By Canadian Press

In the news today: Trudeau at NATO summit, new announcement from ethics watchdog

Jul 11, 2023 | 2:16 AM

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

Canada lags behind allies as NATO plans to increase defence spending targets

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Vilnius, Lithuania, today for the NATO leaders’ annual summit. 

The 31 member states are expected to make a more ambitious pledge on military spending than they have before. 

The target has long been for countries to spend two per cent of their GDP on defence, but now that’s expected to only be the minimum. 

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Canada is currently spending just shy of 1.3 per cent of its economy on the military, and some experts say the time has come to signal that Canadians are more serious about meeting their obligations. 

Corporate ethics czar starting China labour probe

Ottawa’s corporate-ethics watchdog is set to announce investigations into whether Canadian companies are importing products made through human-rights violations in China.

Sheri Meyerhoffer says she will make an announcement this afternoon about probes into — quote — “the supply chains and operations of two Canadian companies” working in China for possible human-rights abuses.

These are the first investigations launched by the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise since the Liberals created that office in April 2019.

Here’s what else we’re watching …

U.S. workers refuse to touch Canada cargo as B.C. port strike spills over

The impact of the B.C. port strike is spilling over internationally, as U.S. port workers refuse to handle containers rerouted from Vancouver to Seattle.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union International president Willie Adams told a rally in Vancouver on Sunday anyone who thought they could off-load Canada-bound cargo at Tacoma, Seattle, Oakland or Los Angeles should know that it –quote– “ain’t happening.”

About 7,400 members of the ILWU Canada have been on strike since July 1st, idling all cargo handling at about 30 ports, including the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest harbour. 

Staff at lodge for LNG workers approve strike, potentially disrupting Kitimat project

Employees at a lodge housing workers for LNG Canada’s gas facility in Kitimat, B.C., have authorized strike action.

The action could potentially disrupt construction of the massive project.

The 450 lodge workers who voted for strike action are employed by Sodexo, which offers hospitality, food and maintenance services at the lodge. 

Blockade continues at Winnipeg landfill after deadline passes

A Winnipeg official says the next step in clearing a blockade at a landfill will likely be a court injunction, after a deadline for the protesters to leave expired yesterday.

Dozens of protesters continued to block the Brady Road landfill on Monday, and they promised to continue protests until officials search for the remains of slain Indigenous women.

The city issued an order late Friday afternoon demanding the demonstrators restore full access to the landfill by noon Monday.

VR highlights climate change on Yukon island

A virtual reality project is transporting people all the way to Yukon’s northernmost point without them ever having to leave home.

Featuring real sounds and images collected from Qikiqtaruk or Herschel Island, it provides an immersive experience into the effects climate change on the Arctic island.

Viewers can watch permafrost thaw slumps form, floodwaters rise and shrubs take over.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2023.

The Canadian Press