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Nov 28 2023

Battery drama. Tiny relocation. Terming terrorists. The Roundup

Nov 28, 2023
David Akin's Roundup
Clippings of #cdnpoli, #media, and #tech content aimed at those with an interest in Canadian politics and policy. And sometimes Canadian postage stamps.
Canada
‘Canadians deserve to know’: Conservative MPs demand battery plant contract details
Conservative MPs want the federal Liberals to release details of the contract for the NextStar electric vehicle battery plant being built in Windsor, Ont. Mackenzie Gray explains the political drama, the controversy surrounding hiring practices, and the lack of clarity surrounding the $15 billion project. [Global National]
The article then traces the growth of the vice-regal office's foreign policy functions, as well how the governor general's public diplomacy efforts contribute to Canada's global engagement. The article concludes with a brief discussion of King Charles III's place in Canadian foreign affairs as the head of state of multiple, independent realms. [International Journal]
Christmas tree vendors say a Christmas tree shortage is North America-wide, and there is no easy solution to rising costs and limited supply. [Global]

Report No. 6 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence. [House of Commons]
From the provinces
Toronto and Ontario agree to new deal, including DVP, Gardiner and Ontario Place
The deal will also include money for transit and refugees, while the city will redouble its efforts to build housing and transit-oriented communities. [Global]
New legislation will grant Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma the power to issue Minister's Zoning Orders for Ontario Place and except it from other provincial laws. [Global]
Alberta's conservative Premier Danielle Smith has said she will put the Canadian province's Sovereignty Act into motion on Monday to challenge the federal government's requirement for a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. [Reuters]
Alberta's New Democrat Opposition and a prominent First Nations leader are calling for a review of the province's energy regulator to be held in public, with public input. [Global]

Quebec's tuition hike (and the CAQs immigration policies more broadly) could discourage immigration, worsening the labour shortage. [Financial Post]
New Brunswick political parties are adding some edge to their fundraising campaigns as they prepare for an election sometime before September 2024. [Global]
A Saskatchewan NDP legislature member has apologized for liking a social media post that some view as antisemitic. Personally, I've never known a time or a person who did not know that chanting "from the river to the sea" is code for pushing Israel into the Mediterranean. Those who chant it, say it, etc. are calling for the eradication of Israel. Full-stop.  [CP]
The Manitoba government has introduced a bill in the legislature to make Sept. 30 — the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — a statutory holiday. [CBC]
The town of four people, two married couples, voted 100 per cent in favour of relocation this summer. A surprisingly fascinating tale ... [SaltWire]
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Elsewhere
The president is facing some pressure to focus on oil drilling and gas prices at home, while boosting climate ambition on the world stage. FWIW: PM Trudeau will not be at COP28 either. The Canadian delegation will be led by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.  [NYT]
Experts in constitutional law and the military say the Insurrection Act gives presidents tremendous power with few restraints. Recent statements by former President Donald Trump raise questions about how he might use it if he wins another term. [AP]
Nobody should expect diplomacy between the U.S. and China to return to the performative, if misleading, good cheer of a generation ago, Evan Osnos writes. [New Yorker]
Media
After the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7th, I [the CBC Ombudsman] heard from a number of people expressing concern that CBC referred to Hamas as “militants”, rather than “terrorists”. Complainant Evan Wynn Kosiner asked me to review whether this practice aligned with CBC’s journalistic standards, and here are the results of my work.  [CBC]
Sports Illustrated was publishing articles under seemingly fake bylines. We asked their owner about it — and they deleted everything. [Futurism]

The mayor of future Olympic host city Paris says she is quitting X, accusing Elon Musk’s platform previously known as Twitter of spreading disinformation and hatred and of becoming a “gigantic global sewer” that is toxic for democracy and constructive debate. [South China Morning Post]
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Sci/Tech

The debate over whether 8GB of RAM is sufficient for a MacBook Pro has long been a topic of contention. And, as this piece explains, the decision becomes slightly more complicated because of the way Apple silicon works. [MacRumors]

You might want to sign into your old and unused Google accounts prevent them from being deleted under Google’s inactive account policy. The rules were announced in May. [The Verge]
The Calendar
  • 0900 ET: C128 Senate building -  Meeting of the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples: Canadian Human Rights Framework
  • 0900 ET: B45 Senate Building -  Meeting of the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications: mpacts of climate change on critical infrastructure in the transportation and communications sectors
  • 0900 ET: W110 1 Wellington -  Meeting of the Senate Committee on National Finance: Bill C-241. CPC MP Chris Lewis to testify.
  • 1000 ET: West Block - PM Trudeau meets with his cabinet.
  • 1030 ET: NPT -  Canada’s Taxpayer’s Ombudsperson, François Boileau, releases his 2022–2023 Annual Report
  • 1030 ET: 135B West Block -  Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship speak to reporters.
  • 1100 ET: 425 Wellington - Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI) | Meeting  87 - Toxic Leak of Tailing Ponds
  • 1100 ET: 315 Wellington - Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) | Meeting  89 - Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
  • 1100 ET: 225A West Block - Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) | Meeting   87 - Committee business
  • 1100 ET: 330 Wellington - Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (SDIR) | Meeting  40 - International Disability-Inclusive Education
  • 1100 ET: Toronto - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh meets with the Canadian Housing and Renewal Agency
  • 1100 ET: 415 Wellington - Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT) | Meeting  - Bill C-57
  • 1100 ET: 410 Wellington - Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (CHPC) | Meeting  101 - Tech Giants’ Current and Ongoing Use of Intimidation and Subversion Tactics to Evade Regulation in Canada and Across the World
  • 1115 ET: HoC foyer - BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet and BQ MPs Rheal Fortin and Christine Normandin speak to reporters. 
  • 1200 ET: Toronto - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh meets with the Canadian Labour Congress
  • 1315 ET: 325 Wellington - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland , Innovation, Science and Industry  François-Philippe Champagne, Housing and Infrastructure Min Sean Fraser, and Treasury Board President Anita Anand make an announcement.
  • 1500 ET: B45 Senate Building -  Meeting of the Senate Committee on National Finance: FY24 Supp Bs.
  • 1530 ET: 420 Wellington - Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) | Meeting  85 - Closed Work Permits and Temporary Foreign Workers
  • 1530 ET: 025B West Block - Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) | Meeting  89 - Public Services and Procurement Min Jean-Yves Duclos on FY24 SuppBs
  • 1530 ET: 415 Wellington - Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN) | Meeting  85 - Bill C-53
  • 1530 ET: 315 Wellington - Standing Committee on Industry and Technology (INDU) | Meeting  99 - Bill C-27
  • 1530 ET: 330 Wellington - Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights (JUST) | Meeting  85 - Bill C-40
  • 1530 ET: 125B West Block - Standing Committee on National Defence (NDDN) | Meeting  83 - Committee Business
  • 1600 ET: 425 Wellington - Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) | Meeting  72 - Experience of Women Veterans
  • 1830 ET: 225A West Block - Joint Senate and House Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying 40 - Follow-up on Recommendation 13 of the Second Report of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying
  • 1830 ET: B30 Senate Building -  Meeting of the Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources: Bill S-14
  • 1915 ET: Ottawa - PM Trudeau attends a reception hosted by Equal Voice.
Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 2012: Scott # 2598i: 100th Grey Cup Winner: Toronto Argonauts. Design: Flip Mroz, David Rosenberg | Bensimon Byrne.
Canada Post issued an excllent series of stamps to mark the 100th Grey Cup game on August 16, 2012. The August issue was a nine-stamp series. Eight of the nine stamps featured different Grey Cup games through the ages won by each CFL team (except for the Ottawa Roughriders/Ottawa Red Blacks). There’s the 1977 “Ice Bowl” that the Als won; the 1950 “Mud Bowl” won by the Argos. etc. The first in that series though, Sc 2568, features the same design you see on today’s stamp, Sc 2598, but with one new twist:  the Argos logo in the upper right hand quarter. 

As for the event this stamp commemorates, the 100th edition of the the Grey Cup was at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Nov. 25, 2012 featuring the Calgary Stampeders and the Argos. The Argos prevailed 35.22. Canada Post had this stamp on the streets four days later. 

At the time of issue, the “P” rate was 61¢. This copy in my collection has a catalogue value today of about $2.50.

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