FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Aug 24

It’s About Time that Canada Does Something Concrete to Deal With Wrongful Convictions

by bcurry

On Sept. 15, 1990, Tim Rees was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole for at least 15 years for a ten-year-old girl’s murder in Ontario, Canada.  Rees always denied killing the girl.  However, after serving 26 years in prison for the murder, it was announced that Rees, who is now sixty years old, will have his sentence reviewed by the Ontario Court of Appeal, after Canada’s Attorney General recently ordered a new appeal.  The AG noted in his press release that there is a “reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred.”  Rees was released on parole in 2016, where he remains.  On the year he was released, Innocence Canada — a non-profit organization that advocates for wrongfully convicted citizens — took his case.  Two years later, an application was filed with the former minister of justice claiming Rees had been wrongfully convicted.  Their strongest argument for the application was an undisclosed “highly incriminating statement” by the landlord of the victim’s family home, which he had made to the Toronto police homicide squad.

Tim Rees case is only the most recent example of someone who was wrongfully convicted of a crime and later could be exonerated due to new evidence.  Many more cases came about in the U.S. and Canada with the arrival of DNA tests used to investigate previous convictions years ago, used eventually to determine the innocence of those wrongfully convicted.  I would highly recommend that one read *Wrongfully Convicted by Kent Roach which highlights several cases of wrongful convictions in Canada to get a fuller understanding of this past and current issue.

As noted, under the current system, it’s the justice minister who decides on miscarriage of justice applications, often a long and costly process.  Recently, the current federal government in Canada introduced Bill C-40 which if passed would create an independent commission to review such applications and make decisions about whether to order a new trial or appeal.  James Lockyer, co-founder of Innocence Canada, said his organization has been pushing for the creation of an independent commission for some 30 years.  The proposed Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission would be an independent administrative body.  It would have a full-time chief commissioner and four to eight other commissioners.  According to background briefing materials, at least one-third, but not more than half, must be lawyers with experience in criminal law.  Such independent bodies and processes already exist in countries such as the U.K., Scotland and New Zealand.  They apparently have seen the appeals system move much more quickly and flexibly with respect to the applications that come forward.

In recent years, there understandingly has been much attention given to the rights of victims of crime.  To have introduced any legislation facilitating the review of potentially wrongful convictions does take a certain degree of political courage as noted by James Lockyer.  However, there has been one too many cases of wrongful convictions to simply ignore the issue.  In Canada, the issue was raised years ago in the sensational case of David Milgaard who was wrongfully convicted for rape and murder in 1969 and spent 23 years in jail.  As Lockyer noted in a National Post article published on February 16, 2023 that: “If this commission had existed back in the early 1970s, it can safely be said it would have saved David Milgaard at least two decades of those 23 years that he spent in prison.”

Everyone recognizes that our justice systems, including law and enforcement, are not always about justice but sometimes about process and political pressures.  The system is not infallible. There needs to be better means for those who possibly were wrongfully convicted to have their cases reviewed in an independent, fair and timely manner.

*Wrongfully Convicted (Guilty Pleas, Imagined Crimes, and What Canada Must Do To Safeguard Justice): Kent Roach (Simon & Schuster, Toronto, 2023)

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Aug 18

Environmental Crisis for Governments Only Heightened by the Impact on People

by bcurry

This has been a summer of extreme weather events followed by natural disasters such as flooding and wildfires — not only in North America but globally.  Whether we’re talking about wildfires near Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories or the devastation in Maui’s seaside community of Lahaina, everyone agrees that this year so far has been the worst one on record for wildfires.  In addition, one has the flooding throughout the American south and northeast, and the earlier floods that greatly damaged Halifax and its surroundings in Nova Scotia, Canada.  In several cases, we were not adequately prepared for the consequences of such extreme weather patterns involving droughts and severe storms, often a deadly combination.  Severe storms are frequently followed by or include tornado activity, which also has proven to be deadly in many cases.

Those of us who live in regions which for the most part have avoided such calamities should be thankful for what we have, and not complain about poor vacation weather or extreme heat.  Even lengthy periods of extreme heat can be deadly as witnessed in the southern U.S. and west coast of Canada.  Yes, we will complain of smoke flowing in from our wildfires.  However, while poor air quality at certain levels can be hazardous to our health, we can do something ourselves to mitigate the impact.  The same cannot be said for those directly facing wildfires, flooding and tornadoes. 

Then there are the enormous costs to all of us as a result of natural disasters.  In the case of Maui, damage estimates already range in the 6 to 7 billion dollars U.S.  The current evacuation of Yellowknife’s population, some 20,000 people, involves the largest single airlift of people in Canadian history.  Fighting the wildfires across Canada will amount to hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.  For individuals in high risk zones for natural disasters, the cost of insuring their property has gone sky high.  In some cases, insurers are even refusing to insure many properties in such areas.  Food costs will also increase as a result of the negative impact of climate weather on farming and agriculture in general.  Certain harvests will certainly be affected this year, including grain, fruit and vegetable crops.  Then there is the immediate impact on tourism dollars, such as in Lahaina where tourism represented about 70 percent of their local economy.  Nova Scotia has also seen a significant downturn in tourism as a result of the earlier wildfires and recent floods.

Let’s not forget the physical and mental toll on individuals facing such disasters.  Many are losing their homes and places of employment.  The consequential stresses will increase demands on our health care sector.  Then there are those on the front lines, especially those fighting wildfires.  In Canada, four individuals working in related fire services have already died this past spring and summer.  The health and moral of first responders is probably at an all time low.  There is also the impact on our military, who often are asked to help in rescue missions, flood prevention and with logistics for evacuations.  The Canadian military is already stretched thin because of international commitments, all this adding to additional costs that they have to bear.  

While many of us sit and complain about poor weather for vacations, we should remember that there are our follow citizens who are greatly suffering from the impact of natural disasters on their communities.  As I have argued in the past, governments, industries and non-profit agencies, such as the Red Cross, need to adapt in a timely manner in the face of continuing challenges associated with the eventuality of more extreme weather events.  Failure to do so will only result in more costs, both economically and on a personal level.  For now, affected communities will require our continuing assistance and support.  Those of us who are fortunate enough to avoid such disasters need to stop complaining and find ways to support these communities and their people.

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Aug 9

Political Polarizations Has Increased Mistrust in Many of Our Public Institutions

by bcurry

The New York Times in a very recent article (August 7th) notes that Republican (G.O.P.) contenders in the presidential primaries are bent on feeding voter distrust in public institutions such as the courts, schools and the military.  Obviously, most appear to be following the lead of Donald Trump who, for example whenever he has the chance, publicly attacks the U.S. Justice Department and the F.B.I.  During the pandemic Trump even disparaged the Surgeon General, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Resources.  Now, facing a barrage of indictments by the Justice Department, Trump has further accelerated his personal attacks on these major institutions.  Unfortunately, several other G.O.P. candidates have followed suit in an apparent attempt to appease Trump’s core followers.

All of the rhetoric, including that disseminated by social media and right-wing media, has created an environment where recent polls show that Americans’ trust in their institutions has apparently fallen to historical lows.  Feeding on voters’ already deeply embedded scepticism might have once been seen as politically risky, but social media and the right-wing media have helped change that.  The Republican governor of Florida and a candidate, Ron DeSantis, has led the charge against what he sees as a biased and liberal-influenced education system in his state.  Not to be outdone, another G.O.P. candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, has gone on record that he would shut down the F.B.I. and the I.R.S. as part of his fight against the so-called “deep state”.

My primary question is what would replace all these important institutions in a democracy that claims to need independent bodies to deal with issues like law and order, public health, the environment, new technologies and the role of the military?  In a modern society, freedoms are important, but there still has to be some oversight of those matters as they relate to the public good.  Campaign rhetoric perpetuating conspiratorial themes does not help to ensure a rational and knowledge-based debate on many of the challenges that, as a democracy, we face daily.  It’s easy to argue that things should be eliminated, but no one Republican has yet rationally put forward any ideas about how one would go about replacing these institutions — and with what.

The Republican Party, just as the Conservative Party in Canada, has long stood for “smaller government in size and role” going back to the days of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.   However, the current G.O.P. extreme rhetoric goes far beyond the past political stances of Republican presidents, from Richard Nixon to the Bushes.  As the Times article notes: “The proliferation of attacks has alarmed both Republicans and Democrats who worry about the long-term impact on American democracy.  Public confidence in core institutions — from the justice system to voting systems — is fundamental to a durable democracy, particularly at a time of sharp political division.”

Just as I am certain that there are a good number of moderate Republicans in the U.S. and conservatives in Canada who oppose such extreme rhetoric, I am hoping that cooler heads will prevail among our electorates in both countries.  Our democracies are closely watched by countries around the world, and defending our democratic institutions has never been more important in the face of the growth of autocratic regimes globally.  These institutions are essential to defending our democratic values and promoting the public good.  We need to strengthen them rather than knock them down as the result of excessive political polarization.  It’s one thing to push for smaller government influence in our lives, it’s another to suggest that one can simply eliminate or emasculate its influence in highly complex modern societies.  Doing so would just replace democracies with autocracies by centralizing political and economic powers under one regime.  We now have checks and balances, including the courts and justice system, to prevent this from happening.  Unfortunately, the Republicans appear more than willing to minimize such oversight.  Ultimately, the current split in their party, led by Donald Trump’s extremism, could greatly weaken their platform in the eyes of the American electorate, and particularly those of independents.

Donald Trump Judicial System Media Populism Populism in Canada Republican Party Social Media US Politics

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Jul 26

Why Canada’s Infatuation With Public Inquiries Is Flawed

by bcurry

Recently, opposition parties in the federal legislature have been demanding that the federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau create a public inquiry into the matter of Chinese and other foreign interference in our national security scene.  I touched on this issue in a recent blog: Why would the Canadian government need a public inquiry on national security matters. 

Now, we have several health and medical related bodies asking the federal government to have a public inquiry into the handling by governments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. On July 24th, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a letter by more than a dozen Canadian physicians and health advocates shining a spotlight on what they’ve dubbed the country’s “major pandemic failures,” from the devastation in long-term care homes, to vaccine hoarding, to higher death rates among lower-income communities.  Why would one need a public inquiry when there are already a number of federal and provincial bodies, such as Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), which were directly involved in the coordination of policies and actions in response to COVID-19?  Indeed, Health Canada has already indicated that there are a number of audits and studies underway, including the launch of an independent public health review panel and a series of comprehensive audits on the agency’s pandemic response being undertaken by the federal Office of the Auditor General. 

The difficulty in Canada is that the responsibility for health matters is a shared one between the federal government and thirteen provincial/territorial governments.  The implementation of a national COVID-19 strategy had to be coordinated among the provinces which for the most part were responsible for the actual implementation of actions on the ground, including the eventual mass vaccination of Canadians across the country.  In addition, the on-going responsibility for long-term care residences lies with the provinces, and these facilities were known prior to COVID-19 to have major resource issues, including health care personnel shortages.  The unfortunate high level of pandemic-related deaths at the outset was largely due to numerous systemic problems in long-term care residences in several provinces.  As a result, plans are already underway by the provinces to attempt to correct these problems, especially when it comes to health care resources.  The state of our hospitals and emergency services are also the responsibility of each province, and would require a thorough investigation of problems arising during the pandemic with respect to the handling of patients.  There have already been several studies as to why communities with low incomes, immigrants and essential workers were hardest hit by COVID-19.

In addition, this past spring it was reported that there is a citizen-led, cross-Canada inquiry, the National Citizens Inquiry into Canada’s Response to COVID-19, which aims to examine how governments and institutions reacted to the pandemic. This appears to be a unique inquiry in many ways since it is citizen run and citizen funded.

Yes, there is little doubt that there were frustrations and concerns about the impact of existing complexities within the Canadian health care system, with its joint responsibilities between the two levels of government.  Some, like the physicians and health advocates, might conclude that Canada was ‘ill-prepared’ and ‘lacked coordination’ in the COVID-19 pandemic.  However, the same could be said for most Western countries, including the U.S. and Britain.  No one disagrees that it is time to investigate what happened and learn how to prepare for the next pandemic.  Having another full-scale public inquiry is probably not the best way to go.

There are enough expert organizations already out there, both federally and provincially, which need to examine their roles and resources when it comes to meeting the challenges associated with pandemics.  By doing so, each of the necessary blocks can be strengthened and improved so as to develop more coherent and appropriate policies and actions in the future.  In the past, Canada was infatuated with so-called royal commissions related to economic and social matters.  However, they were top-heavy in resources and took a very long time to complete.  In most cases, the resulting reports were simply shelved and forgotten about until the next crisis occurred.  I truly believe that our existing institutions can carry out their post-mortem studies in a lot faster and more efficient matter.  This way, they each will ultimately be accountable for the results, especially when it comes to carrying out any subsequent recommendations in a timely manner.

Canada COVID-19 Health Care Systen

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Jul 21

Sensationalist Reporting of Paul Bernardo’s Prison Change Overlooks Major Problems in Canada’s Correctional System

by bcurry

Recently, serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo was transferred to a medium-security prison from a maximum-security prison, drawing the ire of numerous mainstream media sources.  Bernardo is serving an indeterminate life sentence — the harshest sentence possible in the Canadian criminal justice system — for the kidnapping, torture and murders of two teenage women in the early 1990s in Ontario, Canada.  Bernardo’s security classification was reviewed 14 times between 1999 and 2022, and each time he met the criteria to be moved to a medium-security institution as confirmed by a recent review by the independent Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada.  When the public became informed via the media, this case naturally raised the anger of the victims’ families and various federal and provincial politicians.  However, the institution was simply following the law in place at this time.

Unfortunately, while this emotional situation raised a number of potential issues regarding the correctional system, it again overlooks very serious questions about Canada’s prison system that have been around for decades.  According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada has one of the highest levels of recidivism, which is the act of re-offending after leaving prison, among western industrialized countries.  Remember that the Canadian correctional system is supposed to be fundamentally based on the rehabilitation of offenders, regardless if the nature of their crimes.  In 2015, one Canadian research effort, known as the national trajectory project, found that people who go through the prison system have a 40 percent chance of re-offending within three years of release. 

Then there are the working, health and safety conditions in the country’s 53 federal prisons, which have led to many concerns by prison guards and observers over many years.  The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers says many more guards are needed if they are to deal with harassment from inmates and to do their jobs in a safer environment.  Deaths and riots in prisons often don’t even make headlines in mainstream news, unless it involves the death of a prison guards or officials, or a family’s request for a public review of a family member’s death while in prison.  Prisoner abuse by guards has also been an ongoing issue.  Canada’s prison guards are essentially being left to their own devices when it comes to treating inmates with basic human respect.  It’s difficult to recruit qualified people for prison guard positions given the reputation surrounding working conditions and dangers within our prisons.

In addition, prisons are dealing with an increasing number of inmates suffering from mental health issues, including those determined to be “not criminally responsible” because of the state of their mental health when they have committed a crime.  Fortunately, those inmates having this designation apparently do receive more appropriate medical care and supervision, unlike those in the general prison population who may have less evident and underlying mental health concerns.  Lack of resources and guard training is a concern.  Studies have also shown that with such treatment, persons found to not be criminally responsible are far less likely to re-offend, especially if they continue to follow their treatment regime.

Unfortunately, during the conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the early 2000s, there was a shift toward punishment of prisoners and away from rehabilitation.  The current Liberal government under Justin Trudeau has taken a more liberal approach to dealing with prison reform and punishment criteria.  Needless-to-say, this has divided people between those wanting stronger punishment and those supporting more humane and rehabilitative approaches.  There is even a small minority that would like to see the death penalty brought back, similar to what exists in several American states.  Politically, a very unlikely possibility in Canada.

Whether one is in agreement or not, prisoners have rights and expect to be treated in a humane manner.  Basically, we designated the courts and an independent institution to oversee the rule of law, including that pertaining to penalties and terms of imprisonment.  Hopefully, this respects prisoners’ rights and reduces the chances of prison violence and inmate-related violations, while ensuring the public safety and reducing the level of offenders’ recidivism upon returning back into society.  Focusing on this one sensational case really doesn’t help when it comes to all of the other urgent issues that need our immediate attention.

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Jul 14

Severe Weather Patterns Topping News Headlines This Summer

by bcurry

Never have I seen as many news headlines about the weather both in Canada and the U.S. then this summer.  Severe droughts in Arizona and California, flooding in the Northeast states, tornadoes throughout the mid-West, extreme heat waves through the southern states, extensive flooding in Vermont and New York State, etc., etc.  A day doesn’t go by when some form of extreme weather event occurs in both countries.  Dry conditions throughout British Columbia and Quebec led to a record number of wildfires during the spring, creating clouds of smoke which not only permeated Ontario and Quebec, but also as far away as New York and Chicago. 

For most governments — local, state/provincial and federal — the consequences of extreme weather events have been enormous.  Not only are people dying as a result of extreme heat, flooding and wildfires, but homes, businesses and infrastructure have been severely damaged or destroyed.  This has resulted in the insurance industry having to re-examine the impact of an increasing number of compensation claims, often in the billions of dollars.  In the near future, insurance companies will be withdrawing from more high risk areas.  Where insurance continues to be offered, the premiums will be such that few people will be able to afford them.

Most scientists are attributing the extreme patterns as being a consequence of “climate change” and the continued warming of the planet.  Most would also agree that it would take extraordinary measures by countries to slow down the current progression of subsequent impacts.  For the time being, societies will have to make significant changes in order to adapt to this new reality.  Such adaptation will not take months, but years and possibly decades.  Every day, targets developed through bodies such as the United Nations become less and less credible.  Rapidly moving away from our dependence on fossil fuels to more green energy sources is increasingly becoming an illusion. 

Countries continue to argue that the transition can only be made if economic impacts are taken into consideration.  However, they also continue to understate the costs associated with weather extremes, especially when it comes to assessing those associated with such sectors as agriculture, tourism, transportation, housing, etc., etc.  The costs of many essential inputs to maintain a viable industry are going to keep on increasing exponentially.  One only has to look at the impact on freshwater sources due to annual droughts.  Demand is outstripping supply in several regions.  Access to water is critical to one’s survival.

There are those who argue that new technologies need to be factored into future adaptations.  However, there are those who believe that the introduction of new technologies may not be adequate and timely enough.  In the meantime, news headlines about severe weather patterns and their impact on affected communities and scarce resources will continue to appear on an almost daily basis.  Whether we react in a constructive manner and on an urgent basis, only time will tell?  Whether such regular reported events will change the minds of the ‘Nay Sayers’ is another matter.  Is humanity prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to effectively tackle the enormous challenges before us, is the biggest question of them all?

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Jun 30

So-Called Passive Protests Against Pride Month Awareness in Ontario Schools

by bcurry

When one is practising tolerance, one is allowing the existence or occurrence of (something that one dislikes or disagrees with) without interference, and tolerance is the ability, willingness or capacity to tolerate something.  Unfortunately, when it comes to several religions practiced in North American, there is a demonstrated hostility to anything having to do with the LGBTQ community and issues surrounding “sexual orientation”.  June 1 marked the start of Pride Month in Canada, marking a number of activities associated with the celebration of LGBTQ rights and achievements, including several pride parades in many Canadian cities.  In some cases, certain public school boards took it upon themselves to include information about the history and achievements of the LGBTQ community in their classrooms.  Such was the case for the public Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), in Ottawa, Ontario.

June 1, claiming that they were raising concerns about beliefs and practices pertaining to LGBTQ that they believe do not align with their own religious beliefs.  They didn’t want their children to be educated about such things.  Unfortunately, their actions meet the very definition associated with intolerance.  OCDSB chair Lyra Evans believes that while parents have every right to keep their children home, they’re depriving them of an important learning opportunity. (Quote) “People who choose to opt out of human rights-related criteria are doing a disservice to their children because they’re not adequately allowing their child to be prepared for the realities of the world around them”. (Unquote)

The Muslim leaders in Ottawa argued that this form of “passive protest” was not intended to promote hate against the LGBTQ community, including those students affected within the schools.  However, the occurrences of outside protests by such groups, including Muslims, has resulted in many students feeling unsafe within the school environment, especially those belonging to the LGBTQ community.  What is even more surprising is that the protests came from the Muslim community which itself has faced increasing intolerance leading to recent hate crimes and discriminatory practices.  You’d think that they would have a bit more empathy for a visible minority fighting for its human rights!  No one is trying to indoctrinate our children in this context, but are simply providing information and increasing awareness about diversity issues within the environment of a modern progressive democratic society.

Canada is a diverse country, and has recognized the rights of LGBTQ individuals and couples through the legalization of gay marriages and inclusion of sexual orientation rights within human rights legislation.  Such ingraining of these rights reflects the recognition of the country’s diversity and pursuit of equality and fairness for all groups, regardless of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation.  In the public sphere, there are no grounds for intolerance and especially hate promotion, especially within our public educational institutions.  

Call it what you want, but so-called “passive protest” simply demonstrates what is intolerant behaviour by its very definition.  Be careful that one isn’t throwing stones at a glass house.  For example, as part of her disagreement, Lyra Evans is also quoted in CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning show: “If we had 70 percent of students opt out of Ramadan events, I think there would be the school board standing up to defend the rights of Muslim students and making sure that all of our students understand why this is culturally important”.. “I don’t think that we would see people just sort of passively accepting [it]. We would see outrage, and I think that outrage would be justified.”  Interestingly, it should be noted that Lyra Evans is the first openly transgender school trustee in Canada.

Canada Sexual Orientation

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Jun 24

How We Are Taught Is What We Become

by bcurry

Recently, a friend of mine, who is a retired teacher in Canada, made a very interesting point about the influences of teacher hiring on students at all levels of our schools.  The just of the position is that teachers are not always hired for their qualifications and teaching abilities, but are instead hired primarily on the basis of their core beliefs.  This is particularly true where religious beliefs are considered a primary criteria for hiring.  Now, such criteria do play an important role in religious-based schools where religion plays an central part in the curriculum and extracurricular activities.

In some states and provinces, teachers with certain values and beliefs are expected to promote those same values to their students.  As a result, students can often be indoctrinated into certain belief systems which will form the basis for their future abilities to critically think.  Even at the university level, there may be a tendency on the part of administrators to seek out professors with similar beliefs to those promulgated by the faculty at large.  Unfortunately, such beliefs can most often reflect antiquated value systems which are regressive and unresponsive to the changing value systems reflected in a twenty-first century society.  For this reason, young people leave these institutions with preordained and out-of-date biases and a fundamental lack of critical thinking capabilities needed in modern society.

Under these circumstances, the danger is that the affected young people will not be able to easily adjust to the ever changing value systems associated with the majority of people in North American society.  They will continue to have difficulties in dealing with such issues as inequalities, racism, sexual orientation, discriminatory practices, diversity, etc., etc.  While everyone has a right to commit to certain beliefs and opinions, they cannot extend that right to promoting intolerance and extremism.  After all, values affect opinions and attitudes which then subsequently lead to actions.  Such actions can often have negative consequences and contribute to greater divisions within societies.  Sometimes, they can even lead to violent actions.  The result is a more closed society or certainly a less open one.

Many challenges face today’s youth, and they cannot afford to be hard-wired.  They will need open minds to deal with tomorrow’s issues and to be able to quickly adjust in light of those very same issues.  Parents along with teachers and elders can play an important role in inspiring our young people without handicapping them with antiquated extreme beliefs, religious or otherwise.  We inherit our value systems from our parents, and develop our capacity for critical thinking through thought-provoking education institutions.  Hiring the right teachers to help provide them with the tools needed to function within a modern society is of utmost of importance.  Allowing young people to explore, without rigid restrictions, all facets of our histories, culture and governance is a must.  Maybe by doing so, we will then be able to narrow the evident divisions and intolerance existing today within North American society.

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Jun 15

Once Again, Mainstream News Media Taking a Hit in Canada

by bcurry

For several years now, I have been following reports about the disappearance of local and regional printed news sources in numerous communities across Canada.  I have written several blogs about the crisis that has hit mainstream news media, including Lost of Community Newspapers Is Sad Day For Free Press in November 2017, Issues Surrounding Daily News Now Being Absorbed Electronically In Bits and Bytes in January 2021, Media Under Terrorist Attack — Let’s Not Hit the Panic Button Just Yet in January 2015, and The Press Is Physically Under Attack By Police in the U.S. in September 2020.  My primary argument is that mainstream news media has to have journalists on the ground to adequately and accurately cover major news events.  With fewer and fewer regional and international news coverage by major outlets, there is indeed a serious threat to democracy in the form of a smaller number of accessible, reliable and respected news sources.

Now the hammer has come down on televised and radio news outlets in one major Canadian network.  This week, BCE Inc. announced that it is cutting 1,300 positions — about three per cent of its workforce — and closing or selling nine radio stations as the company plans to significantly adapt how it delivers the news.  The stations are found in several large Canadian cities such as Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and London (Ontario).  CTV is a major television network in Canada, and BCE Inc. is its parent company.  The announcement indicated that CTV’s foreign bureaus in London and Los Angeles are set to close, with all positions based in those locations eliminated.  Its Washington bureau will apparently be scaled back to focus more fully on important news from the U.S.A. and the impacts on Canada.  Bell Media, which controls CTV and the radio news outlets, says the job cuts are in response to unfavourable public policy and regulatory conditions in Canada.  Unfortunately, Bell says it can’t guarantee there won’t be more job cuts.

However, from a business perspective, most analysts would argue that the days of companies making money off providing the news are gone.  They note that today Google and Facebook have basically eaten into the advertising market. There’s fewer and fewer advertising dollars left for print and on air journalism.  In addition, companies like Google and Facebook are exploiting mainstream news sources to provide news to their users, without having to compensate those same sources for such exploitation.  However, it is taking a long time for the Canadian government to pass laws requiring such compensation be made to mainstream news sources.  Additional revenue could help these sources to continue to provide journalistic services at the local and national levels.

The fact of the matter is that youth today rely heavily on on-line search sites and social media to get their news.  One would hope that these news sources are credible, reliable and do not simply spread misinformation and disinformation.  Unfortunately, journalism has become somewhat politicized by numerous groups, including some politicians, and is under attack from extremist groups who have continued to proclaim that mainstream news sources are spreading so-called “fake news”.  Moreover, accredited news sources have every right to also express editorial opinion as long as such commentary is clearly identified as being an editorial piece. 

With fewer journalists in the field and far fewer avenues for good journalism, one can only express a certain degree of anxiety about the future of mainstream news journalism.  Increasingly, people graduating from some of Canada’s elite journalism programs will find it hard to obtain employment and opportunities in both print and television/radio media.  Often, investigative journalists have gotten their start and initial experience in local community news outlets, aided by recognized mentors in the industry.  A future career in journalism is getting tougher every day, suggesting that future generations may find it difficult to have access to sources offering credible and reliable news reporting.  Consequently, we will all feel less well informed!

Canada The News Media

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Jun 12

The Rise of Conspiracy Theories in the U.S. and Canada

by bcurry

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a “conspiracy” as a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.  “Conspiracy theory” is defined as a belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for an unexplained event.  Of course, in 2017, influencial QAnon surfaced with its origin in the American far-right political sphere.  QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as “Q”.  According to Wikipedia, the core QAnon conspiracy theory is that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic child molesters were operating a global child sex trafficking ring, led by the Democratic Party and in particular former President Barack Obamak Hillary Clinton, and George Soros.  They were alleged to have conspired against former U.S. President Donald Trump prior to and during his term in office.  According to Media Matters for America, as of August 20, 2020, Trump had amplified QAnon messaging at least 216 times by retweeting or mentioning 129 QAnon-affiliated Twitter accounts, sometimes multiple times a day.  An article in The Atlantic in February 15, 2022 wrote that QAnon followers came to refer to Trump as “Q+”.  QAnon followers also had emerged in Canada, often accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his Liberal government as part of the same global movement.

Most recently, an ecoterrorist conspiracy theory emerged that accused environmentalists of setting recent wildfires in Canada in order to make a point about the impact of climate change in North America.  While totally ridiculous and contradictory in nature, this conspiracy theory emerged in social media and notably among certain ultra-right groups.  Maxime Bernier, a former Conservative federal foreign minister-turned fringe party leader of the People’s Party of Canada, said in a June 5 tweet: “I bet a good portion of the wildfires raging across the country were started by green terrorists who want to give their climate change campaign a little boost.” This conspiracy theory is nothing new as, for example, in California in 2021 some people claimed online that arsonists were behind several wildfires — but there was no evidence that environmentalists were pushing a climate change agenda.  Moreover, officials of provincial agencies investigating the causes of wildfires in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta have more or less determined such theories are bogus.  They note that there are several which are caused by humans, but these are almost always accidents and that recent lightning strikes were to blame for many of the wildfires.  Unless lightning is involved, a blaze classified as human-caused normally can be accidental, intentional or undetermined.  This does not exclusively mean arson.

Most recently, former President Trump is facing numerous federal charges that include willfully retaining national defense secrets in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements and a conspiracy to obstruct justice.  Trump has repeatedly characterized the investigation as being politically motivated, and in recent weeks his lawyers have sought to raise what they say are issues of prosecutorial misconduct.  His defence is implying that there is a conspiracy within the Justice Department and the F.B.I., spearheaded by the White House and the Democrats, to go after him in order to prevent him from running for president in 2024.  Trump continues to refer to the investigation by federal officials as a “witch hunt”, for which there is currently no evidence to support his claims.  Although the evidence against Trump appears to be overwhelming, a majority of his supporters state their belief that there is a conspiracy against the former president aimed at preventing him from running in the next presidential election.

Unfortunately, Donald Trump is the main culprit purposely promulgating conspiracy theories and continues to have the support of a large base of rank and file members of the Republican Party.  Even some notable members of the Party, including Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida, have backed Trump’s conspiracy theory regarding what is often referred to as “the weaponization of federal law enforcement.”  When it comes to governance today, there appears to be no shortage of conspiracy theories, ludicrous or not.  What’s worst, a large percentage of Americans and Canadians appear to be accepting such theories as gospel.

Canada Elections Judicial System Republican Party Social Media US US Politics

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