Half of Canadians support TikTok ban, with U.S. concerns ‘trickling’ north, poll suggests

A new poll suggests 51 per cent of Canadians support banning the social media app TikTok, after a U.S. bill aiming to do just that passed in the House of Representatives. Canada has ordered its own national security review of TikTok, something the Liberal government revealed following passage of the U.S. bill earlier this month. … Read more

NDP motion on Palestinian statehood passes after major amendments

The House of Commons passed a softened New Democrat motion on Monday night that no longer calls for the federal government to officially recognize Palestinian statehood after last-minute amendments brought in by the governing Liberals. Softening the motion’s original language, one of the 14 amendments called for the government to work toward “the establishment of the State of Palestine … Read more

Public servant’s company received more than $200M in government contracts since 2015

An IT firm run by a defence department employee has been awarded millions of dollars in government contracts since 2015. Dalian Enterprise has come in for scrutiny recently over its involvement in the development of the ArriveCan app. The company had received $7.9 million for its work on the project as of last March, according … Read more

With ‘superhuman’ artificial intelligence looming, Canada needs law now: AI pioneer

The federal government must move quickly to regulate artificial intelligence, said a top AI pioneer who warns the technology’s current trajectory poses major societal risks Yoshua Bengio, dubbed a “godfather” of AI, told members of Parliament Monday that Ottawa should put a law in place immediately, even if that legislation is not perfect. The scientific director … Read more

Trudeau goes into 2024 in dire need of a better story to tell

The memo sent to staff in the Prime Minister’s Office to announce the hiring of Max Valiquette as the government’s new executive director of communications said the former marketing executive would be focused on, among other things, “aligning the entire team under a clear narrative.” In politics, a clear narrative isn’t everything, but it’s a … Read more

Ukraine digs in as the West stumbles to keep up with Russian war production

“War,” said British philosopher, mathematician and pacifist Bertrand Russell, “does not determine who is right — only who is left.” Those words might be the perfect lens through which to view what probably lies ahead for Ukraine in the coming year as its troops dig in — and dig deep — along a front roughly 960 kilometres wide. … Read more

As U.S., U.K. and EU sanction violent Israeli settlers, Canada hangs back

The Trudeau government still won’t say if it’s considering imposing sanctions on violent Israeli settlers in the wake of travel bans announced by both the U.S. and the United Kingdom in recent days. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said last week that he will recommend EU sanctions as well.  Canada, like its American, British … Read more

MPs call for new measures to rein in Canadian pension investments in China

The House of Commons special committee studying Canada-China relations is urging the federal government to introduce new measures to prevent Canadian pension funds from investing in Chinese companies implicated in human rights abuses, corruption or threats to national security. The committee’s report, tabled in the House of Commons this week, calls on Ottawa to, in partnership with … Read more