Hackers release corporate data stolen from London Drugs
Retailer London Drugs says cybercriminals who stole files from its corporate head office last month have released some of the data after it refused to pay a ransom.
As the foreign interference commission kicked off this week, the inquiry received fierce criticism from a diaspora group often targeted by China.
In a statement Wednesday, the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) said its members will not participate in the inquiry, blaming commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue for allowing "a significant security risk" to their community and families back in China.
Some national security experts fear this will undermine the integrity of the inquiry into alleged Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections.
URAP executive director Mehmet Tohti says Uyghur Canadians pulled out to protest Hogue's decision to grant former Liberal MP Han Dong and current Markham Deputy Mayor Michael Chan full standing in the commission.
READ MORE: Former Ontario minister sues CSIS, unidentified leakers, reporters
"We don't want to be questioned by those [who] are allegedly tied up with the Chinese Communist Party," Tohti said.
Both Han and Chan deny the allegations against them, but with full standing, they have access to classified documents submitted to the commission and have the ability to cross-examine witnesses.
"There is something terribly wrong here," Tohti said.
The Uyghurs are a Muslim minority group in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang.
Human rights groups accuse Beijing of forcing more than one million of these ethnically Turkic people into forced labour camps.
An August 2022 report from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights concluded China is responsible for "serious human rights violations" against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
Phil Gurski, a former strategic analyst at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), says the commission is missing a key perspective without Uyghur testimony.
"It takes away from the credibility of the inquiry," he said. "Canadians are not going to get a full picture of what China is doing in our country."
Gurski argues with much of the evidence expected to remain classified, testimony from various diaspora groups would help Canadians get a more complete view of the problem.
"If you're going to have a public inquiry, you have to make sure that the information that can be released into the public sphere is released," he said.
Former CSIS director Ward Elcock says while it's important to shed light on communities facing intimidation and threats from Beijing, the Uyghur's absence will have little effect on the commission's overall goal.
"I frankly don't think it has much impact," he said. "The commission of inquiry is not really about foreign interference broadly writ. It's about foreign interference in two elections."
Elcock adds Hogue was left little choice but to grant Dong and Chan full standing.
"Nobody has demonstrated publicly, or demonstrated in a court, that these people are what some people allege them to be," he said.
Retailer London Drugs says cybercriminals who stole files from its corporate head office last month have released some of the data after it refused to pay a ransom.
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Approximately 50 Montreal-area students — the vast majority of them female — were suspended Wednesday after their school deemed the shorts they were wearing were too short. On Thursday, several students staged a walk-out to protest what they believe is a "sexist" dress code that unfairly targets girls.
Connor McDavid tipped Evan Bouchard's shot from the boards past Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger 32 seconds into the second overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final..
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
Despite its rough name, experts say most cases of 'slapped cheek disease' are mild and not a cause for concern.
American Airlines has distanced itself from a court filing in which the carrier said a nine-year-old girl should have noticed there was a camera taped to the seat of an airplane lavatory.
Canadian soldiers and government officials arrived in northeastern France this week for a historic mission: returning an unknown Newfoundland soldier back home.
The Calgary Philharmonic has confirmed its taking action after controversial online comments made by two members of the orchestra.
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.