Roundup: Reverberations north of the border

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We’re now in day one-hundred-and-twenty-two of Russia’s invasion of Ukriane, and it looks like the battle for Severodonestk is ending as Ukrainian forces are withdrawing before they are completely encircled. That means Russians are now advancing on its twin city of Lysychansk, across the river, which will secure hold on the Luhansk province. More heavy American weaponry is arriving, but we’ll see if it’s enough to change the balance.

Closer to home, there was a lot of reaction in Canada to the US Supreme Court overturning the Roe v Wade decision, which essentially re-criminalises abortions in many states. Conservative leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis was quick to jump on it to encourage an “adult conversation” about it in Canada, which apparently involves abortion doctors being mind-readers and taking away these rights from women in other countries. (Other Conservative leadership candidates, including Pierre Poilievre, have reiterated that they are pro-choice). There are also a bunch of voices, some of whom are concern trolling, others of whom are genuinely clueless, who point out that Justin Trudeau hasn’t done anything to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution, which is a) dumb, and b) counter-productive as it actually plays into the hands of anti-abortionists who would use the opportunity to introduce limits. Yes, Trudeau has promised more about access, and he has tasked both ministers Duclos and Ien with consultations on adding regulations to the Canada Health Act around abortion access, but that’s not something that can happen overnight, as there is a process for regulation, and as we have long established, putting strings on healthcare funding for provinces is touchy business. But provinces are where the fight is in Canada, because they control access.

https://twitter.com/EmmMacfarlane/status/1540380879519875073

There was also a number of news programmes yesterday which ran interviews with anti-abortionists in a completely uncritical fashion, allowing them to frame the conversation in their usual bullshit terms, and getting only the most minor pushback to some of their claims of popular support for their cause. These kinds of uncritical interviews are key to how misinformation and disinformation is spread through the media, because they have no capacity to do anything other than both-sides the issue, which again, allows misinformation and disinformation to spread because it isn’t challenged. We are fully in the age of disinformation, and our media outlets have learned absolutely nothing about how to deal with it, and yesterday was case in point about that.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau tweeted that he was horrified by the US Supreme Court decision and pledged to defend abortion rights globally.
  • Trudeau also had an interview with CBC, talking about the tough choices around things like vaccine mandates and invoking the Emergencies Act.
  • The government is giving some relief to students who applied for CERB instead of the lower-paying student benefit.
  • Oh noes! The broadcasting bill could make YouTube modify its algorithms! Erm, except they already do, they’re not neutral, and it’s not about what viewers want.
  • It sounds like the Department of Justice held back the RCMP notes that alleged interference for months, “checking for privileged information.”
  • At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, Prince Charles urged countries to learn from Canada’s example around reconciliation.
  • Michelle Rempel Garner has been criticizing the (garbage) Reform Act as a tool of “psychological abuse” of fellow MPs.
  • Doug Ford named his Cabinet yesterday, and appointed his nephew to it. For real.
  • At the judicial inquiry into the City of Ottawa’s LRT problems, it was confirmed that when the trains failed their testing, the thresholds were changed so they could pass.
  • Paul Wells talks to Jean Charest about how he unifies the party if he wins.
  • Althia Raj joined me in Question Period for a couple of days to sample the name-calling and general petty nastiness, coming largely from one side of the Commons.
  • My weekend column is an angry rant about the state of the Senate, and how it has declined to a shadow of its former self thanks to Justin Trudeau and the pandemic.

Odds and ends:

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: Reverberations north of the border”

  1. Dale thank you for standing with Women everywhere.
    I was astounded when two women- journalists ,openly refused to do this on PnP last evening- both sidesing the issue and abandoning Canadian women. Catherine Cullen and Kelly Cryderman , if I am allowed to call them out!
    Mary Wright

  2. Not every issue has “very fine people on both sides.” Jock journalism, which is to treat democracy and objective truth like a team sport of who can score the best “dunks” even if by way of “alternate facts,” will be the end of us all. Would CBC host a racism debate between Desmond Cole and Kevin Johnston? How about a climate science debate between David Suzuki and Brett Wilson? A vaccine science debate between David Fisman and Pat King? A gun-control debate between Nathalie Provost and Tracey Wilson? No, wait, I know what they’d do: Have a two-hour primetime special with Miss Priss JWR where she accuses the PM of “improper pressure” to repeal the law of gravity.

    And this is why the #cdnmediafailed hashtag exists.

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