National Newswatch

Environment minister says he could accelerate action on climate change if he didn’t have to ‘fight’ the Conservative Party

Jun 6 2023 — — Federal officials are characterizing this year’s wildfire season across the country as “unprecedented,” and a “new normal” driven by, among other things, climate change. “People would say, well, we’ve always had forest fires; what’s new?” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told Power Play host Vassy Kapelos. “Well this year the area that’s being burned is ten […]

Johnston to launch foreign interference hearings in July, calls allegations of bias ‘quite simply false’

Jun 6 2023 — Rachel Aiello — Canada’s special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity “quite simply false,” and says he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month. Questioned by MPs at committee on Tuesday about his role, his report into election meddling, his decision against a public inquiry, and […]

Nova Scotians’ personal information stolen in global security breach: province

Jun 4 2023 — — A global security breach has resulted in the theft of an undisclosed number of Nova Scotians’ personal information. The provincial government confirmed the theft of information in a Sunday press conference but provided few details about what was stolen and how many people are affected. “Nova Scotians will have questions, and we do, too. Our […]

Notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo moved to medium-security prison in Quebec

Jun 2 2023 — — Notorious serial rapist and killer Paul Bernardo was moved to a medium-security prison in Quebec this week. For a decade, Bernardo has been at Millhaven Institution near Kingston, and before that, he was located at Kingston Penitentiary – both maximum security prisons in Ontario. His new placement is at La Macaza Institution in Quebec, in […]

Special rapporteur Johnston rejects call to ‘step aside’ after majority of MPs vote for him to resign

May 31 2023 — Rachel Aiello — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to “step aside,” a call Johnston quickly rejected. Opposition MPs teamed up to pass an […]

Alberta Premier Smith wants to ‘reset’ federal-provincial relationship while eyeing sovereignty act

May 30 2023 — Rachel Aiello — Fresh off leading Alberta’s United Conservative Party to a majority victory on Monday night, Premier Danielle Smith says she wants to “reset” her relationship with the federal government, while readying to invoke the province’s sovereignty act over emissions targets, if needed. “I think that we can work collaboratively, and that’s what I’ve asked the prime […]

Danielle Smith’s UCP holds onto power in Alberta

May 30 2023 — — Danielle Smith is still the premier of Alberta, surviving a vigorous campaign and a tight vote Monday against NDP challenger Rachel Notley. Unofficial results at midnight showed Smith’s United Conservative Party elected or leading in about 50 ridings to hold majority control of the province’s 87-seat legislature. “To paraphrase our dear friend Ralph Klein: Welcome […]

Humanity at risk: AI pioneer urges federal government to regulate faster

May 28 2023 — — One of the so-called godfathers of artificial intelligence says governments need to move faster on regulations to protect against the dangers of the rapidly advancing technology, before it poses a larger threat to humanity. Yoshua Bengio — who is also the founder and scientific director of the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms — told CTV’s […]

‘A trap’: Opposition rejects Trudeau’s security clearance offer to access confidential annex of Johnston report

May 24 2023 — Rachel Aiello — The leaders of the two largest federal opposition parties are rejecting Justin Trudeau’s invitation to receive security clearances in order to review the confidential annex of special rapporteur David Johnston’s report, prompting the prime minister to accuse them of hiding behind “a veil of ignorance.” On Tuesday, while pointing to the real threat that foreign […]

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