Category: Lawfare

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Universal Ostrich Farms, Part 3: The Bilinski Affidavit, And Immune Biosolutions

Universal Ostrich Farms (UOF), in British Columbia, has been in the alternative media a lot lately. Specifically, the Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ordered about 400 birds to be killed after some supposedly tested positive for the H5N1 virus.

UOF filed an Application in Federal Court to challenge the order. A second Application was filed challenging the refusal to grant any sort of exemption. To date, both cases have been dismissed. Barring a successful Appeal, the culling is expected to go ahead.

See Parts 1 and 2 in the Universal Ostrich Farms series for more information.

The first two pieces have interestingly caused quite the backlash. The bulk of it is simply reading from various Court documents, including Affidavits. What people don’t seem to grasp is that when someone asks for money, it becomes public interest litigation. The have GiveSendGo and GoFundMe pages up, among other avenues, soliciting donations.

As such, their case is open to scrutiny, or at least it should be.

Now, let’s see what David Bilinski has to say.

From The Affidavit Of David Bilinski

13. One of the problems we encountered though was there was no good breeding records for ostriches. To starts a recording program, I initiated a DNA fingerprinting program for ostriches in Canada. I worked wit Dr. Kim Cheung, a director of the Avian Research Centre at the University of British Columbia, to develop this program.

14. Unfortunately, shortly after starting the program, the market for breeding ostrich collapsed, and the program was suspended.

19. The antibodies ostriches produce in response to an infection can last several years, and are found in extremely high concentrations in the yolks of their eggs. These antibodies can be used to develop neutralization anitbodies against, among other things, the H5N1 virus. I have attached as Exhibit “B” a true copy of the study published by Dr. Yasuhiro Tsukamoto, Laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy, Graduate School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University.

34. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, it essentially shut down our business. Processing plants closed, breeder sales plummeted, and farms downsized.

35. We then became familiar with the work of Dr. Tsukamoto, who was studing the IgY Immune Globin Yolk) antibodies in ostrich eggs.

36. Based on Dr. Tsukamoto’s and others’ research, we learned that ostrich eggs are uniquely situated for developing antibodies because of the size of the yolk, and the concentration of the antibodies produced.

39. As a result, we began working with [Immune] Biosolutions Inc. (“Biosolutions”) in Quebec, which was working on protocols to produce antibodies for Covid-19, due to a $13,000,000 grant from the Government of Canada.

40. In or around 2021, Biosolutions provided antigens to the UOF, which then allowed us to produce antibodies using the ostrich eggs.

42. Then, in about 2022, UOF began a venture with Struthio BioScience Inc. (“Struthio”) and entered into a contract wherein UOF must provide Struthio with ostrich eggs, failing which UOF would be in breach of contract.

43. In summary, since 2020 UOF has been entirely dedicated to the production of antibody IgY.

44. To be clear, UOF is not a commercial poultry facility, and it does not produce any ostrich meat or eggs for human consumption.

It would be nice to know more about this DNA fingerprinting program, even if it was ultimately cancelled. Perhaps a later piece can cover that.

Bilinski tries to portray to the Court there being a “contract” between Universal Ostrich Farms and Struthio BioScience Inc. This is apparently to fulfill business obligations. However, Karen Espersen is both the owner (and president) of UOF, and a co-owner of Struthio. This connection is obvious when looking at her LinkedIn page, but isn’t clear in the Court documents.

Defenders of the farm have pointed to the fact that Immune Biosolutions is the one that got the contract from the ISED, not the farm. While true, it misses the point. Espersen and Bilinski are working with them, and using their antigens, giving it to the ostriches, and creating antibodies in return.

In turn, it then raises all kinds of questions as to what exactly these birds are infected with, and what the risks are to humans. This apparently isn’t explained in any Affidavit.

Despite howls about “protecting the food supply”, Bilinski’s Affidavit makes it clear that these animals aren’t intended for any sort of human consumption. This ostrich farm really is an open-air biolab.

The irony also seems lost on these litigants. They’re challenging the findings that some of the birds are infected with a virus, claiming that these tests are unreliable. Fair enough. But then, the birds are used to generate antibodies to fight another virus. In fact, they stand to make a fortune if they’re able to sell their work.

Oh well. Live by the shady “science”, die by the shady “science”.

Now, let’s find out a little more about their partner.

Taxpayer Money Funneled Through ISED For Grants

The Government of Canada, or more specifically, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, announced a few years ago various projects would be funded. Taxpayers would foot a $2.3 billion bill for 41 different grants, all across the country.

Immune Biosolutions, of Sherbrooke, Quebec, was just one company.

March 16, 2021: Up to $13.44 million to help through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to develop and advance its therapeutic candidate from pre-clinical studies up to Phase II clinical trials.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe groups it partners with as “subcontractors”.

Who Is Immune Biosolutions?

A partnership in antibody development
Our antibody discovery platform is available mainly to pharmaceutical and biotech companies seeking to develop custom novel antibodies against targets of interest with unmet needs. Whether the desired antibody is for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes, our avian platform opens up the accessibility to new antibody paratopes of great affinity against highly conserved mammal proteins or molecules.

Immune Biosolutions is a Quebec company that “partners” with other people or companies in their antibody development. This is the research and development end, while the others are the ones who receive and do the live testing.

Immunization:

  • Spatial Peptide design and synthesis for antigen presentation
  • Chicken Immunization by vaccination (Peptides, Spatial Peptides, Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Cells, other molecules)
  • Chicken Immunization by transcutaneous electroporation (Protein expression DNA plasmid)

Screening:

  • Phage-Display Antibody Candidate Screening:
  • Chicken Single B Cell Antibody Candidate Screening
  • Avian Antibody Sequence Determination
  • Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Antibody Library Analysis

Engineering and Production:

  • Avian Antibody Optimization & Humanization
  • Bi-Specific and Multi-Specific Antibody Engineering
  • Antibody Production & Purification
  • Stable Cell Line Development

Validation (Antibody Validation):

  • Affinity Assays
  • Functional Assays
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Biolayer Interferometry
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance
  • Static Light Scattering/Dynamic Light Scattering

Immune Biosolutions Has Lobbying Registry Profile

Application Form for COVID-19 Advancement of Vaccines and Therapeutics (SIF Program) Immune Biosolutions and collaborators are developing an immunotherapy based on newly identified antibodies to treat and possibly prevent the SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19). This new accelerated discovery process, aiming at providing Canadians with a treatment for COVID-19 discovered and bio-manufactured in Canada, will be applied to future infections and other diseases, such as cancer.

It shouldn’t really surprise anyone that this company is set up to lobby members of the Federal Government for funding. Their name wasn’t picked randomly.

SOURCE OF FUNDING DATE AMOUNT
Canexport April, 2020 $22,754.38
Canexport April, 2021 $22,754.38
Canexport April, 2023 $22,754.38
Canexport April, 2024 $27,500.00
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada April, 2023 $5,496,072.00
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada April, 2024 $2,082,706.00
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada April, 2024 $5,496,072.00
National Research Council April, 2020 $33,108.69
National Research Council April, 2021 $33,108.69
National Research Council April, 2023 $33,108.69
National Research Council April, 2023 $212,219.00
National Research Council April, 2024 $212,219.00
National Research Council April, 2024 $222,880.00
SIF – Strategic Innovation Fund April, 2024 $5,496,072.00

Note: while there appear to be duplicate entries, the notes from the Lobbying Registry suggest that a few agencies made multiple payments in the same fiscal year.

Immune Biosolutions Received Wage Subsidies

As an aside, Immune Biosolutions received CEWS (the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy) in 2020/2021. In fairness though, it doesn’t specify the amounts.

Now, there has been a lot of noise about how it was Immune Biosolutions that got the Government grant, not Universal Ostrich Farms itself. This misses the point. While the tech company may have gotten it directly, what was UOF using to pay its bills in the meantime?

2 scenarios are possible. Either: (a) UOF got a cut of the money directly from IBio, or; (b) UOF would make money from selling the research, thus profiting from taxpayer subsidies. While the grant went to the firm, this seems to be a distinction without a difference.

People need to be asking the hard questions.

(1) https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/biomanufacturing/en/biomanufacturing-projects-underway
(2) https://immunebiosolutions.com/en
(3) https://immunebiosolutions.com/en/partnerships/
(4) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/vwRg?cno=368226&regId=914362#regStart
(5) https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/habs/cews/srch/pub/bscSrch
(6) https://unlockalberta.substack.com/p/christine-massey-david-dickson-pat

FEDERAL COURT DOCUMENTS:
(1) Ostrich Notice Of Application Certified (January, 2025)
(2) Ostrich Notice Of Application (January, 2025)
(3) Ostrich Notice Of Motion (January, 2025)
(4) Ostrich Bilinski Affidavit (January, 2025)
(5) Ostrich Espersen Affidavit (January, 2025)
(6) Ostrich Pelech Affidavit (January, 2025)
(7) Ostrich Jones Affidavit (January, 2025)
(8) Ostrich Responding Motion Record (January, 2025)
(9) Ostrich Responding Motion Record Expedited (February, 2025)
(10) Ostrich Motion Record Ex-Parte (February, 2025)
(11) Ostrich Exemption Notice Of Application (February, 2025)
(12) Ostrich Exemption Motion Record (February, 2025)
(13) Ostrich Ruling Of Justice Zinn (May, 2025)

MONEY:
(1) https://bcrising.ca/save-our-ostriches/
(2) https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ostrich-farmers-fight-to-save-herd-from-avian-flu?attribution_id=sl%3A80e09934-7413-429b-acfb-2f7015cc19d3&lang=en_CA
(3) https://www.givesendgo.com/save-our-ostriches
(4) https://www.kinexus.ca/

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Universal Ostrich Farms, Part 2: The Pelech Affidavit, $48,000 Per Egg

A segment of the public has been following the case of a British Columbia farm that was ordered cull approximately 400 of its ostriches. The order came from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (or CFIA) and was challenged in the Federal Court. It was unsuccessful, but an Appeal is likely. The coverage that the “alternative” media has shared would lead people to believe this is simply an attack on the local food supply.

However, looking a little deeper into the case, it seems that these animals had other purposes. This included being used to generate “antibodies” for the so-called “SARS-CoV-2” virus. Or rather, their eggs would be. What else have these animals been treated with?

See Part 1 in the Universal Ostrich Farms series for more information.

This digging for the truth — while pleasing to some — has angered others. However, this site doesn’t “bend the knee”, just because people get annoyed.

Also, this isn’t Liberty Talk, so don’t expect some “feel good” speech or interview.

Now we get to the main Affidavit of Steven Pelech, the expert witness. He’s a professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and has an interesting research specialty. He also makes it abundantly clear he believes virology is a legitimate science.

Pelech Clarifies Ostriches Used For Biomedical Research

Pelech’s Affidavit makes it clear that there may be perceived problems with his objectivity. He states that has been involved in developing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. He’s been doing this kind of work for years. This is also the same purpose that the ostriches in question are being used for.

These birds weren’t destined to be food (hopefully), but were used for biological testing.

Pelech Believes PCR Testing Is Legitimate

Since 2020, many, MANY people have been speaking up about the legitimate concerns of PCR (or Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing. Pelech isn’t one of them. Instead, he speaks glowingly about this “technology”. His only real objection seems to be in how it’s applied. Specifically, the number of times it’s cycled through is apparently too high.

Pelech apparently doesn’t object to this? And why would he? His entire livelihood centers around the idea that these sort of tests are legitimate, and that samples can be treated with other things he creates.

It’s unclear how exactly he would help. It these ostriches were wrongfully diagnosed with H5N1 (or anything), Pelech isn’t making any convincing argument about it.

Further down in the Affidavit is a main point in Pelech’s “expert” evidence. He’s not sure what the cycle count of the PCR testing was, and that it’s unreliable at the higher ones. At no point does he state, or imply, that the test itself is faulty.

58. The main issue is whether the remaining ostriches represent a health hazard to each other, the staff and visitors to the UOF, and wild birds and animals that come to the farm. In view of the information that there has been no deaths from infectious disease on the farm for over two weeks, and all of the ostriches appear to be healthy, it is highly likely that the herd immunity has been achieved in the flock. It is extremely unlikely that they would be shedding virus to each other, their caretakers, and to other birds and animals. The longer that these birds remain healthy, the lower the risk of potential transmission of the virus.

Pelech again never challenges the “positive test” in any meaningful way. He shifts from speculating that PCR testing may have been done at too high a cycle, to speculating about herd immunity.

Pelech On Economic Benefits Of This: $48,000/Egg

We get to the heart of the matter: these ostriches are a gold mine. Pelech steps out of his role as a “scientific expert” to make an economic case for why these birds should be spared.

  • Antibodies derives from animals are worth a lot of money
  • A rabbit can produce 1.5 mg of antibody, at $6,000 each
  • An ostrich egg can produce 12 mg of antibody, at $48,000 each
  • An ostrich can lay eggs for decades

Does it make sense now? The people at Universal Ostrich Farms are sitting on a gold mine. Assume each bird lays one egg per year, just for the sake of argument, we get this:

400 birds * ($48,000/egg) = $19.2 million

This flock of birds has the potential to generate tens of millions of dollars, per year, for this farm. That’s why they’re so against the cull.

“Freedom Movement” Duped Into Financing Legal Challenge

The GoFundMe account has raised $51,000 so far. GiveSendGo is at nearly $39,000. This doesn’t include etransfer, cash, or cheques being mailed in. Altogether, there’s a lot of money coming in.

Well meaning donors are giving money they likely don’t have to a farm which performs the kind of testing they’d be ideologically opposed to. And the Court case is being brought to protect their multi-million dollar project.

Does anyone feel suckered yet?

Pelech was part of the Canadian Covid Care Alliance, or CCCA. He’s also been featured on Librti, What’s Up Canada?, and the NCI. Seriously, did no one vet him in any way?

Kinetek Pharmaceuticals: Pelech Founder, Former CEO

In his Affidavit, Pelech gives his employment record, and it’s quite interesting. He founded 2 companies in the 1990s

  1. Kinetek Pharmaceuticals, which he departed in 1997
  2. Kinexus Bioinformatics Corp, which he is still presently part of

It appears that Kinetek was discontinued as a corporation in 2004.

Kinexus Bioinformatics: Pelech Founder, Director, Scientific Officer

According to the information provided, Pelech is still involved with Kinexus. On their products page, they list the following:

Quality antibodies, peptides and other reagents at reasonable prices with fair representation and extensive validation.

In other words, there’s a financial interest in seeing this kind of work continue. Antibodies is specifically listed as a product that the company sells.

With all of this in mind, one could view Pelech’s Affidavit in an entirely different light. He has direct financial interests with the antibody industry. He also acknowledges that these ostrich eggs could be worth $48,000 each, assuming they’re of good quality. While he may be honest and forthright in his Affidavit, all of this is too much to ignore.

This isn’t about protecting the food supply.

That’s all emotional blackmail and misdirection.

FEDERAL COURT DOCUMENTS:
(1) Ostrich Notice Of Application Certified (January, 2025)
(2) Ostrich Notice Of Application (January, 2025)
(3) Ostrich Notice Of Motion (January, 2025)
(4) Ostrich Bilinski Affidavit (January, 2025)
(5) Ostrich Espersen Affidavit (January, 2025)
(6) Ostrich Pelech Affidavit (January, 2025)
(7) Ostrich Jones Affidavit (January, 2025)
(8) Ostrich Responding Motion Record (January, 2025)
(9) Ostrich Responding Motion Record Expedited (February, 2025)
(10) Ostrich Motion Record Ex-Parte (February, 2025)
(11) Ostrich Exemption Notice Of Application (February, 2025)
(12) Ostrich Exemption Motion Record (February, 2025)
(13) Ostrich Ruling Of Justice Zinn (May, 2025)

MONEY:
(1) https://bcrising.ca/save-our-ostriches/
(2) https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ostrich-farmers-fight-to-save-herd-from-avian-flu?attribution_id=sl%3A80e09934-7413-429b-acfb-2f7015cc19d3&lang=en_CA
(3) https://www.givesendgo.com/save-our-ostriches
(4) https://www.kinexus.ca/

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Bill C-63 (Online Harms Act) Revisited: A More Nuanced View On It

Last year, this site covered Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act. Critics denounced it immediately as a draconian attack on free speech and free expression. There are certainly reasons to be concerned.

***Now, before someone starts posting in the comments that it died with when Parliament was dissolved, I know. But the point is, a similar version can always be brought back. Considering that hearings already taken place, it’s worth looking at what happened.

Bill C-63 was eventually split into 2 different sections: (a) child exploitation and abuse; and (b) the more “free speech” elements of it. Who knows what will happen in the next iteration.

In December 2024, the House of Commons held their hearings on the legislation. A total of 22 different witnesses testified, with a range of different ideas.

Despite all of the warning signs surrounding Bill C-63, there are some provisions that most people can actually get on board with. As always, readers are encouraged to check for themselves.

Filed Submissions From Humane Canada

Animal sexual abuse (bestiality) is illegal under section 160 of the Criminal Code, which recognizes that child sexual assault and animal sexual assault are linked crimes, however there is no legislation that prohibits possessing or sharing online content that features animal sexual abuse. Closing this “bestiality loophole” would fulfill the initial promises of Bill C-84 in 2019 to strengthen protections for children, other vulnerable individuals, and animals. Animals are often used as part of the child sexual abuse grooming process. A 2018 report by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection analyzing case law found that 82% of bestiality cases in Canada have involved the sexual abuse of a child.

Considering the upward trend in police-reported child sexual exploitation where most offences include a cyber component, with 79% of incidents of child pornography and 20% of sexual violations against children recorded as cybercrimes by police, we urge the government to explicitly include animal sexual abuse images and videos, as well as material that depicts harming or killing an animal, in their definition of content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor and harmful content.

Proposed Amendments
Include the explicit mention of animal sexual abuse images and content under the definition of ‘content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor’ and animal harms under the definition of ‘harmful content’, using similar wording to the United Kingdom’s recently passed Online Safety Act:

In their filings, Humane Canada asked that Bill C-63 be amended to include content aimed at harming animals. This would be worded in a similar way to laws prohibited such content involving children.

Filed Submissions From International Justice Mission

We agree with and uphold MP Virani’s decision to split the Bill, prioritizing Section 1 and 4 to address online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Bill C-63 is a critical and long-awaited piece of legislation that will help ensure children, both in Canada and abroad, are protected offline and online, and that penalties for in-person and online offenders of child sexual abuse and exploitation are aligned.

IJM commends the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice, for the years of detailed policy work and public consultation to create this bill. The Online Harms Act has the potential to strengthen the responsibility of technology companies to prevent child sexual abuse (CSA) and exploitation from happening on their platforms and to prevent the spread of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) online. If passed, Bill C-63 will position Canada as one of the leading countries in preventing online sexual exploitation of children, alongside its Five Eyes peers, Australia and the United Kingdom.

International Justice Mission included several recommendations for Bill C-63.

1. Ensure livestreaming child sexual abuse is specifically included in the legislation.
2. Take a preventive and safety by design approach.
3. Take into account victim and survivor voice when developing regulations.
4. Include offender deterrence in addition to protecting Canadian children.
5. Include private messaging and video-chat platforms and features.

There’s nothing in their filing that’s objectionable. People can agree that content that abuses children should be removed from the internet.

The testimony from the witnesses (over 3 days) is freely available.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc met with MP Mona Fortier in early 2025 to discuss:

“…access to justice, criminal justice, and social policy issues related to online child sexual abuse and online violence against children and possible legislative or policy initiatives that could reduce victimization and/or improve victim recovery.”

The group also met with Michelle Rempel-Garner and Craig Oldham.

Foreign Groups At The Heart Of Censorship Laws

While there were commendable aspects to Bill C-63, or at least the first parts, the latter ones raise real questions about the stifling of free speech. Interestingly, the most powerful groups behind it aren’t actually Canadian. They represent foreign lobbies.

Part of the problem is that terms are so poorly defined — and probably on purpose — that they can be selectively applied, depending on the politics involved. This is not good at all.

1. Centre For Israel And Jewish Affairs (CIJA)

CIJA, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, has lobbied the Canadian Parliament over 2,000 times since the year 2000. They’ve been pushing for censorship and a variety of hate speech laws (antisemitism) the entire time.

CIJA also arranges for Canadian politicians to go abroad for free trips to Israel each year. This is similar to how AIPAC functions in the United States. This is not limited to Liberals or Conservatives, but seems to involve all parties.

The group also gets funding from the “conservative” administration in Ontario.

2. B’Nai Brith National Organization Of Canada

B’nai Brith describes its activities as such: “The Organization’s purpose is to relieve poverty, prevent discrimination and antisemitism, improve the moral and ethical development of the community, provide assistance to victims of human rights abuses, relieve conditions associated with the elderly.” Bill C-63 is specifically listed.

3. National Council Of Canadian Muslims (NCCM)

NCCM, the National Council of Canadian Muslims, has been similarly involved in pushing for censorship and hate speech laws in the name of Islamophobia. This isn’t limited to one group or ideology. And like their Jewish counterparts, NCCM also gets large tax subsidies.

4. Canadian Medical Association (CMA)

The Canadian Medical Association takes this view:

Support the passage of Bill C-63, an Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to address the escalation of online harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence targeting physicians, other health workers, and anyone seeking health care treatment, including measures to strengthen the Criminal Code of Canada and the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Keep in mind, the CMA supported lockdowns and vaccine passports in recent years. It’s quite understandable that large segments of society don’t trust them.

It’s also worth mentioning that a number of non-ideological groups are concerned with Bill C-63. This is likely because it will impact their businesses.

  1. American Chamber of Commerce
  2. Google (which owns YouTube)
  3. Rumble
  4. X (formerly Twitter)
  5. Facebook
  6. Pinterest
  7. LinkedIn

To be clear, there is a genuine public interest in removing content that involves abuse of children or animals. No decent person would argue otherwise.

However, the rest of the Bill seems designed to crack down on free speech and certain political views. And it appears to be driven primarily be foreign interest groups. We’ll have to see what happens next.

Unfortunately, even legislation that’s (reasonably) well written can cause problems. While politicians vote on the bills themselves, the details are typically implemented by regulation. This means that unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats will be making important decisions.

(1) https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/JUST/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=13035098
(2) https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/441/JUST/Brief/BR13487005/br-external/HumaneCanada-e.pdf
(3) https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/441/JUST/Brief/BR13531934/br-external/InternationalJusticeMission-e.pdf
(4) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=632025
(5) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=631668
(6) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=632024
(7) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/vwRg?cno=111&regId=937469
(8) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Pages/SponsoredTravel-DeplParraines.aspx
(9) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/vwRg?cno=378700&regId=964738
(10) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/vwRg?cno=358918&regId=946132&blnk=1
(11) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/vwRg?cno=372582&regId=951907

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Crown Appeals Payne: Class Action Under s.2(d), Which Survived Motion To Strike

No one should be surprised that a decision from earlier this month is being appealed. This is the ruling from Justice Southcott, which (mostly) dismissed a Motion to Strike. See the earlier piece for more background information.

This is one of the Proposed Class Actions from Umar Sheikh and Angela Wood. The main thrust is that unilaterally imposing the “vaccine pass” on workers — even if unionized — amounts to imposing a new term or condition of employment without the opportunity for “meaningful consultation”. In short, it does an end run around any sort of collective bargaining agreement. As such, it violates people’s Section 2(d) Charter Rights of freedom of association.

How this Appeal ends will have significant impact on their other cases, including BCPSEF and FreeToFly. Those are based on substantially the same arguments.

As an aside, counsel for the Qualizza Plaintiff/Appellants has gotten wind of this. That was the clown show of a suit involving 330 current and former military personnel. That Notice of Appeal references the Payne case.

Government Says Case Should Have Been Struck Anyway

In their Notice of Appeal, counsel claims that the case should have been thrown out, as have so many others, under Sections 208 and 236 of the FPSLRA, or Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act. For reference, s.208 states that all Federal workers have the right to grieve, while s.236 denies the right to sue in Court.

4. The Motion Judge erred in law in taking jurisdiction over this matter and not striking the action in accordance with s. 236 of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act

However, the Plaintiffs had successfully convinced Justice Southcott that s.236 didn’t completely bar all claims for everyone, despite the case history.

(a) misunderstanding and misapplying Federal Court of Appeal jurisprudence, such as Adelberg v Canada, 2024 FCA 106, which determined that the Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, (COVID-19 policy) was an employment policy related to terms and conditions of employment and emphasized that it matters not the way the claim is characterized, whether as a Charter breach or tort;

The Attorney General references Adelberg, which was: (a) struck for Federal workers; (b) allowed with respect to travel claims; and (c) ultimately denied Leave by the Supreme Court. This was Galati’s infamous “bad beyond argument” Federal case. But as bad as it was, the FPSLRA didn’t completely shut the door on some claims, a point made at the Payne hearing.

One interesting part of the Notice is paragraph 7.

7. The Motion Judge erred in finding that the Statement of Claim disclosed a reasonable cause of action in tort for casual workers, students and RCMP members as there were no representative plaintiffs for any of these categories, nor had material facts necessary been pled and was based on a misapplication of the Federal Court of Appeal decision in McMillan v Canada, 2024 FCA 199.

Justice Southcott struck the malfeasance of public office tort. This was on the basis that it was covered by s.236 FPSLRA, and could have been potentially grieved, at least with regard to the 3 Representative Plaintiffs. The possibility was left open to find new Plaintiffs that it wouldn’t apply to.

On that note, the Attorney General argues that there shouldn’t be an opportunity to amend, given that none of the current Plaintiffs qualify, and no facts are included. The Court can respond to that in several ways.

The Respondents have served their Notice of Appearance.

Brief Timeline Of Major Events In Case

October 6th, 2023: Statement of Claim is filed on behalf of 3 Representative Plaintiffs.

November 9th, 2023: Government responds with their Notice of Intent.

May 31st, 2024: Government sends notice that it intends to bring Motion to have the case struck (thrown out) in its entirety.

June 6th, 2024: Prothonotary Ring gives directions that there be case management.

June 10th, 2024: Chief Justice Crampton directs (a) Justice Southcott and (b) Prothonotary Ring to be assigned manage the proceeding.

July 1st, 2024: Prothonotary Ring issues schedule for documents to be served for Motion to Strike.

August 19th, 2024: Government brings its Motion to Strike.

October 1st, 2024: Plaintiffs file responding arguments as to why case shouldn’t be struck.

December 13th, 2024: Motion to Strike is argued before Justice Southcott.

January 1st, 2025: Justice Southcott partially grants the Motion to Strike. The tort of Malfeasance of Public Office is struck, but with Leave if eligible Plaintiffs are identified. The Section 2(d) claims are allowed to proceed.

January 13th, 2025: Government files Notice of Appeal.

January 20th, 2025: Plaintiffs (Respondents) file Notice of Appearance.

Note: All of the dates cited can be confirmed by searching the respective cases on the Federal Court website. It keeps a detailed listing of all significant events.

The Appeal should be heard later this year.

Should s.2(d) be upheld as a way around grievance requirements, this will have enormous influence on injection pass cases, at least at the Federal level. This is why they want Justice Southcott’s decision overturned. Of course, the Statutes of Limitation will make it hard to bring any new cases.

PAYNE APPEAL DOCUMENTS:
(1) Payne Notice Of Appeal January 2025
(2) Payne Notice Of Appearance January 2025

PAYNE FEDERAL COURT DOCUMENTS:
(1) Payne Statement Of Claim October 2023
(2) Payne Notice Of Intent To Defend November 2023
(3) Payne Letter Intent To Strike May 2024
(4) Payne Defendant Motion Record To Strike August 2024
(5) Payne Plaintiff Responding Motion Record October 2024
(6) https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fct/doc/2025/2025fc5/2025fc5.pdf
(7) https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fct/doc/2025/2025fc5/2025fc5.html

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Bill S-210: Age Restricting Pornography, Women’s LEAF Opposed To It

Bill S-210 passed through the Senate in the Spring of 2023, and has yet to undergo Third Reading in the House of Commons, after the hearings concluded. It had been introduced by Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne of Quebec.

The Bill itself is titled: An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material. As the name implies, the substance is about age restricting access to pornography.

What’s interesting about this Bill is some of the groups that work to oppose it, and all while claiming to fight for women’s rights. One such organization is Women’s LEAF, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund. Leslyn Lewis was once a National Board Member of it.

LEAF describes itself as:

a national, charitable, non-profit organization that works towards ensuring the law guarantees substantive equality for all women, girls, trans, and non-binary people. LEAF has developed expertise in the gendered and intersectional impact of technology-facilitated violence through intervening in landmark cases before the Supreme Court of Canada and making submissions to Parliament to highlight gender equity implications of online hate.

At the hearings before the House of Commons, LEAF made submissions, arguing against Bill S-210. The reasons are baffling.

In fairness, LEAF is hardly the only one to argue against Bill S-210. We’ll get into some of the others as well in subsequent articles.

Rather than implement age-restriction specifically for obscene material, LEAF instead defers to the much broader Bill C-63. While decrying possible invasions of privacy, the group recommends something more expansive.

***NCDII stands for non-consensual distribution of intimate images.

LEAF also has a rather convoluted objection to age-verification, under the guise of victims’ rights. While hundreds of underage people (mostly girls) have been victimized, requiring identification would make it harder for them to access their own images.

This means that LEAF is well aware of that the content of minors is often published, but age-verification can’t be allowed in order to allow victims some recourse. Perhaps a more stringent screening process beforehand would be helpful.

LEAF also adds that “To steer clear of such an inordinate penalty, tech companies are likely to over-moderate content on their sites. 2SLGBTQIA+ community members will bear the brunt of this change: through sexual content moderation, queer and trans content is already disproportionately targeted, banned, restricted, and demonetized on social media platforms“.

While denying that the “community” is full of groomers, LEAF argues that age-verification will disproportionately impact these people.

Defence — legitimate purpose
(2) No organization shall be convicted of an offence under section 5 if the act that is alleged to constitute the offence has a legitimate purpose related to science, medicine, education or the arts.

Keep in mind, section 6(2) of Bill S-210 makes it clear that legitimate purposes related to: (a) science; (b) medicine; (c) education; or (d) “the arts” is a full defence. And “arts” is presumably a broad category. Nonetheless, LEAF still opposes age-verification.

DEPARTMENT/MINISTRY YEAR AMOUNT
Canadian Heritage (PCH), Court Challenges 2022 $25,000.00
Canadian Heritage (PCH), Court Challenges 2023 $54,475.05
Canadian Heritage (PCH), Court Challenges 2024 $54,475.05
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) 2022 $8,911.00
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) 2023 $8,400.00
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) 2024 $8,400.00
Justice Canada (JC) 2023 $33,712.34
Justice Canada (JC) 2024 $33,712.34
Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) 2022 $362,668.00
Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) 2023 $364,183.53
Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) 2024 $364,183.53

This is just some of their more recent financing.

The Canadian Court Challenges Program is an initiative set up with public money in order for various “independent” groups to bring lawsuits challenging public policy. In other words, taxpayers have to finance lawfare against their own institutions.

For an idea of the kind of litigation that LEAF brings, check out some of their earlier work. It’s not a stretch to describe them as anti-family, anti-woman, and anti-humanity.

Lately, LEAF has been using a lobbying firm called Counsel Public Affairs. Bridget Howe, Ben Parsons, Sheamus Murphy, and Laila Hawrylyshyn (all Liberals) have been making their rounds. Counsel P.A. also employs Amber Ruddy, drug lobbyist and former CPC National Secretary.

Women’s LEAF, like so many groups, is also significantly subsidized by taxpayers, across different Ministries. They then hire lobbyists to lean on politicians to implement their agendas. In other words, organizations like these are using public money to pressure politicians against implementing safeguards for what children view online.

You don’t hate these people enough.

BILL S-210, (AGE RESTRICTING PORNOGRAPHY):
(1) https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bills
(2) https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/s-210
(3) https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/S-210/third-reading
(4) https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/miville-dechene-julie/
(5) https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/SECU/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=12521982
(6) Women’s LEAF Submission Against Implementing Bill S-210

BILL S-224, (HUMAN TRAFFICKING):
(1) https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bills
(2) https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/s-224
(3) https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/S-224/third-reading
(4) https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/ataullahjan-salma/
(5) https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/JUST/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=12111640

Private Member Bills In Current Session:
(1) Bill C-206: Decriminalizing Self Maiming To Avoid Military Service
(2) Bill C-207: Creating The “Right” To Affordable Housing
(3) Bill C-219: Creating Environmental Bill Of Rights
(4) Bill C-226: Creating A Strategy For Environmental Racism/Justice
(5) Bill C-229: Banning Symbols Of Hate, Without Defining Them
(6) Bill C-235: Building Of A Green Economy In The Prairies
(7) Bill C-245: Entrenching Climate Change Into Canada Infrastructure Bank
(8) Bill C-250: Imposing Prison Time For Holocaust Denial
(9) Bill C-261: Red Flag Laws For “Hate Speech”
(10.1) Bill C-293: Domestic Implementation Of Int’l Pandemic Treaty
(10.2) Bill C-293: Concerns Raised In Hearings Over Food Supplies
(10.3) Bill C-293: Lobbying Interests Behind Nathaniel Erskine-Smith
(11) Bill C-312: Development Of National Renewable Energy Strategy
(12) Bill C-315: Amending CPPIB Act Over “Human, Labour, Environmental Rights”
(13) Bill C-367: Removing Religious Exemptions Protecting Against Antisemitism
(14) Bill C-373: Removing Religious Exemptions Protecting Against Antisemitism 2.0
(15) Bill C-388: Fast Tracking Weapons, Energy, Gas To Ukraine
(16) Bill C-390: Expanding Euthanasia Into PROVINCIAL Frameworks
(17) Bills C-398/C-399: Homeless Encampments, Immigration “Equity”
(18) Bill C-413: Prison Time Proposed For Residential School “Denialism”
(19) Bill S-215: Protecting Financial Stability Of Post-Secondary Institutions
(20) Bill S-243: Climate Related Finance Act, Banking Acts
(21) Bill S-248: Removing Final Consent For Euthanasia
(22) Bill S-257: Protecting Political Belief Or Activity As Human Rights
(23) Bill S-275: Adding “Sustainable And Equitable Prosperity” To Bank Of Canada Act

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Antisemitism Hearings Continue At Canadian Parliament

The House of Commons has resumed hearings into the concerns of the Jewish community in Canada, and to bring forward ideas on what to do about it. To date, there are 23 witnesses scheduled to testify, and 78 briefs filed with Parliament. The hearings began in May 2024.

Officially, the hearings are referred to as: “Antisemitism and Additional Measures that Could be Taken to Address the Valid Fears that are Being Expressed by Canada’s Jewish Community”.

It’s unclear what, if anything, will come as a result. Free speech absolutists will notice the general trend of recommending solutions that involve some form of “re-education” or punishment.

Interestingly, both the Jewish and Islamic lobbies support the implementation of Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act. The vague wording of the text would make it a powerful weapon.

One can’t but notice that the inconsistency of the attitudes of the participants. It seems while free expression is to take a back seat here, it wouldn’t be in similar circumstances. Let’s look at one example, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, or CIJA.

CIJA On Jewish “Identity”: Free Speech Must Be Curbed

When it comes to protecting the well being of Jews in Canada, nothing is off the table. Aggressive efforts must be made, even if it limits free speech and free association.

  1. Enforce existing anti-hate laws and provide training to courts, police, government employees and the legal system in antisemitism and hate crimes.
  2. Incorporate the IHRA definition of antisemitism into all government training on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
  3. Ban Vancouver-based group Samidoun for its direct and open ties to terror groups.
  4. Have both Ottawa and the provinces introduce safe access (bubble) legislation around synagogues, Jewish community buildings, and centres of Jewish life.
  5. Pass the Online Harms Act.
  6. Introduce the new Anti-Racism Strategy and ensure no government funding goes to those promoting and platforming hate.
  7. Ban the display of symbols of listed terror organizations.
  8. List the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
  9. Improve the collection and reporting of hate crime data, including how the information is shared with threatened communities.
  10. The Government of Canada should direct the provinces to act clearly to prevent antisemitism in schools, both on university campuses and in K-12.

These are the points introduced by CIJA for these hearings. However, it’s interesting to note that these efforts are not encouraged for all groups. Far from it.

CIJA On Palestinian “Identity”: Free Speech Must Be Protected

Despite the seemingly heavy handed approach favoured to combat antisemitism, it seems a different path is desirable regarding Palestinians.

Ottawa, ON – November 8, 2024 – In response to the announcement made by the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia about the Prime Minister’s support of “Anti-Palestinian Racism” (APR), the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) expressed serious concerns regarding the concept that risks undermining protections for Jewish Canadians and could misuse human rights laws to advance political narratives that silence Jewish voices.

CIJA has engaged directly with the federal government on this issue, calling on the Prime Minister to reject APR and ensure that Canadian policy protects the free expression of all communities without infringing upon Jewish identity or silencing voices within Canada’s Jewish community. CIJA’s engagement has also included correspondence and meetings with key government representatives to advocate for consistent, inclusive, human rights protections.

The concerns are entirely different when it comes to recognizing Palestinians as a race or ethnicity. CIJA summarizes them concisely.

  1. It lacks debate
  2. It is inconsistent with established definitions and redundant under the Charter
  3. It risks sidetracking creation of Islamophobia guides
  4. It challenges freedom of expression
  5. It contravenes Established Government Policies
  6. It is inconsistent with Canadian Foreign Policy
  7. It imposes divisive environment
  8. It silences victims of antisemitism
  9. It silences discussions of terrorism
  10. It invalidates anti-BDS legislation and policy

Recently, CIJA published a paper called: “Ten major concerns with the concept of Anti-Palestinian Racism (APR)”. The main theme is that it undermines legitimate expression, Government policies and is divisive.

It seems more likely that “Anti-Palestinian racism” is opposed as a concept to make it more difficult to declare what Israel does to them as a genocide.

Bernier On Genocide Of Palestinians: U.N. Needs To Shut Up

Maxime Bernier was Foreign Affairs Minister from 2007 until 2008. This is one of the most prestigious positions there is in politics. One would think that he’d have many ideas as to where a future Government could go if he were in power.

However, when running to be the head of the Conservative Party of Canada 2016/2017, his ambitions for foreign policy were very light. He had vague statements about trade and economic growth, but this is his only definitive one:

I won’t aim to please the foreign affairs establishment and the United Nations — a dysfunctional organisation which for years has disproportionately focused its activities on condemning Israel. Instead, I will ensure our country’s foreign policy will be refocused on the security and prosperity of Canadians.

Bernier is no dummy. He knows exactly why the U.N. has been condemning Israel, and the resolutions are very easy to look up. However, he prefers to deflect by referring to the U.N. as “dysfunctional”.

Strange, isn’t it? Bernier was “Mr. Freedom” when it came to Canadians having their rights taken away in 2020 and 2021. But he shilled for a foreign power that did (and still does) worse to its neighbours.

In fairness, few politicians (anywhere) in the West are willing to call out Israeli occupation of Palestinians. A cynic may wonder if all those free vacations had anything to do with it.

Anyhow, this is Parliament is up to these days — hearing witnesses advocate for measures on behalf of a tiny minority — and all because of events on the other side of the world.

(1) https://www.ourcommons.ca/committees/en/JUST/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=12632914
(2) https://www.cija.ca/government_support_of_anti_palestinian_racism_risks_undermining_canadian_jewish_rights
(3) https://assets.nationbuilder.com/cija/pages/4068/attachments/original/1719952377/2024-06-20_APR_Need_to_know.pdf?1719952377
(4) http://www.maximebernier.com/foreign_policy_must_focus_on_the_security_and_prosperity_of_canadians_not_pleasing_the_dysfunctional_united_nations
(5) Wayback Machine Archive Of Bernier

TAXPAYER FUNDED TRIPS TO ISRAEL (2007-2023):
(1) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Pages/SponsoredTravel-DeplParraines.aspx
(2) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2007%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(3) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2007
(4) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2008%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(5) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2008
(6) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2009%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(7) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2009
(8) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2010%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(9) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2010
(10) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2011%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(11) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2012%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(12) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2012
(13) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2013%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(14) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2013
(15) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2014%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(16) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2014
(17) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2015%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(18) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2015
(19) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2016%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(20) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2016
(21) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2017%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(22) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2017
(23) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Documents/SponsoredTravel/2018%20Sponsored%20Travel%20List.pdf
(24) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2018
(25) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Pages/travel2019-deplacements2019.aspx
(26) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2019
(27) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Pages/Travel2020-Deplacements2020.aspx
(28) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Pages/Travel2021-Deplacements2021.aspx
(29) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Pages/Travel2022-Deplacements2022.aspx
(30) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2022
(31) https://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/en/publications/Pages/Travel2023-Deplacements2023.aspx
(32) CIJA List of Sponsored Travel 2023


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