Prime Minister Mark Carney names former United Nations ambassador as chief of staff
TORONTO — Prime Minister Mark Carney has named Canada's former ambassador to the United Nations as his chief of staff.
Carney announced on Sunday that Marc-André Blanchard would begin his post in July, taking over from Marco Mendicino, the former Liberal cabinet minister who had been doing the job on an interim basis.
'Marc-André has a long and distinguished career as one of Canada's most accomplished builders, legal experts, executives, public servants, and diplomats serving as Canada's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations,' Carney wrote on X.
Blanchard currently serves as an executive at CDPQ Global, a Quebec-based investment firm responsible for managing pension funds and insurance plans.
In his post on X, Carney confirmed that Mendicino would remain his interim chief of staff into 'early summer.'
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Winnipeg Free Press
37 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Companies taking concrete steps toward capturing revenues from carbon dioxide
It can be used to make fuel, fertilizer, building material and even soap, but can carbon dioxide be a money maker, too? Carbon capture has long been a focus of emissions reduction efforts in Canada. It involves collecting the climate-warming gas from industrial sites and preventing it from entering the atmosphere, most often by stowing it away permanently underground. Less common has been capturing CO2 and making it into something useful. 'Carbon utilization does not have a big history. It's relatively nascent,' said Apoorv Sinha, chief executive of Carbon Upcycling. The Calgary-based company combines industrial waste products with carbon dioxide to make a cement-like product that can be used in concrete foundations and sidewalks. 'Canada actually punches well above its weight in carbon-to-value across the building material sector, even in carbon chemicals.' 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Production is to begin next spring. CarbiCrete, based in Montreal, has developed technology for greener precast masonry and hardscapes — think concrete blocks, retaining walls and paving stones that can be sent to a construction site, not the ready-mix stuff churning in a truck's drum. Concrete is traditionally made up of cement, aggregate like rocks or gravel, and water. 'It's the most abundant manmade substance on the planet,' said Yuri Mytko, CarbiCrete's chief marketing officer. 'But cement has traditionally been the key ingredient and cement is hugely problematic in that it accounts for about eight per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.' CarbiCrete uses steelmaking slag instead of cement, and cures it in a chamber with CO2 instead of applying heat and steam. 'You're left with a concrete product that has the same properties as cement-based concrete, except with none of the emissions associated with it and also with carbon having been permanently mineralized and removed from the atmosphere,' said Mytko. CarbiCrete licenses its technology to concrete product makers and helps them retrofit their plants. Dave Sawyer, principal economist at the Canadian Climate Institute said utilization can work by helping companies generate credits to sell, but it's a relatively small piece of the emissions-reduction picture. Carbon capture, utilization and storage in general has been painted by business and industry as 'one big silver bullet technology,' he said, but there are other emissions-busting approaches that should be getting more attention. Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. For example, sodium ion batteries may be just as technically feasible as carbon capture, utilization and storage — and maybe cheaper. 'But we just keep going to this big lumpy thing … that is really cost prohibitive.' Sinha said carbon utilization gets a fraction of the support and resources of traditional storage projects, whose technology has been around for decades. 'What needs to happen is more support and a larger focus towards deploying these technologies quickly and testing them out. Because right now, just the amount of data — how to build these facilities, how to operate them — very little of it exists.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2025.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Letters: Mark Carney 'on wrong side of history' with Palestine declaration
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Readers fume over the PM's Palestine statement, have more to say about the hockey trial, and wish for less news about Justin Trudeau Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand listens as Prime Minister Mark Carney announces that Canada will recognize a State of Palestine in September, providing the Palestinian Authority makes significant reforms and holds an election in 2026. Photo by Dave Chan / AFP THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Prime Minister Mark Carney's recognizing a Palestinian state has nothing to do with supporting the people of Gaza. It has everything to do with destroying Canada's relationship with Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East and a long-time ally. His overriding bias against Israel seems to determine all his decisions regarding the war initiated by Hamas. Carney claiming that he will recognize a Palestinian state is simply shameful posturing for political gain. It is a gesture without real meaning since there has been no discussion re borders or leadership or governance. Without any structure in place, what is there to recognize? This newsletter tackles hot topics with boldness, verve and wit. 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If the Crown thinks Justice Prutschi was too soft, then the sentence can be appealed. But the Crown won't because the sentence, in all the circumstances, was just. Justin Trudeau's dating life and vacations are newsworthy? The clownish and vacuous Trudeau resigned from politics after wearing out his welcome with pretty well everyone. Despite his craving for attention, he merits taking a quiet retirement. So do we. Charles Mackay, Saint Eustache, Que. For what it's worth, I have absolutely no desire to be kept up to date regarding what pop star our former prime minister has been seen with or where he chose to vacation with his children. I have even less desire to be confronted with his sanctimonious, grinning visage leering back at me from my newspaper first thing in the morning. Ten years of being regularly subjected to this vacuous idiot was more than enough! Canada — including all its political parties — has made a golden calf to worship out of dairy cows. In his column, Andrew Richter points out that approximately 10,000 dairy farmers with relatively high incomes are the sole beneficiaries of dairy supply management at significant cost to all Canadian families of about $600 per year — which hits disadvantaged families the hardest. This bizarre pampering of a farming elite concentrated in Quebec and Ontario seems like wilful ignorance. Leftist voters suddenly prioritize wealthy dairy farmers over those with much lower incomes? Conservative voters suddenly find government control of an essential foodstuff, which hikes prices, a good thing? 'Elbows up' Canadians show hypocrisy and shortsightedness bewailing threatened tariffs while supporting barring competition from America and Europe that would lower dairy prices for consumers (and maybe get us less waxy butter). Indeed, our supply management for dairy is a heavy anchor presently hampering Canada's negotiators for fair trade agreements. Continued favouritism to a farming elite in central Canada should not be a hill to die on, unlike what our unthinking Parliament has just signed into law. Jamie Sarkonak demands adult punishment for a minor to protect society, appealing to tough-on-crime sensibilities. Punishing the guilty feels like a clear fix to serve and protect society from bad people. But this narrow focus on heinous youth crimes misses the law's spirit: safeguarding everyone's rights. Public outrage shouldn't dictate sentences. The law's brilliance lies in its remarkable fact-checker — reasonable doubt. Historically, treating youth differently in criminal justice marks moral progress. Those who call to bend the rule of law to public anger or politicians' whims risk regressing to mob justice. If legislators swayed by outrage prevailed, Canada might still have capital punishment. It doesn't. The Canadian Paediatric Society (2016) confirms youth are more likely to be rehabilitated than adults, supporting distinct sentencing. Remember that the rule of law serves your self-interest when it treats everyone fairly. Protecting the rights of others — especially young offenders whose minds are still forming —protects you. One sentencing error, fixable through parole, is better than sweeping injustice condemning all youth. Revenge isn't justice. In 1988, our first son was born, and I returned to university. He had severe asthma. No daycare would accept him. No Canadians wanted this nanny job. We hired a fantastic Filipina Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW). She has held steady employment ever since and is now a Canadian citizen. Our next child had asthma and required a colostomy at age Day 1. No daycare would accept her. So another TFW was hired as no Canadian carers could be found. Children of elderly parents often choose to have a carer in their parents' home rather than placement in a long-term care (LTC) facility. They are familiar with their own home and can keep a companion animal. This also avoids contact with other sick residents at an LTC home. Hiring a licensed carer from an agency (as opposed to a TFW) is expensive, the staff often change, and in my 95-year-old mother-in-law's home, someone stole her silverware set. As you know, caring for small children, the sick or infirm is not an easy job. Most Canadians don't want this kind of work. TFWs provide necessary manpower for jobs no Canadians want. We would also add that we have never exploited our much-needed helpers, nor would we ever do so. Carol and Keith Hult, Sherwood Park, Alta. Donald Savoie was right on when, in his interview with Amna Ahmad, he said we need more front-line government workers and they need to be given priority over behind-the-scenes bureaucrats dealing with policy and such. Example: the difficulty in contacting Canada Revenue Agency representatives by phone. One encounters full phone queues ('hang up and call again') or, if lucky enough to get in the queue, there is a long wait. Accountants report that contacting CRA is frustrating and greatly reduces their productivity. It's a national disgrace. Don Graham, Chemainus, B.C. Re: 'Mass immigration simply unsustainable' — Letters to the editor, July 27 Do we have a shortage of old people in Canada? Is that why the Liberals are trying to bring in 10,000 parents and grandparents of new Canadians into this country? Do we have a surplus of unused, under-utilized medical services or seniors' facilities that are sitting empty, to justify importing thousands of old people, who are likely never going to contribute in any meaningful way to the tax base, but whom that tax base will have to pay for? Can someone explain the logic here? Damian Kanarek, Whitby, Ont. National Post and Financial Post welcome letters to the editor (250 words or fewer). Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. Email letters@ Letters may be edited for length or clarity.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Carney wants to spend an extra $9B on defence by April. Is that possible?
Social Sharing Prime Minister Mark Carney's goal of hitting NATO's defence spending target of two per cent of gross domestic product this year will be an uphill — nearly impossible — battle, say experts and critics. An extra $8.7 billion is earmarked for defence spending by the Department of National Defence (DND) or other government departments, and $370 million for the Communications Security Establishment (CSE). Allies had been pushing Canada to meet NATO's goal for nearly 20 years — but actually actually doing so became imperative with Donald Trump in the White House. "Mark Carney's words are right, but he's gotta crack the whip here real quick," said John Ball, a former Canadian defence industry executive for nearly four decades and now consultant. NATO defines defence expenditures as payments made by a national government specifically to meet the needs of its armed forces, or those of allies and the alliance. Conservative MP and defence critic James Bezan warns it will be difficult for procurement officials inside government to reverse a long-standing culture of risk aversion, deferred decisions and allowing billions of dollars in lapsed spending. WATCH | Canadian defence spending expected to climb further: Canada, NATO allies agree to 5% defence spending target 1 month ago "By the time we get back into Parliament and a budget is passed, we're going to have half a year to spend money that the department won't be able to shovel out the door," Bezan said in an interview with CBC News. He wonders if the government will just engage in a "game of creative accounting" to meet its NATO commitments on paper. But some within the Canadian defence industry as well as DND and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) themselves point to existing mechanisms that can be leveraged to move quickly. Those include the use of standing offers, supply arrangements and pre-qualified vendor lists, as well as strategic partnerships with defence companies identified as centres of excellence, bilateral partnerships with other countries and the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. In situations that are truly time sensitive, the government can invoke a National Security Exception (NSE), Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) or issue an Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN). Although these have strict eligibility criteria and are not everyday tools. "If the government can demonstrate to us that this is in the interest of national security and there is a limited availability from a competitive factor, we would be open to those types of procurement," said Bezan. "But we can't make a habit of using NSEs as a way to … get the equipment that we require for the Canadian Armed Forces." Carney outlined on June 9 the general areas for increased investment, but gave no specifics. The list included better compensation; health care and infrastructure for personnel; new equipment such as aircraft, armed vehicles and ammunition; expanding the Canadian Coast Guard and moving it under DND; repairing and maintaining existing ships, aircraft and other assets; and developing new drones and sensors to monitor the sea floor and the Arctic. "We think it's largely going to be made up of items that are already identified or some that have been languishing in the procurement pipeline or projects that were underfunded," said Christyn Cianfarani, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI). Spending at home One way to spend faster would be to expand existing orders for armoured vehicles, ships and planes. For example, augmenting an existing contract for 360 light armoured vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems in London, Ont. A company spokesperson says it would be able to quickly respond to contract amendment requests. But if the government intends to buy equipment not already on order or in the inventory, Cianfarani argues DND and PSPC have to change their approach. "There should not be a protracted procurement process," she said. "Probably a good portion of that $9 billion could be spent on Canadian firms." The prime minister has explicitly stated that part of the goal is to build up the Canadian defence industry, while acknowledging that continuing to do business with allies, including the U.S., will remain necessary. Cianfarani is far from alone in her concern over Canada's procurement process, one of the main reasons critics argue spending $9 billion in less than a year is doubtful. PSPC says its preference is for open, fair and competitive procurement. But many argue the process is overly long, and in some cases merely a box-ticking exercise where the winner is a foregone conclusion. "Why did they do it? They did it to appease," said Ball of those requests for proposals that already have a preferred candidate in mind. Cianfarani said it's frustrating for firms to spend millions on a bid for which they never had a real chance. She said it would be better to engage in "directed procurement" more often, as is done in other countries, where the government knows what it wants to invest in — and who the best suppliers are — and it then chooses them. But Bezan and others warn of the risk of boondoggles increases if the rush to spend money also means hurried oversight. "Talking about going to two per cent, and higher down the road, doesn't mean we give licence to spend money frivolously," said Bezan. 'Deliberate urgency' Those in the defence industry argue that they too want to make sure there's value for money. "I use the phrase 'deliberate urgency,' in that we need to think about how that money impacts the Canadian economic situation," said Chris Pogue, a former Royal Canadian Air Force pilot and now president of Calian Defence and Space. "I don't think we should let urgency overcome smart procurement, but things can move quickly if we have a sense of the direction we want to go and the kind of capability we need." Pogue said capabilities around sovereignty need to be homegrown, such as equipment and supplies needed for operations in the Arctic. An additional challenge is that most defence spending, at least on the capital side, is spent and accounted for over a number of years. But a senior government official says they truly plan to increase defence spending by $9 billion before April. That said, the government continues to describe both the amount and the deadline as targets, not certainties.
