ICYMI: June 25-July 1
What I produced and consumed this week.
Toronto's 13 years of conservative rule comes to an end
After 13 years of conservative rule, Toronto has elected a progressive mayor. While Edmonton and Calgary were electing Don Iveson and Amarjeet Sohi, Naheed Nenshi and Jyoti Gondek, Toronto had Rob Ford and John Tory. Olivia Chow is now the first racialized mayor of the second-most diverse city in the world. She ran on an explicitly progressive platform in the lead-up to the June 26 by-election triggered by John Tory’s
Early Thoughts on Postmedia-Nordstar Merger Talks
On June 27, Canada’s largest newspaper chain, Postmedia, announced that it’s in talks with the owner of the second-largest newspaper chain, Nordstar Capital, to merge into a single company, which will undoubtedly combine the worst elements of both corporate behemoths.
Will Tech Save Us? (With Paris Marx)
Listen now (97 min) | This weekend, I had the privilege of participating in a dialogue with Road to Nowhere author and Tech Won’t Save Us podcaster Paris Marx, as part of an event co-hosted by Edmonton city councillor Michael Janz and Climate Justice Edmonton. After he delivered a half-hour presentation, I sat down with Paris to ask a couple questions of my own before modera…
What I’ve been reading
Alberta
Banning Russian pavilion would set bad precedent for Edmonton's Heritage Festival, Keith Gerein, Edmonton Journal (June 27)
Battle for seats on the UCP’s provincial board heats up ahead of annual meeting, Carrie Tait, Globe and Mail (June 27)
Alberta must do more to address rising drug poisonings: critics, Anna Junker, Edmonton Journal (June 27)
'Tranq dope' making dire situation worse on the streets of Alberta, outreach workers say, Joel Dryden, CBC News (June 28)
Premier Smith, is Hinshaw getting cash after AHS dumped her? Rick Bell, Calgary Sun (June 28)
Cracks appear in Take Back Alberta as CFO calls Parker's attacks 'disgusting', Don Braid, Calgary Herald (June 30)
Canada
Canada’s Longest Active Strike Keeps Going at a BC Hotel. Here’s How It Gets Around an Anti-Scab Law, Phoebe Fuller, PressProgress (June 27)
Canada Is Trying to Stop AMLO From Putting Mexico in Control of Its Own Resources, Owen Schalk, Jacobin (June 27)
When Death Is the Best Choice, Is It a Choice At All? Nora Loreto, The Nation (June 27)
RoseAnne Archibald ousted as Assembly of First Nations national chief, Brett Forester and Olivia Stefanovich, CBC News (June 28)
Why Does Canadian Media Love Licking This Billionaire’s Boots? Alex Cosh, The Maple (June 28)
The Regina police chief wants to force people with addictions into treatment — not everyone agrees, Alexander Quon, CBC News (June 29)
COVID is at the lowest levels in a long time. Why some people still wear masks, Sharon Kirkey, National Post (June 30)
Spy vs spy: Surveillance officer sues CSIS, alleging sex assault by mentor, Susan Lazaruk, National Post (June 30)
With Olivia Chow, Toronto might be worth fighting for, Desmond Cole, Ricochet (June 30)
World
The First MAGA Democrat, John Hendrickson, The Atlantic (June 26)
Why Hundreds Drowned Off the Coast of Greece, Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker (June 26)
Multiple deputies fired after 2 Black men file lawsuit alleging torture and attempted sexual assault in Mississippi, Shawn Nottingham and Aya Elamroussi, CNN (June 28)
CIA director, on secret trip to Ukraine, hears plan for war’s endgame, John Hudson and Shane Harris, Washington Post (June 30)
Violence sporadic but 'less intense': Key events from the fourth night of unrest in France, Agence France-Presse (July 1)
Pop Culture
How Review-Bombing Can Tank a Book Before It’s Published, Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times (June 26)