Category Archives: Canada

Canada charges electric vehicle battery researcher with espionage for China

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Yuesheng Wang, a worker at Quebec’s power utility, is accused of sending trade secrets to China

Canada’s federal police have charged an electric vehicle battery researcher at Quebec’s power utility with espionage, alleging the worker was covertly sending trade secrets to China.

The arrest of Yuesheng Wang, 35, comes as Canada grapples with a barrage of accusations of Chinese interference, including allegations of meddling in its federal elections, as well as reports of secret “police stations” in the country’s largest city.

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Weather tracker: unusual cold and snow spreading across North America

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Temperatures in Canada dropped by as much as 20C below normal this week

Significant cold is spreading widely across North America this weekend, having already affected northern and western parts so far this week.

During the night of 9 November, temperatures across central and western provinces of Canada, as well as many western states of the US, plummeted to at least 10C (18F) below normal, with some parts of Canada seeing temperatures as low as 20C (36F) below normal.

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China ‘increasingly disruptive global power’, says Canadian foreign minister

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Mélanie Joly hints at new Indo-Pacific strategy and asks firms to be clear-eyed in business with China

Canada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, has said China has become “increasingly disruptive” on the world stage as she hinted in a speech at a new Indo-Pacific strategy expected to be released this month.

Her comments come ahead of several summits that Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is to attend, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia, the G20 in Indonesia, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Thailand.

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‘It was giving me a hug’: video captures rare giant octopus encounter

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Canadian diver captures footage of the cephalopod drawing closer and closer until it fully embraces her

For outsiders, scuba diving in the frigid waters of the northern Pacific can seem daunting: limbs quickly go numb without the right equipment, and unlike the sparkling blue of the tropics, the water has a gloomy, greenish tint.

But a recent viral encounter between a diver and an octopus has highlighted the particular magic of the sunken kelp forests off the coast of British Columbia.

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Drake and 21 Savage sued over use of Vogue name to promote new album

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Condé Nast files complaint in Manhattan federal court after rappers allegedly use trademark without permission

The rappers Drake and 21 Savage have been sued by Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue magazine, for allegedly using the Vogue name without permission to promote their new album, Her Loss.

Condé Nast claimed the musicians’ promotional campaign, including to their more than 135 million social media followers, was built “entirely” on the unauthorised use of Vogue trademarks and false representations that they would appear on Vogue’s next cover, and with the “love and support” of the magazine’s longtime editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour.

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China taking ‘aggressive’ steps to gut Canada’s democracy, warns Trudeau

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The prime minister’s comments come after a news report that Beijing had funded a ‘clandestine network’ of candidates in 2019

Justin Trudeau has warned that China is “play[ing] aggressive games” to undermine democratic institutions amid reports Beijing actively interfered in Canada’s federal elections.

His comments on Monday came after a news report that Beijing had funded a “clandestine network” of candidates in Canada’s 2019 election and just days after the federal police force said it was actively investigating a secret network of illegal Chinese “police stations” in Toronto.

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Ontario to repeal new law threatening workers’ right to strike following pushback

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Major reversal for the Canadian province’s conservative government follows days of immense political pressure

Ontario has announced it will fully repeal controversial legislation that undermined workers’ right to strike, in a major reversal for the province’s conservative government following days of immense political pressure – and the looming threat of a general strike.

Nearly 55,000 Canadian Union of Public Employees walked out on Friday after the conservative government of the Ontario premier, Doug Ford, introduced legislation that would unilaterally impose a contract on education workers, and levy hefty fines for striking. But on Monday morning, union leaders announced they would end their protest “in a gesture of good faith” following the conservative government’s abrupt turnaround.

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Over 55,000 Ontario education workers strike in defiance of ‘draconian’ law

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Move comes after Canada’s most populous province fast-tracked bill that fines striking workers C$4,000 a day

More than 55,000 education workers in Ontario have walked off the job, pledging to strike for “as long as it takes” in defiance a “draconian” new law amid a bitter fight with the provincial government over pay.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents custodial staff, early childhood education and education support workers, launched the strike on Friday, despite legislation fast-tracked by the Ontario premier, Doug Ford, that bars it from striking and unilaterally imposes a contract on employees.

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Canada orders China to divest from country’s mining companies

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Move comes after ‘multi-step’ review by Canada’s national security and intelligence agencies

Canada has ordered China to immediately sell its holdings in three Canadian mining companies, as the need for investments in the extraction of critical minerals clashes with growing concerns over national security.

On Wednesday Canada’s industry minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said three Chinese companies would be required to divest from junior mining companies.

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Canadian bill would fine workers $4,000 for each day they strike

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Justin Trudeau has sharply criticised Ontario legislation tabled by Doug Ford’s conservative provincial government

The premier of Canada’s most populous province is under fire for a “draconian” bill that would fine school support staff C$4,000 (US$2,900) a day for striking, prompting concerns that Ontario is eroding fundamental workers’ rights – and setting a troubling precedent.

Doug Ford’s conservative government tabled legislation this week that would unilaterally impose a contract on education workers, and levy hefty fines for striking. The move escalates a bitter dispute over pay for education workers, including custodians, early childhood educators and educational assistants.

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Weather tracker: Storm Nalgae heads towards China after pelting Philippines

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Sixteenth tropical cyclone to affect the Philippines this season caused deadly floods and landslides

Tropical Storm Nalgae swept through the Philippines on Saturday with sustained winds of 60mph.

Heavy rain caused the most damage, with significant flooding and landslides. Dozens of people have died and 170,000 sought shelter in evacuation centres.

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Haitian ambassador warns criminal gangs may overrun country

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Armed gangs have shut off access to Haiti’s main fuel terminal, decimating basic services amid a cholera and hunger crisis

The Haitian ambassador to Washington has appealed to the international community to accelerate talks on deploying an armed intervention, warning that criminal gangs were in danger of taking over the country.

Bocchit Edmond made his appeal as efforts to agree to a UN resolution backing such a force appear to have stalled, and as the US and Canada have been holding urgent talks looking for ways to break the impasse.

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Suspected Russian spy arrested in Norway spent years studying in Canada

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Man posing as Brazilian academic José Assis Giammaria thought to have used his time in the country to build up a deep-cover identity

A suspected Russian spy who posed as a Brazilian academic before his arrest this week by Norway’s domestic security agency spent years studying at Canadian universities with a focus on Arctic security issues.

The man, who called himself José Assis Giammaria, worked as researcher at the University of Tromsø and was arrested on suspicion he had entered Norway under false pretences. On Friday, prosecutor Thomas Blom named the man as Mikhail Mikushin, adding that Norway’s domestic security agency was “not positively sure of his identity, but we are quite certain that he is not Brazilian”.

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Canada conservatives under scrutiny for inviting murderer to tough-on-crime speech

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Ex-provincial minister convicted over death of his wife attended speech arguing government is ‘too lenient’ on violent offenders

The conservative government of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan is under scrutiny after a convicted murderer was invited to attend its tough-on-crime speech.

On Wednesday the province’s lieutenant governor, Russell Mirasty, presented the throne speech, outlining the conservative administration’s agenda and arguing the federal government was “too lenient” on violent offenders.

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Police investigate claim of secret Chinese police stations in Canada

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RCMP looking into ‘reports of criminal activity’ surrounding facilities allegedly used to pressure Chinese nationals abroad

Canada’s federal police force is investigating reports that clandestine Chinese “police stations” are operating in Toronto amid reports of a global network used to target overseas dissidents.

The Royal Canada Mounted Police said it was investigating “reports of criminal activity in relation to the so-called ‘police’ stations” but did not specify the location of the sites.

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Canada court rules random traffic stops are racist and unconstitutional

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A Quebec judge invalidates the police power to pull over drivers without cause, concluding they violate country’s charter

A Canadian court has ruled that random traffic stops violate the country’s charter, striking down the “unbounded power” of police in searches that often amount to racial profiling.

A Quebec superior judge ruled on Tuesday that police cannot pull over drivers without cause.

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Quebec separatist urges Canada to cut ties with ‘incredibly racist’ monarchy

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Yves-François Blanchet, leader of Bloc Québécois, says ‘slave-driven’ British monarchy is ‘archaic’ and ‘humiliating’

The leader of Canada’s Quebec separatist party has renewed calls for the country to sever its ties with the “incredibly racist” and “slave-driven” British monarchy ahead of the coronation of King Charles III.

The Bloc Québécois leader, Yves-François Blanchet, tabled a motion on Tuesday, widely seen as purely symbolic, in the House of Commons.

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Ontario mayor faces lone challenger – the brother he doesn’t speak to

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Charles Steele runs against estranged brother Bill in Port Colborne mayoral race – but siblings keep mum on source of conflict

When Charles Steele stepped on to a debate stage last week, it was the first time since the election campaign began that he’d confronted his lone opponent in a bitterly contested race to become mayor of a small Canadian town.

The encounter also marked the first time he’d spoken to his brother Bill – the incumbent mayor – in more than 30 years.

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Iran protests: democracies have ‘moral obligation’ to help, Canada foreign minister says

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Mélanie Joly tells meeting of female foreign ministers that they must help ‘amplify the voices of women in Iran’

Canada’s foreign minister has said democracies have a “moral obligation” to help the “incredibly brave” women taking to the streets of Iran in protest, as she met other female foreign ministers to condemn the ongoing violence that has rocked the country for weeks.

“As women foreign ministers we have a responsibility to help amplify the voices of women in Iran,” Mélanie Joly told a gathering of 14 of her female counterparts, according to a readout of the event provided to the Guardian. “As women leaders from around the world, we can make a powerful statement of support for women’s rights in Iran, and by extension, women’s rights everywhere.”

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Canada supreme court refuses to hear appeal in blow to residential school survivors

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Survivors of St Anne’s Indian residential school allege government withheld key evidence in determining compensation for victims

Canada’s supreme court has declined to hear an appeal brought by a group of Indigenous residential school survivors, dealing a major blow to their decade-long fight against federal government over thousands of unreleased documents.

Survivors of St Anne’s Indian residential school had hoped the country’s top court would take their case, which alleges Canada’s federal government withheld key evidence in determining compensation for victims of abuse at the school in northern Ontario.

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