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Feb 6 2024

Rocket sales. Minister quits. NDP race: The Roundup

Feb 6, 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
Ukrainian general wants Canada’s 83,000 decommissioned rockets
Ukraine is asking the Canadian government for 83,000 mothballed CRV7 attack rockets to meet urgent military needs. Ottawa is concerned the rockets may be unsafe to ship. [Global]
The federal government must move urgently to regulate artificial intelligence, says a top AI pioneer, warning the technology's current trajectory poses major societal risks. [CP]
Former B.C. finance minister Mike de Jong says he is also considering a run for the party in the next federal election. [Globe and Mail]
MP John Aldag denies he’s considering a provincial run for the B.C. NDP because of the unpopularity of the Trudeau Liberals federally. Aldag's riding boundaries of Cloverdale-Langley City get just a slight re-alignment for the 2025 election but it does take on a some new neighborhoods on the eastern edge of riding in Langley Twp which have voted Conservative in the last two elections. Aldag lost in 2019 by three points; won in 2021 by three points. Given current polling in BC, my model has this riding going CPC by 10 points right now. [Hill Times]

Auto thieves should not be allowed to serve their sentence "in their living room watching Netflix," Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday. [CP]
Terrific series of portraits taken by photographer extraordinaire Dave Chan:  Supreme Court of Canada justices. - DA [Dave Chan]
From the provinces
Selina Robinson steps down as B.C. minister following controversial comments
Dozens of people showed up to protest outside a BC NDP caucus retreat on Monday morning, demanding Selina Robinson be removed from her role, following her comments last week. [Global]

The Alberta NDP leadership race formally began Monday, with Calgary legislature member Kathleen Ganley the first to announce she wants the top job. [CP]

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says the province is asking for help after a historic winter storm blanketed much of the province in snow. [Global]
Elsewhere
Opposition lawmakers blocked from voting as Senegal's parliament delays election
Opposition lawmakers were forcefully removed from the chambers as they debated President Macky Sall's decision to delay the election. Authorities blocked mobile internet access amid growing protests. [NPR]
The move signals a likely defeat in Congress that would leave leaders with no clear path to approve wartime aid for Ukraine. [AP]
Media
A former councillor in Prince George has purchased the city's only newspaper after watching multiple outlets in other British Columbia Interior communities shut down last year. [Global]
In a time of fragmentation, advertising during the game’s broadcast is still a reliable way to boost company revenue and familiarize viewers with a brand. [NYT]
Lovely to see Microsoft making new friends in journalism! The tech giant, which has invested $13 billion in OpenAI, is "launching several collaborations with news organizations to adopt generative AI," it announced Monday. [Nieman Journalism Lab]
Though some of the headlines from satire sites are outrageous—others are increasingly believable. [Forbes]
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Sci/Tech
Solar geoengineering could start soon if it starts small
It's possible to start a subscale deployment in just a few years. The climate effects would be tiny, but the geopolitical impact could be significant. [MIT Technology Review]
The Calendar
  • 0900 ET: B45 Senate Building - Senate Committee on Transport and Communications meets to study of the impacts of climate change on critical infrastructure in the transportation and communications sectors
  • 0900 ET: National Press Theatre - Deputy PM and Fin Min Chrystia Freeland , Innovation, Science and Industry Min Francois-Philippe Champagne and Treasury Board President Anita Anand speak to reporters.
  • 0930 ET: 135B West Block - NDP MP Charlie Angus speaks to reporters.
  • 0945 ET: Montreal - Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to reporters.
  • 1000 ET: West Block - PM Trudeau will meet with his cabinet
  • 1100 ET: 315 Wellington - Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) | Meeting  101 - Federal Government's Use of Technological Tools Capable of Extracting Personal Data from Mobile Devices and Computers
  • 1100 ET: 330 Wellington - Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI) | Meeting  89 - Efforts to Stabilize Food Prices
  • 1100 ET: 225-A West Block - Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) | Meeting  125 - Drafting report.
  • 1100 ET: 425 Wellington - Standing Committee on Science and Research (SRSR) | Meeting  71 - Integration of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and Science in Government Policy Development
  • 1100 ET: 410 Wellington - Standing Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO) | Meeting  94 - Women’s Economic Empowerment
  • 1100 ET: 135B West Block - NDP MP Lisa Marie Barron speaks about electoral reform.
  • 1200 ET: Regina - Housing and Infrastructure Min Sean Fraser makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1300 ET: Vancouver - Intl Development Min Ahmed Hussen makes a funding announcement. 
  • 1400 ET: The Senate -  A swearing-in ceremony will be held for five new senators.
  • 1530 ET: 425 Wellington - Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI) | Meeting  95 - Freshwater
  • 1530 ET: 315 Wellington - Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) | Meeting  96 - Briefing by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development - Fall 2023 Report 9 - Monitoring Marine Fisheries Catch
  • 1530 ET: 410 Wellington - Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT) | Meeting  91 - Canadian Businesses in Supply Chains and Global Markets
  • 1530 ET: 225-A West Block - Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) | Meeting  96 - Drafting reports. 
  • 1530 ET: 330 Wellington - Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (SDIR) | Meeting  44 - Detention of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong
  • 1600 ET: 025-B West Block - Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (CHPC) | Meeting  108 - Drafting report.
  • 1600 ET: Gloucester, ON - Employment Min Randy Boissonnault speaks about workforce training program focused on climate literacy.
  • 1830 ET: B45 Senate Building - Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry meets to study soil health. 
Issued this day ...
... in 1888: Scott # 41: Small Queen Issue: 3¢ bright vermilion. Based on an engraving by Charles Henry Jeens. 
This would be the second-oldest stamp in my collection, a "mint very-good" specimen of this bust of Queen Victoria. It is from a series known as the "Small Queens" printed between 1870 and 1893. Collectors can spend a lifetime on the "Small Queens" as there were dozens of different tiny variations in printing, in the paper, and in the gum churned out by presses in Montreal and in Ottawa. My records show I picked this one up for all of $7.50 but different variations of the same stamp in mint condition with the original gum intact can have a catalogue value of $2,000 or more.
One confession: This may not have been issued this day in 1888. The Scott catalogue that is the bible on these matters lists this stamp as being issued only in 1888. No specific day is cited. So it might have been this day in February. But it might not have been, too. 

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