In the event that the suspense is killing you, let me put your mind at ease – yes, the budget was passed. But what’s that? The government won’t actually show its plan for cost savings, which the parliamentary budget officer is asking for? But we should just trust them – right?
Just down the block from the Conservative Party convention, the conservative Manning Centre held a weekend conference on conservative ideas. The attendees seemed quite enamoured with the UK Conservative Party’s “Big Society” program, which encourages the private sector and charities to take over the government’s role of delivering local services by having them do it on a volunteer basis. Is this something that Harper and company will adopt now that the Republican ideas, which they have been following, are slowly unravelling south of the border?
Elizabeth May, in addition to one of the NDP newbies, has already started putting some pretty pointed questions to the government on the order paper.
What’s that? There’s no transparency in our “clean energy” dialogue with the US, and businesses and bureaucrats are frustrated because they don’t know what’s going on? You don’t say!
What’s that? The government rejected Health Canada’s advice on asbestos while trying to prop up a dying industry for the sake of a few votes? You don’t say!
Cyber-espionage is a growing threat, according to CSIS. Not exactly a surprise, given the attacks made on the finance department’s computers earlier this year.
Here’s a piece from Maclean’s about the need for better “on the job” training for new MPs because civic literacy is sadly lacking in our Parliament.
And in Ontario, the appeal to the previously stricken laws around prostitution went ahead yesterday. By all accounts, the five-judge panel was not impressed with the government’s arguments. Also, dominatrix Terri-Jean Bedford brandished her riding crop and announced that Stephen Harper was going to be punished. But how do we know he won’t like it?
Why you can trust Xtra
