Free Republic

Pension funds and other asset owners increasingly are investing in U.S. infrastructure, often buying the assets from infrastructure money managers. This could be a win-win. Investor interest comes at a time when the first crop of infrastructure funds raised in the U.S. in 2004 and 2005 are coming to the end of their 10-year life span. Managers are expected to bring more transactions to market to take advantage of growing interest by direct investors. Industry insiders expect more infrastructure core projects to change to institutional investor ownership. Investors prize the core projects, even though returns generally are lower than investments...

A Queen’s University student theatre company has cancelled a production of Shakespeare’s Othello set to open this month following an outcry over the decision to cast a white woman in the title role of a black man. “For the safety and mental health of our entire team we unfortunately feel the need to suspend our production of Othello,” the artistic directors wrote on Facebook Wednesday. They subsequently apologized to the Kingston, Ont., university’s black community for what they called an “oppressive” artistic decision. After September auditions, Queen’s Vagabond Theatre made what its directors acknowledged was a risky decision: Lauren Broadhurst,...

The Canadian Parliament has now passed an “anti-Islamophobia” motion, “amid increasing attacks on mosques and Muslim communities in the country and throughout the world.” This is beyond bizarre, considering the truth about attacks throughout the world. Such attacks are most commonly on Christians by Muslims; against Muslims by Muslims, against apostates and infidels by Muslims. Add to that the jihad attacks in Europe and the rampant sex assaults and crimes by Muslims upon innocents. As for attacks against Muslims on Western soil, they remain very low. A much greater problem tabulated in hate crime statistics is against blacks and Jews....

The sound, which has also been described as a "hum" or a "beep", has apparently spooked the local wildlife in the Fury and Hecla Strait. Paul Quassa, a member of the legislative assembly, said the noise was "emanating from the sea floor". "That's one of the major hunting areas in the summer and winter ... And this time around, this summer, there were hardly any. And this became a suspicious thing." The military said it was investigating what was causing the sound. "The Department of National Defense has been informed of the strange noises emanating in the Fury and Hecla...

One activity, titled "Drag 101" for cosmetology and drama students, suggests inviting local drag queens to teach makeup techniques and organizing a drag performance for the school. The toolkit advises teachers to use gender-neutral language. For instance, rather than relying on the traditional terms "boys" and "girls," the guide suggests using alternative terms like friends, folks or "comrades." Terms such as "caretaker," "guardian" and "responsible adults" can replace "mom" and "dad."

Gabriel Brandon Klein, 21, faces charges of second-degree murder and aggravated assault in connection with the violence at Abbotsford Senior Secondary. He is not believed to have ties to the school, the two victims or the Abbotsford community, according to RCMP Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pound of the integrated homicide investigation team. The names of the victims haven’t been officially released, but Postmedia has confirmed the deceased student is Letisha Reimer. Her 14-year-old friend is in hospital in stable condition. Pound said Klein has no fixed address, and he does not appear to have a criminal record in B.C. He has...

A Republican congressman named Ken Buck, refreshing the tree of liberty with his patriotic blood, stood up for due process last week. "Lady Justice doesn't see black or white," Buck shouted in Loveland, Ohio. "She doesn't see male or female. She doesn't see rich or poor. But soon, Lady Justice will see Hillary Clinton." Black and low-income Americans would likely have another view. On the face of it, Buck's remark was unhinged from reality. But Representative Buck was vocalizing something Americans want to believe: the founding myth that unlike authoritarian states, or the more corrupt, classist nations of the Old...

The Toronto police department has appointed a new chaplain to service its Muslim officers. As reported by CIJ News, Musleh Khan was born in Medina, Saudi Arabia but raised in Toronto. He obtained a BA in Islamic Law from the Islamic University in Madinah in Saudi Arabia. […] In 2013, Khan taught a webinar titled The Heart of the Home: The Rights and Responsibilities of the Wife.In the webinar, Khan states the wife should be obedient to her husband at all times (since he is her protector and maintainer and supports the family). She should respect him as the ameer...

The FBI's decision to review a cache of recently discovered emails that may be connected to Hillary Clinton's private server is just the latest twist in a scandal that has haunted the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate on the campaign trail. The decision by FBI director James Comey to inform Congress about this review, which itself has come under scrutiny, is all part of the controversy over whether Clinton was sending classified material on her unsecured private email server while she was secretary of state. The nature of the emails discovered most recently is not known. But sending messages on an...

International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland couldn't contain herself any longer. "We did it!" she said, hugging colleagues after posing behind the massive, foot-high legal document Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Union leaders had just signed. Canada's trade agreement with the 28 member states of the European Union can now proceed for ratification. Sunday's signing brings to a conclusion two weeks of high drama, after the southern, French-speaking Belgian region of Wallonia refused to approve signing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, also known as CETA, at a Canada-Europe summit originally planned for last Thursday. After a deal was reached...

The Canadian government, headed by Prime Minister and Liberal party head Justin Trudeau is working to renew ties with Iran, claiming there are political benefits to a Canada-Iran relationship for Israel as well. Canadian Foreign Minister Stéphane Maurice Dion spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations in Montreal on October 17, saying the federal government is determined to play an active role in UN organizations, to strengthen the UN position and to take part in UN peacekeeping efforts across the globe. …

DERWENT, Alberta, October 26, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — Alberta’s largest Christian home-schooling association has been effectively shut down by the province’s NDP government after it found what Education Minister David Eggen called a “fail[ure] to demonstrate accountability of funding received from the government of Alberta.” But the association is denying wrongdoing. “WISDOM/Trinity has been shut down by AB Education. They announced this with a press release filled with partial truths amounting to calumny,” the association stated in a press release on Tuesday.

With stunning hypocrisy Newt Gingrich slammed FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly Tuesday night for, in his view, putting prurience ahead of public policy in her coverage of the U.S. presidential race. Gingrich scolded Kelly for framing her question about Donald Trump's nosedive in opinion polls around whether the Republican nominee is a sexual predator. She simply wanted to know whether the uncovering of a tape of Trump making lewd comments about women a few weeks ago was a turning point in the campaign, but Gingrich was having none of it. "You are fascinated by sex and you don't care about...

A former Woodstock, Ont., nurse killed eight elderly patients in southwestern Ontario nursing homes, Ontario Provincial Police allege. Elizabeth Tracy Mae Wettlaufer, 49, is facing eight counts of first-degree murder in deaths between August 2007 and August 2014, police said during a Tuesday morning news conference in Woodstock. The victims were between the ages of 75 and 96. Police would not say how they died, except that seven were administered a fatal dose of a drug.

Belgium has been given until Monday evening to back an EU trade deal with Canada. The Canadians have said they are "ready to sign" the historic deal and all 28 EU government back the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. However, it has been held up because the regional government of the French-speaking region of Wallonia in Belgium has refused to give the go-ahead, saying the deal is bad for Europe's farmers and gives too much power to global corporate interests.

Canadian Governor General The Right Honorable David Johnston is set to visit the Middle East from October 29 to November 6, 2016. The visit will focus on security, refugee resettlement, and development issues – as well as promoting stronger innovation and education ties with the region. While in Israel, the Governor General and his wife will visit Technion University to discuss student diversity. The Governor General will receive an honorary doctorate for his contribution to the Canada-Israel innovation relationship. His Excellency will also participate in a panel discussion on sustainability and environmental innovation at Bethlehem University, in the West Bank....

In the closing minutes of their final debate Wednesday night, Donald Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway sent out a desperately plaintive tweet like a message in a bottle from a sinking ship: "Hearing privately from many reporters Hillary had a 'terrible night' & Trump had best debate. Hope this will make it into print, on air." Her very hopefulness betrayed that Conway knew only too well things wouldn't be heading her way. The best bits and bites of Trump's debate performance, plus any evidence of Hillary Clinton's allegedly "terrible night" were about to be lost in the shadow of what...

The Trenton Golden Hawks of the Ontario Junior Hockey League have joined the growing list of tributes to Harambe, the gorilla who was shot and killed at Cincinnati Zoo in May. For Wildlife Week, the Golden Hawks will be wearing jerseys honoring Harambe for the warm-up ahead of their game against the Burlington Cougars.

One of the few remaining polls showing Donald Trump in a competitive race with Hillary Clinton turns out to have been overly influenced by one young African-American voter from Illinois who, unlike virtually everyone else who fits his demographic profile, is a committed Trump supporter. It's another knock against the credibility of polls at a time when Donald Trump is talking about the election being "rigged" and questioning the legitimacy of many reliable election surveys....

A Toronto court will hear arguments Monday on an attempt to bar the Cleveland Indians from using their team name and "Chief Wahoo" logo in Ontario. The legal challenge by indigenous activist Douglas Cardinal comes on the same day the team plays the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series in Toronto. The long-standing logo, which appears on some team caps and jerseys, depicts a grinning, red-faced cartoon with a feather headband. Cardinal's lawyers will ask the court Monday to bar the usage of the name and logo by the team, Major League Baseball and...