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Apr 8 2024

Budget duel. Housing battle. Star dims: The Roundup

Apr 8, 2024
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
Trudeau's pre-budget announcements continue, opposition calls for restraint on spending
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continued a week of nearly daily pre-budget announcements in Montreal on Sunday.  He promised to spend billions of dollars on artificial intelligence research, skills training, and regulation.  But as David Akin reports, a week of multi-billion dollar spending announcements has the leader of the official opposition calling for restraint. [Global National]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Montreal Sunday that the new federal investment in AI and the tech industry will promote job growth and productivity. [Global]

India says that allegations that it was involved in interfering in the 2021 federal election, as stated in CSIS documents made public by the foreign interference inquiry, are baseless. [CBC]
For the second time in less than two weeks, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is promising Canadian Jews that he has their backs after Oct. 7 in a way that, he says, Canada’s current prime minister no longer does. 
Poilievre told a crowd of 600 people at Toronto’s Beth Tikvah synagogue on April 7 that he wants more done to protect Canadian Jews’ rights to live and worship in the country. [Canadian Jewish News]
Defence Minister Bill Blair is set to release the long-awaited update to Canada's defence policy this morning in Trenton, Ont. [CP]
From the Provinces
The Ford and Trudeau governments are fighting about housing. What’s at stake?
The Ontario and Canadian governments have been trading blows on the housing file in public. Behind the scenes, however, one provincial source is optimistic a deal can be landed. [Global]
Elsewhere
Inside Donald Trump’s secret, long-shot plan to end the war in Ukraine
Former president Donald Trump has privately said he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring Ukraine to give up some territory, according to people familiar with the plan. Some foreign policy experts said Trump’s idea would reward Russian President Vladimir Putin and condone the violation of internationally recognized borders by force. [WaPo]
It was announced last week that Canada would use helicopters to get Canadians from Port-au-Prince to an undisclosed location, then bring them to Montreal by chartered flight. [Global]
Identifying the Effect of Election Closeness on Voter Turnout: Evidence from Swiss Referenda
We find that the release of a closer poll causes voter turnout to sharply rise immediately after poll release.. . We provide evidence that polls affect turnout ... The effects of close polls are the largest where newspapers report on them most ... We then provide evidence that the effect of close polls is heterogeneous, with an asymmetric effect leading to a higher vote share for the underdog. The effect sizes we estimate are large enough to flip high-stakes election outcomes under plausible counterfactual scenarios. A lot of math here but this is interesting stuff. [Journal of the European Economic Association]
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Media
Whitehorse Star newspaper to cease publication after 124 years covering Yukon
An online article says the paper’s owners had been working with a small group of local residents interested in buying the business, but terms could not be finalized. [Ottawa Citizen]
Science and Tech
2024 Solar Eclipse Map: Path of Totality and More
The eclipse will begin at sunrise over the Pacific Ocean, then cut through Mexico and cross the United States from Texas to Maine. Most of North America will see a partial eclipse, but viewers within the deepest shadow — a band sliding from Mazatlán, Mexico, to the Newfoundland coast near Gander, Canada — will experience a total solar eclipse. [NYT]
A small study in Scotland suggests many kids overestimate the agency and intellect of AI assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant. [Live Science]

This clever feature means you don't have to pick up your iPhone when you get a new message. [ZDNet]
The Calendar
  • 1100 ET: 315 Wellington - Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) | Meeting  96 Drafting report.
  • 1100 ET: 025-B West Block - Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) | Meeting  115 Postal Service in Canada’s Rural and Remote Communities
  • 1100 ET: 415 Wellington - Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN) | Meeting  101 Drafting report.
  • 1100 ET: 330 Wellington - Industry and Technology (INDU) | Meeting  116 Bill C-27
  • 1100 ET: 425 Wellington - Veterans Affairs (ACVA) | Meeting  87 Drafting report.
  • 1130 ET: CFB Trenton - PM Trudeau , Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland, Defence Min Bill Blair and Veterans Affairs Min Ginette Petitpas Taylor release Canada's Defence Policy Update.
  • 1530 ET: 315 Wellington - Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE) | Meeting  100 Drafting report.
  • 1530 ET: 330 Wellington - Health (HESA) | Meeting  108 Women's Health
  • 1530 ET: 410 Wellington - Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) | Meeting 106 Bill C-58
  • 1530 ET: 035-B West Block - Natural Resources (RNNR) | Meeting  91 Bill C-49
  • 1530 ET: 125-B West Block - Official Languages (LANG) | Meeting  92 Language Obligations Related to the Process of Staffing or Making Appointments to Key Positions
  • 1530 ET: 425 Wellington - Public Safety and National Security (SECU) | Meeting 101 Bill C-26
  • 1830 ET: 025-B West Block - Special Committee on the Canada–People’s Republic of China Relationship (CACN) | Meeting  36 Testimony fron Health Min Mark Holland.
  • 1845 ET: Ottawa - PM Trudeau, Diveristy Min Kamal Khera and Emergency Preparedness Min Harjit Sajjan attend a Vaisakhi and Sikh Heritage Month reception
Issued this day ...
… in 2015. Scott #2814 souvenir sheet of 3: Canadian Photography — 3. Design: Stéphane Huot.
The three stamps here feature three photographs: From the left: Nina Raginsky’s (1941- ) Shoeshine Stand (1974) was shot in Vancouver when she was working as a street-portrait photographer; Geneviève Cadieux’s (1955 - ) La Voie Lactée (1992) is the international-rate stamp; Southam Sisters, Montreal  was shot circa 1915-19 by mining engineer, journalist, photographer and artist Harold Mortimer-Lamb (1872-1970).

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