Big Four partner fined for using AI in an AI test

Vuk Valcic/Getty Images

It’s not the worst kind of cheating scandal to hit an accounting firm, but it’s not great, either: KPMG Australia caught one of its senior leaders using artificial intelligence to answer questions in an AI training exam, the Australian Financial Review reported over the weekend. KPMG forced the unnamed partner to retake the test, and fined them $7,000—a punishment that’s also known as every college professor’s fantasy. Ironically, KPMG recently negotiated discounted fees from its own accountant, on the grounds that AI will make auditing—which KPMG does for many Fortune 500 companies—cheaper, the Financial Times reported. While that’s “not a crazy thing for most companies to think…it is a crazy thing for an auditing firm to say to its auditor,” Bloomberg’s Matt Levine wrote. Zoom out: KPMG Australia said it has caught more than two dozen employees using AI to cheat on internal tests since July, fueling broader concerns about improper AI use at accounting firms. In the fall, another member of the Big Four, Deloitte, partially refunded the Australian government after giving them a report filled with AI-generated errors. It’s been a rough few months for AI down under.

 

The UCP is a separatist party. There, we said it.

The premier of Alberta has cleared her throat and made it known that she hasn’t (yet) penned her name to any petition calling for separating from Canada. Whew, that’s good, no?

Except, wait. Just the fact that this was a CBC headline yesterday demonstrates how long it has remained weirdly unclear whether Smith is okay with the federation going to hell.

She continues to claim she’s for a “sovereign” Alberta in a “unified” Canada, whatever that means. Writing in The Tyee, David Climenhaga gives the hook to all the tap dancing: “If you don’t understand by now that the United Conservative Party led by Danielle Smith is a separatist party, then you haven’t been paying attention.”

Climenhaga quotes well-connected Calgary Herald columnist Don Braid who wrote: “At the top level of the UCP they’re pondering whether to hold a vote on the party turning separatist.” Says Climenhaga: “Fair enough. They should.”

Because, well… “As is by now well known, party members and officials who are also Alberta Prosperity Project separatists are making regular visits to Washington to plot Canada’s destruction with unnamed members of the Donald Trump administration.” This as 19 UCP MLAs reportedly support the separatist petition and Smith has let it be known that’s fine with her.

I’m Tyee editor-in-chief David Beers, glad to be here on The Edge of all things Alberta politics.

Speaking of the business of manufacturing populist revolts, also in The Tyee this week Mitchell Anderson traces how Britain’s Brexit boosters drew inspiration from Preston Manning’s rebellious Reform Party. Today, if an election were held, Reform UK might just win.

Meanwhile, Canada’s News Forum TV broadcaster is expanding, including opening a bureau in Calgary. Christopher Holcroft reveals its role as megaphone for the U.S. dark money-backed libertarian Atlas Network and how federal regulators helped expand its reach.

We also shared a news report from Pincher Creek’s Shootin’ the Breeze saying that country music star Corb Lund’s efforts to launch his own citizen initiative petition drive has been approved. It’s against UCP-backed coal mining in the previously protected eastern slopes of the Rockies.

This week’s lesson seems to be that petitions have consequences. Choose wisely. Please, don’t drink and sign.

Europe 'failed' on Trump, Putin's 'wrecking ball' politics: MSC chair

Europe 'failed' on Trump, Putin's 'wrecking ball' politics: MSC chair


Europe has ‘failed’ in the face of Trump and Putin’s ‘wrecking ball’ politics, top security official says
Published Fri, Feb 13 20264:58 AM ESTUpdated 51 Min Ago
Chloe Taylor@ChloeTaylor141
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Key Points
Europe is “totally on the sidelines” on the global stage as “wrecking ball” politics become the norm, according to the head of the continent’s biggest security forum.
Wolfgang Ischinger, chair of the Munich Security Conference, told CNBC that this is the continent’s “own fault,” saying it has “failed to speak with one voice.”
“Why the hell do we not have a place at the table? This is our continent. It’s our future,” Ischinger said.


US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 23, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images


Europe is “totally on the sidelines” on the global stage as “wrecking ball” politics has become the norm, the head of the continent’s biggest security forum has said.

Speaking to CNBC’s Annette Weisbach ahead of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Wolfgang Ischinger, the organization’s chairman, said it was Europe’s “own fault” that its power on the global stage has been diminished.


“Europe has failed to speak with one voice to China and about China, Europe has failed with one voice, to come up with a clear concept about the future of the Middle East, including about how to deal or not to deal with the Iranian nuclear question,” said Ischinger, who is a former German ambassador to the U.S.


Earlier this week, the MSC published its 2026 report, for which Ischinger wrote the foreword. It warned that “the world has entered a period of wrecking-ball politics,” where “sweeping destruction … is the order of the day.”

The report said that U.S President Donald Trump was “at the forefront of those who promise to free their countries from the existing order’s constraints and rebuild stronger, more prosperous nations,” arguing he was just one movement “driven by resentment and regret over the liberal trajectory their societies have embarked on.”

Ischinger told CNBC that Europeans were “totally on the sidelines” on negotiations around Gaza and Ukraine.

“We have no role. Things have been decided by others,” he said. “When I look at the war in Ukraine, Europe has no place,” he said, adding the U.S. and Russia were leading discussions.


U.S. delegates have been helming peace talks with officials from Ukraine and Russia since late 2025, with European officials scrambling to maintain a say on how to end the four-year war between the two countries.

 

Hollywood hates the fake clip of these guys fighting

Karwai Tang/Getty Images

An AI-generated video of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt beating each other up on a rooftop went viral this week, and it could be confused for a real movie scene—until you hear Pitt’s likeness say, “You killed Jeffrey Epstein.” Still, it was convincing enough to scare at least one screenwriter. “It’s likely over for us,” Deadpool franchise co-writer Rhett Reese posted on X in response to the 15-second clip. It was created using Seedance 2.0, an AI video tool owned by ByteDance that was unveiled this week. Then…the Motion Picture Association (MPA) released a statement accusing ByteDance of violating copyright law on a “massive scale.” SAG-AFTRA joined in yesterday, calling Seedance videos “blatant infringement.” Oopsie: Seedance appears to be producing videos that rip off protected works from studios including Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount, Deadline reported. Eerily accurate knockoffs of beloved movie characters like Jack and Rose from Titanic, Spider-Man, and Shrek appear in other Seedance videos circulating online. Déjà vu: The MPA similarly urged OpenAI to curb copyright infringement after it launched the Sora 2 video generator last fall. OpenAI obliged, and Disney later struck a deal that allows Sora 2 to use some of its characters. It’s unclear if Hollywood would pursue a similar agreement with ByteDance, which is a Chinese company.

Cuba is facing an economic and social catastrophe, and not entirely because of Donald Trump

Cuba is facing an economic and social catastrophe, and not entirely because of Donald Trump

Cuba is facing an economic and social catastrophe, and not entirely because of Donald Trump
Published: February 12, 2026 9.02am EST

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Robert Huish

Associate Professor in International Development Studies, Dalhousie University
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If you’re planning on a winter break to Cuba, get ready for an adventure rather than a vacation. If you’re wondering if United States President Donald Trump’s oil embargo will shatter Cuba’s Communist government, dig in for a drawn-out slog. And if you’re Cuban, brace for a nightmare.

Cuba is on the brink of one of the worst social and economic catastrophes since the 1959 revolution. Energy sources are sparse. The electrical grid is in tatters.

Inflation is over 15 per cent, with the peso tumbling in value. Tropical diseases like dengue, chikunguny and Oropuche virus are surging, largely because the municipal waste system in Havana ground to a halt in 2025.

As many as two million Cubans have left the country since 2021. Infant mortality spiked from five per 1,000 live births in 2021 to 14 per 1,000 in late 2025.

And now, revenue streams from tourism, international medical co-operation and pharmaceutical production are all but dried up. Some 5,000 Cubans volunteered as mercenaries to fight alongside Russia against Ukraine since 2022. Cuba is hurting.
Drivers wait in line to fill up at a gas station in Havana, Cuba, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
The U.S. versus Cuba

Cuba’s current pain may not be enough to topple its Communist government, despite the desires of many Cuban exiles. Nor is the current crisis all Trump’s work. Cuba is a victim of the breakdown of the old international rules-based order.
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Read more: Venezuela attack, Greenland threats and Gaza assault mark the collapse of international legal order

The U.S. has long targeted Cuba through various economic weapons dating from the early 1960s. One of the most vicious was the Helms-Burton Act that not only prohibited U.S. companies from doing business with Cuba, but also punished companies in other countries for dealing with both Cuba and the U.S.

In his second term, U.S. President Barack Obama eased travel restrictions for Americans visiting Cuba along with some trade policies, but this was short-lived. Trump restored these measures in his first administration.
Cuban President Raul Castro, right, lifts up the arm of U.S. President Barack Obama, at the conclusion of their joint news conference in Havana, Cuba, in March 2016. It was the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to the island nation in 88 years. AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)
Cuban doctors

For decades, Cuba relied on an elaborate network of international solidarity and co-operation with rich and poor countries alike. More than 100,000 Cuban doctors served abroad, often providing medical care in rural and remote locations.

While Cuban doctors working abroad received a salary bump, the government received handsome cash deposits and preferred trade agreements for select products. Venezuela received tens of thousands of Cuban doctors and, later, security personnel in exchange for heavy petroleum.

Read more: Big Pharma vs. Little Cuba: Why Cubans trust vaccines and how they’re helping vaccinate the world

Cuban doctors served in 103 countries, and as of 2021, they were active in 69 nations. Agreements were also made for other personnel to work abroad, including athletic coaches, teachers and engineers.

The U.S. targeted Cuba’s international solidarity work in 2006 by creating the Cuban Medical Professional Parole program, which essentially regarded Cuban workers as “trafficked.”

The State Department approved an annual US$10 million budget until 2017 to locate and recruit Cuban and Cuban-trained doctors working in poor areas of Latin America and Africa. Diplomats offered them expedited immigration to the U.S. But upon arrival, many had their medical credentials ignored and wound up unemployed or underemployed.
Global support

Against one of the longest economic blockades in history, Cuba has nonetheless positioned itself as an active global player. It’s a diplomatic heavyweight with 139 active embassies and consulates worldwide and well over 100 foreign embassies in Havana.

The United Nations General Assembly routinely denounces the American embargo on Cuba. In 2025, amid shifting political alliances, the assembly voted 165-7 in favour of demanding an end to the embargo.

Many international partnerships have kept Cuba going through hard times in the past. Canada, Italy and Mexico, in particular, have kept business with Cuba going despite the U.S. embargo. In the 1990s, tourism expanded, notably from these countries, helping to stimulate the Cuban economy.
The Canadian embassy in Havana in 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS

Canadian mining company Sherritt invested heavily in Cuba to extract nickel. When COVID-19 overwhelmed health systems worldwide in 2020, Cuba was the first to volunteer medical services to 19 countries, including affluent states like Italy and Qatar. They even took in a quarantined British cruise ship to offer care.

Read more: The scene from Cuba: How it’s getting so much right on COVID-19

But in 2026, countries are sending in aircraft to evacuate their vacationing nationals, and companies like Sherritt are grinding to a halt, not because of the U.S. embargo, but because so many professionally trained Cubans have emigrated.

Unlike the 1960s and the 1990s, no brave partners are coming forward to do business with Cuba, which only shows how weak international solidarity is today.

Here are three possible outcomes for Cuba in the coming months in descending order of likelihood:
1. Deals behind the scenes

A backroom deal could be struck between Trump’s White House and Miguel Díaz-Canal’s government in Cuba in much the same way that the Obama administration struck deals with Raúl Castro’s government, working through the Vatican and Canadian diplomats. For example, the Trump administration could permit fuel to be purchased in cash from the U.S., or more tourist real estate may be opened to foreign ownership.

If any deal is in the works, the sticking point will be elections. Unlike Venezuela, with a legitimate opposition in the wings, Cuba has none. Political opponents to the revolution have long been jailed or exiled, and Cuba’s electoral system itself isn’t structured for a multi-party race. Toppling the current government would leave an enormous power vacuum.
2. Martial law

If the fuel embargo remains, Cuba could declare martial law and civil defence to prepare for foreign hostility and to better ration resources.

Díaz-Canal recently hinted at this in what he calls a “war of the people,” which may help explain why Canadian and Russian airlines are now hastily sending in rescue flights for tourists.

Martial law would mean ultra-tight rationing, political volatility and the government acquiring goods through murky channels, which, combined, pose a heightened security risk to the U.S. just 140 kilometres off its shores. Since Dwight D. Eisenhower, most American presidents quickly figured out it was better to have a stable and secure, even though ideologically opposed, neighbour than a politically unstable and vulnerable basketcase.

The situation will grow dire since the well-educated professional class has already left, along with many doctors and nurses. In past crises, the educated, youthful professional class was on hand; this time, they’re already gone.
A vegetable vendor prepares onions for sale on his cart near an aged mural of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara in Old Havana, Cuba, in January 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
3. The international community steps in

Third, the world could stand by its sentiment at the United Nations General Assembly and sends much-needed resources and trade to Cuba despite the U.S. bellicosity.

It could be a rallying point for the new era of international order, where bullied countries in the Americas and in Europe defy American pressure and bring lifelines to Cuba.

Read more: Mark Carney’s Davos speech marks a major departure from Canada’s usual approach to the U.S.

International solidarity could reverse some of the harm and take the pressure off Cubans, including those so desperate they’d choose to fight as mercenaries with Russia.

As the world has seen before, when nations stand up to Trump, he usually backs down. Assistance need not come through foreign aid, but simply by keeping the channels open for business.

But if the international community ignores Cuba today, a humanitarian nightmare will unfold soon.

 

The AI warnings are coming from inside the house

Shannon May

It’s as if a bunch of AI experts just had the same nightmare, because this week, several of them—including ones at Anthropic and OpenAI—seemingly jolted upright in a cold sweat to speak on the horrors they see coming from artificial intelligence. Anthropic: The company behind Claude lost its head of Safeguards Research, who announced his resignation in a letter that mentioned a world “in peril.” Speaking vaguely about Anthropic, he wrote, “Throughout my time here, I’ve repeatedly seen how hard it is to truly let our values govern our actions…we constantly face pressures to set aside what matters most.” At OpenAI, alarm bells came from three different employees this week: A researcher quit after two years due to “deep reservations” about ChatGPT’s new ad strategy, namely “a potential for manipulating users,” she wrote in an essay for the New York Times. A top safety executive was fired after opposing the upcoming release of AI erotica on ChatGPT, the Wall Street Journal reported. OpenAI said she was canned for sexually discriminating against a male coworker, which she called “absolutely false.” In a post on X that alluded to widespread job loss, an engineer wrote, “I finally feel the existential threat that AI is posing.” HyperWrite: The co-founder of an AI writing tool startup warned in a viral post on X that the latest AI models will render countless jobs obsolete, comparing the current moment to the weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic. How about some AI restrictions for the table? OpenAI and Anthropic are of two minds on how much to regulate their industry: Anthropic pledged $20 million to a political group that backs congressional candidates who favor AI safety, the company announced yesterday. (That’s substantial, but the company also announced yesterday that it closed a $30 billion fundraising round that valued it at $380 billion.) OpenAI has supported Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC that spends against the types of candidates that Anthropic’s donation would help. Meanwhile…half of xAI’s founders have exited as of this week, though the recent departures didn’t specifically cite AI concerns.

Quebec upholds tuition hikes as Concordia braces for deeper budget cuts

Quebec upholds tuition hikes as Concordia braces for deeper budget cuts
Students, universities warn higher fees increase financial pressures and lower enrolment

NewsMatthew Daldalian — Published February 10, 2026 minutes
Quebec is maintaining a 33 per cent tuition hike for out-of-province students attending English-language universities. photo Naya Hachwa


The Quebec government is maintaining the tuition hikes for out-of-province students attending English-language universities, confirming that the increased fees will remain in place following the province’s revised funding framework.

The decision preserves a roughly 33 per cent increase that raised the minimum tuition for out-of-province Canadian students studying in English to about $12,000 annually, up from $9,000 in Winter 2024.

“When I was applying to come here, it was my first choice, but because of the tuition hikes, it made me reconsider everything,” said Kalia Graham, a second-year psychology student at Concordia University, originally from Whitehorse, Yukon. “I almost didn’t end up coming.”

The tuition hike was first announced in October 2023 as part of a broader overhaul of Quebec’s university funding system targeting English-language institutions.

English universities initially challenged the increase in court. However, the province has since updated its rationale, arguing that the increase prevents Quebec taxpayers from subsidizing the education of non-resident students.

“I had to really discuss budgeting with my family and plan it out to see how it would look,” Graham said.
Graham added that two of her friends who had also planned to attend university in Montreal ultimately chose not to because of the tuition increases.

These provincial policy changes have also had institutional consequences. Concordia and McGill University previously argued in court that the tuition overhaul harmed their competitiveness and contributed to declining out-of-province applications, forcing budget adjustments and service reductions.

According to remarks delivered during recent Concordia Senate discussions on Feb. 6, the government has now formally entrenched the higher fee, arguing that it is “not fair for the taxpayers of Quebec to be subsidizing the cost of educating students from elsewhere.”
“There comes a point where you get used to the fact that people consider you to be the easy scapegoat.”— Thang Tran, international student

Senate discussions also noted that students studying in French-language programs continue to pay the lower rate, meaning the financial impact disproportionately affects English-language institutions.

Ryan Assaker, finance coordinator for the Concordia Student Union, said the consequences are already visible on campus.

“We’ve seen trends here where the free food programs that we have are having bigger lines," Assaker said, pointing to increased demand for student services. "The housing [services], or all of our service departments, are also ranking up.”

Financial strain is also reflected in campus reductions, Assaker said, including cuts to limited-term appointment teaching positions—short-term instructors hired to teach specific courses—as well as reduced shuttle-bus service between campuses.

Assaker added that declining international enrolment could have long-term effects on programming and staffing.

“The incentive isn’t there anymore," he said. "It’s costing too much."

For students already enrolled, the issue is not only future costs but also uncertainty about how policies apply.

Senate discussions have highlighted concerns that some out-of-province students who switch programs risk losing their original tuition status, potentially facing the higher rate even if they began their studies before the policy took effect.

Adam Semergian, academic coordinator for the Arts and Science Federation of Associations, said student groups are already hearing concerns about enrolment decisions.

“We’ve heard from current students that their family members [...] are not planning to come to Concordia now because of the tuition hike,” Semergian said. “It’s 33 per cent now, but what about in the future?”

Despite the higher costs, some students say they remain committed to continuing their studies in Montreal while navigating financial pressures.

Graham said her budgeting now depends on summer work, grants and loans, adding that she typically works multiple jobs during the summer months to cover expenses.

International students face similar challenges. Thang Tran, a first-year computer science student from Vietnam, said he has grown accustomed to the idea of higher fees but still feels the policy's financial and political implications.

“There comes a point where you get used to the fact that people consider you to be the easy scapegoat,” Tran said.

He added that as a non-citizen, he feels he has limited power to fight back against decisions affecting tuition.

The latest decision primarily confirms the 33 per cent tuition increase for out-of-province Canadian students; it does not affect international students.

However, this comes at a time when international students are already affected by earlier reforms that raised minimum tuition levels for English universities in Quebec.

In the meantime, university officials say they will continue raising concerns with the province.

In a written statement, Concordia deputy spokesperson Julie Fortier said the institution is “of course disappointed by the decision but not surprised,” adding that the university plans to discuss with Higher Education Minister Martine Biron how the policy harms the competitiveness of Quebec universities and contributes to declining applications.

Fortier noted the university continues to offer financial awards to help offset the higher tuition for out-of-province students.

For students like Graham, entrance scholarships and student-run services have helped ease the transition, although financial planning remains a constant concern.

For Tran, the issue ultimately comes down to the limited control many international students feel they have over policies that directly shape their education.

“There isn’t much I can do. I can’t really engage with democracy in a way that citizens can,” Tran said. “All I can do is tell my friends, 'Well, if you don’t like it, you should vote.'”

With files from Moon Jinseok

 

Switzerland will vote on a population cap

Getty Images

Unlike your college apartment, Switzerland might limit the number of people allowed to live there. Yesterday, the Swiss government scheduled a June referendum on whether the home of Toblerone should cap its population at 10 million. Promoted by a popular right-wing party, the ballot measure—which could limit immigration not just of refugees but also skilled workers—is meant to address the effects of mass migration like ballooning housing costs, overcrowded transit, and changing culture. At capacity, no cap Switzerland’s vibrant economy and Alpine paradise image made it into an immigrant magnet: Its population grew 10%, to 9.1 million, in the past decade—five times faster than that of the EU. If the demographic ceiling passes, authorities would restrict newcomers: Once the population reaches 9.5 million—projected for 2035—the government would have to suspend immigration for family members of foreign residents and limit asylum. At 10 million, Switzerland would start withdrawing from international treaties that make its borders more porous than its cheese, like its free movement accord with the EU, which allows Europeans to live and work there. Critics say this could threaten trade with the EU, the destination of over 40% of Swiss exports. Meanwhile, business leaders are worried about a skilled worker shortage and reduced pension contributions. It might happen…according to a November poll, 48% of voters support the measure, 11% are undecided, and 41% oppose it.

 

SailGP investigation confirmed Kiwi error

Published on February 24th, 2026

When New Zealand SailGP Team lost control in the second event of the 2026 season, it resulted in a dramatic collision with France that led to injuries for both teams, and significant boat damage that can’t be repaired for the next event.

Kiwi skipper Peter Burling believed a system limit within the foil assembly contributed to losing control, but a review by the league found the team was effectively flying too high.

Following the incident, SailGP engineering teams conducted a detailed review using high-rate performance data, onboard telemetry, simulator recreations, and video analysis to understand precisely what occurred.

The analysis shows that the New Zealand F50 was sailing at 49 knots when they encountered a gust as the 13-boat fleet was reaching toward the first mark after the start.

That increase in wind speed caused their boat to accelerate rapidly, increasing lift on the hydrofoils and raising the ride height of the boat. As the boat rose, the leeward foil pierced the surface of the water, triggering a side slip and a rapid increase in leeway.

SailGP Director of Performance Engineering Alex Reid said the combination of speed, gust conditions, and foil ventilation created a highly dynamic sequence which developed within seconds.

“The data shows the boat accelerated quickly and rose high on its foils,” Reid said. “Once the leeward foil pierced the surface, the boat entered a side slip where the foil began generating unwanted lift through leeway rather than via rake.

“At that point the dynamics of the boat changed very quickly. Control inputs from the flight controller were still being applied, but we believe the physics of the slide meant the boat could not be brought down in time.”

As the side slip developed, the rudder angle increased significantly as the crew attempted to regain control while avoiding nearby boats. The rudder briefly lost effective flow before re-attaching along with the windward bow immersing, causing the boat to round up sharply into the wind and decelerate rapidly.

With the French F50 sailing close astern at speed, there was insufficient time or distance to avoid contact once the sequence began. All the other teams retained control during the gusty leg.

Importantly, there was no evidence of a mechanical or software failure in the systems leading up to the incident. Reid added, “What we see in the data is a very fast chain of aerodynamic and hydrodynamic events that pushed the boat beyond its controllable envelope at that moment.”

As part of its ongoing review process, SailGP engineers are assessing mitigations which could help crew better manage similar scenarios in future.

A penalty review hearing has since upheld the original decision that New Zealand broke Rule 14 (avoid contact), resulting in an eight event point penalty, while France was found to have had no reasonable opportunity to avoid the collision.

Disappointing holiday season: December retail sales were flat, falling well short of estimate

Disappointing holiday season: December retail sales were flat, falling well short of estimate


Disappointing holiday season: December retail sales were flat, falling well short of estimate
Published Tue, Feb 10 20268:33 AM ESTUpdated 4 Min Ago

Jeff Cox@jeff.cox.7528@JeffCoxCNBCcom
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Key Points
Retail sales were flat in December following a 0.6% increase in November. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected an increase of 0.4%.
On an annual basis, sales rose 2.4%, failing to keep up with inflation, as the consumer price index for December posted a 2.7% increase.


watch now
VIDEO03:07
December retail sales were flat, missing expectations



Consumer activity slowed sharply for the December holiday shopping season amid a spate of rough weather, tariff impact and persistently higher inflation, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Retail sales were flat on the month following a 0.6% increase in November, according to numbers adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected an increase of 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales also were unchanged, against the estimate for a 0.3% increase.


On an annual basis, sales rose 2.4%, a considerable step down from the 3.3% pace in November. Sales ex-autos were up 3.3% annually in December.

The report puts a downbeat end to an otherwise solid year for shopping activity, with higher-end consumers spending briskly through much of 2025, though those on the lower end of the income spectrum were more cautious.

The shopping pace failed to keep up with inflation, as the consumer price index for December posted a 2.7% increase.

For December, multiple categories posted losses while only a few showed notable gains.

watch now
VIDEO05:15
Experts break down the December retail sales data



Miscellaneous retailers and furniture stores posted declines of 0.9%, while clothing and accessories stores were off 0.7% and electronics and appliances saw a drop of 0.4%. Online outlets sales rose just 0.1%, while building materials and garden centers saw the strongest gain, up 1.2%.


“This is a K-shaped economy with strong spending from the top and much more cautious spending from middle- and lower-income consumers,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “Retail sales were flat in December, driven by soft spending on autos, home furnishings, appliances and clothing. These items were hard hit by tariffs in 2025 and consumers shifted their spending elsewhere.”

Fourth-quarter economic activity otherwise was strong, with the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s data tracker pointing to a gross domestic product rising at a 4.2% annualized pace. However, that number could be lowered Tuesday following the retail number. Consumer spending makes up more than two- thirds of all economic activity in the U.S.

The report comes a day ahead of the closely watched nonfarm payrolls count for January. Economists expect that to show an increase of just 55,000, following the 50,000 gain in December. However, several prominent Wall Street firms say they are looking for a lower number, with annual revisions due out that also are expected to shrink previous payroll growth.

 

The Washington Post is laying off 30% of its staff

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Yesterday, the Washington Post’s executive editor, Matt Murray, informed more than 300 of the paper’s 800 journalists that their jobs were being cut. The decimation of the newsroom is the latest round of layoffs under the ownership of billionaire Jeff Bezos. The newspaper that changed its slogan to “Democracy Dies in Darkness” in 2017 broke the news about 90 minutes after sunrise in DC. The gutting comes after years of losing money and subscribers under CEO Will Lewis, whom Bezos appointed in 2023: In October 2024, Bezos spiked the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris during the presidential election. The Post reported that the decision led to a loss of at least 250,000 subscribers. Lewis was installed to increase readership and grow the business, with a plan that included leaning on AI. He told staff in 2024 that the company had lost $177 million over the previous two years, in part due to declining web traffic from once-reliable sources like Google and Facebook. In June 2025, WaPo’s circulation fell below 100,000 for the first time in 55 years. What’s next? The move will drastically shrink the international section, all but erase the sports desk, and restructure the local metro section as the paper shifts its focus to national news and politics. The Post Guild, the staffers union, called for a change of ownership and will hold a rally today.

 

Finding work is so hard that ‘reverse recruiting’ is in

Francis Scialabba

Here’s what your unemployed friend is really doing on a Tuesday: In the latest sign of a stagnant job market, white-collar workers are flipping the traditional recruiting model by hiring recruiters to help them land their next jobs—a trend known as “reverse recruiting,” the Wall Street Journal reported this week. Headhunters? More like breadhunters: On top of career coaching and résumé building, reverse-recruiting agencies often take the keys and apply to dozens of jobs on an applicant’s behalf. In exchange, these startups can charge monthly fees north of $1,000 and/or take a cut of their clients’ salaries once they find a job, per WSJ. A conventional recruiter told WSJ that he’s somewhat uneasy about people handing reverse recruiters their LinkedIn or Workday logins, as well as the idea of charging job seekers. This only happens in a bleak job market The current frigid atmosphere in US employment is known as “low hire, low fire,” which is why you keep hearing seemingly conflicting truths: The unemployment rate isn’t that bad, but it’s also incredibly difficult to find a job. According to recent federal data: Job searches now last an average of six months. There were more job seekers than job openings last summer for the first time since 2021. The economy added the fewest jobs since 2003 last year (outside of recessions). Tomorrow’s January jobs report is expected to revise the tally even lower and show a continued stall in job growth. Why the slowdown? Tariff uncertainty and added costs led some companies to delay hiring. Others are still undoing pandemic-era hiring bonanzas, and some blame layoffs on AI’s productivity. Recent immigration restrictions also mean there are fewer consumers in the US, which can lower hiring needs, per WSJ. Vicious cycle: Less than half of workers think they could find a new job in three months, according to a recent Fed poll. Many are staying put in their jobs, which contributes to low openings and slow hiring.

Disney named Josh D’Amaro, as its new CEO

 Disney named theme parks boss, Josh D’Amaro, as its new CEO. For the first time since 2005, Disney’s CEO will not be named Bob. Following months of speculation, the Mouse House tapped Josh D’Amaro, the head of its parks business, as CEO effective March 18, succeeding Bob Iger. Meanwhile, Dana Walden—the company’s entertainment co-chair who was widely seen as the runner-up to D’Amaro—was promoted to president and chief creative officer. The elevation of D’Amaro coincides with Disney’s theme parks business becoming its biggest profit center, well ahead of movies and TV. The company’s experiences unit, which includes parks and cruises, reported a record $10 billion in profit last quarter.

Quebec will now assert cultural sovereignty online with new legislation

Quebec will now assert cultural sovereignty online with new legislation

Sherbrooke Record · 13 days ago
by Matthew Mccully · Civic Literacy

By Greg Duncan

While you were enjoying the holiday season this past December, the Quebec government passed a law that could dictate what you watch or stream online.

Bill 109 was adopted by the national assembly on Dec. 12, 2025. Formally titled An Act respecting the discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment, the legislation empowers the provincial government to impose minimum French-language content quotas on streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, and Amazon Music. This is now officially An Act to affirm the cultural sovereignty of Québec and to enact the Act respecting the discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment.

The government maintains that the new law is essential to protect Quebec’s cultural identity, claiming that only 8.5 per cent of the most listened-to songs in Quebec in 2023 were in French. The law introduces a new “right to discoverability” into Quebec’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ensuring francophone content is not only available, but also prominently featured online.
So, what does this mean close to home? What is the local impact?

The new law could significantly reshape digital content access, raising serious concerns about a reduction of choice on streaming platforms. For anglophone residents, the bill raises questions about access to English-language content. While the legislation does not explicitly restrict English programming, critics warn that algorithmic prioritization of French-language material could push anglophone content further down in visibility, making it harder to find. There is concern that the law could limit cultural diversity in a region where bilingualism is a defining characteristic. Some worry that anglophone youth may feel increasingly disconnected from global media trends if English-language shows, films, and music become less accessible. For example, some key requirements, obligations, and features of the Act include that qualifying platforms will now be required to register with the Ministry of Culture and Communications, which will have broad powers to demand information and enforce compliance. As well, the interfaces of digital platforms or devices will be required to set the default language to French, ensuring that users encounter French first when navigating digital services.

There is industry pushback however with major streaming platforms and industry associations having already voiced strong opposition. The Digital Media Association (DiMA) for example, representing Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, has warned that the legislation could negatively impact consumer experience, artist revenues, and platform operations. A DiMA sponsored Léger survey released in late November 2025 found that 66 per cent of Quebecers oppose government intervention in streaming content, and that 76 per cent would reject the bill if it led to higher subscription costs. Meanwhile, many Québec cultural organizations and industry representatives have pushed back against claims that Bill 109 would limit consumer choice, instead framing the proposed legislation as a necessary tool to support French-language culture in an increasingly globalized digital environment.
In the Eastern Townships, where anglophone and francophone communities coexist closely, the law could intensify debates over cultural identity and access to media. While francophone advocates see the law as a necessary safeguard for Quebec’s heritage, anglophone residents fear it may erode a historical bilingual balance and reduce our ability to freely choose digital content.

Enforcement and Penalties

The law allows Quebec to set quotas on content within 18 months, with fines of up to $15,000 per day for non-compliance. A new “Discoverability Office” within the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications will oversee monitoring, investigations, and enforcement, publish reports every three years, and negotiate “alternative measures” with platforms unable to meet quotas.
The new law may strengthen Quebec’s cultural sovereignty, but it also risks narrowing anglophone access to global digital content, an issue that will be felt acutely in bilingual regions like the Eastern Townships. As one Townships resident put it, “We value French culture deeply, but we also want our kids to have the same access to English-language shows and music as anyone else in Canada.”

Resources and references:

• An Act to affirm the cultural sovereignty of Québec and to enact the Act respecting the discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment: https://www.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/Fichiers_client/lois_et_reglements/LoisAnnuelles/en/2025/2025C38A.PDFy of French-language cultural content in the digital environment
• Découvrabilité des contenus culturels francophones – Le gouvernement du Québec se dote d’un important levier pour protéger durablement sa spécificité linguistique et culturelle: https://www.quebec.ca/nouvelles/actualites/details/decouvrabilite-des-contenus-culturels-francophones-le-gouvernement-du-quebec-se-dote-dun-important-levier-pour-proteger-durablement-sa-specificite-linguistique-et-culturelle-67656
• Quebec targets streaming giants with new bill on French-language content: https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/quebec-adopts-bill-109-on-french-language-content/

L’article Quebec will now assert cultural sovereignty online with new legislation est apparu en premier sur Sherbrooke Record.

For Today’s Conservatives, Misinformation Is the Norm | The Tyee

For Today’s Conservatives, Misinformation Is the Norm | The Tyee


For Today’s Conservatives, Misinformation Is the Norm
Pierre Poilievre’s post about my client was false. It reached half a million people.

Michael Spratt TodayThe Tyee

Michael Spratt is a certified criminal law specialist and partner at the Ottawa criminal law firm AGP LLP. This piece was originally published by Canadian Lawyer.Our journalism is supported by readers like you. Click here to support The Tyee.






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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, says the author, deliberately misrepresented how the justice system works to score points. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick, the Canadian Press.


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Canadian politics has always had its share of spin. What feels newer, and far more corrosive, is the growing comfort some politicians now have with simply abandoning the facts altogether, particularly when courts or public institutions are involved. Misrepresentation is no longer an occasional lapse or rhetorical flourish. It has become a strategy that trades accuracy for outrage and treats public trust as collateral damage.

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Two social media posts earlier this month offered clear examples of how that strategy operates in practice. Different facts, different venues, but entirely the same modus operandi. In both cases, senior Conservative politicians took complex, legally constrained realities and recast them as scandal, grievance and institutional failure. The aim was not to clarify or persuade but to inflame, reinforcing a narrative that casts courts, universities and institutions as enemies rather than essential parts of a functioning democracy.

The first example is one I know well because I was there. I represented a man who splashed red paint on Ottawa’s National Holocaust Monument in protest of the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It was a serious crime, and he pleaded guilty. The sentencing process was lengthy and exacting, involving extensive submissions, detailed community and victim impact statements, and a careful examination of motive and case law. The sentencing judge ultimately delivered one of the most careful and principled decisions I have read in years.

The result was not some caricature of Liberal soft-on-crime leniency. The offender was sentenced to five months in jail and two years of probation. By the time the sentence was imposed, this first-time offender had already spent more than 150 days in actual prison and months under extraordinarily restrictive bail conditions, including house arrest, GPS monitoring and effective exile from his children.


The judge emphasized denunciation, deterrence and the profound harm done to the Jewish community, while also explaining why the Crown had not met the very high burden of proving hate motivation beyond a reasonable doubt. The whole process was the rule of law doing precisely what it is designed to do.

Enter Pierre Poilievre. On X, he declared: “A man defaces Canada’s Holocaust Monument with blood-red paint and faces no real jail time. Under the Liberals, antisemitism is tolerated, excused, and waved away for political convenience.” More than half a million people saw the post. It was also false.

Poilievre did not attend the sentencing. He did not read the decision. He appears not to have read any reporting beyond what fit neatly into a prewritten script. The offender faced real jail time and served it. He was detained at bail. He spent months in custody at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. He was released only after pleading guilty and while subject to strict bail terms, which he complied with.


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Disagree with the sentence if you like; many do. But inventing facts to fuel grievance is something else entirely. For Poilievre, the newly reaffirmed leader of Canada’s Opposition party, everything becomes evidence of Liberal rot, everything is softness, and any inconvenient facts are ignored.



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It is entirely legitimate to criticize court decisions. I do it all the time. It is more than legitimate to criticize the Liberal government; I do that all the time, too. What is unacceptable is for political leaders, who should be held to a higher standard than the rest of us, to deliberately misrepresent how the justice system works to score political points. That kind of misinformation corrodes trust in judges and courts and conditions the public to see every decision as partisan rather than principled. We do not need to look far south to see where that road leads.

If this pattern sounds familiar, it is because the same routine played out again, this time repackaged as a free-speech crisis. Conservative MP Garnett Genuis took to social media to announce that the student union had cancelled his event at York University in a “further attack on free speech.” The implication was obvious: politically motivated students were silencing conservative ideas. Genuis’s social media post travelled fast, as grievance narratives usually do.

Except that was not what happened. As CBC later reported, the event was not cancelled by the student union at all. The York University Student Centre declined it due to booking rules for the proposed open-area town-hall format. Genuis was told he could book a closed space for that kind of event. He chose not to. In other words, no one silenced him. He cancelled himself.



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That clarification arrived after the outrage had already done its work. Even fellow Conservatives swallowed the grievance whole. Michelle Rempel Garner publicly called for York University to be defunded. This is how political misinformation spreads: quickly, confidently and with just enough plausibility to avoid immediate correction. Free speech was not under attack. Student unions were not censoring debate. But the narrative was politically useful, so accuracy became expendable.

Taken together, these incidents are not accidents or isolated missteps. They are features of a broader strategy. Modern Conservative messaging increasingly relies on manufacturing grievance through selective facts, exaggeration and outright errors, confident that the truth will never travel as far or as fast as the original lie.

The justice system is imperfect. Universities are imperfect. Democracy, like any other system, is imperfect, but it depends on a shared commitment to reality. When politicians with power and privilege knowingly distort court decisions and invent free-speech panics to stoke resentment, they are not engaging in democratic debate. They are poisoning it.

Grievance-first politics may generate outrage, donations and viral posts. Still, it does so by eroding trust in the very institutions that allow a pluralistic society to function at all. At some point, we should stop pretending this is accidental. It is a strategy that prioritizes short-term political gain over the long-term health of Canadian democracy.

 

Prime number: Worst January for layoffs since 2009

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Not since the year the Black Eyed Peas released “Boom Boom Pow” has a January been this rough. According to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, US companies cut 108,435 jobs last month—the most in any January since the global financial crisis: That’s an 118% increase from the year before. Amazon and UPS axed about 16,000 and 30,000 roles, respectively, in January. While a lot of companies have blamed AI for recent layoffs, some observers are beginning to wonder if execs are using the technology as an excuse to mask other internal issues in a phenomenon known as “AI-washing.”

EU Fears Dependence on U.S. LNG, Looks to Canada

EU Fears Dependence on U.S. LNG, Looks to Canada

EU Fears Dependence on U.S. LNG, Looks to Canada
February 4, 2026
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Full Story: The Energy Mix
Chris Bonasia




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After warnings that it has become over-reliant on the United States for liquefied natural gas (LNG), the European Union is looking to diversify its suppliers.

That dependence emerged as the EU began shifting away from Russian energy imports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the U.S. pushed LNG exports into the global market.

But now, Europe is experiencing what Bloomberg calls “déjà vu,” as concerns grow over Donald Trump’s aggressive bids to acquire Greenland.

“Geopolitical turmoil in the wake of the crisis in Greenland has been a wake-up call,” EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen told reporters in Brussels Jan. 28. “There is a growing concern, which I share, that we risk replacing one dependency with another.”

The continent is eyeing Canada, Qatar, and North African countries as alternatives, Bloomberg adds. That option would serve Canada as it seeks new LNG buyers to reduce export reliance on the U.S.

“We will never use our energy for coercion,” Canadian Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson recently said at a conference in India. “Canada used to provide 98% of its energy exports to a single country. We are committed to diversifying.”

The EU has been on a years-long campaign to improve energy security, with mixed success. The bloc cut gas demand by 20% between 2021 and 2024 and reduced imports of Russian gas by 75% since the Ukraine war started in 2022, though Russia remains one of its largest gas suppliers.

But the EU now sources more than half of its LNG from the U.S., creating a new high-risk geopolitical dependency, says the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The shift may have moved the bloc out of the proverbial frying pan and into the fire. [Author’s note: Except that with declining gas demand, frying pans are increasingly being used on electric stoves and induction cooktops.]

The EU’s reliance on the U.S. could deepen further, the Institute adds. After a trade deal announced last July, the EU agreed to buy US$750 billion of U.S. energy by 2028, which “effectively ties the EU’s energy supply to one seller, risking energy security and jeopardizing gas reduction plans.”

At the time, however, the trade deal was written off as a “delusional” attempt to mollify Trump. But a series of long-term contracts announced at the Gastech conference in Milan last September could further entrench LNG’s role in that trade. In a scenario where all the deals come through and the EU does not reduce gas demand, the U.S. could become the source of 75% to 80% of the continent’s total gas imports by 2030.

EU countries could instead spend that $750 billion to install roughly 546 gigawatts of combined solar and wind capacity, the Institute calculated. “This would boost energy security and could bring down electricity prices.

But not all experts see a risk in heavy reliance on U.S. LNG. Some say the U.S. is itself becoming reliant on selling gas to the EU after trade tensions blocked its sales to China, writes industry newsletter Rigzone.

“The idea that the U.S. could stop exporting to Europe seems quite dangerous,” Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a global research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, wrote in a LinkedIn post. “U.S. LNG dearly needs Europe in the current geopolitical environment.”