Roundup: No, that lurid tweet was not “inartfully worded”

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Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri deleted her Twitter post that claimed that the high cost of living was causing parents to traffic their children into sex work, and that “soft on crime policies” mean that survivors don’t come forward. She claims that this was simply a statement being “inartfully worded.” Bullshit. Don’t believe her. Ferreri has a record of saying things that defy credulity, such as that seniors in her riding are reduced to eating cat food because of Trudeau, or that the carbon levy has created a mental health crisis in teenagers. No, seriously. She has also been caught on several occasions embellishing her personal history, such as her “scholarship” to university (she got discounted tuition because one of her parents worked there), or her claim that she is the “single mother of six children” (she’s divorced with three children from her first marriage, and her current partner has three children from his previous marriage, and occasionally custody overlaps). This is a pattern.

All of this is deliberate. It is not her being clumsy or not articulating herself—it’s a deliberate tactic of using lurid images to make people irrationally angry at the government, because lies that trigger strong emotions work. That’s the sad truth of the matter, and this is 100 percent the tactic that the Conservatives are using to try and win the next election. Ferreri, granted, likes to gild the lily a little more when it comes to her tales of woe, and that’s what got her into trouble this time, but this isn’t accidental, or her not understanding the crime statistics she heard from her local organizations. This was absolutely about trying to come up with a new lie to make people angry at Trudeau, and she got caught. Not that there will be any consequences, because everything is both-sidesed in the media, so her defenders will rationalize her falsehoods, and nothing will change. They know how to game the system like this, and they will keep doing it because it works for them.

Ukraine Dispatch

Ukrainian forces say that they destroyed an S-300 anti-aircraft system in Rostov region overnight, citing that it was being used to attack civilian infrastructure. President Zelenskyy says that forces are shoring up defences in the east near Pokrovsk, as Russia tries to capture the city. There is some speculation that Putin’s slow response to the incursion in Kursk could cause him problems among his backers—or not, since he’s making them rich regardless.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1825896088315834440

Good reads:

  • Both Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland have called on the rail duopoly and Teamsters to come to an agreement on their labour negotiations.
  • It’s the warnings of economic doom—doooooooom!—if the rail lockout proceeds.
  • Trudeau was supposed to meet with Muslim groups in Montreal yesterday, but it was cancelled after many opted not to attend in protest of the situation in Gaza.
  • The veterans ombud says that the recommendation to offer mental health supports for troubled veterans was never implemented, and needs to be legislated.
  • A Quebec man is threatening to sue Marc Miller because his wife’s immigration file has been lost by the department and he been subjected to a comedy of errors.
  • While AFN national chief Cindy Woodhouse Neepinak promotes the child welfare agreement among chiefs, Cindy Blackstock is badmouthing the deal.
  • The “emergency” committee meeting on the New York residence found that current consul general Tom Clark had no say in the decisions, surprising nobody.
  • Pierre Poilievre says he would scrap clean fuel regulations if elected, never mind that the Conservatives have been running on that idea since Harper.
  • Different government departments did an analysis of Poilievre’s housing bill (in the even he forms government) and found it unworkable, surprising nobody.
  • Two migrant workers in New Brunswick are suing a seafood processor for exploitation and mistreatment.
  • Unsurprisingly, Doug Ford’s move to close most safe consumption sites went against expert advice (and upholds this government’s record of negligent homicide).
  • Lindsay Tedds and Gillian Petit fact-check BC United’s promised tax cut, and lo, it does almost nothing for low-income people and is a big tax cut for high-incomes.

Odds and ends:

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