Tag Archives: Digital Sovereignty

Pinky-swearing data centre expectations

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Yesterday morning, minister of digital asbestos, Evan Solomon, was in Markham to announce that the government had created a new framework of “key expectations” for building data centres in Canada, and that 23 major digital asbestos companies had signed on. It all sounds good, until you realise that this is a voluntary code of conduct made with bad faith actors, and that the federal government has pretty much no levers to enforce any of these promises that these companies make, because so much of the regulation is either a provincial or municipal responsibility. So what you have instead is Solomon once again putting on a performance for the cheap seats at the community theatre, and is expecting applause and bouquets for said performance. It’s like we’re back in the Trudeau era of “the announcement is the policy.” This is not serious governance, and governance is the cornerstone of digital sovereignty—that thing that Solomon keeps claiming to care about.

Non-binding 'expectations'? Solomon & Carney are not serious about governing data centres in Canada; they're offside w/ the large & growing anti-data centre public sentiment. These companies won't comply w/ voluntary 'rules.' They have lied about energy & water use. This is weak & shameful.

— Natasha Tusikov (@ntusikov.bsky.social) 2026-09-03T18:53:05.383Z

In technical terms, this is referred to as a "pinky swear." And it's just as binding and effective."The responsible development principles do not include any compliance mechanism or penalties for broken pledges."This is not serious governance.

— Blayne Haggart (@bhaggart.bsky.social) 2026-09-03T17:01:43.644Z

@ntusikov.bsky.social and I wrote this oped about social media regulation, but its main point stands here. Regulatory theory tells us that voluntary agreements don't work with bad actors. The companies listed above are some of the least trustworthy of the past several decades.This is just empty PR.

— Blayne Haggart (@bhaggart.bsky.social) 2026-09-03T17:01:43.645Z

Later in the day, prime minister Mark Carney announced via press release the launch of Digital Transformation Canada, which aims to “refine how the government develops, buys and uses technology.” While this could be a good thing, particularly if it means developing home-grown digital solutions that would get us off of American platforms, that was not really mentioned in the release at all. Instead, it was more about the CEO bullshit around digital asbestos, with “eliminating duplication” and “improve outcomes,” which just sounds like more hype that Carney has swallowed. We have real needs when it comes to our digital sovereignty, but if there is any consideration about how to do that, it doesn’t appear to be coming from this plan as outlined.

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2026-09-03T13:08:02.353Z

Programming Note: I am taking an extra-long weekend, so posts will resume later in the week. Enjoy!

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Poilievre takes credit for pushing on an open door

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Not unexpectedly, the federal government extended their federal gas excise tax “holiday” for several more months as an “affordability measure,” and then sent out MPs and parliamentary secretaries to pat themselves on the back for it. And the rhetoric is just so braindead. “Image waking up on Tuesday and having to pay ten cents more per litre,” Ryan Turnbull said on Power & Politics by way of justification, and well, yes, that’s what happens when a tax holiday expires. Prices go back up. So unless you plan to keep extending said “holiday” to the point where it’s no longer a holiday but merely a removed excise tax in all but name, then the price will have to go up eventually, and of course you’re going to have to swallow the hit when it happens. And there has also been no mention about the lost revenues from this excise tax and how the particular envelopes of funding that it goes toward will not suffer, while the federal deficit continues to climb. Is Carney laying off civil servants and cutting programmes solely for people to get cheaper gasoline? If so, he should just say so.

Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre took to social media to take credit for this holiday extension, but of course, it’s not good enough because he is still calling for the destruction of the industrial carbon price (which is not relevant here), and for the clean fuel standard (which is not a tax, and any dollar figures associated with it were mere projections of what it might cost refineries to meet this standard). On the one hand, he’s trying to claim victory for pushing on an open door, which is sad in and of itself. On the other hand, he’s being an obsequious pick-me after his party’s abysmal performance in Monday’s by-elections, so much so that they only came in second in one of those ridings. Nevertheless, we can expect more of this “Conservatives won this round!” back-patting for the weeks to come, while he continues to make more demands to simply destroy all environmental legislation under the most ridiculous pretences possible.

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2026-09-02T19:08:01.648Z

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My column points to data showing average income declines in Alberta, and whether the Remain campaign can actually be honest about them or just play into separatist hands.

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A very selective celebration of Alberta’s “birthday”

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Yesterday, Alberta and Saskatchewan had their “birthdays” as provinces, when they were carved out of the Northwest Territories in 1905, and wouldn’t you just know it, the statement put out by the Alberta government first mentioned the First Nations people whose land the province is on, then removed the reference in an updated version, before needing to backtrack and insist that the first version was the correct one. It has also not gone unnoticed that Alberta has not marked the 150th anniversary of Treaty 6 with those First Nations, while Saskatchewan held ceremonies to mark the occasion. It also doesn’t go unnoticed that Danielle Smith has pushed ahead with this quasi-separation referendum in spite of the fact that owing to the treaties, the province can’t actually separate from Canada because it’s not their land. Smith has also said that if the referendum passes, she would hold a “binding referendum on separation” (which is not a Thing because it’s blatantly against the constitution) early in the spring, which should give her plenty of time to “consult” with First Nations. Erm, no. They’ve already stated that your position is contrary to the treaties they signed with the Crown.

Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre entered the chat and put out separate statements on the Alberta and Saskatchewan “birthdays,” and those statements were very, very different from one another. The Saskatchewan statement talked about the local First Nations and Métis, and the white immigrants who settled in the area, and it was noticeable that he pointed to white immigrants only. The Alberta statement, however, made no mention of First Nations or immigrants of any kind, and instead was all about farmers, ranchers, energy workers, and “freedom!” It was a very, very blatant sop to the separatist sentiments in a minority of the province (remember that Alberta separatism is a white/Christian nationalist project) because he’s too afraid to tell these people that he doesn’t want their votes in his party as a matter of principle. It’s an absolutely craven attempt to play both sides, and it’s going to bite him in the end, and only allows this situation to fester the longer they coddle these loathsome separatists for the sake a few votes.

https://bsky.app/profile/journodale.bsky.social/post/3mui3drbfis2h

As Dale points out, these notably exclude immigrants of colour.My grandparents ran a store in Lake Alma, SK, then moved to Regina, where my grandfather worked at the Model Cafe. They lived above Glasgow Confectionery, then later founded the B. Y. W. Grocery in 1962.Guess we don't count.

— Tim Ford (@timfordwrites.bsky.social) 2026-09-01T19:03:58.660Z

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The Trojan Horse of digital imperialism

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The one thing everybody was talking about over the weekend was Google Maps changing the name of Lake Ontario, but selectively—showing Trump’s preferred hydronym in the US, Lake Ontario in Canada, and showing both names internationally for some unfathomable reason. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth as Canadian websites, including government and Crown corporations, and even political parties, were using a Google Maps API that identified it using the false name, largely because of back-end issues, and many, many pixels were spilled over it over social media. And while I would rather ignore the child’s tantrum in the cereal aisle, Google’s compliance is a deeper underlying problem that is a very big deal when you think about it. (Note that Apple has not complied, and MapQuest saw a huge jump in downloads as a result).

Google is not acting cowardly. They are not capitulating.Sundar Pichai was sitting in the front row at Donald Trump's inauguration.Google knows that digital imperialism is a joint project of the US government and Silicon Valley. Google benefits enormously, so you give a bit to get a bit.

— James McLeod (@jamespmcleod.ca) 2026-08-30T13:47:05.370Z

Google is furthering Trump's interests and Trump is furthering Google's interest.Google isn't capitulating, because they're both on the same side.

— James McLeod (@jamespmcleod.ca) 2026-08-30T13:48:30.266Z

The Lake Ontario/Lake America thing is exactly the sort of thing where Canada could be subsumed by American "digital trade alignment" which we know they were asking for before talks broke down.It's not cultural imperialism. It's just "aligning" on database entries for the name of a lake.

— James McLeod (@jamespmcleod.ca) 2026-08-30T13:16:29.864Z

The United States wants the Internet, and the systems run by American tech giants, to be governed exclusively under American rules.Any assertion by other countries that we might have other ideas about how to regulate digital commerce and online culture constitute a trade barrier.

— James McLeod (@jamespmcleod.ca) 2026-08-30T13:18:13.440Z

We have seen the focus by US trade negotiators over “digital trade alignment,” but it is increasingly becoming clear that this is a Trojan Horse for undermining our digital sovereignty, and that they keep dressing up our sovereignty as “trade irritants” that they expect us to capitulate on for their benefit. These particular issues are demonstrating a vulnerability that we have by being so attached to US web services, not just in the cloud, but through payments, and other digital infrastructure. This is a major vulnerability that I think this government needs to start addressing immediately, rather than focusing so much time and attention on digital asbestos in the false belief that it will boost our productivity or that we’ll be “left behind” if we don’t race to adopt it blindly, which so many companies have learned was the wrong thing to do.

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2026-08-31T19:08:01.941Z

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My weekend column points out that we don’t have any reliable allies in the US, as they all will keep tariffs in place, and we have to stop pretending otherwise.

New episodes released early for C$7+ subscribers. This week I make a few observations about the drama happening within the BC Conservatives. #cdnpoli

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-08-31T00:13:00.427Z

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Greer’s version and his telling non-denials

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The info war aspect of our trade war is heating up, both in terms of childish tantrum—see Trump’s Instagram post of the bald eagle attacking the Canada goose (neglecting that in the end of that particular exchange, which was caught on video a couple of years ago, the goose eventually prevailed and drove the eagle off), but also American officials giving their version of what happened. Jamieson Greer was on CBC to insist that everything was fine on Tuesday night when Trump and prime minister Mark Carney spoke on the phone, and then at the last minute, the Canadians had new demands, presumably coming from the premiers. But there were some interesting omissions and non-denials in that interview, both ignoring the involvement of Howard Lutnick, and shrugging off disagreements around implementing that agreement, which is a pretty important detail. When the details of implementation include expanding just what is covered by auto tariffs, that’s a big detail, for example. And Greer did not deny that the point of this is to destroy the auto industry in Canada, trying to recast the Auto Pact and previous trade agreements as Canada somehow taking advantage of the American industry, which is hardly what happened. That non-denial spoke volumes, pretty much confirmed that this is the goal. (For more, Jennifer Robson goes through his responses and annotates them here).

Meanwhile, back in Canada, Scott Moe again roared that he didn’t want any hint of export taxes on energy or potash, nor is he going to take US booze off the shelves in the province—but he will subject it to an additional 50 percent tariff, which is the most useless symbolic gesture since most people are boycotting it of their own accord. As for Danielle Smith, she held a press conference and gave a dire warning about the effect of any export taxes, that it will force Americans to import heavy oil from Venezuela and it will cause a chain reaction and destroy the Canadian economy. I am dubious, not the least of which is that if you paid any attention to the discourse around the American kidnapping of the Venezuelan president, that the state of the oil industry in that country is so dire that it would take a decade of sustained investment to bring them back up to an export capacity that would threaten us, and no major oil company wants to invest because of their past investments being expropriated. So, I’m really not sure that Smith’s scenario is all that credible. I’m not saying there wouldn’t be retaliation, because you can bet there would be, but her scenario comes off as abject nonsense (while she continues to counsel capitulation). Smith also rejected the calls to cancel her referendums because of the trade war, like the Parti Québécois leader promised to hold off on. Smith claimed it’s because she’s following her “citizenship initiation” law, but she gamed those rules to ensure there would be a referendum, so this is her putting her own party problems above the nation, once again.

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2026-08-26T19:08:03.507Z

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Roundup: Making his own budget shoes

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On Budget Eve, finance minister François-Philippe Champagne summoned the media to Saint-Tite, Quebec, where he was not just buying new shoes for the budget, in that strange Canadian tradition, but he was actually helping to make them at a shoe manufacturer, which was to symbolise the importance of investing in Canadian business. His message was that there will be no surprises in the budget, which they keep describing with the term “generational investment.” (Carney has also used “austerity,” so there’s that as well).

Meanwhile, more leaks about what’s in the budget are coming out, like the cancellation of the two billion trees programme (meaning by the time the current contracts are fulfilled, it will be about one billion trees). Or the fact that they have rejected calls to increase judges’ salaries to attract more talent to the bench. There are also going to be tax changes and updates to things like the capital cost allowances, because of course there are. Here is the updated tally of what has been promised so far. Also of note is that it looks like about $3 billion was collected in counter-tariffs in the trade war with the US before most of them were lifted—but they promised to raise $20 billion as part of their election platform.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives keep making the same demands for things that are imaginary—ending supposed “hidden taxes” which are not taxes, and in some cases are regulatory regimes either for the environment or other purposes, but they’re calling them taxes because dur, taxes are bad. But the worst canard that they have been allowed to get away with scot-free is this bullshit notion that somehow, deficits are being financed by “printed money” which is driving up inflation, which is not true at all. No money has been printed, even at the height of COVID, when the Bank of Canada did briefly engage in quantitative easing to keep liquidity in the market, but that’s not printing money, and they have been engaged in quantitative tightening for at least two years now. And even more to the point, if inflation was rampant, the Bank of Canada wouldn’t have cut interest rates again, but what are facts? And Carney, as a former central banker, should be putting a stop to this kind of thing, but he refuses, and sticks to his four prepared bullet points instead. To what end? I do not understand the reluctance to challenge this economic disinfo.

The Conservatives' budgetary demands include fiction. There are no "hidden taxes" on food. The industrial carbon price doesn't apply to agriculture. There is no "food packaging tax," and plastic regulations largely exempt food packaging. The clean fuel standard "17¢" was one scenario over time. 1/2

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T14:31:01.939Z

And most egregious of all, nobody is printing money to pay for deficits. Nobody. There isn't even quantitative easing happening as there was during the height of the pandemic, and the Bank of Canada has been on quantitative tightening since. These are all lies that the Liberals just let fester. 2/2

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-11-03T14:31:01.940Z

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2025-11-03T23:08:02.163Z

Ukraine Dispatch

Russia claims they have advanced within Pokrovsk, but Ukraine says they continue to hold them at bay. Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops have advanced near Dobropillia, reclaiming territory. Ukrainian drones have attacked a Russian petrochemical plant in Bashkortostan.

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