Past issues Subscribe

Jan 19 2024

Incompetent mayors. $2,265 question. Trump’s age: The Roundup

Jan 19, 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 visits Nunavut for largest land transfer in Canadian history
Twenty per cent of Canada's land mass will soon be in the hands of the government of Nunavut. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in the territory’s capital Iqaluit on Thursday, signing the Nunavut Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement, saying it was a “historic day” for not just Nunavut, but for the entire country. David Akin explains the importance of this deal. [Global National]
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took aim at the mayors of Quebec’s two largest cities on Thursday, calling the local leaders "incompetent" and accusing them of blocking construction projects. [CP]

A Bayer spokesperson says that leading health regulators in Canada and around the world have repeatedly concluded that glyphosate is not a carcinogen. [Global]
From the provinces

Wayne Ewasko was named the interim leader in the aftermath of former leader and premier Heather Stefanson's resignation on Jan. 15. [Global]
She made the request at the end of October, asking for internal correspondence, reports and text messages about the fishers who lost fishing gear in the Barrington Lake Fire. She also specifically inquired about the meeting between fishers and staff of the department. The department responded eight days later with a letter, including a fee estimate for searching and processing the records she had requested. It was $2,265.00. It also wanted a deposit of $1,332.50 “before further processing of your request would continue.” [SaltWire] 

Hamilton, Ont. is looking at new rules that will limit or prevent renovictions by binding landlords and tenants legally during renovations. [Global]
The Rideau Canal did not open for ice skating in 2023, a historic first, due to milder temperatures. But officials are still holding out hope for 2024. [Global]
Elsewhere
Rifts are emerging among top Israeli officials over the handling of the war against the Hamas militant group in Gaza. [AP]
NATO to hold biggest drills since Cold War with 90,000 troops
NATO is launching its largest exercise since the Cold War, rehearsing how U.S. troops could reinforce European allies in countries bordering Russia and on the alliance's eastern flank if a conflict were to flare up with a "near-peer" adversary. [Reuters]

Protests against the far-right Alternative for Germany party are gaining momentum in the wake of a report that two senior party members joined a meeting to discuss plans for the mass deportation of citizens of foreign origin. [Reuters]
Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney told a crowd at the World Economic Forum on Thursday that supply shocks in the global economy will be more persistent in the years ahead. [Global]
Former president Donald Trump on Wednesday touted his cognitive skills after one of his top rivals, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, suggested he’s too old to be president again. [WaPo]
Fewer than one-in-five say they’re fully confident election is secure against fraud and cheating. [Angus Reid Institute]
Media
Le Parti québécois veut donner de l’« oxygène » aux médias
 Devant « l’urgence de la situation », le Parti québécois propose un plan d’aide aux médias qu’il décrit comme un « service essentiel ». La formation politique veut notamment décourager les annonceurs de s’afficher sur les géants du web. [La Presse]

The change affects only the most expensive subscription tier that gives viewers commercial-free access to a library of on-demand programming. [Global]
Read on for great tips from three experts who have covered research fraud or have hands-on experience monitoring or detecting it. [Journalists Resource]
Can u spare $5 a month for this newsletter? Click now!
Sci/Tech
On Thursday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the company's efforts at achieving artificial general intelligence. [NBC]
The Calendar
  • 0900 ET: Iqaluit - PM Trudeau meets with Premier P.J. Akeeagok.
  • 1000 ET: Saint John, NB - LPC MP Wayne Long makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1100 ET: 315 Wellington  - Standing Committee on Health (HESA) | Meeting  96 - Meeting Requested Pursuant to Standing Order 106(4) to Discuss a Request to Undertake a Study of a Contract Between Medicago and the Government of Canada
  • 1300 ET: Burnaby, BC - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh meets with a Steelworkers union local.
  • 1400 ET: Winnipeg  - International Trade Min Mary Ng meets with Ukrainian business leaders.
  • 1660 ET: Winnipeg  - International Trade Min Mary Ng meets with Manitoba business leaders.
  • 2130 ET: Sidney, BC - GPC MP Elizabeth May holds a community meeting.
Issued this day ...
... in 1950; Scott #289: King George VI -- "Postes-Postage" Omitted. Design: Herman Herbert Schwartz. Photograph: Dorothy Wilding. 

Previous Issues

Load More