For everyone from Donald Trump to the United Nations, Canada’s system is seen as a highly effective way to control and manage migration for the needs of the corporate class

These racialized workers generate great wealth for the corporate class inside countries like Canada because they’ve been made exploitable through a restrictive immigration regime designed to ensure they remain vulnerable, docile, deportable and disposable.

Capitalists tend not to be fundamentally anti-migrant but rather seek to control and manage migration for the needs of business. They envision migration to be a kind of kitchen faucet that can be turned on and off according to labour market fluctuations. These include some of the largest corporations on the planet like Uber, Amazon, Walmart, and giants within the Canadian economy like Loblaws and Dollarama. Corporations in critical sectors like logistics, warehouses and distribution rely on the same strategies in the Global South as they do in the Global North: when the industries cannot be offshored, they rely on a precarious workforce of migrants.

But over the last two decades, both Liberal and Conservative governments had made this possible, constructing an immigration regime that prioritized temporary migrant labour. Increasingly restrictive for asylum seekers and those living with precarious status or without status, it ensures the disposability of certain categories of migrants, while opening the door to permanent migration for those deemed “deserving.” In the process, Canada’s model has drawn the attention of other governments and agencies around the world—in many ways, a model immigration regime to service global capitalism.

Chants of "no justice, no peace" were heard in downtown Edmonton on Saturday at a rally in honour of a man shot and killed by an Edmonton police officer.

A crowd gathered outside the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) headquarters to call for the suspension of the officer who fatally shot 28-year-old father Mathios Arkangelo on a residential street in Fraser the night of June 29.

At the time, police said he matched the description of a driver who had walked away from a single-vehicle rollover on Anthony Henday Drive.

A compilation of security footage gathered by the family was posted to YouTube. In it, the interaction between Mathios and the officer leading up to the shooting can be seen from multiple angles.

An economics professor with Sudbury's Laurentian University says a grocery store chain's choice to lock up certain cheeses and instructing customers to ask a cashier for assistance is an indication of a broader problem.

Louis-Philippe Rochon says the issue points to a much bigger societal issue than simply trying to deter theft.

The signage, spotted at a Vancouver No Frills store owned by Loblaw, shows the locked up 250g wedges of President's Choice Splendido Parmigiano-Reggiano and President's Choice Splendido Grana Padano, priced at $9.99 each.

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"As much as [theft] is a problem for the supermarkets, I think it points to a bigger issue in society, which is the fact that the prices of groceries have gone up by 10 per cent on average or more.... People can't afford to eat.... People have to resort to stealing to feed their families," said Rochon.

The Greater Sudbury Police Service does not have specific numbers on people stealing from grocery stores but notes an overall rise in reported thefts over the past five years. Sarah Kaelas, a spokesperson with the police service, reports the number of thefts under $5,000 was 609 in 2019, but that figure rose to 834 last year.

However, Rochon believes the focus should be on the root causes of these crimes rather than on the acts themselves.

"This is a reflection of deep inequalities and food insecurity. We should not concentrate on shoplifting and theft. These are symptoms. What we should be concentrating on is what causes those."

He believes rising production costs and supermarkets' reactions are exacerbating the problem.

[...]

Supermarkets have increased the price of the goods in order to compensate. But there's also a little bit of greed going on in the supermarkets. The packages have gotten much smaller," said Rochon.

Rochon suggests the government should consider price controls to address these challenges. He says it is easier for the government to introduce such a policy now than it was 30 years ago.

The federal government's Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) has been gradually expanding eligibility for subsidized dental care to low- and middle-income Canadian residents who don't have private insurance. On June 27, people with disabilities were told they could apply.

But advocates say only a fraction of people with disabilities will be covered.

A recent parliamentary budget officer report said up to 1.4 million severely disabled Canadians could be eligible for the proposed Canada Disability Benefit — a statistic advocates say indicates how many people with disabilities ought to have access to the CDCP.

The problem, advocates say, is that Ottawa is using its disability tax credit to decide whether someone qualifies for programs like the CDCP or the Canada Disability Benefit.

"The disability tax credit is increasingly becoming a gateway to social programs and it was never designed to be that," said Michelle Hewitt, board chair for the advocacy organization Disability Without Poverty.

A Florida-based company is facing multiple proposed class actions, after a massive data breach that one suit claims leaked nearly three billion files containing personal data on people in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., including names and home addresses.

One of the first suit to be reported on was a proposed class action filed Aug. 1 by California resident Christopher Hofmann in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. It alleges that a hacking group called USDoD posted a database on April 8 called "National Public Data" on a dark web forum claiming to have the personal data of 2.9 billion individuals, and attempted to sell it for $3.5 million US.

Tech site Bleeping Computer reported that a hacker then leaked a version of the stolen data for free on a hacking forum on Aug. 6.

At least six complaints have been filed against the company, National Public Data, this month.

Northern B.C. has been hit hard by emergency closures again this summer. Between July 22 to July 28, there was at least one ER service interruption per day in the northern half of the province, prompting rallies in parts of the region.

The ER at the largest hospital in the area — serving nearly 30,000 residents — was shuttered five times in just one week.

But the crisis is also playing out country-wide, with no clear solutions in sight.

"There continue to be just unprecedented numbers of emergency department closures," said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, an advocacy group that released last year's headline-making tally of shutdowns in the province.

About 150,000 homes are under a boil-water advisory and multiple roads were closed after a massive water main break Friday morning in Montreal's Ville-Marie borough sent water spewing several metres into the air, flooding streets and basements.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters that it would likely take hours to repair the pipe, which she described as "enormous" at around a metre wide.

The city has put a boil-water advisory in place for three boroughs: Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Riviere-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles and the City of Montreal-East. A map of affected residences is available here.

An Interlake-area man is being hailed a Hometown Hero for taking his neighbours into Winnipeg for medical appointments and other important life moments.

Kenn Shier moved out to the Petersfield, Man., area three years ago after he retired. Shortly after he made the move, he said his dog Boo died, and he suddenly found himself with a lot of time on his hands.

He told CTV News he first noticed the need for transportation on social media. He said there is no bus service, and the local taxi services are also limited. So he sat down and planned a way to make a ride into the city as affordable, accessible and safe as possible.

Two years later, he's still running strong. Shier will pick someone up at home, wait with them at clinics and chauffer them around the city before driving them home. All he charges is the cost of gas.

Leaders in Edmonton’s Black and African communities say they’re frustrated after learning the police officer who shot Mathios Arkangelo has resumed work.

Edmonton police confirmed Wednesday that the unidentified officer has completed a “reintegration” program following the deadly shooting “and has returned to active duty.”

EPS spokeswoman Cheryl Sheppard acknowledged the “tragedy of this incident” but urged family and community members to trust the independent investigation process.

I've been receiving 3-4 phonecalls per week from call centers where the caller is always Indian and they're all calling about a special promotion from one of the big three telecom companies.

I actually registered my phone on the no call list from the federal government. I'm not even a customer of the big three. (Videotron in Quebec ftw) So I shouldn't be receiving these calls. I've also asked multiple times not to be called again. But they still call.

Has anyone else had this issue? How did you deal with it?

One point Arya does not mention is that the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference which took place earlier this year also revealed India likely used “clandestine activities” to interfere with Canada’s 2021 federal election.

Arya’s suggestion that India fund and support right-wing think tanks and political actors in Canada echo intelligence reports that came to light during the inquiry, including one report which stated Canada’s spy agency has a “body of intelligence” indicating Indian “proxy agents may have attempted to interfere in democratic processes,” something that reportedly includes “the clandestine provision of illicit financial support to various Canadian politicians.”

The report suggests the secret funds are designed to “secure the election of pro-(Government of India) candidates or gaining influence over candidates who take office.”

Canadian Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has rejected a request by Canadian National Railway to initiate binding arbitration in a labor dispute with the Teamsters union, a spokesman for the minister said on Thursday.

In a letter to CN Rail's lawyers, MacKinnon said it was the shared responsibility of the company and the union to negotiate in good faith. The letter, sent on Wednesday, was released by the Teamsters.

Talks between CN Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City - the country's two largest rail companies - and the Teamsters are deadlocked, with each side blaming the other.

CN Rail said it was disappointed by MacKinnon's decision, saying he would have to reconsider if the union did not "get serious and engage meaningfully at the negotiating table".

The Israeli military says it’s looking into what happened last month when its soldiers were filmed planting explosives and destroying a water-processing facility in the city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering.