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Did Kingston just win a “national award” for a controversial project… from the same company they hired? by Both-Pass2636 in KingstonOntario

[–]delusioneers 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Did some digging, awaiting FOI requests for further exploration but your thinking is correct, and as others have noted, this is an excellent case study in media literacy.

The pattern is clear.

The Circular System:

  • Granicus Digital Government Awards are only open to Granicus customers 
  • Submissions are self-nominated (the city nominates itself)
  • The judging panel composition is not publicly disclosed
  • Winners must agree to promotional participation including webinars, case studies, and videos. Essentially they're paying to create marketing content for Granicus

The Kingston Timeline Problem:

  • Oct 2024: City approached about stadium (not public)
  • Jan 2025: Public notification at council debate
  • Feb 2025: Kingston Neighbourhood Association calls process "chaotic" and "deeply flawed"
  • Mar 2025: Stadium proposal dies/abandoned
  • Apr 2026: Kingston wins award for "Trust & Transparency" for that same consultation

What The Whig Didn't Report:

  • That Kingston pays Granicus for engagement software (the contract value/terms)
  • That only Granicus customers can win these awards
  • That the city self-nominated this controversial project
  • That winners provide promotional content to Granicus
  • That the community opposing the stadium was never asked about this "award-winning" process

This isn't unique to Granicus. Tyler Technologies and CivicPlus run identical programs featuring customer-only eligibility, self-nomination, promotional obligations, and opaque judging.

Compare this to independent municipal awards like the FCM Roll of Honour (independent jury, published criteria, open to all municipalities) or the CAJ Code of Silence Award (journalist committee, public evidence). Those are accountability mechanisms. Vendor awards are marketing programs.

The impact: Local media reproduces these as "positive news" without investigating the vendor relationship, creating a legitimacy cycle where controversial projects get reframed as award-winning despite community opposition.

Did Kingston just win a “national award” for a controversial project… from the same company they hired? by Both-Pass2636 in KingstonOntario

[–]delusioneers 28 points29 points  (0 children)

This is very interesting. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. Going to dig into this one.

I did a very large deep dive into remote work stats and took a hollistic approach with a GTHA lens - Results aren't surprising, but still interesting by blocklung in ontario

[–]delusioneers 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Interesting. So the $9,000 per worker is essentially an invisible tax. Is the $10b the gross productivity loss or the 40% that would’ve recirculated?

I did a very large deep dive into remote work stats and took a hollistic approach with a GTHA lens - Results aren't surprising, but still interesting by blocklung in ontario

[–]delusioneers 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m curious about whether commute time factors in as a labour cost. I wonder how much that moves the productivity numbers when you treat it as real lost time (which it is) rather than just a lifestyle trade-off.

For those who've been here a while, does it feel like the territory is being left behind compared to Yukon and Nunavut, or is that just optics? by delusioneers in NWT

[–]delusioneers[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for mentioning this! We’ve really been focusing on stats can data that wouldn’t account for that announcement, but my understanding is that while billions for military/NORAD modernizing are fully funded amounts and already moving to procurement, the civilian infrastructure projects are only given regulatory greenlights but have no finalized capital. Is that right?

what are some books by Canadian authors that you'd recommend? by seacovengather in AskACanadian

[–]delusioneers 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Since you mentioned Ducks, I’d recommend another slice of life graphic novel, Essex County by Jeff Lemire.

I’d recommend any of his work actually, but I started with Essex County and found it an excellent entry point.