HEALTH

HEALTH Vaccine critic claims government will provoke war

by Charlie Smith

An opponent of vaccine mandates has raised the prospect of civil war in Canada if governments don’t stop making life more difficult for the unvaccinated.

James Davison, an administrator of the Stand United Facebook page, made the comment at a January 8 rally outside the Global TV B.C. station in Burnaby.

“Our best bet to avoid them taking it to the next level is to hold them accountable,” Davison declared. “That’s our best weapon right now. Because if we can’t succeed legally—if we can’t succeed now, legally—then we are going to be in a civil-war situation. That is a fact.

“That’s where this is leading to, because they will round us up,” he warned the crowd of about 250. “They will put us in an institution, call us whatever they want, demonize us however they want to through these organizations like Global News, CTV, CityNews, News 1130. It’s programming.

“And at this point in time, all you can do is try to handle this professionally—at this point in time,” Davison emphasized. “It’s not time, here right now in Canada, to take it to the next level. We don’t want to start with the vandalizing and, you know, tipping over things and making a mess of our country. But I’ll tell you: at this point we’re at right now, the damage is done.”

Several people in the movement opposing mRNA vaccines have made no secret that they are firearms owners, including

A crowd of about 250 antivaccine protesters gathered on January 8 outside Global TV B.C.’s studios in Burnaby to hear organizers and speakers blame media for pandemic restrictions. Davison, who’s an administrator of the Stand United Facebook page. On December 22, he posted video on Facebook of himself firing at a target range.

At the rally, he expressed the hope that governments and employers can be discouraged from taking measures against those who refuse COVID-19 vaccines through notices of liability. These notices warn officials that they will be held legally liable for any actions they take against “freedom of anatomy”. In addition, Davison urged the crowd to send these notices to people who work in the media to hold them accountable for what he believes is misreporting.

The mRNA vaccines, such as those manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna, teach cells to make proteins that trigger an immune response.

One of the earliest researchers, Robert Malone, has criticized their use on children, which has galvanized opponents of mRNA vaccines, including Davison. Malone has come under criticism by others, such as the Atlantic magazine writer Tom Bartlett, for “spreading vaccine misinformation”.

“They’re using the media, the mainstream media, to twist the minds of all of these impressionable people that have been brought up to trust the government,” Davison said. “We’re Canadians. Okay. We trusted our government because we were educated to. It’s called indoctrination.”

According to Davison, there’s a deliberate attempt underway by the elites to trash the economy, which will justify officials showing up at people’s doors and confiscating their property. He said that this drift into tyranny has begun with a medical passport. Next, he said, the government will introduce a “credit-social score”. Then, he added, these two methods of government surveillance will be attached to the use of currency.

“So, okay, you can’t participate in

If it wasn’t for the media…it would have been another flu season.

– James Davison

society but now you can’t buy, sell, or trade anything because we’re cutting you off of your money,” Davison said.

That elicited a strong reaction from the crowd, with one shouting “the number of the beast”.

“That’s right,” Davison continued. “It’s called Revelations here. This is called Biblical crap. And if you people don’t wake up and fight now, you’re not going to have anything to fight for later. This is why it’s so important that we use the tools we have in place now.”

He emphasized that under Canada’s Constitution, the government cannot force anyone to put anything in their body.

Moreover, to him, COVID-19 is just another case of the flu, but it’s being used to justify extraordinary measures that will take away people’s liberties.

“If it wasn’t for the media, this would have never affected any of us,” Davison claimed. “It would have been another flu season. And you know what? Some people die every year from the flu.”

Statistics Canada has reported that there were 874 flu deaths from 2009 to 2019 (according to a CTV News report), whereas the B.C. government has reported more than 2,400 COVID-19 deaths since March 2020. g

REAL ESTATE Record sales in 2021 set stage for pricier homes

by Carlito Pablo

Areport by Dexter Realty tells everyone to brace for a fascinating year.

“As the Metro Vancouver housing market comes off a record sales year, we are entering what could be the most interesting 12 months this region has ever seen,” executive Kevin Skipworth wrote.

Skipworth is a partner, managing broker, and economist with the Vancouver realty company. He issued his latest report on the heels of the 2021 annual recaps released by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB).

The two boards have stated that last year’s sales set new records in their respective jurisdictions.

In Greater Vancouver, residential sales totalled 43,999 in 2021, marking a four percent increase over the previous all-time record of 42,326 in 2015.

Over at the Fraser Valley, realtors made 27,692 sales in 2021, an increase of 15.5 percent over the previous best annual record of 23,974 in 2016.

With this backdrop, Skipworth lists three realities that he believes will define the housing market in 2022.

CANADA DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH HOUSING SUPPLY To make matters worse, Skipworth said that the government “does not have…the political gumption to provide the housing needed for the biggest surge in immigration this country has ever seen”.

“According to Statistics Canada, this country absorbed 123,000 immigrants in the third quarter of 2021 alone: the highest level for any quarter since 1946, at the end of World War II,” he wrote.

For the entire year of 2021, Skipworth stated, Canada welcomed 403,000 new residents.

“If former immigration surges are any indication, up to 30% of newcomers to Canada will immediately or eventually— usually within two years—locate to B.C. and 95% of these will come to Metro Vancouver,” he explained.

However, the “supply of housing in Metro Vancouver has fallen to record low levels”.

He wrote that this is “due primarily to local governments” and that “construction of new homes is not keeping pace with the current population, let alone meeting the needs of a hundred thousand newcomers every year”.

The REBGV stated in its January 5, 2022, report that the new year started with 5,236 active listings.

This level represents a 26.7 percent decrease compared to November 2021 (7,144).

The board noted that it’s the lowest level of year-end active listings in more than 30 years.

It’s no different in markets served by the FVREB.

The Fraser Valley board reported on January 5 that as of the end of December 2021, there were only 1,957 units for sale, which is the lowest in more than 40 years.

Skipworth stated: “Criticize the supply side discussions all you want but a fundamental flaw in the Metro Vancouver and many other real estate markets that we are experiencing right now is a significant lack of homes.”

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TAX HOMES MORE What’s the proof?

Skipworth cited a new report funded by Canada’s national housing agency, which calls for a new and additional tax on houses.

The report was published by Generation Squeeze, with funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The paper recommended a “surtax” of 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent for homes valued between $1 million and $1.5 million, 0.5 percent on homes with a worth of $1.5 million to $2 million, and one percent for homes valued $2 million and more.

“Will they slap a capital gains tax on the sale of principal residences next, despite its strenuous denials?” Skipworth asked.

Taxation is an example of a demandside measure meant to dampen activity in the market.

However, Skipworth argued that demand-side measures “clearly are not the long-term answer”.

“At some point there needs to be real effort to increase supply and allow it to be increased in a meaningful way,” he wrote.

HOMES WILL REMAIN EXPENSIVE “The final reality that every home buyer, seller and renter in Metro Vancouver will face is that the cost of housing here is never going to come down,” Skipworth stated.

This comes “despite the barriers to demand that every level of government has thrown up over the past 10 years”.

“The price increases are being fueled by the housing shortage, and the shortage is because of rising prices,” Skipworth said.

How is that?

By way of illustration, Skipworth noted that the benchmark price of a detached house in Vancouver, Richmond, West Vancouver, and Whistler is now more than $2 million.

It is over $1.8 million in North Vancouver, Port Moody, and most of Burnaby.

“Sticker-shocked home owners are reluctant to list their home because they don’t know where they can afford to move to,” Skipworth stated.

Over at the Fraser Valley, the benchmark price of a detached home has increased to $1.5 million, a 3.6 percent rise compared to November 2021 and 39 percent more compared to December 2020.

“It won’t be easy, but Metro Vancouver has never been an affordable market,” Skipworth pointed out.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, because there is “nowhere better to live in Canada”.

In December 2021, the Canadian Real Estate Association released a forecast stating that the average price of a home in the country could post an annual increase of 7.6 percent in 2022.

The association qualified that this is a “somewhat conservative” prediction.

It doesn’t look pretty for people wanting to buy homes this year.

“The bottom line: buyers will continue to struggle in 2022,” Skipworth stated.

Although there may come a “rush of new listings in January and into the spring…it won’t be enough”. g

With a benchmark price of over $2 million for a Vancouver detached home, it’s no surprise that this two-bedroom condo near Marine Drive Station sold for $760,000 on January 2, 2022.

Are You Looking For A Meaningful Volunteer Opportunity?

Our Peer Support Services is accepting applications for our Friendly Visiting Program at Jewish Seniors Alliance (JSA).

This volunteer training will prepare you with the skills to interact with seniors in our community and will enhance employment opportunities and personal growth. The program is available to people 18 years and older. Training will consist of four consecutive sessions, evenings 4pm - 8pm for a total of 16 hours. You will become more skilled with age-related challenges, grief and loss, isolation, loneliness and many other issues facing older adults including helping seniors cope with their increased anxiety and isolation caused by of COVID-19 JSA is an inclusive organization and reaches out to all seniors from all ethnic, religious or cultural backgrounds.

This training is being offered at no cost.

At the end of the training you will get a certifi cate. The sessions are starting on Tuesdays in February from 4pm - 8pm on ZOOM.

For more information please call Charles Leibovitch at 778-840-4949 or email: charles@jsalliance.org

People who identify as part of the LBGTQ community are invited to apply.