Roundup: When concerns become confessions

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Yesterday, La Presse published an editorial cartoon that was all the way back to 1930s Germany in terms of its antisemitic tropes about Jews being vampires, and lo, there was controversy and much condemnation. It was pulled not long after, with a half-assed apology from the editor, but what I found particularly interesting was how many people lost their minds about what heritage minister Pascale St-Onge said, in particular that she would be “very prudent” on questions concerning the freedom of the press and refused to pass judgement, and called for compassionate conversations.”

I say this in particular because of all of these very same people losing their minds about the Online Harms legislation, and the frankly false concerns that this is going to be about the Liberals deciding what is and isn’t hate speech, and that they’ll prosecute and censor things they don’t like. And these are also the same people who insist that because the government is offering assistance to the struggling news sector (mostly by way of tax credits for salaries or digital subscriptions) that it means that the government must obviously be exerting control over what the news sector says or does. And then when a newspaper does something clearly antisemitic and the minister doesn’t offer threats, they condemn her for not doing all of the things they are saying the government is going to do and that we should be very, very afraid of them for.

Taking the cake in all of this was Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, who taunted St-Onge over Twitter to “pull their government funding. I dare you.” Which pretty much proves the whole gods damned point, doesn’t it? If anything, it certainly makes all of these concerns about government powers—which are clearly structured in a way that they can’t be abused, particularly by codifying the Supreme Court of Canada’s Whatcott standard of what constitutes hate speech so that it’s not arbitrary—sound like projection or a future confession. But that would also require self-awareness on the part of all of these people losing their minds, which they clearly don’t have, and it’s all very telling.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russia has launched a missile attack on Kyiv, while a missile attack on Kharkiv has killed five. Russia says they will add two new armies and thirty formations by the end of the year to Ukraine as they push Ukrainian forces back while ammunition delivers are slowed. Ukraine did launch a drone attack against a bomber base deep inside Russian territory. Here’s a look at why Ukraine has been targeting Russia’s Belgorod regions. Here’s the story of a ballet studio inside of a bomb shelter in Kharkiv.

Good reads:

  • The government tabled new legislation aimed at making it easier to vote, which was part of their agreement with the NDP. (But it’s not electoral reform).
  • Mark Holland is promising legislation to crack down on nicotine pouches, because they don’t fall under smoking or vaping laws.
  • Holland also says it’s appropriate that the two fired scientists from the Winnipeg Lab are under investigation after reports place them currently in China.
  • Marc Miller suspects that the NDP Supply Day motion may make it even harder to get Canadians and their families out of Gaza. (The NDP did not like that one bit).
  • Stephen Guilbeault is openly calling Pierre Poilievre a liar about his comments on the carbon levy, as Poilievre is threatening a non-confidence motion (that he’ll lose).
  • Jean-Yves Duclos said that three IT contractors have been referred to the RCMP over fraud concerns; he is creating a new office of supplier integrity and compliance.
  • The government has been consulting on the future of RCMP contract policing and seem to be moving toward reform it rather than ending it (which they should do).
  • Quebec’s shrimp fishery may be closed for good as rising temperatures have caused stocks to plummet.
  • LGBTQ+ activists from Uganda and Ghana are calling on Canada to do more to combat homophobic legislation in their countries.
  • Brian Mulroney’s former photographer (and father of Trudeau’s photographer) looks back at his favourite photo during his time in the PMO.
  • Matt Gurney looks back to what he got wrong about the Conservatives in 2021, and why that is leading to the current boost for Poilievre’s polling numbers.
  • Kevin Carmichael examines Poilievre’s broadside against corporate leaders in Canada, and how they seem to be unable to respond to these tactics.

Odds and Ends:

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