Ratcheting up tensions during a global pandemic is nothing less than a shoddy diversion; another symptom of the weakening of both public discourse and the fortitude of institutions, now fueled by comic-book like personality-driven politics. What Russia and Ukraine both need is no different than that eternal human dream of everyone else everywhere: better living and hope for a brighter future for all citizens.

Last week, the CBC ran a piece on “Chinese industrial espionage” during its flagship program The National. According to John Price, the public broadcaster owes the country, and Asian Canadians in particular, an apology for fanning the flames of bigotry and hate. And Justin Trudeau needs to call for a fundamental reassessment of Canadian foreign policy to avoid taking Canada down the road to war.

The Canadian Global Affairs Institute and the University of Calgary’s Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies are two of many institutions funded by the military and arms industry to promote their ideas. Media outlets serious about journalistic principles should point out their contributors’ direct or indirect financial ties to the military when offering their opinion on the armed forces.

The Dead Candidate’s Report: A Memoir tells the story of celebrated journalist Lesley Hughes, who decided she wanted to be a member of Canada’s Parliament, only to have her candidacy cancelled by her leader without notice, as she was preparing to launch her campaign. In fact, her political obituary was written and distributed to the news media even before the candidate herself was informed.

It turns out that all those government reports issued decades ago—the Special Senate Subcommittee on Mass Media (1970), the Royal Commission on Newspapers (1981), and the Senate Report on News Media (2005)—were right when they warned that Big Media in Canada were getting too big and powerful. Now they are monetizing their power over public perceptions and laughing all the way to the bank as a result, at least from New Jersey.

If former Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange is extradited and found guilty of publishing classified material, it will set a legal precedent that will effectively end national security reporting, allowing the government to use the Espionage Act to charge any reporter who possesses classified documents, and any whistleblower who leaks classified information, under the Espionage Act.

It was quite the performance. CTV Power Play host Evan Solomon’s response to former Green Party leader Jim Harris demonstrates just how enamoured the media is with Annamie Paul’s pro-imperialist identitarian politics. While I have ideological differences with Harris, he is correct that Paul’s refusal to repudiate her senior adviser’s threats to defeat sitting Green MPs is the root of the recent conflict within the party.

Annamie Paul’s perspective has overwhelmingly shaped coverage of the dramatic and bitter conflict within the Green Party. The media has even uncritically reported Paul’s claim that Elizabeth May, who abused her authority to promote Paul’s candidacy in last year’s leadership race, is part of a conspiracy against her. As 25-year Green Party member Constantine Kritsonis noted, “Straight out of the twilight zone! The Annamie Paul gang blames Elizabeth May!”

Hopefully, the recent hostage exchange and trend of Chinese-Canadians rejecting the Conservatives will embolden those within the Canadian government who prefer engagement over conflict with the world’s emerging superpower. One would also hope that thoughtful citizens will see through the reactionary anti-China propaganda and come to understand this country’s self-interest lies with an internationalist foreign policy.

The polls are tightening up in Election 44 and we have a live one on our hands. With the Conservatives taking the lead, it’s anyone’s guess who will form government after election day, right? Well, not exactly. The problem is that the popular vote doesn’t really mean squat. It’s little more than a temperature check for the national mood and leaves Canadians in the dark about where we really stand in this election.