Competing versions – iPolitics

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The federal Conservatives are calling for a readout of Mark Carney’s phone call on Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump after the prime minister disputed claims from the White House that he walked back comments in a speech earlier this month at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Speaking before Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Carney says he told Trump he “meant what (he) said” during his widely-publicized speech and it was about responding to a “broader set of issues.”

He added that he told Trump that Canada was the first country to “understand” the change in U.S. trade policy and the country is adjusting to that.

“We’re responding positively by building partnerships abroad, we’re responding positively by building at home, and we’re prepared to respond positively by building that new relationship through CUSMA,” Carney said referring to the continental trade pact known as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.

“He understood that, and it was a good conversation.”

It was a different version of events than presented by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

He told Fox News on Monday that he was in the room when Carney and Trump spoke and the prime minister was “aggressively walking back” his comments in Davos.

Marco Vigliotti has more.

Minister of Justice Sean Fraser speaks at a news conference on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the government’s anti-hate bill remains a top priority even after the Liberals agreed to temporarily pause a committee study of the legislation to focus on changes to sentencing and bail laws.

The Conservatives have spent weeks looking to delay passage of the bill at committee over the government’s support for a Bloc Quebecois amendment removing the religious belief exemption for the hate speech crime.

To end the filibuster, the Tories offered the fast-track the government’s bail and sentencing legislation, describing it as flawed but an improvement over the status quo.

Liberal members on the committee accepted the compromise on Monday, hitting pause on study of the bill and agreeing to spend the next three meetings reviewing the bail and sentencing changes. This would include clause-by-clause review.

Fraser told iPolitics after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday the government remains “committed” to the anti-speech bill but was optimistic the deal struck with the Conservatives would allow for swift passage of other priority legislation.

Vigliotti also has that one.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith holds a press conference in Edmonton on Oct. 11, 2022. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

Alberta’s judges are calling for respect days after Premier Danielle Smith said she wishes she could “direct” them.

The province’s three chief justices say in a rare public statement that democracy only functions when all three branches of government operate independently and respect each other’s role.

“It ensures judges can make decisions based solely on the law and evidence presented,” said the statement dated Tuesday.

“It frees judges from pressure or influence from external sources including the governments that appoint us.”

The statement is signed by acting Chief Justice of Alberta Dawn Pentelechuk, Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Kent Davidson and Court of Justice Chief Justice James Hunter.

Provincial court spokesperson Olav Rokne declined to link the statement specifically to the premier.

“It is an educational piece aimed at public misunderstandings of the role of the courts and the role of justices,” he said.

In recent months, Smith has made a series of statements criticizing “activist” and “unelected” judges, and expressing concern that courts are undermining the decisions of elected leaders.

CP reports.

In Other Headlines

Internationally

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will have a security role during the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games, according to information shared with local media by sources at the U.S. Embassy in Rome.

The Associated Press independently confirmed the information with two sources at the embassy.

The sources who confirmed ICE participation on Tuesday said that federal ICE agents would support diplomatic security details and would not run any immigration enforcement operations.

During previous Olympics, several federal agencies have supported security for U.S. diplomats, including the investigative component of ICE called Homeland Security Investigations, the sources said. They could not be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

“At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations. All security operations remain under Italian authority,” ICE said in a statement to the French news agency AFP.

More here with Global News.

India and the European Union have agreed on a huge trade deal creating a free trade zone of two ‌billion people, European Commission President Ursula ‍von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have said.

In a post on X during her visit to New Delhi on Tuesday, von der Leyen said the two parties were “making history today.”

“We have concluded the mother of all deals. ‌We have created a free trade zone of two ‌billion people, with ‌both sides ⁠set to benefit,” she added.Modi said the landmark agreement, following nearly two decades of on-and-off negotiations, had been reached, hailing its benefits before a meeting with von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

“This deal will bring many opportunities for India’s 1.4 billion and many millions of people of the EU,” he said.

The deal will cover about 25 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP), Modi said, adding that India will get a boost in sectors including textiles, gems and jewellery, and leather goods.

The trade pact, which EU officials said was the most ambitious India had ever agreed, comes amid a push by Brussels and New Delhi to open up new markets in the face of tariffs imposed by the United States and Chinese export controls.

In Other International Headlines

The Kicker

Crave’s massively popular show Heated Rivalry quickly became one of Canada’s major cultural exports (after Celine Dion, of course).

The two actors that play rival hockey players and star-crossed lovers, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, were invited to be a part of the Olympic flame’s journey as it made its way through Veneto, Italy on Sunday.