"The 14-point text is unambiguous on the point the White House is most eager to fog. It commits the United States, "with regional partners," to develop a "plan with at least USD 300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran" -- $3 billion of which has, according to the unsurpassed journalist, Lee Smith, already been sent to Iran through by way of the United Arab Emirates. The president has called reports of that figure "fake news" and insisted nobody is putting up "ten cents." The clause nevertheless sits prominently in the document he signed."

"Only one question really matters: what does the agreement, if honored by Iran, deliver? It leaves enriched uranium inside Iran, concedes a right to enrichment that was recently a red line, permits the Iranian ballistic-missile program Trump now defends supposedly because other countries have missiles too, and pours reconstruction money into an economy whose ruling institution is the brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)."

"The regime in Tehran, which has waited out many American presidents and means to wait out another, is betting they are bluffing about everything except the check."

Pierre Rehov, Gatestone Institute 

A Fattah ballistic missile is displayed during the annual military parade in Tehran. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

 

Interesting how Canada-Israel relations have plunged into an icy bath in the past decade coinciding with Liberal governments lauding their 'progressive', DEI, Critical Race Theory values, and managing to impose them as credit-worthy virtues to abide by. In their playbook terrorists are 'militants', or 'gunmen' and a small nation that displays its sovereign right of response against existential threats represents an oppressive regime over-reacting to mere hyperbolic threats of violence however expressed in lavish bloodbaths.

 

Canada's previous and its current prime ministers take pride in their declared solidarity with the world's foremost victims whose claims to the historic patrimony of another people's ancestral land strikes a sympathetic chord with a government that hasn't hesitated to disown its own history while bemoaning itself as colonialist imperialists guilty of 'genocide' of Canada's aboriginals. The warm friendship and trust between Canada and the State of Israel exemplified most cordially by the preceding Conservative-led government is no more.

 

Canada's current prime minister, Mark Carney, finds much in common with the Palestinian Authority's autocratic, corrupt President Mahmoud Abbas, with the financially influential Emir of Qatar as exemplars of democracy, while giving a cold shoulder to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the sole democracy in the Middle East, a Jewish state that governs a diverse religious, ethnic, cultural population seen nowhere else in the geography. Mr. Carney maintains cordial relationships with all but Mr. Netanyahu.

 

In Mr. Carney's opinion, Israel is guilty of any number of offences, primary among them its military responses to violent mass atrocities committed against Jews, much less ongoing threats of annihilation by the Islamic Republic of Iran, whose proxy militias, trained, funded and armed by the al-Quds branch of the Islamic Republican Guard Corps attack Israel from the south, from the north through Hamas and Hezbollah, goading Israel to invade Gaza and Lebanon in defensive reaction to never-ending attacks. 

 

Montreal4Palestine says the effigies displayed during the demonstration were directed at political figures, Benjamin Netanyahu, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Donald Trump. Montreal police’s hate crimes unit is investigating the incident.

 

None of which gave Canada's prime minister pause in declaring support for Palestinian statehood, and issuing statements of condemnation against Israel for its military pursuit of terrorists in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as those in Lebanon. Praising Arab leadership for their peace overtures, imagined tolerance and democratic values, all absent but for a scant few Middle East countries, while slurring Israel for its presumed lack of those virtues seems to satisfy something deep within Mr. Carney's subconscious.

 

It looks suspiciously akin to antisemitism. Denouncing Israel for "illegal invasion" of Lebanon, with no nuanced acknowledgement that the government of Lebanon has failed to exert its sovereignty and responsibility to its population that suffers a malignant terror group in Hezbollah to place the country in a vulnerable position by constant rocket fire into northern Israel. Iran's regime, sworn to Israel's destruction, has traditionally occupied Lebanon through Hezbollah, yet no acknowledgement of that simple reality in understanding Israel's dilemma is forthcoming.

 

When Mr. Carney finally directly addressed the inflamed persecution of Canadian Jews by organized foreign interests which has seen years of 'pro-Palestinian' and 'anti-Israel' processions throughout Canadian streets, condemning Israel for 'genocide' against Palestinians, while threatening Jews in Canada with 'Final Solution', 'Globalize the Intifada', and 'From the river to the sea', codes well known to represent incitement to violence, he spoke of rabid antisemitism as an unforgivable social pathology.

 

One which he had every intention, finally of addressing, after appearing to nonchalantly fail to 'notice' the ubiquitous presence of Jew-hate emanating from a flood of new immigrants, refugees and migrants whose cultural traditions of that malady were carried with them into Canada to augment already-existing, but quiescent suspicion of Jews to bring the pathology to a crescendo of orchestrated taunts, threats and violence including vandalism, gunshots and incendiary devices thrown at synagogues, Jewish schools and private Jewish-owned businesses.

 

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks against antisemitism in front of members of the Jewish community and law enforcement leaders at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto on Monday, June 1, 2026. Photo by Peter Power/Postmedia

 

His grand solution, announced at a Toronto synagogue where he spoke comfortingly and comfortably about his intentions to finally put an end to the disorder, with the assignment of an advisory committee to study the issue of rampant antisemitism in Canada, was to appoint none other than Muslim and Arab known Jew-haters to the task of solving the problem that they themselves are responsible for. 

 

In the end, it is interesting how two governments, one the United States of America, the other Canada, neighbours in North America, have a president and a prime minister thought to be quite unalike one another in temperament, character and values. Yet there is more to meet the eye than a cursory review of the behaviour of each, and in the end, summing up their stated positions, their concerns and their democratic declarations, along with the outcomes of their intentions, it becomes clear they have much in common. 

"These details are important as this investigation involves at least six shooting incidents in the Greater Toronto Area linked to a 9mm handgun, and at least 11 shooting incidents in the Greater Toronto Area linked to a .45-calibre firearm."
"We are still doing ballistic testing, and more arrests and charges could come at a later date."

"What we are dealing with in this case and in other unrelated incidences, including shootings at synagogues and Jewish schools, is a reoccurring and similar modus operandi. And that is criminals for hire." 

"Young people are hired [through encrypted messaging apps including WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal] to carry out attacks against various targets."

"And in order to get paid, they're required to film their attacks."

Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demkiw 

Chief Myron Demkiw announces the loss of Constable Marc Pinizzotto alongside Toronto Police Association President Clayton Campbell and Mayor Olivia Chow.Toronto Police Service

 

 It was finally made official through a news conference Monday, that Toronto Police have linked the shooting at Toronto's U.S. Consulate and another at a private industry, to a number of repeat shootings at Toronto-area synagogues and Jewish schools. Just a week earlier as a Toronto Police squad arrived at an uptown apartment complex to deliver a warrant, a shootout took place between several youth wanted for involvement in those very shootings, that led to the death of one of the police officers, Constable Marc Pinizzotto, 43, a member of the Emergency Task Force, whose death in the line of service suddenly made the investigation into the mystery shootings very personal for the Toronto Police Service.

 

The young shooter, Nicholas Bennett, 19, wounded in the shootout and currently in hospital faces a first-degree murder charge for Constable Pinizzotto's killing, while his companion Zara Jabbi, 19 -- both suspects in the March 10 U.S. Consulate attack on University Avenue -- is a fugitive, with an active police search ongoing. "We are doing everything we can to find and arrest him", assured Chief Myron Demkiw at a press briefing. "This is an incredibly difficult moment for all of us. Marc's family has lost a husband, a father and a son, and as a service, we've lost a colleague and a friend."

 

Constable Marc Pinizzotto with his wife and children.

 

 During the investigation, police retrieved two guns on Thursday, the product of a raid on an apartment complex, where Constable Pinizzotto was shot to death, in the area north of Black Creek Drive and Eglinton Avenue West. According to Chief Demkiw announcing the find, the 9 mm handgun and .45-calibre handgun had both "originated in the United States of America". Some of the gangs that are known to recruit young offenders to steal vehicles throughout the Toronto area to ship them abroad, have been known to use their profits from stolen-vehicle sales to finance the illegal purchase of weapons smuggled from the U.S. into Canada.

 

According to U.S. prosecutors, the attack on the Toronto U.S. Consulate had been directed by Mohammad Baqeer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a commander of an Iraqi militia linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A wiretapped conversation with al-Saadi soon after the March 10 shooting, reported through an unsealed criminal complaint in the U.S. has evidenced his involvement when he claimed "our people" to have been responsible for the attack, along with another on "the Knesset", referencing the Toronto synagogue fired on almost simultaneously. 

 

Will it ever occur to the Toronto Police Service that the 'our people' would be in reference to the many IRGC members who have slipped into Canada, particularly in and around Toronto, to live comfortably away from the messy nuisance of the Israel-U.S. bombing in Iran? And while their presence is fairly well known to Canadian Intelligence and the federal government who appear to view their presence with a certain blase nonchalance, that very presence is a threat? 

 

The entrance to Congregation Beth Tikvah in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, following an antisemitic attack, December 18, 2024   (photo credit: SIMON-MARC CHARRON/RADIO CANADA)

 

Two men were seen to emerge from a stolen Honda CRV to "fire multiple rounds" into the U.S. Consulate building, according to the TPS Chief Superintendent of Detective Operations, Joe Matthews. "While the building was struck by gunfire, thankfully nobody inside was injured", he noted, adding that the shooters had recorded their actions on their phones. The CRV they had stolen, later "was found abandoned in Scarborough", a Toronto suburb. 

 

Superintendent Matthews went  on to state that investigators determined the shooting was connected to "several other firearm discharge investigations across the Greater Toronto Area, both in terms of the individuals involved and the firearms being used." Police are still attempting to identify "individuals responsible for pulling the triggers", along with "those who may have directed or organized these acts of violence." There are, it appears, "multiple networks" of shooters for hire that are "multi-layered", explained the TPS superintendent. 

 

Three suspects in a Toronto police investigation into a series of recent shootings are shown. The suspects are from left to right: Jayon Burgher, 18, Sheldon Tracey-Stewart, 18, Zara Jabbi, 19. Police say Burgher and Tracey-Stewart have been arrested, while Jabbi is still at large. A fourth suspect, 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett (not pictured) is in custody in hospital. CTV News

  

"I know there's been a lot of reporting about criminal groups and foreign actors, but what I can tell you is that we are still working actively to investigate who's responsible for orchestrating these criminal acts."

"What we know is that bad actors are using criminal elements in our city to carry out these dangerous incidents."

"And it is clear that some of these individuals want to create a sense of fear in our communities, including in the Jewish community."

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw 

Criminal Extortion, Shooting Threats, Arson in Surrey, B.C.

"Three suspects arrested in connection with a recent extortion-related crime are waiting another week for a full appearance in Provincial Court in Surrey. Harjot Singh, Taranveer Singh and Dayajeet Singh Billing, all between the ages of 19 and 21, appeared in court briefly Thursday morning. The full hearing has now been pushed back a week at the request of the accused’s lawyer."

"The three men were arrested by anti-extortion control Sunday after bullets were fired at a home. They have been in custody since. Each has been charged with one count of discharging a firearm."

"The latest incident shines light on the 46 extortion cases Surrey Police say they are investigating so far this year. The British Columbia Extortion Task Force says there were 32 active files across the Lower Mainland as of last month."

"Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke was in Ottawa this week to seek more help from the feds on extortion-related crimes in her community. She says she is behind efforts to amend Canada’s laws to stop people charged with extortion-related crimes from seeking asylum."

"The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said in December that 15 foreigners facing extortion charges had applied for refugee status in Canada. CBSA said it is unclear under what pretenses the three men charged Sunday are in the country, but that it has started an investigation into their status."

Vancouver City News, February 5, 2026 

Harjot Singh, Taranveer Singh and Dayajeet Billing have been identified as the three foreign national men charged after an alleged extortion-related shooting in Surrey, B.C., on Sunday. (Surrey Police Service)

 

An extortion czar was appointed this week by British Columbia Premier David Eby to address the problem of violent extortion wracking the Surrey suburb of Vancouver. The appointee is a former RCMP officer, Paul Dadwal, now in charge of a new community advisory committee to "close any gap between community members and police" in addressing frequent episodes of businesses in the province shaken down for protection money from gangsters. 

 

The federal government back in September placed the Lawrence Bishnoi gang -- an organized criminal group from India linked to many of the extortions -- on Canada's terrorist list. Canada's Public Safety Ministry advanced two RCMP helicopters in an effort to assist in combating the crisis. That crisis inspired Surrey City Council to place their community under  a state of emergency as foreign criminals exploit an overwhelmed Canadian immigration system.

 

Judging from the age of the three arrested criminals above, they entered Canada on student visas from India. It is a well known fact that thousands of young people from India obtain student visas to study at Canadian academic institutions, but never show up for classes and authorities have no idea where they end up. With an estimated 30% of the Surrey population originally from India, this is a demographic that has been relentlessly preyed upon by unscrupulous criminals entering Canada from India through Canada's well-known porous immigration system.

 

Around two dozen people turned out for the protest. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

 

The fearful embattled Indian-Canadian population in Surrey has called out for active and meaningful protection against these gangs. Plagued by threats, shootings and arsons, the criminals predominantly target the South Asian community. Crudely worded messages are sent to people and businesses, demanding cash from homes or businesses. Violence is the penalty for money not received. This menace to society's security in Surrey began in 2023.

 

Back then, the RCMP in British Columbia circulated an example of a typical extortion letter: a sheet of paper with 'WARNING' headlining the note below. "we are Indian gang members, we want our share from your business like protection money. we have links all over do not ignore us, it will efect you realy bad." What the illiterate message lacks in authority it more than makes up for in follow-up violence.

 

Small business enterprises such as auto shops were the first to be targeted, and since then local media have also become targets. A shooting attack hit the studios of Surrey's Swift 1200 AM last September. With the New Year, attacks accelerated. There are instances where businesses have been peppered with gunshots at night. On a daily basis Surrey Police announce a new shooting, threat or arson attack perpetrated by extortionists. January alone saw 36 separate extortion attacks tracked by police. 

 

Losing faith in authorities addressing the problem of criminality that has affected their lives, members of the target community have occasionally attempted to take responsibility for their own safety, reportedly shooting back. Surrey Police last month announced that homeowners were believed to have fired at alleged extortionists causing an investigation to be launched for 'vigilantism'.

 

An inefficient justice system and lax immigration have produced a double-pronged advantage for these criminal elements, who easily slip by immigration through Canada's well-known inefficiency in putting a stop to false refugee claims, and its penchant for handing out visas without due background checks, alongside a justice system that seems to favour allowing bail  to criminals who simply turn around and continue their criminal activities.

In what may be an extortion related shooting, bullet holes are visible on a window of the Big Bazaar Indian grocery store at 8112 120th Street in Surrey on Wednesday morning Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

 

In December, as an example, all 15 Indian nationals that police had arrested in Surrey suspected of extortion-related crimes immediately resorted to claiming refugee status, knowingly exploiting Canada's asylum system. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada had promised that asylum claims would not shield criminals from punishment, yet found that due to the "system" in place, removal procedures for accused criminals remain hampered.

 

Suspects are known to have entered the country on student visas leading to a surge of temporary migration that immigration officials cannot keep up with, neglecting even the most basic screening. In 2022 study permit holders soared to 807,000 in number. Some Bishnoi Gang extortionists have been among the hundreds of thousands to enter Canada on student visas. In Guelph, Ontario an accused double murderer killed a couple in a robbery less than a month after his arrival as a student.

 

Two hitmen accused of carrying out a 2023 assassination of a Sikh nationalist in Surrey, had also entered Canada on student visas, which they had boasted of having "obtained in a few days". And when criminal activity results in the charging and arrest of criminal suspects, Canada's justice system doesn't hesitate to give them bail. "The fear in our community is because [perpetrators[ are not getting punished", explained Surrey protest organizer Rasinder Kaur. 

 

Three men have been charged after the shooting in Surrey's Crescent Beach neighbourhood early Sunday morning. (Shane MacKichan)