There was a lot of flurry yesterday about supposed revelations made in Federal Court that CSIS has been spying on peaceful environmental groups. Except, people who used to be at CSIS, will tell you that’s exactly not the case. And the reporting on this hasn’t exactly helped either because it’s in a very defined frame with tropes that somewhat credulously take what these groups are saying and putting it with the redacted documents and drawing conclusions, that again, people who used to work there, will dispute, and those voices aren’t in the reporting. So here’s Stephanie Carvin and Jessica Davis, both of who used to work at CSIS, offering some proper context for what those documents say.

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1148217645986131969

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1148217647852642304

https://twitter.com/JessMarinDavis/status/1148233105825812480

https://twitter.com/JessMarinDavis/status/1148235622529818625

https://twitter.com/JessMarinDavis/status/1148235624580833283

https://twitter.com/JessMarinDavis/status/1148235626380181505

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1148301752770408448

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1148222236832215040

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1148230145968418817

Good reads:

• Here is a look at how tensions between the US and Iran could affect the Canadian troops stationed in Iraq.
• Environmental groups are filing a new court challenge against Trans Mountain, claiming the new plans still won’t protect the southern resident killer whales.
• Here is a look into the millions the government spends on bulk subscriptions for news outlets (which is not a bad thing).
• The RCMP have reached another $100 million settlement with female employees from municipal staff, contractors and volunteers who were harassed on the job.
• Andrew Scheer has promised to scrap the new clean fuel regulations, calling them a “secret tax” – even though he has promised essentially the same thing in his “plan.”
• Scheer is calling for the national security committee to meet over the Desjardins cyber-security breach, and it sounds like Liberals are keen to take him up on it.
• Conservative MPs continue to lie about bills C-48 and C-69 and claim that the anger over those bills is fuelling western alienation. (Maybe it’s the lies fuelling it?)
• The NDP are having money woes, but Jagmeet Singh has held only a single fundraiser this year.
• New Brunswick is abandoning its carbon price court challenge, while PEI and Quebec are seeking intervenor status in the upcoming Supreme Court hearing.
• Ontario’s slow rollout of cannabis stores is keeping the black market going.
• Jason Kenney hosted four other premiers in order to push the message about their opposition to the federal carbon price in advance of the Council of the Federation.
• Paul Wells gives a particularly acid take on Kenney’s pre-meeting and the coming Council of the Federation confab.
• Lawyer Michael Spratt notes the ways in which Rona Ambrose’s bill was not a silver bullet when it comes to judges getting sexual assault law right.
• Colby Cosh marvels at the Damascene conversions of old conservatives who are getting in on the cannabis industry.
• Matt Gurney makes the case for expanding the Army Reserve.
• Susan Delacourt takes a stab at the politics surrounding the proposed Château Laurier addition.
• Andrew Coyne has a rational dissection of this weekend’s Twitter class war over education levels and partisanship, pointing to where both parties have to improve.
• In the Globe and Mail, I look at their deep dive into how legislatures are sitting fewer days, and give some thoughts and analysis as to the underlying reasons.

Odds and ends:

Here’s a look back at how the existence of the Château Laurier’s history is actually steeped in controversy, right back to its initial construction.

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