TOPIC: CBC NEWS INVESTIGATES
It's time to act on foreign interference, attacks on dissidents, say opposition MPs
Opposition critics are calling for Prime Minister Mark Carney's government to act quickly to implement a foreign agents registry and a foreign interference commissioner, following revelations that attacks by the Chinese government and its proxies on dissidents living in Canada are on the rise.
CBC Investigates
Followed, threatened and smeared — attacks by China against its critics in Canada are on the rise
An investigation by CBC News, in conjunction with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, reveals a pattern of rising surveillance, threats and smear campaigns by China to silence dissidents living in Canada and around the world.
CBC Investigates
This alleged pyramid scheme targets Filipino migrant workers, promising a life in Canada
Former clients and employees allege that Vancouver-based company PLC Global operated a pyramid scheme to scam foreigners looking for jobs in Canada — putting migrant workers in a situation one lawyer likened to "modern-day slavery."
CBC Investigates
58 pairs of Manolo Blahniks among hundreds of items seized at lawyer couple's home amid fraud probe
Police have seized more than a thousand items of luxury clothing from the home of a Toronto lawyer couple under investigation for fraud, possession of the proceeds of crime and laundering the proceeds of crime, after more than $7 million of their clients' money went missing.
Turned away, then jailed, family makes third attempt to enter Canada
A mother and her two daughters from El Salvador make a final attempt to enter Canada after spending two weeks locked in holding cells at the U.S. port of entry in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
CBC Investigates
These former farm workers won a standards case in B.C. They told CBC about their working conditions
CBC News has learned five workers were collectively awarded nearly $80,000 in a B.C. Employment Standards Branch decision involving a Fraser Valley employer. Yet when the federal department that oversees the temporary foreign worker program conducted an investigation into the workers’ complaints, it found no problems and gave the companies involved a clean audit.
This campaign raised $57K to repatriate a 'loving mother' killed in Lapu-Lapu festival tragedy. It was fake
GoFundMe removed a campaign claiming to be raising funds for a victim of the Lapu-Lapu festival tragedy Wednesday, saying it is refunding the more than $57,000 donated. A B.C. woman who reported her suspicions that the fundraiser was fake says she “couldn’t bear the thought” of people taking advantage of the community’s generosity in a time of tragedy.
Who's hacking CRA accounts? The Fifth Estate tracks down alleged imposters who duped the tax collector
Victims of identity theft across the country told CBC's The Fifth Estate that the Canada Revenue Agency wrongly blamed them for claiming bogus refunds. Our journalists set out to uncover the real scammers and where they've been spending taxpayers' money.
THE FIFTH ESTATE
CRA accounts hacked after 28,000 social insurance numbers stolen in data breach
Imposters hacked into B.C. health-care workers’ CRA accounts after a massive breach of employees’ private identification from the B.C. government’s Interior Health authority, which runs hospitals and medical facilities in the southeastern part of the province, The Fifth Estate has learned.
go public
PC Optimum reward program locks man out of account worth $43K without warning or explanation
PC Optimum points are mega-popular, with more than 17 million active subscribers. But some say the Loblaw reward program isn’t playing fair — freezing accounts with no warning and little explanation. One expert says the program has pitfalls that can easily lock out dedicated shoppers.
CBC Investigates
Panama Papers leak has led to nearly $2B in recouped taxes for governments
Almost exactly nine years after the Panama Papers were revealed, two dozen countries' tax agencies say they've recovered nearly $2 billion combined in tax arrears thanks to information in the leak about hidden bank accounts and offshore shell companies.
CBC Investigates
Agnes Benn's death and the hidden history of Birtle residential school's predatory principal
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard very little about Agnes Benn, a teen girl who died near a Manitoba residential school in 1930, and the multiple sex abuse charges faced by the school's principal, Henry Currie.
CBC Investigates
Director Norman Jewison's wife cut him off from family, coerced him to change $30M will, lawsuits claimed
Director Norman Jewison's second wife "made progressive efforts to isolate and control him," his sons have alleged — leading to family drama, lawsuits in two countries and a fight over the late filmmaker's $30-million fortune that even involved a former Ontario premier. Experts say it highlights end-of-life struggles many families face.
CBC Investigates
'Rising problem' of ghost consultancies hits man who lost $12K trying to get Canadian visa for wife
Krishan Jogia turned to an immigration consultancy before landing in Toronto in 2023, only to later realize — after spending thousands of dollars to get his wife to Canada — he had been dealing with a "ghost" consultancy. Experts say newcomers prefer consultants to lawyers for their immigration paperwork as they're more affordable. But there are calls for more efforts to penalize those operating without a licence.
Go Public
Parents say Snapchat makes it easy for drug dealers to sell to their kids
An Ontario father says he’s struggling to keep his teen son away from drug dealers on popular messaging app Snapchat, and he's not alone. The social media platform's parent company, Snap Inc., is being sued by dozens of U.S. families who say the app's disappearing messages make it hard for parents to supervise their kids' online activity.
GO PUBLIC
Hyundai owners say the paint on their white cars is flaking off
Some drivers say the white paint of their Hyundais is peeling off in large chunks and that getting help from the automaker has been nearly impossible. It's not just happening here in Canada; drivers around the world have all reported the same problem with relatively new vehicles.
Marketplace
Hey, parents: Advertisers could be using mobile games to build profiles about your kids
A Marketplace investigation has pulled back the curtain on how some mobile games, which seem to attract children, use loopholes in rules protecting kids’ data — allowing marketers to build advertising profiles tailored to them, which can then be more effective at influencing their behaviour.
CBC Investigates
Canadian teen recruited to spy for Russia, now sitting in Polish jail
Laken Pavan travelled to occupied Ukraine to volunteer for an aid group and ended up being recruited as a Russian agent. The then 17-year-old was sent to Poland to spy on its military, but confessed to police. Now his family hopes to bring an early end to his 20-month jail sentence.
Call-centre crypto scammers unmasked as data leak exposes their schemes
The scam starts with fake articles featuring celebrities. Next comes a crypto ruse, and finally, the fraudsters impersonate the authorities. More than 32,000 people have fallen victim, but now the scammers themselves have been exposed.
ANALYSIS — FIFTH ESTATE
From old grievances to new allies: Trump's history with tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive views on trade and tariffs are in keeping with ideas he has expressed since the 1980s and now are buttressed by a cadre of allies and supporters who share his view.
THE FIFTH ESTATE
Authorities in India question suspect in Pearson gold heist following Fifth Estate investigation
Last week, The Fifth Estate revealed that a key suspect in the largest gold heist in Canadian history, Simran Preet Panesar, is living in northern India. Following the CBC investigation, officials with the Enforcement Directorate in India, which handles financial crimes, raided a residence and questioned Panesar.
THE FIFTH ESTATE
Inside the Pearson airport gold heist: Document alleges well-placed insider key to $20M theft
An investigation by CBC’s The Fifth Estate uncovered a key internal document that provides a minute-by-minute account of how authorities believe the 2023 gold heist at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport was planned and executed, alleging a highly organized group of individuals relied heavily on a well-placed insider.
THE FIFTH ESTATE
This divided small town is on the front line in a fight to control what Canadians read
An investigation by The Fifth Estate has found there is a shadow war in Canada against libraries and books. Its leading political actors, from small towns to large political parties, are linked to a broader grassroots movement.
CBC Investigates
This recruiter has allegedly scammed 'hundreds' of Filipino migrant workers. Some are now homeless
Recruiter Jeanett Moskito has been caught three dozen times for charging illegal fees and is accused of victimizing "hundreds" of Filipino migrant workers. But she has never been prosecuted, with a lawyer likening the penalties she’s received so far to "parking tickets."
Welcome to Canada
'I did not expect to be a slave': Amnesty International report exposes abuse of migrant workers
A new Amnesty International report criticizes the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program for “systemic abuses” of predominantly racialized migrant workers from developing countries, which it calls an “intrinsic feature” of the policy that ties workers to specific employers.