It’s Very Important to Me 🚨

Looking to read The Feed in French (aka Le Fil)? Subscribe to Le Fil and get weekly editions right to your inbox!

Our new campaign, Democracy Under Influence, is officially here, and we’re ready for you to read, watch, and share all about it.

This new Public Service Announcement explores how online mis- and disinformation, addictive algorithms, and AI slop impact what we see and believe, and how we participate in democracy. It also offers you easy, ready-to-take steps for getting ahead of these sneaky actors.

Awareness is the first layer of protection: go to the Democracy Under Influence page for more!

Canada is getting a new Governor General. Louise Arbour, a former Supreme Court justice, will replace Mary Simon, the first Indigenous governor general, who is retiring at the end of her five-year term. Quick refresher: the GG is the King’s representative in Canada. The role is “the guardian of our constitutional order,” in the words of Prime Minister Mark Carney, and includes serving as commander-in-chief of Canada’s Armed Forces. So who is Arbour? She’s a francophone legal heavyweight known for her pioneering work in Canada and abroad, including prosecuting war crimes in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, serving as the UN human rights commissioner, and leading a landmark 2022 report into sexual misconduct and harassment in the Canadian military. Arbour, 79, has also collected 42 honorary doctorates (!) and is a companion of the Order of Canada. She’ll officially be sworn in on June 8. P.S. Outgoing GG Mary Simon is reflecting on the defining moments of her term, and describing what’s next.

PM Mark Carney’s government is proposing legislative changes to speed up major projects, and providing just a 30-day consultation period before introducing the legislation. The proposed changes include a one year target — written into law — for approval processes for major projects, a new consultation hub for Indigenous groups meant to address “consultation fatigue”, pipelines no longer requiring an Impact Assessment Agency review, and the creation of economic zones. The proposals follow Bill C-5, passed last year, which lets the gov fast-track major projects it considers in the national interest. Now these new changes would create a system for all major projects. But the backlash has already started, including criticism from environmental groups and former Liberal environment minister Steven Guilbeault.

Signal Static: Ottawa has said it’s not involved in the Iran War. But it might be lying, according to this Walrus magazine story, which examines evidence linking Canadian forces to the conflict. Meanwhile, since the war began, Iran has been under an internet blackout, meaning we’ve heard very little from people inside the country. This podcast changes that, sharing voice memos from people in Iran who want the world to hear what’s happening.

Flavour Freeze: It’s been five years since the federal gov announced it would restrict vaping flavours… and still basically nothing. Health Minister Marjorie Michel won’t say when — or even if — restrictions are coming, but tells CBC News: “It’s very important to me to protect the youth.” All this despite experts warning a ban could help curb youth vaping, plus Canada having one of the highest youth vaping rates in the world.

Postal Panic: The federal gov is giving Canada Post hundreds of millions of dollars — up to $673 million, to be exact — to keep the national mail service running this fiscal year. The funding comes after the Crown corporation recently reported a staggering $1.57 billion loss last year. And that’s on top of nearly $2 billion in federal loans already keeping the company afloat.

Last week, we talked about a massive Alberta voter data leak connected to a separatist group. Now, the separatist movement in Alberta is drawing even more scrutiny, especially around disinformation and foreign interference. A new report (by a collection of groups, including DisinfoWatch, the Canadian Digital Media Research Network and CASiLabs) warns that both Russian and pro-Trump U.S. actors are amplifying and spreading misinformation about Alberta separatism. The report says Canadians should brace for more disinformation and foreign interference attempts in the coming months if a referendum moves ahead. Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been granted top secret-level security clearance, so she can receive briefings on issues related to national security, while Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director Dan Rogers says a referendum like Alberta’s is vulnerable to foreign interference.

And now it’s time for dessert...your weekly crossword! A little hint for you: make sure you review last week’s edition to complete the crossword:

YOUR DESSERT

Share Your Feedback!
Fill out this survey to tell us what you think of The Feed.

Got a question? Want to collaborate? Have any feedback?
Get in touch at thefeed@apathyisboring.com.