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Freeland accused of being ‘smug’, ‘clueless’ after Disney+ comment

Published

1 year ago

April 19, 2023

Once upon a time, Chrystia Freeland attempted to relate to Canadians’ cost-of-living concerns with a personal anecdote – and it didn’t produce a fairy-tale ending.

“I personally, as a mother and wife, look carefully at my credit card bill once a month, and last Sunday I said to the kids, ‘You’re older now. You don’t watch Disney anymore. Let’s cut that Disney Plus subscription,”’ Freeland told Global News in an interview that aired on The West Block with Mercedes Stephenson on Nov. 6.

She went on to say: “I believe that I need to take exactly the same approach with the federal government’s finances, because that’s the money of Canadians.”

Maybe Freeland meant to show that managing a $430-billion budget is not all that different from handling a household one.

But as word of the clip spread throughout the land, and was viewed nearly a million times in just a couple of days, so did outrage.

Emails sent to her office and obtained by The Canadian Press under access-to-information law show that Freeland’s attempt to connect with Canadians made her a villain to thousands.

“This advice is about as wise as boomers telling younger folks if only they skipped the avocado toast then they could afford a house,” said one person. The names of the senders are redacted in the documents.

Some commenters felt the minister’s attempt to blend in missed the mark, like when Princess Jasmine visited the market in “Aladdin” and encountered a less-royal way of life.

Messages accused Freeland of being “smug,” “elitist,” “clueless” and “entitled.”

One person accused her of underestimating the platform’s offerings. “There is more than just Disney movies on Disney Plus, so you are actually depriving your children of the things their friends might watch.”

The person added that Freeland was doing so “when we all know you can easily afford that.”

Federal cabinet ministers will earn just over $289,000 this year. The median household income in Ontario in 2020 was $79,500, according to Statistics Canada.

Someone wrote to say they’d already cut Disney Plus and wanted to know how to “cancel my portion of the CBC subsidy.” CBC’s $1.2 billion in government funding in 2022 works out to about $30 per Canadian per year.

Others were less sarcastic, noting that “poverty is not a choice.”

One email urged the government to better manage inflation.

“If you are out of ideas on how I do this, might I humbly suggest your office consider a more aggressive approach to regulating the skyrocketing profits in the grocery industry?”

Another writer, who described herself as a single mother on disability, said that she sometimes goes without food to ensure that her 10-year-old son doesn’t.

“That was an absolute slap in the face to people who are truly struggling,” she wrote.

“Like I tell my son: You need to think before you speak.”

One would-be knight in shining armour did come to Freeland’s defence, emailing to say they, too, had cut out TV channels — along with beauty treatments, travel and cellphones, among other things.

They argued: “Inflation means lifestyles must be changed!”

Staff in the Finance Department did a social media scan on Nov. 7, the day after Freeland’s series of interviews about the fall economic statement.

Over two days, there were 13,000 mentions of Freeland and Disney Plus, and “coverage was predominantly negative,” an official in charge of media monitoring wrote in an email.

A word cloud graphic attached to the email showed the phrases “tone-deaf” and “high inflation” featured prominently.

Freeland walked back her remark the next day, telling reporters that “Like other elected federal leaders, I am paid a really significant salary, and I know that that puts me in a really, really privileged position.”

Her office did not respond to questions this week about the feedback she received, instead pointing to her comments in the Nov. 7 press conference.

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Christian McCaffrey is placed on injured reserve for the 49ers and will miss at least 4 more games

Published

2 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.

The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.

McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.

McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.

The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.

After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.

He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.

Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.

The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.

San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.

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AP NFL:

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Canada’s Newman, Arop secure third-place finishes at Diamond League track event

Published

2 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.

Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.

Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.

Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.

Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.

Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.

Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

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Bologna prepares for Champions League debut with draw at Como while Juventus held

Published

3 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.

Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.

Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.

AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.

Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.

Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.

Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.

Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.

Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.

Unbeaten sides

Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.

Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.

On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.

Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.

The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.

Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.

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AP soccer:

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