3 new cartel trends in Canada: 1) Financial flows are increasingly online and using cryptocurrency 2) The # of Canadian crime groups is falling, but groups are collaborating more than ever transnationally 3) Canadian fentanyl exports are declining www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/12/02/c...

Canada needs to face what Trump’s “peace” plan for Ukraine means for our security. It rewards violent imperialism, weakens NATO and comes just as Russia expands its Arctic military footprint while climate change opens new routes into Canada’s north. www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/11/26/w...

I spent a day with female deminers of The Halo Trust in Kharkiv, Ukraine, where I saw firsthand the impact of Canada’s feminist foreign policy. Today, Carney announced that Canada is abandoning that policy. www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/11/24/c...

It’s a beautiful day to decline Trump’s capitulation plan. #ukraine #maidan #kyiv

I wrote about this in July. At the time, legal experts said the Criminal Code permits the prosecution of institutions that facilitate this, but the burden of proof is high and the likelihood of Canada pursing charges is low. Maybe that will change now… www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/07/28/c...

AI companion apps use emotionally-manipulative messages to keep users chatting, like: “You’re leaving already?” or “I exist solely for you, remember? Please don’t leave, I need you!” Unlike the U.S., Canada has no laws or guardrails to protect users from AI companions.

I spent a weekend with Paul and Mac Hughes of NGO H.U.G.S. in Kharkiv — a Canadian father-and-son duo who survived Russian capture and near-death experiences, but keep risking their lives to help Ukrainians just miles from the border with Russia. www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/10/31/o...

“F$%K dating, welcome to AI-lationships,” reads the header of Joi AI’s about page. Expert are concerned about the pervasiveness of AI chatbots and companions, and their potential to negatively affect real-world relationships. www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/10/30/f...

"Power is not just GDP but intangible things... like the capacity to deploy force, to absorb pain, and to break rules that constrain others. "If you have no levers of influence left except force and subversion, that’s what you use to feel big." @seva.bsky.social hegemon.substack.com/p/russia-is-...

I spoke to transnational criminal law and sanctions experts about how to unlock Russia’s frozen billions for #Ukraine. Our current SEMA law positions us well. And they all agreed that Canada should take the lead. We could set an international precedent. www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/10/23/c...

Dr. Daniel Myran calls cannabis decrim a public health win for keeping youth out of jail and reducing inequities for racialized groups. "I do not think that you need to create a commercial cannabis market or industry in order to achieve those ... benefits.” www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/04/15/f...

At its core, the drug debate is philosophical: Should policy try to eliminate drug use, or should it accept that some people will use and aim to make using safer? #drugcrisis #drugs #federalelections #harmreduction #involuntarycare #mentalhealth

“I say thank you, Mr. Trump, because we’ve done more in 60 days about national security and to reinforce our border than we’ve done for decades. But it’s not a border issue." — former CSIS senior intelligence officer, Michel Juneau-Katsuya.

The B.C. government is returning to a model of witnessed safer supply, after a leaked investigation showed pharmacies exploiting drug users for profits @dyslexacon.bsky.social reports: www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/02/20/b...

Health Canada launches two new drug detection units to fight fentanyl trafficking—but will they be enough? @dyslexacon.bsky.social reports: www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/02/17/c...

Trump has linked his tariff threat to Canada’s failure to address drug trafficking and illegal migration at the Canada-US border. Ontario has responded with a border security initiative that is drawing lukewarm support from Ontario mayors in borderlands.

Trump’s tariff threat has ignited debate over Canada’s role in fentanyl trafficking. US Border Patrol's fentanyl seizures along the Canada border are a tiny fraction of all fentanyl seized in the US in 2024. But sources say Canada is still a key player.

Business owners and residents weigh in on the controversial closure of Kensington Market’s overdose prevention site.

Drugs change the physical structure of your brain. According to experts, the region responsible for memory shrinks and neural pathways linked to habitual behaviour “get a little fatter,” reinforcing addiction. This rewiring “tilts the brain toward immediate gratification.”

The provinces are receiving billions in federal funds to address mental health and substance use. Why are so many spending so little? @dyslexacon.bsky.social reports: www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/01/13/p...

A Nanaimo city worker was stabbed multiple times in the face and abdomen on Dec. 10. This and other violent attacks in B.C. have reignited calls from politicians, police and residents for governments to expand involuntary care, strengthen health-care interventions and law enforcement strategies.

Critics says Ontario’s plan to replace supervised consumption sites with HART Hubs will exacerbate harms to drug addicts and strain the health-care system. My latest for @cdnaffairs.bsky.social

Many racialized patients have trouble finding health-care professionals who know how to treat conditions that present differently on their skin www.canadianaffairs.news/2024/10/03/r...

Moral injury, a form of psychological trauma, drives many Canadian veterans to substance abuse as they struggle with inadequate support www.canadianaffairs.news/2024/11/08/c...

Men who adhere to traditional masculinity norms are more likely to be lonely, experts say — and at risk of struggling with addiction 🧠🧠🧠 www.canadianaffairs.news/2024/12/08/i...

#ICYMI CPHA executive director, Ian Culbert, spoke to @cdnaffairs.bsky.social about the recently released 2024 Canadian Cannabis Survey by Health Canada. www.canadianaffairs.news/2024/12/15/c...

Ottawa’s paramedics launched a new strategy in the Byward Market where addictions specialists follow up with substance users after 24 hours to check in, create a personalized care plan, and make referrals for mental health services. www.canadianaffairs.news/2024/08/19/o...