From the Sublime to the Mundane ... Moon Mission 2026

(Image credit: Space.com / Josh Dinner)

 

"That's one of the big, big events in the mission. Really leaving Earth's orbit ... to conduct the rest of the mission ... I think that will definitely make a number of people both up on the Orion and here on Earth breathe a little easier."

"Depending on the precise timing when they get there [dark side of the moon], they will probably see some parts of the lunar surface on the far side sunlit that the Apollo astronauts did not have an opportunity to see." 

Jake Bleacher, chief exploration scientist, NASA

 

"Humanity has once again shown what we are capable of, and it's your hopes for the future that carry us now on this journey around the moon."

Jeremy Hansen, Astronaut, Artemis II 

 

"With this burn to the moon, we do not leave Earth, we choose it."

"[I] was proud to call myself the 'space plumber' after fixing Orion's toilet."

"I like to say that it is probably the most important piece of equipment on board, so we were all breathing a sigh of relief when it turned out to be just fine." 

Christina Koch, Astronaut, Artemis II 

NASA's Artemis 2 Orion space toilet is taking a starring role on the historic astronaut mission to the moon. (Image credit: NASA/Canadian Space Agency)

 

Orion's mission to the moon, around the moon, taking the four astronauts aboard -- Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hanson -- to the furthest, highest point that humans have ever soared to beyond Earth, is to take ten days in total, from blast-off Thursday to eventual return the following Friday. On the mission, astronauts are to test scientific operations while on the far side in a bid to assist NASA in comprehending how human crews at the site can collaborate with Earth-bound science teams. 

 

It will be the gravitational pull of the moon and the Earth that will facilitate the return trajectory, without the requirement of mechanical propulsion, when Orion slingshots around the moon in a figure eight. The crew on its return will then experience one of the most tense-expectancy moments of the mission with re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, when splashdown in the Pacific Ocean brings their precedent-setting mission to a conclusion next Friday.

 

On Thursday evening, before sendoff, the Orion took six minutes to burn its engine for liftoff. In the general excitement of the mission proceeding, thoughts may have momentarily drifted to the sheer isolation the crew would be experiencing in outer space beyond Earth's orbit; a distance so vast that the crew would be totally dependent on their own resourcefulness should anything go awry, when no outside source could be depended on for reaction. 

 

Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, (mission commander) Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover   NASA

 

However, the minds within the spacecraft no doubt disciplined to focus on the minutiae of the mission, would not linger on exposure to deep-space radiation from solar activity or cosmic rays once they reached beyond the protection of Earth's magnetic field, and how that experience might affect the state of their health. They are themselves a living experiment.

 

Following meticulous checks of life-support systems sufficed for confidence the Orion spacecraft was prepared and ready to leave, the order NASA officials gave to the "translunar injection" manoeuvre was finalized and Integrity fled the surly bonds of Earth, taking four courageous, prepared souls with it.  "When the engine ignites, you embark on humanity's lunar homecoming arc and set the course to return Integrity and her crew safely home", Chris Birch, a NASA astronaut, said to the crew from mission control in Houston. 

 

Four days to reach the moon and each day of the 10 aboard the Orion capsule has its roles to be played out by each of those aboard. It took speed of 1,275 feet per second in liftoff to initiate the spacecraft's sojourn to the moon. Once on the far side, which they reached on Monday they will witness the effects of an eclipse. When the moon blocks the sun they will have the opportunity to observe the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere, the corona in a brilliant display of jetting gases.

 

Earth as seen from the Orion capsule in a new image taken last week   Reid Wiseman/NASA

 

"On the far side of the Moon, 252,756 miles away, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy have now traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history and now begin their journey home."

"Before they left, they said they hoped this mission would be forgotten, but it will be remembered as the moment people started to believe that America can once again do the near-impossible and change the world."

"[The mission] isn't over until they're under safe parachutes, splashing down into the Pacific."

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman

NASA

 

Shen Yun: China Before Communism

An advertisement for Shen Yun's Toronto run from March 28 to April 5.

"This action [cancellation] was taken out of an abundance of caution, following the receipt of an escalating series of threatening messages that were swiftly reported to Toronto Police Service."

"The well-being of staff, crews, artists, and audiences remain our highest priority, and the difficult decision was made entirely in the interest of public safety."

"We appreciate the understanding and cooperation of our community as we continue to prioritize the safety of all those who work in and visit the Four Seasons Centre." 

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts 

 

"Many explosive devices have been placed at the Four Seasons Theatre and Parliament Hill in Canada."

"If the Shen Yun performance is not cancelled and continues to be shown, explosions are planned at Parliament Hill and the Four Seasons Theatre."

Police reported threat

 

"Cancelling the show under such circumstances sets a concerning precedent that foreign actors can disrupt Canadian business operation and society at will."

"However [additional received threats leading to show cancellation] those threats were never shared with the presenter and police confirmed to the presenter that no other threats have been reported." 

"[This is] Beijing’s systematic global campaign to stop Shen Yun -- a show that presents the beauty of ‘China before communism’ and brings light to modern day human rights abuses happening in China."

"10,000 Canadians [ticket-holders] were threatened by the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]. We are all victims."

Joel Chipkar, spokesman, Falun Dafa Association of Toronto (FDAT)  

The March 29, 2 p.m. performance of Shen Yun at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in downtown Toronto was abruptly cancelled due to a reported bomb threat.  CTV News

 

The Falun Dafa Association of Toronto castigated the Four Seasons Centre for its fearful response to a series of 'non-credible' threats to the venue, leading to its cancellation of scheduled performances, five in all, scheduled for April 1st to the 5th, over what the venue characterized as 'escalating threats'. The Canadian Opera Company whose home is the Four Seasons Centre stated that the unfortunate decision "Was taken out of an abundance of caution following the receipt of an escalating series of threatening messages that were swiftly reported to Toronto Police Service".

 

The New York-based performing arts company Shen Yun was founded by Falun Dafa, a faith movement known more familiarly as Falun Gong. Those faithful to the spiritual movement have experienced decades of persecution from the Chinese Communist Party. Through its spectacularly colourful and graceful professional performances the troupe showcases Chinese human rights abuses through highlighting the Middle Kingdom's cultural history "before communism". It was explained by a Shen Yun spokesperson that many of the show's artists fled persecution in China.

 

Just prior to the Sunday matinee, the Falun Dafa Association of Toronto was advised that individuals with the opera company and employees of the Four Seasons Centre had received an alarming email threat of an imminent bombing should the performances take place as scheduled. Police were notified and deemed the threat 'unfounded' leaving the theatre free to re-open despite that a performance was called off in the immediate wake of the email's message. A day later both venue and presenter agreed the remaining performances would proceed. 

 

A photo of a Shen Yun show. (Courtesy Shen Yun)

 

With the agreement the Four Seasons Centre would increase security measures, the matter seemed settled. Then the following day more threats were received, and the venue firmly stated the rest of the run would be cancelled. A steady stream of threats has been received during Shen Yun performances, assessed by law enforcement agencies as non-credible. In these previous instances performances continued, following bomb sweeps and added security. Which made the Four Seasons' decision an unexpected precedent.

 

According to the Falun Dafa Association, over 150 similar threats were received, yet nothing amiss was ever seen to occur. Shen Yun and Falun Dala groups accuse Beijing of attempting to disrupt the touring schedule of the show. This would be the same Beijing that has interfered in Canada's politics. That has opened secret 'police stations' in Canadian cities. And whose operatives in Canada have penetrated the government. Beijing's United Front Works Department harasses Chinese-Canadians who oppose the CCP.

 

A Liberal government that has been busy making trade and economic cooperation agreements with Beijing, overlooking its human rights abuse record that includes forced labour, persecution of minorities and in Canada itself cyber warfare, threats against Chinese-Canadians, theft of Canadian trade secrets and hostage diplomacy where Canadian citizens have been incarcerated in China on trumped-up charges of espionage to force an outcome in China's favour from Canada. 

 

A photo of a Shen Yun performance. (Courtesy Shen Yun)

"[The] cowardly attack on artistic expression and our freedom [this week, is bigger than one single stage production]."

"It raises serious concerns about allowing foreign interference -- or any threats -- to dictate what Canadians can see and who can express themselves."

"This is a risk to all Canadians, not just Shen Yun."

Joel Chipkar 

Advocating for Better Patient Care in Canada

"Advocating for better patient care, health system reform, and physician rights is a core physician competency and professional responsibility."

"[The organization] unequivocally condemns all forms of workplace harassment, bullying and intimidation of emergency physicians by organizational and system-level administrators, colleagues, medical leadership, health system officials and politicians."

"[Harassment creates] toxic work environments [while undermining patient safety and contributing to physician burnout]."

Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians

 

"It was the perfect storm of overcrowding in the hospital and the emergency department, staff shortages, too many sick patients and too few available ER [emergency room] beds."

"We talk about cracks in the system. But this is when the roof has fallen in. It truly has failed when we can't treat the sickest patients in our emergency department in a timely manner."

Kaitlin Stockton, British Columbia emergency physician

 

"The bullying and harassment, unfortunately, is done by all levels -- by managers, by anybody in admin; it's been done by very senior physicians who hold administrative positions, as well as administrators who hold positions of power."

"Basically, they set up the conditions for constructive dismissal using everything they can. It's the slow bleed out of a care provider. They make it impossible to work. And we've seen that: You ask any physician who's been around for a while. We've seen that."

"The  ORs [operating rooms] can shut down at four o'clock, five o'clock, unless there's an emergency. The [wards upstairs] can say, 'No, we're full', because they have safety concerns, and rightly so."

"The emergency, we never close our doors."

Dr. Trevor Jain, emergency physician, Prince Edward Island 

Across Canada, emergency rooms are routinely operating beyond 100 per cent capacity. Photo by John Mahoney/Postmedia

 

Emergency doctors in Canada have struck a position, demanding protection against harassment and bullying by administration when they speak out about their experiences as responsible physicians struggling with an increasingly impossible situation in trying to treat people who show up at hospital emergency rooms hoping for medical attention, but finding hugely extended wait times because there are too few doctors available, nurses run off their feet, and an increasing population making more demands than ever on the country's universal health care system.

 

Physicians (and nursing staff) witnessing people in agony of pain, uncertainty and fear and feeling themselves unable to respond adequately as they are meant to do, under the weight of their belief in the Hippocratic Oath, do their utmost and frustratingly find it is never enough to stem the rising tide of  health service inadequacy in Canada. When doctors facing situations of pending death should attention not immediately be shifted to those suffering and waiting, raise their voices about unreported deaths resulting from dangerous ER overcrowding, they become themselves victimized by hospital administrators who want to hush up any pending controversy. 

 

"The plethora and huge amount of harassment and bullying emergency physicians are experiencing across the country for shedding light on dangerous overcrowding conditions, lack of [patient] flow and a pandemic of  unreported deaths in our waiting rooms" has led the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians to launch a demand for "effective and enforced" whistleblower protection for physicians who risk personal and professional persecution when they are driven by compassion and caring for the patients under medical duress whose lives are put at risk by such medical inadequacies.  

 

A new report finds that deaths while waiting for medical procedures is up 64 per cent over the last five years in Canada. Photo by Getty Images

 

The Fraser Health Authority, as an example, was sued by B.C. emergency doctor Kaitlin Stockton after she was essentially fired following the posting of a sign in a Port Moody, B.C. ER in 2024, to alert patients of unacceptable the pending wait times they faced. Although Dr. Stockton was one among a handful of colleagues who posted the warning, she was singled out, bullied and threatened once the story of the sign became fodder for area news outlets. Dr. Stockton stated she was threatened and harassed for speaking out and for asking the hospital to transfer admitted patients to various areas of the hospital and call "Code orange" to respond to incoming patients. 

 

Dr. Paul Parks, an Alberta  emergency physician, reported a "near-miss" with  a patient having chest pain, examined while standing in a hallway, no empty stretchers available. The patient was found to have a life-threatening blood clot. In another instance, a woman in her 50s in a "confused/altered" state, unable to walk, arrived at an Alberta ER. "She was flagged for MD assessment still confused after 4 hours waiting in a wheelchair. It became clear something was terribly wrong when she was in a proper treatment space; a CT scan showed a  bad bleed in her brain, requiring emergency intubation and transfer for neurosurgery. She could have easily died waiting for care", stated Dr. Parks.  

 

"There is still a tonne of fear around physicians being retaliated against, losing their job, losing their licence. You lose your licence, you're done. Your career is over."

"But if people can't rely on health-care providers to be their voices, especially those who can't advocate for themselves, who is going to advocate for them?"

"[Whistleblower legislation isn't enough]; It needs to be visible, and it needs to be enforced."

Dr. Kaitlin Stockton 

 

"So, when you walk into the waiting room and there's people lying on the floor, people leaning against the walls, people in distress, people who don't have a family doctor, people with post-op complications, 84-year-olds waiting 12 hours -- that should be a huge red flag that multiple canaries have died and the system is in distress."
"You can't access primary care? 'Go to emerg'. Postop problems from the operation yesterday? Go to emerg. 'I can't look after my loved one anymore'? Go to emerg. A nursing home says, 'This patient has become too difficult for us to manage'? Go to emerg."

"We've become the 'easy button' for the Canadian healthcare system."

Dr. Trevor Jain  

Patients left in the hallway due to an at capacity emergency room at the Humber River Hospital in Toronto. Photo by Nathan Denette /The Canadian Press

 

"Men Punching Women"

"At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat."

"So. it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category."

"In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe."

Kirsty Coventry, IOC president

 

"We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female."

"It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology."

Seb Coe, president, World Athletics Organization 

 

"[Concerning the IOC's] decision regarding transgender women athletes, integrity and fairness [in sport concerns us, as well as] equal opportunities and respecting human rights [above all] empathy, respect and care [for all Canadians]."

"Our government believes in a sport system that provides opportunities for all Canadians, including the transgender community, to participate in sport and excel without discrimination."

"[The Liberal Carney government is reviewing] the impact of this decision on Canadian athletes."

Adam van Koeverden, Sports Minister, Canada 

University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks to her coach after winning the 500 meter freestyle during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard on January 22, 2022.

Josh Reynolds/AP 

 

"The introduction of new rules restricting participation in women's sport categories to 'biological females', determined through mandatory genetic screening and testing, imposes exclusionary criteria."

Canadian Civil Liberties Association  

Somehow, women's rights got lost in the shuffle of transactivism's aggressive marketing propaganda that entitled biological males who declared their 'true' gender to be female, challenging women on the sports fields and through alpha competitions where those born female are told to just take a breath and carry on, faced with the prospect of going up against a male competitor called 'her'. All the physical attributes of biological males in strength and endurance though dressed in a skirt rallied against the less physical inheritance of females. Lap it up, kitten.

 

Finally, however, with the courage of a few elite female sport figures having the audacity to  point out the unfairness and degradation of women's rights that have been deleteriously impacted for much too long a period of public/social compliance with the assertions of a gender-compliant entitlement programs that victimize women, the tide is turning. It did help when a smattering of male sport coaches allied themselves with female competitors in their campaign for recognition of women's rights.

 

So now, the International Olympic Committee has made it legally binding in their declaration that only 'biological females' will  henceforth be permitted to compete in t he women's category. Trust the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to add its two-cents-worth opinion that the very term "biological females" represents a "problematical term". Much, one suspects, as does the mockery in all seriousness of speaking of "pregnant persons".

 

A "once-in-a-lifetime" sex test under the IOC's new policy would ensure that females only may now compete in the female category. Transgender women to be banned from female competition. As for those  in conditions of sexual development deviations, they too are outlawed from female competitions.  The field of female sports competition narrowed down to its most elemental and sensible condition of 'females-only', thank you very much.

 

A saliva cheek swab or blood sample test for the SRY gene is to be administered: "The presence of the SRY gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced male sex development", stated the IOC in explaining the reason for and the test thereof, of the vital new criteria. 

 

The World Athletics organization was first to introduce gene testing in the female category. When Algerian Imane Khelif won the women's welterweight gold medal for boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the controversy that erupted was telling, when a followup revelation reached the news that a DNA test revealed Khelif to be a biological male with XY chromosomes. 

 

Imane Khelif of Algeria (left) defeated Liu Yang of China to win Olympic gold in the women's 66-kilogram boxing event.  Maja Hitij/Getty Images

"I think it’s a shame that birth sex, or the gender you were assigned or thought to be at birth, is so enshrined in our legal and registration systems."

"Getting a gender marker formally changed on official records, identification, etc. can be a long and complicated process, requiring proof of surgery in some states, and even when a transgender person does succeed in getting a gender marker change, the marker can still put them at risk."

Sasha Carney, 24, transgender activist 

"What she [J.K. Rowling] said..."

"[The IOC decision is a] welcome return to fair sport for women and girls, but I'll never forget the scandal of Paris 2024, when people who consider themselves virtuous and progressive publicly cheered on men punching women."

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre  

 

Trump, Excoriating U.S. 'Allies'

"You'll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won't n e there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us."

"Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done."

"Go get  your own oil!"

"[Paris has been] VERY UNHELPFUL]. The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!"

"We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we would always have been there for them. They weren’t there for us."

"All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT”."

"I’ve long said that, you know, I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us. So … this was a great test, because we don’t need them, but they should have been there."

U.S. President Donald J. Trump

Donald Trump has also called NATO countries that do not help with the war in Iran "cowards." Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS

 

"I hope that amid the emotions surrounding the President of the United States today, a moment of calm will come."

"And why? Because there is no NATO without the United States, and it is in our interest that this calm comes."

"But there is also no American power without NATO."

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz 

Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman?s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

 

Frustration with allies  unwilling to commit themselves through the NATO military alliance in support of the U.S. conflict in Iran, has hit boiling point with President Trump who is now telling his erstwhile allies to "go get  your own oil" in respect to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, has sent energy prices soaring. 

 

Following U.S. strikes hitting Isfahan, the central Iranian city, leading to Tehran attacking a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, Mr. Trump's precarious patience appears to have hit its limit. A month after the start of the aerial bombardment by the U.S. and Israel, the intensity of strikes on either side has not levelled off and major disruptions have erupted to the global supply of oil and natural gas, reflected by panicked global markets.

 

Earlier, Mr. Trump  shared footage of the massive attack on Isfahan, home to one of three nuclear enrichment sites that was attacked last June by U.S. strikes, where it is suspected that much of Iran's highly enriched uranium was stored. It seems evident that no agency foretold the extent of Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, with its catastrophic results to world shipping, much less the Iranian leadership's decision to attack its neighbours' energy infrastructure.

 

The roiling of world markets and the strait-closing effect on many basic goods such as fertilizer normally shipped across the world, has had its effect on the American president who directed responsibility at the United Kingdom and France for refusing to enter a war for which no clear endgame could be deduced, a war they were never consulted on, nor an alert given that it would be forthcoming. 

 

The U.S. attack on an Iranian ammunition depot in Isfahan raises tensions and the risk of further military escalation in the region. Los Angeles Today

 

France  permitted the U.S. Air Force use of the Isteres base in southern France once it received guarantees that planes landing there would not be carrying out strikes in Iran. Europe's loudest critic of the war, Spain stated it chose to close its airspace along with its joint U.S.-Spain airbases for any planes involved in the conflict. As for Italy, an official confirmed that U.S. military assets were refused use of the Sigonella airbase in Sicily for any operation with links to the offensive in Iran. 

 

American bombers were intending to land at the Italian base prior to continuing on toward the Middle East. However, affirmed Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, Italy would still allow the US. use of its bases; no cooling of relations between the two countries has resulted over the Iran conflict.

 

The world is now on notice that should a ceasefire not be "shortly" reached and the strait reopened, the U.S. was prepared to broaden its offensive, and that would include attacking the Iranian oil export hub on Kharg Island. 

 

Luojiashan tanker sits anchored in Muscat, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 7, 2026. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

"We don't want to have to do more militarily than we have to."

"But I didn't mean it flippantly when I said, in the meantime, we'll negotiate with bombs."

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 

The Baleful Menace of Palestinian Infestation of Canadian Academia

"Although I'm disappointed by the outcome, I respect the court's decision and I appreciate the chance to participate in the process."

"We come from a very resilient community, and I'm very thankful for all the strong support I've received."

"I've gotten support from basically all across the spectrum."

 Rachel Harroche, law student, McGill University 

Anti-Israel protesters gather on McGill University's campus in Montreal on the two-year anniversary of October 7, 2023. The McGill campus has become a focal point of anti-Israel activism since the Hamas attacks on Israel. Photo by Terry Newman/National Post

"[The proposal by the Law Students' Association (LSA) is] objectionable and regrettable."

"The effort to respond to this by-law has fallen so heavily on the Jewish Law Students' Association."

"This by-law has the effect of targeting a minority group on a specific global political issue rather than the basic functioning of the LSA and its broader mission." 

Law Faculty interim dean Tina Piper and faculty provost Angela Campbell  

McGill University's Law Students' Association held a referendum on March 21, on an amendment to the group's constitution to enshrine a boycott of Israeli cultural and educational bodies, that saw 57 percent of McGill law students voting to support the amendment. The association's constitution requires a two-thirds majority for any such vote to pass and this one failed that supermajority requirement. The LSA handily got past that hurdle by having "subsequently stated that only a simple majority of fifty percent plus one was needed".

 

Two days later, Israeli-born McGill law student Rachel Harroche filed a request for an injunction to stop implementation of the boycott amendment by the LSA. In filing her request, Ms. Harroche specifically named campus group Law Students 4 Palestine. Harroche, a Jewish student of Israeli heritage, pointed out the application's effect on her would be "directly and personally affected by its [amendment's] operative provisions".

 

Should McGill University sever ties with Israeli schools and the creation of a standing enforcement committee to police compliance with the boycott, Ms. Harroche's student tenure at McGill could be affected in that it would prohibit her from taking part in exchange programs with Tel Aviv University, along with other Israeli institutions. The application points out that the referendum is in violation of anti-discrimination policies passed by the university and by the Students' Society of McGill University.

Instagram, Law Students for Palestine

 

An example given was that the boycott committee "would have a mandate to monitor and enforce compliance with the boycott across all" student association activities thus "creating an ongoing surveillance mechanism affecting her academic choices". The consequence of which would be that the Jewish student would then be exposed "to naming, shaming, and social sanctions for her academic choices", which would create "a hostile and stigmatizing environment".

 

The Superior Court ruled against the provisional injunction; Ms. Harroche's application, it ruled, failed to meet the threshold demonstrating urgency and irreparable harm requiring immediate relief. "It's the first stage of this type of litigation process, so on our end, we're gonna review the judgment carefully, evaluate our opinions, and we'll be taking a position in the coming future", responded Nicholas Chine, Harroche's lawyer. 

 

If the Law Students’ Association formally adopts its anti-Israel measure, it could lose the rights to use the McGill name, access campus space and distribute publications, university president Deep Saini said. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette

 

"Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from my positions as Chair of the Law Faculty Advisory Board and a Course Lecturer, effective immediately. I am no longer willing or able to participate in fundraising activities on behalf of the Faculty. Accordingly, I am withdrawing all current and future pledges and donations to the Faculty of Law and the University, on behalf of both myself and the Amiel Foundation." 

"Conduct that directly contravenes the university’s stated policies has proceeded without meaningful consequence. This includes the normalization, and at times glorification, of events marking acts of mass violence, the obstruction of students’ access to classrooms and university facilities, and the use of academic platforms to legitimize or advance extremist ideologies."

"There are also indications that conduct involving harassment or intimidation is not being treated with the seriousness it warrants within admissions and disciplinary frameworks."

McGill Law School Faculty Board Advisor Chairman Jonathan Amiel resignation letter  

"While this referendum was supported by a majority of those who voted, I make no assumptions about their intent. But in matters of discrimination, impact — not intent — governs."

"The effects here are antisemitic, and that plain fact must guide McGill's response."

"Accordingly, McGill cannot and will not remain in a contractual relationship with a student association that incorporates such amendments into its governance framework."
McGill University President Deep Saini 

Students for Palestine's Honour and Resistance, was one of the groups that started a months-long encampment on the MCGill's downtown campus last year. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

PRC Influencer ... or Loyal Canadian ...

"The so-called 'forced labour' accusation has long been an absurd lie fabricated by certain Western forces based on ideological bias."

"It has long been divorced from facts and lacks empirical evidence, yet it has been repeatedly used to smear China."

"This person [China expert Margaret McCuaig-Johnston] has repeatedly acted as an anti-China pawn in public under the guise of a so-called 'expert' ...  becoming a notorious hardliner on China in Canada with a long list of bad deeds."

Observer Network, China

 

"He [Liberal MP Michael Ma] looks like a hero, because he took me on as a critic of the motherland."

"He is supporting the motherland and that makes him look very good and makes me look terrible."

" ... I think he thought it would be well-received by the Chinese embassy, which it  was."

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston

Liberal Member of Parliament Michael Ma along with other Liberal Members of Parliament in the foyer of the House of Commons. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK /Postmedia

 

During a House of Commons industry committee meeting to discuss the recently agreed-upon trade issue during Prime Minister Mark Carney's trip to Beijing to promote a freer trade protocol between Canada and China, an exchange was made that satisfied both countries' priorities; 40,000 Chinese EVs would be allowed into Canada in exchange for Beijing reducing the steep tariffs it had imposed for Canadian canola, seafood and pork; in China's case a fungible alternative for products its consumers favour, and in Canada's case sacrificing its own auto industry's fragile future.

 

During the meeting, now-retired senior government bureaucrat Margaret McCuaig-Johnson brought forward conclusions of a Human Rights Watch report of 2024 that "dozens of parts in each Chinese EV are made with aluminum from Uyghur forced labour". This related directly to the Canadian House of Commons unanimously passing a  resolution identifying the Chinese Communist Party executing a 'genocide' on Uyghurs and the Turkic populations of Xinjiang Province.

 

On the committee, Mr. Ma sharply questioned that assertion, challenging Ms. McCuaig-Johnston, now a senior fellow with the graduate school of public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa, for proof of such a purported genocide: "Have you witnessed this yourself?" This despite that experts with the United Nations express deep concern with respect to persistent charges of forced labour affecting Uyghur, Kazakh and Kyrgyz groups, along with Tibetans within the Autonomous Region of the Xinjiang Uyghur area and other parts of China.

 

 

 

That pointed skepticism aroused a chorus of disbelief and condemnation of the stance taken by MP Ma sitting with the Liberal caucus, for which he later half-apologized; he was misunderstood, it appears. He was not, he averred taking the side of the Chinese government which consistently denies all and any such accusations. After all, the House had adopted that motion against the People's Republic of China in 2021. 

 

Ms. McCuaig-Johnston expressed her opinion that her aggressive interlocutor was supporting the 'strategic partnership' the PM had struck with China, since he had formed part of the delegation to Beijing. His questions whether she had an "advanced degree in technology or cyber security", followed by whether the China Strategic Risks Institute she advises "specifically looks for risks when there isn't one", marked the  tenor of his questioning which he demanded strictly 'yes' or 'no' responses to.  

 

In her turn, Ms. McCuaig-Johnston explained that for the past 40 years as a federal government employee she had travelled to and conducted business with China. It was the arbitrary arrest of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor charged with spying on China and held for almost three years before they were finally released, that spurred her to look a little harder at human rights abuses beyond China's penchant for 'hostage diplomacy', to add to her experience and impressions of the PRC. 

 

Prime Minister Mark Carney is defending new MP Michael Ma after he apologized for making dismissive comments about the issue of Chinese forced labour last week. Ma, who defected from the Conservatives, earned sharp criticism from his former party over the comments.  Still from video, CBC

"Mr. Ma has apologized for his comments and directly and unequivocally recognized the seriousness of the issue, continues to be a member of our caucus, and I'll continue to work with him."

"I followed this issue over the years in China and elsewhere, and there is evidence of child labour around the world."

"Issues of supply chain integrity, including forced labour, child labour, and ensuring that those standards are in place will be part of those discussions, I'm certain."

"And ensuring that we have the adequate transparency for any good from any of our trade partners." 

Prime Minister Mark Carney