(Bloomberg) -- Canada is deploying what it calls an “aerial intelligence task force” as part of a new C$1.3 billion ($908 million) plan to address US President-elect Donald Trump’s concerns about migrants and fentanyl flowing across the northern border. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will operate the task force, made up of helicopters, drones and mobile surveillance towers. It’s one of multiple measures unveiled by the Canadian government on Tuesday in an effort to avert Trump’s threat of 25% tariffs on all goods from the country unless it boosts border security. The announcement comes a day after the country’s finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, abruptly resigned, accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of failing to seriously prepare for a Trump presidency. She was replaced by Dominic LeBlanc, the public safety minister who released the border plan on Tuesday. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/2024/12/17/canada-expands-aerial-border-surveillance-to-pacify-trump/

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar slid to its lowest level since March 2020 as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government slips into crisis after the shocking resignation of his finance minister. The currency extended its recent losses to slide another 0.4% on Tuesday past 1.43 per US dollar, the weakest level since the Covid-19 pandemic first shuttered cities. The loonie has been declining as the US’s northern neighbor’s economy lags and officials struggle to come up with a plan to respond to President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/2024/12/17/canadas-dollar-slumps-to-covid-era-low-as-political-risk-mounts/

It is not every day that you achieve the status of “he-who-must-not-be-named.” But that curious distinction has been bestowed upon me by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, according to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other publications. For more than a year, people who tried to research my name online using ChatGPT were met with an immediate error warning. It turns out that I am among a small group of individuals who have been effectively disappeared by the AI system. How we came to this Voldemortian status is a chilling tale about not just the rapidly expanding role of artificial intelligence, but the power of companies like OpenAI. Joining me in this dubious distinction are Harvard Professor Jonathan Zittrain, CNBC anchor David Faber, Australian mayor Brian Hood, English professor David Mayer, and a few others. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ghosted-chatgpt-how-jonathan-turley-was-first-defamed-then-deleted-ai

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced she’s resigning from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, after she says he told her he no longer wanted her in the top economic post. In a letter Freeland posted to social media on Monday morning, Freeland said this decision came after Trudeau offered her “another position in Cabinet.” “Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the cabinet,” Freeland said in the bombshell letter. “To be effective, a minister must speak on behalf of the prime minister and with his full confidence.” “In making your decision, you made clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence,” she added, addressing the prime minister directly. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/politics/2024/12/16/chrystia-freeland-resigns-from-justin-trudeaus-cabinet/

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding a cabinet meeting this morning ahead of the release of his government’s fall economic statement. The meeting comes amid news that his federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser will not be seeking re-election. A government official, who is not authorized to speak publicly about the issue, confirmed that Fraser is stepping away from federal politics for family reasons. The Nova Scotia MP, who is expected to publicly disclose his plans this morning, held several parliamentary secretary roles before he was named immigration minister. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/politics/2024/12/16/trudeaus-cabinet-meets-ahead-of-fes-fraser-wont-seek-re-election/

TORONTO — Canada’s financial intelligence agency says it has imposed an administrative penalty of $2.46 million against Exchange Bank of Canada for non-compliance with money-laundering rules. Fintrac says it found Exchange Bank of Canada failed to submit suspicious transaction reports when there were reasonable grounds to do so, failed to conduct ongoing monitoring of business relationships and failed to report $10,000 or more in cash in a single transaction. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/company-news/2024/12/11/exchange-bank-of-canada-fined-246m-by-fintrac-for-anti-money-laundering-failures/

(Bloomberg) -- The Bank of Canada made its second straight outsize cut in interest rates and signalled policymakers are ready to slow down monetary easing. Officials led by Governor Tiff Macklem lowered the benchmark overnight rate by 50 basis points to 3.25% on Wednesday, bringing borrowing costs to the top end of the range of their estimate for the neutral rate — a level that’s neither restrictive nor stimulative for the economy. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/economics/1970/01/01/bank-of-canada-cuts-key-interest-rate-by-50-bps-to-325/

One economist says she expects the Bank of Canada to lower its key interest rate by 50 basis points (bps) on Wednesday as the bank continues to shift its focus away from inflation concerns toward stimulating a slowing economy. Citi’s Veronica Clark told BNN Bloomberg that her call for a jumbo rate cut from the central bank has not changed since its last meeting, when it lowered rates by 50 bps after three straight 25-bps cuts. “We are expecting a 50-bps cut on Wednesday, that was my call really after the October meeting when we saw a similarly large 50-bps cut,” she said in a Monday interview. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/economics/2024/12/09/restrictive-rates-no-longer-needed-expect-50-bps-cut-from-boc-economist/

Trudeau says Canada ‘will respond’ if Trump imposes 25% tariffs (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “will respond” if US President-elect Donald Trump imposes new tariffs on Canadian imports, and argued that retaliatory tariffs were successful when Trump put tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum in 2018. Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports on the first day of his presidency unless both countries crack down on the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the US. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/economics/2024/12/09/trudeau-says-canada-will-respond-if-trump-imposes-25-tariffs/

Why would ANYONE allow to give their baby a Hepatitis B shot today, unless that parent themselves was infected with Hepatitis B? How about testing the mother for Hep B instead of jabbing the baby with poison? You get Hep B by sharing needles and/or having sex with a Hep B person. I'm kinda certain that unborn babies and even newborn babies don't share needles and that they don't have sex with infected persons . . . CDC Recommends New Hep B Vaccine for Pregnant Women, Removes Warning on Lack of Safety Data Experts who spoke with The Defender said the vaccines recommended for pregnant women are often risky and ineffective and long-term safety data are lacking.​ https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/cdc-hep-b-vaccine-pregnant-women-lack-safety-data/