From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Bill C-223, which was voted down 273-54, would have allowed the Minister of Finance to put forth a report that would give all Canadians 17 and over, including non-citizen permanent residents, refugee claimants and temporary workers, a guaranteed income each year.

The New Democratic Party’s (NDP) bid to allow a universal basic income (UBI) for all Canadians and refugee claimants via legislation that would further put pressure on taxpayers has failed after most MPs voted against it.

NDP Bill C-223, or “An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income,” was voted down in its second reading with 273 votes against to 54 for on Wednesday. The bill was introduced by NDP MP Leah Gazan in December 2021.

All Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs voted against the bill along with most Liberal MPs. Twenty-eight Liberal MPs, all NDP and Green MPs voted in favor of the bill.

Bill C-223 would have allowed the Minister of Finance to put forth a report that would allow all Canadians 17 and over, including non-citizen permanent residents, refugee claimants and temporary workers, an income each year. The amount would depend on which region a person lived in, but it was estimated a few years ago that the programs cost about $85 billion annually or about $17,000 a year per person.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh had promoted the bill on social media Tuesday, claiming it would bring “help” to Canadians.

However, many took issue with his post.

“UBI is code for Communism and a terrible excuse for leftists not to seek employment,” X user @Mattpetti32 wrote in response to Singh.

Another X user wrote that tax cuts, not “handouts,” are the answer to helping Canadians.

“Best way to help people is to cut our taxes considerably. The @NDPand @liberal_party want you reliant on their handouts as they steal from your pocket and leave you with almost nothing. Thieves,” X user @MikesUsername77 wrote.

While the NDP’s attempt at passing a UBI bill into law failed, there is another similar bill before Canada’s Senate that, if passed, would establish “a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income.”

Senate Bill S-233 is now before a committee; however, it has not gone to the House of Commons yet.

Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) director of political operations Jack Fonseca told LifeSiteNews that UBI is “yet another move by our two socialist parties, the Liberals and NDP, to try to gradually transform Canada into a communist country by making most of the population dependent on government handouts and eliminating the middle class.”

“The truth is that a universal basic income would result in huge numbers of Canadians never wanting to work again,” he warned.

“Many, especially young men, will pass their time smoking dope, taking drugs, playing video games and watching porn, which is all that the universal basic income will allow them to afford.”

According to prominent retired American politician Ron Paul, the implementation of a universal basic income is one of the major goals of the WEF’s Great Reset global socialist plan.

Kid Rock blasts case of bud light

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Jeff Berkowitz

It was a warning shot that went unheeded, and now it is costing major corporations dearly. Following a last year’s Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in higher education, 13 Republican state attorneys general fired off a letter to Fortune 100 companies questioning their similar corporate policies. Now, many companies wish they had paid closer attention.

In the past few months, conservative activist Robby Starbuck’s social media campaign has swept through major corporations wreaking so much havoc that companies have begun folding to his demands before they are even targeted. The result? Damaged market capitalizations, tarnished reputations, and ire and frustration from consumers and activists on both the Left and Right. Welcome to the latest manifestation of our post-Bud Light era in which every company remains a Target.

Starbucks’ campaign and the attorneys general’s scrutiny that preceded it are part of the growing right-wing backlash to corporate America’s post-George Floyd embrace of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices. It is just one area in which companies are finding it hard to avoid political pressures in today’s stakeholder economy. Here’s what public affairs professionals need to know to help their companies navigate the increasingly heated culture wars of our tribal era.

The Summer DEI Turned Ugly

Leading this charge is conservative activist Robby Starbuck, whose campaigns against corporate DEI efforts have forced several major companies to quietly retreat. He led a full-blown digital assault against Harley-Davidson, leveraging his social media reach to accuse the company of straying from its core, blue-collar values. Harley-Davidson caved, dialing back its diversity programs. Next in line was John Deere, the agricultural giant known for embodying rural America. Starbuck’s campaign amassed millions of views, and the company retreated on its DEI initiatives. Seeing the wreckage, Molson Coors, Ford, and Lowe’s preemptively reduced their diversity efforts to avoid Starbuck’s crosshairs.

These aren’t isolated incidents. What started as a weak signal—the occasional conservative critique—has now turned into a full-fledged backlash. Tractor Supply, for instance, initially embraced DEI as part of a broader modernization strategy, but scaled back its efforts after being targeted by one of Starbuck’s campaigns. The retreat wasn’t driven by internal concerns over DEI’s effectiveness but by external pressures. Starbuck’s use of social media, dripping out just enough content over time to keep the pressure rising, has been a devastatingly effective strategy leaving companies from every sector fearing that staying the DEI course could cost them dearly.

Companies’ Complicated Embrace of DEI

Companies first leaned into DEI as a response to a profound cultural shift. The killing of George Floyd galvanized a movement for racial justice, and businesses, driven by both moral imperatives and strategic necessity, integrated DEI into their operations. Companies like Harley-Davidson, Nike, and John Deere were among the most visible in championing these efforts, aligning their brands with social progress and gaining public praise in the process.

What many of these organizations failed to foresee was the emergence of a powerful counter-narrative. On the surface, DEI seemed apolitical — focused on long-overdue fairness, inclusion, and representation. However, to conservative critics like Robby Starbuck, these initiatives represented a broader ideological shift that encroached on corporate neutrality. Companies that embraced DEI became vulnerable to accusations of wading too far into progressive politics, opening themselves to opposing pressure campaigns that can significantly damage their reputations and business models.

As we’ve pointed out before, DEI efforts are too often shaped and driven by a broader progressive agenda that itself is not always that inclusive. Plus, for many companies, the embrace of DEI has been more rhetoric than results, with little real progress towards stated goals of elevating under-represented populations in company ranks – particularly at higher levels. That’s left companies stuck between unsatisfied progressives and angry conservatives.

In Politics, Every Action Has An Unequal And Opposite Reaction

Starbuck’s playbook reveals a deeper truth about today’s political dynamics. DEI, which quickly became viewed as a corporate best practice, is now seen by many on the right as synonymous with “wokeness” — a label that carries significant risks in today’s polarized environment. What some companies initially saw as distant concerns have turned into high-pressure reputational crises and many prominent libertarian and conservative voices in the business world are now pushing companies to embrace an alternative: Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence (MEI).

This new reality brings significant legal implications, with lawsuits alleging reverse discrimination on the rise and politicians pushing legislative and enforcement actions. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spearheaded efforts to dismantle DEI with the “Stop WOKE Act” in 2022, which restricted how race and gender topics are taught in schools and workplaces. In 2023, he expanded these efforts by defunding DEI programs in higher education, labeling them as political indoctrination. His actions set a precedent for other Republican governors, with states like Texas, North Dakota, and North Carolina advancing similar policies.

In many ways, DEI has become a proxy for larger ideological battles, and companies are increasingly caught in the crossfire. As Starbuck’s campaigns continue to gain traction, businesses that once felt pressure to do more on a range of social issues from the left are now feeling the same sort or pressure from the right — and not all of them understand how they got here or what it means as our cultural warfare continues.

Navigating The Tribal Divide

As the stories of Harley-Davidson, John Deere, and Tractor Supply illustrate, the decision to step back from DEI initiatives isn’t always about rejecting diversity itself but about managing the complex realities of political and reputational risk. Even firms like Nike, a well-known and ardent supporter of progressive social causes, has tempered its public messaging in recent months.

The DEI blowback we’re witnessing today is a reflection of deeper societal divisions, ones that are now playing out across corporate America. Public affairs professionals need to understand this battle isn’t just about DEI—it’s about the role activists and politicians on both sides of the divide expect businesses to play in shaping cultural narratives.

In this new era, companies must navigate an ever-shifting landscape where political and cultural allegiances can determine success or failure. For those in government relations and public affairs, staying attuned to these tribal dynamics will be critical in helping organizations anticipate and manage the next wave of blowback—or hopefully avoid it all together.

Jeff Berkowitz is the founder and CEO of Delve, a competitive intelligence and risk advisory firm.