Roundup: Getting mad at algorithms

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While the Conservatives spent their day in the House of Commons using their Supply Day motion to lay an unsubtle trap for the Liberals – demanding that they table a balanced budget and a written pledge to not raise any taxes, certain that the Liberals would defeat it so that they could turn around and say “See! Look! Trudeau is planning to raise your taxes!” – Andrew Scheer spent his afternoon getting angry at Google’s search algorithms.

The problem (other than the dangerous level of computer illiteracy) is that this was something that originated on a reddit thread that Scheer immediately latched onto.

https://twitter.com/moebius_strip/status/1090332359650672641

https://twitter.com/cfhorgan/status/1090326614536146944

https://twitter.com/robert_hiltz/status/1090333969319641089

Despite the afternoon of tweets pillorying Scheer and mock Google searches that put his image up for searches like “People who will never be prime minister,” it does actually score a deeper underlying point about this kind of virtue signalling over social media.

And this is part of the problem – we’ve seen this before with the issue of the UN global compact on migration, that Scheer started adopting tinfoil hat conspiracy theories to try and reclaim those votes that are suddenly gravitating toward Maxime Bernier. (I’m also not unconvinced that part of this Google search panic is some leftover James Damore “Google is full of social justice warriors!” drama that inhabits certain corners of the internet). The creation of this kind of alternate reality of conspiracies and lies that that they then turn into attack campaigns against media who fact-check and debunk their false claims, is them playing with fire. Making people believe disinformation may seem like a good idea to win a few votes in the short run, it has very long-term negative consequences that they seem utterly blind to. And yet, this is their current strategic vision. No good can come of this.

https://twitter.com/moebius_strip/status/1090370788694192128

https://twitter.com/robert_hiltz/status/1090361590858371075

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau released the mandate letter for Bernadette Jordan as rural economic development minister, and shuffled a few parliamentary secretaries.
  • Meng Wanzhou appeared in Vancouver court to modify her bail conditions, and to have her next court date moved to March 6th.
  • The Supplementary Estimates tabled this week include $114.7 million for cities and provinces to house asylum seekers.
  • The government will be announcing new measures to help guard against foreign interference in the next election.
  • Maryam Monsef says that breaking down barriers for women and groups like LGBT people is necessary for economic growth. (The Bank of Canada has said similar).
  • Adam Vaugh admits that the claim that their housing programme has helped over a million Canadians is a bit inflated and includes some double-counting.
  • A number of former ambassadors say that John McCallum was likely being gamed by the Chinese leadership, which may have provoked his comments.
  • Scott Brison is seeking standing at the Mark Norman trial in order to control how his personal emails are turned over to the court.
  • Also in Mark Norman news, there were code names used to avoid ATIP requests – which are now being probed by military police and the Information Commissioner.
  • Here’s an explainer on the fact that the family reunification application process was only open for eleven minutes (and no, it has nothing to do with asylum seekers).
  • CRA says they’ve begun around 100 audits related to the Panama Papers.
  • A number of NGOs are calling on the Senate’s energy and environment committee to not hold cross-country hearings on Bill C-69, calling it a delay tactic.
  • Liberals are trying to make hay of a fundraiser the Conservatives are having at Senator Frum’s home, calling it a “cash for access” event that they used to abhor.
  • The Liberals want an investigation into Charlie Angus’ website directing people to buy NDP memberships. Angus says it’s not a parliamentary site.
  • Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio finally resigned yesterday, later than he said he would. The PM has not promised to hold a by-election, and legally isn’t required to.
  • The PBO says that a Conservative private member’s bill to extend the disability tax credit would cost the government $48 million per year.
  • Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column looks at the use of secret ballots to challenge committee determinations on the votability of private members’ bills.
  • My column looks at the use of falsehoods about the border situation and asylum seekers to foment anger, which won’t be easy to dissipate in the future.

Odds and ends:

A burst sprinkler in the West Block flooded several floors, on the second day of operations.

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