|
Written by Hanna Lee Copy Editor, Digital News
|
|
|
|
Good morning. Trade tensions with the U.S. caused Canada to pause a purchase of American-made helicopters over the summer, sources told CBC News. We'll get into that below, as well as a look at claims that a Ukrainian airstrike silenced Russian bots. We'll also hear from a Brexit scholar on what he thinks about the Alberta separatist movement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FEATURED STORIES
|
|
|
|
(Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press)
|
|
|
Black Hawk down: Trump's trade war pauses Canadian helicopter deal
|
|
|
The federal government paused a purchase of 16 U.S.-made UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters just before trade talks with the Trump administration began over the summer, CBC News and Radio-Canada have learned.
What's happening: It wasn't an enormous purchase, but it was an important one, intended for use by our special forces. The helicopters are made by Sikorsky, a subsidiary of U.S. defence giant Lockheed Martin, and the decision to pause the acquisition was linked to trade and diplomatic tensions with the U.S. government, several sources said. It was headed for congressional approval when the halt was ordered before trade officials met in Washington.
Why it matters: The decision was also part of wider federal efforts to inventory what the Canadian military planned to purchase from the U.S. As Canada seeks to reduce its military reliance on its southern neighbour, Ottawa decided that the timing wasn't right to buy American helicopters without a competitive bidding process, sources said. Canada is also looking at whether to buy a full order of F-35 stealth fighters, also made by Lockheed Martin.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Doubt cast on claim that Russian bots 'went silent' after Ukraine attack
|
|
|
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that his country's weekend attack on three Russian data centres caused a significant drop in pro-Russian bot activity. But some experts are casting doubt on that claim.
What's happening: Ukraine's attack struck three data centres belonging to Yandex, which runs Russia's most popular search engine and is heavily involved in its AI development. Outages caused by the strike left users in dozens of cities, and in countries including Kazakhstan, unable to order taxis or access banking.
Why it matters: Russia is alleged to have created a complex network of bots to spread disinformation, particularly about the war in Ukraine. After the weekend strike, some online claimed that the bots' activity had dropped to nearly zero, citing a chart from the website Cloudflare Radar. But this is an "overstatement," said one researcher; the chart shows a decline in automated traffic activity from Yandex's search engine crawler, which is completely separate from bots. Troll farms are known to hide behind proxies and Western clouds — meaning they are still operating.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Brexit scholar travelled to an Alberta separatist meeting. Here's what he took away
|
|
|
Canadian Ian Cooper grew up in Alberta and is now a scholar of Brexit, mapping out the vote's political and economic consequences. He says the approaching referendum in Alberta gives him a sense of déjà vu.
What's happening: Cooper went to central Alberta in August to watch a town hall hosted by the Alberta Prosperity Project, a prominent pro-independence group. Its messaging parallels that of the "Leave" campaign in Britain, Cooper said, which promoted the potential upsides of leaving the European Union — without any mention of the downsides. (For what it's worth, the head of the Alberta Prosperity Project contested that characterization, saying the province was self-sufficient.)
Why it matters: The situation in which Alberta Premier Danielle Smith finds herself also mirrors Brexit, said Cooper, in that she is looking to appease the separatist wing of her party, despite campaigning in favour of remaining in Canada herself. Former U.K. prime minister David Cameron did similarly, promising a referendum on leaving the EU to please his backbenchers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | | |
