Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Newly surfaced documents have reignited scrutiny of Project Sidewinder, a 1990s joint investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) into allegations that Chinese state interests, organized crime, and influential corporate figures were converging to reshape Canada’s economic and political landscape. The report singled out Chinese entities now facing intensified scrutiny in Washington, as US officials move to counter Beijing’s expanding influence over critical global infrastructure, including its strategic footholds in international shipping hubs such as the Panama Canal. An RCMP Chief Superintendent backed a forceful June 1997 Sidewinder draft that named Hong Kong tycoons, among them Li Ka-Shing, and highlighted major shipping and investment companies like Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. and CITIC. Yet CSIS leadership disputed the draft’s conclusions, according to a 1999 review by the Security Intelligence Review Com...

I know I really should care --- and it is a slippery slope to be on because who knows what /who might be next (if in fact the allegations are actually true) --- however I’m sorry, and I really don’t give a crap! According to a document released by the BC Civil Liberties Association yesterday (July 8 th )... The BCCLA complaint alleged that, contrary to sections 12 and 19 of the CSIS Act, CSIS was monitoring environmentalists who were opposed to the Northern Gateway Pipeline Proposal, and sharing this information with the National Energy Board (NEB) and petroleum industry companies. The BCCLA further alleged that this spying activity was deterring individuals from associating with environmental groups and expressing their opinions and that this chilling effect interfered with the freedoms of expression and association as protected by Section 2 of the Charter. Specifically named in the complaints were Dogwood Initiative, ForestEthics Advocacy (now Stand.earth), Si...