Canada
Canada to buy up to 12 conventional submarines for Arctic defence
While the NATO summit continues in Washington, D.C., the Trudeau government says it will buy up to 12 conventional submarines, as Russia and China's presence in the Arctic has raised concerns about their military ambitions. There is no timeline on when the submarines will be delivered, and no information of how much they might cost. But a senior government official says that it won't be enough to get Canada to the 2 per cent of GDP target. Mercedes Stephenson explains.
Chiefs say they're ready to listen when Poilievre addresses Assembly of First Nations
As Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre prepares to deliver a keynote speech at the Assembly of First Nations meeting in Montreal, some chiefs say he’s got their support — while others say they're concerned about his party’s rocky relationship with Indigenous communities.
Interpol data confirms Canada is ‘ground zero’ for car thefts: experts
Interpol says Canada has emerged as a leading country for auto theft. The finding comes following the RCMP's integration of its stolen-vehicle data with Interpol's.
Canada warns Russian ‘bot farm’ is using AI to spread online disinformation
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security said individuals affiliated with RT have been using a social-media bot farm at the direction of the Russian government.
The Liberal's man in Yellowknife declines to re-offer
Michael McLeod has been the Liberal MP for the immense riding of Northwest Territories since 2015 when he beat New Democrat Dennis Bevington. But McLeod, brother of former NT premier Bob McLeod, is now moving on. This, to me, seems like an opportunity for the NDP though I note that Conservatives in the territory have been fussing and arguing over who should be the candidate. Conservatives have not won here since Mulroney's first majority in 1984. -DA
The Provinces
N.L. fishermen interrupt environment ministers’ meeting
FFAW demands meeting with Trudeau about cod moratorium
Alberta's auditor finds province's surface water management ineffective
A highly critical report from the auditor released Wednesday finds Alberta has implemented water conservation objectives in two of its seven major river basins. The government also doesn't know if existing water conservation objectives are working.
Elsewhere
Poland must prepare army for full-scale conflict, army chief says
Poland's relations with Russia and its ally Belarus have deteriorated sharply since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, starting a war that is still being fought
George Clooney calls for Joe Biden to drop out of presidential race
Despite calling himself a "lifelong Democrat," George Clooney said Joe Biden is no longer the fierce leader he once was earlier in his career.
Conrad Black, who battled Chrétien over British peerage, removed from U.K. House of Lords
Former media baron Conrad Black, who famously tried to sue then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in his fight to secure a British peerage, has been removed from the House of Lords over his lax attendance.
Media
Meta Updates Hate Speech Policy to Remove More Posts Targeting 'Zionists'
Meta will remove speech where 'Zionist' is used to refer to Jewish people and Israelis with dehumanizing comparisons, calls for harm, or denials of existence.
CNN chief Mark Thompson announces sweeping overhaul of news network, cuts 100 jobs
Mark Thompson, the CNN chief executive appointed last year to modernize the news network, unveiled a set of sweeping changes to the iconic outlet Wednesday, announcing plans to build a billion-dollar digital business, experiment with artificial intelligence and overhaul key newsroom structures.
Investigative journalism and ChatGPT: using generative AI for story ideas | Online Journalism Blog
Generative AI can be used at all points in the journalism process: this post focuses on pre-production.
Reader Notes
This newsletter will take a pause for two issues while I battle Algonquin Park's biggest lake, Lake Opeongo, which, at least today and possibly tomorrow, will be roiled by the remnants of Hurricane Beryl. It's no time to be camping on Opeongo but my travelling companion, my daughter, insists. Buoyed by her enthusiasm, away we go! See you, then, on Sunday (I hope!)
Science and tech
Apple Leads Global PC Growth With 21% Shipment Increase
Apple is believed to have seen a significant 21% increase in Mac shipments for the second quarter of 2024, the largest growth among global PC manufacturers during this period, as part of an industry-wide recovery.
Google Makes Dark Web Monitoring Free For Everyone
The tech giant's dark web tracking tools used to be available only to Google One account holders. Google One users pay monthly subscriptions of up to $20 for additional features, like access to advanced AI technologies as well as more email and document storage
ChatGPT Code: Is the AI Actually Good At Writing Code?
A study published in the June issue of IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering evaluated the code produced by OpenAI’s ChatGPT in terms of functionality, complexity and security. The results show that ChatGPT has an extremely broad range of success when it comes to producing functional code—with a success rate ranging from anywhere as poor as 0.66 percent and as good as 89 percent—depending on the difficulty of the task, the programming language, and a number of other factors. I'm using ChatGPT all the time to generate code for some of my basic data analysis tasks when I'm using R. It definitely needs some hand-holding but the great thing is if you can write a prompt in clear language, you're likely to get code that does the right job. And I don't have to remember all the R syntax that often trips me up and wastes time debugging
The Calendar
- New York City - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland meets with business leaders.
- 0900 ET: Montreal - Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to the Assembly of First Nations.
- 0930 ET: Montreal - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to the Assembly of First Nations.
- 1000 ET: Toronto - Employment Min Randy Boissonnault , Mental Health Min Ya'ara Saks and LPC MP Marco Mendicino
- 1000 ET: Washington - PM Trudeau attends a meeting of the North Atlantic Council.
- 1030 ET: Montreal - Environment Min Steven Guilbeault makes a health announcement.
- 1100 ET: Moncton, NB - Transport Min Pablo Rodriguez , Veterans Affairs Min Ginette Petitpas Taylor and LPC MP Jenica Atwin make a funding announcement.
- 1100 ET: Ottawa - Intl Development Min Ahmed Hussen and LPC MP Yasir Naqvi make an announcement.
- 1100 ET: Washington - PM Trudeau meets with UK PM Sir Keir Starmer
- 1130 ET: Quebec City - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet speaks to reporters.
- 1130 ET: Toronto - Diversity and Inclusion Min Kamal Khera makes an announcement.
- 1230 ET: Washington - PM Trudeau speaks to reporters
- 1300 ET: Washington - PM Trudeau meets with Latvia President Edgars Rinkēvič.
- 1330 ET: Washington - PM Trudeau meets with Estonia PM Kaja Kallas.
- 1400 ET: Windsor, ON - LPC MP Irek Kusmierczyk makes a funding announcement.
- 1400 ET: Washington - PM Trudeau participates in a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council
- 1530 ET: Vancouver - Sport Min Carla Qualtrough and LPC MP Taleeb Noormohamed make an announcement.
- 1830 ET: Washington - PM Trudeau departs for Ottawa.
- 1930 ET: Oakbank, MB - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attends Folk Fest.
- 2000 ET: Ottawa - PM Trudeau arrives at Macdonald Cartier International Airport.
