A government communications strategy reveals PHAC and Oxaro consult each other about replies when journalists or MPs ask questions about the program. [Global]

"It's certainly more difficult to strike a deal with the United States now with the passage of this bill that basically forces Canada to negotiate with one hand tied behind its back," said William Pellerin, a trade lawyer and partner at the firm McMillan LLP. "Now that we've removed the digital service tax, dairy and supply management is probably the number 1 trade irritant that we have with the United States. That remains very much unresolved." [CP]

The petition appears to target a group protesting for voter reform by putting forward dozens of candidates in certain electoral races. [Stratford Today]

Axworthy spoke to The Canadian Press after issuing an online broadside last Sunday against the Carney government. In a blog post following the NATO summit — where alliance members agreed to Trump's demand for a massive increase in the alliance's defence spending target — Axworthy accused Carney and other world leaders of bending a knee to Trump. [CP]

Bonnie Critchley says she's running as an independent because she's grown disillusioned with partisan politics. [Yahoo]

Former infrastructure minister Peter Guthrie and legislature member Scott Sinclair were booted from caucus earlier this year for pushing back against the Premier Danielle Smith's government and now sit as Independents. Sinclair says the province's two-party system has become too divisive, and they want to galvanize support from Albertans who feel they don't have a political home. [CP]

Jonathan Kerr, a family doctor by profession, is touting past work on affordable housing and the recruitment of physicians in Comox. [Vancouver Sun]

A landmark sign that's welcomed beach-goers to a popular strip of sand on the Lake Huron shoreline for decades looked a little different this Canada Day. [CBC]

The Dalai Lama said he will be reincarnated after he dies, and no one can interfere with the matter of succession. The Chinese government, however, claims authority over the his succession. [NPR]

News organizations have been under financial pressure to streamline their activities for decades. Critics argue that this pressure undermines the quality of news, posing a severe threat to democracy. However, the effects of media consolidation on news quality are theoretically ambiguous and empirical evidence is scarce. Our [research] indicate that mergers are associated with slight increases in content quality. However, we also find evidence of content homogenization, as merging newspapers tend to slightly decrease their provision of local news, while relying more on content shared with co-owned newspapers. [Journal of Communication]

The move follows two waves of layoffs in May and June, which saw Microsoft fire more than 6,000 employees. [Seattle Times]

Google is giving Workspace users a way to access “Gems” — customizable versions of its Gemini AI assistant that specialize in specific tasks — without opening the Gemini app. Gems are now available directly in the side panel of Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drive, and Gmail, allowing users to access custom chatbots they’ve created or a selection of pre-made offerings without switching between apps. [The Verge]