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Mar 11 2024

Remembering Afghanistan. Military fix. Chinese control: The Roundup

Mar 11, 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
Canadians mark 10 years since end of mission in Afghanistan
A ceremony was held Sunday morning at the National War Memorial in Ottawa to mark the 10th anniversary of the end of Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan.  More than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members served during the 13-year mission and 158 of them died in the conflict. As David Akin reports, the combat mission has long been over, but Canada remains very much connected to the troubled country. [Global National]
Ex-defence chief retired Gen. Tom Lawson says that he believes the military could ease recruitment challenges by increasing soldier pay. [Global]
The main target of Sunday’s event was the Liberal government’s carbon tax, which is set to increase on April 1. [TorStar]
Nine cabinet ministers and the national caucus chair still have not met the nomination conditions, raising questions how many Liberal MPs are not seeking re-election in 2025. [Hill Times]
Wesley Wark: The Foreign Interference Commission may well be headed, as Mr. Johnston predicted, to an unsatisfying conclusion as it grapples with the requirements of secrecy, the reality of a government culture of secrecy, and the demand for maximum (whatever that means) transparency. At best, it may prove David Johnston a little too pessimistic. At worst, it will prove him entirely right. [Substack]
From the Provinces
Monument honouring Nazi soldiers removed from private cemetery in Oakville, Ont.
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies announced Saturday a monument honouring Waffen S.S. soldiers had been removed from a private cemetery in Oakville, Ont. [Global]
For climate action in Alberta, she shared a detailed plan that does not include a consumer carbon tax and says she challenges Danielle Smith to do the same.
“For eight years, the UCP has used the Alberta NDP’s support of the carbon tax as an excuse to oppose, rather than propose, solutions to climate change,” said Pancholi. [Lethbridge News Now]

Gerry Taft, Mayor of Invermere, has announced his intention to seek the nomination. Taft is a familiar name in the riding, beginning his first term on the District of Invermere Council at the age of 20 and now serving his third term as Mayor. He also serves on the RDEK Board and for the past two years on the Union of BC Municipalities Board. [Kimberley Bulletin]
Elsewhere
China's National People's Congress has discussed everything from Taiwan to technology, but observers say the key message - both in substance and style - has been clear: more control for President Xi Jinping and a deeper focus on national security. [Reuters]
Canada will join an international effort to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced on Sunday, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians continue to go hungry. [CP]
Portugal's centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) won Sunday's general election by a slim margin and is preparing to govern without an outright majority after a warning by the far-right Chega party of instability if it is not included in government. The election result underscored a political tilt to the far right across Europe and a dwindling of Socialist governance. [Reuters]

A slush fund scandal has rocked Japan’s ruling LDP party and is threatening to take down Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. [East Asia Forum]
Sen. Katie Britt delivers Republican rebuttal to State of the Union address
Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama delivered her party's response to President Biden's State of the Union address Thursday night. [CBS]
Scarlett Johansson plays Sen. Katie Britt in a satire of her SOTU rebuttal on ‘SNL’
Watch as Scarlett Johansson takes on the role of Senator Katie Britt in a hilarious satire of her State of the Union rebuttal on Saturday Night Live. [SNL]

In a combative speech filled with insults, Trump mocks Biden’s Stutter and vilifies migrants and others.[NYT]
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Media
In the photo, which the palace said was taken by Prince William, Kate is seen smiling while posing with their children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte. [NBC]

Businesses that sign up for the Reddit Pro trial will have access to AI-powered insights, enhanced performance analytics, and more. [Search Engine Land]
Sci/Tech
With AI, workplace surveillance has ‘skyrocketed’—leaving Canadian laws behind
"Any working device that your employer puts in your hand, you can assume it has some way of monitoring your work and productivity," said Valerio De Stefano, Canada research chair in innovation law and society at York University. "Electronic monitoring is a reality for most workers." Artificial intelligence could also be determining whether someone gets, or keeps, a job in the first place. [CP]
A list of tools to write prompts for ChatGPT, Bard etc. Put together by journalism instructor Mike Reilly but useful across any field. -DA  [Journalist's Toolbox]
The Calendar
  • 0900 ET: Saint John, NB - Environment Min Steven Guilbeault marks the opening of a Tesla Megapack battery storage system
  • 1000 ET: New Minas, NS - LP MP Kody Blois makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1000 ET: Hamilton, ON - FEDDEV Min Filomena Tassi and LPC MPs Lisa Hepfner and Chad Collins make an infrastructure funding announcement.
  • 1015 ET: Québec City - Transport Min Pablo Rodriguez and Public Services Min Jean-Yves Duclos makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1030 ET: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - Heritage Min Pascale St-Onge makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1215 ET: Montreal - CEDQR Min Soraya Martinez Ferrada makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1300 ET: Tiny, ON - LPC MP Adam van Koeverden makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1700 ET: Vancouver, - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to Simon Fraser University students.
  • 1700 ET: Victoria - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland speaks about government housing policy and speaks to reporters.
  • 1900 ET: Victoria - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland meets with Premier David Eby
Issued this day ...
… in 1982: Scott #911: Canada 82: RCMP Constable. Design: Stuart Bradley Ash.
This was part of a five-stamp series issued to mark the 1982 International Youth Philatelic Exhibition held in Toronto May 20-24. Each of the 1982 stamps featured a stamp from Canada’s past. This one “RCMP Constable” bears the Scott number 223, issued on June 1, 1935 as part of the King George V Pictorial Issue.

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