I was an adjudicator/judge on the Trudeau Foundation’s scholarship committee for three years, a voluntary position.
There are two things I learned during that time:
1. This is an important foundation that has funded great scholars with one of the best scholarships out there. I
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he's confident the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation will endure despite the mass resignation of its board and president and CEO today.
(The foundation is supported by a $125M endowment from the Canadian government. It's the only public
No Prime Minister or elected politician — of any political stripe — should be subjected to this unsettling aggression.
I covered politics for decades, and this dial-a-protest tactic is old school.
It’s not new.
What is alarming is how close they get to the PM in this
It disgusts me to hear the words out of protesters in Belleville today chanting hate speech toward
@JustinTrudeau
. Sadly we have lost respect in politics.
A very poor representation of our area!
@elonmusk
@dvorahfr
Why are so many people beating up on Elon Musk? He is one of the most fascinating people of our time. Up their with Henry Ford, Edison and Rachel Carson IMO.
@RayDalio
India is now the most populous country and functioning democracy.
This is an inflection point. I work with many Indians, and they are exceptional at what they do.
There will be a handful of true space powers this decade. Japan and India will be the West’s key strategic allies
Without unnamed sources, we would have had no Watergate, no Pentagon Papers and no reporting on Canada’s clearly hapless dealings with foreign governments, such as China.
Journalists should defend the right to use unnamed sources — and protect whistle blower — always.
It’s a
As Moscow struggles with continuing brain drain, endless war and growing discontent, the regime's talking heads are promoting a brand new agenda: prosperity is for suckers, poverty is the key to true independence — Russia should be more like North Korea!
Again, I'm taken aback by the partisan replies. This is not a partisan issue. It's a national security issue. Both parties were targeted in order to influence our elections and undermine our democracy. The only question: is Ottawa taking this threat as seriously as our allies.
It's time for Canadians to restore 24 Sussex to its proper place as a national symbol. Here's six things Canada's PM might do to get this national renovation done:
📌 Declare we have a national brand embarrassment.
📌 Create a commission of three leading architects — French,
I’m not sure what’s changed, but I interviewed dozens of political leaders. And they went after me all the time.
I usually had the facts and or answers to take back control. Sometimes I didn’t and looked stupid.
I always found it exhilarating.
It’s a really good thing I’m not in the press conference business any more because the odds of me saying, “Mr Poilievre, would you please grow up?” would be extremely high.
Vancouver is notable because of its careful approach to the urban environment — which has long included view corridors and careful density.
Once you lose those, they are gone forever. You can get density while protecting the connections to views/nature.
Going higher (after
@BobRae48
@aprae
Brian Mulroney, like you Bob, represent a time when people in power reall. talked
to ordinary folks.
Took
a call.
I think we need to go back to that. I suspect you spent quite a few hours listening
to my young questions as an aspiring journalist. BM, did that, too.
And it
@acoyne
One of the basic principles of Parliamentary party politics is that MPs do not have foreign policy meetings with the reps of foreign government without permission. Doing so undermines the Foreign Minister — it’s a firing offence.
I covered lots of China-Canada issues and politics over the years.
Every Canadian PM or Foreign Minister I know would have immediately disciplined an MP who started regular meetings with
a China Ambassador in any country.
I've know quite a few MPs in my day and I have never known one who would consider regular calls with foreign diplomats as "common practice". If it was common practice for Dong it would be a distinctly uncommon situation.
#cdnpoli
@hollyanndoan
@Pagmenzies
@awudrick
There was a time you would lose your reporting job for taking a political stance — even being disrespectful. Took training to be neutral. That approach got way better, impactful &, yes, controversial stuff from all sides. I see no reason why this still shouldn’t be the standard.
It is reported that ALL of the artworks and the relics have been saved! This means that nothing cannot be repaired or replaced in Notre-Dame de Paris. It will take years to fix, but what is a few years compared to the 800 she has stood? Truly there is joy within this sorrow!
@ofctimallen
@mcguffindavid
I mightily respect the talented Will Smith, but stand with Tim Allen ( and Chris Rock) on this one. Entertainers, writers, journalists, politicians need violence free platforms from all of us. Part of the social compact of democracy.
@JeanCharest_
@bruceanderson
He was larger than life — and great to write about. But the best part was he had the heart of a scrappy working class kid who never forgot his roots, the Irish Luck he had and that it was always good to be kind to people.
This is what happens when you do politics instead of governing.
You go for a photo-op — but the civil servants aren’t asked to check out the background.
This one os a doozy, though.
I think there are many bigger stories for The Fifth Estate, Canada’s version of 60 Minutes, to go after rather than a an identity investigation of Buffy St. Marie, who has a fantastic record as an artist and humanitarian.
Just saying.
@IvisonJ
@AndrewScheer
CP does two main things.
The primary one is to gather all the news from its members, sometimes add a headline, and send it to them all.
Each paper can then decide to run it or not, keep or change the headline or even rewrite the content. Many just run what they get because
@tferriss
Just read The art of Possibility. Thanks for the recommendation. I’m passing it on.
By the way, your first book changed my life. will always all appreciate that.
Stay well.
There is no collusion, John is right.
Here is how The Canadian Press — where I worked —works and why some stories appear everywhere under the same headline.
CP does two main things.
The primary one is to gather all the news from its members, sometimes add a headline, and
I’ve been a journalist for more than 30 years and have never encountered this “collusion”. Worst thing is
@andrewscheer
knows that and is just trying exploit the ignorance of his more credulous followers.
CP isn't CBC's news service, it is Canada's national news agency, established in 1917. This is deceptive messaging. It is beneath the office that Poilievre holds. This is not the way to win over voters who are beyond sick of Trudeau but aren't sure about Poilievre.
@IvisonJ
Imagine being a Jewish child and hearing this?
We need a national statement from all of our leaders that ‘death to anyone’ chants are a threat and incitement of hate that will not be tolerated.
@WalterIsaacson
The world would be a better place if these two guys could just get on and put their energy into things that are a lot more constructive than the spectacle of two billionaires wasting their time and money. Just saying.
And here in BC, local
@cbcradio
is doing an outstanding job keeping people informed...cancelling regularly scheduled shows for special reports...they have reporters and current affairs shows based right in Kelowna
@susanreisler
Reporters can yell any question they want. I always did. David Akin is serving his readers. leaders should stop thinking they can herd journalists, and journalists should never agree to “no questions please” photo-ops. Have fun and do the job. ask whatever you want.
Norman Spector is as good as you can get as a Canadian public servant.
He calls it as he sees it — and he’s been a massive contributor to this democratic country.
(Don’t want to embarrass you Mr Spector, but I know your record, though don’t think
we have met).
I don’t know who won the debate, but if the shoe fits wear it:
"Arar’s remarks to Spector fed into a long-running antisemitic trope. Per the Anti-Defamation League, “The charge of disloyalty has been used to harass, marginalize and persecute the Jewish people for centuries.”
In
The question I would find out is did the PMO clear Ms Freeland’s speech? As a journalist, I have not covered a single Premier, PM or other international leader who would have wanted an “underling” to make such a brand-building, policy-challenging speech.
Who’s the Prime Minister of Canada? "Was
@cafreeland
's speech intended to pave the way for a future career on the international stage... or was her objective to shake up her Cabinet colleagues ? The debate begins”
#cdnpoli
@VivianBercovici
@hollyanndoan
@Pagmenzies
@awudrick
My point is what makes reporting valuable & worth reading is pursuit and publication of facts with as much objectivity as possible. It’s a discipline. If you want to have a valuable commodity as a news organization, that’s what people will subscribe pay for. Not Twitter opinions.
@AbigailBimman
@davidakin
@jkenney
I wish I were writing on this. I would approach it from the angle of why, in a turbulent/wedge world created by modern politics, does Queen Elizabeth resonate? I believe it’s a larger story about the stability of constitutional stability in democracies.She understood that.
If Alberta pursues a “repatriation” or clawback of the CPP from
the Albertans’ original investments, it will have a major impact on Canada.
And the fact we have come to this, speaks to the need to relook at and reunite our fragmented federation, once upon a time described as
Should Alberta withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan? It's a major policy question with complex pros and cons. I'll help unpack the issues, based on a new paper I'm happy to share today! 🧵 🤓
#cdnecon
#cdnpoli
#ableg
Link to SSRN Working Paper:
@visheshdelhi
@RayDalio
I agree and stand corrected. In some cases India will be a strategic partner. But India has and will drive its own geopolitical course.
But in international space efforts I would bet it will “allign” with the West, not China or Russia.
It would be nice, of course, if all
@C_Mulroney
Sad to hear that. He was an amazing man to cover and was personally kind to me. One of our great PMs — no matter what your political stripe.
Unless we straighten this out in a non-partisan way, our allies (Five Eyes) will not freely share sensitive intelligence.
This is a major issue in a digital/data/Ai economy.
Finally!
Michael Chong to testify on PRC interference...in Washington.
The US Congress is more interested in PRC interference in Canada than the Canadian government.
You can't make this stuff up.
#cdnpoli
What we are seeing with Twitter in the last 24 hours with respect to Russia is a new form of media in action.
It’s a largely unfiltered aggregation of information at scale, from a variety of source, that can then be analyzed.
This is actually how journalism is done. Just not
@elonmusk
's
@twittter
may be fact-free to many, but the fact is that no other media is providing as timely and as powerful reports about the Russian coup.
@TerryGlavin
This the sort of politics that powered the Reform Party and led to Conservative governments. it’s a new riff of Populism — tapping into urban inequities and non-elite frustration.
Most political/media elites rarely understand it.
@farzyness
Plug-in hybrids are the most resilient vehicles.
You can use electricity and get 100 miles of rang and not use a drop of gas for months.
But if there is a natural disaster, grid outage or you are going to a place where EV chargers may be scarce, you can dip into the gas.
Just stopped for a school bus, and a little girl got off, and her parents showered her with confetti and gave her a big hug probably because it was the first big day. That was awesome.
@KenSimCity
that’s poor communications. It’s the biggest tax hike - i think ever — as services deteriorate. You need to now tell people how you kill the bloat in YVR City Hall. with specifics. 🤓
@JohnIbbitson
I say, let’s give the PM a break. And every other leader of any stripe filmed by a secreted smart phone, going forward, unless it involves an offence of import. I think The Queen, and Queen, would agree.
Justice has been served! The man who sent violent hate mail to me, and to B'nai Brith Canada CEO
@MichaelMostyn
, will serve jail time. At a moment when open expressions of Jew-hatred have become routine, I'm grateful Ontario's court has sent a strong message: hate crimes against
Well.
@AirCanada
left my chair in Toronto. I’m now without my essential equipment. Independence taken away. I’m furious. Unacceptable.
#RightsOnFlights
I reported on Joe Clark for many years. He is one of the best and smartest statesmen I have ever met. Happy anniversary. — Canada needs more leaders like Joe Clark | National Post
When I covered China, the West was always torn over whether China was a developing nation or a developed one, even as its trade surpluses and share of world trade soared each year. We hoped for alignment on global trade and human rights values. That was a strategic error.
We now
To me the deeper question is why we attack our institutions so quickly. Were mistakes made. Yes. I’d be out front writing every angle of this story as a journalist.
But the history of an organization matters —and this foundation’s foundations have shown to be rock solid.
I
@kinsellawarren
Reminiscent of Reform Party rallies I covered as they took over the Progressive Conservatives. I doubt this is people being “bussed in”. More likely a lot of dissatisfied middle class+small biz people driving in. Pro political reporter tip: always check the parking lot 🤓
4. Who are the candidates that received Beijing’s dollars or support in their elections? How many were elected? Are any of them cabinet ministers. Do any of the people involved hold classified positions or are they working for a political party?
Facts matter. Here are a few on The Canadian Press:
“It’s shareholders are Torstar Corp., the owners of the Toronto Star and many other Canadian publications and platforms; the Globe and Mail newspaper, through a related holding company; and Montreal’s La Presse, also through a
@KarmSumal
@KenSimCity
I’ve seen dozens of mayors in action as a journalist.
The best like engaging with people every day and unify their city.
Vancouver’s new mayor is doing that without virtue signalling.
The CP reporter asked a question. The politician fired back. It’s a daily battle, as it should be.
By the way, on media there are many, many cases of multiple corrections on an article. There are even total retractions, as there should be.
Media make mistakes. Reporters can
You might not like the press, but I guarantee you will not like it when they go.
Do they f*ck up? Yes (although not clear in this case they have). Do they waste Q’s on stuff you’d rather not talk about? Sure.
But adding to the mistrust is short-term gain for long-term pain
@VivianBercovici
I mean, is antisemitism new or just been latent. I honestly thought these forces were on decline. But there is an accelerant in society for hate.
We have fake news.
Get ready for fake talent.
Ai is a massive tool for the less talented to look like they have talent, using the corpus of the talented.
Why is anyone even debating this?
It can be regulated. And must be.
As some of us predicted. And it feels too late. "'Regulate it before we're all finished': Musicians react to AI songs flooding the internet | Science & Tech News | Sky News"
Canada tends to lionize left of center populists — Tommy Douglas.
And demonize right of center populists — think Preston Manning.
I got to interview both. The record shows they served their country well.
@nspector4
Q: Why do so many pundits default to characterizing PP as an angry populist? He just reflects the facts back to us. Not the lying spin that JT prefers. Should 🇨🇦 be happy about the economic reality? Do they like JTs social engineering and shaming? Recall how JT demonized Harper.
I am using AI language models frequently, to test what they do.
I had two initial reactions when I started six months ago:
First there was awe: The speed and logic of the AI will easily defeat most news writers I know.
But I was initially optimistic. What I could still do to
The most serious threat AI poses to human existence is finally getting some attention. Sublime essay by John Gray in the New Statesman (I hope this is readable: it gives you 3 free pieces a month).