Crown claims William Majcher committed 'preparatory acts' to induce wanted expat to co-operate with China.

A former Mountie accused of acting on behalf of the Chinese government pleaded not guilty Monday to laying the groundwork for a scheme to "induce" a multimillionaire Chinese expat to turn himself over to China where he was accused of financial crimes.

William Majcher took to his feet in the first minutes of what is expected to be a two-week trial in order to deny the single charge against him: committing "preparatory acts" to commit an offence under Canada's Security of Information Act.

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The Crown believes Majcher's alleged activities were part of global law enforcement initiatives undertaken by China using intermediaries like private investigators, former officials and ex-law enforcement officers to intimidate Chinese fugitives in their new countries of residence.

The trial was set to take place in front of a jury, but a last-minute decision was made to hold it by judge alone, which set the stage for the release last Friday of a flood of pre-trial decisions that were previously covered by a publication ban.

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In one of them, Justice Martha Devlin sets out what she calls "the central piece of evidence the Crown intends to lead at trial" — an email apparently sent by Majcher to an associate in June 2017 in which he speaks about a "fraudster" who the Crown contends is Sun.

"The fraudster is now a ... major real estate mogul in Vancouver and we have located over $100M of assets. The Chinese Police have opened a Task Force and standing by to issue a global arrest warrant," the email reads.

"I hope to have a copy of the warrant before it is issued so we can impress upon the crook that we hold the keys to his future. I am meeting an associate of the target tomorrow in HK [Hong Kong] to see if he can help negotiate a settlement as the Chinese want to use this as a precedent case to settle economic crimes quietly and expeditiously."

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Majcher worked for the RCMP from 1985 to 2007, specializing in undercover operations and the investigation of economic crimes. After retiring from the RCMP, he moved to Hong Kong and founded a corporate risk firm called EMIDR, which specializes in asset recovery.

According to one of Devlin's previous rulings, the head of the investigation into Majcher said officers became aware of a speech Majcher gave on Chinese asset recovery in 2015 where he mentioned having been approached by "someone close to senior state security."

Majcher was also described as a "heavy hitter ... co-ordinating on the Chinese side" in an Australian documentary about an investigation into a company accused of investing "in the Australian real estate market with money that had been misappropriated in China."

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Several Toronto-area business people aligned in various ways with the Chinese government were among guests who paid close to $2,000 to attend a Liberal party fundraiser with Prime Minister Mark Carney last month. Article content

The attendees included individuals and groups that have won praise from Chinese diplomats and agencies, echoed Beijing’s talking points on contentious issues and worked with Chinese Communist Party (CPP) organizations.

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Co-hosted by local MP Michael Ma, the dinner attracted attention even before it began. Ma crossed the floor from the Conservatives to the Liberals in December 2025, then drew controversy last month by pointedly challenging parliamentary testimony about the well-documented phenomenon of forced labour in China.

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The Liberals are not alone in their interactions with pro-China figures here. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sat next to a prominent Beijing ally at a party-organized community-outreach event in 2023, while Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown was endorsed by a Toronto group and a then-senator aligned with Beijing when he ran for the Tory leadership in 2022.

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But Fung said the recent dinner came as China-boosting forces seem to be stepping up their influence efforts. A recent letter urged Chinese Canadians to support the Liberals as they pursue “friendly cooperation between Canada and China.” It was signed by 36 groups, including two that espouse “reunification” of China and Taiwan, a key policy goal of Beijing. Most residents of Taiwan, a self-governing island that has never been part of the People’s Republic, oppose such a merger.

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Meanwhile, a new organization, Canadians United Against Modern Exclusion, has emerged to oppose government plans for a foreign-influence registry and other products of what it calls “foreign interference hysteria,” while evoking a law that excluded immigrants from China – and was repealed almost 80 years ago.

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The [Liberal] party has a fraught history with wealthy members of the Chinese-Canadian community in the Toronto and Vancouver areas. The Liberals faced a barrage of criticism when word got out in 2016 that Trudeau had held a series of fundraisers at the homes of rich donors. Some guests had business with government, others had ties to the Chinese state, prompting cash-for-access accusations.

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The Liberals eventually responded by introducing rules around fundraising events that they say are more stringent than those of any other party.

The episode was embodied by a photo taken at one of the events in a private home, depicting smiling donors hovering around the then-prime minister as he learned how to make Chinese dumplings.

Next to Trudeau in the widely distributed picture was businesswoman Jenny Qi, who has participated in events of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a Communist Party-controlled advisory body.

Qi was at last month’s event, too, a photograph in a Chinese-language article on the dinner showing her handing the current prime minister a business card.

She is head of the Canadian Confederation of Shenzhen Associations, which among other activities has hosted an “Innovation and Entrepreneurship International Competition” in Toronto designed to connect entrepreneurs here with companies in Shenzhen. The confederation promotes “peaceful reunification” of China and Taiwan, a key goal of Chinese President Xi Jinping but opposed by most Taiwanese, the group’s website says. And it is recognized by the Shenzhen section of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, a branch of the United Front Work Department, a huge agency of the CCP charged in part with extending the country’s influence worldwide. Qi has taken part in Shenzhen regional events of the party’s CPPCC.

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The fundraiser also drew former and current directors of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations (CTCCO) and the National Congress of Chinese Canadians (NCCC), both groups with a long history of echoing Beijing’s position on controversial issues. The CTCCO was even praised by Beijing’s Overseas Chinese Affairs Office – now part of the UFWD – for its China support.

Edmonton is considered the frostbite capital of the world. In 2024, the city reported a record-breaking 110 amputations from frostbite, with 58 percent of those cases affecting unhoused people. The rise in frostbite amputations has been attributed to Edmonton's aggressive encampment eviction policy and insufficient frostbite treatment protocol. Hypothermia and accidental fires started in makeshift attempts to get warm are common causes of death for unhoused Edmontonians.

Recent inflation and low vacancy rates have provided cover for corporate landlords to put their thumbs on the scale to jack up the rents. Demovictions and renovictions have ejected people from their homes to make way for higher-paying clientele. Corporate landlords like Boardwalk and Avenue Living collectively own about half of Edmonton's rental market, and they have implemented aggressive rent hikes to maximize profits. Last year, corporate landlord ARH Holdings imposed a 200 percent rent hike at the Annamoe Mansion in central Wîhkwêntôwin, one of Edmonton's oldest residential neighbourhoods. "It's basically, 'Read between the lines. Get out. We're going to force you out by rent increase rather than just a flat eviction,'" said one resident.

One-fifth of the Alberta legislature (18 of 87 MLAs) and nearly half of Alberta MPs (15 of 37 MPs) are private landlords. In 2023, 36 percent of Alberta MLAs and 48 percent of MPs were invested in the real estate industry. Conflicts of interest are also created by the re-introduction of corporate campaign donations into Alberta politics and the revolving door between political and lobbying careers. Even Edmonton's local elections are influenced by developers who want multi-million dollar subsidies to expand the housing market.

For all of my adult life, I’ve been a Liberal believing in the defence of rights, the constraining of power, an equitable society, and an independent foreign policy. It’s been a narrative that many Canadians have strongly believed and supported.

Since 1982, the Charter gave us a core liberal centre that wasn’t really about party; it was about courts that could check governments, refugee protection as something we owed people, reconciliation as a shared obligation, gender equality, tackling poverty international law, building an activist role to counter Realpolitik.

These weren’t just policies. They were identity. That story is being rewritten.

The language hasn’t changed. Ministers still invoke the Charter, the “rules-based order,” Canada’s role as a constructive middle power. But watch what’s actually happening, and a different picture emerges: human rights moving steadily from the centre of public policy toward its edges, increasingly; poverty and homelessness being ignored.

Members at several unions are demanding that their pension fund divest from firms tied to Israel’s illegal occupation.

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The International Monetary Fund [IMF] has positioned Canada as the fiscal leader among G7 nations, highlighting its capacity to invest in key areas like infrastructure and energy while maintaining a relatively low debt burden. With a net debt-to-GDP ratio of 43%, far below the near-100% levels of many peers, Canada stands out as a rare bright spot in advanced economies.

Nigel Chalk, director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, emphasized the opportunity for Ottawa to leverage this fiscal space. “In the current circumstances, if you have fiscal space, it’s the time to use it,” he said. The comments come as Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne prepares to unveil a mini-budget on April 28, with the government projecting a $65.4 billion deficit for the current fiscal year under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s administration.

Carney’s plans focus on heavy spending in defence and infrastructure, paired with tax cuts, a strategy that has drawn domestic scrutiny. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has accused the government of stoking inflation through its deficits, while a parliamentary budget watchdog criticized the decision to abandon a prior commitment to a declining debt-to-GDP ratio. Despite these concerns, the IMF maintains that Canada’s debt path remains under control, with Chalk noting a “very strong focus” on managing it responsibly over the medium term.

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Regional debt levels, however, present a nuanced challenge. While Canada’s federal debt holds a AAA rating, provinces and territories are borrowing more, with British Columbia recently facing a credit downgrade. Chalk downplayed immediate risks but urged greater transparency and discipline in provincial budgeting to mitigate future pressures.

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The fiscal metrics also received a boost from a late-2025 revision by Statistics Canada, which raised the nominal GDP figure. This adjustment is expected to improve key ratios like debt-to-GDP and deficit-to-GDP, reinforcing Canada’s strong credit standing with rating agencies, according to Desjardins Group’s deputy chief economist Randall Bartlett. Champagne, in a statement, affirmed the government’s focus on affordability, investment, and building the strongest economy in the G7.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a video address released Sunday that Canada’s strong economic ties to the United States were once a strength but are now a weakness that must be corrected.

In the 10-minute address, Carney spoke about his government’s efforts to strengthen the Canadian economy by attracting new investments and signing trade deals with other countries.

“The world is more dangerous and divided,” Carney said. “The U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.

“Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become weaknesses. Weaknesses that we must correct.”

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/50803841

Canada helped build local government capacity in Ukraine before the war. The Council of Europe’s Congress has now called on the world to do so again. Canada should answer that call.

Op-ed by Tamara Krawchenko, Associate Professor, School of Public Administration, University of Victoria, Canada.

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The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe recently called for local and national authorities to work together to help Ukraine recover and rebuild four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country.

The message is clear: cities and regions must lead, and their counterparts around the world should help them do it. The congress also calls on Russia to pay for the damage it has caused, pointing to frozen Russian assets worldwide as one source for those funds — an acknowledgment that recovery cannot wait for the war to end, since communities are already rebuilding under fire.

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Behind every statistic is a community struggling to survive — a mayor trying to keep schools open under missile attacks; a municipal council managing hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons with dwindling resources; a city engineer repairing the same water system for the third time after it was bombed yet again.

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Local and regional authorities across Ukraine face these situations every day. And it is precisely because the challenges are so local — tied to specific communities and capacities — that the response must also be local.

Ukrainian decentralization reforms since 2014 have expanded the fiscal capacity of the country’s municipalities, enabling them to respond to the unprecedented shocks of war far more effectively than before. In fact, local budget revenues quintupled between 2014 and 2021.

Russia’s [full-scale] invasion disrupted these reforms.

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The call to action by the congress asks local and regional authorities in Council of Europe member states to use “existing co-operation platforms and bilateral partnerships to offer practical support to their Ukrainian counterparts.”

It’s an appeal for cities that have solved difficult problems — managing mass displacement, rebuilding after disaster, reforming service delivery — to share what they know with Ukrainian cities doing the same under fire.

City-to-city partnerships are fundamentally different from top-down aid. They are peer relationships built on what scholars call horizontal assistance — the exchange of practical knowledge and structural social capital between cities navigating similar challenges.

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History offers clear guidance on what works. Comparative analysis of post-war and post-disaster reconstruction experiences identifies local community engagement and bottom-up leadership as the single most consistent factor separating successful from failed reconstruction.

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Canada has been here before. Beginning in 2010, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), financed by the Canadian government through Global Affairs Canada, built exactly this kind of peer network in Ukraine through the Partnership for Local Economic Development and Democratic Governance.

The $19.5-million, six-year initiative worked directly with 16 Ukrainian cities to strengthen local democracy, support small and medium-sized businesses and advance decentralization.

FCM’s municipal experts worked alongside counterparts in cities like Lviv and Dnipro, co-publishing Ukraine’s first municipal guide to local economic development and helping local governments design collaborative regional projects. A key partner throughout was the Association of Ukrainian Cities, a key municipal advocacy organization.

That program ended, but the relationships it built did not. And the decentralization reforms it supported are now widely credited — by the congress’s call to action itself, the OECD and scholars of Ukrainian resilience — with giving Ukrainian local authorities the capacity to respond as effectively as they have to the shocks of war.

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Ford 'felt the heat' after purchase publicized, now 'scrambling' to sell, says interim Ontario Liberal leader

The B.C. government won't be tabling controversial amendments that would suspend key portions of the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) during this legislative session.

The Premier's Office provided the update on Sunday evening, hours after a coalition of First Nations leaders published an open letter to B.C. lawmakers stating the changes would be introduced this week, and urged MLAs to reject them.

Premier David Eby is instead slated to hold a press conference on Monday outlining his government's next steps.

In its letter, the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC), said Eby had signalled plans to “suspend critical provisions” of the act, “despite overwhelming opposition from First Nations.”