Weekend research

Wasn’t that the weekend to end all weekends? It seemed like coverage from Ottawa was on every channel as we channel surfed. I even watched the Parliamentary Channel this morning to see the ongoing debate.

As an aside, it was interesting that not everyone who was debating was in the House. They had indeed pivoted and were coming in through whatever conferencing system they use. So, I stand by my comments on Saturday’s post.

There was a comment from one of the Members of Parliament, when questioned, indicating that he had not read the Emergencies Act but that he was speaking for the people in his riding. That floored me. I was curious to see where our local MP stood on this and there’s not a single reference on his website or Facebook page.

Now, I’m not a Member of Parliament but I’m guessing that I know how our MP will vote later tonight as it’s apparent that voting is going to come along party lines. I hope that some of the others have indeed read the Act.

So, while I won’t be voting, I’ll admit to doing a bit of research over the weekend to kind of get an idea of all that was making news.

That Area of Ottawa
I’ve never lived in Ottawa but I do have a relative who does and we visit periodically. We’ve had the tour of the Parliament area, dined in restaurants, and visited a couple of museums and they are all magnificent but I’ll confess that I know nothing about the street names, where they are, and where the intersections are. I’d still get lost in the city but I know now where Wellington St., Queen St., and Sparks St. are. Google Maps was good about indicating where the streets were closed and where slowdowns where. A really good resource was to go to Bing Maps where the traffic option showed the location of street cameras broadcasting live images.

Like the downtown in any big city, I was blown away by the number of restaurants and stores that were in the area and had all been closed because of the protest. I truly hope this kicks into gear: Ottawa police tell downtown businesses they can reopen after protesters clear out

Real news
On a regular day, newspapers, editorials, and television/radio report on a number of stories and the lead story is chosen for display. It’s very seldom that they report on the same story. This past while has been unique in that they’re all reporting on the same content and it’s their lead story. It’s a real opportunity to compare the sources head to head to see where they editorial direction is. If the service allows for public commenting, you’ll get a chance to see what their followers are like. Are they all real people?

Fake news
I can’t take any claim for this but it appeared as the lead story in one of the Best of Ontario Educators summaries. Fox News Contributor Admits to Creating Fake Story About Canadian Woman Being ‘Trampled’ to Death As noted in the story, it was fact checked and the original Twitter message withdrawn after the truth that the lady didn’t die was revealed. There’s a great deal of opportunity for media literacy and understanding the the United States is watching us. The problem is that you can’t unring a bell. Even today, there are still people sharing this misinformation.

Fact checking by CNN.

Social media
If you’re connected to the world with social media, check out what’s trending and what the top stories are. It’s a quick way to see what is happening and how things are being interpreted by others. Some are positive, some are negative, some are clearly (at least to me) just nonsense.

Not applicable laws
Now, I’ve watched enough Law and Order to know about Miranda Rights and the First Amendment to the Constitution. Yes, there were some people and American pundits claiming that these rights had been violated. That knowledge will serve them well when they visit the United States. In the meantime, it’s worth while doing a bit of research to see how it plays out in Canada.

Emergencies Act
Finally, there’s this whole Emergencies Act thing. It’s available online.
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-4.5/index.html
It’s not a quick and easy read but it is manageable if you’re interested. It seems to me that it’s something that should be read if you’re going to be voting later tonight. Or, if you can’t or won’t take the time, surely your party has lawyers who live and breathe this stuff that can answer questions for you.

Sadly, I just know that this isn’t going to be the end of it. The talk, discussion, yelling, etc. will continue until the next election.