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Apr 13 2024

Housing ambition. Problematic Alberta. Hacking journalism: The Roundup

Apr 13, 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
Foreign election interference: CSIS director says he warned about threat multiple times
CSIS head David Vigneault was not initially scheduled as the last witness, who was supposed to be Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But the "top spy" was called back after the Prime Minister's closest advisers said CSIS did not relay key information related to Chinese interference in the last two federal elections. [Global National]

A group of three MPs -- including Independent MP Han Dong -- and two Senators met with Chinese government officials in Beijing in late March to push for stronger ties between the two countries, while hearings on foreign interference in Canada’s elections were underway in Ottawa. [Hill Times]

The plan builds on recent announcements with new tax incentives, more than a billion dollars for homelessness and a country-wide effort to build more housing on public lands. [Global]
Housing 2030: A Plan to Restore Affordability and Build a Better Housing System for Canada. Read the government's plan for yourself  [Infrastructure Canada]
Justin Trudeau has said he sympathizes with the NDP and its leader Jagmeet Singh amid “political pressure” over the carbon tax. [Kamloops Now]
‘Nobody can say what's going to happen in an election campaign a year away, or even a week away, based on polls,’ says Anne McGrath, principal secretary to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. [Hill Times]
Calling out CPC attacks, pushing back against angry premiers, pre-announcing the budget – all moves that signal a shift in messaging and a Liberal party finally ready to fight back, Liberal strategists say. [iPolitics]
From the Provinces
Smith says she expects Poilievre to work with provinces to give cities housing cash
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday she has no problem with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's proposal to give municipalities a building bonus to encourage housing construction — so long as he goes through her provincial government. [CP]
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says around 800 existing agreements between Ottawa and sub-provincial entities have been deemed 'problematic' and will be reviewed under new legislation. Even research grants will be put under the microscope for signs of 'political influence,' says Smith. Calgary Mayor Amerjeet Sohi says this move will only slow down the approval of urgently needed grants and loans, and cost all Albertans more money. [CBC]
The UCP cited the popularity of Premier Smith for its advantage, while the NDP said its leadership race will help its funding bounce back. [Edmonton Journal]
Speaking to reporters earlier this month, Susan Holt welcomed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement of a $6-billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund. But — despite slamming Higgs for inaction — she wouldn’t commit. [CBC]
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said his government plans to be "sincere" when returning to the negotiation table with the Nova Scotia Teachers Union next week. [Global]
OPP arrested a third person in their investigation of the Thunder Bay police, charging the former police chief with obstructing justice. [Global]

Edie Strachan was nominated to contend for the currently vacant provincial parliament seat in Milton. The longtime community advocate has sat on multiple not-for-profit boards and is a regional vice-president with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. [Inside Halton]
Elsewhere
Canada advises against all travel to Israel, West Bank due to heightened risk
Canadians are being told to avoid all travel to Israel and the West Bank because of the "unpredictable security situation" in the region. [CP]

Germany warned its citizens to leave Iran, saying that there was a risk both of a sudden escalation in Tehran's existing tensions with Israel and that Germans might be at risk of arbitrary arrest in the country. [Reuters]
Ukraine has been left exposed on the front lines — running out of ammunition and men — while its energy system now faces an onslaught that is exposing its depleted air defenses. [NBC]
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Media
Hacking journalism
The thesis of the Hackathon was that large-language-model tools actually have many potential applications in journalism. Broadly, the projects fell into two categories: those exploring the ways AI can be used as a journalistic or investigative tool and those experimenting with new ways of delivering media to consumers. [- Columbia Journalism Review]
Broadcaster condemns justice ministry’s move against employee Ilya Barabanov, as well as Russian science journalist Asya Kazantseva. [The Guardian
Science and Tech
Stranded baby orca rescue attempt off BC coast "close but unsuccessful"
An attempt to rescue a stranded baby orca on Friday was “close but unsuccessful” according to officials with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The orca’s pregnant mother was beached at low tide two weeks ago and died. Dozens of people attempted the rescue operation in a remote lagoon on Vancouver Island, trying to move the two-year-old orca calf stranded near Zeballos B.C.The plan was to hoist the baby orca, nicknamed “Brave Little Hunter” with a giant net onto a flatbed truck. Officials had hoped to carry her a short distance and then release her into open water, but it is unclear when another attempt to rescue her could be made. [Global]
Tom Wheeler: The emergence of powerful AI companies and the widespread deployment of AI-powered tools have created new urgency for the importance of open access. [Brookings Institution]
Apple Inc., aiming to boost sluggish computer sales, is preparing to overhaul its entire Mac line with a new family of in-house processors designed to highlight artificial intelligence. [Bloomberg]
Issued this day ...
… in 1966: Scott #446: De La Salle. Design: Leendert Verhoeven. 
Issued to mark the tercentenary of the arrival in Canada of René Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle )1643-1687), credited as the first European to discover the mouths of the Mississippi River.

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