Last summer, the CBC published a report about an office that is often all but forgotten about, the office of the Canadian Governor-General. The Governor-General, of course, is the representative of the Queen in Canada. The powers of the office are understood to be largely ceremonial and diplomatic: but when a minority government is in power the office does do some important bureaucratic work signaling when the minority government may have lost its mandate and formally triggering a new election. 

  This summer the office came into the limelightLimelight (noun): literally, the word refers to be in the theatrical spotlight; it’s a historical reference to the way theatrical stages used to be lit in the early nineteenth-century, wherein they would heat lime. Today, the word refers figuratively to the attention of the broader public. To be ‘in the limelight’ means that a number of media have taken note of you and are prominently featuring you across various platforms. , and not in a good way. The CBC reported that Julie Payette—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s choice for the job—had created a toxic atmosphere at Rideau Hall. According to a number of anonymous sources, Payette had a long track record of berating Berate (verb): to berate someone is to abuse them verbally for a sustained period of time. employees, humiliating them in public, and relentlessly finding scapegoatsScapegoat (noun): a person who is publicly blamed (and punished) for the wrongdoings of another person. Synonym of ‘to take the fall for someone’. for her own shortcomings. While the charges were not of a sexual nature, the accusations of bullying came against a backdrop of the second wave of #metoo charges in Quebec; the idea of such a toxic workplace at such a high level during these times of crisis created a public relations problem for Trudeau and the Liberal Party. Trudeau, of course, is still recovering from a year of minor and mid-level scandals: the WE charity and the SNC-Lavalin scandals played out over the past several months. Trudeau stuck by his Governor-General in September, but the controversy never sufficiently died down. It has been noted that when Payette was appointed, Trudeau did not review a panel of candidates for the position, instead simply appointing what appeared to be his first choice.
Last week, an independent report corroborated the anonymous sources: the working environment was toxic. Thursday, Ms. Payette resigned via a letter that appeared to deny the allegations, insisting that she was resigning for the good of the country. Her resignation comes at an awkward time and highlights that the Governor-General’s office is not entirely ceremonial. If Trudeau’s minority government were to fail a confidence vote, they would need to turn to the Governor General’s office in order to dissolve Parliament and hold an election.
The Governor General’s office acts, perhaps, as a bit of a Canadian political traffic director. As of today, that position is vacant and just at the moment when it might be needed. The entire episode, it appears, has given conservatives new ammunition in their quest to unseat Justin Trudeau’s Liberals from power. 

i. “Gov. Gen. has created a toxic climate of harassment and verbal abuse at Rideau Hall,
sources allege.” CBC. Jul 21, 2020. 9 mins. Intermediate. 

ii. “Independent firm completes review into claims of ‘toxic’ environment at Rideau Hall.” CBC.
Jan 21, 2021. 6 mins. Intermediate. 

iii. “Canada’s Governor General Resigns Amid Reports of a Toxic Workplace.” The New York
Times. Jan 21, 2021. 4 mins. Intermediate/Advanced. 

iv. “Read Governor General Julie Payette’s Full Resignation Letter.” The Globe and Mail. Jan
21, 2021. 3 mins. Intermediate/Advanced 

v. “Payette is the one resigning — but Justin Trudeau has to wear it.” CBC. Jan 22, 2021. 5
mins. Intermediate/Advanced. 

Sunday night, smartphones across Canada began to vibrate with some American news with particular relevance for the Canadian economy. Sources report that it appears president-elect Joe Biden plans to cancel the American permit for the  Keystone XL pipeline project his first day in office, later this week. The move, if executed, will be felt throughout the Canadian economy and political landscape. Biden’s Democratic predecessor, President Barack Obama, had opposed the pipeline and the project appeared to be largely dead at the beginning of 2016. President Trump campaigned on restarting the project, and during his time in office he managed to give it new life. But President-Elect Biden has made no secret of the fact that he opposes the project; his planned appointment to the Department of Interior, Deb Haaland, may have had some influence on the decision as well. The news reported Sunday night seemed to come to Canada both as a shock and as an inevitability. Within hours of the news, various Canadian political parties and their leaders were presenting their positions on an issue—key to the Canadian economy—that could be discussed in the next Canadian election. The pipeline, if completed, would carry bitumen to Nebraska, and join an existing pipeline capable of taking oil to international markets in the Gulf of Mexico. Alberta, landlockedLandlocked (adjective): If a country, state or province is described as landlocked, it means that they have no access to the sea, and in this case, a direct route for exporting their oil., will see its capacity of bringing its main export to the global marketplace if Biden executes the project later this week.

         The Globe and Mail’s article on Biden’s upcoming decision is likely the most thorough, and it subtly walks us through the future political stances Canada’s major political players will take in the aftermath of this decision. The Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. issued a statement that indicated it would continue to work on promoting the project, suggesting that the current Liberal government will continue to position itself as a supporter of the project and willing to fight for it.  Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole—a potential challenger to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—framed the cancellation as devastating for the Albertan, Canadian, and American workers, as well as throwing America into deeper economic and political dependence on OPEC countries. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney presented many of the same talking points, underlining, in particular, the economic devastation the move would bring to a province already struggling under the pandemic and the impact global events have had on the price of oil. Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley, foregrounding what will likely be the NDP’s approach in any coming election, took what might be called the ‘you shouldn’t have put all your eggs in one basketPut(ting) all your eggs in one basket (expression): If you tell someone not to ‘put all your eggs in one basket,’ you’re telling them not to over-rely on or overinvest monetary or emotional resources in just one potential source of wealth or happiness.’ approach: she pointed out that Alberta’s trust in a single economic industry and its huge economic investment gambleGamble (noun and verb, depending on context): to gamble is to play a game of chance for money. The noun gamble refers to the bet or wager placed on such a game of chance. in a single infrastructure project—a project dependent on the uncertain approval of a foreign government with its own energy priorities—have proven economically unsoundUnsound (adjective): A ‘sound’ investment is one that will be predictable and safe. In contrast, something that is ‘unsound’ is not safe, is risky, and may well be unpredictable.. The Green Party’s Annamie Paul simply praised Biden’s potential move as “true climate leadership.”

         Interesting, but telling omissions: as of this writing, Monday morning, January 8th, neither The New York Times nor the Washington Post—America’s papers of record—have published a single piece on a decision that will have such a huge impact on the Canadian economy. In the face of a pandemic and massive social unrest, America’s political priorities are elsewhere right now: the Keystone project is an American afterthought at best. 

by Nathan R. Elliott

i.            “Biden indicates plans to cancel Keystone XL pipeline permit on 1^st day in office, sources confirm.” CBC. Jan 17, 2021. 5 mins. Intermediate.

ii.          “Biden to cancel $9bn Keystone XL pipeline’s permit, says source.” The Guardian. Jan 18, 2021. 2 mins. Intermediate.  

iii.         “Biden picks Deb Haaland as first Native American interior secretary.” The Guardian. Dec 18, 2021. 3 mins. Intermediate.

iv.         “Joe Biden plans to block Keystone XL pipeline as one of first acts in White House.” Jan 17, 2021. 6 mins. Intermediate.

To paraphrase American President Franklin Roosevelt regarding the events of December 7th, 1941, January 6th 2021 is a day that will live in American infamy.
Wednesday afternoon, the American Congress met in a joint session to confirm the results of the November 2020 election. President Donald Trump, addressing supporters in an hour-long speech on Pennsylvania Avenue, repeated claims that the 2020 election had been stolen from him due to voter fraud (these charges have yet to enjoy the slightest shredShred (noun): The word is sometimes used as a verb (to tear into tiny pieces) but as a noun, the word indicates a tiny or small portion of some larger whole. of evidence, despite repeated attempts to give the claims some credibility in American courts). Trump told his followers that they needed to go to the capitol building where elected Representatives and Senators were then going through the procedure of recording the Electoral College votes that would make Joseph Biden the official president-elect of the United States. Incited by his outlandish claims, Trump’s supporters quickly overwhelmed a Capitol Police force oddly underprepared, stormed the Capitol, and took over the House of Representatives for a number of tense hours Wednesday morning. One Trump supporter was shot trying to scale a wall. One police officer was beaten repeatedly by protestors using fire extinguishers; he later died. A number of others would die from medical events provoked by these actions.

  Elected Officials were quickly evacuated to relative safety, barred in backrooms and offices, watching what appeared to be a coup attempt on the televised news. The supporters, meanwhile, looked somewhat aimless as they vandalized Capitol building property. They flew the Confederate flag in front of prominent statues of abolitionists. They posed for photographs with Capitol police officers either friendly to the Trump cause or too scared to confront the insurrectionistsInsurrection/Insurrectionist (noun): An insurrection is an attempt to overturn an existing government, an insurrectionist is a person taking part in the insurrection. . Later, several IEDs—Improvised Explosive Devices, or, to put it more simply, homemade bombs—were found around both the Republican and Democratic National Committee Headquarters. 

  The Department of Defense initially denied back up for the Capitol Police Force in the form of the Maryland National Guard. Exactly why that was is still being discussed, debated, and will likely eventually be investigated. Trump was repeatedly urged to condemn the violence. He refused to do so until about 4:17 pm in the afternoon when he told the insurrectionists that he ‘loved’ them, that they were ‘special,’ but it was time to go home. At almost the same time Trump was delivering his message, the Virginia National Guard and the Maryland National Guard were given Pentagon authorization to provide support. They began to clear the building. The Mayor of Washington D.C. imposed a curfew at 6 pm. 

  At 8 pm and 9 pm respectively, Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi resumed the sessions that would eventually declare Joseph Biden the president-elect of the United States at 3:42 am on January 7th.
The fallout from these events and actions is still in progress. Any number of commentators have noted that the power dynamics in Washington shifted profoundly Thursday morning, and will likely continue to evolve rapidly and unpredictably over the coming weeks. Many are bracing for more violence on January 17th and January 20th, as there appear to be plans in place for further violence coming from Trump supporters.
The events of January 6th have already inspired any number of interesting language debates. Some observers, for instance, have objected to the use of the word ‘coup,’ to describe what happened, preferring to describe the events as a ‘riotRiot: refers to a crowd or mass protest that ceases to observe legal proscriptions and acts in a violent manner. .’ The word coup, so goes the argument, should be reserved for events when the military conspired with a political leader to overturn an election. Others have quickly pointed out the Department of Defense’s refusal to provide military support during such a clear crisis certainly raises questions, especially since President Trump spent much of November replacing officials at the Pentagon with loyalists. You’ll note these linguistic issues are still live in most of the articles I’ve selected for reading. 

  This story, in other words, still feels very much in progress: as an American expatriate, I hope—against all reasonable belief—not to have to return to this topic. 

by Nathan R. Elliott

Articles Selected: 

i. “What Should We Call the Sixth of January?” The New Yorker. Jan 8, 2021. Advanced. 7 mins.

ii. “Trump Told Crowd ‘You Will Never Take Back Our Country with Weakness.’” The New York Times. Jan 6,
2021. Intermediate. 6 mins.

iii. “4 Dead, Congress Evacuated, National Guard activated after pro-Trump rioters storm Capitol.”  NBC
News. Jan 6, 2021. Intermediate. Contains graphic, disturbing embedded videos. 15 mins.

iv. “FBI posts photo of person who placed suspected pipe bombs outside DNC, RNC.” ABC News. Jan 8, 2021. Intermediate/Beginner. 3 mins.

v. “Maryland Governor Says Pentagon ‘Repeatedly Denied’ Approval to Send National Guard to Capitol.”
Forbes. Jan 8, 2021. Intermediate/Beginner. 3 mins.

vi. “How one of America’s Ugliest Days unraveled inside and outside the Capitol.” The Washington Post.
Beginner. 3-4 mins. vii. “The Violence at the Capitol was a Coup. Call it that.”The Guardian. Jan 6, 2021. Intermediate. 6 mins.

Behind the noise of the American election in the fall and the steady drumbeat of confusion and fear caused by COVID, another potential slow-motion disaster has been slowly winding itself into position as 2020 wanes. Brexit has been in English language newspaper headlines so long it’s easy to take them as wallpaper. But as 2020 winds to a close, another round of drama appears to be shaping up. 

  The sum total of the problem is this: in 2021, the national entity known as the United Kingdom will take an important step in its years-long divorce from the European Union. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met this week to try and hash outHash out (expression): to hash something out is to discuss details and make decisions, often about small, but important details. an agreement that both sides could live with. The EU wants a fair playing field when it comes to environmental regulations: continental Europe fears a Britain willing to cut regulations to bring down prices, making their products a cheaper alternative to safer, more reliable, yet more expensive European products. There are also some disputes about fishing rights and exactly who will arbitrate disputes between the two parties post-Brexit. The fishing rights appear to be small potatoesSmall potatoes (expression, noun): Something that is ‘small potatoes’ is of little interest or importance.—Brits don’t fish their own fish much, these days—but the right to control waters and regulate that catch could set the tone for the relationship between the two entities. 

  There’s also a bit of a potential elephant in the roomElephant in the room (expression): The ‘elephant in the room’ refers to a subject of major importance that people are unwilling or afraid to address. , a green one as it were. The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland remains a question of interest to the U.K., to the European Union, to the Republic of Ireland, and to the six counties in the North. It’s even of interest to Irish-American president-elect Joe Biden, who is no doubt cognizant of the fact that many of his presidential forebearers have inserted themselves into that contentious dispute because so many Irish Americans continue to keep an eye on their home country, some who have supported the Irish Republican Army with the money to fund the Irish resistance effort. The UK has backed off its plans for a ‘hard’ border between the U.K. and the E.U. right in the middle of the Irish island, but if the U.K. totters towards a ‘hard’ Brexit, then those promises might be revisited. If those promises are broken, then the return of violence in Northern Ireland appears ever more likely, as the border might reactivate old tensions between Protestant and Catholic paramilitaries. Indeed, there are signs it already has. 

  The Irish situation also highlights the reality that the more the United Kingdom insists on its own national sovereignty the more that sovereignty will likely dissolve internally. Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, of the Scottish National Party, has insisted that she will call for another referendum of Scottish Independence next year. Scots were only narrowly convinced to remain within the United Kingdom in 2014. Major arguments in the ‘remain in the U.K.’ camp revolved around the U.K.’s relationship to the European Union and the access to health resources that the U.K.’s health care infrastructure provided. The Brits promptly torched their relationship with the E.U. in 2016 and their access to health care resources with it. If Sturgeon succeeds in putting the Scottish independence question to the Scots in 2021, the answer this time might understandably be an enthusiastic ‘yes.’ 

by Nathan R. Elliott

i. “Brexit is the worst decision of modern times. Why are its critics in cabinet so silent?”  The Guardian, Dec 13 2020. 7 mins. Intermediate/ Advanced. 

ii. “Brexit trade talks resume, but ‘very large gaps’ remain.” The Globe and Mail, Dec 9, 2020. 6 mins. Intermediate. 

iii. “All Fish and No Chips.” The New York Times, Dec 11, 2020. 6 mins. Intermediate/Advanced. 

iv. “Brexit Talks: Joe Biden says UK and Ireland must not have hard border.” The Guardian, Nov 25, 2020. 3 mins. Intermediate. 

iv. “As Brexit talks falter, the risk of Violence in Ireland is Still Alive.” Foreign Policy, Sept 14. 8 mins. Intermediate/Advanced. 
vi. . “Scotland’s Sturgeon hints at legal move if Independence vote blocked.”Reuters, Nov 30, 2020. 3 mins. Intermediate.

On Thursday, smartphones around Quebec lit up with the news: Christmas is cancelled.
The announcement came after a confusing two weeks. Premier Legault had raised hopes early in the fall that Christmas gatherings of up to 10 people could be managed this year, if the broader Quebec community engaged in what he called a ‘moral contract’ to isolate themselves a week before and a week after the holiday. The CAQ promised to make a further announcement on December 11th. 

  COVID refused to cooperate, however, and Legault and his team decided to pull back the holiday before their previously planned announcement on the 11th. Numbers kept rising, as did hospitalizations. As Legault himself noted when he made the announcement, there didn’t seem to be any sign that these numbers would relentrelent (verb): when something relents it backs off, eases its threat. Conversely, we sometimes call a fierce opponent unrelenting. , and the threat of the hospitals being overwhelmed in certain regions looked to be immediate and severe. Legault expressed regret over raising hopes earlier in the season, and perhaps tried to correct an earlier impression that his handlinghandling — to handle (verb): An informal way of referring to the management of a situation or a crisis. Ex. You handled that rude customer quite well of the pandemic leaves no room for improvement, saying “I don’t give myself perfect marks for the management of the crisis.” 

  The new rules still permit those living in ‘yellow’ and ‘orange’ zones to have gatherings of up to 10 and 6, respectively. Those living alone will be allowed one visitor.
  Official responses from mayor of Montréal Valerie Plante and the health care community were sympathetic when it came to their own disappointment as well as the broader public’s frustration and impatience with the current situation, but underlined their firm convictionconviction (noun): The word ‘conviction’ can mean several different things in different contexts, including a formal finding of guilt in a criminal court, but in the context above it refers to a firm belief. that Premier Legault had made the right decision. 

  The question that remains: will people buy into the government’s logic and follow both the spirit and the letterSpirit (of the law) and the letter (of the law) (expression): Referring to the ways in which rules and laws get interpreted. The spirit of the law refers to the intention of a rule; obviously people can be quite good at finding ways to avoid the ‘spirit’ of the law, sometimes by following the written regulations so closely that no fault can be found, but the intention of the law is avoided. of the new rules. 

by Nathan R. Elliott

i. “Quebec cancels plan for Christmas gatherings as COVID-19 cases rise.” Montreal Gazette. Dec. 4, 2020. 5 mins. Intermediate. 

ii. “Quebec has officially cancelled Christmas gatherings.” Montreal Blog. Dec 3, 2020. Beginner. 4 mins. 

ii. “Quebec cancels plans to allow Christmas gatherings as COVID-19 surges.” CBC. Dec 3, 2020. 8 mins. Intermediate. iii. “Christmas Cancellation: Quebec backtracks and calls off holiday gatherings.” CTV NEWS. Dec 3, 2020.
4 mins. Beginner/Intermediate.

The COVID economy has been anything but simple. The economy is hurting because of the pandemic. Well, except for the fact that the stock market is—at least at times—soaring. Unemployment rates are up, food banks are having a difficult time copingcoping, to cope (verb): dealing with something, reducing the impact of something damaging or difficult without entirely resolving the problem with demand. Well, except for those sectors of the economy that have benefited from the shutdowns. Providing, of course, that another wave of restrictions or rules doesn’t render today’s economic winner tomorrow’s economic roadkill. Oil, to name just one commodity, was trading at a negative price earlier this spring; renewable energy looked poisedpoised (adjective): ready, or in a position to do something. , during the summer, to make a killing blow against oil. Upon news of the vaccine? Oil prices surged, but even industry insiders warned that the good times probably wouldn’t last .
Late in this very difficult year of 2020, we find a familiar character entering the stage: Black Friday, or Vendredi Fou, as it is known here in Quebec. It’s the biggest day of the retail calendar in much of the U.S. and Canada. Following the American Thanksgiving holiday, it marks the beginning of the holiday season. Entire fortunes and corporate empires have risen and fallen on their business’ ability to produce revenue and grab market share—money and stats that can be passed on to information-greedy investors. The impact of the pandemic on the center of consumer capitalism’s high holy day, therefore, is of economic interest beyond your ability to get new pajamas on sale at La Vie en Rose. Would shoppers stay at home? Shop online? Brave the virus, and risk catching the virus and spreading it even further? 

  Some retailers here in Montreal decided on a new strategy, dispersing Black Friday across the entire month of November.  Retailers in New York appear to have tried a similar strategy, encouraging curbside pickup for online orders and offering sales across a wider spectrum of time. There were still physical lines in both Canada and the States. Arguably the lines were longer, because shoppers had to keep two meters distance between each other. It will take a week or two to sort out who the real winners and losers were, but early returns suggest that North Americans are going to spend less, not more; however,  some people will be able to afford to buy more expensive gifts in lieu of being unable to travel. That’s the good news, or least it is for some. The money, as The New York Times article above, is going to the retail giants like Wal-Mart and Amazon, who have the infrastructure to pull off a spectrum of socially distanced shopping options.
Your local neighborhood shop, in other words, might still be suffering despite the amount of money being spent. A small boutique may not have the flexibility, the infrastructure, or the deep pockets that make playing the long-game possible. Even these generalizations, however, should be taken with a grain of salt. No business appears utterly immune to the next surprise the pandemic brings, and every business could find a silver lining in tomorrow’s headlines. 

by Nathan R. Elliott

i. “Montreal Retailers Countdown—and price down—to Black Friday.” Montreal Gazette, Nov 27, 2020. Intermediate, 5 mins. 

ii. “Black Friday: Holiday Shopping in a Pandemic.” The New York Times, Nov 27, 2020. Intermediate. 10-12
mins. 

iii. “Black Friday Shopping in a Pandemic.” The Globe and Mail, Nov 27, 2020. Beginner. 3 mins.