The big news coming out of the weekend is that Omar Khadr has been sentenced to 40 years in prison as a result of the legal fiction that was his “military tribunal.” Of course, his plea deal stipulated that he’ll actually only serve eight – one in Guantanamo Bay, the rest likely in Canada, once he makes the proper application and so on. Of course, this whole process continues to make a mockery of our international commitments when it comes to child soldiers, but this government continues to treat our signature as a “hypothetical situation.” Hey everyone – Canada’s back! And we’re taking a principled stand, too!
Friday’s Question Period saw Scott Brison leading the day for the Liberals, asking about PMO expenses using his new tag line of “stopping the Conservative gravy train.” (That one is sure to get old quick.) Later on, Bill Siksay asked about the BC HST, and Mario Silva asked about family caregivers.
The government has decided not to let a good crisis go to waste and is making outrageous claims about how we need the F-35s because of that possible terror threat on board commercial liners, saying that the Liberals would rather us “fly kites” than buy F-35s. Erm, really? That’s your line? That makes as much sense as Michael Ignatieff killing our bid for the Security Council seat.
A former bureaucrat from the Trudeau era is getting his day in the Federal Court of Appeal on his wrongful dismissal and harassment because of his sexuality.
Police in Thailand arrested more than 100 Tamils who were illegally bound for Canada. Canada, you say? How do we know that? Apparently, we’re supposed to take Jason Kenney’s word for it, that’s why. Who needs proof or evidence when it can be made to fit your current spin?
There’s a private member’s bill on abortion – err, sorry, making it illegal to “coerce a woman into having an abortion” – on its way to the House of Commons this week. And oh, look – it’s got tricky wording in it about defining life as beginning at the moment of conception, which goes against Supreme Court rulings in this country. Harper says he doesn’t support it, but how many of his MPs get to “vote their conscience” on this one? I wonder.
The government has negotiated for some giant pandas from China to spend time at several Canadian zoos.
Documents showed that the government tried to stage-manage the Regis and Kelly Live shows shot in PEI. But hey, that’s why this government has spent more on communications than any in history.
Here are some Halloween photos from 24 Sussex and Stornoway.
And that original painting Scott Brison did for the Kidney Foundation? Sold for more than $1,000. Nice job!
PS – While I am aggressively avoiding any talk of the American mid-term elections, I came across this link, which discussed what attack ads would have been like in the early days of America, and yes, these are actual words from early presidential candidates. The more things change…
Why you can trust Xtra
