From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

British Columbia Conservative candidate Gwen O’Mahony says her car was deliberately set on fire just days after she gave an interview condemning church burnings across Canada.

Just days after condemning the slew of church burnings that have occurred across Canada in recent years, a British Columbia politican’s car was set ablaze in a seeming act of arson.

On February 11, former B.C. member of the legislative assembly (MLA) Gwen O’Mahony said she received a call from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) that her car had been deliberately set on fire, just days after she condemned the growing number of church burnings in the nation since 2021. O’Mahony served as an MLA for the left-wing New Democratic Party before switching her party affiliation and running as a candidate for the B.C. Conservatives. 

“My car was deliberately set on fire just after my interview on church arsons aired,” O’Mahony posted on X. “The RCMP are investigating as an act of arson.” 

The arsonist had reportedly stacked wood under the back of her car and then set it on fire. One of O’Mahony’s neighbours noticed the fire and called 911. Firefighters arrived and were able to extinguish the flames before they reached the gas tank. 

“This was deliberate. There’s no way it was an accident,” O’Mahony told the Northern Beat. “As soon as I walked down there, the RCMP officer looked at me, and she says, ‘So do you have any enemies?’ 

“I said, ‘Well, I’m a BC Conservative, so I imagine I have quite a few.’” 

The alleged arson attack came just a couple days after O’Mahony was interviewed by Rebel News regarding her views on the recent church burnings in Canada.  

During the interview, O’Mahony condemned the 33 church burnings across Canada as an “anti-Christian hate crime.” Later, she pointed out that anti-Christian hate is rampant on social media, with users saying “things they would never post if, let’s say, for example, they were talking about… Islam or Sikhism.” 

Indeed, beginning in 2021, the mainstream media ran with the unproven claim that hundreds of children were buried and disregarded by Catholic priests and nuns who ran some of the residential schools which were once-mandated by the federal government. Since then, over 100 churches have been burned or vandalized across Canada in seeming retribution.  

Despite the attack on O’Mahony’s car, she says she is committed to continuing to speak out.

“A minority of extremists are pushing a weird agenda, and a lot of us are just getting sick of it,” she declared. “This woman is sick of it. This woman is not shutting up.” 

Conservative Party Leader John Rustad responded to the alleged arson, offering his sympathies to O’Mahony and thanking her for her pro-Christian work.  

“Gwen, I am so deeply angered to hear about this arson attack,” he wrote on X. “Thank you for the work you’ve done to highlight hate crimes that occurred against Christians when Churches were burnt down all across BC & Canada.” 

“I’m proud of BC Conservatives like Gwen who refuse to be intimidated!” he declared.  

Sam Cooper

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have intercepted a shipment containing more than one pound of fentanyl from Canada, marking the latest sign of an accelerating crisis along the BC-Washington border. The fentanyl, concealed within a package believed to have originated in British Columbia, was discovered during a targeted enforcement operation at a Seattle shipping facility on February 6.

The package contained a brown, rock-like substance wrapped in plastic bags. Subsequent testing confirmed it was fentanyl, the synthetic opioid driving tens of thousands of overdose deaths in North America each year.

Area Port Director Rene Ortega, speaking about the seizure, underscored its broader implications. “Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous synthetic drug that continues to devastate communities across the United States,” Ortega said. “CBP remains committed to using every available tool to stop these lethal substances before they reach our streets.”

The latest seizure is part of an escalating pattern that has prompted increasingly aggressive responses from Washington. President Donald Trump has warned of sweeping tariffs in the coming weeks unless Ottawa delivers a credible, actionable plan to crack down on transnational crime networks driving fentanyl production. These networks—operating primarily out of British Columbia—are deeply entrenched with organized crime groups from China and Mexico.

The Bureau has reported extensively on Washington’s mounting frustration with Canada’s handling of the fentanyl crisis. BC Mayor Brad West, who has been in direct communication with senior U.S. officials, has described an urgent shift in tone from American law enforcement and intelligence agencies. In a high-level 2023 meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, West was briefed on just how seriously Washington views Canada’s role in the illicit drug trade.

“This is no longer just a Canadian domestic issue,” West told The Bureau. “Secretary Blinken made it clear that the Biden administration sees fentanyl as an existential threat. They’re building a global coalition and need Canada fully on board. If we don’t show real progress, the U.S. will protect itself by any means—tariffs or otherwise.”

Concerns extend beyond law enforcement. According to multiple sources with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence assessments, American agencies have begun withholding key evidence from their Canadian counterparts, citing a lack of confidence that Ottawa will act on it. West confirmed that in his ongoing discussions with senior U.S. officials, they have voiced alarm over the level of access major figures in Asian organized crime appear to have within Canada’s political class.

“They’re basically asking, ‘What’s going on in Canada?’” West said.

The frustration is not new. For years, U.S. and international law enforcement agencies have sought to curb the transnational reach of organizations like Sam Gor, the powerful Asian organized crime syndicate that dominates much of the fentanyl precursor supply chain. But Canada’s response has been widely seen as inadequate. Critics argue that political sensitivities and reluctance to confront entrenched criminal networks have left Canadian law enforcement hamstrung.

The question now is whether Ottawa will take decisive action. Bringing forward measures as sweeping as a RICO-style anti-mafia statute or invoking the notwithstanding clause to bypass legal obstacles to tougher enforcement would represent a sharp departure from the status quo. Both approaches would require confronting entrenched political, legal and economic interests, as well as explaining why existing laws have failed to secure convictions against the most powerful actors in organized crime.

West believes the shifting geopolitical landscape may force Ottawa’s hand. Washington’s patience, he warns, ran thin years ago—and the U.S. is now signaling it will no longer wait.