Peter Loewen
@PeejLoewen
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Family man. Constantly lucky. Dean of @cornellcas . Political scientist. Experimentalist. Data-heavy. Ex-motorcyclist. Rode across the Nubian, once.
Ithaca, NY
Joined September 2011
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I'm thrilled to be joining
@Cornell
as the Harold Tanner Dean of
@CornellCAS
. Cornell’s longstanding commitment to "any student, any study" aligns perfectly with my own values and commitments. The College plays a central role in that. I feel so lucky and can't wait to start.
Peter John Loewen, director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, has been named the 23rd dean of the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences (
@CornellCAS
).
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The single greatest cause of vaccine hesitancy in Canada right now, I believe and am sad to say, is NACI.
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A conjecture: Canadians are not ready for how long the COVID pandemic still has to run. Today, we’re 9 months into this. It will be about that long again before travel is normalized, social distancing is relaxed, and fear of your loved ones dying subsides. This is halftime.
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Serious question: did governments ever build gas stations?
More and more people across the country – like Lori and David, whom I met in Victoria this morning – are choosing electric vehicles. With
#Budget2022
, we’re making that choice even easier. We’re making electric vehicles more affordable, and we’re building more charging stations.
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A lot of people seem to be forgetting the first rule of Canadian politics: No one is responsible for anything.
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This Chong affair is deeply dispiriting. It speaks to major shortcomings in our intelligence systems, reveals a massive disrespect for MPs, and sends a clear signal to all those in public life with family abroad. You and they are on their own. Time to be serious.
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There really isn't a world in which it's appropriate for a minister who is actively moving a piece of legislation through Parliament to participate in an event concerned with that legislationhosted by the Governor General. This is inappropriate for both the Minister and the GG.
We know that online harms have real world consequences, and now is the critical moment to make the digital world a safe space.
With industry experts at the Governor General’s Symposium, we discussed this and our Online Harms Act to create a safe experience for everyone.
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In one tweet, a perfect model of how scientific advisors should view their role vis a vis politicians. Give advice, recognize that there are always tradeoffs, and appreciate that taking a decision is a lot harder than giving advice.
Quick reminder that advisors, advise, and leaders decide. And my input is *just* on the public health aspects. FM Nicola Sturgeon has to balance this against economic & other harms of COVID response & also has economic advisors. I don't envy any decision-maker during this crisis.
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A short thread. My colleagues and I have done a lot of research on Canadians' attitudes and behaviours through the pandemic - more than 60,000 survey interviews thus far. We've analysed millions of tweets, etc. What strikes me is that most people are responding with common sense.
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Parliaments are a place where decisions are made through politics rather than violence. This is an affront to that. It reflects something deeply unhealthy in American democracy.
Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today.
#mileg
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I’m very pleased to share that
@tylermeredith
has been appointed a Senior Fellow at the
@munkschool
. Tyler served as a policy director in the federal government for the last 7 years. How lucky will our students be to be taught by him and
@Sean_Speer
in the same classroom.
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I'm very pleased to announce that we will welcome two new colleagues next year at
@munkschool
after our search in economic inequality and society.
@LauraGarciaMo
(PhD
@NorthwesternU
) and Moussa Blimpo (PhD
@nyuniversity
) will join is in July 2022. We can’t wait for their arrival.
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Crazy idea, but hear me out. Imagine a country where people believe that if you see anyone else in the country being denied their rights, that it would be a good idea to say something about that! Almost as though you have a sense of obligation and duty to others.
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Very pleased to announce the Toronto Political Behaviour Workshop is back for an 8th edition after a pandemic induced hiatus. The workshop will take place November 4 and 5, 2022 at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto.
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Tuite is right. It is exactly this kind of paternalism that recommended against mask usage and ultimately cost lives. This time it will delay a recovery. Enough. /via
@globeandmail
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@shawnmicallef
Remember, it was ok for
@m_layton
and
@joe_cressy
to have BBQs and beer in their backalley throughout the pandemic. Ok for others to drink in backyards and on balconies. But you're just not responsible enough to enjoy a glass of wine in High Park. It’s pathological paternalism.
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Some professional news, despite everything else. I am very pleased to be a research lead at the new Schwartz Reisman Institute, working with a great team led by Gillian Hadfield. So many great things happening at
@UofT
.
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The Ont government should have asked Elections Ontario to set up vaccination sites. They have a list with most people on it. They probably know ages. They know how to send invites, set up local sites, manage lines, and preserve privacy. Partner with shoppers and hc volunteers.
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They are, in short, trying to be honest and trying to do their best. Which makes me think that no technical explanation will get them past the fact that Rod Phillips packed a sweater to go to St. Barts, so that when he did a zoom call, he could look like he was in Canada.
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When we consider the third wave - and when the political accounting is done - remember that countries with widespread vaccination are not experiencing the same thing. This wave is driven by individual behaviour, yes, but it's accelerated by a massive, shared policy failure.
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Chris Achen is an amazing scholar. Among other things, he wrote a whole book about analyzing "natural experiments" before they were even invented by economists. See here:
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Last week, we announced during
@ZelenskyyUa
's virtual visit to the
@munkschool
@UofT
, that Munk would be welcoming in the Fall of 2022 up to 30 students from the Kyiv School of Economics (
@kse_ua
) to study at for an MGA or an MPP. This thread is about that partnership.
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Rota did the right thing in resigning. Big mistakes can happen. He’s probably being asked to carry more blame than is his alone.
When they write the book, he’ll be remembered as a good Speaker who ran a minority parliament well and as a committed local MP. Chin up, move on.
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Patience is beginning to run thin, I think. The same common sense that underwrites Canadians' behaviours will animate their judgements of politicians. I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of that. Leaders should be wary of explaining away things that are clearly wrong.
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A huge win for one of the world’s most consequential politicians. If the resolve of Ukrainians isn’t enough for you, look to the sensibility of Estonians. They’ve sent more support to Ukraine per capita than anyone. Their politics are resolutely pro-European. This is the future.
The landslide result at
#Estonia
's elections for
@reformikad
makes me grateful and humble at the same time. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
It also shows that Estonians overwhelmingly value liberal values, security founded on EU and NATO, and firm support to
#Ukraine
.
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If you’re in political behaviour and afraid of missing largely non-existent networking opportunities at a massive conference spread across multiple sites where most people are off finding tacos somewhere, you should come to the Toronto Political Behaviour Workshop, instead.
#apsa
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We're doing this now? Here's a simple rule. Any vaccine that will save your life is a deal at anything less than, I don't know, a $100 a shot? I'd pay a lot more. We can criticize the government all we want for being slow, or whatever. But over a few bucks a shot? Lame.
Asked why Canada paid more than double for AstraZeneca doses than other countries -$8.18 per shot compared to under $3 for the EU & under $4 for the UK -
@JustinTrudeau
spoke of how we have the biggest and most diverse vaccination portfolio. Paid more, for less.
#cdnpoli
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This is a remarkably callous set of arguments. One would hope for enough fellow feeling to see that it’s good to save the life of your fellow citizens - and to hope governments will help - even if they live in a province whose government you don’t like, or has been irresponsible.
Ottawa should not provide Alberta field hospitals. No way. There are several reasons ... in this thread.
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Very excited to share that we will host President Zelenskyy via a live video link next week. Tune in!
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy to address students at
#UofT
’s
@MunkSchool
next week via a live video link
Learn more:
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Announcing the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. The most important thing I've ever had a chance to work on. Endlessly thankful for great colleagues and their work on this.
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Would that we had a Parliament with more people of this quality.
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I am hiring a new postdoc to work within
@PEARL_Munk
at the
@munkschool
. We are studying the information ecosystem in Canada. Discipline matters much less than a demonstrated interest in political communication, (mis)information, experiments and surveys (cont)...
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This is pretty plainly a double standard. Harper was regularly held to account for PMBs by his backbenchers.
🤦🏽♀️ If
@CPC_HQ
plans to blame
@JustinTrudeau
for his MP
@beynate
tabling a PMB, then should we hold
@AndrewScheer
responsible for the anti-abortion bill from his MP?
This isn’t the way our Parliament is supposed to work...
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I've been bearish on
@AOC
. I now think I was very wrong about this. She might be a once-in-a-generation political talent. Incredible composure. Charisma. An ability to fram and persuade. She might even be a dimension setter.
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I am so absolutely saddened to learn of Hugh Segal's passing. Hugh was political staffer, a Senator, a businessman, a university administrator, and a Fellow
@munkschool
. Always top level. To me, he was a kind man and a friend who helped me a lot. Vale, Hugh. You were remarkable.
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Would you like to spend some time at
@munkschool
? We have opened applications for Fellows in Residence. It is a great way to spend a sabbatical semester or longer at the School. Information on rolling applications is available here:
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Our family lives just off High Park, so we spend a lot of time there. IME, it's generally true that cyclists in the park ride too fast, aren't courteous, and could chill out a lot. But crossing Parkside to get to the park is 1000% more dangerous. Police should worry about that.
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A fantastic question. Taxpayers have paid for this once. They should not have to pay twice.
Can someone please explain to me why we can't watch CBC News Network for free online?
CBC gets more than a billion dollars per year from taxpayers and is government owned and operated...
... but private sector CTV News Network is free online.
🤨
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I am so pleased to be appointed as a Fellow at
@Trinity_College
. It has such a special place at
@UofT
. Thank you, Trin, for this opportunity.
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Call in the army and every person not doing an essential task. Reassign parking ticket officers, etc. If you think that’s costly now, wait three weeks.
“Effective [Friday,] due to the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 in the city, Toronto Public Health is no longer able to follow up with contacts. This means that TPH will only call confirmed cases. We will not call close contacts."
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We are hiring a new postdoc at our Policy, Elections and Representation Lab
@munkschool
. PEARL is a great place to work, with great colleagues, in a great city. Especially looking for those interested in working on elite politics:
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School is shut down for another month, jobless numbers are growing, housing market is uncertain, and we're all worried about our parents and grandparents. If planes flying in formation can't fix this I don't know what can.
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A remarkably Canadian thread. Graham points out what is plainly true: it shouldn't be difficult to get a passport renewed. A basic government service. And in all the replies folks go on like it's some great privilege one should have to wait months for. Like ordering a Soviet car.
The stories coming out of the passport office in Gatineau today are absolutely stunning: hours in line…Australia trip on the line…no passports delivered. People camping out overnight waiting through rainstorms
@meganshawCTV
will have details
@ctvottawa
at 6
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This is about as bad as communications can be. Dismissing real questions; at the 2 minute mark Lemetti seems to almost brag about the government's performance; and then the teaser about news coming tomorrow. Meanwhile, still no real screening at airports. None of this is good.
#BREAKING
Federal Ministers just spoke with reporters about a major announcement coming on Monday regarding Canada's response to the
#coronavirus
#covid19
- here it is.
#cdnpoli
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Remarkably proud of my colleague
@RonDeibert
for his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada. Canada and the
@munkschool
are both so lucky for all Ron has done.
#OrderOfCanada
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The guys who collect the garbage on our street - Wright Ave - are amazing. Efficient, courteous, nice to little kids fascinated by garbage trucks. I’ve just spent 15 minutes trying to tell the
@cityoftoronto
this. It appears impossible.
@JohnTory
, could you please pass it on?
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Canada has 2 acute care hospital beds per 1k people. That works out to 12,000 beds in the GTA. UofT has 9000 residence spots. How quickly can they be turned into acute care beds? What about UWaterloo, Western, etc? We need to talk about leveraging our public resources, and soon.
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I like Susan, but I think it’s weird that a bureau chief would make a point of turning down an interview with a major player in a major scandal - and then insist that they talk publicly.
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Thanks to
@munkschool
,
@IRPP
,
@MaxBellSchool
, Johnson-Shoyama, SPP at UofC, Dal SPA, and so many colleagues for making the trip to Edmonton. Thanks to
@ipracademic
for handling all the logistics. And thanks to
@cafreeland
and
@jharrisonmla
for meeting with us.
Thank you to
@PeejLoewen
for bringing together an incredible group of Canadian academics who are focused on federalism and how we can work together to make a real difference in Canadians' lives.
#YEG
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This is very astute. Elections Canada is the bureaucracy most capable of reaching millions of people, very close to where they live, on a single day.
Thought experiment: perhaps we should have involved provincial election authorities in organizing the administration of COVID inoculations. They have a wealth of experience in setting up an apparatus of accessible sites for the smooth delivery of an essential public service...
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Our Toronto Political Behaviour Workshop is $30 for faculty and $0 for students. Everyone gets two lunches and a dinner, and they get to see ~12 great papers. Grad students get to meet senior faculty. There are better models.
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It's a tough job to be a politician. A new paper by Ludovic Rheault and me
@BJPolS
shows that voters punish politicians who reveal that they suffer from depression. Maybe our politics would be better if we were kinder. Paper here: .
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Some professional news: I am very pleased to be a new Fellow with
@ppforumca
. It's a wonderful organization and it's a privilege to work with
@egreenspon
and his team. PPF will release next week a report on AI and populism by Ben Allen Stevens and me. Details to come.
#cdnpoli
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So very pleased to share that
@_alice_evans
is joining
@munkschool
as a Fellow in Residence in the coming term. A wide-ranging intellectual, writing a sweeping account of the raise and persistence of patriarchy, and one of the best broad consumers of social science. Lucky us!
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First rule of Canadian politics: no one is responsible for anything. There is no second rule.
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But the main take away is that they are thinking about how to be sensible and neighbourly. Even when they break rules, my sense is that they do it with some reasonable moral and practical justifications.
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A giant of Parliament and constant proof that politics could be decent, could be rooted in faith, and could be done collegially. Condolences to his family. Vale, Bill Blaikie.
Earlier today, William Alexander (Bill) Blaikie passed away at home in the presence of his loving wife Brenda.
It is difficult to express in words our grief, as well as our gratitude for all the love, wisdom and fun he shared with us over the years.
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My Grandpa Quinn was a staunch old Tory. He used to make a point of inviting canvassers for other parties into his home for a coffee and some of my grandmother’s cooking. If they spent two hours with him they weren’t persuading others. He would have liked this TikTok trick.
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I am really excited about this paper. People vary in their levels of trust in experts and expertise, and we need to acknowledge this and be very careful about it when communicating with the public about things like COVID-19.
Our findings go well beyond our particular case.
🚨📢"Anti-Intellectualism and the Mass Public’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic" (with
@PeejLoewen
) now coming soon to Nature Human Behaviour!🤯Check it out!👀 1/
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They listen to public health experts and they follow directives as best they can. But for the most part, they are just using their noggins. That's why behaviour changes sometimes proceed directives and sometimes follow, for example.
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I just spent 15 minutes looking for the keys to a filing cabinet. They were on top of it. These folks have not lost these keys for 1400 years. Well done.
This is the moment The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was closed due to Coronavirus.
Last time this happened was in 1349, during The Black Death, a bubonic plague pandemic.
What’s fascinating about this story is the guy with the keys.
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@foxgw
@globeandmail
Seriously. Justice Minister, Finance Minister, Leader of the Liberal Party for 6 years. My favourite: Member of Parliament in three different provinces. Lots of ways to write that headline. How about: "John Turner, cabinet minister, Prime Minister, and champion of Parliament..."
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The electoral reform ballot in BC is like being asked to choose between cake or ice cream. Once you choose ice cream, your choice is between chocolate, vanilla, or onion. It’d be nice to be able to say that chocolate or vanilla is ok, but you’d rather cake than the onion flavour.
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I'm hiring a managing director for my lab (
@PEARL_Munk
). A perfect position for someone who likes managing multiple projects, working with smart postdocs and grad students, and wants to lead a research program. Good compensation and great colleagues.
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Whatever you think of
@jandrewpotter
's article on Quebec the tweet from
@mcgillu
is outrageous. This is not what a university should do. /1
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There are lots of great MPs. Many more than people realize. But for my money the one who is doing the best exploration of how to do the role is Nate Erskine-Smith. I really admire the way he is approaching his job.
On the latest
#uncommonspod
,
@JosephEStiglitz
makes the case for a green recovery, tackling inequality, and measuring success beyond GDP.
Listen here:
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This is such an important question. But given that we haven’t really answered it in the last two years, why start now?
What is the objective of COVID public policy in Canada right now? Prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed? Prevent as many people as possible from getting COVID? Prevent vulnerable people from getting COVID? I’m confused about what we’re trying to accomplish.
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Just some free political communications advice.
1. Suggesting a leader you don't like is stupid tells that leaders supporters that you think they are stupid.
2. If you think you win political debates by pointing out that metaphors are not literally true, you aren't winning.
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This was perhaps the most meaningful public thing I’ve been involved with, and I am so proud that the team that did it was recognized. Congrats all the way down. What a privilege to work with all of you.
One year ago today,
@UofT
and the Munk School hosted a live, interactive video address that allowed students from across Canada to engage with Ukrainian President
@ZelenskyyUa
.
The event was recently recognized with a Circle of Excellence Award from
@CASEAdvance
.
#CASECOE
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If we lived in Australia, there’d be a serious nose count going on right now.
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In your last election,
@CheriDiNovo
, you received 41% of the ballots cast. Turnout was 57%. So, only 23% of people voted for you. What are we supposed to make of that?
(Lest folks think I am picking on Cheri, she was my MPP and we live in the riding).
UPDATE June 3: Only about 22% of Ontario actually voted for Doug Ford, 59% of those that voted DID NOT vote for him and only about 43% of Ontario voted at all. This is our un-democratic First Past the Post system
@FairVoteCanada
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I am sad to hear about Harold Clarke’s passing. He did so much to advance the study of Canadian politics through the CES. He was passionate and maybe even obsessive about his craft, was a great editor of Electoral Studies, and awfully kind to me when I was a young scholar. Vale.
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@DFisman
Funny thing here is that everybody thinks this article is about giving other people amnesty!
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@canoegirrl
@APSDE553
Winter worries me most. Waves of depression, despair, despondency. We can only wish that the hope of the vaccine keeps spirits up. This is going to test a lot of wills, and break many people. No politicians should congratulate themselves or us yet.
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So, do we get more or less of this gold with C-10?
Lytton, B.C. broke the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada. The coldest is still within Stephen Harper’s heart.
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Remember when it took forever to announce Doug Ford as leader of the PCs and then he lost the next election, because millions of voters who otherwise don’t give two figs about politics somehow concluded they the ballot counting tells you everything you need to know about a party?
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I’m hiring a research associate to work at
@PEARL_Munk
. Research Associate is a salaried position at
@UofT
, and this RA will work as the manager of our lab. If you have an interest in experiments, surveys etc and wd like the experience of managing and leading a lab, please apply.
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The
@munkschool
benefits enormously from our Senior Fellows and Distinguished Fellows, so I am very pleased to announce our most recent appointments. Some are very familiar to the School, and others are just now joining us.
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This, respectfully, would be a very bad course of action.
Since Ford has thrown us into a constitutional crisis by invoking "notwithstanding clause" to override a judicial ruling that rendered
#Bill5
unconstitutional.
Now is a good time for the PM to use s.90 of the Constitution Act, to "disallow and reserve" provincial legislation.
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I just completed an automated call with
@GovCanHealth
, following return to Canada. It had facts wrong about my travel, wasn't updated on test results I completed, and was menacing about fines I could face for (non) non-compliance. An awfully shitty way to treat citizens.
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For what it’s worth, I think Twitter has been a real net positive in my life. It’s helped me make lots of connections, it exposes me to all sorts of interesting things, and I still think the format is great for vulgarization of ideas.
I bet it’s still here tomorrow. I hope so.
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I guess it's helpful to spell out the reasoning for the question. How much evidence do we have that a lack of charging stations (and a prospective lack in 2-5 years) is a barrier to EV change over? I am very sceptical that this is the case.
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If it becomes clear post-hoc that mask wearing could limit the spread of COVID, but it was discouraged because of bad scientific generalizations and/or because we wanted to prevent a run on masks, then this will represent a massive policy and public health failure.
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This enriches a small group of farmers at the cost of everyone who buys milk, cheese, and butter. It should be more important that a poor kid get lots of milk and maybe even a smelly cheese now and again, then that a rich farmer become richer. At a minimum, let’s not celebrate.
Canadian gov't celebrates victory in dairy dispute before a USMCA panel
This one seems clear. Unlike the first dairy decision under USMCA, which Canada tried spinning as a win.
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I am very happy to see my friend, Daniel Weinstock, receive an overdue apology from the Minister of Education. Through it all, I’ve admired his courage, sang froid, and generosity - all the more since he’s done it without a peep of public support from the top of his University.
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I am really happy to share this news. Working with Eric for the last 18 months has been an amazing collaboration. I learn from him everyday. And now our whole department and our students can, too. Lucky us.
📢🚨 It was a long and rocky road over the past decade of grad school and postdocs, but I was somehow able to land my dream job. Starting in July I will be an Assistant Professor of Political Science at
@UofT_PolSci
St. George Campus 🤯Thread 👇 1/
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Andrew Scheer's position on which party gets to form government is, it turns out, exactly the someone expressed by Michael Ignatieff in the 2011 federal leaders debate. It's a political position, and a convenient one.
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My lab is hiring a postdoc working in political communication/political behaviour, on our
@MediaEcosystem
and other projects.Please apply if you'd like to work with a dynamic team with a steady flow of survey and experiment subjects (~2000 per week!).
.
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@DFisman
@DrJacobsRad
@fordnation
Is algebra our friend here? 3% CFR then vs 2% CFR now. ~100 cases in S Africa then vs 30,000 now. So, 3 deaths vs. 600. Not great!
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Absolutely thrilled that Ian Shugart will be joining the
@munkschool
at
@UofT
. Our students and faculty will benefit immeasurably from his wisdom and his mentoring.
We are delighted to announce that Ian Shugart, the 24th Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, will join the Munk School as Professor, Teaching Stream in September 2022. Read more:
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