The path of We appears paved with Astroturf
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The degree to which We Charity went after critical media coverage included payments to a firm of strategists who organized weird stories about Canadaland. Someone else paid at least 180 people to promote positive pieces on Google. And this was before the current scandal, which continues to unfold, now with stories involving Bill Morneau.
He’s just not that into outsiders
Peter MacKay called for a last-minute rescheduling of a Conservative leadership debate after rival Leslyn Lewis dropped out due to an ear infection. As a result, the first big event for the Independent Press Gallery of Canada went ahead with half the candidate cast, although the latest polling shows MacKay as the likely next leader.
The next stage of reopening comes with extra measures in Toronto. City council imposed safety rules above and beyond Ontario standards for Stage 3 on the brink of letting indoor bars and restaurants return. There’s also a new bylaw that requires most people to wear face coverings in the shared spaces of Toronto’s residential buildings.
Fifty seats are saved for TIFF
Cineplex won over Queen’s Park with its argument that the 50-person capacity per venue should be for individual auditoriums rather than the entire building. While it may not inspire many excursions to movies with physical distancing, the decision comes in time for the Toronto International Film Festival to book its cinema screenings:
Torstar’s overridden suitors haven’t given up yet. While a judge green-lit NordStar Capital’s purchase of newspapers, including the Toronto Star, rival bidders requested a stay in order to have the arguments of dissenting shareholders heard again. Concern still surrounds whether the Star’s Atkinson Principles will remain intact.
Finally, a persistence of Stans
Anne with an E was the subject of a petition that hit one million signatures urging its return from viewers who recognized that posting an alleged 13 million tweets about it in April wasn’t enough to get it back. Netflix and CBC repeatedly reinforced how the series simply ended its run, but this latest stunt also wasn’t ignored by its creator:
