Blockading the PM

Drama in Vancouver! While Prime Minister Stephen Harper tries to hold a photo op in a Chinese community centre, protesters from Insite blockade the doors, keeping Harper out and trapping people inside! Harper’s press secretary blames NDP MP Libby Davies for organising the protest…

(Imagine that opening with the dramatic newsreel voiceover from The Clone Wars).

Seriously, though, Davies admits to being there and cheering on the protesters, as Harper has kept MPs out of the House, and so on, but she denies having anything to do with the organisation of it all. “This was the community speaking out,” she said on television as it was going on. As well it should. One of the Chinese community leaders inside, while admitting to being put out by being trapped inside, said that was the great thing about Canada – it’s a free country. Whoa – don’t let the Conservative caucus hear that, or they’ll start to get ideas…

Also in Vancouver, Her Excellency met with that city’s (admittedly small) Haitian community, and let it be known that her daughter’s godmother perished in the earthquake.

John Baird is apparently on his way to Ethiopia to vouch for a Canadian being detained there. And while it’s nice to see this government standing up for Canadians abroad (especially ones who aren’t white), I have to wonder why Baird? Last time I checked, he’s neither minister of foreign affairs, nor does he have anything to do with consular affairs. The detained Canadian may be a constituent of his, but still – he’s not the minister of everything. Other people in the cabinet have jobs that they should be doing.

Perhaps at the height of cheek, Michael Ignatieff pens a letter to the BC legislature – whom Harper will be addressing today (apparently having invited himself to do so) – and gave them a list of questions to ask him, being as they can’t do it themselves in Ottawa right now because of prorogation.

Up today – The Liberal roundtables du jour are on the digital economy (with MPs Marc Garneau and Pablo Rodriguez), and the future of infrastructure in Canada (with Gerard Kennedy). That should be it for the roundtables, and now the Liberals can stop working.

PS – A mea culpa on my part for getting the bit about prorogation in the Ontario Legislature wrong. It seems they will be working through the Olympics after all, as well they should. (And thanks to commenter Jay for setting me straight – err, so to speak).