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The Latest: 48 people hospitalized after NZ shootings
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The Latest on shootings at mosques in New Zealand (all times local):
12:15 a.m.
New Zealand health authorities say 48 people with gunshot wounds are being treated at Christchurch Hospital after mass shootings at two mosques killed 49 people.
The chief executive of the Canterbury District Health Board, David Meates, says the patients range from young children to adults and the injuries range from minor to critical.
Meates says 12 operating
He says about 200 family members are at the hospital early Saturday awaiting news about their loved ones.
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11:50 p.m.
New Zealand police say their investigation into mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch has extended 360
A police statement gave no further detail of how the location might be linked to the attacks in Christchurch that claimed at least 49 lives.
Police say homes around the location in Dunedin have been evacuated as a precaution.
Three people are being held in Christchurch, including one who has been charged with murder, and police say two improvised explosive devises were found in a car.
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11:20 p.m.
National carrier Air New Zealand has
The airline said some smaller planes
Typically, passengers on smaller turboprop aircraft
Air New Zealand said the safety of its customers and employees was paramount and apologized for the inconvenience.
Police say at least 49 people were killed in the shootings during Friday prayers at the mosques.
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9:10 p.m.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush says the death toll has increased to 49 in shootings at two mosques.
Bush told a news conference that a man has been charged with murder and will appear in court tomorrow. He would not say whether the same shooter was responsible for both attacks.
A man who earlier claimed responsibility said he was a 28-year-old Australian and described anti-immigrant motives in a manifesto.
Police earlier said four people had been taken into custody, and one had been identified as Australian. However, Bush didn’t mention the other people.
Bush clarified that police had found two improvised explosive devices in one car. He said they had disabled one and were in the process of disabling the second.
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8 p.m.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the national security threat level has been lifted from low to high after deadly shootings at two mosques.
Forty people were killed in Friday’s attack and four people were taken into custody, including one Australian. Ardern said none had been on any terror watch list.
The security threat level is now at the second-highest level. She said authorities had no reason to believe there were more suspects, but “we are not assuming that at this stage.”
A man who claimed responsibility for the shootings described anti-immigrant views in a manifesto.
Ardern said, “These are people who I would describe as having extremist views, that have absolutely no place in New Zealand.”
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7:40 p.m.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the shootings at two mosques in New Zealand appear to have been a well-planned “terrorist attack.”
Ardern said 40 people were killed at two mosques in the city of Christchurch and more than 20 seriously injured.
She said earlier Friday that migrants and refugees appeared to be most affected by the shootings.
A man who claimed responsibility for the attack said he was a 28-year-old Australian and described anti-immigrant motives in a manifesto.
Police earlier said four people were taken into custody, and one has been identified as Australian.
Ardern said in a news conference, “It is clearthat this can now only be describedas a terrorist attack. From what weknow, it does appear to have beenwell planned.”
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7:30 p.m.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says 40 people have been killed in an attack at mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.
Four people have been detained, and one is Australian.
Ardern said more than 20 people were seriously injured during the shootings at two mosques during Friday prayers.
Thirty fatalities occurred at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch. Seven of the dead were inside the suburban Linwood Masjid Mosque and three died outside the same mosque.
A man who claimed responsibility for the shootings said in a manifesto that he was a 28-year-old white Australian who came to New Zealand only to plan and train for the attack.
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7 p.m.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that one of the four people taken into custody in New Zealand’s mosque shootings is an Australian.
A man who claimed responsibility for the shootings said in a manifesto that he was a 28-year-old white Australian who came to New Zealand only to plan and train for the attack.
New Zealand police said they had arrested four people. Morrison on Friday confirmed one of those who were arrested was an Australian-born citizen. He said Australian authorities were assisting with the investigation.
Morrison said Australians were shocked, appalled and outraged by the attack. He described the gunman as “an extremist, right-wing, violent terrorist.”
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6:20 p.m.
Indonesia’s foreign minister says six Indonesians were at the Al Noor Mosque in New Zealand when a shooting occurred and three of them escaped.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said, “We are looking for three other Indonesian citizens.”
Police have described multiple fatalities in shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch and say four people are in custody.
The Indonesian Embassy in Wellington sent a team to Christchurch that is
The foreign ministry says there are 330 Indonesian citizens in Christchurch, 130 of them students.
It said it strongly condemns the attack. “The government and the people of Indonesia convey deep condolences to the victims and their families.”
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6 p.m.
New Zealand police say they’re not aware of other suspects beyond the four who have been arrested after two mosque shootings but they can’t be certain.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush did not elaborate on the suspects who are in custody.
The shootings occurred at two mosques in the Christchurch area during Friday afternoon prayers.
A witness described multiple deaths at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch. A witness who heard about five gunshots at the suburban Linwood Masjid Mosque said two wounded people were carried out on stretchers.
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5:30 p.m.
New Zealand police say they have taken into custody three men and one woman over the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the events Friday afternoon “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”
The shootings involved multiple fatalities but authorities have not said how many.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said police have defused a number of improvised explosive devices found on vehicles after the mosque shootings.
A man who claimed responsibility for the shootings left a 74-page anti-immigrant manifesto in which he explained who he was and his reasoning for his actions. He said he considered it a terrorist attack.
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4:30 p.m.
Police have warned people to avoid mosques anywhere in New Zealand following two shootings with multiple fatalities at two mosques in Christchurch.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said anyone thinking of going to a mosque should stay put and close their doors.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a Friday afternoon news conference that one suspect was in custody but “there could be others involved.”
A man who lives near the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch said many people were dead there. A witness to a second shooting told New Zealand media he saw two wounded people being transported by rescuers afterward.
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4:10 p.m.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says following fatal shootings at two mosques in Christchurch it is “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”
Police said there were multiple fatalities and one person was in custody, but no details were immediately available.
Ardern said at a Friday afternoon news conference, “what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.”
She said while many people affected may be migrants or refugees “they have chosen to make New Zealand their home and it is their home. They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not.”
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3:45 p.m.
New Zealand media say a shooting has occurred in a second mosque in the city of Christchurch.
No details were immediately available.
Earlier Friday afternoon, police had urged people to stay indoors as authorities responded to a shooting at the Masjid Al Noor mosque.
A
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3 p.m.
A witness says many people have been killed in a mass shooting at a mosque in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.
Police have not described the scale of the Friday shooting but urged people in central Christchurch to stay indoors.
Witness Len Peneha says he saw a man dressed in black enter the Masjid Al Noor mosque and then heard dozens of shots, followed by people running from the mosque in terror.
He says he also saw the gunman flee before emergency services arrived
Peneha says he went into the mosque to try and help: “I saw dead people everywhere.”
The Associated Press
From the Fraser Institute
By Grady Munro and Jake Fuss
According to a recent poll, nearly half of all Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque. While inflation has cooled and the steep growth in grocery prices has abated, taxes remain the single largest expense for Canadian families, and their tax bill continues to rise.
Canadians pay many different taxes and it can be hard to know how much you pay in total. We pay income taxes, sales taxes, health taxes, payroll taxes, property taxes and many others as part of our total tax bill. But while some of these taxes are visible—for example, you can check your income tax return to see how much you pay in personal income taxes—many others are hidden.
To help Canadians understand how much they pay in taxes, each year the Fraser Institute calculates Tax Freedom Day—the day of the year when the average Canadian family has earned enough money to pay all taxes levied by the federal, provincial and local governments. In other words, if Canadians were required to pay all their taxes up front, each and every dollar they earned prior to Tax Freedom Day would be paid to the government.
In 2024, the average Canadian family (two or more people) earning $147,570 will pay an estimated $65,766 in total taxes—or 44.6 per cent of its income. So, if you paid all your taxes for 2024 up front, you would pay the government every dollar you earned until June 13. After working the first 164 days of the year for the government, you now get to work for yourself.
Arriving on June 13, this year’s Tax Freedom Day comes one day later than last year—meaning the average Canadian family must work one day extra to pay off its total tax bill—because while the average family saw its income rise by 3.1 per cent, its total tax bill rose by 3.9 per cent.
And all signs point to rising taxes in the future.
This year the federal government expects to run a $39.8 billion deficit. Moreover, cumulative provincial deficits are projected to equal $30.1 billion, meaning total federal/provincial government debt is expected to increase by $69.9 billion in 2024/25. Future generations of Canadians will undoubtedly face tax increases to pay off this debt and few governments are demonstrating any fiscal restraint. Several governments (notably the federal government) have no plans to balance their budgets in the foreseeable future.
To help illustrate the size of the debt burden we’re passing on, we also calculate a Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day, which reveals the hypothetical tax burden on Canadians if governments across the country had to raise taxes today to balance their budgets. This year, Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day would arrive on June 23—10 days later than Tax Freedom Day.
With Tax Freedom Day falling one day later than last year, the burden of taxation is increasing for Canadian families. Unfortunately, governments are demonstrating little to no fiscal restraint, meaning Tax Freedom Day will likely arrive later in years to come.
Authors:
From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
This problem is only made worse by gullible writers and politicians who make excuses for the thieves. Their excuse is that these people are disadvantaged, so they are less than fully responsible for their criminal conduct. Some sympathetic souls go even further, and suggest that these indigenous shoplifters are simply taking back what is rightfully theirs as “reparations” because the shop owners are on “stolen land”.
Winnipeg, Manitoba is being hit with an epidemic of shoplifting that appears to be out of control. Thieves openly steal expensive items, such as frozen meat, from inner city food stores. Shelves are stripped bare in what are more accurately described as robberies than shoplifting. Victims describe brazen thefts by entitled thieves who become indignant when caught in the act. One store employee, who tried to stop a theft, was told “You are on Treaty 1 territory”. The stores that are hardest hit are often owned by immigrant families who have worked very hard to build their modest businesses. Some have had to close, as a result of the unchecked criminality, and others will follow.
Police protection is weak. Even in rare cases where culprits are caught and prosecuted, sentences are minimal.
The problem of brazen theft from Winnipeg liquor stores reached such a serious level in the recent past that customers at urban liquor stores in Manitoba are now allowed to enter the store only after lining up single file, and producing identification. Liquor prices have risen as a result, because special government employees must be hired to sit at the door to inspect ID’s. Customers must line up outside, even on the coldest winter days, because freeloaders choose to steal liquor. And everyone – including the police – are too shy to confront the robbers.
Other western cities, such as Regina, Saskatoon and Thunder Bay are having similar problems. Even small cities, such as Wetaskiwin, Alberta, are hard hit.
The common element is that all of these cities and towns have significant indigenous populations who migrated to the cities from largely dysfunctional reserves, where attitudes of dependency, entitlement and victimhood prevail. Most arrive poorly educated, with few job skills, but with an expectation that they will be provided for. They proceed to live rough lives on the mean streets of these cities. Many drift to shoplifting and other crime. The inner city thieves are disproportionately from this demographic.
This problem is only made worse by gullible writers and politicians who make excuses for the thieves. Their excuse is that these people are disadvantaged, so they are less than fully responsible for their criminal conduct. Some sympathetic souls go even further, and suggest that these indigenous shoplifters are simply taking back what is rightfully theirs as “reparations” because the shop owners are on “stolen land”. They argue that these indigenous people are victims of a system that gives them no chance to succeed, or that they are suffering from the “intergenerational trauma” presumably caused by the fact that 1 in 6 indigenous children attended residential schools in the past.
The shoplifters readily adopt these excuses, and claim to be victims of “systemic racism”.
But, wait a minute! Isn’t the Premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, indigenous? Isn’t he a successful, law-abiding person? And wouldn’t most indigenous Canadians laugh at the idea that they had to steal to survive? How is it that Wab Kinew, and the many other successful indigenous Canadians manage their lives just fine while the shoplifters cannot?
The answer is that Wab succeeded the way all successful people do. He went to school, worked hard, and went where the jobs are. He was fortunate to have competent, caring parents who understood the importance of education and hard work. His parents also understood that assimilation (or, if you prefer, integration) was essential for their son to succeed. Wab’s father had a rough time in residential school, but used what he learned to raise a son who has become a provincial premier.
The fact that Kinew is fully assimilated does not prevent him from celebrating his indigenous heritage. Recently, a video of him energetically performing a prairie chicken dance went viral. It showed indigenous youth that they too can be both successful Canadians – and proudly indigenous – at the same time.
It is clear from watching him dancing so vigorously that he would have been a formidable warrior in pre-contact indigenous hunting culture. Colonialism ended that possibility. But it is equally clear that he, and the other indigenous people who were willing to learn the new ways, received a lot in return from the settlers. He is now an articulate, literate, thoroughly modern man, thanks to “settler colonialism”. Colonialism has also given him an expected lifespan more than double that of yesterday’s hunter-gatherers. Colonialism gave at least as much as it took from him.
Kinew’s memoir, “The Reason You Walk” describes someone determined to live his life not as a victim, but as a confident indigenous Canadian.
He built his own life – making mistakes along the way – but learning from those mistakes, and is now the leader of a province – and lauded as a possible future prime minister. He offers no apologies to critics who suggest that an indigenous person who is successful is somehow “selling out” indigenous people. His famous reply to that old saw is “Aboriginal success is the best form of reconciliation”.
Don’t expect to find Wab Kinew stealing frozen hamburger from a Food Fare store anytime soon.
But here’s the lesson indigenous youth can learn from the example Wab Kinew, and other successful indigenous people have set: “If they can do it, so can you”. They should also tell the apologists who want to give them tired excuses – excusing theft as “reparations” for perceived past wrongs, or “intergenerational trauma” – that they, like Wab, refuse to live their lives as “victims”.
In short, the solution to the shoplifting problem is not to condone theft. It is not to treat criminals differently because they are indigenous. It is not to offer them excuses. The solution is to create more Wab Kinews.
And that’s up to Indigenous parents. No government can do that for them. For many families, like Wab’s, that will include the difficult decision to move from dead-end reserves. But if they have the same commitment to their children’s education and upbringing that Wab’s parents had there is no reason that they can’t raise successful children in this country.
Long before he became Manitoba’s premier, Wab Kinew, regularly entertained listeners on CBC Radio. He was a refreshing, common sense voice, and always refused to play the victim. He never failed to remind young indigenous people that Canada worked just fine for him.
And, with a bit of grit and hard work, it can work for them too.
Brian Giesbrecht, retired judge, is a Senior Fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
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