University of Ottawa professor Amir Attaran’s recurring criticism of Quebec’s “white supremacist government” on Twitter is facing an academic complaint from Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. Justin Trudeau verbally co-signed the condemnation, which spurred Attran into tweeting even more about the province.
The glowing of patio lanterns
Criticism for allowing patios to open throughout the province led Ontario’s chief medical officer David Williams to defend the decision as safer than unmonitored gatherings in a backyard. But the acknowledgment of seductive spring weather amidst the pandemic’s third wave has left Toronto hair salons continuing to impatiently wait for their permission.
Galen G. Weston is looking for an exit from the bakery game. The original company that emerged from his great-grandfather’s bread-making apprenticeship in Toronto is on the market after 139 years in order to focus on retail and real estate. George Weston Foods currently owns brands like Wonder, Ace Bakery and Dave’s Killer Bread.
A banjo legacy gets kneed
Stephen Foster’s 1848 folk song, “Oh! Susanna,” originally had racist lyrics, which were invoked when an infamous statue of Foster was removed from Pittsburgh in 2018. Subsequently, his songs were removed from classrooms and his name from schools. Vancouver singer-songwriter Suzie Ungerleider has also ditched the association:
The astrologer who lost her job for repeating herself. King Features severed ties with horoscope writer Madalyn Aslan after the Toronto Star noticed repeat predictions. Aslan—who replaced the late Jacqueline Bigar—blamed the recycling on the death of someone close. The change is noted atop the column by her replacement.
Finally, a step beyond Dogstar
Keanu Reeves tried to ride his first wave of fame by playing the role of grunge bassist, a sideline that he eventually apologized for. But last fall, he unveiled a graphic novel series called Brzrkr, backed by a Kickstarter campaign that raised $1.5 million. It then sold 615,000 copies to comic book stores. Clearly, there’s a future in this moonlight:
