‘Into the lion's den': Mark Carney's high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump
Mark Carney has had a short honeymoon since his victory in Canada's election.A little over a week after spearheading his Liberal party's
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Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canadian road trips to US drop 38 percent year-on-year
The number of Canadians returning from road trips to the United States fell sharply in May compared to the same period in 2024. Canadian-resident return trips by car totaled 1.3 million, a 38.1 percent drop from May 2024 — marking the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. by air also fell — by 24.2 percent — compared to May 2024. The decline in Canadian-resident air travel from the U.S. accounts for the overall dip in return air travel. While Canadians' return travel by air declined by 3.7 percent overall, return air travel increased by 9.8 percent among Canadians returning from overseas countries compared to last May. U.S. residents, meanwhile, traveled to Canada at a lower rate than they did last year but saw a more modest decline than their Canadian counterparts. U.S.-resident arrivals to Canada by car fell by 8.4 percent and, by air, fell by 0.3 percent, compared to last May. The decline in Canadian road trips to the U.S. continued a trend seen in prior months. In April 2025, Canadian-resident return trips by car from the U.S. totaled 1.2 million — a 35.2 percent decline from April 2024. Canadian-resident return trips by air fell by 19.9 percent, compared to the prior month. The overall tourism decline threatens to wipe out $12.5 billion from the American economy this year, NewsNation reported. The decline in tourism comes as tensions between the U.S. and Canada have cooled under the Trump administration, as President Trump continues to muse publicly about making Canada a 51st state of America, which Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly rejected as a nonstarter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Who's responsible for online harms? Responsibility for troubled file floats between ministers
OTTAWA — As ministers settle into their new roles, discussions are underway about who is best suited to steer the government's efforts to legislate against online harms, cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault said on Tuesday. Questions have arisen about which minister and department would be best suited to handle the complicated issue after the Liberals' proposed Online Harms Act died in Parliament when Prime Minister Mark Carney triggered a federal election in March. 'It's a good question,' said Guilbeault, who oversees the Canadian Heritage department, told reporters on his way into the Liberals' weekly cabinet meeting. 'We're having conversations to see what would be the most appropriate department to bring this forward.' Canadian Heritage had been the first department to develop and later introduce the Liberals' initial plan to combat the harms Canadian users experience online. That proposal, which was released in 2021, was met with widespread backlash over concerns about the requirement for social media companies to remove content within 24 hours after receiving a complaint. Experts had warned the provision was overly broad and risked infringing on free expression, given that companies could remove legal content. The Liberals then struck an advisory group and got to work on figuring out a Plan B. Responsibility for the bill also shifted from Canadian Heritage to the Justice Department. In early 2024, former justice minister Arif Vriani introduced Bill C-63, which proposed to create a new digital safety regulator that would be tasked with ensuring social media giants took steps to reduce users' access to content, such as child sex abuse images and incite extremism and violence. That bill was also met with backlash over its proposal to introduce stiffer sentences for hate-related offences and reintroduce a controversial section to the Canadian Human Rights Act to allow people to bring forward complaints of hate speech, which civil liberties advocates and Parliamentarians said risked violating free speech. Virani spent months defending the need for the tougher Criminal Code measures to be included in the online safety bill, but last December announced the government was prepared to split the bill to help get it passed. In January, former prime minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation and that Parliament would be suspended until March. Emily Laidlaw, a Canada Research Chair in cybersecurity law at the University of Calgary, who sat on the government's expert advisory group, said it was a mistake for the government to have combined different provisions into the same legislation and that by the time it announced the legislation would be split, 'it was too late.' 'What I'm hoping is, when they reintroduce it, they have very firmly the platform regulation law,' she says. Should the Liberals want to propose changes to the Criminal Code or the Canadian Human Rights Act, that should be separate, she said. Justice Minister Sean Fraser told reporters on Tuesday that the government was going to look at different measures when it comes to protecting children online, but would have more to say in the months ahead. One new factor in how the Liberals may decide to proceed is the fact that Carney named to his cabinet the country's first minister responsible for artificial intelligence and digital innovation, a position currently held by former broadcaster Evan Solomon, who was elected in late April's general election. The Liberals in their last bill listed AI-generated sexualized 'deepfakes' as one of the harms companies would have to take steps to tackle. Asked whether online harms would fall under his mandate, Solomon told reporters on Tuesday that it was 'up for debate.' 'But probably yeah.' Laidlaw said while she does not believe the government needs to start a new round of consultations, it ought to take a second look at the scope of harms it is seeking to tackle. For example, she suggested there was room to include the issue of identity fraud. 'I actually think it should be broadened to include some of the ways that AI can be used to facilitate harm, so it might not just be the typical social media on Instagram.' National Post staylor@ Hate crime laws to be split from Liberals' online harms bill after blowback PBO: Creating proposed online harms regulators estimated to cost $200M Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Calls to release documents behind helicopter shooting of koalas in controversial plan dubbed 'medieval'
Three months after an Australian state authorised a plan to shoot over 1,000 koalas after a bushfire scorched their national park habitat, a fiery clash over what led to the decision has erupted. At Victoria's budget estimates late on Tuesday, the state government was grilled for seven minutes about the lethal program carried out at Budj Bim National Park. It was repeatedly asked when it would publicly release documents that led to the world-first decision to kill the marsupials using shooters in helicopters. John Bradley, the secretary of the Environment Department (DEECA), justified the aerial shooting plan, saying a veterinary expert plan that was peer reviewed judged it to be the most 'humane' response following a "rigorous process". But the Deputy Chair, the Liberal's Nick McGowan hit back, quipping that if being shot from a helicopter was doing the koalas a 'favour' then he wouldn't want any favours from the department. 'To be frank with you, it does sound like gobbledygook. And what's more, it sounds medieval,' McGowan said of DEECA's explanation of the so-called cull. 'How anyone with a shotgun from a helicopter can make these kinds of split-second assessments in killing and culling koalas seems to me somewhat barbaric.' Related: Fear for joeys as Australia guns down hundreds of koalas from helicopters During the session, Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos explained that only 13 per cent of Budj Bim was accessible on foot due to the topography and the risk of falling trees. At this point McGowan chided him, saying, 'It's not Mount Everest we're talking about here.' Due to the extraordinary circumstances following the bushfire, Dimopoulos maintained it was better to complete health checks from helicopters than on the ground. 'The people who briefed me in the department over multiple meetings… [said] you could get a better view of a koala from a helicopter because they're at the top of the tree, than you could at the bottom of the undulating ground looking up at the tree canopy,' Dimopoulos said. 'So it was actually all done in the interest of actually assessing the koala better. And while it sounds interesting, the helicopter was flying very, very low to the canopy, and that way it was more effective.' During regular health assessments of koalas at Budj Bim, it's normal practice to bring them to the ground, according to a source who has worked on the program. But this year, DEECA took expert advice following the extraordinary situation which made access to the park difficult to stop koalas from suffering. Of the 2,219 koalas assessed, 1,091 were examined from the ground and 1,128 from the air. In total 1,061 (48 per cent) were euthanised. Of those shot from helicopters, the bodies of 14 were recovered. And during the operation, one was taken into care for treatment. Australia blasted for 'sniper shooting' hundreds of koalas Devastating photos captured after Australia gunned down koalas from helicopters Sad truth behind koala that was rescued from Aussie national park According to Bradley, an assessment of the "euthanasia" operation found DEECA "had been successful in humanely euthanising fire-impacted koalas in areas of the park that were not safely or readily accessible by foot and that would otherwise have been left to suffer unnecessarily." In ordinary circumstances, scientists usually release peer-reviewed research. But the killing of koalas at Budj Bim was conducted without public scrutiny until Yahoo News was given a tip-off and began asking questions of DEECA. Several wildlife agencies were aware of the program, but later said they were unaware of its scale. As the operation continued, DEECA responded to questions from Yahoo about how many koalas were being euthanised and what methods were being used with open, frank and detailed answers. But now politicians and critics of the program face a new challenge. Three months after the operation began, the government has dodged requests to publicly release documents relating to why it was necessary to shoot the koalas from helicopters in the first place. Another pressing argument for them to do so is that the Victorian state government claims the operation was a success. Because of this, many wildlife advocates are concerned DEECA could authorise aerial culling of wildlife again – something they oppose. During budget estimates, the government was asked on three occasions when the full veterinary reports and operational data from that aerial koala cull would be released for independent scrutiny. It did not commit to doing so during the session. Described as "euthanasia" by DEECA, and a "cull" by some ecologists and critics, the operation lasted from March 14 to April 25, and eventual publicity sparked fierce debate, making international headlines. While koalas are federally listed as endangered in Queensland, ACT and NSW, the populations in Victoria and South Australia are considered abundant. During budget estimates, Dimopoulos described Victoria's population as "healthy" but said there was "over-population" in locations including Budj Bim, which caused a "problem" for koalas as they were already "stressed". According to experts with knowledge of the region and koalas, the problem has been caused by the logging of eucalypt plantations that surround the national park. When trees are cut down, koalas that live in them have nowhere to go except for Budj Bim. After the government "euthanised" the 1,061 koalas, wildlife advocates called for it to halt timber harvesting in the surrounding area. It is yet to commit to doing so. More than 5,000 people have signed a petition calling for an inquiry into the bluegum industry and its impact on koalas. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
