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v TODAY'S IDIOCY Climate thrills, climate ills (Globe) According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2007, the 6.6 billion people who then shared our Blue Planet accounted for, on average, 4.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide per person. In 2007, the average level of CO2 emissions by Canadians was 17.9 tonnes per person, about four times the global average. That was comparable to those per person in Australia and the U.S., but about twice the emissions in South Korea, Germany, or Japan – and about four times more per person than those in China, and 15 times more than those in India or in the whole of Africa. The high levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are mainly the responsibility of the industrialized nations, not the developing nations. To stop and reverse continuing rapid growth in the accumulation of greenhouses gases, industrialized countries such as Canada, the U.S. and Australia must drastically cut emissions, without demanding comparable reductions in countries such as India and China, as advocated by the Harper government. R.A. Price, Kingston, Ont. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Immortality a tantalizing, frightening possibility - thestar.com Whether we're ready or not, the elusive goal of eternal life is coming within human grasp. By Dave Feschuk Sports Columnist PREVIOUS EDITIONS PM's high-stakes mission to Asia (Star) Does the Prime Minister get it? Evans isn't sure. But others in Canada have, says Vancouver's Yuen Pau Woo…"The provinces get it. (Jean) Charest, gets it. McGuinty gets it. Interest in Asia even goes down to the mayors' level," says Woo, president and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, an NGO focusing on Asian-Pacific issues. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009 In fact, the fat often hits the shin when a PM’s abroad Harper departs on first of three international trips over next four weeks (CP) Prime ministers love international travel, says Prof. Adam Harmes of the University of Western Ontario, because "they look prime ministerial, they're representing the country." "Generally the domestic political issues are not there" on foreign trips, said the political scientist who specializes in international relations. "Plus, on a more practical matter, it gets a lot of media coverage. It's useful for the prime minister to be in the media for things that are relatively benign." WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009 Mr Walkom may want to (re-)read the decision Walkom: Rae Day zombie rises from grave Myth IV: McGuinty can impose his own Dalton Days. He can't. In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that a British Columbia version of Rae Days – in which the legislature overrode existing labour contracts – was unconstitutional. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 Walled in by history (Globe) Can we now expect a U.S. president to say: “Mr. Netanyahu, tear down that wall”? Tony Eberts, New Westminster, B.C. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009 He hasn’t read it but he knows it’s not sensitive Obama's biography a state secret in Canada Retired colonel Michel Drapeau, an expert in access-to-information law at the University of Ottawa, said it's not surprising that much of the briefing material on such a high-level meeting was being withheld. Canadian courts have tended to support the government's view that releasing such materials could hurt relations with other countries, he said. But he said it was "silly" for Canadian officials to withhold the biography of such a prominent public figure. "He's not the former director of the CIA, or anything. I mean, this guy's as public as it comes," said Drapeau. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009 The Citizen serves this up former Liberal MP Edward McWhinney has offered a route that avoids Canada’s constitutional quagmire. The Constitution's amending formula requires the unanimous consent of the House of Commons, Senate and all provinces to change the office of the Queen. McWhinney has argued that Canada could effectively cut ties to the monarch by refusing to legally proclaim a successor to the Queen. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009 Crosbie in and out of sealskin for royal visit to St. John's There are a lot of Canadians that somehow think that the roast of beef is manufactured in the back of a supermarket, not realizing that it was a cow originally, and so the seal hunt is no different." WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2009 Coalition set to adopt Canadian counterinsurgency model (Globe headline) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 --Karzai might ask the same question about Jack NDP Leader Jack Layton said the stench of corruption is going to leave a lot of Canadians "scratching their heads" about what kind of partner the country has in this war. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2009 Are you getting the flu shot? - The Globe and Mail MARGARET ATWOOD, author “The jury is out. I’m waiting for more information. I was told (by a talk-show host in New York) that as I am over 65 I may have some immunity, as my parents had the 1919 flu – it’s said to be related.” SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2009 Clinton Asks Abbas to Return to Talks Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, traveling in Abu Dhabi, gave the administration’s only comment [re the Afstan election]. “We see that happen in our own country where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides not to go forward,” she said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election. It’s a personal choice which may or may not be made.” SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2009 No offence, Prince, but our ties to the monarchy should end (Simpson) We need only to make the decision that we should make a decision, and then figure out the modality to executing it. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Tell that to the polar bears, Henry! Planning for Copenhagen (Globe) Many Canadians probably are influenced by the argument that there is no point in making sacrifices when large developing countries like China and India are producing far more greenhouse gases than we are. This self-centred argument is fallacious. What really counts is greenhouse gases generated per person. This is closely tied to our material standard of living because it is tied to our per capita energy consumption. A look at the figures puts Canada’s attitude into context. The average Canadian generates 1.6 times more greenhouse gas than the average Russian, three times more than the average Swede, four times more than the average person in China, and 13 times more than the average Indian. We should think about these figures before we ask developing countries to lower their already low standards of living to offset climate change, while we do nothing. Henry M. Bradford, Wolfville, N. S. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2009 Americans pull strings in Afghan election | Eric Margolis | Columnists | Comment If Hamid Karzai really wants to establish himself as an authentic national leader, he should demand the U.S. and NATO withdraw their occupation forces and let Afghans settle their own disputes in traditional ways.
Pro-Republican blogger touts Smith as lesson for U.S. party The hype building around Danielle Smith's leadership of Alberta's upstart Wildrose Alliance party contains echoes for some of the last photogenic poster child who enthralled conservatives everywhere: Sarah Palin. In the last graf, a sane voice explains the idiocy Frum was dismissive of the comparison. "Smith is knowledgeable, intelligent and a public spirited person. I guarantee that, if she were to become premier, she would not quit her job after 18 months. Sarah Palin is no Danielle Smith." SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2009 Environment Minister Jim Prentice is not being straight with Canadians when he says he’s waiting to see U.S. climate policy before releasing his own. In fact, most of the U.S. policy has already been set forth in legislation in both the House of Representatives and Senate. His reluctance lies more with his admission that he wants to cut the tar sands more slack. This can only be done through loopholes that the U.S. will frown on, or by taking away that slack from other provinces, which will be frowned on by Canadians everywhere outside of Fort McMurray. Besides, when did the American people elect Mr. Prentice anyway? Rick Smith, executive director, Environmental Defence, Toronto FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2009 Ruling closes loophole in Québec language law (Globe, page 6) THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009 Will someone at the Star please explain the amending formula to Mr. Hepburn Why does Canada cling to British colonial roots? - thestar.com We don't need to take any lessons from silly British diplomats. What we do need is mutual respect from Britain and its official representatives. That's the minimum we should expect from London in return for having Canadians pledge allegiance to their Queen. If we can't get even that, then we should tell the Queen and Prince Charles that we are cutting all our outdated colonial ties to the monarchy and Britain, and that we will start acting like a fully independent country in the 21st century. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2009 Climate experts accuse Ottawa of 'foot-dragging' (Star) "We plummeted from the enviable position of world leader on environmental issues in the early 1990s to the reputation of foot-dragging crony of the U.S.A," said Louis Fortier, scientific director of ArcticNet, a Canadian research network. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009 Time to revisit the monarchy (Cohen) now is the time for Canadians to consider whether, upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II, our governor general should become our head of state -- in law as in practice. What are we waiting for? What are we afraid of? Memo to A Cohen: You must be joking. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Obama deserves Nobel: He has changed the international game (Saunders) A young politician, not yet fully tested, makes important and history-altering moves on the international stage – moves whose long-term outcomes remain uncertain – and is surprised to find himself with a Nobel Peace Prize. That describes Lester B. Pearson in 1957. It describes Barack Obama in 2009. PREVIOUS EDITIONS PM appoints 5 judges with Tory links (Cit) In early September, in a partisan speech in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Harper said the Liberals, had they won the government last fall, would be putting "left-wing ideologues ... in the courts, federal institutions, agencies, and the Senate." But just a few days later, on Sept. 9, Harper and his cabinet signed off on five judicial appointments, one of whom was a Mulroney-era cabinet minister, and four others who contributed thousands of dollars to the Conservatives since 2004. Memo to D Akin: Why the “but?” That’s exactly the point he was making to Conservative partisans. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Say what? (oh well, 1 for 3 ain't bad in baseball) Harper is riding high while Ignatieff is scraping the bottom (Yaffe) opposition leaders like Ignatieff must wait for governments to defeat themselves, as the Clark Conservatives did in 1979, as Kim Campbell's Conservatives did in 1993, as Paul Martin's Liberals did in 2006. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Polanski agreed to pay $500,000 to victim: paper (Gaz) Listen to Polanski's victim (Gaz letter) The right is all-too eager to put in victim-impact statements to increase the sentence for criminal offenders. The victim of Roman Polanski's crime says he should not be punished further. Will the right listen? Howard M. Greenfield Montreal SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2009 Give it a rest, Charest, it ain’t gonna happen in Cophenhagen (Gaz)The premier said he is concerned the federal government still wants to establish greenhouse gas reduction targets using 2006 as its reference year when most of the planet uses 1990, as per the Kyoto Protocol. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2009 Give me your stoned, your cowardly, your morally confused ... (Gunter)
If the shooter of a U.S. abortion doctor came north to avoid prosecution for crimes he committed there, Messrs. Kennedy and Siksay should, for the sake of consistency, extend a sheltering wing over them, too. After all, like deserters who come to Canada, the abortionist assassins aren't guilty of a crime in their own minds. They are simply doing what they believe to be the moral thing. PREVIOUS EDITIONS TheStar.com | World | Berlusconi's newest shot at `black' humour PREVIOUS EDITIONS The kind of embarrassment you get when a cynical pup among the Ottawa ‘watchdogs’ wades into an area about which he knows little: "Using, oddly enough, the same term he employed to question Michael Ignatieff’s decision to wish Brian Mulroney a happy birthday, the Prime Minister explains why no Canadian officials will be in the room when the Iranian president addresses the UN General Assembly.... If, then, Britain and the United States, for instance, fail to walk out this afternoon, do their leaders lack a moral compass? Are they giving Mr. Ahmadinejad legitimacy?... There is, as well, the argument that the Iranian president’s remarks about the Holocaust are an elaborate dodge. http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/09/23/harper-ahmadinejad-and-the-united-nations/ PREVIOUS EDITIONS Brad Wall – Canada's carbon diplomat - The Globe and Mail Mr. Wall has managed to generate interest in his province's climate-change initiatives at a time when Ottawa is struggling to defend itself against criticism that Canada has become a laggard in combatting greenhouse-gas emissions. The three U.S. officials came to look at Saskatchewan's carbon sequestration technologies, in which carbon is buried underground rather than emitted into the atmosphere. Memo to Jane: That’s exactly what Harper has been pushing—and his critics don’t like the idea one bit, as you can read in today’s Globe Carbon capture plan 'sheer folly': report TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2009 Canada is backing calls for an overhaul of the failing Afghan mission, but likely won't be around to ensure the success of a new strategy that appears to be based on its own counter-insurgency efforts. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 Grewal's fate up to Indian court (Province) Grewal, who moved to Canada in 2005 as a permanent resident, is accused of killing his estranged wife in Arizona, which allows the death penalty…. Vancouver extradition expert and author Dr. Gary Botting said the case raises an interesting point. "Does Canada have a right or obligation to intervene to seek assurances that the death penalty will not be sought," even though Grewal is not in Canada or being extradited to Canada? SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2009 Ignatieff attacks Tories on range of issues in Waterloo stop “I want a country where everyone sets their sights on going overseas at some point in their lives,” he said. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2009 Military abandons plans to erect mock Afghan village - The Globe and Mail Canada to ask UN for Olympic Truce while fighting war in Afghanistan - Yahoo! Canada News
Either it’s all occupied territory, or none of the city is. Mitchell leaves Mideast empty handed - The Globe and Mail Mr. Netanyahu is adamant that any freeze would not apply to settlements in occupied parts of Jerusalem. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2009 (U.S. Gen. Stanley McCrystal has been calling for a new allied approach in Afghanistan that sounds something like peacekeeping.) THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2009 1 TheStar.com | Canada | Election threat now on back burner Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc (Beausejour) accused the NDP of selling out. "The NDP showed that they are for sale, and not for a very high price," LeBlanc said. "If Tommy Douglas were alive today, he'd be very, very ashamed of the NDP leadership of Jack Layton." 2 The bloc Harper scorned now keeps him afloat--today's Globe headline See below PREVIOUS EDITIONS Actually, it will return the Commons to the status quo anti (ie before the coalition), with the minority government needing the support of any one of the opposition parties to survive. Bloc to support Tories (Cit) Should the NDP join the Bloc in supporting the government, the Tories will be supported, in Harper's words, by "socialists and separatists," the kind of backing he attacked Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff for seeking in a speech the prime minister gave to supporters this month in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 Give us a break, Eddie Lawyer decries 'business bashing' of executives - The Globe and Mail MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2009 D’oh Ottawa keeps close tabs on war correspondents - The Globe and Mail PREVIOUS EDITIONS Gilles Duceppe: «Mr. Cannon says that in a democracy, one can accept (a verdict of capital punishment). So, do the calculation yourself, the US is a democracy and they have capital punishment. Canada is a democracy, so we can restore the death penalty. » PREVIOUS EDITIONS At the mercy of the government (Attaran/Pardy) Perhaps it is not surprising for a government that attacks the Leader of the Opposition for having spent too much time outside Canada to be indifferent or hostile to the millions of Canadians who travel internationally for work or pleasure. PREVIOUS EDITIONS The charitable explanation is that they mean procrastinator Talking the talk (Post editorial) Michael Ignatieff, the Liberal leader, has become a serial prevaricator. MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2009 Events seem to be breaking Obama's way (Ibbitson) Mr. Obama's speech of reconciliation to the Muslim world is being credited with helping influence the Lebanon election, in which moderates defeated anti-American hardliners (though it had less impact on the Iranian vote). PREVIOUS EDITIONS Hardly Justice tempered with a soft heart (Globe) her early years were challenging. Appointed by a good friend - former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler - Judge Abella had to overcome allegations of nepotism
Now, about the intellectual level of those Canada Research Chairs… The pot and the kettle (Attaran/Globe) PREVIOUS EDITIONS When Raitt is wrong (CP) The Prime Minister's Office gave every indication last night Raitt will stay on. "While this issue may be embarrassing, in no way does it affect the minister's ability to do her job," spokesman Dimitri Soudas said. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Ya, right Feds must bring Abdelrazik home, federal court rules - Globe and Mail Mr. Abdelrazik, who has been marooned in Sudan for nearly six years, “is as much a victim of international terrorism as the innocent persons whose lives have been taken by recent barbaric acts of terrorists,” Judge Zinn said. THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2009 «Deux poids, deux mesures» (Le D) Mr. Mulcair said that the only difference between the Bernier and Raitt cases is that one is Québécois, the other from Ontario. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2009 Bailing out GM makes it tough to say no to other beggars (Simpson) Alberta - Alberta - is asking for a special payment under equalization for the dramatic drop in its revenues. How does Ottawa say no to Alberta, bedrock of the Conservative Party, having just said yes, yes and yes to one industry in Ontario? Memo to J. Simpson: Fiscal stabilization is nothing special: it’s part of the Act and is available to all provinces. PREVIOUS EDITIONS For anyone who doubts he spent too much time outside Canada... Deficit means years of restraint ahead (Globe) “I cannot fire the Leader of the Opposition and with all the tapes I have on him, I do not want to,” said the Prime Minister, in reference to a series of commercials the Tories are airing about Mr. Ignatieff's time outside the country. The remark drew a retort from Mr. Ignatieff, who said Mr. Harper reminded him of Richard Nixon, the U.S. president who resigned over the Watergate scandal. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 DON'T BLAME IT ON THE ECONOMY (Corcoran) One way to avoid such traps, recommended by Mr. Veldhuis, is to set formal constitutional limits on government spending.
Michaëlle Jean sparks feeding frenzy (Star) PETA yesterday likened Jean's sampling of seal heart to "taking part in the beating of women in the Middle East because it is part of local practice. PREVIOUS EDITIONS 'We have one kind of citizen' (Post) Mr. Ignatieff told a Liberal rally here yesterday that the Tory ads target not only himself but the millions of Canadians who were either born outside or currently work outside Canada. "They've been attacking me recently for being out of the country," he said. "It doesn't matter about me, I can take anything they throw at me, anything at all. I'm standing up not for myself, but everybody who understands one thing about this country -- we have one kind of citizen, only one kind, and Stephen Harper doesn't get to decide who's a good citizen and who isn't."… about two million Canadians live and work outside the country at any given time. Millions more are recent immigrants and new citizens. "Are they any less Canadian than you are?" he asked. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Rift opens in Tory race over human rights agency (Star) WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009 Now that's fine dining (Ott Sun) Taxpayers spent more than $4.424 million to play host to U.S. President Barack Obama during his whirlwind one-day visit to the city in February. … Among the itemized expenses were $9,426 for ambulances and paramedics on standby and a dedicated physician in case the American president fell ill. The budget for a working lunch with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the president was $9,000. But the bulk of the total cost for the president's first foreign trip went to security, which cost more than $4 million. The RCMP confirmed it spent $1,011,824, and Ottawa police Chief Vern White estimates costs for his force exceeded $3 million. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Watching the West Coast (Cit) STV has a number of advantages over MMP, the system rejected by Ontario. In STV, candidates are not chosen from party lists. …The NDP, for obvious reasons, supports electoral reform. Memo to Citizen: NDP is neutral on the subject; for obvious reasons, many in the provincial party oppose abandoning the current voting system PREVIOUS EDITIONS Tory MP compares revenue agency to Hezbollah (Cit) "One cud (sic) almost compare Revenue (Canada) to the Hizbolla (sic) ... terrorists both of them," he wrote. "Hang in there, I am on your side and will keep fighting these bastards." The message was sent in August 2006, six months afterPREVIOUS EDITIONS Debts and deficits lead to higher taxes as night follows day (SIMPSON) Deficits of the kind conservative parties left in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Ottawa (Alberta was the exception because of energy royalties) also suggest that deficits and conservatives go together, rhetoric notwithstanding. Memo to J. Simpson: I seem to recall Pierre Trudeau leaving a mother of a deficit. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Today’s non-sequitur Iranian leader's 'hateful' tirade causes chaos at UN summit (Globe) though the walkout and boycott were dramatic, their collective effect may well be small. No sooner had the United States condemned Mr. Ahmadinejad's remarks, when it quickly added that it still wants to continue the dialogue with Iran it recently announced it sought. MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2009 We bring you the latest in victims: Jilted bride takes immigration protest to Parliament (Globe) Ms. Towell is one of a growing number of people going public with their stories of marriage fraud in the immigration system. These are Canadians who married a foreigner only to see their husband or wife leave them within weeks or even days of landing on Canadian soil. But when these self-described victims alert the federal government to the trick they say has been played on them and the country, they often wait years for their file to be investigated. PREVIOUS EDITIONS TV rescue idea is no smarter than a bad reality show (DOYLE) The crisis in local television is about consumers, most of whom put a high value on local TV service and are probably willing to pay for it. The solution is, first, fee-for-carriage. Memo to J. Doyle: Broadcasters are pushing for mandatory carriage because they know that many (most?) consumers would not choose to pay for local TV service. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Like on the trade and convention centre, for example For Campbell, a legacy is on the line (MASON) Mr. Campbell may have more in common with Mr. Bennett's son, Bill…like Mr. Bennett, Mr. Campbell is considered a strong administrator with a savvy business sense. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Let U.S. deserters stay (Star) "It is an identical parallel situation right now because what is happening in Iraq is very similar (to Vietnam)," said New Democrat MP Olivia Chow during debate on the motion. "Canada chose not to fight the war in Iraq. It chose not to fight the war in Vietnam. We really should allow war resisters to remain in Canada." But Conservative MP Laurie Hawn, parliamentary secretary to the minister of defence, responded: "They are not identical at all. In Vietnam it was a conscripted army, and in Iraq it is a volunteer army." Not entirely true. Many Americans (and even some Canadians) volunteered to fight in Vietnam, and some of them later became disillusioned with the war and deserted. Memo to Star editorialist: Not entirely true, but truer than Chow’s argument. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Obama's climate bill threatens Alberta oilsands (Ed Journal) Oops House Proposal Has Tougher Emission Caps Than Obama (NYT) PREVIOUS EDITIONS Judge to rule on request to let British MP into Canada for anti-war speeches (CP) "Mr. Galloway gave money to the person who is the head of the government in Gaza. He was not giving it to him as the head of Hamas," even though they are the same person, Jackman said outside court.
Quebec decries Ontario's compensation from Ottawa (Globe) Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said yesterday he also supports tax harmonization, but said the Harper government should not have cut a deal with just Ontario. "Our criticism is with Harper's let's-make-a-deal federalism, which seems to me to put strains on the federation." FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2009 CBC to cut 800 jobs, sell assets (Globe) Liquidating assets became necessary when the federal government refused a request from the CBC for bridge financing to see it through the economic storm. Mr. Lacroix told The Globe and Mail yesterday that the loan would have substantially reduced the number of layoffs and averted the need to sell assets. He said he is saddened that the public broadcaster has been left with no choice but to "mortgage our future" to balance the books. Memo to H. Lacroix: There’s no mortgaging the future like “bridge financing to see it through the economic storm.” --Runner-up Williams to ignore Ottawa, 'the one obstacle that keeps arising' (CP) In the speech read by Lieutenant-Governor John Crosbie, Mr. Williams promised to take on a more active role concerning global issues of importance to Newfoundland and Labrador. "To lower tariff barriers to our exports, while safeguarding our fish stocks and securing markets for our seal products, we will speak up on our own behalf on the international stage," Mr. Williams said. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009 Canadians 'from all walks of life' come to aid of Abdelrazik (Globe) Claudia Schibler, 53, a disabled Canadian veteran who served in Bosnia, said she was infuriated by the government's treatment of Mr. Abdelrazik. "Some of us put on the uniform and risked life and limb for values that we [Canadians] are privileged to have," Ms. Schibler said…. "Just like the Germans zeroed in on the Jews, we are zeroing in on Muslims ... this is so wrong," Ms. Schibler said. PREVIOUS EDITIONS 'Sensitive' data found on returned hard drive (Cit) The files, totalling about 400, belonged to Jill Vickers, a retired political science professor from Carleton University. They included some research papers already in the public domain, but some were sensitive documents. "It is especially of concern to me as the files contain some 20 years of reference and assessment letters, which are confidential documents," said Vickers, who recently purchased a new computer system for her home that initially included the Maxtor backup drive. When her son, who was tasked with transferring her files to the drive, noticed the daily automatic backup function was not functioning properly, he returned it to Staples. He thought he had deleted the files. "Even though it's not in my possession, it's my data. They should wipe it clean," Vickers said of Staples. Memo to professor and son of professor: It doesn’t take a PhD to learn how to wipe clean a hard drive. PREVIOUS EDITIONS George Galloway: Canada can't muzzle me More than half a century ago Paul Robeson, one of the greatest men who ever lived, was forbidden to enter Canada not by Ottawa but by Washington, which had taken away his passport. But he was still able to transfix a vast crowd of Vancouver's mill hands and miners with a 17-minute telephone concert, culminating in a rendition of the Ballad of Joe Hill. Technology has moved on since then. And so from coast to coast, minister Kenney notwithstanding, I will be heard - one way or another. FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2009 Salutin trumps Walkom (and makes it easy for me today) The linguistic deficit of this recession (SALUTIN ) Wouldn't you have assumed, from all you read and hear, that there's zero support for public takeover of an auto firm? Most Canadians didn't flinch. But what if you floated that idea among the opinion elites rather than the unmiked masses? Those editorialists, experts, business leaders, academics, elected officials - would collectively guffaw, you could hardly get a conversation going at their version of the water cooler. There are rare exceptions, such as Toronto Star columnist Tom Walkom, who proposed taking over Chrysler. But his loneliness makes him an exception proving the rule. Chrysler is a good, practical example, since the turnaround boys at Cerberus who bought it have found it hard to turn around in this economy, the way you used to be able to flip houses. They might grab an offer. What would be the argument for doing it? Let me ratchet up the hilarity among the opinion elites by suggesting, as a model for it, the CBC. I pause to allow the waves of merriment to ripple through their columns and clubs. THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2009 Harper now is part of the problem (Walkom) the most sensible response from Ottawa and Queen's Park might be to effectively nationalize Chrysler's Canadian plants as the price for aid. Then they could use these plants to develop a truly modern, green automobile. No, I don't have a detailed plan. But I do know – business mythology notwithstanding – that Canada has used crown corporations creatively in the past. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Listen up, Lenny! Prices should reflect true cost of newspapers, TV shows (Denley) Newspaper owners should raise the price of a single copy to a minimum of $2 and use that extra money to do the journalism that ensures it's worth $2. A major daily newspaper is a premium product. It should be priced accordingly, but the extra cost has to be justified by increased value to readers. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Hasty budget filled with unpalatable amendments (Bramham) Americans may have driven a stake through the heart of Karl-Rove-style politics, but it's alive and well here. Bill C-10 is ostensibly a budget enactment bill with provisions to help the economy and minimize job layoffs. The bill is 528 pages long, amends more than three dozen statutes and creates at least one new act. It impacts everything from competition to foreign investment, transportation, navigable waters, student loans and pay equity. Memo to D. Bramham: Check out Obama’s stimulus package PREVIOUS EDITIONS MP: Don't allow terrorists Access (Ott Sun) Dechert said he's worried about foreigners "with ulterior motives" using the Internet to flood public servants with thousands of data requests if one of Marleau's recommendations -- for a Web-based, globally accessible access-to-information system -- were adopted. That could "have our civil servants running around like crazy people" trying to figure out what information to release, then sending it to "groups like the Taliban, for example, or Hezbollah or Hamas," said Dechert. "Who knows?" MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2009 This is a vile way to treat a citizen (Gaz editorial) Even the Sudanese secret police decided he was innocent, but somebody in Ottawa wasn't sure, and so Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik, a 47-year-old Montrealer, was thrown into a Sudanese jail in 2003, while in that country visiting his mother. Finally freed two years later, he now lives at the Canadian embassy in Khartoum, in a unique confinement…. Frankly, we would rather have a dangerous terrorist walking around than accept the idea that Ottawa can condemn a citizen to this sort of quasi-legal hell. Frankly, I wonder where the Gazette’s adults were when this was written. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Birds die in places other than in Alta. oilsands: MP The 500 ducks that died in the Alberta oilsands pale in comparison to the thousands of birds killed by cats or by crashing into Toronto office towers or flying into windmills, says Conservative MP Brian Jean. THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2009 --Will someone explain to this guy the difference between 7 and 75? PMO demands Liberals expel senator for musing about N.L. separatism Baker replied: "Well, let me ask you the question: What about the Bloc Quebecois? Have they been effective? Of course they've been effective. . . . And just imagine the clout that we could present to the Government of Canada. The Government of Canada wouldn't dare to put into their budget a measure that's in there right now, stealing $1.7 billion from the people of Newfoundland and Labrador." PREVIOUS EDITIONS Harper veut redorer son image politique (La Presse) PM Stephen Harper stated twice last week that he’s increasingly preoccupied by Russian incursions into Canadian airspace…. [Ottawa U professor Philippe] Lagassé thinks that Stephen Harper wants to divert attention from the Afghanistan mission and to reassure the US in regard to our participation in NORAD. --Some diversion! We cannot defeat the Taliban, Harper says (Post) Canada, allies will never defeat Taliban, PM says (Globe) Western forces alone can't beat Afghan insurgents: Harper (CP) SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2009 Strip this column down, and follow the ‘logic’ In spite of Barack Obama's having the weight of the world's problems on his shoulders, one of his first executive orders was to declare an all-out assault on government secrecy in his own backyard…. Three years ago, Stephen Harper rode into office waving a similar sword, introducing the much-touted Accountability Act as the Conservative government's first order of business in Parliament…. In the U.S., it remains to be seen if Obama can successfully transform the bureaucratic culture of secrecy into a government that errs on the side of openness and accountability. Here in Canada, the Harper government isn't even trying. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2009 Your discomfort is not my problem (Cit) The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is unequivocal: freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression -- including freedom of the press -- are on a short list of fundamental freedoms for all Canadians, subject only to legal limits that can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Memo to D Butler: Plus the small matter of the Charter’s notwithstanding clause.
Maybe his/her tv set went on the blink the night of Obama's budget How to be too fast and too slow (Globe) No followers of Canadian politics would expect such grandiose (and admittedly disingenuous) gestures of non-partisanship as seen in the United States on Tuesday, when Republicans joined Democrats in repeatedly applauding President Barack Obama's address before Congress. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Flaherty warns of 'mistakes' in stimulus spending (Globe) The sponsorship scandal that helped topple the former Liberal government began as a panicked spending program to promote Canada in Quebec after the narrow defeat of the 1995 sovereignty referendum. Memo to Globester: The first sponsorships were handed out in 1994 (one in Alberta); the cabinet submission on sponsorships referred to increasing Liberal Party visibility in Québec. (You can check this with D Leblanc) PREVIOUS EDITIONS A loss Quebecers should celebrate (Peter Goldring/Post) All Canadians should be celebrating this anniversary, but perhaps none more so than les Quebecois. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2009 They’ve got Predators, let’s use our Herons "Threats to the United States are threats to Canada," the prime minister intoned during his news conference with the U.S. president…. no Canadian I know is afraid of Syria, North Korea or Zimbabwe. Memo to D. Leger: You may find more than one or two folks on the west coast who view a nuclear-armed North Korea, with missiles capable of hitting Alaska, as a threat. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2009 Ignatieff turns on the charm: is he the next Trudeau? (Independent) Since his return to Canada in 2006, after 27 years in Britain and the US, Mr Ignatieff’s political career has flown meteorically and his supporters see him in the mould of Pierre Trudeau, Canada’s last intellectual Prime Minister, who cut a swath on the international stage. They see Mr Ignatieff as a leader who will persuade Canada’s perennially squabbling provinces to pull together and cast off the country’s bland international profile. Personally, I think not. For example, I haven’t seen many women swooning over Iggy. Then, there was that Québec nation business, which is not exactly how I remember Pierre. Meanwhile, Jane Taber has been drinking a liberal amount of Kool-Aid Obama, senator kiss 'n' jell in the Centre Block Not: Stephen Harper. Michael Ignatieff won the day for basking in the Obama spotlight (although the Prime Minister's press conference was broadcast live on CNN). The Iggy team sent out a picture of the Liberal Leader and the President to U.S. wire services. The photograph made it on a 36-hour rotation during which it was shown on a huge billboard in New York's Times Square; it also made it on to a big billboard in Las Vegas. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2009 Obama gives PM cover on climate (Hébert) Looking at various European countries falling over themselves to commit new troops to Afghanistan – Obama's priority combat theatre – over the past week, it is clear that the arrival of the new president is turning political hard sells into palatable decisions in many of the world's capitals. Memo to C. Hébert: Hardly. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009 Ignatieff could emerge as the real winner from Obama's visit to Canada "Some of the harsher criticism levelled at Michael Ignatieff is similar to that levelled at Obama: international celebrity, intellectual, elitist. We've seen how Obama turned these around and made them positives," Mr. Donolo said. Memo to P. Donolo: Good luck turning Mr. Ignatieff's bred-in-the-bone elitism into a positive; oh, and, by the way, Obama refers to Iggy's friends as "propeller-heads." WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2009 Constructive co-operation (Cit ed) It is increasingly difficult to see how anyone can continue to deny that Mr. Khadr ought to be returned to Canada, given his age, the ambiguity surrounding the facts of his case, and the reality that his continuing presence at Guantanamo is quickly becoming a logistical problem for the U.S. Let me see if I can help out: Retired Special Forces Sgt. Layne Morris laughs at that. "I just want to ask people, 'Do you have a short attention span?' " he said. "Would you have a short memory if you knew the background of these people?" Teenage terrorist or confused kid -- Gitmo's youngest prisoner SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2009 Canadians can't afford price of justice (Persichilli) When former prime minister Brian Mulroney felt unjustly targeted by the RCMP, he fought and he won. Do you think that if he didn't have the $2 million for the legal fees he would have had any chance to win the case? Yes, he got the money back, but only after his lawyers were able to defend him. Memo to A. Persichilli: Er, like maybe this is not the best example? SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2009 Americans, starting with the family of the dead US soldier, would no doubt cheer the Prez--who has committed to review the files of all detainees--when they see the justice Omar Khadr's supporters have in mind. Let Canada judge Khadr (Star ed) Obama can rid himself of this grief by declaring that American justice will be satisfied by having Khadr face Canadian justice, and shipping him home. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2009 In politics, you have to be able to fake sincerity (and reporters) Liberals argue Harper's deep pockets leave this province shortchanged (Globe) The criticism from the B.C. Liberals rings with some of the same anger expressed by Liberals in Newfoundland and Labrador, who complained that the federal government is punishing their province by cutting $1.5-billion in transfers. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Even the Ottawa 'watchdogs' were bemused: Ignatieff charges PM with running a 'peek-a-boo government' (Globe) Michael Ignatieff is accusing Stephen Harper of running a "peek-a-boo government," contrasting the "absent" Prime Minister with U.S. President Barack Obama who is out on the road and on television selling his stimulus package. PREVIOUS EDITIONS The hip bone's connected to the wallet (Mason) Memo to J. Mason: Repeat after me: Shouldice. And, in truth, without cost-accounting information, we have no idea whether contracting out a specific procedure is more economical or not. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2009 Welcome to the world of fed-prov and interprovincial relations Williams' dukes are up - who's with him? (MacGREGOR) "The provinces and the territories have to stick together. Because when [Mr. Harper] does that to a jurisdiction, we have to say collectively, 'No, no, that's wrong. You just can't do that.' "We're going to stand together on that because united we stand, divided we fall." FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2009 Editorial: The Bloc Newfoundlandois (Post) The Bloc Québécois, to its credit, largely understands that it cannot govern Canada while serving what its members regard as a higher political interest; that is why BQ members agreed to stay out of the Cabinet room when the anti-Harper coalition was being assembled. We wonder: Will the Newfoundlander dissidents in Mr. Ignatieff’s caucus agree to do the same, as justice requires, if he is elected prime minister? Or perhaps, along with Mr. Williams, they might like to explore other, shall we say, constitutional options for Newfoundland? Perhaps they think what happened 60 years ago was a mistake. If so, they should have the courage to say so, lay their cards on the table, and let that game begin. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Obama has constitutional cover to veto protectionist bill: Day (CP) "I've ... brought to the attention of the U.S. administration that it's within the constitutional framework of the U.S. for the president to overrule something passed in Congress if he thinks they're violating any of their international agreements," Day said. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009 Canada slipping on rights: Amnesty (Post) Mr. Neve cites former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney's "strong leadership" in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and on initiatives regarding children's rights as evidence the shift in Canada's reputation can't be explained by blaming one political party or another. But he points to Canada's current position "of complete support of Israel with respect to the very volatile human rights issues that come up regarding Israel and Palestine" as a sign that the Harper government has abandoned previous efforts to remain impartial. "That has damaged our reputation for principled leadership and objectivity regarding human rights," Mr. Neve said. "There's no question it has been since this government took power that we have seen a lot of these changes in policy and positions.... We need to make it clear that's not Canada's tradition and Canadians want to see a return to principled leadership." Memo to A. Neve: Precisely the same was said of Brian Mulroney (and Paul Martin). SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2009 Trade war is avoidable, says Stockwell Day (Star) Day said his talks in Davos with Peter Allgeier, the acting U.S. trade representative, led him to think that Canada, America's biggest commercial partner, might be exempted from the Buy American stipulation. Memo to Day and Whittington: I’d put less stock in this: the chap is a Bush appointee SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2009 N.B. Conservative MPs condemn anthem ban New Brunswick Conservative MP Mike Allen raised the issue in the House of Commons Friday. "This is political correctness run wild," he said. "There's nothing more inclusive than O Canada, it is a song that belongs to each and every Canadian." --Nothing more inclusive? The official translation of the French version: O Canada! Land of our forefathers Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers. As in thy arm ready to wield the sword, So also is it ready to carry the cross. Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits.
Thy valour steeped in faith Will protect our homes and our rights Will protect our homes and our rights. FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2009 Illinois Lawmakers Remove Blagojevich From Office "There are tens of thousands of people across America just like me who are losing their jobs, or who have lost their jobs," Blagojevich said.
Canada and B.C. divided on Olympic benefits to country and host province (CP) "It's surprising to see the region of Canada which is hosting the event showing the highest level of pessimism about the Olympics and its impact overall," Harris-Decima senior vice-president Jeff Walker said. Memo to J. Walker: Do you think it could have something to do with the fact that British Columbians are paying the lion’s share of the costs?
Do these guys understand the French version of the anthem in bilingual NB? Whither glowing hearts? (Post ed) a national anthem is not a suitable target for suppression on the mere grounds that a minority, of whatever species, objects to its content. Its function is precisely to symbolize a shared commitment to citizenship beyond party, sect, creed and ethnicity.
Obama's 'Buy American' plan blasted (Star) NDP Leader Jack Layton said Canada should respond with a "Buy Canadian" policy as part of the government's stimulus package. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Not the best day to make the argument Democrats are in power, Republicans are alive and well in Canada (IBBITSON) Republicans. If they can't stand living in Barack Obama's new liberal America, they can always head north to Canada. They'll feel right at home. TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2009 I doubt it Obama's swift action on emissions shows he'll be green - at any cost (Globe)
I can think of a few things that are more market sensitive Why Harper spilled the beans (MacDonald) If a deficit number isn't market-sensitive information, nothing in a budget is. MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2009 Not the description that springs immediately to my mind Flaherty’s tumultuous tenure leads to historic budget Heritage Minister James Moore: "He's one of the best finance ministers Canada has ever seen." SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2009 This old House (Deachman) SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2009 Exactly what competitive edge would that be? As U.S. emerges from dark age, Canada's scientific advantage fades (Globe) in the Canadian research community, Mr. Obama's plans have sparked anxiety that if Canada fails to keep pace, it will have a tougher time recruiting smart people and preventing talent from flocking south. In short, the country could lose its competitive edge to the Obama advantage. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Talk of drafting Hillier stirs the political pot (MARTIN) he has a quality that Mr. Harper has never enjoyed in abundance: charm. Memo to Larry: He has another quality Mr. Harper does not enjoy: unilingualism PREVIOUS EDITIONS How Harper should approach Obama to benefit Canada (Yaffe) Harper would be wise to emphasize to Obama that Canada shares the new president's preference for bilateralism in foreign affairs. MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2009 Federal leak investigations lack independence: critics (CP) Security officials in the Privy Council Office, which provides advice and policy recommendations to the prime minister, sprang into action following publication of an Oct. 23, 2007, article in the National Post that said a coming federal mini-budget would include cuts to income and corporate taxes as well as the GST. It added the plan was "being resisted in the Privy Council Office" by public servants wary of producing the mini-budget on a short time line. … The fact the Privy Council Office investigated a leak that may have emerged from its own ranks provides no independent assurance of legitimacy and transparency, said Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch, an Ottawa-based organization that monitors government ethics. "They shouldn't be investigating it themselves. The conflicts are rife in investigating it yourself," he said. "We need to have independent investigations." Memo to Duff: In this case, there’s no issue of transparency and legitimacy. And no one had a greater incentive to identify the source of the lead than Kevin Lynch. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Ignatieff says bureaucrat approached him for job "Were I the prime minister I would not prevent or obstruct someone going to work for another political party." Memo to Iggy: The PCO is a bureaucratic not a political office, and its staff are all public servants. THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2009 From Obama to Harper (Globe ed) The ball will soon be in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's court in the case of Omar Khadr, the lone Canadian incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay. Mr. Harper has argued until now that Canada should not interfere in U.S. justice. But president-elect Barack Obama has a markedly different view from the Bush administration of what U.S. justice should be. If Canada offered a repatriation plan for Mr. Khadr that addressed security concerns, Mr. Obama would give it serious consideration.Over to you, Mr. Harper. What the very same Globe and Mail is reporting today Khadr likely to leave Gitmo soon after Obama inauguration (Globe) Prof. Forcese says he believes the new administration will review all the current commission cases to see which can feasibly be completed, and which thrown out. Of the 250 or so detainees in Guantanamo Bay, fewer than 30 face court proceedings. If Mr. Khadr's case is judged unworthy of completion, it is almost certain that the United States will attempt to send the 22-year-old back to Canada. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2009 Mideast roadblocks (VAN DUSEN) It may be that, instead of sticking to a paradigm conceived back when the culture of conflict was less entrenched and more dispensable politically, the option less attractive to both parties -- the one-state one -- is ultimately the more logical one. It holds what many feel are insurmountable downsides for both sides, including the serious demographic dilemma for Israel, which needs to maintain a majority Jewish population, and the loss of a dream of statehood for Palestinians. PREVIOUS EDITIONS "I guess it shows what happens when you interfere in someone else's affairs," NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar, the MP for Ottawa Centre, said yesterday…. "Mr. Harper's people tried and did interfere with the Democratic nomination race in a way that was damaging to Mr. Obama's campaign," Green Leader Elizabeth May said yesterday. "So I think the prime minister of Canada is going to fall to the bottom of a fairly long list of priority meetings." PREVIOUS EDITIONS Responding to a provocation (Globe ed) while Israel had the right to respond, as any country would to rocket fire coming from next door (an argument that Canada made yesterday), it should consider whether it has already done enough to make its point. …There are no useful longer-term objectives to be gained from continuing the bombing and killing on that scale, or of launching a ground invasion. Memo to Globe editorialist: This is not about responding and the point is not retaliation. Here's what the Israelis are up to: Gaza tactics and long-term goals divide Israeli military analysts (Guardian) Shlomo Brom, a retired Israeli general and a military analyst at the Institute for National Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv, said the point of the conflict was for Israel to exact the best conditions for a future ceasefire with Hamas, the Islamist movement which controls Gaza after winning Palestinian elections three years ago. "The military operation is changing the dynamic, making it clear to Hamas that it is going to pay a very high cost for violations of the ceasefire," Brom said. "I think Hamas deluded itself by thinking Israel is kind of paralysed because of its political system or the possible reaction of its population to some suffering." For nearly six months Israel and Hamas held a ceasefire in Gaza, although it broke down in the final weeks with violations on both sides. Now both Hamas and some Israeli leaders have said they are not willing to return to a ceasefire deal. 'All-Out War' Declared on Hamas (W Post) Israeli military officials said Monday that their target lists have expanded to include the vast support network that the Islamist movement relies on to stay in power in the strip. The choice of targets suggests that Israel intends to weaken all the various facets of Hamas rather than just its armed wing. "There are many aspects of Hamas, and we are trying to hit the whole spectrum, because everything is connected and everything supports terrorism against Israel," said a senior Israeli military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Hamas's civilian infrastructure is a very, very sensitive target. If you want to put pressure on them, this is how," said Matti Steinberg, a former top adviser to Israel's domestic security service and an expert on Islamist organizations. … Israeli and Palestinian analysts say Israel's strategy appears to be to weaken Hamas enough that the group has no choice but to sign a truce on Israel's terms. But there is a risk that approach could backfire. MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2008 Protesters condemn Israeli violence (Star) "The massacre taking place in Gaza must stop," said Khaled Mouammar, president of the Canadian Arab Federation. "People are suffering and dying. There is an actual genocide taking place."… Sid Ryan, president of CUPE Ontario, was also in attendance. "I want to condemn in the strongest terms the acts of genocide committed by Israel this weekend," he said. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Paths not taken (Riley) we lost a chance for Quebecers to see their "separatist" MPs working in common cause with other Canadians. PREVIOUS EDITIONS 'At least this will keep him quiet' (Post)
Perhaps the Post should explain the Constitution to its readers More MPs means more problems (Post) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2008 The three opposition parties, who’ve been demanding such a plan for weeks, welcomed it favourably with some reservations. The Liberals were the most critical: “The plan comes too late to ensure that jobs are saved in Canada instead of in the US,” Scott Brison said. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2008 Harper's message to Senate is change or die: Minister (Canwest) If the federal Conservative government can't get its planned reforms to the Canadian Senate passed as soon as possible it will simply move to abolish the chamber altogether, says Steven Fletcher, the minister of state for democratic reform.
Bailouts ready to roll (Ott Sun) Liberal MP Scott Brison accused Harper of sitting on his hands while elected officials in the U.S. carried out crucial negotiations to ensure the best return on their public investment. "I think it's toxically naive to arrive with a cheque after the deal is done and expect to get treated fairly," he said. "I want to see strong commitments to jobs and product mandate for Canada. We're coming in very late in the game, and the chances are that Harper's failure to have a seat at the table during the negotiations in the U.S. will mean we will be less able to protect Canadian autoworker jobs." --What the Yanks are reporting on Autos Aid in Hand, Clock Ticks for Detroit while Bush demanded deep cuts in union wages and benefits and broad corporate restructuring as conditions for the loans, analysts say that the overhaul of the auto industry will require more negotiations, more time and more federal money. "The auto bailout saga does not end here," Itay Michaeli, a Citigroup analyst, said in a report. Bush Aids Detroit, but Hard Choices Wait for Obama The emergency bailout of General Motors and Chrysler announced by President Bush on Friday gives the companies a few months to get their businesses in order, but hands off to President-elect Barack Obama the difficult political task of ruling on their future. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Hey, if the opposition went along, we’d have no new laws! Just don't appoint | Tom Brodbeck PREVIOUS EDITIONS PMO to sovereignists: Forget about a seat in Senate (THOMPSON) They may make up nearly half of the population of Quebec but sovereignists need not apply for any of the four Senate vacancies for the province about to be filled by Prime Minister Stephen Harper…. However, disqualifying everyone who supports Quebec sovereignty could significantly reduce the pool of candidates from which Harper can choose. While more recent public opinion polls put support for sovereignty in the low 40s, it has risen over 50 per cent as recently as 2005. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Harper expected to ask Gov. Gen. to suspend Parliament (CP) "(He's) saying that the way people cast their votes isn't the way they should have cast them, and that the government doesn't need the confidence of the House of Commons ... I think that's the real attack on democracy." Memo to Ned Franks: From day one, he's said the Opposition has the right to defeat the government. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2008 Be very afraid - or not (Globe) TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2008 Mr. Clark was defeated on a budget seven months after the election that brought his Tories to power. He asked Edward Schreyer, then the Governor-General, for a dissolution of Parliament. Mr. Schreyer, quite properly and according to constitutional convention, asked the Liberals, under Pierre Trudeau, whether they could govern with a working majority in the House of Commons. Mr. Trudeau passed, and the Liberals won the ensuing election. Memo to Globe editorialist: Where was that “constitutional convention” in 1963 and 1974? MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2008 Harper to blame for political crisis (Star ed) since Harper is counting votes, it is worth pointing out that more people cast ballots for the Liberals and NDP combined than for the Conservatives on Oct. 14. Memo to Star editorialist: It’s also worth pointing out that, at the time Canadians voted for Liberal and NDP candidates, the two parties were about as un-combined as you can get PREVIOUS EDITIONS The Bloc’s highest priority? Hardball on the Hill (Cit) Deputy House leader Marlene Jennings …. "All of the three parties are discussing, we are looking at all the common ground we are agreed upon," she said. "The No. 1 priority for the NDP, the Bloc Québécois, the Liberal Party of Canada, is the economy, is the Canadian people." PREVIOUS EDITIONS Canada, Obama team likely to be in step on Afghan mission (Star) Canada has approximately 2,500 troops in Afghanistan. It could be an opportunity for Ottawa to partner with Washington and provide the moral suasion needed for a greater NATO commitment. "The U.S. and Canada should really be partners in convincing NATO to do the full Monty in Afghanistan," Nash said. "Canada has the credibility." Here’s the reality The Afghan mission has taught our politicians a lesson (BLAND) WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2008 He must have been watching a different debate Marois clearly the best in last night's faceoff (MACPHERSON) [Charest] defended his government's record well, and obviously knew his material. Étonnante Pauline (David) Last night, Mario Dumont caught Jean Charest completely off guard with a question he had no right to flub : the amount of Québec’s debt. Charest was wide off the mark. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Daring to think about deficits (Goar) A group of economists, led by Louis-Philippe Rochon of Laurentian University, has launched a campaign to get both kinds of deficits on the national agenda. Rochon and his colleague, Mario Seccareccia of the University of Ottawa, have drafted a five-page memo explaining why Canada should engage in long-term deficit spending. They've secured endorsements from 21 other economists. None of the signatories is from the University of Toronto, Queen's, McGill, Western, the University of Alberta or the University of British Columbia. "We didn't approach them," Rochon admitted. "They are bastions of mainstream economic thinking." PREVIOUS EDITIONS Get a grip Rex: Auschwitz and Buchenwald were about burning babies Real rights and rights commissions (MURPHY) The concept of human rights, real human rights, has been long with us. But only in modern times did we learn what immeasurable darkness falls on the world when they are nullified. The butcheries of Auschwitz and Buchenwald followed as a straight and bitter line from Hitler's assumption of absolute power in 1933 and his cauterization and extinction of the concept of freedom in the German Reich. Nothing less than the Holocaust underwrites the modern understanding and appreciation of human rights. They are as profound and central a concept to the democracies of the world as we have. They constitute the core of human freedom. They are the antidote to tyranny. They are fundamental. Of late, in Canada, however, this most painfully acquired understanding has been utterly unmoored. The various provincial human-rights commissions and their federal godfather have been cutting away at the core of, and extending into utter fatuity the term, human rights. … Which is why I find Ms. Lynch's presence at Remembrance Day ceremonies odd. Because Canada's human-rights commissions are diluting and trivializing and thereby offending the very core of the concept that gives them their name. And a Remembrance Day ceremony is an awkward occasion to be reminded of that. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Canadian named to head Johns Hopkins (Star) Daniels, who shares a birthday – July 16 – with World War II-era actress and dancer Ginger Rogers, said his passion for higher education was inspired in part by the experiences of his father, aunt and uncle, who arrived in Canada from Poland on the eve of the war. They all went on to U of T. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2008 Dance of deception (Cohen) the first casualty of this decision -- whether the reason is philistinism, ignorance or austerity -- is the Portrait Gallery of Canada. Its end says that we don't care. It says that this country isn't a serious place and we are not a serious people. It is not just about a gallery or its pictures, it is about understanding ourselves in the way proud, self-respecting countries do. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2008 I wouldn’t let the prospect of Canada doing so keep me awake at night. No compromise with Islamists who stone girls to death (Heartfield) Just in case you come from a Judeo-Christian tradition and are feeling smug, let me remind you that the Old Testament prescribes stoning for any number of offences, including adultery. And for being a woman who fails to present bloody sheets after her wedding night. And for working on the Sabbath. And for being a gluttonous drunkard. If Canada decided to start following the precepts of the Bible, the necessary massacre would leave very few people standing. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2008 Young people 'get' Khadr's rights battle (Ed Journal) Omar Khadr's lawyer says teenagers understand best the plight of his young client, who has been held for six years in Guantanamo Bay accused of war crimes. "I would be speaking to students," Edmonton lawyer Dennis Edney said Saturday night at a downtown Edmonton rally. "(They) get it. They understand rights. Kids understand." SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2008 If pigs could fly Fresh from a bruising campaign, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Leader Stephane Dion are joining hands to trim government spending and keep Canada afloat through tough economic times. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2008 The G20 has come of age as a forum for global crisis (Crane) Canada's role in creating the G20 was an important contribution to improving the way we run the world…Likewise, former prime minister Brian Mulroney's success in getting Canada into the G7 mattered. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2008 Climb out of crisis will be steep - and slippery (IBBITSON) as my colleague Paul Koring has already observed, Mr. Obama can make a grand but cost-free gesture by closing Guantanamo. --What the NY Times reported last week Next President Will Face Test on Guantánamo Detainees Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have said they would close the detention camp, but the review of the government’s public files underscores the challenges of fulfilling that promise. The next president will have to contend with sobering intelligence claims against many of the remaining detainees. “It would be very difficult for a new president to come in and say, ‘I don’t believe what the C.I.A. is saying about these guys,’ ” said Daniel Marcus, a Democrat who was general counsel of the 9/11 Commission and held senior positions in the Carter and Clinton administrations. PREVIOUS EDITIONS The NY Times has nothing on us (Post)
Bloated cabinet strange way for Harper to show restraint (Yaffe) James Moore, disappointingly, given the less than demanding job of Canadian heritage and official languages. --Chantal has it right Harper's new cabinet a dream team for Ontario? (Hébert) Quebecers can expect to see of lot of James Moore, the new heritage minister. A fluently bilingual minister and one of the most progressive members of the government, Moore has the right profile for the task of rebuilding bridges with the Canadian cultural community.
--That Ujjal has some resume as BC premier! Harper's angels: PM puts three rookie MPs in key cabinet posts (Chianello) Compare Aglukkaq's résumé to those of former Liberal health ministers: Allan Rock, who had been the justice minister; Anne McLellan, who had held four different cabinet posts; and Ujjal Dosanjh, a former B.C. premier. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2008 We must prepare to face Obama La Presse Our military participation in Afghanistan is one of our principal trump cards. «We must persuade the US that we are an important ally in Afghanistan and a partner in border security. Obama has said that he will withdraw from Iraq and increase US troops in Afghanistan.» Memo to R Chrétien: With our military mission ending in 2011, it may prove somewhat difficult to persuade Obama that we are in important ally. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2008 Premier taps Johnson for China trade mission (Gaz) Yesterday, Charest named Pierre Marc Johnson, the last Quebec premier to call a December election, to replace him at the head of the province's delegation to China. Johnson succeeded René Lévesque as Parti Québécois premier on Oct. 3, 1985, and was defeated by Liberal Robert Bourassa on Dec. 2 of the same year. "His presence sends a strong message indicating that the relationship between China and Quebec transcends governments," Charest said in a statement. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2008 Flaherty and Prentice expected to keep cabinet posts (Star) "If there's going to be any good news, it will come out of that ministry," said one Conservative. "You need someone to sell it." --And the good news begins… Auto-parts industry seeks $1-billion in loans (Globe) MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2008 If you nominate women they will come (Copps) A record number of Canadian women actually rode into Parliament on a wave created by the election's biggest loser. …Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and Dion's bold move encouraged most other political parties to expressly target more women nominations. … The only party to oppose a women's nomination target was the Conservative Party. But a rising tide lifts all boats. The Tories only nominated 63 women but managed to elect 23 of them. In fact, the success of Conservative women at 37.6 per cent was similar to their own popular vote. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2008 McKenna …is a preternaturally powerful orator -- in both English and French SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2008 Editorial - Harper must hike GST to avoid deficit (Sun/DEN TANDT) PREVIOUS EDITIONS Just say no to deficits (Cal Herald ed) only if one believes unprotected sex is a cure for AIDS can one imagine the cure for a debt-induced problem is more debt. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Sarkozy has separatists in a tizzy (Gaz) "I hope the president of the republic expressed himself poorly and that it is not the way he actually thinks," Landry said. …This same president of the French republic greeted - and enthusiastically is the least you can say - the independence of Kosovo and he recognized that of Montenegro. If he loves us, let us go toward our destiny. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2008 Time for Grits to draft McKenna (DEN TANDT) McKenna is … fluently bilingual PREVIOUS EDITIONS The economy could get a lot sourer between now and next October No sleep till Brampton! (Cit) SR: A bunch of his goals have not been realized, a couple have and one big one remains to be seen. Harper wanted to get this election out of the way before the economy really went sour. On that front, he failed. Er, Paul Martin won more seats in 2004 than Harper did in 2006 KO'M: The goal posts (yes, I'm daring to make a sports analogy) have shifted dramatically. I think he was expecting to get a modest increase in seats -- say, 20 to 25 -- for a minority government that really would be able to function as a majority for much of the time. Speaks for itself Vandalism in Toronto Injects Eerie Chill Into Campaign Ms. Waltman Daschko briefly removed her lawn sign on Oct. 4 at the suggestion of the police after the first attacks, which occurred overnight on Oct. 3. But she put it back up before going to bed, she said, partly after considering the history of her Jewish ancestors. “Perhaps because it’s the High Holidays but I thought of my parents and my grandparents and what they went through to assert their faith,” she said. “It’s shocking that in Canada, in Toronto and in the 21st century that this could happen when all we’re doing is supporting a very mainstream political party.” SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2008 Cutting a regressive sales tax is “neo-con”—and cutting the income tax to reduce the role of government would not be? Star's choice: Dion, Liberals (Star ed) In fiscal policy, Harper has pursued a neo-conservative strategy to cut the GST – not, as economists had recommended, income taxes – in order to reduce dramatically the role of government. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2008 Wouldn’t bet on it Harper pulls a Kutuzov (Jonas) Yes, I still think we'll have a majority Conservative government. The latest polls suggest otherwise, but I'll go out on a limb. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2008 As opposed to the Bloc holding the balance of power Tories' Quebec bid in shambles (Hébert) There is an ugly rumour spreading like brush fire among the Conservative ground troops in Quebec during the countdown leading up to next week's vote and it goes like this: to avoid securing a government that is overly beholden to Quebecers for its majority on Tuesday, Stephen Harper's brain trust took the deliberate risk of snatching defeat out of the jaws of a Quebec victory. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Is that the same Stanfield chap who was the best PM Canada never had? Former Conservative leaders had respect for Parliament (Sterling/Star) now Canadians have to ask themselves a key question: What kind of Canada do they really want? Do they favour the moderate, open-minded approach of a Robert Stanfield, a man who believed holding principles didn't mean demonizing opponents? A man prepared to respect the fundamental right of others to have differing opinions from his own concerning what was best for Canada? And then there is Stephen Harper. Is he the kind of leader Canadians, including conservatives, believe represents the fair-minded and tolerant Canada they believe in?
Duceppe wins novel support (Post) The separatist leader's defence of culture earned him the backing of novelist Margaret Atwood, who attended yesterday's speech. The author said she would vote for the Bloc if she lived in Quebec, and hopes Mr. Duceppe claims a majority of Quebec's seats. "What is the alternative?" she asked reporters in French. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2008 (Globe still to come) This is not leadership (Globe ed) All around the world, leaders are awakening to the threat emanating from the U.S. banking sector and beginning to put in place protections against the spread of pain. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has convened a meeting of leaders of Europe's "Big Four" in Paris to seek a common approach to the financial crisis. Ireland announced a rescue of its financial system, issuing a state guarantee worth €400-billion. Here’s how this ‘leadership’ is going WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2008 Harper knew it was coming, Duceppe says (Gaz) "Every year I meet people from Wall Street and what is happening now is exactly what they told me last June." TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 To engage Canadians, we must invest more in our politicians (MANNING) Americans invest more time, energy and money than Canadians do in preparing the politicians and supporting casts for their roles and responsibilities on the political stage. In the United States, there are scores of think tanks, covering the entire political spectrum, that constantly generate compelling ideas, policies and communications pieces for their politicians in a timely and effective manner. In Canada, our think tanks are much fewer in number, chronically underfunded and seriously constrained by tax laws. --What the W Post says about the financial crisis the gathering darkness is as much political in nature as economic. Just when it seemed that American democracy had at least temporarily conquered its ugliest habits of partisanship, that the people's elected representatives were about to make a tough decision in the long-term national interest -- pique and polarization carried the day. --What the WSJ says America has survived a feckless political class in the past, and it will again after this week. But Monday's crash and burn of the Paulson plan on Capitol Hill reveals a Washington elite that has earned every bit of the disdain that Americans have for it. This crowd can't even make sausage. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 Stephen Harper: Canada's answer to Sarah Palin (Chianello) PREVIOUS EDITIONS The Star sucks and blows Stern signal on terror (Star ed) Given the youth's age, a lenient sentence is in order. But after the Air India bombing and 9/11, Canada's courts are not disposed to treat terror lightly. Nor should they be.
Margaret Atwood jumps the shark To be creative is, in fact, Canadian (ATWOOD) Every budding dictatorship begins by muzzling the artists, because they're a mouthy lot and they don't line up and salute very easily. Of course, you can always get some tame artists to design the uniforms and flags and the documentary about you, and so forth - the only kind of art you might need - but individual voices must be silenced, because there shall be only One Voice: Our Master's Voice WEDNES DAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2008Nudity not a full-frontal issue, says NDPer (Province) Lunn was critical of both West and Penn. "The issue here is people taking their clothes off in public, which is completely inappropriate, serious error in judgment," said Lunn. "Of course, it's something I have never done or would ever do," he said. TUES DAY, SEPTEMBER 23 , 2008Tory policy on Insite approaches 'genocide,' doctor says (V Sun) Dr. Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society and a University of B.C. professor of medicine accused the government of being ready to commit "genocide" against addicts. "If they won't let us go forward to help our friends and family who have this condition, that is a crime of neglect," Montaner said. "It is deliberate and when it's targeted against a specific group of people -- that's genocide," he said. "These people have no morals." PREVIOUS EDITIONS Doesn’t anyone here know how to play the game? Former NDP premiers urge B.C. to vote Liberal (Globe) Mr. Dosanjh won the leadership of the B.C. New Democrats near the end of a decade of NDP government in B.C., and was premier for about 13 months before a 2001 election that saw the NDP reduced to two seats in the 79-member legislature. Mr. Dosanjh lost his seat. In 2004, he joined the federal Liberals and ran successfully for the party. He supported Mr. Rae in the 2006 Liberal leadership race that chose Stéphane Dion over a field that included Mr. Rae and Michael Ignatieff. Mr. Rae's New Democrats fell to third place in the Ontario Legislature after five years in office. In March, he was elected Liberal MP in Toronto Centre. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 , 2008 Native issues casualties of Afghan spending, chief says (Globe) "There's been $22-billion expended on the Afghan war, and so what is there for first nations people?" Mr. Fontaine asked. Memo to Phil F. Canada went to war in Afghanistan in 2001. Ottawa now spends around $10 Billion per year on aboriginal programs PREVIOUS EDITIONS Why carbon offsets don't work (GOLDSTEIN) To anyone who understands the theory of global warming, carbon offsets are the equivalent of a fat person claiming he's losing weight by paying a thin person to go on a diet, as one of my Sun colleagues quipped.
BQ seeking federalists' vote (Gaz) MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2008 Layton takes on Harper (Star) NDP Leader Jack Layton stood less than a block from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Calgary Southwest constituency office yesterday and levelled a barrage of criticism against the Conservative Party leader. "Folks here in Alberta know better than anyone in Canada that Stephen Harper is leading us in the wrong direction," Layton said in a speech to the party faithful. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Dion's meeting at 24 Sussex: a cold shoulder and a glass of water (Taber) You would think the Harper Tories would be over the moon with the latest public opinion polls showing them way ahead of the Dion Grits on the eve on an election campaign. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2008 Personally, I think Salutin doesn’t know what he’s talking about. This arts funding thing (SALUTIN) Personally, I think Stephen Harper is calling an election now to get out from under the arts funding cloud - all the protests against his harsh cuts added onto leftover charges about trying to censor films. PREVIOUS EDITIONS The Posties must have been snoozing when MPs voted in February And now, on to the real issues (Post ed) The Tories have been clear in their support for our military mission in Afghanistan. But to what end? Seven years after the conflict began, the Taliban is growing in strength and audacity throughout much of the country -- especially in Kandahar province, where Canada's soldiers are concentrated. It is all well and good to "support the troops," but, as we have argued in this space before, that support is meaningless if NATO doesn't have the overall troop strength to win the war decisively. In the coming campaign, parties that support the mission -- a group that, as of now, includes only the Tories -- must explain how this war will be won. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008 PM stands in shadow cast by world poverty (Cit) While it doubtless pales as a priority in comparison to an election, there's something on Stephen Harper's fall calendar with far more importance to the broader world. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations' secretary general, has invited Mr. Harper and other world leaders to New York on Sept. 25 for a "high-level event" aimed at re-energizing the world's faltering commitment to the millennium development goals. …The major uncertainty is the election campaign the prime minister seems eager to trigger within days. Will he seize on that as an excuse to bypass a potentially troublesome meeting, or view the occasion as a timely stage upon which he can buff up his statesman's image? Attending would be smart politics, Mr. Lewis says, particularly because of the "dreadful mistake in judgment" Mr. Harper made when he refused to attend the International AIDS Conference in Toronto in 2006. "That has haunted him ever since." While Mr. Harper's presence in New York would be "merely window-dressing for the purposes of the campaign," Mr. Lewis says, "he would at least neutralize the tendency to criticize him for non-attendance." Mr. Axworthy says it would be a "serious omission" for Mr. Harper to skip the meeting. "This is an area that leadership is called for." If Mr. Harper does attend, those active on development issues say the most important thing he could do is commit Canada to move aid spending toward the UN's target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income. "If we're not prepared to do that, just forget it," Mr. Lewis says. "It means that Canada's position is completely without substance. It's all rhetorical nonsense." PREVIOUS EDITIONS First guns, now climate registry? (GOLDSTEIN) The puzzling fashions of penitence (Jonas) lavishly apologizing for past mistakes is one thing. Recognizing present ones is quite another. A prime minister for our times would recognize that, while he's saying sorry for residential schools, his entire country is being turned into a residential school. He'd notice the censorious state's intrusions into contemporary life under the pretext of "public hygiene" or "human rights." He'd apologize for the cultural arrogance of Canada's hate-or health-police trying to tell editors what to put into their periodicals, clergymen into their sermons or parents into their mouths. FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2008 --Remind me again exactly what our problem is with the US justice system? The rule of law prevails (Globe ed) This is a constitutional ruling for the ages….Serious terrorist suspects should receive fair hearings in U.S. civilian courts. Mr. Khadr should be handed to Canadian authorities, who can decide, in accordance with Canadian and international law, how to deal with him. Guantanamo is a blight on a proud democracy. The Supreme Court's stirring decision is a triumphant moment for the rule of law in the United States. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Couillard not our department: RCMP (Ivison) In many ways, the most interesting testimony came from Michael Juneau-Katsuya, a former CSIS officer..."The human factor is always the weak link in the chain," he lamented. Particularly when red-blooded Quebecers and their "natural assets" are involved, it might be added. PREVIOUS EDITIONS CAW asks Ottawa for trade action (Star) "It's as simple as that," Hargrove said in a later interview. "We're asking the opposition parties to present a motion in the House of Commons that would force GM to meet the principles of the Auto Pact. They would have to build a truck in Canada for every one they sold here. That would keep the truck plant open." The pact, which also contained minimum Canadian content levels for domestic auto production, disappeared in 2001 when the World Trade Organization ruled some provisions broke global regulations for the fair movement of goods between all countries.
Like Magic Join The Green Wave (Suzuki) Take Ontario's ailing auto-manufacturing sector. This week, America's Big Three car manufacturers slipped again -- with GM's market share hitting an all-time low due to its lack of fuel-efficient models. If Canada had strong economic signals in place to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions through carbon pricing and regulations to improve fuel efficiency, we would be building the clean, efficient vehicles of the future instead of blindly focusing on the status quo and losing out on rapidly growing markets.
From yesterday’s QP: Hon. Maria Minna (Beaches—East York, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the UN has called an emergency summit to look at the food crisis and to find solutions to the growing problem but Canada's agriculture minister is not there…. Hon. Maria Minna (Beaches—East York, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, even Robert Mugabe is there. Why is the Canadian minister not there? Mugabe’s Reign of Terror in Zimbabwe – NYT Editorial The spectacle of Mr. Mugabe attending a United Nations food conference in Rome this week as if he was just another world leader was especially shameful. Mr. Mugabe used the conference to blame the West — again — for his country’s implosion. The truth is that it is his own destructive 30-year rule that destroyed commercial agriculture in Zimbabwe, frightened away foreign investment, pushed inflation to more than 100,000 percent and made millions of people dependent on foreign assistance. Mr. Mugabe was not invited to a ceremonial leaders’ dinner in Rome, and some officials, including from the United States and Britain, refused to meet with him. That may have assuaged some consciences. But it clearly had no effect at all on Mr. Mugabe, who is a master at feeding racial resentments. That is why African leaders urgently need to use all of their clout to halt the reign of terror and ensure that Zimbabwe’s elections are as free and as fair as possible. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2008 Canada's cultural fence needs some major repair (Martinuk) Canada itself was created based on Christian principles. Sir Leonard Tilley, a former premier of New Brunswick, proposed that Canada be called "The Dominion of Canada" based on Psalm 72:8 -- it declares that God shall have dominion from sea to sea. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Non-sequitur alert Crucifix has deep constitutional roots in Quebec (MACDONALD) In the aim of promoting a secular society, the authors of the Bouchard-Taylor report wrote that "the crucifix must be removed" from the wall behind the speaker's chair in the National Assembly…. Their logic, with a view to advancing what they term "open secularism," is impeccable. But it takes no account of, and is completely at variance with, more than two and a quarter centuries of constitutional tradition that is the foundation of Quebec and Canada itself. This goes back to the Quebec Act of 1774, and is central to the asymmetrical features of Confederation in the British North America Act of 1867. The Quebec Act explicitly guaranteed the freedom to practise the Catholic faith. It also restored French civil law alongside British common law. If he re-reads his column carefully, Mr. Gardner may understand why Graham Fraser is right, and where the discrimination in recruitment truly lies PREVIOUS EDITIONS Je ne comprends pas these language commissioners (Gardner) THURSDAY , MAY 15, 2008RCMP urged to probe Dobell's role in case (Globe) Mr. Dobell said last week that his involvement was nothing unusual. As the Premier's deputy minister, he also served as the cabinet secretary, which is an independent office. He said his actions did not contradict Mr. Campbell's assertions that no one in the Premier's office was involved with handling documents tied to the police investigation. WEDNESDAY , MAY 14, 2008Senator says Canada, U.S. just as bad as al-Qaida
Ottawa rolls out string of apologies (Globe) In 1939, more than 900 Jewish refugees fled Nazi Germany on the steamship St. Louis, bound for Latin America. However, no country in the region would accept them. Both the United States and Canada also rejected the ship's passengers. In the end, the St. Louis returned to Europe just as war broke out. It is estimated that at least a third of the passengers were ultimately killed by German forces. TUESDAY , MAY 13, 2008A new era (MacDonald) It was an extraordinary occasion in two respects. First, the French president usually spends May 8, the anniversary of Victory Day in Europe, in Paris. That he would instead observe the occasion at the Canadian cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer, is a remarkable gesture in itself. Here’s what the change in venue was actually about John Lichfield: Our Man in Normandy (Independent) The Elysée Palace will announce officially today that the celebration of France's victory over Germany in 1945 (with some American, British and Canadian help) will not take place at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on 8 May, as tradition demands. Instead, on Thursday, President Sarkozy will preside over an elaborate and expensive ceremony at the small seaside town of Ouistreham, just north of Caen…. Why choose Ouistreham? The small town is the easternmost part of the D-Day landing beaches. On 6 June 1944, it was part of Sword Beach, where 28,845 British soldiers came ashore. They were part of an Allied force of 156,000 which landed in France that day. President Sarkozy will pay eloquent tribute to the sacrifices of American, British and Canadian troops. He will later attend a ceremony at a Canadian military cemetery with the Governor-General of Canada, Michaelle Jean. … By drawing attention to a small but heroic French action, which is sometimes overlooked, President Sarkozy is pursuing another part of his agenda. M. Sarkozy wants not just to reform French government but to reform the French collective mind. He wants to sweep away defeatism and introspection and make France a proud and can-do nation once again.
2. Actually, the Star’s suggestion would probably harm Canada and Canadians Double-talk on Kyoto (Star ed) Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government would do Canadians a big favour if it would just level with them about its real position on international efforts to fight climate change. SUNDAY , MAY 11, 2008Despite the gunfire, some people are still willing to give peace a chance (Cit) Ottawa's Potlucks group works similarly, its mission statement noting that the Jews of Israel and the disenfranchised Palestinians are "caught in an escalating spiral of death, destruction and desolation, fighting over a land they could share, choosing to die together rather than strive towards living together." Potlucks members believe "that, one day, these two peoples of this holy land will rise up and live out the true meaning of peace." What a concept. An end to the decades of fighting that has turned neighbours into relentless enemies? An end to the grief of sons and daughters stupidly, needlessly killed in their youth? What a gift that would be to both the disenfranchised and the remarkable nation now celebrating its birth with pride and a justifiably sacred sense of self. Memo to J. Kennedy: The mission statement is code for no-Israel. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Killing without mercy (Corbella) Just as Quebec separatists refuse to take "no" for an answer in their neverendums on sovereignty, Lalonde refuses to bury her dream of legalizing euthanasia in Canada, even though a Senate committee and the Supreme Court of Canada have both rejected the idea. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Shed No Tears For FT. McMurray's Ducks (Levant) Like other Canadians, I was deeply moved by the death of 500 ducks that made the mistake of lollygagging at Syncrude's oilsands plant in Ft. McMurray, Alta. The National Post put the story on page one last week, and even the Prime Minister called the deaths a "terrible tragedy." I agree. I can't believe that 500 ducks were wasted that way. Imagine all the lost foie gras (though optimistic scientists have said five of the ducks can be saved). And it's not just a blow to fine dining. How many Turducken connoisseurs will now have to make do with turkey stuffed just with chicken? How many restaurants will go without their signature dish, Peking Duck -- another devious scheme by the Dalai Lama to embarrass the Beijing Olympics?
Tories deny plan to de-fang parliamentary watchdogs (CP) "It's not normal," said Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe. "I told you he's a control freak. This man wants to control everything." "Now we're seeing who he is, what he's really like. This is the ideological, closed-minded, dogmatic Harper from the National Citizens Coalition, from the Canada West Foundation." WEDNESDAY , APRIL 30, 2008You can't level by cockeyed formula (Ivison) Just as consistent an approach would be to scrap the whole program. … But this kind of radical change will never happen -- not as long as Quebec receives $8-billion a year in equalization payments. Fortunately for Quebecers, the Canadian family remains a haven in a heartless world. Memo to John I: The reason it won’t happen is called the Constitution. TUESDAY , APRIL 29, 2008Iran aims to block bid for Canada to host summit (Post) When asked if fraternizing with some countries whose human rights records are questionable was in Canada's best interests, Ms. Carstairs cited her own experience: She said she spends the better part of the days condemning countries for their abuses. Addressing the fact that many of the parliamentarians she talks to are not actually elected, the Canadian Senator averred that "they could say the same thing about me." MONDAY , APRIL 28, 2008Would this be former public servant Vic Toews he’s talking about? Toews' appointment as TB pres stalled labour negotiations by nine months (HT) "John Baird [Ottawa West-Nepean, Ont.], as you know, is an Ottawa-area Member of Parliament. He understands the importance of the public service to this region ... [and] to the fortunes of the Conservative Party. Mr. Toews [Provencher, Man.] is from Manitoba. He doesn't appear to understand the importance of the public service to Canadians, let alone people in Ottawa, so there has been a major disconnect there and it's taken a lot of time to get Mr. Toews up to speed. That's been a terrible, terrible frustration," said Mr. Cashman in an interview last week with The Hill Times. PREVIOUS EDITIONS The Globe and Mail’s JANE TABER ‘weighs in’ on the Democratic primary: Hillary Clinton can thank four Canadian women for contributing to her victory over Barack Obama in this week's Pennsylvania primary. Three Liberal MPs' staffers - Crystal Gillis, Sarah Welch and Trish Dechman - jumped into their car last Friday night to drive down to Philadelphia to campaign for Ms. Clinton in the crucial primary. The three 20-somethings were joined by veteran Grit and former candidate Isabel Metcalfe,who has always been a proponent of women in politics and is Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion's adviser on finding and encouraging more women to run as Liberal Party candidates. FRIDAY , APRIL 25, 2008Clinton too obsessed to call it quits (Gwyn) One way does exist for Clinton to continue to run even after losing the Democratic nomination. She could run as an independent. Not likely, of course. But not impossible. PREVIOUS EDITIONS Crime and mild punishment (McQuaig) According to testimony at the trial, Deganis, before attacking Croutch in the middle of the night, had attempted to attack another person in a bus shelter and, during the attack on Croutch, Deganis shouted he "hated bums and homeless people and wanted to take them on." The woman who intervened said Deganis thrust his military tags in her face and screamed: "This gives us the right to kill all the homeless bums, crackheads, whores." Did these men somehow feel their military affiliation entitled them to behave like thugs? This raises the disturbing possibility that these young reservists considered the Rambo-like posture of Canada's top general, Rick Hillier, gave them a licence to behave aggressively. Certainly Hillier – who announced his retirement last week to much fawning in the media – set a very different tone for the Canadian Forces, referring to the enemy in Afghanistan as "detestable murderers and scumbags" and suggesting the role of the Canadian military is to "be able to kill people."
Beijing Games compared to Hitler's Olympics (Cal Herald) "You've got Falun Gong practitioners, which are not allowed to participate in the Olympics. Adolf Hitler had issues with Jews being able to participate in the Olympics in 1936." Critics were quick to take Anders to task for his remarks. "Any comparisons between the Games of China and those under Hitler are ludicrous," said Bob Rae, foreign affairs critic for the Liberals. "There's lots of work to be done to improve human rights in China, but that comparison is ridiculous. Let's get the focus back on the athletes."
Natives threaten Olympic disruptions (Globe) "The situation here is compelling enough to convince Canadians that while it is okay and right for them to express outrage with the Chinese government's position against Tibet and the Tibetans, they should be just as outraged, if not more so, about our situation here," Mr. Fontaine said.
Ontario's spooky thought police (Kay) As a journalist, I found this part particularly chilling: "It is the Commission's view that the media has a responsibility to engage in fair and unbiased journalism. Bias includes both an unfair and one-sided portrayal of an issue as well as prejudicial attitudes towards individuals and groups." Actually, the National Post -- like Maclean's and every other media outlet -- has no such responsibility -- except inasmuch as we want to be respected, and our product bought, by as many people as possible. If we choose to be "unfair," or simply to have an opinion that some people, or even everyone, disagrees with, that's our right. We'll pay the price in lost readers and advertisers. Memo to JK: Actually, picking on minorities and catering to the bigoted views of readers who believe, for example, that Don Cherry is the greatest Canadian can be a profitable commercial strategy PREVIOUS EDITIONS Wallace, racism and special rights (Post) MONDAY , APRIL 7, 2008A fine diplomat who was doing his job Behind dreadfully named mini-scandal NAFTAgate and other nonsense (Sears) It was probably imprudent for Georges Rioux, the Canadian diplomat, to ask an Obama economic adviser about the NAFTA comments in the first place. There is an old axiom in diplomacy that you don't ask questions that are likely to embarrass you no matter how they are answered. There was no comforting answer possible to this query. SUNDAY , APRIL 6, 2008Prime Minister silent after Auschwitz tour (Star) Prime Minister Stephen Harper uttered not a word of reflection to the Canadian public following his visit to Auschwitz yesterday. The intensely private political leader took a tour on behalf of Canada at the world's most public testament to the World War II depravities of Germany's Nazi regime. He didn't speak after kneeling before a red-and-white wreath at the camp's Death Wall memorial, where thousands of prisoners were executed, though he did appear to be moved. He didn't speak after emerging from the claustrophobic gas chamber and crematorium, the lethal machine of Nazi terror. He left just one reflection of three sentences, written in blue ink in a leather-bound memorial book. SATURDAY , APRIL 5, 2008Get this guy some history lessons PM courting wrong province (DEN TANDT) Let's recap some not-so-distant history. In 1984, Brian Mulroney swept to power with a coalition unprecedented in Canadian history. Left-leaning Quebec nationalists forged a common cause with Alberta and Ontario conservatives. In 1988 he won again, taking an astounding 63 seats in Quebec. But then came payback time. The price of support from Lucien Bouchard (later a separatist premier of Quebec) and his ilk was reopening the constitution and rewriting it to suit "Quebec's traditional demands," including recognition of Quebec as "a distinct society." PREVIOUS EDITIONS Nope PM faces decision on Senate reform (Hébert) A future Conservative majority government could get its Senate election bill passed in the Commons but it would still face a blockade in the Senate itself.
A disaster for Canada's Human Rights Commission (Kay) In one famous exchange during the Lemire case, Steacy was asked "What value do you give freedom of speech when you investigate?" -- to which he replied "Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value." (I guess Section 2 has been excised from his copy of the Canadian Charter of Rights.) Memo to JK: Looks to me as though Steacy has read Section 1 of our Charter
UPDATE The US Bill of Rights is drafted in such a way as to imply that individual rights are absolute. ("Congress shall make no law....") In 1981, we drafted our Charter in such a way as to make it clear at the outset that rights are subject to "reasonable limits..." Some Canadians--particularly those who consume too much US media or have had part of their education in the US, where we underwent a process of brain-Washington—still find it difficult to grasp Canada’s distinctiveness on the question of rights and freedoms. |
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