In the News

Internet platforms are targetted by new European Union legislation designed to fight misinformation as well as banning online ads based on subscribers’ ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Approved on the weekend, the Digital Services Act requires companies to remove hate speech, terrorist propaganda and other content considered illegal by EU members. Last month, the 27-nation bloc passed a Digital Markets Act designed to counter anticompetitive behavior.

The deaths of several Russian oligarchs and some family members in Russia and Spain in recent weeks ostensibly involved murder-suicide but police still consider the circumstances suspicious due to forensics issues. The deaths are reportedly the latest of four senior Russian oil executives whose companies have been sanctioned over the Ukraine invasion.

The federal government is being sued by a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who was held without trial. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian who lived briefly in Montreal and now resides in The Netherlands, is seeking $35 million in damages on grounds that faulty Canadian intelligence contributed to his detention.

The Communications Security Establishment says finding recruitment a challenge even though the government has pledged nearly $1 billion to bolster cybersecurity. The CSE receives 10,000-15,000 job applications annually but only one or two applicants are hired. “Recruitment for high-tech organizations remains challenging and highly competitive,” spokesman Evan Koronewski says. “At CSE, the same is true due to the specific technical competencies we require for many of our positions, the necessary security clearances, and the current requirement for successful candidates to relocate to the National Capital Region.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has secured a second five-year term in office, capturing 58.55 per cent of the April 24 run-off vote despite an improved showing by right-wing challenger Marine Le Pen, who finished with 41.45 per cent. One issue facing voters was the prospect that a Le Pen vote could mean France’s withdrawal from NATO.

Saudi Arabia appears to be banking on Republicans regaining control of Congress in next November’s midterm elections by not only refusing to sanction Russia for its Ukraine invasion, but also by placing $2 billion in a new investment fund run by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner. The kingdom’s de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, reportedly declined to take a call from President Joe Biden last month and a former British ambassador suspects the Saudi leader “is betting on the Republicans winning big in the midterms and then regaining the presidency – with or without Trump.”

David Cohen, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, says he has been assured Canada will follow through this year on crucial investments to modernize Arctic defences, even though this month's budget included no specific funding. He says he has pressed the issue in “candid conversations” with senior cabinet ministers and although this “this budget does not include funding for NORAD, for modernizing and improving the northern defence for Canada and for the United States . . . it will be forthcoming during the course of this fiscal year.”

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern says her country has been aware for some time of China’s “growing assertiveness” in the South Pacific, most recently manifest in a “disappointing” security pact with the Solomon Islands. However, she says, her country has a “a mature relationship” with China and there is an ongoing need to cooperate on areas of “natural mutual interest.”

In their first bilateral meeting, Canada's Defence Minister Anita Anand spoke on the phone with Norway's Defence Minister, Bjørn Arild Gram. They discussed the importance of defence relationships and other topics of mutual interest.

Results of a new national Léger poll indicate that 55 per cent of Canadians, including 68 per cent of Quebeckers, believe the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is over. “There has been a real change in mentality that has occurred around the same time as our governments have removed many of the health measures,” says the pollster’s executive vice-president, adding that “it’s not over.”

El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, a British member of a brutal Islamic State cell dubbed “The Beatles”, has been found guilty on four counts each of hostage-taking and conspiracy related to the deaths of three U.S. citizens in Syria. His two-week trial in Virginia, which ended with one day of jury deliberation, means he faces multiple life sentences.

Even though a Florida judge ruled that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not justified mandatory coronavirus masking on all forms of mass transportation, Canada has no immediate plans to drop its requirement for air and train passengers. “Masks are proven to provide additional layers of protection and we will continue to follow the advice of our public health experts,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said April 19.

Hackers associated with the North Korean government have been identified by the U.S. as responsible for the theft of $620 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency from a Vietnam-based video gaming studio in March. “We were able to confirm Lazarus Group and APT38, cyber actors associated with the DPRK, are responsible,” the FBI says. The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned the cryptocurrency address used by the hackers.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s far-right challenger, Marine Le Pen, says she rejects NATO’s “herd-like conformity” with the U.S. and would quit the alliance’s integrated military command and focus on “a strategic rapprochement” with Russia. She also has dismissed multilateralism in general as she and Macron prepare for an April 24 run-off election after first-round voting April 10 left them with only a few percentage points difference in support.

The Vancouver-based Veterans Transition Network, having raised $3.6 million and helped to rescue 2,061 Afghanis since the Taliban took control, is refocusing its efforts to help veterans deal with mental-health issues. Among other things, VRN Executive Director Oliver Thorne blames “government policy that is very risk averse to the point of being selfish.”

An alarmingly sophisticated and effective system for attacking industrial facilities, including the energy sector, has been disclosed by U.S. officials. While they have not said which country was the source, private analysts say it is likely Russian in origin and that the priority targets are likely liquefied natural gas plants.

The Muslim Association of Canada is asking the Ontario Superior Court to block a Canada Revenue Agency audit of its activities as a registered charity, saying the review, which began in 2015, is discriminatory and violates its Charter rights. It says the audit has been “tainted throughout by systemic bias and Islamophobia” and that the CRA has threatened “extreme sanctions that are completely unjustified by the findings.”

The Bank of Canada today raised its key interest rate to one per cent from 0.5 per cent, the largest increase in more than 20 years in a bid to contain inflation. Governor Tiff Macklem said rates are expected to remain elevated for longer than previously expected due to the impact on energy and other commodity prices resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He also said he expects rate to continue to rise to “more normal” levels which neither stimulate nor hinder the economy.

U.S. President Joe Biden used the word “genocide” April 12 to describe Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “It has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian and the evidence is mounting,” he said. “We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.”

Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre is raising concerns over potential “fraud” in the Conservative Party leadership race, demanding a ban on prepaid credit cards to purchase party members and potentially stack voting results. His campaign says that if the party refuses to outlaw the practice, a legal challenge is likely.

China began letting about a quarter of the residents of its largest city out of their homes today after locking down the city of 25 million for two weeks in response to a coronavirus resurgence. Some food markets and pharmacies also are being permitted to reopen but a National Health Commission official said the virus still is not under control.

Treasury Board President Mona Fortier says the federal government could convert some of its downtown Ottawa office space into housing as thousands of public servants continue to work from home. “Hybrid work is here to stay,” she says. “We have to look at how we’re going to strengthen our downtown core and making sure that we don’t keep these offices empty.” Local business and politicians have been pressing the government to send more employees back downtown.

Candidates to succeed Erin O’Toole as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada are expected to face off in two debates next month. The first English debate organized by the party is set for May 11, followed two weeks later by a French debate.

French President Emmanuel Macron, a political centrist facing a challenge from far-right opponent Marine Le Pen, says “nothing is done” as they prepare for a run-off vote April 24. After an initial ballot April 10, Macron says voters are faced with “a fundamental choice between two opposing visions of the future.”

A Turkish court has suspended the trial in absentia of 26 Saudi Arbanians accused of killing U.S. journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 and the Turkish government today approved a prosecution request for a transfer of proceedings to Saudi Arabia. Human rights groups say the move would lead to a cover-up of the killing, which U.S. intelligence linked to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said April 5 that while the alliance would welcome traditionally neutral Finland and Sweden as members. “It's for them to decide, of course, but if they apply, I expect that 30 allies will welcome them.” he said.

Draft legislation introduced by the federal government April 5 as Bill C-18 would require digital publishers to compensate traditional news publishers for the use of their content. They also would have the option to submit to binding arbitration under the auspices of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says Russian forces are regrouping for a southeastern offensive designed to connect the occupied Crimean Peninsula with separatist-controlled territory in the eastern Donbas region. “This is a crucial phase of the war,” he said on the eve of today’s NATO foreign affairs ministers, urging the allies to have weapons and other materiel ready for Ukraine.

Claims that a protestor in the “freedom convoy” in Ottawa had been seriously injured in a confrontation with police has been dismissed by Ontario's Special Investigations Unit. It said April that the woman had sustained a “strained shoulder” when knocked to the ground, an incident which sparked rumours that she had been fatally trampled by a police horse.

New Hampshire’s Republican governor, Chris Sununu, used an expletive, ostensibly as a joke, to describe former president Donald Trump’s state of mind. “I’ll say it this way: I don’t think he’s so crazy that you could put him in a mental institution. But I think if he were in one, he ain’t getting out!” However, one analyst suggests that there’s “a kernel of truth” in Sununu’s comment because other Republicans question Trump’s motives as he continues to dominate their party.

Iran says the U.S. is responsible for a pause in multinational talks in Vienna aimed at reviving a 2015 nuclear deal, “A deal is very much within reach,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said today, adding that “Washington should make political decision for the deal's revival.” The State Department said last week that a small number of issues remained to be address and that it was up Iran to decide.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the G20 group of nations must re-evaluate the participation of Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine. “When it comes to Vladimir Putin sitting around that table with the rest of us, that's going to be extraordinarily difficult for us and unproductive,” he says. “It can't be business as usual . . . pretending that everything is okay.”

A call by premiers of the Prairie provinces to suspend the latest scheduled increase in the federal carbon levy has been rebuffed by Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. The increase took effect last week atop surging retail fuel prices and while the premiers argued for relief, Wilkinson says “94 per cent of the price of gas has nothing to do with the price on pollution” and is due largely to global price increases resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

As of today, all travellers entering Canada are no longer be required to provide a pre-entry coronavirus test as long as they are “fully vaccinated. That means two doses of an accepted vaccine or at least one of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least 14 days prior to arrival. All arriving travellers must complete a questionnaire on the ArriveCAN app or on the government's website within 72 hours of their arrival, but anyone exhibiting symptoms will not be permitted entry.