The traditional Friday the 13th motorcycle rally in Port Dover, Ontario, still drew hundreds in March, as the pandemic lockdown loomed. Eight months later, officials are begging bikers to take a break from the tradition that started in 1981, rather than acquire the infamy of the summertime superspreader in Sturgis, South Dakota.
Marching to 6,500 daily cases
Ontario’s next move will likely respond to COVID-19 case count projections from the science advisory table, even though Doug Ford defended the setting of the provincial red zone at levels four times higher than a public health agency recommended. On top of it all, Ford is warning Justin Trudeau not to step in by enacting his emergency powers.
“While the media was swooning over Biden, the Liberals handcuffed the internet.” Peter Menzies writes at The Line about the proposed new Broadcasting Act reflecting policies that lead to more regulation. Lobbying for tech giants to subsidize newspaper companies goes on, while staff are left to defend paywalls.
Face of a chilled Super Bowl
While the Weeknd began his career with misogynistic lyrics, he’s now safe enough for Kenny G’s saxophone. This validation will next take the form of halftime at a socially distant Super Bowl LV, with a soft drink sponsor that needed a new Michael Jackson:
Russell Peters is betting on the reach of Jus Reign. Late Bloomer was commissioned by CBC as a sitcom showcase for Jasmeet Singh Raina, who was bored in Guelph when he started making videos for YouTube. Having his most famous comedian friend as one of the executive producers gives the show a shot of going far beyond Brampton.
Finally, preschool’s out forever
Alice Cooper announced his next album, Detroit Stories, with a Velvet Underground cover that reboots his relationship with Bob Ezrin, who produced some classic Alice sides in Toronto. But that’s also not his last Canadian association, thanks to this disturbing clash with a children’s act:
