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Jun 24 2025

The Roundup: Euro deal. Phoenix fix. Ceasefire broken.

TUE JUN 24 2025
David Akin's Roundup
Euro deal. Phoenix fix. Ceasefire broken.
Canada
Carney signs new deal with EU to deepen defence and security ties
Prime Minister Mark Carney is following through on his plan to deepen Canada's security and defence procurement ties with the European Union (EU). Mackenzie Gray looks at what's been agreed upon, and what the deal could help Canada do faster. [Global National]
Prime Minister Mark Carney's office confirmed Hillman has been named to the position, making her U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer's opposite in the bilateral trade talks. [Global]
Liberals continue to pull ahead of the Conservative with the Carney government enjoying a 13-point advantage. This compared to a ballot support toss up in the recent federal election. Also of note, Poilievre, whose profile has diminished in the post election period now trails by a significant 29 points in terms of who Canadians would prefer as Prime Minister. [Nanos]

Alex Benay, associate deputy minister at Public Services and Procurement Canada, said the alternative to running the Phoenix system in tandem with its replacement, Dayforce, would have been worse. "The unfortunate situation is there's no easy path," he said. "This is the one that's going to impact employees the least." [CP]

Several concerned groups and individuals recently said the review should be overseen by an independent panel — not the government — to avoid a conflict of interest. University of Ottawa professor Matt Malone, who was among those advocating an independent review, says the exercise is flawed from the start and will waste precious government resources. [CP]
Salt Typhoon previously hacked phone and telco giants across the United States. [TechCrunch]
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The Provinces
“Sales have stopped”: Ontario developers predict layoffs if build costs don't fall
Ontario developers are calling for more government assistance, as home sales in the province slow dramatically and demand for new builds dries up. The Building Industry and Land Development Association warned Monday if something isn’t done, tens of thousands of jobs could be at risk. So far this year, sales of single-family homes in and around Toronto are down 50 per cent, while condo sales have dropped 65 per cent compared to last year. But Global’s Colin D’Mello has learned any government help would likely not be aimed at companies. [Global]
The ballots have been counted in the provincial by-elections held yesterday and the results are: Status quo ante bellum. Naheed Nenshi’s NDP held urban Edmonton-Ellerslie and suburban Edmonton-Strathcona, and Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party held rural Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. [Daveberta]
Rustad says in-person voting has already taken place in at least two ridings and he expects the ballot to be completed in December, once members in all 93 B.C. ridings have taken part. The voting comes amid questions over Rustad's handling of a group of former Conservative MLAs who he recently accused of trying to blackmail their former colleagues in a bid to take over the party. [CP]
Aurora
Elsewhere

Israel and Iran on Tuesday accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump to end their 12-day war that roiled the Middle East, after Tehran launched a limited, retaliatory missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar. The acceptance of the deal by both sides came after Iran launched a final onslaught of missiles targeting Israel that killed at least four people early Tuesday morning, while Israel launched a blitz of airstrikes targeting sites across the Islamic Republic before dawn. However, Israel’s military said it had detected another Iranian barrage hours after the start of the ceasefire, showing how dangerous the situation remained. Sirens sounded in northern Israel and explosions could be heard as Israeli air defenses fired. [AP]
Netanyahu decided on Iran war last year, then sought to recruit Trump
In private conversations senior Israeli government officials said they had already decided by March, weeks before Netanyahu met Trump in the Oval Office on April 7, to strike Iran with or without U.S. participation by June at the latest, said two people with knowledge of the matter. The reasoning was that Iran would have rebuilt its air defenses by the latter half of the year, one of the people said. (WaPo) (🎁 link)
The five per cent goal is made up of two parts, including agreeing to a hike pure defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, up from the current target of at least two per cent, [Global]

On Monday 23 June 2025, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte outlined his expectations for the NATO Summit in The Hague. This year’s Summit takes place on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 June and will bring together heads of state and government from across the Alliance; it will be hosted by the Netherlands for the first time. This week, Allies will approve a major new defence investment plan, raising the benchmark for defence investment to 5% of GDP. This will be agreed together with a concerted effort to ramp up defence industry across NATO, increasing security and creating jobs. There will also be a continued focus on support for Ukraine alongside the pursuit of a just and lasting end to Russia’s war of aggression. [NATO]
Media
Founders aim to create alternative that addresses content, data sovereignty concerns. [Globe and Mail]
For researchers who study the relationship between the president and the press, this is something new — short, quotable and frequent reporter phone calls with POTUS. "This is a marked shift," Factba.se creator Bill Frischling said. He tracks down every Trump interview for his indispensable database, and he has counted 19 of these quick phoners in June, versus only one formal interview. [CNN]
Science and Technology
AI is transforming Indian call centers. What does it mean for workers?
For three years, Kartikeya Kumar hesitated before picking up the phone, anticipating another difficult conversation with another frustrated customer. The call center agent, now 29, had tried everything to eliminate what a colleague called the “Indian-ism” in his accent. He mimicked the dialogue from Marvel movies and belted out songs by Metallica and Pink Floyd. Relief finally arrived in the form of artificial intelligence.  In 2023, Kumar’s employer, the Paris-based outsourcing giant Teleperformance, rolled out an accent-altering software at his office in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi. In real time, the AI smooths out Kumar’s accent — and those of at least 42,000 other Indian call center agents — making their speech more understandable to American clients on the other end of the line. [WaPo] (🎁 link)
Don’t be alarmed if you see a Zamboni-like rover roaming Ontario's shores this summer – it’s a beach cleaning robot being tested in some provincial parks. [Global]
The Calendar
Reminder: All times are Eastern, i.e. Ottawa time.
  • 0220 : Brussels, Belgium - PM Carney departs for The Hague, the Netherlands.
  • 0415 : Rotterdam, the Netherlands - PM Carney arrives at the Rotterdam The Hague Airport
  • 0830 : The Hague, the Netherlands - PM Carney meets with Latvia PM Edgars Rinkēvičs
  • 0830 : The Hague, the Netherlands - Foreign Affairs Min Anita Anand speaks to reporters.
  • 0915 : The Hague, the Netherlands - PM Carney meets with the Netherlands PM Dick Schoof
  • 1000 : The Hague, the Netherlands - PM Carney has an audience with Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima
  • 1115 : The Hague, the Netherlands - PM Carney meets with leaders of Nordic countries
  • 1200 : Edmonton - PRAIRIESCan Min Eleanor Oszewski makes a funding announcement.
  • 1325 : The Hague, the Netherlands - PM Carney attends the official welcome to the NATO summit give by Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima.
Issued this day ...
… in 1931. Sc 184. King George V “Admiral” Provisional. 

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