❌Canada hints at fast-tracking refugee refusals

Canada's immigration minister says he plans to propose measures to reform the country's refugee system, potentially fast-tracking refusals of cases deemed to have little chance of succeeding.

I plan to put forward more measures. I want to reform the system. It's not working in the way it should.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said.

Canada has seen its highest number of refugee claims ever in recent months. Although the monthly total has dropped to about 17,400 in October from about 20,000 in July, the number of claims pending is the highest ever – at more than 260,000 last month.

Thousands of the refugee claims are from international students filing refugee claims, whose veracity Miller has questioned.
#immigration
🍁 Maple Chronicles

Police chief says 'extreme left group' behind Montreal protest violence; Legault calls for more arrests

Quebec Premier François Legault is putting pressure on the Montreal police to arrest everyone involved in an anti-NATO protest that turned violent last week.

There must be a very clear message sent to these thugs that they will be punished, they will be arrested, there will be consequences for what they have done.

Asked if he has confidence in the Montreal police, Legault said he's expecting far more than the three arrests announced to date.

So until proven otherwise, we have confidence in the (police), but I expect there to be action in the coming days.

#Quebec #NATO
🍁 Maple Chronicles

💰Liberals’ ‘tax holiday’ bill put forward without $250 cheques

The Liberal government introduced a bill Wednesday to implement its GST “tax holiday,” but it excludes a proposed $250 rebate that faced calls for broader eligibility.

The bill aims to cut the goods and services tax (GST) or harmonized sales tax (HST) on items like certain groceries.

The original plan included a $250 rebate in April 2025 for those who worked in 2023 and earned up to $150,000. However, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Tuesday his party won’t support it unless it expands to seniors, students, people with disabilities, and those who couldn’t work.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

Marc Miller told Pierre Poilievre to ‘grow a pair’ in response to the Liberals being questioned on their failed border security.

That's just unserious.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

B.C. Métis society says Liberal candidate should resign after questions about her Indigenous heritage

A B.C. Métis society is calling on federal Liberal candidate Madison Fleischer to step down after it raised questions about the Indigenous heritage she publicly claimed for years.

She's not the only one who decided to benefit by posing as a minority.
#BritishColumbia
🍁 Maple Chronicles

Drones, helicopters being considered for U.S. border, public safety minister says

Canada is considering supplying the RCMP and border agency with more resources including drones, helicopters and personnel in case of a “surge” at the border, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Tuesday in response to Donald Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on Canadian imports into the U.S.
#US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇺🇸🔫Except for homicides, report finds Canadian crime rates higher than U.S.

While the homicide rate in the U.S. markedly exceeds Canada’s, a new study by Lakehead University economics professor Livio Di Matteo, done for the Fraser Institute, says both property crime rates and overall violent crime rates are now higher in Canada than in the U.S.
#US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇺🇸‘We can’t afford a Roxham 2.0’: Quebec Premier Legault

Quebec Premier François Legault says the province can’t afford to welcome a new wave of immigrants and asylum seekers like the ones who arrived through Roxham Road a few years ago. That illegal crossing was closed in March 2023.

He also announced that the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) will now patrol the border with the United States.

Indeed, there is a real risk that Americans, so to speak illegal immigrants, will rush towards the Canadian and Quebec border in the coming weeks.

The Quebec-United States ministerial working group was established after President Donald Trump was elected and made several comments about mass deportations for illegal immigrants during his presidential campaign.
#Quebec #US #immigration
🍁 Maple Chronicles

Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump’s tariff threat

Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products.

A government official said Canada is preparing for every eventuality and has started thinking about what items to target with tariffs in retaliation. The official stressed no decision has been made.
#US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

Canadians carrying more debt and missing more payments: reports

More Canadians are taking on added debt due to the high cost of living, leading to an increase in missed loan and credit card payments.

Consumer debt in the third quarter of 2024 hit a record high of $2.5 trillion – a 4.1 per cent increase over last year.

As consumers take on more debt, serious delinquencies – when accounts are 90 days or more past due – have increased almost two per cent since last year.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

Montreal shopping mall playing 'Baby Shark' song to prevent unhoused from loitering

A shopping mall and office complex in downtown Montreal is being criticized for using the popular children's song "Baby Shark" to discourage unhoused people from loitering in its emergency exit stairwells.

The catchy children's song was being broadcast from speakers in at least one of the stairwells, on loop and at various speeds.
#Quebec
🍁 Maple Chronicles

🪖🇨🇦🇱🇻Canadian soldiers leave Edmonton for Latvia as part of ongoing mission to support NATO

180 members of the Canadian Armed Forces are leaving Edmonton this week and heading to Latvia as part of an ongoing NATO mission.

On Wednesday, CAF members being sent to the northern European country said farewell to family members as they prepared for a six-month deployment as part of a mission dubbed Operation Reassurance.

Operation Reassurance first began in 2014. In March 2022, the federal government announced a multi-year renewal of the operation a year ahead of schedule because of “the changing security situation in eastern Europe.”
#NATO
🍁 Maple Chronicles

💸Trump tariffs could lead to ‘zero economic growth in Canada’: economist

We ran some numbers this morning and what it looks like is that if 25 per cent tariffs come on Canada on (a) blanket scale, and we don’t have retaliation, then we’re effectively going to get just zero economic growth in Canada with higher inflation.

James Orlando, a director and senior economist at TD Economics, said.

Under that scenario, he noted, the Bank of Canada would have to bring interest rates lower than its current path in order to support the economy. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the Bank of Canada said that if tariffs were implemented it would incorporate that into its economic forecasts.
#US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

Trudeau promises border helicopters at ‘very productive’ Trump meeting: source

President-elect Donald Trump says a surprise meeting with Justin Trudeau at his Florida home was “very productive,” after the prime minister flew down to discuss the growing threat of American tariffs on Canadian goods, the border and national defence.

In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, Trump said the meeting between the two had gone well.

I just had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, where we discussed many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address.

He said the two had discussed the illegal fentanyl and the toxic drug overdose crisis, as well as what Trump called “the massive trade deficit” between the United States and Canada.
#US #Trudeau
🍁 Maple Chronicles

Poilievre calls for asylum seeker cap, border plan as U.S. tariff threat looms

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has demanded the federal government present a plan before Parliament to beef up border security as U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatens to impose stiff tariffs on Canada.

The plan should include measures to increase patrols and technology to crack down on illegal drug trafficking, as well as tightening visa rules.

The reality is that Trudeau has lost control of the deficit, of immigration and of our border. In less than two months, President Trump will come into office. He’s threatened the possibility of imposing tariffs unless there is action to address Trudeau’s broken border.

Poilievre said Canada should also cap the number of asylum seekers as it faces a significant influx in refugee claims.
#Poilievre #Trudeau #US #immigration
🍁 Maple Chronicles

💰2 Canadians arrested for drug trafficking; $40 million of cocaine seized from truck in Illinois

Two people from Canada have been arrested on drug charges, after Illinois State Police seized more than $40 million worth of cocaine from a semi-trailer truck near the Iowa state line on Friday.

Police arrested 27-year-old Vanshpreet Singh and 36-year-old Manpreet Singh, both from Ontario, Canada.

"Canadians"
#US
🍁 Maple Chronicles

We are told that when Trudeau told President-elect Trump that new tarriffs would kill the Canadian economy, Trump joked to him that if Canada can’t survive without ripping off the U.S. to the tune of $100bn a year then maybe Canada should become the 51st state and Trudeau could become its governor!

Trudeau tried to salvage the situation by going to Trump's Mar-a-Lago but only ended up making a laughingstock of himself.
#US #Trudeau
🍁 Maple Chronicles

Canada launches global ad campaign warning asylum-seekers that making a claim is difficult

Canada is launching a global online ad campaign cautioning asylum-seekers that making a claim is hard.

The $250,000 in advertisements will run through March in 11 languages, including Spanish, Urdu, Ukrainian, Hindi and Tamil.

Search queries such as “how to claim asylum in Canada” and “refugee Canada” will prompt sponsored content noscriptd “Canada’s asylum system – Asylum Facts,” the ministry said.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

Mayor says he refuses to be bullied or pay fine for not flying Pride flag

A Northern Ontario mayor who was fined for voting against flying a Pride flag at his town hall says he will not be bullied into paying the $5,000 penalty.

Nor will Mayor Harold McQuaker be taking LGBTQ training as he has been ordered to by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC).

And, McQuaker, insisted he won’t cave to demands that he must host a Drag Time story hour in the local library, either.

Based.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

💸Canada Post strike to cost small businesses $1 billion

The Canada Post strike, now in its third week, is set to cost Canada’s small- and medium-sized businesses more than $1 billion by Wednesday.

The prolonged labour dispute, which began on Nov. 15, has paralyzed operations at the Crown corporation, disrupting supply chains and dealing a significant blow to small businesses during the critical holiday season.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

❌Canada lists Ansarallah, known as the Houthis, a terrorist entity

The Canadian government has listed the Yemeni militant group Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis, as a terrorist group in an effort to “fight terrorism globally.”

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada said that Ansarallah, a Yemeni militant group, has met the definition of a "terrorist group” under Canada's Criminal Code.

🍁 Maple Chronicles