Quebec will now assert cultural sovereignty online with new legislation

 Quebec will now assert cultural sovereignty online with new legislation

Sherbrooke Record · 13 days ago
by Matthew Mccully · Civic Literacy

By Greg Duncan

While you were enjoying the holiday season this past December, the Quebec government passed a law that could dictate what you watch or stream online.

Bill 109 was adopted by the national assembly on Dec. 12, 2025. Formally titled An Act respecting the discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment, the legislation empowers the provincial government to impose minimum French-language content quotas on streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, and Amazon Music. This is now officially An Act to affirm the cultural sovereignty of Québec and to enact the Act respecting the discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment.

The government maintains that the new law is essential to protect Quebec’s cultural identity, claiming that only 8.5 per cent of the most listened-to songs in Quebec in 2023 were in French. The law introduces a new “right to discoverability” into Quebec’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ensuring francophone content is not only available, but also prominently featured online.
So, what does this mean close to home? What is the local impact?

The new law could significantly reshape digital content access, raising serious concerns about a reduction of choice on streaming platforms. For anglophone residents, the bill raises questions about access to English-language content. While the legislation does not explicitly restrict English programming, critics warn that algorithmic prioritization of French-language material could push anglophone content further down in visibility, making it harder to find. There is concern that the law could limit cultural diversity in a region where bilingualism is a defining characteristic. Some worry that anglophone youth may feel increasingly disconnected from global media trends if English-language shows, films, and music become less accessible. For example, some key requirements, obligations, and features of the Act include that qualifying platforms will now be required to register with the Ministry of Culture and Communications, which will have broad powers to demand information and enforce compliance. As well, the interfaces of digital platforms or devices will be required to set the default language to French, ensuring that users encounter French first when navigating digital services.

There is industry pushback however with major streaming platforms and industry associations having already voiced strong opposition. The Digital Media Association (DiMA) for example, representing Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, has warned that the legislation could negatively impact consumer experience, artist revenues, and platform operations. A DiMA sponsored Léger survey released in late November 2025 found that 66 per cent of Quebecers oppose government intervention in streaming content, and that 76 per cent would reject the bill if it led to higher subscription costs. Meanwhile, many Québec cultural organizations and industry representatives have pushed back against claims that Bill 109 would limit consumer choice, instead framing the proposed legislation as a necessary tool to support French-language culture in an increasingly globalized digital environment.
In the Eastern Townships, where anglophone and francophone communities coexist closely, the law could intensify debates over cultural identity and access to media. While francophone advocates see the law as a necessary safeguard for Quebec’s heritage, anglophone residents fear it may erode a historical bilingual balance and reduce our ability to freely choose digital content.

Enforcement and Penalties

The law allows Quebec to set quotas on content within 18 months, with fines of up to $15,000 per day for non-compliance. A new “Discoverability Office” within the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications will oversee monitoring, investigations, and enforcement, publish reports every three years, and negotiate “alternative measures” with platforms unable to meet quotas.
The new law may strengthen Quebec’s cultural sovereignty, but it also risks narrowing anglophone access to global digital content, an issue that will be felt acutely in bilingual regions like the Eastern Townships. As one Townships resident put it, “We value French culture deeply, but we also want our kids to have the same access to English-language shows and music as anyone else in Canada.”

Resources and references:

• An Act to affirm the cultural sovereignty of Québec and to enact the Act respecting the discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment: https://www.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/Fichiers_client/lois_et_reglements/LoisAnnuelles/en/2025/2025C38A.PDFy of French-language cultural content in the digital environment
• Découvrabilité des contenus culturels francophones – Le gouvernement du Québec se dote d’un important levier pour protéger durablement sa spécificité linguistique et culturelle: https://www.quebec.ca/nouvelles/actualites/details/decouvrabilite-des-contenus-culturels-francophones-le-gouvernement-du-quebec-se-dote-dun-important-levier-pour-proteger-durablement-sa-specificite-linguistique-et-culturelle-67656
• Quebec targets streaming giants with new bill on French-language content: https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/quebec-adopts-bill-109-on-french-language-content/

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The challenge of managing parents

 The challenge of managing parents

by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
I wrote the report, The Soccerization of Sailing, in 2009 which noted how the organization of youth sailing had been modeled after other sporting options (baseball, soccer, etc.). This trend began in the 1990s, and it was an observation of the improvement, but also of the unintended consequence.

There isn’t much that parents aren’t trying to improve, and that always heightens competition. Eventually, some parents lose the plot. In an ESPN report, they detail how youth-sport coaches are feeling burned out and fed up with verbal harassment and abuse, mainly from parents of athletes.

According to U.S. Center for SafeSport, the challenge of managing parents ranks among the top reasons coaches have considered leaving or decided to quit, with one coach saying of parents: “They created tension. They instilled distrust. They were worse than children.” – Full report

Response to My Letter to Jeff Bezos

Response to My Letter to Jeff Bezos

BEN MEISELAS AND MEIDASTOUCH NETWORK

FEB 5


 







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By Ben Meiselas

Yesterday, I wrote a letter to Jeff Bezos and the leadership of The Washington Post after they announced they were firing more than one-third of their newsroom.

Some of the best journalists in America. Investigative reporters. Writers who dedicated their lives to holding power accountable. Reporters who worked in war zones, some of whom learned they were fired not from an editor or a phone call, but from a form email sent by Human Resources. In some cases, while they were still stranded overseas.

That is corporate cruelty and journalistic malpractice along with obedience and complicity in fascism.

I sent my letter to Jeff Bezos and The Washington Post leadership to make sure they understood the magnitude of their betrayal and to plant a clear flag for independent journalism at a moment when too many legacy institutions are openly capitulating to fascism.

Let’s stop dancing around the truth.

Donald Trump is a fascist. His movement is authoritarian. And his goal is to turn American media into state-aligned regime media, something closer to Putin’s Russia than a democracy. What we are watching now is compliance with a fascist regime.

We’ve seen this surrender at The Washington Post. We’ve seen it at CBS. We’ve seen it across corporate media. These institutions believe silence and complicity will protect them. That obedience will spare them. That if they stop challenging power, power will protect and favor them.

That belief is pathetic and dangerous.

And it’s failing.

Because independent media is not retreating. It’s growing. And the MeidasTouch Network is leading that growth.

We are powered by one of the strongest pro-democracy communities anywhere.

We have on-the-ground reporters in Minneapolis, in Washington, D.C., and across the country. We have sent reporters to Greenland. We have sent reporters to Ukraine. We operate internationally. We run a sprawling network of shows, podcasts, and platforms covering breaking news, legal analysis, and accountability journalism, including a dedicated channel in Canada, with more countries coming next.

While legacy media cuts and collapses, we expand. We hire more reporters. We add more writers and editors and staff. We reach roughly a billion views a month across our digital platforms, and we’re still growing.

So yes, the death of The Washington Post as a serious independent institution is devastating for democracy. But their collapse is not the end of journalism. It’s proof that the old model is finished.

Since publishing my letter, I’ve received thousands of messages from readers, journalists, veterans, teachers, parents, and people more energized than ever to fight back against this fascist project and the media ecosystem enabling it.

Independent journalism is under attack precisely because it works. And because the MeidasTouch Network has become the largest pro-democracy media outlet in the country, we are a target as well.

But understand this clearly.

We are not intimidated.

We are not slowing down.

And we are not backing down.

Jeff Bezos’s silence is not neutrality. It’s complicity. History will remember who stood up when fascism demanded obedience and who surrendered.

If you believe the press should challenge power instead of serving it, now is the moment to act.

Become a paid subscriber now to this Substack. Not as a gesture, but as a declaration that independent journalism will not be surrendered to authoritarianism. Let’s send a message to Jeff Bezos.

This fight is real. And together, we are winning it.

—Ben

Dates confirmed for 38th America’s Cup

 Dates confirmed for 38th America’s Cup

The dates of the 38th America’s Cup Match in Naples have been confirmed with the Match to start with two opening races on July 10 and run to a conclusion by the weekend of July 17-18, 2027. Additional updates include:

• Emirates has renewed its more than two-decade-long partnership as naming sponsor of the Defender of the America’s Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand. This is the fifth renewal of the naming sponsorship. Also back is Louis Vuitton as the event's headline sponsor.

• British Challenger has unveiled GB1 as the new identity of Athena Racing, the team founded by Sir Ben Ainslie in 2014 which has competed in the last three America’s Cups. Also confirmed is Dylan Fletcher at helm for his second America’s Cup. With Ainslie off the boat in 2027, no details were provided on who will co-helm with Fletcher.

 

Stadium food prices are getting easier to stomach

Rob Tringali/Getty Images

Good news to anyone who has shoved a turkey sandwich down their pants before walking into a football game: Some stadiums are easing up on notoriously high concession prices. So, ponying up for a hot dog and beer will be a little easier to swallow, even if your team is choking. Clear eyes, full stomachs The Atlanta Falcons kicked off the trend in 2017 with a “fan first” menu that slashed food and beverage prices nearly in half. Beers that cost $8 were repriced at $5. Hot dogs went from $8 to $2. The result? The team actually made more money because fans spent more time in the stadium and used their food savings to buy higher-priced items. According to Front Office Sports, from 2016 to 2024: Total transactions at the Falcons’ stadium jumped 30%. Merchandise sales rose 20%. The average number of items per transaction increased 20%. Beyond Atlanta: Like trap music, Atlanta’s idea has spread to other cities. In 2024, Ryan Smith, the owner of the Utah Jazz (NBA) and the Utah Mammoth (NHL), announced several popular concession items would be priced between $2 and $3. The Phoenix Suns (NBA) and Baltimore Ravens (NFL) later announced similar value meals. Not everything is cheap. According to AmericanCraftBeer.com, if you wanted to buy a 16-ounce beer at a Washington Commanders game this past season, it would have set you back you back $16.49–an NFL high.

Nexus applications have plummeted in another sign Canadians are avoiding Trump's America

Nexus applications have plummeted in another sign Canadians are avoiding Trump's America
Trusted-traveller applications have halved since Trump returned to the White House


Darren Major · CBC News · Posted: Jan 27, 2026 1:00 AM PST | Last Updated: January 27


Listen to this article
Estimated 5 minutes

A motorist scans a Nexus card at a border crossing in Surrey, B.C. Applications for the program halved during the first year of U.S. President Donald Trump's second term. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

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The number of Canadian applications for the Nexus trusted-traveller program has fallen off a cliff since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year.

Applications had been steadily increasing following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

But the border agency said that it received half the number of applications — just under 350,000 — in 2025, compared to the previous year when nearly 700,000 travellers applied for a Nexus card.



Nexus is a jointly run program with the U.S. that allows travellers who have undergone extensive background checks to quickly pass through security at border crossings and airports.

The 2025 application numbers show a significant drop even compared to 2022 and 2023. During those two years, there was a massive backlog due to disagreements between the two countries that was only resolved in mid-2023.
More signs Canadians turning away from U.S.

While Americans also make use of the program, a majority of Nexus members are Canadian.

The new applicant numbers could be explained by an increase in the application fees in 2024, but could also point to a growing mountain of evidence that show Canadians are turning away from the U.S. during the second Trump administration.

Statistics Canada said last week that the number of Canadian vehicles that crossed the border into the U.S. and back last year fell by 30.9 per cent compared to 2024.

A U.S. Travel Association report from November forecasts a 3.2 per cent decline in international tourism spending in the country for 2025, a loss of $5.7 billion US compared to the previous year. That report attributes much of the loss to a decline in the number of Canadian visitors.
WATCH | Canadian land travel to U.S. fell more than 30% last year:




Canadian land travel to U.S. dropped 30.9% in 2025, says StatsCan
January 23|
Duration2:35Statistics Canada says 30.9 per cent fewer Canadian automobiles visited the United States in 2025 compared to 2024. That's a difference of roughly 7.6 million vehicles — which StatsCan considers a notable decline. CBC's Dalson Chen reports.

It's not just travel numbers that show a Canadians are shunning the U.S. A CBC News analysis of trade, shopping and cultural data shows Canadians are taking a big step back from their neighbours to the south.

Political tensions between Canada and the U.S. have been heightened since Trump's re-election last fall. The U.S. president consistently mocked Canada as the 51st state last winter while slapping tariffs on a number of Canadian goods.

Tensions appeared to ease slightly over the spring and summer as Washington and Ottawa worked to negotiate some tariff relief. But talks blew up in the fall when Trump called the negotiations off, blaming an Ontario government ad that used former president Ronald Reagan's arguments against tariffs.

In the past week, Trump has taken a more agonistic tone when referring to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
WATCH | Trump's tone on Canada changes in Davos:




Why Trump just threatened Canada in Davos | About That
January 21|
Duration9:54U.S. President Donald Trump shot back at Prime Minister Mark Carney's comments at the World Economic Forum about a new way forward for countries seeking distance from U.S. influence. Andrew Chang breaks down key moments from both leaders' speeches, highlighting shifts in both Canada's global strategy and the deteriorating relationship between two longtime allies. Images provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images


Carney gave a speech at the World Economic Forum that gained international attention and is largely being seen as a rejection of Trump's foreign policy tactics.

Since then, Trump said Canada "lives because of the United States" and rescinded an invitation for Carney to join his "Board of Peace" initiative.

Over the weekend, Trump for the first time referred to Carney as "governor" — a moniker that he had used with former prime minister Justin Trudeau — while threatening to impose a 100 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods if Ottawa "makes a deal with China."
Alternative to Nexus?

The drop-off in Nexus applications spurred Sen. Paula Simons to propose a domestic alternative for Canadians who want to quickly move through airport security.

But under the current system, the only way for a member of the general public to become a verified traveller is through the Nexus program. The Alberta senator said it makes sense for Canada to have its own verified traveller program that isn't reliant on the U.S.

"It is unusual for a country to contract out its airport security fast-pass system to a different sovereign nation. We've just sort of been piggybacking on the Nexus process using it as a proxy," Simons told CBC News.

Sen. Paula Simons introduced a motion in Parliament last fall that calls for a trusted-traveller program that is separate from Nexus. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

Simons noted that the U.S. has its own verified traveller program, called TSA PreCheck, that is separate from Nexus.

Simons argued that there is also a human rights rationale behind implementing a trusted-traveller program that's separate from the U.S.

The U.S. has also stopped accepting an "X" gender marker on Nexus applications, instead forcing Canadians to choose either "M" or "F."

"Requiring Canadians who are trans, non-binary or two-spirit to get a Nexus card to use the good line is clearly discriminatory. It's clearly a violation of their Charter rights," Simons said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Darren Major

Senior writer

Darren Major is a senior writer for CBC's parliamentary bureau in Ottawa. He previously worked as a digital reporter for CBC Ottawa and a producer for CBC's Power & Politics. He holds a master's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in public affairs and policy management, both from Carleton University. He also holds master's degree in arts from Queen's University. He can be reached at darren.major@cbc.ca.

 

That sports ticket you own might not be yours to sell

Perry Knotts/Getty Images

People sold 126 million tickets on the secondary market in 2024, and 42% of those tickets got you into sporting events, according to Industry Research. But due to strict rules around resale, that ticket you’re looking to turn into some extra cash (or cut your losses if it’s a ticket to, say, a New York Giants game) may not be yours to sell—at least not without some strings attached. For example, the Seattle Seahawks, who are on their way to Super Bowl LX next weekend after two playoff wins at home, sent a stern warning friendly reminder to season ticket holders before the team’s first postseason game, cautioning them against selling passes to the biggest games of the season. There was particular concern about selling to fans of opposing teams and losing a coveted home-field advantage (read: loud crowd noise that can make life difficult for the visiting team): Seattle isn’t alone: The Seahawks were also one of five teams to send this warning before the regular season started. And the NFL’s terms and conditions for resale don’t just apply to fans—the league fined more than 100 players and team employees for reselling Super Bowl tickets at a profit last year, and said the fines would increase if it happens again for this year’s Super Bowl. There are no limits to the limits It’s more than just fines and threats of expulsion from your season ticket plan that limit what you can do with your tickets on the secondary market. Other methods to thwart reselling include: Digital instead of paper: Digital tickets—as opposed to allowing the printing out of tickets at home—are more difficult, or even impossible, to resell. Price floors: Leagues can force sellers to use an exclusive resale platform and meet a price minimum rather than letting the market decide a ticket’s value. That means tickets to lesser events that aren’t worth that minimum price (again, NY Giants games) can go unsold. Teams playing tight coverage: If your credit card info shows you don’t live near where a game is being played, teams may prevent you from buying a ticket in the first place, in part to keep you from selling it to someone else. Teams from every major sports league have tried some version of this, including the New York Yankees (MLB), the Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA), and the Washington Capitals (NHL).

Advocate for women receives honours

 Advocate for women receives honours

Irene Y. McNeill, who’s an avid sailor and advocate for women in the sport, is one of 80 Order of Canada appointees. The Order of Canada is how the country honors people who make extraordinary contributions to Canada.

McNeill has not only helped develop the sport of sailing throughout the country and around the world, but has actively increased the number of women participating in the sport. One way she has accomplished this was by co-founding the LEAP program, which encourages girls to take up sailing.

In addition to participating in the sport, McNeill has been particularly instrumental in the leadership side of sailing and the advancement of women in race management. She has supported many initiatives to encourage women to participate in race management and improve skills development.

In 2012, McNeill was the first Canadian woman to earn the title of international race officer by World Sailing. – Full report

CCA Guides Offer Levels of Canada Cruising Challenges

 CCA Guides Offer Levels of Canada Cruising Challenges

Winter is the time to start planning for a summer of cruising the Canadian Maritimes. To help, the Cruising Club of America publishes individual cruising guides for the provinces of Atlantic Canada that offer three levels of challenge to the experienced cruiser.

Level One: Nova Scotia is the closest to the U.S. coast, an area of scenic beauty and friendly, welcoming people, sheltered harbors, quaint towns and excellent services.

Level Two: Farther east, Newfoundland is bigger and bolder and the people as friendly as can be. The challenges are manageable with a little care and planning.  Harbors are breathtakingly beautiful with rugged, high-sided cliffs and great hiking. Consider a stop at Saint Pierre, a small, charming French island where bistros, patisseries, and wine shops abound.

Level Three: Labrador is the farthest north, where challenges and rewards are greater still — real adventure cruising. The land is stupendous in its raw beauty. Navigation can be demanding, but with today’s electronic tools, the tasks are manageable.

All three guides and how to obtain them are described at the CCA website: cruisingclub.org/book/ccaguides.

Proton is Working on European Alternative to Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet

  Proton is Working on European Alternative to Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet - ITdaily.

Proton is Working on European Alternative to Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet.software
10.09.'25 14:46
2 minKatrien Duchène



Proton is working on its own meeting software to offer a European alternative to Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom.

Proton is known for its privacy-friendly services including Proton Mail, Proton VPN, and Proton Pass. The Swiss company recently launched its own authenticator app. Proton is currently working on a new service, Proton Meet, which is intended to be a European alternative to Google Meet, Teams, and Zoom. The company confirmed this to Tweakers a few days ago. Proton Meet is currently in a closed beta testing phase.
Proton Meet

More and more companies are focusing on data sovereignty and are turning to local or European partners more quickly, to the detriment of American technology players. The Swiss company Proton now seems to want to capitalize on this. Proton is currently working on Proton Meet, its own meeting software that aims to offer a European alternative. The company has already added a new page to their product offerings on the website with ‘Proton Meet’.

Milan mayor: 'ICE's image is terrible'

Milan mayor: 'ICE's image is terrible'

Milan mayor: ‘ICE’s image is terrible’by Ashleigh Fields - 01/29/26 10:32 AM ET

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala on Wednesday condemned the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Olympic Winter Games after weeks of violent incidents with U.S. citizens in Minnesota.

“ICE’s image is terrible,” Sala told The Washington Post.

His words echo those of other officials in Italy who have rejected ICE’s involvement at the international event, including lawmakers who have requested guarantees that immigration enforcement will not be conducted at the sporting events.

“The Democratic Party has submitted a parliamentary question to [Italy’s interior minister Matteo] Piantedosi, requesting immediate clarification and the exclusion of any operational presence of ICE on Italian soil,” Matteo Mauri, a member of Parliament and the party’s lead on security, said in a statement to the Post.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which houses ICE, has sought to quell concerns by confirming that ICE will not be conducting immigration activities at the Games.

“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” the DHS wrote in a Tuesday post on the social platform X.

“At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations,” it added.

 

Chicago legitimizes getting high at concerts

Rhythm

Chicago’s United Center is making it easier than ever to worry if you’re being really weird right now. The stadium announced yesterday that it signed a multiyear deal with local cannabis drink brands Señorita and Rythm—making it the first major arena in the US to offer THC drinks during events. There are still rules in this house. You have to be at least 21 to grab a can, and the beverages won’t be available during Blackhawks or Bulls games. (The NHL and NBA don’t allow cannabis advertising or sponsorships.) All drinks will contain 5 milligrams of THC, which is the main ingredient in cannabis. The announcement comes as consumers cut back on alcohol and a wave of weed bevs rush in to fill the shelf and menu space. In 2025, THC beverage sales were $850 million, according to the data firm Future Markets Insight. By 2028, that’s expected to hit $4 billion... ...if the feds allow it. A federal cap of 0.4 milligrams of THC per beverage, set to go into effect in November, could kneecap the entire hemp industry just as it’s about to take off. Industry groups are lobbying the US government to delay the new cap to 2028.

Elon Musk's DOGE team shared Social Security data improperly

Elon Musk's DOGE team shared Social Security data improperly

Members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) improperly shared Social Security data through a third-party server, according to a recent court filing from the Justice Department.

The DOGE team embedded at the Social Security Administration (SSA) used Cloudflare, which was not approved for storing agency data, to share data during a 10-day period in March, the filing noted.

Thomas Coville claims Jules Verne Trophy

Thomas Coville claims Jules Verne Trophy


Scuttlebutt Sailing News: Providing sailing news for sailors · 38 minutes ago
by Editor · Feature


French skipper Thomas Coville has claimed the Jules Verne Trophy by improving the previous mark by more than 12 hours when his team crossed the finish line at 07:46:55 (French time) on January 25.

The Jules Verne Trophy is for the fastest time around the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew, starting and finishing from the exact line between the Le Créac’h Lighthouse off the tip of Brittany (FRA) and the Lizard Point in Cornwall (GBR).

Coville and teammates Benjamin Schwartz, Frédéric Denis, Pierre Leboucher, Léonard Legrand, Guillaume Pirouelle, and Nicolas Troussel finished after 40 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 50 seconds at sea on their 105-foot Sodebo Ultim 3.

The previous record was 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes, 30 seconds, set in 2017 by another Frenchman, Francis Joyon on the 103-foot trimaran IDEC Sport. Coville and his crew got underway on December 15 and had to finish before 20:31 on January 25 to win

Coville and his crew faced dramatic weather conditions on their way to the record, having to lengthen their route in the South Atlantic before they withstood Storm Ingrid near the finish. They set new benchmark times at every Cape — Good Hope, Leeuwin, and Horn.

Coville averaged 29.17 knots over 28,315 miles, also improving two intermediate records during the journey. In comparison, Joyon sailed 26,412 miles at an average speed of 26.85 knots.

All ten winners of the Jules Verne Trophy have been either catamarans or trimarans.

Tracker: https://sodebo-ultim3.sodebo.com/

Record Facts
• Start and finish: a line between Créac’h lighthouse (Isle of Ushant) and Lizard Point (England)
• Course: non-stop around-the-world tour racing without outside assistance via the three Capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn)
• Minimum distance: 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 kilometres)
• Ratification: World Sailing Speed Record Council

Here are the nine that have held the trophy:
2026 – Thomas Coville / Sodebo Ultim 3 (32m) – 40:10:45:50
2017 – Francis Joyon / IDEC SPORT (31.5m) – 40:23:30:30
2012 – Loïck Peyron / Banque Populaire V (40m) – 45:13:42:53
2010 – Franck Cammas / Groupama 3 (31.5m) – 48:07:44:52
2005 – Bruno Peyron / Orange II (36.8m) – 50:16:20:04
2004 – Olivier De Kersauson / Geronimo (33.8m) – 63:13:59:46
2002 – Bruno Peyron / Orange (32.8m) – 64:08:37:24
1997 – Olivier De Kersauson / Sport-Elec (27.3m) – 71:14:22:08
1994 – Peter Blake, Robin Knox-Johnston / Enza New Zealand (28m) – 74:22:17:22
1993 – Bruno Peyron / Commodore Explorer (28m) – 79:06:15:56

 

It’s been a slow season on the Vail slopes

Nick Iluzada

Good luck trying to wash your hands, your face, your hair with snow; there’s not nearly enough of it to do all that. Vail Resorts is lowering its expected 2026 earnings after some of the lowest snowpack in recorded history has cratered visits at its North American locations by nearly 20% since the start of the season through January 4. Skiers staying home is taking its toll: Vail’s ski school revenue has dropped 14.9% since the start of the season compared to last year, and dining revenue fell nearly 16%, the company said in an investor statement released yesterday. Just how dry is it? A rare polar vortex and La Niña combination dumped record amounts of snow on the East Coast this year…while starving everywhere else. The company said snowfall during November and December at its Rocky Mountain locations was down almost 60% compared to the area’s historical 30-year average. Western US resorts were faring only slightly better, with 50% less snowfall than average. On Tuesday, Vail Mountain reported its worst snowpack since it started keeping records in 1978, with just 4.4 inches. Only about 11% of Vail Resort’s terrain in the Rocky Mountains was open last month. Zoom out: The wipeout comes amid the return of CEO Rob Katz, who revolutionized the ski business by consolidating resort ownership and introducing the Epic Pass, after years of the company faltering financially without him in the C-suite.

 

Minnesota businesses strike against ICE

Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Amid wind chills as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit, Minnesotans just made clear that they’ll tolerate extreme cold, but not ICE. Hordes of people marched through frigid Minneapolis yesterday afternoon as part of a daylong economic blackout protesting ICE activity, following an immigration officer’s killing of Renee Good earlier this month and the detainment of a preschooler this week. Community leaders and labor unions organized “ICE Out” day, which called for no work, no shopping, and no school (most districts closed due to the cold anyway) to show local solidarity, demand that ICE leave Minnesota, and pressure Congress to intervene: Businesses and shops around Minneapolis sat empty, the New York Times reported, and many had signs in their windows expressing support for the day of protests. More than 700 businesses—including bookstores, movie theaters, museums, and restaurants—closed for the day, organizers said. Thousands of residents were expected to call out of work. The Minneapolis City Council and a group representing 1,000+ local unions endorsed the strike, though the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce president told HR Brew that the Chamber didn’t “particularly love the idea.” At Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, police arrested ~100 clergy members protesting deportation flights yesterday. Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance blamed tension in Minnesota on “a failure of cooperation” from state officials. Zoom out: Target, UnitedHealth, 3M, and 14 other Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Minnesota. Some are reportedly issuing internal guidance on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns—but none have commented publicly.

  

NCAA players charged for allegedly rigging games

Justin Casterline/Getty Images

New year, new sports gambling scandal: Federal prosecutors revealed yesterday that they’re accusing a ring of college basketball players, alumni, professional gamblers, and one former NBA player of meddling in more than two dozen games, which netted them millions of dollars in sportsbook winnings. According to the indictment: It all started in September 2022, when gamblers paid a former Chicago Bulls shooting guard playing overseas in the Chinese Basketball Association to make fewer baskets in order to fix final game score margins in favor of their bets, in a ploy known as point shaving. The group then recruited mostly smaller-time US college ballers, who were unlikely to earn significant NIL money, with bribes ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game. All together, 39 NCAA players across more than 17 Division I teams became involved with the gambling ring, which fixed or tried to fix more than 29 games in recent years. This type of allegation is “not entirely new information to the NCAA,” and investigations into almost all named teams, which include Alabama State and Tulane, are already underway or completed, the NCAA’s president said in response to the news. Airball: One NCAA defendant allegedly texted the bagman during a fixed game to assure him that co-conspiring players would keep the ball away from a teammate who was playing too well. Zoom out: Game-fixing fiascos recently hit the NBA and MLB, too. To protect college sports, the NCAA is lobbying to ban prop bets on collegiate matchups.

Recreational boaters must renew licences every 5 years - Victoria Times Colonist

Recreational boaters must renew licences every 5 years - Victoria Times Colonist

Recreational boaters now have to renew licences every 5 years
Under the changes, which came into effect Dec. 31, 2025, new and renewed pleasure-craft licences are only valid for five years.

Darron Kloster
about 21 hours ago





Boats docked at the Oak Bay Marina. Under vessel licence changes, which came into effect Dec. 31, 2025, new and renewed pleasure-craft licences are only valid for five years. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST

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If you own a boat with a motor and use it for pleasure, the federal government says you now have to renew the vessel’s licence every five years.

The licence is the identification number of a boat, similar to a vehicle’s licence plate, and is required for owners of recreational boats with at least one engine and a total of at least 10 horsepower.

Under the changes, which came into effect Dec. 31, 2025, new and renewed pleasure-craft licences are only valid for five years, down from the previous 10 years.

Current lifetime licences will be gradually replaced with licences that must be renewed every five years.




Licence holders will also be required to update their information within 30 days of a change in their name or address, instead of the previous 90 days.

Transport Canada said licences allow emergency responders and law enforcement to quickly identify the owner of a boat, which improves response times in urgent situations and supports efforts to address unsafe or abandoned boats.



The $24 fee for issuing, renewing, transferring or replacing a pleasure craft licence will be updated annually for inflation.

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said Canada has more coastline than any other country in the world, and there are about 12 million boaters navigating various waterways around the country.

“Recreational boating is part of who we are as Canadians, and our safety system must keep pace with the way people use our waterways today,” he said in a statement. “By modernizing the pleasure craft licensing program, we’re strengthening marine safety, improving environmental protection and ensuring we have accurate information when it matters most.”

Transport Canada said two years after the regulations take effect, wind-powered pleasure craft over six metres in length will be required to hold a licence.

Since 1999, all Canadians who operate a boat must have a pleasure craft operating card by taking an accredited boat safety course and passing a test.

Venezuela Grab: Who’ll Stand Up for International Law? | The Tyee

Venezuela Grab: Who’ll Stand Up for International Law? | The Tyee

Venezuela Grab: Who’ll Stand Up for International Law?
Carney muffs a chance while Poilievre celebrates Trump’s dangerous new rules.

Michael Harris 5 Jan 2026The Tyee

Michael Harris, a Tyee contributing editor, is a highly awarded journalist and documentary maker.Our journalism is supported by readers like you. Click here to support The Tyee.

US President Donald Trump boasts about his Venezuela attack as Secretary of State Marco Rubio watches on Jan. 3. Photo by Alex Brandon, the Associated Press.


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8 min



So, the president who falls asleep in cabinet meetings has now invaded a sovereign nation and abducted its leader and his wife to face “justice” in the United States.

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That makes it official. America has its first rogue president, Donald J. Trump. As a result, the United States and the rest of the globe are suddenly in a precarious place. The rule of law is at risk of being replaced by an old and ugly idea: might is right.

In that throwback world, the fates of the United States’ closer neighbours would be far more at risk — Canada, right next door, included. As Trump has noted in his musings about harming our economy until we are ripe for annexation, we are a nation with resources the United States covets and a far smaller population and military.

And yet Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first statement about the violent Maduro extraction mentioned nothing about its patent illegality.


It fell to his foreign minister, Anita Anand, to vaguely post on social media: “In keeping with our long-standing commitment to upholding the rule of law and democracy, Canada calls on all parties to respect international law.”

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At least NDP interim leader Don Davies was full-throated in his condemnation of the “totally illegal” U.S. operation.

But Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has joined with others cheering Trump on. Why? Spin and optics.

The leader who was deposed by U.S. military force is no doubt a vile dictator, credibly accused of everything from dealing drugs to murder to stealing Venezuela’s 2024 election. Hence, getting rid of Nicolás Maduro in this way was not only justified but downright admirable, right?

Absolutely not.


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This is not the first time Trump has appealed to the authoritarian logic that some people are so bad that they deserve whatever they get — including summary execution. No due process required.

Case in point. When the U.S. military began blowing up alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, Trump justified the killings by accusing their crews of being “narco-terrorists.” Bad guys bringing cocaine and fentanyl into the United States to kill Americans. The president called those drugs “weapons of mass destruction,” the same, bogus rallying cry that led the United States into its calamitous invasion of Iraq.

As of Dec. 25, 115 people on those boats have been killed by U.S. forces, including two who survived the initial attack and were murdered waving for help as they clung to wreckage.

The Trump administration has produced no credible evidence that they know who or what was on these doomed vessels or where they were headed.

Nor has Trump provided any legal justification for his lethal action.

Accordingly, that action has been widely denounced as illegal — not self-defence, as Trump claims. More like murder on the high seas.

And that is one of the reasons that no one should be patting Donald Trump on the back after his attack on Venezuela.

Instead, they should be taking note of the fact that Trump is fighting lawlessness with lawlessness of his own — based on a clear violation of his oath of office, in which he pledged as president to uphold the U.S. Constitution.


Towards ‘a world of violence, chaos and instability’

As the New York Times put it, by bombing Venezuela and abducting its leader and his wife, Trump is “pushing our country toward an international crisis without valid reasons. If Mr. Trump wants to argue otherwise, the Constitution spells out what he must do: Go to Congress. Without congressional approval, his actions violate U.S. law.”

Trump never sought such approval, suggesting that Congress might “leak” the details of the Venezuelan mission.

And it’s not only the highest U.S. law that Trump is breaking. The secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres, has described Trump’s attack on Venezuela as a “dangerous precedent.”

A statement from the UN said that “the secretary general continues to emphasize the importance of full respect — by all — of international law, including the UN Charter.” That charter calls for respecting every country’s sovereignty.

Trump’s attack on Venezuela has been widely denounced by those world leaders who understand the harrowing new order it signals. From South America, the criticism is particularly vehement.



Trump’s Coup Plans for Venezuela Are Bad News for Alberta’s Oilsandsread more

This is how Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil, put it: “Attacking countries in flagrant violation of international law is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos and instability.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro described the U.S. military action as an “assault on the sovereignty of Latin America.”

Norway’s foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, said, “The American intervention in Venezuela is not in accordance with international law.”

This throws into sharp contrast Canada’s more muted and weak-kneed response. Not only did Carney not criticize the U.S. attack on Venezuela, despite the obvious violation of international law and all that could mean. He welcomed the removal of Maduro as an opportunity for Venezuela to achieve democracy after decades of repressive dictatorship that began with Hugo Chávez.

Carney called for that march toward freedom to be led by Venezuelans. Sadly, that won’t be happening. In using military force to bring about regime change in Venezuela, Trump made a stunning announcement. The president said that the United States would “run” Venezuela for an unspecified time, because he didn’t want another Maduro in charge.

And not only would the United States rule the country for the time being, but Trump announced that U.S. oil companies would be returning to Venezuela to take charge of the country’s vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.

RG Richardson Economic Interactive Dictionary: Searching in 10 languages (Money and Banking Interactive Guides) eBook : Richardson, R.G.: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

RG Richardson Economic Interactive Dictionary: Searching in 10 languages (Money and Banking Interactive Guides) eBook : Richardson, R.G.: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store
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