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Jan 21 2024

College caps. Tax petition. Trump confused.: The Roundup

Jan 21, 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
The spectre of another Trump presidency looms as Trudeau's cabinet gathers to start a new year
The Liberal cabinet likely will spend most of its time discussing purely domestic matters during its two days in Montreal. But according to the official announcement, ministers “will also discuss Canada’s relationship with the United States ahead of this fall’s presidential election." [CBC]
A blunt cap would unfairly impact publicly assisted universities which have been responsible in the growth of their international student populations, says the head of Universities Canada. [TorStar]
Susan Delacourt: Trudeau is concerned about where the Canadian consensus on immigration is headed, for instance, as people start to make connections between the influx of newcomers and demands on an already overloaded housing market and health-care system. [TorStar]
Hamilton, Ont. recently passed a bylaw that would require landlords to obtain a licence in order to proceed with repairs that require the ending of a tenancy to do so. [Global]
From the provinces
Sask. NDP launches petition to suspend provincial gas tax
Suspending the 15-cent-per-litre tax on gas and diesel for at least six months would save households around $356, says Sask. NDP. [Regina Leader Post]

Critics are calling for a public inquiry into the actions of the Alberta Energy Regulator, after documents surfaced suggesting the agency downplayed the industry's environmental liabilities and withheld information on those costs. [AP]

Galvanisé par des sondages qui le placent premier dans les intentions de vote et un gain historique dans Jean-Talon, à Québec, le Parti québécois prépare la reconquête de ses bastions. La Presse a visité le Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, où les forces péquistes se reconstruisent. [La Presse]
Elsewhere
Haley Suggests Trump Is ‘in Decline’ After He Confused Her for Pelosi
Nikki Haley’s attack on Donald J. Trump’s mental fitness was her sharpest yet, with just days before New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary. {NYT]

The wife of a Russian soldier delivered an emotional appeal for his return from Ukraine on Saturday at the election headquarters of President Vladimir Putin, a defiant gesture in a country where open criticism of the war is banned. [Reuters]
Turmoil in China’s senior ranks raises questions about morale and whether the chaos reduces the threat to Taiwan. [Al Jazeera]
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has given states two years to implement the changes. [AP]
Media
Is A.I. the Death of I.P.?
Louis Menand: Generative A.I. is the latest in a long line of innovations to put pressure on our already dysfunctional copyright system. Long read and a good one. [The New Yorker]

For Emma Best, the co-founder of a leak-hosting site called Distributed Denial of Secrets, or DDoSecrets, seeing Reuters remove its story reinforced her desire to launch what would become the Greenhouse Project—a special section of the DDoSecrets site devoted to publishing and distributing news stories that have been censored. [ Columbia Journalism Review]

A confluence of political forces and changing media behavior are testing their efficacy in the Trump era. [NYT]
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Sci/Tech
The Hidden World of Undersea Cables
The internet largely runs beneath the oceans. Here's how it works—and why it matters. [Garden of Forking Paths]
Carlos Tavares says price reductions for battery-powered models risk damaging carmakers’ financial health. [FT]

"The majority of high-ranking product reviews in the result pages of commercial search engines use affiliate marketing, and significant amounts are outright SEO product review spam." [404 Media]
The Calendar
  • 1800 ET: Montreal  - PM Trudeau will meet with his cabinet
  • 2130 ET: Coquitlam, BC - Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to supporters.
Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 2022: Scott #3316: Black History Month: Eleanor Collins. Design: Paprika.
Elnora Ruth Collins (née Procter), CM, singer, actor (born 21 November 1919 in Edmonton) was/is Canada’s “first lady of jazz,” Collins was the first Canadian woman and the first Black entertainer in Canada to have her own national television show, CBC TV’s The Eleanor Show (1955). Often compared to American singer Lena Horne, Collins performed on many television and radio variety shows, as well as in clubs. She is a member of the Order of Canada and the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and the recipient of numerous lifetime achievement awards. [Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia] Collins now lives in B.C. and, in November, she turned 104.

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