreign hostile regimes. And this story might not be entirely the story of the bounty, and a Liberal MP calling for a Canadian to be handed over for execution to a foreign government might not be something that the everyday Canadian can relate to because it’s so outrageous. But I ask you this, if Mark Carney would allow his Liberal MP to make a comment like this, when would he ever protect Canada or Canadians against foreign hostility?
“He has never put Canada first, and that’s why we cannot have a fourth Liberal term. After the Lost Liberal Decade, our country is a playground for foreign interference. Our economy is weaker than ever before. Our people more divided. We need a change to put Canada first with a new government that will stand up for the security and economy of our citizens and take back control of our destiny. Let’s bring it home.”
Uncategorized
Canada Needs A Real Plan To Compete Globally

From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
Ottawa’s ideological policies have left Canada vulnerable. Strategic action is needed now
As Canada navigates an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape, the next federal government must move beyond reflexive anti—Americanism regardless of its political leanings. Instead, Canada should prioritize national interests while avoiding unnecessary conflict and subservience.
The notion that Canada can stand alone is as misguided as the idea that it is only an economic appendage of the United States. Both perspectives have influenced policy in Ottawa at different times, leading to mistakes.
Rather than engaging in futile name-calling or trade disputes, Canada must take strategic steps to reinforce its autonomy. This approach requires a pragmatic view rooted in Realpolitik—recognizing global realities, mitigating risks, governing for the whole country, and seizing opportunities while abandoning failed ideologies.
However, if Washington continues to pursue protectionist measures, Canada must find effective ways to counteract the weakened position Ottawa has placed the country in over the past decade.
One key strategy is diversifying trade relationships, notably by expanding economic ties with emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia. This will require repairing Canada’s strained relationship with India and regaining political respect in China.
Unlike past Liberal trade missions, which often prioritized ideological talking points over substance, Canada must negotiate deals that protect domestic industries rather than turning summits into platforms for moral posturing.
A more effective approach would be strengthening partnerships with countries that value Canadian resources instead of vilifying them under misguided environmental policies. Expand LNG exports to Europe and Asia and leverage Canada’s critical minerals sector to establish reciprocal supply chains with non-Western economies, reducing economic reliance on the U.S.
Decades of complacency have left Canada vulnerable to American influence over its resource sector. Foreign-funded environmental groups have weakened domestic energy production, handing U.S. industries a strategic advantage. Ottawa must counter this by ensuring Canadian energy is developed at home rather than allowing suppressed domestic production to benefit foreign competitors.
Likewise, a robust industrial policy—prioritizing mining, manufacturing, and agricultural resilience—could reduce dependence on U.S. and Chinese imports. This does not mean adopting European-style subsidies but rather eliminating excessive regulations that make Canadian businesses uncompetitive, including costly domestic carbon tariffs.
Another key vulnerability is Canada’s growing military dependence on the U.S. through NORAD and NATO. While alliances are essential, decades of underfunding and neglect have turned the Canadian Armed Forces into little more than a symbolic force. Canada must learn self-reliance and commit to serious investment in defence.
Increasing defence spending—not to meet NATO targets but to build deterrence—is essential. Ottawa must reform its outdated procurement processes and develop a domestic defence manufacturing base, reducing reliance on foreign arms deals.
Canada’s vast Arctic is also at risk. Without continued investment in northern sovereignty, Ottawa may find itself locked out of its own backyard by more assertive global powers.
For too long, Canada has relied on an economic model that prioritizes federal redistribution over wealth creation and productivity. A competitive tax regime—one that attracts investment instead of punishing success—is essential.
A capital gains tax hike might satisfy activists in Toronto, but it does little to attract investments and encourage economic growth. Likewise, Ottawa must abandon ideological green policies that threaten agri-food production, whether by overregulating farmers or ranchers. At the same time, it must address inefficiencies in supply management once and for all. Canada must be able to feed a growing world without unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles.
Ottawa must also create an environment where businesses can innovate and grow without excessive regulatory burdens. This includes eliminating interprovincial trade barriers that stifle commerce.
Similarly, Canada’s tech sector, long hindered by predatory regulations, should be freed from excessive government interference. Instead of suffocating innovation with compliance mandates, Ottawa should focus on deregulation while implementing stronger security measures for foreign tech firms operating in Canada.
Perhaps Ottawa’s greatest mistake is its knee-jerk reactions to American policies, made without a coherent long-term strategy. Performative trade disputes with Washington and symbolic grandstanding in multilateral organizations do little to advance Canada’s interests.
Instead of reacting emotionally, Canada must take proactive steps to secure its economic, resource, and defence future. That is the role of a responsible government.
History’s best strategists understood that one should never fight an opponent’s war but instead dictate the terms of engagement. Canada’s future does not depend on reacting to Washington’s policies—these are calculated strategies, not whims. Instead, Canada’s success will be determined by its ability to act in the interests of citizens in all regions of the country, and seeing the world as it is rather than how ideological narratives wish it to be.
Marco Navarro-Génie is the vice president of research at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. With Barry Cooper, he is co-author of Canada’s COVID: The Story of a Pandemic Moral Panic (2023).
-
Automotive1 day ago
Auto giant shuts down foreign plants as Trump moves to protect U.S. industry
-
Energy22 hours ago
Trump Takes More Action To Get Government Out Of LNG’s Way
-
Courageous Discourse2 days ago
Europe Had 127,350 Cases of Measles in 2024
-
Health21 hours ago
Selective reporting on measles outbreaks is a globalist smear campaign against Trump administration.
-
2025 Federal Election2 days ago
Highly touted policies the Liberal government didn’t actually implement
-
Crime2 days ago
Europol takes out one of the largest pedophile networks in the world with almost 2 million users
-
2025 Federal Election15 hours ago
Mainstream Media Election Coverage: If the Election Was a NHL Game, the Ice Would be Constantly Tilted Up and to the Left
-
COVID-192 days ago
Trump’s new NIH head fires top Fauci allies and COVID shot promoters, including Fauci’s wife