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Jun 22 2023

Swift Action. Manitoba Tie. Germany’s warning.

Jun 22, 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
Edmonton MP to file official grievance about Taylor Swift tour’s lack of Canadian shows
'This motion is non-partisan in nature and requires swift action to address what I can only assume is a serious oversight,' the letter concludes. [Global]
Conservative campaign operatives are accusing the Liberal Party of running a "racist" campaign in the recent Oxford federal byelection, claiming slogans that highlighted winning Tory candidate Arpan Khanna's past ties to Brampton, Ont. are an example of dog-whistle politics. [CBC]
 Le français est-il en déclin au Québec ? La nouvelle députée libérale dans Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount, Anna Gainey, a évité de répondre à la question lors de sa première mêlée de presse dans les couloirs du parlement, mercredi. La veille, la réforme de la Loi sur les langues officielles venait d’obtenir la sanction royale et d’entrer en vigueur. [La Presse]
Le député libéral René Arseneault a déposé un projet de loi mercredi qui rendrait optionnel le serment au Roi Charles III des élus fédéraux. [TFO]
Canada Bread Company has been fined $50 million after it pleaded guilty to price-fixing bread. It's the highest price-fixing fine ever in Canada. [Global]
All parties in the House of Commons agreed to rise for the summer Wednesday despite there being no formal announcement of a public inquiry into foreign interference. [CP]
From the provinces
Manitoba’s governing Tories gain a bit of ground in new poll, ahead of election
A new opinion poll suggests Manitoba's governing Progressive Conservatives have closed a bit of the gap in public support ahead of the election slated for Oct. 3. [Global]
The NDP is expected to hold onto two British Columbia ridings where byelections will be held Saturday after the resignations of senior government figures, but the parties that take second place could provide hints about the next general election. [CP]
When Mark Saunders launched his bid for mayor of Toronto, the former police chief positioned himself as the only candidate who could save a city plagued by "out-of-control" lawlessness. [CP]
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Elsewhere
Germany warns China over Taiwan, voices human rights concerns days after talks with Chinese premier
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned Beijing against using force to change the status quo with Taiwan and expressed concern about the human rights situation in China. Scholz's remarks to German lawmakers Thursday come just days after holding bilateral talks with the new Chinese premier. Scholz’s comments were significantly more explicit than his public remarks at a joint statement Tuesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who was on his first foreign trip since taking charge of China's economy as premier in March.  [AP]
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are marking the state visit of the Indian leader by announcing several major deals between the two countries. The leaders of the world’s two biggest democracies are looking to strengthen the crucial but complicated relationship between their countries. But as Biden celebrates Modi, human rights advocates and some U.S. lawmakers are questioning the decision to offer the high honor to a leader whose nine-year tenure has been marked by a backslide in political, religious and press freedoms. [AP]
Media
The tech platforms have surrendered in the fight over election-related misinformation
Mathew Ingram: “YouTube didn’t say in its blog post, or in any of its other public comments about the change, why it chose to make such a policy decision now, especially when the US is heading into another presidential election in which Donald Trump, the man who almost single-handedly made such policies necessary, is a candidate. All the company would say is that it ‘carefully deliberated’ about the change. It’s not the only platform to decide that the misinformation guardrails it erected after the Capitol riots in 2021 are no longer required.” [Columbia Journalism Review]
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Tech
John Gruber: "I don’t like Facebook, the company, and I’ve never seen the appeal of Facebook, the product (a.k.a. “the blue app”). But there are literally billions of good people who use their services. Why cut them off from the open ActivityPub social world? Large swaths of Mastodon seem to relish the fact that it’s confusing how to get started, and that this confusion is keeping Mastodon small." [Daring Fireball]
Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 2007: Sc #2219: Captain George Vancouver. Design: Niko Potton, Fleming Design.
Issued to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of George Vancouver (1757-1798), the Briitish Royal Navy officer who explored and charted North America’s northwestern Pacific coast aboard the HMS DIscovery. This was the first (and possibly only) stamp Canada Post has issued in which the face of the person commemorated is not on the stamp. 

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