This week is a Canadian affair on Open Sources Guelph. There’s a lot of stuff going on at the federal level, not the least of which is the announcement of the budget, but there’s also still a lot to unpack, and not just luggage, from the PM’s recent Southeast Asian excursion. After that, we’ll talk about our own Conservative leader following in the example of the conservative leader south of the border, and why we’re mad at the major media providers this week.
This Thursday, March 1, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) Building Equity. The federal government released the budget for 2018 on Tuesday, and it was billed as an equity budget with new money for the Feminist International Assistance Policy, First Nations Child and Family Services, clean water on Reserves, five extra weeks of paid parental leave, and a pledge to bring forth legislation on pay equality later this year. There’s also more money for judges, money to create a new process for federal leaders’ debates during elections, and $50 million for independent organizations to support local journalism. It’s a nice package, but is it enough to make people forget that the deficits are still huge?
2) Trudeau-ling Limited. What a whirlwind trip to India for Justin Trudeau and family! He did too much dress-up! No, people loved seeing him in local attire! The trip accomplished nothing! No, there was billions of dollars in new business and trade! He was snubbed by President Modi! No, they seemed to get along like two old friends. So which one is it? There were some serious questions about Sikh separatism and then there was the attempted murderer that got a nice picture at an official function with Mrs. Trudeau, but in the rush to call the trip a trainwreck (or not) are we missing some of the more serious issues at play?
3) “Me Too” Movement. Last year, President Donald Trump pledged to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and unilaterally recognize the city as the capital of the country. This was quite controversial and it is said to have upset the peace process, such as it is, as the Palestinians also recognize Jerusalem as their capital. So naturally, Andrew Scheer wants to follow Trump’s lead. Unwavering support for Israel has always been a main plank of the Conservative Party platform, but given the criticism of Trump’s move, 45’s general unpopular standing in Canada, and the current troubles of Israel’s hardline PM Benjamin Netanyahu, is this a smart decision?
4) Censoring Piracy? There’s no doubt that piracy costs big media companies, but is the right solution for the CRTC to start allowing internet providers to block websites providing the pirated material? That’s the question, and Bell, Rogers, Shaw and others like that idea. You know who doesn’t? A growing number of people growing more and more concerned. In all, 5,000 people have submitted comments to the CRTC on the matter, and they’re worried that if the consortium, which calls itself FairPlay, is allowed to ban some sites now, what other types of sites are they going to want to ban next? Are Canada’s big media companies going too far in order to protect their I.P.?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.
Open Sources Guelph 