Roundup: The fallout from Freeland being accosted

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Much of the discourse this weekend was around a video of Chrystia Freeland being accosted at an elevator in Grande Prairie, Alberta, and all that it entails. While Freeland can handle herself—she ran circles around the KGB as a student in Ukraine—it’s the signal that this sends, particularly to women in public office, but most especially racialized women and those of other minorities or diverse backgrounds, who are routinely targeted in similar ways. While there were a number of denunciations of this, and Freeland called it out as wrong, the prime minister called for a united front from political leaders to call for an end to this kind of harassment and violence. Notably, however, a number of Conservative leadership candidates have not said anything, and when Poilievre in particular was asked, he quickly played the victim, that he too is harassed and threatened.

 

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 186:

There has been more shelling around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and the cities that surround it, over the weekend, because who cares about the risk of the cooling systems being compromised and a radiation leak happening? Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces say that they beat back the Russian advance on Bakhmut in the Donestk region.

Good reads:

  • The prime minister and Marci Ien launched the government’s LGBTQ+ Action Plan, which is historic in terms of its investment and plans. (I’ll have more to come on it).
  • Pascale St-Onge wants the entire board of Hockey Canada to resign as new allegations continue to leak out about their horrifying culture.
  • Here is a look at how Poilievre is taking a share of the youth vote.
  • Jason Markusoff notes the message that Jason Kenney is sending in championing a new Winston Churchill statue in Calgary.
  • Chantal Hébert outlines the playing field for the Quebec election, and why that will be of particular interest to Pierre Poilievre.
  • Paul Wells recounts the first day of the Quebec campaign, and François Legault’s quasi-gaffe out of the gate.
  • Colby Cosh looks askance at the recent Australian scandal of their prime minister secretly appointed himself as co-minister on files, and if that could happen here.
  • My weekend column notes that Jagmeet Singh’s letting the premiers off the hook for the healthcare crisis just perpetuates it rather than taking steps to get it fixed.

Odds and ends:

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