Archived link

RT’s Twitter account has published an edited version of a Tucker Carlson video that suggests that the United States should use force to influence Canada a change in Canada’s government, which Carlson claims is oppressing Canadians and that Canada is not a sovereign nation.

The RT post frames Carlson’s remarks under a “51st state” / regime-change banner and leans on two false or misleading hooks — that the Canadian government has killed “nearly 100,000” Canadians and that Canada is not sovereign — to push a corrosive narrative that Canada is illegitimate and in need of outside “liberation.” That is authentic-source amplification in service of a foreign propaganda line.

This appears to be an effort to exploit both the “51st” state narrative and the Alberta separatist movement issue.

THE CLAIM:

RT’s post presents Carlson as effectively “soft-launching” Canada as a U.S. 51st state, amplifying his argument that the U.S. should exert influence over Canada “by force if necessary,” that Canada oppresses its citizens via MAID, that Canadians need “liberation,” and that Canada is not truly sovereign. Carlson made those remarks in a commentary dated April 2, 2026, and RT repackaged them on X the same day.

THE FACTS:

• Carlson’s MAID number is wrong. Health Canada reports 76,475 MAID provisions in Canada since legalization in 2016, with 16,499 in 2024. Health Canada also states MAID is a health service provided under strict legal criteria and not a “cause of death” category, which undercuts the “state killing program” framing.
• Canada is sovereign. Official Canadian sources say the Statute of Westminster in 1931 granted the Dominions full legal autonomy, recognized Canada’s autonomy/virtual independence, and Canada’s Constitution is the supreme law. The Constitution was patriated in 1982, allowing constitutional amendment in Canada. Sharing a monarch with other Commonwealth realms does not erase sovereignty.
• RT is not a neutral amplifier. Canada’s CRTC says RT is a Russian state-controlled network and removed RT/RT France from authorized distribution in Canada in 2022, citing concerns about content that undermines sovereignty and democratic institutions. Global Affairs Canada later said RT uses covert third-party platforms to disseminate content and has likely coordinated with Russian intelligence services; the U.S. Treasury said RT executives covertly recruited American influencers in 2024 as part of Russia’s malign influence efforts. Reuters likewise described RT as Russian state-owned/state-controlled when Canada removed it from Canadian TV.

...

This matches a familiar Kremlin line: depict a democratic ally as broken, abusive, and not fully legitimate; then normalize outside coercion as “rescue.” In Canada’s case, the pressure points are MAID, immigration, sovereignty, and regional alienation. The strategic objective is to corrode trust in Canadian institutions, intensify internal divisions, and make talk of external intervention or annexation feel less fringe. That is the same democratic-undermining pattern Canadian authorities and DisinfoWatch have warned about in RT and aligned Canada-targeting narratives.

...

In a related report, Secession for you, prison in Russia: Moscow’s selective love for self-determination, the European disinformation network EUvsDisinfo provides a deeper analysis, stating that "the Kremlin amplifies separatist causes abroad while jailing those who voice similar ideas inside Russia".

Reports of the Kremlin’s fondness for Western separatist movements go way back. In 2015, a year after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Texan separatists were spotted at a far-right conference in St. Petersburg, prompting an investigation(opens in a new tab) into their ties to Russian officials. Back then, a Russian newspaper interviewed(opens in a new tab) one such activist, and FIMI bots(opens in a new tab) amplified the interview with calls for a ‘Free Texas’. The campaign(opens in a new tab) never quite ended: in early 2024, the conflict between the state of Texas and the Biden administration once again prompted comments from Russian officials – the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote(opens in a new tab) that he would be “rooting for Texas” if it decided to secede, while MP Sergei Mironov supported the calls for “Texit”(opens in a new tab), tweeting that Russia was “ready to help with the independence referendum”. At the same time, an army of bots exploited the crisis by boosting calls for civil war in the U.S. in coordinated campaigns both on Telegram(opens in a new tab) and Twitter/X(opens in a new tab).

...

New poll shows a majority of Canadians want to ban citizens from serving in the U.S. military.

It's currently legal for Canadians to join the Israeli military, as the Foreign Enlistment Act only prohibits citizens from fighting for non-state forces, designated terrorist organizations and militaries of states at war with an ally.

As of March 2025, more than 1,500 Canadian citizens with at least one other nationality were serving in the Israeli military, according to a document from the Israeli government. This figure does not account for Canadian citizens who have yet to acquire Israeli citizenship.

A report from Amnesty International on human rights and the World Cup warned last week about the potential for protests if "the U.S. team is drawn to play in Canada in later rounds and ICE personnel are deployed to provide security."

Must be great to be a high school drop out who wants to see the world and play cops and robbers.

Electric School Bus Adoption:

1. PEI 33%
2. Quebec 15%
3. BC 5.0%
4. Can 3.8%
5. NB 1.8%
6. Ontario 0.5%
7. AB 0.02%

The three decisive drivers of successful electric school bus adoption: clear regulatory targets, robust and predictable provincial funding, and proactive charging infrastructure planning.

Archived link

...

The retired Winnipeg Police Service officer and a veteran of the Ukraine war will spend up to six months traversing deserts, mountains and deep forests before crossing back into Canada.

[Peter] Derksen, 59, spent roughly one year inside embattled Ukraine, beginning in September 2022. His journey included months on the front lines, where he fought Russian forces alongside Ukrainian soldiers.

“I’m very lucky I survived that, and I don’t want to tempt fate twice, but the plight of freedom for the Ukrainians needs to be in people’s minds,” Derksen said, speaking by phone from a campground near Campo, Calif., close to the trail’s southern terminus.

...

“I’m here to try to make a difference in this war, but instead of being in Ukraine, I am going to be here and trying to raise money for the heroes in Ukraine.”

...

Derksen plans to write an online blog documenting his hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, which spans about 4,265 kilometres through California, Oregon and Washington before ending in B.C. While he is not accepting any personal donations, he is asking supporters to contribute to United24, a fundraising effort launched by the Ukrainian government.

Donors can also contribute through the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, which offers tax receipts for Canadians.

He has pledged to match the first $2,000 in donations, dollar for dollar.

...

The veteran will be mostly alone as he hikes, but has the support of his wife and three adult children, who say they are proud of his relentless desire to help others.

“We’re just cheering him on, and so grateful that he’s found a way to serve his brothers and sisters in Ukraine without going back to the front line,” said his wife, Shannon Derksen.

She described harried phone calls during her husband’s time in Ukraine, during which it was not uncommon for her to overhear the whistle of incoming artillery shells in the background.

...

Pete Pearson had three reasons for trying psilocybin, or "magic mushrooms," for the first time at age 75.

"I hope it will keep me from losing my mind," he told CBC's White Coat, Black Art. "I hope it will keep me from being a complete jerk to everybody, and being so hard on Susie" — his wife.

Pete had been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. The average survival prognosis is three to five years and he'd already passed that. Now, the physical limitations were triggering a toxic stew of anxiety, frustration and depression known as "end-of-life distress."

So, on Jan. 3, 2026, at about 11 a.m., Pete drank a tea containing five grams of natural psilocybin. He stretched out on the hide-a-bed in the front room of his house in Mooretown, Ont., facing the St. Clair River.

Eight hours later, he emerged from his psychedelic trip with a new lease on the time he has left. "I cannot believe how much my outlook on life has changed."

And the anxiety? "It's gone."

But that "complete turnaround," as Pete describes it, happened only after a futile attempt to access psilocybin legally through Health Canada — a process that lasted the better part of a year and caused Pete's already debilitating anxiety to go "through the roof." In the end, he got psilocybin illegally for about $40.

Beijing is pushing Ottawa to back its bid to join a major free trade agreement between Indo-Pacific nations, including Canada, Japan and Australia, according to a Canadian senator who just returned from a diplomatic mission to China.

Archived link

Senator Clement Gignac, who co-chairs the Canada-China Legislative Association, said he in turn urged his Chinese counterparts to lift travel sanctions on Canadian MPs who have been critical of Beijing’s human rights record.

Mr. Gignac, and fellow co-chair Liberal MP Zoe Royer, spent March 14 to 21 in China, visiting Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen to promote closer bilateral ties. They met senior members of the National People’s Congress.

...

Mr. Gignac said China is keen for Canadian support to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, a multilateral free trade agreement.

CPTPP replaces the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, a proposed agreement that included the United States until President Donald Trump withdrew from the trade pact in 2017.

...

China first applied for membership in 2021 but has been blocked several times.

...

China imposed sanctions on the entire Canadian House of Commons subcommittee on international human rights in 2021 after it accused China of committing “genocide” against Muslim groups in its Xinjiang region.

...

The sanctions were applied after Canada joined with the U.S., Britain and the EU in imposing human-rights-related sanctions against senior officials in Xinjiang.

...

Last week, federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne travelled to China and the two countries signed a joint statement to deepen financial-sector ties.

When asked, Mr. Champagne did not give a straight answer on Chinese forced labour [video, 2 min, alternative Invidious link].

...

Archived link

Recently, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney seemed to downplay forced labor in China. When asked about the risks, he said some regions in China are “higher risk” and that it is an issue all around the world. His comments follow his colleague dismissing concerns about forced labor in China in a parliamentary hearing on March 26. Carney has defended Member of Parliament, Michael Ma, as well as the country’s efforts to keep forced labor out of its market.

But advocates are not convinced that Canada has “strong protections” in place as the Prime Minister insists. With forced labor import bans in the US and the EU, there are concerns that countries such as Canada can become potential dumping grounds. Further, Canada has previously taken a much stronger stance on forced labor in China.

...

Canada has put measures in place aimed at blocking imports tied to forced labor. However, experts say these rules are rarely applied. Consequently, very few shipments are stopped at the border. Indeed, conservative MP Michael Chong, said Canada has a “terrible track record” of preventing the importation of products made with forced labor.

MP Chong told CBC, "I strongly disagree and I think many experts and many human rights groups would strongly disagree with the prime minister’s assessment that we have a rigorous system for preventing the importation of these products."

...

This recent controversy comes after Michael Ma dismissed the legitimacy of evidence presented by experts as “hearsay.” The MP asked her repeatedly if she had seen forced labor with her own eyes. Since she cited reports by Human Rights Watch, Ma said, “I don’t believe reports, I only believe in things that I can see with my own eyes.”

...

Chong called Ma’s performance at committee “incredibly damaging for Canada’s reputation.”

“It signals to the [People’s Republic of China] that they can intimidate the government of Canada into silence,” he said.

Ma later apologized for his comments. But PM Carney faced intense questioning throughout the week. At a news conference in Quebec, reporters asked if he agreed with a 2021 House of Commons motion declaring China’s treatment of the Uyghurs as genocide. He refused to answer, instead telling reporters, “There are fundamental issues in terms of China’s treatment of the Uyghurs in the past, and they’ve been rightly called out.”

...

As recently as January 2026, UN experts raised renewed alarm about the Uyghur forced labor system in China. They noted that the “coercive elements” were “so severe” they amounted to “enslavement as a crime against humanity.”

...

Meanwhile, after his China visit last week, Canadian Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne did not give straight answer on Chinese forced labour (video, 2 min, here is an alternative Invidious link).

...

Canadian Armed Forces members used their own personal social media accounts, computers and networks at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and gathered information about Canadians, violating intelligence-gathering rules, according to a newly released report.

The internal military report obtained by CBC News provides a new look behind the scenes at how a controversial military operation went so wrong.

"Everything you could imagine in a military operation went wrong in this case," said national security expert Wesley Wark.

"This is really an amateur effort. It was a badly conceived, badly managed operation that should have never come into existence at all."

Multiple units were tasked with collecting information about public opinion, including to help with decision-making during Operation Laser — the military's domestic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

That data-mining effort, first reported by the Ottawa Citizen, was part of a series of problematic activities involving an influence campaign that then Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance verbally shut down in April 2020, but some activities carried on for another six months — until Vance issued a written edict.

The newspaper's extensive reporting found senior military leaders viewed the pandemic as a chance to test out propaganda techniques on Canadians and head off civil disobedience by the public.

Syrian refugee Mouhamad Al Jalmoud killed two and severely injured after failing to stop at a red light in Hamilton, Ont.

Guy didn't even have a valid Canadian Drivers License.

New polling suggests a majority of Canadians think Canada ought to explore joining the European Union at a fraught time for geopolitical relations.

A survey of 4,000 people conducted by Spark Advocacy’s polling arm in March found that one in four respondents thought it would be a good idea for Canada to formally join the economic and political bloc of European nations.

A further 58 per cent indicated it was a proposal worth exploring further, while the remainder felt it was a bad idea.

Spark’s chief strategy officer Bruce Anderson says the survey suggests Canadians are increasingly open to finding ways to buck Canada’s reliance on the United States after more than a year of tariffs under U.S. President Donald Trump’s second administration.

France’s foreign minister last month openly floated the idea of Canada joining the EU, while Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he’s looking to deepen trade and security ties with the continent but not as a formal member of the bloc.

...

A years-long investigation into a special RCMP unit that polices protests against resource extraction in British Columbia is finished but can’t be finalized because the RCMP's oversight body has been without a chairperson for more than a year.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) receives and oversees public complaints against the Mounties.

It recently announced the completion of a systemic investigation into the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG), which drew national attention in 2019 when the unit launched a large-scale enforcement action against Wet’suwet’en-led opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

The CRCC announced the probe in March 2023 following a flurry of public complaints. Now, that investigation is among 365 files needing approval to finalize. The problem is, there’s nobody at the agency with the authority to finalize them.

It’s unclear why the CRCC has been without a chairperson since January 2025. The federal government is responsible for appointing someone to the top job. Requests for information from the Ministry of Public Safety were not returned by the time of publishing.

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/62104295

Invidious

crosspostato da: https://mander.xyz/post/50076835

...

The Artemis II mission is expected to complete a record-breaking lunar flyby today.

The Canadian Space Agency says astronaut Jeremy Hansen and his three American crewmates are set to become the space explorers who will have ventured farther into space than anyone before, surpassing a record set by Apollo 13 in 1970.

...

When Orion passes behind the moon, the spacecraft will enter a communications blackout of about 40 minutes as the lunar surface blocks radio signals.

Later, it will come as close as about 6,500 km to the moon’s surface, and from that vantage point Hansen has said the moon will look like a basketball held at arm’s length.

...

"The crew will make their lunar observations with real-time data analysis, guidance provided by a team of scientists and the knowledge acquired through their geology training in Labrador, Iceland and in class to describe surface textures, shapes, and colours, providing valuable data for future exploration of the moon,” reads a news release from the Canadian Space Agency.

The flyby promises views of the moon’s far side that were too dark or too difficult to see by the 24 Apollo astronauts who preceded them.

...

Officials of the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) and members of the Uyghur community staged protests across the United States and Canada, calling for global accountability and urgent international action over what they described as China’s “ongoing genocide” in East Turkistan, also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.

These protests were held on Sunday in Washington and Edmonton, Canada, to mark the 36th anniversary of the 1990 East Turkistan Uprising, also known as the “Baren Uprising”, which the ETGE said was “one of the most significant acts of national resistance” against China’s “colonial occupation” of the region.

According to the ETGE, thousands of East Turkistanis rose up on April 5, 1990, in Baren Township of Xinjiang to protest China’s “genocidal enforcement of coercive population control policies”, under which it alleged that over 250 Uyghur women were subjected to forced abortions.

The exiled authorities claimed that the Chinese authorities responded by deploying over 20,000 troops, helicopter gunships, and heavy artillery, killing more than 3,000 people and arresting over 7,600 more, following the uprising.

Calling the Baren Uprising a legitimate act of “anti-colonial resistance”, the ETGE said, “Mass imprisonment, forced labour, coercive population control, family separation, and the systematic destruction of Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic cultures continue across occupied East Turkistan.”

...

Web Archive link