Monthly Archives: September 2008

| Montreal, On the Net

Montreal’s battleground ridings

DemocraticSPACE has compiled its list of 68 battleground ridings in this election.

Montreal-area ridings on the list include:

  • Jeanne-Le Ber, the southwest/Verdun riding Liberal heritage minister Liza Frulla lost to an unknown Bloc candidate in 2006. (You’ll also notice the Green’s Claude William Genest, currently running in Westmount, came in last place with 5% of the vote)
  • Brossard-La Prairie, another Bloc steal from the Liberals in 2006, formerly Jacques Saada’s riding.
  • Outremont, the Thomas Mulcair NDP by-election win riding, which also covers some of the Plateau and a lot of Côte des Neiges.
  • Vaudreuil Soulanges, the riding Marc Garneau lost in 2006 and is now being contested by Conservative senator-to-get-a-cabinet-post Michael Fortier. Includes Vaudreuil, St. Lazare, Hudson, Rigaud and everything else between the two rivers.

Absent from the list is Westmount-Ville-Marie, which it expects to go to the Liberals’ Garneau; Papineau, which it expects will be an easy steal for Justin Trudeau; and adjacent Ahuntsic, which Liberal Eleni Bakopanos is expected to take back from Bloquiste Maria Mourani.

| In the news, Montreal, Navel-gazing

Kurtis Hansen: Hero

One year ago, a fire up in a far-away cabin near a lake caught fire, killing five out of the six people staying there. One of the victims was Kurtis Hansen, a 26-year-old former security guard at The Gazette, whose rather nasty smoking habit had him often conversing with editorial staff late at night in the smoking room. (Last night it became clear that, for the most part, smokers had a closer relationship with him than non-smokers)

Today, the paper carries a full-page feature on the fire and its aftermath, which as written by Katherine Wilton is so dramatic as to be almost surreal. It focuses on Karl Hansen, who barely survived the fire that took the lives of the five people he brought with him to the cottage.

It also says what Kurtis was doing for the last few minutes of his life:

Kurtis Hansen raced around the one-storey cottage looking for an escape route. They quickly decided the best option was to go through a window in a bedroom.

In a desperate bid to save his family, Kurtis grabbed a small end table and hammered it against the window until it broke. But inhaling the thick black smoke was too much for him. He fell to his knees, then collapsed.

With the flames surrounding the cottage and his son lying on the ground, Hansen instinctively dove head first through the window. He rolled down the hill to extinguish the flames that were burning him.

“Kurtis is the hero in all this,” Karl Hansen recalled recently. “I couldn’t have got out the window without Kurtis breaking it. My doctors said if I breathed in that crap for another few seconds, I would have passed out.”

I don’t know if it’s the personal connection, the inherently emotional nature of the event itself, or Wilton’s writing, but a few editors (including myself) had to take a break after reading the story.

| Media, Opinion, TV

Canada steals CNN/YouTube debate format

Remember those CNN/YouTube debates a few months back, in which they crowded the stage with all the guys (and Hillary) running for president and had them answer questions posed by snowmen and Clinton campaign volunteers?

Well it looks like they’re coming to Canada. A media consortium (but not the media consortium) has banded together to form the Forum des chefs (auto-video-play warning), which is soliciting questions posed by Internet users for the French-language leaders’ debate an online debate in French sometime after the official debate*. The media partners, each of which provides a columnist to discuss the answers, includes Cyberpresse (La Presse), Le Devoir, Radio-Canada and L’Actualité magazine.

You’ll notice the ominous absence of TVA (which is part of the consortium running the official debate), Canoe, the Journal de Montréal or any other Quebecor property.

There’s also an inherent danger in simply accepting questions from the public like this. One of the CNN/YouTube debate questions, it turns out, came from a very active member of the Hillary Clinton campaign. It would be very difficult for journalists to properly vet every question to see if the person behind it may have gotten help from a campaign or may have a hidden agenda. Now it’ll be in the best interests of the campaigns to either submit questions themselves or get other people to submit questions for them. Perhaps they can issue talking points to the public so they know how to phrase those questions.

You can see the slippery slope forming here. What are the chances of it being abused?

via Tristan Péloquin

*I’m an idiot (again) and didn’t read properly. It’s not the official debate, which I guess means it doesn’t matter as much. But the potential for abuse is still there.

| Blogosphere, Navel-gazing, Public transit, Radio, Video

Welcome Daybreak listeners

(or, at least, those who hear about a website in the morning and make a note to visit a half hour later)

In case you missed it, I was invited by CBC Daybreak to come in and give them an analysis of blog coverage of the federal election campaign (my super-secret project). I was originally supposed to go on yesterday, but with the debate going long I was bumped to today.

Unfortunately, in the first time in months (years?) that I’ve taken a metro train during morning rush hour, I experienced four separate delays (one of which had me stuck in the tunnel). I practically had a heart attack, knowing full well that radio deadlines aren’t flexible by even a second.

I gave up at Laurier metro as the lights went out in the train, and hurried outside to let the producer know I wasn’t there. They quickly decided to do the interview by (pay)phone. (One thing payphones still have over cellphones is that, because they don’t have to compress their data into compact wireless streams, the sound is much clearer and more radio-friendly. Not as good as in-studio, but desperate times…)

As I told host Mike Finnerty, I don’t blame the STM for the delays, which were due in part to technical problems and because of the traffic tie-ups those problems create. But I wasn’t thrilled with the transit corporation this morning, that’s for sure. (And, of course, the trip back home was entirely uneventful)

Anyway, we talked about this blog (it’s really a place for any opinions I like to give on anything, though I focus specifically on the media, public transit, stuff going on in the news, blogs, and of course myself. You can also read what I’ve written about the federal election so far.

We also got into the meat of the matter (though six minutes goes by so fast when you’re talking about stuff), discussing blogosphere reaction to Elizabeth May in the debates, as well as a video by Justin Trudeau (and the parody of that video by Prenez Garde Aux Chiens, whose season premiere is tonight at 10pm on Canal Vox) that has been making the rounds in the blogosphere recently.

I’ll try to get a clip of the segment up soon.

| In the news, On the Net

CHP wants in on debates

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but the Christian Heritage Party, which describes itself as the next-most-popular party after the Greens, wants into the leaders’ debates. The party had 45 candidates in the last election, and seems to think 70% of the country supports it. Yeah.

Their platform includes:

  • Spending more money on infrastructure (through enormous interest-free loans which they guess will be repaid in full) and paying off the debt without raising taxes
  • Eliminate income tax and replace it with a sales tax that will make people yearn for the GST
  • Eliminate the Canada Pension Plan and privatize social security
  • Introduce private health care delivery services
  • Outlaw abortion
  • Call a royal commission so they can find a way to get rid of gay marriage without seeming bigoted.
  • Forget about Kyoto, carbon taxes or any other economy-hurting way of dealing with the global warming fraud, but somehow do something “real” for the environment (the platform gives no details on this)
  • Allow doctors and pharmacists to deny care for any reason
  • Educate people about the “health risks” of “sexual promiscuity” and end government funding for a life-saving vaccine because Big Pharma supports it (oh, and it’s for a disease that’s sexually transmitted)
  • Stop human rights commissions from attacking “free speech”

In other words, it’s the platform of the Christian conservative end of the Republican Party.

That might make the debates more entertaining.

UPDATE (Sept. 23): They’re suing.

| Montreal, Navel-gazing, Radio

Daybreak hosts debate in Papineau riding

CBC Daybreak (the radio morning show) is coming literally around the corner from my apartment later this morning, and hosting a live debate between candidates in the Papineau riding, including Liberal Justin Trudeau, starting just after 7am (88.5FM).

Rumour on the street is, after the debate (around 8:15 or so), (UPDATE: Bumped to tomorrow at 7:40 because the candidates couldn’t keep their mouths shut) they’ll be bringing in some know-it-all journalist wannabe to talk about blogs or something.

Worth getting up early for… (again).

UPDATE: Daybreak has the debate up as a podcast (mp3).

| Canadiens, Montreal, Movies

Canadiens need extras

TVA Films is doing a movie about the Canadiens for their 100th anniversary, and are filming at the Bell Centre this week. They’re looking for extras who want to be a tiny blip on a screen for a split-second without receiving any compensation.

For those who want to show their Habs pride, catch a glimpse of players, and have entire afternoons to blow off, they’re filming Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

| On the Net

DemocraticSPACE launches for 2008 campaign

The riding-by-riding election prediction machine DemocraticSPACE has launched its 2008 campaign website. It currently predicts the following seat makeup:

  • CON: 146 (up from 124 in 2006 and 99 in 2004, but just shy of the 155 needed for a majority government)
  • LIB: 91 (down from 103 in 2006 and 135 in 2004)
  • NDP: 30 (same as at dissolution: 29 in 2006 plus Thomas Mulcair in Outremont)
  • BQ: 39 (down from 51)
  • GRN: 0
  • IND: 2 (André Arthur in Quebec and ex-Tory Bill Casey in Nova Scotia)

In Quebec:

  • BQ: 39 (down from 51)
  • CON: 18 (up from 10)
  • LIB: 16 (up from 13)
  • NDP: 1 (Mulcair)
  • GRN: 0
  • IND: 1 (Arthur)

If these results hold, it would be bad for the Liberals nationally, bad for the Bloc, bad for the Greens (Vancouver Liberal-turned-Green MP Blair Wilson, they predict, will lose to the Tories), status quo for the NDP and, of course, good for the Conservatives, but still short of their goal.

The website will keep updating its predictions, based in part from comments left by constituents in those ridings, before taking a wild guess on too-close-to-call races just before the vote. In the 2006 election, the website was 94% accurate at predicting which party would win any given riding, underestimating the number of Liberal seats and overestimating the number of Conservative and Bloc seats.

| Media, Opinion

When is under-cover journalism an invasion of privacy?

Every now and then, a journalist will feel guilty about having a proper salary, union-negotiated benefits, ergonomic chairs and all the other stuff that another class of people could only dream of. So, in a bid to absolve them of this guilt, sell a few newspapers and hopefully scrounge up an award or two, a reporter will be sent “under cover” to work in a minimum-wage job, live in the slums and otherwise experience life as a member of the lower classes.

La Presse’s Michèle Ouimet did that, and articles about her work in a minimum-wage job and living in a slum with prostitutes and drug addicts appeared this week. The names in her articles are changed “to preserve anonymity.”

That doesn’t always work, though. Back in 2006, Globe and Mail journalist Jan Wong did something similar, living in a slum and working as a maid at less than minimum wage. She described her daily life, and changed names so that nobody would be embarrassed (or decide to sue her).

Unfortunately, a couple described in the story had enough “private information” revealed that friends recognized them, and they say that caused them personal embarrassment. So rather than admit that they treat hired help like crap and there are parts of their lives that could use some improvement, they sued Wong and the Globe for invasion of privacy.

This week, an Ontario court ruled against a motion from the Globe to dismiss the case.

Ironically, the lawsuits (one from the couple, another from the maid service) names the parties in question, which now makes them Googlable where they were not before. I personally don’t see how this more public humiliation (they’re not challenging the accuracy of anything said about them) is worth a chance to take on a paper for $50,000.

On one hand, this kind of journalism wouldn’t be possible without some deception.

On the other hand, how would you feel if embarrassing information about you appeared in a newspaper, and everyone who knew you could recognize you from the details given?

Perhaps a simple answer to all this is that journalists should take better care at anonymizing information, especially when they’re setting a scene with lots of detail.

| Media

Citizen in strike position, and Gazette may follow

The Ottawa Newspaper Guild, which represents employees of the Ottawa Citizen took a strike vote on Thursday, its members voting 83% in favour of a strike mandate. This is a bargaining tactic, showing the employer the union is serious and that its members are prepared to walk off the job to get their demands. However, the union has said it has no plans to follow through with a strike so long as productive negotiations are continuing. The Citizen’s contract expired July 20, and the major issue standing in the way of a new one is wages: the employer is offering increases of 1%, 1%, 1.5%, 2% and 2% over five years, which represents a pay cut compared to inflation.

Meanwhile, the Montreal Newspaper Guild, which represents employees of the Gazette (including myself), has called a strike vote for Sept. 28. Same deal about this being a bargaining tactic (the sides go back to the table Sept. 30). Negotiations haven’t progressed to the wage discussion stage, but among the contentious issues is an employer demand that removes the distinction between reporter and photographer, which would mean journalists have to perform both functions.

| Blogosphere, Media, Navel-gazing

What are your favourite political blogs?

With the federal election under way, political blogs are heating up (and springing up) like never before. Every politician has an official blog (to say nothing about Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and other Web 2.0 silliness), and every media outlet has some form of an “on the campaign trail” blog. (The Globe alone has eight election blogs)

Here are some of the ones that have peaked piqued my interest so far:

  • La campagne vue par Marissal et Pratte (just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?), a strange blog in which La Presse columnist Vincent Marissal and “éditorialiste-en-chef” André Pratte discuss politics with each other. Each post is actually a dual post from each of them, asking each other questions and giving their thoughts on some issue. But it’s not a strict point-counterpoint.
  • Silver-Powers, from the Globe, however, is. A Liberal hack vs. a Tory hack. Both former assistants to politicians in their parties. But rather than just yell at each other or make fun of gaffes from the other’s leader, they inject some humour into their posts, and stick to debating the policy issues that set them apart.
  • Off the Fence from J. Kelly Nestruck (who went from the McGill Daily to the National Post to the Guardian to the Globe and Mail) has sentimental value for me. We go way back to that protest in 2001 against Canwest, a company we would both later work for.
  • Macleans’s Deux maudits anglais gets a mention here not just because it’s funny (and has provided me plenty of linklove), but because it’s one of the few anglo blogs focusing on Quebec.
  • Claude William Genest’s blog also gets a vote (he’s the Green candidate in Westmount), but only because his massive ego is so shameless it’s funny. (Though kudos on the website, it’s very well designed)
  • Ditto Garth Turner, whose blog essentially led to a party switch. Putting blog above party, that’s worth something. He continues the full, honest disclosure that got him in trouble in the first place, and separates his blog from other candidates’ press-release feeds. (Though every time he mentions Stéphane Dion I ask myself: Really? You’re really excited about this guy as prime minister?)
  • Liblogs.ca is a blog aggregator, which is pretty good at finding interesting blog posts from small blogs from a Liberal perspective.

I’m subscribed to quite a few more, and I’m sure I’ll discover more gems as the election goes along.

What are your favourite federal political blogs? Bonus points if they’re francophone and/or Quebec-based. Extra bonus points if they go beyond ultra-partisanship, actually discuss new ideas instead of linking to newspaper articles and popular posts on other blogs, and won’t put me into a coma.

(This is all for a super-duper-secret project that I’ll let you in on next week)

| Media

Want to cover the 2010 Games? Act fast

The Canadian Olympic Committee is currently accepting applications for media wishing to cover the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver/Whistler (Feb. 12-28). The catch is you have to apply, like, right now. Deadline is Oct. 6, 2008.

Quoth the COC:

The COC anticipates a great deal of interest from Canadian media wishing to cover the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, but due to the limited quantity of accreditations allotted to the COC by the International Olympic Committee, strict criteria will be applied to the allocation process. The selection criteria will include the following as priorities: national scope in coverage (agencies), readership and circulation (regional coverage or large dailies), previous history in attending and covering Olympic Games, geographical representation and linguistic equity.

Considering that even major newspapers have trouble getting accreditation to these things sometimes, don’t expect your average blogger to have much luck with this process.

| Opinion

Long live a free Quebec!

According to Affiliation Quebec’s Allen Nutik:

Now that National Unity has become an election topic, almost nothing threatens Canadian National Unity more than the blatant and unconscionable abandonment of more than one million Quebecers of non-French origin by federal political party leaders, Harper, Dion, and Layton.

I agree. In fact, I think if the federal government doesn’t step up right away, anglo Quebecers might lead a secession movement and try to make Quebec its own country. The only problem, of course, is that we’d need to convince the francophone majority to go along with us, and that’ll never happen.

Good thing we have Duceppe in our corner though.

| Opinion, Technology

Txt the vote!

A lack of interest by youth in politics is a problem in many developed countries. I’m not sure exactly why the youth is so disinterested. Perhaps they don’t understand how important democracy is. Perhaps they’re jaded by our first-past-the-post system which makes their vote pointless. Or perhaps with school, relationships, finding a job and smoking pot they’re just too busy to care.

But if you took a poll of young non-voters, I’m pretty sure that “inability to text-message party leaders” would not rank highly on the list of reasons they’re not participating.

So why do people pretend that this will make a difference?

I’m all for making things more accessible and increasing the avenues of communication. But when old people reduce youth to nothing more than text messaging and Facebook, I find that just a bit insulting.