Conspirituality

Brief: Mark Carney’s Nice But Canada Sells Arms to ICE

February 14, 2026

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  • Mark Carney's Davos speech, while appearing to distance Canada from U.S. chaos, primarily serves to manage outrage over Canadian complicity with the U.S. domestic terror regime (specifically ICE) by masking deep hypocrisies within liberal politics and capitalist structures. 
  • Canadian military and tech firms are deeply enmeshed in supporting the U.S. police state, evidenced by numerous contracts awarded to companies like Guarda World, JSI Telecom, Hoot Suite, Thompson Reuters, Magnet Forensics, I-Corps, CGI, and Rochelle, often involving surveillance, detention facilities, and law enforcement support. 
  • The Canadian government's current immigration policies, exemplified by Bill C2 (the Strong Borders Act), mirror Trumpian stances by expanding surveillance and restricting asylum, continuing a long history of exclusionary border politics that contradicts any claims of moral differentiation from the U.S. 

Segments

Ad Read: Carvana
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Carvana promotes easy car purchasing via clicks and flexible financing.
  • Summary: Carvana advertises an easy car buying process involving a simple click interface. They highlight a large inventory and financing options designed to fit various budgets. Delivery to the customer’s door is also advertised as a simple process.
Ad Read: Nobody Listens
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  • Key Takeaway: Paula Poundstone’s podcast blends late-night fun with public radio wit.
  • Summary: The podcast Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone is recommended as a ludicrous variety show featuring comedian Paula Poundstone and co-host Adam Thelber. The host appeared on the show, where they discussed conspiracy theories, QAnon, and yoga pants with sincere interest and humor. The show is available on major podcast platforms.
Podcast Introduction and Context
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(00:02:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Conspirituality investigates conspiracy theories, spiritual influence, and authoritarian extremism.
  • Summary: The host, Matthew Remsky, introduces Conspirituality, which investigates the intersections of conspiracy theories and spiritual influence to uncover cults, pseudoscience, and extremism. The episode focuses on Mark Carney’s Davos speech and Canadian complicity with U.S. ICE. The host directs listeners to follow them on social media and support their Patreon.
Carney’s Davos Speech Analysis
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(00:02:49)
  • Key Takeaway: Carney’s speech masks hypocrisy by demanding better optics for capitalism, not structural change.
  • Summary: The episode analyzes Prime Minister Carney’s Davos speech, which sought to distance Canada from U.S. volatility, as an admission that Canada’s powerful subculture lied about the rules-based order. The speech’s importance lies in revealing the contradictions of liberal politics, which seeks to restore good optics rather than challenge escalating authoritarian violence rooted in capitalism. Carney uses a benevolent affect to distract from deep structural complicity.
Profiling Journalist Rachel Gilmore
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(00:04:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Rachel Gilmore is a leading independent journalist covering Canadian anti-fascist beats.
  • Summary: Rachel Gilmore, a Canadian journalist, is highlighted for her mold-breaking anti-fascist beat reporting, utilizing social media like TikTok to reach younger audiences. After being laid off by CTV, she continues independent work through her company, Bubble Pop, covering federal politics, extremism, and digital reform. Her reporting details Canadian complicity with U.S. military profiteering and adventurism.
Canadian Immigration Policy Mirroring Trump
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(00:05:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Bill C2 expands surveillance and restricts asylum, mimicking Trump’s hardline immigration stance.
  • Summary: Carney’s government is mirroring Trumpian immigration policy through Bill C2 (Strong Borders Act), which expands surveillance powers and weakens privacy standards. This bill imposes a one-year bar on refugee claims for those entering via the U.S. border and broadens data sharing under the U.S. Cloud Act. These measures continue a long Canadian history of border control shaped by racial exclusion, citing historical examples like the Chinese Head Tax and the Komogata Maru incident.
Canadian Firms Profiting from ICE
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(00:09:39)
  • Key Takeaway: Multiple Canadian firms hold significant contracts supporting ICE and DHS operations.
  • Summary: Montreal-based Guarda World secured contracts for work on an ICE detention facility, while Ottawa’s JSI Telecom provided communication systems for DHS wiretaps. Vancouver’s Hoot Suite pilots monitoring social conversations about ICE actions, and Toronto-headquartered Thompson Reuters holds contracts up to $31 million for investigative databases supporting DHS. Brampton-based Rochelle sold 20 armored Senator vehicles to ICE, which were later used to intimidate protesters.
Export Controls and Corporate Amorality
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(00:12:15)
  • Key Takeaway: Canada’s U.S. exemption under the EIPA nullifies human rights risk assessments for arms sales.
  • Summary: The Export and Import Permits Act mandates human rights risk assessments, but Canada has a long-standing exemption for the U.S. due to perceived good neighborliness. This toothless vetting extends to corporate partners; for example, Ford only cares that its chassis doesn’t fall apart, not how upfitters like Rochelle use their vehicles to support foreign government violence. Government officials deflect responsibility for these complicities onto the companies themselves.
Managing Outrage and Bureaucracy
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(00:13:36)
  • Key Takeaway: Carney’s charisma manages outrage by integrating bureaucratic slow-walks to protect trade value.
  • Summary: Carney’s low-key charisma is used to manage moral outrage over Canadian complicity by integrating bureaucratic processes designed to delay human rights issues. A private member’s bill by MP Jenny Kwan to enforce end-use reviews for exports, which would stop ICE resource flow, has no hope of passing. The Foreign Affairs Minister falsely claimed Canada has one of the strongest military export control systems with human rights at its core.
Alternative: Building Socialist Infrastructure
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(00:16:02)
  • Key Takeaway: Defeating fascism requires dismantling capitalist infrastructure piece by piece, not demanding fast liberal answers.
  • Summary: The alternative plan involves analyzing why liberal pro-capitalist politics cannot defeat fascism and building democracy through long-term structural change. Avi Lewis, running for the NDP leadership, proposes a socialist campaign including a Green New Deal with unionized jobs, public options for banking, and taxing billionaires. This strategy aims to seize and build upon existing political infrastructure to ensure common grievances are tended to, preventing fascist manipulation.
Ad Read: University of Cincinnati
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  • Key Takeaway: UC offers over 100 online degrees to balance work and education goals.
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  • Key Takeaway: Vanguard’s Cash Plus account offers interest earnings for savings.
  • Summary: Vanguard suggests using their Cash Plus account to manage savings effectively instead of wasting time in unproductive meetings. The account helps users earn interest on their savings. Information on potential earnings is available at Vanguard.com/slash Cash Plus.