Dispatches from the land of Lisa LaFlamme
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Bell Media group president Wade Oosterman’s statement refuting accusations from a large group of CTV journalists was shared on social media before it reached their lawyer’s inbox. But so goes the ongoing commotion over the firing of Lisa LaFlamme, including editorial interference claims over CTV News covering memes, which helped the saga reach CNN.
Rage farming gets way too real
The motivations of the man who verbally attacked and intimidated Chrystia Freeland in a Grande Prairie, Alberta, incident that was widely watched and then condemned by multiple politicians, are being explained by him to anyone who’ll listen. In its wake, the federal government is looking into options to increase security for cabinet ministers like Freeland.
Michael Geist was accused of being a racist by a Liberal MP for questioning how the party handled revelations about Laith Marouf. Chris Bittle, the parliamentary secretary to the heritage minister, later apologized on Twitter to his critic. In the wake of these events, Ottawa promises an “extensive review” of such anti-racism funding.
Broadsheet gap is brought back
The pivot away from political content at Maclean’s has been followed by former Ottawa bureau chief Shannon Proudfoot joining the Globe and Mail. The newspaper also appointed Marsha Lederman a full-time columnist after Elizabeth Renzetti left that position. Also, a hiatus for the weekend arts section is ending:
“Can Arcade Fire recover from sexual misconduct allegations?” The question is asked in the Montreal Gazette after Pitchfork reported on frontman Win Butler being accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. Butler responded the encounters were consensual, and he has the vocal support of his bandmate wife, Régine Chassagne.
Finally, the Anvil bar mitzvah
Anvil! The Story of Anvil will be premiering a 4K restoration at a September event in Hollywood featuring a panel discussion moderated by Steve-O, who wore one of the Toronto band’s shirts in Jackass 3D. In the 13 years since the documentary’s wide release, Anvil’s fortunes improved just modestly enough for these guys to stick around: