Thoughts on BC Politics and More

It’s official. Toronto’s most iconic public square — the beating heart of the city’s downtown — has been renamed Sankofa Square. The name comes from Ghana, and means "reflection on the past," but what past are we reflecting on? ... ... following a two-year consultation process led by a city advisory committee stacked with activists and bureaucrats, the square's new name was revealed. To people's surprise, it had no connection to Canada, no resonance with most Canadians, and no relevance to the square itself. A subsequent poll of Torontonians revealed overwhelming disapproval — 71% saying they did not want this change ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Much has been said and written about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s predictably disastrous trip to India for the G20 Summit (including by yours truly; I hope you have read the article ‘PM Trudeau’s India Disaster 2.0). This issue is important enough to keep bouncing around in the public sphere for some time. I will be putting out a podcast episode to sum up my reaction to the responses that I received on Twitter / X to my article. In the meantime, there are other developments that also merit our attention.  Today, I wish to focus on some of these developments at the municipal level. Before I get to the specific instances, it bears noting that our political system has morphed into something where the credentials required for electoral success are mostly related to activism, rather than any demonstrated ability in the areas of policy making or administration. Nowhere is this phenomenon more visible than in municipal politics. I consider this to be a ‘foundation crack’ in the edifice...

... Biobaku is just one of nearly 92,000 asylum claimants who fled to Canada in 2022, and around 70,000 more have arrived since, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.   It has led to an influx of unsponsored refugee claimants that have flooded homeless shelters, temporary housing and social services in several Canadian cities, most notably in Toronto, and now in Ottawa.   Allan Reesor-McDowell, executive director of Matthew House, said all 13 of its reception and transitional homes are at full capacity, which combined typically provide beds for over 90 people ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  Toronto mayor Olivia Chow is pressing forward with a plan to rename Dundas Street due to the name not representing the “contemporary values of the city.” This plan is estimated to cost taxpayers a minimum of $8.6 million despite the city facing down a major fiscal disaster.   On this special episode of Ratio’d, Harrison hits the streets of Toronto to ask residents if they think renaming a street named after a 1790’s abolitionist who spent his life working toward ending slavery is a good use of taxpayer funds while addicts line the streets, tent cities are becoming a permanent fixture in the street and while Torontonians get hit with more taxes.   Tune in to the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner !

  On Jan. 31, 2023, the federal government gave a drug exemption to the entire province of British Columbia. Simple possession of hard drugs was no longer a criminal matter, it was a public health issue and would be dealt with as such.    Mostly, that appears to mean watching people die of drug overdoses because the drug overdose death rate in B.C. isn’t going down in 2023, it’s increasing.    Toronto is currently asking the federal government for permission to follow B.C.’s lead even as the facts show it’s a horrible idea ... CLICK HERE to read the full commentary

When idiots govern ... The latest news out of our largest city is that it plans to ban organic waste from city landfills. How does the city council think that is possible? Some are warning that they must increase organic waste composting. So, organic waste in a landfill does not compost; it lays there intact for decades? So, after the city council ban takes effect, and Toronto city residents are required to sort their waste into organic and non-organic streams, where does the organic stuff go? It can’t go onto paper bags – they disintegrate. It cannot go into plastic or metal containers as they are not organic and don’t compost. We need special containers made from a combination of hemp fibre and corn starch that can hold organic waste and will decompose.  Those containers will come with a cost. What about the thousands of high-rise apartment and condominium towers that don’t have separate streams for organic waste? The trash chutes empty into ...

The way I see it ... it’s all about power       The report of the federal Ethics Commissioner on PMO dealings with the Solicitor General of Canada is not a “bombshell”, except in the minds of the media. Many if not most of us suspected that was the case last February. Government stonewalling of all efforts to inquire into the SNC-Lavalin affair confirmed our suspicions that the PMO had some nasty dealings to hide. Now that the cat has escaped the bag, the Prime Minister has publicly stated that he accepts full responsibility for events that in his words “should never have happened”. However, he is lying again. Mr. Trudeau cannot accept responsibility for a breach of ethics and also refuse to apologize; refusal to apologize is a rejection of responsibility. Mr. Trudeau claims his action were honorable; to protect Canada and “save jobs”. He was trying to protect SNC-Lavalin from criminal prosecution and save future contacts w...

Toronto Chief of Police Mark Saunders Our approach to people who possess illegal handguns or who have and use guns in the commission of a crime needs a serious overhaul. The spate of shootings in Toronto was caused by people. They were settling scores or in disputes over criminal territory. Toronto Chief of Police Mark Saunders and Mayor John Tory are on the right track. Section 88 of the Criminal Code states: Possession of weapon for dangerous purpose Section 88 (1) Every person commits an offence who carries or possesses a weapon, an imitation of a weapon, a prohibited device or any ammunition or prohibited ammunition for a purpose dangerous to the public peace or for the purpose of committing an offence. Punishment (2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) (a) is guilty of an indictable offence a...