Marissa Birnie

While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Marissa Birnie.

Fact File: Clip of Carney saying he would use emergency powers against Alberta separatists doctored

Fact File: Clip of Carney saying he would use emergency powers against Alberta separatists doctored

Claims that Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would invoke the Emergencies Act to quash Alberta independence appeared online last week. It was said Carney made the comments while addressing steelworkers at a March 29 event in Hamilton, Ont. A video from Hamilton in which Carney is seemingly heard referring to the use of emergency powers in fact uses spliced...

Clip of Carney saying he would use emergency powers against Alberta separatists is doctored

Clip of Carney saying he would use emergency powers against Alberta separatists is doctored

Claims that Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would invoke the Emergencies Act to quash Alberta independence appeared online last week. It was said Carney made the comments while addressing steelworkers at a March 29 event in Hamilton, Ont. A video from Hamilton in which Carney is seemingly heard referring to the use of emergency powers in fact uses spliced...

Fact File: No evidence Carney threatened emergency powers against Alberta separatists

Fact File: No evidence Carney threatened emergency powers against Alberta separatists

Claims that Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would invoke the Emergencies Act to quash Alberta independence appeared online last week. It was said Carney made the comments while addressing steelworkers at a March 29 event in Hamilton, Ont. A video from Hamilton in which Carney is seemingly heard referring to the use of emergency powers in fact uses spliced...

Clip of Carney saying he would use emergency powers against Alberta separatists is doctored

Clip of Carney saying he would use emergency powers against Alberta separatists is doctored

Claims that Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would invoke the Emergencies Act to quash Alberta independence appeared online last week. It was said Carney made the comments while addressing steelworkers at a March 29 event in Hamilton, Ont. A video from Hamilton in which Carney is seemingly heard referring to the use of emergency powers in fact uses spliced...

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip says 'heartsick' MLA wife doesn't support DRIPA pause

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip says 'heartsick' MLA wife doesn't support DRIPA pause

VANCOUVER -- A First Nations leader whose wife is a B.C. government legislator says she doesn't support Premier David Eby's plan to suspend parts of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and is "heartsick" over the issue.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip says 'heartsick' MLA wife doesn't support DRIPA

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip says 'heartsick' MLA wife doesn't support DRIPA

VANCOUVER -- A First Nations leader whose wife is a B.C. government legislator says she doesn't support Premier David Eby's plan to suspend parts of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and is "heartsick" over the issue.

University study finds few improvements to at-risk species in B.C.

University study finds few improvements to at-risk species in B.C.

VANCOUVER -- As spring blooms in British Columbia, the brilliant orange-and black pattern of a monarch butterfly's wing and the distinctive cream cap on a black male bobolink songbird are a rare sight.

Registration of U.S. nurses in B.C. soars amid recruitment push

Registration of U.S. nurses in B.C. soars amid recruitment push

This summer, Alex Alvarez will pack her belongings and make the 3,500-kilometre trek with her husband, young son and Boston Terrier from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nanaimo, B.C. -- a city she's never visited -- to work as a registered nurse.

Fact File: Photos of Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry on Grammys red carpet are fake

Fact File: Photos of Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry on Grammys red carpet are fake

On Sunday, photos appeared online that seemed to show former prime minister Justin Trudeau and his partner Katy Perry on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The photos are fake. The Getty Images watermark on the photos does not match the real logo of the photo supplier, and the credited photographer does not seem to...

B.C. says AI and data centre projects must compete for power in new selection process

British Columbia's government is launching a competitive selection process for artificial intelligence and data centre projects that would see companies fight over a set amount of power.

ICE wants to buy Pattison building in Virginia to use for 'holding and processing'

ICE wants to buy Pattison building in Virginia to use for 'holding and processing'

VANCOUVER -- The United States Department of Homeland Security is planning to buy a building owned by the property arm of Vancouver-based conglomerate Jim Pattison Group to use as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement "processing facility."

Fact File: Trump makes false claim about Greenland's 'two dogsled' defence capacity

Fact File: Trump makes false claim about Greenland's 'two dogsled' defence capacity

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed Denmark's military presence in Greenland consists of "two dogsleds." While Denmark does have a special dogsled unit that operates in remote areas of Greenland, it is one part of a larger Arctic presence. Denmark has increased its military capabilities in the Arctic in recent months amid Trump's threat to take control of Greenland...

Fact File: Carney's NATO comments misconstrued online as declaration of war

Fact File: Carney's NATO comments misconstrued online as declaration of war

Multiple social media posts in the past week claimed that Prime Minister Mark Carney had said Canada would "go to war" with the United States if it attempted a forceful takeover of Greenland. Some of the posts cited comments Carney made at a press conference in Beijing last week as the source for their claims. However, Carney's comments did not...

Fact File: Maduro's capture reignites election conspiracy involving ex-Canadian firm

Fact File: Maduro's capture reignites election conspiracy involving ex-Canadian firm

The Jan. 3 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife during a brazen military raid by the United States stunned the world and left Venezuelans in Canada feeling mixed emotions.

Fact File: X's AI chatbot claims Carney isn't PM, Russian video set in Toronto

Fact File: X's AI chatbot claims Carney isn't PM, Russian video set in Toronto

The artificial intelligence chatbot Grok made several errors over the past few weeks when asked to verify information on the X platform. In one instance, it miscaptioned video of a 2021 altercation involving hospital workers in Russia as taking place in Toronto a year earlier. In the other, it claimed multiple times Mark Carney "has never been Prime Minister."

Fact File: No 'plan' to 'euthanize' 15 million Canadians with MAID

Fact File: No 'plan' to 'euthanize' 15 million Canadians with MAID

Podcast clips recently shared on social media claim that Health Canada plans to save money by "euthanizing" 15 million Canadians.

Fact File: Claims government built fake homes for photo op misleading

Fact File: Claims government built fake homes for photo op misleading

In September, the public announcement of the federal government's Build Canada Homes agency sparked social media posts claiming a fake construction site with fake homes was used as a backdrop for the news conference, and that the project's $13 billion budget meant each of the planned 4,000 homes would cost upwards of $3 million.

Fact File: Will citizenship markers on Alberta ID stop non-citizens from voting?

Fact File: Will citizenship markers on Alberta ID stop non-citizens from voting?

Last week, the government of Alberta said it plans to add mandatory citizenship markers to driver's licences and other forms of identification. Premier Danielle Smith said the move would "ensure that only eligible citizens cast ballots."

Fact File: No evidence behind rumours FIFA moving World Cup games from U.S. to Canada

Fact File: No evidence behind rumours FIFA moving World Cup games from U.S. to Canada

In July and August, online rumours suggested organizers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup planned to relocate games from the United States to Canada amid U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. While some advocacy groups urged FIFA to ask the U.S. government to reverse its recent immigration measures, FIFA did not commit to doing so, nor did it move any...

Fact Check: A look at White House claims about Canada's fentanyl fight 'failure'

Fact Check: A look at White House claims about Canada's fentanyl fight 'failure'

The United States made good on its promise to slap hefty tariffs on Canada Friday as the countries failed to reach a trade deal by U.S. President Donald Trump's deadline. A fact sheet from the White House said Canada's "failure" to address the opioid crisis was part of the reason for going ahead with the 35 per cent tariffs on...

Fact Check: 'I'm very much alive,' says byelection candidate alleged to have died

Fact Check: 'I'm very much alive,' says byelection candidate alleged to have died

An online conspiracy theory recently claimed that a candidate on the ballot in the federal byelection in Alberta's Battle River-Crowfoot riding had died in February. The source for the claim was an obituary for an unrelated woman with the same name. The real candidate told The Canadian Press that Elections Canada verified her identity before putting her name on the...