Canada
FBI warns Chinese hackers targeted Canadian politicians
Several MPs say Canada's authorities failed to warn them they were likely targets of China-affiliated hackers, despite the FBI having this information in 2021. Those complaints come as the public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada’s democratic processes prepares to deliver its first report. As David Akin explains, the politicians who were allegedly targeted say they only recently found about the cyberattacks.
Parliament spaces out microphones after another interpreter is injured
The federal government has been forced to adjust the set-up in the House of Commons and committee rooms after another language interpreter suffered a significant hearing injury.
Saanich Coun. Colin Plant nominated to run for MP as NDP candidate
He will attempt to unseat incumbent MP Elizabeth May of the Green Party, whose staff assured Black Press Media on Monday morning that she is running for re-election. May won in 2021 by about 13 points and while it's tough model the Green vote as its so highly concentrated in jus a few ridings, my model righ now has her winning by 10 points if an election were held today.
Federal Budget 2024
Datasets from Budget 2024 are available for download from the Open Government Portal.
The Provinces
Gaza protests: McGill Pro-Palestinian demonstrations spread to UBC, uOttawa
While anger about Israel's war in Gaza is escalating at several U.S. universities and colleges, pro-Palestinian protests are also growing on Canadian campuses. Some of those post-secondary institutions in Canada seeing demonstrations include McGill University, the University of Ottawa and the University of British Columbia. Mike Armstrong reports on the reaction to the demonstrations and what students are demanding.
BC backtracking on drug decriminalization spurs advocates' fears of worsening crisis
The British Columbia government is banning all illicit drug use in public spaces, reversing course on its decriminalization policy that was intended to tackle the province's overdose crisis. More than 2,500 people in B.C. died from toxic drugs in 2023, when the decriminalization pilot project went into effect. Neetu Garcha explains why B.C. is backtracking and why advocates are worried recriminalizing drugs won't solve the worsening emergency.
Keep the benefits of the fishery in the hands of people in N.L. and not foreign companies, says MP Ken McDonald
McDonald said the concern is that, without the right strategy, corporate concentration could creep into the fishery and a corporation from outside the province could gain more control than it probably should. “Most fish plants around the province are owned by Newfoundlanders or Labradorians, whether it's a family operation or individual person that operates it,” said McDonald.
Ford's pick to head government's new Ottawa office panned as 'patronage appointment'
Ford named Sean Webster, who unsuccessfully ran for the Progressive Conservatives in Kanata–Carleton in a byelection last year, to head a regional office intended to "support better services for the people of Ottawa and the surrounding region."
Elsewhere
Sikh rally in Toronto with multi-party support prompts India diplomatic rebuke
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh at the Khalsa Day rally in Toronto on Sunday.
Canada’s Fiscal Laryngitis on the World Stage
Christopher Sands: There has already been ample commentary on the 2024 Canadian federal budget that was released on April 16. This is a modest addition from a foreign observer’s perspective to call attention to a very unfortunate trend of underfunding of Canada’s international engagement.
Mexico is heading towards its most violent election ever, with 30 candidates murdered, 77 threatened and 11 kidnapped
More than 170 attacks have been committed against politicians in the lead-up to the June elections. This violence has put campaigns under tension and is sowing doubts about governability in several regions. Specialists warn that the line between the Mexican state and organized crime is increasingly blurred.
Deepfake politicians may have a big influence on India’s elections
Political campaigns are deploying AI-generated deepfake versions of politicians to reach hundreds of millions of eligible voters in India’s 2024 election – the world’s largest ever.
EU elections: Poll shows far right remains well ahead in France, with Socialists on Macron's heels
Jordan Bardella's Rassemblement National (32%) and Raphaël Glucksmann's left-wing coalition (14%) are gaining voting intentions while the ruling coalition has fallen (17%), in the latest survey carried out by IPSOS in partnership with Le Monde.
Trump on trial: Personal anguish, political defiance and a loss of control
Two weeks in, the first criminal trial of a former president has been personally taxing for Trump and disruptive to his campaign. Despite efforts to schedule dinners where donors, friends and world leaders join him, Trump’s moods are worse on trial days, according to several people close to him. The former president is accustomed to near-daily rounds of golf, “constant stimulation” and cheers when he enters and exits a room at Mar-a-Lago, they said. Instead, he is now reporting four days a week for mundane court arguments and long stretches without permission to check his phone.
Media
The Top 30 Social Media Influencers Worldwide
We calculated the top social media influencers worldwide across popular platforms YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter).
Reader Notes
This newsletter is curated by David Akin, chief political correspondent at Global News. All my contact information and disclosures are here.
This newsletter also relies on your financial help. A monthly pledge -- Just $5 would do it -- via Patreon or, if you would prefer to make a one-time donation, send an e-transfer to jda@davidakin.com. Thanks for all your help!
Science and tech
Southern U.S. has faced twice the global sea level rise rate since 2010
Seas in the Southern United States have risen dramatically since 2010. The extra water has upended life — flooding homes, choking septic systems and deluging roads.
How to delete the data Google has on you
Whether or not you think the data collection and targeted advertising is a worthwhile trade for the free apps you get in return, Google does at least provide a comprehensive online dashboard you can use to see some of what’s being gathered.
Quantum computing breakthrough could happen with just hundreds, not millions, of qubits using new error-correction system
Scientists have designed a physical qubit that behaves as an error-correcting "logical qubit," and now they think they can scale it up to make a useful quantum computer using a few hundred.
The Calendar
- 0900 ET: B45 Senate Building - The Senate Committee on Transport and Communications meets: Bil C-28. CPC MP Dan Mazier testifies.
- 0900 ET: C128 Senate Building - The Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples meets: Indian residential schools.
- 1000 ET: West Block - PM Trudeau meets with his cabinet.
- 1000 ET: Gatineau, QC - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to Canada's Building Trades Union's.
- 1015 ET: Ottawa - International Trade Min Mary Ng meets with Singapore Trade Min Gan Kim Yong.
- 1030 ET: Turin, Italy - Environment Min Steven Guilbeault speaks to reporters.
- 1030 ET: National Press Theatre - GPC MP Elizabeth May and New Brunswick Indigenous leaders speak to reporters.
- 1100 ET: 315 Wellington - Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) | Meeting 114 - Impact of Disinformation and of Misinformation on the Work of Parliamentarians
- 1100 ET: 425 Wellington - Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI) | Meeting 101 - Drafting report.
- 1100 ET: 430 Wellington - Finance (FINA) | Meeting 140 - Bill C-59
- 1100 ET: 135B West Block - NDP MP Heather McPherson and Blake Desjarlais speak about a private members' bill.
- 1100 ET: Gatineau - Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to Canada's Building Trades Unions.
- 1100 ET: - Science and Research (SRSR) | Meeting 83 - The Distribution of Federal Government Funding Among Canada's Post-Secondary Institutions
- 1100 ET: - Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN) | Meeting 111 - State of Airline Competition in Canada
- 1130 ET: HoC Foyer - GPC MP Elizabeth May and representatives from Canadian Coalition for a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry speaks to reporters.
- 1130 ET: National Press Theatre - The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development speaks about the 2024 Spring reports.
- 1200 ET: HoC Foyer - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet and BQ MPs Mario Simard and Jean-Denis Garon speak to reporters.
- 1240 ET: HoC Foyer - LPC MP Julie Dabrusin and Adam van Koeverden speak about the 2024 spring reports of the Commissioner of the Environment.
- 1300 ET: National Press Theatre - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland , Innovation, Science and Industry Min François-Philippe Champagne, Families and Social Development Min Jenna Sudds and Housing and Infrastructure Min Sean Fraser** speak about the economy.
- 1530 ET: 315 Wellington - Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI) | Meeting 105 - Bill C-317, An Act to establish a national strategy respecting flood and drought forecasting
- 1530 ET: 410 Wellington - Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) | Meeting 107 - Population Sustainability of Yukon Salmon Stocks
- 1530 ET: 330 Wellington - International Trade (CIIT) | Meeting 102 - Canadian Businesses in Supply Chains and Global Markets
- 1530 ET: 225-A West Block - Public Accounts (PACP) | Meeting 116 - Report 3, First Nations and Inuit Policing Program, of the 2024 Reports 2 to 4 of the Auditor General of Canada
- 1530 ET: 425 Wellington - Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Foreign Affairs and International Development (SDIR) | Meeting 49 - Drafting report
- 1900 ET: Ottawa - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh delivers the 2024 Carleton Bell lecture.
