Michael Byers 🇨🇦
banner
michael-byers.bsky.social
Michael Byers 🇨🇦
@michael-byers.bsky.social

Co-director, Outer Space Institute
Chair, Salt Spring Forum
UBC Professor
Author, citizen, troublemaker
He/him

Michael Byers is a Canadian legal scholar and non-fiction author.

Source: Wikipedia
Political science 60%
Physics 18%

What is Canada’s Role in Upholding the Rule of Law and Multilateralism?
That's the title of Sabine Nolke, Stephen Toope, Kristen Boon and my panel at the Canadian Council of International Law annual conference next Friday in Ottawa.
2025 Conference | ccil (English)
SAVE THE DATE: 54th Annual Conference of the CCIL. November 13 and 14, 2025 in Ottawa. Theme: "Friends, Enemies and Frenemies: Engagement and Retaliation in International Law". Please stay tuned for ...
www.ccil-ccdi.ca

“Canada exports millions of dollars’ worth of weapons and systems to the U.A.E., which supplies the RSF" -- the militia that's presently committing what looks like genocide.
Sudanese fighters accused of massacres use Canadian-made rifles | CBC News
The Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, accused of civilian massacres, have posted numerous images posing with rifles bearing the logo of a small B.C. manufacturer called Sterling Cross Defense Systems. Ex...
www.cbc.ca

Reposted by Michael Byers

Did you miss the October 24th event titled "Canadian Security Interests and Trump 2.0"?

@michael-byers.bsky.social @mattkorda.bsky.social @brankamarijan.bsky.social
@kerrybuck.bsky.social

📽️ Watch all 6 panels here ⬇️

youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Canadian Security Interests and Trump 2.0 - YouTube
October 24, 2025 Presented by the Canadian Pugwash Group (CPG), the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) and the Outer Space Institute (OSI) Canada...
youtube.com

"The Canadian military should stay home – far away from Donald Trump’s latest illegalities."

My latest (as a gift article):
Canada risks complicity in the high-seas killings committed by the U.S.
Canadian technology is being used to target boats off the coast of Venezuela
www.theglobeandmail.com

The US president is sundowning. Would someone please tuck the poor man into bed?
Trump threatens to go into Nigeria ‘guns-a-blazing’ over attacks on Christians
US president says he ordered Pentagon to begin planning for action, without mentioning Muslim persecution
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Michael Byers

This reminds me of a 🇫🇮 Finnish war hero General’s experience during a Cold War visit to the UK. A 🇬🇧 counterpart supposedly asked him:
“So how many Soviet troops are currently in Finland?”
- “About 100,000”.
“Oh, so many? Where are they stationed?”
- “Along the Eastern border, 6ft underground.”

SpaceX's hegemony is affecting the Canadian space industry.
MDA shares tumble on fears of satellite contract loss
U.S. telecommunications company Globalstar Inc. is exploring a sale to SpaceX, according to a Bloomberg report
www.theglobeandmail.com

Reposted by Michael Byers

dear @bluejays.com, i'll be in Toronto on Friday and would love to sing our Canadian anthem at game 6. whaddaya say? #BlueJays #WantItAll #WorldSeries ⚾️
Canada will remember.

In Toronto next week, I'll be speaking about the enforcement of international law at this free public conference organized by the Ukrainian Bar Association.
Justice Under Fire: The Legal Profession’s Role in Ukraine’s Response to Aggression
uba.ua

Reposted by Michael Byers

Golly gee, you think?!

“The fact that we don’t have robust explanations for why AI models sometimes resist shutdown, lie to achieve specific objectives or blackmail is not ideal”
AI models may be developing their own ‘survival drive’, researchers say
Like 2001: A Space Odyssey’s HAL 9000, some AIs seem to resist being turned off and will even sabotage shutdown
www.theguardian.com

Jane Philpott is coming to the Salt Spring Forum tonight.
Just a few tickets left!
Dr. Jane Philpott
Health for All: A Doctor's Prescription for a Healthier Canada
www.eventbrite.ca

Thank you! Warm regards, Michael

This is insane. Will Trump bulldoze the Capitol Building next?
‘It’s your house. And he’s destroying it’: Trump demolishes White House East Wing
President Donald Trump is tearing down the East Wing to build a $250 million ballroom.
www.politico.com

Norway's defence minister was in Ottawa yesterday for what one Norwegian diplomat told me were "crisis" talks.
Germany, Norway make submarine pitch ahead of Carney’s review of rival South Korean bid
Two countries urge Canada to choose NATO partners for procurement of 12 multibillion-dollar vessels
www.theglobeandmail.com

Salt Spring Island, Canada, October 21, 2025

A big thank you to @bcferries.bsky.social for showing the @bluejays.com game on its ships last night!

Ottawa peace-and-security conference this Friday!

Free admission; all welcome.
Canadian Security Interests and Trump 2.0 – Centre for International Policy Studies
Canada's leading centre for analysis and debate of international affairs.
www.cips-cepi.ca

I'll be speaking on the Norwegian tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl this morning!
Vancouver: Safe and Green Maritime Activities - Arcticfrontiers.com
arcticfrontiers.com

Reposted by Michael Byers

➡️Canadian Security Interests and Trump 2.0

Panel 1: “Canada and US Security and Defence Cooperation”
Joel Sokolsky & Walter Dorn

Panel 2: "Arctic Security, NORAD modernization and Golden Dome”
Ernie Regehr & @michael-byers.bsky.social

Register here >>> bit.ly/3J0GqTJ

The MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey must be a total lightweight.
17 years and counting: Why plans for a rapid transit line to UBC have barely left the station | CBC News
Why has this long-debated project not come to fruition?
www.cbc.ca

Arctic Frontiers is coming to Vancouver next Monday, on a tall ship.
All welcome!
Vancouver: Safe and Green Maritime Activities - Arcticfrontiers.com
arcticfrontiers.com

I started my day talking with CBC radio host Stephen Quinn about developments in the Middle East.
© CBC/Radio-Canada 2025. All rights reserved.
www.cbc.ca

"Democracy depends on people who refuse to stay silent, who dare to step forward despite grave risk, and who remind us that freedom must never be taken for granted, but must always be defended – with words, with courage and with determination."
Nobel Peace Prize 2025
The Nobel Peace Prize 2025 was awarded to Maria Corina Machado "for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transi...
www.nobelprize.org

Posting on X feeds X.

AI-driven killer-submersibles will change naval warfare.
Yet Canada is planning to spend more than $100 billion on 15 large surface ships.
My latest op-ed, as a gift article:
Canada’s new warships could be obsolete by delivery time
This country needs a navy that can adapt, survive and fight in the age of artificial intelligence
www.theglobeandmail.com

Thanks for both the oped and the recommendation. I'll watch The Good Canadian now.

Canada Post is losing money!
But so is the Canadian military.
Most Canadians don't use the post or the military very much, but they're both still essential services.