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Jun 13 2023

Safe ruling. Russian claims. TikTok Election.

Jun 13, 2023
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
'Absurd' to think Chinese donation to Trudeau Foundation had influence
The former Trudeau Foundation CEO told MPs that the promise of a $200,000 donation from a Chinese billionaire had raised no red flags. [National Post]
The Canadian Council for Refugees brought forward the case which is now before the nation's top court, arguing that the U.S. is not always a safe country for all refugees.  [Global]
The Bank of Canada's job is being made harder by government spending plans and could keep interest rates higher for longer, according to a new report from CIBC. [Global]
In the battle against inflation, there’s more than one weapon in policymakers’ hands. Anything that slows demand will do the trick, but in Canada, as in many other countries, the job has largely been left to interest rate hikes to do the dirty work. A deeper fiscal belt tightening could accomplish the same thing, and, as we argue here, would have had side benefits for the country that we won’t see by letting monetary policy fly solo. [CIBC Capital Markets]
The unexpected disruption to the lumber industry risks further slowing new home construction, adding to Canada's acute housing shortage. [Global]
The retiring former Conservative leader and Ontario MP called on his colleagues to focus on what he said should be figuring out the country's national purpose. [Global]
From the provinces
Ontario Liberal leadership hopeful sets out key housing policies
Nate Erkine-Smith, who was the first candidate to officially launch his leadership bid, unveiled a housing strategy as part of his campaign to lead the Ontario Liberals. [Global]
Bonnie Crombie is out in front but the survey suggests Doug Ford’s Conservatives would be re-elected if an election were held now. [TorStar]
Atlantic Canada’s premiers are calling for more clarity on the impacts of the federal government’s new clean fuel regulations, which they caution could mean gas hikes for consumers as early as July 1. [SaltWire]

A new partisan attack by New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs on Liberal Leader Susan Holt's stance on LGBTQ issues is strikingly similar to the tactics of a Prairie communications guru that quietly started working for the premier this spring. [CBC]
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Elsewhere
NATO Members’ Major Air Exercise Sends Message to Russia
More than 200 planes from 25 countries gathered in Germany for the largest-scale war games in decades, held with an eye on the war in Ukraine. [NYT]
 A grainy black-and-white gunsight video Russia released this week to bolster a claim its military blew up some of Ukraine's most fearsome tanks actually documented the destruction of a tractor, according to a visual analysis by The Associated Press. [AP]
The Florida jurist could impede the Department of Justice's effort to hold the former president accountable for his handling of classified records in a few ways. [LA Times]
In an familiar tale, former president Donald Trump spent the weekend hunting for a new lawyer who will represent him in Florida on the classified document case. [WaPo]
Media
The creative cycle for campaigns doesn’t match the way voters are consuming media, which will leave some at a disadvantage in 2024. [C & E]
The network and its former star host have been engaged in an increasingly bitter dispute over Mr. Carlson’s Twitter videos, which Fox says violate his contract. [NYT]
Reddit goes dark
Casey Newton: As it moves to shut down third-party apps, the site’s self-governing ethos comes back to haunt it. [Platformer]

The Athletic, the subscription sports website owned by the New York Times, announced Monday that it was laying off nearly 20 reporters. [WaPo]
Tech

As FreeBSD marks three decades of success, we can thank open source freedom, a strong culture, a shared leadership model, modern development practices, and robust code that continues to evolve. [InfoWorld]
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Issued this day ...
... in 1962: Sc #398: Jean Talon. Design: Ephrum Philip Weiss.

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