Democrats spent the weekend in Canada strategizing with foreign progressives.
The headlining success story was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took over a Liberal Party badly trailing in the polls and won by doing something American Democrats have not yet dared to do — Carney <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mark-carney-drops-carbon-tax-1.7484290">scrapped</a> a consumer carbon tax, <a href="https://www.fraserinstitute.org/commentary/carney-government-relocates-ev-mandate-regulatory-witness-protection">killed</a> an electric vehicle mandate, and <a href="https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2026/04/23/prime-minister-carney-delivers-commitment-accelerate-homebuilding">announced</a> funding to accelerate homebuilding.
The annual conference, organized by the Center for American Progress (CAP), sought to answer one simple question: &#8220;Why voters keep choosing the other guys.&#8221; The gathering featured former President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).  At the summit, Carney shared success stories from Canada, where his progressive party has beaten the populist right.
Slotkin <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/05/11/2026/less-climate-talk-more-growth-us-progressives-take-a-lesson-from-canada">said</a> that progressives have spent too much time lecturing and not enough time delivering. “The most important thing is delivery of services and governance to people. The environmental movement, in general, needs to adjust, and say: ‘We can’t just be about stopping things.&#8217;” She added, “The average American is going to struggle to care about climate change if they can’t figure out how to pay their rent.”
President and CEO of CAP Neera Tanden, who previously served as the director of the Biden White House Domestic Policy Council, echoed Slotkin’s statement. She said that attendees “are learning from our example that it’s important for progressives to deliver on results as soon as possible.”
She argued that Democrats were stuck in disagreements over permitting and land use that took focus away from their &#8220;ambitious investment plans before voters got to see results.”
The Democratic Party has a growing divide between more moderate Democrats and self-described socialists such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Obama told late-night host Stephen Colbert that he&#8217;s not worried about &#8220;this so-called rift.&#8221;
&#8220;There are a bunch of things that we agree on. And it’s really more of a question of, what are the specific things that we have to do,&#8221; he said. The Canadian conference focused on those &#8220;specific things&#8221; the party needs to do — and held Carney up as an example of how to do them.
But Carney has also begun to reposition Canada in terms of the global economy, calling publicly for a &#8220;reset&#8221; in his country&#8217;s relationship with China and openly criticizing longtime ally and trading partner — not to mention neighbor — the United States.
In recent weeks, Carney panned economic ties with the United States as a “weakness” rather than a strength, basing that assessment primarily on tariffs implemented over the past year and a half by President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration.
&#8220;The U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression. Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses, weaknesses that we must correct,&#8221; he said.
Addressing his nation in late April, he said that American tariffs were hurting Canada&#8217;s economy — and claimed that they needed to lessen dependence on the United States. In his address, he outlined his plan for “Canada Strong” — an agenda that has netted 20 new trade deals in less than a year.
Carney has also pushed the country closer to China, traveling to the communist-controlled nation in January to announce a <a href="https://www.asiapacific.ca/publication/what-carneys-china-trip-really-signalled">new</a> strategic partnership between the two countries.

NOCH GESPERRT Conclusion of the inaugural visit of Federal Finance Minister…

Democrats Turn To America’s China-Loving Neighbor To Learn How To Win Again

Barack Obama

Canada

China

Global Politics

The northern border has historically been open season for smugglers, who exploit its harsh terrain and wall-less boundary for profit.
Edgar Sanchez-Solis, 23, himself an illegal immigrant from Mexico, helped smuggle hundreds of others through the U.S.-Canada border on a weekly basis for years. Now, the Daily Wire can exclusively report that he&#8217;s pleaded guilty to his role in international conspiracy.
The illegal immigrant led the smuggling operation while living in Kansas City, Missouri, according to court documents.
The group brought hundreds of illegal immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and South America, into the United States through New York each week, <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-leads-investigation-4-mexican-nationals-charged-international-smuggling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Each migrant presented thousands of dollars in profits for the smuggling ring.
Once his customers crossed into the United States, Sanchez-Solis&#8217; organization sent drivers to pick them up and take them farther south, according to court documents. The group also instructed the smuggled illegal immigrants &#8220;to make testimonial videos touting the enterprise’s services,&#8221; Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, previously said.
For Sanchez-Solis&#8217; part, he directed and participated in the smuggling operations with other top dogs in the group.
The smuggling organization also engaged in dangerous, high-speed chases with border agents on several occasions.
Smugglers set off a Border Patrol sensor in Franklin County and fled the scene at a high rate of speed in April 2023. Border Patrol caught up to them and stopped the car, apprehending the smugglers, who had seven adults and three children in tow.
During one of the smuggling operations in May 2023, Border Patrol engaged in a high-speed chase with a van loaded with illegal immigrants. The agents had to call off the pursuit because of the dangers it posed to the community.
The Clinton County Sheriff&#8217;s Office eventually stopped the vehicle using a tire-deflation device, but the smugglers and their customers fled on foot.
In August 2023, another smuggling vehicle struck a motorist while fleeing Border Patrol agents in Plattsburgh, New York. The driver and six illegal immigrants fled the scene of the collision on foot and were eventually caught.
Sanchez-Solis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and five counts of alien smuggling for commercial advantage and private financial gain, according to the Justice Department. He now awaits sentencing.
He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years behind bars and a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Three other Mexican illegal immigrants were arrested and charged alongside Sanchez-Solis. Two of them were previously deported from the United States, according to ICE.

Untitled design – 2026-05-07T104619.832

EXCLUSIVE: How An Illegal Immigrant Smuggled In Thousands More, And Got Rich Doing It

Department of Justice

Illegal Immigration

Smuggling

The following excerpt is taken from the new book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/End-Road-Inside-War-Truckers/dp/1967613028/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UP8KDOSWY3ES&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QbLM4aRWWFaQiN9zyl11ZY2PbjV1hUeagK4cN_PVCCd3mXA_rXwetJvwK97ol4vt73RgMO-QWLZpNXWzgUZEvDVXcEIzJqyWNXFaP-izNdKFUTEistDHjnCfiXC6DAWJDN1QCVneawl8UCxe4awRI-r2RW0h52NG9rPsKvZTrCZ4m1UUaEEYUoG_y-kNjEekn6f7Zr1u29uF8C1T0oSVEkfFaOm658FFCzE4_zDOgUk.870LMXCqRYp6NNb2NIi8x2PTYsuyEBaOoPXE7ssEBno&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=end+of+the+road+gord&amp;qid=1776374636&amp;sprefix=end+of+the+road+gord+%2Caps%2C273&amp;sr=8-1">End of the Road: Inside the War on Truckers,</a>” by Gord Magill. (Creed &amp; Culture Books, 2026)
* * *
On Saturday, January 29, 2022, thousands of trucks and other vehicles from across the country entered the city of Ottawa. I was there to welcome the Western Canada convoy with a group of friends on an overpass above Highway 417, about half an hour west of the city. The truckers were animated by righteous frustration, yet I saw thousands of people full of love for one another, smiles, outbursts of hugs, and national flags attached to hockey sticks. There was even a sense of relief: it was as if a nation exhaled and exulted, “Finally, the cavalry is here to save us from our captors.” There are no words to adequately describe the feeling of everyone I interacted with on that overpass and also later when we went into Ottawa to join the party on Wellington Street.
<div id="attachment_1079819" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079819" class="size-large wp-image-1079819" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238067992-864x576.jpg" alt="Demonstrators gather as rows of trucks sit parked on Wellington Street during a protest near Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. A convoy of truckers and others who oppose vaccine mandates began rolling into Ottawa on Friday, putting Canada's capital city on edge amid warnings from police that they dont know how large the protests will get. Photographer: David Kawai/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238067992-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238067992-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238067992-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238067992.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />David Kawai/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
People outside Canada could tell that the cause of the Freedom Convoy was just. When I went back to America after that weekend in Ottawa, as the Convoy settled in for what would be a three-week-long winter encampment, I was amazed to find my American neighbors cheering us on in solidarity. I delivered propane and hauled logs in the weeks after I came home, and I had never seen so many Canadian flags flying in the United States. It was unbelievable.
People I met while working or otherwise traveling, upon finding out that I was a native Canadian and a trucker, would exclaim, “Good for you guys; someone had to stand up to this nonsense,” or “Man, I thought Canadians were p*ssies, but those truckers have made me change my mind about you guys.” At the time, I had been living in America for six years, and almost no one had ever said anything about where I was from. For a hot minute, I was a minor celebrity simply for being from Canada.
<div id="attachment_1079895" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079895" class="size-large wp-image-1079895" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-768x576.jpg" alt="Gord Magill at Freedom Convoy." width="768" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />Gord Magill at Freedom Convoy.</div>
Up north, however, things were not looking good for my colleagues in the protracted standoff between the truckers and a government whose officials refused to speak with them. In total, thirteen Convoys had arrived in Ottawa, and numerous protests were held at other sites across the country, most famously at Coutts, Alberta, and on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the Canadian city of Windsor with Detroit and is the busiest of all border crossings between Canada and the U.S. Although everything was more or less peaceful—despite the outright lies and fabrications of the Canadian media about the truckers’ behavior in Ottawa—the two border-protest sites gained the attention of very powerful people outside Canada whose interests were not at risk from the hockey games, bouncy castles, and techno parties taking place in the streets of Ottawa.
<div id="attachment_1079473" style="width: 394px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/End-Road-Inside-War-Truckers/dp/1967613028/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UP8KDOSWY3ES&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QbLM4aRWWFaQiN9zyl11ZY2PbjV1hUeagK4cN_PVCCd3mXA_rXwetJvwK97ol4vt73RgMO-QWLZpNXWzgUZEvDVXcEIzJqyWNXFaP-izNdKFUTEistDHjnCfiXC6DAWJDN1QCVneawl8UCxe4awRI-r2RW0h52NG9rPsKvZTrCZ4m1UUaEEYUoG_y-kNjEekn6f7Zr1u29uF8C1T0oSVEkfFaOm658FFCzE4_zDOgUk.870LMXCqRYp6NNb2NIi8x2PTYsuyEBaOoPXE7ssEBno&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=end+of+the+road+gord&amp;qid=1776374636&amp;sprefix=end+of+the+road+gord+%2Caps%2C273&amp;sr=8-1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079473" class="size-large wp-image-1079473" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/End-of-the-Road-Jacket-Cover-384x576.jpeg" alt="Cover credit: Creed &amp; Culture" width="384" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/End-of-the-Road-Jacket-Cover-384x576.jpeg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/End-of-the-Road-Jacket-Cover-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/End-of-the-Road-Jacket-Cover-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/End-of-the-Road-Jacket-Cover.jpeg 1000w" sizes=" (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" /></a>Cover credit: Creed &amp; Culture</div>
In Coutts, Tony Olienick had found an atmosphere similar to that which presided in Ottawa. People were peacefully assembling and saying no to the mandates that were ruining their lives. He met and spoke with Americans who had come to the Sweetgrass, Montana, side of the border and to bask in solidarity and common cause with the protesting truckers. Tony also volunteered as a sort of security detail for the protest site. It should be noted that although the government and media were claiming that the protesters had shut down the border, the crossing itself remained open for all but three days during the three weeks of the Coutts protest. Other, nearby border crossings remained open the whole time and were available for trucks to use, although with more limited hours than the normal 24/7 customs services available at Coutts. 
<div id="attachment_1079903" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079903" class="size-large wp-image-1079903" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-II-1024x576.jpg" alt="Gord Magill personal archive" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-II-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-II-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-II-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-II.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Gord Magill personal archive</div>
The perception that Coutts was closed, along with the growing protest at the Ambassador Bridge in Ontario, which forced most truck traffic to cross at the Bluewater Bridge between Sarnia and Port Huron, was useful for those who were antagonistic to the aims of the Convoy. Wild and unsubstantiated claims about the cost to the economy were thrown around, mostly based on guesstimates made by business associations. Were there delays at those other crossings from diverted traffic? Obviously, and they were sometimes substantial. Did the protests cause delays in shipments and disruptions to the fragile nature of just-in-time delivery schedules for automakers? Of course. Yet not one of those who complained about the supposed costs of the Convoy ever compared these guesstimated costs to the costs to the entire world from the madness of the COVID regime, which lasted the better part of three years, not three weeks, and was solely the responsibility of government, not of citizens who wanted their lives back.
<div id="attachment_1079811" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079811" class="size-large wp-image-1079811" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238303996-864x576.jpg" alt="TOPSHOT - Supporters of the Truckers Convoy against the Covid-19 vaccine mandate block traffic in the Canada bound lanes of the Ambassador Bridge border crossing, in Windsor, Ontario on February 8, 2022. - The protestors have blocked traffic in the Canada bound lanes since Monday evening. Approximately $323 million worth of goods cross the Windsor-Detroit border each day at the Ambassador Bridge making it North Americas busiest international border crossing. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP) (Photo by GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238303996-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238303996-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238303996-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238303996.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images</div>
The whining of the automotive industry, one of the most powerful corporate interest groups in America, got the attention of the Biden Administration. Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, got the ear of Trudeau’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who set up a call between Trudeau and Biden on February 11, 2022. It is believed that this phone call set the wheels in motion for the ultimate crackdown on the Convoy.
Biden’s White House put out a statement about the call with Trudeau, and it is worth a read:
<blockquote>Today President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to discuss the ongoing blockade of key bridges and crossings between the United States and Canada, including Detroit/Windsor, Sweetwater/Coutts, and Pembina/Emerson. The two leaders agreed that the actions of the individuals who are obstructing travel and commerce between our two countries are having significant direct impacts on citizens’ lives and livelihoods. The President expressed his concern that U.S. companies and workers are experiencing serious effects, including slowdowns in production, shortened work hours, and plant closures. The Prime Minister promised quick action in enforcing the law, and the President thanked him for the steps he and other Canadian authorities are taking to restore the open passage of bridges to the United States. (Bold mine)</blockquote>
Significant direct impacts on citizens’ lives and livelihoods. Oh, like the long nightmare of the COVID regime?
The Coutts border crossing was only ever fully closed for three days, and two other border crossings were available to use. There are no automotive plants in that part of the prairie on either side of the border, and the only road closure that took place anywhere near Coutts was of Alberta Provincial Highway 4 at Milk River, a few miles north of Coutts; it was closed by the RCMP, not the protesters. In any case, the protest at Coutts was about to become the centerpiece of Trudeau’s rationale for the invocation of the Emergencies Act, whose outrageous violations of basic liberties included throwing an innocent trucker in jail, where he remains three-and-a-half years later at the time of this writing.
<div id="attachment_1079823" style="width: 886px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079823" class="size-large wp-image-1079823" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238618687-876x576.jpg" alt="A line of police push protesters back on February 19, 2022 in Ottawa, Canada. - Police in Canada deployed to dislodge the final truckers and protesters from downtown Ottawa, aimed at bringing an end to three weeks of demonstrations over Covid-19 health rules. Ottawa police, who pledged the operation would push ahead &quot;until residents and citizens have their city back,&quot; were still working to clear the capital's streets. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP) (Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)" width="876" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238618687-876x576.jpg 876w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238618687-300x197.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238618687-768x505.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238618687.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px" />DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images</div>
By this time, the Freedom Convoy protest sites were crawling with undercover officers, or UCOs, who poked around looking for any hint of illegal activity or actionable intelligence that could be used against the protesters. Meanwhile, the federal government was waging a media smear campaign later found to have been planned by the staff of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. This campaign failed to dent the widespread support the Convoy had in Canada and around the world: almost everyone except the most hopelessly naïve saw right through a staged Nazi flag photo and the usual tiresome accusations of white nationalism and racism. Anyone who went to a Freedom Convoy site to avail themselves of reality unmediated by state propaganda was surrounded by solidarity, happiness, and a genuine outpouring of love. Trudeau was losing the PR battle. He needed scapegoats. He searched for a pretext for invoking the Emergencies Act, something he had been considering since the early days of the protest but couldn’t pull off because those damn truckers were so well behaved. Allegations from UCOs at Coutts would give Trudeau everything he needed.
* * *
Originally hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, Gord Magill has spent most of his life behind the wheel. From spinning along the ice roads of Canada’s Northwest Territories, to hauling logs down volcanos in New Zealand, to steering Road Trains across the outback of Western Australia, to running freight along the interstates of America, Gord has spent over twenty-five years trucking all over the world. His writing about the industry has appeared in Newsweek, the American Conservative, and American Affairs, among other outlets. Magill lives in Ithaca, New York.
The excerpt from “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/End-Road-Inside-War-Truckers/dp/1967613028/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UP8KDOSWY3ES&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QbLM4aRWWFaQiN9zyl11ZY2PbjV1hUeagK4cN_PVCCd3mXA_rXwetJvwK97ol4vt73RgMO-QWLZpNXWzgUZEvDVXcEIzJqyWNXFaP-izNdKFUTEistDHjnCfiXC6DAWJDN1QCVneawl8UCxe4awRI-r2RW0h52NG9rPsKvZTrCZ4m1UUaEEYUoG_y-kNjEekn6f7Zr1u29uF8C1T0oSVEkfFaOm658FFCzE4_zDOgUk.870LMXCqRYp6NNb2NIi8x2PTYsuyEBaOoPXE7ssEBno&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=end+of+the+road+gord&amp;qid=1776374636&amp;sprefix=end+of+the+road+gord+%2Caps%2C273&amp;sr=8-1">End of the Road: Inside the War on Truckers</a>” by Gord Magill is published by permission of Creed &amp; Culture Books. Copyright 2026 Gord Magill. Chapter 13: The Truckers Strike Back.

TOPSHOT-CANADA-HEALTH-VIRUS-PROTEST

I Was There For The Freedom Convoy — And The Crackdown That Followed

End Of The Road: Inside The War On Truckers

Books

COVID

Joe Biden

Justin Trudeau

Trucker Convoy

Truckers

A human rights tribunal in British Columbia recently <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/barry-neufeld-former-chilliwack-bc-trustee-pay-hate-speech-tribunal-2slgbtq-9.7098536">fined</a> a man $750,000 for public statements he made opposing a school board’s promotion of gender ideology. The tribunal found his comments, speeches, and social media posts brought &#8220;injury to their dignity, feelings, and self-respect.&#8221; The same tribunal <a href="https://thenewamerican.com/world-news/canadian-womans-former-landlady-fined-10000-for-saying-transphobic-things-to-her/">fined</a> a woman $10,000 for privately disagreeing with a friend’s gender transition.
In Canada, enforcing gender ideology comes at a steep cost: the suppression of free speech, the erosion of medical integrity, and harm to the wellbeing — perhaps even the future fertility — of young Canadians. And it is all justified as a necessary sacrifice for the “greater good” of a tolerant society, an ideal now woven into Canada’s national identity.
The scientific evidence against so-called gender transition, however, is mounting. Most countries around the world are beginning to realize it — except Canada.
In 2024, the United Kingdom moved to <a href="https://londondaily.com/the-indefinite-ban-on-puberty-blockers-for-minors">ban</a> puberty blockers outright. Australia’s state of Queensland <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/28/queenslands-controversial-puberty-blocker-ban-overturned-by-supreme-court">prohibited</a> puberty blockers in January, while New Zealand <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/regulation-legislation/puberty-blockers">imposed</a> strict controls in November. In February, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons <a href="https://www.plasticsurgery.org/documents/health-policy/positions/2026-gender-surgery-children-adolescents.pdf">released</a> a position statement on gender surgery, warning against its potential harms.
Yet every Canadian health agency claims affirmation is the default solution for gender dysphoria. The Canadian Pediatric Society recommends accepting one’s gender identity as valid — even <a href="https://nationalpost.com/health/canadas-pediatricians-advised-to-support-affirming-gender-questioning-six-year-olds">six-year-olds</a>. The same organization explicitly <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/canadian-paediatric-society-vows-to-continue-prescribing-puberty-blockers">dismissed</a> the findings of the Cass Review, a landmark <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-bloody-angry-j-k-rowling-scorches-critics-in-the-wake-of-cass-review-on-child-gender-transitions">study</a> that discovered the weak evidentiary basis for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
Such stark defiance of evidence-based care is nothing short of negligence — not surprising for a country that now includes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/movement-barrels-forward-to-euthanize-12-year-old-children-in-canada">death</a> in its definition of health care. But negligence alone is an insufficient explanation. Canada is not catching up with the rest of the world to dismiss medical transition because their commitment to it is rooted in ideology, not science. And it is propagated by elites through a centralized system of top-down planning.
First, legislation enforces affirmation of gender identity. Canada <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8434497/conversion-therapy-ban-canada-royal-assent/">passed a ban</a> on so-called conversion therapy in 2021, defined as a practice designed to “change a person’s gender identity to cisgender.” But the “conversion therapy” of changing a person’s body to match their gender identity — which is defined in a circular way — is allowed. In fact, it’s effectively mandated. Those convicted under this law can receive up to five years in prison. There are no carve-outs for adults seeking sex-affirming therapy to help them with gender dysphoria.
Where there is no law directly prohibiting speech, Canadian courts create one. The latest examples both come from British Columbia: the man fined $750,000 for public statements and the woman fined $10,000 for a private conversation.
Such outrageous penalties have a chilling effect on speech. Absent any serious dissent, the monolithic worldview promoted in Canadian schools, hospitals, and traditional media will continue unchallenged. And the children don’t stand a chance.
Consider Julia Malbogat, a Toronto mom who <a href="https://www.todaysparent.com/blogs/opinion/stop-asking-me-if-my-eight-year-old-trans-kid-is-just-going-through-a-phase/">wrote</a> in 2021 about her daughter “coming out” as transgender. During a family trip to their cottage, her daughter said that she’s a boy, to which Julia replied with a simple “ok.” When asked how she knew, the child pointed to the school’s Rainbow Alliance, a grade 4-6 club teaching “sexual and gender diversity.” Julia dismissed the possibility her child was mistaken and noted that surgery wouldn’t be an option until 16. By then, she assumed the dysphoria would be “insistent, persistent, and consistent” enough to justify medical intervention.
But how could someone’s gender dysphoria be anything except persistent if they are affirmed from the moment it is expressed? Gender-confused children rarely hear a serious alternative from schools or clinicians — though some later wish they had. Ask the detransitioners.
The largest <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26895269.2025.2538744">study</a> of detransitioners in Canada and the United States suggests that many who reversed a gender transition wish doctors “took a more neutral approach to care.” The participants reported feelings of alienation, emphasizing the high social cost of detransition. One woman <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=detransitioners%20ghosted%20&amp;qs=n&amp;form=QBRE&amp;sp=-1&amp;ghc=1&amp;lq=0&amp;pq=detransitioners%20ghost&amp;sc=6-21&amp;sk=&amp;cvid=4BE657D5CF8D46BFA48C72A857DF33F8">said</a> she was “ghosted” by the doctor who did her mastectomy. Treating gender identity as immutable and patients as infallible leaves minors, who are already going through emotional and physical changes, at risk of serious harm.
Look no further than their chosen cultural symbols. Publicly funded spaces across the country are decked out in pride flags, including city halls, legislative assemblies, walkways, libraries. This imagery is so pervasive in places of cultural importance that a first-time visitor might mistake it for the national flag.
In the absence of their rich traditions, Canadians have united around a new vision of the good. This new orthodoxy is summed up well in Bill C-4’s preamble, which states that conversion therapy “propagates” the myth that “cisgender identity is to be preferred over other gender identities.” While Canada elevates the dubious idea of an inner, gendered essence, it denounces the view that our bodies are essential to who we are.
That is a philosophical claim, not a scientific one. Science can’t disprove it.
Until Canada re-examines its commitment to this new orthodoxy, it will keep ignoring the warnings — until the damage is too widespread to dismiss.
* * *
Liana Graham is a research assistant in domestic policy at The Heritage Foundation.

Close up of LGBT pin in the form of a flag with Canada pin is pinned on blue jeans jacket. LGBT rights in Canada concept.

He Spoke Out Against Gender Ideology. It Cost Him Nearly A Million Dollars.

How Pushing Back On Gender Ideology Cost One Man $750,000

Children

Free Speech

Gender

Gender Transition

Heritage Foundation

LGBTQ

Social Media Censorship

Teenagers

Transgender

A far-left politician rolled out a tongue-twister of an identity acronym while claiming that transgender people were facing a genocide in Canada. 
Member of Parliament Leah Gazan complained Wednesday about budget cuts she said would not stop the genocide of the “MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+” community. 
“When the Budget was released, I was shocked to find out that Prime Minister Carney is cutting $7 billion between Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations,” Gazan said. “They provided $0 to deal with the ongoing genocide of MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Today I joined Indigenous women’s organizations condemning the Liberal government&#8217;s appalling $7 billion cuts to Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations, two ministries that are already grossly underfunded.
And it&#8217;s especially disturbing that at the same time… <a href="https://t.co/eFRFUtyKro">pic.twitter.com/eFRFUtyKro</a>
— Leah ProudLakota (she/her) (@LeahGazan) <a href="https://twitter.com/LeahGazan/status/2041961680461078721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The 16-character acronym stands for “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual,” with the plus sign for anyone else who may have been left out. 
Gazan is a member of Canada&#8217;s New Democratic Party, which pushes for more government involvement in housing and healthcare and capping prices on certain grocery items. On Tuesday, she was lamenting cuts to the Canadian government’s Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations. 
“It&#8217;s especially disturbing that at the same time they&#8217;re investing billions into the military industrial complex, ignoring their legal obligations to end the ongoing genocide against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people,” Gazan <a href="https://x.com/LeahGazan/status/2041961680461078721">said</a> in a social media post. 
“Without delay, it must reverse these callous cuts and immediately commit to providing long term, sustainable funding to organizations, agencies and family groups to address the growing violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people,” she added. 
Last week, Gazan <a href="https://x.com/LeahGazan/status/2039056934398038499">celebrated</a> “Transgender Day of Visibility,” claiming transgender-identifying people were under attack by “far-right-wing” politicians. 
“It’s far too common for hateful actors to attack the rights of trans people. Against these corrosive, cowardly attacks, it’s a testament to the bravery and strength of trans people who continue to push back against bigotry and small-mindedness,” she said. 
The Canadian government itself has embraced the linking of MMIWG and 2SLGBTQQIA+ identities. 
The government created a plan for “departments to support systemic change to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls (MMIWG) and Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (2SLGBTQI+) people.&#8221;
In February, a transgender-identifying 18-year-old male <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youtube-confirms-trans-themed-page-is-linked-to-canada-mass-shooting-suspect">opened fire</a> on a rural Canadian school, killing six people at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia. While discussing the attack, Canadian police routinely referred to the attacker as a &#8220;female&#8221; and described him as a &#8220;gunperson.&#8221;

MixCollage-09-Apr-2026-01-53-PM-3597

A New Left-Wing Brain Rot Acronym Has Appeared: MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+

Identity Politics

On the surface, Pierre Poilievre’s recent appearance on the Joe Rogan <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtbGgSwuE_U">podcast</a> had more good than bad. The Conservative leader came across as likable, down-to-earth, and clear. He stressed the need to unleash Canada’s energy potential. He called for cutting regulations that have suppressed innovation. He pushed for lower government spending. These are all sound ideas and Canada would surely benefit from them.
But one key moment showed the real substance of Poilievre’s platform: empty individualism. This view defines human dignity as absolute self-expression. It not only cheapens human life, it weakens the institutions that support Canadian culture.
The moment happened when Rogan critiqued the current state of Canada’s euthanasia program.
Rogan expressed a reasonable concern. He noted that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j1z14p57po">1 in 20</a> Canadian deaths now come from so-called assisted suicide or Medical Aid in Dying (MAID). Poilievre replied that he believes people should “have the choice” to be euthanized. His main concern was the idea that it would be offered to kids or to people whose only condition is mental illness.
In other words, his issue is not with Canada’s current euthanasia rules. His issue is only with suggestions that have not yet become law.
Canada’s euthanasia regime is abhorrent, with or without amendments. Track 2 euthanasia lets individuals apply for MAID based on an incurable physical condition. This includes a disability. The Atlantic recently <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/0">published</a> a piece on the ethical and practical questions facing “providers.” A more accurate word would be deprivers. These providers must interpret euthanasia rules on their own. One story described a doctor who euthanized a man in his 30s. The man had a treatable form of cancer, but he had refused all other treatment. This made his condition “irremediable.”
Human dignity should be the first commitment of any conservative. Poilievre often touts individual rights. Yet he ignores the most fundamental one: the right to life. To say someone has an intrinsic right means they possess it simply because of who they are. It does not depend on what they do.
But Poilievre’s willingness to allow euthanasia for those who are suffering and dying sends a clear message. It says the value of human life depends on personal judgment.
His criticism of euthanasia for the mentally ill is confusing. If people should have a “freedom” to die on their terms — in Canada that includes the terminally ill, disabled, and chronically sick — why must those symptoms be physical? In fact, we know they often are not.
Stories abound of individuals struggling with depression who have applied for MAID. One <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/kiano-vafaeian-medical-assistance-in-dying">example</a> is 26-year-old Kiano Vafaeian. He was struggling with vision loss and depression.
At the heart of Poilievre’s blunder on euthanasia is a false understanding of human dignity. Ironically, it is the same understanding that drives the woke excesses of the Liberal elite. They see dignity as absolute self-expression. This empty individualism separates life’s meaning from the broader context of nature, community, and tradition.
When applied to culture, this leads to a cheapening of human life. It is no surprise that places that legalize assisted suicide see an increase in overall suicide rates. Chosen or not, Poilievre fails to understand one key point. Euthanasia is a symptom of a sick, depressed, and lonely culture.
A culture that is killing itself is not going to be saved by lower housing costs. Economic prosperity can certainly help but it is not the sole solution.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Joe Rogan Experience #2470 - Pierre Poilievre" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JtbGgSwuE_U?start=706&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Poilievre’s wholesome vision for Canada is admirable. He wants a future where families enjoy the fruit of their labor without government interference. Ideally, they live in a white-picket-fenced home that they can afford. But this vision is unachievable without cultural renewal. The expressive individualism of the Liberal and Conservative elites will not deliver that renewal.
Canadian culture is not only suicidal it is also sterile. Nearly <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/11638221/canada-ultra-low-fertility/">one in four</a> Canadian women in their 40s have no kids. Last year, Poilievre was absurdly <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pierre-poilievre-biological-clock-1.7499220">reprimanded</a> by Liberal MPs. They criticized him for recognizing that unaffordable housing causes couples to run out of time to start families before their “biological clocks” expire. The idea that government should be completely impartial to marriage and fertility rates is ludicrous.
These rates can give a glimpse into the hope people place in their future. Economic strain can suppress this hope and so can a nihilistic culture that has cheapened human life. The family is not merely an economic unit. It is a legacy-making enterprise. A culture that sees no value in life beyond individual expression makes the self-sacrificial reality of marriage seem absurd.
Unlike Poilievre, a true conservative recognizes that dignity is not rooted in our personal judgment. It is intrinsic to who we are. Our identity should be understood in reference to the people, institutions, and traditions that shape us. We should seek economic prosperity. But we should not seek it at the cost of the integrity of those institutions.
Poilievre has an impressive ability to explain those institutions. One of the best moments from the podcast was his explanation of the Westminster tradition, which is deeply connected to Canada’s British heritage.
What Poilievre takes for granted is this: hopelessness grows when people feel isolated. Yet the political elite — both Conservative and Liberal — expect the average Canadian to accept this isolation without complaint. Canada has some of the highest immigration rates per capita in the world. Conservatives claim to support assimilation into Canadian culture but they lack the ability to identify and preserve what is exemplary of that culture.
At Confederation, Canadian culture wasn’t divorced from a broader religious and moral consensus. It was founded against the backdrop of a predominantly Christian society. The 1871 census showed over <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-history-of-religions-in-america/religion-in-canada-18671945/3AA29A820C78AB35B6F22D2F4F763E65">98%</a> of the population as Christian. All 36 Fathers of Confederation were raised in a Christian tradition. This included Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Presbyterianism. Yet Poilievre’s policies, especially on immigration, fail to take this into account. His view is that anyone can “become” Canadian. He defines it loosely as a belief in “freedom.” This view will not produce the assimilation needed for cultural unity. It will lead Canada further down the path of cultural decay.
Does this mean that people of non-Christian faiths should not come to Canada? Not at all. But it does mean that policymakers should protect the shared morality, customs, and traditions passed down from the time of Confederation. They should make judgments on immigration policy with prudence. They should keep the interests of Canadians in mind. Those interests should not be measured only in economic output. They should include cultural unity.
Poilievre’s discussion was typical of the decades-long drift of the Conservative establishment. It has moved toward a “balancing the budget” style of liberalism. This style redefines human dignity. It has cheapened human life. It has undermined the family. It has squandered Canada’s cultural inheritance. It has failed.
Moving forward, the Conservatives should let their party’s name guide their ideology. Canadians do not just want lower costs, they want flourishing families. They want a unified nation and a culture of hope. That is the true mission of conservatism. The Conservative establishment would do well to remember it.
* * *
Liana Graham is a research assistant in domestic policy at the Heritage Foundation. She is originally from Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

jre poil

The Most Telling Moment Of Poilievre’s Joe Rogan Interview

Assisted Suicide

Conservatives

Euthanasia

Joe Rogan

Pierre Poilievre

Wayne LaPierre

After years on the run, one of Canada’s most wanted murder fugitives has been arrested in Mississippi by federal law enforcement after he illegally crossed into the United States. 
A federal and state task force captured fugitive Adrian Vincent Walker in Tupelo, Mississippi, on March 23 after the 30-year-old evaded Canadian law enforcement for nearly two years, landing on Canada’s top 25 most wanted list. He faces charges in Canada for murder and attempted murder. 
“Thanks to the brave men and women of ICE, one of Canada’s most wanted criminals is behind bars. This illegal alien was wanted for a murder in Canada,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told The Daily Wire. “He is now facing charges for illegal entry into the U.S. and illegal possession of a firearm. DHS is grateful to our law enforcement officers and partners who took this illegal alien off of our streets and behind bars where he will finally face justice for his crimes.”
<div id="attachment_1069049" style="width: 372px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1069049" class="wp-image-1069049 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/image001-3.png" alt="" width="362" height="480" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/image001-3.png 362w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/image001-3-226x300.png 226w" sizes=" (max-width: 362px) 100vw, 362px" />Walker: DHS.</div>
It is unclear when Walker illegally entered the United States, but Toronto Police <a href="https://www.tps.ca/media-centre/news-releases/65497/">said</a> he murdered 31-year-old Trevor Dalton John and wounded an unidentified woman on May 7, 2024. 
Under former President Joe Biden, illegal crossings at the northern border <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illegal-immigrant-crossings-are-spiking-at-the-northern-border">surged</a>, with thousands crossing from Canada into New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont. After coming into office, President Donald Trump took steps to pressure Canada into cracking down on illegal immigration into the United States and the trafficking of drugs and guns over the border. 
Walker previously spent three years behind bars in Canada for aggravated assault, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 
After his arrest on March 23, 2026, by a Homeland Security Investigations task force, Walker was charged with illegally entering the country and possession of a firearm by an alien. ICE has placed an immigration detainer on Walker so he will not be released after he faces his charges in the United States. 
“This was a serious case. A Canadian national, wanted for murder, entered our country illegally and was living in our midst. He even made a Canadian Most Wanted list. Seeking sanctuary in Mississippi is not a smart move,” <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndms/pr/violent-international-fugitive-arrested-lee-county-northern-district-mississippi">said</a> United States Attorney Scott Leary. “Those that continually criticize law enforcement are not in the arena; our agents and officers are, and the folks in our district can sleep soundly knowing law enforcement officers did their job.”

Northern NY State Border With Canada Becomes Illegal Crossing Area For Asylum Seekers Fleeing U.S. For Canada

How ICE Tracked Down A Most Wanted Murder Fugitive Living In The U.S.

Feds Nab Most Wanted Murder Suspect Who Snuck Across Northern Border

Department of Homeland Security

Illegal Immigation

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Mississippi

Since 2021, more than 80 churches across Canada have suffered <a href="https://ccrl.ca/">arson attacks</a>. The most recent casualty is the <a href="https://x.com/RebelNewsOnline/status/2036815655941353570">reported</a> fire at the historic Christ Church Anglican in Maugerville, New Brunswick.
If Canadian media covers the fires at all, they will claim a total of 30 to 35 churches have burned across Canada, meaning churches that have burned entirely to the ground. The media will often use phrases like “arson is suspected” and “motives remain unclear.” By that description, one would think a Walmart had burned down. An attack on a house of God, however, is treated by the media as an incidental detail. This is not a stylistic tic — it is the prose of a society willfully blind to the crisis in which it is engulfed.
One need not be Socrates to see the obvious. These are not random accidents but episodes in a larger campaign: an open war being waged against the West. Our collective silence does not assuage it; it shields it and helps it spread.
Every Canadian understands, though few will confess publicly, that these burnings are half-applauded as revenge. Our previous prime minister <a href="https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2024/01/18/church-burnings-canada-unmarked-graves-246978/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20sad%2C%E2%80%9D%20Horgan,%2C%20including%20against%20Catholic%20churches.%E2%80%9D">assured us</a> they are “understandable,” albeit regrettable, responses to the “discovery” of mass graves at residential schools. Except there is one problem: it was and is a lie.
Nevertheless, hints became headlines, headlines became dogma, and dogma became license.
<div id="attachment_1067267" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067267" class="size-large wp-image-1067267" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can-1024x315.jpg" alt="Source: StatCan" width="1024" height="315" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can-1024x315.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can-300x92.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can-768x236.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can-1536x472.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Source: StatCan</div>
To the Left, whether it corresponds to the truth is secondary to the permission it grants. It conceals under the guise of “justice” a hatred that long predates the tale. Much of what now presents itself as moral outrage is little more than repackaged hatred of Western civilization: of its God, its truth, and its nobility. Old resentments have now learned to call themselves righteous.
To refuse to name this as such is not neutrality but complicity. Consider Canada’s nominally Catholic Prime Minister, Mark Carney. He is known to thunder like a prophet when it comes to Trump or climate change. And yet here he is conspicuously silent. Indeed, he takes great pains to avoid invoking the terms “the West” or “Western civilization.” One gets the impression Mr. Carney prefers to deliver its eulogy rather than defend its inheritance.
This silence is instructive. It educates citizens, especially the young, that nothing is sacred, least of all its own civilization. Resentment, not reverence, becomes the proper orientation towards the highest things. Our enemies, both foreign and domestic, understand precisely what must be erased if the West is to be disarmed.
<div id="attachment_1067255" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067255" class="size-large wp-image-1067255" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422264-1-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422264-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422264-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422264-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422264-1.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Toronto, ON &#8211; June 10: Investigators survey St. Anne&#8217;s as they begin to piece together what caused the fire. Historic St. Anne&#8217;s Anglican Church at 270 Gladstone Ave. was destroyed by a fire early on June 9th. (Photo by Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images)</div>
These fires, however, did not begin in sanctuaries but in the seminar rooms of our universities. Our reigning orthodoxy and radical relativism, pushed by the Left, have filtered down through every institution: from our classrooms to our boardrooms and even our bathrooms. The church burnings are simply where theory meets action: where the lit match meets our steeples.
For decades, we have taught students that all ways of life are equal; that any claim to superiority is a disguised will to power; and that distinctions between noble and base, just and unjust, good and bad, and above all, true and false, are instruments of “oppression.” Relativism came promising peace. We were told that wars and persecutions arose from the conviction that one’s own way is best. Reduce all virtues to “values,” all truth to “opinions,” and civilization to “cultures,” and the source of conflict would dissolve. After all, if there is no truth, there is nothing over which to fight.
But relativism produced not gentle tolerance but a new and fanatical intolerance. “Everything is relative” except, of course, relativism. This alone is absolute and unquestionable. The one unforgivable sin is precisely what the West at its best affirms: that our way of life is superior not by race or conquest, but because it is true; therefore, it is good, just, and noble.
For these radicals, the West represents a rival claim to their tyrannical rule. The West does not simply assert that it is true: we boldly proclaim it is true by both God and nature. Our founding is constituted by the twin roots of Jerusalem and Athens: biblical revelation and reason. Despite their differences, both converge on the same point: there is the Truth; there is a best way of life; and there is a standard that stands both outside and above us.
This is why our churches must burn. Our steeples are the most visible symbol of the biblical half of our inheritance. It is no wonder these steeples were once the highest structures in cities and towns, rising above parliaments, banks, and homes. Our steeples served as silent reminders guiding our eyes, and with them our souls, upward to the highest things, higher than political power, commerce, or comfort.
When the Christian claims that Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” it is a living rebuke to these radicals. It not only condemns them as inferior or unequal, but exposes them as false. The Church testifies that there is an order and law greater than ourselves and accessible to all through our reason: we are neither our own Creators nor legislators. For leftist radicals, this is intolerable. For, when there is God and Truth, then everything is not permissible.
<div id="attachment_1067257" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067257" class="size-large wp-image-1067257" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422018-864x576.jpg" alt="Toronto, ON - June 10: St. Anne's Reverend Don Beyers looks towards the remains of his church. Historic St. Anne's Anglican Church at 270 Gladstone Ave. was destroyed by a fire early on June 9th. (Photo by Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422018-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422018-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422018-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422018.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images</div>
Our American friends should not delude themselves into thinking this is some uniquely Canadian phenomenon. The same doctrine, the same hatred for the West, and the same fanatics are already entrenched in your universities, bureaucracies, and halls of power. They look north and see not an aberration but a guiding model. Given the opportunity, they would happily bury your churches under ashes, too.
And yet, our enemies pay us great compliments. Hatred and resentment always look upwards: inadvertently, they betray our superiority. If we were truly inferior, the proper orientation would be pity or indifference. Confident victors do not waste precious time and energy making war against defeated opponents. One does not attempt to murder a corpse.
In this way, we owe our enemies thanks. The vehemence of their rage is proportional to the threat they perceive. Our enemies declare that the West is not dead: it is alive and well and remains the greatest obstacle to the tyranny they wish to institute. Our enemies understand this; it is we who have forgotten.
The proper response is not to hide or to apologize for existing, but to regain a seriousness equal to that of our opponents. If they judge this way of life dangerous enough to burn, then it is time we judged it once more worthy of living and of defending in full.
* * *
Dimpee Brar currently serves as the Director of Engagement for Allies for a Strong Canada. She is a writer whose work can be found in the Federalist, the Western Standard, and the Toronto Sun. She appears frequently on various podcasts and radio shows. You can follow her on X: @isthisdimpeeb

Catholic church in Morinville destroyed by fire

Churches Are Burning, And The Lie Fueling It Still Holds

Arson

Catholic Church

Church

Graves

indigenous

Leftists

Legacy Media

Progressivism

America is developing an appetite for killing its elderly. A recent <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/03/23/about-6-in-10-americans-dont-have-moral-objections-to-medical-aid-in-dying/">Pew Research poll</a> suggests that comfort is growing: 63 percent of Americans now say physician-assisted death is either morally acceptable or simply not a moral issue at all. Only 35 percent call it morally wrong. The conscience is not yet gone. But it is losing ground fast.
Perhaps most jarring is the dramatic erosion of beliefs of self-ascribed Catholics. The Pew data shows majority support among my cohort: fifty-nine percent see no moral problem with physician-assisted death, even though <a href="https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20200714_samaritanus-bonus_en.html#The_prohibition">Church teaching</a> explicitly prohibits it. That number should trouble any Catholic paying attention. But the same poll does contain a stubborn holdout. Among Americans for whom religion is very important, nearly six in ten still call physician-assisted death morally wrong. These are not fringe positions. However, they are being told their position is extreme. It is not extreme. It is the last line of a civilizational argument that, if lost, will not easily be recovered.
Those who support euthanizing the elderly have a habit of arguing from what columnist Louise Perry <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/opinion/assisted-suicide-economics.html">called</a> a &#8220;motte-and-bailey&#8221; position: from the easily defended high ground, they describe a terminally person in pain, surrounded by loved ones, seeking a peaceful end. But the bailey is something else. Canada is set to hit 100,000 deaths under its Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Program by this summer, <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/07/world-news/canada-set-to-pass-100000-assisted-suicide-deaths-before-programs-10th-anniversary-societal-failing/">more than twice</a> the number of Canadians who died in World War II. Among those deaths were people whose <a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2026/02/22/canadas-suicide-service-is-coming-to-britain/">only diagnosis</a> was depression or poverty. This is not a slippery slope argument but a description of where the slope already leads.
Now the selling begins in earnest.
The financial argument comes first: dying in America is ruinously expensive. Nursing home care runs $8,000 to $12,000 a month. Funeral costs average over $10,000. The Washington Post recently <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2026/death-retirement-expenses-funeral-taxes/?itid=hp_opinions_p001_f023">walked through</a> the full cost of a late American life: retirement drawdown, long-term care, estate taxes, and burial. Retirement savings intended for forty years vanish in eighteen months of assisted living. The implied solution being marketed is not better coverage or more humane care. It is a shorter timeline.
Then comes the emotional argument: the agony of watching a parent decline, the exhaustion of caregiving, the loneliness of the elderly. These, too, are real. Across the country, aging parents like mine repeat the same lines with increasing frequency: that they hope to go without too much pain; that they don&#8217;t want to be a burden; that they&#8217;ve seen what caregiving did to a sibling, a neighbor, a close friend. Their grown children absorb this, often from a distance, while managing the reality of parents facing serious mental and physical decline. The exhaustion is genuine. So is the love. But the two together, in a culture that has quietly made peace with the early exit, add up to something worth fighting.
The pandemic made the underlying failure plain. Nursing home residents died alone, without a hand to hold, and the country was horrified. The right response was obvious: no one should die without someone present. Instead, the lesson drawn in too many quarters was that a faster, tidier death might spare everyone the ordeal. The answer to abandonment turned out to be more of it.
A recent <a href="https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/all-there-is-with-anderson-cooper/episodes/ba400e12-13e8-11f1-b53a-e37ce62a27dc">episode</a> of Anderson Cooper&#8217;s CNN podcast featured California Governor Gavin Newsom describing his mother&#8217;s death by doctor-assisted suicide, which was illegal in California at the time. His dying mother had left him a voicemail because he hadn&#8217;t been returning her calls. This was a failure to show up. The interview treated it as a prelude to something beautiful.
Newsom called the doctor who administered the lethal cocktail &#8220;an angel&#8221; who &#8220;risked everything.&#8221; He called being at her death &#8220;a gift.&#8221; A sitting governor celebrating an illegal assisted suicide on national radio is not sharing a private grief. He is making an intimate and tearful case that does more to shift public opinion than any policy paper ever could. He is also, not coincidentally, a likely future presidential candidate cultivating a national profile. The cause has found its spokesman. The pitch never changes: voluntary, patient-directed, a matter of personal choice. 
Twelve states currently allow for physician-assisted suicide, with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker <a href="https://gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/governor-pritzker-signs-bill-expanding-end-of-life-options-for-terminally-ill-patients">signing</a> his state&#8217;s law last December. New York followed in February. The Pew poll shows why the momentum is building: 76 percent of Democrats see no moral problem with the practice. Among self-described liberals, that number hits 87 percent. The progressive left has made up its mind.
But a choice made under financial ruin, family exhaustion, or the enforced isolation of institutional care is not really a choice. It is resignation with a medical co-signature.
There is dignity in dying on God&#8217;s schedule, not on an insurance company&#8217;s or a hospital&#8217;s budget projections, or the schedule of a son too busy to return his mother&#8217;s calls. The lesson is not that she was right to spare him a natural death. It is that he should have picked up the phone.
***
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer is director of the Conscience Project and recipient of the Religious Freedom Institute’s 2025 Religious Freedom Impact Award.

Hemlock Society Holds Annual Convention in San Diego

Even Religious-minded Americans Are Willing To Accept Assisted Suicide

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Tragedy struck the world of comedy again this week.
Katherine Short, the 41-year-old daughter of legendary funnyman Martin Short, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/martin-shorts-daughter-katherine-dies-at-42?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=6&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Martin+Short%E2%80%99s+Daughter+Katherine+Dies+At+42">passed away</a> on Feb. 23. Her passing came only weeks after comedienne Catherine O’Hara’s death at 71.
Short and O’Hara have been making us laugh for decades without so much as an interruption. O’Hara’s turn as Moira Rose on “Schitt’s Creek” capped a career that included memorable turns in “Home Alone,” “Beetlejuice” and other comedy classics.
Short’s comedy resume is among the longest and the best in the business.
And both got their start on &#8220;Second City Television&#8221; or “SCTV,” a show that has been perpetually overshadowed by a glossier American sketch comedy series. Yet, decades later, “SCTV’s” legacy is only getting bigger while “Saturday Night Live’s” continues to contract.
<div id="attachment_1051159" style="width: 430px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1051159" class="size-large wp-image-1051159" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/SCTV-asdfas-420x576.jpg" alt="Second City Entertainment. SCTV. IMDB." width="420" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/SCTV-asdfas-420x576.jpg 420w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/SCTV-asdfas-219x300.jpg 219w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/SCTV-asdfas.jpg 700w" sizes=" (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px" />Second City Entertainment. SCTV. IMDB.</div>
Short and O’Hara cut their comedy teeth as members of “SCTV,” a sketch comedy troupe that delivered laughs from north of the border. The show aired stateside starting in the late 1970s, but it never quite gained the cultural traction “SNL” enjoyed.
The latter gave us superstars like Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy, and Will Ferrell but those comedy titans came from endless cast iterations. For every standout like Dana Carvey or Bill Hader there were dozens whose “SNL” time turned into brief highlight reels.
That wasn’t the case with “SCTV,” which ran from 1976 to 1984. The show’s small, fairly consistent cast featured talent after talent, and their post-show work shined as brightly as the best “SNL” alums.
Maybe even brighter.
<div id="attachment_1051127" style="width: 402px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1051127" class="size-large wp-image-1051127" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/SCTV-cast-1980s-392x576.jpg" alt="SCTV. IMDB." width="392" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/SCTV-cast-1980s-392x576.jpg 392w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/SCTV-cast-1980s-204x300.jpg 204w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/SCTV-cast-1980s.jpg 680w" sizes=" (max-width: 392px) 100vw, 392px" />SCTV. IMDB.</div>
The show’s cast came from Toronto’s edition of Second City, an improv group made famous for sparking NBC’s “SNL” series in 1975 (along with National Lampoon’s media empire). The Canadian series was built around a fictional TV studio, allowing for recurring comic characters and wacky sketches.
It’s where Short perfected his Ed Grimley character – later seen on “SNL.” (Short graced both sketch comedy institutions, but “SNL” for only a single season (1984-85). Co-star Eugene Levy’s Bobby Bittman character exuded oily ‘70s smarm, while Joe Flaherty’s Count Floyd sent up horror movie hosts to perfection.
Those characters endure, but so do the performers’ post-show resumes.
Last year’s “I Like Me” documentary captured the short, remarkable life of “SCTV” alum John Candy. The husky comic died at 43, but not before leaving us with one indelible turn after another. He swiped scenes in “Home Alone,” “Vacation” and “Splash” while anchoring raucous comedies, including “Uncle Buck,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” and “Summer Rental.”
<div id="attachment_1051147" style="width: 1016px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1051147" class="size-large wp-image-1051147" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/candy-john-1006x576.jpg" alt="Second City Entertainment. SCTV. IMDB." width="1006" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/candy-john-1006x576.jpg 1006w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/candy-john-300x172.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/candy-john-768x440.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/candy-john.jpg 1221w" sizes=" (max-width: 1006px) 100vw, 1006px" />20th Century Fox. Hughes Entertainment. &#8220;Home Alone&#8221;</div>
Lovable with a pinch of sadness beneath his grin, Candy’s persona enhanced a crush of comedies before his 1994 death. “I Like Me” nailed both his comic gifts and ability to connect with audiences in ways many comedians never could.
O’Hara’s comedy career ended with her most recent role in Apple TV+’s “The Studio,” the latest example of her versatility. And she didn’t need a script to make us howl. Recall her improv chops in four Christopher Guest “mockumentaries” – “For Your Consideration,” “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best in Show” and “A Mighty Wind.”
Short’s film career wavered after a series of under-achieving comedies like “Three Amigos,” “Innerspace” and “Clifford,” but he never stopped working. Most recently, he’s anchored Hulu’s comedy series “Only Murders in the Building” alongside Steve Martin and Selena Gomez.
<div id="attachment_1051167" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1051167" class="size-large wp-image-1051167" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Only-Murders-martin-short-864x576.jpg" alt="Photo by Courtesy of Hulu. Copyright Hulu.Only Murders in the Building, Nail in the Coffin Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Only-Murders-martin-short-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Only-Murders-martin-short-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Only-Murders-martin-short-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Only-Murders-martin-short-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Only-Murders-martin-short-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Only-Murders-martin-short-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Only-Murders-martin-short.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Photo by Courtesy of Hulu.</div>
One “SCTV” alum’s career stalled, but only due to a deeply personal choice. Rick Moranis, so memorably in films like “Spaceballs,” “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” and “Ghostbusters,” stepped away from Hollywood following the death of his wife in 1991.
He tried to be both a working actor and single parent, but he realized he couldn’t do both without sacrificing key parts of the latter. So he left the business on his terms. Decades later, his return as Dark Helmut in the “Spaceballs” sequel, due in 2027, is one of the film’s biggest selling points.
Moranis’ on-screen hoser/partner, Dave Thomas, never matched Moranis’ early fame. He still worked steadily over the years, bouncing from sitcom roles to writing gigs on shows like Fox’s “Bones.”
<div id="attachment_1051149" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1051149" class="size-large wp-image-1051149" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/sctv-great-white-north-1024x512.jpg" alt="Second City Entertainment. SCTV. IMDB." width="1024" height="512" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/sctv-great-white-north-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/sctv-great-white-north-300x150.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/sctv-great-white-north-768x384.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/sctv-great-white-north-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/sctv-great-white-north.jpg 2002w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Second City Entertainment. SCTV. IMDB.</div>
And the pair reunited for 1983’s “Strange Brew,” bringing their Bob and Doug characters to the big screen alongside Max Von Sydow. The film wasn’t a smash, but it swiftly became a cult classic. And deservedly so.
Some “SCTV” alums shined even brighter behind the camera. Yes, Harold Ramis was one of the four core “Ghostbusters,” but he’s better known for directing “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Caddyshack” and “Groundhog Day.”
That, plus a series of strong supporting roles (“Knocked Up,” “As Good As It Gets”) complemented his impressive post-“SCTV” life until his death in 2014.
“SCTV’s” Andrea Martin has enjoyed a blue-collar career following the show’s end, netting endless work, including a silly supporting role in the “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” franchise. She also found voice actor gigs and joined former “SCTV” chum Short on “Only Murders in the Building” since 2022.
<div id="attachment_1051145" style="width: 793px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1051145" class="size-large wp-image-1051145" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/cast-sctv-783x576.jpg" alt="Second City Entertainment. SCTV." width="783" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/cast-sctv-783x576.jpg 783w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/cast-sctv-300x221.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/cast-sctv-768x565.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/cast-sctv.jpg 1169w" sizes=" (max-width: 783px) 100vw, 783px" />Second City Entertainment. SCTV. IMDB.</div>
And while we lost O’Hara this year, her “Schitt’s Creek” husband, the amiable Levy, keeps making us smile. Levy’s exhaustive film and TV career includes key turns in the aforementioned mockumentaries and the “American Pie” franchise.
“SCTV” signed off for good in 1984, while “SNL” recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. That said, the latter keeps burning down its legacy with biased political gags and bland bits. The NBC show may still crank out a future star or two, but “SCTV’s” killer ratio of repertory players who made it big remains unmatched.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

SCTV cast II

Before ‘SNL’ Ruled Late Night, This Show Rewrote The Rules

Before 'SNL' Ruled Late Night, This Show Rewrote The Rules

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In a wide-ranging conversation last year, OpenAI&#8217;s Sam Altman said that his dream policy in the artificial intelligence space would be giving users the same amount of privilege that they enjoy with doctors or lawyers. That is, make sure your conversations with ChatGPT can never be seen by the government.
“If I could get one piece of policy passed right now, relative to AI, the thing I would most like, and this is in tension with some of the other things that we&#8217;ve talked about, is I&#8217;d like there to be a concept of AI privilege,” Altman <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KmpT-BoVf4&amp;t=1911s">told</a> podcast host Tucker Carlson last September. “When you talk to a doctor about your health or a lawyer about your legal problems, the government cannot get that information.&#8221; 
&#8220;We have decided that society has an interest in that being privileged and that a subpoena can&#8217;t get that, the government can&#8217;t come asking your doctor for it, whatever. I think we should have the same concept for AI,&#8221; he added. 
If you&#8217;re wondering what chats may fall into this basket, look no further than this month&#8217;s deadly mass shooting in Canada.
Months before he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youtube-confirms-trans-themed-page-is-linked-to-canada-mass-shooting-suspect">opened fire</a> on Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and killed six people, Jesse Van Rootselaar <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/openai-employees-raised-alarms-about-canada-shooting-suspect-months-ago-b585df62?mod=e2tw">raised</a> warning signs among OpenAI employees for conversations he had with ChatGPT on gun violence scenarios. On February 10, a dress-wearing Van Rootselaar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youtube-confirms-trans-themed-page-is-linked-to-canada-mass-shooting-suspect">gunned down</a> his mother and brother before going to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia and killing another six people, including five children aged 12 and 13. Van Rootselaar died the day of the attack from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 
After Van Rootselaar was identified as the attacker, OpenAI reached out to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to assist the investigation. Canadian officials have not been impressed with OpenAI’s handling of the situation. 
Those conversations, which took place in June 2025, were not reported to law enforcement, though his account was banned, the Wall Street Journal first reported. It is unclear the content of the conversations. Canadian officials have summoned OpenAI employees for meetings to discuss their handling of the incident.
Altman said that he had pushed policymakers in Washington, D.C. to adopt protections for AI companies and was confident about the prospects.
“I was actually just in D.C. advocating for this. I feel optimistic that we can get the government to understand the importance of this and do it,” he said. 
Previous Daily Wire reporting found that ChatGPT <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/best-of-2025-read-chatgpts-chilling-instructions-to-young-girl-seeking-covert-abortion">will advise</a> young girls on how to access illegal abortion pills without parental knowledge, at the same time discouraging them from visiting life-affirming crisis pregnancy centers. ChatGPT also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chatgpt-will-help-kids-access-gender-affirming-resources-behind-their-parents-backs">encourages</a> gender-confused kids to obtain so-called “gender-affirming” resources like chest binders behind their parents’ backs.
British Columbia Premier David Eby <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/eby-openai-tumbler-ridge-9.7102942">said</a> Monday that he had read reports about “the possibility that OpenAI had received advanced notice of the shooter&#8217;s intentions in regard to the mass murder that took place in Tumbler Ridge.&#8221; 
&#8220;With shock and dismay, like many British Columbians, I am trying to figure out how it could be possible that a large group of staff within an organization could bring this kind of information forward and ask the police to be called and the decision be made not to do that,&#8221; he added. 
He said that “from the outside,” it looked like OpenAI could have prevented the shooting and called for the federal government to establish a “national threshold” for reporting for AI companies when individuals are plotting violence. 
Canada’s Federal AI Minister Evan Solomon met with employees from OpenAI on Tuesday to discuss their safety protocols. 
OpenAI says that its models are designed to discourage real-world violence and have a system in place to flag troubling content for review and potential law enforcement referral. Giving AI companies privacy privileges could complicate how they handle potential threats of violence. 
And even if a policy of “AI privilege” were adopted, it is possible that duty to report provisions would be included. Most states have laws in place that require mental health professionals to report clients who may be a danger to themselves or others. 
OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on whether Altman still advocated for privacy immunity for AI companies.

MixCollage-25-Feb-2026-01-01-PM-1927

Deadly Trans Shooter Scandal Could Disrupt ChatGPT’s ‘AI Privilege’ Push

Sam Altman-Backed ‘AI Privilege’ Could Keep Trans Shooter Convos Hidden

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The following is an edited transcript excerpt from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1917-assassin-storms-mar-a-lago-to-try-to-kill-president-trump">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.
* * *
One of the most common talking points you hear from the Left — and you’re going to hear it a lot heading into the midterms — is that America has terrible health care. We’re told that every civilized country in the world has universal, socialized medicine, and that we’re backward, retrograde, clinging to some barbaric capitalist system while enlightened Europeans enjoy cradle-to-grave care.
You hear it constantly: America is a disgrace. We need socialized medicine.
Now, before we go any further, let’s acknowledge something the Left rarely does: we already have a substantial amount of socialized medicine in this country. We have it for illegal aliens. We have it for the very poor. We have it for the elderly through Medicare. We have a massive social safety net.
But here’s the part they leave out: the only reason any of that works at all is because it’s sitting on top of a heavily capitalist health care system that funds the entire apparatus. The “free” part only functions because something productive underneath it is paying the bills.
Still, we’re told we should scrap the whole thing and go full European.
How about we take a little look at some of the socialist health care systems around the world? Let&#8217;s start with Europe.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1917-assassin-storms-mar-a-lago-to-try-to-kill-president-trump">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show on DailyWire+</a></h3>
A horrifying story recently came out of the United Kingdom. According to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15582277/Woman-dead-floor-home-told-wait-ten-days-ambulance.html?ns_mchannel=rss&amp;ns_campaign=1490&amp;ito=social-twitter_mailonline">The Daily Mail</a>, a 97-year-old woman, Babette Burge, was found nearly dead on the floor of her home after being told she would have to wait ten days — ten days — for an ambulance. Not ten days for surgery. Ten days just to be transported to a hospital.
<blockquote>Just five days earlier, a paramedic from a local GP surgery had attended Ms Burge&#8217;s home to assess her condition and found that her leg was &#8216;shortened and rotated&#8217; &#8211; a sign of a fractured hip.</blockquote>
She was nearly 100 years old, lying on the floor with a broken hip, and was told she’d need to wait ten days for an ambulance.
She was later discovered barely breathing. Then she died.
This is what we’re supposed to envy? “Everybody gets health care” in the UK — assuming you can get to the hospital. The catch is that no one comes to get you. Universal coverage is lovely in theory. In practice, however, if you can’t secure transportation, it doesn’t matter how free the surgery is.
Meanwhile, in Canada, a prominent Canadian writer — very much on the Left, by her own description — recently admitted something chilling. She said she was offered medical assistance in dying (MAID) instead of care.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I’m about as far left as you can get… but we do have problems with MAiD in Canada.
How do I know? It was “offered” to me in lieu of care.
I’m disabled, I was alone, my conditions expensive.
Yes I was allowed to say “No”, but no alternative care was offered.
That’s coercion. <a href="https://t.co/LvCWd55esk">https://t.co/LvCWd55esk</a>
— Kelly (@broadwaybabyto) <a href="https://twitter.com/broadwaybabyto/status/2025364112348188828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @broadwaybabyto/X.com
That’s not compassion. That’s coercion.
And this isn’t an isolated anecdote. Canada has dramatically expanded medical assistance in dying, or MAID. In parts of Europe — particularly in countries like the Netherlands — similar policies are spreading. Elderly people, disabled people, chronically ill people, and even young people struggling with “seasonal depression” are increasingly being told that death is a “treatment option.”
Think about that.
In a system where the government is paying the bills, patients are not just patients — they’re line items. They’re costs. And when waitlists grow long and budgets grow tight, the incentives get dark very quickly. The cheapest patient is the one who isn’t there anymore.
On the one hand, American leftists insist we’re the only country in the civilized world without socialized medicine. On the other hand, you look at some of these “civilized” systems and see 97-year-olds waiting ten days for an ambulance and disabled citizens being nudged toward suicide because their care is expensive.
That’s not health care. That’s the opposite of health care.
Now, is the American system perfect? Of course not. It’s expensive. It’s complicated. It’s frustrating. But it is also the system that produces the vast majority of the world’s pharmaceutical innovation. It is the system that subsidizes global research and development. It is the system that people from all over the world come to when they need cutting-edge treatment.
It is not, however, a system where the government routinely suggests that you kill yourself because you’re inconvenient. There’s a reason that countries with fully socialized medicine struggle with wait times and rationing.
So before we swallow the talking point that America is uniquely cruel because we don’t have cradle-to-grave government medicine, it’s worth looking at what that actually looks like in practice. A nearly 100-year-old woman dying on the floor because no ambulance is available. A disabled Canadian writer being offered euthanasia in lieu of care.
Beware the supposedly greener grass on the other side of the fence. Especially when that fence is our northern border, separating us from the snow Mexicans.

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