The three sides of the story at the CBC
What can’t public broadcasting do
The choice of words from the CBC’s woman in Washington, D.C., became a lightning rod, as people tried to process the crash of the Ukrainian plane in which 63 of its 176 killed passengers were Canadian. While questions about the amount of mourning were debated online, evening vigils were held across the country for those who died in Iran.
The Fifth Estate‘s bad blurring
“Confronting Hate: How Antifa is tracking the extreme right,” a segment on the CBC’s investigative news show, provided enough clues for Drumheller, Alberta, Catholic school teacher Kurt Phillips to be exposed by others as a popular chronicler of what he determined to be hate. The Fifth Estate itself attempted to conceal his true identity.
“Name Popeye’s favourite food!” Family Feud Canada got its first viral moment, thanks to Eve Dubois of Lorette, Manitoba, who was exuberantly thinking of a different kind of Popeyes. Recent overnight ratings for the CBC’s most bewildering addition showed the game show drawing more eyeballs than either Schitt’s Creek or Kim’s Convenience.
The latest twists in Megxit
Baby Archie was reportedly left in Vancouver Island, under the care of a nanny and his parents’ pal Jessica Mulroney, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were giving in-person notice to the royal family. (Wax figures were even moved apart in Madame Tussauds.) The duchess boarded a flight to Victoria for the mother and child reunion:
John Crosbie dead at 88. The firebrand Conservative MP from Newfoundland and Labrador found a newsworthy rival in Liberal opponent Sheila Copps, who tweeted her condolences. Also recently dead at 90: former Liberal senator Leo Kolber, whose business career included a pivotal role in developing the Toronto-Dominion Centre.
Next deaths of Queen West
What counts as the last bookstore on a Toronto strip that was once famous for them, BMV, is closing at 244 Queen West—which has the Friendly Time cannabis store waiting for approval to pay $22,000 a month for the location. Meanwhile, around the corner, there’s a $21.5 million price tag on 14 McCaul, the home of Malabar Limited:
Jennifer Hollett is about to run a magazine. The Walrus announced that its next executive director, replacing Shelley Ambrose in June, will be a name familiar from several other things. Hollett was once a MuchMusic VJ, and she later pivoted to politics—but her bid for Toronto city council was called off after its size was cut.
Finally, a reviewer wipes it dry
The Billboard Hot 100 has become accustomed to Canadian domination: Justin Bieber, Drake, and the Weeknd have topped the chart with recent frequency. But it only happened twice between 1974 and 1985, in two consecutive 1978 weeks, when Nick Gilder’s “Hot Child in the City” was replaced with “You Needed Me” by Anne Murray:
