Canada
‘We don’t know what comes’ into Canada by rail, border union head says
The head of the Customs and Immigration Union says staff shortages and an increasing reliance on technology means the CBSA is not able to properly screen what's coming into Canada.
'Not our fight': Poilievre urges against Canadian involvement in Syria after Assad regime's end
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said in Ottawa on Sunday that Canada should “not get involved” following the toppling of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. “It’s not our fight,” he added.
Updated advisory urges Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria, leave if possible
Ottawa is urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria and to consider leaving the country if it's safe to do so.
Government faces third Tory non-confidence vote ahead of potential fiscal hurdle
Members of Parliament are supposed to vote on a motion that quotes NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's criticism of the Liberals and asks the House to agree with Singh and vote to bring down the government. Singh said last week he is not going to support the Conservatives, so the motion will likely fail.
MP Jamil Jivani meets U.S. vice president-elect amid Trump's tariff threats
It's the first time Jivani has publicly posted about meeting with his friend since the November election that solidified Vance as Trump's second-in-command for the next administration.
Ottawa MPs won't take a stance on federal remote work rules
Public servants aren't happy about the government's remote work rules, but the politicians who represent them are unwilling to weigh in. One of those Ottawa area MPs, of course, is the Leader of the Official Opposition.
It’s official: Nadia Verrelli federal NDP candidate for Sudbury
During her remarks, Verrelli lambasted Poilievre as someone rife with “anger, slogans and lies.” “The only people he listens to are the right-wing ideologues and the big polluters, and then he lies about it,” she said. “The NDP is the only party with the courage, the vision and the heart to take down Poilievre and his Conservatives and win.”
As environment minister, I believed the oil sands sector would help us save the planet. I was wrong.
Catherine McKenna: The oil sands sector has been lying to us for years. They are not getting cleaner. They are not part of the solution. As I tell my kids all the time, life is about choices. Canada can choose to be on the right side of history. We can act with the urgency the climate crisis requires and the economic case makes clear. Or, we can double down on the oil sands, abandon the Paris Agreement, ignore the economic opportunities of clean energy, and leave our children a deadly and unsustainable future.
Canada's Postal Service: A Lifeline for Rural and Remote Communities
The 22nd report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.
Harms caused by illegal sexually explicit material online
The 14th Report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.
The Provinces
Will he or won't he? Signs that Ford may call an early Ontario election stack up
Some see the government's fast-tracking of several bills as an indication it wants to clear the legislative decks before a spring election call. Others point to a year-end deadline Premier Doug Ford has given his Progressive Conservative caucus members to decide if they'll stand for re-election.
BC Conservative MLAs want Sturko to apologize to ex-VPD board member
13 MLAs sign letter to party leader saying Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba was victim of 'cancel culture' — and they want their fellow Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko to apologize for her criticism
Ottawa is set to spend more than $1 billion on growing N.B.'s clean electricity grid
Federal minister Steven Guilbeault told a media event in Dieppe, N.B., that Ottawa will support up to 670 megawatts of Indigenous-led wind projects with almost $1 billion in spending.
Elsewhere
Trump calls for 'immediate ceasefire' in Ukraine after meeting Zelenskyy in Paris
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, shortly after a meeting in Paris with French and Ukrainian leaders.
World reacts to Bashar al-Assad’s fall, capture of Syria’s Damascus
“What is important is that we are able to find a situation where there is a political way out of this,” Geir Pedersen, UN envoy to Syria, said. “And that political way needs to be very different from what it has been before, it needs to be a process that is inclusive of everyone, and where we really focus on the need for unity, stability, where Syria is able to restore its sovereignty and its territory. There are lots of wounds that need to be healed.”
Media
Social media platforms are throttling access to news – with far-reaching implications for democracy
API restrictions – such as those suddenly imposed by X before the US presidential election – limit what goes in and what comes out of a platform, including news…. The net result is that it is getting harder and harder for the public to access high quality, independent and nonpartisan news on social media. It is also getting harder and harder for journalists and researchers to monitor communities and information on social media platforms.
Oversight of Social Media Platforms: Ensuring Privacy and Safety Online
The 16th Report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics.
How to Think About Covering Trump 2.0
Jon Allsop And—while some online media critics clearly have urged the press to cover Trump more aggressively as a means of dissuading people from voting for him, or seemed to believe that sharper New York Times fact-checks might save democracy—I have increasingly come to see that sort of mindset as missing the point. When Trump launched his first presidential run, the media was dubious about his chances—but handed him a bunch of free airtime—in ways that I believe were consequential, or at least played into his hands; now everyone knows exactly who Trump is, not least since he freely advertises the fact every chance he gets. To the extent that I’ve agreed with the criticisms of journalistic sanewashing and the like, my impulse has been a desire for the media to tell the truest and clearest story about Trump that it can—because a media that can’t consistently name and shine a light on authoritarianism clearly isn’t equipped to cover a country tilting in an authoritarian direction. But also, more simply, because telling true stories as clearly as possible is a journalist’s job.
Stopping the Press: The Threats to the Media Posed by the Second Trump Term
After spending years painting the media as the “enemy of the people,” Donald Trump is ready to intensify his battle against the journalists who cover him, David Remnick writes.
Science and tech
Microsoft at 50: An AI Giant. A Kinder Culture. And Still Hellbent on Domination
When Satya Nadella took over as CEO, the company was lumbering and uncool. He cleaned up a toxic culture, crafted the deal of the decade, and put Microsoft back on top. Great stock-taking piece of this still-essential tech giant from Steven Levy, arguably the dean of technology journalists.
Your AI clone could target your family, but there’s a simple defense
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation advised Americans to share a secret word or phrase with their family members to protect against AI-powered voice-cloning scams, as criminals increasingly use voice synthesis to impersonate loved ones in crisis.”
The Calendar
- Halifax -PM Trudeau and Infrastructure Min Sean Fraser meet with Premier Tim Houston.
- Halifax -PM Trudeau speaks to the Chamber of Commerce.
- 330 ET: 420 Wellington -Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI) | Meeting 123 - Drafting report.
- 330 ET: 415 Wellington -Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN) | Meeting 136 - Order of the House Referring Back the Second Report of INAN entitled "Barriers to Economic Development in Indigenous Communities". Public Service Min Jean-Yves Duclos and Indigenous Services Min Patty Hajdu testify.
- 330 ET: 330 Wellington -Industry and Technology (INDU) | Meeting 151 - FY25 Supp Bs. Innovation, Science and Industry Min François-Philippe Champagne testifies / Canada's E-Transfer ecosystem. Fin Min Chrystia Freeland testifies.
- 330 ET: 430 Wellington -Justice and Human Rights (JUST) | Meeting 126 - Pre-Study on Bill C-63
- 330 ET: 410 Wellington -Veterans Affairs (ACVA) | Meeting 121 - Drafting report.
- 830 ET: Montreal -CEDQR Min Soraya Martinez Ferrada speaks to the Chamber of Commerce.
- 930 ET: Kanata, ON - Treasury Board President Anita Anand and Families and Social Development Min Jenna Sudds make a safety announcement.
- 1030 ET: 135B West Block - Air industry unions speak about the aviation sector.
- 1100 ET: 430 Wellington -Canadian Heritage (CHPC) | Meeting 146 - Drafting report.
- 1100 ET: 425 Wellington -Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI) | Meeting 138 - Briefing on Canada's Emissions Reduction Policies
- 1100 ET: 315 Wellington -Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) | Meeting 134 - Review of the Fisheries Act
- 1100 ET: 035-B West Block -International Trade (CIIT) | Meeting 132 - Trade Impacts of Canada's Leadership in Reducing Emissions
- 1100 ET: 025-B West Block -Natural Resources (RNNR) | Meeting 119 - Drafting report.
- 1100 ET: 415 Wellington -Public Accounts (PACP) | Meeting 157 - Report 8 Canada Emergency Business Account of the 2024 Reports 8 to 12 of the Auditor General of Canada
- 1100 ET: 330 Wellington -the Status of Women (FEWO) | Meeting 137 - Hate Motivated Violence Targeting the 2SLGBTQI+ Community
- 1330 ET: Winnipeg -LPC MP Terry Duguid makes a funding announcement.
- 1600 ET: Ottawa -Families and Social Development Min Jenna Sudds makes a funding announcement.
- 1600 ET: C128 Senate Building - Senate Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs meets: The impacts of Russian disinformation on Canada
- 1730 ET: Ottawa -Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland chairs a meeting of the cabinet committee on US-Canada relations.