🇨🇦🇻🇪Canada moves to restore ties with Maduro regime in Venezuela

Trudeau’s administration is preparing to open up lines of communication with Venezuela as part of a new “pragmatic” approach to diplomacy and an effort to engage with non-like-minded countries, according to an internal Canadian government memo.

“Canada is seeking to reestablish diplomatic relations with Venezuela”

the government says in the document, which summarizes a meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and her Peruvian counterpart at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.

An agreement has been reached to send lower-level diplomats to Venezuela and vice versa, but a final decision on restoring ties will hinge on the Venezuelan government delivering on its pledge to hold free elections.

#Venezuela

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🇺🇸Binance's Canadian CEO steps down, pleads guilty to breaking anti-money laundering laws

Binance chief Changpeng Zhao stepped down and pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws as part of a $4.3 billion US settlement resolving a years-long probe into the world's largest crypto exchange.

The deal, which will see Zhao personally pay $50 million US, was described by prosecutors as one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history. It is another blow to the crypto industry that has been beset by investigations and comes on the heels of the recent fraud conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

But several legal experts said it was a good outcome for Zhao, leaving his vast wealth intact and allowing him to retain his stake in Binance, the exchange he founded in 2017.

Binance broke U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws and failed to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions.

#US

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More than 125,000 Hydro-Québec customers without power Monday

More than 125,000 Quebec households were without power around 11:00 a.m. Monday, according to the Hydro-Québec website.

The two regions most affected by the blackouts were the Quebec City and Eastern Townships areas. Environment Canada had issued snowfall warnings for both of those regions.

Across Quebec, 454 outages were recorded around 11:00 am. In Montreal nearly 4,000 customers were still in the dark.

#Quebec

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Ontario Liberal Party voted for a new leader over the weekend

After an intense eight-month campaign, members of the Ontario Liberal Party voted for a new party leader this weekend. 100,000 people registered to vote, a historic record for the party.

The results won’t be announced until Dec. 2.

#Ontario

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🍞Number of people using Ontario food banks rose nearly 40% last year

A report released Monday indicates the number of people who used Ontario food banks went up 38 per cent last year — the largest single-year increase recorded by the province's food bank network.

The new report by Feed Ontario, a collective of hunger relief organizations, says more than 800,000 people in the province turned to emergency food support between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023.

It says the total number of visits to food banks also rose similarly in that time, totalling more than 5.9 million, or 36 per cent more than the previous year.

The report says much of the growth came from first-time visitors, who accounted for two out of five people who used food banks. It notes that's a 41 per cent increase from the previous year.

#Ontario

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PM Trudeau’s new comms expert was pro-lockdown, pro-vaccine mandate

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new communications and marketing expert was radically pro-lockdown and pro-vaccine mandate during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The newly hired executive director of communications in the Prime Minister’s Office, Max Valiquette, expressed a number of controversial opinions in favour of restricting civil liberties during the Covid-19 pandemic.

On X, Valiquette expressed his support for shutting down schools in May 2021, calling it “irresponsible” to send children to school. In July 2021, Valiquette said that unvaccinated adults who don’t care about getting infected with Covid-19 were going to kill unvaccinated children.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇨🇦🇵🇦Panama Supreme Court rules Canadian firm's mining contract is unconstitutional

Panama's Supreme Court on Tuesday declared unconstitutional a 20-year concession for a Canadian copper mine that had sparked weeks of protests by environmentalists and others who argued it would damage a forested coastal area and threaten water supplies.

The contract, given final approval Oct. 20, allowed Minera Panama, the local subsidiary of Canada's First Quantum Minerals, to continue operating the mine for the next 20 years, with the possibility of extending for a further 20 years if the mine remains productive.

The dispute over the open-pit mine led to some of Panama's most widespread protests in recent years, including a blockade of the mine's power plant.

Minera Panama said in a statement earlier this month that small boats had blocked its port in Colon province, preventing supplies from reaching the mine.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

🌱Danielle Smith invokes sovereignty act on green electricity

Premier Danielle Smith invoked Alberta’s sovereignty act on Monday to implement new measures in her fight against Ottawa’s looming clean electricity rules while conceding she didn't need the act to put the changes in place.

Smith said she wanted to invoke the act to send a message that her government is serious about pushing back against Ottawa’s plan to green Canada’s electricity grid by 2035, a plan she says could wreak havoc on Alberta’s natural-gas-based grid.

“We’re creating an opportunity for the federal government to do the right thing and back down”
Smith told reporters.

Smith made the comment prior to a motion being introduced in the house under the Alberta Sovereignty Within A United Canada Act.

The act specifies members of the house must debate and vote on motions before Smith’s government can take action.

#Alberta #Smith #energy

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Hiring foreign workers at battery plant will cost Canadian contractors $300-million in lost wages, fees

The hiring of 900 temporary foreign workers to install equipment at the flagship EV factory in Windsor, Ont., will cost Canadian skilled construction workers around $300-million in lost wages and contractor fees, the leader of Canada’s Building Trades Unions says.

The NextStar plant is being built with up to $15-billion in subsidies from the federal and Ontario governments. It is a joint venture between global auto giant Stellantis STLA-N and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution.

Last week, NextStar disclosed that 900 temporary foreign workers would be coming to install technical equipment at the plant and going home once the work is done. The temporary foreign workers will come from Korea and Japan to help install the machinery.

#Ontario #energy

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80,000 Quebec health-care workers to strike Dec. 11-14

A major federation of Quebec health-care unions announced on Wednesday that their 80,000 workers are set to strike Dec. 11-14.

Unless a deal is reached, members of the FIQ (Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec) will be on strike for the third time in recent months.

The FIQ is looking for salary increases, improved working conditions, "reasonable workloads," and laws to regulate the patient-to-health-care professional ratio.

#Quebec #healthcare

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Coastal GasLink pipeline mechanically complete before year-end deadline

The Coastal GasLink pipeline that stretches across northern B.C. is mechanically complete ahead of the company's year-end deadline.

The company announced in October that the installation of the pipe was finished, while mechanical completion means the end of construction, successful hydrotesting of the full 670-kilometre line and engineering reviews.

According to a statement, Coastal GasLink's team is in the field getting ready to deliver gas to the LNG Canada processing and export facility in Kitimat, on B.C.'s northern coast.

The pipeline was originally estimated to cost $6.2 billion, but that climbed to $14.5 billion in the most recent price tag released by TC Energy earlier this year.

#BritishColumbia

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🇨🇦🇺🇸🇮🇳U.S. charges Indian national with conspiracy to assassinate Sikh separatist

It seems that the U.S. will find itself drawn into the rift between Canada and India caused by the Sikh separatists and their activities in those countries.

The U.S. Justice Department announced on Wednesday that an Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Nikhil Gupta, the man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder, worked with the Indian government employee.

Prosecutors did not name the target of Gupta’s alleged plot, but said that he was actively advocating for the secession of India’s Punjab state and establishment of Khalistan state.

India apparently doesn't like that Sikh separatists feel too comfortable in North America.

#India #US

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Canada's top admiral says navy staff, resource needs in 'critical state'

Canada's understaffed and resource-stretched navy is in "a critical state" and might not be able to carry out its basic duties next year, the top admiral said in a YouTube video released this week.

In the video, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee said the Royal Canadian Navy had not hit its recruitment targets for more than a decade.

"Colleagues and shipmates - the RCN faces some very serious challenges right now that could mean we fail to meet our force posture and readiness commitments in 2024 and beyond. The situation is serious but our problems are not unique and I know that the air force and army are facing similar challenges"

Topshee said.

The West Coast fleet is "beset with a shortage of qualified techs" which means ships cannot meet operation and maintenance targets, he added.

The navy relies on its 12 Halifax class frigates, which are approaching the end of their 30-year operational life but must stay in service for another 15 years because their replacements are behind schedule and over budget.

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Winnipeg police seize $1.3M in meth, fentanyl during drug investigation

A woman and man from Mexico are charged with multiple offences after Winnipeg police say they seized more than $1.3-million worth of methamphetamine and fentanyl, a loaded handgun and counterfeit cash from a home.

The pair was arrested after police searched a residence on James Avenue between Lily Street and Waterfront Drive on Oct. 19. According to police, both suspects had six-month visitation visas in Canada.

#Manitoba

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🌐Federal government reaches deal with Google on Online News Act

Google and the federal government have reached an agreement in their dispute over the Online News Act that would see Google continue to share Canadian news online in return for the company making annual payments to news companies in the range of $100 million. Agreement comes 3 weeks before Online News Act rules come into force.

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge confirmed the news Wednesday afternoon.

Many doubted that we would be successful, but I was confident we would find a way to address Google's concerns

The company said it would not have a mandatory negotiation model imposed on it for talks with Canadian media organizations, preferring to deal with a single point of contact. The new regulations will allow Google to negotiate with a single group that would represent all media.

Bill C-18 applies to digital platforms with 20 million unique monthly users and annual revenues of $1 billion. Only Meta and Google meet those criteria. Meta's talks with the government have not resumed.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

🇨🇦🇺🇸🇮🇳Who is the alleged target of a murder plot disclosed by U.S. prosecutors?

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, now a New york-based lawyer, holds dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship. He originally came to the U.S. in 1992, but spent most of his time practicing law in Ontario between 2004 and 2018.

Pannun was a friend of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, assassinated in June in British Columbia. They both had been visiting Sikh temples across Canada for years to gather support for the creation of an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan.

It was he who in early November warned Sikhs not to travel on Air India flights, mentioning life-threatening consequences if they did.

#US #India

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Quebec National Assembly unanimously votes to defend Christmas

The National Assembly on Wednesday adopted a motion to defend Christmas after the Canadian Human Rights Commission cited celebration of the holiday as proof of Canada’s “colonialist” religious intolerance.

Honestly, we will continue to celebrate Christmas, and then we will not apologize for celebrating Christmas in Quebec

Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said.

In its Discussion Paper on Religious Intolerance, dated Oct. 23, the commission argues that "discrimination against religious minorities in Canada is rooted in the history of colonialism in Canada. This history manifests itself today in systemic religious discrimination. An obvious example is that of public holidays in Canada."

All 109 Members of the National Assembly present in the legislature voted to adopt the motion, which denounces “any polarization around unifying events that have been part of Quebec’s heritage for several generations.”

Members applauded the motion when it passed. The government’s deputy house leader, Mathieu Lévesque, then asked that a copy of the motion be sent to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the federal government, the House of Commons and also “to Santa Claus, at the North Pole.”

#Quebec

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🇨🇦🇺🇸🇮🇳Canada is seeking more cooperation from India in light of US allegations

Canada on Wednesday pressed India to cooperate in an investigation of the murder of a Sikh separatist in British Columbia after the U.S. revealed it had foiled an assassination attempt against a Sikh separatist on its soil.

The U.S. charges come about two months after Canada claimed there were "credible" allegations linking Indian agents to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb, in June. India has rejected that allegation.

The news coming out of the United States further underscores what we've been talking about from the very beginning, which is that India needs to take this seriously

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly urged India to be more forthcoming in the ongoing murder investigation.

#US #India

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Poll says three in four want Trudeau to go

🔹New polling by Ipsos shows that nearly three in four (72%) Canadians believe Trudeau should step down now. Among those who identify as Liberal Party supporters, one in three (33%) think it’s time for a new party leader.

🔹Ipsos found that, if an election were held today, 40 per cent would vote Conservative, 24 per cent would vote Liberal and 21 per cent would vote NDP.

🔹The Liberals are not only in danger of slipping into third spot nationally, but they have also dropped to second spot in Quebec where the Bloc Quebecois is the choice of 32 per cent of those Ipsos surveyed in that province. The Liberals there are the pick of 28 per cent and the Conservatives the choice of 22 per cent.

#Trudeau #Quebec

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📉Canada's economy shrank by 0.3% in third quarter, StatsCan says

Canada's economy shrank in the three months up to September, as household spending was flat and exports declined.

Statistics Canada reported Thursday that the country's gross domestic product shrank by 0.3 per cent. Exports fell by 1.3 per cent and imports declined by 0.2 per cent.

The data agency previously reported that the three-month period up to June also saw a slight decline, so Thursday's numbers would have been the second consecutive quarterly contraction in a row, and meet the bar that some experts say is the requirement for a recession.

But the data agency revised its April-to-June numbers higher than initially reported, and now says the economy grew by 0.3 per cent that quarter.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

🏦 Big banks announce layoffs and more bad loans as TD, Royal and CIBC post quarterly results

Four of Canada's six big banks have posted quarterly results so far this week, and all four of them are setting aside a lot more money to cover bad loans.

🔹At Royal Bank, Canada's biggest lender set aside $720 million to cover loans that either aren't currently being paid back as planned, or the bank is worried might soon be. That figure is up by 89 per cent from $381 million a year ago.

At TD, the bank set aside $878 million in provisions, an increase of 42 per cent from $617 million this time last year.

At CIBC, the bank set aside $541 million. That's an increase of 24 per cent from last year's level.

🔹TD said it plans to cut its current full-time work force by about three per cent. In TD's case, that works out to just over 3,000 people.

CIBC said it has cut as much of five per cent of its full-time employees in its past fiscal year. That's almost 2,400 people.

RBC and Scotia have previously announced similarly sized layoffs.

🍁 Maple Chronicles