Politics

Since last week’s opinion piece was published where I discussed the staffing shortages in the RCMP and how it was relative to crime concerns of folks who live in rural parts of the country, I have received a number of messages from people providing anecdotal snippets about service issues they are having or have had with the RCMP. (True North)

Last week, Canadians witnessed the arrest of Adam Skelly – a restaurant owner in Toronto who dared to disobey John Tory’s draconian edicts. Dozens of Toronto police officers surrounded the restaurant and police put up barricades around the perimeter to prevent any customer from going in to get a BBQ sandwich. (True North)

The last fighters are holding out, just. The leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is still alive but hiding somewhere in the desert. We have already had one “final defeat” of Islamic State. This came 18 months ago when the organisation’s capital, Raqqa, fell. Once, it held territory the size of the UK; now, it holds a square kilometre of the remote town of Baghouz in eastern Syria. Soon, it will no longer hold even that. (The Guardian)

Saudi Arabia indicted 11 suspects and prosecutors were requesting the death penalty for five of them for the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi last month, the kingdom's top prosecutor announced Thursday. (Fox News)

TORONTO - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign moved to contain a growing scandal Thursday after a yearbook photo surfaced of him in brownface at a 2001 “Arabian Nights” costume party and two other similar incidents came to light. (AP)

With the sudden resignation of finance minister Bill Morneau, Canadians should be asking a simple question: are the federal Liberals about to embark on a new spending spree? Differences in views between a finance minister and prime minister are common, but with Morneau’s departure the signal seems to be to loosen the belt — which is not easy when you’re already planning a deficit of $343 billion. (Financial Post)

There is more than one way to look at the federal Liberal government's announcement of a ban on certain models of semi-automatic rifles: as illogical symbolism that will do nothing to advance public safety; as a waste of scarce public funds; as craven wedge politics. (CBC)

For much of the last year, we have been getting nothing but lip service from our politicians about the rising problem of gun crime in our cities. This year alone there have been 395 shootings in the city of Toronto alone. (True North)

Erin O'Toole has won the leadership for the Conservative Party, promising to present a vision to make Canada more prosperous and reaching out to broaden the party's base of supporters.(CBC)

Vancouver city management, Vancouver park board management, Vancouver police and Vancouver fire services all called for a court injunction to end the Oppenheimer Park tent city at an emergency meeting on Thursday night. (The Province)