This is also raising questions of foreign interference/influence in democratic process.

In Canada, the federal Elections Commissioner has been called on to investigate the source of bot campaigns for the leading opposition party: Online bot campaign backing Pierre Pollievre prompts call for probe.

I’ve recently become aware of mulesing, an appalling practice used on Merino sheep in Australia and NZ due to a specific fly problem. The problem is that most merino wool is from those countries.

Also, most fabric generically labeled ‘wool’ is mostly merino from mulesinged sheep.

Ethics conscious knitters, crocheters and weavers are aware, and merino yarns certified as mulesing-free are on the market now.

Knowing country of origin and wool type is another reliable way to avoid endorsing this practice, but again most manufactured clothing or even fabrics will not give the necessary information.

Good bot!

Up to Edmonton is the long way round. I’d stick to the southern routes.

Either way, going through Winnipeg, it’s worthwhile to hit the Manitoba Museum (natural history) and historic sites of the Red River settlement (The Forks, Riel House) but the favourite with the kids will likely be the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

In Alberta, Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump is another site that your kids will cover in school, so it’s worth taking in.

Banff and Jasper are options, but the old far southern route through the Crowsnest pass offers other interesting sites, including the Frank Slide. Given the current fire, I can see avoiding that and Osoyoos, but otherwise the chance to see real desert in Canada, including rattlesnakes and scorpions in the Nk’Mip interpretation centre, is something kids find fascinating.

We’re deep in the summer NBA doldrums but !torontoraptors@lemmy.ca is trying to get traction.

The law has been passed but the actual regulations are to come.

It seems this is more about Meta not wanting to be subject to laws or courts of other countries.

The Australian version of the law would have given the minister power to designate firms, this one requires a more transparent process under regulation that would determine which firms are subject to the tax.

Some observers say that this was key point for Meta because it doesn’t want to accept being subject to legislation by any country outside the US on any issue.

Legislation that uses designations by ministers or Cabinet have been an issue for Canada in the past in trade relations with other countries. Foreign investment reviews. These were claimed to be not transparent decision processes.

What evidence do we have that this is about not wanting to accept Canada having legal authority?

There have been cases where Canadian courts have made court orders on Meta and Google and they have not complied because they claim the Canadian courts do not have jurisdiction. They claim they are only subject to the law of California and the US. As examples, there have been cases where Canadian courts have ordered access to the Facebook and Google accounts of deceased persons and they have not complied.

The legislation had Royal Assent, but coming into force and the publication of final regulations and, in turn, their effective date are yet further steps.

From what we saw in earlier reports, the draft regulations haven’t even been gazetted for consultation yet.

It sound like Meta is acting preemptively to put pressure on the government.

Interesting report.

There’s still very low understanding of how devastating and threatening the convoy protests were for the residents and businesses in the core of Ottawa.

Residents, businesses and people who work downtown in Ottawa roll with protests day-in and out. Large ones usually are usually respectful of the legal limits, and local people know how to plan their days to avoid them if they need to.

This protest damaged hearing with unremitting high decibel air horns, polluted the air with weeks of nonstop truck emissions, actively harassed, intimidated and threatened local residents trying to get to work and essential services, filled the streets with garbage and feces.

They also created significant fire hazards and risked major explosions, including by creating a large stash of gasoline in tanks in Confederation Park - directly across the street from city hall, an armoury, and close to a high school as well as right across the narrow Rideau canal from National Defence headquarters.

But it was the utter lack of consideration for the most vulnerable that truly showed the incredible selfishness and lack of compassion of the protesters.

There are many lower income, disabled and senior residents in coop apartments downtown. Many rely on visiting services from care workers who could not get through the protests on most days. A small proportion had family and friends who were able to host them outside the area of the protests, most were trapped, isolated and terrorized.

I appreciate that the article notes that households on the prairies and other colder areas often retain their gas furnaces the coldest periods - particularly as the electricity costs to run the heat pump in those periods outweigh the cost of gas.

I took the lesson to be that it’s best not to wait until your gas furnace has to be replaced but rather to replace the air conditioner and save the remaining life of the furnace for the deep cold periods when it’s energy inefficient and more expensive to use the heat pump. It would be great to see some good analysis/modelling of this.

Bill C-18 will come into force later this year. It requires regulatory provisions that will need to be formally published and consulted through The Canada Gazette etc.

This seems to be Meta & Google flexing and doing their worst to local media before the proposed regulations are published.

Here’s a CBC breakdown from last Friday.

Reacting to Google’s announcement Thursday, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez told CBC News conversations with the company are ongoing and the “clarity” it wants about the Online News Act will come as the government hammers out regulations.

Here’s the 44-1/C-18 information page for the Parliament of Canada.