Ignoring the long-term damage

While 24 Sussex continues to deteriorate, Harper continues to refuse to move out to accommodate the necessary renovations, knowing full well that the longer he holds off, the more it will cost the treasury. Justin Trudeau says he’s surprised how much the residence has deteriorated from when he grew up in it. Of course, this all boils down to yet another example of Harper choosing the short-term optics (not spending the necessary $10 million) over the longer-term damage (an official residence and government property is going to require millions more in repairs and retrofit as it continues to deteriorate while at the same time looking embarrassing when he entertains dignitaries). But why shouldn’t we expect this from someone whose modus operandi is populism over good policy on any day of the week?

The Conservative government is sensitive to the “nuanced approach” it has to take with commemorating the War of 1812. It’s trying to tie it in with the militarism of our history, which it’s promoting, while trying to avoid stirring anti-American sentiments. Good luck with that.

And hey, it looks like we might finally be living up to our promise to resettle Afghan translators who helped us out and put their families’ lives in danger as a result. Oh, but maybe not until next year or so. Nice to see that we’re on top of this and not making hollow promises. Canada’s Back™, everyone!

Bob Rae was at the Calgary Stampede and talked to the party faithful, looking for grassroots input and ideas on the rebuilding process. And yes, there are plenty of Liberals in Alberta, but because of the distortions caused by the sheer volume of gerrymandered “rurban” (rural-urban) ridings in the province, the rural Conservative voters tend to swamp the more urban Liberal ones in many ridings.

And archaeologists in Montreal are digging up a former parliament building, which burned down in 1849 after the capital had been moved from Kingston. (The capital then alternated between Toronto and Quebec City until Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the permanent capital in 1857.) The Montreal fire was a defining moment in our pre-Confederation history and led to the founding of our country.