ICYMI: March 30 - April 6
My Alberta Views cover story on how the federal NDP leadership candidates plan to win back working class voters is now available online.
I got a shoutout from friend of The Orchard Roberta Lexier in her Medicine Hat News op-ed on the threat Avi Lewis poses towards the Canadian establishment.
Blogroll
Story of the Week
Among the Separatists, Marcello Di Cintio, The Tyee (April 1)
Yesterday Rath claimed that the separatist group Stay Free Alberta had collected the necessary number of signatures to hold a referendum asking the province’s citizens if they want to secede from Canada. The referendum, if it happens, will fail. Likely spectacularly. In a poll conducted in February, less than a fifth of Albertans supported independence, and five per cent favoured joining the United States. More than 70 per cent of Albertans said the province should stay in Canada. A clear majority of Albertans don’t want to live in a Christian ethnostate powered by hydrocarbons and hatred, and conceived by people we wouldn’t trust to sit the right way on a toilet. My greatest hope is that the separatists will feel as embarrassed and angered by their inevitable failure as I feel by their movement’s existence.
But the same poll showed nearly 60 per cent of Albertans are concerned about the separatist movement. I am, too. I worry the exercise has already emboldened Alberta’s worst people — our separatist-coddling premier chief among them. In acquiescence to the sovereignty agitators who populate her base, and to camouflage the failings of her own cruelly incompetent government, five of the nine referendum questions Danielle Smith will put to Alberta voters this fall target immigrants.
Alberta
New bill would remove deadlines for Alberta government to act on citizen petitions, Janet French, CBC News (March 30)
Alberta independence organizers claim signature threshold met, according to reports, Sneha Kainth, CTV News (March 31)
Alberta bill would bar school boards from taking political positions, restrict flags and classroom discussion, Cindy Tran, Edmonton Journal (March 31)
‘Revoke the agreement’: Alberta-Ottawa energy pact faces pushback, Steven Willhelm, Financial Post (April 1)
If court halts separatists’ referendum bid, they’ll push Danielle Smith to approve it anyway, Jason Markusoff, CBC News (April 2)
Edmonton mayor hires former NDP MP as chief of staff, Diego Romero, CTV News (April 2)
Alberta scraps environmental assessment for Kevin O’Leary’s ‘world’s largest’ data centre, Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, Canada’s National Observer (April 3)
Alberta premier and education minister had private meeting with groups behind push to ‘conservatize’ Alberta school boards and ban LGBTQ books, Brett McKay, Investigative Journalism Foundation (April 3)
UCP to make public land available to charter schools with Bill 28, Jeremy Klaszus, The Sprawl (April 4)
Alberta’s Premier Claims Immigrants Are a Burden. Where’s the Proof? Ximena Gonzalez, The Tyee (April 6)
Canada
He spent years defending Tamil refugees. As Minister, he’s refusing to stop a deportation back to danger in Sri Lanka, Desmond Cole, The Breach (March 30)
Avi Lewis should not be underestimated, Susan Delacourt, Toronto Star (March 30)
WestJet told passengers flights were cancelled for safety. Records suggest otherwise, Erica Johnson and Ana Komnenic, CBC News (March 30)
Did Global Affairs Try To Scrub Record Of Israel Arms Transfer? Emma Paling, The Maple (March 31)
Stephen Lewis, longtime Ontario NDP politician and diplomat, dies at 88, Peter Edwards, Toronto Star (March 31)
Stellantis in Talks to Make Chinese EVs at Idle Canada Plant, Brian Platt and Gabrielle Coppola, Bloomberg (April 1)
Quebec’s last NDP MP weighs his future in Ottawa, Jack Wilson, Montreal Gazette (April 1)
Canada Is Redefining Who Can Seek Asylum, Madison Edward-Wright, Jacobin (April 1)
Estimated cost to refurbish Sask. coal plants nearly tripled to $2.6 billion, Katie Swyers, CBC News (April 1)
Jesse Brown Insists He’s Done Nothing Wrong, Luke LeBrun, PressProgress (April 2)
B.C. Court of Appeal overturns B.C. Supreme Court ruling on Nootka Island title, Darryl Greer, Canadian Press (April 2)
‘Absolute betrayal’: First Nations blast Eby in leaked transcript of DRIPA meeting, Alessia Passafiume, Canadian Press (April 3)
Young Canadians are increasingly miserable. Government priorities show why, Paul Kershaw, Globe and Mail (April 3)
Protest outside Brampton Hindu temple targets alleged Indian state interference, Jennifer Pagliaro, Toronto Star (April 4)
U.S.
US counterterror officials plan antifa summit, sources say, Gram Slattery, Humeyra Pamuk and Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters (March 31)
In the Iran disaster, Trump’s only choice is a recession or a worse recession, John Rapley, Globe and Mail (April 3)
Canadian mother and seven-year-old daughter released from ICE detention in Texas, Pippa Norman, Globe and Mail (April 3)
Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz, New Yorker (April 6)
Steve Bannon wins Supreme Court order likely to lead to dismissal of contempt of Congress conviction, Mark Sherman, Associated Press (April 6)
World
5.8 magnitude quake hits Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing 8 in Afghanistan, Elena Becatoros and Abdul Qahar Afghan, Associated Press (April 3)
Russia chose ‘Easter escalation’ over ceasefire, says Zelensky, Sarah Rainsford, BBC News (April 3)
Ukraine’s drones dent Russia’s war-fuelled oil windfall, Anastasia Stognei, Max Seddon, Christopher Miller and Fabrice Deprez, Financial Times (April 5)
Power-starved Cuba deepens reliance on Chinese solar tech, Jude Webber, Rachel Millard and Joe Daniels, Financial Times (April 5)
Seoul spy agency says it’s fair to view teen daughter of North Korean leader Kim as his heir, Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press (April 6)
Middle East
She Spoke Out About Gaza. Now She Can’t Use a Credit Card. Karl Mathiesen, Politico (March 30)
Israel passes death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks, Maayan Lubell and Pesha Magid, Reuters (March 31)
Israel Strikes Tehran Pharmaceutical Plant, Claiming Military Link, Parin Behrooz and Ephrat Livni, New York Times (March 31)
Israel to ‘demolish’ all houses in Lebanese border villages, James Shotter and Raya Jalabi, Financial Times (March 31)
Israel’s Message to a Broad Swath of Lebanon: Shiites Must Go, Christina Goldbaum, New York Times (April 1)
Oman grapples with its national identity as a neutral mediator after Iran’s attacks, Doug Saunders, Globe and Mail (April 4)
Tech
The Hunt for Mr. Deepfakes, Sarah Trelaven, Maclean’s (March 30)
The New York Times drops freelance journalist who used AI to write book review, Emma Loffhagen, The Guardian (March 31)
Big Banks Seeking a Piece of SpaceX’s I.P.O. Must Subscribe to Elon Musk’s Grok, Maureen Farrell, New York Times (April 3)
Culture
I Watched a 7.5-Hour Movie in Theaters to Confront My Dwindling Attention Span, John Semley, WIRED (April 1)