Canada
Planned anti-carbon price protests prompt security warning to MPs
The House of Commons sent an email encouraging a 'locked-door' policy at Liberal, NDP constituency offices after Pierre Poilievre's calls for demonstrations.
Les élus fédéraux auront droit à une sécurité renforcée
À quelque 18 mois de la date prévue des prochaines élections fédérales, tous les partis politiques à Ottawa dressent le même constat : des mesures plus costaudes sont nécessaires afin d’assurer la sécurité des élus de la Chambre des communes.
Is politics getting too dangerous an occupation?
Susan Delacourt Now, though, I’ve come to dread learning why many politicians are packing it in — the threats to their safety and mental health, and how the job may not be worth the sacrifice. No longer are we seeing the best side of politics; we’re seeing the worst.
Tories grill Liberals in question period about minister’s ties to lobbyist, PPE company
Conservative MP Michael Barrett questioned the Liberal government on Randy Boissonnault’s connections to a lobbying firm and a medical supplies company, revealed by Global News.
Poilievre blames B.C. decriminalization, drug policy for record deaths
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accuses 'radical activists, bureaucrats and pharmacists' of 'making a fortune' off of B.C.'s opioid crisis.
Environmental groups criticize government walk-back on pollution impact assessment
"We are concerned that the government is not fully living up to its responsibility to protect Canadians and the environment from the climate impacts of major projects," the groups wrote Wednesday in a letter to cabinet.
Ahead of Justice Hogue’s interim report on foreign interference, a look at the key findings from the inquiry
The Foreign Interference Commission, which is probing interference by other countries in Canadian democracy, tables its first of two reports on Friday
More than half of Canadians say freedom of speech is under threat, new poll suggests
The feelings of respondents about the issue of free speech divided neatly along familiar political fault lines. Among those who said they plan to vote Conservative in the next federal election, 76 per cent said they fear free speech is in peril in Canada.
The security of research partnerships between Canadian universities, research institutions and entities connected to the People’s Republic of China.
The text in this box was written by Claude-3-Sonnet based on this SRSR report. The text was reviewed by Akin
Canadian Parliament Probes China Ties in University Research
Canadian parliamentary committee is raising concerns about the national security threats posed by research partnerships between Canadian universities and institutions connected to China.
In a report released Tuesday, the House of Commons science and research committee said it studied the risks around using federal grants and funding for university research involving Chinese entities. It concluded China poses the greatest foreign interference threat.
"The actions of certain countries, including the People's Republic of China, constitute a threat for research security and national security in Canada," said the report from the committee chaired by Liberal lawmaker Lloyd Longfield.
The committee heard testimony that some areas of research are sensitive because associated technologies could have strategic military importance. Foreign powers want to exploit university partnerships to acquire knowledge in these areas.
There are also risks around intellectual property, with foreign companies contractually owning IP from jointly conducted research or through outright theft, the report said. China was described as "the most sophisticated actor" trying to obtain Canadian research and data.
The report cited testimony from the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that "the People's Republic of China is by far the greatest perpetrator of these activities."
However, universities defended international research collaboration as essential to staying competitive and tackling global challenges like climate change.
The report made eight recommendations, including ensuring sufficient domestic research funding to discourage reliance on foreign partnerships that compromise national security.
It also urged Canada to consider adding state-owned enterprises to a list of entities prohibited from involvement in sensitive technology research areas. And it called for reviewing funding distribution to help smaller universities protect themselves.
The committee's investigation occurred before the Canadian government announced a new policy in January restricting sensitive research partnerships with China over security concerns.
That move underscored rising tensions between the West and Beijing over human rights, trade and broader national security issues.
The Provinces
Progressive Conservatives win both Ontario byelections
Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative candidates won both Ontario byelections by convincing margins. PC candidate Zee Hamid, who has Liberal roots, won by more than 2,400 votes, or nine percentage points, over Liberal Galen Naidoo Harris in the riding of Milton, just west of Mississauga.
A Quebec mayor opens up about the ‘shocking’ threats politicians are facing
Quebec's plan to curb the often toxic climate that drives out local politicians from municipal jobs is being welcomed by Montreal-area mayors who have long called for change.
'I love this guy': Is there a budding bromance between Ford and Sutcliffe?
Doug Ford has been in Ottawa three times in just a few weeks, and political observers see promising signs in his chummy relationship with the mayor.
Quebec premier says pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill 'has to be dismantled'
"The encampment is illegal," Legault told reporters in Quebec City. "The law must be respected, so I expect the police to dismantle these illegal campsites, which is what McGill has requested."
Quebec premier dismisses proposal to restrict social media for youth under 15
Premier François Legault has dismissed the idea of imposing a restriction on social media use for people under 15 as France has done.
Terrace city councillor makes bid for provincial NDP nomination in Skeena
Sarah Zimmerman hopes to make a run for Ellis Ross’s seat in the B.C. legislature
Quesnel city council censures mayor over controversial residential school book
The council said the actions taken were due to Paull jeopardizing the city’s relationship with Indigenous communities, after he brought a controversial book to a Cariboo Regional District meeting in March. Critics said the book downplays the history of residential schools.
Elsewhere
UK's Labour claim big early win over PM Sunak's Conservatives
The thumping victory set the tone for what will be a closely watched two days of local results before a national election this year, which polling shows could put Labour leader Keir Starmer in power and end 14 years of Conservative government.
Media
Un plan pour rapprocher CBC et Radio-Canada
Un plan visant à rapprocher les services français et anglais de Radio-Canada occupe présentement la haute direction du diffuseur public, a appris La Presse de trois sources bien informées du dossier. FWIW: This was the first thing the Bloc Quebecois asked about it in Wednesday's QP.
X is changing how the block button works
X is tweaking the visibility of replies in the context of a block. Previously, a user could block someone on X and still reply to their posts. And the person who was blocked wouldn’t be able to view that reply or know the person who had blocked them was engaging with their posts. That’s now being rolled back so that users will be able to see direct replies even if the person posting has blocked them.
Russian state media is posting more on TikTok ahead of the U.S. presidential election, study says
Such accounts are also active on other social media platforms and have a larger presence on Telegram and X than on TikTok. However, the report says user engagement — such as likes, views and shares — on their posts has been much higher on TikTok than on either Telegram or X.
The Calendar
- 700 ET: Belleville, ON - CPC MP Ryan Williams and Frank Caputo speak to supporters.
- 800 ET: Cap-aux-Meules, QC - Fisheries Min Diane Lebouthillier makes a funding announcement.
- 1000 ET: Montreal - Intl Development Min Ahmed Hussen and LPC MP Fayçal El-Khoury make a funding announcement.
- 1030 ET: Halifax - ACOA Min Gudie Hutchings makes a funding announcement.
- 1030 ET: Toronto - PM Trudeau and Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland make a housing announcement.
- 1130 ET: Grand-Entree, QC - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet and BQ MPs Kristina Michaud, Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, and Martin Champoux meet with fishers.
- 1130 ET: Edmonton - Employment Min Randy Boissonnault makes an infrastructure funding announcement.
- 1200 ET: Toronto - Defence Min Bill Blair speaks to the Economic Club of Canada.
- 1300 ET: Winnipeg - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh campaigns in Elmwood-Transcona.
- 1300 ET: Trois-Rivières, QC - BQ MP René Villemure speaks to reporters.
- 1400 ET: Grand-Entree, QC - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet and BQ MPs Kristina Michaud, Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, and Martin Champoux meet with workers.
- 1400 ET: Lincoln, NE - Innovation Min François-Philippe Champagne speaks at a Yeutter Institute event.
- 1745 ET: Lincoln, NE - Innovation Min François-Philippe Champagne attends an International Investors reception.
- 2000 ET: Grand-Entree, QC - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet and BQ MPs Kristina Michaud, Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, and Martin Champoux participate in a memorial service.
Issued this day ...
… in 1962: Scott #397: Red River Settlement. Design: Phillip-Gutkin & Associates. From the press release put out by Canada Post at the time of issue in 1962: “This project had been in the plans of Thomas George, the Fifth Earl of Selkirk from his early youth when he first realized the importance of the high plains in the economic growth of the new nation. At the beginning of the 19th Century, an economic revolution was in progress in the Scottish Highlands and was causing widespread distress. To relieve this situation, Lord Selkirk proposed immigration of evicted crofters to British North America and the establishment of a colony in the Red River area. The first party of settlers, under the guidance of Miles Macdonald, set out by way of Hudson's Bay in 1811, staying for the winter at the mouth of the Nelson River. In 1812, the part reached the Red River and settled near the mouth of the Assiniboine River. They were soon joined by another party which set out in 1812. Other parties reached the settlement in 1814 and 1815. From the first, the colony has aroused the suspicion of the North West Company which feared that it would prove a threat to the supply of pemmican for the company's lines of communications and its posts in the far west fur bearing regions. This threat seemed to be realized when, in 1814, Macdonald prohibited the export of pemmican from the Assiniboine region. Though this difficulty was adjusted, the company decided to destroy the colony by instigating desertion among the settlers and offering free transportation to Canada. The remainder of the settlers were finally driven from the area in the Seven Oaks Massacre of 1816, which claimed the lives of Governor Robert Semple and 19 of his officers. In 1817, Lord Selkirk led a force of veterans recruited from former regiments from Montreal and re-established the Red River Colony. The colony continued to progress without further trouble from the North West Company and virtually all danger from this source was eliminated with the merger of the two companies in 1821. The new settlers had other difficulties to overcome to make the land propituous to agriculture: poor seeds, inadequate tools, a strange climate, grasshoppers and other pests and the lack of a market for grain and cattle. They did, however, manage to extract from this land the first "bumper" crop of wheat. The yield was some 1500 bushels. This was the beginning of economic stability and growth for the area now know as the Prairie Provinces. “