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Gun Violence is On the Rise in Toronto

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Canada is well-known for having much lower rates of gun violence than the United States, thanks to tighter gun control laws among other factors. However, in the past several years, the city of Toronto has seen more gun violence than ever before, according to Toronto police. Last year, 760 people were shot in the city, and 44 of these people died from their wounds, which is triple the number of shooting victims in 2014. Understandably, city officials are concerned by these statistics, and are scrambling to determine what caused the massive spike in gun violence and how best to address it. 

Multiple theories have been proposed to explain the recent surge. Canada does not have the equivalent of the American second amendment in its constitution, making it much easier for the government to enact laws restricting access to firearms. Between 2006 and 2015, the country’s Conservative Party controlled the government, and during that time the government dismantled a national gun registry, which until 2012 required gun owners to sign a list indicating that they owned a firearm. After the dismantling of this registry, the country underwent a spike in imports of firearms from the U.S., letting nearly 2 million guns into the country. The Conservative government made it much easier to import restricted weapons, like semi-automatic rifles and handguns, meaning that there are not only many more guns in the country but that they are more dangerous as well.

According to Wendy Cukier, the head of the Toronto-based Coalition for Gun Control, when gun control laws were strengthened in Canada a reduction of incidents of gun violence—particularly suicide—occurred, and when the Conservative government dismantled these restrictions, gun violence rose again. The removal of the national gun registry coincided with a 40% increase in rates of gun violence throughout the country, according to Canada’s government statistics agency.

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Others blame rising economic inequality for the recent violence. Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders has blamed the gun violence on gang activity, which he thinks is on the rise due to the city’s growing numbers of poor people, who are most likely to be involved in the illegal drug trade. While Toronto is currently a very economically successful city, much of the city’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of very few, leaving much of the city’s population without the opportunities afforded to middle- and upper-class citizens of the country. People with fewer life opportunities are more likely to resort to drugs or gang activity, creating a drain on the society at large.

While the liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was recently re-elected, the Trudeau government has failed to institute gun control measures for fear of alienating rural citizens who are more likely to be gun owners. However, given the severity of the increase in gun violence across the nation, this is likely to change soon. In fact, the Trudeau government plans to introduce legislation next year for a ban on military-style assault rifles and a plan to buy assault rifles back from cooperating gun owners. As a parliament containing a majority of liberal members was recently elected, such a law is likely to pass fairly quickly.

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President Trump Heads to NATO Summit in London

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Donald Trump has many issues to be considering at the moment including the US – China Trade War, his impeachment hearing and of course the presidential campaign, so when the chance came for him to be viewed positively on the world stage Trump should have shone.

Instead he was mocked while in London, United Kingdom, lambasted at home and left the NATO summit early, only to have to face his impeachment.

Like many of us, when the going gets tough we want to escape for a while, however, unlike the majority of people, Trump headed for Air Force One and headed to the U.K. and into the welcoming arms of NATO. However on this occasion, those arms were not so welcoming.

Following a video of what looked like other world leaders mocking him at a gathering at Buckingham Palace, President Trump canceled his final news conference, instead opting to fly back to the White House, leaving many wondering if he is still fit to run America.

And after appearing to be snubbed by a member of the Royal Family, it seems the only thing Trump has to look forward to this Christmas is the possibility of being the third president to be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors – Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were both impeached.

The recent NATO summit in London had been billed as the perfect opportunity to showcase his global leadership skills and potentially boost his appeal for his re-election campaign next year. However, after an unpleasant and awkward meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron as well as a “hot-mic” video which showed other world leaders “mocking” him, Mr. Trump decided to cut short his stay and head home.

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But not before Trump called out Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as being “two-faced.”

The issue seemed to arise when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked why Macron and Trudeau were running late for an event with the Queen. Trudeau then seemed to scornfully reply to not only Johnson but also Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands as well as Princess Anne that “he was late because he takes a 40 minute news conference at the top.” Further along the conversation Trudeau also states “you just watch his team’s jaws drop to the floor.” While it is unclear what the responding comments from the other leaders were, they can be seen smiling at his words. Although Trump was never personally mentioned in the now viral video he tweeted:

“The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to belittle my VERY successful trip to London for NATO. I got along great with the NATO leaders!”

He also claimed the credit for encouraging certain countries to increase their spending on military, adding, “No increase for U.S., only deep respect!”

It is a known fact that Trump has never seen an issue with arguing with other world leaders and has often used it to appeal to his Republican base. Antonia Ferrier worked as an aide to Senator Mitch McConnell – Republican of Kentucky – and commented that:

“The president has never been much bothered by shaking up international conventions, so tussling with foreign leaders, by those standards, isn’t a bad thing from his perspective. For many Americans, having their president stand up to foreign leaders is a sign of strength.”

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Unfortunately it was not the first awkward encounter of Trump’s visit. During a public meeting on the same day both Trump and Macron were discussing Islamic State fighters with Macron, telling Trump “let’s be serious” over some of his comments.

Trump had also complained to reporters that he felt the comments Macron had made criticizing America’s seeming disengagement with NATIO as “very very nasty.”

Mr. Trump has always disliked those he perceived to not show him the respect he feels he deserves so these comments have touched an already prickly nerve.

As Trump’s biographer Gwenda Blair says, “Trump doesn’t just want to be in the club, he wants to be the unquestioned leader and center of attention. It had to be both humiliating and infuriating that the other heads of state who were mocking him were untouchable by tweet or insulting nickname, but no doubt he was already calculating the next round of tariffs he would send their way.”

Yet while there appears to be no escape from Trump’s upcoming impeachment hearings he announced he would not be watching them due to being too busy dealing with affairs of state.

The White House has also denied the opportunity to take part in the hearing, suggesting that the Democrats had “rigged” the entire event. However, this did not stop them sending some aides to monitor the proceedings.

While it is clear to many that the hearing will change nobody’s opinions, the House looks set to vote by the end of the year to impeach along party lines, followed by a trial.
Ferrier comments:

“While I wouldn’t say impeachment is a good thing for the president, it is a highly divisive and partisan issue breaking down on party lines. It has not changed people’s minds on the president.

His approval ratings are remarkably consistent, in particular with Republican voters, and he clearly relishes a fight.”

NATO

Tensions Emerge at NATO Summit

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Seventy years after the founding of NATO, a military alliance originally meant to protect western Europe from the Soviet Union, world leaders gathered in London with the intent of discussing policy goals. However, tensions between the various leaders overshadowed this plan, as conflicts between leaders became apparent both during speeches given by these leaders and the conversations they had with each other, some of which was captured by a hot mic and circulated online. President Trump, whom the other leaders appeared to criticize in conversations amongst themselves, abruptly decided to cancel a press conference at the close of the meeting, instead returning to Washington prematurely. As justification for the sudden cancellation, Trump cited the fact that he had already spoken with the media for a substantial period of time. Trump’s sudden decision to abandon the summit speaks to the tensions felt between world leaders with respect to the American president, and ultimately represents a failure of world leaders to see eye-to-eye with Trump.

Tensions arose even before the summit began, as French president Emmanuel Macron declared that the organization had become “brain dead” as a result of American indifference to the military alliance. According to Macron, Europe can no longer rely on the United States to defend NATO allies, as the current administration cannot be trusted. Trump responded to Macron’s incisive comments by calling them “insulting” and “nasty.” Later, Macron said that he stood by his comments.

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NATO’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, addressed the tensions over the meeting, making a call for unity and assuring his audience that NATO was strong and agile enough to overcome these tensions. Stoltenberg then described NATO’s goals for North America and Europe, which include continuing the international fight against terrorism, arms control, fighting Russia, and dealing with the rise of China. Referencing the internal divisions between world leaders who are members of NATO, Stoltenberg pointed out that there has always been differences between world leaders since NATO began, such as disputes about the 1956 Suez crisis and the war in Iraq.

While meeting Trump, Prince Charles appeared to subtly give the American president the middle finger

Things only became more tense as the meeting progressed. Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron held a joint press conference, during which Macron criticized the American president for his handling of the conflict in Turkey and the Islamic State fighters in Syria as well as a developing trade dispute between France and the United States. Macron’s criticism of American leadership led Trump to defend NATO, an unusual position for a president who has spoken at length about his opinion that NATO is outdated and obsolete. Macron also fact-checked Trump in real-time; when Trump claimed that the ISIS prisoners being held in Syria are “mostly from Europe,” Macron responded that they in fact come from Syria and Iraq. Trump responded to these criticisms by appearing to threaten to send ISIS fighters to France, causing Macron to say, “Let’s be serious.” Despite the conflict between the two leaders, the joint conference ended up running long, causing Macron to be late for the next event.

 

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Shortly afterwards, several leaders engaged in a conversation, appearing to gossip about Trump, part of which was captured on a video which generated significant attention online. During this conversation, which included Macron as well as English Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. During the brief portion of the conversation which has become publicly available, Johnson asks Macron why he was late, leading Trudeau to make a comment about Trump’s excessively long press conferences. Apparently referencing Trump, Trudeau commented that “you just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor.” Though Trump’s name was not mentioned during this portion of the conversation, it was clear to many observers that the person these leaders were discussing was President Trump. While Johnson denied having participated in this conversation about the American president, Trudeau confirmed that he had in fact discussed Trump with others, clarifying that his comment about his team’s jaws dropping was a reference to the President’s decision to host the G7 summit at Camp David. After the video circulated online, Trump fired back against Trudeau, calling him “two-faced,” later adding that he thought he was “very dishonest and weak.”

Tensions between the leaders also arose in more subtle ways. While meeting Trump, Prince Charles appeared to subtly give the American president the middle finger, though the gesture may have been unintentional. Trump also left Johnson and Stoltenberg waiting for nearly six minutes on stage at the beginning of the meeting, as he arrived late. And when Macron shook Melania Trump’s hand, he used both hands and lingered for a moment, which was perceived by some as a power play against Trump. Though the interaction between the two is minor, Trump has been known to use somewhat aggressive body language in his interactions with others, leading other world leaders to develop strategies for handling this quirk. While trying to read the intentions of others based on their body language is not entirely reliable, there exist a countless number of examples of how the tensions between leaders of the world right now manifest in various ways, many of which transpired during this year’s NATO meeting.

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Far-Right Canadian Candidate Maxime Bernier Gains Traction

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Like the President, he is infamous for using Twitter as a political weapon, and has been accused of posing a danger to his country’s system of government.

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Revelations of Justin Trudeau’s History of Racist Costumes Hurt His Campaign

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In the midst of a difficult re-election campaign plagued by personal and political scandals, new evidence has been unearthed that shows Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing blackface or brownface on at least three occasions. A photograph of Trudeau wearing a turban and robes in addition to dark makeup at an “Arabian Nights” themed party in 2001 was found by TIME magazine. After the revelation, Trudeau apologized, saying that he did not think such an action was racist at the time but realizes now the racism of his behavior, and added that he wore blackface on another occasion, when he was a student in high school and performed the song “Day-O” during a talent show. Within a day, evidence of a third instance of Trudeau wearing a racist costume emerged in the form of a video depicting the now-Prime Minister wearing a white T-shirt, ripped jeans, dark makeup and a fake afro. Though the exact circumstances around the video are unknown, as it’s not clear where and when it was shot, the depiction of Trudeau in this costume further damages Trudeau’s political chances as it shows that Trudeau was not being entirely truthful recounting all of the times he wore blackface or brownface while apologizing for the first incident.

These new revelations are particularly troublesome for Trudeau because he has spent his political career depicting himself as an avowed progressive, liberal, and feminist dedicated to furthering social justice causes like eliminating the gender pay gap and expanding immigration to accept a greater number of migrants and refugees. Though Canadians are not likely to consider Trudeau a racist, the emergence of old photographic and video evidence of the Prime Minister behaving unprofessionally, to say the least, generates the sense that he is insincere, inauthentic, and not a serious person. 

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This recent scandal is not the only one Trudeau has to worry about. In 2018, Trudeau drew criticism for wearing flashy traditional Indian garb during a visit to India, which many Canadians of Indian descent considered offensive and an example of cultural appropriation. And Trudeau is currently in the midst of a political scandal over accusations from the country’s then-Attorney General, who claimed Trudeau improperly interfere in a corruption investigation involving Quebec-based construction company SNC-Lavalin. The Attorney General, who has since resigned, said Trudeau directed her to stop an investigation into the company’s business affairs for fear that the results of the investigation would hurt Canadian workers. While seemingly tame in comparison to the daily scandals that impact American political life, this scandal is one of the most serious political scandals in Canadian political history.

Despite the extent of the various controversies surrounding Trudeau’s candidacy, Canadians are a notoriously forgiving people, and considering the Prime Minister’s impressive political accomplishments it’s not impossible to imagine he will win his reelection campaign regardless. But when voters go to the polls on October 21st, this incident, among other scandals surrounding Trudeau, is sure to be on their minds.