At least five Canadian cities are vying to host a new defence-oriented world bank that could create up to 3,500 jobs, the National Post has learned.

Vancouver, Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal are all in the running to host the headquarters of the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), according to a well-placed source.

The DSRB, to be established by the end of 2026, will serve 40 member countries, which include NATO members and their Indo-Pacific allies.

“If the vote were today, the headquarters would be here (in Canada),” the source said Wednesday. “The vote won’t be until mid-January or February.”

Months ago, London, England, appeared to be the “natural choice” for the DSRB headquarters, said the source. “But the government in the U.K. has been in such disarray that they can’t even organize a one-car funeral. They were given a gift: do you want this? They never said no. But they couldn’t say yes.”

• New agency launched to speed Canadian military procurement, reconsider U.S. purchases
• How a multibillion dollar defence bank could help Canada increase its military spending

The city that gets the bank’s headquarters will need to be close to embassies, demonstrate the ability to recruit top talent in financial services, and supply buildings that can house the facility.

“Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa all have those capabilities,” said the source.

“This will become a decision of the prime minister and cabinet.”

Officials behind the DSRB had recent discussions with the business development agency Invest Nova Scotia about headquartering the bank in Halifax, said the source. “They were very supportive, and they were going to work with the premier.”

Vancouver also put their hand up, said the source, as did the City of Montreal.

Toronto is expected to announce next week that it, too, is vying for the DSRB headquarters, said the source.

Toronto City Councillor Brad Bradford wrote a public letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney advocating for Toronto as the ideal location for the headquarters.

“Toronto is the economic engine of Canada’s economy,” Bradford wrote in his letter, dated Dec. 10. “Our city produces roughly one fifth of the national GDP and anchors the country’s financial system. The institutions that finance the energy systems, logistics infrastructure, and digital networks of the DSRB will support (operations) here. Establishing the headquarters in Toronto puts the Bank in the necessary proximity to the vital partners it will need to attract capital and structure complex, multi-year investments.”

Retired general Rick Hillier, a former chief of the Canadian defence staff — who is on the board of the DSRB — was named as honourary chair Wednesday of the National Defence Innovation Hub Task Force for Canada’s Capital Region.

“As part of this work, the Task Force will guide the region’s official bid to host the Global Defence & Security Resilience Bank (DSRB) headquarters, a diplomatic institution that will mobilize critical capital, strengthen sovereign capability, and reinforce the resilience, security, and economic strength of allied nations,” said a press release from Invest Ottawa, which bills itself as the lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital Region.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Gatineau Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette issued a joint statement Wednesday on the matter. “We welcome the opportunity to host the DSRB and formally invite anchor nations to convene the bank’s charter negotiations in Ottawa-Gatineau when they commence in 2026,” it said.

“We would be honoured to host this once-in-a-generation gathering and the headquarters of the DSRB. Canada’s National Capital Region is fully committed to supporting the DSRB’s global success.”

Hillier’s “leadership and experience will be invaluable as we accelerate our Defence Innovation Hub Strategy here in the Capital Region, together with our partners from Gatineau, and build on the success of more than 300 companies in the defence sector in our region” Sutcliffe said in a news release. “Hosting the Defence, Security & Resilience Bank would be a game-changer for our city and our country, bringing billions in investment, creating high-quality jobs, and reinforcing Canada’s role on the world stage. Ottawa and Gatineau have the opportunity to lead Canada’s efforts at building a stronger, more sovereign defence sector.”

Announced this past spring, the DSRB could solve financial problems for countries, including Canada, that are under pressure to increase military spending.

The bank will be owned by its member nations, which would capitalize the bank so it would get a triple-A rating it could take to the bond market to raise money.

The theory is the bank would allow Canada and other countries to re-arm in the face of Russian and Chinese aggression.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

OTTAWA

— While U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is free to do as it wants with its review of purchasing the F-35, he says the debate is nevertheless irritating. 

Carney ordered a review of its F-35 purchase back in March, shortly after becoming prime minister, with his then-defence minister saying Carney had done so to ensure it was the best option.

It came as the country was in the early stages of dealing with a trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump, with emotions running high over his repeated comments about wanting Canada to become its “51st state.” Concerns also mounted as to the reliability of the U.S. as a trading partner.

Defence Minister David McGuinty has said that the review remains ongoing. The first 16 of the F-35 jets from major American manufacturer Lockheed Martin are set to be delivered in the years ahead, out of the 88 it needs to replace its aged fleet of CF-18 aircraft.

Sweden, meanwhile, has been courting the Carney government to consider instead purchasing its

Gripen fighter aircraft, made by the Swedish company Gripen.  

Asked whether the U.S. regards Canada’s review of the F-35 purchase as a trade irritant,

Hoekstra answered bluntly. 

“Canada can do what it wants on the F-35, OK?” he told National Post in a recent wide-ranging interview earlier this week.

The ambassador expressed how he welcomes the commitments Canada has made over the past year when it comes to its military, such as the boosting of its timeline to reach its NATO defence spending targets and its recent agreement on Arctic cooperation.

Hoeskrta said they will put forward “a strong case” as to why Canada should move forward with plans to purchase the F-35 and why they believe the American-made fighter jet to be “the best option for Canada.”

He pointed out that Canada stands out among allied countries in not flying the F-35, which he added would change in the months ahead as it receives its first deliveries of the fighter jets.

“Does it irritate me, personally, that we’re revisiting this issue again? Yeah, it’d be nice to put this one to bed and just move forward,”

Hoekstra said. 

Canada and the U.S. have spent years working on the issue, the ambassador added, pointing out that around 30 companies within Canada contribute to the building of the F-35.

“It would be nice if Canada made a commitment,” Hoesktra said. “But if they want to go through another review, they can go through another review.”

Maya

Ouferhat, a spokeswoman for McGuinty, said in a statement that the review of the F-35 remained ongoing, as Canada continues to consider our defence industrial strategy and work to ensure maximum economic benefits for our businesses and workers.”

McGuinty’s office did not directly answer as to why the review remains ongoing when the initial expectation was that it would be finalized by the end of the summer.

Reuters

reported in August

that defence officials had encouraged Canada to stick with the initial plan to purchase the full complement of 88 F-35 jets.

A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said in a statement that the F-35 was “the

most advanced, survivable and connected fighter aircraft in the world” and that it values its relationship with the Royal Canadian Air Force. 

Chauncey McIntosh, vice-president and general manager of the F-35 program, said in a separate response that Canada stands to reap billions in economic benefit by moving ahead with further purchase of the fighter jet.

“Investing in the full complement of F-35s fosters a robust and innovative aerospace sector in Canada, creating high-quality jobs and boosting the country’s defence and aerospace industries,” McIntosh said in a statement.

Back in 2023, former defence minister Bill Blair, who still serves as a Liberal MP, announced that Canada planned to purchase 88 F-35 jets to the tune of $19 billion, touting the aircraft as the “

most advanced fighter on the market.”

Karen Hogan, Canada’s auditor general, released a report in June that showed the estimated costs had already jumped to nearly $28 billion, adding that another $5.5 billion would be needed to make the jets fully operational.

When he announced the initial purchase plan, Blair said at the time that Canada was scheduled to receive the first four fighter jets by 2026, followed by six in 2027 and six more by 2028.

With a file from David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen

National Post

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

A Canadian woman who got approved for a medically assisted death because of a years-long wait to receive surgery for her chronically painful condition may finally get treated. American conservative commentator Glenn Beck has offered to pay for her to have surgery in the United States.

“If there is any surgeon in America who can do this, I’ll pay for this patient to come down here for treatment. THIS is the reality of “compassionate” progressive healthcare,”

Beck said in a post on X

after Jolene Van Alstine’s story spread across social media. “Canada must END this insanity and Americans can NEVER let it spread here.”

The Regina woman has endured eight years of abdominal pain, extreme bone pain and fractures caused by normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism. The rare form of parathyroid disease also causes daily nausea and vomiting, overheating, and anxiety and depression caused by social isolation.

“Every day I get up, and I’m sick to my stomach and I throw up, and I throw up. It takes me hours to cool off, I overheat, we have to turn the temperature down to 14 degrees when I get up in the morning in the house,” Van Alstine said on Nov. 25, according to a report by 980 CJME, when she and her husband attended question period at the provincial legislature as guests of the NDP, in an effort to make an appeal to the health minister.

“I’m so sick, I don’t leave the house except to go to medical appointments, blood work or go to the hospital.”

The condition is treatable with surgery to remove Van Alstine’s remaining parathyroid gland, but Saskatchewan doesn’t have a surgeon who can complete the complex surgery. In order for Van Alstine to get surgery in another province, she needs to get a referral from an endocrinologist, but none of them are taking new patients.

“I’m urging Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill to meet with Jolene, to hear her story and commit today to get her the surgery she needs. Nobody should be forced to choose between unbearable suffering and death. No family should be put in this position,” said Jared Clarke, the Saskatchewan NDP’s shadow minister for rural and remote health, in a statement after Van Alstine visited the legislature.

“I feel like I’m at the end of the road so I’m hoping Minister Cockrill can help me,” Van Alstine said in a statement released by the NDP.

Her husband said he doesn’t want her to go through with her request for MAID, which has been scheduled for Jan. 7, but he knows how desperate she feels. He told CBC that her case is complex because she has previously had surgeries, “but they haven’t been 100 per cent successful.”

“I understand how long and how much she’s suffered and it’s horrific, the physical suffering, but it’s also the mental anguish,” said her husband, Miles Sundeen, in a statement released by the NDP. “No hope — no hope for the future, no hope for any relief. I don’t want her to do it, but I understand where she’s at.”

• Canadians still waiting longer for surgeries than before COVID
• More than 16,000 Canadians died by MAID in 2024 — 5% of all deaths in Canada: report

Since the couple appeared in the legislature two weeks ago, little seems to have happened to move her case forward. However, her story has spread across social media, with American conservative commentators, in particular, holding it up as an example of what’s wrong with Canada’s health-care system.

On Tuesday, Beck, who is CEO of Blaze Media,

offered to pay

for Van Alstine’s treatment in the United States and said he had spoken to the couple. On Wednesday, Beck said he had discussed the matter with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Jolene does not have a passport to gain legal entry into the U.S., but my team has been in touch with President Trump’s State Department,” he posted on X. “All I can say for now is they are aware of the urgent life-saving need and we had a very positive call.”

UPDATE 3: Jolene does not have a passport to gain legal entry into the U.S., but my team has been in touch with President Trump’s State Department.

All I can say for now is they are aware of the urgent life-saving need and we had a very positive call. https://t.co/uSOw4423w6

— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) December 10, 2025

National Post could not reach Van Alstine by publication deadline.

The health ministry told 980 CJME in a statement that Cockrill met with Van Alstine but wouldn’t say if any progress was made, citing patient confidentiality.

“The Ministry of Health encourages all patients to continue working with their primary care providers to properly assess and determine the best path forward to ensure they receive timely access to high-quality healthcare,” the statement said.

This isn’t the first time Van Alstine has appealed to the government for help. In November 2022 Van Alstine and her husband joined the provincial NDP in asking the government to get wait-times under control for patients to see a specialist or receive surgery.

In August 2023, Vicki Mowat, deputy leader of the Saskachewan NDP,

shared a Facebook post

that showed what Van Alstine looked like before and after her body was ravaged by her disease.

“She and her partner Miles have exhausted all avenues for advocacy,” the post said. “We all know someone who has suffered unnecessarily, and we know that we are stronger when we rise up together. Let’s help build a system where care is available when and where we need it.”

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Bestselling Canadian children’s author Robert Munsch says readers can look forward to more of his stories after his death.

He has a plan for new books to come out, he

told CBC

‘s Adrienne Arsenault in an interview about living with dementia

—

explaining what it feels like inside his brain.

Munsch, 80, has been diagnosed with dementia as well as Parkinson’s. And he has previously struggled with a stroke, depression, alcoholism and lost two children (who were stillborn). This past fall, he came under scrutiny, including criticism from pro-life groups, for announcing he had applied for MAID (medical assistance in dying) shortly after it was legalized in 2016.

While he hasn’t chosen a date for his death, he’s aware that his health could fail to the point that he wouldn’t be eligible for ask for MAID because of a diminished ability to communicate. Munsch is comfortable with the decision he’s made — retaining control and deciding when he’s ready to go.

His wife of 53 years, Ann,

told CBC

she wasn’t surprised by his choice. “It’s like Bob to face life head-on.”

Munsch has written 85 published books including “Love You Forever,” “The Paper Bag Princess,” and “Mud Puddle.” In the interview with Arsenault, he spoke about the stories that haven’t been published yet.

“In my brain, the stories are all stacked. There… locked. Everything else is up for grabs. Oh, I can’t trust the rest of my thinking,” Munsch said during the interview.

But the stories are your friends?, he was asked.

“The stories are my friends.” He also agreed his wife and children fall are locked in as his friends too.

He was asked if he sometimes dreams about being younger, a version of himself that is running on stage.

“I dream I’m on stage, he responded. “The audience … Well, when things are bad, that’s the place I retreat to.”

Surrounded by kids? “Yeah.”

Arsenault mentioned seeing a photo of a filing cabinet he had that contained stories in various stages.

Munsch confirmed it’s still around.

“It is about… 50 stories in that. Now, not all of them are gonna make it. But… when I’m dead, they’ll still be putting out Robert Munsch books.”

Has he planned for that to happen?, he was asked. “yeah.”

“Well, your stories are gonna live forever, and your voice and telling them is gonna be around for a long, long, long time. Is that a good feeling or a strange feeling?,” asked Arsenault.

“It’s a good feeling,” Munch said. “People always say, you know, they live forever. Well… nobody lives forever, but… I will at least have a couple of… couple…(after his death). As many years as I’ve already had … that’d be nice.”

• Pro-life groups critical of Robert Munch’s choice to eventually end his life by using MAID
• How did Robert Munsch qualify for MAID if he’s not dying? What to know about Canada’s assisted suicide rules

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

OTTAWA — Activist Yves Engler says he has no plans to step aside after the NDP rejected his bid to join the party’s ongoing leadership race.

“We’re not stopping, we’re demanding the (NDP’s) federal council overturn this,” Engler said on Wednesday.

The party told Engler on Nov. 25 that his application to stand as an NDP leadership candidate was rejected, a ruling he made public in a

lengthy social media post

on Tuesday evening.

A Dec. 3 follow-up email viewed by National Post outlined several “relevant factors” leading to the rejection, including “credible evidence of harassment, intimidation, and physical confrontation.” The email includes a link to

an April 2023 clip

of Engler ambushing then-NDP leader Jagmeet Singh over his comments on

alleged Chinese election interference

.

Engler,

a self-described “agitator”

, is known to

shout questions at politicians

in public, regularly posting footage from these confrontations to social media.

One clip, uploaded

by Engler on Apr. 4

, shows him following visibly shaken Liberal MP Anna Gainey to her car. A nearby security guard tells Engler, “that’s enough!” in the final seconds.

Engler dismissed Gainey’s distress as “manufactured Zio(nist) tears” in the accompanying caption.

The email didn’t directly mention

Engler’s ongoing criminal trial

involving the alleged harassment of a detective investigating a prior claim against him.

Other factors cited in the decision were Engler’s “promotion of authoritarian and anti-democratic narratives,” “comments consistent with anti-Semitic attitudes” and “unclear commitment to the NDP.”

Engler’s lawyer, Dimitri Lascaris, sent the party a point-by-point rebuttal of these claims in a lengthy Dec. 3 letter shared with National Post, but was unable to get the decision reversed. A final rejection note was sent on Monday evening.

Engler said the NDP’s federal council can still overturn the decision with a two-thirds vote.

“It’s obviously a long shot,” said Engler.

In the meantime, he said he’ll be hitting the road for a cross-city tour “challenging (the party’s) lack of democracy and putting forward new ideas.”

Engler said he plans to do 20 speaking events across the country, starting in January, and hopes to charter a bus to the NDP’s late-March convention in Winnipeg.

“The Engler bus is coming!” he joked in reference to Vengaboys’ 1998 Eurodance hit

We Like to Party

.

Engler said he has a sizeable war chest after raising more than $100,000 in campaign donations, estimating he has about $70,000 cash-on-hand.

He added that he offered to refund donations after

National Post reported in October

that contributions to his unauthorized campaign were non-tax deductible, as

indicated on his website

, but says this has been a “moot point.”

“One single person contacted us asking for their $50 donation back, and then we explained the situation to them and they were fine with it,” said Engler.

He added that he’s already seen a groundswell of support since word of his disqualification broke, including from people who don’t plan to vote for him.

Engler shared a public letter asking for the NDP to reconsider the decision co-signed by two dozen Jewish Canadians, including David Mivasair, an activist rabbi affiliated with anti-Israel group Independent Jewish Voices and brothers Aaron and Daniel Maté, sons of physician and writer Gabor Maté.

Inquiries to each of the five approved NDP leadership candidates went unanswered by press time.

One, Edmonton MP Heather McPherson, told National Post in October that she

wouldn’t stand in the way

of Engler’s candidacy.

The other contenders are filmmaker Avi Lewis, union leader Rob Ashton, Vancouver Island city councillor Tanille Johnston and organic farmer Tony McQuail. Nominations are open until the end of January.

The next major event on the leadership campaign calendar is February’s English debate in the Vancouver area, which is coincidentally where Engler grew up.

National Post

rmohamed@postmedia.com

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Baby formula was stashed away “deliberately” by Hamas during “the worst of the days of the hunger crisis in Gaza in the past six months,” a Palestinian-American activist says. It was stored in “clandestine warehouses belonging to the Gaza Ministry of Health,” which is run by Hamas, said Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib in a post on X on Monday.

He shared a video which appears to show piles of ready-to-use infant formula. He said activists in Gaza are now documenting “the waste and deliberate disposal of tons of infant formula, nutritional children’s shake, and children’s powdered milk, which Hamas had hoarded away.”

During the worst of the days of the hunger crisis in Gaza in the past six months, Hamas deliberately hid literal tons of infant formula and nutritional shakes for children by storing them in clandestine warehouses belonging to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

The goal, as I said… pic.twitter.com/pANo9uHfAb

— Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (@afalkhatib) December 9, 2025

Alkhatib is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a non-partisan organization in the U.S. dedicated to finding solutions for global issues. He is also the head of Realign for Palestine, a project at the Atlantic Council advocating for a two-state solution and “a humane path forward for peace between the Palestinian and Israeli people.”

A ceasefire agreement two months ago brought an end to the war in the Middle East, which was sparked by the October 7 attacks, when Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostage.

In August, a phase 5 famine was declared in Gaza, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Phase 5 is the highest on the IPC’s Acute Food Insecurity scale. It means at least 20 per cent of households are facing an extreme lack of food, at least 30 per cent of children are suffering from acute malnutrition, and two people for every 10,000 are dying each day due to outright starvation or to the interaction of malnutrition and disease, the IPC says.

The goal of Hamas hiding food, Alkhatib said, “was to worsen the hunger crisis and initiate a disaster as part of the terror group’s famine narrative in a desperate effort to stop Israel’s onslaught against Gaza and force the return of the UN’s aid distribution mechanism, and away from the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).”

The

GHF, a U.S.-run operation

, was created to take control of distributing food and aid in Gaza amid accusations from Israel that Hamas was looting UN supplies. Chaos ensued at the sites set up by GHF, with Hamas accusing Israel’s military of killing civilians in need of aid. Israel’s military has

denied those claims

, saying that it fired warning shots. The GHF said it was winding down operations in November because its mission was complete, the BBC

reported

.

IPC and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) did not respond to National Post’s request for comment.

Alkhatib has been speaking out about food being hidden by Hamas since July, along with other activists.

“We were villainized, attacked, threatened, and made into pariahs by the ‘pro-Palestine’ industrial complex and activist mafias, even though for Gazans, the evidence was so clearly apparent before our eyes,” he said.

“What those in the West continue to fail to understand is that there is no being pro-Palestine without also having a serious vigilance against Hamas’s continued manipulation of international public opinion to hide behind the Strip’s civilian population’s suffering, something that the terrorist organization’s own actions have led to and created.”

In the comments of his post, one person asked if there was more baby formula being hidden than what was shown in the video. “Yes, this is just a sneak peak and only what’s been captured recently,” replied Alkhatib.

He warned people against becoming “a useful idiot in Hamas’s propaganda.”

“You can have compassion for the real suffering of the Palestinian civilians of Gaza, and demand Israeli action to facilitate aid entry into the coastal enclave, while still holding Hamas accountable for its part in causing a hunger and starvation crisis in the first place,” he said.

In another

post

on Tuesday, he said that one of his Palestinian sources in Gaza saw “literal hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid” ready to be delivered last week, but drivers were reluctant to risk their lives to deliver it.

“Instead, most of the trucks going into the Strip right now, which are between 600-900 a day, are part of commercial operations that Hamas taxes at 50% and belong to businessmen and merchants across the Gaza Strip,” said Alkhatib.

He added that the UN and other non-governmental organizations “insist on either not using protection for security and the drivers of aid delivery, or not being part of the racket and gangster operations that Hamas terrorists have been running since the ceasefire.”

“This reduces the overall number of aid trucks carrying supplies and materials that are not for sale and meant to benefit children, poor civilians, and the displaced population,” he said.

• Casey Babb: The United Nations is addicted to slandering Israel without cause
• The inside story of how Gaza aid is diverted from the people who need it most

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

A new rule proposed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) could require Canadian residents who are not citizens of Canada to divulge their social media history before they can enter the United States.

Under the proposed change, listed as “mandatory social media,” anyone applying for ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) would be required to provide five years of social media history.

Rosanna Berardi, an immigration expert in Buffalo, N.Y., told National Post that the change will not affect Canadian citizens with a valid passport, since they do not require an ESTA to visit the U.S.

Rather, ESTA is for travellers from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries, a

list of 42 nations

that includes most European countries as well as Australia, Japan, Singapore and others. Qatar is the most recent addition to the list.

“Canadian citizens traveling on a Canadian passport are not part of the Visa Waiver Program and therefore do not complete ESTA for standard short-term visits (tourism, business meetings, etc.),” Berardi said. “They are admitted under a separate, longstanding visa-exempt regime between the U.S. and Canada.”

She added: “The only time a Canadian might encounter something similar is if they are applying for a formal U.S. visa (for example, certain long-term or specialized categories processed at a consulate). Those applications already involve extensive security questions, and in some cases social media identifiers.”

However, non-Canadians living in Canada

who already require a visa

to enter the U.S. would be subject to the new rule.

“In order to comply with the January 2025

Executive Order 14161

(Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security Threats), CBP is adding social media as a mandatory data element for an ESTA application,” the memo from the Department of Homeland Security states. “The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years.”

The document, published Wednesday in the

U.S. Federal Register

, does not provide further details regarding which social media platforms this would include, or how the history would be handed over.

The document also suggests that “high value data fields” could be added to the ESTA application, including personal and business phone numbers used in the last five years, email addresses used in the last 10 years, and a list of family members, including their phone numbers and dates and places of birth.

It invites comments from the public over the next 60 days.

Sophia Cope, a senior staff attorney at digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, said in a statement to

the New York Times

that the new rule would “exacerbate civil liberties harms.”

She added: “It has not proven effective at finding terrorists and other bad guys. But it has chilled the free speech and invaded the privacy of innocent travellers, along with that of their American family, friends and colleagues.”

The change follows a decision in June by the State Department to require certain applicants for non-immigrant visas to set their social media profiles to “public” when applying.

“The State Department is committed to protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process,”

it said at the time

. ” A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right.”

Whether the new rules would have a chilling effect on tourism to the U.S. remains to be seen. However, last summer a report from the

World Travel and Tourism Council

singled out the United States as the only one of 184 nations it studied expected to see a decline in tourism spending this year. The Britain-based group predicted a drop of $12.5-billion.

“This is a wake-up call for the U.S. government,” Julia Simpson, the group’s CEO, said in a release. “The world’s biggest travel and tourism economy is heading in the wrong direction, not because of a lack of demand, but because of a failure to act. While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign.”

Data from

Statistics Canada

and elsewhere has shown that tourism between Canada and the United States is down this year, as the trade war between the two nations continues.

• What we know about unusual spike in asylum claims at this Quebec border crossing
• FIRST READING: The wild overreach contained in the Liberals’ new border control bill

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A Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw First Nation has banned the province’s premier and two of his ministers from their lands as “undesirables” in the wake of a recent directive from the province for police to crack down on illegal cannabis sales.

“Sipekne’katik First Nation has signed a Band Council Resolution declaring that Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, Justice Minister and Attorney General Scott Armstrong, and Minister of L’nu (Indigenous) Affairs, Leah Martin, are banned as undesirables from ALL Sipekne’katik band lands,” said a press release from the band.

It goes on to say “The Nova Scotia Provincial Government has no jurisdiction on reserve lands.”

• Mi’kmaw man gets house arrest after failing to argue ‘aboriginal right to traffic in cannabis’
• People in Halifax consume the most cannabis, wastewater testing suggests

During his time in office, Premier Tim Houston hasn’t “come to my community to develop relationships with the Sipekne’katik elected leadership,” Chief Michelle Glasgow said in the release. “He has continued to radicalize colonial practices to suppress our community and fellow Mik’maw by forming Laws that direct harm against us. He appointed a Justice Minister and Attorney General who does not follow the highest law of Canada, the Constitution, and appointed a disrespectful person who has no right to speak on our behalf, as the Minister of L’nu Affairs, Leah Martin — he should be deeply ashamed of these actions.”

Houston’s office has not responded to interview requests.

“Premier Houston has lost all credibility as the province’s elected Premier; he continues to be ill-advised on anything related to L’nu Affairs and continues to violate constitutionally protected Mi’kmaw rights,” added Chief Glasgow, “they don’t have our best interest at heart.”

The band threatened to hit trespassers with a $50,000 fine.

Glasgow could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Wayne MacKay, a professor emeritus at Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law, called Sipekne’katik’s ban a “clever political manoeuvre.”

The ban does appear to be legal, MacKay said Wednesday.

He sees it as “an attempt to embarrass the politicians.”

The $50,000 penalty for trespassing might not be, MacKay said.

“There is some debate,” he said. “It’s kind of irrelevant because the fine is just adding to the kick in the teeth in some ways because realistically (Houston and his two ministers) would be wise not to go on the land now to make an issue out of it whatever happens,” MacKay said. “So, the legality is not likely to be tested.”

He pointed out that Sipekne’katik First Nation didn’t directly link its ban to cannabis sales. “But there’s not much doubt that’s what triggered it,” MacKay said.

“My understanding is that a large percentage of the non-licensed operations are either by First Nations people or on reserve.”

Indigenous cannabis sellers have argued unsuccessfully they have the treaty right to sell cannabis in Nova Scotia.

“It’s certainly not decided one way or the other yet,” MacKay said. “It’s not even clear how strong the argument is. But it hasn’t been decided and I’m sure they’re going to continue to litigate it.”

One point “the government denies, but it’s hard to imagine it’s completely irrelevant, is of course there’s money issues here,” MacKay said. “If it’s licensed under the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission, then the money goes to the government, whereas obviously with private operators, the money goes elsewhere.”

Last week, Nova Scotia’s justice minister “directed all police agencies in the province to intensify enforcement aimed at stopping illegal cannabis operations and report back on their activities,” according to a news release from the Nova Scotia government.

“Illegal dispensaries pose a real threat to consumers, to youth, and to the integrity of our regulated system,” Armstrong said in the release. “We have already taken steps to confront these risks, but the challenge is evolving, and so must our response. Protecting Nova Scotians means strengthening our efforts, advancing new measures, and shutting down this shadow market before it can cause more harm to public health and safety.”

Cannabis is legal in Canada, but only when sold through a regulated system, according to the province.

It notes the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. Is “the exclusive legal retailer of recreational cannabis, ensuring young people are safe, products are tested and traceable, and crime is not involved in the supply chain.”

The province said a recent review found “at least 118 illegal outlets operating across Nova Scotia, compared with 51 legal NSLC cannabis stores.”

The dispensaries that aren’t run by the NSLC “are not subject to oversight, training or testing, presenting significant risks to public health and creating opportunities for organized crime, money laundering and even human trafficking,” said the province.

It quoted Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health as saying: “Cannabis sold outside the regulated system can have serious health impacts. This is about more than enforcing laws; it’s about safeguarding health and the future of our communities, and especially youth. Stronger enforcement sends a clear message that we will not allow unregulated cannabis to put Nova Scotians at risk.”

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