The best tabloid tales from the pandemic
COVID-19’s ever-expanding vortex
The mystery of who was behind the booking of all 446 rooms at Alberta’s Jasper Park Lodge for nine weeks starting February 23 was solved, thanks to piecing together the scoop from “Reality Steve about a Canadian shooting of The Bachleorette.” But the results may not be able to compete with the story of the B.C. vaccine scofflaw couple.
The scandal state of Ontario
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario paid David Fisman to advise against school reopenings. The doctor sits on the province’s advisory science table. Meanwhile, there’s the story of the $11 million in COVID-19 benefits repaid by a former Ontario civil servant: Sanjay Madan’s wife and sons have disavowed knowledge of the alleged fraud. (The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the province is still sitting on $6.4 billion of unspent relief cash.)
“How a Dead Professor Is Teaching a University Art History Class.” Concordia University confirmed that the tweets concerning François-Marc Gagnon were true: the digital lecturer died two years ago at age 83. Adding to the farce is the fact that the professor overseeing the course previously believed that Gagnon retired.
Plenty of Ks await an ex-GG
The program that allows former governors general to expense up to $206,040 for the rest of their lives, combined with a $149,484 annual pension, is under scrutiny now that Julie Payette is technically entitled to them. Justin Trudeau will be advised by the privy council office on a replacement this week, while the Payette allegations continue:
Rogers Media was forced by a court to give 21 months’ severance pay to a 75-year-old newscaster. Hal Rothenberg was terminated from Tillsonburg, Ontario, radio stations soon after they were purchased by the telecom giant. Layoffs have remained a regular event at Rogers-owned frequencies, but the media division is hiring elsewhere.
Finally, checked out of the O.R.
Tom Green earned his earliest national attention three decades ago, as part of the Ottawa rap trio Organized Rhyme—and the rest is the kind of history that culminated in reuniting with his ex-wife on her TV talk show. The soul-searching has now extended to living the podcaster van life, and so why not become a straight-faced country singer: