 Here’s what you need to know to get the day started: | | | Canada wasn't invited to join a key defence agreement with its allies. That's a problem, says U.S. think-tank | | |  | U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, meets with U.S. President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, at Point Loma naval base in San Diego, Calif., on March 13, 2023. The three leaders gathered to discuss the new AUKUS trilateral security pact. (Stefan Rousseau/The Associated Press) | | | Canada was left out of the trilateral defence and security pact known as AUKUS — and a new report by a respected American think-tank says Ottawa must overcome its apparent indifference to the deal or risk being left behind by its allies.
The analysis report, published online Tuesday by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, was co-authored by Vincent Rigby, a former national security and intelligence adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"The glacial pace at which Canada appears to be adapting to the realities of modern great power competition has left it far behind the curve, with consequences for both Ottawa's reputation among its allies and its ability to protect Canadian territory, sovereignty, and contribute to global peace and stability," said the report, which probed the reasons why Canada was left out of AUKUS.
"The simple answer is that Ottawa was apparently not invited."
Several defence and diplomatic sources have said Canada was not invited to take part before the pact was formally announced by the United States, Britain and Australia in September 2021.
CBC News is not naming the confidential sources of information because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
Rigby said he saw no indication when he was Trudeau's national security and intelligence adviser that Canada was about to be invited to join the arrangement that became AUKUS just a few months before it was announced.
At an event on Monday at the National Defence headquarters in Ottawa, Defence Minister Anita Anand was asked whether Canada was notified of or invited to join AUKUS. She avoided answering the question.
"As I mentioned, we are highly interested in continuing to work with our allies, including Australia, United States and the U.K., in terms of our capabilities in advanced technologies, in innovation in AI and quantum technologies," Anand said. | | | | | Buddy Holly wins top dog. But we’re pretty sure they’re all winners at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show | | |  | (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) | | | | Buddy Holly, a petit basset griffon Vendéen named for the late rock ‘n' roll legend, won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City on Tuesday night, a first for his rare rabbit-hunting breed. Click here for more photos from the show. | | | | | | | | | In brief | | | Doctors and breast cancer survivors are urging Canada to follow the example set by a U.S. task force and lower the recommended age for regular screening mammograms to 40. The draft recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, released Tuesday, says that "new and more inclusive science" has led it to call for screening mammograms every two years for women between the ages of 40 and 74. Previously, screening for average-risk patients was recommended beginning at age 50. "This is the right move," said Dr. Mojola Omole, a surgical oncologist with the Scarborough Health Network in Toronto. She said she'd like to see Canada go a step further than the Americans, though, and recommend annual screening beginning at age 40 — particularly for Black, Hispanic and Asian patients. "We know that Black women and Asian women, their peak incidence [of breast cancer] is actually 10 years earlier than Caucasian counterparts," Omole said. Read the full story here.
At least two Toronto-area police agencies are reviewing recent sudden deaths for possible links to Kenneth Law as a growing number of authorities across the country confirm they too have been involved in the sprawling probe. Law is accused of selling sodium nitrite, a potentially lethal substance, online to at-risk individuals in Canada and abroad. Ontario's Peel Regional Police charged the Mississauga man last week with two counts of counselling or aiding suicide linked to deaths in the area. The police services of Toronto and Durham Region both confirmed to CBC News on Tuesday they are now re-examining previous cases for any possible ties to Law. Durham Regional Police Service Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss said in an email that "one case has been identified from 2022," and that Durham's homicide unit "will be collaborating with Peel Regional Police to determine if it is linked to the Law investigation." The Toronto Police Service also said it was reviewing sudden death cases for links to the investigation into Law that is being led by Peel police. Read more here.
Allison Squires grows organic grains like wheat, lentils and flax on her farm in Wood Mountain, Sask., but she says she is "supremely disappointed" in Canada's newly clarified seed guidelines that she says put her sector at risk. Canada recently relaxed guidelines around gene-edited seeds, a move the biotech industry says could lead to everything from Canada planting more drought-resistant crops to pitless cherries and sweeter broccoli. On May 3, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau announced that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency seed guidelines now allow for some modified plants. The updated rules now allow seeds created through gene-editing that are not spliced with foreign DNA or altered to make them pesticide-resistant. Squires and other organic farmers say mandatory reporting is needed to know exactly which seeds take root. And with no labelling requirements, consumers won't know which foods use gene-edited ingredients. That, they say, could jeopardize the $9-billion organic sector. Read the full story here.
Jurors in Manhattan on Tuesday awarded magazine writer E. Jean Carroll $5 million US in damages after deciding that Donald Trump sexually abused her in the 1990s and then defamed her by branding her a liar. Trump, who is campaigning to retake the White House in 2024, will appeal, said spokesperson Steven Cheung. Trump will not have to pay the damages while the case is on appeal. During the civil trial, Carroll, 79, testified that Trump, 76, raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan in either 1995 or 1996, then harmed her reputation by writing in an October 2022 post on his Truth Social platform that her claims were a "complete con job," "a hoax" and "a lie." Read more on the decision here.
Now here's some good news to start your Wednesday: From doing burpees on hands and knees to pull-ups on wooden rings, two women in their 90s are proving age is just a number at a CrossFit gym in Kanata, Ont. "Those two are the superstars of this place," said Adam Phomin, the founder of CrossFit Closer gym. "When they walk in, everybody's like, 'I wanna be like that.'" Christine Temple-Fentimin, 94, and Primrose Paruboczy, who will turn 91 this month, each train with Phomin individually for one hour every Wednesday morning. Their faces both light up at the mention of his name. "Adam is very good at encouraging you to do things," said Temple-Fentimin. "He's just a lovely man," said Paruboczy. "It has made a big difference coming here." Read more about this story here. | | | OPINION | It's not easy being an athlete-mother, and we salute those who are pulling it off | | | There are tremendous pressures on female athletes to keep up with their excellence and to manage so many things at once, writes CBC Sports Senior Contributor Shireen Ahmed. Read her column here. | | | | | FIRST PERSON | Being a surrogate is magical, mundane and unlike anything I've ever done | Sage Yathon says that carrying babies feels like her superpower. But does she want to care for another child? Absolutely not. That's why she turned to surrogacy. Read her column here. | | | | | | |  | Canada-China tension high as diplomats expelled | A growing crisis between Canada and China has led to the expulsion of diplomats from both countries, following revelations that a Chinese official reportedly targeted the family of a Canadian MP.
Listen to today's episode | | | Today in history: May 10 | | | 1876: Inventor Alexander Graham Bell Bell successfully tests his telephone for the first time in his Boston home.
1924: Prohibition ends in Alberta. It had been in place since 1916.
1991: A B.C. court convicts Inderjit Singh Reyat of manslaughter in a 1985 bombing that killed two baggage handlers at Tokyo's Narita Airport. Reyat was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Later accused and convicted on other charges related to the bombing of Air India Flight 182 that killed 329 people, Reyat would ultimately spend decades behind bars before his 2016 release.
2010: Canwest Global Communications approves the sale of its newspapers to Postmedia Network Canada Corp., a group led by National Post president and CEO Paul Godfrey, in a $1.1-billion deal. | | | (With files from CBC News, The Canadian Press, The Associated Press and Reuters) | | | | |  | CBC NEWS APP | The most convenient way to get your news
Breaking news alerts
Local, national & world news
In-depth coverage | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
forwarded to you. | | | |
