Does Apple or Google or whoever is changing the name on maps for some users, does that move help make this case? What is also the landscape here in Canada when it comes to digital sovereignty?

Right.

So, you know, this would not be the first time in history that a relatively important substantial issue was illuminated by something that is in itself actually kind of trivial.

I don't think anybody is really angry in a meaningful way about this change on the maps.

But it does illustrate this problem that just as a for example, you know, if you use an android phone or an iphone it is constantly hoovering up personal information about you and that information is getting sent to us-based servers and no matter what the government of canada or the government of ontario says today they really have no means of defending canadians from being spied upon we also have very limited means if For example, if the government of Canada wants to use any, particularly if we want to talk about AI services, if they want to use really any of these American-based software companies, the current law of the United States is that any American company has to provide data that is lawfully requested by a US law enforcement agency.

And that includes some of the less savory ones we've seen during the Trump administration.

They have to provide that data no matter where on earth that data actually resides.

Is that the only solution on the table here when we talk about potential policy changes in terms of dealing with digital sovereignty?

Where do you come down on it?

Yeah, I don't love the idea of term limits at the municipal level.

I think they are an attempt to solve a problem with kind of a kludgy, imprecise solution.

We have plenty of long serving city councilors who, they are still regularly challenged by people in competitive races and they keep winning because they do good service for their communities.

But the Toronto Star piece that you were referring to was sort of talking about a different situation, right? We have, we also have, you know, we have to admit, not everybody who sits on municipal council everywhere in Ontario is, how to put this, is there because of merit.

Some of them are there because they don't get good, consistent, regular challenges in elections.

I'll actually be writing something tomorrow for TVO's website about how in probably dozens of municipal councils across Ontario, not only will there be no real competition, there will be no competition at all.

So, John Michael McGrath, if this is a sort of a solution to a different issue and perhaps not the right solution in the form of term limits, what is the problem you see and what is a better solution?

If it's all about proving they can make your daily life better on the campaign trail, why do candidates then have such a hard time reaching and motivating voters?

Well, I think there's a few reasons.

I have made the argument, uh, for TVO's website, uh, shameless plug for TVO.org. [chuckles] Um, I, I've made the argument that one big distinction between municipal politics and provincial and federal politics is the lack of political parties, and it's, it's an unpopular, uh, thing to say, but, uh, political parties do help people make sense of politics.

Um, in Ontario, we, uh, we don't, don't allow, uh, functional political parties.

Uh, in Vancouver and Montreal, they do have municipal political parties that are separate from the, the provincial and federal ones.

But, uh, the reality is that, uh, it is very hard as a voter to, uh, really get a sense of, uh, you know, not just which candidate is, uh, running in your ward and, and what their positions are, but also, like, how are they going to play with other, uh, members of Toronto City Council? So that's, that's one thing.

Um, but you know, I, I think there is also a sense in which, uh, people, uh, you know, most people are not political junkies, as much as it pains me to say that.

Do, do you think, you know, having political parties play a role in, in municipal politics could actually make for healthier municipal elections?

Do you get that sense?

Yeah, absolutely.

And, you know, to reiterate a point that Colin was making, you know, the premier talks about like he's being held to a double standard.

The media is holding to a double standard.

I would just say, like, nobody cares about the standards that reporters hold politicians to.

What they actually care about is the standards that politicians hold themselves to.

And, you know, Doug Ford's 2018 would have absolutely torn a strip off of Doug Ford of 2026.

Are you seeing that as well?

Mm-hmm.

Um, and those vetoes can only be overridden with a supermajority of council.So this is, already, this has been controversial, [laughs] uh, in some cities because, you know, it, it, it's not how we have traditionally done municipal democracy in Ontario, and it's, so it's, it's a change, and that's been controversial.

Um, but at least in those cases, uh, it, until now, uh, those powers were held by elected mayors.

This new bill gives those same powers to unelected, appointed regional chairs.

This is another, I think, likely to be controversial [laughs] element of this where, you know, some of the people who, uh, have been appointed by the, uh, current PC government, uh, you know, w- we can go back to, uh, the recent, uh, chair of Niagara region, Bob Gale, who was a former, uh, PC candidate.

He had a, a substantial career-

Will Ontarians care about this change to local government?

It, it's possible that they won't in time, right? Uh, you know, before those municipal elections, the bill is going to, uh, p- it's very likely to pass.