In the given context, the ‘gender aspect’ appears to play an important role. Not only because demining used to be on Ukraine’s list of 450 occupations prohibited for women who now make up 30 per cent of HALO’s 1,500 Ukrainian staff, but also, as the article says,

… HALO is also more effective at its work when women are included.

Households headed by women — often widows or those whose husbands are fighting — are more willing to share information with female surveyors …

In related news, Learning lessons of Ukraine war, Canadian military creates joint command

The Canadian military is undertaking a structural reorganization designed to make the force more nimble and adaptable to new technology, the Department of National Defence said Thursday.

Following the lead of allies such as Australia, it has created a new joint forces command that will house major support elements such as military health services, logistics and operational support branches and the military police.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s envoy confirms his country is willing to share drone and military technology with Canada:

Andrii Plakhotniuk, Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, was asked at the Commons defence committee Tuesday how Kyiv could help the Canadian government acquire new military technology including drones.

He told MPs co-operation on joint defence production is already under way. Ukraine is ready “to share our knowledge, our technological knowledge, with all our partners and reliable friends.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is trying to reduce its reliance on the United States for military equipment. Canada currently gets about 75 per cent of its defence equipment south of the border.

Thank you for this deep insight.

@AGM

I just want to thank you for your respectful and sophisticated comment.

Just today, Russia’s state-controlled propaganda agency TASS cited Alexander Moiseev, the head of the Russian Navy, who said that, according to him, NATO countries have significantly stepped up their spying activities in the Arctic.

Moiseev was quoted as saying that anti-submarine aircraft based in Iceland had become much more active, a reference TASS said to U.S., British and Canadian surveillance planes.

Moiseev, who also spoke of NATO plans to deploy strategic surveillance drones in Finland, was cited as saying that NATO’s aim was to contain Russian activities in the Arctic.

So the U.S. may be a threat, but so is Russia. And don’t forget China which is seeking access to the Arctic as well.

I hope Canada and other democracies will soon rethink their approach to countries that ignore human rights. UAE and Sudan are unfortunately not the only states in that respect.

Nah, de-risking China, eh?

you are ok with UAE

This is a wrong inference. Just read my comment.

What do you understand by capitalism? And which system would be better to allow values in your view?

International Hotel Giants Are Profiting Despite Genocide in Xinjiang - (June 2025) ----[Archived link]

In addition to the 115 hotels that are currently operational in Xinjiang, we identified another 74 in various stages of planning and construction from international hotel giants—Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, Minor Hotels, and Wyndham. Marriott will open at least 13 hotels located in Xinjiang in 2026, including a Ritz-Carlton in Urumqi. IHG will open nine hotels in the region in 2025 and another seven in 2026, including InterContinentals in Urumqi, Kashgar, and Ghulja. (InterContinental is IHG’s flagship luxury brand.)

Moreover, we documented a long list of rights abuses connected to hotels in Xinjiang, including forced labor, presence on territories controlled by an entity under targeted human rights sanctions, financial and management links to Chinese state-owned enterprises, and hotels hosting Chinese state propaganda events. Hilton even opened a hotel on the site of the Duling Mosque in central Khotan, which local authorities demolished in 2018. None of the seven hotel chains responded to our repeated requests for comment.

Another report reads:

State-backed tourism booms in China’s troubled Xinjiang - (2023)

… off the main tourist trail, in the mostly Uyghur town of Yengisar, AFP reporters saw a sign in a cemetery prohibiting Islamic “religious activities” such as kneeling, prostrating, praying with palms facing upwards and reciting scripture. The same sign permitted certain offerings for the Qingming Festival, typically observed by Han but not Uyghurs.

Around a dozen mosques in other towns and villages around Kashgar were found locked and rundown.

Some appeared to have had minarets and other Islamic markings removed, and many bore the same government slogan: “Love the country, love the party”. … Three other community mosques within a few hundred metres were shuttered when AFP visited, with a store advertising adult products operating a stone’s throw from one of them.

… “The destruction of religious sites… is part of a larger set of policies that are transforming the landscape and disconnecting Uyghur culture from the geography” of Xinjiang, Thum [said]. The sharpest reminders of Beijing’s policies still lurk on Kashgar’s periphery, which houses many of the alleged internment camps.

While some appear to have been converted or abandoned, others look to still be operating – and provoke official unease when exposed.

This is the real reason imho why some communities here attack the Canada-UAE collaboration: because part of the collaboration will decisively reduce China’s dominance in the rare earths supply chains.

Canada must undoubtedly review its weapons delivery to the UAE and, of ocurse, stop delivery if human rights are violated. The same applies to China, and there is ample evidence of Chinese supply chains - in rare earths and other sector - being driven by forced labour and environmental destruction. However, critique on China remains largely silent in these communities.

Thanks, corrected the initial comment for clarity.

Oh, I haven’t looked into this fund in detail of late, but this was known already for years (and some things definitely have changed).

I just mean we shouldn’t post stories that old without adding new information. For example, reports on Canada’s parliament that has declared China’s treatment of Uighurs ‘genocide’ and things like, as this is known, although the situation in Xinjiang hasn’t changed unfortunately.

But this is just my opinion. Maybe good to know that I am mistaken.

This story is more than 8 years old.

Whether these are journalistic articles or not, I would expect to have sources and relevant information on how they come to their conclusions. There are no sources cited in the article.

Which housing bubble to they refer to, if there is one? How big is it? What could be done to avoid a burst? - Things like that out of journalistic investigation.

If they criticize it is all bad, they should at least have an idea why it’s bad and what would be better.

You should probably rewrite this though, second sentence can read like youre saying the UAE – infamously dependent on slave labour – upholds human rights in its trade agreements.

What I mean is that Canada should uphold human rights not only with its trade with the UAE but also with other countries like China. So the statement was not a reference to the UAE trade policy.

I don’t know these people, they are certainly good guys with good intentions. But the site is just critical of the government - which is fine, of course, there is nothing wrong with it - but there is barely research in all the reports, no alternative models and options are shown, what they should do better, and how. It feels if you want a report critical of Canada, you can go there, and there is nothing else.

Human rights must be an integral, non-negotiable part in any trade agreement imho. This is the case here with the Canada-UAE agreement but also in agreements with all other current and potential partner countries. At the moment Mr. Carney speaks with a lot of governments, in particular with China’s that is not exactly famous for respecting the rule of law.

[Edit for clarity.]

This is a very weak story in my opinion. It’s about a housing bubble, affordability, prices, … but the entire story doesn’t cite a single source, not a single number, no verifiable data whatsoever. There is no serious research.

Unfortunately it is the media outlet. The entire ‘Canada Dimension’ site looks like a dumping ground of anti-Canadian propaganda with sensationalist headlines aimed at making the country look bad.

And who are you that someone should think foreign policy should be based on your opinion? Are you a geopolitical expert? Or do you spread just propaganda that is of zero substance?