Canada

One morning in October of 2024, Fredericton city councillor Margo Sheppard received an email with the subject line: “The Real Policy Crisis: Prioritizing ‘Nature’ Over People.”

It was polished — almost algorithmically smooth — and it calmly urged her to reconsider Fredericton’s net-zero policies. Over the next month, a flood of similar emails followed, all aimed at getting Fredericton to abandon global climate targets.

Sheppard is used to emails from organizations on all kinds of issues, but not this many, not on this issue — and not so well crafted. She grew suspicious. She was right.

Thousands of councillors in more than 500 municipalities have received these emails.

Internal instructions accessed by Canada’s National Observer show that the chatbot produces tailored scripts, petitions, reports and even speeches for council chambers.

The chatbot’s instructions tell it to “de-emphasize the climate catastrophe narrative,” to focus on “practical environmental protection measures” and “real pollution, not CO2.”

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2025/05/28/investigations/weaponized-ai-chatbot-city-councils-climate-misinformation

A brand-new water bomber sat unused and idle at the La Ronge airport as wildfires raged nearby, destroying homes and businesses, according to Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP.

NDP public safety critic Nicole Sarauer said the province took delivery of the multi-million dollar Conair Dash 8-Q400AT airtanker on May 30, according to flight records.

"Since landing, the aircraft hasn't logged a single flight. It's been sitting there unused," Sarauer said.

Sarauer said the plane sat idle and unused, with Premier Scott Moe seemingly unaware it had even arrived.

She pointed to June 6, a week after the plane arrived, when Moe said during a daily Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) briefing that the plane was on its way and would be put to use as soon as it arrived and was ready.

"It appears that Premier Scott Moe and the Sask Party government either weren't straight about the bomber or were completely asleep at the wheel during a crisis," Sarauer said.

A Canadian Indigenous leader who greeted world heads of state arriving for the Group of Seven summit says he was “filled with rage” and considered leaving before Donald Trump arrived — saying the U.S. president has “caused much pain and suffering in the world.”

Instead, Steven Crowchild prayed, consulted with his peoples’ leaders and ultimately opted to stay on the tarmac for a long conversation with Trump that he hopes will call more attention to promoting peace, protecting clean water and other issues key to Canada’s First Nation peoples.

“It was really intense, to say the least,” Crowchild told The Associated Press on Monday, recalling his lengthy encounter with Trump on Sunday night in Calgary for the G7 in nearby Kananaskis. “When I woke up on Father’s Day, I didn’t anticipate I would be seeing world leaders, and one certain individual that has caused much pain and suffering in the world.”

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3156279

Here is the full study (pdf, 319 pages)

Here is the executive summary (pdf, 17 pages)

TLDR:

• CETA has effectively eliminated duties for 98.6% of all Canadian tariff lines and for 98.7% of EU tariff lines. As a result, the simple average EU tariff on Canadian exports decreased from 5.1% to almost zero, while the Canadian tariff on EU exports declined from 4.2% to nearly zero
• Bilateral trade in goods and services between the EU and Canada has increased from €64 bn to €72 bn in the pre-CETA period (2012-2016), representing a 12.5% increase
• During the post-CETA period (2017-2023), total bilateral trade increased by 71%, from €72 bn in 2016 to €123 bn in 2023, despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
• When considering the increase in bilateral trade from 2016 (the year before CETA came into effect) to 2023, the total bilateral trade in goods increased by 65.0%, while total bilateral trade in services increased by 81% in the same time perio- CETA has effectively eliminated duties for 98.6% of all Canadian tariff lines and for 98.7% of EU tariff lines. As a result, the simple average EU tariff on Canadian exports decreased from 5.1% to almost zero, while the Canadian tariff on EU exports declined from 4.2% to nearly zero.
• Bilateral trade in goods and services between the EU and Canada has increased from €64 bn to €72 bn in the pre-CETA period (2012-2016), representing a 12.5% increase.

Peel police say they have dismantled a violent criminal organization that attempted to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from members of the community and defraud insurance companies by staging collisions across GTA roadways.

According to investigators, 18 people have been arrested and are facing a total of nearly 100 charges in the probe, which was launched in July 2024.

“They start at the planning stage. These are collisions that are often happening on our roadways, which obviously have a public safety impact, sometimes including police, ambulance and fire attending the scene,” he said.

“They continue the fraud all the way through the reporting and through the insurance industry to reap the material benefits of the fraud.”

An estimated $4.2 million worth of assets were seized as part of the probe, including 18 tow trucks, police noted. The trucks, Lorette said, were “some of the tools” used ”to commit their offences.”

The seizures occurred during the execution of 67 search warrants in Peel Region, Caledon, York Region, and Toronto on June 10, Lorette added. The investigation was conducted with the assistance of other GTA police forces, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

“This investigation is still ongoing and we anticipate further arrests and charges,” Lorette said.

• Invidious
• Youtube

On June 3, 2025, the Canadian government tabled Bill C-2, omnibus legislation that, if passed, would introduce a wide array of new federal agency and law enforcement powers, and would significantly reform substantive and due process laws in Canada for migrants and asylum seekers. Our preliminary analysis of Bill C-2 situates the legislation within the context of existing research by the Citizen Lab about two potential data-sharing treaties that are most relevant to the new proposed powers being introduced in Bill C-2: the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention (2AP) and the CLOUD Act. Both of which carry significant constitutional and human rights risks.

“The targets and outcomes for funding available under the agreement were mutually agreed upon in March 2025 through a three-year Action Plan for 2025/26 to 2027/28. This ensures the continued availability of federal funding for Ontario.”

Flack’s office indicated he wanted to reset the relationship with his federal counterpart after a tense year. The latest agreement will prioritize rent-assisted units, according to the Ontario government.

I didn't see an explanation of the action plan in the article. Progress on rent-assisted units is great.

⚠️ Warning: EMERGENCY ALERT ⚠️

A 34 time convicted felon and rapist is loose in Canada. He is old and delusional and may have lost his way. Hopefully he will be apprehended and arrested as soon as he is spotted.

Do not approach (hide yo wife, hide yo kids) or he may try to deport you.