In the news today: Spy agency officials to appear at meddling inquiry

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Spy agency officials to appear at meddling inquiry

Current and former officials of Canada’s spy agency are slated to appear today at a federal inquiry into foreign interference.

Witnesses include Vanessa Lloyd, the interim Canadian Security Intelligence Service director, as well as David Vigneault, who stepped down from the role earlier this year.

Leaks of CSIS information about alleged foreign interference led to pressure on the Liberal government to set up the commission of inquiry.

The inquiry’s latest hearings are looking at the ability of federal agencies to identify and counter foreign meddling.

A final report is due by the end of the year.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Alberta lowest on per capita inmate spending

New data shows Alberta spends the lowest amount of money per inmate in Canada – a number the province says is value for money but critics label short-sighted and worrisome.

The numbers, published by Statistics Canada earlier this month, show Alberta spends $193 per day per inmate.

Saskatchewan spends $199.

Almost every other province and territory puts in over $300.

The numbers account for costs like salaries for guards and life necessities for inmates. They apply only to correctional centres, remand centres, people in custody awaiting trial, and those serving prison sentences shorter than two years.

B.C. firm sanctioned in U.S. taking feds to court

A chemical firm based in Port Coquitlam, B.C., claims Health Canada wrongfully cancelled its licences to make natural health products after being sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for alleged involvement in importing precursor chemicals that could be used in illicit drug production.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against Valerian Labs and its owner Bahman Djebelibak, who goes by Bobby Shah, in October 2023, and five days later Canada suspended and then cancelled Valerian’s licenses to make health products.

Valerian is now taking Health Canada to Federal Court, claiming in judicial review applications that the Canadian actions were solely based on a U.S. Treasury news release alleging it was involved in “the international proliferation of illicit drugs.”

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo had said in a statement at the time that the targets of the sanctions included a China-based network involved in the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl and “other substances that take thousands of American lives each year.”

Health Canada’s Office of Controlled Substances also revoked Valerian’s registration and certificate under the agency’s “Precursor Control Regulations,” which it says “provide a regulatory framework that allows Canada to fulfil its international obligations with respect to the monitoring and control of precursors used in the production of illegal drugs.”

Defence resumes cross-examination in Hoggard trial

Jacob Hoggard’s sexual assault trial is set to resume today with further cross-examination of his accuser, after several heated exchanges on Thursday.

The complainant alleges Hoggard raped, choked, slapped and urinated on her in his hotel room after she attended his band’s concert and an after-party in Kirkland Lake, Ont., eight years ago.

Hoggard has pleaded not guilty in the trial, which is taking place in the northeastern Ontario community of Haileybury.

The defence and Crown agree that a sexual encounter took place, but prosecutors are seeking to prove it was not consensual.

On Thursday, defence lawyer Megan Savard accused the complainant of fabricating her story and trying to hide from the jury that she was hoping to have sex with the Hedley singer.

One year on, AI code supporters want more to join

One year after Canada launched a voluntary code of conduct on artificial intelligence, tech organizations that signed on say they don’t regret the decision but wouldn’t mind some more company.

Cohere, the Toronto AI firm that was the buzziest name among the signatories, sees it as “imperative for everyone to kind of be involved” with the code, “if for no other reason than just to make sure that (it) has the impact that you want to have in the industry.”

The code was launched by the federal government last September as a means to put some guardrails around the use of AI and to act as a precursor to eventual legislation. It included promises to bake risk mitigation measures into AI tools, use adversarial testing to uncover vulnerabilities in such systems and keep track of any harms the technology causes.

About a dozen Canadian tech firms including BlackBerry and OpenText signed on by launch day. Eight more joined in December, followed by another eight in May.

While many in the group now totalling 30 say they were content spending the last year collaborating with household names and tech heavyweights on an issue of growing importance, they also believe the more, the merrier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.

The Canadian Press