Canada

https://www.viarail.ca/en/offers/canada-strong-pass

It's short order but I highly recommend making use of the VIA rail Canada Strong Pass before it expires September second. We used it to travel on the Skeena from Jasper to Prince Rupert (overnights are in Prince George). We had one day in Prince Rupert, their first good day of the year in Canada's rainiest city, and it was amazing. The train ride is stunning, the return trip was just as stunning, it felt like a new trip. We thought we'd get card games or reading in, but we were glued to the windows. It's so clean, spacious and freeing to walk around during the trip. Our attendant during the trip both ways was Moun, and he was wonderful! Sign up for the reward points before you book. Earn them and save for future trips, they seem to add up quickly or you can donate them to other members - I mean send them my way if you won't use them haha. It was our first VIA trip and we are hooked and cannot wait for our next one. That said VIA needs some serious expansion out west.

July 21, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, today issued the following statement:

“We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now.

“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.

“The hostages cruelly held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023 continue to suffer terribly. We condemn their continued detention and call for their immediate and unconditional release. A negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing them home and ending the agony of their families.

“We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life-saving work safely and effectively.

“We call on all parties to protect civilians and uphold the obligations of international humanitarian law. Proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a ‘humanitarian city’ are completely unacceptable. Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law.

“We strongly oppose any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The E1 settlement plan announced by Israel’s Civil Administration, if implemented, would divide a future Palestinian state in two, marking a flagrant breach of international law, and critically undermine the two-state solution. Meanwhile, settlement building across the West Bank and East Jerusalem has accelerated while settler violence against Palestinians has soared. This must stop.

“We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. Further bloodshed serves no purpose. We reaffirm our complete support to the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to achieve this.

“We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region.”

This statement has been signed by:

• The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK
• The EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management

A Globe and Mail reporter investigating allegations of political interference at Alberta’s provincial health authority has been targeted by an anonymous account on X, which posted surreptitiously obtained photographs of her in public settings and described her private movements.

Pictures of Calgary correspondent Carrie Tait meeting two women, who are former political staffers in the government of Premier Danielle Smith, were posted earlier this month by an account calling itself The Brokedown. Details about the photographs were also posted beforehand by a podcaster, who made references in a video to a meal that Ms. Tait attended. He confirmed to The Globe that he was supplied with the photographs in advance of their posting on X.

Separately, someone disguised a phone number to look like Ms. Tait’s mobile number to make calls to multiple people. One photo, posted on July 10, showed Ms. Tait with one of the women in a park with a dog. In another picture, posted two days later, Ms. Tait sat with another woman on a patio at a Mexican restaurant.

The X account was launched this month. In one of its first posts, it promised it would “start exposing Carrie Tait’s sources in the continuing health care saga. You are not going to want to miss this!”. The account was suspended last Wednesday after complaints were filed with the social-media platform, including by Globe reporters.

For the past five months, Ms. Tait has been writing about allegations from Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former chief executive of Alberta Health Services, the agency that administers public health care in the province. In a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed in February, Ms. Mentzelopoulos alleges that she was terminated over an internal investigation that she ordered into procurement issues at the agency.

She says pressure was placed on her by staff in Danielle Smith’s office to take action that would benefit certain private companies. Mentzelopoulos says she was dismissed two days before she was set to brief the province’s Auditor-General. In a statement of defence, the Alberta government said she was fired “because she couldn’t do her job.”

Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s allegations are now the subject of separate investigations by Alberta’s Auditor-General, the RCMP, and retired Manitoba judge Raymond Wyant, who was appointed by the province.

(...)

Two weeks before the photographs were posted online, several contacts of Ms. Tait received phone calls where her number appeared on their call display. While none of the individuals spoke with anyone on the calls – one person answered but nobody replied - all of them reached out to Ms. Tait to ask why she was calling.

An examination of Ms. Tait’s phone records showed no evidence of any outgoing calls, suggesting the number was “spoofed” to make it appear she was calling these individuals.

The Globe’s editor in chief, David Walmsley, condemned the targeting of Ms. Tait.

“Any attempt to interfere with legitimate newsgathering is an attack on the public’s right to know” he said. “The Globe and Mail will continue to pursue this story.”

Kathryn Marshall, a lawyer for the women who appear in the photographs alongside Ms. Carrie Tait, said her clients have also received threatening text messages, which she believes are part of a “stalking” effort to prevent people with links to government from speaking with journalists.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-globe-and-mail-reporter-targeted-by-online-campaign-photographed/

Key details:

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: August 5, 2025

The ideal candidate will have:

• A degree in the humanities, social sciences or journalism
• Demonstrated experience in editing
• A strong grasp of current debates in race, identity, culture and power
• Excellent editorial judgment
• A network of academic and news contacts
• An understanding of audience development, including SEO practices, web analytics, social media and newsletter engagement
• Strong organizational skills, with an ability to edit to daily deadlines, manage multiple tasks and work as part of a collaborative team
• Care and attention to detail
• Bilingualism is an asset
• Must be based in Canada

Author: Gary N. Wilson | Professor of Political Science, University of Northern British Columbia

American tariffs and fears of a prolonged recession have increased calls to expand resource development and infrastructure projects in Canada. The pace and scope of expansion projects like these have major implications for Canada on many levels, including: commitments to environmental sustainability, relations with Indigenous Peoples and the quality of local health services.

In a study that I conducted with environmental health researcher Barbara Oke in northern British Columbia, we found that major resource projects can strain local health-care services in rural and remote regions. In particular, the influx of workers connected with development projects puts significant pressures on health-care providers. This is especially concerning as local health-care services are already experiencing funding, infrastructure and staff shortages.

Therefore, it’s critical that government and industry actively consider these pressures when planning new projects.

This week, the RCMP arrested four men in Québec, alleging they were attempting to create an anti-government militia.

The RCMP used the umbrella term “Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism” to categorize the suspects. Essentially, this means the RCMP alleges they share violent right-wing ideologies. Their arrests raise questions about whether Canada’s problem with right-wing extremism is getting worse.

The group is accused of storing explosive devices, dozens of firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition. The RCMP seized all of it, and the four suspects are due to appear in Québec City court next week. Three are charged with facilitating a terrorist activity, along with weapon-possession offences.

The suspects include active members of the Canadian Armed Forces, according to the RCMP. Given the allegations that they were planning terrorist attacks for an extremist militia, the inclusion of army personnel might not be surprising.

But it could represent a stark manifestation of a deeply troubling and accelerating trend: the rise of violent right-wing extremism and anti-government or anti-authority radicalization within western democracies. This is a shift dramatically exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as many seized the opportunity to spread anti-government ideas based on restricted freedoms.

Despite decades of advocacy and grieving, Canada has not done enough to protect Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people. The roadmap is there.

https://archive.ph/v0zdL

This is ridiculous. How can we, as Canadians, let this happen? Let a whole nation starve to death like this?

Let's all flood our MP's phone lines and let them know that what is happening is immoral, and definitely is a Genocide, and that we must pressure the Israeli government to cease fire and let the humanitarian aid through, or face severe sanctions.

Just a five minute call you guys. If we all do it, it might actually have a real impact. And tell your family members, your relatives and your friends to do it too. Share the message!

Let's try to save the Gazans from starving to death.

It’s been two decades since the government of Canada passed the Civil Marriage Act — an official nod to approve same-sex marriage in the country.

The act passed July 20, 2005, following the Supreme Court of Canada upholding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 2003.

Not too many news outlets carrying this story. I can't say I'd heard of Simcoe.com before - but good on them for covering it. Given the surging rise in bigotry around the globe these days, Canada becoming the 4th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage 20 years ago yesterday is something I'm proud of

The driver didn't wait, I waited for them. Four cents is twice the cost of my brand loyalty.

I hope this starts a trend. If these greed-driven whoring corporations want to glom onto every penny they can, fuck 'em. I'm out.