$8 billion

That's the scandalous amount of money Canada has dumped into Ukraine.  $8 billion!@#$^##^%&%&^%*

Now Trudeau is asking our military to cut $1 billion.  How can this be happening??!!  He hands no-strings-attached billions to Ukraine, but handcuffs our own military by telling it to slash a billion.  It's so wrong.  No wonder recruitment is 16,000 short of soldiers.  My heart goes out to General Wayne Eyre, chief of the defense staff, who has to take this ridiculous, demeaning, insulting and illogical sh-t.  

_________________

On another note, I only read the last paragraph of any column penned by Andrew Coyne.  Turgid is too tame and weak a word to describe his awful writing.  Here's an example from today's Globe:

"Danielle Smith and her advisers have made no secret of their admiration for Quebec nationalists -- the same unworkable policies, the same impossible demands, above all the same brazen cheek -- so it is not surprising to see the latest expression of it:  a proposal for Alberta to pull out of the Canada Pension Plan, which it is legally entitled to do, and take 53 percent of the plan's assets with it, which it most certainly isn't."

THAT WAS ONE SENTENCE!!!!

The other annoying thing he does is insert completely unnecessary words:  

"But again, the mistake is....."  Why the "but again" part?  Don't need it.  And this, "Rather than pull out of the CPP, then, Alberta....."  What's with the "then"?  As to making an actual point, if you're lucky you might discover one in the last paragraph.  But maybe not.

He needs to read me to learn how to write succinctly.  

_________________

This poor girl is doomed.  She's about 10 years old and has been allowed, or encouraged, to get this big this young.  Why do parents do that to their children??  It's abuse.

Sad.

Truth and Reconciliation

What do those words mean?  I've never figured it out?  People throw the phrase around all the time, so on this National Orange Shirt Day, let's unpack it.  

Let's take "Truth".  Whose truth?  About what?  For whom?  It was a cute trick for Senator Murray Sinclair...

Murray Sinclair

...to name his inquiry the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" because no one would ever know what that meant.  What it really means is that anyone and everyone can throw the phrase around any way he/she wants to prove -- or disprove -- any point he/she may, or may not, be making.

For the natives, "truth" always means they were hard-done-by, abused, stomped on and robbed of their heritage.  But for me, "truth" means they were handed a pretty good deal financially -- $90 billion a year for 1.8 million people.  Ponder that for a minute; it's an enormous amount of money for nothing.

It also means they were given the opportunity to go to day, or boarding school, (they call it "residential" school and everyone is always a survivor -- not a graduate.  What's up with that BS?) to get an education like every other child in this country had, by law, to do.  The picture below is not of an Indian residential school, which natives claim were abusive and tortuous.  It is a random photo of a boarding school in Strasbourg, France, which children claim they were lucky and privileged to have attended:

Attending school was also what every successful native leader did.  That's why people like Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Pauline Johnson, Billy Diamond, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Chief Dan George, Matthew Coon Come, Mary Simon, Elijah Harper, Ovide Mercredi, Terry Teegee, RoseAnn Archibald, Phil Fontaine, Cindy Blackstock (don't get me started on her!), Shawn Atleo and many, many more rose to prominence.

They went to school and got an education.  There are also 11 native federal members of parliament who, without an education, would not be there.

So, that's "truth".

Now, let's take "reconciliation".  What does that word mean?  It means mainly "money" to the natives.  At least, that's what their end game always seems to be.  The problem with "reconciliation" is that there can never be any as long as natives continue to air grievances and take people to court.  This effectively means there can never be a final "reconciliation" for anything.  

By definition, "reconciliation" cannot be achieved, but the natives are still calling for it.  This is the cover of 'The Globe and Mail's Report on Business'.  The print reads:  "Why Canada's future depends on economic reconciliation with Indigenous communities."

The heading confirms it:  Reconciliation will never be achieved because the natives will never stop suing people.

 

As I said, a cute trick to name it the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission".  Like cancer, it's a never-ending industry which no one has any intention of curing.  

One mess on top of another

Our PM

The horse's ass that is Trudeau keeps embarrassing us on the international stage.  The latest, of course, is the standing ovation given a Nazi in the House of Commons.  

Yes, it was Rota's ineptitude -- and I presume the staff member who didn't vet the invitation has been fired -- but Trudeau needs to clean this mess up on the international stage.  With his sorry reputation, he can't.

Having been a working journalist in my earlier career, I cannot imagine how no one did the research into how this guy was invited when Zelensky was in the House?!  I would never have been able to get away with this.  My editors were ruthless about research -- research you had to do without the aid of the internet and google.  Now it's so easy; back then we had to dig through paper, libraries and archives.  

And you had to laugh as Bloc Leader Yves Blanchette, donkey number two, rose to say that as "head of state", Trudeau had to take responsibility.  Stupid ass doesn't even know that our head of state is King Charles; Trudeau is merely the head of government.

Blanchette, in my view.

No wonder he has no clue about how impossible it would be for Quebec to separate.  The guy doesn't know what the constitution is all about and how impossible it would be to break away.

Just to top it all off, Trudeau has just given the Ukraine another $650 million.  $650 million, on top of the billions we have already doled out!  Does Zelensky need another couple of yachts or mansions?  You have to wonder.....Hmmm.

 

Leave your shoes at the door

...when you enter Canada.  With so many ethnic divisions, clashes, demonstrations, protests, riots and lawlessness, I wonder where Canada has gone?  It certainly is not the Canada in which I grew up, where people obeyed the law, paid their taxes and behaved civilly.  

My childhood

I know not everyone had a life such as I, but I don't remember street riots.  I mean, I don't remember neighbours attacking neighbours, or cultures marching to prove a point or push an agenda.  People just got along.

Frankly, I've come to the conclusion that my mother was actually an "Indigenous" Canadian.  Lillian Stapledon was unfailing polite.  She and her sisters and mother were the quintessential housewives and homemakers and their husbands were true, hardworking gentlemen who all wore suits, fedoras and overcoats.  The women wore housedresses and stockings -- even at the cottage!  They were the most civilized people I have ever known.  My parents, Thomas and Lillian Griffith:

My wonderful parents

When I say "Indigenous", I don't mean they fell from the sky as Canadians.  As you know, there are no Indigenous people in Canada; we all came from elsewhere.  The native peoples who claim to be Indigenous did not originate in North America.  No one did.  We all began in Africa, or as some call it the Garden of Eden.  But it was Africa.  My people emigrated from the British Isles; the natives came across the land bridge that used to join Asia and North America.  Neither peoples originated here, but since the natives arrived first, they claim they are Indigenous.  They are not. 

When people think of what Canada is all about, they are describing my mother's family.  I grew up in a microcosm of Canada called Lindenlea; our house is just out of sight on the top to the right:

The park I grew up in.

My childhood home, 8 Lindenlea Road.

In fact, everyone in Lindenlea was an Indigenous Canadian.  The neighbours all looked out for each other.  There were winter and summer carnivals, ballet and brownies, cubs and scouts, paper routes, the community centre, tennis courts, bridge clubs and cocktail parties.

And everyone was civil and polite ALL THE TIME.  The closest my Dad ever came to swearing was when exasperation overtook him and he uttered, "Gee whiz, Lil."  That was it.  I, unfortunately, didn't learn restraint from him.  (Must be my Irish birth family roots on that file.)  My Mother never, ever swore.  Ever.

In her world -- and therefore in mine -- there were no scenes, no tears, no fuss, no tantrums, no inebriation and no raised voices.  Those were the unspoken rules and everyone obeyed them.  I never saw any of my family even tipsy, let alone drunk. 

Breakfast, lunch and dinner always appeared at the appropriate time.  Feelings were not discussed because everyone had them.  Duty ruled and everyone was expected to do his/her.  My family was the most civilized I have ever known. 

 

My mother and aunts, as did all young women, worked until they married.  Then they forfeited their jobs to the men returning from the war, who needed work, and became wives and homemakers.  Women's Lib did not exist, but make no mistake, these women ruled the roost and didn't have to (wo)man barricades to prove it.

My mother's family were farming stock from Frontenac county.  In fact, there is a tiny hamlet there to this day called "Stapledon".

So, I lament the demise of Canada and its civility.  We are less prosperous and less productive in every way.  It's too bad this country has sunk to the level it has.  I miss Canada.      

  

 

 

It's a long list

How government spends out money.

And a very depressing and exhaustive one.  John Ivison penned an in-depth look into the mess that is Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and it makes for an ugly awakening.  Reading of one financial debacle here and another there doesn't have the same impact as when they are all lumped into one column.  Here are the top contenders:

• A Chinese state-owned company was awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to install X-ray scanners at Canadian embassies around the world.  It was only rescinded when someone pointed out that we might not want the Chinese to know the precise skeletal structure of everyone who enters a Canadian embassy;
• Another $500 million was awarded to "stabilize" the Phoenix pay system that still has a growing backlog of cases.  That mess will never be over;
•  76 armoured Toyota Land Cruisers were ordered for embassies around the world, but only 33 were actually delivered.  Nonetheless, Toyota still pocketed 90 percent of the $20 million paid upfront, as per the brilliant negotiations by PSPC;
• $520,000 was given to a Nova Scotia company to store a "dead" Coast Guard ship -- the same company the government was suing for negligence over the same boat, which incurred damages of $14 million due to incorrect storage; and
• The delays and cost-overruns in the tendering for a new fleet of warships has seen costs skyrocket from an original purchase price of $26 billion to $84.5 billion, thanks to a 10-year deferment of the project.

Clearly, PSPC is a master at making the worst out of many bad jobs.  Who's running it?  A genius named Paul Thompson, the DM, whose only previous experience was in the Innovation, Science and Economic Development.  Mr. Thompson, (not) at your service:

Spender in Chief.

Anita Anand, previously the minister of the above-catastrophes, has now landed at Treasury Board, where her mandate is to find $15 billion in savings.  Trudeau has a cynical knack of moving ministers from where they made the messes to portfolios where they have to clean them up.

Sean Fraser could have warned her.  He was bounced from Immigration, where he let in tens of thousands of illegals, to Housing, where he has to find places to dump them.

Good luck to both of them! 

What??@@#%$%&^^$%@!!!!

TRUDEAU HAS JUST ANNOUNCED CANADA IS GIVING ANOTHER $80 MILLION TO HAITI!@$@#$^$%%@!$%^

That's insane!!#^$%#

Haiti is a failed state by every measure, but he's down at the UN swanning around and throwing another bunch of millions to this dump of a country!@^$%@@!Q

We've already given them $1.87 billion and the rest of the world has forked over $13 billion.  For what??!$%@#!?!

(Note:  Did two previous blogs on Haiti:  "In the vernacular...", Jan. 12, 2018, and "More letters", Feb. 20, 2023.)

Trump called Haiti, "a sh-thole" and everyone went crazy with outrage!  But, of course, he's right, it absolutely is.  So why does Trudeau think giving a sh-thole country yet more millions is a great idea!!??  Canadians should be outraged, but he's only pandering to the Haitian votes in Montreal.  Here's where your money will be going:

Haiti at its finest.

Completely lawless.

Looting and killing.

What a brilliant move!!!!  While Canadians can't put food on the table, inflation is ballooning and there aren't enough houses for our own population, our clown pm pours more money down a vicious and murderous, gang-run sh-thole of a country.

More stuff that's not Canadian

Another of my letters.

The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey was not the murder of a Canadian on Canadian soil, although he happened to be a Canadian of convenience.  It was the murder of a violent Sikh separatist by an Indian enemy, which occurred par hazard on sovereign Canadian soil.  Nijjar was pushing for an independent Sikh state not only in Canada, but also among the diaspora in Britain and Australia.  What, for instance, is a billboard calling for a referendum on Khalistan independence doing in Surrey B.C?  What's it got to do with Canada? 

The Sikhs remain a problem in Canada.

I had a letter published the other day in 'The Globe and Mail' about the home wars and hatreds imported to Canada by the Eritreans, but it's the same with many other ethnic groups -- including the Sikhs.  It should not be happening here.  Leave your hatreds and terrorism from whence you came.  As B's grandfather said all those years ago, just get on with being Canadian.

Remember the Air India bombing in 1985 which killed 329 souls?  That too was dubbed the largest air disaster in Canadian history.  But it was not a "Canadian" tragedy.  It was a Sikh separatist act on an Indian plane that happened to be flying out of Canada, plain and simple.

I wrote a letter to the editor back in January, 2011 about that bombing.  It wasn't published, but here it is:

"Dear editor,

"While appalling and sad, the bombing of Air India flight 182 has never struck me as a "Canadian" tragedy. It happened to an Indian aircraft carrying mostly Canadians of Indian descent and was the result of a vicious religious holy war which persists today. How is that really Canada's fault? 

"And yet we have been shouldering the responsibility and apologizing for it for 25 years. I think it's time for Canada to let go. The same hatred still thrives in these communities -- witness the warning given the B.C. premier to fear for his safety when he attempted to participate in an Indo religious and cultural festival last summer. 

"And look at the violence rained upon Ujjal Dosanjh whenever he speaks out. Blaming Canada and ordinary Canadians does nothing to heal such profound divides."

That's what I wrote.  In 2011, The Canadian government gave $10 million to create something called the Kanishka Project, the sole purpose of which was to counter terrorism and bring Indo-Canadian religious and cultural organizations together to foster understanding and positive communication.

Didn't work out too well, did it.

Trudeau has made serious allegations, so far without any concrete evidence, and has alienated other allies who rely heavily on trade with India in the process.  Why?  To keep Jagmeet Singh happy.  That's why.  Singh is a staunch supporter of the independent Sikh Khalistan movement and has been a vocal, visible and enthusiastic member of it here in Canada.

And, by the way, the only reason Trudeau held his premature press conference was because Evan Dyer was about to break the story.  What with all the CSIS, security agencies and police running around, collecting paycheques with their hands in their pockets, wouldn't that have looked great!  Gee, I guess we missed that one.  The Keystone Cops come to mind:

And what will happen to India if an "inquiry" is actually convened to investigate this?  Nothing.  Remember the two Michaels?  Were any serious sanctions applied to China?  Exactly.  

This is a world in which the Islamic Republic of Iran was named....wait for it.....the 2023 chair of the UN Human Rights Council Social Forum.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Iran, heading a human rights council, a country known for its state-endorsed violence against women and children.

And remember when Biden declared one of his priorities to turn Saudi Arabia into the "pariah of the world".  Two years later, he was enthusiastically fist-pumping its leader Mohammed bin Salman!

All is never what it seems and Canadians have very short memories.    

  

 

She's running the country

The real PM on the right.

Not Trudeau.  Make no mistake.  When you vote for Trudeau -- and if you dare to again -- you are voting for Katie Telford.  This 45-year-old runs him, his every word, his every thought and has since 2015.  He can't even wipe his ar-e unless she tells him how much tp to use.

It's shocking to me, but shouldn't be.  The Trudeau government is not a government.  It operates not for the betterment of the country, but to get elected -- even if that means destroying or ignoring parts of the country that don't vote Liberal.  Woebetide the hapless ministers in this government.  They have no say in anything, no different than your wooden, invisible backbencher.

Those who have worked with her describe her as quiet and invisible.  They assume her silence means she's brilliant, but maybe she's just stupid with her only focus putting words in Trudeau's vacant mouth.  At the moment, those words aren't working too well, with everyone finally realizing what a mess she -- and by extension Trudeau -- has made of this once magnificent country.

She brazenly gave herself $80,000 to cover moving expenses when she re-located from Toronto to Ottawa and handed her husband, Rob Silver, another $84,000 in "consulting" fees.  AND SHE GOT AWAY WITH IT!

Trudeau's every interaction is pre-briefed and scripted out.  She's the bottleneck at the top and frustrates everyone who tries to get through.  Remember a couple of years ago when Trudeau froze attempting to answer a reporter's question?  He was listening to her via a hidden earphone while she gave him the answer.

Trudeau being handled by Telford.

So, whenever the next election comes around, remember, it's the campaign whisperer you'll be electing if you vote for Trudeau.

 

   

The plundering of history

That's what the woke are doing.  They're plundering history to remake it in their biased eyes and that's wrong.

These people cause problems.

The latest to remodel a university is, of course, Concordia -- a regular hotbed of hysteria and nonsense.  Just read that academic history is now to be replaced with one that de-colonizes and indigenizes the current curriculum and pedagogy.

That's just dumb.  Apparently, all history -- ALL history --  will now be taught using an Indigenous lens, which will, of course, forever warp and blur the truth.  The woke are now using history as a political resource and everyone -- except me -- is applauding it.  Either that, or they're petrified to speak up against this dangerous distortion of the truth.  

When you open Concordia's website, the first thing that comes up is the Otsenhakta Student Centre -- not the university itself, no the Indigenous Centre.  Shame on Chancellor Jonathan Wener and President Graham Carr for allowing this to take over the school.  

The other feature of Concordia is the mega-apology issued to the (deep breath) LGBTQ1A2+ gang.  I have a suspicion past president Alan Shepard has his mitts all over this one because he himself is gay and it was under his watch that Queerness was celebrated and pushed to the forefront of the entire school.  The latest Concordia apology reads as follows:

"As we marched among our Montreal community for Pride this past weekend and celebrated queer joy, we want to take the time to acknowledge and once again reaffirm the importance of fighting for the LGBTQIA2+ community.

"At the CSU, it is our mandate to always do our best to support and uplift marginalized communities. But we need to acknowledge that, too often, we have let you down. We have allowed for a hostile and unsafe environment to be created and have not done enough for the LGBTQIA2+ students that needed our support. Particularly in regards to transphobia, we have allowed harm to be inflicted upon trans and non-binary students. 

"During our own meetings, and particularly over the past year online, we have not intervened enough when slurs, stereotypes and inappropriate laughter were too often heard, not just when discussing topics of gender identity and sexual orientation.

"Moreover, certain non-verbal actions, like eye rolls when people are speaking about their struggles, have been enabled and made possible by our own systems in place. We have let things slide, used the excuse of ignorance and people simply needing to be better educated, and not held ourselves accountable when LGBTQIA2+ students have had to resign due to a space that perpetrated harm.

"This letter is meant to be one of the first steps to change (sic) that. We are aware that apologies are not enough. Simply acknowledging a mistake is not enough. We cannot expect you to see that as enough and immediately feel safer about entering CSU spaces. No, we need to take actions toward regaining trust."

Quite apart from how poorly it is written, it is an over-reach of gargantuan proportions. Can we not just get on with teaching and learning? Why have universities allowed themselves to be taken over by the inmates, who push divisive agendas? Indeed, far from unifying a student body, these initiatives further divide and erode on many levels.

The scourge of your average university.

I'm glad I went to university when things were normal and your sex life was your business. Nobody gave a shit.

 

  

 

What's up with this?

 Everyone's fat, Walmart fat, these days.  Why is that?  Every restaurant I visit is laden with tubbies of both genders -- some of them just teenagers!  And the outfits!  It's as if they are proud of their heft and make no attempt to disguise it under blouses or tunics.  Why is that?  Why is everyone fat?  

When I was growing up, no one was fat; now everyone is.  Here's Walmart on your average day.  He's wearing girlie underwear!

Nice look!

Watching a series about WW II on YouTube, no one is fat.  Not one soldier, not one girlfriend, not one mother, not one father, not one child.  No one.

I'm not saying I'm Susie Slender, but I'm not Frances Fattie either.  Must be what we're shoving into our gobs.  They shouldn't label it "fast" food, it should be "fat" food.  And don't even bother to get out the calculator to figure out what all the hip, knee and joint replacements are costing us.  It'll boggle your mind.  

As B says, "If you want to find out why your backend is fat, take a look at your frontend."  

Not urgent enough??!!

That's the excuse Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Mark Joffe, above, with health minister Adriana La Grange, proferred when he finally called a press conference about the calamitous and devastating E coli outbreak that has ravaged multiple Calgary daycare centres.  

Not urgent enough?  With more than 300 preschoolers infected and 21 hospitalized and on dialysis, Joffe says it wasn't urgent enough to tell the public?!?!  That's an outrage and definitely a firing cause.

The company that provided the food, 'Fueling Minds', owned by Faisal Alimohd, whoever he is, had been cited several months earlier for health violations, including a cockroach infestation, lack of sanitary food handling and unrefrigerated  transportation.  But Mr. Alimohd apparently continued to let things slide to the point where children eating the food it provided came close to death.

Great job!

And what was the minister of health doing?  G-d knows, but she certainly wasn't on top of this deadly fiasco.  Amazingly, both she and Joffe have admitted they will never know the origin of the outbreak!

This gives premier Danielle Smith a problem.  One of the first things she did when she came to power was to unceremoniously punt Joffe's predecessor, Deena Hinshaw, with great flourish and indignancy.  Joffe was her personal pick, so now what's she gonna do?  She chose him because apparently he was perfect.  Turns out he was running scared and trying to cover up the deadly daycare mess, while very sick toddlers lay in hospital near death.

Running on an anti-vax platform, Smith may well face another disaster this Fall, when a new variant of COVID starts spreading.  Right now, we are hearing nothing about it and vaccinations are not being encouraged because to encourage them would piss off her base.

You can't play politics with people's health, which is exactly what Smith is doing.  It may well blow up in her face very soon.  Walkerton anyone?

Just blocked a few people

Cutting a few out of the herd.

I am into thinning and culling the herd today.  I have few official "followers" because you don't have to be a follower to read my blog; I post it on the internet for all to read.  My stats tell me thousands of people read my blog all over the world and that's great!  But I just blocked people who never comment.  I mean, why waste my words on people who don't give a sh-t?  Why do they follow anyway?

I blog for me because I love writing.  I am also blogging so my grands will know who I was after I die.  Right now, they think I am just some boring, old lady with no opinions.  I have published nine books of my blogs and am going to add two more so my thoughts will live on in concrete form.  Is this hubris?  Probably, but I want to leave them something other than a muffin recipe.

 

Non-answers

We all know politicians never give answers to questions -- straight or otherwise.  A couple of examples popped up in the media this weekend:

Our "woke" mayor.

Calgary Mayor Joyti Gondek, above -- she of the pie-in-sky PhD in urban sociology -- penned a ludicrous piece in 'The Calgary Herald' entitled, "We must act to ensure affordable housing".  Hello, Joyti, you're the "we" in that heading.  You and city council are the reason nothing ever gets built because you cripple and tie the hands of developers with fees and licences and permits and zoning and nimby-ism ad nauseum.

She goes on to outline a number of steps that are required to get affordable housing built.  Each "step" is nothing more than a question with no answer!  

She says "we" have to create more housing with secondary suites.  Nimby-ism will see that doesn't happen.

"We" have to build more infrastructure.  Over to you, Madam Mayor.

"We" have to hold the provincial and federal government accountable for more housing.  In other words, give us more money.  Won't be happening.

The public needs an opportunity to weigh in on changes to what gets built in their neighbourhoods.  Again, nimby-ism will absolutely ensure that doesn't happen.

It's all well and good to have a PhD, but it renders one incapable of practical action.  That's Gondek's biggest problem.  

'The Globe and Mail' editorial today sums it up perfectly:

"How to play the housing blame game:  The provinces oversee cities and for too long have ignored civic rules that heavily restrict new housing.  The real blame belongs to cities.  The core issue in an inability to build enough new homes because too much land is zoned for low density.  Building four-storey apartment buildings, the essential, change is illegal on most civic land. 

"Calgary council -- hello Jyoti, that's you and your side-kicks -- actually voted against expanding housing units to four-per-lot, instead of two.  In the words of Conservative MP Scott Aitchison, 'It's time to legalize more home building'.

"Problem is, it's city halls that have their hands on the switch."

I bet Gondek didn't know 'The Globe' would be trashing her arguments the very next day.  Kind'a check-mated the poor soul.

________________________

Then there's Sean Fraser, federal housing and infrastructure minister:  

Fraser

Trudeau has just shuffled him from the immigration frying pan, where he was minister, into the housing fire, where he will have to find abodes for all the immigrants he let into the country.  Kind of a neat and pernicious trick by Trudeau to ensure a clear rival gets two portfolios that will kill his chances of replacing the current PM.  Both are complete messes, about which the hapless Fraser will be unable to do anything.

Vassy Kapelos interviewed him this past weekend and asked for answers as to why he allowed so many immigrants into Canada, when he was that minister, and yet there was no housing for them, now that he is the minister of the mess he created.

Fraser's answer?  "We have to ensure they have safe and adequate housing."  Well, duh, that was the question, but what's the answer?  He didn't have one.  She pushed again.  "With all due respect, minister, how do you propose to accomplish that when there is no housing?"  Nothing.

Dumping the mess into the abyss, Fraser said, "We are working with partners in both the private and public sectors (to get them to pay for it) and all options are on the table," he hopelessly offered. 

"But what are you planning?" Kapelos vainly tried again.  Exactly the same non-answer fell out of Fraser's mouth.

You get the idea.  No one has any answers to anything.  So, immigrants -- legal and illegal -- will continue to fill up hotels at great cost to the taxpayer forever-and-ever-amen.

What are they doing here and where are they going to live?!

We're so effed. 

A hoax?

Read this and then note that the B.C. government just gave more than $800,000 to one band to buy land to "see" if there were any children buried there.  As journalist John Iveson said, "Please show me one grave!"

Canadian “Mass Grave” Story A Hoax?   Bill Donohue   September 6, 2023   In 2014, I wrote a monograph, Ireland’s “Mass Grave” Hysteria, on claims that 800 bodies of children were found in a mass grave outside a former home run by nuns in Tuam, near Galway. It was all a hoax, just as I had suspected. There was no mass grave. The result: It made the anti-Catholic activists and journalists look like fools.   Two years ago, the Canadian government claimed that Indian children were buried in “mass graves” at residential schools established by the government and run, in part, by the Catholic Church. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sounded the alarms and ordered the nation’s flags to be flown at half mast; he pledged to spend $40 billion to settle with those associated with the alleged victims.   Looks like Trudeau, and all the critics of the Catholic Church, were fooled. It is becoming increasingly apparent that this story is also a hoax. After 14 sites were excavated recently, not one mass grave has been found. Indeed, the body count is zero.   This story began in 2021 after claims about unmarked graves emerged. Immediately, pundits and activists speculated that the Catholic Church (which did not run the majority of the schools) was to blame for the deaths of thousands of indigenous children. Murray Sinclair, who was chosen to chair the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, opined that the number of corpses was in the range of 15,000-25,000. Now the attorney and member of the Peguis First Nation can’t find even one.   When the Report was issued last year, it did not make claims about mass graves. Instead, it focused on the “cultural genocide” that the indigenous children experienced. After reading the report, on August 2, 2022, I titled my assessment, “The Genocide That Wasn’t.”   No sooner had the charge of “cultural genocide” been bandied about when it was shortened by Catholic critics to “genocide.” On p. 6 of the Report, it noted that “Despite the coercive measures that the government adopted, it failed to achieve its policy goals. Although Aboriginal peoples and cultures have been damaged, they continue to exist.” So much for the “cultural genocide” thesis—never mind the more serious charge of genocide.   Was there no violence at these residential schools?   In the 535-page Report, there were exactly two testimonials about killing. One was made by an indigenous woman who said she witnessed her older brother kill one of her other brothers when she was nine. The other was in reference to a killing that took place between 1980 and 2012. The residential schools were closed in 1969.   If the residential schools were guilty of genocide, surely the Report would have found instances of torture, if not whipping. I looked in vain to find such incidents. Oh, yes, there was one instance of whipping: it was committed by a government teacher in 1895.   Were the Catholic-run schools free of wrongdoing? Pretty much.   On p. 68 of the Report it says the missionaries opposed integrating the indigenous children into the public schools, but not for nefarious reasons. They did so because “1) teachers in public schools were not prepared to deal with Aboriginal students; 2) students in the public schools often expressed racist attitudes towards Aboriginal students; and 3) Aboriginal students felt acute embarrassment over their impoverished conditions, particularly in terms of the quality of the clothing they wore and the food they ate.”   None of this was highlighted by the media, nor by Trudeau’s government.   Mass graves. Genocide. We saw those words thrown about with alacrity in Ireland a decade ago, and more recently in Canada. These false charges have stoked anti-Catholic sentiment in Ireland and have led to the burning of scores of Catholic churches in Canada. The consequences of bigotry can be severe, especially when promoted by the secular-minded members of the ruling class.   Contact Murray Sinclair at his Manitoba law firm and tell him you agree that Canada needs a day of reconciliation over this story, a day to reconcile with Catholics, that is: msinclair@cochranesaxberg.com

 

Facts are facts

This is re-printed from an American Catholic newsletter.  Makes for interesting and eye-opening reading:

______________________________

James.

Why LeBron James’ School Failed 

  

Bill Donohue 

  

September 5, 2023 

  

He meant well. Basketball superstar LeBron James wanted to create a school for struggling minority students in his hometown of Akron, Ohio that would be a model of excellence. It turned out to be a failure. The question is why? 

  

Inadequate funding. Systemic racism. These factors are constantly being blamed for the poor academic performance of black Americans. James’ school made sure those problems would not haunt his students, and he did a great job in keeping his promise. But he still failed. 

  

James’ I Promise School opened in the summer of 2018. The school, which targets at-risk students, is a joint effort between the LeBron James Family Foundation and Akron Public Schools; it receives considerably more money than the typical public school. It serves grades three through eight. 

  

The array of resources the school has is stunning. Tuition is free, as are uniforms. Every student is given a free bicycle and helmet, as well as free transportation within two miles of the school. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are free. Counselors are readily available. When students graduate, they receive free tuition at the University of Akron. 

  

Parents are afforded free GED classes and job placement; financial–literacy tutorials are available. There is a food pantry, and parents can design meals at the on-site food bank or cook at home. Free child care is provided. There is a barbershop and hair salon.  

  

Teachers, as well as students, are afforded technology-free zones “for decompression.” Yoga classes are available. There are personal training sessions for teachers. Career development is provided, and there are psychological services for teachers. 

  

The emphasis is on providing a well-rounded environment that meets the needs of students, teachers and parents. When students arrive, they are greeted with hugs and high-fives from the staff, occasionally dancing to Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.” 

  

When the school opened, Akron Public Schools posted on its website that it wants to be the “#1 urban school system in the United States.” A year later, the principal, Brandi Davis, said, “We are reigniting dreams that were extinguished—already in the third and fourth grade. We want to change the face of urban education.” In 2021, the fourth-grade teacher said, “I think we really could start a revolution in public schools.” 

  

There was reason for optimism. After its first year, 90 percent of the students met or exceeded individual growth goals in reading and math; this was better than what students did across the district. But this didn’t last long. 

  

In 2023, it was reported that it’s been three years since the school’s eighth grade students achieved passing scores in math. The most recent data show that not one eighth grader passed the state’s math test. Only 8.2 percent of seventh graders were deemed proficient in English language arts, which was better than they did in math where there was a 1 percent proficiency rate. 

  

None of the sixth grade students were proficient in math. For fifth graders, the figure was 1 percent. Only 9.9 percent of fourth graders hit the mark; for third graders, 11.5 percent met the math standard. 

  

Why is the school not meeting expectations? It can’t be money—they are awash in it. Perhaps the answer lies more in the way students are treated. Those who run the school have opted for what can only be called the therapeutic approach to education. 

  

“It’s almost like when you grow up in the inner city or your grow up in the projects, no one cares for you,” James said two years ago. “The goal and mission of the school is for the kids to feel like they’re superheroes.” But if “superheroes” can’t read or do basic math, should they be encouraged to feel good about themselves? 

  

The principal says the goal is about “true wrap-around support, true family integration and true compassion.” To that end, the school provides opportunities for students to “regulate their emotions, develop self-awareness, and cooperate with others.” As an official at James’ foundation put it, students need “a lot of love and care.” The principal agrees, saying the goal is to “teach students how to love.” 

  

Only a heartless scold would say students don’t need to be loved. But what happens when they act up? Should they be held accountable or should they be given another hug? 

  

A sympathetic piece in Education Week noticed “skirmishes out in the playground [and] outbursts in the classroom.” To deal with these issues, they have role-playing exercises where students snap at teachers, accusing them of being “too aggressive.” After the incident, both engage in laughter. 

  

Safety is a problem. Some parents have requested to have their children transfer out because of it. Teacher turnover is at a serious level. And despite the “loving” environment, almost half the students are chronically absent. 

  

A school that only emphasizes discipline is not going to ensure academic success. But a school that deemphasizes accountability, favoring a therapeutic approach, is also going to fail. 

  

James graduated from St. Mary-St.Vincent High School, not far from his school. It is a smashing success. He ought to find out why.