Michèle Champagne
@michhham.bsky.social
Graphic artist, M.Des. Studies mandatory positivity and its effects on freedom of expression, architecture media, and “smart” cities. Invited to Harvard, McGill, and UQAM. — michelechampagne.com
Here we go.
Battle over Doug Ford’s Ontario Place redevelopment heads to Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada has given a group opposing the Ford government’s redevelopment of Ontario Place leave to appeal legislation the province used to fast-track construction.
www.thestar.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:57 PM
Here we go.
Pro tip: In selecting a third-party to support your projects, always look at its leadership profile and inquire about its client list. This applies to communications firms, like Mobilize Media, as well as autonomous artists, illustrators, writers, branding giants, or public relations firms.
A PR firm hired to produce ads in support of the CBC is the same firm that has, for years, been calling for the public broadcaster to be defunded through its right-wing Canada Proud Facebook pages, a @rorywh.bsky.social investigation finds.
The same firm ran a campaign to save CBC — and Canada Proud's push to defund it
“It's like the Trump administration promoting Biden in an ad campaign,” said Ahmed Al-Rawi, Director of the Disinformation Project at Simon Fraser University. “This is unreal, like science fiction.”
www.nationalobserver.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Pro tip: In selecting a third-party to support your projects, always look at its leadership profile and inquire about its client list. This applies to communications firms, like Mobilize Media, as well as autonomous artists, illustrators, writers, branding giants, or public relations firms.
Sometimes, all it takes is a phone call.
I called number for the Local Matters campaign from the Canadian Media Guild on Facebook. The call was answered by an employee of the group behind Canada Proud, one of the loudest advocates for defunding the CBC.
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/08/i...
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/08/i...
The same firm ran a campaign to save CBC — and Canada Proud's push to defund it
“It's like the Trump administration promoting Biden in an ad campaign,” said Ahmed Al-Rawi, Director of the Disinformation Project at Simon Fraser University. “This is unreal, like science fiction.”
www.nationalobserver.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Sometimes, all it takes is a phone call.
I remember this exchange. I’ve consulted clients on Whatever Happened to Twitter. The CBC’s “audience consumption” justification does not reflect its mandate, qualitative engagement, or the fact that those audience numbers swim with mass amounts of deepfake porn, disinformation, and misinformation.
More recently, I had the chance, in a committee hearing, to raise the issue of the CBC’s commitment to X. Here’s what CBC’s top executives told me about why the CBC isn’t on Bluesky or Mastodon. youtu.be/lJUeQZlvD-E?... #cdnpoli
CBC stays on X to reach audiences despite hate speech concerns - but isn't on Bluesky or Mastodon.
YouTube video by Senator Paula Simons
youtu.be
January 8, 2026 at 9:05 PM
I remember this exchange. I’ve consulted clients on Whatever Happened to Twitter. The CBC’s “audience consumption” justification does not reflect its mandate, qualitative engagement, or the fact that those audience numbers swim with mass amounts of deepfake porn, disinformation, and misinformation.
Reposted by Michèle Champagne
In 2024, I rose in Senate QP to ask why the Govt of Canada was still using X for official communications. Today, they are still there. What exactly will it take to break the spell?
A proliferation of sexual deepfakes on X has prompted other countries to investigate Grok, the platform’s AI software, but, so far, Ottawa remains silent.
www.hilltimes.com/story/2026/0...
www.hilltimes.com/story/2026/0...
‘Get the f**k off there’: MPs, Senators call on government to abandon X/Twitter following wave of ‘Grok porn’
A proliferation of sexual deepfakes on X (formerly Twitter) has prompted other countries to investigate Grok, the platform’s AI software, but, so far, Ottawa remains silent.
www.hilltimes.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:58 PM
In 2024, I rose in Senate QP to ask why the Govt of Canada was still using X for official communications. Today, they are still there. What exactly will it take to break the spell?
Une nomination importante.
Mélanie Lanouette sera l’historienne du Musée national de l’histoire du Québec
Elle devra parfois aller au front pour défendre les choix de l’institution sur la place publique.
www.ledevoir.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Une nomination importante.
This is @peterpomerantsev.bsky.social territory. From Metahaven’s 2016 film, The Sprawl: “There’s a steady stream of disinformation whose purpose seems to be to undermine the very idea that truth is provable.”
January 8, 2026 at 4:36 PM
This is @peterpomerantsev.bsky.social territory. From Metahaven’s 2016 film, The Sprawl: “There’s a steady stream of disinformation whose purpose seems to be to undermine the very idea that truth is provable.”
Tribune has great typesetting.
Why Digital Sovereignty Matters
Amazon and Microsoft’s cloud blackouts paralysed public services across the globe this autumn — a warning of what happens when essential infrastructure is left in the hands of private US monopolies.
tribunemag.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Tribune has great typesetting.
“Subordination” is the right word.
✍️ Why Digital Sovereignty Matters
In the wake of recent cloud blackouts, IIPP Professor @ceciliarikap.bsky.social and @paologerbaudo.bsky.social highlight the importance of #DigitalSovereignty and dangers of technological subordination.
🔗 Read their @tribunemagazine article here: buff.ly/cYK9qvm
In the wake of recent cloud blackouts, IIPP Professor @ceciliarikap.bsky.social and @paologerbaudo.bsky.social highlight the importance of #DigitalSovereignty and dangers of technological subordination.
🔗 Read their @tribunemagazine article here: buff.ly/cYK9qvm
January 8, 2026 at 3:58 PM
“Subordination” is the right word.
Make Quebec Hamburg Again™
Des images d’Allemagne pour illustrer le Québec: ✱ On dirait que les monteurs n’ont pas appris des erreurs de l’équipe de Sam Hamad.
Des images d’Allemagne pour illustrer le Québec
✱ On dirait que les monteurs n’ont pas appris des erreurs de l’équipe de Sam Hamad.
www.journaldemontreal.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Make Quebec Hamburg Again™
Ushering in the New Year.
Danish troops told to 'shoot first, ask questions later' if US invades Greenland | LBC
The European nation's rules of engagement requires soldiers to “immediately” counter-attack invading forces without awaiting orders
www.lbc.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 3:04 AM
Ushering in the New Year.
En pleine rue. Et en pleine vue.
January 7, 2026 at 10:41 PM
En pleine rue. Et en pleine vue.
Reposted by Michèle Champagne
The clock started ticking on the need to rethink every aspect of the Canada-US relationship the moment Trump was re-elected 14 months ago. It is beyond discouraging that Canadian officials — at this late date — are still being implored to actually face reality.
If the US moves to take over Greenland – a threat we’d be foolish to dismiss – Canada would be forced to rethink every aspect of its relations with the US. Canadian officials need to start thinking though this nightmarish scenario now, not later. It would be a seismic event.
January 7, 2026 at 9:56 PM
The clock started ticking on the need to rethink every aspect of the Canada-US relationship the moment Trump was re-elected 14 months ago. It is beyond discouraging that Canadian officials — at this late date — are still being implored to actually face reality.
I don’t know that this has been thought out by leaders in Ottawa. Perhaps it has and we haven’t heard about it yet. But Canadians would want to know: What’s up?
If the US moves to take over Greenland – a threat we’d be foolish to dismiss – Canada would be forced to rethink every aspect of its relations with the US. Canadian officials need to start thinking though this nightmarish scenario now, not later. It would be a seismic event.
January 7, 2026 at 9:43 PM
I don’t know that this has been thought out by leaders in Ottawa. Perhaps it has and we haven’t heard about it yet. But Canadians would want to know: What’s up?
En effet : un « mauvais temps ».
Mauvais temps pour le patrimoine architectural moderne
Face au dérèglement climatique, l’actualisation du bâti existant devrait pourtant être une priorité.
www.ledevoir.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:38 PM
En effet : un « mauvais temps ».
Notre patrimoine moderne.
Le bâtiment, qui se distinguait par sa conception novatrice, disparaît malgré des objections. #patrimoine #architecture
L’hôtel de ville de Sept-Îles démoli
www.ledevoir.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Notre patrimoine moderne.
SNC-Lavalin was right to rebrand as AtkinsRéalis.
Former SNC-Lavalin CEO to be stripped of professional licence
Jacques Lamarre also ordered to pay $75,000 in fines after being found guilty of several transgressions
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:53 PM
SNC-Lavalin was right to rebrand as AtkinsRéalis.
En tant que journalistes, veuillez contacter notre ministre de l'«IA» @evansolomon.bsky.social pour obtenir ses commentaires. @nestruck.bsky.social a raison. Face à cette menace manifeste pour la santé publique et la vie privée des canadiens sur le réseau, le ministre est muet jusqu'à présent.
6700 images non-consensuelles par heure, en passant.
Et Elon Musk trouve ça drôle.
Et Elon Musk trouve ça drôle.
Musk’s Grok AI Generated Thousands of Undressed Images Per Hour on X
Elon Musk’s X has become a top site for images of people that have been non-consensually undressed by AI, according to a third-party analysis, with thousands of instances each hour over a day earlier ...
www.bloomberg.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:42 PM
En tant que journalistes, veuillez contacter notre ministre de l'«IA» @evansolomon.bsky.social pour obtenir ses commentaires. @nestruck.bsky.social a raison. Face à cette menace manifeste pour la santé publique et la vie privée des canadiens sur le réseau, le ministre est muet jusqu'à présent.
Reposted by Michèle Champagne
With recent attention on GrokAI's publication of illegal CSAM and other harmful content, it's a good time to re-up this piece I wrote for @theglobeandmail.com a couple of months ago on Canada's 🇨🇦 Minister of AI.
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: Canada’s new Minister of AI must not be naive to its harms
AI is not just being deployed to expand human understanding, but to systematically subvert it as well
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 6, 2026 at 9:07 PM
With recent attention on GrokAI's publication of illegal CSAM and other harmful content, it's a good time to re-up this piece I wrote for @theglobeandmail.com a couple of months ago on Canada's 🇨🇦 Minister of AI.
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Welcome back from the holidays.
“Can I begin by saying I hope all colleagues had a happy Christmas. It probably feels quite along time ago now, but not for Reform of course because today is the day that they celebrate Christmas in Russia”
Keir Starmer
#PMQs
Keir Starmer
#PMQs
January 7, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Welcome back from the holidays.
In Canada, “design” has been so heavily associated with over-priced “designer” shoes or black label paints, that it’s seen as fancy. In Holland, where I trained, design is part of the fabric of society in making things intentional and with creativity, including city budgets. Maybe London is similar.
January 7, 2026 at 6:04 AM
In Canada, “design” has been so heavily associated with over-priced “designer” shoes or black label paints, that it’s seen as fancy. In Holland, where I trained, design is part of the fabric of society in making things intentional and with creativity, including city budgets. Maybe London is similar.
He’s right, of course.
January 6, 2026 at 10:45 PM
He’s right, of course.
Il y a une raison pour laquelle je me suis désabonnée de Vogue.
IA, IA, dis-moi qui est la plus belle
L’incidence réelle sur l’estime de soi du formatage des images virtuelles
www.ledevoir.com
January 6, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Il y a une raison pour laquelle je me suis désabonnée de Vogue.
Publié le 3 janvier.
Sur les planches
À surveiller au Grand Théâtre de Québec, à La Caserne, au théâtre Hector-Charland, à La Licorne et au théâtre Denise-Pelletier.
www.ledevoir.com
January 6, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Publié le 3 janvier.