Third time’s a charm – iPolitics

Between the World Cup, the Stanley Cup Final and the Knicks finally ending their title drought, it’s becoming increasingly clear to this newsletter writer that maybe a packed sports bar is a reassuring data point that’s bring us out of a technical recession…?

Here’s what’s on tap.

Following the theme of digital safety, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon tabled new bill that updates privacy and consumer data act, Bill C-36.

It promises stronger protections for children’s data, a new right to delete personal information and greater transparency around AI-driven decisions.

Solomon said the legislation would create a new regulator with the power to investigate violations and impose fines of up to three per cent of a company’s global revenue.

“Canadians will have a practical way to fight back against harmful deepfakes, they will have more power to require companies to delete personal information they should no longer hold,” Solomon said at a press conference on Monday,” Solomon said on Monday.

The legislation marks Ottawa’s third attempt to modernize the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. Previous efforts stalled after becoming entangled in debates over AI regulation, and it ultimately died on the order paper when Parliament was prorogued in January.

More from Sydney Ko.

Mandy Gull-Masty, Minister of Indigenous Services (right), Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, and Dr. Joss Reimer, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer listen to and Kevin Brosseau, Canada’s Fentanyl Czar (left) as he responds to questions during a news conference following the release of opioid data in Ottawa, Monday, June 15, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The federal government says the toxic drug crisis continues to have devastating effects despite a decrease in opioid-related deaths last year.

Federal health officials say the national rate of toxicity deaths declined by 23 per cent in 2025 due to several factors, including naloxone distribution and changes to the drug supply.

Officials also say opioid-related hospitalizations decreased by 12 per cent last year.

They stress, however, that these changes are uneven and progress remains fragile.

The number of opioid-related deaths in Canada remained higher than a decade ago, when the public drug crisis emerged.

The Canadian Press has more.

Cameras follow Canada’s Ambassador to the United States Mark Wiseman as he arrives at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday, April 23, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Also, Canada’s ambassador to the United States says “it’s all going to be OK” with the renewal date for the North American trade pact just a few weeks away.

Ambassador Mark Wiseman is speaking to a business audience at the Canadian Club Toronto today.

He kicked off his fireside chat by trying to lower the temperature around the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement, better known as CUSMA, which enters a renewal period starting July 1.

Wiseman told the crowd to “take a deep breath” and remember the current agreement is set to end not in two weeks, but in 10 years, and the decision now in front of the three parties to the deal is whether to extend that expiration to 2042.

U.S. President Donald Trump has openly mused about walking away from the deal he negotiated in his first term, but Wiseman noted that the United States could have triggered the six-month exit clause at any point — not just after the July 1 date.

CP’s got this one too.

In Other Headlines

Internationally

Elsewhere, voters in Switzerland have rejected a proposal to limit the country’s population to 10 million.

Results showed nearly 55% of participants voted against and 45% voted for, with a turnout of 60% of the population.

The proposal came from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, which has long campaigned on an anti-immigration platform.

The divisive vote risked putting the country’s free movement agreement with the European Union in jeopardy and was opposed by the government, Swiss businesses, and all the other major parties.

Welcoming the no vote, Switzerland’s justice minister Beat Jans said it was “a sign of stability, openness and reliability”.

Switzerland’s population has grown rapidly since 2002, when it stood at 7.3 million. Now it is 9.1 million, 27% of whom are not Swiss citizens.

BBC has more.

Meanwhile, President Trump and Iran declared they’ve reached an initial agreement intended to end more than three months of war in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The deal, scheduled to be formally signed Friday in Switzerland, marks a major breakthrough in the conflict that set the Middle East aflame and shook the global economy.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all!” Trump wrote on social media on Sunday evening.

Meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday during a G7 meeting in France, Trump said that “the deal’s all signed.” The details of the memorandum of understanding will be made public “probably pretty soon. I would say ⁠after sometime after Friday,” he added, “I think sometime in the very near future.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the deal was reached “following a difficult and intensive period of negotiations lasting several months.”