Former journalist Siri Agrell has deactivated social media as she starts campaigning to become a Toronto city councillor in Parkdale–High Park against Gord Perks, who’s held a local seat since 2006. Agrell, who previously worked as an adviser to John Tory, logged off after getting snagged into a Twitter complaint.
The 777 days of emergency
The history of Toronto will show a lucky triple number as the length of the municipal state of emergency that allowed the city to reassign staffers where needed during the pandemic. Now, the focus on getting past this phase has shifted to Canadian airports, where long lines and flight delays are the new signs of struggle.
“The visible stonework, wooden door, and the stainless-steel door hinges and coat hook on the back of that door, which is part of the long side of the stall, all looked quite familiar.” Conservative house leader John Brassard described how he deduced Liberal MP Shafqat Ali was participating in parliament from a washroom stall. Ali apologized for his lapse in judgement in not going off camera.
Facebook’s fight for a future
New insider scoop from Meta reveals a rethink of news partnerships in favour of a renewed focus on short-form videos à la TikTok. Last week, Facebook’s hardball with Australia over being forced to pay for those links was exposed by whistleblowers. Great Britain could be next to institute internet laws that everyday Canadians allegedly appreciate the arrival of:
Gerald Hannon dead at 77. Hannon wrote a 1977 piece about pedophilia that landed Toronto gay liberation journal The Body Politic in court, only to end up acquitted on free-speech grounds. He went on to be published in more mainstream outlets and teach journalism at Ryerson University, while making headlines of his own for moonlighting as a sex worker.
Finally, the long tail of Dogstar
Keanu Reeves: Most Triumphant is a new effort to explain the meaning of Keanu Reeves, by culture critic Alex Pappademas. Their connection was initiated with a 2019 cover story interview for GQ, but the book appears to dive deeper into idiosyncrasies, like that time Reeves played the role of an anonymous bassist in an absolutely awful grunge act:
