Photo by Kourosh Keshiri
Mark Carney’s big bill, which gives government power to fast-track major projects, has just become law. While the controversial legislation may have been passed quickly,
believes the prime minister could be in for a surprise when it comes to the grinding speed of governing:Out of the gate, Carney has had an early win: Bill C-5, his flagship legislation packed with the ambitious economic promises he’s staked his mandate on. Its passage shows his government can move quickly, and at scale. But it’s a controlled win. Bigger tests—housing, inflation, military procurement, Indigenous sovereignty—lie ahead, and none of them come with the broad consensus that C-5 enjoyed. [Read more]
An op-ed argues that the Alberta separatist movement lost big in provincial by-elections earlier this week. For a primer on the “western alienation” sentiment, read Christina Frangou’s “Alberta Is Talking about Separating—AGAIN”
Danielle Smith made her political career by befriending those most likely to see the federal government as a hostile power. In 2021, her soon-to-be chief of staff, Rob Anderson, co-wrote a document called the Free Alberta Strategy. It outlined a path to prepare the province for independence should Ottawa refuse Alberta’s demands. The following year, Smith’s first tabled bill as premier introduced the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act, which would allow the province to suspend the enforcement of federal regulations. [Read more]
A presentation on vaccines that was about to go before the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention referenced a study that did not actually exist. It’s another sign that the current administration is sowing confusion around vaccine safety and efficacy. Timothy Caulfield documented just how damaging such misinformation can be to public trust, in “Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism. But the Lie That They Do Is Still Going Strong”:
A retracted, fraudulent, and obviously incorrect study by a completely discredited and unethical author couldn’t still be influential, right? Alas, the zombie data lurches forward. It. Will. Not. Die. A 2021 study used various metrics to map the power of the 1998 Andrew Wakefield paper. The researchers found that it had an almost immediate and negative impact on public perception. Vaccine skepticism increased, as did the almost certainly erroneous reporting of vaccine injuries. [Read more]
The CBC comedy Small Achievable Goals is going where few sitcoms have gone before, according to a feature (and very fun diner photo spread) that appeared in the New York Times. The show stars Jennifer Whalen and Meredith MacNeill, whom Soraya Roberts profiled in 2021:
“I’m a big believer in collaborative work,” says MacNeill. “What’s electric about storytelling isn’t so much what’s happening to you, it’s what’s happening between the two people—the story that you’re creating together.” Her physical comedy—the way she is prone to making exaggerated expressions, speaking in hyperbole, invading various spaces—is steeped in this philosophy. It is, according to Simon McBurney, “part of her beauty.” [Read more]
Check out our books podcast, What Happened Next, hosted by Nathan Whitlock. This week’s conversation is with Michael Crummey, whose most recent book is The Adversary.
Read a poem by Kateri Lanthier: “Fiat Lux”
Read a short story by Marni Jackson: “Celebrity Portage”