Hey all — especially
#LawTwitter
— I’ve got some work news: I am now in my Business Reporter Era. I am going to be the Globe's new corporate law reporter with a focus on the business of law, the trends, the personalities and any interesting cases. As always I'll be 👀on power.
Shortly after Michael Melling became head of CTV News, he raised questions about host Lisa LaFlamme’s hair. According to a senior CTV official who was present at the meeting, Mr. Melling asked who had approved the decision to “let Lisa’s hair go grey.”
After a string of questions from
@robyndoolittle
, who has done incredible reporting on the 2018 World Junior sexual assault, Bettman stopped her and said:
“Are we having a personal conversation? Should we open the floor to others?”
After Ms. Echaquan moaned in pain, one of the workers can be heard saying: “Are you done acting stupid?”
“What are your children going to think, seeing you like this, eh?”
“She’s good at screwing, more than anything else. And we’re paying for this,” the first employee said.
BREAKING: Alex Formenton, a former NHL player with the Ottawa Senators and 2018 junior player, has turned himself into London police. "Alex will vigorously defend his innocence and asks that people not rush to judgment without hearing all of the evidence.”
Guys I'm of course seeing all your posts about the paywall. I don't know what to tell you: it costs money to pay reporters and editors. "Offer the stories people want to read for free and paywall others!" is not a business strategy.
Media can — today — stop running mugshots of victims, even if it's the only photo that's available. If we think the story *needs* a photo, we can track another down. And if we can't find one, run the story without.
Absolutely bonkers story here: A court has ruled a tenant can be held liable for taxes that a non-resident landlord fails to pay. So tenants are expected to keep tabs on where their landlords live and pay taxes...
Breaking: Five members of the 2018 world junior hockey team have been told to surrender to London, Ont., police to face charges of sexual assault, according to two sources.
In a precedent-setting decision that will have implications across Ontario, a judge has denied a municipality’s request to remove an encampment on the basis that doing so – when there is no adequate indoor space – violates the residents’ Charter rights
The only bright spot in this absolutely horrifying, infuriating, and heartbreaking story is the unearthly strength that Andrea Robin Skinner has somehow managed to find after suffering abuse and then the ultimate betrayal.
This story began as an effort to understand how a few thousand unexpected sick patients could overwhelm hospitals in a province the size of Ontario, with its 14+ million people. I had always heard Canadian healthcare was broken. I had no idea how broken.
Truly stop with the paywall complaints. There are fewer and fewer and fewer places out there doing original journalism. Subscribe and support your favs or they'll be gone.
We are absolutely dejected to witness the steady stream of excellent journalists losing their jobs today
@Bell
.
We want to acknowledge the incredible, vital work our colleagues perform every day to keep Canadians informed.
When journalism jobs are lost, it affects us all.
Two Mi’kmaq fishermen say they were followed and barricaded inside by the mob, threatened and saw thousands of pounds of Indigenous-caught lobster destroyed. One said the crowd vandalized his truck and threatened to burn the building down with him inside.
This is a stunning piece of investigative journalism from
@TuThanhHa
@kellygrant1
and
@HoserLibrarian
about how the much the shift to hiring private nurses is hurting the taxpayer and the health care system.
Dr. Teresa Kieser, the only female cardiac surgeon in Alberta, has filed a human-rights complaint against the province’s health agency, Alberta Health Services, alleging years of pay inequity, pervasive sexism and gender-based discrimination.
Mr. Melling would be the one to tell Ms. LaFlamme that she was being ousted from her role as anchor of CTV National News. Ms. LaFlamme had been in the job since 2011, and still had just under two years left on her contract. (He and CTV did not comment.)
Okay related to today's SECRET CANADA story: the
@SarniaPolice
have just returned an FOI request to me because... they don't take cheques. Or credit card. And they'll only accept cash... in person. So guess what guys? I'm sending my mom to give you your $5. Congratulations.
BREAKING: The CBC is cutting 10 percent of its workforce. 200 jobs that are vacant will not be filled. 600 other jobs will be cut. Cuts are coming to staff & to programming in English & French. The Corporation will need to find $125 million in cost savings for 2024/2025.
In Toronto we keep saying we're in "lockdown" but anyone who looks outside can see we are more definitely not in any sort of "lockdown." We've just closed restaurants and retailers that aren't big box stores.
On Monday, journalists within the CTV newsroom, through human rights lawyer Paul Champ, sent a letter to Mr. Bibic, Bell’s board of directors and Wade Oosterman, the president of Bell Media, expressing a lack of confidence in Michael Melling’s leadership.
And p.s. — The Globe was able to tell this story because the company did business in Newfoundland which "has the most open freedom of information system in the country." This type of information is hidden/nearly impossible to get elsewhere. Get angry about that
#SecretCanada
In another example, the company invoiced government $1.6-million in meal allowances for nurses, even though the company’s contracts with nurses required them to pay for their own food. The Globe found no evidence of this money being distributed to nurses.
I spent months interviewing 37 of Canada's most lauded infectious disease experts, microbiologists, virologists, hospital executives, and epidemiologists to tell the story of how the pandemic unfolded from the perspective of the scientific community.
I just want to🚩that this issue of doctors not working directly for hospitals — in 🇨🇦, they're typically independent contractors who have privileges to work in hospitals but who bill the government directly for services — has now come up THREE times in recent stories I've done:
Health Canada is not restricting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in any specific populations at this time. The regulator has concluded very rare occurrences of blood clots may be linked to the vaccine, but it says the shot still meets safety standards. News release:
A letter I wrote myself 3 years ago when I started med school. Today, I wrote my last exam, and they handed the letter back. I gave up Harvard to stay in 🇨🇦 years ago, and I'm glad I did. Congrats to all my fellow Limpkins and thank you to
@UCalgaryMed
for a terrific education.
"We should be vaccinating in the factories. We should be reallocating vaccines to the hot zone regions where people are getting sick. Paid sick just has to happen." (Almost all of the patients in his ICU are essential workers. Average age: 53)
This is the story (shared with permission) of a patient in her 40s with
#COVID
we just intubated.
If
@ongov
provided essential workers with better protection, she would be at home with her family.
EXCLUSIVE: London Police investigators say they have reasonable grounds to believe that 5 members of the 2018 world junior hockey team sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel room after a Hockey Canada fundraising gala, a recent court filing indicates.
"If you call yourself a Canadian and you have not taken a moment today to think about Barbara Kentner, you have no idea what is really happening in this country" -
@TanyaTalaga
In another example, the company invoiced government $1.6-million in meal allowances for nurses, even though the company’s contracts with nurses required them to pay for their own food. The Globe found no evidence of this money being distributed to nurses.
To the guy at the store who took the trouble wear an N95, but then pushed me out of the way to leave the store (and who was shocked when I said "come on man, 6 feet!")... you see the problem right?
One last thing... to the Canadians subscribing to the NYTimes & WaPo — Love them. I also subscribe. But don't pay for them and NOT Canadian media!! Their focus is the United States!!! Go check out their take on Trump cancelling Canada's N95's right now.
Some of the most important doctors in Ontario were so frustrated and perplexed by the province’s lack of action that, by mid-February, they were holding secret strategy sessions to brainstorm ways to get through to decision makers.
A man who was seen buying rounds of drinks for members of the 2018 world junior hockey team before an alleged group sexual assault at a hotel in London, Ont., is a senior employee at Nike Canada, The Globe and Mail has learned.
Okay, Raptors Twitter: no more Siakam slander. He's delivered in the past, he'll deliver again, and he's our guy. Love to
@pskills43
- we're cheering you on!
de Adder — a Canadian — is among the very best editorial cartoonists working right now in the world. If you aren't following him already, you're missing out. He's so talented.
If you want to support me, just follow me here and at
@deaddercanada
. When you are freelance you need supporters. And if you already do, you already support me.
Okay... also, I’ve been reading the comments and I want to acknowledge that, yes, paywalls can be frustrating. I get it. It’s not possible to subscribe to everything. But it’s also not possible to produce the kind of journalism that The Globe produces without subscribers.
Some of you want to read your own worldview 100% of the time. 1) how incredibly boring. 2) this is impossible because we are all different! No one can have this. 3) The CBC publishes hundreds of articles a day. They are almost all just straight (maybe a bit boring...) news.
POWER GAP: Female doctors in Ontario made less on average than their male counterparts in 35 medical specialties tracked by the Ministry of Health, a Globe and Mail analysis of physician billings has shown. From me and
@hichenwang
There’s always tension with journalists around activism. I don’t consider myself an activist. Believing in equality is not activism. It’s a requirement of the job...
A two-page ad in the
@globeandmail
today: an open letter to Bell’s board of directors and managers signed by a group of Canadian artists, former politicians, lawyers, academics and business leaders.
A female medical resident who reported an accusation of sexual misconduct against a male supervisor –& then filed a lawsuit against the hospital & her university for failing to investigate that complaint– is now being sued by the supervisor for defamation.
SECRET CANADA: Think about all that's happening in Alberta right now. Plans to withdraw from the CPP. The Calgary daycare E. coli crisis. Etc. Now consider: the province is actively trying to make it harder to obtain government records.
"Under cover of our current health crisis, Premier Doug Ford’s government has been quietly and steadily reducing the quality of justice that people in the province can expect from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario."
"WE Charity spent more than US$600,000 on political consultants in Washington last year, including a firm co-founded by a trio of long-time Republican Party strategists"... including paying $$$ to discredit
@CANADALAND
which wrote critical stories.
POWER GAP: Canada has all the laws it needs to protect against gender discrimination in the workplace — but those laws are nearly impossible to enforce. As a result women are being forced to sign NDAs to get out of bad situations.
Little is worse than a bunch of employed old journalists telling student journalists that they'll never get jobs and to find a new passion. If you're a student: ignore US! We're old and bored. You'll find your way and there are lots of careers that value being able to communicate
Premier Doug Ford called the recommendations reported in our story as "one doctor's opinion."
Public Health Ontario was set up as an independent arms-length agency of scientists and other public health experts. This was their comment today:
Playgrounds closed, checkpoints at the border, and police given wider powers to stop people outside. No changes to manufacturing or warehouses and nothing about enhancing the federal sick-pay program that has been roundly criticized as inadequate.
My favourite Secret Canada story of the series. Last fall,
@tom_cardoso
and I put out a call: if you have stories about Canada's broken freedom of information regime, we want to hear from you. The loudest, largest group to reply: FURIOUS HISTORIANS
Senior infectious disease experts told the Ontario government in June that long-term care homes lacked the basic resources needed to combat COVID-19 outbreaks. Now a second wave appears imminent and none of those recommendations have been implemented.
... She scaled the mountain then tossed down a rope. When I was just starting out and particularly as a young crime reporter she was so encouraging and helpful. So generous with her time and advice. Never pretentious. Never snobby. Just such an inspiration.
Why it's hard to be a reporter in Canada: many on Twitter today arguing that we should keep public sector salaries secret because it might be awkward for those employees. I get the intention but this attitude is why we are among the most secretive countries in the developed world
Seems to me this employment dynamic between hospitals and doctors — as well as medical schools, physicians and medical residents — is worth revisiting.
But here's the thing: Canadians don't want to hear this. We have been so invested in the mythology of Canada's universal system — and that pride has been politically exploited — that we've been willing to ignore the pitfalls. Experts say this is a major barrier to progress.
Hockey Canada update: The London Police Service has been given access to evidence that was collected during Hockey Canada’s third-party investigation into an alleged group sexual assault of a woman by members of the 2018 world junior hockey team.
Daycares remain open and the essential workers who are making that possible still can't get vaccinations. These are people caring for little children who don't wear masks and who can't understand what's going on. They slobber and cough and lick stuff and pull off masks.
Canada: I know it's hard to get exercised about stuff like this sometimes, but we have a HUGE problem in this country when it comes to transparency. Whether it's about data or documents or organizations being obsessed with controlling a message and muzzling experts.
@officialdjfreed
@ddale8
Well now you've given me an excuse to post one of my favourite photos of all time: me and Daniel front row at Maury. Long story.
More examples of why Canada is an access disgrace. Only in this country are nurse, personal support workers and doctor shortages confidential information. Also disgusting: this was backed by the
@IPCinfoprivacy
!! Make it make sense.
A Globe investigation found the Catholic Church had net assets of $4+billion in 2019. The church's share of a residential schools settlement: $29M in cash, $25M in in-kind services, $25M in fundraising. They've released $3.7M. -
@tom_cardoso
@TaviaGrant
E.M., the woman who filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada over an alleged group sexual assault by some members of Canada’s world junior hockey team in 2018, says that she has felt “vulnerable and exposed” since news of her allegations became public in May.
It is with heavy hearts that we announce that one member of the CF Snowbirds team has died and one has sustained serious injuries. We can confirm that we have contacted all primary family members of those involved. More information will be communicated in the near future.
Today is the launch of The Power Gap series. We started this well before COVID underscored just how precarious women's place in the labour force really is. The pandemic is devastating the minimal gains that women had made.
One company set up corporations to provide rental cars to nurses, then billed gov for that. Other expenses borne by taxpayers: nursing certification classes, a $312 cab ride, Walmart furniture, pet transportation and, in one case, an air fryer.
Re: all those blank front pages the other day — and the unbelievably upsetting amount of Canadian media layoffs the last few days — let's see how the big companies support any journos who try to start their own thing in a small community/city, where media is desperately needed...
Our research has found that red & blue US political maps create increased perceptions of polarization and more political stereotyping, compared to more accurate purple maps.
Thanks to
@geealbers
for this new website:
“I was ok with going home with you, it was everyone else afterwards that I wasn’t expecting. I just felt like I was being made fun of and taken advantage of.”
In another example of how the United States is *dramatically* superior to us when it comes to transparency, just imagine a Canadian city doing this: Surfside FL has posted all the docs it can find about the collapsed condo online. They did it proactively.
This was mostly assigned, reported, edited, and designed on kitchen tables, in makeshift bedroom offices, on couches (with kids begging for attention), anywhere we could work. I’m in awe of my colleagues at the
@globeandmail
.
If you are a media relations person/communications department, please, for the love of God, put your email on the website. No one wants voicemails. No one.
This story is a lot of things, but the two big ones: It's a complete vindication of a multi-year
@globeandmail
investigation (which we were sued over for $100M), and a total indictment of Infrastructure Ontario (IO), the powerful provincial Crown agency.
[ON] 18+ POPUP ROUNDUP APRIL 21
Driftwood Community Centre: M3N M3J M3L M9L M9M. Must live there and bring proof of address.
Downsview Arena: M3N M3M M3L. Must live/work there and bring proof of address.
We'll update if we learn more.
#COVID19
#COVID19Vaccine
#COVID19ON
#vhcON
This is just unbelievably sad. Paul was a great reporter, the sweetest man and, accidentally, one of the most hilarious. Those days in the bureau with
@ddale8
@dmrider
and
@RoysonJames
will always be some of my favourite memories.
Incredibly sad to relay that
@paulmoloney4
, a smart, unassuming & diligent reporter who retired from the
@TorontoStar
's city hall bureau in 2014, after stints at
@winnipegnews
&
@LFPress
, has died at age 67 of a suspected heart attack. He was respected and beloved.
There have been at least three formal reviews involving Bell Media newsrooms, in response to complaints over incidents that included alleged bullying by managers, sexual harassment, and the use of the N-word during an inclusive-leadership training session.
Has anyone out there learned French as an adult? What worked? University lessons? TDSB adult classes? French language school? (Please don't suggest that I really just need to immerse myself in the language by moving to QC or France...)
God willing, we'll all be elderly one day. I hope future generations take care of us better than we're taking care of our grandparents, although we won't deserve it.
POWER GAP: At Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, men at the equity partner level made an average of $371,596 more each year than the women at that tier, amounting to a 25-per-cent pay gap.
POWER GAP: At one of Canada’s largest business law practices, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, women who are equity partners earned nearly 25 per cent less than their male colleagues on average, a confidential document reviewed by The Globe and Mail shows.
In 2021, my investigative-team colleague
@tom_cardoso
and I got tired of moaning about Canada's broken freedom of information regime. We decided to turn our reporting skills on the system itself. We had higher ambitions than a traditional story:
It’s been 70 years since Ontario became the first jurisdiction in Canada to pass pay equity legislation. Fifty years since governments began enacting laws that banned discrimination in hiring, firing and promotions on the basis of sex.
Losing her surgical privileges was Dr. Kieser's breaking point: “4 out of the 8 cardiac surgical residents at Foothills are women. I realized, if I don’t take a stand here and say something, this could happen to them. It will never stop unless someone points out what’s happening”