Roundup: The Capital Pride 2023 observations

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It was Capital Pride this weekend, and the government once again took the opportunity to pat themselves on the back for the first anniversary of their 2SLGBTQIA+ Action Plan™, and to offer some grants to local organisations from the Action Plan’s budget—so money is flowing, at least.

This having been said, it was a pretty poor turnout from federal politicians for the parade itself. The PM was absent, but he had only just returned from touring wildfire sites and evacuation centres out west, and he did just visit Edmonton’s Pride on Saturday, so I will give him that. But the Liberal contingent was smaller than usual this year, and local MP Yasir Naqvi was absent (which is unusual for him), whether that was because he was on a provincial leadership tour somewhere, or for some other reason. Marci Ien was present, having just made the announcement hours before, and new minister Jenna Sudds was present, as were Mona Fortier, Greg Fergus, Marie-France Lalonde and Francis Drouin, but while I saw photos of many of them early on in the parade, I didn’t see most of them along the route.

https://twitter.com/JennaSudds/status/1695944518036509165

This having been said, I didn’t see a single NDP MP, though I think I spotted a couple of MPPs (and I didn’t see the one whose seat the riding is in), and the Conservatives didn’t march at all, federal or provincial PC party. Make of that what you will.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Ukrainian authorities are investigating a mid-air collision between two training aircraft in the western part of the country, which killed there pilots. Russians have meanwhile been targeting the central and northern regions of the country with cruise missiles overnight. They have also been shelling the north-eastern city of Kupiansk, in what may be a push to recapture the area, after it was already liberated by Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian forces have broken through one of the most difficult lines in the south and appear to have momentum in the region. Meanwhile, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is telling American critics that Ukraine could hold wartime elections next year, but they’ll need financial assistance from the US and Europe, particularly for reaching electors abroad, and to send election observers to the front lines.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1695803020947165468

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau met with NWT premier Caroline Cochrane in Edmonton and made “specific commitments” to her, before he attended Edmonton’s Pride festival.
  • Mélanie Joly is headed to Slovenia, North Macedonia, and Albania on a trip to bolster relations with countries in Russia’s backyard.
  • Mark Miller wants to consider the broader impact of so many international students arriving in Canada (which Poilievre immediately tuned into an attack).
  • Here is an exploration of the federal government getting out of building social housing in the eighties and nineties, and how the repercussions are being felt today.
  • American legal processes around Indigenous boarding schools are drawing inspiration from the Truth and Reconciliation processes in Canada.
  • One of Pierre Poilievre’s strategies is to target NDP seats and trying to tap into the blue collar votes he claims the NDP have abandoned in favour of social justice.
  • Emmett Macfarlane walks through the court decision upholding the College of Psychologists of Ontario’s discipline against one of its high-profile members.
  • Althia Raj reflects on the government’s drop in poll numbers, and how some of that is being reflect in rural ridings where they feel unfairly impacted by policies.

Odds and ends:

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