A culture war welcomes you back to work
Photos initially posted to Reddit of irony-infused welcome-back posters at 20 Bay Street in Toronto made the leap to Twitter—and outrage ensued. Oxford Properties said sentiments about missing your sweatpants while your dog misses you were already removed because it “missed the mark,” but they couldn’t erase all the digital evidence.
Charest has entered the chat
The time has come for Pierre Poilievre to question the Conservative cred of Jean Charest, now that the former Liberal premier of Quebec has booked March 11 for his leadership campaign launch. Patrick Brown and Leslyn Lewis have announcements looming, but would-be candidate Tasha Kheiriddin has opted for backing Charest over running herself.
Freedom Convoy co-organizer Tamara Lich was given 24 hours to get out of Ottawa. A judge released the Alberta woman after three weeks in jail by applying 10 conditions to her bail. Meanwhile, two Mounties explained to a parliamentary committee how they applied discretion to freezing certain bank accounts.
What your fellow kids are up to
The ability of TikTok to cultivate Canadian tales of extremely privileged influencers and homeless musical buskers in equal measure can only mean we’ll see further corporate initiatives. A revived MuchMusic has posted its way to 1.3 million followers since last summer. And now CBC has rebooted youth money talk:
Closing time for what was technically Toronto’s last surviving Sam the Record Man. The once franchised location on the Danforth changed its name to Mike’s Music, and owner Mike Waite refashioned it as an independent curiosity shop. The last store to retain the Sam’s brand continues to live on at the Quinte Mall in Belleville, Ontario.
Finally, this guitar gets a song
PUP supplied NPR with a claustrophobic home concert a year ago, which built anticipation for the day the Toronto band could be out in the world again. So far, three singles have been released from their next album. “Matilda” is about the favourite guitar of frontman Stefan Babcock, with an emotional video: