Security experts call for independent inquiry into Havana Syndrome at Ottawa's Cuba embassy
Former spies and officials say Parliament must investigate alleged sonic attacks and Ottawa's treatment of diplomats.
OTTAWA — Former Canadian spies and high-level security officials say Parliament needs to independently investigate whether Russia used sonic weaponry against Canadian diplomats in Cuba and how Ottawa subsequently treated them.
The call follows a Globe and Mail report that a Canadian diplomat was sharing intelligence with American spies in Cuba around the time of the alleged sonic attacks between 2016 and 2018.
During that period, officials from both countries experienced dizziness, headaches, blurred vision and memory loss, symptoms linked to what became known as Havana Syndrome.
READ MORE: Toronto police seek suspect in alleged hate-motivated assault on man draped in Palestinian flag
READ MORE: Trump announces military deal with Denmark to expand U.S. presence in Greenland
Ten Canadian diplomats and their families filed a lawsuit in 2019 alleging they were denied leading-edge health care and that the government played down the seriousness of brain injuries.
However, the Canadian Department of Justice confirmed it invoked Section 38 of the Canada Evidence Act in the case, a rarely used law that restricts disclosure of matters that could harm national security, national defence or international relations.
This means details of that lawsuit will stay under wraps.
Canadians were also using satellite equipment brought into Cuba under diplomatic cover by the U.S. between 2016 and 2018, one source told The Globe and Mail.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told the United Nations this weekend that Canada is diversifying its ties under a policy of “values-based realism” because Ottawa “can no longer afford to be overly reliant on any one partner.”
Her address echoed themes from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s January speech at the World Economic Forum.
In other international news, U.S. President Donald Trump said he did not expect a peace agreement with Iran until after the midterm elections scheduled for Nov. 3.
A worldwide shortage of Patriot missiles, caused by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, has created a hole in Kyiv’s air-defence shield as winter approaches.
Two separate mass shootings in South African townships have left at least 28 people dead.
Domestically, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pitched a plan to cut federal taxes on diesel fuel until at least Canada Day.
In a separate legal matter, Jennifer Gaskin is hoping to clear her name more than 20 years after she was convicted in the death of her baby boy.
Her appeal is the latest in a decades-long effort to undo the damage caused by the now widely contested forensic theory of shaken baby syndrome.
In advance of a Sept. 29 hearing, Gaskin’s lawyers and the Crown have jointly submitted to the court that her conviction be quashed.
“For 27 years, my other two children have thought I killed their brother Joeseph,” she said in a statement to The Globe and Mail.
“If my appeal goes well, I pray they will realize I did not kill their brother, and accept me as their loving mother.”
A new trading platform launched by CIX Trading Inc. has brought extended trading hours to Canada, allowing investors to buy and sell domestic stocks earlier in the morning and well into the evening.
Beginning today, CIX will allow trading from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. before moving to a 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. schedule later this year.
Eventually, CIX plans to offer trading 23 hours per day, Monday through Friday.
The 2026-2027 NHL season starts Tuesday with five games, as the league begins play in September for a rare 84-game regular season.
This season, the new hockey salary cap is a maximum of US$104-million, with a maximum of 20 per cent of that going to a single player.
Museums across the country are closing their doors now in a bid to open them to a wider audience later, but renovation needs are forcing these institutions into a balancing act.
Pope Leo XIV condemned medically assisted death as immoral “false compassion” during a visit to Lourdes, the French shrine associated with miraculous healings.
On television, Law & Order Toronto returns with familiar scene partners playing new cop partners.
With files from The Globe and Mail