Canada: It’s Time to Stop Holding Ourselves Back – Lynn Exner

For decades, Canada’s provinces have behaved like crabs in a bucket—pulling each other down instead of lifting each other up. Instead of working together to build a stronger economy, we’ve allowed outdated trade barriers, regulatory red tape, and political infighting to stifle our own potential.

In my work advocating for Canadian resource development, I see it all the time. Canada has everything the world needs—energy, minerals, lumber, food, and more. But instead of ensuring our own domestic economy is strong and efficient, we’ve made it harder for businesses to grow, both within our borders and beyond them. Instead of celebrating and capitalizing on each other’s strengths, we have spent too much time competing internally, blocking opportunities, and making it difficult to trade internationally and within our own country.

That might have been tolerated in the past, when global trade was predictable and our largest trading partners were reliable. But the world has changed. Tariffs are being weaponized, supply chains are shifting, and countries everywhere are prioritizing their own industries.

If Canada wants to remain competitive, we need to start acting like a country—one with an internal economy that functions as smoothly as our external trade agreements.

The good news is that momentum is finally building to address this issue. Canada’s leaders are talking about dismantling interprovincial trade barriers—something that should have happened long ago. The challenge now is to make sure that this talk turns into action. It has been suggested it could take as little as 30 days. We can’t afford another decade of stalled negotiations, watered-down agreements, and excuses for inaction. It’s time to demand real change and hold our leaders accountable to follow through.

Every region of Canada produces something the rest of the country and the world need. Alberta’s oil and gas, Saskatchewan’s potash, Ontario’s manufacturing, Quebec’s hydroelectric power, British Columbia’s ports, and Atlantic Canada’s fisheries—these industries are the backbone of our economy. They should be supported, expanded, and celebrated. Instead, businesses and workers trying to move goods, services, and expertise across provincial lines face obstacles that weaken our ability to compete globally.

One of the most common-sense solutions is a National Energy and Resource Corridor—a dedicated infrastructure network that allows for the efficient transport of energy, minerals, and other critical resources across the country. Instead of every project facing jurisdictional battles and costly delays, a coordinated, pre-approved corridor would streamline trade and investment, ensuring that Canadian products reach both domestic and international markets without unnecessary obstacles. It would also provide a foundation for future development—whether in oil and gas, renewable energy, or critical minerals—giving businesses and investors the certainty they need to support long-term growth.

We see the need for this in our supply chains, where businesses deal with costly delays just trying to move products between provinces. We see it in our labour markets, where skilled workers face unnecessary barriers to working in other regions of the country. And we see it in national infrastructure projects that could benefit all Canadians but get tangled in red tape.

These inefficiencies cost our economy billions of dollars every year—money that should be driving investment, innovation, and job creation instead of being lost to unnecessary restrictions.

In normal times, this would be frustrating. In today’s economic and geopolitical climate, it’s reckless. The global marketplace is shifting, and Canada must be ready to meet the challenge. Instead of being held back by internal divisions, we need to work together to make Canada a stronger, more self-sufficient, and more competitive trading nation.

We’ve proven that cooperation is possible when it’s absolutely necessary. Now, we need to treat it as a permanent priority, not just a temporary fix during a crisis. This is not just about economic efficiency—it’s about Canada’s ability to stand strong in a changing world.

There is no reason why a Canadian business should have to navigate different rules and restrictions just to expand into another province. There is no reason why a worker should have to requalify to do the same job in a different part of the country. And there is certainly no reason why major projects that create jobs and economic growth should be stalled for years over jurisdictional disputes.

A crisis like this is a terrible thing to waste. The global economy is shifting, and Canada has a choice. We can cling to outdated provincial protectionism and regulatory inefficiencies, or we can remove these barriers and finally build a true national economy. We can keep acting like crabs in a bucket, pulling each other down, or we can recognize that our strength lies in working together. Instead of standing in each other’s way, we should be celebrating each other’s strengths and ensuring that every region of the country can contribute fully to our shared prosperity.

Canada has faced major challenges before, and we’ve always been at our best when we face them as a united country. Now, more than ever, we need to tap into that spirit—not just to fix today’s problems, but to prepare for whatever surprises the future holds. The time for provincial rivalries, excessive regulation, and economic inefficiency is over.

It’s time to break free from the bucket and move forward as a stronger, more competitive, and more resilient Canada.

Lynn Exner is a spokesperson for Canada Action, a volunteer-initiated grassroots group dedicated to promoting natural resource development and economic growth in Canada.

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EU investigates major pornographic site over failure to protect children

Published on June 15, 2025

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From LifeSiteNews

By Jonathon Van Maren

Pornhub has taken down 91% of its images and videos and a huge portion of the last 9% will be gone by June 30 because it never verified the age or consent of those in the videos.

Despite an aggressive PR operation to persuade lawmakers that they have reformed, Pornhub is having a very bad year.

On May 29, it was reported that the European Commission is investigating the pornography giant and three other sites for failing to verify the ages of users.

The investigation, which comes after a letter sent to the companies last June asking what measures they have taken to protect minors, is being carried out under the Digital Services Act. The DSA came into effect in November 2022 and directs platforms to ensure “appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security of minors, on their service” and implement “targeted measures to protect the rights of the child, including age verification and parental control tools, tools aimed at helping minors signal abuse or obtain support, as appropriate.”

According to France24: “The commission, the EU’s tech regulator, accused the platforms of not having ‘appropriate; age verification tools to prevent children from being exposed to pornography. An AFP correspondent only had to click a button on Tuesday stating they were older than 18 without any further checks to gain access to each of the four platforms.”

Indeed, Pornhub’s alleged safety mechanisms are a sick joke, and Pornhub executives have often revealed the real reason behind their opposition to safeguards: It limits their traffic.

Meanwhile, Pornhub — and other sites owned by parent company Aylo — are blocking their content in France in response to a new age verification law that came into effect on June 7. Solomon Friedman, Aylo’s point man in the Pornhub propaganda war, stated that the French law was “potentially privacy infringing” and “dangerous,” earning a scathing rebuke from France’s deputy minister for digital technology Clara Chappaz.

“We’re not stigmatizing adults who want to consume this content, but we mustn’t do so at the expense of protecting our children,” she said, adding later, “Lying when one does not want to comply with the law and holding others hostage is unacceptable. If Aylo would rather leave France than apply our law, they are free to do so.” According to the French media regulator Arcom, 2.3 million French minors visit pornographic sites every month.

Incidentally, anti-Pornhub activist Laila Mickelwait reported another major breakthrough on June 7. “P*rnhub is deleting much of what’s left of the of the site by June 30,” she wrote on X. “Together we have collectively forced this sex trafficking and rape crime scene to take down 91% of the entire site, totaling 50+ million videos and images. Now a significant portion of the remaining 9% will be GONE this month in what will be the second biggest takedown of P*rnhub content since December 2020.”

“The reason for the mass deletion is that they never verified the age or consent of the individuals depicted in the images and videos, and therefore the site is still awash with real sexual crime,” she added. “Since the fight began in 2020, 91% of P*rnhub has been taken down — over 50 million images and videos. Now a huge portion of the last 9% will be gone by June 30 because P*rnhub never verified the age or consent of those in the videos and the site is a crime scene.”

Jonathon Van Maren

Jonathon’s writings have been translated into more than six languages and in addition to LifeSiteNews, has been published in the National Post, National Review, First Things, The Federalist, The American Conservative, The Stream, the Jewish Independent, the Hamilton Spectator, Reformed Perspective Magazine, and LifeNews, among others. He is a contributing editor to The European Conservative.

His insights have been featured on CTV, Global News, and the CBC, as well as over twenty radio stations. He regularly speaks on a variety of social issues at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

He is the author of The Culture War, Seeing is Believing: Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of Abortion, Patriots: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Pro-Life Movement, Prairie Lion: The Life and Times of Ted Byfield, and co-author of A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide with Blaise Alleyne.

Jonathon serves as the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.

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Natural gas pipeline ownership spreads across 36 First Nations in B.C.

Published on June 14, 2025

Todayville

Chief David Jimmie is president of Stonlasec8 and Chief of Squiala First Nation in B.C. He also chairs the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group. Photo courtesy Western Indigenous Pipeline Group

From the Canadian Energy Centre

Stonlasec8 agreement is Canada’s first federal Indigenous loan guarantee

The first federally backed Indigenous loan guarantee paves the way for increased prosperity for 36 First Nations communities in British Columbia.

In May, Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV) announced a $400 million backstop for the consortium to jointly purchase 12.5 per cent ownership of Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system for $712 million.

In the works for two years, the deal redefines long-standing relationships around a pipeline that has been in operation for generations.

“For 65 years, there’s never been an opportunity or a conversation about participating in an asset that’s come through the territory,” said Chief David Jimmie of the Squiala First Nation near Vancouver, B.C.

“We now have an opportunity to have our Nation’s voices heard directly when we have concerns and our partners are willing to listen.”

Jimmie chairs the Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance, which represents the communities buying into the Enbridge system.

The name Stonlasec8 reflects the different regions represented in the agreement, he said.

The Westcoast pipeline stretches more than 2,900 kilometres from northeast B.C. near the Alberta border to the Canada-U.S. border near Bellingham, Wash., running through the middle of the province.

It delivers up to 3.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas throughout B.C. and the Lower Mainland, Alberta and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

“While we see the benefits back to communities, we are still reminded of our responsibility to the land, air and water so it is important to think of reinvestment opportunities in alternative energy sources and how we can offset the carbon footprint,” Jimmie said.

He also chairs the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group (WIPG), a coalition of First Nations communities working in partnership with Pembina Pipeline to secure an ownership stake in the newly expanded Trans Mountain pipeline system.

There is overlap between the communities in the two groups, he said.

CDEV vice-president Sébastien Labelle said provincial models such as the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) and Ontario’s Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program helped bring the federal government’s version of the loan guarantee to life.

“It’s not a new idea. Alberta started it before us, and Ontario,” Labelle said.

“We hired some of the same advisors AIOC hired because we want to make sure we are aligned with the market. We didn’t want to start something completely new.”

Broadly, Jimmie said the Stonlasec8 agreement will provide sustained funding for investments like housing, infrastructure, environmental stewardship and cultural preservation. But it’s up to the individual communities how to spend the ongoing proceeds.

The long-term cash injections from owning equity stakes of major projects can provide benefits that traditional funding agreements with the federal government do not, he said.

Labelle said the goal is to ensure Indigenous communities benefit from projects on their traditional territories.

“There’s a lot of intangible, indirect things that I think are hugely important from an economic perspective,” he said.

“You are improving the relationship with pipeline companies, you are improving social license to do projects like this.”

Jimmie stressed the impact the collaborative atmosphere of the negotiations had on the success of the Stonlasec8 agreement.

“It takes true collaboration to reach a successful partnership, which doesn’t always happen. And from the Nation representation, the sophistication of the group was one of the best I’ve ever worked with.”