🇨🇦🇨🇳Michael Spavor blames fellow prisoner Kovrig for Chinese detention, alleges he was used for intelligence gathering

One of the two Canadians jailed by China for nearly three years in a case that was at the heart of a diplomatic crisis is seeking a multimillion-dollar settlement from Ottawa alleging he was detained because he unwittingly provided intelligence on North Korea to Canada and allied spy services.

Michael Spavor alleges that the deception was conducted by fellow Canadian prisoner Michael Kovrig, and it was intelligence work by the latter that led to both men’s incarceration by Chinese authorities.

China arrested Mr. Spavor and Mr. Kovrig in December, 2018, on allegations of espionage in the aftermath of Canada’s detention of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition warrant.

Their arrest caused a major diplomatic incident between Canada and China that was ultimately resolved with their release in September 2021.

#China

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🏠 Kids of homeowners twice as likely to own real estate in Canada

Adult children of homeowners were more than twice as likely to own a home as those of non-homeowners, according to a study by Statistics Canada based on 2021 data.

More than 17 per cent owned homes, compared with about eight per cent for the adult children of non-homeowners. Among adults whose parents owned multiple properties, the homeownership rate was almost 24 per cent.

While home prices have come down, it hasn’t been enough to offset higher mortgage costs and affordability has actually worsened. The Bank of Canada’s own housing affordability index is now near the highest level since 1990.

#housing

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🇨🇦🇺🇸🇨🇳 Canadian parliamentary delegation visits US Congress to discuss China policies

Members of a special Canadian parliamentary committee on China met with their US counterparts for the first time last week, signaling closer alignment of the two legislatures’ approaches towards Beijing.

Seven members from Canada’s top four political parties met with a bipartisan group of representatives from the US House select committee on China, as well as with members of other House and Senate committees.

Ken Hardie, chair of the Canadian group, suggested that the US and Canada could coordinate on responses to Beijing’s alleged attempts to target the Chinese diaspora and influence education in both countries.

#Canada #USA #China

@asianomics

🇨🇦🇱🇻🪖Canada's Leopard 2 tanks arrive in Latvia to bolster growing NATO mission

The Canadian Armed Forces has completed its promised deployment of 15 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Latvia in an effort to create a combat-ready NATO brigade in Eastern Europe.

The squadron of Leopard 2 tanks arrived in Latvia on Nov. 10 along with a detachment of support personnel and equipment, a Department of National Defence spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. The planned deployment was announced in June.

In July, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Latvia, where he committed $2.6 billion to renewing and expanding the Canadian Forces mission to Central and Eastern Europe over the next three years.

#NATO #Latvia

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⚡️🇨🇦🇺🇸Explosion on US-Canada border

An incident involving a car entering the US from Canada via the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls has shut access in both directions.

#US

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🇨🇦🇺🇸 Erie County, NY, bomb squad is responding to the vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing.

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🇨🇦🇺🇸According to Fox News, the FBI is investigating the vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing as an attempted terrorist attack.

Two people were reportedly in the car at the time of the explosion, both of them were killed. One border patrol agent was injured.

The vehicle was driving from the U.S. to Canada and was attempting to drive toward the border officer building.

Peace Bridge, Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, and Whirlpool Bridge are also closed as the incident is investigated.

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🇨🇦🇺🇸 Police have determined that reckless driving was the cause of the explosion at the border crossing

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🇨🇦🇺🇸 A population of hard-to-eradicate ‘super pigs’ in Canada is threatening to invade the US

An exploding population of hard-to-eradicate “super pigs” in Canada is threatening to spill south of the border, and northern states like Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana are taking steps to stop the invasion.

In Canada, the wild pigs roaming Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba pose a new threat. They are often crossbreeds that combine the survival skills of wild Eurasian boar with the size and high fertility of domestic swine to create a “super pig” that’s spreading out of control.

Pigs are not native to North America. While they’ve roamed parts of the continent for centuries, Canada’s problem dates back only to the 1980s when it encouraged farmers to raise wild boar. The market collapsed after peaking in 2001 and some frustrated farmers simply cut their fences, setting the animals free.

They reproduce quickly. A sow can have six piglets in a litter and raise two litters in a year. That means 65% or more of a wild pig population could be killed every year and it will still increase.

#US

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📔Fall Economic Statement 2023: $40B deficit projected

The federal government's fall economic statement presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Tuesday includes billions of dollars in new spending and targeted policy measures aimed at increasing Canada's housing supply in the years ahead, with the deficit projected to be $40 billion in 2023-24.

The 2023 fall economic statement outlines $20.8 billion in additional spending over the next six years, beyond what was announced in the 2023 federal budget.

Freeland has announced Canada will be putting billions into building new homes, increasing the number of construction workers, cracking down on short-term rentals and grocery competition, as well as rolling out green investment tax credits.

#Freeland

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📈Canada expects unemployment to rise 211k within months, mostly immigrants

The Fall Economic Statement’s unemployment forecast shows an increase of 0.8 points to 6.5% by Q2 2024. That would see unemployment rise by 170k people to 1.4 million, if population growth is excluded.

If population growth is taken into account, unemployment would rise 17.2% (by 211k) to 1.44 million people.

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Ottawa giving $7 million to Peel region to open reception centre for asylum seekers

On Thursday, the Region of Peel accepted $7 million for a reception centre to be built near Toronto Pearson International Airport with federal funding.

The new reception space will be designed to help asylum seekers in the region who are struggling to find housing as winter approaches, both local and federal politicians said.

The announcement comes a week after an asylum seeker was found dead at an encampment outside a shelter on Dundas Street in Mississauga.

#Ontario

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🚙 Ontario sets aside $18M for police forces to fight auto theft

In an announcement Friday morning in Mississauga, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled provincial grant funding to help local police forces deal with auto theft.

The grant is worth $18 million over three years and has been earmarked for 21 projects, according to the province. Some of the items include surveillance and tracking equipment, specialized training and improving data tracking and management.

Car thefts in Ontario jumped 31 per cent in the first half of 2023 compared with the year before, according to the province.

#Ontario

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🛢Canada oil, gas producers to drill 8% more wells in 2024

Canadian oil and gas producers will drill 8% more wells in 2024 to take advantage of greater access to pipelines, with the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion due to open, an industry group said in an annual forecast on Friday.

Producers will drill 6,229 wells next year, up 481 from 2023, the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors predicted.

The Trans Mountain expansion is scheduled to start shipping crude late in the first quarter of 2024, while the Coastal GasLink is approaching mechanical completion.

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🇨🇦🇪🇺EU-Canada summit

Formal talks began Friday between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and two top heads of the European Union.

European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are in St. John’s, N.L., for the 19th EU-Canada Summit.

Prime Minister Trudeau announced Canada is joining the European Union's $100-billion scientific research program, called Horizon Europe.

Canada has also worked out a deal to build water bombers and ship them to the EU, after both regions faced devastating forest fires this past summer.

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🇨🇦🇺🇦🇺🇸PM Justin Trudeau claims conservative Canadians are turning their backs on Ukraine because of American MAGA propaganda

“The real story is the rise of a right-wing American, MAGA influence thinking that has made Canadian Conservatives, who used to be among the strongest defenders of Ukraine … turn their backs on something Ukraine needs in its hour of need”

Trudeau said during the EU-Canada summit.

#Trudeau #US #Ukraine

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🇨🇦🇻🇪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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