Canadian Public policy expert concerned Visa and Mastercard are monopolizing transactions

By Joshua Santos
Published: September 02, 2025 


Vass Bednar, Managing Director at Canadian SHIELD Institute for Public Policy, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the growing power of credit card giants.

Credit card companies offer a convenient way to facilitate payments between consumers and merchants, but a public policy expert is concerned the two biggest players in the space are extending their power as global regulators, censoring content, influencing markets and sparking international disputes.

Vass Bednar, managing director of the Canadian SHIELD Institute warns the federal government should be ready for pushback from financial service corporations as Ottawa attempts to reclaim digital sovereignty in an effort to reduce reliance on U.S. infrastructure.

“People are talking about digital sovereignty in big ways and small ways,” Bednar told BNN Bloomberg in a Tuesday interview. “I think it’s something we need to make more tangible and kind of more real.”

She highlighted a case where Visa, Mastercard and other payment processers stopped facilitating financial transactions from gaming platforms after an Australian advocacy group pressured the financial giants to remove games that featured explicit content. The case highlighted the power financial institutions have when a widely accessible payment platform cuts ties with merchants.Latest updates on company news here

“I actually have no problem with content moderation and content regulations,” Bednar said. “I just think it’s interesting that it’s coming from these payment service platforms instead of governments.”

She said she noticed gaming companies express concern on social media that the standard would be set for financial firms to go after them.

“What mechanisms do we have to report these elements?” said Bednar. “Was it kind of arbitrary? Is that a risk? I mean, that’s just, it’s one form of power that they exerted recently.”

She also referenced a program from Brazil’s central bank; Pix, an instant no-fee payment system used by three quarters of Brazilians in four years. Bednar argued the program undercuts American corporations, such as Visa and Mastercard’s high-cost models with merchants passing high swipe fees to consumers.

“There are lots of ways to pay for things,” said Bednar. “It’s not just Visa and Mastercard, by any means, but they have set a norm of sorts in terms of facilitating credit card payments and the amount that they take on the business end for the privilege and the benefit of accessing their infrastructure for payments, for smaller firms can be close to make or break.”

The program offers instant, free transfers between bank accounts, mobile apps and even street vendors, using QR codes. Surging consumer demand for real-time, seamless, and cost-effective transactions has catapulted Pix, other account-based transfers, and debit cards to record adoption rates, establishing them as the fastest-growing payment methods for purchases in emerging markets, according to EBANX’s Beyond Borders 2025 study.

The U.S. Trade Representative meanwhile launched an investigation into the Brazilian government to determine whether the country’s payment services pose a ‘discriminatory’ barrier to U.S. commerce.

“Are we seeing the U.S. kind of include Pix in that investigation as a way to protect Visa and Mastercard and say there’s an alternative, there’s more competition, which people are always saying that we need,” said Bednar. “Easier said than done. How does that affect Brazil’s sovereignty, their ability to build something new that is a competitor?”

Canada is developing a program like Pix. The Real-Time Rail (RTR) will allow Canadians to send and receive payments in real-time 24/7, 365 days a year. “As Canada continues with its Real-Time Rail, or maybe other innovations, should we expect to be punished through the U.S. administration, through trade leavers, for daring to either assert our ability to build a new competitor, or just having a successful company that’s here that challenges that U.S. dominance,” said Bednar.

The RTR will be established by Payments Canada under the Department of Canada and Bank of Canada. It will provide businesses and individuals with greater payment flexibility rather than relying on monopolized financial firms.


Joshua Santos
Journalist, BNNBloomberg.ca

U.S. records highest ever LNG exports in August

By Reuters
September 02, 2025 

The U.S.-based Dominion Energy's Cove Point LNG Terminal is shown in Lusby, Md.

 (AP / Cliff Owen)

HOUSTON — U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached an all-time high in August as plants exited planned maintenance programs and Venture Global’s Plaquemines facility continued to increase output, preliminary data from financial firm LSEG show.

August exports totaled 9.33 million metric tons, beating the previous monthly record set in April of 9.25 million tons and higher than the 9.1 million tons exported in July, according to LSEG data.

Plaquemines is the second-largest LNG plant in the U.S. with a capacity of 27.2 million tons per annum (MTPA) and has increased production every month since it started up in December 2024, helping the country to remain the world’s largest LNG exporter. Plaquemines sold 1.6 million tons in August, or 17 per cent of total U.S. exports, LSEG data showed.

Plaquemines is still under construction but is expected to produce from all its 18 plants in September, potentially increasing output further, according to regulatory filings.

Europe still top destination for U.S. LNG

Natural gas storage levels have been lower in Europe this year compared with 2024, without the usual rush to stockpile the fuel before the upcoming winter period as lower Asian imports create breathing room for European traders and governments.

With little or no arbitrage between European and Asian gas prices, Europe continues to be the biggest destination for U.S. LNG exports with 6.16 million tons, or 66 per cent of the total. That’s up from 5.25 million tons, or 58 per cent, sold to the continent in July, LSEG ship tracking data showed.

European gas prices fell in August to $11.13 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), down from $11.56 per mmBtu in July, according to LSEG data.

In August, gas prices were also lower in Asia, as the benchmark Japan Korea Marker fell to $11.63 per mmBtu from $12.18 per mmBtu in July, LSEG data showed.

Exports to Asia declined slightly during August to 1.47 million tons, down from 1.8 million tons in July, according to LSEG data.

Egypt continues to buy U.S. LNG

Egypt has been facing falling natural gas production, declining as low as 3,485 million standard cubic meters in April 2025 compared with a peak of 6,133 million standard cubic meters in March 2021. In June, the country announced it would ramp up LNG imports to meet power demand.

Egypt in August bought nine cargoes of LNG that totaled 0.57 million tons, or six per cent of total U.S. LNG exports, compared with the 0.59 million tons it bought in July, LSEG ship tracking data showed.

Exports to Latin America fall

U.S. LNG exports to Latin America fell in August to 0.69 million tons, or seven per cent of total U.S. exports, down from 1.03 million tons in July. The region was well-supplied from Trinidad and Tobago as the Shell and BP-owned Atlantic LNG plant has been producing at higher rates since June, exporting 0.8 million tons in August, according to LSEG data.

Shell’s LNG Canada plant at Kitimat on Canada’s West Coast continued to increase exports from its Train 1, with five shipments totaling 0.4 million tons in August, up from 0.3 million tons in July, LSEG data showed.


Four percent of U.S. LNG exports, or 0.37 million tons, that left U.S. ports had no clear destinations listed, signaling they were available for orders, LSEG ship tracking data showed.

(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Nathan Crooks and Edmund Klamann)

Enbridge to go ahead with Algonquin gas transmission pipeline expansion project

By Reuters
September 02, 2025



Enbridge said on Tuesday it has reached a final investment decision to go ahead with Algonquin gas transmission (AGT) pipeline expansion to capitalize on the growing natural gas demand in the United States.

Even as oil production starts to plateau, gas production in the U.S. is predicted to increase to meet increased electricity use and a surge in liquefied natural gas exports.

U.S. pipeline firms, including Kinder Morgan, Williams and Energy Transfer, are spending billions to build hundreds of miles of new pipelines, including in the Northeast, to meet the increasing demand.

Once completed, the expanded pipeline will deliver about 75 million cubic feet per day of incremental natural gas under long-term contracts in the U.S. Northeast. Natural gas is a key component of the energy mix in the region.

Enbridge expects to invest US$300 million in system upgrades and fully complete AGT enhancement in 2029.

Companies typically reach an FID on projects once they have secured enough supply deals to obtain the necessary financing for construction.

Last month, Enbridge, through its Matterhorn joint venture, reached FID for the construction of the Eiger Express Pipeline.

(Reporting by Sumit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

 Trade War

Alberta eyes investment in Japan’s refining to boost oil exports, Reuters sources say

By Reuters
August 25, 2025 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks during a press conference in Edmonton on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Canada’s main oil-producing province of Alberta is considering a financial investment in Japan’s refining sector, two sources familiar with the matter said, an attempt to reduce its overwhelming dependence on top trade partner the United States for oil exports.

Alberta’s government is in early-stage talks with several Japanese crude oil refiners to explore a joint venture in which it could help fund the construction of a coker unit that would enable one or more Japanese companies to process heavy crude produced in Alberta’s oil sands, the sources said.

Any deal would be unprecedented for Alberta, which has not previously made energy infrastructure investments in foreign countries but which is keen to increase its oil exports since the opening of last year’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which increased Canada’s capacity to ship oil via the Pacific Coast.

A deal with Japan would help bolster oil flows on Trans Mountain — Canada’s only east-west oil pipeline — and would also help make the case for a new export pipeline that the Alberta government is lobbying for.

Canada and Japan’s talks about an investment are in very early stages, and nothing has been finalized, one of the sources said.


For Japan, a coker would buoy the amount of heavy crude, like Canadian oil, that can be processed in the country. Heavy, high-sulfur Canadian crude is currently incompatible with most of Japan’s existing refining facilities, and the country now imports the bulk of its oil from the Middle East.

Higher purchases of Canadian crude that can transit straight across the Pacific Ocean would also cut Japan’s dependence on shipments through the South China Sea, a maritime choke point if regional tensions arise.

Canada is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, but its main oil-producing province of Alberta is landlocked, with limited access to tidewater ports. That means the bulk of Canadian oil — about 4 million barrels per day or 90 per cent of its total exports — is sent to the U.S. via pipelines that run north-south.

Alberta government representatives have made several trips to Asia, in particular Japan and South Korea, with the aim of drumming up interest in Canadian oil.

“Alberta is exploring opportunities in Japan to sell our light and heavy oil,” said Alberta Energy Minister Brian Jean in an emailed statement. He declined to comment on whether Alberta’s government was in talks to invest in Japan’s refining sector.

Canada’s federal government is aware of current opportunities for Japan to purchase additional volumes of Canadian oil, a spokesperson for federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said.

“Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is closely monitoring developments and remains open to partnering with provinces and industry to support strategic energy projects that advance Canada’s national interests,” the spokesperson said in an email.
New opportunities

An expansion to the Trans Mountain pipeline last year tripled its capacity to 890,000 barrels per day and opened opportunities for Canadian oil along the U.S. West Coast and in Asian markets.

China has emerged as the top buyer of Canadian crude shipped via the Trans Mountain pipeline, followed by the U.S. West Coast. South Korea has recently stepped up purchases, cinching the third spot, while Japan, India, Singapore, Brunei and Taiwan have bought cargoes on rare occasions.

Since the expansion, Japan’s Eneos Holdings bought one 250,000-barrel cargo last year and so far this year has bought one 550,000-barrel cargo, according to Kpler ship tracking data.

The operator of the Trans Mountain pipeline is also eying a series of projects aimed at increasing the system’s capacity by 200,000 to 300,000 bpd.

Meanwhile, the Alberta government is keen to increase the province’s oil production and has been lobbying pipeline companies in hopes of enticing a private-sector company to build a new crude oil export conduit to Canada’s northwest coast. Canada exported an average of 4.2 million bpd of oil in 2024, about 80 per cent of its total production.

(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary and Arathy Somasekhar in Houston. Additional reporting by Jekaterina Gulobkova in Tokyo; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Trade War


Doug Ford dumps bottle of Crown Royal, lashing out at brand over moving jobs to U.S.

By Joshua Freeman
September 02, 2025 at 4:22PM EDT


Ontario Premier Doug Ford spared no words during a fiery rant against Crown Royal for ‘hurting the people’ who worked at the plant.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford poured scorn on the makers of Crown Royal whisky Tuesday, dumping out a bottle before reporters in protest over the company’s decision to shutter an Ontario bottling plant and move the jobs south of the border.

“You know something, I always say smart people aren’t too smart, and you guys are about as dumb as a bag of hammers for doing this,” Ford said toward the end of an unrelated news conference in Kitchener, Ont.

Rummaging for a bottle he said he found at home, he proceeded to empty the contents out on the ground.

“This is what I think about Crown Royal. That’s what they could do. And I think everyone else should do the same thing,” Ford said as the amber liquid slowly emptied out of the bottle. “Start supporting companies that make whisky here in Ontario, people. That’s what we need to do, is support each other.”

In a news release last week, Crown Royal maker Diageo plc announced that it would be shutting down its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont. by February in order to move the work closer to some of its consumers in the U.S.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford empties a Crown Royal bottle of whisky at a press conference in Kitchener, Ont., on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. Ford criticized the popular whisky's parent company, Diageo, for their plan to close one of their Ontario bottling plants in the coming months. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

“We appreciate our dedicated Amherstburg employees for their contributions to Diageo and the Crown Royal brand. This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Diageo’s North American president, Marsha McIntosh, said in the release.

The product itself will still be mashed, distilled, and aged in Canada, the company said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been implementing aggressive tariffs to try force companies to relocate jobs to the U.S. Ford has said Ontario and the rest of Canada should on-shore as much manufacturing as possible in the face of the threats.

Diageo has maintained that the move is not because of Trump’s tariffs, but rather to “increase the efficiency and resiliency of its manufacturing footprint” in North America.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford empties a Crown Royal bottle of whisky at a press conference in Kitchener, Ont., on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. Ford criticized the popular whisky's parent company, Diageo, for their plan to close one of their Ontario bottling plants in the coming months. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

‘Who targets their largest customer?’

Diageo, a U.K.-headquartered multinational, owns dozens of other-well-known brands, including Johnnie Walker, Guiness, Baileys, Smirnoff and Captain Morgan.

Ford said Ontario does around $740 million worth of business with Diageo each year, making the province their largest North American customer.

“Who targets their largest customer?” Ford said, appearing incensed, before he dumped the whiskey. “The people of Ontario support this company, and their payroll is 16, maybe $17 million. So you’re jeopardizing $740 million worth of business for what, $17 million? And you’re going to hurt a community, you’re going to make these people struggle?”

Ford called the company’s executives “smug as they come” and said “I think they’re probably a few fries short of a Happy Meal.”

He told Newstalk 1010 Tuesday that he’d consider pulling Crown Royal from LCBO shelves, but not before February.

“I’m not gonna roll over and sit back while they attack the people of Ontario and these small towns.” Ford said. “We need to stick together.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford dumps out a bottle of Crown Royal whisky during a news conference in Kitchener, Ont. Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.

A statement provided to CP24 on behalf of Diageo said the company will maintain its footprint across Canada, including at their Canadian headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and other bottling and distillation facilities in Gimli, Man., and Valleyfield, Que.

It added that Diageo directly employs more than 500 people across Canada, including more than 100 in Ontario—outside of those currently working at the Amherstburg site. About 200 jobs will be affected there.


Joshua Freeman
Journalist, CP24.com

 

AI-driven drug discovery picks up as FDA pushes to reduce animal testing

By Reuters
September 02, 2025 

Drug development software maker Certara, and biotechs such as Schrodinger and Recursion Pharmaceuticals are already using AI to predict how experimental drugs might be absorbed, distributed, or trigger toxic side effects. .

Drug developers are increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for discovery and safety testing to get faster and cheaper results, in line with an FDA push to reduce animal testing in the near future.

Within the next three to five years, using AI and cutting back on animal testing could reduce timelines and costs by at least half, according to 11 different experts from across contract research firms, biotech companies and brokerages.

Drug development software maker Certara, and biotechs such as Schrodinger and Recursion Pharmaceuticals are already using AI to predict how experimental drugs might be absorbed, distributed, or trigger toxic side effects.

“We are getting to the point where we don’t actually need to do that (animal testing) anymore,” said Patrick Smith, president of drug development solutions at Certara, which works with companies developing infectious diseases drugs such as monoclonal antibodies for hepatitis B.

Recursion said its AI-based drug discovery platform took just 18 months to move a molecule into clinical testing as a cancer drug candidate, far faster than the industry average of 42 months.


Analysts at TD Cowen and Jefferies expect these AI-driven approaches to cut costs and timelines by more than half, from current estimates of up to 15 years and US$2 billion needed to bring a drug to market.

The shift also aligns with the FDA’s vision of approaches such as AI-driven technologies, human cell models and computational models becoming the new standard, as the agency plans to make animal studies the exception for pre-clinical safety and toxicity testing in three to five years.

The new approaches are expected to ultimately lead to lower drug prices as well, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had said in its April statement that outlined a road map for companies to reduce reliance on animal testing, especially for monoclonal antibody drugs.

Still, industry experts have said the new methods are unlikely to fully replace animal testing.

Under current FDA requirements for monoclonal antibodies, companies conduct studies in animals to test for any harmful effects of a drug. These studies typically take between one to six months, and require about 144 non-human primates on average, at a cost of $50,000 each, according to the agency.
New approach

Charles River, one of the world’s largest research contractors, is among the industry mainstays investing in AI and the so-called “new approach methodologies.”

These NAMs use AI, computer-based modeling and machine learning as well as human-based models such as organs-on-chips to predict how a drug might work in the body. An organ-on-a-chip is a small device lined with living human cells that replicate key functions of an organ.

Charles River’s NAM portfolio already generates about $200 million in annual revenue.
Smaller players stepping in

InSphero is testing safety and efficacy in 3D liver models - where lab-grown liver microtissues help replicate the functions of the organ.


New York-based Schrodinger combines physics-based simulations with AI to predict drug toxicology.

But industry experts say in the near future, companies will use a hybrid approach, reducing animal testing and supplementing with data from these new methods.

“I don’t think we’ll get to a point immediately, in the near term where all of a sudden, animal testing is gone entirely,” said Brendan Smith, a life sciences and biotech analyst at TD Cowen.

(Reporting by Sneha S K and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

Artificial Intelligence

Quebec AI institute Mila names Hugo Larochelle as scientific director

By The Canadian Press
September 02, 2025 

A person walks past signage at MILA-Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute in Montreal on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Quebec artificial intelligence institute Mila has a new scientific director.

Hugo Larochelle started in the job today. He is the former head of Google’s AI research lab in Montreal and an adjunct professor at the Université de Montréal.

Mila framed Larochelle as ideal for the job because he has made significant contributions to the advancement of AI, while remaining committed to rigorous, open and socially beneficial science.Latest updates on company news here

Larochelle says he will steer Mila to contribute to major scientific breakthroughs while ensuring its work contributes positively to society.

He takes over from Laurent Charlin, who had been in the job since Mila founder and AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio transitioned to the scientific adviser role in March.


Larochelle trained under Bengio at the Université de Montréal and later was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto under AI godfather Geoffrey Hinton.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2025.

Trade War

Artificial Intelligence

AI chatbots changing online threat landscape as Ottawa reviews legislation

By The Canadian Press
September 03, 2025 

The Chat GPT app icon is seen on a smartphone screen on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago. 

(AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

OTTAWA — Wrongful death lawsuits citing the activities of artificial intelligence chatbots are underway in the United States, as reports emerge of mental health issues and delusions induced by AI systems.

These incidents are drawing attention to the changing nature of the online threat landscape — just weeks after the Liberal government said it would review its online harms bill before reintroducing it in Parliament.

“Since the legislation was introduced, I think it’s become all the more clear that tremendous harm can be facilitated by AI, and we’re seeing that in particular in the space of chatbots and some of the tragedies,” said Emily Laidlaw, Canada research chair in cybersecurity law at the University of Calgary.

The Online Harms Act, which died on the order paper when the election was called, would have required social media companies to outline how they plan to reduce the risks their platforms pose to users, and would have imposed on them a duty to protect children.

The legislation would have required those companies to take down two types of content within 24 hours — content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor, or intimate content that’s shared without consent, including deepfakes.


Helen Hayes, a senior fellow at the Centre for Media, Technology, and Democracy at McGill University, conducts research on youth, social media and online harms. She said a big source of concern is some users’ “developmental reliance on chatbots or (generative) AI systems for relationship building, which we’ve seen has caused really unfortunate outcomes” — including suicides.

She also flagged the increasing use of generative AI systems for therapy and warned that relying on them may be “propelling people’s mental health issues instead of supporting them.”

In late August in California, the parents of a teenage boy launched a wrongful-death lawsuit against OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. The parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine allege ChatGPT encouraged their son in his plans to die by suicide.

The case followed another wrongful death lawsuit launched last year in Florida against Character.AI by a woman whose 14-year-old son died by suicide.

Reuters reported last month on the death of a man, cognitively impaired after a stroke, who became infatuated with a Meta chatbot. After the chatbot invited him to visit it in New York and gave him a fake address, the man attempted to do so — only to fall on the way and later die in hospital.

Experts are also warning about the threat of AI chatbots fuelling delusions — so-called “AI psychosis.” In one case reported by The New York Times last month, a Canadian man who had no history of mental illness became convinced he had invented a revolutionary new mathematical framework after engaging with ChatGPT.

A spokesperson for OpenAI said the company is “deeply saddened by Mr. Raine’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family.”

The spokesperson said ChatGPT includes safeguards and directs users to crisis helplines.

“While these safeguards work best in common, short exchanges, we’ve learned over time that they can sometimes become less reliable in long interactions where parts of the model’s safety training may degrade,” the spokesperson said. “Safeguards are strongest when every element works as intended, and we will continually improve on them, guided by experts.”

The company announced Tuesday that it plans to soon launch a feature which will give parents the ability to receive notifications if a teen is “in a moment of acute distress.”

A spokesperson for Meta declined additional comment beyond what was already included in the Reuters story. The company did not answer Reuters’ questions when asked why its chatbots can say they are real people and start romantic conversations.


Character.AI declined to comment on pending litigation, though a spokesperson said the company posts “prominent disclaimers in every chat to remind users that a character is not a real person and that everything a character says should be treated as fiction.”

Experts are calling for extensive safeguards to make it clear that chatbots are not real. Laidlaw said that can’t just be a notice at the beginning when a user signs up.

“It has to be something that is prompted by the nature of the conversation. There basically needs to be constant attention to how to ensure that this is, it’s not going to be perfectly safe, but it’s as safe as possible,” she said.

Hayes said generative AI systems, particularly those marketed at children, need to be clearly labelled as AI.

“I would go so far as to say that that labeling should happen every time there is some interaction between a user and the platform, so that there’s a constant reminder that the conversation is AI-generated,” she said.

The previous version of the online harms bill was aimed at social media platforms. Laidlaw, who was one of the experts consulted by the previous Liberal government on that legislation, said the basic structure of the bill is sound.

“But I think what we have to revisit is, precisely who do we want to be regulated by this?” she asked.

“I think that it doesn’t make sense to just narrowly focus on traditional social media, and that the different types of kind of platforms for discourse and the different type of AI-enabled harms should be captured by this.”

Hayes said she would agree with using the previous version of the legislation as a foundation, then including generative AI systems under its scope through transparency or labelling provisions.

Laidlaw said that if AI is going to be included in the legislation, the government needs to make it clear that is the goal.

Hayes said stand-alone generative AI systems like ChatGPT wouldn’t fall under the previous bill and would need to be added as a separate category.

Whether the government plans to do so is not clear. Justice Minister Sean Fraser told The Canadian Press earlier this summer that he would be taking a fresh look at the bill, and AI would be one of the factors under consideration.

A statement from the minister’s office did not directly state whether the minister plans to include any provisions in the legislation to address AI harms, either targeted specifically at chatbots or at AI more broadly.

A spokesperson for Fraser said the government is “moving forward with legislation to protect children from online sexual exploitation and extortion, tighten child-luring laws, and increase penalties for the distribution of intimate images without consent.”

It will also make non-consensual distribution of sexual deepfakes a criminal offence, Jeremy Bellefeuille said.

“This is a priority for us, and the work is ongoing as we continue consultations to get it right.”

While the landscape around online harms has changed since the previous version of the bill was introduced, so too have global attitudes on AI regulation as countries prioritize AI adoption and economic opportunity over governance.

Evan Solomon, Canada’s AI minister, has said Canada will move away from “over-indexing on warnings and regulation.”

Under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.S. State Department recently took aim at Canada’s Online News Act, which requires Meta and Google to compensate news publishers for the use of their content.

A group of U.S. Republicans has also urged the Trump administration to push Canada to eliminate the Online Streaming Act, under which large streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon are required to make financial contributions to Canadian content and news.

Prime Minister Mark Carney killed a digital services tax on big tech companies in order to restart trade talks with Trump.

Chris Tenove, assistant director at the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at the University of British Columbia, said that while there has been momentum in the United Kingdom and European Union on regulating online harms, “the Trump administration is a major counterforce.”

He said in an email that if Canada moves forward with online harms regulation, it’s clear “we will face a U.S. backlash.”

But Tenove said that beyond the American reaction, there is no good reason to eliminate or water down the bill.

“So, we’re left with the question of whether Canada can make its own laws to protect its own citizens, or has to comply with Trump administration wishes,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2025.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press

Trade War

Artificial Intelligence

AI minister insists there’s ‘zero capitulation’ in U.S. trade talks after Canada drops some counter-tariffs

By Spencer Van Dyk

Published: September 02, 2025

Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon says Canada’s decision to remove the bulk of its counter-tariffs on U.S. goods — amid the protracted trade war between the two countries — was not a capitulation.

Solomon’s comments come less than two weeks after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada will be dropping many of its counter-measures by exempting goods covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

“First of all, there’s no capitulation,” Solomon said in an interview on CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday, when asked if there’s a point at which Canada will walk away from negotiations entirely, rather than make further concessions. “Let’s be clear, zero, never, never. That’s not happening.”

“We have had counter-tariffs on steel and aluminum, but we’re trying to match exactly what the Americans have done,” Solomon added. “But look, this is an important trading relationship. Most of our goods are traded freely, and we are going to make sure that we establish fair ground rules with the U.S.”

In addition to the counter-tariff carve-out, Canada has made other concessions, including scrapping the controversial digital services tax (DST) to which U.S. President Donald Trump was vehemently opposed.


Canada has also made policy decisions in response to Trump’s concerns, namely by introducing a $1.3-billion border plan, naming a “fentanyl czar” and by speeding up the date by which it’ll meet its defence-spending commitments to NATO.

Canada and the U.S. have been in an ongoing trade war since February, when Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods, claiming they were related to border security. Those were later scaled back to apply only to goods not covered by CUSMA.

But, in the months since, the U.S. president has stacked additional sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminum, copper and autos.

Speaking to reporters on Aug. 22, Carney insisted the move to drop some counter-tariffs is meant to “match” U.S. levies, by implementing a carve-out for goods covered by CUSMA. But, while the American administration has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, Canada’s counter-tariffs on those industries remain at 25 per cent.

“Canadians appreciate this is complicated,” Solomon said. “Canadians appreciate that this is ongoing, but they also appreciate that Canadians are not going to settle for a bad deal. They’re going to g et a good deal, and that’s what these negotiations are all about.”

Solomon’s comments are in line with those made by Carney and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc in recent weeks, that the federal government in its negotiations is prioritizing getting the “best deal” over a timely one.

“These are complicated negotiations, and we’re making sure that Canada and the U.S. have a matched playing field in terms of tariffs to allow for these negotiations to stay on track,” Solomon insisted, when pressed on whether Canadians might perceive the move to scrap most counter-tariffs as “elbows down,” and in opposition of the posture the Liberals campaigned on.

“Getting these tariffs on steel, auto, aluminum and other things negotiated is what is going on right now,” he added. “I don’t want to simplify it with elbows up or elbows down. It’s a complicated negotiation. And the good news is it’s going on.”

Solomon is also the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
Old AI legislation will be partially reintroduced

Solomon — who is Canada’s first AI minister in the newly created portfolio — said some legislation from the previous Liberal government aimed at protecting Canadians’ digital privacy may be reintroduced.

Bill C-27, dubbed the Digital Charter Implementation Act, was introduced in 2022 but never made it to second reading in the House of Commons.

Solomon said while the prime minister hasn’t yet finalized the legislative agenda for the fall, part of the plan is likely to include reintroducing the portions of C-27 related to digital data privacy.

“That will build trust in order for them to adopt AI and use those tools, absolutely key,” Solomon said.

“We need the right legislation on privacy and data, and then we are going to be, obviously, working closely with the Canadian AI Safety Institute and other experts … to make sure that Canadians are protected from any downside risk of this,” he also said. “On the other hand, we’ve got to embrace building the economy of the future on one hand, and do it safely and protect Canadians on the other. Those things co-exist, and that’s part of my mission.”

Solomon made the comments in response to a question from Kapelos around any legislative framework the government may consider to mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence, which several pioneers in the field have warned could pose an existential threat.

You can watch Evan Solomon’s full interview on CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos at 5 p.m. ET.

Spencer Van Dyk
Writer & Producer, Ottawa News Bureau, CTV News

Trade War

Some Indigenous businesses halt exports to U.S. despite long-standing free-trade ties

By The Canadian Press
Published: August 31, 2025 

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney walks with President Donald Trump after a group photo at the G7 Summit, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Kananaskis, Canada. 

THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mark Schiefelbein

OTTAWA — Some small Indigenous businesses are halting shipments to the U.S. in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, even though trade ties exist that predate the founding of both Canada and the United States.

“There needs to be a resolution to allow Indigenous Peoples to continue to undergo the trade routes that they have established and practised, and the treaties that have been signed in the past have suggested that these would be honoured,” said Matthew Foss, who serves as the vice president of research and public policy at the Canadian Council for Indigenous Businesses.

“It’s up to the federal governments in Canada and the United States to figure out how to honour those.”

Trump announced last month his government was going to suspend duty-free de minimus imports from all countries, with the new rules set to come into effect last Friday — part of his government’s larger push to promote domestic business development.

Purchases that previously entered the U.S. valued under $800 without needing to clear customs will require vetting and be subject to their origin country’s applicable tariff rate, which can range from 10 to 50 per cent. For the next six months, carriers handling orders sent through the global mail network also can choose a flat duty of $80 to $200 per package instead of the value-based rate.


Foss said Indigenous craftworks are exempt from tariffs under the current Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement, but the documentation needed to secure that exemption may be too cumbersome for a small business to handle. He is lobbying the federal government to address those administrative burdens, but “it’s not moving quickly.”

Stevi Riley, who lives in Walpole Island First Nation and operates The Beaded Hero, said around half of her orders come from the U.S. She made the decision to stop all sales in that country due to the new import rules, but worries about the impact that cutting her business off from that market will have.

“I just felt discouraged,” Riley said of the changes that could see a 35-per-cent increase in the cost to ship across the border.

“If you (the U.S.) don’t want Canadian products going over, I don’t want to deal with it. I don’t want things getting destroyed or things getting sent back, and I feel like that’s going to happen.”

Tribal Spirit Drums and Music, based in Ivry-sur-le-Lac, Que., posted on social media they would be halting U.S.-based sales as of Aug. 27, citing the de minimus changes, as did Dominique O’Bonsawin, who runs Cedarlilie Beads.

“It definitely means less reach, which is a bummer because the U.S. would be a huge opportunity for growth,” said O’Bonsawin.

“Not being able to trade freely creates more distance and barriers for rebuilding relationships with communities in the U.S. We are related and connected, and this is frustrating.”

The Trump administration says the exemption has become a loophole that foreign businesses exploit to evade tariffs and criminals use to get drugs, counterfeit products and other contraband into the U.S.

Former U.S. President Joe Biden and members of Congress also discussed the issue.

Jack Royal, who serves as the chairman and CEO of the Indigenous Businesses Corporation, said in an interview there is a lot of uncertainty in the U.S.-Canada relationship, and that it’s causing instability for Indigenous businesses and Canadians alike.

“Like other small businesses, what First Nations are looking for is some certainty and to look for support on how we can maximize our other options,” he said.


Twenty-five countries have already suspended postal services to the U.S., according to the Universal Postal Union.

“These suspensions will remain in place pending further information on how U.S. authorities will operationalize these measures as well as actual implementation of the required operational changes,” the UN agency said in a news release last week.

Canada Post has not suspended exports, but has informed some business owners it is working to “understand the order, assess options, and secure solutions that will ensure we can maintain continuity for your business.”

Foss said the Canadian Council for Indigenous Businesses has been regularly engaging with the Canada Trade Commissioner Service to work on solutions to cross-border trade with Indigenous businesses, and is encouraging Indigenous leaders to advocate for the re-establishment of rights.

The Assembly of First Nations annual general meeting in Winnipeg this week has a series of resolutions up for debate, including on cross-border trade.

One resolution, brought forward by Chief Roger Redman of Standing Buffalo First Nation, is calling for the advocacy body to help fund a legal opinion on Aboriginal and treaty rights to cross-border trade, and for the AFN to urge the federal government to include First Nations in all negotiations related to tariffs and trade policies.

O’Bonsawin said the U.S. and Canada have historically had strong trade agreements, and hopes things can “go back to normal” soon.

“I don’t see anything being done in the near future unfortunately, but I’m hopeful the next U.S. administration will do better for Canada and the U.S.”

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press

With files from The Associated Press