Category Archives: Canada

Canada’s intelligence service: theft of information is ‘potentially devastating’

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Theft of classified information by a senior intelligence officer could ‘cause grave injury to Canada’s national interests’

The theft of classified information by a senior intelligence officer could be “devastating” to Canada’s national security, the country’s spy service has warned, as concern over the security breach continues to grow.

In a series of internal documents obtained by the CBC, Canada’s intelligence service outlined fears that details of the country’s spycraft could have been comprised after the theft of sensitive information by Cameron Ortis, 47, a director general with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s intelligence unit.

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Canada: arrest of ex-head of intelligence shocks experts and alarms allies

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Police say charges of stealing covert information against Cameron Ortis pose ‘potential risk’ for US, UK, New Zealand and Australia

Canada and its allies are scrambling to assess the damage inflicted by what experts believe could be the largest security breach in the country’s history after a senior federal intelligence official was arrested on charges of stealing covert information.

Following a lengthy investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted police, Cameron Ortis – the leader of the police force’s own intelligence unit – was charged on Friday with leaking or offering to share covert information.

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‘Irrelevant’: report pours scorn over Google’s ideas for Toronto smart city

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Independent panel criticises Sidewalk Labs over ‘frustratingly abstract’ proposals for new tech-oriented neighbourhood

A controversial smart city development in Canada has hit another roadblock after an oversight panel called key aspects of the proposal “irrelevant”, “unnecessary” and “frustratingly abstract” in a new report.

The project on Toronto’s waterfront, dubbed Quayside, is a partnership between the city and Google’s sister company Sidewalk Labs. It promises “raincoats” for buildings, autonomous vehicles and cutting-edge wood-frame towers, but has faced numerous criticisms in recent months.

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Polarised Canada to fire starting gun for October general election

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  • Justin Trudeau to request dissolution of parliament
  • ‘Divisions have never been starker’ before 21 October polling day

Campaigning for Canada’s federal election on 21 October will formally begin on Wednesday, as Justin Trudeau seeks a second parliamentary majority amid an increasingly divided electorate.

The prime minister will meet the governor general, Julie Payette, at 10am EST to officially request the dissolution of parliament and commence the country’s election, sending party leaders on the gruelling task of crisscrossing the vast country to pitch to voters.

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Man held hostage by Taliban-linked group says wife is ‘incompetent mother’

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Joshua Boyle, charged with sexual assault, tells court estranged wife Caitlan Coleman was unfit to parent the their four children

The Canadian man who spent five years held hostage in Afghanistan with his American wife has accused her of “incompetence” as a mother as his trial for sexual assault nears its conclusion.

Related: Canadian man held hostage by Taliban denies assaulting wife after release

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Trump’s trade war with China creates unexpected winner: Canada’s lobster industry

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Prices are at record levels and demand is growing for fishermen north of the border after China imposed tariffs on live lobsters

Long hours, rolling ocean swells, and the occasional spring snowstorm are all part of the job for Francis Morrissey.

“It’s bred into you from the time you’re a child: you either like the ocean or you don’t,” said the fisherman and business owner from the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. “Even when I’m in the office, I wish I was out there.”

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Hurricane Dorian: thousands may still be missing as death toll hits 43

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Rescuers battle to reach devastated communities as cruise ships arrive with supplies and volunteers

Rescue teams are still struggling to reach some flood-hit Bahamian communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian as top officials said the death toll had risen to 43, while it is feared hundreds, perhaps thousands, remain missing.

Government agencies and charities continued to bring desperately needed relief efforts to the Bahamas, including cruise ships loaded with supplies and volunteers.

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Canada manhunt: suspect’s father ’emotional’ after viewing final video

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  • Bryer Schmegelsky accused of three murders, with Kam McLeod
  • Police allow father to watch 30-second cellphone video

The father of a murder suspect who led Canadian police on a nationwide manhunt, was “emotional” after he was allowed to view a video of his son’s final words following weeks of negotiations with federal police.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had originally refused to allow Alan Schmegelsky to view the 30-second cellphone video, which his son Bryer had recorded before his death.

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Transgender teen fears being ‘stranded’ by father’s lawsuit to halt transition

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The case of a 14-year-old who identifies as a boy has sparked a debate over parental rights, free speech and informed consent

A transgender teen has issued an emotional plea to a Canadian court, arguing that he will be left “stranded” between genders if judges rule in favour of his father who took legal action to halt to his hormone treatment.

The case, which was heard at British Columbia’s highest court this week, centres on a 14-year-old from Vancouver, who started publicly identifying as a male at 11.

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Canadian man held hostage by Taliban denies assaulting wife after release

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Trial testimony wraps up in case of Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman, who married in 2011 and were kidnapped in Afghanistan

A Canadian man once held hostage with his American wife in Afghanistan denied assaulting her following their release, in trial testimony that wrapped up on Thursday.

Joshua Boyle, 35, was arrested and charged with assault, sexual assault and forcible confinement at the end of 2017 just two months after he and his wife Caitlan Coleman, 33, returned to Canada after their five-year hostage ordeal.

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Justin Trudeau seeks to repeat 2015 surge as Canada braces for election

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The prime minister is likely to call a vote for next month in which the environment, populism and Trump are all expected to feature

With the aura of his star power fading, the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and his governing Liberal party are aiming to extend their parliamentary majority for another four years.

Related: Justin Trudeau: the rise and fall of a political brand

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Canada: workers race to free millions of salmon trapped after huge landslide

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  • Rockslide on banks of Fraser River created impassable barrier
  • Heavy machinery and helicopters used to help gather fish

Helicopters, heavy machinery and nearly 200 workers are frantically working to free millions of salmon trapped by a landslide in western Canada.

Government crews in the area have worked relentlessly along the banks of the Fraser River to clear debris after a rockslide, discovered in a late June, created an impassable 5m-high waterfall.

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French musician killed by bear in Canada

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Julien Gauthier, 44, was on an expedition recording sounds of nature for his music

A French artist who used sounds of nature in his music has been killed by a bear in Canada.

Friends said Julien Gauthier, 44, was the victim of an attack after a bear entered a camp near the village of Tulita, in the Northwest Territories, in the early hours of Thursday last week. The police have not yet publicly identified the victim.

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Canada manhunt fugitives recorded final video messages, family says

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Mobile phone footage reportedly shows Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky saying goodbye and describing last wishes

A mobile phone with a video shot by Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky could hold the key to why they embarked on a killing spree in Canada.

The two teenagers suspected of killing Australian tourist Lucas Fowler, his US girlfriend Chynna Deese, and Canadian botanist Leonard Dyck, left a “last will and testament” video message, according to the Toronto Star.

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Jack Letts stripped of British citizenship

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Canada accuses UK of ‘offloading responsibilities’ over dual-national Isis recruit

Jack Letts, who left his home in Oxfordshire to join Isis five years ago, has been stripped of his British citizenship while being held in a Syrian prison.

The move sparked a diplomatic row as Canada – where Letts qualifies for a passport through his father – accused the UK government of “offloading its responsibilities”.

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Canada murders: teenage suspects died by apparent suicide, police say

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Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky were wanted over the killing of three people and the subject of a weeks-long manhunt across Canada

Canadian police say they believe two fugitives suspected of killing an American woman and her Australian boyfriend as well as another man died in what appears to be suicides.

The Manitoba Medical Examiner completed the autopsies and confirmed on Monday that the bodies found last week were indeed 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky. Both were found in dense bush in northern Manitoba.

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Canada announces regulations to cut price of prescription drugs

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  • Move hailed as ‘crucial step to lower prescription drug costs’
  • New rules were resisted by pharmaceutical companies

The Canadian government has announced regulations to reduce patented drug prices it said would save Canadians C$13.2bn (US$10bn) over a decade, overriding heavy opposition from pharmaceutical companies.

The changes are the biggest reform to Canada’s drug price regime since 1987. They will save money for patients, employers and insurers including the government at the expense of drug company profits. They also could eventually cut the earnings of drugmakers in the United States, the world’s largest pharmaceutical market.

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Chase Bank cancels all credit card debt for Canadian customers

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Clients ‘over the moon’ at US lender’s move as it withdraws from market

Chase Bank is forgiving all outstanding debt owed by customers of its two Canadian credit cards as it exits the country’s market.

Customers using the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa and the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa were pleasantly surprised to find the balance on their credit cards had been wiped clean.

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Canada manhunt: police searching for teen fugitives find two bodies

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Bodies found in northern Manitoba thought to be teenagers suspected of three killings

The bodies of fugitives Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, are believed to have been found in northern Manitoba, Canadian police have announced.

At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner Jane MacLatchy told reporters that two male bodies believed to be those of Schmegelsky and McLeod were found at 10am by RCMP officers.

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Canada manhunt: police find several items linked to murder suspects

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The find in northern Manitoba during search for Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmeglsky follows discovery of a rowing boat

Canadian police have found “several items directly linked” to two teenage boys suspected in the killings of an Australian man, his American girlfriend and a Canadian university lecturer.

The pair, Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, both from Port Alberni, British Columbia, have been on the run for nearly three weeks with no confirmed sightings since 22 July.

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