#senateofcanada — Public Fediverse posts

As a journalist, I thought I knew what it meant to dig up good dirt. Turns out I didn’t know where the really good dirt was! https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/paula-simons-all-the-dirt-on-why-soil-matters-so-much-and-why-its-at-risk #AGFO #soil #soilhealth #Alberta #SenateofCanada #Canada #Edmonton #EdmontonJournal #climatechange #agriculture

Well. This makes for grim reading. I hate to be a Job’s comforter and say “I told you so.” But wow, I did. C-18 was a public policy disaster and a perfect example of the adage, “Be careful what you wish for.” https://www.mediaecosystemobservatory.com/reports/a-year-of-metas-news-ban-in-canada #C18 #SenateofCanada #OnlineNewsAct #Facebook #journalism #cdnpoli

On Thursday April 18, I had the chance to follow up on this question, during a meeting of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, as we held hearings as part of our new study on wildfires in Canada. Here's that exchange. https://youtu.be/OXQEXdt-oPo?si=MZeYE6LsgdyWpK6j #SenateofCanada #wildfires #Alberta #FoxLake #AGFO #LittleRedRiverCreeNation #ISC #PeaceRiver #BCHydro

In QP this week, I asked the government about the crisis on the Little Red River Cree Nation. The community of Fox Lake was hard hit by wildfire last summer; 1000 people are still displaced, but it's been next to impossible to bring in rebuilding supplies or modular homes, because B.C. Hydro repeatedly flooded out the town's ice bridges across the Peace River. Here are my question to the government: https://youtu.be/vRZ2d3C1owc?si=Uf19R_7zllroq9_J #FoxLake #LittleRedRiverCreeNation #wildfire #Alberta #SenateofCanada

This month, I sat down for a long chat with Sean Speer of The Hub, to talk about the future - and the past - of journalism in Canada. Here’s our conversation. https://thehub.ca/2024-01-23/those-newsrooms-are-not-coming-back-paula-simons-on-canadian-news-media/ #Edmonton #yeg #Alberta #Canada #cdnpoli #SenateofCanada #BillC18 #C18 #Google #Meta #OnlineNewsAct #journalism #Facebook #TRCM

Thanks to Ryan Jespersen for having me on today to talk about the fall of X, the future of Mastodon, the fate of Bill C-18, the problems with an Alberta Pension Plan, the troubling rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia sparked by the tragedies in Israel and Gaza, AND the #yegquest Henday chicken hunt. https://www.youtube.com/live/ysQ1k2gseCg?si=RbtcaLph6ckmh_3f #Mastodon #C18 #CPP #AlbertaPensionPlan #yeg #Edmonton #Alberta #SenateofCanada #cdnpoli #abpoli #ableg #LRT

The Senate is back in session today after the summer recess - and I had a chance to ask one of the first question in QP. I sought to draw attention to the devastating impact of the Paskwa fire on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, and to ask about federal support for the community. Here's my exchange with Senator Marc Gold, the government representative. https://youtu.be/S7t2PMc_060 #SenateofCanada #cdnpoli #Alberta #FoxLake #wildfire #FoxLakeFire #Canada

This week, we began second reading debate of Bill C-18, which would compel Google & Facebook, the two largest websites, which capture 80 % of Canadian ad revenues, to underwrite operating costs of Canadian newsrooms. I spent 30 years as a journalist. I am passionate saving local news. But this? This is the wrong response. Watch and/or listen as I explain why. https://youtu.be/Sw44rJS2TTw #C18 #BillC18 #onlinenews #Google #Facebook #SenateofCanada #SenCa #cdnpoli #yeg #Edmonton #EdmontonJournal