Canadian politicians tweet against racism

Liberals think they didn’t do enough

Bill Blair @BillBlair

Anti-Black racism is abhorrent and unlawful. We cannot remain silent. We must acknowledge the lived experience of our fellow Canadians and work together to end this injustice. Now is the time to unite and to act.

Liberal MP Bill Blair’s previous record as Toronto police chief came up often in responses to his contribution to the parade of politicians saying Canada has fallen short in fighting racial discrimination. Chief among them was Justin Trudeau who, when asked about his own history of wearing blackface, expressed regret about it once again.

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The new state of opinionating

Vanmala Subramaniam @VanmalaS

I unfortunately had to click on and read this horrifying column in its entirety in order to write an email to my editor expressing my utter disappointment that we decided to run it. There's no point reading it, I assure you. There's nothing to learn here.

Rex Murphy criticizing the Liberal characterization of the state of race relations in Canada got more attention due to National Post staffers publicly objecting to its publication—although Murphy has long written similar things. Meanwhile, the CBC highlighted Desmond Cole arguing for the police to be disarmed and defunded.

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Theresa Tam’s tips for protesting in a pandemic. Advice from Canada’s top doctor includes “let your sign do the talking, let your phone do the singing,” in order to avoid the spread of infectious droplets. The suggestion came after demonstrations across the country defied 11 weeks of public health officials urging people to stay home.

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Facing off two metres apart

The state of the world might be why Peter MacKay waited until evening to wish dairy farmers a happy World Milk Day, with a supply-managed glass in hand. But the Conservative leadership contest won’t end without English and French debates, which will respect physical distancing in a video format being likened to Hollywood Squares:

CBC News @CBCNews

Participation in the debates is mandatory under party rules; any candidate who refuses to take part can be fined $50,000.

cbc.caConservative Party plans a physically distant set of debates for mid-June | CBC NewsDebates between the candidates running to lead the Conservative Party of Canada will be held in Toronto later this month, the party announced today — the French debate on June 17 and the English debate on June 18.

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When space tourism can’t be claimed as a business expense. Guy Laliberté wanted to reduce the tax on his 2009 trip to the International Space Station, which cost $48.1 million for 12 days. But he won’t challenge the courts keeping his write-off to 10 per cent. The founder of Cirque du Soleil has also been looking to buy the company back.

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Finally, the choice of free will

Rush is on track to have its first top 10 album in the U.K. in 28 years, with a reissue of the 1980 album Permanent Waves, in all its prog-rock glory. Meanwhile, a New York radio show called Talking Golf became the first forum for one of the band members to express that they’re in no hurry to return to any stage after the death of their drummer:

Rolling Stone @RollingStone

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson says that he hasn't been interested in music since Neil Peart died in January rol.st/36Wq0Ez