Editorials - July 19, 2024

Back in the 1980s, Canada brought in federal Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, only to be followed shortly thereafter by the Province of Ontario later that decade. The idea here was to grant access to sensitive records with a public interest so government could be more transparent.

 

And yet, as time has gone on, FOI requests have become anything but. In fact, The Globe and Mail recently won an international award for its “Secret Canada” project, exposing how difficult it is to receive these requests and how often they are denied, incomplete, etc. They found Ontario to be lacking greatly when it comes to access. In Ontario, the average time to process an FOI request is 122 days. The next-slowest is a federal request at 83 days, all the way down to Saskatchewan, which is the quickest at an average of 20 days. Then, the percentage of requests handed over with records released is just 50 per cent in Ontario.

 

This is all prelude to say that, in Ontario, it’s not that easy to access information that, by rights, you should be able to access. Those fighting the appropriation of land in Wilmot have found this out, as Fight for Farmland recently filed 21 requests with the Region of Waterloo pertaining to the region’s plan to acquire 770 acres of farmland to be shovel-ready land for future development, with no further details. Of the 21, 18 were denied outright, while the other three were answered, says the CBC, saying there was “no record nor information” on them.

 

As municipalities, counties and regions scramble to bring in revenue and Doug Ford’s development-crazy provincial government claws back funding and encourages Ontario’s lower tiers to do whatever’s necessary to create housing and industry, farmland is lost, rules are being skirted and best practices are being eschewed. And when people ask questions, there are no answers. It’s certainly reasonable to question whose best interests are being served right now. Good luck getting an answer. – SL

For both members of the editorial board writing this week, last Saturday’s attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump’s life was the first time a president or past-president had been wounded in our lives. For many, political assassinations had been resigned to the 1960s and 1970s and third-world countries. And yet, there Trump was, face streaked with blood after being struck during a rally in Pennsylvania. Politicians on both sides of the aisle, in the U.S. and here in Canada, have called for a turning down of the temperature as rhetoric has been ratcheted up, resulting in real-world violence and loss of life. Some are saying that it is Saturday’s victim who is largely responsible for turning up said temperature, other right-wing politicians feel victimized asking for the left to stop calling them dangerous (putting them in the harm’s way), while others still are simply prescribing the Chill Pill.

 

Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc has been briefed by both the RCMP and CSIS in the wake of the Trump shooting and surely many Canadians simply feel like things are safer in Canada. As we hurtle towards next year’s federal election, let’s hope we can keep things civil and make decisions at the ballot box. Politicians may be polarizing, but they are husbands and wives, mothers and fathers and violence, regardless of the circumstances, is never the answer. – SL 

There’s a certain age group that remembers the excitement of a Friday night trip to the local video store. For many, it was a ritual: wandering through aisles, picking up VHS tapes or DVDs, chatting with the clerk about new releases, and finally deciding on that perfect film to watch. It was more than just a transaction; it was a social experience, a micro-interaction with an added a touch of humanity. Today, those experiences are vanishing, replaced by the endless scroll of streaming services.

 

CTV News Winnipeg recently offered a nostalgic antidote to the often-grim news cycle. A.J. Ongenae, a Winnipeg resident, has created a free Blockbuster box on Kimberly Avenue, complete with a Blockbuster sign, blue lighting and DVDs with custom labels. His project is a nod to the past, a physical space where people can come, browse and share movies.

 

The rise of digital convenience has undoubtedly transformed our media consumption habits. Streaming services offer a vast array of content, but this abundance often leads to a paradox of choice, where we spend more time scrolling through options than actually watching anything. The decision-making process becomes exhausting, frequently culminating in a mediocre viewing experience. Moreover, the shift to digital has eroded social spaces where we once had these small, but meaningful interactions - the video store, the movie theatre, etc.

 

Advocates of digital convenience argue that it makes life easier, but the growing isolation it fosters is anything but convenient. Human beings thrive on connection and the disappearance of these social locations is a significant loss. Ongenae’s Blockbuster box is a small, but potent reminder of the value of physical community spaces. Perhaps rewinding to a simpler time might be the most forward-thinking thing we do. – SBS