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U.S. to screen social media accounts of student visa applicants under new rules

In internal guidance sent to consular officers, the U.S. State Department said they should be looking for 'any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.'

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review.

The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles.

Report shows that 60% of Canadians see improved perception of women’s sport

General manager Monica Wright Rogers (left) and Teresa Resch, president of the Toronto Tempo, are working toward the team's inaugural WNBA season in 2026.

New data on the explosive growth of women’s sport in Canada underscores its rising popularity, but also reveals that its structural supports still lag behind.

Jessica Doherty, vice-president of strategy and growth at Torque Strategies, presented findings from a new national survey on Wednesday morning at the espnW Summit Canada at Toronto’s Evergreen Brick Works. One of the study’s main findings is that 60 per cent of Canadians believe perceptions of women’s sport have improved over the past three years.

Missing three-year-old Montreal girl found alive in Ontario, Quebec police say

Crown prosecutor Lili Prévost-Grave speaks to media following a court hearing on Wednesday for Rachel-Ella Todd, the mother of three-year-old who was found Wednesday.

A three-year-old Montreal girl, reported missing on Sunday by her mother who was charged with child abandonment this week, has been found alive in Ontario, according to Quebec provincial police.

Sûreté du Québec Sergeant Geneviève Bruno said she was found by Ontario Provincial Police around 3 p.m. Police said the girl was discovered alone, but conscious and able to speak with officers, along a highway near St. Albert, Ont.

Toronto police arrest 20 people linked to group involved in tow truck-related violence

Police say that 15 per cent of Toronto’s shootings in 2025 so far were related to tow truck disputes. 

An investigation into tow truck industry violence across the Greater Toronto Area has resulted in the arrests of 20 people who are facing more than 100 charges combined, police said Wednesday.

Toronto police said they launched a wiretap investigation dubbed Project Yankee last October to gather evidence of a group committing crimes to control the towing industry.

Measles resurgence exposes fault lines over vaccines and faith in small Alberta town

The quiet streets of Taber, a small town in southern Alberta, still hold reminders of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taped to the windows of the Taber town office and a local bank are posters that encourage physical distancing. Pinned to the fence of a home near the only major highway that runs through the town is an anti-Trudeau tarp expressing support for protestors during the 2022 Coutts border blockade who opposed vaccine mandates.

© Sarah B Groot

Carney calls meeting with India's Modi a 'necessary' step

Prime Minister Mark Carney says his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Alberta was a 'necessary' step toward rebuilding bilateral relations. He refused to say whether he directly raised the accusations that Indian state agents were behind the murder of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver two years ago.

Morning Update: AI is killing the career ladder

Good morning. Companies are rushing to replace entry-level workers with artificial intelligence – more on that below, along with a G7 warning and the latest on the Israel-Iran conflict. But first:

Today’s headlines

© Chris J Ratcliffe

A London underground train passes a billboard for an Artificial Intelligence company advertising AI employees in London, Britain, June 5, 2025. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe

David Rosenberg says investment scam using his name bilked victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars

David Rosenberg says fraudsters used his name in a scheme that involved luring victims through professional-looking ads on social media.

A Bay Street veteran and financial commentator is speaking out after finding himself at the centre of an alleged online “pump and dump” scam that used his identity to defraud some investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

David Rosenberg, an economist and founder of Rosenberg Research, said ads appearing on Facebook and Instagram as early as March have promoted a fake investment program falsely listing him as its administrator.

Vancouver city council votes to allow safe inhalation sites

Dr. Julio Montaner, left, executive director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, poses with artist Brock Tebbutt in December, 2024. Montaner says a shift in drug-use patterns required a change in harm-reduction response at the Hope to Health clinic.

Vancouver city council voted Tuesday to amend health bylaws to allow for indoor supervised drug inhalation at two sites, expanding access to the harm-reduction measure for people who smoke illicit substances.

The decision clears one of the final hurdles for the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS to operate public supervised smoking and inhalation booths at its Hope to Health clinic in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. It also enables Vancouver Coastal Health to pilot an indoor inhalation booth at a supportive housing building, exclusively for residents.

Klaatu drummer Terry Draper and his bandmates were mistakenly believed to be the Beatles

Musician Terry Draper, most remembered as the drummer of the Canadian progressive-pop trio Klaatu, died of leukemia on the sunny afternoon of May 15, at Southlake Health in Newmarket, Ont. He was 73.

Musician Terry Draper died of leukemia on May 15.

Like many Canadian kids who came of age in the 1960s, he desired to join a band that just might become the next Beatles. No one came closer to realizing those ambitions than Mr. Draper and his fellow dreamers in Klaatu.

23andMe data breach facilitated by lack of appropriate safeguards, joint investigation finds

Privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne says inadequate security measures opened the door to a data breach discovered two years ago at genetic testing company 23andMe. Dufresne and U.K. information commissioner John Edwards have released the findings of their joint investigation into the breach, which affected almost seven million people, including nearly 320,000 in Canada.

Military police’s resistance to civilian oversight has ‘worsened,’ watchdog says

The problem of refusal of civilian oversight stems from senior leadership, the Military Police Complaints Commission's report says.

The military police watchdog says resistance to civilian oversight in the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal’s office “worsened” last year.

The Military Police Complaints Commission released a report Tuesday accusing the provost’s office – which commands all military police in Canada – of “shutting down” complaints based on a “dubious” interpretation of the National Defence Act.

B.C. and Alberta are about to renew old hostilities. It could get ugly

The dynamics that existed a decade ago when the two provinces were feuding over the TMX expansion still exist today.

As inter-provincial contretemps go, the one emerging between B.C. and Alberta over the future of pipeline construction in Canada is shaping up to be a doozy.

Of course, the country has witnessed these two jurisdictions square off before, over a similar issue – the proposed expansion of a pipeline running Albertan oil to B.C.’s coastline. That was a weird one – on one side, you had former Alberta NDP premier Rachel Notley, and on the other, her close friend and fellow New Democrat, former B.C. premier John Horgan.

Alberta MP Kurek resigns seat for Poilievre by-election

Conservative MP for Battle River-Crowfoot Damien Kurek  announced in May he would resign so Pierre Poilievre could run for his seat in a by-election.

Outgoing Conservative MP Damien Kurek is looking to leave his mark in Parliament by pushing for the adoption of a national livestock brand as one of Canada’s symbols.

Kurek introduced a bill in the last Parliament to create the new brand but that bill didn’t pass before the election was called, meaning it now has to start over.

Doug Ford says he isn't going to watch Netflix documentary on late brother Rob Ford

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says a new Netflix documentary about his late brother Rob Ford is "disgusting." The doc titled Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem chronicles Rob Ford’s rise to power as Toronto mayor in 2010 and his chaotic time in office. Speaking at a news conference in Toronto, Doug Ford said he wasn't going to watch the film, and he doesn't see eye-to-eye with the creators.

Canadian banks increased fossil fuel funding in 2024 despite record heat, report says

Canada's five largest banks increased their fossil fuel funding in 2024 from the previous year, according to a report by a coalition of environmental groups.

Canadian banks were once again ranked as among the world’s top fossil fuel financiers in a report that showed overall funding rose in 2024 despite it being the hottest year on record.

The Banking on Climate Chaos report by a coalition of environmental groups found that lending and underwriting among the world’s 65 top banks rose by US$162.5-billion last year to US$869-billion, a reversal of a downward trend since 2021.

Alberta doctors association raises concerns over Smith’s move to limit free COVID vaccines

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is looking to prevent wastage of COVID-19 vaccines, recover costs and target vaccinations to those who need them the most.

The organization representing Alberta doctors is joining health care unions in raising concerns over Premier Danielle Smith’s decision to charge most Albertans for a COVID-19 vaccination this fall.

Dr. Shelley Duggan, president of the Alberta Medical Association, says the policy leaves behind many seniors and health care workers, and doesn’t even mention pregnant individuals, First Nations, Inuit, Métis or members of other racialized groups.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says masked men tried to steal a vehicle from his home

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says masked men tried to steal a vehicle from his home overnight but police thwarted the attempt.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says masked men tried to steal a vehicle from his home overnight.

Ford says police thwarted the attempt at around 12:30 a.m.

© Liam Richards

Premier of Ontario Doug Ford speaks to media prior the First Minister’s Meeting in Saskatoon on Monday, June 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says Canada must spell out clear strategy for dealing with China

China's countertariffs on Canadian agriculture are hurting Manitoba farmers, says Premier Wab Kinew.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says the Canadian government needs to spell out a clear strategy for repairing ties with China’s authoritarian rulers that doesn’t sacrifice Canada’s principles, including respect for human rights.

Mr. Kinew, whose province exported nearly $1.6-billion in goods to China in 2024, according to Manitoba government records, is eager to see a trade war between Ottawa and Beijing resolved. China’s government imposed retaliatory tariffs on Canadian agriculture and seafood in March after Ottawa applied steep tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum.

Quebec police continue search for missing child, mother charged with child abandonment

Quebec police continued their search on Tuesday west of Montreal for a missing three-year-old girl after her mother was charged with child abandonment.

The mother has been charged with one count of unlawful abandonment of a child. The three-year-old was last seen Sunday morning in Montreal’s LaSalle borough, and was reported missing at around 3 p.m. that day in Coteau-du-Lac, Que., about 50 kilometres to the west.

She appeared briefly in court by video conference on Tuesday morning and is scheduled to return in person on Wednesday in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., west of Montreal. According to the charging document, the alleged offence is to have taken place on Sunday in Quebec or Ontario.

© Christinne Muschi

A Surete du Quebec police shoulder patch is seen in Montreal, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

How the issue of consent has been raised in the Hockey Canada trial

The issue of consent was raised in the trial of five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team, who are accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ont., hotel room in 2018. Robyn Doolittle and Standards Editor Sandra E. Martin discuss the issue, particularly a video recorded by one of the accused. In the video the woman appeared to give consent, however, she testified that her words in the recording did not reflect how she truly felt at the time. The accused players have all pleaded not guilty.

Telecom complaints watchdog says many providers not complying with public awareness rules

Canada’s telecom and television complaints watchdog says just 32 per cent of the 65 providers it audited in 2024 were fully compliant with rules to inform their customers about its services.

Canada’s telecom and television complaints watchdog is once again urging providers to better inform their customers about its services, as it says just under one-third were fully compliant with the organization’s public awareness requirements last year.

The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS) released its annual compliance report cards on Tuesday, measuring how well service providers have fulfilled their obligations to remain in good standing.

Advocacy group urges Canada to lower starting age for colorectal-cancer screening

Screening has helped lower the rates of new colorectal cancer diagnoses in Canadians over the age of 50. The opposite is happening for cohorts too young to qualify for screening.

Canada should lower the starting age for colorectal-cancer screening to 45 from 50 because rates of the disease are rising among younger patients, according to a prominent cancer advocacy group.

Colorectal Cancer Canada will unveil a campaign Tuesday calling on provinces and territories to promote and provide stool tests to people beginning five years earlier than is the practice today, after similar advice from the United States and Australia.

Morning Update: A whisper campaign at the G7

Good morning. Britain scored an early win in the trade war at the G7 summit, though Canada may be close behind – more on that below, along with the latest on the Minnesota shooter and the conflict between Israel and Iran. But first:

Today’s headlines

© Amber Bracken

Emmanuel Macron, Mark Carney, Donald Trump and Minister Keir Starmer at the G7 leaders' photo yesterday.

Ottawa Fringe’s new francophone category marks the latest era for bilingual theatre in the capital

Je m'appelle Mitchel is one of the French-language plays featured in this year's Ottawa Fringe.

While Ottawa Fringe has long led the way for inclusive, boundary-pushing new theatre in the city, this summer, the festival is offering something it never has before – a dedicated francophone category for French-speaking artists from the national capital region and beyond.

It’s a long-overdue initiative for the festival, headquartered in a city where approximately 36.4 per cent of the population speaks both English and French, according to Statistics Canada.

Quebec police search for three-year-old girl who went missing in Montreal area

Quebec provincial police searched for the girl through the night Sunday in both LaSalle and Coteau-du-Lac.

Quebec provincial police used helicopters, drones and tracking dogs on Monday in their search for a three-year-old girl who went missing in the Montreal area over the weekend under unclear circumstances.

The child was last seen around 9:45 a.m. on Sunday on Newman Boulevard in Montreal’s LaSalle borough, and was reported missing at around 3 p.m. in Coteau-du-Lac, Que., about 50 kilometres to the west.

Premiers, U.S. governors urge Carney, Trump to reach tariffs deal at G7 Summit

Northeast U.S. Governors and Canadian Premiers  discuss the impacts of President Trump's tariffs on trade and how American and Canadian leaders can work to create beneficial economic relations between each other.

A group of Canadian premiers and American governors are urging Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump to strike a deal at this week’s G7 summit that eases U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports and ends the American leader’s threats to annex Canada.

The call was made at a Monday meeting in Boston between Eastern Canadian premiers and state governors from the U.S. northeast. It was issued before the White House announced that Mr. Trump was leaving the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alta., a day early because of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Canadian officials said the two countries had plans to continue talks later this week.

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