Oct 20

Toronto Police Board Member Caught Tweeting While Driving (Feat. Shelley Carroll)

Isn't that illegal Shelley?

Isn’t that illegal Shelley?

If you followed the media and politico’s constant barrage of attacks on Rob Ford, you’re probably aware of the two times he was caught using his mobile phone while driving. Of all the attacks against Ford, the criticism about his distracted driving was entirely fair- not only is it illegal to do so, but it recklessly puts other people’s lives at risk.

Ford’s opponents argued that as mayor he has the responsibility to act and behave as a role model. The Toronto Police service spoke out about the incident and issued a plea for Ford to get himself a driver. The mayor rejected the request at first, but ultimately broke down and hired a City of Toronto security guard to do the job.

One would think that after all of the negative media Ford received for distracted driving that other politicians would have learned by now that it’s a bad idea to do this. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case for City Councillor Shelley Carroll. Ignoring the fact it’s illegal to use one’s phone while driving, and that it’s a horrible example for a member of the Toronto Police Services Board to be breaking the law, Carroll flagrantly tweeted a message to Newstalk 1010’s John More from the Don Valley Parkway this morning.

Continue reading

Oct 19

The Hypocrisy Of The University of Toronto’s Administration (Feat. Jordan Peterson)

Jordan Peterson: "I've studied totalitarianism for 4 decades, and I know how it starts!"

Jordan Peterson: “I’ve studied totalitarianism for 4 decades, and I know how it starts!”

I’ve been following University of Toronto Professor Jordan Peterson’s battle against political correctness very closely the past few weeks. I’ve attended and filmed both protests, discussed the issue with people on both sides, and helped get a retraction from an organization that mistakenly claimed one of Peterson’s supporters made a Nazi salute.

I’ll be publishing an in-depth report in the next few days, but big news came out today that left me feeling the need to point out the hypocrisy of the University of Toronto’s administration.

Continue reading

Jul 07

Will Vancouver Police Allow Pro-Violence Activists To Start A New Tent City?

More violence for the DTES?

More violence for the DTES?

After several months of mayhem, and allegations of a neighbourhood crime spree, a BC court has finally called for the shutdown of Victoria’s “homeless” tent city. Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled in a 40-page document that the tent city is both a danger to the people living inside of it and the local community its residents have intruded on. The protest was organised and backed by professional activists including the infamous Ivan Drury of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

DTES Activists love tent cities, they’re virtually a guaranteed way to get the media coverage they so desperately desire. The Vancouver Police Department typically plays into their hands, claiming their duty is to “keep the peace” over that of to enforce the law. This inevitably leads to 100’s of thousands of dollars of policing, medical, and legal fees for city taxpayers.

Well folks, the time has come for another tent city on July 9th, this time in the DTES. It’s led by the usual suspects who’ve setup similar past protests including the Carnegie Community Action Network (CCAP), the Vancouver Area Drug User’s Network (VANDU), and the International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS). And, considering who’s signed-up for Saturday’s protest, there’s every possibility we’ll see violence as we have in the past.

Continue reading

Jul 05

Liars, Lying Liars, And Desmond Cole (Feat. Black Lives Matter Toronto, CP24)

desmond-cole-header

Desmond Cole: Habitual liar…

Desmond Cole has a truthiness problem. The first time I realised this was in January. He used boldfaced lies back then to attack the Toronto Police Service’s decision to order security fences to protect their headquarters. Desmond claimed that previous protests about the Sammy Yatim shooting were entirely peaceful. They weren’t. Protesters rushed two of cop stations, “de-arrested” a well-known criminalised protester, and tried to break through police lines.

Less than a week later Cole published an article in the Toronto Star with one big lie and several dirty tricks about the Gregory Alan Elliott trial. The issue was brought to the attention of the judge who ruled on the trial after Elliott’s defence lawyer specifically called out Cole’s bullshit. The Star, showing zero remorse, made no attempt to apologise and continued Cole’s pattern of dirty tricks.

Cole has since become an unofficial spokesperson for Black Lives Matter Toronto- perhaps the most racist group of Social Justice Warriors in all of Toronto. Whenever BLMTO causes controversy Desmond is one of the first people speaking on behalf to the media. The pattern repeated itself yesterday after BLMTO’s controversial protest where they blocked Sunday’s Pride parade- Cole was all over the media, continuing his unfortunate habit of telling boldfaced lies.

Continue reading

Jun 25

Transit Union Funded AstroTurfers Get Their Spin On With A Dodgy Petition! (Feat. TTCRiders)

TTCRiders can't stop deceiving the public...

TTCRiders can’t stop deceiving the public…

Three weeks ago I had the opportunity to get a first-hand look at one of Toronto’s most deceptive NGOs. The TTCRiders puts great effort into making themselves look like a genuine grassroots passenger’s advocacy group. But look down past the surface and you’ll see a blatant conflict-of-interest – the “passenger’s union” has become captive to the money and causes favoured by the ATU driver’s union.

Depending on who their leaders are talking to, the TTCRiders are either a legitimate grassroots organization representing over 1.8 million transit users, an activist group backed by 10,000 enthusiastic supporters- or (the truth) a gang of 120 grassroots impersonators originating from the labour and climate change movements.

Tired of the same old deceptive tactics, the old dogs running the TTCriders tried a new trick on Friday. Their new tactic was a real laugh riot- as fraudulent as it was grossly inept. It also raises an interesting question- did their leaders decide to fudge 200 signatures out of desperation to make themselves appear less insignificant, or are they so pathological they simply couldn’t resist the temptation?

Continue reading

Jun 23

Anti-Canada Extremists Arrested After Queens Park Chemical Attack Hoax (Feat. Syed Hussan)

Just rolled up a van and were free to spill

Just rolled up a van and were free to spill

Shortly after 10am this morning a group of protesters rolled-up in front of Queens Park and simulated a chemical spill in the name of the people of the Grassy Narrows First Nation. The group’s eco-terror simulation had all the trademarks of No One Is Illegal’s anti-Canada extremists; like Jaggi Singh’s Teddy Bear Catapult at the 2001 Summit of the Americas, when his close allies at Black Lives Matter Toronto set up a potentially large bonfire in front of Toronto Police Headquarters, or when BLMTo and #OccupyINAC protesters recently left a mysterious liquid in front of Kathleen Wynne’s house.

NoII leader Syed Hussan was an accessory to today’s attack. His primary duty was to act as their spokesperson, but he also waved around a banner behind a Toronto police officer who was addressing the media. Reports are that six people were arrested, it’s uncertain if Hussan was, probably not.

The protest was over new allegations that Ontario’s government hasn’t done enough to deal with mercury poisoning at the Grassy Narrows First Nation. There’s no evidence and haven’t been any statements indicating any of the people who were arrested came from the community, or whether a majority of the people in the community agree with this action taken in their name. NoII has an unfortunate history appropriating native voices for labour backed radicalization campaigns.

Continue reading

Jun 21

A Curious Peek Into The RCMP Led CFSEU Anti-Gang Unit In Surrey, BC

Periscope is an app that makes it almost too easy to broadcast live videos from Android and IOS phones. I often use it when covering protests, it’s come in very useful when ethically challenged activists try to make up stories I’m doing anything but quietly filming. I’ve also used it to ask hard questions of Jane Fonda, 350.org leader Bill McKibben, and former Ontario Federation of Labour leader Sid Ryan.

One of the more interesting features of the app is how it alerts users about people’s first attempt broadcasting a livestream. Sometimes all you get is a fish tank, I used three teddy bears for mine. But other times it offers an interesting peek into the lives and work environments of the people who are trying it out. Then, of course, there are the “oh shit” moments where people accidentally learn the power of social media.

The RCMP’s Surrey BC Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit had one of those moments today, testing out Periscope from what appears to be their office. The short video features a young woman lounging on an office chair looking disinterested browsing her own mobile phone, quickly followed by a man realizing people are watching. It’s a curious seeming environment, not what one would expect at such an important law enforcement office.

Continue reading

Jun 01

Transit Union Funded Astroturfers Interrupt TTC Board Meeting (Feat. TTCRiders, ATU)

TTCRiders' Herman Rosenfeld addresses the crowd

TTCRiders’ Herman Rosenfeld addresses the crowd at City Hall

Back in the beginning of May, our elected representatives at Toronto City Hall got into a heated debate about tracking lobbyists. The city has a halfway decent system for tracking corporate lobbyists, it could definitely benefit from having more detail, but it’s easy to use and offers visibility into who’s trying to exert influence. That said, there’s a significant gap in reporting requirements- voters have almost zero visibility into the lobbying efforts of unions and NGOs.

Clr. Denzil Minnan-Wong introduced a motion that day calling for city staff to review implementing requirements for tracking the lobbying activities of unions and NGOs. Cllr. Paul Ainslie called the idea “ludicrous”, Cllr. Gord Perks used the word “absurd”, Clr. Mike Layton complained that “these organizations don’t have the resources” to log into a city website and spend the couple minutes it takes to make an entry. In the end, council watered down the request and removed NGOs.

Compromise is important in city governance, but in this case, city council made a trade-off that’s guaranteed to fail. Unions and NGOs have a long history of working together as a team and funding each other’s initiatives- businesses use AstroTurf NGOs this way too. Yesterday I travelled to City Hall to see a live example of the former, an NGO claiming to represent TTC riders at large. But not all is as it appears on the surface, most of their supporters represent special interests- including the union representing TTC staff.

Continue reading

May 28

Interactive Chart: Are Canadian Cannabis Growers Building An Enron Style Bubble?

On Thursday afternoon, officers from the Toronto Police Service swept into 43 marijuana dispensaries in a massive raid on both sides of the city. The cops arrested 90 people, issuing a total of 257 charges. About $160,000 in cash was confiscated and a few hundred kilograms of cannabis-based products- including marijuana, resin, oil, chocolate, cookies, and candy.

Investment analyst Aaron Salz, an expert in the Canadian cannabis industry, was quoted saying “there’s definitely some effort” by licensed growers to get the police to shut down their unlicensed competitors. Curiously, the raids were conducted on the very same day industry leaders gathered for their annual Canadian Cannabis Business Conference in downtown Toronto.

Licensed growers have an impressive list of politically connected executives; including a board member of the Liberal Party of Canada, a former Ontario Liberal cabinet member who worked on a radio show with mayor John Tory, and a former director of the Young Liberals of Canada. Was it only a coincidence that Thursday’s raids were perfectly timed for the largest Bay St industry event of the year?

Continue reading

May 25

SOA Air Pollution: Statistics Prove Olive Oil Is Dirtier Than Alberta Bitumen!

It's the end of the world as we know it! (not)

It’s the end of the world as we know it! (not)

Back in February 2012, the Federal and Alberta government’s Environment ministries announced a “world class” joint initiative to monitor the environmental impact of the Alberta Oilsands. The program was allocated $50 million per year to monitor the water, air, and animal habitats- funding was provided with money obtained from the Oilsands industry.

In August and September 2013, scientists from the federal Environment Ministry filled a plane filled with “sophisticated scientific instruments” and collected air quality data on 20 separate four-hour flights. The CBC reported that they “followed plumes of pollution from the oilsands as they headed downwind,” collecting data as air particulate turned into Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOAs)- pollutants created by a chemical reaction when floating particles interact with sunlight.

Almost three years later, the ministry finally published their results this week in the scientific journal Nature. Canadian journalists, unable to resist the temptation of a good Oilsands scare story, jumped on the report quicker than Elizabeth May on a bottle of extra strength Nyquil. The Globe and Mail warned that Oilsands dust is a “leading source” of air pollution, the CBC called it “huge”. But what the media didn’t tell their readers is that, from the perspective of SOA emissions, there’s a much dirtier oil on the market- and it’s proudly displayed on supermarket shelves across the country!

Continue reading

Load more