The News Rundown
- The Liberal's border bill, known as Bill C-2 failed when it couldn't garner any opposition support to pass it, mostly due to provisions that erode Canadians' freedoms and privacy. In a minority Parliament, the Liberals need votes from at least one other party to pass legislation. The New Democrats, the Bloc Québécois and the Green Party have expressed concerns about government overreach.
- Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the federal Liberals must either heavily amend their border bill or introduce a new piece of proposed legislation if they want support to pass it into law: "We've told Liberals that their current Bill C-2 will not pass unless they remove the violations of Canadians' individual freedoms and privacy. We don't think that law-abiding Canadians should lose their liberty to pay for the failures of the Liberals on borders and immigration."
- The Strong Borders Act, known as C-2, is a marquee piece of Liberal government legislation, introduced in the spring sitting in part as an effort to persuade the Trump administration that its concerns about border security — used to justify tariffs — were unwarranted.
- Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon has said it's about "ensuring law enforcement has the tools to keep our border secure," but civil rights groups and privacy experts criticized it, saying some provisions appear to go far beyond the stated aims of the legislation.
- The 140-page proposed law includes sweeping powers for security and intelligence services, including expanding the ability to open and inspect mail and allowing officials to cancel or suspend immigration documents. Bill C-2 also proposed giving police the ability to demand subscriber information from internet providers and other online companies. It amounts to giving law enforcement the ability to ask an internet company about a customer's online activity without a warrant.
- The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has said such information provides "a trove of background about our lives" and questioned whether such a bill is compliant with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
- The Conservatives had previously expressed concerns about "snooping provisions" in the bill, and on Friday, Poilievre confirmed his party will not support the existing bill and called on the Liberals to introduce a new piece of legislation.
- Poilievre said: "They should reintroduce a new bill that focuses on law breakers, on restoring order at the border, on kicking out fraudulent refugees, while at the same time allowing people to send mail, use the internet or do legitimate lawful cash transactions."
- Poilievre said law enforcement officials are still able to do searches — including searching mail — but they need a warrant to do so: "Mail is the easiest thing to get a warrant for. If you suspect there's something suspicious in a parcel or envelope, you set it aside, you go to a judge and you get a warrant. The envelope or parcel is not going to grow legs and run away."
- The Liberal government has now split its border security bill in two in the hope of seeing some measures pass swiftly while giving Canadians more time to evaluate other, more contentious ones.
- Bill C-12, introduced Wednesday, includes several measures from a June bill to expand the Coast Guard's role, tighten the immigration and refugee system, enhance information sharing on sex offenders and better control chemicals used to make illicit drugs.
- Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the government would still pursue passage of the first bill, C-2, which proposes giving authorities new powers to search mail and access personal information.
- The move means the federal border security proposals will proceed through Parliament on two separate legislative tracks, with Bill C-12 likely moving ahead first.
- Bill C-2 would then make its way through Parliament, with elements included in the new C-12 deleted to avoid duplication.
- The federal government's new approach, first reported by CBC News on Monday, drew criticism from civil society groups opposed to proposed border measures on the grounds they threaten liberties and human rights.
- Tim McSorley, national co-ordinator of the Ottawa-based International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group said it was 'outrageous' that the government has "refused to actually fix anything and have instead just split it into two separate bills. Both bills need to be withdrawn."
- Karen Cocq, spokesperson for the Migrant Rights Network, said in a statement said the new bill, like the old one, would violate due process protections for the most vulnerable and must be withdrawn.
- More than 300 civil society organizations called on Ottawa to withdraw the bill, saying it threatened freedoms, refugee and migrant rights and the privacy of all Canadians. The minority government also had trouble garnering necessary support from opposition parties for the legislation.
- The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group is concerned about legislative proposals that would limit the ability of people to claim asylum in Canada and give Canada Post powers to open and search letter mail.
- The group also has reservations about planned changes to the Criminal Code and the law governing the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that would make it easier to access information about internet subscribers, and would allow for warrantless police access in urgent circumstances.
- Regardless, we'll have to see how the new bill does anything different than the old one, and if any opposition parties want to help pass it this time. In the meantime, the Liberals trying to slip in privacy and freedom limitations into unrelated bills seems like it will continue unless the media highlights their attempts.
- Supplementals:
- The reform of the healthcare system in Alberta continues. A new series of mandate letters were issued to the four health ministers.
- One of the first things that has been identified as a priority is the move of transferring non-acute patients in hospitals to other settings.
- This will be done through a collaboration between Assisted Living and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon and Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Matt Jones.
- What this means is that there is a subset of patients in hospitals presently who do not need the day to day acute care that a hospital provides to remain stable but they have nowhere else to go.
- The province is also looking to improve emergency response times and lower emergency room wait times.
- The approach to creating more hospital beds is to move those who don’t need to be in hospitals to assisted living spaces.
- Primary and Preventative Health Minister Adriana LaGrange has been tasked with reviewing government policy on vaccinations paid for by the province to ensure it is being targeted to “population groups that are scientifically proven to be at substantial risk of adverse health outcomes” if these groups remain unvaccinated.
- She must also assess whether there is “value” in funding additional vaccinations not yet funded by the province for certain at-risk groups.
- These mandate letters for health have effectively flown under the radar of Alberta media.
- The media in Alberta is presently occupied with the teachers strike, national affairs, and the coming municipal elections.
- One key point that almost everyone glossed over was enabling more patient choice and access to preventative health services like elective testing, screening, and other diagnostic services.
- This of course has drawn criticism because patient choice is often seen as private pay for access which is a big no no amongst NDP supporters.
- However, let us remember that Alberta was the first province to offer self pay services for the likes of MRIs and CT scans going back to the 1990s.
- The Red Deer Advocate was able to talk with the Alberta Medical Association but cautioned the move going forward.
- “We are at risk of creating silos at a time when Albertans need a cohesive, patient-centred health system. There is no mention of how individuals will move through primary care, hospital services, mental health supports and continuing care. Without a clear strategy for coordination, patients may experience fragmented care, delayed transitions and inconsistent outcomes.”
- The Red Deer Advocate also was able to talk with Chris Gallaway, executive director at Friends of Medicare who brought forward concerns regarding the patient first approach.
- He said, “Every time this government talks about choice in health care, what they really mean is further privatization, and Albertans paying more out of pocket for the care that they need.”
- Post Media properties were more concerned with Bill 25, mentioned in Adriana LaGrange’s letter.
- LaGrange’s letter directs her to use “all available legal and constitutional means” to implement Bill 26.
- Bill 26 is the the Health Statutes Amendment Act that prevents health care professionals from performing gender affirming surgeries on minors and prohibits the prescriptions of puberty blockers to minors.
- We knew that Alberta was likely to forge ahead with the implementation of Bill 26 and that it will get challenged in the courts and Alberta will use the notwithstanding clause.
- Saskatchewan has done this and it was news for a week.
- In this case however, the repeated focus of the media on wedging social issues leads to real news about healthcare changes not being covered.
- The healthcare changes are in line with what Alberta has done in the past and has become the norm across the country despite what various NDP leaning groups and individuals may say.
- We must ask why the media covers from this angle and what could be gained by actually doing a bit of journalism on this topic.
- Supplementals:
- One of Vancouver BC's most stunning geographical features is that the city itself is so close to nature. It's been a huge reason as to why the city has attracted as many people as it has, with mountains, the ocean, and forests all within eyeshot wherever you look. One of the best scenic parts of Downtown Vancouver, is Stanley Park, a beloved urban park that's free to enter and walk, bike or even drive around.
- One of the attractions that's going to bring even more people to the park this fall is the Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience, a paid attraction approved by the Vancouver Park Board earlier this summer. It opens up on November 7th and runs until February, and initially, the reaction to the news was fairly positive.
- Vancouver Park Board Chair, Laura Christensen said: “On behalf of the Park Board and its staff, we’re very happy to host this event in beautiful Stanley Park this fall. With the much-loved Stanley Park Train unfortunately not available this coming fall and winter season, this exciting new special event is certain to bring a lot of joy and fun to residents and visitors alike.”
- Royce Chwin, President & CEO, Destination Vancouver said of the attraction: “Stanley Park is one of the world’s most iconic urban parks and as the first Canadian destination to welcome the new Harry Potter event, it underscores Vancouver’s ability to attract unique experiences that will appeal to both locals and visitors. New attractions like this keep our destination fresh, spark return visits and strengthen our $9.6 billion visitor economy which in turn supports local jobs, businesses, and communities.”
- That's basically where we started at, a family friendly attraction over the fall and winter that would bring more tourists to the city at a time of year when many look to leave the city to go to sunnier locations abroad.
- Then came the controversy: members of the city’s transgender, gender diverse and Two Spirit communities had expressed concerns about the decision to partner with the event this holiday season due to its association with J.K. Rowling, author of the seven Harry Potter novels.
- Rob Hadley, a member of Vancouver’s 2SLGBTQ+ advisory committee—and someone who previously read the books to their own children said: “This has been a difficult thing for a lot of us. The fact is, we don’t want to stand in the way of kids having a fantastic Christmas experience. The issue lies in the question of revenues going to someone who is a transphobe.”
- Rowling has denied her views are transphobic, but the billionaire author has battled with transgender individuals on social media for years—once suggesting trans “ideology” will “end up wreaking more harm than lobotomies”—and recently launched a legal fund to support challenges to trans-inclusionary policies in women’s spaces in the U.K. and Ireland.
- A motion calling on the Vancouver Park Board to officially apologize for hosting an upcoming Harry Potter attraction passed Tuesday in a unanimous vote. In addition to issuing an apology, Tuesday’s motion, put forward by commissioner Tom Digby, asked the board to reaffirm its support for inclusionary policies, and to ensure the 2S2LGBTQ+ advisory committee is consulted on any future events with “equity or human rights implications.”
- Rowling posted some comments on X about park board commissioner Tom Digby’s tweet saying they had apologized to the 2sLGBTQ+ community for the event.
- Rowling said: “To be honest, I didn’t even know Vancouver Parks and Recreations had avowed me, so the disavowal hasn’t been much of a blow. Next time, send me a certificate of avowal, wait until I’ve proudly framed it, hung it over my PC and taken a selfie with it, THEN revoke it.”
- Regardless of the apology, the Park Board is still continuing with the event, so even though they've said all these nice words to the transgender community, the actions don't back them up. It's a situation that's left no one happy.
- Ironically, the outrage by the transgender community and then the apology by the park board may have given the attraction even more publicity than before, and those who don't care so much about social issues may end up going to the event anyway. Media coverage of the story has also amplified the situation, so many people that may not have heard about it before are now aware.
- Regardless of all of the controversy, Vancouver and its parks will continue to remain popular year round, and transgender activists, on either side of the debate, will not change that.
- Supplementals:
Firing Line
- This past Tuesday Prime Minister Mark Carney met with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. The meeting included a face to face and a luncheon at the White House with the goal of moving towards a resolution on American tariffs.
- The need for such a summit has become clear with tariffs still hitting Canadian economic sectors and there being no end in sight.
- The discussions were hailed as “successful, positive, and substantive” when Canada-US TradeMinister Dominic LeBlanc spoke to the media after the meeting ended.
- The body language between the two leaders was jovial at times and it looked as though they were long lost friends.
- There were moments of laughter, slight fun barbs back and forth, and even physical contact.
- Carney mirrored Trump’s body language and used that presence to mesh with the energy of the US President.
- It was very clearly a show put on by both leaders for the media. As the two continued into their press conference Carney winked at reporters as Trump was complaining that cars were made in Canada.
- That though rather than a push for more tariffs led the US President to say, “at the same time, we want Canada to do well making cars.”
- There was also joking around by Trump that one day Trump may help make peace between Canada and the US by facilitating a merger of Canada.
- Why did Trump say this though?
- Carney had just finished praising Trump, again, as a “transformative president” in that he has helped broker peace in a number of recent conflicts and encouraging others to commit more to NATO.
- Here is where we get to the first major snafu engineered by the media this week. Many in the media said that this merger was a re-surfacing of the 51st state comments but watching the video between the two, it’s clear that it was as a joke, this time.
- When asked by the media of both countries about what Canada can expect as a result of the discussions, Trump said, "I think they're going to walk away very happy. We're going to especially treat Canada fairly. The people of Canada will love us again, most of them still do, I think — they love us."
- Trump also said that Carney is a “nice man, but he can be nasty.” He then added in the same breath, I think I can tell you this because I deal with lots of leaders all over the world: He is a world-class leader.”
- There was a point in the meeting in which Trump described a natural conflict. Carney agreed and said, “we have natural conflict. We also have mutual love. There are areas where we compete, and it’s in those areas where we have to come to an agreement that works. But there are more areas where we are stronger together, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
- The discussion of mutual love did not reach the mainstream media.
- To this, Trump agreed that there are definitely areas the two countries should work together.
- There is no deal and at this point Donald Trump feels that a tariff free deal is not possible.
- There may be some relief in the future for things like softwood, steel, and aluminum. However, autos seem to be off the table.
- The state of play for Canada has been to accept that under the CUSMA trade deal we have some of the most open access to the American markets. The entirety of the spring election campaign has almost been forgotten.
- The next day in the House of Commons Carney said, “The President ... and myself had a meeting of minds yesterday with respect to the future of the steel sector, the aluminum sector, energy sector cooperation, which is why our teams are negotiating the terms of those deals. And we are working ... on the modalities of an auto agreement.”
- Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre was quick to respond to the lack of a deal in the House of Commons and in a publicly released letter.
- Poilievre pointed out that the tariffs are higher than when Carney became Prime Minister and deadlines for deals have long passed.
- Poilievre wrote in the letter, “We only expect you to keep your promises. If you only return with excuses, broken promises and photo ops, you will have failed our workers, our businesses and our country.”
- The discussion put forward by Poilievre was not the main headline in the media following the meeting. It was reported on and moved past.
- And rightly so, Poilieve is the opposition leader and must oppose what the government does.
- But that leads us to ask, where has elbows up gone?
- Where has the push by the media for us to do anything and everything to combat the US tariffs gone?
- Many in the media only a few months ago vilified Danielle Smith for meeting with Trump, for praising him, and advocating for a diplomatic approach.
- She said, “It is good to see the diplomatic approach I’ve been advocating since Day One seems to be working for the prime minister — although I note he isn’t being labelled a traitor for it.”
- The media also has been conspicuously absent from asking Carney the hard questions on this new budding bromance between him and Donald Trump.
- During the election campaign Carney said “President Trump is trying to break us, so America can own us."
- There is one simple question that the media should have asked this week: “Prime Minister, do you still believe that President Trump is trying to break us [as a Country], so that America can own us? If not, what’s changed that will help Canadian jobs at home?”
- The fact nobody asked this question says all you need to know about the media’s reporting on the matter.
- Supplementals:
Quote of the Week
"I think they're going to walk away very happy. We're going to especially treat Canada fairly. The people of Canada will love us again, most of them still do, I think — they love us." - US President Donald Trump on the future Canada/US relationship.
Word of the Week
Outrage - an extremely strong reaction of anger, shock, or indignation.
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Show Data
- Episode Title: Outrageous
- Teaser: The Liberals split their border bill into two, Alberta continues its health care reforms, and Vancouver apologizes for hosting a Harry Potter event. Also, Carney meets with Trump but returns with no trade deal.
- Production Code: WC-438-2025-10-11
- Recorded Date: October 11, 2025
- Release Date: October 12, 2025
- Duration: 54:56
- Edit Notes: Pause before FL
Podcast Summary Notes
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