[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Barrister]

Google and Metz(Facebook) to turn off access to news for Canadians.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/google-canada-online-news-1.6892879

[Sheilbh]

They did the exact same stunt in Australia over a very very similar law:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jan/22/google-threatens-to-shut-down-search-in-australia-if-digital-news-code-goes-ahead

Needless to say they folded, turned it back on and media companies got an extra $150-200 million in the first two years. It brought in vastly more money than expected and has allowed huge expansions of newsrooms.

Contrary to the other line Google and Meta made around it primarily benefiting big publishers who'll just increase their profits, in Australia it's led to a huge expansion of roles in indigenous focused media. And even challengers like the The Guardian more than doubled its newsroom and also developed (widely praised) indigenous coverage. It's also allowed big incumbents like ABC to create about 50 new roles specialising in coverage of local news across Australia.

As I say I think everywhere in the world shoud be looking at what's going on in Australia on this because it's really positive - and also shows how empty these threats normally are.

Edit: Also this is more long term but it will be a test of my theory that the rise of disinformation/misinformation is largely a symptom of the decline of quality reporting/journalism in favour of "content". By forcing platforms to give a larger cut to the publishers who still produce most of what is consumed online, we're seeing that being reinvested in more reporting and better reporting. I think the good will drive out the bad instead of the vicious cycle we've seen in the media for most of the last 20 years.

[Jacob]

Have they done it yet? I googled the news about google and facebook blocking news results and I got a whole bunch of hits.

Can't wait to try it when it's blocked.

[Barrister]

We shall see.

I don't have any particular "take" on this issue so far.  I know local news is in serious serious trouble in Canada.

But I also know online advertising rates have dropped dramatically, so maybe Meta and Google really do figure it'd be easier just to drop news entirely (plus avoid setting a precedent for the US).

[Grey Fox]

Nothing of value will be lost.

The pivot to video was a known lie by Meta. Don't trust what they say.

Please RoC remember you are not the USA of the North. It's ok if their companies are not controlling everything.

[Jacob]

Nothing of value will be loss.

Yeah... like if Google turning off the news is actually that annoying I guess I'll have to switch to Bing for my searches.

[Jacob]

Searched on Google for Olivia Chow (recent left-of-centre mayor-elect of Toronto). Top hits included a bunch of news stories.

Did they not turn Google off yet?

[viper37]

The Man Who Opened a Store Selling Heroin and Cocaine Has Died From an Overdose


Jerry Martin, 51, opened the store in Vancouver because he wanted to give people access to clean drugs and challenge Canadian drug laws.

The man who opened the first store in Canada openly selling tested heroin, cocaine, meth, and MDMA has died of an overdose.

Jerry Martin died in Vancouver on Friday, a few days after he was hospitalized due to a suspected fentanyl overdose, according to his partner Krista Thomas. He was 51 years old.

Although Martin survived the overdose initially, he remained unresponsive in hospital and his family eventually decided to take him off life support. He previously told VICE News he had been addicted to cocaine and had been homeless for much of his youth.
"Jerry believed that people were self-medicating their trauma and so long as they were doing that, they needed a safe supply to do it," Thomas said.
"He's no more exempt than any other human being on this earth. He had his own trauma and unfortunately, he relapsed."

She said it wasn't clear if he intended to use fentanyl or not, but that he wasn't a known opioid user.

In May, Martin opened The Drugs Store—the first brick-and-mortar shop in Canada and the U.S. openly selling drugs that had been tested to ensure they did not contain fentanyl of other harmful adulterants. He was arrested within 24 hours of opening the store in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, the epicenter of Canada's overdose crisis.
"I am giving them addictive drugs but I'm giving them safer addictive drugs than you can get on the street, where they might be laced with fentanyl or some other drug," Martin told VICE News during the opening.

"He wanted to save lives," Thomas said Friday.

[Grey Fox]

Searched on Google for Olivia Chow (recent left-of-centre mayor-elect of Toronto). Top hits included a bunch of news stories.

Did they not turn Google off yet?

Nope, the law hasn't completed the parlement steps yet. It will probably do that in September. I expect it to take effect in January 2024.

[Jacob]

Looking forward to it

[Barrister]

So Malthus isn't around much anymore, but see if I can lure him out of hiding (and CC is welcome to chime in too):

Caroline Mulroney was granted a Kings Counsel (or KC) designation the other day in Ontario.

A KC (or QC until recently) is meant to recognize lawyers of particular merit for contributions to the legal community.  Out west (and in England) they've been in continuous use for some time.  The process is always kind of political, but generally speaking there's a board that looks at applications and I can think of very few unmeritorious KCs.

In Ontario they quit the process back in 1988 for being too political (as in politicians would give them to their friends and donors).  But the Ontario PCs are bringing back the honour.

As a general rule I am fully in support of having KCs.

However Caroline Mulroney's name is getting a lot of objection, at least on the corners of Twitter I follow.  See, Mulroney is a lawyer - went to NYU, was called to the bar of New York.  Until very recently she was never a member of any law society in Canada.

She was however a politician, and in particular she was the Attorney General of Ontario from 2018 to 2019.  So that is the chief lawyer of the government.

Anyways, when Ontario brought back KCs they are apparently awarding them to any lawyer that ever served in cabinet.  Mulroney applied and became a mamber of the Law Society without going through usual procedures by virtue of being AG.  And upon being made a LSO member she was then given the KC designation.

What say you to this?

[Grey Fox]

That's interesting. Is it still an honour if they simply give it away?

[crazy canuck]

I agree that giving the honour of a K.C. is worthwile.

There have always been different types of recipients. For example, everyone who holds a senior elected position like the president of the CBA, gets one.  Mulroney falls into this category, and I am not too vexed she recieved it. 

There are also, as you point out, people who are entirely deserving of the honour. And most of the time the people who get the automatic honour generally also deserve it.  I don't think she falls into that category for the reasons you stated.  But that is what sometimes happens when simply holding office entitles someone to a livelong honour.

[Sheilbh]

That's interesting. Is it still an honour if they simply give it away?

There are political ones here but I believe it's reserved for the government law officers (so Attorney General and Solicitor General, or their devolved equivalent) and possibly the Lord Chancellor/Minister of Justice if they are a lawyer. Until recently law officer appointees were generally incredibly respected lawyers in their own right (that was seen as a criteria for the job - and obviously it was essential when the Lord Chancellor would also sit as a Law Lord), so they often already were QCs or well on their way. In exceptional circumstances, the Attorney General would lead cases on behalf of the government (though I don't think that's happened in about 20 years) - although I think the Scottish government's equivalent was one of the barristers in some of the Brexit litigation.

Sadly I think it's fair to say the quality of government law officers has dwindled in recent years (on the upside they're now normally MPs while Labour tended to appoint incredibly impressive lawyers in the Lords). But I suspect they're few enough to not really taint the 2,000 or so who are just working lawyers - and there are still politicians who have it in their own right Sir Keir Starmer KC, for example.

Otherwise while it is technically awarded by the Lord Chancellor, it is practically picked by other lawyers. There's an application process which can take several years and formal criteria with an appointment panel etc - a bit like becoming a judge. All of that was instituted to move away from the old "tap on the shoulder" system. From my understanding the Lord Chancellor/SOS of Justice doesn't have any discretion in appointing someone and has very limited discretion in rejecting someone recommended by the panel.

Although obviously despite trying to move away from the tap on the shoulder - like the judiciary - it reflects the exceptionally white and privately educated demographics of the bar. And I think there are some very senior juniors who feel they are overlooked for being a bit too brash (David Sherborne who's does lots of media work for celebrities, for example).

Slightly surprised Canada doesn't have something similar given that it's something that has been adapted but survived elsewhere - Senior Counsel in Ireland, Hong Kong, Nigeria or Singapore. I think there is some value in it as a mark of esteem from the profession for, as that title indicates, its seniors.

[Barrister]

I don't think the Attorney-General of Alberta, or the President of the Law Society, automatically get a KC - but they kind of invariably do anyways.

The "AG is just a MP (or a MLA)" can be kind of challenging.  I know from experience in Alberta a lot of our AG's can be kind of questionable.  Our current AG is Tyler Shandro KC.  He did have a lengthy legal career prior to coming to government - but he's also been cited by the Law Society a few times.

But the better example might be Kathleen Ganley, our AG under the NDP (and you'll notice - no KC).  She graduated from law school in 2011, called to the bar in 2012 - and then was elected and made our AG from 2015-2019.  But the NDP caucus just didn't have anyone better for the role.