SCOTUS draft leaks north of the border

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Globalnews.ca @globalnews

The Conservative Party is attempting to keep its MPs quiet on a leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision that would overturn abortion rights in that country.

globalnews.caConservatives told to stay quiet on leaked U.S. Supreme Court abortion draft decision - National | Globalnews.caIn a note to the Conservative caucus, Candice Bergen’s office said the party ‘will not be commenting’ on the draft ruling on Roe v. Wade leaked from the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Conservatives will not be commenting on draft rulings leaked from the Supreme Court of the United States,” was the reply from Candice Bergen in response to media inquiries. Nonetheless, the leaked abortion draft has drawn out questions about implications for Canada, leading Justin Trudeau’s office to tweet its official position won’t be changing.

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An awkward plea for peace

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East @CJPME

“From the standpoint of international law, @patrickbrownont's position on Jerusalem is far more legitimate than the official position of @CPC_HQ, which amounts recognizing Israel’s illegal annexation of East Jerusalem.” Read CJPME's press release: cjpme.org/pr_2022_05_03_… #cdnpoli

cjpme.orgCJPME Welcomes Conservative Party Debate on Palestine PolicyCanadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes the debate within the Conservative Party of Canada over its position on Palestine and Israel, as demonstrated in recent remarks by party leadership candidate Patrick Brown. In an interview, Brown spoke out about Israeli violence aga…

Comments that Patrick Brown reportedly made to an Arabic-language newspaper in Montreal made him the Conservative leader of choice to factions extremely unlikely to vote that way. But his equating Ukrainian refugees with Palestinians was taken out of context according to Brown, so making a meme out of his comment was probably wishful thinking.

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“John Tory’s biggest challenger may be a former cop and Sunshine Boy.” Joe Warmington highlights how new Toronto mayoral candidate Blake Acton once posed for a pin-up in the Toronto Sun. But the most famous person to pose for the discontinued male equivalent of the Sunshine Girl will forever be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

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A long path to coming back

Trend pieces about worker backlash to being ordered to return to offices are surfacing in contrast to Microsoft doing a media tour to show off its new downtown Toronto headquarters. Canada’s office vacancy rate was 16.3% in the first quarter—with its biggest city just a little below that number, underground retail has been kneecapped:

The Local Magazine @thelocalhealth

What is a subterranean shrine to office work without the office workers? @nickhunebrown visits the PATH.

thelocal.toWhat is the PATH? | The LocalBelow ground, the hair stylists, dry cleaners, baristas and sushi chefs are ready. But are the office workers coming back?

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Canada’s heritage minister will be reviewing what qualifies as Cancon. The need to tick specific boxes to be defined as homegrown content may change as part of overhauling broadcast laws. Currently, the proposed Bill C-11 is sticking to definitions that allow a documentary with the title Gotta Love Trump to fit criteria that was enshrined in regulation.

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Finally, it’s still left on the dial

CFRA celebrated its 75th anniversary as an Ottawa radio station, if not necessarily highlighting events like DJ Mark Elliot quitting live on the air or open-line host Lowell Green being censured for ranting about Islam. But the talk station did get a phone call from native son Paul Anka, who talked about escaping town:

CTV Ottawa @ctvottawa

CFRA 75: Paul Anka reflects on Ottawa, CFRA, and stardom

ottawa.ctvnews.caCFRA 75: Paul Anka reflects on Ottawa, CFRA, and stardomCanadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka, an Ottawa native, is one of the most famous people to grace CFRA’s airwaves. He spoke with CFRA’s Bill Carroll about his memories of growing up in Ottawa, listening to CFRA, and about where his music career took him over the years.