Canada

I am sharing here because He IS Canadian.

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Former Hong Kong pro-democracy legislator Albert Chan Wai-yip is a longtime critic of China, who has accused its government of “crimes against humanity” after a crackdown on dissent in the Chinese special administrative region.

Calls for caution as [Canada PM Mark] Carney prepares to meet Xi amid new global political order

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“The world political order is different now compared with nine years ago,” he said, referring to the last visit to China by a Canadian prime minister when Justin Trudeau travelled there in 2017.

“The Americans (are) not a reliable ally anymore, with President Trump saying Canada is going to be the 51st state. We cannot rely on the U.S., so we have to open up a new relationship and new market for Canada.”

However, Chan said Canada should not lose sight of human rights issues, such as the jailing of pro-democracy dissidents in Hong Kong, in the pursuit of new trade relationships — despite the importance of creating a “meaningful dialogue” with Beijing.

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Human rights activist Thekla Lit, another critic of China’s ruling Communist party [and] speaking on behalf of the Chinese Canadian Concern Group about the Chinese Communist Party’s Human Rights Violations, said she was alarmed that Carney had decided to reopen the relationship.

“Every time we prioritize our short-term trade over standing up for our values, the CCP — the Chinese Communist Party — has used the leverage to hurt us later,” said Lit.

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“So, economic resilience comes from trading with partners who respect the rule of law, not from becoming dependent on the regime that uses its market as a weapon of coercion.”

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“Remember the two Michaels situation,” Chan said, referring to Kovrig and Spavor’s arrests. “Canada (stood) firm for years against Communist China’s political pressure and still survived. … Although Canada is in an extremely difficult position now, we have to be cautious.”

Lit said the talks come at a time when Beijing has increased repression of China’s religious leaders, while members of the overseas diaspora are “harassed by state-backed proxies.”

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has said that China seeks to stifle criticism and manipulate Canadian communities, and that fear of “state-backed or state-linked retribution” in Canada or against loved ones in China can force individuals to submit to foreign interference.

Lit said it was crucial that Carney “openly” discuss issues of foreign interference and human rights with Xi.

“Quiet diplomacy has failed for a decade, and we need public accountability,” Lit said.

Op-ed by Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a director of the China Strategic Risks Institute and a senior fellow of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.

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When Prime Minister Mark Carney visits Beijing next week his prime objective will be to improve trade ties to offset challenges from the United States.

But do we really want to pivot from our newly erratic trading partner to our even more erratic trading partner? And is that our only choice?

For years China has been touted as Canada’s second largest-trading partner, so it is tempting to see it as our best hope for a market to replace the U.S. But China is a distant second. Its market represents only 3.8 per cent of our exports, compared to 76.4 per cent for our exports to the U.S.

The European Union, on the other hand, buys 8 per cent of Canada’s exports. While China is the second-largest partner if we count only individual countries, the EU should be considered one trading bloc because of its common market. The EU is Canada’s true second-largest trading partner.

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As well, Britain receives 3.6 per cent of our exports, just a whisker behind China. And both it and the EU take not just natural resources, as China does, but also advanced manufacturing products such as those from the aerospace sector. Unlike China, they operate by the rule of law. It is these trading partners with whom we should be forging closer ties, not China.

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We can’t expect China to step in to fill Canada’s new American trade gap. China is not a viable destination for our sanctioned autos, steel and aluminum. Instead, China dumps its overproduction of those products in Canada, undercutting our own. Beijing wants to sell these products to us, not buy from us. For sectors reeling from U.S. trade action, an influx of cheap Chinese products would kill them for good.

For autos especially, the software and data controlled in China would also create new national security challenges. And according to Human Rights Watch, Chinese aluminum in vehicles is made in part by Uyghurs who have been subjected to indoctrination and in some cases torture.

Furthermore, the geopolitical challenges that China poses to Canada, so clearly acknowledged by Prime Minister Carney, have not diminished in any way. Whether it is national security, economic security or transnational repression, Beijing is becoming a more significant concern. It is folly to think that we can separate those threats from trade dependence on that country.

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Helpfully, China’s ambassador to Canada, Wang Di, has provided a list of policies we have to change to ensure “stable” trade relations. We must

• give China access to our Arctic;
• welcome Chinese investment without conditions;
• drop tariffs on Chinese EVs, aluminum and steel; and
• stop criticizing Beijing’s repression of Tibetans and Uyghurs and their threats against Taiwan.

No government of any political stripe should agree to those conditions.

And Mr. Wang called on Canada to be “pragmatic,” a term that Mr. Carney has often used. For the Prime Minister, it is a recognition of “diplomacy as the art of the possible,” a phrase borrowed from the German statesman Otto Bismarck. But for the Chinese it indicates a tacit willingness to bend whenever necessary to the wishes of Beijing’s regime. Not the right message for Canada to project.

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Beijing is currently punishing Canada with 100-per-cent tariffs on canola oil, meal and peas, and a 75.8 per cent “antidumping” duty on canola seed. All that to create political pressure from prairie farmers for the Canadian government to drop its 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese EVs – which is working. Prairie premiers have called on Ottawa to do just that.

Meanwhile China hungrily eyes our sensitive sectors, coveting Canada’s critical minerals and artificial intelligence expertise.

Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, which calls China “a disruptive global power,” has laid the groundwork for deeper trade relations with like-minded countries such as South Korea, Taiwan and India, but also with countries with which we have common interests such as Vietnam. We must build on that.

Canada will continue to trade with both China and the U.S., but we must focus our efforts going forward on markets that are not coercive.

[Edit to include 'Opinion' to the title.]

Canadian official raised questions about whether or not CACI should be awarded federal contracts.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/45124214

TL;DR:

• Trade is a cornerstone of the EU–Canada partnership. Since its provisional application in 2017, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has significantly deepened economic ties by eliminating tariffs on 98% of goods, opening public procurement markets and creating new opportunities for businesses of all sizes. CETA supports high standards on labour, environmental protection and sustainable development, while providing a predictable and transparent framework for transatlantic trade and investment.
• An annual Security and Defence Dialogue has been established, and discussions on a defence industrial cooperation arrangement have now concluded, enabling Canadian companies to participate in the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) procurement instrument. SAFE supports joint defence procurement and enhances the resilience of the European and transatlantic defence industrial base. Canada is the first non-EU country to join the programme.
• On 8 December 2025, the European Union and Canada convened the first meeting of the EU–Canada Digital Partnership Council in Montreal. During this meeting, both partners signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) covering cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI), and on digital credentials, digital identity wallets and trust services. This new forum will guide collaboration on AI governance, quantum technologies, cybersecurity and digital standards. The goal is to build digital systems that are secure, transparent and centred on public trust.
• Both partners are also accelerating the implementation of the Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials, with particular attention to rare earths. Further collaboration is ongoing to strengthen energy supply chains, including natural gas and clean-tech components.
• The European Union and Canada remain closely aligned in their commitment to Ukraine. Both partners continue to coordinate sanctions, military assistance and financial support, as well as efforts to ensure accountability for violations of international law.

Web archive link

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/53026244

CBC Article

While processing backlogs have long plagued certain immigration streams, Lamanna notes that wait times have recently exceeded 10 years in some programs. The federal government’s recent proposal, outlined in Bills C-2 and C-12, which would grant itself the authority to cancel applications unilaterally, only amplifies concerns. On December 19, IRCC cancelled the start-up visa (SUV) and self-employed persons program, hinting at a redesigned system that will launch later. “IRCC’s clients should not be penalized for the government’s own inability to manage the immigration system,” Lamanna says. “Predictability has always been the cornerstone of Canada’s immigration success. Cancelling applications or worse, programs, erodes that predictability and undermines our competitiveness.”

According to Lamanna, the current immigration approach introduces more uncertainty into a system already struggling to meet demand. Reduced processing capacity – especially for spousal sponsorships, work permit extensions, and post-graduation work permit holders – has left applicants in precarious situations or forced some into informal work arrangements.

Despite ongoing digital modernization initiatives, IRCC continues to face chronic delays across major streams. Lamanna highlights work-permit extensions and renewals as a key pain point. “These should be the most straightforward files IRCC processes,” he explains. “Applicants are already here, already contributing to the economy, and already vetted.”

He stresses that immigration processing is no longer an administrative matter – it is a matter of economic competitiveness. With Canada under pressure from its trade dispute with the United States, failing to modernize immigration operations will undermine long-term economic development at a critical moment.

Lamanna’s concerns extend well beyond processing times. He emphasizes that permanent immigration “is not discretionary – it is vital to Canada’s demographic survival.” More than 80 percent of labour-force growth now comes from newcomers, and immigrants represent 29 percent of the labour force while making up just 23 percent of the population.

Yet the federal government is proposing reductions to permanent resident admissions starting in 2026. Lamanna warns these cuts may exacerbate labour shortages, strain public services, and slow economic growth as Canada’s population ages.

Rather than reducing numbers, CILA advocates expanding pathways from temporary to permanent residence, aligning short-term labour flexibility with long-term demographic needs. Without such pathways, Lamanna cautions that Canada risks “the emergence of an underground economy, where individuals without status work informally without protections or long-term options.”

For protected persons, the situation is dire: dependents now wait 50 months on average for processing, delaying family reunification and undermining humanitarian commitments.

CILA warns that the government’s proposed one-year asylum bar could deny vulnerable individuals the ability to make a claim, even when conditions in their home country change suddenly. Lamanna notes that this bar would apply even to individuals who visited Canada briefly or as children, making Canada’s system more restrictive than the US equivalent.

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-systems/national-pharmacare/whos-covered.html

https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/most-provinces-are-refusing-hundreds-of-millions-in-federal-pharmacare-funding/

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/58220106

Life Expectancy Around the World in 2025

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-life-expectancy-around-the-world-in-2025/

The Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster that accuses the American company of charging abusive service fees on ticket sales.

In a ruling dated Monday, Justice Eleni Yiannakis said the plaintiffs met the conditions for a full trial and that compensatory refunds would be allowed if they win the case.

The class action filed by Montreal law firm Paquette Gadler says the service fees charged by Ticketmaster violate Quebec's Consumer Protection Act and the Quebec Civil Code.

The lawsuit says Ticketmaster's fees fluctuate based on ticket prices rather than the actual cost of the service provided, a pricing scheme the law firm says is abusive.

It was filed in August 2024 on behalf of plaintiff Felipe Morales, and members include Quebecers who have bought tickets through Ticketmaster to North American shows since July 2021.

Ticketmaster, which sells tickets to concerts, sporting events and other shows around the world, did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday's ruling.

Just after unionisation

In response to a question from CBC News, Leduc-Labelle said the restructuring exercise began "well before the start of the unionization process within the studio in June 2025."

Yeah and my ass is chicken