It’s actually pretty rare for something to come along that manages to transform the nation from perfect indifference to utter pique in the course of one day, but somehow this government has managed it. I am talking, of course, about the most important news to emerge from this week – our passport redesign.
Canada
Rental demand in Canada continues to outpace supply
Zumper’s most recent Canadian Rent Report shows 15 of the country’s most populous cities have seen their average rent increase on a monthly basis in 2023.
“With the national vacancy rate for rentals at less than 2 per cent, the demand in Canada has continued to outpace the available supply, which has led to spiking rents in most of the cities in this report,” the rental website said.
CSIS had kept tabs on expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei for 3 years
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has a significant counterintelligence file on Chinese consulate official Zhao Wei, and since 2020 has shared that information with Global Affairs Canada, the department with the authority to expel foreign representatives for engaging in non-diplomatic activities, according to two national security sources.
GIESBRECHT: Control of internet will limit Canadians’ free speech
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has long been known as the regulator of Canadian content. However, with the introduction of Bill C-11, the CRTC’s role is expanding to encompass control over the internet and the online activities of Canadians.
To David Johnston: Canada needs a public inquiry
To David Johnston:
You have accepted the unenviable task of deciding upon the course of action to be followed by the government in the matter of Chinese intervention in Canada’s electoral process. You’ve been asked to review the findings of two closed-door panels that the federal government has set up to investigate Beijing’s interference activities in the 2019 and 2021 elections, and make recommendations that could include a formal inquiry, a judicial review, or some other process. That is the commitment that was made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he appointed you as the independent special rapporteur on foreign interference in March.
Top Tory strategist accuses Liberals of dropping the ball on foreign interference
OTTAWA – The former deputy chief of staff to Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper says the Liberal government isn’t doing enough to combat foreign interference, echoing similar testimony from experts who study the matter.
Jenni Byrne, who was also the Conservatives’ campaign manager in the 2015 election, is testifying today at a House of Commons committee.
She says the government is too soft on China and is turning a blind eye to the country’s alleged meddling in Canada’s democracy.
Outrage over plans to build highway over site of Canada’s deadliest rockslide
Before sunrise on the morning of 29 April 1903, a deep rumble echoed through Crowsnest Valley in western Alberta, Canada. The peak of Turtle Mountain had collapsed, sending a block of limestone nearly 1km wide and weighing 110m metric tonnes hurtling towards the town of Frank, a coalmining community of 600 people.
In less than two minutes, 100 people are believed to have been killed in what remains Canada’s deadliest rockslide. A dozen bodies were recovered, but the vast majority of victims remain buried under boulders the size of vehicles.
Nearly 6 Million Census Respondents Marked Their Ethnicity as ‘Canadian,’ StatCan Finds … RCMP investigating possible hate crime
Nearly 6 million respondents to Canada’s “2021 Census of Population” marked their ethnicity or cultural origins as “Canadian,” making it the most named of any ethnicity by census users, according to Statistics Canada figures released on May 10.
Question 23 on Canada’s last long-form census asked respondents to identify the “ethnic or cultural origins” of their ancestors—to which just under 5.7 million individuals replied “Canadian,” as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.
Don’t play the identity politics game it’s rigged against you.
Amid the diplomatic row, China’s economic leverage over Canada is greatly exaggerated
More often than not, when China is involved in a confrontation – whether it be a military, economic or political row – it is assumed that Beijing has the upper hand, or that the country is in a more advantageous position than its foe.
Indeed, given the expectation that China will surpass the United States as the world’s largest economy in the not-too-distant future, the fact that it boasts the world’s largest military, and its history of rather successfully leveraging global dependencies on crucial goods to navigate disputes, it makes sense why China’s ability to out-escalate and prevail in adversarial situations is presented as a sort of fait accompli. However, this thinking is flawed and it certainly does not apply to Beijing’s continuing row with Canada.
Interesting as the impression to date is that Canada would be mauled by ChiCom retaliation and therefore we should meekly kowtow to Xi. Was that just the China Class crying wolf to protect their financial interests?
Carson Jerema: Justin Trudeau’s cultural revolution
Since at least the time of the Pearson Government, one of the Liberal party’s central purposes has been to mould Canada into its own image, remaking national symbols to reflect the party while at the same time populating the civil service and public institutions with Liberal loyalists (hello Trudeau Foundation). Today, the Justin Trudeau Liberals are not merely content to put a party stamp on the country. They behave as if they want to, and as if they believe they can, remake society entirely by removing symbols and references to the past.
Former intelligence officer calls on Canada to expel more Chinese diplomats
OTTAWA — A former intelligence officer with Canada’s spy agency is calling on the federal government to kick out more Chinese diplomats, saying they have too big a presence in the country.
Michel Juneau-Katsuya says the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has known since the mid-1990s that Conservative and Liberal governments have been compromised by China.
Juneau-Katsuya, testifying today at a House of Commons committee studying foreign interference, says political parties have also been compromised.
It’s Justin Trudeau’s government machinery that broke down in Chong case
The government’s story about who knew that Chinese diplomats were targeting a Canadian MP has gone back and forth. Each time, the upshot is the same: It fell through the cracks.
After The Globe and Mail reported last week that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had learned in 2021 that a Chinese diplomat was involved in efforts to target Conservative MP Michael Chong’s relatives in China because of his criticism of Beijing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said CSIS had not reported that information to him, or to higher-ups outside the spy service.
Chinese diplomats helped direct Boston man’s conspiracy, prosecutors say
A Boston man with ties to Chinese diplomats has been arrested for an alleged conspiracy to inform Beijing about its potential allies and enemies inside the United States.
Litang Liang, an American citizen in his 60s who co-founded a group promoting Taiwan merging with China, has been charged with “acting within the United States as an agent of the government of the People’s Republic of China.”
GOLDSTEIN: Expelling a diplomat won’t end China’s interference
Given that the Trudeau government ignored years of warnings that Beijing’s dictators were increasingly threatening Canadians of Chinese origin who were speaking out in Canada about China’s human rights abuses, it would be naive to think they’re going to stop now.
How Much More Can a Security Service Do for Canada?
The Old Testament is full of stories of prophets who tried to warn their populations of impending disasters. Jeremiah is a good example. All these accounts tend to follow a pattern: prophet sees something about to happen, tells local leadership about it, is criticized and jailed/punished for doing so, and sees his warnings shunted aside. In the end the bad event transpires anyway. Had the early admonitions been heeded, things would have turned out quite differently.