The Xaverian Weekly News Recap: Major Headlines from Canada and the World
/Local
February 7: Elizabeth Spehar, who works as the Assistant Secretary-General Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office at the United Nations, gave a lecture called ‘’The Future of Multilateralism for Peacebuilding’’ at the Coady Institute.
February 7: X-Women Caroline Ash breaks StFX record in 1000m with time of 2:46.45, beating the previous record by two minutes. Ash also won the SMU Open 600m event. The X-Women and X-Men had a successful weekend, winning the Women’s 600m, 1000m, 1500m and 3000 m and the Men’s 1000m and 1500m.
February 7: X-Men Hockey beat Moncton 3-2 in shootout. Goaltender Patrick Leaver won the Gabriel Pizza Player of the Game.
Canada
Feburary 6: Canada officially opened a consulate in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. The new office in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, will assist Canadian citizens in Greenland with Visa and other government services as well as promote Canadian interests abroad. The Canadian government under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had announced the plan back in 2024. The consulate opens amidst over a year of increasingly aggressive threats by U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at Greenland and Canada.
February 5: Mark Carney announced a repeal of the Trudeau-era Electric Vehicle Mandate, which would’ve required all new cars sold in Canada by 2036 be electric. In place will be financial incentives for electric or hybrid cars and tighter emission standards on other automobiles.
International
February 9: At the start of Day 3 at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Canada is currently tied for 7th place in the medal tally with two bronze medals by Valérie Maltais in Women’s 3000m speedskating and Megan Oldham in Women’s freeski slopestyle. Host nation Italy currently leads with 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 6 Bronze medals. Norway and Switzerland both have 3 Gold Medals.
Italian protestors have drawn international media attention in Milan where they clashed. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government has just opened a terrorism investigation into a series of rail lines were damaged in northern Italy, extending travel time on passenger trains in the area around the Olympics.
Feb 8: Japan’s first female Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, was re-elected with a two thirds super majority in Japan’s parliament. Takaichi, who will govern Japan until 2028, has been keen to take steps towards boosting the country's military. This could be a break in the decades of Japanese demilitarization since WW2.
Feb 9: Ghislaine Maxwell pleaded the 5th before a Congressional oversight committee concerning the Epstein Files. Maxwell is already in prison for her role in Epstein’s sex crimes but was moved to a lower security prison by the Trump administration in August 2025. Her lawyer said Maxwell “is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump.”
Millions of files concerning Jeffrey Epstein were released last week, demonstrating close ties between Epstein and other rich and influential men like Elon Musk, Noam Chomsky, Peter Thiel, Bill Gates and many more.
