Investment

CSIS warns of security concerns linked to foreign investment in Canada – CBC.ca

Published

4 years ago

May 20, 2020

Canada’s spy agency has issued a warning about the national security risk posed by some foreign investment — but isn’t saying which state-owned enterprises and foreign state actors it’s particularly worried about.

The message was delivered in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s 2019 annual public report, tabled in Parliament today.

“Economic espionage activities in Canada continue to increase in breadth, depth and potential economic impact. Hostile foreign intelligence services or people who are working with the tacit or explicit support of foreign states, attempt to gather political, economic, commercial, academic, scientific or military information through clandestine means in Canada,” the report says.

“As difficult as it is to measure, this damage to our collective prosperity is very real.”

The report says that while most foreign investment in Canada is above-board, “a number of state-owned enterprises and private firms with close ties to their government and or intelligence services can pursue corporate acquisition bids in Canada or other economic activities.”

“Corporate acquisitions by these entities pose potential risks related to vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, control over strategic sectors, espionage and foreign influenced activities, and illegal transfer of technology and expertise,” says the annual report.

“CSIS expects that national security concerns related to foreign investments or other economic activities in Canada will continue.”

The report is just the latest word of caution from CSIS about the rise of economic espionage in Canada. Director David Vigneault has called state-sponsored commercial espionage the “greatest threat” to Canada’s economy.

The 34-page report warns of foreign economic espionage several times, but doesn’t name the state actors involved. Earlier this year, however, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), a review body made up of MPs and senators, released a report specifically calling out China and Russia for running “significant and sustained” foreign interference activities in Canada.

CSIS report flags ‘incel’ movement

CSIS’s annual report identified also touched on the threat posed in Canada by violent, ideologically-motivated individuals, including those associated with the so-called “incel” online movement.

Toronto police say they’re treating the killing of a woman at a Toronto massage parlour in February as an act of terrorism after uncovering what they say is evidence suggesting it was inspired by incel ideology.

Supporters of this misogynistic online movement typically express frustration toward women over their own lack of sexual success, and sometimes threaten violence against them. Toronto police and RCMP classify it as an “ideologically motivated violent extremist” movement.

Alek Minassian, the accused driver in the 2018 Toronto van attack that killed 10 people and injured 16 others, said in a police interview he was inspired by incel ideology.

Minassian told police shortly after the attack that his actions were retribution for years of sexual rejection and ridicule by women. His judge-only trial was scheduled to begin in early 2020 but has not yet started.

CSIS says threat actors’ reliance on encrypted technology online remains an obstacle for intelligence agencies.

“They can evade detection by police and intelligence officials, which often presents a significant challenge when governments investigate and seek to prosecute threat actors,” the report says.

“Terrorist entities use cyberspace to enhance the security of their activities … Radicalization, both offline and online, remains a significant concern to Canada and its allies.”

Wednesday’s report also looked at the number of security screenings CSIS has performed over the last fiscal year as part of its mandate. The security assessments help flag security concerns linked to terrorism and espionage, and help departments and agencies with decisions about whether to grant, deny or revoke security clearances.

Through the Immigration and Citizenship, program it screened 217,400 citizen applications and 41,000 refugees last year.

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Investment

Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

Published

7 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

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Investment

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published

4 weeks ago

October 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Economy

S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

Published

1 month ago

October 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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