Quote of the Day: “After the political success of the anti-DDT crusade by environmentalists, the banning of this insecticide was followed by a resurgence of malaria, taking millions of lives, even in countries where the disease had been all but eradicated. Rachel Carson may have been responsible for more deaths of human beings than anyone without an army. Yet she remains a revered figure among environmental crusaders.” Thomas Sowell
Interesting articles on the Front Page today. First up is the closing of the Descendants Beer and Beverage Company. Liz Monteiro tells us that a social media post suggests the owners are blaming COVID lockdowns and restrictions for its demise. Really? Since I’ve been back in Canada, I’ve been to about half a dozen restaurants and every one is doing very well it seems. Brown’s Social House was packed yesterday – on a Tuesday night!!! COVID??? I don’t think so… What I really think is happening here is that variable mortgage rates are starting to kick in and this is causing businesses, who made it through COVID, are now having to deal with increased costs. Also, I think the craft beer industry is now seeing some well deserved shake ups. Just how many over hopped ales can people really drink and pretend to enjoy them?
Also on the Front Page, Terry Pender (who should know better…) gives free advertising to some architect who wants municipal governments to adopt zoning and building regulations that reduce GHG emissions in the name of climate change. Condo towers and single family homes are on his hit list. Meanwhile, back to reality, there are about 4,000 coal fired plants worldwide, mostly in China and India with about another 750 plants either planned or in construction. The amount of electricity generated from coal rose by 9% in 2021 (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/26/too-many-new-coal-fired-plants-planned-for-15c-climate-goal-report-concludes) Yup, but the most important issue is to stop using cement to build apartment buildings, it seems… Idiot.
And Jeff Outhit on the Front Page gives us an overview of the results of the 2021 census. He suggests there are five insights from this census but I counted about 20. Oh well… He tells us that: “Diversity is surging… Racialized people account for all population growth since 2016 and more. This region remains more than two-thirds white today. But the white population fell by 8,000 over five years while the racialized population (including Indigenous identities) grew by 60,000. This demographic shift means almost one in three residents is racialized.” I really don’t understand the use of the word “racialized”. I thought it meant to categorize people by race. But now, it seems that this word means “non-white”. Oh well… Good article, good info and good graphics in the online version.
Yesterday, I complained that the Editorial on the Opinion Page was replaced by some flavour of the week op-ed. Today, Susan Delacourt who covers (and not very well, I might add) national politics for TorStar has a column in place of the Editorial. Really? Is this now the money saving trend? She tells us of her year-end interview with Foreign Affairs Minister “in her Ottawa office”, (I assume we should be impressed), about how the Liberal government is “determined to tackle disinformation, especially when it comes from governments of countries such as Russia or China.” She explains that: “Joly believes the past three gruelling years of the pandemic have made people more vulnerable to disinformation, and that many are feeling more angry and vulnerable, as the convoy protest demonstrated. ‘The pandemic has created even more of an issue in the use of social media,’ she said. ‘The fact that people can to a certain extent act (with) total impunity behind avatars … is a real problem.’” Wow. Yes, any criticism about the Liberal government’s policies on COVID lock downs, gun ownership, convoys, so-called hate legislation and ethics are all “misinformation”. Yes, anonymous writing is a huge issue with the Liberal government – or any government for that matter. Because not having the ability to punish whistle blowers is clearly detrimental to corrupt governments. Delacourt tells us that: “The battle could pit the Canadian government against the new owner of Twitter, Elon Musk, who tweeted in mid-December that an online harms bill here would be ‘an attempt to muzzle the voice of the people in Canada.’” Yes, not one word from Joly or Delacourt on the Twitter files that provided ample evidence that both the FBI and the Biden government directed Twitter to suppress information negative to their policies. It’s all about “disinformation”. Delacourt tells us “Instability will be hallmark of coming year”. I hope so…
Also on the Opinion Page today, Jay Goldberg from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has some New Year’s Resolutions for Doug Ford. He outlines many issues facing Ontario. Last line in his column sums up things this way: “If Ford adopts these three key resolutions – cutting the sales tax, keeping the books balanced and ending corporate handouts – he will put his government, and all of Ontario, on a better path.” Exactly.
Jamie Watt’s bio on the Insight Page claims he is a “conservative” strategist and a freelance contribution columnist for TorStar. Funny, he really doesn’t take very many “conservative” positions in his columns. But I guess that’s just fine with TorStar…
And finally on the Insight Page, we have Supriya Dwivedi who is the Director of Policy & Engagement News for the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University. She starts off her column this way: “Looking ahead to 2023 can seem bleak. One bright spot, however, is the opportunity Canada has when it comes to passing legislation aimed at putting the safety and well-being of Canadians – especially children – ahead of Big Tech’s bottom line.” Yup – if there is anything that throws up the red flag in op-eds, it’s someone talking about a policy change “for the children”. (Gee, Susan Delacourt and Mélanie Joly also want to do this. How strange…) Her argument is that we should regulate the internet (and all of social media) the same way we regulate other companies in Canada. She states: “Regulating private, for-profit companies in a manner that subjects them to the same standards as any other company that provides consumer-facing products is not stifling free speech. It is ensuring that platforms have to consider the impact of the products that they build and provide to Canadians, particularly as it pertains to children.” And: “All other consumer-facing products are subject to the duty to act responsibly, which means companies must consider the risks of their products, and then demonstrate that there have been steps taken to mitigate those risks. Continuing to exempt tech and social media platforms from this standard makes no legal or moral sense.” Really? O.K. Would she be happy if we put warning labels on internet sites? I doubt it. She ends her vaguely disguised attempt at censorship by saying: “For far too long, Big Tech’s lobbying and PR efforts have essentially resulted in these companies being given a free pass when it comes to the harms inflicted on our society. Let’s hope 2023 is the year Canada puts an end to that.” Pathetic.