Juno News - Israeli embassy staff murders prompts calls for stronger anti-terrorism laws in Canada

00:00:00.000 Canadian Jewish groups are urging governments to adopt stricter anti-terrorism laws after a

00:00:10.540 pro-Palestine activist attack in Washington, D.C. killed two Israeli embassy employees.

00:00:17.400 Prime Minister Mark Carney's mandate letter pledges to make housing more affordable,

00:00:22.060 but in reality, the Liberals continue to offer only subsidized rentals for those priced out

00:00:27.940 of the market with no real path to home ownership. A University of Western Ontario student is suing

00:00:34.540 the institution after alleging they were interrogated for questioning the university's

00:00:39.720 commitment to DEI principles. Hello, Canada. It's Friday, May 23rd, and this is the True North Daily

00:00:45.780 Brief. I'm Cosmin Georgia. And I'm Clayton Demain. We've got you covered with all the news you need

00:00:50.940 to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere

00:00:56.400 else. The killing of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington, D.C. by a far-left activist shouting,

00:01:06.520 quote, Free Palestine, has sparked calls for stricter laws against the glorification of terrorism

00:01:12.380 by Canada's Jewish advocacy groups. A young couple set to be married, Yaron Lechinsky and Sarah Lynn

00:01:19.120 Milgram, were shot and killed Wednesday night while working for the Israeli embassy outside of a Jewish

00:01:25.060 museum in the U.S. Capitol. The alleged shooter, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, shouted, quote,

00:01:31.640 Free, free Palestine while being arrested after allegedly taking credit for the incident in the

00:01:37.340 moments preceding the attack. The incident took place at the American Jewish Committee's event,

00:01:42.820 which Canadian Jewish rights groups say was an event focused on extending humanitarian aid into Gaza

00:01:49.300 as Israel continues its war to rid the region of Hamas control. Canadian Jewish advocates are calling

00:01:56.100 the murders a, quote, wake-up call and are demanding legislative bodies take direct action to

00:02:01.760 strengthen Canada's laws against the glorification of terrorism. The Center for Israel and Jewish

00:02:07.440 Affairs Interim President Noah Shaq released a statement condemning the attack and mourning for the

00:02:13.060 families of the victims. Shaq wrote, quote, as we await further details about this horrific crime,

00:02:18.820 reports that the assailant shouted, Free Palestine, speak to the danger of the intensifying rhetoric

00:02:24.780 targeting our community. What happened in Washington is the result of the predictable pattern of growing

00:02:30.540 hate and incitement targeting Jews in North America. Prime Minister Mark Carney shared his condolences

00:02:36.080 for the Jewish community and pledged to, quote, act to keep Jewish Canadians safe. Meanwhile,

00:02:41.060 conservative leader Pierre Polyev similarly posted a message of support for the Jewish community

00:02:46.400 following the attack asserting Canada needs to do, quote, everything it can to stop this evil.

00:02:52.280 Canada has a few laws that I'm aware of that deal with this sort of thing, particularly incitement 0.86

00:03:00.040 of genocide. But Clayton, could you enlighten us on what current laws are on the books right now in

00:03:07.160 Canada regarding the glorification of terrorism? And have there been any incidents in the recent past

00:03:14.300 where we've seen activists openly praising terrorist groups?

00:03:19.080 Yeah, I mean, absolutely. So the question of whether there are laws that prevent the glorification of

00:03:25.960 terrorism is somewhat in dispute, which could indicate that the laws could use some clarification.

00:03:33.620 Some civil rights organizations, such as the Canadian Constitution Foundation, for example,

00:03:38.900 has suggested that the incitement and hate speech laws could be used against those who openly fly

00:03:45.740 things such as terrorist flags, though the Crown would have to prove that they wielded such a flag with

00:03:51.740 the intent to cite violence or hatred. It's against the law to glorify terrorism in a way that risks

00:03:57.780 incitement. But that is a threshold that would have to be proven. It's also against the law to participate

00:04:03.380 in, contribute to or facilitate any activity of a terrorist group. With the current rules, perhaps

00:04:09.300 it could be argued that by disseminating propaganda and acting like a cheerleader for terrorists,

00:04:15.700 one is participating in or facilitating their activities in Canada. The CCF, by the way, told True North

00:04:21.940 in one article that regardless of the criminality of these acts, they may be good targets for

00:04:27.460 investigation by Canadian intelligence. True North wrote an article in August of last year about

00:04:32.820 Jewish advocates demanding anti-glorification laws like they are right now. The Center of Israel and

00:04:38.660 Jewish Affairs told True North that the current legislation prohibits anyone from participating in

00:04:44.660 a terrorist group, but falls short of explicitly criminalizing the glorification of terrorism.

00:04:49.540 But if our audience remembers Sami Doohan, which was eventually found to be a terrorist group,

00:04:54.420 but for years it disseminated terrorist propaganda. And there are other groups like the Palestinian

00:04:59.060 youth movement who celebrate that they publish terrorist literature. You also just have to look

00:05:03.620 at the streets. Almost every protest you see that's an anti-Israel protest, you hear things like

00:05:09.620 from the river to the sea, Palestine should be free, which is often looked at as a call to eradicate

00:05:15.780 Israel from the map. Long live the resistance. Who are the resistance in that region? It's Hamas, Hezbollah, etc.

00:05:27.700 Prime Minister Mark Carney released a mandate letter to Cabinet yesterday prioritizing housing

00:05:33.300 affordability. Just days after Housing Minister Gregor Robertson shut down any talk of lowering the

00:05:39.780 cost of homes. In reality, the Liberals continue to subsidized rentals as a poor substitute for home

00:05:47.220 ownership and are planning to have the government play an even larger role in housing. Robertson,

00:05:52.580 in his first public remarks on May 14th, explicitly shut down the idea of lowering the cost of homes

00:05:58.740 by saying, quote, No, I think that we need to deliver more supply. Make sure the market is stable. It's a huge part of our economy.

00:06:06.980 Five days later in Rome, Carney dodged the question in a similar noncommittal way,

00:06:12.900 suggesting the answer, quote, Depends on the timeframe and the specific type of housing. But how can the government

00:06:19.540 both make housing more affordable while maintaining the status of home ownership as a lucrative investment?

00:06:25.860 Their responses don't reflect leaders serious about making home ownership widely accessible, but rather seem more

00:06:32.820 inclined towards protecting existing asset values. High home prices and affordable housing can only

00:06:39.140 coexist through a government subsidized rental market, which disadvantages home buyers in waiting.

00:06:45.380 This model offers affordable housing in the form of rentals while preserving investment returns for

00:06:51.380 homeowners. A major drop in housing prices could seriously impact the financial system. As Robertson pointed out,

00:06:58.660 the real estate sector constitutes a substantial portion of our economy, up to 20% of Canada's GDP, according to 2023 numbers.

00:07:07.620 Any attempt to lower home prices could potentially unsettle homeowners and the growing number of investors alike,

00:07:15.060 a risk this government appears unwilling to take. Instead, the proposed liberal solution centers on Minister Robertson's likely first order of business,

00:07:25.300 as laid out in Carney's 2025 election platform. A major push for government-run housing projects, including a new crown corporation called Build Canada Homes, as outlined in Carney's federal election platform.

00:07:38.340 The organization aims to inject $25 billion into prefabricated home builders and provide an additional $10 billion in low-cost financing for affordable housing.

00:07:48.980 These proposed solutions stand in contrast to the deeply ingrained Canadian dream of owning a single-family home,

00:07:55.620 a desire still held by 61% of respondents in a Wahee survey from this year.

00:08:02.340 So, Cosman, you're the one who wrote this analysis of the housing plan. How does immigration play into this?

00:08:09.300 Has the Carney government offered a credible plan to tackle the demand side of the housing crisis?

00:08:14.020 So, no, absolutely not. Where they're most lacking is addressing the demand side of things.

00:08:21.060 While there have been some proposed solutions in providing more supply of housing, it generally trends towards prefabricated homes, etc.

00:08:31.860 There's no real plan to develop those single-detached homes, the single-family housing that most people wanting to buy a home in the next five or so years are looking for.

00:08:42.820 But with regard to immigration, you just have to look at the numbers to realize that the math and the current rate of housing starts doesn't really make sense or add up to the immigrants who have already arrived

00:08:56.980 over the last few years under the aggressive immigration targets introduced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he was still in office.

00:09:05.620 So, going back to 2019, this may have been before the pandemic, but they included some projections.

00:09:14.660 There was a Royal LePage survey that found newcomers represented 21% of all homebuyers.

00:09:23.300 And at the current migration levels at the time, which were lower than what they eventually became,

00:09:30.340 they were projected then to purchase 680,000 homes over five years.

00:09:36.500 Now, let's assume that's a very conservative estimate because they ramped up immigration quite aggressively after that.

00:09:43.460 But even with that 680,000 estimate of homes purchased by newcomers,

00:09:50.180 if you compare it to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation data over the past four years from 2020 to 2024,

00:10:00.180 the available data that shows that only 1.24 million housing starts were achieved over that four year period.

00:10:10.500 Yet with the ongoing immigration activity, that means with the 680,000 homes purchased by newcomers target,

00:10:18.980 that's over 50% of the new housing starts would be going to newcomers if they're purchasing new homes.

00:10:26.740 Now, obviously, they may be purchasing homes that are already on the market, haven't just been built,

00:10:32.100 but it just goes to show how inadequate the housing starts are at meeting the demand side of things.

00:10:40.980 And previous measures introduced both by Trudeau and pledged to carry on by Prime Minister Mark Carney

00:10:48.820 to limit temporary residents, which include things like caps on study permits

00:10:54.020 and stricter work permit rules for temporary foreign workers,

00:10:58.340 have not curbed asylum filings or people overstaying their temporary visa.

00:11:05.060 And when you look at the number of international students, by the way,

00:11:10.820 who, when they come to Canada, require rental housing,

00:11:15.140 they filed a record 20,245 asylum claims just last year.

00:11:21.780 And the trends by quarter continues to go up.

00:11:27.300 I think projections are like over 20% year over year jump

00:11:31.700 for requests for asylum claims from international students.

00:11:36.660 And there's no plan, despite the rhetoric from Carney to return to some sort of sustainable immigration

00:11:45.860 levels, there's no plan to address this loophole. The fact that you can come to Canada on a temporary

00:11:54.340 visa and then apply for asylum or refugee status, which will keep you here guaranteed for several years

00:12:02.740 with the current backlog. Now, the simple solution to that would be to prevent and bar people here on

00:12:10.980 a temporary visa from filing asylum claims. If they arrived here to work and go to school, 0.84

00:12:19.060 that is the sole reason they should be in this country and not to claim asylum after the fact.

00:12:25.780 A University of Western Ontario student is taking the post-secondary school to court after being

00:12:34.500 interrogated for daring to question the school's adherence to DEI ideology. Margaret Munn is a 63-year-old

00:12:42.500 educator from Scotland who spent approximately 30 years teaching English in Japan and four years

00:12:48.580 teaching adult learners in the Thames Valley District School Board. She returned to her alma mater,

00:12:55.060 Western University in London, Ontario, to access better job opportunities. But on her return,

00:13:00.660 she encountered the school's newfound commitment to decolonization and other woke principles.

00:13:07.620 Believing freedom of expression was still permitted at the school, she challenged her instructor's

00:13:12.900 dogmatic beliefs, including in an Indigenous education towards a decolonizing pedagogy class. Munn asked what

00:13:21.460 the definition of decolonization was and questioned some of the quote highly politicized claims made in

00:13:27.940 the class, such as how the concept could be practically employed in a high school chemistry lab or mathematics

00:13:34.500 exam. The professor allegedly told her that the definition would reveal itself gradually over the

00:13:40.660 semester, but only for students engaged in quote self-reflection informed by anti-colonial precepts.

00:13:47.940 Her pushback led to continuous back-and-forth emails with educators, several disciplinary

00:13:53.300 interrogations with the associate dean and educators, a constant threat that she could be expelled,

00:13:59.460 and barriers to completing the program's required field placement classes. Munn's lawsuit details a series

00:14:06.340 of administrative barriers and harassment she faced for expressing opinions in the classroom, such as that

00:14:12.740 education should remain apolitical, criticism of preventing cultural appropriation via Halloween costumes,

00:14:20.100 and referring to a male student with large prosthetic breasts by the wrong pronoun. The stress caused by

00:14:26.660 the continuous gauntlet of administrative hurdles led Munn to obtain multiple doctor's notes for assignment

00:14:34.180 extensions, yet she was still made to undergo alleged struggle sessions and meetings with program 0.69

00:14:41.380 administrators. Clayton, this appears to be a prevailing theme through most universities in Canada,

00:14:49.140 especially university programs in the education or humanities fields. Were there any other issues

00:14:56.020 of interest brought up by Munn's lawsuit against Western University? Yeah, I mean, it was like a 20-page

00:15:03.140 lawsuit, so there was plenty of stuff, and honestly, it's worth the read for anyone who's interested.

00:15:11.620 But yeah, I mean, she details several different instances of her saying just essentially challenging the

00:15:20.580 narratives that are being put forward. She was even made to retake extra courses because they didn't

00:15:28.980 believe that she fully internalized the indigenous course material enough, so they made her take online

00:15:36.660 courses, and allegedly those courses had technical problems. As a recent student, I know what it's like

00:15:43.460 when an online program doesn't work, so that added to some stress. When she brought this up to, in one of her

00:15:51.540 multiple interrogations and meetings with faculty and administrators, they told her to watch a CBC

00:15:58.820 podcast on Roman Catholic-run residential school and said that there's a lot of abuse in it, so it could

00:16:04.500 be triggering, and then asked her if she was Catholic. There's also instances where they allegedly told

00:16:12.660 her that she only questions the narratives of the decolonization class because she's an immigrant, and

00:16:19.380 she hasn't internalized the need to achieve reconciliation with indigenous peoples. So something that we didn't

00:16:27.300 get to add in the article, a qualification of the program is to get field placement. She was even

00:16:34.180 allegedly told by one of her professors that they would be a reference for her, and the lawsuit alleges

00:16:40.820 that they gave a poor review of her in the reference. Another professor refused to even give a reference,

00:16:48.180 so she had a very hard time allegedly getting into one of these programs in order to graduate. It's honestly

00:16:55.540 a shock that this woman was able to graduate from this program with all these administrative hurdles. 0.99

00:17:02.100 She also had to get a doctor's note for multiple times because of the stress that all of this was

00:17:09.540 was putting her under. Meanwhile, all the other students are just focusing on their studies. She has to

00:17:15.060 jump through these hurdles in order to even graduate or to not be expelled.

00:17:19.460 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday

00:17:28.660 by subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it, make sure to hit us

00:17:34.980 this with a five-star rating and please leave a review.

Juno News - May 23, 2025

Israeli embassy staff murders prompts calls for stronger anti-terrorism laws in Canada

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