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Prime Minister Mark Carney released his new Buy Canadian plan for supplying the military and growing Canada’s domestic defence industry on Tuesday, saying Canada can never be “hostage” to the decisions of others when it comes to security.

The $6.6-billion plan promises to prioritize building military equipment at home, hike the share of defence contracts awarded to Canadian firms and add up to 125,000 new jobs over the next decade.

The goal, Carney said, is to go from using domestic defence procurement for roughly one-third of Canada’s needs to around 70 per cent, and increase Canada’s defence exports by 50 per cent over the next decade.

“Defending Canada means more than just increasing the size of our military. It also means the strength of our industries, the resilience of our economy and our capacity to act independently when it matters the most,” he said.

Global News has more.

Public Services and Procurement Canada will not answer repeated questions about whether there will be enough office space to accommodate the federal government’s new policy on in-office work.

Most public servants are expected to be in the office three days per week and executives are expected to attend the office four days per week, with the remaining days being worked remotely.

But executives will be required to be in the office full-time starting in May, and the federal government says other public servants must be in the office at least four days a week starting in July.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada has said there is already a shortage of office space and warns “the chaos will only get worse” as workers’ in-office time increases.

CP has that story.

Premier Doug Ford had choice words for students expressing concerns over recent cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) Tuesday, telling them to “not pick basket-weaving courses” and to invest in education that gives people in-demand jobs.

Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park, Ford said he received “thousands of calls” from students over the long weekend, who expressed concerns about the province cutting the amount of grant money students can receive through OSAP.“I mentioned to the students, you have to invest in your future, into in-demand jobs,” he said.

“You’re picking basket-weaving courses, and there’s not too many baskets being sold out there.”

The changes to OSAP were announced by Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities Nolan Quinn last week. Starting this fall, the amount of money eligible students can receive in the form of OSAP grants will decrease from a maximum of 85 per cent to 25 per cent.

That change has sparked worry among many incoming and current students, who say it will strain their finances and put them in more debt after graduation.

The CBC reports.

In Other Headlines

Internationally

Gisèle Pelicot’s memoir was released on Tuesday in 22 languages worldwide, sharing details of the horror she went through and sending a powerful message of hope and support to victims of sexual abuse.

“I wanted my story to help others,” Pelicot told French national channel France 5 last week ahead of the release of her book, “A Hymn to Life, Shame has to Change Sides.”

Pelicot recounted her story of survival in the book and in her first series of interviews since the landmark 2024 trial that turned her into a global icon against sexual violence and imprisoned her husband, who drugged her so other men could assault her.

“Today I’m doing better, and this book allowed me to engage in self-reflection, to take stock of my life,” she said. “I had to try to rebuild myself on this field of ruins. Today I am a woman standing strong.”

Pelicot said her book is meant to deliver “a message of hope to all the women who are going through a very complicated period in their lives.”

The shocking case — and Pelicot’s decision to waive her anonymity and speak publicly — prompted a reckoning over rape culture in France and beyond, as her dignity and strength impressed many across the world.

AP has the breakdown.

Over in Peru, the President has been ousted after being censured by Congress, marking the country’s eighth change of leader in nearly a decade of political instability.

Peru’s Congress approved a motion of censure against José Jerí by 75 votes to 24 in a move that came just four months after he took office as interim president and two months before an expected general election.

The vote follows accusations that Jerí had held unofficial meetings with Chinese businesspeople, on one occasion while wearing a hood, which led to an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office for possible illegal sponsorship and aggravated influence peddling.

“The presiding officers declare the office of President of the Congress of the Republic vacant, and consequently, the office of President of the Republic is vacant,” said Fernando Rospigliosi, acting head of Congress.

Jerí has been accused of misconduct after holding off-the-radar meetings with Zhihua Yang, a Chinese businessman who holds a state-granted concession for one of his companies.

Jerí has denied any wrongdoing and said the meetings were “circumstantial.” He has also denied that the businessman had requested any kind of favor or support from him.

The first meeting, held at a Chinese restaurant in Lima on December 26, sparked controversy after images showed the president entering the establishment wearing a hood. Jerí had another meeting with Yang on January 6 at a Chinese goods store, where he arrived wearing sunglasses. Neither of these meetings was registered in the presidential records.

Read more on CNN.

In Other International Headlines

The Kicker

We leave you with an older headline from the Beaverton, that’s still hilarious now that the Olympics are in full swing.

CBC Gem crashes due to Canadians using it

With record numbers of Canadians viewing the Winter Olympic Games on CBC Gem, the streaming platform experienced several outages due to what’s being called “an unprecedented number of people actually willing to watch something on it.”

The first reported outage came after 814,000 Canadians attempted to watch the Games’ Opening Ceremonies, breaking the previous record of 17 viewers held by the 2021 Giller Prize Awards.