Canadian angles on Joe Rogan and Spotify

Chris Pavlovski’s pockets sound full

Rumble @rumblevideo

Hey @joerogan, we are ready to fight alongside you. See the note from our CEO @chrispavlovski...

The founder of Toronto-based video platform Rumble wrote from his Florida HQ to offer The Joe Rogan Experience a new $100 million deal. And now Neil Young is urging Spotify staffers to quit over the corporate defence of Rogan’s increasingly scrutinized content. But the controversy has a deeper artistic cause, writes Will Butler from Arcade Fire.

---

Horny honking is put on pause

The Line @the_lineca

Our Man in Ottawa gives us a look at the front lines of the freedom convoy. By @mattgurney

theline.substack.comDispatch from the Ottawa Front: Hot dogs, horns and hard menThis crowd is mostly friendly. But anyone telling you there’s no dark edge here is either blind, or lying to you.

It took 11 days of the trucker convoy in Ottawa for a judge to grant an injunction to keep the horns silent for the next 10, in response to a proposed class-action lawsuit over the noise. Justin Trudeau resurfaced in the House of Commons to tell them to go home. But now Liberal MP Joël Lightbound says it’s time for more politicians to listen to some concerns.

---

Jean Charest’s name was bound to come up as a potential Conservative leadership candidate. But the first polling on the topic far and away favours Pierre Poilievre. Tasha Kheiriddin also tweeted about getting calls encouraging to run, but the pundit may already be cursed by Liberals saying they like her.

---

A long way from Queen’s Park

Just before the pandemic hit, a change in licence plates became Ontario’s biggest political issue. An impending election comes with discussion of eliminating vehicle stickers. But there’s also the prospect that Doug Ford doesn’t have to do much of anything for votes when the likes of Milton Chan are around:

National Post @nationalpost

Senior Ontario Liberal was on sunny holiday as he told candidates to cancel vacations

nationalpost.comSenior Ontario Liberal was on sunny holiday as he told candidates to cancel vacationsMilton Chan says that as a volunteer, he is exempt from party’s travel restrictions. Staffers of the financially strapped party cry ‘Nonsense!’

---

Donny Gerrard dead at 75. The lead singer for the band Skylark, whose 1972 single “Wildflower” was an early Canadian content staple, was born in Vancouver and lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Gerrard was an active a commercial jingle singer and backing vocalist, and sang alongside Bryan Adams at the peak moment of “Tears Are Not Enough.”

---

Finally, roasting before a rose

The Bachelor came to Toronto with a dozen remaining contestants for the show’s first international excursion in a couple years. Clayton Echard also went to Niagara Falls for an awkward 2-on-1 date with Genevieve and Shanae. Russell Peters, who was most recently spotted sticking up for Joe Rogan, turned up in the Distillery District to host a roast: