National

National


Ottawa endorses plan to move Marineland’s whales to U.S. and Spain

Ottawa has endorsed a plan to move Canada’s last remaining captive whales to aquariums in the U.S. and Spain. There are 30 belugas and four dolphins at Marineland, the shuttered theme park in Niagara Falls, Ont., that still face mass euthanasia should the deal fall through. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has issued the […]

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Federal government’s new AI strategy will emphasize trust, minister says

The federal government’s new artificial intelligence strategy will look to build trust in AI, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said Tuesday just days before he is expected to finally make the plan public. “It’ll be lots on trust, lots on empowering workers, lots on building Canada. You’ll see the details later this week,” Solomon told […]

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MPs get an earful from opponents of ‘lawful access’ bill over privacy concerns

A group that works to keep the internet surveillance-free says a federal bill intended to help police and intelligence services is “an enormous own goal” against Canada’s economy and security. Matt Hatfield, executive director of OpenMedia, told MPs studying the bill Tuesday that limited amendments will not salvage the proposed legislation. The government says the […]

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Here’s what Hydro-Québec fought to hide from the Newfoundland and Labrador government

Hydro-Québec fought to hide parts of letters from the 1960s showing what it offered to lure a French aluminum company to the province, including its internal comments about an energy deal with Newfoundland and Labrador. In a 2024 fight in front of Quebec’s access-to-information commission, the utility claimed the correspondence could jeopardize its present-day energy […]

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Natural gas companies lobbied against Canada’s latest plan to reduce household emissions: documents

Natural gas companies lobbied against federal building guidelines that could help weaken the fossil fuel industry’s iron grip on Canadian communities, according to documents obtained by The Narwhal.  In December 2025, a federal-provincial body published a new national building code that, for the first time, limits the volume of greenhouse gases that can be emitted […]

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Connected vehicle data ‘can have intelligence value’ to adversaries: federal document

Data from an advanced electric vehicle that falls into the wrong hands could be used to track people or carry out surveillance, an internal government document warns. The Public Safety Canada memo, prepared to address concerns about Chinese vehicles, urges Canadians to be mindful of the security and privacy risks of the digital devices they […]

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Tesla threatens legal action over Manitoba’s end to EV rebate for company vehicles

The Manitoba government said Thursday it is facing potential legal action over its decision to remove auto manufacturer Tesla from its rebate program for electric vehicles. Premier Wab Kinew’s office released a letter the government received last week from lawyers for Tesla Motors Canada. The two-page document says the company intends to ask a judge […]

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Ontario in secrecy-by-default mode, critics say after blue licence plate reversal

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government is in secrecy-by-default mode, opposition critics say after reviewing the content of blue licence plate documents the province had been prepared to fight the release of in the courts. The province’s information and privacy commissioner ordered the release of documents earlier this year on the government’s plan to get the […]

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Anandasangaree rejects shortening metadata retention period in lawful access bill

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree has rejected a call to shorten the time electronic service providers would be required to keep digital metadata under a bill intended to help police and spies. The proposed legislation would allow for regulations requiring service providers to retain metadata — digital traces of a communication, but not the email […]

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National artificial intelligence strategy to be released next week, Carney says

The federal government is set to introduce its AI strategy within days — a long-awaited policy that has been delayed amid increasing public concern about the social impacts and safety of the technology. “It’s coming out next week,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday. Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon initially promised […]

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Ottawa to amend encryption, metadata elements of contentious lawful access bill

The federal government will amend its controversial lawful access bill to address concerns about encryption and metadata, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Wednesday. “The encryption issue is one we will clarify because this bill was never meant to breach encryption,” Anandasangaree said. He said the government’s understanding of the language in the bill on systemic vulnerabilities […]

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Memo warned PM of public anxiety about mental health, firearms after B.C. shootings

Three days after the February mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., government officials warned Prime Minister Mark Carney that online sentiment was shifting from collective grief toward “emerging accountability narratives” — including questions about mental health intervention, firearms access and whether warning signs were missed. The memo to Carney from the Privy Council Office said […]

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