War and Peace

War and Peace


RCMP informant’s decades of spying on social reformers are chronicled in new book

As a Communist Party member in Calgary in the early 1940s, Frank Hadesbeck performed clerical work at the party office, printed leaflets and sold books. But he also had tasks his party comrades could know nothing about: snooping on mail, copying phone numbers from scratch pads and rummaging through waste baskets. Hadesbeck, known to his […]

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‘Running in fear’: Documents depict chaos, confusion over Reclaiming Canada event

When the organizer of the We Unify Reclaiming Canada event contacted officials about booking the Victoria Conference Centre, he touted invitees from across the political spectrum, including liberal luminaries such as Amal Clooney, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, B.C.’s NDP Premier David Eby, movie stars and more. Jonathan Bower told the sales director of the city-owned […]

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Canada’s police chiefs call for more help to deal with increasing number of protests

The frequency of protests linked to domestic and global issues is creating an “unsustainable demand” on policing services across the country, say Canada’s chiefs of police. Meeting in Halifax on Tuesday for its annual summit, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police called on all levels of government to provide the “moral and financial support” […]

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Alberta’s energy ‘war room,’ known for Bigfoot movie feud, getting brought in-house

Alberta’s energy “war room” – the oft-ridiculed agency famous for its feud with a children’s Bigfoot cartoon – is being retooled and brought in-house directly under Premier Danielle Smith’s office. “The Canadian Energy Centre is an important advocate for Canada and Alberta’s long-term position as a safe, clean and responsible energy supplier,” the province’s Energy […]

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Hackers may have accessed 22 B.C. government inboxes, data on 19 employees: Farnworth

Twenty-two British Columbia government email inboxes with sensitive personal information on 19 employees may have been accessed during a cyber attack on the province’s networks, the minister of public safety said on Monday. Mike Farnworth said there’s no indication the general public’s information was compromised and investigators have not identified any misuse of the information […]

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Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters

Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas. The Canadian Press obtained a redacted letter sent to the applicant by a Canadian immigration officer, which asks if he has “ever […]

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‘Silence isn’t neutral’: Emails show debate in Quebec universities on Israel, Hamas

MONTREAL — Five days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Universite de Montreal rector Daniel Jutras was under growing pressure to say more about the conflict. Shortly after midnight on Oct. 12, he sent an email to colleagues saying that as other universities took public positions on the war, it was becoming increasingly […]

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Ministers’ responses on Afghan monument contract ‘pathetic’: design team

OTTAWA — An architectural group that lost out on building a monument to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan is accusing two federal cabinet ministers of giving a “pathetic” explanation for how the contract was awarded. The design by Team Daoust was selected by a jury, but the government overruled that decision to award the contract to […]

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EU asks Musk’s X for information on hate speech and ‘illegal content’ related to Israel Hamas war

LONDON (AP) — The European Commission on Thursday made a formal, legally binding request for information from Elon Musk’s social media platform X over its handling of hate speech, misinformation and violent terrorist content related to the Israel-Hamas war. It is the first step in what could become the EU’s inaugural investigation under the Digital […]

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War crimes inquiry research sheds fresh light on Canadian screening, policies

OTTAWA — When an individual suspected of taking part in the Second World War murder of Jews in western Ukraine applied for admission to Canada in 1951, immigration officials did not follow up with potential witnesses who might have provided crucial details. In another case, a Slovak leader hoping to unite emigres under his leadership […]

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Rota debacle renews calls to examine history, including war crime records

OTTAWA — Canada could revisit calls to declassify documents about the presence of Nazi war criminals in the country, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday, as the fallout continued over Parliament’s recognition last week of a man who fought for the Nazis. “Canada has a really dark history with Nazis in Canada,” Miller said, heading […]

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Canada sought use of European Union compound in Kabul for fingerprinting, reneged

OTTAWA — Canada requested use of the European Union’s compound in Kabul to help with tasks such as fingerprinting for those fleeing Afghanistan, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly made the request on Jan. 20, 2022, according to documents obtained through an access-to-information request. “Minister Joly asked EU […]

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