Trump vs. Musk, Shopify vs. the CRA, plus a Raptor’s assist

Swiirl and Williams, also known as the Junk Yard Dog, are launching a new campaign for Shooting for Peace, a non-profit educational program designed to bring financial literacy and mental health education to students across Canada and the United States.

At least one tax expert believes the ruling could embolden other companies to challenge data requests from Canada’s tax agency. The Federal Court recently dismissed the CRA’s request for Shopify merchant data after finding the tax agency had not outlined an identifiable group of individuals whose data it wanted.

The winner was Lite-1, which is developing a microorganism-based alternative to replace toxic synthetic dyes. The other startups on stage included GlüxKind, which developed an AI-enabled smart stroller, and VodaSafe, which is developing aquatic rescue tech. All three startups were founded or co-founded by women based in Vancouver.

Canadian AI godfather Yoshua Bengio has launched LawZero, a nonprofit organization dedicated to researching and developing “safe-by-design” AI systems. LawZero wants to develop a trustworthy AI that effectively babysits non-trustworthy AI.

Fispan CEO Lisa Shields said the deal helped “remove liquidity pressure” by letting investors cash out. Secondary rounds like this are becoming more common, with companies like Clio, and more recently Jane Software, also raising big rounds to give their early backers a payout.

UrbanLogiq wants governments to rely on its platform, which allows all levels of government to upload urban data to map out their regions, including zoning, density, utilities, traffic, and transit activity. The company recently launched an expanded version of its data platform, which it says will help policymakers better understand the regions they govern.

When Diana Gibson, BC’s new minister of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation was asked whether Web Summit Vancouver was worth the investment from the province, she said, “every penny.”

“The relationships I’ve seen built already, the feedback we’ve heard is that the partnerships are here. The energy is here,” she added.

Elon Musk slammed a Congressional spending package, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by the Trump Administration, as a “disgusting abomination” on X. The bill would cut taxes by $3.75 trillion USD but add $2.4 trillion USD to the deficit over 10 years, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office.