Sylvain Charlebois: Food Tax Reform Keeps Colliding With Governments’ Need for Revenue Commentary Quebec is poised to become the second province in Canada in recent weeks to roll back provincial sales taxes on food-related items, reinforcing a broader truth governments increasingly struggle to defend: taxing food has always been a flawed way to shape consumer behaviour. Unlike Manitoba, however, Quebec is taking a broader and arguably more pragmatic approach by extending relief to healthier ready-to-eat products and convenience foods. Under current tax rules in several provinces, basic groceries are exempt from provincial sales taxes, while many prepared or ready-to-eat foods remain taxable. That distinction matters. Too often, public policy assumes that only “junk food” is taxed, when in reality many prepared and nutritious options remain subject to provincial sales taxes simply because they are convenient.... View article →

Netanyahu Directs Israeli Military to Increase Zone of Control to 70 Percent of Gaza Under a US-brokered ceasefire agreed last October, the IDF was meant to withdraw to a Yellow Line demarcating the extent of their control. View article →

Oman Assured US It Won’t Charge Tolls in Strait of Hormuz: Bessent Trump has said the strait should remain open to international shipping and not be controlled by anybody. View article →

US Imposes New Sanctions on Iran’s Oil Sales The Treasury targeted shadow fleet vessels and front companies to starve the regime of funds for rebuilding its armed forces. View article →

Australian Federal Police Defends Decision to Arrest Roberts-Smith Publicly The AFP chief said it was 'unviable' for Roberts-Smith to present himself to police, as he had promised. View article →

Falun Gong Group Asks Anand to Raise Issue of Transnational Repression With Chinese Minister A group persecuted by Beijing says Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand should use the visit by her Chinese counterpart to request an end to transnational repression in Canada and persecution in China. The Falun Dafa Association of Canada sent a letter to Anand earlier this week ahead of the arrival of Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi in Ottawa on May 28. View article →

US Carries Out Defensive Strikes in Iran, Strait of Hormuz: Official A U.S. official said the strikes were ‘measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire.’ View article →

ECB Warns Energy, Trade Shocks Could Hit Eurozone Banks Rising energy costs could increase market volatility and make it harder for governments, businesses and households to repay debt, the ECB said. View article →

US Expects USMCA Trade Talks With Mexico to Include Tariffs Negotiations with Canada could present challenges, the U.S. trade ambassador said. View article →

Global Capital Eyes Australia’s $50 Billion Water Market The scarcity of Australia's water and the $50 billion market developed to manage it is drawing the attention of global capital. View article →

Judge Considers Deportation Risk in Sentencing Alberta Theft Case An Alberta judge considered the potential immigration consequences, including possible deportation, in sentencing a woman from India convicted of stealing from her employer. Ravneet Kaur, 26, who is a permanent resident of Canada, pled guilty to stealing products of a combined value of more than $7,000 from Walmart, where she was employed. The theft occurred in multiple incidents over a five-week period from Jan. 25 to March 1, 2024. Justice James J. Ogle handed Kaur a five-and-a-half-month conditional sentence of imprisonment, saying he took into account factors including her guilty plea, absence of any prior record, arrangements for full restitution, and risk of deportation. Kaur, who came to Canada on a student visa at 17, gained permanent residence in 2024. She has worked in the past in Canada in several different retail store positions, and is currently employed as security staff in a warehouse—a job she started after being fired from Walmart. View article →

Taiwan Rep Tells MPs Trade With Canada Is ‘Remarkably Low,’ Calls for More Engagement As Ottawa prepares to host the Chinese foreign minister to boost Canada-China ties, Taiwan’s representative in Canada is calling on MPs to increase trade with the island nation. Harry Tseng, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada, told MPs on the House of Commons international trade committee that bilateral trade between Canada [...] View article →

Ontario Joins Supreme Court Challenge of Feds’ Firearms Ban The Ontario government is joining a Supreme Court challenge by a firearms rights advocacy group against the federal government’s ban on approximately 2,500 types of what it calls “assault-style” weapons. Alberta and Saskatchewan have also joined the legal challenge by filing notices of intervention before the Supreme Court on May 19. The Supreme Court of [...] View article →

Mexico Hosts Iranian World Cup Team After Training Camp Switched From US Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said U.S. officials do not want Iran's World Cup soccer team to stay overnight in the United States. View article →

2nd Cohort of ISIS ‘Brides’ and Children Land in Australia, No Arrests Yet There was also a reported physical confrontation between a family member and photographer. View article →

Victoria Supports Firearms Law Overhaul but Rejects Gun Cap The Victorian government has rejected a recommendation to cap legally owned firearms at four per licence holder. View article →

China Cuts 300,000 Enforcement Officers Amid Complaints of Abuse, Mounting Fiscal Stress Beijing said it's cleaned up unqualified enforcers and improper agencies; legal observers said deeper incentives and extra-legal structures remain untouched. View article →

Strong Chile Earthquake Shakes Mining Hub, but Damage Is Minimal A strong earthquake struck Chile’s important mining region of Antofagasta on Monday afternoon, disrupting operations at some mines but ultimately sparing lives and critical infrastructure, authorities said. The magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the heart of the world’s biggest copper-producing country, though major miners reported limited damage. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the earthquake’s depth at [...] View article →

Trump Honors 13 US Service Members Who Died in Iran Conflict on Memorial Day The speech came after Trump announced over the past weekend that the United States and Iran are nearing a deal to end the conflict. View article →

Pope Says Slower Pace of Developing AI Might Be Needed to Protect the ‘Human Family’ Pope Leo XIV called for 'robust legal frameworks' and independent oversight of the development of artificial intelligence, which he says threatens humanity. View article →