Canadian Crossing

The total story of Russians at War and the Ukrainian protesters

I've covered protests as a journalist. I've written a lot about film. I confess I didn't think I would be in a situation where film and protests would meet.

Russians at War stirred up trouble at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Charges of propaganda were flying, more than likely from people who hadn't seen the film. That p-word — propaganda — is often tossed around like candy on Halloween.

Despite the controversy, I didn't really want to see the film based on what I heard and saw in the trailer. I did feel like I had to see the film to find out the reality and truth.

I messaged a friend of mine as to whether there might be protesters at the Russians at War screenings at the 2024 Windsor International Film Festival. She thought there might be.

Often at a film festival such as this one, you barely have enough time in between films. My schedule was more open than I thought it would be. So I spent some time talking to the protesters who indeed were in front at both screenings in Windsor.

Journalists generally write about protests as opposed to covering them. TV cameras and newspaper photographers will capture the visual essence of their activity. They will look at a small crowd and make assumptions based on crowd size. What journalists should do? Talk to them as human beings.

They were the nicest protesters I have encountered in my years of covering protests. They were upset about the film. The deeper question is not their objections to a film, which they hadn't seen. The broader journalism question is asking: "Why are you here?" The film is a catalyst to their concerns about Russia's illegal occupation of Ukraine.

They felt that the war wasn't getting a lot of news coverage. They were concerned about the loss of the film Intercepted, which was scheduled to play at the 2024 Windsor International Film Festival. The producers pulled that film because they didn't want it at the same festival as Russians at War. I agreed with their disappointment on that decision.

One protester suggested that the festival show 20 Days in Mariupol. I explained to them that festivals have to get rights to show a film (PBS has rights in the United States). I appreciated that this person had an alternative film in mind. The idea of a small film festival devoted to this concern isn't likely yet intriguing.

20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine) did make the shortlist last year for the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. 

I ask a standard question to any protester: "Tell me what you would ideally like to happen in this situation." There were a variety of thoughts, such as "Cancel the screening" to "Show the films with context and discussion."

One young woman told me her story about her family who are still trapped in Ukraine. I feel like I won't forget that story and the look on her face as she was telling the story.

I explained to them that I was going to attend the film but felt like I also needed to talk to them. One guy told me, "I hope you don't enjoy the film." I told him, "I don't think I will."

2024 Windsor International Film Festival preview

'Russians at War' director talks critics and backlash (Front Burner — CBC Radio)

Can we tie the propaganda word to Russians at War?

One person in the Q&A at our screening said this film isn't Russian propaganda. The producer on hand was thankful to hear that. I am of an older generation who remembers the nuance between "Soviet" and "Russian." Generally, government action was referred to as "Soviet" and individual people as "Russian."

Russians at War isn't Vladimir Putin propaganda, a term to reflect what the government wants. The film is very biased and pro-Russian. Anastasia Trofimova gets embedded into a collection of Russian soldiers. The film shows why they think they are in Ukraine. Trofimova tells the reality to a few soldiers, which of course they deny as being real. Reading between the lines, you see the effect of Russian propaganda against its own citizens.

You see the machismo of these men, who likely wouldn't be doing much if there wasn't a war to fight. You see more of Ukraine, admittedly war-torn, than you will see on TV news in Canada or the United States.

The major issue with the film is that these are the soldiers of an invading force and being friendly to them. Those searching for context will not find any in this film, which happens mostly in documentaries.

The approach from the producer and the film's team is that the film is anti-war. The end of the film works harder to sell this narrative but the vast majority of the film almost feels like a promotional video for how cool war can be.

The producer dropped a major bombshell (maybe a poor choice of words) during the Q&A. They shot footage for 2 possible movies. She claimed to have footage of Russian protesters inside Russia protesting the Ukrainian invasion. Somehow, there was a choice to make that film or this film. Here are 2 immediate thoughts in my head:

• the other film is the film we should be seeing
• they never will release that other film

This film — Russians at War — isn't that interesting. Showing the wonted footage of Russian soldiers is not that exciting. Trofimova plays up the impact of lost lives on the Russian people, which feels hurtful given the lack of concern that Ukrainian casualties as a result of their country being illegally invaded by Russia.

This happened before the U.S. election and I can imagine that the Ukrainian protesters are greatly concerned about a lack of support to their cause from the incoming regime.

Imagine a similar film being very supportive of U.S. troops illegally invading Iraq in 2003 or German soldiers invading Poland in 1939. You can see the concerns of the Ukrainian protesters who feel like they are lost in this film and real-life battles.

TVO (TV Ontario) dropped its support for Russians at War during TIFF 24. Your humble narrator lost his chance to see Intercepted, hopefully not forever. 20 Days in Mariupol is an easier option on the United States side of the border.

I have not seen the other 2 films so I don't know if they would balance what I saw in Windsor. I am steps away from most people in that I saw the film AND talked with the protesters. I wish all of us could have talked after seeing the film to get their impressions.

2024 TIFF Canadian film preview

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

3 films on the topic and some perspective is more ideal than censorship and blind accusations over propaganda. The producers behind Intercepted did their cause and the cause of protesters a great disservice by pulling their film from the festival. More voices are better in learning about a topic that, quite frankly, most Canadians and Americans know very little about what is happening.

Most of the protesters I talked to were not old enough to remember when the Soviet Union included Ukraine and a number of Eastern European countries during the Cold War. They do know the history, something most North Americans don't know or, sadly, don't care.

I told the protesters that whether or not I agree with what they were saying that I wanted to thank them for sharing their voices. Both countries have a history of allowing protests, something where we should be grateful. Thank you for sharing your stories with me and anyone else who found time to listen to what you had to say. удачі (udachi). Good luck!!

Who Do I Belong To wins 2024 WIFF Prize in Canadian Film

Russians at War was one of 10 films up for the $25,000 WIFF Prize in Canadian Film at the 2024 Windsor International Film Festival. The film was 1 of 2 films that weren't visibly Canadian as well as being a documentary. The award went to Who Do I Belong To.

photos credit: me

Canadian journalism notebook: Pierre Poilievre overreacting to a CTV News mistake

As @stphnmaher writes in today’s @TorontoStar, the CTV/Poilievre edit wasn’t a malicious plot, it was fuck up, the kind that almost inevitably happens when you strip newsrooms of experienced staff https://t.co/pXqNx1kuzM pic.twitter.com/tPUArXipqz

— Richard Warnica (@richardwarnica) September 28, 2024

The mistake was rather obvious. No one believes Pierre Poilievre is pushing for a federal election over the new dental care program. Carbon tax. If the federal opposition leader did get that election and won, the dental care program is pretty much as good as gone or underfunded or not as good as it should be. Poilievre won't address the issue of whether the Conservatives would keep the new dental care program.

The opposition leader has said no one is getting help with dental care when that definitely isn't true.

CTV News' Omar Sachedina had previously aired a statement apologizing to Poilievre and the party: "Last night, in a report on this broadcast, we presented a comment by the official opposition leader Pierre Poilievre that was taken out of context. It left viewers with the impression the conservative non-confidence motion was to defeat the Liberals dental care program. In fact, the Conservatives have made it clear the motion is based on a long list of issues with the Liberal government including the carbon tax. A misunderstanding during the editing process resulted in this misrepresentation. We unreservedly apologize to Mr. Poilievre and the Conservative party of Canada. We regret this report went to air in the manner it did."

CTV apologized for the mistake. CTV threw 2 people under the bus for said mistake, firing them from their jobs. That is way more than most people get in retribution for a journalism mistake. That's the reality.

Struck by how terrified CTV sounds in these statements. Not just regretful, but quite abject. As if they fear … retribution. https://t.co/NaI3N6dubJ

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@acoyne) September 26, 2024

Pierre Poilievre has made journalists out to be the bad people in the world. They cover Poilievre like they are scared of him. We've written extensively about Bell Media journalism cuts.

Jesse Brown and Rahim Mohamed shared thoughts on this for Canadaland. The original idea came from an episode of Question Period from CTV. Question Period host Vassy Kapelos is not known for being kind to non-conservative politicians. Mohamed backs that up. The episode they question was about the dental care program. The theory is that the dental care program was the impetus for the story that ran on CTV on the Sunday night newscast in question.

This doesn't excuse a mistake, a definite mistake. The idea that there was a deliberate attempt by CTV or any other news outlet to mix that up — it's too obvious to not get caught.

Great point by former NDP MP Françoise Boivin. Should @PierrePoilievre really be rejoicing in @bell stock being downgraded by moodys?

Should a potential Prime Minister to actually celebrate the demise of a Canadian company that employs so many Canadians? #Cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/pRop5dFets

— Jaro Giesbrecht (@JaroGiesbrecht) September 25, 2024

Poilievre was happy that Bell Media's stock has tumbled. This is part of a larger strategy to get really great coverage, which apart from this incident, Poilievre gets. Cheering for a prominent Canadian company when they are down financially. Poilievre already wants the defund the CBC.

Interesting how Poilievre would never go after Postmedia in a negative fashion. We may hate it but the tactics work. Justin Trudeau is very positive about things in Canada; Pierre Poilievre isn't. Consistently. Again, this is not about politics. This is about approach and beliefs.

Short Cuts: Who Framed Pierre Poilievre? (Canadaland)

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

Canadians should ask if Poilievre becomes prime minister as to whether or not he will be accountable to Canadian journalists. Well, the few that are left. Politics aside, this isn't good for journalism or democracy.

I sent this in and got the call. My last cartoon, I think, in the Chronicle Herald. It's not published yet. pic.twitter.com/Wg82rwTnyr

— Michael de Adder (@deAdder) October 8, 2024

If you go back far enough, I want to be a catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, like Johnny Bench. A most reasonable life dream would be as an editorial cartoonist. My lack of drawing ability did me in for that career.

Michael de Adder is a very talented editorial cartoonist. The ideas. The drawings. You have to tell a lot in a small space. de Adder happens to be Canadian. While his work can be found in a lot of places, his base has been The Chronicle Herald in Halifax.

Postmedia, owned by American hedge funds who are definitely pro-toddler, took over the SaltWire publications in Atlantic Canada. Besides firing de Adder, Postmedia also fired long-time columnist Ralph Surette for, well, doing their jobs well.

Whatever we might have thought about SaltWire's ownership, Postmedia has been way worse and it hasn't been in charge for long.

You can follow @deadder on Twitter and his other platforms. With all of these bailouts for Canadian journalism, Postmedia pockets a lot of that money and not using that money to save local journalism.

pic.twitter.com/0g1njaAcoU

— Michael de Adder (@deAdder) October 16, 2024

Bell Media making deep cuts to W5, CTV local newscasts

W5 returns in October as Avery Haines leads Canada’s top investigative team, debuting on all platforms, including https://t.co/1kZunfYtgi, CTV News App, CTV News Channel and CTV National News. pic.twitter.com/CVKKcSDehW

— CTV W5 (@CTVW5) September 11, 2024

This is the first tweet that @CTVW5 has sent in months. Bell Media ended the show in February, on since 1966 (not a typo) as part of cost-cutting. Bell Media kept the name and concept in house to use on CTV News platforms, just without the legitimacy the show established for decades.

Canadian viewers are getting microdoses of something that looks like W5. Narco Jungle: The Death Train. We also get related occasional documentaries under the title W5: Avery Haines Investigates.

Feels like a stylized W5 to be more flashy than relevant. The W5 name without what made the W5 name significant in Canadian journalism.

Keeping the W5 name within its newscasts keeps others from stealing the ideas and even personnel. Bell Media wants the credit for W5 just not to spend the money needed for strong journalism.

It is a shocking failure of editorial judgment to give a foreign agent airtime to attack the credibility of Canada’s government after it expelled him for playing a role in the murder of Canadians on Canadian soil. https://t.co/HXAIGk2Sw4

— Andrew Tumilty (@AndrewTumilty) October 20, 2024

Bell Media and CTV is spending money on Question Period, a show making questionable bookings such as this one. Vassy Kapelos interviewed India High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, a person allegedly linked to the murders of Canadians on Canadian soil. 

The timing is awkward because of alleged ties between India and Pierre Poilievre in terms of foreign pressure on the last Conservative Party leadership race.

Kapelos could be seen as helping Poilievre and hurting Trudeau as well as Canada in airing this interview. Does that tie back to Poilievre's criticism of CTV News? Not much more of a stretch than Poilievre used against CTV News and Bell Media.

We aren't trying to pick on CTV and Bell Media. A coincidence that all of these stories are hitting around this time. Speaking of Bell Media, here is one more journalism story.

SHE’S BACK 🤩@saraorlesky is in the host’s chair for all #NHLJets home games on @TSN_Sports this season! pic.twitter.com/l2kcNpH9TJ

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 11, 2024

Everyone loves Sara Orlesky so why is it a big deal for Orlesky to host the Winnipeg Jets home games on TSN3? Orlesky is an employee of the Winnipeg Jets and not TSN. That is why this is a big deal that Orlesky (employee of the team) is replacing John Lu (employee of TSN).

We aren't that the Jets did this. The inclination is that TSN might have done this to save a few bucks, even if they are paying John Lu to cover the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL.

Sports teams aren't suppose to have a conflict of interest of this magnitude. I like Sara Orlesky but this looks and smells bad.

photo credit: CTV News
Twitter captures: @richardwarnica; @acoyne; @JaroGiesbrecht; @deAdder; @CTVW5; @AndrewTumilty; @NHLJets

Canadian journalism notebook: The loss of a daily paper in Newfoundland and Labrador

The pressroom is quiet now. Newfoundland and Labrador’s last web press just finished printing the province’s last daily paper. When I started my career in journalism, I never thought I’d see this day. It doesn’t feel real. pic.twitter.com/36hgLuiWvV

— Juanita Mercer (@juanitamercer_) August 24, 2024

We reported earlier this summer that Postmedia had taken over the SaltWire collection of newspapers. Postmedia doesn't have a track record of helping the beleaguered newspapers purchased by the American hedge-fund controlled Canadian newspaper company.

Shortly after the takeover, Postmedia slashed 30 percent of its editorial staff with layoffs. This included all the photojournalists. While there is some dispute over the latter part, there is likely semantics involved.

The other major story is that Newfoundland and Labrador is the first Canadian province in over 100 years to not have a daily newspaper. Postmedia has said The Telegram will only be published on Fridays with an online version the rest of the week.

Canadaland news editor Jonathan Goldsbie, in a podcast episode with editor-in-chief Karyn Pugliese, that from his research, he believes the last province without a daily newspaper was Saskatchewan in the fall of 1905 with about 10 weeks difference between the start of the province (September 1, 1905) and the Regina Leader switching from a weekly to a daily newspaper.

We can hear some of the remarks now:

"Nothing happens in Newfoundland." "The paper is still every day but without expensive newsprint." "These decisions have to happen because of capitalism."

Decisions about journalism in Newfoundland and Labrador are being made in Toronto from people who aren't concerned about the quality of journalism in the province. People smarter than your humble narrator would point out that Postmedia has to acquire more debt to feed its American hedge fund corporate overlords and are stripping these papers for parts.

The traditional names are there but they are a shell of what they once were. News does happen in Newfoundland and Labrador. Journalists need to protect the public interest through investigations.

For those who say Postmedia will only do this in Newfoundland and Labrador, Atlantic Canada is next.

Newfoundland and Labrador didn't have a daily newspaper outside of The Telegram. Smaller communities have weekly newspapers. St. John's has 2 TV stations: CBNT (Channel 8) with the CBC and CJON (Channel 21) with NTV (Newfoundland Television). Here is a list of radio stations in the province.

Yes, The Telegram readers can go online every day to read the news. The idea of sitting at Rocket Bakery right there on Water Street in St. John's and not seeing people reading the newspaper makes your humble narrator very sad.

Canadian journalism notebook: Will there continue to be a Global News in Canada?

New Brunswick switches out one newspaper monopoly for another one

Canadian journalism notebook: Canadian cities losing Monday newspaper editions

📚 Bookends with Mattea Roach, CBC's new author interview show, premieres Sept. 8!

Tune in on CBC Radio or catch it as a podcast. 📚https://t.co/ulv7zuISP4

— CBC Radio (@cbcradio) August 27, 2024

We love listening to Mattea Roach as the host of Backbench through Canadaland. Roach now has a second podcast in their repertoire, this time with CBC Radio. Bookends is an author interview show where Roach explores the creative process for writing with novelists and authors.

Bookends airs Sunday afternoons at 1 pm local time (1:30 NT, 3 PT) on CBC Radio and CBC Listen with repeats on Wednesdays at 1 pm (1:30 NT). The program essentially replaces Writers & Company as Eleanor Wachtel has retired. Roach interviewed Wachtel for the final episode of that show.  

Roach has shown their literary bonafides, winning Canada Reads in 2023 when they championed Kate Beaton’s graphic novel Ducks.

Tom Power interviewed Roach recently on Q. They have some commonalities: relatively young people who excelled in other areas besides radio. Both are from out east: Power from Newfoundland and Roach from Nova Scotia.

Roach noted that they didn't think they would end up hosting a podcast. We were waiting for Roach to mention their current podcast. While Roach referred to a political podcast, they never mentioned the name of the podcast or its primary source.

We also are in favour of more recognition for Canadian authors though we know the podcast will have Canadian and international authors.

U.S. listeners can listen live through CBC Listen and, of course, download episodes of the podcast.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com radio coverage

ICYMI Gill Deacon is leaving the CBC. A good friend, an outstanding broadcaster I've known for 30 years. The place won't be the same without her. https://t.co/5U05AStr3B

— Tom Harrington (@cbctom) September 4, 2024

Gill Deacon had been the host of Here and Now on CBC Radio yet hadn't been "here" and "now" in awhile. Deacon had been dealing with long COVID, which is very real even if you don't believe in it. 

The good news is that she has recovered from long COVID. The bad news is that Deacon is leaving Here and Now and CBC Radio.

Deacon has hosted the afternoon show for more than a decade and filled in on many CBC Radio shows. You can read more about her story.

Deacon's voice, brain, and thoughtfulness were traits that made her really good at this job. Good luck in her future endeavors.

Here and Now will find a permanent host down the line.

Canadian politics notebook: Very little of Canada in latest CPC ad

Bell Media making deep cuts to W5, CTV local newscasts

A guide to quality Canadian journalism in lieu of Meta and Google being childish

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

Stephen Harper was subtle about the CBC. Death by several thousand cuts. Recent Conservative Party leaders have not been subtle about their take on the CBC: Pierre Poilievre and Erin O'Toole leap to mind.

Kerry-Lynne Findlay is the chief opposition whip in the House of Commons for the Conservative Party. Findlay released a video this summer on the party's position on getting rid of the CBC. The original video made a case to keep Radio-Canada as well as English language radio programming.

Then the Conservative Party took down the video and the video came back up minus the part about radio programming.

We should note that the Conservative Party playbook is to separate English from French in their thought process. There are 2 strategies to this distinction: Conservatives really want votes in Quebec where they have struggled outside of the Brian Mulroney years. The vast majority of their base would never access Radio-Canada so they wouldn't know any potential negative coverage.

From the National Post:

"Let's talk about the radio part of all this for a moment," Findlay says at one point in the slickly-produced video, filmed in what appears to be West Block on Parliament Hill. On Friday, Findlay reposted the video with that section removed.

"Because radio is very low production cost and the CBC radio programs and Radio-Canada, they do still serve a purpose, particularly in smaller communities and I think (are) fairly well listened to, so I think there can be a case made to keep that," she said.

Poilievre has not directly said the same when it comes to radio programming.

The Conservative Party video we discussed last week was yanked without posting it in some form. This video was yanked, edited, and reposted as if the section never happened. You might wonder why we are quoting from the National Post, the right-wing national newspaper owned by Postmedia, this is because no one else reported on this story (that we could find).

We did get a sense of conservative logic from this sentence: "Findlay also touched on its history, arguing that because 'every Canadian can be their own broadcaster' the need for a national one to unify the country is no longer necessary." Postmedia has issued a single editorial and forced its many newspapers to run the same editorial. The American hedge fund controlled Canadian newspaper chain has a monopoly, controlling both major newspapers in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa.

National unification is fine for them but only with conservative voices. Also, francophones can have national unity, just not anglophones.

The acclimation is that the "cost" is too high (it's not) but there would still be a cost to Radio-Canada funding.

Per the story at the top of this column, imagine Newfoundland and Labrador journalism without CBC TV and CBC Radio.

Twitter captures: @juanitamercer_; @cbcradio; @cbctom
photo credits: SaltWire/The Telegram; Q/CBC Radio
video credit: Q/CBC Radio

Canadian politics notebook: Very little of Canada in latest CPC ad

A family in Tuscany. Guns and fields of crops from the United States. A university in Slovenia. Russian fighter jets. An elementary school in Serbia. Foothills in Indonesia.

The federal Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) released a 3-minute video of its leader — Pierre Poilievre — giving a speech at the 2024 Calgary Stampede.

The video was made to seem like all of these lovely images were Canadian since the speech itself talks about Canada, perhaps one some feel like we haven't seen in awhile (if ever). The obvious problem is that the party used footage from everywhere else but Canada. The image of the school guard welcoming the students is from Canada. The rest of the footage isn't from Canada.

Okay, mistakes get made. Even huge mistakes. What is intriguing about this instance is that the party pulled down the ad almost immediately. No acknowledgment that any mistakes happened or any explanation. Pulled down. Nothing to see here.

Let's acknowledge the true Canadian heroes. Calgary-based Twitter user @disorderedyyc, who tracked down the information about the misleading footage. Using Utah's Rockies and not even the Canadian Rockies?

Tom St Denis, who saved the footage of the original video for all to see.

"We're home" is the message but the visuals in the ad are anything but, well, home, as in Canada.

The teacher greeting the students when the video shows us a school crossing guard greeting the students. Celebrating sobriety with alcohol. Somehow hearing the sounds of nails into Canadian lumber. Why are grandpa and grandma looking west?

The images aren't Canada (all but one) and the words are about a Canada that never existed.

CNN thought it was news.

The Guardian thought it was news.

Yet most Canadian news organizations didn’t, or used the Canadian Press reporting if at all.

That’s a problem. https://t.co/ZKcVVo0fCa

— Greg MacEachern (@gmacofglebe) August 23, 2024

This was newsworthy, even significant. If the Liberals or the NDP were this foolish, the story would be high on news pages throughout Canada.

Pierre Poilievre does this? Crickets. Typical was this response from The Current on CBC Radio One (Matt Galloway on vacation) where the ad was barely mentioned and the attitude basically was "no one will care in a year and why care now."

The CPC isn't even confronted on pulling the ad without explanation. The party knew the mainstream press wouldn't challenge them.

The 2 Canadian heroes did what we normally call journalism. The actual journalists? They wanted the story to go away.

Canadaland was a lot better, though even they took their time getting to this story. A conservative episode glossed over the ad, dismissing it like most of Canadian mainstream journalism.

The use of the overseas footage was one concern. At a time when Conservatives in Ontario are closing safe consumption sites, having a part of a speech where they celebrate sobriety with alcohol is really insensitive. That segment on The Current could have mentioned that point.

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

Canadian travel notebook: Brittlestar talks up Atlantic Canada

Brittlestar as well as This Hour Has 22 Minutes put more energy into commentary over the ad than all the mainstream Canadian journalism combined. Not just the origin of the ads but the running commentary.

Season 32. September 17th at 8pm on @cbc & @cbcgem. pic.twitter.com/51mcZtbHq1

— 22Minutes (@22_Minutes) August 30, 2024

This Hour Has 22 Minutes made sure to capture its take on the CPC ad. We will run our look at the CBC television fall lineup next week.

The official news release on the collapse of @voteBCUnited pic.twitter.com/nIKaoFPT0b

— Rob Shaw (@RobShaw_BC) August 28, 2024

Usually a political party in Canada will ask the leader to step down. Kevin Falcon, BC United leader, took the unusual step of resigning the party for the upcoming British Columbia election, scheduled for October 19.

The scramble is for the 140 candidates combined for the BC United Party, formerly known as the BC Liberal Party, and the relatively new BC Conservative Party for 93 ridings. This has forced some incumbents to not run next month. Shirley Bond and Todd Stone are 2 of many who aren't running for re-election. Both served as cabinet ministers in what was then the BC Liberal Party.

Some BC United members might find an easy path to support John Rustad and the BC Conservatives. Falcon, who is not running for re-election, throw his support to that party. The BC Conservatives were a spinoff of the BC United Party over significant disagreements.

Many other BC United politicians are caught in the middle without a place to land or some will shift to David Eby and the NDP government currently in power. Some of the BC Conservatives takes on issues, such as vaccines, were not in the comfort zone of some BC United members and presumably voters.

At the time of the announcement, the BC Conservatives have 5 MLAs and 83 candidates while B.C. United had 23 MLAs with 57 candidates. Vote splitting was a concern in some of those ridings, which would increase the chances for the NDP candidate in a riding.

Falcon kicked Rustad out of BC United and then threw his support behind Rustad. The name switch from BC Liberals (which included Liberals and Conservatives) was likely a hindrance. Money was also likely a concern, as in raising funds for the party.

My name is David Eby, but I approve Kevin Falcon's message. https://t.co/KddcerEHsc

— David Eby (@Dave_Eby) August 29, 2024

The NDP has been in charge in the province since shortly after the 2017 election. While the Liberals won the most seats, that party was unable to form government. The NDP and Green Party then formed government. The NDP won a majority government in 2020. The Liberals had been in charge from 2001-2017.

This is a developing story and very new territory. The closest parallel in Canadian provincial politics was when then Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith, the then Opposition Leader in the Alberta legislature, led a floor crossing to the Progressive Conservatives in 2014.

The writ is expected to drop on September 21 for the October 19 election. We will run a preview for that race as well as provincial elections this fall in New Brunswick (October 21) and Saskatchewan (October 28).

2024 Canadian politics preview

CanadianCrossing.com British Columbia coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

This isn't #journalism, it's stalking.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is confronted during his family holiday by Keean Bexte of Rebel News on a Tofino, B.C. beach.https://t.co/6GlG3z5bub via @thehilltimes

— André Picard (@picardonhealth) July 25, 2024

We have seen a couple of "gotcha" type moments against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the last month or so. There was the stalking of a right-wing person with Trudeau on a BC beach while the prime minister was on vacation. The more recent incident was an infiltration with another right-wing person impersonated a steel worker to complain about paying 40% in income taxes (the numbers didn't even come close).

We get that some would love for Trudeau to leave. Paul Wells is obsessed about not knowing the prime minister's schedule when Wells conveniently ignores the efforts that right-wing people are doing to confront Trudeau. Even if you are someone who doesn't agree with Trudeau's policies, the prime minister deserves decent Canadian respect.

Liberals and NDP people were far more frustrated with Stephen Harper in 2015 and behaved in a civil manner.

Montreal - the town to henceforth be known as, "Wherever my parents' job took us."

— Alexander Panetta (@Alex_Panetta) August 23, 2024

Not so much Canadian politics but politics that can't say "Montréal" or "Canada." U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is running for the top job, president of the United States. The convention speech is a time to introduce yourself to voters who may not know who you are.

Harris lived in Montréal from 1976 to 1981 because her mother got a job at McGill University. She was a teenager who couldn't control where she lived. The vice president just couldn't realistically say the word "Montréal" in her convention speech. What if she speaks French? Does she have friends affiliated with the Parti Quebecois? Does she endorse Bill 101? When (if?) Harris went to a Montréal Expos game at Stade Olympique, did she sing O Canada in French and English? All English? Not at all? Sacre bleu!!

photo credit: Conservative Party of Canada
Twitter captures: @gmacofglebe; @22_Minutes; @RobShaw_BC; @Dave_Eby; @picardonhealth; @Alex_Panetta
video credits: Tom St Denis; Brittlestar

Canadian journalism notebook: Will there continue to be a Global News in Canada?

I don't like speculation articles, especially in the middle of summer. I had heard about the cuts at Corus, owners of Global TV in Canada.

The cuts were announced in mid-July with another round of layoffs at the end of this month. The full-time workforce is expected to be cut by 25% — nearly 800 jobs — compared to September 2022.

You might wonder whether this is along the lines of the Bell Media (CTV, TSN, and more) cuts we have discussed ad nauseam. Well, this feels a bit different.

Jesse Brown in a recent Short Cuts episode on his Canadaland podcast noted that Corus had been linked to Shaw. Rogers, owners of Citytv, recently took over Shaw in yet another merger that should not have been approved. Brown referred to Corus as a "penny stock" that can't be good for business.

Corus co-chief executive officer Troy Reeb did say in an earnings call that local news, particularly in small markets, is challenging while national news operations perform "quite well."

The company said it had "made some changes" at Global News. That never means "add more reporters."

The company suffered a financial setback when Rogers signed deals with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery for their popular lifestyle and entertainment brands in Canada. Those companies had been with Corus.

2024 Canadian TV upfronts highlights

Bell Media wants CRTC to allow reducing local news

Corus with Global is in an unique position in Canadian entertainment and journalism. Bell Media is the dominant force among the English language private networks followed by Corus and Rogers. CTV and Global have national newscasts while Citytv does not.

We noticed in the 2024-2025 Canadian TV upfronts that both of Global's truly Canadian TV shows are on U.S. television. Shows such as Mary Kills People and Robyn Hood likely won't make it to Global anytime soon.

Deep cuts at Global Okanagan trigger effort to save local TV.

City councillors and former TV Journalists Mohini Singh and Rick Webber look for solutions.

Full story: https://t.co/FDqTIWxOie pic.twitter.com/BPHcSGYnmV

— KelownaNow (@KelownaNow) July 23, 2024

We also worry about the impact of cuts at Global News would mean to the 2025 federal election in Canada, among many notable news stories. Cuts at the local level impact the quality of the national news and vice versa. This is why most networks have local and national news.

The U.S. shows that dominate the Global, CTV, and Citytv lineups aren't as bountiful as TV shows once were to the bottom line. This reduces the desire to produce more and interesting Canadian television.

For now, this is speculation but we aren't blind to the trends in Canadian television.

An expert who tracks Canada’s mainstream media industry says Postmedia’s pending purchase of Atlantic Canada’s largest newspaper chain is almost certain to result in job cuts and a reduction in local content.
MOREhttps://t.co/UATmAdv7kLhttps://t.co/UATmAdv7kL

— Global Halifax (@globalhalifax) July 30, 2024

We have noted in the past that the Postmedia dominance of local newspapers in Canada didn't extend into Atlantic Canada.

New Brunswick was the first domino to fall in 2022 when Brunswick News (Irving) sold their newspapers to Postmedia. Now Postmedia wants to buy the SaltWire chain of newspapers. That company publishes more than 20 papers in Atlantic Canada, including The Chronicle Herald in Halifax, The Guardian in Charlottetown, and The Telegram in St. John's.

SaltWire has had its problems, including a move to stop publishing printed copies on Mondays.

This CBC News article noted: "In the release, the Canadian news media company said the potential acquisition aligns with Postmedia's commitment to preserving local journalism and supporting communities." Your humble narrator wouldn't take that statement with a grain of Salt(Wire).

New Brunswick has French-language newspapers that are relatively independent in Canada. English language journalism newspaper readers would like more independent sources of journalism in Canada.

New Brunswick switches out one newspaper monopoly for another one

Canadian journalism notebook: Canadian cities losing Monday newspaper editions

We feel terrible about writing negative events within Canadian journalism instead of positive and active sources of quality Canadian journalism. You just have to search harder than normal. The beauty of the Internet is that the searches are easier.

Getting Canadian news directly through apps

A guide to quality Canadian journalism in lieu of Meta and Google being childish

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

Feel free to let us know if there is a great source that we don't have on our lists. Canadian journalism is worth having and being done well. Thanks.

photo credit: Corus/Global
Twitter captures: @KelownaNow; @globalhalifax

Canada's Local Journalism Initiative funding extended through 2027

Adding something new is usually a good thing, except when there are purse strings attached. The Trudeau Government stepped up to help out Canadian journalism that funded 400 local reporting jobs across the country. The good news is that Ottawa will spend another $58.8 million to continue the Local Journalism Initiative until 2027. The program started in 2019.

The funding is administered by not-for-profit organizations to protect the independence of the press.

If you are Canadian and voting in the next federal election in 2025, supporting local journalism might not be in the top 10 reasons to vote for a specific MP. The Conservatives might not be likely to continue this funding past 2027 and might try to cut this off sooner.

The beauty of the funding is that underserved communities, including Indigenous, official language minority and LGBTQ+ communities, get help they really need.

This recent Canadaland podcast episode delves into who might be hurt if the funding had not been renewed.

Short Cuts #965 The Oliphant in the Room (Canadaland)

Local Journalism Initiative (Canadian Heritage)

One interesting tidbit from the Canadaland episode is that the Local Journalism Initiative stories produced can be republished elsewhere in Canada at no charge.

Canadian journalism notebook: The risk of taking money from government

Trudeau Government proposes ways to help out Canadian journalism

Proposed money for Canadian journalism about sprouting non-profit news templates

Some of the fears — mostly from conservatives — did not come close to materializing. The Google money will likely go in the opposite direction to big media producers. Some of that Google money could have gone to save W5 from the Bell Media massive cuts. Somehow, that is not seen as "controversial" as the Local Journalism Initiative.

Still a good idea to be diligent about this potentially worrisome relationship. Just not paranoid.

A guide to quality Canadian journalism in lieu of Meta and Google being childish

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian society coverage

If you know of a community that benefited from the Local Journalism Initiative, let us know in the comments.

photo credit: Canadian Heritage

Bell Media making deep cuts to W5, CTV local newscasts

Update from changes to local news at Bell Media pic.twitter.com/tCrK7O6uwt

— jonah (@yyzsportsmedia) February 8, 2024

We wrote back in June about Bell Media wanting the CRTC to reduce (even more) local newscasts. Well, Bell Media decided on its own to reduce those local newscasts.

• Weekday noon newscasts at all CTV stations will end, except for Toronto.
• 6 pm and 11 pm newscasts on weekends will end at all CTV and CTV2 stations, except for Toronto, Montréal, and Ottawa.

W5, the CTV News crowning glory, is being cancelled as a standalone documentary series and reduced to a "multi-platform investigative reporting unit" for the various CTV News properties.

Bell Media will implement "multi-skilled journalists" to replace news correspondents and technician teams reporting to CTV National News in Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada. The translation into English is that journalists will run their own cameras instead of having a team go on assignments. They will also make correspondent changes in Ottawa.

The company is making other dramatic changes to CTV News Channel, including the cancellation of evening programs The Debate, This Hour, and Top 3 Tonight. The channel will run a 4-hour news broadcast weeknights at 6 pm. The company determines local newscasts are too expensive yet newscasts are cheaper than programs that give depth to the day's news.

Bell Media wants CRTC to allow reducing local news

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

Weekday daytime programming at BNN Bloomberg is "being streamlined," reducing the number of separate broadcasts.

On top of all those changes, Bell Media is selling 45 of its 103 regional radio stations in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.

This comes on the heels on cutbacks at CBC and Radio-Canada to their news departments, among other cuts.

Local news counts as "Canadian content" for CRTC requirements. Given the olé and/or laissez-faire approach the CRTC uses in its regulation, somehow Bell Media will get away with the local news cuts.

The CTV stations generally run a local newscast following the CTV National News at 11:30 pm. That would comprise 2.5 hours for the entire week, since the local weekend newscasts would be cut. Bell Media petitioned the CRTC last summer to allow its stations in major markets to no longer have to broadcast at least 6 hours of weekly locally reflective news. Bell Media petitioned to broadcast fewer than 3 hours of locally reflective news each week for its non-metropolitan stations.

The company also announced that it would pay a quarterly dividend of 99.75 cents per common share, up from 96.75 cents per share. So this isn't about money, despite their cries.

W5 as a stand alone program is eliminated by Bell. More than 50 years of fine current affairs journalism on CTV at an end. A tremendous legacy. A sad day for Canadian television. https://t.co/OvNqtTzrKT

— Tom Harrington (@cbctom) February 8, 2024

W5 is older than the Super Bowl and 60 Minutes. The program debuted on CTV on September 11, 1966. The idea that W5 would be part of the budget cuts is a gut punch even among cynics. The program's loss also reduces the Canadian content in CTV's prime-time schedule, likely not to be replaced with other Canadian content.

W5 ran on Friday nights at 10 pm on CTV and the program was also run on other Bell Media properties, including CTV2, CTV News Channel, and Investigation Discovery.

Bell Media insists the content will be on CTV News platforms yet not even close to the same level as we've seen on television. The potential ratings of running crappy American content in a terrible timeslot is going to make that much money for Bell Media? Especially given the ability to run the episodes multiple times on its properties.

Omar Sachedina, the current CTV National News anchor, contributed to W5 and was a long-time reporter. Bell Media has cut back on its reporters at home and abroad. Having those correspondents is how you build news talent. The Bell Media news bench has been weak and will now be weaker with these latest cuts.

Bell Media benefits greatly from the profits made running American TV shows that dominate the prime time lineup. They have cut back on Canadian content and will likely get away with those moves.

CanadianCrossing.com CTV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Broadcast media in Canada, of which Bell Media is the dominant force financially in this category, will get $30 million from Google as part of the $100 million every year. Even if somehow the money is divided evenly among CTV, Global, and Citytv, that is $10 million that could go to news coverage. A reminder that the companies will get huge amounts of money, even though they aren't required to spend the money on news.

The idea is that these companies are in debt, which isn't true. The company's news division is reportedly losing more than $40 million a year on its own. They want the news to succeed on its own financially instead of taking profits from running the American shows to pay for news. That isn't viable, leading to these cuts.

Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge weighed in on the cuts in a news conference. "I am extremely disappointed in Bell Canada's decision for many reasons."

"In the past decade, when acquisitions were allowed for those big companies to acquire television stations or radio stations, it came with the promise that they would deliver on news content. And today, they are backing [away] from that promise," said St-Onge.

The minister pointed out that Bell Media received more than $40 million in annual regulatory relief. That amount would cover the alleged debt of the news department.

No offence to the heritage minister but Bell Media (CTV), Corus (Global), and Rogers (Citytv) aren't scared of the Trudeau Government. Things will get worse for Canadian journalism until the private companies are scared to make such cuts.

Twitter captures: @yyzsportsmedia; @cbctom
photo credits: Bell Media (x2)

Google to give Canada government $100 million in response to Bill C-18

Statement by Canadian Heritage Minister St-Onge on next steps for the Online News Acthttps://t.co/WytJABXP8G

— GC Newsroom (@NewsroomGC) November 29, 2023

Google and $100 million. Meta (Facebook): still crickets. Bill C-18 aka the Online News Act kicks into law today.

The $100 million toward Canadian journalism sounds good, though, a lot of that money will likely end up in the hands of American hedge funds that control the vast majority of newsprint (Postmedia) in Canada. Robbing from the rich to the rich isn't what Robin Hood had in mind.

There's even the idea that the money the CBC and Radio-Canada would get could be zero (huh?) or less (per measurement of impact) than its privately owned contenders. CBC and Radio-Canada have taxpayer funding so that makes some sense.

Though the CBC cuts, which will do tremendous damage to the public broadcaster, would be lessen in impact with a bit of that Google money.

The major issue is that the money will be pennies (which Canada doesn't even have anymore) in comparison to outlets that are struggling financially, even if they are eligible for such funding. Postmedia and TorStar, the Toronto Star company, companies that almost merged, will get the lions share of the $100 million. That feels … crappy to Canadian journalism.

Google, unlike Facebook, didn't retaliate against Canadian consumers. Again, Facebook has actively been throwing a tantrum for months even though the law hasn't kicked in until … today, December 19.

While $100 million sounds impressive, the number is less than what the government initially thought could be raised through the law. Google reportedly didn't move from that figure in its initial proposal.

A lot of how this money will move to Canadian news outlets is waiting to see what the Trudeau Government determines close to the December 19 date. The idea of strings not being attached means the large companies don't have to hire Canadian journalists or improve their journalism in any manner.

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge submitted more details on what this all means.

"The Trudeau government said the law was needed to support journalism that drives civic engagement, counters disinformation and upholds democracy." Sounds great yet will this happen? We have serious doubts.

Getting Canadian news directly through apps

A guide to quality Canadian journalism in lieu of Meta and Google being childish

How to save news media from our tech overlords (Canadaland)

Pascale St-Onge is the new minister of Canadian heritage

We realise Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge has not been in this office for all that long. We don't trust Pablo Rodriguez on this portfoilo, even though he has served 2 terms in Heritage.

St-Onge has said in interviews that the money will go to digital news outlets. Yet ⅔ of that will go to written media, mostly owned by American hedge funds. Those digital outlets will negotiate with Google.

The Online News Act Is in Force. How We Got Here, What's Next (The Tyee)

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian society coverage

The idea behind Bill C-18 is that Facebook and Google manipulated the classified ad system, draining journalism of a lot of its potential revenue. Balance the scales, even a little. This is what makes Facebook's tantrum all the more frustrating.

Even if, a giant if, Facebook gives up the tantrum, the damage may be done. Hospitals are being backed up. People need information on potential dental care. As we've seen with the CBC, their investigative powers need more funds, not fewer.

Canadian journalism needs a lot more help. Reminds to be seen whether Bill C-18 is part of that help or making things worse.

Twitter capture: @NewsroomGC
photo credit: me/Facebook

Indigenous authenticity is crucial, even in the case of Buffy Sainte-Marie

We will not touch on the topic of whether Buffy Sainte-Marie is Indigenous or not. That is not up for us to decide. We do want to pick up on some threads on the impact following the investigation by The Fifth Estate on CBC.

The primary argument is the birth certificate. The investigation found that the birth certificate identifies the child as "white." Bezhig Little Bird/Esther Rosenblum — the primary character in Little Bird — says her birth certificate has her being born in Montréal. Bezhig knows that is a lie because she knows she was born in Saskatchewan and adopted by a couple from Montréal. Sainte-Marie was born before the Sixties Scoop; the story she tells matches what happened to Indigenous children stolen from their natural parents.

In the Front Burner episode, Geoff Leo, a senior investigative reporter with CBC Saskatchewan, told of conversations with younger relatives of Sainte-Marie. That would be labelled as hearsay in a court of law. I have a first cousin who didn't really know our grandmother. She wouldn't be a good resource to tell a first-hand story about our grandmother.

The people in the Front Burner episode infer (imply?) that Buffy Sainte-Marie benefited from saying she was Indigenous. This was back in the 1960s in the United States. The major Indigenous figure of that time was the Native American man who cried when he saw a bunch of litter.

Sainte-Marie did make an impact, teaching children about Indigenous people on Sesame Street in the 1970s. Americans and Canadians knew very little about Indigenous people, other than stereotypes. If this wasn't a big deal (it was a big deal), then why was Sainte-Marie the only one to step up back then?

The details Sainte-Marie gets right about what happened in the Sixties Scoop, talking about those matters when few white people even understood what was happening.

Little Bird shows us the adoption notices in the newspapers, advertising the positive elements of each Indigenous child. We watch as the head social worker goes through the dance where the children are taken away. The courtroom where the participants blatantly lie about the status of the children.

If you watched the documentary Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On (which just won the International Emmy award earlier this month), her backstory doesn't make a lot of sense. There is a mystique to the story but that story doesn't hold up too well.

The story of Bezhig/Esther wouldn't have made sense within her adopted community. Ask yourself if you have that kind of mental retention, especially when society tells you this never happened. The struggles that Bezhig goes through just to find her family is rather remarkable for its time.

Canadian film review: Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On

None of this proves that Buffy Sainte-Marie is Indigenous or not Indigenous. All we are saying is that if she isn't Indigenous, Buffy Sainte-Marie has been the Johnny Appleseed of showing settlers what Indigenous people have gone through.

For the record, Sainte-Marie has denied the accusations leveled in The Fifth Estate report.

Thanks to Little Bird, Bones of Crows, Birth of a Family and countless other Canadian films, your humble narrator has learned the basics of the Sixties Scoop.

We have noticed that Little Bird have included Buffy Sainte-Marie songs on the soundtrack. I Remember You is the song we hear as the title credits roll. We would be curious as to what co-creator Jennifer Podemski, among others, thinks about the use of the songs in light of the CBC News report.

Canadian film review: Inconvenient Indian

Michelle Latimer responds in her own words

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers weighs in on the Michelle Latimer issue

As a settler, I have no clue as to why someone would pretend to be Indigenous. Michelle Latimer did a good job with Inconvenient Indian and Trickster yet her lack of authenticity was a significant concern.

The vetting process to receive grants going to Indigenous filmmakers would seem to be a good start. The Devery Jacobs response to the CBC investigation into Latimer seems like a good direction to go. Again, not our decision to make.

Music is a very different world than film.

My response to the CBC exposé written by @Kanhehsiio & @JorgeBarrera about Michelle Latimer’s Indigenous ancestry: pic.twitter.com/V3xAanCQuL

— Devery Jacobs (@kdeveryjacobs) December 18, 2020

CanadianCrossing.com Indigenous coverage

CanadianCrossing.com music coverage

Canadian rock and roll documentary makes Independent Lens debut on PBS

Sainte-Marie has done a lot to educate people about those who are Indigenous. Having authenticity is crucial for Indigenous people to tell their own stories. For so many years, settlers were telling those stories with little concern for accuracy.

The stereotypes that existed when I was young — amplified by various sports teams, pro and college — were highly offensive. I sadly recall the tiny "safe speech" areas around the Atlanta MLB stadium during Game 1 of the 1995 World Series featuring Cleveland and Atlanta. The people were protesting the stereotypes pushed by those teams. The Atlanta mascot, whose name we won't mention here, claimed he was afraid to walk outside in his mocking costume. That was embarrassing given that the space was very small and far away from where the mascot would have been.

Things are a lot better, though Little Bird reminds us that "today there are more Indigenous children in custody than ever before."

Determining authenticity is important even with someone as loved as Buffy Sainte-Marie. This is especially intriguing, given that the Merriam-Webster dictionary people selected "authentic" as the 2023 word of the year.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Canadian TV notebook: Fall 2023 premiere dates on both sides of the border

Canadian TV notebook: A much longer wait for Season 3 of Transplant on NBC

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On and Little Bird are both available through PBS in the United States. Little Bird is available in Canada through Crave and APTN.

photo credits: Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On; Little Bird
video credit: CBC News
Twitter capture: @kdeveryjacobs

Getting Canadian news directly through apps

Saw this message quite often while on Canadian soil. Canada isn't being denied just Canadian news on Facebook but news from sources all over the world. That would be problematic like if there was a significant conflict in the Middle East these days. Oops.

The filters weren't 100% accurate but pounced rather quickly to deny news links to Canadians.

We get that the Canadian government overreached, perhaps with good intentions, with Bill C-11. We get that Facebook is throwing a tantrum that the company feels like is necessary, like a 3-year-old who wants candy and isn't getting any.

A toddler with a tantrum is annoying but isn't dangerous. A lack of information, especially these days, can be dangerous. Let's hope for a solid solution and soon.

CBC News is fighting back in its Hockey Night in Canada promos with the message: "get the news you need when you need and without any restrictions."

You might not want 20 apps on your phone but the CBC News app serves most of that need for Canadian news. You can set the area you want as a local focus, whether that is where you live, where you are from, or some other connection.

Loading individual apps is helpful if you have a subscription to The Globe and Mail or the Toronto Star. Those apps are pretty much useless without a subscription. The CP24 app is good if you live in Toronto or care about Canada's largest city.

The Canada Newspapers app, only for Android users, is a marvelous resource. You can find Canadian newspapers all across Canada. There are links to cable and broadcast, such as CTV, Citytv, and CP24. You can read French language newspapers in Montréal and VOCM in St. John's in Newfoundland.

Sports fans can even catch up on sports with links to Rogers Sportsnet and TSN.

Apple gets the cooler apps most of the time. Those users deserve this app as well. Here's hoping that changes soon.

We do suggest putting all your Canada related apps in a folder. My clever Canada folder has the CBC News app, CBC Listen app, and the Canada Newspapers app. Having one place for my Canadian content is huge when I need to access those apps.

Getting news from podcasts such as Canadaland can steer around having to go through Facebook. The frustrating part is not being able to share those links on social media, such as Facebook, which you can't do for now in Canada.

Technology is supposed to help improve our world, not to have internal tantrums that disrupt our worlds.

Even if Facebook and potentially Google stop the tantrums, news consumers need a multiverse strategy to access what is happening in Canada.

This isn't as convenient, which is the idea, but being informed is what truly matters these days.

A guide to quality Canadian journalism in lieu of Meta and Google being childish

How to save news media from our tech overlords (Canadaland)

Pascale St-Onge is the new minister of Canadian heritage

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian society coverage

Our guide to quality Canadian journalism is a helpful resource. Maybe you need to have a few too many apps on your phone to keep up with Canadian news. We can't let Facebook, Google, or any other tech lord be better or smarter than we are as news consumers. When they win, we all lose.

Let us know in the comments section if you have a good solution, especially for Apple users, where others can benefit.

photo credits: Facebook; CBC/NHL; Canada Newspapers