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Aug 18 2023

Building homes. Burning homes. Liberal bias.

Aug 18, 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.
This newsletter will not be published tomorrow, Saturday, as your correspondent will be in a canoe on Georgian Bay. Have a great weekend and thanks so much for reading!
Canada
1 in 5 homebuilders are nixing projects amid high rates. Here are your rights
More Canadian developers are slowing their pace of building or nixing projects completely. Here's what you need to know about your rights if you bought a pre-sale home. [Global]
Jagmeet Singh is also calling on the federal government to establish a funding model to get more student housing built, which would see the federal government, provinces and territories and post-secondary institutions contributing money in equal parts. [CP]
Joly drew an analogy to her government's experience working with former president Donald Trump's administration, which sought to limit long-established trade in crucial sectors. [Global]
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet visited francophone communities in New Brunswick this week — the first visit by a Bloc leader to the officially bilingual province in 13 years. But he insists it's not a sign the sovereigntist party is setting its sights beyond Quebec. [CBC]

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations First Vice-Chief David Pratt is throwing his hat in the ring for the Assembly of First Nations election to become the national chief. [Global]
La disparition prévue d’une circonscription électorale fédérale dans la région du Bas Saint-Laurent—Gaspésie sera contestée devant le tribunal. [La Presse]
From the provinces
Evacuation flights for N.W.T. wildfires to continue into weekend, military to assist
Five aircraft are being deployed by the Canadian Forces to assist with wildfire evacuation efforts in the Northwest Territories. [Global]
Wildfire evacuations ordered for thousands of people in West Kelowna, B.C.
Hundreds of properties were ordered to evacuate late Thursday under threat from a wildfire near the city of West Kelowna, B.C., which has been placed under a state of emergency. [Global]

As the Manitoba election draws there, the NDP has released a five-point plan to get tough on crime in Manitoba, while the PCs are tackling the parental rights reform. [Global]
The Manitoba Progressive Conservatives say they want to expand parents' rights over what their children learn in school if re-elected this fall. From Ron DeSantis to Blaine Higgs to Heather Stefanson -- this seems to be the new favourite wedge issue of conservative politicians.  [CBC]
The board of internal economy rejected a directive from Saskatchewan's CEO regarding the use of electronic vote counting machines to be used in the next election. Meanwhile, electronic counters will be used this fall in Manitoba and were just used in Alberta. Elections Canada, on the other hand, is also sticking with hand-counting of every ballot.  [Global]

As Canada looks to move its power grid toward net zero, the vast majority of the country already gets its electricity from emissions-free sources. Alberta is the big exception. [CBC]
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Elsewhere
DeSantis Memos Reveal Debate Strategy: Defend Trump and ‘Hammer’ Ramaswamy
Hundreds of pages of blunt advice, memos and internal polling were posted online by the main super PAC backing the Florida governor, offering an extraordinary glimpse into his operation’s thinking. [NYT]
Historian Sean Wilentz reviews Jeffrey Toobin’s book about Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing which Wilentz argue traces the path from Ronald Reagan’s antigovernment ideology to today’s radicalized right. [NYRB]
The French-born Pascale Ferrier pleaded guilty to a total of nine biological weapons charges, each of which carries a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. [Global]

China is blasting this weekend's summit among the leaders of the U.S., Japan and South Korea, saying no country should “seek its own security at the expense of the security interests of others and of regional peace and stability.” [AP]
Sci/Tech
OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot tells its users that it doesn’t hold political opinions. But research shows some of its answers have a liberal political bias. [WaPo]
Inside the messy ethics of making war with machines
AI is making its way into battle decision-making. Who’s to blame when something goes wrong? [MIT Technology Review]
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Media

Joshua Benton: I talked with Baker recently about the sports media landscape, what attracted him to Yahoo, and what it takes to create a daily newsletter habit in someone. Here’s our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity and lacrosse references. [Nieman Journalism Lab]
Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 1997: Scott #1657: World Congress of the PTTI Labour Union. Design: Francois Picard. 
Issued to mark the 28th World Congress of the Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International Labour Union held, in 1997, in Montreal.

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