This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Chrystia Freeland article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.
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This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page.
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Latest comment: 10 months ago4 comments4 people in discussion
This article contains extensive duplicative information in the top portion that deviates from the Wikipedia Biography Template, including but not limited to: details on Freeland's educational majors; excessive detail about a book without literary significance; and excessive descriptions of awards and many other superfluous biological details. Simultaneously, what Freeland is most known for internationally - Freeland's grandfather's role as a Nazi collaborator and her claims that such information were politically-motivated Russian disinformation - is concealed until the very bottom of the article. Freeland's early childhood & family history contains excessive detail about her paternal grandfather - who is not and has never been a matter of international interest - but mentions of Freeland's maternal grandfather are repeatedly scrubbed from any section above the bottom of the page.
Why are edits to include her most famous family member's actions continuously removed? Why are excessive and duplicative details about Freeland's biography included but relevant information about her most cited family member and her allegations of Russian disinformation are repeatedly removed? Within Canada, Freeland may be more known for her political achievements, but globally members of cabinets are not known for the minute details of their political platforms - they are known for their actions that generate global news. In the wake of the Canadian parliament's standing ovation for a Nazi soldier (part of the same Waffen-SS regiment Freeland's grandfather recruited for) - Freeland is most known for her family connections to the Nazi regime and allegations that such ties were disinformation created by a foreign government. Editor85213 (talk) 20:19, 1 October 2023 (UTC)Reply
I agree that the lead paragraphs of this article go into excessive detail. As described in MOS:LEAD, this section "should identify the topic, establish context, explain why the topic is notable, and summarize the most important points, including any prominent controversies." I heartily endorse your idea of removing some of this stuff or, if it isn't already in the main body of the article, moving it there.
I disagree that the lead paragraphs, or even the main body of the article, should dwell on Freeland's grandfather. This is a biography of Freeland, not of her grandfather. For an explanation of why the existing treatment of her grandfather is correct, see the arguments by Citing in the above discussion #Early life section. The claim that her connection to Chomiak is what she is "most known for" is ridiculous, or should I say, backwards. If Freeland were not already notable for her political career, no one would care about her connection to Chomiak. Articles I have read in reliable sources about the recent incident, in which the speaker of the House of Commons invited a Nazi to a speech by Zelenskiy, do not mention Freeland, who was not directly connected to the incident. Freeland's remark from several years ago about "Russian disinformation" seems not to have greatly affected her political career; since then she became "Minister of Everything". An opinion piece in Jacobin, which describes itself as "a leading voice of the American left, offering socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture", should not carelessly be used to imply that that remark has suddenly become as shocking as it seemed in 2017. Bruce leverett (talk) 01:31, 2 October 2023 (UTC)Reply
Bruce is exactly right. People know about Chomiak because she is famous, not the other way around. How many people would have heard of him if it wasn't for the connection with her? Here's another google experiment: google "Freeland" and then google "Chomniak". If my results mean anything, he's not even the most prominent Chomniak. BobFromBrockley (talk) 17:40, 4 October 2023 (UTC)Reply
I tidied up the intro a little, removing some of the excessive detail about her books. I think they're relevant to mention as they were part of her pre-politics career but the details and awards can go in the body of the text. The education is fine to leave in as it's common in other political biographies (see Justin Trudeau, Stephen Harper, Barack Obama). Featured article biographies mention education in the lead section regularly so its well within the scope of the lead section (whether to specify the major varies by article but I don't feel this is especially onerous). Citing (talk) 21:07, 4 October 2023 (UTC)Reply
Latest comment: 6 months ago9 comments3 people in discussion
Why is this continually taken down? The pms kids are well known names, I had to look for 15 minutes online for her kids names for an elementary school speech. I’m confused and don’t want to be blocked I thought I was helping others by having it posted, would have saved me 15 minutes. Can someone please explain why it keeps getting taken down? Thanks 198.91.167.234 (talk) 13:44, 29 January 2024 (UTC)Reply
Maybe gender but not ages? The biographies of living persons policy tends to err on the side of caution, particularly for the children of subjects. The personal life section currently states she has three children, it could probably be changed to "a son and two daughters". Citing (talk) 18:41, 29 January 2024 (UTC)Reply