Canada

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• European nations and Canada are “pushing away” from the F-35, motivated by a desire for “strategic autonomy” and political friction with the Trump administration

• Spain officially canceled its F-35 purchase in August 2025, opting for European-built alternatives. Switzerland is now also reviewing its 36-jet deal after being hit with a “shocking” $1.3 billion price hike and new 39% U.S. tariffs, and recent reports suggest that Portugal has not opted to purchase the U.S. jets

• Instead of the F-35, they are increasingly looking to European alternatives, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).

• Canada’s 88-jet deal is also in “limbo,” as PM Mark Carney, angered by Trump’s “51st state” comments and trade disputes, ordered a review of the 72 un-committed jets

• Technological and industrial sovereignty are significant reasons why some countries are opting not to purchase the F-35. Some European nations prioritize developing their own defense industries and technological bases. Buying American-made F-35s would make them dependent on US supply chains and could suppress the development of their own next-generation aircraft programs. ...

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A coalition of over 100 NGOs, led by Cooperation Canada and the Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH), express their concern over the government’s decision to reduce Canada’s International Assistance Envelope in Budget 2025 tabled today. This marks a retreat from our global commitments, and breaks a promise made by Prime Minister Carney during the election campaign.

We are facing increased global instability. Authoritarian regimes have gained momentum, human rights are increasingly under threat, climate impacts are deepening global inequities, and humanitarian needs are at an all-time high. In this context, the government has chosen to reduce Canada’s international assistance by $2.7 billion over four years, including decreased development funding for global health.

Government leaders are navigating an exceptionally difficult moment. We recognize the precarious economic situation faced by Canadians, and international assistance is part of increasing prosperity at home. Evidence shows that these investments are cost effective and have real returns in terms of strengthening Canadian security, and expanding our global relationships and economic resilience.

“It is clear that any savings resulting from cutting the international assistance budget will be short-lived. Cuts erode Canada’s credibility with our global partners and blunt our capacity to shape outcomes that affect Canadians at home. Cooperation Canada and our members will continue to engage constructively with the government to reinforce that Canada’s global leadership cannot be taken for granted and that our commitments must be met,” said Kate Higgins, Chief Executive Officer for Cooperation Canada.

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Lai, arrested in 2020, calls the region his 'Canadian home,' niece says.

As G7 foreign ministers prepare to meet in Ontario's Niagara Region, family of hotel owner Jimmy Lai and Niagara-on-the-Lake’s lord mayor are calling for the pro-democracy activist's release from a Hong Kong prison.

Lai, who was arrested in 2020 and is being held in Lai Chi Kok prison, owns Vintage Hotels, a string of inns across the region. A British and Hong Kong citizen, he was founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.

“My uncle hasn’t done anything wrong that we don’t do in our own country on a daily basis,” his niece, Erica Lepp, who lives in Niagara-on-the-Lake, told CBC News on Thursday.

“Niagara-on-the-Lake is my uncle’s Canadian home,” Lepp said, “and this is where the majority of his Canadian family is.”

Gary Zalepa, Niagara-on-the-Lake's lord mayor, said in a public letter published on Nov. 3 that Lai and his family “have made a lasting contribution to our community.”

Lai and his family "have strengthened the local economy, created meaningful employment opportunities, and revitalized key heritage properties that attract visitors and sustain local businesses,” said the letter, which was released before Niagara Region hosts the G7 security, prosperity and economic resilience forum next week.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/54800550

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rezz

Isabelle Rezazadeh (born 28 March 1995), who is known by her stage name Rezz (stylized in all caps), is a Ukrainian–Canadian DJ and record producer from Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Rezz is an electronic music producer and DJ; her sound has been described as "midtempo bass" and a modern styling of "new beat".[1] In 2015, MTV called her the "new queen of the dark techno scene", writing she had been "making electronic and techy beats for two years" at that point.[3] EDM.com's Niko Sani wrote Rezz's "deliciously ominous, often alien-sounding bass music" helped gain her popularity within the electronic music scene in around 2016.[54] Other music writers have referred to Rezz's music as sounding "dark",[55] as well as "menacing", "mechanical", "haunting and industrial".[56] Spotify's outlet For the Record profiled Rezz, calling her "one of the most highly regarded producers of downtempo soundscapes", and saying she "strikes a firm balance between minimal original tech compositions and the all-heavy bass"

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/54800379

I loved Wolf Castle's other album, 'Waiting for the Dawn'. Stephen Hero is new to me.

https://www.wolfcastle.ca/

Wolf Castle is an Indigenous rapper, producer and singer from Pabineau First Nation, New Brunswick.

https://www.conservationcouncil.ca/community-engaged-art/featured-artist-stephen-hero/

Stephen Hero (Matthew Elliot) makes raw, working-class hip hop from Canada’s east coast. His style is influenced by alt-rap legends like Kool Keith and MF DOOM, with a strong penchant for the relaxed and joyous experimentation of groups like De La Soul and Beastie Boys, but with a contemporary feel.

Martin Lukacs and Desmond Cole discuss the Liberal government’s Harper-esque budget

I'm ditching YouTube and cancelled my Premium account because they recently purged videos and accounts of Palestinian human rights organizations, and I'm generally trying to boycott the US and Google further.

I'm switching to podcasts to give myself something to listen to instead. I found CBC Podcasts and TVO Podcasts. I also found this Lemmy thread from 2 years ago, but I'd figure it's time to ask the community again.

What are your suggestions for Canadian or non-US podcasts?

Archive: [ https://archive.ph/mP7Xd ]

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As a new Liberal-sponsored petition targets Postmedia’s American owners and their alleged “influence” on domestic journalism, NDP MP Gord Johns says the federal government needs to take action to “plug the industry's economic leak” of jobs and tax subsidies south of the border.

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It calls for legislation to require majority Canadian ownership and control of all print, digital, and other non-audio-visual news media “to protect Canadian sovereignty, ensure journalism integrity, and guarantee that our media reflects Canadian priorities and values.” The petition argues that independent Canadian journalism is “essential to democracy, ensuring accountability, accuracy, and representation of Canadian voices,” and points to policies established in Australia and France as models that can be followed to “safeguard domestic control” of news media in Canada.

While said legislation would have far-reaching impacts for many outlets operating in Canada, including Politico and Bloomberg, the petition singles out Postmedia, arguing that its majority ownership by Chatham places “a key part of Canada’s news media under foreign influence,” and “introduces perspectives shaped by American political and cultural priorities,” which risks “skewing news coverage, and “eroding public trust.”

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For too long, Canada has lived within a cocoon of peace and predictability, where our political class rarely needs to think or act like a country prepared for even slight pressure. That calm has bred complacency. We have forgotten how to meet challenges with clarity, confidence, and conviction.

Ottawa’s tariff on Chinese EVs was not just symbolic. It addressed legitimate national-security risks—including the data collection possible through connected vehicles, and our growing dependence on Beijing’s control of global battery supply chains. It also recognized that state-subsidized EV imports could erode North America’s manufacturing base. However, we should separate the talk between trade and national security, which Beijing wants to muddle.

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Beijing’s retaliation was anything but random. Its decision to target Canadian agriculture is deliberate and sophisticated—a message to Western Canada that Ottawa’s “Laurentian elites” make decisions at their expense. It’s a classic divide-and-rule tactic: pit sector against sector, province against province. We can already see the fault lines cracking: premiers of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta on one side; and the premier of Ontario on the other. This is combined with the lack of leadership from the federal government.

China understands this well. It has responded the way it always does: by striking exports that hurt politically, targeting Prairie farmers and sectors that influence votes. It’s a calculated, classic Chinese Communist Party move—divide the country, isolate provinces, and undermine national resolve.

We’ve seen this playbook before. During the Meng Wanzhou and “Two Michaels” affair, China’s trade restrictions and diplomatic retaliation exposed how easily our economic levers could be turned against us. Now, the same tactics return, once again through canola.

Other democracies have learned to respond differently. When Taiwan was punished with a sudden ban on its pineapples in 2021, its people responded with unity, proudly consuming and exporting their own produce as a symbol of resilience. When Australia faced restrictions on lobsters, wine, and coal, it refused to bend, choosing sovereignty over convenience. Both nations discovered something Canada still struggles with: adversity can reveal, and strengthen, national purpose.

That’s why Parliament must urgently reconstitute the Special Committee on Canada–China Relations (CACN). During its previous mandate, the committee produced some of the most thorough work ever done on our Indo-Pacific strategy, foreign interference, trade dependencies, and human-rights abuses in East Turkistan and Hong Kong. Its reports informed stronger transparency rules and laid the groundwork for a long overdue foreign-influence registry.

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With ArcelorMittal Dofasco stalling on its green steel plans and releasing emissions above Ontario’s air-quality regulations, Hamilton resident Jochen Bezner says Canada’s largest steelmaker needs to be held accountable.

Bezner and another, unnamed resident have formally requested that the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Parks (MECP) investigate Dofasco, alleging it’s “emitting dangerous pollutants” at levels far above Ontario’s regulatory standards.

“We don’t want to shut them down,” Bezner told CBC Hamilton. “We just want them to be responsible.”

The province’s car sales regulator, the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC), says the advertised price in a dealership ad must include all fees the consumer is expected to pay, except HST and licensing. In fact, it’s been Ontario law since 2010 that dealership ads must set out the total amount.

The investigation found six of the 15 dealerships charged more than the advertised price. Four of 15 dealerships showed a photo of a more expensive version of the vehicle in the ad than the one they were actually selling. And six of 15 included extra features the undercover shoppers didn’t ask for — though most of the extras were built into the advertised price and some dealerships agreed to remove them when we asked.

The Canadian economy added a surprising 67,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.9 per cent, Statistics Canada said on Friday, beating economists' expectations for the month.

While the majority of the jobs gained in October were part-time positions, "that doesn't do much to detract" from the strong headline number, wrote CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham.

Both full-time and part-time work were up on a yearly basis. By sector, the influx of work was driven by wholesale and retail trade — which added 41,000 jobs — as well as transportation and warehousing, information, culture and recreation, and utilities.

Relevancy in Canada being the owner of indigo book chain Heather Reisman is listed as one of the 12 billionaires who were onboard the plot to spy on Americans.

A Canadian billionaire, acting with a foreign government intelligence service/military, to subvert free speech and spy on Americans.

Are we cool with that?

See the link for the interactive graphs

TLDR:

• Most Americans trust Canada is negotiating in good faith
• A majority of Americans view Canada as an ally and partner
• Most Americans Still Believe [the overall relationship is] Good
• Carney mostly unknown, but viewed positively by Americans

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/54716891