Roundup: Grading the official Star Wars Day posts

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Yesterday was May the 4th, also known as “Star Wars Day,” and this year’s Canadian politics offerings were largely unimpressive, most had little to no effort, which is supremely disappointing. Congrats to Library and Archives Canada who made the most effort.

From the political leaders:

For someone who loves memes and trying to win Twitter, Poilievre didn’t even participate.

A sampling of government departments and organizations:

And the rest:

Internationally, we got a couple more:

That last one, the “Stand with Ukraine,” was the best, and caught the spirit perfectly. We are living in a moment where there is a resistance to tyranny taking place, so why not lean into that message?

Ukraine Dispatch:

Another day, another early morning drone attack, this time targeting Kyiv and Odessa. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an “unscheduled” trip to the Hague to call for Putin to face a special tribunal once Ukraine wins the war. The first opportunity to arrest Putin may come in South Africa this summer, and there are those who are “confident” that South Africa will do the right thing. Zelenskyy also got assurances from the Dutch prime minister that talks are progressing on acquiring F-16s for Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/zelenskyyua/status/1654199754358771722

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1654192129260900368

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau addressed the opening of the Liberal policy convention, taking swipes at Pierre Poilievre, and insisting on hope over fear and anger.
  • We got more details about the revelation that the National Security Advisor’s office knew about the Chong briefing, but it didn’t go to the PM or his chief of staff.
  • Mélanie Joly had the Chinese ambassador summoned over the allegations around that diplomat and Chong, and is weighing the consequences of an expulsion.
  • The CRA’s union reached a tentative agreement and ended their strike as well.
  • Mary Ng exchanged text messages with the US ambassador after he accused Canada of having a “hissy fit” over Biden’s electric vehicle tax credits.
  • Marc Miller says the feasibility study on searching the Winnipeg landfill for the remains of Indigenous women has been completed and is being reviewed.
  • Environment Canada’s enforcement arm has launched a formal investigation into the Kearl oil sands tailings pond leaks.
  • The Taxpayers’ Ombudsman says he is monitoring complaints that people are getting letters about CERB repayments when they have completed them.
  • The Accessibility Commissioner is facing allegations of mistreating staff.
  • There may be progress on locating the five Canadians who went missing when being transferred out of a Syrian detention camp.
  • The chair of the expert panel on MAiD talks about the provision to people with mental disorders, and how the political narrative is counterproductive.
  • King Charles III met with Indigenous leaders from Canada ahead of his coronation, which they considered setting the tone for their future relationship.
  • Here is a look back at some of the King’s history with Canada over 50 years.
  • The Commons’ foreign affairs committee is recommending Canada not send troops to Haiti, but to increase sanctions against elites in that country.
  • Matt Gurney points out all the various ways in which this government seems incapable of communicating with itself, between ministers and departments.
  • Susan Delacourt suggests that the best motivational speaker at this weekend’s Liberal policy convention is not Trudeau or Hillary Clinton, but Poilievre.

Odds and ends:

The former Canadian Secretary to the Queen talks about the value of monarchy in Canada.

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