Learning to Read the Room: A Canadian Lesson in Power, Media, and Critical Thinking

I come to discussing and looking into politics the way a lot of Canadians do: not as a career politician or a professional pundit, but as a proud Canadian who learned to think critically because life required it and because I came back home after being abroad for 10 years and couldn't believe the grievance politics and fake news was louder and badder than ever...(yes, I know, badder, is not a word, lol)

I’m blue-collar and academic. I’ve worked with my hands and with ideas. I’m proud to be Canadian, not because we’re perfect, but because we try to build systems that protect people from bullies, including powerful ones.

This piece isn’t a rant. It’s a lesson. A lesson that teachers should be teaching in classrooms today!

Not a lecture, but actual guidance. Because I think it is my place to share the knowledge I have been privileged enough to work hard for and purchase in the capitalist system I was told to adore and escape and understand and be weary of and, and, and.... despite wanting to simply be one with nature and chill in the jungle like lions....lol (a girl can dream a little, lol)

Culture Shock, Revisited

When people talk about culture shock, they usually mean accents, weather, or food.

But the deeper shock comes from the actual culture.... and in this blog's case, how power is discussed.

In Canada, there is a strong cultural instinct toward moderation, fairness, and social trust.

We believe, sometimes naively, that institutions exist to protect the public interest.

That belief is worth defending.

But it also requires us to pay attention.

How to Spot Grievance Politics

As a teacher I would say: let’s define our terms.

Grievance politics is not about solving problems. It’s about training people to feel wronged, constantly.

Its structure is predictable:

1. Identify a fear (economic insecurity, cultural change, loss of status)

2. Assign blame (elites, immigrants, queer people, Ottawa, “the media”)

3. Reject expertise as bias

4. Present strength and anger as honesty

This is not accidental. It is taught, rehearsed, and rewarded.

The Big Bad Wolf Isn’t a Person. It’s a Pattern.

North America (particularly the USA) didn’t invent grievance politics. They just stripped it of shame.

What Canadians sometimes miss is that the pattern travels easily across borders, even when the policies don’t.

In Alberta, (and other provinces) versions of this pattern appear through the UCP (and some conservative parties):

• Distrust framed as common sense

• Oversight framed as oppression

• Media framed as an enemy rather than a public service

Different country. Familiar playbook.

A teacher’s reminder: when the same arguments appear in different contexts with different villains, it’s worth asking who benefits.

Media Literacy Is a Civic Skill

Critical thinking is not cynicism.

It’s asking:

• Who is speaking?

• Who paid for this message?

• What emotion is being activated?

• What information is missing?

Fear-based politics relies on media ecosystems that blur opinion, entertainment, and reporting.

This isn’t about silencing voices. It’s about standards.

Just like building codes and permits protect workers from unsafe structures, media standards protect the public from informational collapse.

Why Media and Telecommunications Law Matters

As Canadians, we already accept that:

• Food is regulated

• Medicine is regulated

• Workplaces are regulated

Because harm prevention is not censorship.

E-6879 (Media and Telecommunications) exists in that same tradition.

Its purpose is not to control thought, but to protect the conditions that allow thought to be free, informed, and fair.

A classroom principle applies here: debate requires shared facts. Without them, the loudest voice wins.

Queer Communities Understand This Early

Queer people learn quickly how stories can be weaponized.

We’ve been cast as dangers, distractions, or symbols in other people’s moral panics.

When grievance politics escalates, it doesn’t stop at policy disagreements. It looks for targets.

Strong media protections don’t privilege queer voices, they protect everyone from being turned into one.

A Proudly Canadian Stance

Stopping bullies doesn’t require shouting. It requires rules, courage, and collective responsibility.

Canada’s strength has never been volume. It’s been structure.

Public broadcasting. Independent journalism. Media accountability. Regulatory frameworks that recognize power imbalances.

These are not weaknesses.

They are grown-up solutions.

A Final Lesson

Critical thinking isn’t about being suspicious of everything.

It’s about being curious, disciplined, and fair.

If a message makes you afraid, ask why. If it tells you who to hate, ask who benefits. If it dismisses accountability as tyranny, remember history.

Wide-eyed doesn’t mean naive.

It means you’re paying attention.

And paying attention is how we keep bullies, from any country, out of the driver’s seat.