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v TODAY'S IDIOCY Canadian prof attends Tehran's gathering of Holocaust deniers (Saunders,Globe) Dr. Dossa said he was alarmed to find that Holocaust deniers played such a visible role in the event. "I did not know exactly who was coming to the conference, and frankly, I think these people are hacks and lunatics," he said. "I frankly wouldn't even shake hands with most of them." But he said he supported Iran's motives for holding the conference. "I understand where the Iranian government is coming from. Because I am well aware that for at least the last four or five years, there has been a steady stream of invective directed at Iran by Israel. People like [Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Olmert have threatened Iran repeatedly with a nuclear holocaust if they did not fall into line. And there has been a steady stream of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment -- so I can see why Iran is nervous. "My stand is that Iran is trying to embarrass the West and say, 'Look, we are practising what you preach. We are allowing freedom of discussion of just about any issue, including the Holocaust.' And I agree with that." TUES DAY, DECEMBER 12, 2006Political gender gap (Star ed) This fall, the Conservative government slashed funding to programs to aid women through Status of Women Canada. The Tories also stopped funding women's groups that conduct research, advocate and lobby. Because of moves such as that, it is little wonder that women often find themselves struggling to make their voices heard on Parliament Hill.
Canadian firms in Africa fail fight against AIDS, Stephen Lewis says Mr. Lewis said the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's wealthiest charitable trust, has stepped up to support Africa, "but not the corporate world." MON DAY, DECEMBER 11, 2006Gender equality a benefit for children (Citizen) There would be 13 million fewer undernourished children in South Asia if men and women had equal influence in household decisions, says the latest UNICEF report on the state of the world's children. PREVIOUS AWARDS The Globe and Mail’s John Ibbitson is onto the fall of Zack: Why are so many senior public officials getting fired? Because the system, despite its many critics, is working better than it has in the past. In an earlier era, had the police bungled as spectacularly as the RCMP bungled the Arar affair, only a few senior officials would have been privy to the disaster, and they would almost certainly have kept it quiet, “in the national interest.” Similarly, expenses were kept off-book or immune to scrutiny. If something unusual came to light, the guilty party was shuffled somewhere where he could do no harm or, at worst, quietly asked to resign. WEDNES DAY, DECEMBER 6, 2006Afghanistan mission must show results, Dion warns (Globe) "Can we have a kind of Marshall Plan as we have done in Europe, in Japan, in Singapore, in Taiwan, in so many countries before that?" he asked.
The Globe and Mail’s Jeffrey Simpson is onto today’s same-sex debate Same-sex marriage has been sanctioned through Charter of Rights interpretations by provincial courts. It's obvious beyond debate that the Supreme Court of Canada would rule likewise. From a report in the Toronto Star, 12 November 2006 Allan Hutchinson, professor at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, says that giving gays and lesbians "a second option doesn't make up for the fact that you still left them out" of marriage. "So, I think the courts might well strike that down." But, he says, "nobody can be 100 per cent sure." In this way, a legal challenge to same-sex marriage is possible, if not winnable. "I think they have some room," Hutchinson says. "It is absolutely true the Supreme Court has not definitively said, 'You can't do that.' They've clearly given signals they're not keen on that, but in that sense, the door remains slightly ajar." TUES DAY, DECEMBER 5, 2006PM's divisive motion (Star ed) So why is Prime Minister Stephen Harper dredging it up again by introducing a motion this week in the House of Commons to reopen debate on same-sex marriage? Because he said he would. MON DAY, DECEMBER 4, 2006Hot: Michael Ignatieff and Quebec. The Ignatieff camp figures that about 80 per cent of Quebec delegates supported their candidate. The word going around is that Mr. Dion should make Mr. Ignatieff, a Toronto MP, his Quebec lieutenant. (Taber, Globe) SUN DAY, DECEMBER 3, 2006The Gazette’s Hubert Bauch writes The separatists hated Pierre Trudeau even more than they loathe Dion, but Quebecers voted overwhelmingly for him. Memo to H. Bauch: There was no Bloc Québécois running in Québec back then PREVIOUS AWARDS Hall Findlay supporters scarce (Star) Liberal MP Belinda Stronach said she is not going to vote for Hall Findlay just because she is the only woman in the leadership race. THURS DAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2006--Premier of Ontario moonlights as expert on Québec Notions of nation distract from economy: McGuinty (Star) I just don't understand why we would want to immerse ourselves in this kind of debate once again," he said, adding that younger people are "citizens of the world" with little interest in such anachronistic notions, he said. "Many folks in positions of leadership are appealing to a desire in an age group which is on the way out." WEDNES DAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2006Prof. Maioni is on the verge of becoming a regular in this section: Ottawa, Charest at odds on meaning of 'Québécois' (Globe) "No wonder there's confusion -- outside of Quebec, they're reading the English version," said Antonia Maioni, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. "It's an unfortunate use of words in English. Something got lost in translation." Fortunately, she’s followed by another Prof who knows of what he speaks Daniel Weinstock, a professor of political philosophy at the University of Montreal, said the term Québécois carries the suggestion of "ethnic lineage." "If you want to refer to the whole of society, you say Quebecker, not Québécois," he said, adding that Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the choice deliberately to avoid the politically explosive step of recognizing a distinct nation within Canada. "When one chooses Québécois rather than the easily available Quebecker, it's for a reason," he said. "But this is a clear case of a politician believing it can control the genie he's let out of the bottle, and he can't." TUES DAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2006Kennedy opposes `nation' vote (Star) "I cannot support the Harper-Duceppe motion currently before the House. I deplore that anyone would use this as a wedge issue for political gains," the former Ontario education minister's statement reads. "The Prime Minister's responsibility is to protect the Constitution and the unity of the country. This motion does neither. It is wrong for Canada…. Cementing himself as the candidate of the Pierre Trudeau wing of the Liberal party, sources said Kennedy conferred with the former prime minister's eldest son, Justin, about the issue over the weekend. --What Justin said to the Globe’s Roy MacGregor on Saturday Trudeau has no problem with the word "nation" -- he points out its use throughout Quebec, including the "National Assembly;" nor did his father have difficulty with the casual use of the word, writing in his 1993 memoirs "Je n'ai jamais contesté l'existence de la nation canadienne-française." Both, however, would fight any constitutional use of the word - which appeared to be the road on which the initial Ignatieff suggestion and, most assuredly, the Bloc proposal, were headed. Later that evening, when the whole "nation" debate has been back-burnered by the government motion to let the word stand in conjunction with "within Canada," he all but shrugs it off. "I'm not crazy about it," he says. "It's an unnecessary step on a slippery slope, as I've been saying. But since it says Quebeckers, not Quebec, because it implies no constitutional consequences, and mostly, because it allows us to move on and deal with bigger issues, let's use it to close a door that was foolishly opened." SUN DAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2006PM is reaching out to Quebecers as the Chrétien Liberals never did (Maioni) When Prime Minister Stephen Harper rose in the House of Commons to present a motion that recognizes "the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada," it was an historic moment. Despite the confusion about who exactly is being addressed as "Québécois" and what is meant by the term nation (as opposed to a sovereign state), the recognition of the inhabitants of Quebec as forming a distinct collectivity is inevitable. SATUR DAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2006PM's Reform roots help to explain recent bombshells (Globe) By introducing a motion on Wednesday that the Québécois should be seen as a nation within Canada, the Prime Minister signalled that his view of the country is much different from the old centralist nation espoused by prime ministers such as Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau and pushed forward by others who followed. A more powerful and autonomous Quebec means a Quebec that runs its own shop in areas of provincial jurisdiction such as health care and education. It follows that this kind of autonomy would be extended to other provinces. FRI DAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2006INSIDE STORY (Globe) He and his staff drafted a motion identical to the one to be put forward by the Bloc Québécois but for four critical words added on to the end, reading: "That this House recognize that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada." The Bloc motion (English version) That this House recognize that Quebeckers form a nation THURS DAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2006It’s not, as some allege, that Louise Arbour is unbalanced; it’s just that she hasn’t the foggiest idea of the depth of the Mideast conflict A glint of hope seen for stalemate (Star) "It's very striking how the people of both communities, not very many kilometres apart, expressed forcefully a sense of abandonment," Arbour said yesterday in an interview with the Toronto Star, midway through a fact-finding mission in her capacity as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. "It's the same message. They feel disempowered and very alone. They feel that nobody cares, not even their own government. It's quite striking that the non-combatants on both sides are saying, `Where is the world' when from the outside, it seems that the only thing the world is paying attention to is the Middle East." As Qassams keep falling (eight more yesterday, landing without causing injury) and Israel Defense Forces operations against Palestinian rocket-launchers in Gaza intensify (five dead yesterday, two of them civilians) Arbour diagnoses the violent stalemate as an acute "protection-of-civilians deficit." Grim as all this sounds, she sees a glint of hope in the eerie similarity of complaints that transcend the Israeli-Palestinian divide. She interprets the despair as a mutual cry for the restoration of rule of law — and that is something the international community is duty-bound to bring about. "I know it sounds abstract. But the people on both sides are entitled to turn to their authorities, and their governments are obligated to protect the civilians by all legal means. When they fail, they are required to trigger mechanisms of accountability," said Arbour…. "In the case of Beit Hanoun, you cannot tell people who lost 18 members of their family, `Sorry, it was an accident.' What kind of accident? How could it have happened? Who made either an error in judgment or what precisely went wrong? And what about reparations and compensation? You can't just let it go," she said. "And in the case of Sderot, the same holds true. The Palestinian leadership has to be held accountable for Qassam rocket attacks." Here, in the Washington Post, is another way of describing her naiveté Lebanese Warily Await Their Uncertain Future "I wish we could take all the Lebanese to Canada or America, let them live there for two months and have them start thinking differently," he said. "Then we would bring them back, and they would change the situation at its most basic level." WEDNES DAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2006Pierre Trudeau would have agreed with Bernie Landry? Aide says Pierre Trudeau would have supported Ignatieff's position on Quebec Apps maintains Ignatieff is every bit as opposed to nationalism based on ethnicity as was Trudeau. But he argues that, thanks to Trudeau, Quebec has transformed from ethnic tribalism to a pluralistic, "civic nationalism." In supporting recognition of Quebec as a nation, he argues that Ignatieff is the true heir to the Trudeau legacy. TUES DAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2006Delegations' days are over if plan passes (Globe) "I don't buy that argument that the hoopla should outweigh the substance," said Liberal MP Belinda Stronach, a promoter of the one-member-one-vote system. MON DAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2006When all the world's a stage, Harper sends mixed signals (Globe) The first example of the Prime Minister's contradictions came on the flight to Asia when he criticized China for its human-rights policy. He made strong comments about the jailing of Canadian citizen Huseyin Celil and said he would not sacrifice human rights on the altar of the "almighty dollar." But the remarks run counter to other things the Prime Minister has said and done recently. For example, the government now opposes the draft UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Mr. Harper was less than nuanced in supporting Israel's "measured response" in the bombing of Lebanon last summer. Mr. Harper found himself criticizing Vietnam this week for abridging freedom of speech when he refused to take questions from Canadian reporters (until a closing news conference) who were banned from even covering his appearances. Canada's press freedoms and those of a communist regime are worlds apart, but it does raise questions about Mr. Harper's commitment to the public's right to know. SUN DAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2006It is always of historic significance when one of the country’s traditional governing parties chooses a leader, who, in effect, becomes the prime-minister-in-waiting. (Bauch, Gazette) SATUR DAY, NOVEMBER 18, 20061. Irony Press freedom? Not in Vietnam (Star) The ironies were hard to miss. Canadian officials said Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a vigorous defence of freedom of expression, religion and association when he met yesterday with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Canadian ambassador to Vietnam Gabriel Lessard said Harper raised "human rights, freedom of press and all that." Still, it was Harper's aides who cut off a Canadian reporter mid-sentence as she tried to ask a question after the handshakes with Nguyen. It was Harper's aides who herded Canadian reporters out of the meeting after the two leaders were seated. 2. Canada occupies Afghanistan, starves Palestinians and rejects US refugees Afghan mission a `disgrace' (Star) Galloway arrived in Toronto on Thursday evening for a whirlwind tour of speaking engagements in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Tonight, he will be the keynote speaker at an event hosted by the Canadian Syrian Cultural Association. On Monday he will speak at an event put on by The Toronto Coalition to Stop the War. Canada's Afghan mission, which he calls an "illegitimate military occupation," involves 2,500 troops stationed there and has killed 43 Canadians. It is an "an absolute scandalous disgrace," that Canadians are "fighting for democracy in Afghanistan while starving Palestinians because they democratically elected a government (Canada) does not like." Galloway's comments stem from Canada's decision earlier this year to cut funding to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority. That meant a suspension of $7.3 million, nearly one-third of the $25 million a year Canada spends on aid in the West Bank and Gaza. And Canada's poor record on granting war resisters refugee status dispels the myth that Canada is a haven, critics say. According to the War Resisters Support Campaign in Toronto, 32 Americans have applied for refugee status in Canada. A few have been withdrawn but all that have proceeded to the Immigration and Refugee Board have been denied. 3. Two peoples, separated by a common language Bush reveals he is a Guardian reader (though sadly not a regular) "Where was that report?" Mr Bush asked. "In the Guardian newspaper," the reporter said. "Guardian newspaper? Well, I don't read that paper often," the president replied. At first glance, the statement appears to confirm suspicions that the president has not looked for guidance during his time in office to the Guardian's leader columns and opinion pages, which have occasionally suggested alternative approaches to foreign policy. But Washington insiders practised at analysing the president's rhetoric will seize on Mr Bush's use of the word "often" as a tacit acknowledgment that he does in fact consult the newspaper from time to time. FRI DAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2006Must be all the Nobel Prizes they’ve racked up Student vote acts as Lebanese litmus test (Globe) The 140-year-old grounds of the American University, perhaps the most prestigious university in the Middle East, have become an arena for testing the strength of the two sides in Lebanon's increasingly tense political standoff. THURS DAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2006Same idiocy as yesterday, from the pen of a professor The joys of a `brainy society' (Antonia Maioni) Language, culture, community: Within a few short weeks of arriving in Montreal, bright young people can put their finger on exactly what makes this place tick, and how Quebec is unique in Canada. I've lived here most of my life, and still find it difficult to explain exactly what it is that's distinct about this place. I may be a professor, but the true gift of teaching is to learn more from my students every day. After spending the past few weeks observing the hysteria of media commentators on Quebec, I am inclined to think that the "nation-phobes" could learn some lessons, too. WEDNES DAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2006Personally, I’ve not met many Canadians who want Québec to be no different from the other provinces: There are many in the rest of the country today who see the unavoidable reality that Quebec is different as a threat to the federation. 30 years on: Success undermines PQ mission (Hébert)
TUES DAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2006Lysiane Gagnon mars an otherwise fine column with this idiocy: Newfoundlanders and British Columbians, for instance, have strong provincial identities, but there is no secessionist movement in these provinces because there is no ethnic group that could give birth to such a movement. SUN DAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2006The Ottawa Citizen’s JANICE KENNEDY writes: If we’re all so crazy about peace, why do we keep permitting war?... There are things we can do…. We can challenge those politicians who insist we can’t support the troops if we don’t back the Afghanistan mission, as if wanting peace were somehow unpatriotic. SATUR DAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2006We can't handle the truth (Abley, Globe) FRI DAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2006I’m certain that Gen. Pervez Musharraf would have gone out of his way to ensure that the infidel books were distributed in Pakistan's madrassas: If Bill Clinton knew then what he knows now, he would have sent books, not weapons. The result might have been more scientists and fewer terrorists, the former U.S. president told the Montreal Millennium Promise Conference on child poverty yesterday. In most developing countries, Clinton explained, parents must pay to send their children to public schools – “because of the strain on government budgets and the weak tax base.” But some Muslim countries such as Pakistan have networks of free madrassa schools, which “indoctrinate kids with a very militant ideology,” he said. And terrorist groups such as Al-Qa’ida use them as recruiting venues. “During the ’80s and the ’90s – I take responsibility for this, too – because Pakistan was a good Cold War ally of the United States, we were only too happy to give them generous military aid,” said Clinton, who was president from 1993 to 2001. “If we had given them just one less plane and taken that money and put it into education, God only knows how many fewer terrorists and how many more engineers and scientists we might have educated.” GAZETTE THURS DAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2006Mr. Clinton accused the Bush administration of over-investing itself in Iraq and under-investing in Afghanistan, where Canadian troops are fighting in the increasingly violent Kandahar province. That runs “the terrible, potentially disastrous risk of a return of the Taliban and freer movement of the al-Qaeda leaders,” he said. (GORDON, Citizen) Frist Draws Criticism for Comments On Taliban Democrats criticized Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) yesterday [Afor saying that the Afghan war against Taliban guerrillas can never be won militarily and for favoring bringing "people who call themselves Taliban" into the government. Frist, who was traveling in Afghanistan, said Monday that Taliban fighters are too numerous and too popular to be defeated. "You need to bring them into a more transparent type of government," he said. "And if that's accomplished, we'll be successful." Democrats accused Frist of trying to "cut and run" in Afghanistan, something Republicans have been accusing Democrats of seeking to do in Iraq. "Senator Frist now suggests that the best way forward in Afghanistan is to coddle the Taliban by welcoming Taliban members into a coalition government, as if 9/11 had never happened," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said yesterday in a statement.
WEDNES DAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2006What PM, premier discussed at secret talks (Urquhart) Caledonia. Harper reportedly undertook to consider sharing the escalating cost of policing the volatile situation in Caledonia, as was done at a previous native standoff in Oka, Que., where the army actually took over responsibility. There was no talk of sending the army to Caledonia, but Ottawa might begin putting up some cash. Memo to Ian: All Dalton need do is ask that the Army be sent in, as Premier B. did back then TUES DAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2006Multicultural misogyny (Globe) SUN DAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2006A Conservative majority, via Québec, that passes through Sean Ahern and the riding of Westmount-Ville-Marie Long-time Tory angrily quits party over trusts (Globe) Sean Ahern helped organize a $500-a-plate brunch last Sunday to raise money for the Conservatives in the Montreal constituency of Westmount-Ville-Marie where he was riding association president. Yesterday, in response to the government's decision to tax income trusts, he tore up his party membership. The Conservatives have targeted Quebec in their drive to win the seats that could give them a majority in the next election; Prime Minister Stephen Harper will announce just outside Montreal tomorrow that his government is promising to help fund highway construction in the province. But Mr. Ahern is spitting mad, and he says there are lots of people like him -- both in Montreal and across the country -- who will make their voices heard at the polls. FRI DAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2006Roger Tassé doesn’t know the meaning of the word whitewash Critics blast port authority 'whitewash' (Globe) Instead, Mr. Tassé concludes in the 127-page report that there's no evidence anything improper occurred in the awarding of contracts at the airport and that the port authority has acted in good faith and followed good governance principles, despite heavy criticism in recent years from a range of voices. NDP MP Olivia Chow, a former city councillor and a vocal critic of the airport, called the report a "total whitewash." She accused the Tory government, which had been critical of the port authority in opposition, of making a "complete about face." WEDNES DAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2006Spector refused to apologize for the slur, though he did offer some sort of justification, saying the Oxford English Dictionary defines "bitch" as "malicious and treacherous." What Spector left out, of course, is that the word only applies to women. There's no evidence that Spector has ever called a male parliamentarian a "bitch," despite the abundance of evidence that men are also quite capable of treachery. Political discourse is being dragged down to a gangsta rap level (V Sun ed) In light of the Oxford definition, you’d have to be a real idiot to call a man a bitch 2. a. Applied opprobriously to a woman; strictly, a lewd or sensual woman. Not now in decent use; but formerly common in literature. In mod. use, esp. a malicious or treacherous woman; of things: something outstandingly difficult or unpleasant. (See also son of a bitch.) ?a1400 Chester Pl. (1843) 181 Whom calleste thou queine, skabde biche?1575 J. Still Gamm. Gurton ii. ii, Come out, thou hungry needy bitch.1675 Hobbes Odyssey xviii. 310 Ulysses looking sourly answered, You Bitch.1712 Arbuthnot John Bull (1755) 9 An extravagant bitch of a wife.1790 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Adv. Fut. Laureat Wks. 1812 II. 337 Call her Prostitute, Bawd, dirty Bitch.1814 Byron Let. 15 Oct. (1830) I. 586 It is well that one of us is of such fame, since there is a sad deficit in the morale of that article upon my part,�all owing to my �bitch of a star�, as Captain Tranchemont says of his planet.1833 Marryat P. Simple (1834) 446 You are a+son of a bitch.1904 Kipling Traffics & Discov. 165 After eight years, my father, cheated by your bitch of a country, he found out who was the upper dog in South Africa.1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers I. iv. 60 �Look at the children, you nasty little bitch!� he sneered.1931 T. E. Lawrence Let. 10 June (1938) 722 �She� says the incarnate sailor, stroking the gangway of the Iron Duke, �can be a perfect bitch in a cross-sea.�1931 R. Aldington Colonel's Daughter i. 50 What a preposterous old bitch that woman is.1944 Wyndham Lewis Let. 20 Aug. (1963) 378 For it may be a bitch of a Peace.1956 S. Beckett Godot i. p. 37 That's how it is on this bitch of an earth. The same principle applies to the expression "son of a bitch," as you’ll see in the Globe article below: Mother of slain soldier slams U.S. pilot 23 November 2005 The Globe and Mail (CP) The mother of a Canadian soldier killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan has angrily denounced comments made by the U.S. pilot who dropped a laser-guided bomb on her son, saying he is trying to portray himself as the victim. Doreen Young, whose son, Private Richard Green, died in the 2002 accidental bombing, said statements made by Major Harry Schmidt in a new book show he is unwilling to take responsibility for what happened and feels little remorse for killing Pte. Green and three other Canadian soldiers. “He won't be accountable for any of it,” Ms. Young said yesterday from her office in Tantallon, N.S. “I mean, he dropped the bomb. He killed our boys and the arrogant son of a bitch is just a coward.” PREVIOUS AWARDS The Ottawa Citizen’s DEIRDRE MCMURDY writes: We were standing in the cereal aisle at Loeb the other day, and my five-year-old son was giving me the pitch. You know how it goes. Although his usual verbal style is best described as minimalist, Sunbeam was making an eloquent case for the merits of choosing an oatmeal that has exploding candy eggs in it. And that was just the warmup act for the dairy aisle and his arguments in favour of glow-in-the-dark yogurt. That’s when it struck me that it’s time to register the little fella — and his older sister. In the context of the proposed federal accountability act, these two are the ultimate lobbyists. And we all know what that means in these days of political Puritanism. The accountability bill, which is currently before the Senate, takes a decidedly dim view of lobbying and goes to elaborate legislative lengths to snuff this heinous practice. The only problem is that lobbying is such an innate part of human nature: The whole incentive in learning to speak or write well is to foist our ideas and our desires on others, to make them see things our way. Given how predisposed we all are to lobby, how can one government — and a minority government at that — possibly presume to eradicate it? As any experienced parent or investment banker knows, you can’t fight the tape. And if you try to suppress something that’s so hard-wired, you ultimately just subvert it. SATUR DAY, OCTOBER 28, 2006Bernard Landry applaudi à Ottawa FRI DAY, OCTOBER 27, 2006PM backs Bush on borders (Star) Calderon said the planned barrier, meant to keep illegal Mexican immigrants from crossing into the United States, is deplorable and a waste of effort and money. "Humanity made a huge mistake building the Berlin Wall and I believe that today the United States is committing a grave error in building a wall on our border. It will lead to more deaths of Mexicans," said Calderon, pointing out that more than 400 Mexicans died trying to cross into the U.S. last year.
Trudeau shakes up Liberal race (Star) He [David Peterson] also took a swipe at Trudeau — whose late father, iconic Liberal prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, held views similar to those expressed by his son — dryly noting, "I didn't realize he was a constitutional thinker. He should try making that speech in Iraq, or Lebanon."… PREVIOUS AWARDS Chrétien was right (Cit) Canadians owe thanks to Paul Short, a Newfoundland man whose son is a medic at Petawawa who is scheduled to be sent to Afghanistan early next year. Mr. Short has expressed his objection to Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan. Mr. Short has removed the stigma for us Canadians who are opposed to Canada’s participation in the Afghanistan disaster. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and many of his supporters have accused Canadians who speak out against the use of Canadian military in Afghanistan of failing to support our soldiers. That has not been true of most Canadians, and now Mr. Short has made it clear that it is acceptable for ordinary Canadian citizens to oppose the government’s policy of sending troops to an unwinnable war. That opposition in no way diminishes our support of the young men and women who wear Canadian colours. The decision by Paul Martin’s Liberal government to involve Canada in Afghanistan was a mistake. The decision of Stephen Harper’s government to extend Canada’s commitment made the mistake worse. Mr. Harper will undoubtedly learn what American president George W. Bush is learning from his citizens. Canadians are growing increasingly unhappy with Canadians soldiers being sent to a senseless war, just as Americans are unhappy with their troops being involved in Iraq. Mr. Bush's party is about to lose control of the U.S. House of Representatives, largely because of his war policy. That may soon happen to Mr. Harper. I was never a big fan of former prime minister Jean Chrétien, but he had it right when he told the United States that Canada would not become involved in America’s Middle East debacle. JOE SPENCE, Kanata TUES DAY, OCTOBER 24, 2006“If the government appeals [the Juliet O’Neill decision], it’s a sign that it believes it should still have the widespread powers to do things that the Charter doesn’t allow,” said Chris Waddell, PEN Canada’s national affairs chairman. The Ottawa Citizen MON DAY, OCTOBER 23, 2006One Tory strategist said the Liberals shouldn’t complain. “If the Liberals accuse the government of not playing fair and that they’re busy with their leadership race, well, that kind of comment smacks of arrogance. The world does not revolve around the internal workings of the Liberal Party,” the source said. (The Gazette) SUN DAY, OCTOBER 22, 2006Canuck folk star slams PM at peace rally Bruce Cockburn doesn't know what to think about the war in Afghanistan. In a speech at City Hall yesterday, Cockburn said he had conflicted feelings about the war, which has killed 42 Canadian soldiers. "I love our Canadian men and women who are risking their lives for whatever it is. The million-dollar question is what is it?" said Cockburn, after receiving an award for peace from the Unitarian Services Committee of Canada. "If we're getting our kids killed for oil, for the friggin' economy, then let's bring them home ... If we're engaged in a struggle against forces whose intent is to make the world safe for the subjugation of women, for the intolerance of any belief that is different from their particular reading of their particular scripture, then we have to say yes, we have to resist that." In an interview after the presentation, Cockburn called Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recently unveiled environmental plan "bulls---" and said that the prime minister was too close to the U.S. SATUR DAY, OCTOBER 21, 2006Remark exposes Tories' true colours: Stronach (Star) Stronach and Wasylycia-Leis argue that it's remarks like MacKay's that are helping to keep women's representation around its current, dismal 20-per-cent figure in Parliament. FRI DAY, OCTOBER 20, 2006'Schoolyard bully' quip sparks furor in House (Globe) Linda Trimble, chair of the political science department at the University of Alberta, called Mr. MacKay's comments "unduly personal and mean-spirited." Prof. Trimble, who specializes in Canadian and gender studies, said the remarks demonstrate the continued need for an organization such as the now-defunct Association of Women Parliamentarians, a group dedicated to cleaning up language in Parliament as well as to issues such as daycare. THURS DAY, OCTOBER 19, 2006An arithmetically-challenged newspaper Mulroney is looking pretty good (Star) Mulroney won two consecutive majority governments, the second with the greatest margin in Canadian electoral history. Why Turner was turfed from party (Star) Turner's move to the far reaches of the Commons' back wall means the Tories drop to 124 seats. Tory MPs figured it was a hit they could take, since the party needs at least 155 votes and significant support from another party in the Commons to carry any vote. WEDNES DAY, OCTOBER 18, 2006a number of people have signed on to support Iggy, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan and Economic Development Minister Sandra Pupatello being the most prominent. She isn't fazed in the least by Iggy's foot-in-mouth implosions. "Every time he says something and there is some kind of reaction, he actually stands by what he says and insists on clarifying it and getting the whole story out, unlike others whose typical response is to retract and run for the hills," she said. "I enjoy that. I think you have to have some guts in this business." … Bob's no Rae of sunshine (Blizzard) TUES DAY, OCTOBER 17, 2006We should get one of 'em just like Québec and Newfoundland got Ottawa urged to establish strategy to fight poverty (Star) Ireland has one. So does Quebec and Newfoundland. So why doesn't Canada have an anti-poverty strategy? MON DAY, OCTOBER 16, 2006last week, Ignatieff appeared on a French-language radio program in Quebec Politics corrupt Iggy (Levant) SUN DAY, OCTOBER 15, 2006In Harper's world, it looks like girls will be herded back to the kitchen, just as gays are herded back to the closet. In PM's world, girls will be herded back to the kitchen, and gays back to the closet(McQuaig) SATUR DAY, OCTOBER 14, 2006Liberal Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette told Mr. Fraser she doubts Quebec would have held two referendums on sovereignty if Canadian universities required its graduates to speak both official languages. “Since the provincial education departments are expecting big cheques from the federal government, perhaps you could suggest to the governments that they begin to think about tying university funding to something like the Erasmus program,” said Ms. Hervieux-Payette. The Ottawa Citizen FRI DAY, OCTOBER 13, 2006Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove pointed to another culprit for the auto trade deficit. "The biggest issue is the lack of being able to ship into the Asian markets," Mr. Hargrove said. People in South Korea or Japan would be happy to buy a Dodge Caliber or an Oshawa, Ont.-made Chevrolet Impala if they had the chance, he said, but imports of those vehicles are restricted by tariff and non-tariff barriers. U.S. slowdown slams Central Canada (Globe) THURS DAY, OCTOBER 12, 2006“An outspoken newspaper journalist is murdered in Moscow. North Korea's dictator ignores world outrage and detonates a nuclear device. What's the connection? The link between these two seemingly unconnected events is something we Canadians too often take for granted: the flickering candle of press freedom.” Anne Kothawala is president and CEO of the Canadian Newspaper Association. WEDNES DAY, OCTOBER 11, 2006My visit to North Korea (Copps) I once stepped onto North Korean soil, while visiting the demilitarized zoneFRI DAY, OCTOBER 6, 2006Victimized: by terrorists and by a fair trial Victims' families are still looking for answers, Air-India probe told (Globe) "We were first victimized by the terrorists, secondly by the RCMP, CSIS . . . and lastly by the 'fair' trial," said Aleem Quraishi, whose sister, brother-in-law and three nieces and nephews all perished on Flight 182. THURS DAY, OCTOBER 5, 2006Judge asks about racism in Air-India crash probe (Globe) It's hard not to share the view of victims' families that "if it had been an Air Canada plane and Anglo-Saxons, things would have been different," commissioner John Major said during questioning of former Ontario premier Bob Rae. Memo to John Major. Right. For starters, Sikh terrorists would probably not have blown up the plane WEDNES DAY, OCTOBER 4, 2006Calvert should launch equalization legal challenge TUES DAY, OCTOBER 3, 2006At a meeting of western conservatives in Calgary on the weekend, former Reform leader Preston Manning, among others, called for Alberta to make the most of the province's improved national political clout as a result of the Harper government and a booming economy. We need a new agenda, says Presto. "Whatever (Alberta's) renewed national vision may be, we need to communicate and pursue it wisely," he advised. Lots of waiting for new leader (Stanway) PREVIOUS AWARDS 'No one saw this coming' (Gazette) Motorists warned police before overpass collapse (Star)SATUR DAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2006BS=PET=BS Belinda: 'I don't sit at home and knit on Friday nights' (Globe) Belinda Stronach, multimillionaire divorcée and recent minister of the Crown, likes sex. She likes athletes' good, hard bodies. Acquaintances say she's partial to younger men. And, being a dude magnet, she appears able to come-hither any hunk who catches her eye. Canadians, of course, have been down this road before with a public figure. Pierre Trudeau, multimillionaire divorcé; prime minister, liked dancers, writers, academics, musicians, the odd U.S. heiress — who can forget Texas party blonde Lacey Neuhaus? — in fact, just about anything female and many years younger than himself. It never deterred anyone in the country from labelling Mr. Trudeau an intelligent, serious public figure. But welcome to post-gender equality in Canada: Never before have we had a woman politician playing out this narrative. "We're a young country yet," sighed a seasoned Liberal Party insider, who felt it wiser to speak off the record. FRI DAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2006In his appearance before the committee yesterday, Commissioner Zaccardelli said the RCMP's investigation into the leaks has been slowed down by that court challenge. "We're hopeful that we're going to be successful in court to get access to the information that we seized under the search warrants, which were issued by a lawful court, and we will continue this investigation until every avenue has possibly been explored," he said. But the lawyer for the Citizen said blaming the investigation's problems on the court challenge involving Ms. O'Neill is a "cop-out." "There were a series of leaks to a number of reporters, not just Juliet O'Neill," said Rick Dearden. "We argued in court that the RCMP shouldn't be targeting the media at all. They should be going after their own people." Chief pledges 'blind' probe into RCMP (Citizen) THURS DAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2006Critics blast Musharraf (Globe) NDP Leader Jack Layton said Mr. Musharraf's comments suggest the dialogue between Canada and Pakistan has not been extensive enough -- and that the Conservative government has failed in communicating Canada's interests and involvement in the region. "This is deeply distressing and I certainly call on the Prime Minister to engage, as I have done in the House and as I have done for many weeks, in trying to bring all parties to the table to discuss this issue seriously," Mr. Layton said. WEDNES DAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006One way to prove Volpe wrong is to make sure that impressive candidates like Hall Findlay are not forced to leave the race exclusively to men. Liberals are losing (Copps) PREVIOUS AWARDS First came the new American laws that will soon require everyone entering the U.S. to have a passport or some other equivalent travel card yet to be invented. With the tourism industry up in arms over the whole thing, Stephen Harper raised the issue with George Bush at their first meeting in Mexico in March, and basically conceded it was a done deal; get over it, and let's get on with it. Barely six months later, the PM was telling a blue-ribbon business crowd in New York this past week that the passport law "threatens to divide" the two countries. But nothing like Dubya's Dreamfence. Fencing off neighbours 'boneheaded' proposal (Weston) Memo to Weston: In terms of our national interest, it’s exactly the opposite. SATUR DAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2006A two-fer Critic admits that NDP withdrawal motion is irrelevant "The whole thing is escalating. I share the concern that so many other Canadians have that we're getting into a quagmire here that we're not going to be able to get out of," Black, the NDP's defence critic, said yesterday in an interview…. Leader thinks Canada could withdraw and re-construct "An approach which took us to a ceasefire and to a reconstruction with a lot more emphasis on diplomacy than on weaponry would in our view be a much more appropriate role," Layton said. Canada readies fighter jets (Star)
THURS DAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2006Hundreds of military spouses, family members and others are expected to rally on Parliament Hill tomorrow in response to a “Wear Red” campaign launched by family members of soldiers at the CFB Petawawa who last month began a six-month tour of duty in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Bob Beauchamp, an official with the Parliament Hill local of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said he was “outraged” after receiving a letter from Marie-Josée Lacroix, the Commons manager of labour relations and compensation, saying the Commons could not support the demonstration. “While we recognize the thoughtfulness of your request, we cannot support it since the House of Commons’ practice has been to remain impartial in their involvement in such campaigns,” Ms. Lacroix said in response to a Sept. 14 request from Mr. Beauchamp for permission to take part in the campaign. (Citizen) PREVIOUS AWARDS A two-fer, via The National Post’s A N D R E W C O Y N E: The parallels are not exact. There was, so far as we know, no deliberate, conscious effort to frame Maher Arar. Canadian society is not a hotbed of anti-Arab sentiment, in the way that Third Republic France was anti-Semitic. Nevertheless, in the broad strokes — an innocent man, a member of the wrong minority in a time of national panic, is unjustly accused and left to rot in some far-flung piece of hell, while officials stall, look the other way, and cover up — this case deserves to be known as what it is: Canada’s Dreyfus Affair…. When, further, the RCMP raided the home of Juliet O’Neill, the reporter for the Ottawa Citizen who broke details of the force’s investigation of Mr. Arar, the whiff of cover-up was unmistakable. This is, after all, not the only case of Canadian citizens being detained in Syrian jails on suspicion of terrorist activity: Three other men, Arabs all, have met the same fate. Despite Judge O’- Connor’s finding that Canadian officials did not knowingly conspire in Mr. Arar’s deportation, it is not unreasonable to ask: Can this be mere coincidence? |
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