She must be polling negatively, and has enough years in for the golden handshake . Not bad for a back bencher nobody has ever heard of .Liberal MP says she’s leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published May 01, 2024 • 1 minute read
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she will not run again in the next federal election, saying disrespectful dialogue in politics, threats to her life and misogyny are what have contributed to her decision.
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she will not run again in the next federal election, saying disrespectful dialogue in politics, threats to her life and misogyny are what have contributed to her decision.
OTTAWA — Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won’t run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Damoff says she’s proud of her time in politics but it is no longer for her, and it’s time to turn the page to a new chapter.
She has represented Oakville North-Burlington, a riding west of Toronto, since 2015.
Damoff announced her planned exit with a letter posted on her Facebook page.
She says the current tone of politics is being driven by a desire for social-media clips and likes — a drastic change in how politicians interact with each other and the public.
She adds the tenor of political discourse has deteriorated significantly, and she fears that misinformation and “lies” spread by politicians are causing a loss of trust in institutions.
“Unfortunately, the toxic drive for social-media likes and clips among elected officials has hindered constructive conversations, exacerbated difference between us and diminished our capacity to show empathy towards each other,” Damoff said in the statement.
“The threats and misogyny I have experienced as a member of Parliament are such that I often fear going out in public, and that is not a sustainable or healthy way to live.”
Liberal MP says she’s leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Damoff announced her planned exit with a letter posted on her Facebook page.torontosun.com
Wack all their PP’s .Conservatives call on Commons Speaker to resign, say he let Trudeau cross the line
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Stephanie Taylor
Published May 01, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 4 minute read
Conservative MPs are calling on Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign after ejecting their leader during a heated debate, where they say equal rules were not applied to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Conservative MPs are calling on Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign after ejecting their leader during a heated debate, where they say equal rules were not applied to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
OTTAWA — Conservative MPs want House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign after ejecting their leader — and not Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — during a heated debate Tuesday.
The Tories say Fergus did not apply the rules equally during a tense back and forth between Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Poilievre was kicked out of the chamber after he called Trudeau a “wacko prime minister” and refused Fergus’s request to withdraw the remark. His entire caucus eventually left as well in protest.
The insult was hurled as Poilievre pressed Trudeau to agree to British Columbia’s request to amend a Health Canada provision decriminalizing public possession of hard drugs like heroin and fentanyl.
Trudeau instead shot back that Poilievre did not deserve elected office, accusing him of courting far-right extremists.
Last week videos emerged of Poilievre visiting a carbon price protest camp in Atlantic Canada where one of the trailers featured a drawing of a symbol belonging to the far-right online group Diagolon.
Conservative MP John Brassard said Wednesday that Trudeau used “undignified” language Tuesday by inferring that Tories are connected to white nationalists.
“The Conservative party has never been represented by a more diverse group in this country like we’ve seen now, and to imply and infer that somehow we are white nationalists or racists, I think is undignified,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
Michael Barrett, the party’s ethics critic in Parliament, said equal rules must be applied in the House when the prime minister is delivering what Barrett calls “personal insults” instead of defending his drug policy.
A spokesman for Fergus said Wednesday that the Speaker didn’t just single out Poilievre, noting he also asked Trudeau to reframe one of his questions after he called Poilievre a “spineless leader.”
“The prime minister reframed his answer,’ Mathieu Gravel said.
“The Speaker offered Mr. Poilievre four opportunities to withdraw his comment and reframe his question. Mr. Poilievre did not avail himself of those opportunities.”
Poilievre instead told Fergus he would replace the word “wacko” with “extremist” and “radical,” which the Speaker rejected, asking him to withdraw use of the term altogether.
When he did not, Fergus ordered him to leave.
The Conservative leader cried censorship and said Fergus was trying to protect the prime minister.
Gravel said Fergus “has no intention of resigning.”
Most of Wednesday’s question period was far less raucous, with the Conservatives set in a sedate tone. The back-and-forth between opposition and government MPs, which saw both Trudeau and Poilievre participate, unfolded without need for the Speaker to step in.
Poilievre avoided bringing up the previous day’s events.
Rather he spoke in a slow, measured manner throughout, and didn’t react when Trudeau referenced the “new, more reasonable tone of the leader of the Opposition” and again accused Poilievre of refusing to “condemn violent extremism.”
But close to an hour into question period, when Trudeau did it again, some Conservative MPs began shouting “black face” at him. That is a reference to images of Trudeau that emerged in 2021 showing him wearing black, or brown face on more than one occasion prior to getting into politics.
House of Commons rules state if the Speaker determines “offensive or disorderly language” was used, the MP will be asked to withdraw the unparliamentary remarks, and “must rise in his or her place to retract the words unequivocally.”
The rules don’t define unparliamentary language, instead allowing the Speaker to make the decision based on a number of factors, including tone, intention and most importantly whether the remarks caused any disorder in the chamber. That means the same language can be deemed unparliamentary one day but not the next.
Liberals came to Fergus’s defence on Tuesday and continued to slam Poilievre’s actions and that of his caucus.
“When we saw the Conservatives storm out in protest, I thought it was immature,” said Housing Minister Sean Fraser.
“Nobody sent me to Ottawa to storm out of the House of Commons. Some of the comments that I heard coming from Opposition MPs was cheerleading that it was happening, saying ’are you trying to help us with our fundraising. We’re going to raise an extra million dollars off this.”’
The Conservative party sent out a fundraising blast within an hour of the incident.
Similarly, the Liberal party’s social media lit up with footage of cabinet ministers and Trudeau himself calling out Poilievre, accusing him of courting far-right extremists.
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said on Wednesday that the Speaker was elected by MPs and respects all of his rulings.
On Tuesday, he also compared Poilievre’s behaviour to that of former U.S. President Donald Trump, which is a frequent attack the Liberals mount against the Canadian Conservative, accusing the party of importing American-style politics into the country.
“They come into our democratic institutions, they break all the rules and when they are called on breaking all the rules they leave and say they’ve been gagged,” MacKinnon said.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija and Mickey Djuric
Conservatives call on Commons Speaker to resign, say he let Trudeau cross the line
Conservatives say he let Trudeau cross the line.torontosun.com
the girls are probably praying that south korea nukes them.Kim Jong Un recruits 25 new virgins every year for ‘pleasure squad’
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published May 03, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 2 minute read
Kim Jong Un takes time out of his busy schedule to select 25 virgin girls a year to personally entertain him in what a North Korean defector called his “pleasure squad.”
Yeonmi Park, 30, told the Daily Star that officials would “visit every classroom” and “even go to schoolyards in case they missed someone pretty.”
It wasn’t all about attractiveness, however; Park added that the girls’ political loyalty also played a factor on whether they chosen.
Park claimed she was scouted twice for the so-called honour but wasn’t picked in the end because of her “family status.”
She explained “they eliminate any girls with family members that have escaped from North Korea, or have relatives in South Korea or other countries.”
If given the green light, the next step for the young women is a medical examination to ensure they are, in fact, virgins.
Candidates who move on are then subjected to more invasive tests where even the tiniest defect, like a small scar anywhere on the body, will get them disqualified.
Once only a “handful of girls” are left, they are sent to Pyongyang to see if they make the final cut.
If selected, their “only reason to exist is to please the dictator,” Park said.
She said for many, life in North Korea is so grim that parents welcome their daughters being recruited in the hope they might enjoy a better quality of life.
Park, who fled North Korea for China in 2007 at the age of 13, has amassed more than 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube with her tales of life inside the dictatorship.
She moved to the United States in 2014 and became an American citizen eight years later, even writing a book about her search for freedom in the U.S. after defecting.
Park also mentioned that Jong Un has very specific taste, and opts for women who are “slender,” “taller” and more “western-looking.”
Within the pleasure squad, there are three different divisions, she added.
The first group are trained to massage, the second bunch specialize in entertainment such as singing and dancing, while the third bevy of women make up the “sexual activities division,” and have to not only be intimate with the tubby tyrant but his inner circle as well.
The most beautiful girls are reserved to attend to the dictator essentially as sex slaves, while the less attractive members must cater to the needs of low-ranking generals and politicians.
“They have to learn how to please these men,” Park said. “That’s their only goal.”
Voice of North Korea by Yeonmi Park
Raising awareness about North Korean human rights issues and spread the word about freedom around the globe. Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/yeonmipark Join Patron: https://www.patreon.com/yeonmipark Join my exclusive community: https://yeonmipark.locals.com/ To purchase sign copies...youtube.comYeonmi Park on Instagram: "“New York City! What a perfect contrast to where I came from! The only majesty, the only grandeur, the only symbolism in North Korea is reserved for the cult of a single man: The Supreme Leader. The statues are of him, the
13K likes, 184 comments - yeonmi_park on January 29, 2023: "“New York City! What a perfect contrast to where I came from! The only majesty, the only grandeur, the only symbolism in North Korea is reserved for the cult of a single man: The Supreme Leader. The statues are of him, the monuments...instagram.comKim Jong-un 'picks 25 virgin girls every year' to be part of 'Pleasure Squad'
A woman who fled from North Korea to China in 2007 aged 13 says she was scouted by recruiters for a 'Pleasure Squad' of girls that would be used for sex by Kim Jong-Undailystar.co.ukKim Jong Un recruits 25 new virgins every year for ‘pleasure squad’
Kim Jong Un selects 25 virgin girls a year to personally entertain him in what a North Korean defector called his “pleasure squad.”torontosun.com
no one perceived justine as prime minister.Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says she 'never perceived' Justin as 'a prime minister'
'Because I never perceived my partner as a prime minister, I never perceived my marriage as a political marriage'
Author of the article:Mark Daniell
Published May 07, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read
Sophie Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau during the launch of her new book, Closer Together, in Montreal on Monday April 22, 2024.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Canada’s former unofficial first lady, has the same thoughts as many Canadians right now, telling Newsweek in a new interview that she never thought of her estranged husband, Justin, as “a prime minister.”
Last summer, the Canadian couple ended their 18-year marriage and Gregoire Trudeau is now lifting the lid on their split as she hits the publicity trail to promote her new self-help book, Closer Together, Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other.
“I wrote this book so that people can know themselves better, love themselves better so that we can give us the maximum tools and opportunities to face the crises that we’re facing,” Gregoire Trudeau tells Newsweek.
Following the couple’s 2005 marriage, Gregoire Trudeau said she didn’t aspire to have a profile that would land her notoriety on a world stage.
“Because I never perceived my partner as a prime minister, I never perceived my marriage as a political marriage or our relationship for that matter,” she tells the publication.
“We were kind of just in the middle of what it means to be out there and scrutinized by the world.”
Gregoire Trudeau, 49, is plotting two books focusing on her mental health journey. Part of the description for Closer Together on her publisher’s website reads, “Sophie Gregoire Trudeau invites readers on a deeply personal journey toward self-knowledge, acceptance, and empowerment, drawing on the expertise of top psychologists, psychiatrists, scientists, and thought leaders.”
Closer Together
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau invites readers on a deeply personal journey in Closer Together.
It was written before the two called it quits. But, of course, Gregoire Trudeau is facing questions about the dissolution of her marriage to the Liberal leader, whom she married in 2005 and shares three children with.
Gregoire Trudeau tells Newsweek she wasn’t going to “reinvent myself” as Trudeau’s political ambitions started to form after they wed.
“I always look for that sense of integrity inside of me. Is it the right thing to do? And is it what I do in life?” Gregoire Trudeau says. “I won’t reinvent myself because I’m now a partner of somebody or people see me in this kind of new position, nonofficial first lady, or whatever. So, I always tried to never believe in a role or a title but stay true to course and remember that’s how I need to serve in a way.”
Justin and Sophie
As she promotes the book, Gregoire Trudeau says she wishes she didn’t have to keep rehashing their split, but said the ending of her marriage “is a very small portion of my life.”
“Of course, I wish I didn’t have to share the state of my relationship with the world,” she says. “It is my life, but it is a very small portion of my life. I don’t live my life with the cameras on. I’m at home with the kids. We’re running around, we’re booking appointments. So I don’t bring my mind there. But that being said, I now understand that being on a co-political path, and your partner does that, it implies a lot of changes in one’s life that you don’t expect. And you have to constantly adapt.”
In an interview with the Montreal Gazette last month, Gregoire Trudeau said she hopes the Closer Together “encourages people to look deeper inside themselves.”
“It’s my content and my story. When you show emotional vulnerability, it’s a sign of strength, and I hope it encourages people to look deeper inside themselves to find peace and balance in their own lives, because so many people are suffering right now,” she said.
As for the breakup, Gregoire Trudeau isn’t delving into too many details and is instead moving forward in her new reality as she co-parents with her embattled ex, who is being battered in the polls.
“Is it my fault? Is it his fault? There’s a lot of blaming, when what we’re all trying in our relationships and our connections is to heal ourselves or validate our emotions,” she said in an interview with Vogue.
In a separate cover story with Elle Canada, Gregoire Trudeau said the split wasn’t nearly as bad as she thought it could be.
“I imagined the worst-case scenario, I’ll tell you that,” she told the magazine. “I had to. I didn’t want to be naive. But I also had to protect myself.”
Looking back on their separation, there’s one word she uses to describe their breakup and their new reality going forward (Gregoire is rumoured to have “re-partnered” with a former beau).
“Hard,” she said. “(I had to) face the truth (and) choose authenticity over attachment. I’m a family woman — family is everything to me (because) I’m an only child, so the thought of breaking that mould or transforming that mould … Even the words we use to describe relationships — it’s either success (and you) stay together or failure (and you) go on different paths. We really need to develop a new vocabulary for human beings as we transform on our own paths.”
mdaniell@postmedia.com
Closer Together by Sophie Grégoire Trudeau | Penguin Random House Canada
INSTANT #1 TORONTO STAR and GLOBE AND MAIL BESTSELLERSophie Grégoire Trudeau invites readers on a deeply personal journey toward self-knowledge, acceptance, and empowerment, drawing on the expertise of top psychologists, psychiatrists, scientists, and thought leaders.penguinrandomhouse.caSophie Grégoire Trudeau pens new book on mental health
Canada's unofficial first lady Sophie Grégoire Trudeau talks working through trauma, relationships in the public eye and her new book exploring mental healthnewsweek.comSophie Gregoire Trudeau says she 'never perceived' Justin as 'a prime minister'
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says she never thought of her estranged husband, Justin, as "the Prime Minister."torontosun.com
Here is a tale of two recent childcare webinars. One was organized by entrepreneurs who see their daycare centres and the families they serve being bulldozed by the Trudeau government’s national takeover of their sector; the other was held by government-funded activists and aspiring central planners who see the governmentalization of childcare as an opportunity to inject it with their notions of social justice.Here’s the first thing you need to know about the new “National School Food Program” you might have heard about: There is no national school food program. There is even less a national school food program than there is a national daycare program, even less than there is a “national pharmacare deal.”
The “national pharmacare deal” is at least a piece of legislation. The school food program is a press release, with details to come in the budget. And like national pharmacare (in which neither Quebec nor Alberta is interested), national school food isn’t really national at all.
A takeaway from the conference was that the Trudeau government is trampling parental choice and imposing its own preferences onto families. As a statement released by AACE put it, the federal government is “limiting parental choice, forcing families into state-sponsored, regulated childcare.”“Education being Quebec’s exclusive jurisdiction, it goes without saying that we demand to receive this money without any conditions,” minister for Canadian relations Jean-François Roberge averred roughly 30 seconds after the federal government’s announcement this week.
This is seen as “a move towards a homogenized model, crafted by discriminatory, social ideological government policies rather than reflecting the varied preferences of Canadian families. Many operators recommended that funding parents directly would give them true choice.”Well, hey, it’s 2024. Symmetrical federalism went out with neon windbreakers. Perhaps we should just accept that “national program” now means “national program except Quebec.” And that when Alberta also says it’s not interested in “national pharmacare,” that’s just Albertans being churlish.
In March, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care held a national webinar on “Creating an Anti-Racist Child Care System in Canada,” which highlighted its three-year project, funded by the federal government, on how to make childcare “anti-racist.”I would rather not. I think the whole “national strategy” discourse warps Canadians’ minds about how this country, and federations in general, were designed to work — which can only make it more difficult to solve our biggest problems.
The activists also make recommendations to childcare operators, such as “ongoing anti-racism, inclusion and equity training” for staff, “ongoing training and coaching to develop and implement anti-racist, inclusive pedagogy” and creating an “advisory committee that includes Black, Indigenous and racialized community members.”Point out a basic fact like “school lunches are not federal jurisdiction,” online or off, and you will immediately be set upon by people who understand very well how federalism works, but think it’s downright ghoulish for you to bring it up in the matter of hungry children. (It’s all they can do not to literally channel Helen Lovejoy’s immortal, agonized cry from The Simpsons: “Oh won’t someone please think of the children!”)
Three observations. First, it is not clear that forming advisory committees in which race is a criterion for admission is really an “anti-racist” initiative. Second, there is scant evidence that the childcare sector is a hotbed of racism against minorities to begin with: visible minorities are over-represented in the childcare sector compared to the workforce as a whole.You can assemble an impressive roster of such people quite quickly by sticking your neck out slightly on social media: journalists, criminal defence lawyers, a candidate for the Alberta NDP, even a former premier: “Let’s skip the long debate about jurisdiction,” Kathleen Wynne advised, without explaining how exactly we would go about that. Would Ottawa just mail every school principal in the land a cheque with a vow of silence attached? (It might be the most efficient way.)
Chris Selley: School meals is another phoney Liberal 'national' program. Don't fall for it — National Post
There's nothing wrong with sending the provinces money to province school lunches. But there's nothing 'national' about it, and nor should there beapple.news
Indeed, it is through maximizing choice that racism is best reduced. Parents are not interested in sending their children to racist childcare centres. Taking control of childcare away from government and giving it back to parents and the providers they choose is the best path to the highest quality and most accessible non-racist childcare. We should listen to the childcare entrepreneurs, not the activists.The problem is this “national strategy” schtick. It’s nothing but political branding, like the Liberals’ “minister of middle-class prosperity,” and dispassionate observers, including we in the media, should not be indulging it. All we’re really talking about is Ottawa wiring the provinces money.
Parents dont have Rights. They have DEI guidelines bestowed upon them by the childless.Here is a tale of two recent childcare webinars. One was organized by entrepreneurs who see their daycare centres and the families they serve being bulldozed by the Trudeau government’s national takeover of their sector; the other was held by government-funded activists and aspiring central planners who see the governmentalization of childcare as an opportunity to inject it with their notions of social justice.
Matthew Lau: Activists look to turn daycares into woke indoctrination camps — National Post
Trudeau's daycare scheme is causing wait lists and bankrupting providers, while some look to use the system to advance their own endsapple.news
A takeaway from the conference was that the Trudeau government is trampling parental choice and imposing its own preferences onto families. As a statement released by AACE put it, the federal government is “limiting parental choice, forcing families into state-sponsored, regulated childcare.”
This is seen as “a move towards a homogenized model, crafted by discriminatory, social ideological government policies rather than reflecting the varied preferences of Canadian families. Many operators recommended that funding parents directly would give them true choice.”
Juxtapose the concerns of childcare providers trying to stay afloat and continue providing quality care to families in the face of the Trudeau government’s takeover of their sector, with what government-funded childcare activists are focused on.
In March, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care held a national webinar on “Creating an Anti-Racist Child Care System in Canada,” which highlighted its three-year project, funded by the federal government, on how to make childcare “anti-racist.”
Here’s the Trudeau’ized daycare program…
The organization advocates, among other things, “mandatory anti-racism training as part of membership in the College of ECE.” Another recommendation is to have education programs for childcare workers that “demonstrate a commitment” to decolonization and include “a mandatory course on anti-racist pedagogy” and course materials from Black, Indigenous and racialized theorists. (?????)
The activists also make recommendations to childcare operators, such as “ongoing anti-racism, inclusion and equity training” for staff, “ongoing training and coaching to develop and implement anti-racist, inclusive pedagogy” and creating an “advisory committee that includes Black, Indigenous and racialized community members.”
Three observations. First, it is not clear that forming advisory committees in which race is a criterion for admission is really an “anti-racist” initiative. Second, there is scant evidence that the childcare sector is a hotbed of racism against minorities to begin with: visible minorities are over-represented in the childcare sector compared to the workforce as a whole.
Third, there is abundant evidence that free markets and competition, not expanded government control (as advocated by the government-funded activists, who say the Ontario government should “enshrine” the right to government-regulated childcare), is an effective way to reduce racism and other forms of discrimination.
Indeed, it is through maximizing choice that racism is best reduced. Parents are not interested in sending their children to racist childcare centres. Taking control of childcare away from government and giving it back to parents and the providers they choose is the best path to the highest quality and most accessible non-racist childcare. We should listen to the childcare entrepreneurs, not the activists.