Juno News - June 06, 2025


Does the border bill allow the government to spy on you？


Episode Stats

Length

17 minutes

Words per Minute

145.57948

Word Count

2,521

Sentence Count

97

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 The House of Commons has adopted the throne speech without a formal vote.
00:00:08.800 A constitutional rights group is sounding the alarm that the Liberals' Strong Borders Act may undermine civil liberties and charter rights.
00:00:17.140 Manitoba's NDP government is launching a racially segregated grant program exclusively for Black-owned businesses.
00:00:24.420 Hello Canada, it's Friday, June 6th, and this is the True North Daily Brief. I'm Cosmin Georgia.
00:00:30.000 And I'm Clayton DeVane.
00:00:31.140 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.
00:00:34.020 Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.
00:00:43.200 Despite early morning posturing from the NDP, the government's official reply to the throne speech was adopted in the House of Commons on Wednesday without a vote.
00:00:52.920 The motion was instead adopted by unanimous consent or on division, meaning no recorded vote was held.
00:01:00.760 The adoption does not require a vote in the Senate either.
00:01:04.480 When a motion is adopted on division, it means the motion is passed without a formal recorded vote,
00:01:10.200 with an acknowledgement from the Speaker that not all members agree.
00:01:13.980 Some members may dissent, but the dissent is not formally recorded as individual votes.
00:01:18.900 This typically occurs when the outcome of the motion is clear and a formal vote is deemed unnecessary to save time.
00:01:25.840 The adoption came only hours after NDP interim leader Don Davies had promised to vote against the throne speech in the House of Commons,
00:01:34.760 possibly triggering a snap election.
00:01:37.000 Davies, who took over as the interim leader of the NDP after former leader Jagmeet Singh failed to be re-elected,
00:01:44.340 and NDP House leader Alexandra Boularis announced a media scrum ahead of question period on Wednesday.
00:01:51.300 As the throne speech is a confidence motion, Davies' announcement meant the Liberals would otherwise require the support of either the Bloc or the Conservatives
00:02:00.840 to avoid returning to another federal election.
00:02:03.520 Davies said, quote, millions of Canadians don't have access to an affordable home,
00:02:08.740 they don't have access to timely health care, and they don't have access to good family-sustaining jobs they need.
00:02:16.580 In voicing his concerns over the throne speech, Davies was additionally critical of the absence of employment insurance,
00:02:25.000 non-market housing, and specific needs for Indigenous Canadians.
00:02:28.840 When pressed by reporters on whether his decision reflected that his party has already lost confidence in the Kearney government,
00:02:35.900 Davies evaded answering directly, only vaguely offering that, quote,
00:02:40.240 this throne speech is not a worker-centered throne speech.
00:02:43.980 This seems to be a flex from the NDP,
00:02:47.180 probably the first time interim leader Don Davies has been able to get his name out,
00:02:53.120 you know, and his decision-making capacity, but ultimately it didn't make any difference.
00:02:59.100 This vote, as it went through to the House of Commons on division, the outcome was obvious,
00:03:05.840 and I think that's because the Bloc had indicated they were going to support the liberal minority government
00:03:12.140 in passing the vote on the throne speech.
00:03:16.260 If we recall back right after the election, Yves-Francois Blanchet said that he's willing to prop up the liberals
00:03:22.940 for at least a year, and he wasn't looking to take down the minority liberal government.
00:03:28.940 So, despite some of the conversation on social media,
00:03:32.760 I think it was quite obvious that the liberals would have passed this,
00:03:36.600 even if it did go to a recorded vote.
00:03:39.400 But Clayton, can we expect this new NDP, or at least the NDP in their transition period,
00:03:46.080 before they get a new leader, to stand up to the Carney government in this parliamentary session,
00:03:52.700 or will they continue to just posture as Jagmeet Singh did before?
00:03:57.500 Well, I think with this vote, no parties were likely to call another election so early.
00:04:03.080 But if Canadians take the NDP at their word,
00:04:05.520 they can expect to see the NDP to try to use the liberal minority government
00:04:10.500 to their advantage, as they did in the previous round of Parliament.
00:04:13.980 As we can gather from Davies' recent comments,
00:04:16.840 the NDP will continue to push for an expanded healthcare system,
00:04:20.260 increased government spending, and the like.
00:04:22.360 The NDP are a more likely partner for the liberals than the Bloc,
00:04:26.240 which was very critical of the liberal platform during the last election,
00:04:30.680 though it could go either way.
00:04:32.080 With a confirmed minority government now,
00:04:34.100 the liberals will have to appeal to at least one opposition party in any given vote to get anything passed.
00:04:39.740 I think what you said was correct in that posturing will be important for the NDP,
00:04:44.580 who last election lost 18 seats and was only left with seven.
00:04:48.360 The majority of people Trunor spoke to on the streets of places such as Toronto,
00:04:52.900 who decided to publicly support Mark Carney and the liberals this election,
00:04:56.660 told us that they are typically NDP supporters.
00:04:58.760 So the NDP will have to distinguish itself from the liberals before the next election
00:05:04.180 if it wants to regain official party status and have any hope of surviving.
00:05:09.180 And what better way to do that than to publicly announce your opposition to a low-stakes vote,
00:05:14.180 which most parties are not ready to vote against because it would trigger another election.
00:05:18.600 A prominent constitutional rights group is pushing back against the Carney government's new border security bill,
00:05:28.700 arguing that it would grant authorities sweeping new powers over Canadians' privacy.
00:05:33.060 The Canadian Constitution Foundation expressed its concerns about Bill C-2,
00:05:38.380 granting authorities, quote,
00:05:39.780 new powers that undermine privacy, due process, and trust in our democratic institutions.
00:05:46.140 The proposed border security legislation tabled on Tuesday would allow authorities to intercept communications
00:05:52.200 and access information without a court-approved warrant.
00:05:55.940 Its stated goals are to secure the border, combat, organize crime,
00:06:00.360 crack down on fentanyl smuggling, and bolster the authorities' ability to fight against financial crime.
00:06:07.220 Executive director for the CCF told True North, quote,
00:06:10.920 while Bill C-2 addresses some serious concerns from fentanyl trafficking to abuse of Canada's asylum system,
00:06:19.260 there are several provisions that raise serious constitutional and civil liberties questions.
00:06:25.560 She said one of the most concerning is the proposed change to the Canada Post Act,
00:06:31.920 which would allow customs officers to open letter mail,
00:06:36.760 something that has long been considered especially private.
00:06:40.700 The legislation would also, quote,
00:06:42.420 allow a justice or judge to authorize in a warrant a peace officer or public officer
00:06:48.980 to make a request to a foreign entity that provides telecommunication services to the public
00:06:55.760 to produce transmission data or subscriber information that is in its possession or control.
00:07:02.720 In other words, the government would have warrantless access to the social media communications of Canadians.
00:07:09.200 Additionally, Bill C-2 aims to set new limits on cash transactions over $10,000
00:07:14.480 to curtail money laundering, something Barron called a, quote, major red flag.
00:07:20.400 The legislation also intends to implement a new act that would force nearly every organization
00:07:26.340 offering electronic services to organize its users' data in such a way that it can easily be accessed by law.
00:07:34.280 law enforcement or intelligence agencies when required and approved.
00:07:50.760 Barron noted that granting the government the ability to engage in, quote,
00:07:54.760 warrantless sharing of personal financial information between police,
00:07:59.480 government departments, and banks under anti-money laundering laws is perhaps the most troubling provision included in the bill.
00:08:07.880 So, Cosman, what the government purports to do with any given bill is often different than the results that come from that.
00:08:14.880 In trying to curb cross-border narcotics trafficking, is the carny government going too far in curbing civil liberties?
00:08:22.040 Well, first of all, there's a lot of things in this bill that I think a lot of people who were pro-immigration restrictionists,
00:08:30.640 who wanted to see some checks introduced to things like international students applying for asylum, etc., would agree with.
00:08:39.160 For example, this bill goes even further to close some of the loopholes with our refugee agreement with the United States,
00:08:47.640 called the Safe Third Country Agreement, and it ties up some of the loopholes that still remain to this day.
00:08:55.080 Additionally, it puts caps on when people can file asylum claims.
00:08:59.640 They can't file past a certain point of time that they've been in the country, especially if they have student or work permits.
00:09:08.120 So, there's a lot of agreeable things in this bill, but like the liberals so often do, they might include a few good ideas,
00:09:18.520 but then they introduce these sweeping expansions of government powers that anybody who supports individual liberty or constitutional rights,
00:09:30.520 freedom of expression in Canada would find untenable and unsupportable.
00:09:35.960 And I think this is the case with this bill.
00:09:39.240 And it might be because when the liberals eventually debate that, when the House of Commons eventually debates this bill,
00:09:47.480 and the conservatives rightly so find problems with the bill, the liberals can then say,
00:09:54.120 well, look, we've presented a plan to shore up border security, to address immigration,
00:10:00.440 but the conservatives don't want it passed.
00:10:03.400 And it really is a political trap.
00:10:06.440 In a sense, they provide a poison pill to the conservatives, because the conservatives will realize that there are elements in this bill that are against either, you know, conservative principles,
00:10:19.720 or their MPs, or their MPs disagree with, or their base just simply cannot accept.
00:10:24.760 And some of those elements you've addressed, part of it is that the government wants to essentially have the power to order social media companies,
00:10:34.600 electronic communication companies, purveyors of electronic communications,
00:10:38.920 to fork over data simply based on requests or suspicions that the government provides.
00:10:46.840 And on X, I actually wrote a little bit of a post on this, because there are some overlaps in this bill between what happened with the freedom convoy,
00:10:58.120 when the liberals introduced the emergencies order under the emergencies act to clamp down and freeze the bank accounts of protesters and supporters.
00:11:08.760 And specifically, they cited a law, a Canadian law that's already on the books, called the Proceeds of Crime, Money Laundering, and Terrorist Financing Act.
00:11:19.760 And what this bill, the current Border Security Bill, C2, seeks to introduce is a whole new section to that bill,
00:11:28.120 which authorizes banks and financial institutions to essentially blacklist anybody who the government deems undesirable,
00:11:38.860 without even telling the user of their service that they've been blacklisted.
00:11:44.220 And all it takes, based on the way that this law is written, is for the RCMP, CSIS, or any relevant government agency,
00:11:54.540 to simply ask in writing and state that the purpose, according to them, is to detect money laundering, terrorist financing, or sanctions evasion.
00:12:06.440 Now, all of that, well and good criminal activities, but we know that those laws were applied to the freedom convoy,
00:12:14.700 when there is a vast amount of evidence showing that none of that applied.
00:12:20.460 There was no terrorist financing of the freedom convoy.
00:12:23.960 There was no, you know, foreign money was insignificant.
00:12:27.760 Most of the money originated in Canada.
00:12:29.760 So, they used these same unfounded excuses back then.
00:12:34.920 You can only imagine what they would do if it's already on the books,
00:12:39.260 and they can't cite, you know, a temporary emergency power to do this, but they can do this perpetually.
00:12:45.840 And I'll just add, they don't even need a conviction to make this request.
00:12:50.640 They don't need a terrorism peace bond on you, or anything.
00:12:54.140 It's just simply a written request from the government suspecting that any individual might be involved in these things
00:13:02.260 based on how they define it, and the bank has to oblige.
00:13:10.180 Manitoba's NDP government is launching a taxpayer-funded business grant program exclusively for entrepreneurs who identify as black.
00:13:18.420 The provincial government, in collaboration with the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce,
00:13:22.760 announced that they are now accepting applications for entrepreneurs and business owners who run black-owned and black-led businesses.
00:13:30.420 Those who are not black are ineligible for funding.
00:13:33.020 The province is offering black businesses a grant between $5,000 and $20,000 in an effort to help black Manitobans,
00:13:40.940 quote, address the realities, barriers, and opportunities specific to black entrepreneurs and business owners in Manitoba.
00:13:47.700 Manitoba's Minister for Business, Mining, Trade, and Job Creation, Jamie Moses, said,
00:13:53.360 Our government is proud to work with the black business community in Manitoba to create good jobs and grow our economy.
00:14:00.200 This program will help black-owned and black-led small businesses in Manitoba overcome systemic barriers and grow successful businesses in Manitoba.
00:14:09.100 The grant application form requires the applicant to declare that the organization is black-owned or black-led,
00:14:15.800 though it is not clear how the Chamber of Commerce and the government will be validating the claims.
00:14:21.420 Manitoba's NDP government follows a trend of governments providing specific racial and ethnic groups with exclusive government benefits
00:14:28.660 inaccessible by non-minorities or minorities excluded from consideration.
00:14:33.140 2020, the Trudeau government created a multi-million dollar loan program exclusively for black entrepreneurs offering black businesses with loans up to $250,000.
00:14:44.780 This sort of race-based government funding programs or incentives, etc. seems to be commonplace,
00:14:52.160 and virtually there is no resistance, there is no legal challenge or court fight back against this.
00:14:59.140 So, Clayton, why are provincial governments going this way, providing these race-ethnic-based benefits
00:15:08.320 instead of providing equal opportunities to everyone and making entrepreneurship accessible at a larger scale?
00:15:17.660 Yeah, Cosmin, it really just highlights the ideological drive of identity politics in the Western world in general right now.
00:15:24.920 It stems from the idea that some groups have been historically and disproportionately given opportunities in the past,
00:15:31.960 and it's built in a way to give back to those groups, although groups are made of individuals.
00:15:38.560 It also stems from this approach of actually having a way with the liberal concept of equality of opportunity that you brought up.
00:15:47.480 That doesn't matter anymore to the institutions.
00:15:50.040 Instead, you'll hear the term equity over equality.
00:15:52.940 Supporters of equity mean that everyone shouldn't have access to the same opportunities,
00:15:58.040 but everyone should be granted enough support based on their needs.
00:16:02.380 And if you thought that sounds an awful lot like the Marxist phrase,
00:16:06.440 from each according to their ability to each according to their need, you wouldn't be alone.
00:16:10.760 Though most followers of this ideology might not explicitly say that.
00:16:14.620 You have plenty of conservatives on platforms like X and critics of the new woke religion of the state who point out that this is simply neo-Marxism.
00:16:24.340 It props up groups from a collectivist perspective as either being oppressors or oppressed.
00:16:29.880 Other critics of these racially discriminative practices will note that many people who aren't labeled as equity deserving by these programs are often left out of the support simply because their skin color, gender, or sexual preferences don't match the equity group that the policy is trying to serve.
00:16:48.880 One thing is for sure, though, it's a complete departure from Martin Luther King's vision of a society where everyone is treated based on their character rather than identifiable characteristics.
00:17:02.300 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in.
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