Preparing to retire from the House of Commons June 23, former Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has warned MPs to avoid polarizing “performance politics” and focus on national unity. “Too many of us are often chasing algorithms down a sinkhole of diversion and division,” he told the House. “We are becoming elected officials who judge our self-worth by how many ‘likes” we get on social media, but not how many lives we change in the real world.”
BRIAN LEE CROWLEY
Chinese election interference is a hot topic in Canada today. Yet, while it is indeed a matter of enormous importance, it is one that must be placed in the context of the new Cold War against the West.
(FrontLine News)
Thousands of homes under evacuation order as wildfire burns out of control in the Tantallon suburb about 25 km northwest of Halifax. Several homes and buildings have been lost as the fire continues to spread.
Oct 31
(Ken Pole)
The Federal Court has dismissed six applications for a judicial review of the federal government’s 2020 move to reclassify certain types of rifles as “assault” weapons.
Sep 07
(Ken Pole)
The Business Council of Canada, formerly the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, wants the government to give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service the legal authority to "proactively" work with the private sector in countering the growing cyberthreats by hostile foreign interests.
Jun 29
(Ken Pole)
Security issues at home and abroad continued to escalate as the Communications Security Establishment and its partners deal with an array of threats.
 Accenture |
 Polar Knowledge Canada |
 DRDC Valcartier Research |
30 May 2023 –
Chinese election interference is a hot topic in Canada today. Yet, while it is indeed a matter of enormous importance, it is one that must be placed in the context of the new Cold War against the West.
27 April 2023 –
The CAF is in crisis mode, attempting to deal with a lack of personnel and equipment, efforts to change its culture, operational pressures and reputational challenges. This huge machine cannot rapidly ramp up from dereliction when needed – it's time for Canadians to begin to recognize service to country as important, and give it the priority it deserves.
18 August 2022 –
Interference is typically an extremely valid and indisputable concern, but in the case of the NS shooting spree, that argument is being used to obfuscate the real issue of communication negligence which resulted in deaths that could have been avoided.
10 August 2022 –
Alberta awarded third prize of “Her Vision Inspires” contest to an essayist who argues that women should pick babies over careers, writing that importing "foreigners to replace ourselves is a sickly mentality that amounts to a drive for cultural suicide.”
6 December 2023
(AP)
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Relief & Works Agency, said today that there is no haven in besieged Gaza for civilians, including in UN shelters and Israeli-designated “safe zones.” More than 16,000 Gazans have reportedly been killed by Israel’s response to Hamas terrorists’ October attack.
6 December 2023
(CBC)
A Senate committee chaired by former diplomat Peter Boehm said today that Global Affairs Canada needs to reduce senior management and reallocate resources to recruiting and training frontline staff. The Foreign Affairs & International Trade committee says that a suspension of entry-level recruitment for much of the last decade exacerbated the staff shortage, which includes a huge reduction in foreign service officers.
6 December 2023
(CP)
For the third time this year, the Bank of Canada today held its key interest rate at 5%, encouraged by evidence that higher rates are helping to curb inflation. “Consumption growth in the last two quarters was close to zero, and business investment has been volatile but essentially flat over the past year,” it said.
6 December 2023
(CBC)
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre has fined Royal Bank of Canada $7.4 million for non-compliance with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures after it failed to report 16 suspicious transactions. RBC opted not to appeal the fine which was not “commensurate with an administrative matter where there is no connection to money laundering or terrorist financing offences” and said no employees had “knowingly contributed to violations.”
6 December 2023
(BBC)
The only major western economy to joint China’s flagship 2019 Belt and Road Initiative, Italy has notified Beijing it will pull the plug in the next few weeks. The BRI aims to invest the equivalent of US$1 trillion in Asian and European infrastructure but Slammed as “debt-trap diplomacy” which leaves recipient countries unable to repay huge loans and gives China economic and political leverage.
6 December 2023
(CBC)
The Communications Security Establishment warned today that hostile entities are “very likely” to use artificial intelligence technology to try to influence Canada’s next general election. “"Given the ineffectiveness of deepfake detection models, and the increasing availability of generative AI, it is likely that […] target voters will increasingly go undetected by the general public,” it said in a cyber alert.
5 December 2023
(ABC)
An Oregon district attorney announced today that a grand jury had indicted a former Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to shut down another carrier’s aircraft engines while he dead-headed on an October 22 flight to California from Washington state. Joseph Emerson, who says an extended lack of sleep was a factor, faces 83 charges of recklessly endangerment and one of endangering an aircraft.
5 December 2023
(Jerusalem Post)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced today that the U.S. will travel bans on “dozens” of extremist Jewish settlers implicated in a rash of attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. It comes at a sensitive moment in U.S.-Israeli relations as President Joe Biden’s administration has firmly backed Israel since an October attack by Hamas touched off a massive Israeli response which has killed thousands of civilians in Gaza.
5 December 2023
(CP)
The federal and Nova Scotia governments have rejected a British company’s $1.5-million bid for an oil and gas exploration licence in shallow waters on the Sable Bank of the Scotian Shelf. It had been approved by their joint petroleum board in October but the two ministers involved said they are committed to clean energy options.
5 December 2023
(AP/AFP)
Two years after Australia reneged on a deal to purchase French submarines in favour of U.S. boats, sparking a diplomatic tiff, France and Australia have reset their relationship with reciprocal access to Pacific bases and increased joint activities. “We are determined to […] beef up our cooperation with the partners in the region,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said after she and her Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, signed an agreement December 4.
