The bureaucratic grab for your remote control
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The independent panel report on reforming broadcast legislation in Canada calls for foreign streaming services to pay sales taxes, fund content that meets specific criteria for domestic productions, and tweak the algorithms in favour of spotlighting Cancon. Removing advertising on all CBC platforms is also in the suggestion pile.
Politics of a potential pandemic
Toronto mayor John Tory denounced xenophobia against the Chinese community, based on his being told of increased reports of stigmatization in the wake of two cases of coronavirus detected in the city. Concern about recently related racism may lack specific examples, but it’s based on fearing a repeat of the panic surrounding SARS.
Mastercard gets charged in the House of Commons. Justin Trudeau was assailed from both sides over how the federal Strategic Innovation Fund committed $49 million to a global security centre in Vancouver, adding to $510 million from Mastercard. But it also gives Conservative leadership hopeful Erin O’Toole new fodder to feed a meme.
Library sticks to speech stance
While the Toronto Public Library is reviewing its room rental policies in the wake of unfavourable reactions to Meghan Murphy’s speech on gender identity last fall, its Vancouver counterpart updated its policy following similar circumstances a year ago. It was determined that a new rental request doesn’t violate their revised standards:
“HIDDEN CAMERA: Police interrogated me about my Justin Trudeau book. They didn’t know I videotaped it.” Ezra Levant compiled his recent Canadian political views in The Libranos, whose promotion led the elections commissioner to investigate him for looking like an unregistered third party. Rebel News couldn’t have begged for a better episode.
Finally, the life of a tradwife
Lauren Southern went from political science drop-out to Rebel Media correspondent. She was dubbed the “alt-right’s not-so-secret weapon” by Vice before getting involved in anti-migration stunts around Europe. She got a lifetime ban from Britain and made a documentary, but her retirement from politics before turning 24 seemed to stick:
