Quebec delivered its first internationally viral story related to the COVID-19 curfew, just one hour into its activation: a Sherbrooke couple each given $1,500 fines for testing the exemption for dog walkers. The ticket tally piled up fast, alongside reports of people who felt unfairly busted by police.
The cluster of cabinet actions
Liberal innovation minister Navdeep Bains is retiring from politics at age 43 for what he says is to spend more time with family. His decision was announced as part of a minor cabinet shuffle. Concurrently, the Conservatives declared no further collaboration with Rebel News, after an attributed email exchange was promoted as an exclusive interview with Erin O’Toole.
A video platform based in Toronto is suing Google for favouring YouTube. Rumble has gained attention due to it being preferred by Dan Bongino, who’s also an investor in deplatformed app Parler. Meanwhile, the thought of declaring Proud Boys terrorists in Canada has opposition from some who think it could rebound on anti-racist groups.
Global radio has lost another
Last fall’s firing of Edmonton talk host Ryan Jespersen and the resignation of Toronto talk host Supriya Dwivedi shed light on the challenges facing opinionated content at Corus Entertainment. The next personality to give notice at Global News Radio is onetime Alberta politician Danielle Smith, who explained her impending departure from the Calgary station as a pursuit of liberty:
John Roberts is going back behind a desk at Fox News. MuchMusic’s only VJ turned White House correspondent will begin the Biden era as co-anchor of the early afternoon shift, America Reports. For now, Daniel Dale remains on the Trump fact-checking beat at CNN, but the Toronto native recently declared his boredom on the air.
Finally, running with the night
A Little Late with Lilly Singh has returned to NBC with new episodes after months of reruns produced before the pandemic, during which time she swapped a $1.5 million house in L.A. for one that cost $4.1 million. After a year in which all TV talk show hosts might as well be YouTubers, at least Singh’s new setup accommodates current events:
