PM Harper names new director of communications

Jason MacDonald, who has been spokesman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt for the past year, has been named director of communications for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He replaces Andrew MacDougall, who held the position for more than two years and announced his decision to leave the post last month. MacDougall confirmed MacDonald's appointment on Twitter Thursday morning. MacDonald is a former chief of staff at CBC Television and ran for the Ontario Progressive Conservatives in Ottawa South in the 2011 provincial election.

Rogers reaches across ocean for new phone CEO

Guy Laurence            Nadir Mohammed 

Rogers Communications has appointed the chief executive of Vodafone U.K. as the successor to its outgoing president and CEO. Guy Laurence, 52, will become top executive of Toronto-based Rogers in December as the Canadian wireless giant prepares for a critical auction of federal wireless licences. He succeeds Nadir Mohamed, who had previously announced his intention to retire as the head of the wireless, cable and media company. "The board unanimously chose Guy as the best leader to succeed Nadir and to take the company forward," said Alan Horn, chairman of the Rogers board of directors.

In Fort McMurray, rock radio tunes out Neil Young over ‘Hiroshima’ remarks

Neil Young can keep on talking in the free world, but Fort McMurray won’t be listening. A local rock radio station stopped playing the Canuck singer’s music for a day after he compared the northern Alberta oil-sands city to Hiroshima after the atomic bomb.On-air personality Chris Byrne at Rock 97.9 then asked his listeners if the ban should be extended indefinitely. Neil supporters were in the majority, but when station staff looked at their e-mail addresses, most came from out of town. So with local opinion firmly against him, Young has been pulled from the station’s playlist. No more Heart of Gold in the heart of the oilsands.“We’re going to continue with our ban,” said Byrne, who said he used to play two or three Young tunes a day.

Postmedia to sell properties in B.C. and Alberta to cut costs, reduce debt

The publisher of some of Canada’s largest English-language daily newspapers says it plans to sell two properties in British Columbia and Alberta in a bid to reduce costs and pay down debt. Soon to go on the market will be the Kennedy Heights printing plant in Surrey, B.C., and the Calgary Herald building, announced Postmedia newspapers Monday. The Kennedy Heights plant produces the Vancouver Sun and the Province. TC Transcontinental Printing will begin producing the Calgary Herald in November, and Postmedia said it has asked union representatives in Vancouver to “develop alternatives” to the Kennedy Heights plant.

Star, Globe defend stories about the Fords

The Ontario Press Council hearing has wrapped up its hearings in which the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail defended themselves against complaints from the public that they have been unethical in their coverage of Mayor Ford and his brother, Doug Ford. The OPC efforts were divided into two inquiries, morning  and afternoon with the Star first and the Globe after lunch. The Star responded to the concerns with reporter Kevin Donovan saying he and his colleague Robyn Doolittle sincerely believed that the video they saw was real. The Globe defended its use of anonymous sources for an investigative piece by Greg McArthur and Shannon Kari that looked into Mayor Rob Ford’s family’s alleged drug dealings. The council's decision is always subject to the writing of its conclusions released at a later date.