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Another Assault on Religious Freedom Parental Rights

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Federal Liberals introduce bill aimed at cracking down on conversion therapy

OTTAWA — Justice Minister David Lametti has added another bill to the government’s agenda, tabling new amendments to the Criminal Code, to crack down on the practice of conversion therapy in Canada.

The legislation — a campaign promise and evolution on the government’s position last parliament — is proposing to prohibit unwanted religious counselling seeking to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual; gender identity to cisgender; or reduce non-heterosexual behaviour, nationwide.

The 11-page bill proposes five new Criminal Code offences, but leaves the door open to allowing adults who willingly want to pursue what has also been called  reparative therapy, to seek that assistance. But that remains possible only under limited circumstances.

What the government is looking to make a crime:

  • causing a minor to undergo conversion therapy;
  • removing a minor from Canada to undergo conversion therapy abroad;
  • causing a person to undergo conversion therapy against their will;
  • profiting from providing conversion therapy; and
  • advertising an offer to provide conversion therapy.

Bill C-8, as it’s been titled, would also allow courts to seize conversion therapy promotional material and order it removed from the internet, though it also presents the same restrictions on matters “alleged to be obscene, child pornography, a voyeuristic recording, an intimate image, an advertisement of sexual services.”

Based on the proposed changes the government has put forward, the maximum punishment would be five years in prison for some offences, and up to two years in prison for others.

The practice has been widely discredited and disparaged by several health and human rights groups, but these therapies are believed to still be offered in Canada.

Lametti and Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Bardish Chagger made an announcement about the bill on Monday afternoon.

In announcing the bill, backed by several LGBTQ community members and MPs, Lametti called the proposed legislated ban the “most progressive and comprehensive in the world,” and referenced how the discriminatory practice has led to life-long trauma for Canadians.

“Conversion therapy is premised on a lie, that being homosexual, lesbian, bisexual or trans is wrong and in need of fixing. Not only is that false, it sends a demeaning and a degrading message that undermines the dignity of individuals,” Lametti said.

Though, the government is specifying that the new offences “would not apply to those who provide support to persons questioning their sexual orientation, sexual feelings or gender identity,” such as teachers or school counsellors, pastoral or faith leaders, doctors or mental health professionals, and friends or family members.”

As well, the bill clarifies that the new measures are not meant to “include a practice, treatment or service that relates to a person’s gender transition; or to a person’s exploration of their identity or to its development.”

When asked about these exclusions, Lametti said that a “legitimate conversation with an open end in helping someone to explore their sexuality” is not covered by this legislation, saying that “those kinds conversations are absolutely necessary as people move forward in life.”

Asked about why the legislation allows for adults to still willingly pursue this activity, Lametti said that the government “felt that a competent adult could conceivably defend the right in a court to consent to this kind of activity and we felt that we couldn’t move ahead with that, in that case scenario, simply because the Charter of Rights.”

The pair of ministers were mandated to move forward with a ban on conversion therapy, after Trudeau promised action on eradicating the “harmful and scientifically disproven practice,” during the 2019 fall federal election campaign.

In addition to the bill, the government will be taking additional steps in line with the provinces and municipalities given the span of jurisdictions and potential enforcement requirements, such as bylaw changes.

Some provinces and municipalities in Canada already have measures in place, such as specifying that conversion therapy is not an insured health service, and indicating that they expect health professionals to ensure that conversion therapy is not practiced in their jurisdiction.

Before coming out with the promised ban during the campaign, the Liberal’s position had been that health regulations are a provincial and territorial responsibility and implored the provinces to take this initiative on.

Currently, some offences like kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault or even fraud may apply to those conducting conversion sessions, but the government has indicated that the Criminal Code as it stands could go further to explicitly deter and punish those who engage in this practice.

LGBTQ community reaction

Appearing alongside Lametti and Chagger, conversion therapy survivor Erika Muse delivered an emotional reaction to the legislation, saying that she lives with the damage of conversion therapy daily. She questioned whether the bill as drafted will help people in all circumstances.

“I can’t say that this is a ban that would make me safe,” she said, encouraging parliamentarians to make changes to the bill.

Asked about her comments, in an interview on CTV’s Power Play, Chagger said that the conversation is just beginning, and that there’s time to “work on” the legislation.

In a statement ahead of the details of the bill being known, The Trevor Project — a U.S.-based suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth — said it’s proud of the Canadian government for moving to end the practice.

The organization is advancing an initiative aimed at ending conversion therapy in the United States, while similar initiatives to stop the practice are underway in Germany, Mexico and Chile.

“This legislation will save countless LGBTQ young lives,” said The Trevor Project’s Troy Stevenson. Based on a national survey the organization conducted in 2019 in the U.S., LGBTQ youth who experienced conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide.

“Countries across the world are taking active steps to address the devastating harms caused by conversion therapy,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, in a statement.

‘No doubt’ conversion therapy happens

A now-retired Senator, Serge Joyal has already introduced a bill in this Parliament, aimed at cracking down on the practice. His proposal, in Bill S-202 was to make it an offence to advertise conversion therapy services and to obtain financial or other material benefits from providing conversion therapy to anyone under the age of 18.

In a previous interview with CTVNews.ca Joyal said that he wanted to get the ball rolling and push the government to “stand by their electoral platform commitment,” and would be happy to have his proposal — now being spearheaded by Independent Sen. Rene Cormier — to be superseded by a government bill.

“There is no doubt that the practice is still in existence in Canada. It’s not visible, it’s like a submarine. It’s below the water level. But everyone knows that it’s there,” Joyal said.

According to a report published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, in Canada more than 20,000 LGBTQ and two-spirit Canadians have been exposed to conversion therapy treatments or other efforts aimed at repressing or changing their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

Conversion therapy is opposed by several health and human rights groups including the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization, which in 2012 said that these conversion programs “lack medical justification and represent a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people.”

The Canadian Psychological Association also opposes conversion therapy as it is “based on the assumption that LGBTQ identities indicate a mental disorder,” and “can result in negative outcomes, such as distress, anxiety, depression, negative self-image, a feeling of personal failure, difficulty sustaining relationships, and sexual dysfunction.”

RAYCHYL WHYTE IS RAISING MONEY FOR CAFE — SUPPORT HER WALK FOR FREEDOM

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RAYCHYL WHYTE IS RAISING MONEY FOR CAFE — SUPPORT HER WALK FOR FREEDOM
Raychyl Whyte is raising funds for CAFE on St. Patrick’s Day

RAYCHYL 2.jpg

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Tuesday March 17 will be Raychyl’s 14th annual 42 km trek from Toronto to Oakville, and she is pleased to raise funds for CAFE again this year. The walk will commence at 9 AM at Toronto City Hall on Tuesday March 17 2020, and conclude sometime between approx. 4:15-4:50 PM at Mo’s Restaurant & Tavern in downtown Oakville, 234 Lakeshore Rd. E., where CAFE members are welcome to join in the celebration with Raychyl. There will be green beer & pub grub… while the participants of the walk will be groaning in pain & exhaustion! LOL. 
~ Wear something green. ~

Please donate directly to CAFE. 
Mail your cheque to:CAFE,P.O. Box 332,Rexdale, ON.,M9W 5L3CANADA..In the info line mention, “RAYCHYL’S WALK”.Thanks for your support!

Breitbart News Reports Federal Funds Used to Spy on “Hate Speech” on Gab

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Federal Funds Used to Research ‘Hate Speech’ on Gab

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scientists with clipboards
LightFieldStudios/Getty

Allum Bokhari1 Mar 2020700 3:04

Researchers at USC used federal funds to compile a “corpus” of “hate speech” on Gab, the First Amendment-friendly social media network that provides an alternative to increasingly censorious platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

Titled “The Gab Hate Corpus: A collection of 27k posts annotated for hate speech,” the project involved over a dozen researchers and was sponsored by funds from the National Science Foundation, a federal body that distributes taxpayer money to fund scientific research, including “social sciences.”

The current NSF director is an Obama appointee, France A. Córdova. The NSF’s budget in 2020 was increased by 2.5 percent on the previous year, to $8.28 billion. Part of that taxpayer money, it seems, is now going to study “hate speech” on Gab.

“The growing prominence of online hate speech is a threat to a safe and just society,” declares the study. “This endangering phenomenon requires collaboration across the sciences in order to generate evidence-based knowledge of, and policies for, the dissemination of hatred in online spaces.”

The report also claims to “establish baseline classification performance for each using standard natural language processing methods.” Natural language processing is a subfield of linguistics, AI and computer science that among other things involves training AIs how to recognize and analyze human speech.

In a statement, Gab slammed the researchers for “cherrypicking” items of speech from its website.

“These researchers used federal funds to highlight 27,000 posts out of more than 93,000,000 on our site (0.029%) to promote the online censorship of American citizens,” said a Gab spokesman.

“Gab has over 3 million visitors, users, and customers from around the world. Our fastest-growing markets are the United States, India, and Spain. Our users have diverse ideological, cultural, and social perspectives. Studies like this seek to gaslight millions of great people in our community based on a negligible fraction of posts on the site.”

“For years now yellow journalists and shoddy researchers have consistently cherry-picked individual users or small groups on our site in an effort to discredit our mission, which is to protect the First Amendment online and empower everyone to speak freely and securely.”

“They have failed and will continue to fail. Gab will continue to build people-powered solutions to Big Tech bias and online censorship.”Are you an insider at Google, Facebook, Twitter, or any other tech company who wants to confidentially reveal wrongdoing or political bias at your company? Reach out to Allum Bokhari at his secure email address allumbokhari@protonmail.com. 

Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News.

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Red Tory Elite Keep Social Conservative Out of Party Leadership Rce
Despite support from thousands of CPC party members, the unelected LEOC has disallowed my candidacy and will not allow my supporters to cast their ballots for me. No reasons were provided to me by the committee.

It seems my candidacy was viewed as a threat to the establishment of the CPC and to the kind of leader THEY want to select. Thus far I was the only candidate who took a strong position in support of traditional marriage and who proposed to defund abortion federally as health care.

True Blue Conservatives, including those with traditional values, are a major force within our Party. They are a force with or without my candidacy in this leadership contest. I continue to work with all True Blue conservatives who support and take action in the conservative movement, and within the CPC regardless of how uncomfortable this makes the unelected Red Tory elite.

I believe in a CPC that welcomes all True Blue conservatives and offers a clear alternative to the Liberals. The CPC began on these principles. I helped build it from its founding, especially in Québec. I urge all my supporters to keep pressing on towards that goal.

The work continues! For a True Blue Conservative Leader, Richard DECARIE
Richard DECARIE Campaign
RichardDECARIE.ca

Are Social Conservatives Unwelcome in the Tory Party?

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Conservative Party blocks controversial candidate Richard Décarie from running for leadership

Brian Platt 10 hrs ago Former Liberal cabinet minister Rich Coleman to retire from politics 3 new COVID-19 cases announced in Ontario

a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera: Richard Decarie, a social conservative whose views were widely condemned by some senior Conservatives, has been barred from running the party's leadership race.

© @RichardDECARIE/twitter Richard Decarie, a social conservative whose views were widely condemned by some senior Conservatives, has been barred from running the party’s leadership race.

OTTAWA — The Conservative Party has released a “final list” of candidates approved to run in the leadership race, and Richard Décarie is not on it.

Décarie had prompted outrage last month after he went on national TV and said that in his view being gay is a choice, among other inflammatory remarks. His comments were strongly condemned by many Conservative MPs and leadership candidates including Peter MacKay, Erin O’Toole, Marilyn Gladu and Rick Peterson.

The Conservative Party’s leadership nomination committee interviewed Décarie on Thursday, which indicates he had fulfilled everything else needed to enter the race, including a $25,000 fee and 1,000 signatures from party members. (To stay on until the final ballot, he would have needed to pay a further $275,000 and collect 2,000 more signatures by March 25.)

Also watch: MacKay on cannabis laws, Huawei & where he’ll run (Provided by CBC)

Décarie’s campaign team told the Post on Friday that they had met the basic entry requirements and expected Décarie would be approved to run.

“No reasons were provided to me by the committee,” said a statement from Décarie on Saturday. “It seems, then, that my candidacy was viewed as a threat to the establishment of the CPC and to the kind of leader that THEY want to select. Thus far I was the only candidate who took a strong position in support of traditional marriage and who proposed to defund abortion federally since it is not health care.”

Party spokesperson Cory Hann would not confirm on Saturday why Décarie was not on the final list of applicants, saying that reasons for approving or disqualifying a candidate aren’t released. Hann did say that the final list has been signed off on by the full leadership election organizing committee (LEOC).

A

A party official with direct knowledge of the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the rejection was not specific to Décarie’s TV interview, but related to his application as a whole. The application includes a lengthy questionnaire and various screening measures such as background checks and scanning social media feeds, previous activities and written work.

The official also pointed out that other socially-conservative candidates (Leslyn Lewis and Derek Sloan) are in the race, so the party is not looking to block people with those views.

Video player from: YouTube (Privacy Policy)

According to the leadership race rules, there is no further route of appeal for Décarie now that the entry deadline of Feb. 27 has passed.

“All decisions of the LEOC are final and are not subject to internal appeal or judicial review,” the rules say.

a lit up city at night: A man is silhouetted walking past a Conservative Party logo before the opening of the Party’s national convention in Halifax on Thursday, August 23, 2018.

© Darren Calabrese A man is silhouetted walking past a Conservative Party logo before the opening of the Party’s national convention in Halifax on Thursday, August 23, 2018. The leadership questionnaire that had to be filled out by all candidates did include questions that could have formed the grounds to block Décarie , such as whether the candidate has ever “been accused of, or been engaged in, activities that promote discrimination or hatred against people on the basis of…sexual orientation.”

Décarie’s statement said his supporters, who he called “True Blue Conservatives” with “traditional values,” will still be a force in the party and this leadership race.

“They will continue to be with or without my candidacy in this particular leadership contest,” he said. “I will continue to work with all True Blue conservatives who want to support and take action in the conservative movement, and within the Conservative Party of Canada regardless of how uncomfortable this makes the unelected Red Tory elite.”

The list of eight candidates approved to run are:

Marilyn Gladu

Rudy Husny

Jim Karahalios

Leslyn Lewis

Peter MacKay

Erin O’Toole

Rick Peterson

Derek Sloan

Look Who’s trying to Tell An Independent Country What Sort of Parade It Can Hold

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News

Belgian Carnival parade goes ahead despite criticism

Israel urged Belgium to ban the traditional Carnival parade, which featured floats depicting caricaturistic images of Orthodox Jews. The mayor of Aalst defended the festivities, saying “it is not an anti-Semitic parade.” Watch video 03:08

Charges of anti-Semitism darken carnival in Belgium’s Aalst

The Belgian city of Aalst went ahead with its traditional Carnival parade on Sunday, despite calls from Israel to ban the event over its anti-Semitic floats and costumes.

This year’s parade included participants dressed in costumes of caricaturistic Jewish stereotypes, with some wearing hooked noses, insect costumes, and exaggerated outfits meant to depict Orthodox Jews. One of the floats also included three Jewish caricatures placed alongside gold bars. Some revellers were also dressed in costumes meant to represent Nazi officers.

Lawmakers in the European Parliament had urged officials in Aalst to make sure this year’s parade was free from “manifestations of hatred.”

Earlier this week, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the Belgian government to ban the “hate-filled” parade altogether.

The city’s Carnival parade lost its UNESCO cultural heritage status last year over the “recurrence of racist and anti-Semitic representation.” Revelers then dressed in Nazi costumes, making fun of the move.

Mayor defends parade

The city’s mayor dismissed criticism and calls for a ban on the festivities, saying “let Aalst be Aalst.”

“This is not an anti-Semitic parade,” Mayor Christoph D’Haese told reporters on Sunday. “Aalst is not an anti-Semitic city.”

D’Haese, of the right-wing nationalist New Flemish Alliance party, added that the goal of the parade is “not to hurt anyone.”

City authorities have repeatedly defended the parade as an expression of free speech and saying the costumes and floats are intended to be “satirical.”

The US Holocaust Museum tweeted “24,000 Jews living in Belgium were murdered in the Holocaust. Today, deadly anti-Semitism is on the rise again throughout Europe. Events like the Aalst Carnaval parade that promote anti-Semitism and stoke hatred and potentially violence must be denounced by all segments of society.”

One of this year’s floats featured Orthodox Jews next to gold bars

Sunday’s parade in Aalst also took place despite the threat of strong winds gusting up to 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph). Several other Belgian cities postponed or canceled their parades due to the severe weather.

The Aalst Carnival celebrations, which are more than 600 years old, were given UNESCO cultural heritage status in 2010. Last year’s parade prompted a wave of criticism from the EU and from Jewish groups after a float included Jewish caricatures with bags of money that were surrounded by rats.

According to the World Jewish Congress, Belgium is home to a small Jewish community of around 30,000 people out of the country’s total population of 11 million.

rs/aw (dpa, AFP)

Little Free Speech in South Africa [Remember Nelson Mandela, now a secular saint, was a member of the Communist Party of South Africa]

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South Africa should introduce a register for people who make racist comments: High Court ruling

Ryan Brothwell27 February 2020

In light of the seriousness of the racial attitudes harboured by some in our society, the time may have come for the government to consider establishing a “register” of offenders of this type of conduct.

This was one of the findings in an Eastern Cape High Court ruling this week, which focused on the case of a woman who reportedly used the k-word against a handyman who worked in her retirement village.

“The purpose of this register would be to enter the details of those who relentlessly treat the foundational values that underpin our constitution with disdain and who undermine the efforts in building a cohesive non-racial society,” the court said in its judgement.

“This may also serve as a constant reminder to anyone that, to refer to other people of a different race with disparaging and degrading descriptions, is contempt to the progressive agenda this nation adopted in 1994 in its quest to build a non-racial society.”

The issue of racial comments remains an incredibly sensitive topic in South Africa with the country’s courts dealing with a number of cases around the issue.

People who publicly use derogatory words and other expressions of racism may face legal sanctions including private claims for defamation as well as criminal charges for crimen injuria.

Despite these harsh consequences, there have been numerous incidents of people publicly using overtly racist and often taboo words to describe others, says Hugo Pienaar, a director at law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr who was commenting on the issue in 2019.

“The Constitution prohibits racism through safeguarding every person’s rights to dignity and equality. It also expressly limits the right to freedom of expression to exclude the advocacy of hatred which is based on race,” he said.

“Recent cases have emphasised that our society and law is taking a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and the use of derogatory language.”

Even in Catholic Croatia, Criticizing the LGBTQ Agenda Can Lead To Criminal Charges

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Croatia Gay Effigy Condemned: MP Files Criminal Charges Against Carnival

 By Forrest Stilin  24 February 2020

Croatia Gay Effigy Condemned: MP Files Criminal Charges Against Carnival | Arsen Bauk Boško Ćosić | Screenshot

February 24, 2020 – MP Arsen Bauk SDP (Social Democratic Party) of Croatia has announced that he will file a criminal complaint against the organizers of the “Bakova povorka”, which took place in the town of Imotski, at the local police station for burning an effigy of a gay couple. Zoran Milanović, President of Croatia, has demanded an apology from organizers and an appropriate response from the relevant legal institutions.

Numerous comments have appeared on social networks condemning the Imotski carnival (Bakova povorka), where an effigy of a same-sex couple holding a child was burned at the ceremony to widespread cheers. The child was presented in the form of SDP MP Nenad Stazić with a five-pointed star (Yugoslavia) on his forehead, according to Ana Roksandić/RTL Dnevnik on February 24, 2020.

Bauk to File Complaint Under Article 325 Croatia Criminal Code

Arsen Bauk has announced that he will file a criminal complaint against Milivoj Đuka, the organizer of the carnival parade, at the Imotski Police Station on Monday for the offense noted under Article 325 of the Criminal Code of Croatia.

There is a tradition of masks in Dalmatia, in which the people normally express their dissatisfaction with powerful political and social figures. However, the lynching of minority groups runs contrary to that tradition.

Croatia President Demands Appropriate Response for Shameful Event

Croatia President Zoran Milanović also responded to the “shameful event” on Monday morning.

“The symbolic burning of same-sex partners with a foster child in Imotski is a sad, inhumane and totally unacceptable act in the guise of the ‘Bakova povorka’ festivities. The organizers who staged this shameful event, in the name of tradition, deserve the strongest public condemnation because of the hatred they have demonstrated toward for others. Intolerance and inhumanity are not and will not be a Croatian tradition. I am seeking their public apology and the appropriate response reaction from the relevant institutions, especially as many children watched this event, thus witnessing the spread of hatred and inciting violence,” he wrote on Facebook.

Don’t Kid Yourself, the “Free World” Doesn’t Enjoy Much Free Speech

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Former Polish Priest Indicted for Hate Speech and Holocaust Denialby Katarzyna Markusz, Jewish Telegraphic Agency – February 19, 2020https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/former-polish-priest-indicted-for-hate-speech-and-holocaust-denial

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — A former priest involved in Poland’s nationalist movement has been indicted on hate speech and Holocaust denial charges. The District Prosecutor’s Office in the city of Wrocław, in western Poland, brought three indictments against Jacek Miedlar. Another claims that he insulted the late prime minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki. Miedlar, who pleaded not guilty, could face up to three years in prison if convicted on the charges.

“Dear ladies and gentlemen, that synagogues can stand here on our Polish soil in Wroclaw, and that Dutkiewicz [mayor of Wroclaw] and Jews can get drunk in them with Talmudic hatred, this is only the result of our tolerance,” Miedlar said at a nationalist march in Wroclaw on Nov. 11, 2017. The prosecutor’s office said the speech incited hatred.

About 3,000 people clapped and chanted slogans such as “Great Independent Poland” in response.

The prosecution also highlighted other statements inciting hatred against Jews and Holocaust denial from 2018.That year, on Dec. 13 in Wroclaw, Miedlar publicly set fire to the portrait of Mazowiecki, calling him a “communist scab” who “never concealed his Jewish-communist Bolshevik inclinations.” Mazowiecki’s son filed a complaint to the prosecutor’s office.

Mazowiecki, who died in 2013, was an anti-communist activist and the first Polish prime minister after the fall of communism. Although he was a Catholic, with no Jewish roots, his political opponents often accused him of Jewish descent to discourage people from voting for him.

Trudeau’s Canada: One Law for the Thugs but A Different Law for Reporters & the Rest of Us

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Hamilton railroad blockade: Know-nothing protesters, and Rebel reporter threatened with arrest (again)
By David Menzies | February 26, 2020

The “new abnormal” in Canada:

Antifa types camping out on railroad tracks is A-OK as far as law enforcement is concerned, but a journalist chronicling such lawlessness is threatened with… Arrest?!

The latest Whac-A-Mole pop-up railway protest against the GasLink pipeline is now taking place in Hamilton, Ontario, inconveniencing thousands of GO Transit commuters and bringing yet another halt to freight train traffic. The blockade, ostensibly in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en natives of British Columbia, was erected just hours after a similar blockade was dismantled near Belleville, Ontario, on Monday.

Here’s what I saw on the scene in Hamilton:

https://www.rebelnews.com/hamilton_railroad_blockade_know_nothing_protesters_and_rebel_reporter_threatened_with_arrest_again?utm_campaign=dm_hamilton_blockade&utm_medium=email&utm_source=therebel

The protesters were completely unable to articulate their rationale for shutting down the rail traffic.

It did not appear that there was a single native present (although, laughably, the Toronto Star did manage to interview a woman who said she “identified” as being native)

More two-tier “justice” was on display: while police turned a blind eye to the squatters, I was threatened with arrest for practicing journalism.

Welcome to Justin Trudeau’s Canada!