'Legalized election interference': Poilievre byelection challengers blast long-ballot protest group
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Several independent and third-party candidates said the meddling of the electoral-reform activist Longest Ballot Committee (LBC) was detrimental to the group's stated aim of strengthening democracy and, if anything, would give Poilievre an easier pass in the critical byelection, scheduled for Aug. 18.
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The LBC plans to make the ballot the most crowded federal race in Canadian history with more than 100 candidates as a publicity stunt protesting against the government's refusal to implement a different voting system other than first past the post. It has done so in recent races in other ridings.
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Jesse Cole, a spokesperson for independent candidate Bonnie Critchley, called the LBC's ballot crowding 'a form of legalized electoral interference' that drowns out legitimate voices for change.
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'These candidates, who have no true intention of serving the people of Battle River–Crowfoot, only make it more difficult for legitimate, local independent candidates like Bonnie Critchley to challenge the status quo of Canada's dominant, two-party system and ensure a voice for her community,' Cole said in an email.
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Critchley, who lives in the riding, penned an open letter in late May asking the LBC not to interfere in the byelection.
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Her request fell on deaf ears, with 122 LBC-affiliated candidates on the ballot as of Monday afternoon. The group is aiming for 200 by the time nominations close next Monday.
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Critchley, who said she hoped her 'independent' label would attract free thinking small-c conservatives who voted for Conservative Damien Kurek in the recent federal election, will now be far from the only candidate with that affiliation.
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Libertarian candidate Michael Harris, who also lives in the riding, accused the protest group of making a joke out the riding and those who live there.
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'Let's call it what it is: a coordinated mockery of the democratic process, designed to flood the ballot and drown out real debate,' said Harris in an email.
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Vancouver Sun
5 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Opinion: Turning the tide for southern resident killer whales
A new political era is unfolding in Canada, characterized by a push for expedited development approvals through the Building Canada Act under Bill C-5. This legislation empowers the federal cabinet to approve projects deemed to serve the national interest, overriding environmental reviews and the permitting procedure. While this may expedite new development, it poses an urgent question: Will safeguarding coastal ecosystems and endangered species like southern resident killer whales receive equal urgency? The whales are perilously close to extinction. At 73 individuals, their decline since being listed as endangered two decades ago is unfolding in plain sight of scientists, governments, First Nations and the public, despite mounting science on how to reverse it. A daily roundup of Opinion pieces from the Sun and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Informed Opinion will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. These whales aren't interchangeable with other killer whales. Southern residents are a distinct population that have been separated from other whales for hundreds of generations. They have rich cultural traditions, strong social bonds, share their prey and use calls not shared by any other killer whales. To lose them wouldn't only entail the loss of a genetically unique population, but also a lineage of culture and knowledge deeply intertwined with our coastal ecosystem. In 2018, the government of Canada declined to issue an emergency order under the Species at Risk Act, opting instead for a series of alternative conservation measures. Subsequently, annual protection measures were implemented, but many were limited in scope, voluntary or weakly enforced. In 2025, despite a federal assessment confirming the population wasn't recovering and remained at risk of imminent extinction, a second emergency order request was once again denied. In June, the Canadian government announced its 2025 protection measures for southern resident killer whales. Although well-intentioned, the measures largely mirror previous ones: fishing closures in designated areas, vessel-restricted zones, voluntary vessel slowdowns and a proposed increase in the minimum distance vessels must maintain from the whales. In March, we invited 31 scientists from Canada, the U.S., and Europe to Vancouver to address a critical question: What would it take to save this population? The result was a science-based set of 26 recommendations, some new, others improvements to existing actions. The list is solidly grounded in evidence and bolstered by expert consensus. The full workshop report, Strengthening recovery actions for Southern Resident killer whales, was released earlier this month and is publicly available at All the recommendations could be implemented now, without waiting for further research. The full workshop report is publicly available at All the recommendations could be implemented now, without waiting for further research. Consider chinook salmon. Southern residents depend on chinook that are large and high fat. While many salmon runs have declined, what is particularly problematic is that there has been a shift from runs once abundant with big, fatty chinook in the spring, to fall runs often comprising smaller, leaner individuals — a shift that has been exacerbated by hatcheries. We recommend maintaining fishery closures that prioritize the whales' access to their important salmon. One way to do this is to shift fishing effort to locations near or in rivers. This would give southern residents a better chance to feed before those salmon are targeted by fishermen. Reducing underwater noise is also urgent. Southern residents rely on echolocation to find their prey, and the vessel noise that currently saturates their habitat greatly reduces the rate at which they can find fish. The Port of Vancouver's ECHO program has undertaken substantial work to identify plausible noise reduction targets. Our panel of scientists recommended making those targets biologically relevant by accounting for the whales' need for quiet time, communication and foraging. Expanding the geographic and seasonal scope of ship slowdowns, adopting noise output standards for commercial vessels and requiring clear noise-reduction plans for future development projects are among the other steps needed. Contaminants, though less visible, remain a chronic threat. Southern residents remain among the Earth's most polluted marine mammals. We urged stronger source controls, green infrastructure to reduce urban run-off, accelerated phaseouts for banned chemicals and an overhaul of Canada's chemical review system to account for risks posed to long-lived species like killer whales and their prey. Southern resident killer whales have transcended their status as symbols of the Pacific Northwest, becoming ecological sentinels that serve as a warning about the health of our coast, our fisheries and our collective stewardship. Although recovery is still within reach, it will not be achieved by perpetuating the status quo. With the recent appointment of new federal government ministers in place, now is the time for them to demonstrate leadership by prioritizing the conservation of southern residents. The new government has a responsibility to act, and now it has the information needed to do so effectively. Lance Barrett-Lennard and Valeria Vergara are cetacean scientists with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. Misty MacDuffee is a salmon scientist with Raincoast. Paul Paquet is a senior scientist with Raincoast.
The Province
5 hours ago
- The Province
Canada's borders dangerously vulnerable to spies and agents of Iranian regime, Vancouver lawyer says
Douglas Todd: "A lot of people against the (Iranian) regime in Canada never speak up because the regime has their mom, or aunt, or brother or husband in Iran," says Ram Joubin. Iran has become the second highest source country of refugee claims to Canada. The Ayatollah Ali Khameini, pictured, remains in power, despite outside military attacks and wide internal opposition. Photo by - / AFP via Getty Images The war-torn theocratic nation of Iran has become the second highest source country of refugee claims to Canada (after India). This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Last year, more than 6,600 people from the Persian Gulf country submitted asylum requests. The volume of applicants from the Islamic Republic of Iran, also known as Persia, is a red flag to human-rights activists who worry Canada might inadvertently take in some applicants with close ties to the country's brutally repressive regime. Metro Vancouver immigration lawyer Ram Joubin, an Iranian-Canadian who specializes in refugee and human-rights law, said he frequently rejects potential clients from Iran because they have a suspicious past, a sign of links to Iran's autocratic rulers. 'The concern is that some people from Iran are using the refugee system to come here to actually spy on Canadians,' Joubin said this week. 'I have to drop them as clients or refund them. But I'm not allowed to tell the police because of client confidentiality.' Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. There are roughly 280,000 people of Iranian origin in Canada. Joubin said the vast majority oppose the despots of Iran, but he's convinced there are some who act as agents of the nation's authoritarian leaders. Those regime-friendly 'bad actors,' he said, are ready to denounce or turn in other Iranian Canadians who speak out against the country's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei . Given the intimidation, Joubin said, most Iranian Canadians are silent. 'The main mechanism of control is fear — in Iran and outside of Iran. A lot of people against the regime in Canada never speak up because the regime has their mom, or aunt, or brother, or husband in Iran. The regime uses that to intimidate people into silence,' said Joubin, who has worked with the Alliance of Iranian Canadians, helped organize Women Lack Freedom and supported British-American novelist Salman Rushdie after he was stabbed in 2022 by a Muslim militant. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Joubin made his comments in the midst of a ceasefire in the 12-day war that ignited last month between the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel and the U.S. After both Israel and the U.S. attacked Iranian military targets, and Iran retaliated, political alliances are again shifting in the troubled Middle East and West Asia. But the Ayatollah has managed to hold on to power. A Leger opinion poll in June found that 43 per cent of Canadians don't favour accepting more migrants from besieged Iran. Respondents were asked: 'Should Canada take in migrants from Iran who wish to flee the country?' Forty-three per cent said no, compared with 27 per cent who said yes. The rest were undecided. Canadians are concerned 'about loopholes in the system' that allow in 'bad actors,' says immigration lawyer Ram Joubin. Photo by Mark Hamilton Last year, Canada, following a sudden surge, also accepted 41,740 people from Iran through a guest worker category called the international mobility program, according to Jack Jedwab, head of Montreal's Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In light of Iran being the second largest source of asylum claims to Canada and third most important source of temporary migrants, Jedwab said the recent Leger survey 'pointed to evidence of Canadians supporting greater vigilance when it comes to such admissions.' Joubin doesn't believe the lack of support for bringing in more Iranian migrants is based on racial intolerance — although Iran's hardline leaders insist that it is. 'It's about practical issues such as price inflation and loopholes in the system over Canada being too friendly to bad actors,' he said. 'I think it's important that Canada does protect its borders and the integrity of its refugee and migration system.' Joubin believes it's becoming too easy to claim refugee status. Muslims from Iran, for instance, can obtain a baptismal certificate from a Christian church in Canada to try to convince a hearing panel that they would be persecuted if they went back to Iran, he said, since such religious conversions are illegal in that country. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Joubin added that Canada's investor immigrant programs are particularly vulnerable to those who have made their fortunes embezzling from Iran's government and state-owned corporations. 'Iran probably has a record high number of embezzlements in the whole world. Oil funds are embezzled. The social security system is embezzled. Government banks and retirement funds are embezzled,' he said. And some illicit money ends up laundered in Canada, Joubin believes, through currency exchanges. 'Some of those currency exchanges are finally being outed by the police in Canada,' he said. More than 47,000 Iranians came to Canada in 2023 under the guest worker program known as IMP. Another 41,740 arrived last year. Iranian Canadians tend to live in Canada's major urban areas, including 97,000 in the Toronto region, 46,000 in Greater Vancouver and 23,000 in wider Montreal. In the North Shore neighbourhoods of Ambleside and Capilano, Persian Canadians make up one-in-four residents. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The fervent hope of Joubin, who no longer has family ties in Iran, is more Iranian Canadians could become a more effective voice for changing the Iranian regime. 'The regime is weaker now and there is a vacuum and it has to be filled,' he said. 'Almost everyone is anti-regime,' he said, but most don't want a government installed from the outside by Israel or the U.S. The trouble is that recent uprisings in Iran haven't succeeded, he said. Reformers have been executed. 'That means many people won't come forward until it's more safe.' dtodd@ Read More Vancouver Canucks Sports Vancouver Canucks Crime Local News
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba signs deal with Saskatchewan to bolster trade through Port of Churchill
Manitoba's experience as a leader in reconciliation will give it a leg up when it comes time for Canada to fast-track megaprojects, Premier Wab Kinew said Tuesday after signing an agreement with Saskatchewan to expand trade through the Port of Churchill. 'We're working a ton on making sure we have consensus with the Indigenous nations for the megaprojects that we want to pursue to build up the Manitoba and Canadian economy,' Kinew said. Twenty-nine First Nations and 12 northern communities own the Arctic Gateway Group, which operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway that connects it to the rest of the continent. Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, left, talks with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe at the meeting of Canada's premiers in Huntsville, Ont., Monday. 'This ability to get to tidewater and seemingly having the ability to open that up, maybe, year-round because of newer ships that we have access to today, is really exciting for Manitoba,' Kinew told reporters via a Zoom call from Huntsville, Ont. There, Canada's first ministers are gathering to discuss a strategy to respond to the trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. The memorandum of understanding Kinew signed with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe on Tuesday says the Arctic Gateway Group will invest in port and rail assets and lengthen the shipping season, which typically runs from July to November, to support increased freight capacity. Chris Avery, the chief executive officer of AGG, said they're working with the University of Manitoba and other academic and private-sector groups to update data about the shipping season, which has been getting longer over time. 'What the University of Manitoba tells us is that based on their data from over the past 40 years and what they see in their studies of the sea ice — they expect that the shipping seasons can be lengthened already without icebreakers or anything else, given climate change.' He said U of M is gathering and studying the data, which can be shared with shippers and insurance companies, he said. 'One of the impediments to extending the shipping season is because they're working off of old historical data of the shipping season and the ice patterns and so on.' New data from the U of M indicates the shipping season will be lengthened to as much as six months without the use of icebreakers, Avery said. In February, Manitoba announced $36.4 million would be given to AGG over two years for capital infrastructure projects at the port. The memo of understanding says the province will try to secure federal infrastructure funding and regulatory support to improve connectivity to northern markets, a news release said. 'When we're talking about nation-building, if we help Alberta, Saskatchewan, our other neighbors and fellow provinces and territories access the European Union, that can be really good for all of us.'–Wab Kinew The five-year plan requires Saskatchewan to 'mobilize' commodity producers and exporters through its trade offices and regional industry partners, the release said. Streamlining access to ports such as Churchill will allow for greater access to international markets, Moe said in the release. 'It helps us to unlock mining in the north, more agricultural exports in the south, manufacturing products right across our whole province,' Kinew told reporters Tuesday. 'When we're talking about nation-building, if we help Alberta, Saskatchewan, our other neighbors and fellow provinces and territories access the European Union, that can be really good for all of us.' On Tuesday, Manitoba did not sign an MOU with Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta to use Ontario steel to build an oil and gas pipeline and a port on James Bay as part of a national energy corridor. Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan said Manitoba 'missed out on a much, much larger opportunity.' 'Why wouldn't you negotiate on the ground floor for a project that could bring massive economic opportunities and prosperity to the province?' Khan asked. Kinew said he's had 'excellent meetings' with the three premiers involved and that he didn't sign their MOU because Manitoba doesn't have the needed consensus from its Indigenous nations to do so. 'Our approach in Manitoba involves extensive leg work with Indigenous nations at the front end of the project process,' Manitoba's first First Nations premier said. 'I believe spending that time to build consensus and then to invest the energy necessary to maintain that consensus throughout the construction phase of a project, will actually see us get to the finish line as quickly or quicker than everyone else.' Dylan Robertson / Free Press Files Twenty-nine First Nations and 12 northern communities own the Arctic Gateway Group, which operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway that connects it to the rest of the continent. Kinew said the province hasn't announced a new megaproject proposal yet. 'This is work that we're undertaking carefully, strategically and quietly behind the scenes,' the premier said. 'We would love to have the federal government as an enthusiastic partner (but)…the partners that we need are the collective Indigenous nations of Manitoba that are represented by governments.' Kinew said he doesn't want Manitoba to be pitted against other provinces, but noted that Churchill has the advantage over James Bay because it is a long-running northern, deep-water port with infrastructure and Indigenous partners. A supply chain expert who teaches at the U of M Asper School of Business said the proposals for a major port at the far south end of James Bay in Ontario centre on the community of Moosonee, that has port facilities for barges, but not ships that require deep water. Like Churchill, it has rail access but no road, said Robert Parsons. The proposal to develop the James Bay port into an energy corridor 'is really more on the wish-list side,' he said. Parsons compared it to NeeStanNan's proposal to develop a liquefied natural gas terminal at Port Nelson on Hudson Bay in Manitoba. 'Both will require quite a bit of work.' The chief of one of the First Nations behind the Port Nelson LNG proposal welcomed Manitoba's agreement with Saskatchewan to bolster the Port of Churchill. Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. 'Churchill has always been there and we support Churchill and we're also part owners of the railway,' said Clarence Easter of Chemawawin Cree Nation, one of 10 First Nations behind the NeeStaNan energy corridor. NeeStaNan has been licensed by the federal energy regulator to explore the development of exporting liquefied natural gas. Easter said he supports federal legislation to fast-track infrastructure projects such as energy corridors. 'We cannot keep doing things that we've been doing in the past because it hasn't worked before… We can't keep counting on federal handouts, provincial handouts to survive and keep living the way we've been living,' the chief said. 'The opportunity is there for us to step up.' Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. 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