The economics of spectacular shitposting. Parliament is back in session, with a focus on NAFTA, marijuana and small-business tax plans. Conservatives are launching a campaign to oppose the latter—even if their chatter can’t survive a fact-check. The party's most effective messaging involves saluting a two-year-old meme involving a frog on a unicycle. It may well prove to be the only kind of campaigning that can topple Justin Trudeau:

The NDP will owe all its glory to Jagmeet Singh. The party's final appeal to leadership voters has led to reflection about how dull this race would’ve been if not for Jagmeet throwing his turban in the ring. Meanwhile, HuffPost outlines how one of Singh's leadership competitors, Charlie Angus, went from being a punk rocker to aspiring to run for PM.

Air Canada has a complaint of its own. Air Canada used its corporate accounts to kvetch about the CBC after Sunday Edition radio host Michael Enright accidentally copied the airline on an emaiil to a producer. Air Canada claims the indiscreet message is confirmation of bias against them—at least until the resulting report gets a proper airing soon.

The wife of Sears Canada’s chairman has accused the National Post of libelling her. The Post ran a story about Jennifer Stranzl's term as chief marketing officer of the beleaguered department store chain. (Meanwhile, her husband, Brandon Stranzl, is reportedly negotiating a private-equity deal to retain about half of the bankrupt business.) A libel notice asks for a retraction and apology from the Post for leaving out details of her work history and failing to reach her for comment.

TIFF is getting trashed at the crossroads. A glorious Globe and Mail feature has a wide lens on how the film organization “got too big and lost its way.” The story discusses how the fest's clout has unravelled partly as a result of new digital platforms, whose offerings have diminished interest in eclectic screenings at the Lightbox. (A pre-fest Toronto Star report gave all of this more of a sanguine spin.) TIFF's treatment of lower-paid staff is also under some scrutiny. With chief Piers Handling headed into his last lap, local criticism of TIFF seems overdue for wider contemplation. In the meantime, its faded relevance remains a perennial topic in the trades:

“In a way, you can say the handmaids have escaped.” Margaret Atwood supplied something quotable to go along with The Handmaid’s Tale's Emmy triumph, topping off a ceremony whose central storyline was the rise of Donald Trump. The adulation might've cancelled out Atwood's streak of bad press for opposing condo development—though it was still good for a joke:

Lightning struck twice at Michael’s on Simcoe. The steakhouse where real estate broker Simon Giannini was gunned down Saturday was the site of a shooting two years ago. At the time, owner Michael Dabic told the National Post: “Our patrons are smart, they realize this is a targeted shooting, it’s a one-off. Lightning doesn’t usually strike twice."