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September began with a quick trip to Quebec City for the Conservative Party convention. En route, I sat next to one of those new airplane windows that, rather than opening and closing with a flimsy shutter, dims and brightens based on some technical magic implanted in the glass. I'd seen these shadowy portals before, but this was the first time my window—all of the cabin windows, in fact—was permanently set to "dark." I approached a flight attendant, who said that it was "so that passengers could sleep" because even one "open" window would "flood the cabin with light." I noticed that it was 2:30 p.m., and that if people wanted to sleep during the day, they should be prepared to face sunlight. Whether she agreed or not, she went away and unlocked the kid lock on my window.I'm not sure why I find this new technology so scary, but I believe it is a natural human reaction to corporate control over our life and technical manipulation of our reality. The airlines want us subdued, preferably somnolent, even if it means limiting our exposure to the natural light outside our window. Well, I don't like it. If Air Canada wants us to sleep, it can provide nice red wine for free in all classes on domestic flights while giving us back control over our windows.Although I spent the majority of my time in Quebec City inside the stuffy convention center, I did manage to do some sightseeing on my final day. Seventy years ago, Norman Levine wrote about the city: "People will come here to see this as something out of a museum, a museum piece, when the rest of the country has been swallowed up into a sameness.

His prophecy is gradually coming true.

People are arriving—the Old Port was packed with American tourists—and the city has escaped the plague of modern "sameness," but the beauty feels like a museum piece.The stone streets remain as attractive as ever, even if the quality of the art galleries has fallen to appeal to cruise ship tastes, but you must seek attentively to find remnants of the city's historic culture. In certain situations, it is hidden in plain sight, such as in street names like Rue de Brébeuf, Rue Sainte-Anne, and Rue Sainte-Ursule, as well as the imposing facade of the Monastère des Ursulines in the old city. Other reminders are more subtle, such as a simple bust of Jean-Paul Lemieux gazing up the curve of Côte de la Montagne at the scene he caught in his two great paintings of Quebec, La Fête-Dieu à Québec and Notre Dame protégeant Québec, painted a decade before Levine's visit. I wonder what he sees now.The media's obvious disappointment with the lack of gaffes and scandal was enough to demonstrate the Conservative convention's success. Even the Liberals' half-hearted attempt to disrupt the festivities seemed more like muscle memory than a deliberate response. Steven Guilbeault arrived to accuse the Conservatives of not believing in science, looking as if he'd offset all the carbon he'd emitted coming in from Beijing by failing to wash. He was followed by Pablo Rodriguez, his shirt unbuttoned halfway to his navel like a lubricious Italian film director entering rehab, who rambled about right-wing Republicans. I almost felt bad for them. They sounded like a band with a single hit that no one wanted to hear anymore. They appeared to recognize it, but they are unfamiliar with any other songs.

After Quebec, I traveled to Kelowna. 

for a legal training on the separation of powers, which, contrary to popular belief, was a pleasure from beginning to end. It was capped by a public lecture by Supreme Court Justice Malcolm Rowe, which was actually intelligent and insightful—and not merely in comparison to the poor standard of most speeches by Canadian jurists (the very worst being former Chief Justice McLachlin's bromidic homilies). We then went up the hill to Quail's Gate Winery for dinner, which necessitated numerous distressing detours through West Kelowna's newly burned sections. I usually prefer dining at Canadian vineyards because they are one of the few places in the country where you can purchase properly aged local wines, such as the estate's 2014 Chardonnay and 2013 Pinot Noir. It is irritating that, while old French or German wines can be purchased in Canada, it is impossible to drink our own age-worthy wines to their full potential unless you cellar them yourself. Thank heavens for winery eateries.On the last day of the month, I returned to Oxford, where the low mist and lovely smell of burning leaves confirmed that summer had officially ended. The season of "langað seo niht and wanað se daeg" marks the end of the year. Like a midday Air Canada trip, we anticipate days of increasing darkness, a time to nest and work. At least it is my expectation for a fruitful Michaelmas term.

The Canadian media has always shown. 

an imbalance in its representation of Indigenous issues. Historically, many media outlets have exhibited tendencies toward misrepresentation, limited their range of sources, and presented a limited range of opinions. This lopsided representation not only reflects inherent biases, but also highlights the media's major influence in shaping public sentiment, constructing critical narratives, and driving societal conversations The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) found that the media has long propagated stereotypes and misconceptions about Indigenous peoples. In its 2015 closing report, the TRC emphasized the media's responsibility to offer accurate and fair information on Indigenous peoples. It also stressed the media's responsibility to meet the needs and interests of all Canadians, as well as the importance of appropriately representing Indigenous peoples' unique conditions and realities.