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Jun 23 2023

Temple murder. Hinshaw In-Out. Weatherman threatened.

Jun 23, 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
Murder at the temple: The conflicting legacies of a B.C. Sikh leader
Documents compiled by Global News reveal the complicated life of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down in Surrey, B.C., on Sunday night. [Global]
Matthew A. Winkler: Unlike any of his peers in the developed world, the prime minister has managed to show his fellow citizens the benefits of immigration. [WaPo]
With help from COVID relief funds, rises in disposable income outpaced the impact of higher inflation for households by December 2022, improving purchasing power by five per cent. [Global]
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be a special guest at the next meeting of Nordic Prime Ministers, taking place in Iceland this weekend. [RCInet]
The name of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa is being renamed Kichi Zībī Mīkan after a vote at the National Capital Commission. [APTN]

Following surges of spending and staff hiring to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trudeau government announced a strategic policy review in the 2022 Budget to secure savings of $6 billion. There has been little apparent progress by May 2023 and opaque communications. This is surprising because Canada was once considered an international exemplar for spending reviews, needs to learn from the pandemic experience, has a worrisome medium-to-long-term federal spending trajectory, and the governance and economic context has rapidly evolved. This article identifies different kinds of spending reviews and design considerations, reviews Canada's experience with reviews since the early 1980s, considers recent OECD experience and exemplars, and argues that its spending reviews have become increasingly selective and closed. We suggest the Canadian government should institutionalize annual spending reviews, which can be scaled up or down, and that this points to more fundamental issues for reform and building a new governance culture. [Canadian Public Administration]

The 10th report of the House of Commons of Canada Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

The 5th report of the House of Commons of Canada Standing Committee on National Defence.

From the provinces
Saskatchewan suspends Planned Parenthood from presenting in provincial schools
The decision comes after a presentation with sexual material occurred at a high school in Lumsden, Sask. according to education minister Dustin Duncan. [Global]
A top Indigenous doctor has resigned from her leadership position after Alberta Health Services backtracked a decision to re-hire Dr. Deena Hinshaw in a new position. [Global]
Don Braid: Alberta has a political case of long COVID. Careers are still being shattered by lingering rage over handling of the pandemic. [Calgary Herald]
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Elsewhere
In Ukraine’s Novoselivak, stubborn hope twines its roots amid roses and ruin
Novoselivak is a tiny village in the Chernihiv Region left in ruins by Russian air strikes near the beginning of the war. Once a week, the breadman arrives. [Global]
India is undercutting President Biden's strategy on Ukraine and backsliding on the human rights and democracy issues at "the core" of Biden's foreign policy — but U.S. officials are anxious to demonstrate this week that relations have never been better. [Axios]
India's PM Modi to join Biden in rare press conference, questions limited
U.S. President Joe Biden and visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver remarks and take questions from journalists on Thursday during the Indian leader's state visit, an event a senior White House official called a "big deal". [Reuters]

Is Reddit blocked in China? As China tightens its grip on online speech, Reddit becomes a refuge for banned communities; some Chinese language subreddits saw huge growth. [Rest of World]
Media
Iowa meteorologist Chris Gloninger steps down after receiving threats
Meteorologist Chris Gloninger will step down from Iowa station KCCI partly because of PTSD he suffered after receiving threats related to his climate coverage. [WaPo]

The social media giant Meta has confirmed that it will end access to news on its social media sites for all Canadian users before Bill C-18, the Online News Act, comes into force. [CBC]
Senior visiting fellow, Joel Simon ...  presents his findings in this report documenting the deliberate and aggressive targeting of journalists by police during demonstrations, examining the historical context from the Civil Rights era to the present, and exploring the challenges of determining who is a journalist in an information environment transformed by technology. [Knight First Amendment Institute]
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Tech
Apple’s Vision Pro SDK is now available, in-person developer labs launch next month
Apple today announced that its visionOS SDK is now available, allowing 3D parties to begin building content for the Vision Pro. [TechCrunch]
New research highlights how AI models could make it easier to create dangerous germs. [Vox]
Issued this day ...
... in 1969: Sc # 495: Sir William Osler. Design: George Sarras Fanais. 
Canada Post press release at the time of issue: 
“Sir William Osler, Bart., M.D., F.R.S., F.R.C.P., D.C.L., L.L.D., D.Sc., whose dedication to the science of medicine led to recognition as a world medical figure and one of the finest diagnosticians of his day, is commemorated on the 50th anniversary of the year in which he died. The youngest son of a pioneer missionary, William Osler was born in the small community of Bond Head, Ontario, on 12th July 1849;
… in 1874 he established himself in private medical practice for a short period at Dundas, Ontario; an offer of an appointment as lecturer on physiology and pathology at McGill was promptly accepted and, in the following year, at the age of 25, he was named a full professor at the same institution. 
… He was an ardent advocate of vaccination and anti-typhoid innoculation, which, with respiratory diseases, were his special interest. 
.. his copious notes [were] first published in New York in 1892 under the title "Principles and Practice of Medicine". Sixteen editions of this work have been published with translations into French, German, Spanish and Chinese. His extensive library of medical and rare books was bequeathed to McGill University where it is housed in a special section. An ironic fate provided that Sir William Osler, created a baronet in 1911, was to succomb to pneumonia, the symptoms of which he readily recognized as those against which he had battled on behalf of others for so many years. His terminal illness overtook him in the October prior to his death on 29th December 1919.”

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