Mid-Week Post

 

Your middle-of-the-week spate of humidity …

 

Israel needs Iran neutralized and the Arab states have often felt threatened by it.

Trump wishes to appear the arbiter in this (his surprise attack knocking out the three nuclear sites was superb) but Israel cannot afford to be patient, nor can it believe that Iran will abide by the terms of a ceasefire:

Iran has hidden sites housing “hundreds if not thousands” of advanced centrifuges capable of producing weapons-grade uranium, an expert on Iran’s nuclear programme said.

The regime also moved much of its highly enriched uranium to a secret location before the US was able to bomb the Islamic republic’s three known nuclear facilities, they added.

It means Tehran could have all the capabilities to build a nuclear bomb, said Sima Shine, an expert on Iran’s nuclear programme who has worked within the Israeli military establishment for more than 30 years.

“I’m sure they have a hidden place somewhere with some hundreds, if not thousands of centrifuge[s] and they have material all there in several places all over Iran,” Ms Shine told The Telegraph.

She added: “They cannot do anything now, tomorrow, but in the future, they have all the capabilities [to build a bomb]”.

The warning comes as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, reportedly granted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) full control over defending the country from Israeli strikes and domestic unrest. …

“The [known] sites in themselves, for the time being, are not a lot of threat”, she said. “The problem is, as you know, the material and the advanced centrifuges that I’m sure they have somewhere”.

She said that The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had not visited the key facilities in the country for four years, “so I’m sure they have a hidden place”.

The IAEA estimates that Iran has 400kg of uranium concentrated to 60 per cent purity, which would be enough for nine to 10 nuclear bombs if the material were to be enriched to weapons grade, generally said to be 90 per cent.

It is not known what has become of this material after the recent attacks, but there is widespread speculation it was moved ahead of time.

 

Also – Carney, you are useless:

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’s hopeful the unsteady ceasefire between Iran and Israel will provide an “opportunity” for an end to hostilities in Gaza and ultimately broader Middle East peace, including a “Zionist” Palestinian state committed to Israel’s security.

In an interview with CNN International that aired Tuesday ahead of the NATO summit at The Hague, Carney said U.S. President Donald Trump “has the potential to be decisive” after he displayed “U.S. power” by bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend.

That action and the resulting ceasefire announced by Trump on Monday, Carney said, “does create the possibility of moving forward” on stabilizing Gaza as well.

“Can there be a lasting peace in the Middle East without peace in Gaza, that takes into account Gaza and West Bank and effectively working on a path to a Palestinian state? I would agree with all of those,” he said.

“(Palestinians) living side by side in security with Israel — a Zionist, if you will, Palestinian state that recognizes the right of Israel not just to exist, but to prosper and not live in fear — we can’t have peace unless we move towards that.”

(Sidebar: there it is! Appeal to the anti-semite voters block, Carney! Do their dirty work for them!)

**

More than 250 prominent Canadians have signed a letter calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to dial up the pressure against Iran.

The letter, sent by pro-Israel group Allies for a Strong Canada, urges Carney to take decisive action to counter Iran’s “malign influence” on the Middle East and broader global landscape.

“In light of Iran’s persistent aggression, including its support for terrorist organizations and its attempts to undermine stability in the Middle East, we urge Canada to take a leadership role against it in the international community,” reads the letter.

The letter calls for Carney to tighten sanctions on Iran’s regime, root out Iranian agents operating on Canadian soil and bar fleeing Iranian officials from taking refuge inside the country.

Signatories include former foreign affairs minister John Baird, Retired General Rick Hillier and ex-Conservative leaders Rona Ambrose and Erin O’Toole. It also includes former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell, former Alberta premier Jason Kenney and former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall.

 

And – we don’t air-lift enough people to global hot-spots:

As tensions returned to a simmer between Israel and Iran amidst a ceasefire agreement, a new poll conducted before the shaky armistice found that far more Canadians are distrustful of Iran than those who have faith in the Islamic Republic.

But data from a Leger Marketing poll for the Association for Canadian Studies poll showed that younger generations are more apt to trust Iran and think it wouldn’t be good for the regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to collapse and be replaced by new leadership.

The polling also attempted to gauge whether respondents “think that Iran wants the destruction of the State of Israel,” with 71 per cent believing that to be the goal, and even 59 per cent of the 18-24 cohort.

 

 

The passage of Bill C-5 will give Carney absolute power:

The Senate by Friday is expected to pass Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “nation building” bill under closure. The Commons approved the bill Friday by a 306 to 31 vote on warnings it grants cabinet extraordinary powers to reward corporate friends: “We’re becoming a banana republic with this type of legislation.”

 

 

It’s not like it’s Carney’s money or anything:

Canada will reach an even higher NATO spending target in part by developing its critical minerals and the infrastructure needed to get them to market, Prime Minister Mark Carney said as the annual leaders’ summit of alliance members got underway in the Netherlands.

(Sidebar: the same minerals kept in the ground for a decade? Those ones? Why not build four or five pipelines? How is $150 billion 5% of Canada’s GDP, anyway?)

 

Now, about this:

Canada’s top soldier says the military should keep buying at least some additional F-35 fighter jets from the United States, which she said will remain a key partner as Prime Minister Mark Carney pursues deeper defence ties with the European Union.

Gen. Jennie Carignan, the chief of the defence staff, said Monday that the F-35 jet comes with many advantages, from the capacity to cover Canada’s immense territory, to the ability for regular upgrades to keep up with rapidly advancing technology. Canada has already signed off on buying 16 of the jets through the American government, but the Liberal government put the rest of the purchase under review in March, amid tensions with the U.S. over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and talk of making Canada the 51st American state.

 

Europe can never be the ally and trading partner that European Carney thinks It can be.

 

And I thought things were supposed to get better:

A developer lobby group is renewing calls to introduce tax cuts for new projects as housing starts continue to slow, warning that if something doesn’t change, tens of thousands of jobs could be at risk.

On Monday, the Building Industry and Land Development Association released a brief calculation considering how far new home construction could fall and how many jobs could be lost if the sale of new homes remains low.

So far this year, new single-detached family homes sales are down 50 per cent in and around Toronto, while condo sales have dropped 65 per cent compared to last year.

“We are seeing sales have stopped,” President and CEO of BILD Dave Wilkes told Global News. “Without sales, you don’t have that ability to undertake new projects, to make those investments, to provide those well-paying jobs the sector is known for.”

A research brief prepared for the advocacy group by Altus Group found that if housing starts remain low, they could bottom out at 4,000 new single-family homes per year and 10,000 new apartments.

“Importantly, this is not a forecast or projection; there may be many reasons why sales will recover,” a note of caution in the paper explains. 

If home sales do not recover, however, the research suggested tens of thousands of construction jobs could be on the line. It found 40,000 direct homebuilding jobs could go, as well as 30,000 construction supply chain jobs.

**

Emigration is when a Canadian or permanent resident leaves the country permanently. Outflows happen, but persistent and rising outflows indicate growing discontent with local conditions—whether it’s economic, political, housing, or brain drain. Ultimately, it signals a country failing to offer opportunity or inspire long-term confidence. It’s not just any group leaving either—it’s primarily talented, prime-aged workers with the most opportunities.

 Policymakers don’t pay much attention to the gross volumes, preferring net numbers. As long as they can make more Canadians than they lose, a worker is a worker. Replacing an experienced worker with a fresh graduate isn’t a straight trade—at least not immediately. It ignores the fact that Canadian talent is also some of the most coveted in the world. Training new talent while ignoring losses after they’re trained isn’t a benefit to Canada. It’s a competitive edge to the countries we’re losing these people to. 

 When policymakers start to frame talent as replaceable or frame those who leave as the problem, we’re cooked. They’re not focusing on long-term success, but on short-term optics and insider deals. In other words, the longer they ignore the outflow, the more talented labor should consider external opportunities—at least temporarily. 

Canada’s population growth rate is stalling, but emigration retained its breakneck growth rate. The country estimates 27.1k Canadians emigrated in Q1 2025, a 3% increase from last year—which also saw 3% growth. Second only to 2017, it was the largest Q1 outflow ever recorded.

 Emigration is a seasonal trend, and that can be bad news. The highest volume tends to occur in Q3, and if this trend persists we may have another record-setting year on our hands.

 

Canada is unlivable.

Even those expecting hand-outs are leaving.

 

 

Some people are special:

An elected Ontario school board councillor has been suspended by her board for expressing an opinion about land acknowledgements. It was not explained to her the exact offence she had committed, or who complained, only that the opinion she expressed apparently caused harm.

Catherine Kronas was first elected to Ancaster High Secondary School as chair in 2023 and then re-elected as a council member in 2024. …

“In my view, the Board’s imposition of a land acknowledgment during our school council meetings undermines the democratic process and constitutes a form of compelled speech, which I believe contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There is no school board policy mandating its inclusion. In my opinion, the sentiments implied by the land acknowledgment, are political in nature, highly controversial, and therefore divisive and inappropriate within a government institution. And I respectfully request that my objection be noted in the minutes of this meeting.”

As far as Kronas knew, her objection had been noted for the minutes and that was that.

But then on May 22, she received a letter from HWDSB, informing her that her role as an Ancaster High school councillor was “paused,” and that she didn’t have permission to attend the next meeting. It suggested that Kronas had “allegedly engaged in conduct that has caused harm and is not in compliance with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board — HWDSB policy.”

The letter did not explain how Kronas’ behaviour was not in compliance or what harm she allegedly caused.

Kronas secured a lawyer, Hatim Kheir, from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) to find out. He sent a letter to the Human Rights Office (HRO) of the HWDSB arguing that the decision to suspend Kronas was “unconstitutional and contrary to administrative law principles of procedural fairness.”

Her lawyer advised the board that the decision to suspend Kronas was “a clear attempt to restrict her speech based on its content,” speech which, in absence of such evidence of harm, is protected by Section 2(b) of the Charter.

The board either couldn’t, or didn’t think they should have to, articulate how Kronas’ objection to the use of land acknowledgments during meetings allegedly caused harm. But they knew they didn’t like her objection.

In addition to trampling over Kronas’ right to freedom of expression, her lawyer argued that the manner in which the board enacted its decision also violated Kronas’ right to procedural fairness.

Kronas was given a letter of suspension which her lawyer referred to as an “extraordinary and drastic step of preemptively prohibiting Ms. Kronas from attending Council meetings,” especially since she was never even given an opportunity to respond to the allegations before they suspended her.

In order to effectively respond to these allegations, her lawyer points out that Kronas would need to know a number of things, including: who the complainant was; who Kronas allegedly harmed with her statement; what the nature of the alleged harm was; what the particular words were that caused the alleged harm; as well as which policies she allegedly breached.

But Kronas’ suspension letter provided none of this information, nor did it say when she would be able to respond. All the letter says is that the “Board is currently reviewing these allegations.”

The JCCF letter defending Kronas ended with the demand that the Board “immediately reinstate Ms. Kronas to the Council and permit her to attend the upcoming meeting on June 4, 2025. We look forward to your response.” To this date, the board has not responded to the JCCF.

National Post reached out to the HWDSB for comment, but did not receive a response.

The suspension of an Ontario school councillor who respectfully objected to the use of land acknowledgments in meetings and was later suspended without explanation suggests the use of these statements has become religious and sacred — not to be questioned — and that those who state objections or dare not to conform, may be severely punished, without even being given the opportunity to respond.

If everyone refused this Khmer Rouge-style brow-beating, this issue would go away.

 

Also:

Sometimes, it suits alien peoples to co-operate because they have reciprocal interests. In a new study of early relations between the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) and Indigenous peoples on the coast of British Columbia, “The Vancouver Island Treaties and the Evolving Principles of Indigenous Title,” the historian Ted Binnema reveals that land itself was not a bone of contention. While the company wanted to trade and gain access to natural resources, the Natives wanted the goods and opportunities that the British brought — including blankets, weapons, wage-labour and medical services.

They also wanted security. The peoples of the Pacific Northwest subsisted on salmon, which perishes quickly unless processed. Processing was labour-intensive, requiring far more work than women alone could provide. So, all of them depended on slave-labour. Consequently, slave-raiding and war were endemic. The HBC, however, made it clear that it wouldn’t tolerate warfare on its doorstep. As a result, the Native peoples coveted the security and status that proximity to the company’s trading posts offered. And when the foreigners cleared and cultivated land, or mined coal, they had no complaint, for land and the black stuff weren’t what mattered most to them. Moreover, when they wanted to establish reservations, the company complied. It wasn’t until the HBC first offered compensation in the 1850s that the Natives began to demand it. After all, when one set of them seized from another what did matter — slaves — they weren’t in the habit of paying.

This reminds us that relations between colonizers and Indigenous peoples weren’t always characterized by conflict. In many cases, and for long periods, they co-operated to their mutual benefit. But it also shows us that the value of land differs not only between cultures, but over time. Even if it were true that, in the early 1800s, the territorial expansion of European settlement in British Columbia did deprive Indigenous peoples of their livelihood by trespassing on their fishing or hunting grounds, to surrender huge tracts of territory to them in 2025 is not to unravel history and restore the past. That’s because what mattered in the past was not land but subsistence. And British colonization replaced traditional means of subsistence with new alternatives — trading, farming and wage-earning. Now, through the Canadian state, it offers welfare payments, too.

 

Let someone else take care of the needy:

Donations to religious charities have dropped nearly a quarter since 2018, Statistics Canada figures showed yesterday. The decline followed one churchgoing MP’s unsuccessful attempt to raise the basic charity tax credit on par with political donations: “God keep our land glorious and free.”