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The subtext is: if the Liberals cant manage the foreign affairs file, how can we trust them to manage anything?

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I want to take this opportunity to speak with our brothers, the Taliban. We call on you to ensure the safe and secure passage of any individual in Afghanistan out of the country. We call on you to immediately stop the violence, the genocide, the femicide, the destruction of infrastructure, including heritage buildings.

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Those words were spoken Wednesday by Maryam Monsef, Canadas minister for women and gender equality. Unsurprisingly, her use of the term brothers generated a firestorm. The language used by the Trudeau government is completely unacceptable, Conservative leader Erin OToole riposted. I think of the women and girls in Afghanistan who are at risk with the Taliban regime once again coming into place. Canadians deserve a government that will always stand up for our values.

Monsef, who was born in Iran to Afghan refugee parents, defended her remarks as a cultural reference, but was called out on social media, including by Muslim journalist Fatima Syed who tweeted FACT: brothers is a term of respect FALSE: Muslims call the Taliban brothers OPINION: this was dumb SOLUTION: Move on; theres lives on the line.

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But the opposition has not moved on. Thats because, while foreign policy is traditionally not a ballot question, when a gaffe like this feeds a larger narrative, it can shift the course of a campaign.

Thats what happened almost exactly six years ago. A photograph of three-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, lying drowned on a Turkish beach, went viral one month into the 2015 federal election campaign. Alan, his mother and brother died trying to reach Europe in a rubber raft; their father claimed the family had applied for asylum in Canada but their application had been rejected as incomplete. NDP MP Fin Donnelly then reported that he had hand-delivered the familys file to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, already on the hot seat for the slow pace of refugee approvals from Syria, who rejected it for the same reason.

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This incident had a profound impact on the election, because it fed into a larger political narrative: that the Conservatives were uncaring, anti-refugee, and racist. Further announcements by the Tories compounded the problem: less than a month later, the Tories pledged to appeal a Supreme Court ruling in favour of Sunera Ishaq, a woman who had refused to remove her veil to take the citizenship oath; a week after that, Alexander and fellow Tory candidate Kellie Leitch announced the Tories would set up a tip line to report barbaric cultural practices such as female circumcision and forced marriage. In Alexanders view, that was the nail in the coffin; after nearly 10 years in government, the Tories were turfed, and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau promised to usher in a new era of compassionate foreign policy.

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In 2021, the roles are reversed. It is the Liberals who are in government, asking for a third mandate, defending a foreign policy record that can only be described as a series of fails. These include the PMs disastrous trip to India in 2018, Canadas dilettante attempt at obtaining a seat on the UN security council in 2020, and China detaining two Canadian citizens for the past two years while openly mocking Trudeau as a boy who has turned Canada into a running dog of the U.S. Add to that Trudeaus incredulous statement this week, that he is concerned about revelations that his government contracted to build a $100 million Canadian ferry in China (the Tories immediately pledged to terminate the deal), and it is clear that when it comes to international relations, the emperor not only has no clothes, he has no clue.

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Monsefs comments shone the spotlight on a larger narrative: competency. Not only is this government nave and undiplomatic, but it is ineffective: Canadas efforts to evacuate Afghans who assisted Canadas war efforts have been described as a catastrophe. The subtext is: if the Liberals cant manage the foreign affairs file, how can we trust them to manage anything? And if thats the story that sticks, they are in serious trouble.

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Tasha Kheiriddin: Trudeau Liberals have no clue on foreign policy 'our brothers' gaffe just the latest fail - National Post

Under the Liberal Partys proposed 'Home Buyers Bill of Rights,' sellers would be required to tell buyers the precise dollar amounts of competing offers on properties.

Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail

The Liberal Party plans to give home buyers more consumer protections by banning blind bidding, establishing a legal right to home inspections and forcing realtors to disclose more information on their conflicts of interest.

The party is raising the issue ahead of the federal election on Sept. 20, amid a heated national debate over housing affordability. With the typical home price across Canada now 25 per cent higher than this time last year, governments are under increasing pressure to act.

Under the Liberals proposed Home Buyers Bill of Rights, unveiled on Tuesday, sellers would be required to tell buyers the precise dollar amounts of competing offers on properties. Currently, most bids on homes are blind, meaning buyers are unaware what others are offering to pay.

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According to the plans other provisions, the pricing history of properties would be public, and buyers would have the legal right to conduct home inspections. Also, realtors would be required to disclose if they are representing both buyer and seller in a deal. Such double-representation situations are seen as potential sources of conflicts of interest.

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It is unclear how the Liberals would push through the majority of the changes, because real estate rules fall under provincial and territorial jurisdiction. Liberal spokesperson Brook Simpson said in a statement that the party would implement the ban on blind bidding with an amendment to the Criminal Code.

The largest and most influential real estate groups condemned some of the proposals, saying the measures would infringe on the privacy of buyers and sellers. Blind bidding has been blamed for contributing to the spike in home prices, by creating conditions where a winning bid can be much higher than a second-highest bid.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) called the blind bidding ban proposal a substantial overreach of government, and said the measure would punish buyers and sellers by making it impossible for them to keep financial decisions private during the largest transactions of their lives.

TRREB has tried to restrict access to data on the historical sale prices of homes, which the Liberal proposal would make public.

The Ontario Real Estate Association had a similar reaction. You cannot fix Canadas housing crisis by denying millions of hard-working families the choice of how to sell their home and by pitting homeowners against buyers, the association said.

Individual realtors, meanwhile, have come out in favour of ending blind bidding, as they have to deal with clients repeatedly being outbid.

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The rules have the potential to become a messy patchwork, dependent on provincial and territorial co-operation. An example of this is the Canadian Housing and Statistics Program (CHSP), which the federal government created after the housing boom of 2016 and 2017.

Although the CHSP has produced revelatory reports on the countrys housing market, it relies on data from the provinces, as well as private companies. As a result, the reports are not comprehensive. A recent one was only able to analyze off-market sales for three provinces, not including Ontario.

Phil Soper, president of Royal LePage, said he did not think that opening up the bidding process would slow price increases but, he said, it would make buyers feel more comfortable. He added that he has noticed how buyers change once they become homeowners. Its like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When someone is shopping for a house, they think all the information should be provided. As soon as they own the house, suddenly it is all about privacy.

The Liberal bill of rights would also require lenders to offer mortgage deferrals for up to six months if a homeowner loses their job. On the rental side, the proposal calls for stopping renovictions, where landlords oust tenants to renovate units and jack up rents. The Liberals say they would also slap an additional tax on what they deem excessive rent increases as a result of renovictions.

The party also took aim at Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, and other large corporations that operate rental housing. The Liberal proposal says the party would curb excessive profits while protecting independent landlords. The proposal does not define excessive profits.

With rental vacancy rates near 3 per cent in Canada, all types of investors, including REITs like Minto and private equity firms like Starlight Investments, have been expanding their portfolios of rental units.

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The Liberal Party also said it would review down payment requirements for investment properties, but it provided no detail on what this would consist of.

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Liberals pledge to ban blind bidding as home prices soar - The Globe and Mail

'This is part of what this whole campaign is about, is for the Barrie and Innisfil residents to voice their concerns,' says Liberal candidate

Editor's note: BarrieTodayisprofilingfederal candidates in the Barrie-Innisfil andBarrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonteridings.Today we feature Lisa-Marie Wilson, the Liberal candidate in Barrie-Innisfil.For more coverage of the upcoming federal election, visit our Canada Votes 2021 page. *************************

Lisa-Marie Wilson doesnt expect to run the same kind of campaign as she did during the last federal election campaign when she was also the Liberal candidate for Barrie-Innisfil. But since the onset of the pandemic nearly two years ago, nothings been normal anyway.

The probation and parole officer and public school board trustee underwent unexpected surgery Aug. 9 to remove her left kidney where a cancerous tumour was located. Just six days later, Liberal leaderJustin Trudeau dropped the writ declaring a federal election for Sept. 20.

The past one-and-and-half, two years a lot of people have faced adversity, said Wilson, who is on a leave of absence from the Ontario Public Service through the campaign. Im not alone in having my own challenges.

I wasnt anticipating that I would be facing my own health issues.

But, she insists that more reliance on the virtual approach and less upon the face-to-face meetings wont put her behind the 8-ball.

Wilson requires no further treatment, although she is in recovery mode. So she doesnt expect to be banging on a lot of doors, at least in the early stages of the campaign. Instead, she will rely more on social media, phone calls and other alternative methods of getting her message out.

While some might see the timing of the election as bad, Wilson saysthe experience has given her more of a purpose and a goal to push the Liberal agenda.

This is part of what this whole campaign is about, is for the Barrie and Innisfil residents to voice their concerns, she said.

Wilson, 49, is a mom of two grown children who works in probation and parole. From that perspective, she said shes experienced first-hand many of the major issues facing local residents.

She sees thebattle with controlling and stopping the spread of COVID-19 as an ongoing concern. She also points to the economy, affordability and protection of seniors arising from the pandemic along with climate change as important issues.

Locally, she saysthe opioidcrisis and affordable housing need attention.

Although there have been calls locally and nationally to legalize and regulate non-medical use of drugs to reduce the ever-growing number of fatal overdoses, Wilson didnt share her opinion on legalization. Instead, she saystheres a need for supervisedconsumption sites (SCSs) and pointed to new federal funding for substance abuse and addictions proms.

I have seen, first-hand, how this crisis impacts communities and families, she said, referring to her background in probation and parole. I know personally how tragic it is and how we really do need to find ways to support them.

Housing, the lack of it and the need for more reasonably priced places for people to live is also in Wilsons scope. She points to a dire need to increase the local housing supply.

My role is going to continue to be an advocate and a voice for this crisis, she said, pointing to the areas continuing changing landscape.

Wilson said shes not afraid to speak up and advocate for people, ask the uncomfortable questions and keep the government accountable, which she said is an extension of her work.

Wilson moved to the area in 1993 from Toronto and says shes seen incredible changes in the intervening decades. In addition to the ongoing growth, the community has also become more diverse. Issues involving Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ are often now in the forefront and Wilson would like to see the discussions continue.

For me that coincides with being a representative in Ottawa. I want to be able to voice these concerns, said Wilson.

Link:
PROFILE: Liberals' Wilson relying heavily on social media in Barrie-Innisfil - BarrieToday

The BC Liberals are calling on the provincial government to step up with financial relief for Interior businesses impacted by the latest pandemic-related restrictions.

On Aug. 20, without advance warning, provincial Dr. Bonnie Henry extended restrictions imposed in the Central Okanagan to the entire Interior Health region, an area that stretches from the B.C.-Alberta border in the east to the Chilcotin in the west, and from just north of Williams Lake in the north to the Canada-U.S. border in the south.

The new health order prohibits or limits indoor group exercise classes.

High-intensity indoor group exercise including aerobics, boot camp, spin classes, hot yoga and martial arts is prohibited.

Low-intensity indoor group exercise including regular yoga and dance classes is limited to a maximum of 10 people per class.

Henry said the health order is in place until at least the end of September and was enacted due to rising COVID-19 case counts in Interior Health.

Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone is calling on the NDP government to ante up with financial help for those businesses affected by the health order.

Small businesses continue to be an afterthought for John Horgan and the NDP, Stone, opposition critic for economic recovery and innovation, said in a statement.

If youre going to impose new health measures on small businesses, like those now in the Interior, corresponding grant funding should also be made available to help these businesses that are hanging by a thread. Yet here we are again new restrictions and business closures, yet no support from the NDP.

The call from the BC Liberals has been echoed by the CanadianFederation of Independent Business.

The call for financial help has been accompanied by owners of some Kamloops businesses impacted, including Stride Spin Studio, Oxygen Yoga and Fitness and Tiger Martial Arts,

Oxygen owner Dina McLeod said her Aberdeen Village business has seen revenues dip by $200,000 during the pandemic due to repeated closure orders, noting her debt has risen to $60,000.

Stride Spin Studio owner Kristi Leschuk said her business, downtown at St. Paul Street and Fourth Avenue, has ridden a rollercoaster of financial pain in the past 17 months.

:As a group fitness business, we have been subject to health measures resulting in us having to close and re-open several times despite, no evidence of COVID transmission in our sector in Kamloops, Leschuk said. The government is making it very difficult for businesses like mine to stay afloat and survive the pandemic."

Jeff Viani, who owns Tiger Martial Arts in Sahali Mall, said he is equally impacted.

The lack of notice and clarityon these latest health ordersis appalling, he said.

I emailed Interior Health on Friday (Aug. 20) for clarity and did not hear back until Monday, which gave us hardly any time to prepare. Were still waiting for viaSport to confirm their stance. And the lack of financial support related to these measures is beyond frustrating.

Read this article:
BC Liberals, Kamloops businesses call for financial help in wake of recent health order - Kamloops This Week

The sports would do well if it could conjure up the same stiff competition that occurred on Thursday for the absolute worst social media post on a day of tragedy.

After 12 U.S. Marines and a Navy corpsman were killed in a terrorist attack in Kabul during the chaotic exit ordered by President Joe Biden, Malcolm Nance, an alleged terrorism expert for MSNBC, told horrified Americans to deal with it.

20 YEARS- FYI there have been terrorist suicide bombers killing civilians nearly DAILY in Afghanistan. This aint new. Its why we are leaving. #DealWithIt, Nance tweeted.

Nance, of course, failed to note that this was the deadliest day in Afghanistan for American troops in a decade and that no American troops have died in action since February 2020.

Among the reactions, Nance generated was a comment by First Amendment lawyer Ari Cohn, who tweeted: There were a million different ways you could have made your point, and yet you chose the one that makes you an ahole.

Conservative columnist Julio Rosas tweeted before the breadth of the attack was fully known, U.S. Marines are among the wounded you despicable sack of st.

Nance apparently deleted the tweet after the blowback ensued.

But then rivaling Nance was Vice.com.

While many vets are being outed as far-right extremists, one branch keeps popping up when it comes to neo-Nazis: the United States Marine Corps, the outlet tweeted above a story entitled Why Are So Many Marines Neo-Nazis?

That, too, garnered a reaction and eventually a deleted tweet.

But as one outraged Twitter user, John Cardillo, fired back, Hey @VICE, the Internet is forever you trash losers. Tweeting this on a day Marines were killed. Delete your account.

Another Twitter user, Lee Williams, added, Do you realize a dozen Marines just made the ultimate sacrifice defending our citizens and our nations freedoms, including your right to publish this filth?

A third, James Lindsay, added, Deleted but never forgotten, @VICE. May the shame of this follow you forever, end your disgusting outlet, and stop its evil mission.

Others came close to being utterly tone-deaf on Thursday.

Social media influencer Mike Cernovich posted a tweet that included screenshots of Nance and Vice, as well as Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston who on Thursday posted about Womens Equality Day and tweeted a photo of female soldiers hairstyles that said, in part, Do you have people that dont look or think like you in the room? Inclusion is listening and valuing those people.

Cernovichs post also included a screencap of a Politico story from Aug. 24, with the headline: White House to media: We want our props on Afghanistan.

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Liberals On Twitter Make It A Tough Call For 'Worst Tweet' After Troops Are Slaughtered In Kabul - The Free Press