Intrigue in the Canadian Parliament

[Amor de Cosmos]

Seems to have been a textbook bad hire. She also spent money on Imperial-esque bits and bobs, like having a private staircase to her office built.

[WOM]

Didn't the Premier of AB do something similar with a private apartment above her office?

[ursus arctos]

Justin isn't a great judge of character, eh?

[WOM]

You need it to recognize it.

[Amor de Cosmos]

The Liberal Convention calls for establishment of a Universal Basic Income by a vote 491–85. It's been endorsed by the government caucus, though Justin's not keen. Still, this is potentially a positive move to come from dealing with the consequences of the pandemic.

On reflection it also sounds like a big "Yoo-Hoo... over here!" to Mark Carney. Who a lot of people would like to see in parliament, but I'm not sure that appeals to him for its own sake. A project like this though might be right up his alley.

[Diable Rouge]

The notion of a bank regulator joining a political party would seem distinctly odd in Europe, unless he were to opt for the Martin Bell route into Parliament.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Canada is maybe the only country where an economist could become a well known public figure. He's definitely being courted, and he's not a Tory by inclination. He's also just written a 600pp book, "because he was bored at home during Covid." Which, intentionally or not, gives the impression he's looking for another project, but maybe not a job per se.

[ursus arctos]

I've met Carney, and worked with his brother. He is an impressive guy.

I think you underestimate the appeal of economists. Milton Friedman and Paul Volcker were very much public figures down here, Mario Draghi is the Prime Minister of Italy and Yanis Vaoufakis as regularly touted as a "rock star" (with matching a wardrobe and vehicular accessories)

[Amor de Cosmos]

True enough. More important perhaps is that he's international well known in his field, which in Canada is always a massive plus.

[ursus arctos]

Quite

He's probably better known among yer "international elites" than many recent Canadian PMs and certainly more respected.

The current PM is a bit of an outlier on the first measure due to his parentage

[Amor de Cosmos]

Yeah, Justin's a bit nervy and overcautious, but he's a pretty face and has some excellent people in his caucus. I could see Garneau working well with Crystia Freeland and Filomena Tassi.

[ursus arctos]

This is a very troubling piece

https://twitter.com/joannachiu/status/1390800409619439618

[Hot Pepsi]

Part of that, I assume, is that so many crimes in the US go unreported.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Part of it also that Asian people, collectively, constitute more than half the the population of Greater Vancouver. There's also a somewhat disingenuous use of statistics in that article. While it's true that Vancouver's population is 700,000, the GVRD, which includes Richmond — mentioned in the article — and other municipalities is over 2 million. The stats quoted are from the latter, which make comparisons between NY and Vancouver proper invidious.

Having said that, yes there undoubtedly have been incidents as mentioned, but if it's anything approaching the crisis-level indicated in that article it's not at all evident in local media, nor have I heard anything from Chinese born friends. I'm also more than a little skeptical of a researcher who refers to the city as "a struggling industrial backwater that morphed into a glittering cosmopolis of luxury condos and designer boutiques" due to Chinese immigration." There has been a significant Chinese population here for as long as the city's existed, and while it increased in both numbers and wealth post-1996, it's since been matched by migrants from The Philippines, Iran, and India. There were anti-Chinese riots in 100 years ago, and back when I moved here I'd sometimes here blatantly racist comments, though never within earshot of anyone of Asian heritage. But this piece reads as though the writer would rather pour gasoline on a fire rather than put it out.

[ursus arctos]

I was very much hoping that you would critique it and am very glad that you did

[Amor de Cosmos]

I've been looking at other reports online, mostly they quote the same couple of individuals as sources. I'm certain there have been incidents affecting Asian people, just as there are violent incidents affecting bus-drivers in this city everyday, but I remain to be convinced that it's the epidemic this story claims it is.

[ursus arctos]

To pick up on HP's point, another issue with comparing across cities is differing standards and attitudes on reporting hate crimes.

NYPD is rather notorious for under-reporting them, including a number of recent attacks on East Asians that were only re-classified after media attention.

That dynamic only make victims even more reticent to report.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Indeed. And what qualifies as "hate," in each jurisdiction.

[Discordant Resonance]

So, looks like Leslyn Lewis is the new name to watch in Canadian political circles - seems like she wants to be a mix of Obama and Varadkar.

[ursus arctos]

This is absolutely horrific

https://twitter.com/temurdur/status/1402001143597867012

[WOM]

Utterly. And a stupid 20 year old in custody. Where to even begin?

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Jesus, that's horrific

So, looks like Leslyn Lewis is the new name to watch in Canadian political circles - seems like she wants to be a mix of Obama and Varadkar.

Does Erin O'Toole know that he has a girl's name?

[ursus arctos]

I've wondered that for some time

[WOM]

The Conservatives punched in 'puffy white middle aged male with a stupid grin and a nasty streak' and out he tumbled. The name was way down the list.

[Amor de Cosmos]

We are prone to choosing girls' names for boys: