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CSIS has met with more than 230 Canadian research and industry groups and briefed more than 2,000 individuals, as part of an effort that started in April, 2020, to warn universities and researchers that they could be vulnerable to international espionage.
Documents obtained by The Globe show that CSIS prepared presentations for groups such as Universities Canada, biopharma labs and agencies involved in critical aspects of the supply chain, with the aim of sounding the alarm about potential threats to Canadian research.
It was part of a broader attempt to influence an academic mindset that has long prized openness and international collaboration, while in CSIS’s view, not paying enough attention to the implications for national security.
CSIS has been briefing universities, researchers and other groups about the potential threats to Canadian research.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
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Secrecy shrouds fraud case against cannabis company
Canadian Cannabis Corp. and its three founders – Ben Ward, Peter Strang and Silvio Serrano – are accused of misusing about $3-million in investor funds, either diverting cash to themselves or family members, rather than spending it on a business they were developing. Those allegations will be tested in a room closed to nearly everyone but staff of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). Legal experts say the move is unprecedented for a securities hearing.
OSC Commissioner Raymond Kindiak, in May, ruled that the “unique circumstances” of the case require him to bar the public from the hearing room for part of the planned proceedings. This restriction includes prohibiting Serrano, Strang and Ward from participating during that portion. Apart from OSC staff and the panel of adjudicators, the only person permitted to attend for this phase is an amicus curiae, a third-party lawyer entrusted to make sure the process is just and fair. An amicus curiae is usually only called upon in situations in which the accused can’t or won’t access proper legal representation.
The three men are permitted to attend two non-confidential phases of the hearing.
Canada’s Maggie Mac Neil brings home Canada’s first gold at Tokyo 2020
Olympic swimmer Maggie Mac Neil added one more medal to her haul on Sunday night, giving Canada its first gold in the women’s 100m butterfly. She finished with a time of 55.59, 0.05 ahead of the second-place finisher. China’s Zhang Yufei won silver, while Australia’s Emma McKeon took the bronze.
Mac Neil went into the race the defending world champion, but wasn’t the favourite. She also helped Canada claim silver in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, a race anchored by Penny Oleksiak.
“A couple of days ago, Ms. Mac Neil was an unknown commodity. Now she is double Olympic medalist – gold and silver. Canada, say hello to your new athletic hero,” writes columnist Cathal Kelly.
Canada’s Summer McIntosh didn’t qualify for a spot on the podium in the 400m freestyle final, but she placed fourth and set a new Canadian record.
Catch up on more highlights from Tokyo 2020:
- Silver for Jennifer Abel in synchronized diving at the Tokyo Olympics after disappointment five years ago
- Canadian judoka Jessica Klimkait wins bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics
- Star U.S. gymnast Simone Biles remains on track for six golds at Tokyo Games
- Opinion: Legendary Olympians are great performers, and Penny Oleksiak is one of them
- Opinion: COVID-19 precautions at Olympics merely a ‘theatre of safety’ during Sunday’s swimming events
- Today’s Daily Guide: Canadian judoka Jessica Klimkait wins bronze medal
Pandemic has prematurely aged you. But you can still reverse the effects
Do your joints feel creakier? Have you spotted many more white hairs? You’re not alone. The stress of living through the pandemic has likely aged you prematurely.
Even if you haven’t lost someone to COVID-19, chronic stress, isolation, taking on the role of teacher to your homebound children and anxiety about your security can accelerate the rate of aging, say researchers studying the biological impact of stress.
The good news is that you can, to an extent, turn back the clock by eating healthy, sleeping well and squeezing in time for physical activity.
Read more pandemic-related news:
- Diving back in: How to handle the stress of transitioning to life post-lockdown
- Opinion: After the pandemic, let’s deal with our phone addictions. Here are three rules to follow
- Fauci says some Americans could need COVID-19 vaccine booster
- French lawmakers approve bill to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for health workers
- Catch the latest Decibel: Summer is halfway through, and vaccination rates are on the rise, but Canada isn’t quite ready to put the pandemic behind it. And the question of whether to embrace vaccine passports has only grown more fraught. The Decibel hears from a restaurateur and researcher about why they think a vaccine certificate can be secure, fair and be helpful to public health as more restrictions are lifted.
- ICYMI: International passengers at Pearson airport may have to line up by vaccination status
Subscribe to our Olympics newsletter: Tokyo Olympics Update features original stories from Globe reporters in Canada and Tokyo, will track Team Canada’s medal wins, and looks at past Olympic moments from iconic performances.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Kidnappers in Nigeria release 28 schoolchildren, more still in captivity, says negotiator: Kidnappers who raided a Nigerian boarding school freed 28 schoolchildren on Sunday, but another 81 are still being held against their will, said a pastor involved in negotiating their release. Authorities have alleged that armed bandits seeking ransom payments are behind the kidnappings.
Jagmeet Singh is TikTok famous. But can the NDP turn out youth vote?: Of all federal party leaders, Jagmeet Singh has arguably perfected his TikTok pitch. But whether the NDP – which has made a concerted effort to mobilize young people on the platform – can translate that following into more seats in Parliament, when the anticipated election comes, is an open question.
Mary Simon to be sworn in as governor-general in pared back ceremony: Canada’s first Indigenous governor-general won’t be marking the historic occasion before a tightly packed crowd. Instead, in keeping with pandemic protocols, Mary Simon will have just an audience of 44 present in the Senate when she’s sworn in as the Queen’s representative.
As Canada’s rental housing market heats up again, affordability concerns grow: The pandemic offered a slight reprieve from raging demand and rising rates in many cities such as Vancouver and Toronto. But those trends appear to have been short-lived, with rents starting to pick up once again. For some political economists, it’s a troubling sign for affordability in cities plagued with housing shortages.
Health Canada under pressure to speed up ban on chlorpyrifos: The federal health regulator is facing legal pressure to expedite its pending ban on chlorpyrifos, an agriculture insecticide that scientists say poses a threat similar to toxic substances like lead and tobacco. It was registered for use on foods such as strawberries, grains and vegetables. Last year, Health Canada announced it would be phasing out most agricultural uses of the insecticide over three years.
MORNING MARKETS
World stocks slide: Global stock markets fell on Monday as concerns over tighter regulations in China mounted amid caution ahead of a huge week for U.S. corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve meeting. Just after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.33 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.60 per cent and 0.48 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.04 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 4.13 per cent. New York futures were lower. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.67 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Soaring use of air conditioning puts enormous strain on electrical grids
“... AC rates are not just going up in hot, developing countries. It’s also becoming a thing for developed economies with traditionally colder climates. A decade ago, fewer than one in five Calgary households had AC, according to Statistics Canada. In 2017, about one-quarter had air conditioning.” - Kelly Cryderman
Despite closed borders, Canada aims for record immigration
“In 1913, the year that previously held the record, 400,810 immigrants came to Canada, as part of the federal government’s aggressive program to increase the country’s population, especially in the Prairies. However, Canada’s population that year was 7.6 million, one-fifth of today’s population of over 38 million, so proportionately that record is unlikely ever to be broken.” - John Ibbitson
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Virginia Woolf pet story Flush best suited for a dog-day afternoon at the Shaw Festival
Get a dog’s-eye perspective with Flush, a new adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novella about the life and times of a cocker spaniel, at the Shaw Festival. Flush’s claim to fame includes first belonging to English Romantic poet Elizabeth Barrett and later, to her and poet Robert Browning, whom Barrett famously eloped and moved to Italy with. The dog has been a muse for the couple, inspiring poems like To Flush, My Dog.
MOMENT IN TIME: 1964
Picnickers enjoy the views at Toronto’s Centre Island
Holiday crowds at Centre Island in Toronto, circa June, 1964.Boris Spremo/The Globe and Mail
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo librarians have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography for The Globe and Mail. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re looking at eating and drinking outdoors.
The word “picnic” conjures so much: old blankets thrown on a random plot of grass, food spread out in mismatched containers, drinks from a cooler, easy conversation and a warm summer breeze. Under an open sky, the world seems like a better place. During the pandemic, parks across Canada have filled to bursting with people desperate to get outside and reconnect with family and friends. Like many great culinary traditions, picnicking comes to us from the French who were having pique-niques as far back as the 1600s. They started out as fancier affairs, enjoyed by aristocrats who laid out elaborate feasts. Slowly, they evolved into the laid-back experience we love today. If summer living is easy, the picnic makes it more so. Or as the English playwright and novelist W. Somerset Maugham put it: “There are few things so pleasant as a picnic lunch.” Gayle MacDonald
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