The Liberals are back in Ottawa for their summer
caucus retreat. Bob Rae gave a somewhat barnburning speech to the assembled
(which included invited media, while the party also broadcast it here). The themes? Time to
talk about the economy and time to rebuild the party.
What’s that? Concerns about privacy around border arrangements with the US? You don’t say!
Kady O’Malley looks at the NDP
leadership race. She questions the past requirement that organized labour get 25 percent of the votes (the percentage will be determined at a later date), whether party president Brian Topp should step down if he’s going to consider a leadership run
(he’s not taking part in determining the rules for the process and knows he
needs to make a decision) and the role of the party’s federal council in determining those rules.
Hey look! Plans for futuristic “airships”
to help service the North as getting supplies to remote communities and
mines can be difficult.
Citing tough economic times, Alberta has cut funding to restorative justice programs. You know, right as there’s a
major increase in crime and Edmonton is leading the country in the number of
murders being committed.
And Sun Media is freaking out because
Libby Davies has put forward a non-binding private member’s motion to eliminate
the 10-year residency requirement to qualify for old-age pensions.
What it doesn’t mention is that this is but one of 71 private member’s
motions that Davies put on the Order Paper, including calls for public
inquiries, consultations on genetically modified organisms, “no-frills” bank
accounts, the IMF, social
housing, funding for groups combating violence against women, and ensuring that CIDA serve only fair-trade coffee. (No,
seriously – they’re listed here as M-81 through M-152.) While I have no doubt
that these are important for Davies’ particular ideological convictions, with
71 motions that will never see the light of day (especially if she still wants to put
forward a private member’s bill and MPs are allotted time for one single
piece of private member’s business, be it a motion or a bill), I don’t know
that Sun Media should be so concerned.
Why you can trust Xtra
