David Akin's Roundup: Climate change. Findlay first. Sullivan squared.
SUN MAY 31
Canada
Ottawa under increasing pressure to show how policy changes are affecting emissions
When it unveiled its electricity strategy earlier this month, the government announced its intention to introduce energy-saving retrofits for up to one million households. But the promise lacked specifics, making it impossible for Environment Canada to plug that measure into its models. Prime Minister Mark Carney has for months been accused of backsliding on Canada’s climate initiatives. Former Liberal environment minister Steven Guilbeault announced his plans to resign as an MP earlier this week, citing the government’s new direction on climate. | Globalnews.ca
Trudeau’s climate policy architects gather as Carney changes course
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau and his former climate change cabinet ministers — Catherine McKenna, Jonathan Wilkinson and Steven Guilbeault — on Wednesday were at the Rideau Club, a private social club near Parliament Hill. Political operatives behind the scenes, MPs across party lines and journalists were also there. The room was packed and on a warm Ottawa evening in May it quickly got hot. | CBC News
Après les GlobalEye, le gouvernement Carney lorgne les avions de chasse Gripen
En coulisses, des sources ont confié à La Presse que la décision au sujet de l’achat d’avions de combat est pratiquement prise. L’option d’acheter des Gripen séduit. D’autant que Saab a indiqué que si Ottawa retenait son offre, le Canada pourrait se retrouver à fabriquer des avions pour combler ses besoins, mais aussi certains de ceux destinés à l’armée de l’air de l’Ukraine. Quelque 9000 nouveaux emplois pourraient être ainsi créés et la chaîne d’approvisionnement dans un secteur névralgique serait consolidée. On songerait donc à couper la poire en deux : acheter une trentaine de F-35 et quelque 60 Gripen. Il ne reste qu’à déterminer le meilleur moment pour l’annoncer. Cette décision pourrait tomber après les élections de mi-mandat aux États-Unis. | La Presse
Related: Philippe Lagassé: Going for the Gripen? Then do it already.
Immigration lawyers say automation is partly driving a massive Federal Court backlog
The number of immigration cases being brought to Federal Court has more than quadrupled since 2020 — and some immigration lawyers are linking the surge in part to the federal government’s use of artificial intelligence and automation to clear visa application backlogs. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada insists that technology is not to blame and that multiple factors are driving the boom in legal challenges of the department’s decisions. | Globalnews.ca
MP Johns calls for fairness for Vancouver Islanders on CHEK News
- Gord Johns YouTwube
Welcome Package for the Deputy Minister of National Defence - January 2026
Just published via the Open Government portal. A useful reference document for journalists, researchers, lobbyists. - DA | Department of National Defence
The Provinces
Kerry-Lynne Findlay voted new leader of the BC Conservative Party
“We can be a powerhouse in our nation, a powerhouse no longer denied by eastern and global elites, predatory foreign nations and our own constitution. NDP radical ideology has devastated property rights, backroom side agreements and the NDP’s economic vandalism has to end,” Findlay said after her election. In a statement released after Findlay’s win, the BC NDP said “The pro-Trump wing of the B.C. Conservatives has seized control of the party with Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s win, thanks in part to her racist attacks on her leadership opponents.” | Globalnews.ca
Elsewhere
Right-Wing Populism in the Decade Since Brexit
Over the past decade, commentators have repeatedly assessed and reassessed right-wing populist fortunes in Europe based on the most recent election results. But the bigger story is that, regardless of any specific election outcome, right-wing populists have become a regular feature of the political landscape and significantly disrupted European politics. In the next year and a half, elections in countries such as France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden will tell us more about the direction of right-wing populism in Europe. | Pew Research Center
Dan Sullivan vs. Dan Sullivan: Petersburg candidate enters race against incumbent with same name
The race over whether incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, will keep his seat is one which has gained national attention after former Democrat congresswoman Mary Peltola threw her hat into the ring, but Peltola is far from the only person running to unseat Sullivan, and the latest name is one familiar to both Alaskans and Sullivan. Because it’s Dan Sullivan. | Alaska News Source
‘Opposite visions’: What to know about Colombia’s presidential election
The right wing is expected to have the advantage [in Sunday’s vote], particularly if the race proceeds to a second round. Petro is struggling with low poll numbers, and voters have expressed frustration with crime and violence, driven in part by the country’s six-decade-long internal conflict. But leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda has surprised observers, consistently placing at the top of the polls ahead of the first round. | Al Jazeera
Voting ongoing in snap elections in Malta, governing party expected to win
Prime Minister Robert Abela, who leads the Labour Party, called the election a year ahead of schedule against the backdrop of the Iran war, which is impacting markets globally. Abela reportedly fears that rising energy prices and inflation, caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, could weaken his party’s prospects of securing a record-breaking fourth consecutive term in office. The economy is set to dominate this year’s election, with rising rents and ailing infrastructure at the forefront of many voters’ minds. | Al Jazeera
Media
After China Orders a Times Reporter to Leave the Country, the U.S. Reciprocates
China’s government has ordered a New York Times reporter to leave the country, and the Trump administration has responded by revoking the visa of a U.S.-based Chinese state media journalist, in a diplomatic tit-for-tat with implications for press freedoms and U.S.-China relations. | NYT (🎁 link)
[Statement] The New York Times Calls for Reinstatement of China Correspondent
The New York Times has been reporting on China since the 1850s, and we remain committed to covering the country fully and fairly with correspondents based in China and around the region. We urge the governments of both the United States and China to reverse this deterioration in journalist access and to make a freer flow of information a high priority in the U.S.-China relationship.
Championing press freedom, defending democracy
In a Q&A with WPFC, MacKinnon spoke about the increasing risks facing journalists who are being targeted and killed by militaries in conflict zones. U.N. resolutions assert journalists are civilians who should be protected. “You almost feel like you’re adding an element of danger by identifying yourself as press if you’re approaching many of today’s militaries,” he said. | World Press Freedom Canada
Science and Technology
AI Revolution and Warfare: A New Paradigm Shifts in Defence Procurement, Restructuring, Training, and Recruitment
The war in Ukraine and Israel’s successful operations have demonstrated the apparent shift in military operations, strategic defence spending, and innovations. Drawing parallels to the industrial revolution and how it slowly transferred military procurement, training, and deployment, the current study also highlights the AI revolution and the rapid transformation needed to ensure nations have the resources, training, procurement, and planning to guarantee deterrence. It is ultimately argued that many nations’ future success in deterring the new asymmetrical warfare is directly tied to pivoting quickly to a new revolutionary restructuring of their militaries and security apparatus. | Canadian Public Administration
Ozempic may be reshaping the brain, scientists say
The hormones and receptors targeted by GLP-1 drugs form a vast communication network that stretches far beyond the stomach. Naturally activated after eating, the system helps regulate hunger, blood sugar and digestion - but its receptors are also scattered throughout the body, including in the heart and deep within the brain. Scientists are still in the early stages of investigating how GLP-1 drugs affect neural networks. Because the medications are relatively large molecules, researchers remain uncertain how much of them can cross the blood-brain barrier, a protective membrane that shields the brain from the bloodstream. | WaPo via Yahoo
The Calendar
1130 ET : Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs, QC - LPC MP Tim Watchorn speaks at a Pays-d’en-Haut Federal Liberal Association event.
Issued this day …
… in 1915. Sc 132 pa. King George V “Admiral” Coil Stamps
