Poilievre says listing Bishnoi Gang as terrorist entity would help end extortion
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National Post
28 minutes ago
- National Post
Joel Kotkin: The case for defanging Ottawa
When globalism was hot, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau tried to be hotter by deciding that Canada has 'no core identity, no mainstream,' and suggesting Canada had become a 'post-national state.' Now that nationalism is back in vogue, Prime Minister Mark Carney, unwilling or unable to counter U.S. President Donald Trump's taunts and tariff barrage, has become an odd recipient of Canada's quest for a U.S.-like national identity. Even as he rails against America's temperamental chief executive, he has shown little interest in curbing his country's own protectionist policies. Article content Article content But Canadians, indulging in a rare burst of nationalist authoritarianism, may be jumping on the wrong train. Even as people reject globalism, the 'national state' is also losing its appeal — not only in the United States, but throughout Europe and the United Kingdom, as well. Some of this, on the left at least, reflects anti-western ideology, epitomized by DEI and the mandatory acknowledgement of First Nations land rights, which are now deeply entrenched in the education systems of the U.S., Canada and Europe. Article content Article content Support for a highly centralized state also represents a rejection of Canadian and American attempts to balance national and regional concerns. As enormous countries, we each have populations that have predominately different origins and exist in often wildly different economies. A suburbanite at the edge of the Golden Horseshoe or in the endlessly expanding sprawl north of Dallas has very different ideas and priorities, whether in terms of schools or support for terrorism, than an arts or non-profit worker in central Toronto or Manhattan. Article content The differences get greater when you look across the continental expanse. Alberta and the Prairie provinces depend on raw material production, which is not exactly in line with Carney's ultra-green vision, as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has rightly pointed out. British Columbia inhales new urbanist dogma and seeks to reduce fossil fuels, and Ontario remains divided between its industrial base and its greener-than-thou urban elites. Like them, Carney seems more focused on things other than finding ways for Canada's various communities to thrive. Article content Article content But more power to the provinces or the states does not really go far enough. For most things, outside of national defence and foreign relations, the real goal should be to bring decision-making down to as local a level as possible. This notion is popular among Canadians, most of whom wish to see decisions made closer to home. Article content This notion is also embraced in the U.S., notes Gallup. Big companies, banks and media receive low marks from the public, but small business continues to enjoy widespread support across party lines. Millennials, largely liberal on issues such as immigration and gay marriage, are as one commentator suggests, more 'socially conscious,' but they do not necessarily favour the top-down structures embraced by earlier generations; many prefer small units to larger ones.
National Post
28 minutes ago
- National Post
Jamie Sarkonak: DEI gardening — the new Liberal priority for agriculture
Article content On its face, that list doesn't make sense: race alone doesn't render a person 'at risk,' nor does speaking French in non-Quebec Canada, nor does living outside a city. Typically, in English, that term is used to describe homeless and low-income people. Article content The agriculture department's explanation isn't reflected in the actual record, either. The applicant guide for the Local Food Infrastructure Fund presents a closed list of 'equity-seeking groups' that a potential grant recipient can claim to help: Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, women, youth, 2SLGBTQI+, 'Not applicable' and 'Decline to identify.' The government (which actually prefers the term 'equity-denied group' over 'equity-deserving group) limits the scope of the definition to race, gender, sexuality, religion and disability. Article content What's certain is that the scope of this grant program is unclear, and that public-facing documents are giving potential applicants the impression that food programs serving, say, low-income, country-dwelling white seniors of Saskatchewan aren't deserving of government support. Neither would be a replacement freezer for a food bank serving the poor — regardless of race — in small-town Atlantic Canada. A curious choice for the minister of agriculture, Prince Edward Islander Heath MacDonald. Article content Meanwhile, a free set of raised beds for a community garden in an upper- to middle-class, predominantly non-white neighbourhood of Toronto would appear to meet the program's stated criteria, even though such endeavours are largely recreational. Indeed, the same can be said for low-income communities. Neighbourhood gardens can't achieve the economies of scale found in industrial farming or the year-round stability of the grocery store, which is why a local Loblaws or Metro does a lot more for food security than a few raised beds. Article content This is just one grant, but it's emblematic of the whole federal government's approach to public service. It's not enough to support food programs for the poor; the feds must also support the gardening hobbies across the cultural mosaic. Similarly, it's not enough to hire deserving students as youth employment hits 20-year lows; the feds must select their new hires on the basis of identity. It's not enough that Supreme Court justices are highly competent in the law — instead, they must be half-decent at their craft, bilingual and be the first person with their combination of diversity characteristics to join the court. Article content To the feds, managing a diverse population doesn't just mean ensuring that discrimination doesn't happen — it means actively discriminating to redistribute the goods of society. Even something as essential as food isn't immune. Article content
National Post
28 minutes ago
- National Post
Canadian father and son named as major 'copyright pirates' jailed 5 years unless they give up their secrets
Two Ontario men accused of being the scofflaw pirates behind years of large-scale digital streaming of copyrighted movies and TV have been sentenced to five years in prison — not for piracy, but for contempt of court — unless they reveal passwords and accounts. Article content Some of the biggest entertainment media companies on the continent — Bell, Rogers, Disney, Paramount Pictures, Universal, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. — spent years chasing the digital pirates behind a bootleg service known as Smoothstreams, which was available globally from five user-friendly online platforms offering a vast collection of movies, TV and live sports since at least 2018. Article content Article content Article content Lawyers, private investigators, and technology specialists for the corporate giants began their hunt seven years ago, launching what is described as a 'sophisticated, extensive, and resource and time-intensive investigation.' Article content Article content They traced internet streams and servers, websites, payment processors and corporate records which, in the summer of 2022, led them to the homes of a Canadian father and son. Article content Ever since, Antonio Macciacchera, 73, of Woodbridge, Ont., and his son, Marshall Macciacchera, of Barrie, Ont., have been in a legal grapple, defying the might of global media heavyweights. Article content The media companies estimated there were 2.5 million visits to Smoothstreams services in 2021 giving an estimated revenue of more than $1.5 million a year. Article content Article content By most accounts, Smoothstreams did an adept job at content distribution. Subscribers paid monthly for online access to all sorts of TV channels and streaming content — live sports events were particularly popular — with customer payments allegedly processed by two Hong Kong-based companies and another in Panama. Article content Prices were cheap since the content wasn't licensed or authorized. The service fed through various websites, including MyStreams, StarStreams and Live247, with its slogan: 'Where all your streams come true!' Article content Article content But after corporate officials, armed with court orders, arrived at the homes and a business of the Macciaccheras and unplugged at least 65 television receivers connected to 24 servers, viewers quickly complained of the abrupt end. Article content 'Saddest day 10 years of perfection gone — please come back soonest,' one customer posted to a Smoothstreams social media account. 'Damn the end of an era?' asked another.
