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Aug 17 2023

Yellowknife emptied. Kinew’s confessions. Vimy vandal.

Aug 17, 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.
From the provinces
City of Yellowknife ordered to evacuate due to nearby N.W.T. wildfires
Northwest Territories Premier Caroline Cochrane urged residents to leave by noon Friday. Yellowknife has a population of 20,000. My Global Edmonton colleague Jayme Doll reports from the NT capital. [Global]
NWT's Premier ... 👇
Thousands of properties in the Central Okanagan are now under an evacuation alert due to the McDougall Creek wildfire. [Global]
The Crater Creek wildfire, fanned by winds, merged with the Gillanders Creek fire. Together, the two fires grew from an estimated 1,100 hectares to 10,000 hectares. [Global]
According to the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, roughly 2,200 properties are now under evacuation alert. [Global]
Kinew praised for bold speech
“I had a major problem with alcoholism,” [NDP Leader Wab] Kinew said Wednesday. “I did some things that I’m not proud of. “When I was ‘in the problem’ 20 years ago, I was held accountable by the justice system — and let me be perfectly clear here — being held accountable by the justice system was a necessary step. It forced me to confront the fact I needed to change my life, apologize and tackle my addictions.” [Brandon Sun]
Quebec's energy minister says there needs to be fewer cars on the road to meet emission targets. Meanwhile, the premier says the priority should be a switch to electric. [Global]
Après avoir manifesté son intention de légiférer pour protéger le droit « sacré » à l’avortement, la ministre Martine Biron élargit ses visées pour corriger les « lacunes » d’accès à ce service, notamment à l’extérieur du Grand Montréal. [La Presse]
"I am at a loss to understand why deputy leader Sarah Hoffman would send out this media advisory without once talking to me, my office or our administration," Edmonton mayor says. [Edmonton Journal]
Canada
The minister of veterans affairs said the Canadian government, which maintains the Vimy Ridge memorial, is working with French authorities to find the alleged vandal. [Global]
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will travel to China on a diplomatic mission later this month, even as politicians in Ottawa continue to negotiate a public inquiry into alleged foreign interference. [CP]
 Canadians are missing out on major tourism revenue from Chinese visitors as Beijing leaves Canada off its list of approved travel destinations — a move that it is linking directly to Ottawa's focus on alleged foreign interference. [CP]
A lack of workers domestically means many agricultural operators have to cast a wider net for quality employees — but that is proving to be a challenge. [National Post]
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet had both rejected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's offer to see the documents. [Global]
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Elsewhere
A fringe website featured the purported names and addresses of the Fulton County grand jury that indicted Trump and 18 other people for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election. [NBC]
Sci/Tech

The research firm also identified developer experience, pervasive cloud, human-centric privacy, and security as four emerging technology trend themes. [ZDNet]
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Media
Thousands of scientists are cutting back on Twitter, seeding angst and uncertainty
A Nature survey reveals scientists’ reasons for leaving the social-media platform now known as X, and what they are doing to build and maintain a sense of community. [Nature]
The Associated Press has issued guidelines on artificial intelligence, saying the tool cannot be used to create publishable content and images for the news service while encouraging staff to become familiar with the technology. [CP]
The newsletter explains that the “(link)” format indicates “something you can try, read, download, whatever” — something to, um, install. [Nieman Journalism Lab]
Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 1976: Scott # 696a se-tenant pair: Canadian Authors: Design: Antonine Dumas (696), David Charles Bierk (695)
The series honours two Canadian writers. The stamp on the left (Sc 696) is for Germaine Guèvremont (1893-1968) and features a scene from her most acclaimed work Le Survenant (1945) which won a Governor General’s Award, Le Prix David and  Prix Sully-Olivier de Serres.

Robert Service (1874-1958) is honoured on Sc 695. He is the author of the poem “The Cremation of Sam McGee” (1907) , one of the pieces that earned him the nickname “The Bard of the Yukon”.

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