Peter MacKay puts a ring on it

First, the serious news. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, boys, but Peter MacKay has just announced his engagement – to a woman. I know – it’s hard for some of you to accept. But it’s not his fault. He can’t help his heterosexuality – he was born that way.

All kidding aside, this engagement raises a serious question, and that is the fact that MacKay’s fiancée just happens to be a news executive at CTV News Channel. The same CTV whose journalistic standards are being questioned in light of some pretty biased reporting. While said fiancée says that she has no input into the way that MacKay personally is being reported, he is a cabinet minister, and one has to wonder how much bias is making its way into the newsroom.

An analysis by The Canadian Press shows that haggling between three levels of government has slowed the stimulus spending in Quebec to a mere trickle. It’s almost as if the government has completely written off the province for their electoral fortunes.

The Toronto Star has begun an investigative series looking at the problems facing the temporary foreign workers programme in this country, and how it’s failing pretty much all involved, while creating a growing illegal workforce in this country because of its inflexibilities. And one of the biggest problems is that a Parliamentary report saw these problems coming, but the Conservatives are ignoring the recommendations they brought down in order to continue this flawed plan that will see more temporary foreign workers than permanent immigrants. And the Liberals let these changes slide by not opposing them after the Conservatives tucked them into a confidence bill that the Liberals weren’t able to defeat. Sure they say they’ll reverse them once they get back into power, but the longer this programme exists in its current, flawed form, the bigger mess they’ll have once they get back to power.

The government looks as though they’re going to unveil their legislation to extend EI parental benefits to the self-employed on Tuesday. Given that the NDP have vowed to support this bill in particular, we can expect them to continue to prop up the government until it passes.

This week: Prince Charles and his wife Camilla begin an 11-day visit to Canada, and will visit Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Quebec, and BC. The Royal couple will be in Ottawa for the Remembrance Day ceremonies, so it’ll be very interesting to see how Harper takes to sharing the spotlight with the future head of state.