🌙 Flags at half-mast – iPolitics

The president has asked aides why he shouldn’t withdraw from the agreement, which he signed during his first term, though he has stopped short of flatly signalling that he will do so, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

A White House official, asked about the discussions, described Trump as the ultimate decision-maker and someone always seeking a better deal for the American people. Discussion about potential action amounted to baseless speculation before an announcement from the president, the official said.

Bloomberg reports.

*Minister of Finance and National Revenue Francois-Philippe Champagne is interviewed in Montreal, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)*

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he’s open to negotiations on a controversial section of the budget implementation bill that would grant new powers to cabinet to grant exemptions to some laws, but defended the changes as necessary to ensure Canada remains competitive.

Speaking to iPolitics before cabinet on Wednesday, Champagne said what the government is proposing would help create regulatory sandboxes to encourage innovation and is “something you find in other G7 jurisdictions.”

“But in the spirit of removing the obstruction that we’ve seen, I’m open minded to make sure that we move forward — we need to move forward,” he said.

Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer said on Tuesday his party would help the government pass the budget implementation bill but only if it removes sections that he argued would give new powers to allow ministers to “ignore certain laws and regulations.”

He said those new powers would “prevent ministers from being able to completely circumvent the law without any kind of parliamentary oversight or scrutiny.”

“We know what happens when Liberals think no one’s looking. They have a long track record of funnelling cash to their friendly insiders and their political supporters,” Scheer said.

The massive bill brings in changes to laws to implement measures spelled out in last fall’s budget, the first under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s leadership.

A section of the bill amends the Red Tape Reduction Act to allow ministers to grant temporary exemptions from some laws in order to create or modify regulations to “encourage innovation, competitiveness or economic growth.”

Vigliotti and Aya Dufour team up for this one.

*Signage is photographed at the Ontario Liberal Party’s 2023 Annual Meeting at the Hamilton Convention Centre in Hamilton, Ont., on Sunday, March 5, 2023. (Alex Lupul/The Canadian Press)*

Over the weekend, the Ontario Liberals released the long-awaited rules for the party’s leadership race such as fundraising targets and the deadline to register as a member to vote.

But unlike the federal Liberals’ leadership election, no changes were made to who could cast a ballot, meaning non-citizens and people in Canada on student or work visas are all eligible, per the party’s constitution.

The 2024 public inquiry into foreign election interference said China, one of three countries flagged for attempting to interfere in Canada elections, uses international students, as well as diplomatic missions, community organizations and private individuals, to “carry out its transnational repression activities.”

The inquiry said China targets members of Chinese Canadian diaspora communities for the “purposes of repression, influence and forced return of targeted individuals” to its territory.

Michelle Tessier, who served as Deputy Director of Operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) from 2018 to 2023, said candidate selection and leadership contests were identified during the inquiry as particularly vulnerable points in the political system.

“I do think it’s concerning,” Tessier said of parties continuing to allow non-citizens to vote in internal leadership races.

She pointed to the inquiry’s findings around the difficulty of verifying residency and the increased risks associated with transnational repression, where foreign nationals may face coercion or threats from hostile state actors.

Barbara Patrocinio and Vigliotti have this one.

In Other Headlines

Internationally

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday attacked Democrats and praised President Donald Trump as she faced criticism from lawmakers over the Justice Department’s handling of files involving the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey ‌Epstein in a charged hearing before a House of Representatives panel.

Bondi had a series of heated confrontations with Democrats on the House’s judiciary committee as they expressed frustration with the amount of Epstein material the department has redacted and withheld despite a federal law requiring the release of nearly all files.

“I am deeply sorry for what any victim has been through — any victim — especially as a result of that monster,” she said.

The Epstein files have dogged Bondi throughout her tenure as Trump’s attorney general, after she appeared to promise aggressive action in her first weeks on the job.

The Justice Department’s decision last summer to initially not release further material sparked ⁠a furious reaction from some of Trump’s online supporters, and helped inspire the surprise resignation from Congress of Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had been a staunch Trump supporter.

Epstein died by suicide in a prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial federal charges out of New York on sex trafficking charges.