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Richard Fadden, a former national security adviser who also once headed Canada’s spy service, says that during his time in government there were internal reports of diplomats with the Department of Global Affairs’ foreign-information gathering unit overstepping their authority.
That puts the Global Security Reporting Program (GSRP), which sends diplomats to hot spots to collect security-related information for Ottawa, under a spotlight after accusations made by Michael Spavor, who was held prisoner in China for almost three years.
Mr. Spavor alleges China arrested and imprisoned him and Michael Kovrig, a diplomat who worked for the GSRP, because he unwittingly provided information to Mr. Kovrig that was shared with Canadian and Western spy services. Mr. Kovrig told The Globe and Mail that he followed the “standard of laws, rules and regulations governing diplomats.”
Former head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Richard Fadden is urging Canadians to make the effort to seek out authoritative sources for information as foreign actors seek to widen political polarization among the electorate via social media and other means.SEAN KILPATRICK/The Canadian Press
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Israel says it has expanded ground operations to every part of the Gaza Strip
The Israeli military says it has expanded its ground offensive to every part of Gaza, ordering more evacuations in the crowded south and promising “no less strength” in its operations there against Hamas than its shattering ones in the north.
Heavy bombardment followed evacuation orders, with many of Gaza’s 2.3 million people already crammed into the south after Israel ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the war, which was sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack against Israel that killed about 1,200 – mostly civilians.
Meanwhile, approximately 130 Canadians, permanent residents and their family members left Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt over the weekend. A total of 165 people with ties to Canada were approved to cross by Gaza’s General Authority for Crossings and Borders, according to a list published Saturday. Roughly half the people on the list were children under the age of 18.
Israeli flares light the sky above Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Dec. 3, 2023, as fighting resumed after the expiration of a seven-day truce between Israel and Hamas militants.SAID KHATIB/Getty Images
Death of Canadian journalist Stephen Douglas in Sierra Leone shrouded in mystery
Cooper Inveen chronicles the mysterious death of Canadian journalist Stephen Douglas. What is known about his death is that it happened in Sierra Leone last Sunday while covering attacks in Freetown, but the rest is still mostly unknown. Police said he died of a heart attack, but other reports suggest a gunfight at the spot where authorities said he died. The conflicting narratives surrounding his final moments have been met with skepticism and speculation among Sierra Leone’s journalists, many of whom had been mentored by Mr. Douglas as students.
Stephen Douglas in 2020.Cooper Inveen/Supplied
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Also on our radar
Students turn creepy crawlies into tasty treats at Great UBC Bug Bake-off: Evelyn Springer, a third-year student in applied animal biology at the University of British Columbia, has a holiday tradition of baking festive ginger cookies. But this year she added a new ingredient to her family recipe: mealworms.
Canada must do more to connect electric-vehicle supply chain, industry executives say: Canadian ambition to be a force in electric vehicles could be driven off course by insufficient support for key segments within the supply chain, including critical-mineral processing or the lack of an overarching strategy to attract private capital with incentives from government, senior industry executives say.
Canadian companies diverge on diversity disclosures, with no fix in sight: In the absence of a Canada-wide standard for disclosures, companies must navigate a hodgepodge of rules, standards and requirements, many from influential private ratings entities, such as proxy advisers and The Globe and Mail’s annual Board Games corporate ranking, done in partnership with Toronto consulting firm Global Governance Advisors. To see how The Globe has rated the work of Canada’s corporate boards, click here.
Bank of Canada expected to end the year with another interest rate hold: The Bank of Canada is expected to cap another tumultuous year for monetary policy with a stand-pat decision this week that keeps interest rates steady while offering few hints about what comes next.
Morning markets
World markets mixed: Global shares were mixed on Monday, while gold spiked to a record high above $2,100 at the start of a busy week for economic data that will test market wagers on rate cuts from major central banks next year. Just after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.26 per cent. Germany’s DAX gained 0.13 per cent. France’s CAC 40 slid 0.12 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended down 0.60 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.09 per cent. New York futures were negative. The Canadian dollar was lower at 73.86 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Cheap and easy-to-use drones are making wars deadlier
“Ever more powerful drones have become cheaper and easier to fabricate and deploy. Terrorist groups and even criminal enterprises have invested in drone technology. Today, drones are everywhere, and their use as weapons of war and advanced surveillance are making conflicts more lethal, with escalating human and economic costs. The technology also makes it easier for terrorists and other non-state groups to attack and wage war on more powerful states.” – William C. Banks
Today’s editorial cartoon
David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
Living better
Save time and money with these host-friendly holiday recipes and tips
With grocery prices skyrocketing, spiced nuts and a loaded cheese board may be off the table this year, but hosting a party of any size shouldn’t be cost-prohibitive. Here are some simple and delicious food and decorating ideas that will take the time and financial pressure off your next celebration.
Moment in time: Dec. 13, 2015
Krampus parade, Munich 2015
Men dressed as 'Krampuss' prepare to parade at Munich's Christmas market, Dec. 13, 2015.MICHAEL DALDER/Reuters
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo editors working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re showcasing seasonal parades.
People have always loved a parade. Prehistoric Spanish cave paintings likely showed the first one – crowds cheering successful hunters. And celebratory processions of Babylonians and Egyptians, Romans and royalty kept the parade spirit alive for thousands of years. But few parades can match the mock horror of an event devoted to bad Santa, the Krampus. Every year in Alpine countries, the 900-year-old legend of the Krampus is recreated in December parades, as seen above in 2015 at the Munich Christmas market, where hundreds of Krampuses ring cowbells and make frightening noises as they chase children and townsfolk. Krampus is depicted as a hairy half-man-half-animal, with fangs, devil faces and horns. The legend says naughty children are to be swatted with birch sticks, captured in a woven basket worn on Krampus’s back and carried off to the underworld. Parade spectators enjoy the good-natured fun of the evil Krampus, knowing that the holiday-season good cop, the gift-giving Saint Nicholas, is never far away. Philip King.
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