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Emails show Amazon colluding with other firms to raise prices, California authorities allege The previously redacted messages were unveiled as part of an antitrust battle with California attorney general Rob Bonta

Emails released on Monday by California’s attorney general show Amazon allegedly colluding with other companies to raise the prices of pet treats, khaki pants, eyedrops and other products sold online

This pasta sauce wants to record your family Even dinner wants to listen to your conversations now.

Why.

I hate to hand it to him, but the Pope makes some really good points.

Everyone agrees more competition is good. I think people disagree on how to get “more” competition - what that actually means and what it looks like.

A friend copied parts of it for me when they were at Oxford!

A New Agreement on Digital Commerce and the Traces of the Economic Order to Come The growing bonfire of international institutions claimed the WTO last week. But amid the ashes new growth emerges, as Canada, most of Asia and Europe agree to go our own way on digital trade

A new trade bloc for Canada may be emerging - starting with digital commerce and growing to other sectors from there.

My latest Substack explores one of the "middle power alliances" touted by Mark Carney as it takes shape benrowswell.substack.com/p/a-new-agre...

Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury rules The DOJ settled, but more than 30 states kept litigating against Ticketmaster anyway.

Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury rules

Opinion | Just Because I Wrote This Doesn’t Mean I’ll Be On Your Panel About A.I.

“Everybody’s using AI for everything nowadays, and if you don’t, you’re a misfit outsider who should be stoned to death in the town square, and then resurrected virtually from your data so you can be stoned to death in the virtual town square, for infinity.” www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/o...

The Great Digital Disconnect: AI Deregulation Versus Public Trust As Washington dismantles AI safeguards in the name of innovation, public opinion across North America is demanding stronger rules, not fewer.

“75% of US respondents and 79% of Canadians favour strong and coordinated frameworks for AI regulation, compared to 26% of Americans and 22% of Canadians who believe rapid AI innovation and adoption should be prioritized.”

www.cigionline.org/articles/the...

Technology Restrictions Have Become a Central Instrument of Economic Statecraft US semiconductors strategy has fractured into a triangular standoff between Congress, the White House, and the industry, write Mark Esposito and Bruno S. Sergi.

US chips strategy has fractured into a triangular standoff between Congress, the White House, and the industry, write Mark Esposito and Bruno S. Sergi. But the current moment calls for a clear articulation of what the US is actually trying to achieve, they write.

From 2018.
theconversation.com/why-not-nati...

Why Your Credit Card Is a National Security Threat | The Walrus Every Visa and Mastercard purchase runs through a US network that can be weaponized against Canada

This article raises a lot of interesting finance points. Canada should be developing a solid strategy for this vulnerability.

thewalrus.ca/why-your-cre...

On @therundowntvo.bsky.social, Shield Chief Economist Kaylie Tiessen is talking about Canadian governments' efforts to build a more resilient country, and how we assess policies using a "Sovereignty Score" framework.

Watch the episode here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpxm...

Well-timed bets on Polymarket tied to the Iran war draw calls for investigations from lawmakers Calls are increasing inside Congress for investigations into the prediction market platform Polymarket after the latest instance where groups of anonymous traders made strategic, well-timed bets on a major geopolitical event hours before it occurred.

Calls are increasing inside Congress for investigations into the prediction market platform Polymarket after the latest instance where groups of anonymous traders made strategic, well-timed bets on a major geopolitical event hours before it occurred. n.pr/41Zphja

What makes a company "Canadian" enough for government contracts? Podcast Episode · CanCon · April 9 · 22m

Good morning! Can I interest you in a conversation between myself and @vassb.bsky.social about what exactly makes a company Canadian, and how fake Canadian companies keep getting billions in contracts from our federal government? It's ... quite something! podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/w...

On the left: an image of a credit card that features a headshot photo of US president Donald Trump. On the right: text that reads “Why your credit card is a national security concern. Every Visa and Mastercard purchase runs through a US network that can be weaponized against Canada.”

There’s a simple way to test a country’s sovereignty: Can it govern its own markets? Writer Vass Bednar argues Canada can’t—not while a foreign power can shut off our payment networks at will. The UK is building alternatives. Are we? https://ow.ly/3PLJ50YEH3S

X is a Preferred Tool for American Propaganda. What Does It Mean? A conversation with St. John's University law professor and Lawfare senior editor Kate Klonick.

A State Department cable endorses X as an "innovative" tool for embassies and consulates to counter "disinformation"—while also urging coordination with military psyops. Law professor & Lawfare senior editor Kate Klonick spoke to Justin Hendrix about what the incident says about platforms and power.

‘It would be a catastrophe’: The Iran war has renewed calls for a sovereign medical supply chain The fallout from the war in the Middle East has led to cuts in helium supplies for health services in at least one province — and experts are warning that Canada still hasn’t done enough to secure sov...

The trade off for governments is resilience and sovereignty, versus convenience and cost

Do you set up your own supply chains at significant cost? Or do you continue to rely on at best, an unreliable partner, and at worst, a hostile state, for your essential needs?

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

Tech Companies Are Trying to Neuter Colorado’s Landmark Right-to-Repair Law A bill in Colorado is a glimpse into the future of how corporations are working to limit the freedom people have to make their own fixes and upgrades.

Tech companies are trying to exempt internet hardware from right to repair laws already in place

www.wired.com/story/tech-c...

I’m obsessed with this man’s crusade.

I have developed a new application, autonomously updated every morning, that serves up 214 monthly Canadian economic indicators. Please give it a try and see if you like it. philipsmith.ca/macroindicat...
#cdnecon

On the left: an image of a hand holding up a smartphone with a collage of abstract images and social media symbols behind it on a beige background. On the right: text that reads “The war against misinformation is over. The lies won. New research suggests people know images and headlines are false but share them anyway”

After years of covering misinformation, investigative journalist Justin Ling has reached a stark conclusion: “There is no amount of fact checking, media literacy, or platform moderation to solve the extent of this problem.” What comes after defeat? https://ow.ly/x0K650YC4LL

“The real danger is not that machines will become like us, but that we will become like them: efficient, unfeeling, exquisitely programmable.”

Commentary: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Price controls make a troubling return to the mainstream Governments should focus more on boosting supply and productivity

It's not so much price controls @ retail level that we need, but rather we must tackle corporate concentration and market power by preventing big mergers and acquisitions all along food supply chains in the first place.

://www.ft.com/content/d272c711-178c-4c73-a397-5b8fac200e5f?syn-25a6b1a6=1

On the left: Image of a digital shopping card icon outlined in blue rising off circuit board pattern. On the right: text that reads “Manitoba moves to outlaw algorithmic pricing—a first in Canada. The bill would ban using personal data to charge customers different prices for the same goods.”

Your grocery app knows your income, your neighbourhood, your habits — and charges you accordingly. That's not retail. That's surveillance capitalism at the checkout. VassB explores: thewalrus.ca/manitoba-moves-against-r...

Glow-in-the-Dark Kayaking in Toronto | Illuminated Escapes The must-do summer activity in Toronto & Brampton. Paddle a transparent glow-in-the-dark kayak at sunset on Lake Ontario or Heart Lake. Open June–September.

Glow in the dark kayaks illuminatedescapes.com

Can countries replace SWIFT? Evidence from Russia suggests not easily Cut off from the world’s main financial messaging system, Russia turned to a domestic alternative. But research shows it fell far short of replacing the global financial network.

Can countries replace SWIFT? Evidence from Russia suggests not easily

EU and CPTPP agree to progress with "historic" digital trade deal, Canada's international trade minister says The European Union and the parties to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership agreed on Friday to move ​forward with reaching a "historic" digital trade agreement between both ​trading blocs, Canada's trade minister said.

EU and CPTPP agree to progress with "historic" digital trade deal, Canada's international trade minister says reut.rs/3Q48Hfi

Some States Are Targeting a Tactic Corporations Use to Raise Your Grocery Prices Companies are using personal data to set individualized prices for customers, a ploy known as surveillance pricing.

One online grocery shopper got charged $3.99 for a box of Wheat Thins, while another — buying from the same store at the same time — got charged $4.89. Retailers use of algorithms to price products is becoming more & more concerning.