Foreign Policy: No more Mr. Nice Canada. Canada’s reputation for friendly politeness, especially when dealing with the United States, is long overdue for revision. By Justin Ling.
Bloomberg: How Canadian investors can seek shelter from the trade war. Canada may not seem like the safest place to invest in the middle of the global trade spat, given stalled Nafta talks and new U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum exports. But investors shouldn’t flee the market entirely, said Luc Vallee, chief strategist at Laurentian Bank Securities. “Keeping some funds in the Canadian index is not such a bad idea,” Vallee said in a phone interview. “The world economy is still growing fast, demand for commodities, demand for oil — I think they will compensate over the next year for any fallout in the other sectors.” By Kristine Owram.
New York Times: Can the World Cup restore harmony between Canada and the U.S.? Canadians were still recovering from the verbal daggers President Trump lobbed at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at last weekend’s Group of 7 summit meeting in Quebec when the news came that the newly minted frenemies would join Mexico to jointly host the 2026 World Cup. A jubilant Mr. Trump, fresh from his meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, appeared to signal, however obliquely, that soccer could unify Canada and its erstwhile best friend. By Dan Bilefsky.
Washington Post: Canada’s Senate votes to legalize marijuana. Canada’s Senate voted on Tuesday to pass the federal government’s historic bill legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, clearing the way for the country to become the first advanced industrialized nation to legalize the drug nationwide and fulfilling a major campaign promise of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Senate passed Bill C-45 by a vote of 52 to 29 with two abstentions, lifting a prohibition on the recreational use of marijuana that has been in place since 1923. The law will not come into effect until it receives royal assent — a final ceremonial stage of the legislative process — and the government sets a date for legalization.
CBS News: After Canada, will U.K. be next to legalize marijuana? The British government announced Tuesday it would move to lift its ban on cannabis-based medicines, amid mounting criticism over the denial of treatment to severely epileptic children. But it rejected calls to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Home Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers cases like that of a 12-year-old epileptic boy denied cannabis oil for his condition showed there is “a pressing need to allow those who might benefit from cannabis based medicines to access them.” But he said the government had “absolutely no plans” to decriminalize the drug more widely.
The Independent: Trump tariffs latest: US ambassador to Canada receives death threat and white powder as trade war looms. The US Ambassador to Canada received death threats after tensions increased between US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the issue of tariffs. Ambassador Kelly Craft received a package containing a death threat and white powder. The package was addressed to the US Embassy in Ottawa, however, it was discovered at her residence.
The Guardian: The US is no longer a ‘safe’ country for refugees – and Canada is complicit. The Trump administration’s horrifying child separation policy demands that Canada scrap the Safe Third Country Agreement. By Andray Domise.
Russia Today: Japan suspends sale of Canadian wheat over discovery of Monsanto-made GMO. The Japanese Agriculture Ministry suspended its tender and sale of wheat from Canada on Friday. This comes as grain containing a genetically-modified trait was discovered last summer in Canada’s Alberta province. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the wheat discovered near a rural road in Alberta underwent herbicide spraying and was not approved for commercial use. It contained a genetically-modified trait developed by Monsanto to withstand the weed-killer Roundup, the CFIA said on Thursday.
AlWatan Newspaper – United Arab Emirates: UAE and Canada sign agreement on consular affairs and services. The agreement, signed in Abu Dhabi, provides for the creation of a joint consular committee with a mandate for providing active consular services to the citizens of both countries. The agreement was signed by the Ambassador of Canada to the United Arab Emirates, Masud Husain, and the Emirati Assistant Undersecretary for Consular Affairs. On his part, Husain lauded the active and leading roles that the United Arab Emirates plays on both regional and global fronts in international trade.
Al Rai – Jordan: Canada-Jordan free trade agreement should boost cooperation in renewable energy. The Ambassador of Canada to Jordan, Peter McDougall, hosted the Jordanian trade delegation destined to Calgary to attend Solar Canada 2018 Conference & Exposition – the largest of its kind for renewable and alternative energy in Canada. The delegation’s visit was arranged by the Embassy of Canada in Amman in cooperation with Jordanian EDAMA association for renewable energy. McDougall said that Canadian companies have proven their experience in renewable energy generation, transmission, distribution, and storage, as well as in project development and management; all of which can contribute to Jordan’s experience in the development of renewable energy projects, especially in light of the existing Canada-Jordan Free Trade Agreement. Jordan plans to increase its renewable energy portion to 20% of the total energy mix by 2020.
Youm 7 – Egypt: Canada-financed development project in Egypt gets boost from National Bank of Kuwait. The program, titled Decent Jobs for Egypt’s Young People and supported by the International Labour Organization, saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding which provides for the financing of 5 start-ups by the National Bank of Kuwait to support the construction of 100 biogas generating units in villages around Minya city in Egypt. The initiative aims to reduce poverty and increase employment and living standards by providing training in the construction and maintenance of biogas units to young engineers and labourers, and support the sustainable economic and societal development of rural areas by encouraging the generation of bio-energy from bio-fertilizers. Canada’s Ambassador to Egypt, Jesse Dutton, stated that Canada seeks an active role in supporting development in Egypt via entrepreneurship.
Nessma TV – Tunisia: Tunisian minister of foreign affairs visits Canada. The visit, a first of a Tunisian Foreign Affairs Minister since 2010, comes a few days after the conclusion of the G7 summit in Charlevoix, and aims to discuss ways to advance cooperation between Tunisia and both Canada and members of the G7. The Minister will present Tunisia’s experience in transitioning towards democracy and discuss current economic and development hurdles faced by the country, as well as exchange views with his Canadian counterpart, Chrystia Freeland, on regional and global issues of shared interest. The Minister will hold a series of talks with a number of high-ranking Canadian politicians and parliamentarians, and meet with a host of Tunisian businesspersons and community leaders. He will also talk to the Canadian media, and give a lecture at the Global Centre for Pluralism on democratic transitioning in Tunisia. Canada was a sponsor of the Tunisia 2020 international conference held in November 2016, which came in support of Tunisia’s economic and financial development.
Algeria Press Service: Agricultural export return incident caused by refrigeration neglect. Director of Technical Control at the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture stated that the recent return of dates products by Canada was due to the failure of a private contractor in complying with refrigeration standards in the supply chain, which caused the dates to become infested with insects upon arrival. Eighteen tonnes of dates were exported to Canada in September and October 2017 before being returned. The Director also stated that quality control procedures were carried out on the products in national laboratories and affirmed their compliance with phyto-sanitary standards prior to export. He also added that 36 export operations have been halted for non-compliance with phyto-sanitary standards since November 2017. The Algerian Ministry of Agriculture have confirmed the receipt of only 2 export compliance memos from Canada in 2018 in regard to a baked good and carbonated beverage products. The memos raised concern with the wrapping, packaging, and processing of wood boxes, rather than with the standards of plant health. Algeria has exported 736.6 tonnes of Algerian dates to Canada since the beginning of 2018.
