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.
MICHEL MAISONNEUVE
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.
May 31
(CP)
Measured as gross domestic product, the Canadian economy expanding by an annualized 3.1% in the first quarter, increasing the odds for another Bank of Canada interest rate hike. Statistics Canada said today that the quarterly surge exceeded expectations not only of the central bank but also private-sector economists.
May 29
(CP)
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages the primary retirement program for working Canadians, has reported a 1.3% return in the 2022-2023 fiscal year compared with the previous year’s 0.2%. Gains in private investment offset weak performance by stocks and bonds.
May 15
(CP)
A recent Federal Court decision in favour of Facebook (now Meta) in a case tied to a British consultancy is being appealed by Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne. Justice Michael Manson (Docket No. T-190-20) dismissed Dufresne’s request for a declaration that Facebook broke privacy laws by facilitating Cambridge Analytica’s access to subscribers without their consent.
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 DRDC Valcartier Research |
 EZ Raider |
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.”
7 June 2023
(Globe & Mail)
A 2020 attack which resulted in the death of a Toronto massage parlour employee was ruled by Ontario Superior Court Justice Suhail Akhtar June 6 as “incel-ideologically motivated terrorist activity,” the first such ruling in Canada according to the Crown. The online “involuntary celibate” community focuses on its members’ perceived inability to find romantic or sexual partners. The killer, 17 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty last September to first-degree murder and is awaiting sentencing.
7 June 2023
(CTV)
With global warming seen as a factor behind this year's wildfire season across Canada, Environment & Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault has suggested it could mean a more aggressive federal approach to achieving net-zero carbon emissions. The current target is 2050 but Guilbeault isn’t ruling out 2040. “I can't tell you now whether or not we can,” he said in a televised interview. “But what I can tell you is we will look at the possibility of doing that for sure.”
7 June 2023
(CTV)
The Bank of Canada raised its overnight rate by 25 basis points today to 4.75 per cent, its first increase since January. The rate is now at its highest since April 2001.
7 June 2023
(Politico)
All Chinese-made surveillance equipment is to be removed from British government facilities and new rules planned for companies competing for contracts are in response to pressure from within the governing Conservative caucus. Jeremy Quinn, Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office says the measures would “protect our sensitive sectors from companies which could threaten national security and are a firm deterrence to hostile actors.”
7 June 2023
(CBC)
David Johnston, Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference, is pushing back against claims that his work is biased as he prepares for a series of public meetings to discuss the threat. Repeatedly accused by opposition MPs of being unfit for the job because of historical connections with the Prime Minister’s family, he says he has had no meetings, dinners or personal contacts with Justin Trudeau in 40 years. “The fact that it's repeated again and again — if it's wrong — doesn't make it true,” he said.
7 June 2023
(CP)
As of June 6, a total 424 wildfires were burning across Canada, more than 250 of which are considered out of control. This is according to a briefing by seven federal cabinet ministers who said the current fire situation, being fought by civilian and military responders, is one of the most severe on record and that the long-range forecast is for continued abnormal fire activity.
7 June 2023
(CP)
A government document released in response to an Access to Information Act request suggests that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants China excluded from a Pacific Rim trade bloc. China has been trying since 2019 to join and while Trade Minister Mary Ng says Canada would be receptive if China improves its labout and environmental standards, the document quotes the PM as saying last fall that high standards could be helpful if they hinder China’s chances.
6 June 2023
(EuroNews)
A member of NATO and the European Union, Poland is under fire for judicial reforms which the European Court of Justice said June 5 undermine the right to an independent and impartial judiciary. The court’s ruling is an unambiguous rejection of reforms introduced in 2019 by the right-wing government, which insisted they were necessary to purge communist-era influence.
6 June 2023
(NY Times)
The Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric plant in southern Ukraine, which feeds coolant water to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear station, was breached by an apparent explosion June 5. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia, which took control last year of the facility on the Dnipro River near Kherson, for a “terrorist” act which has caused widespread flooding.
5 June 2023
(NY Times)
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has been accused by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission of lying to regulators and investors and transferring “billions of dollars” to a separate company controlled by its Canadian co-founder, Chinese expatriate Changpeng Zhao. “We allege that Zhao and the Binance entities not only knew the rules of the road, but they also consciously chose to evade them and put their customers and investors at risk,” the SEC’s director of enforcement said today.
