Small differences emerging

While we await Sunday’s NDP leadership
debate from Quebec City – the first fully French event, which will tax the
bilingual capacities of the seven candidates – here’s a piece from Joan Bryden
to keep you busy in the meantime. Bryden actually waded through the
policy documents of all seven candidates to try to find differences between
them – and actually found a few, as well as where the cleavages are in
their philosophies for approaching the leadership contest. So while
it is still largely all about a united front and “violent agreement” on the big
issues, there are still a few differences.

Jim Flaherty muses that the changes to OAS

likely won’t happen before 2020 or 2025. Maybe. Apparently we’re not supposed
to read too much into any of this.

The NDP took out a front-page print ad in
London, Ontario, to decry the “tax giveaway” to Electro-Motive Diesel – despite the
fact that this has been soundly debunked. The NDP, however, stands by it.
Because you can’t let the facts get in the way of a good narrative, apparently.

Kady O’Malley recaps the entire odious
incident of Conservative MP Larry Miller making Hitler references against two
former Liberals during the gun-registry debate last week. And to call it odious
is being pretty mild. Here’s Irwin Cotler’s takedown of Miller’s pseudo-apology
(and it’s pretty damning).

What’s that? It’s not just gang members who
buy illegal firearms but average Joes too? You don’t say! So much for the
theory that we can easily sort out the criminals from the law-abiding gun
owners. Not that it’ll change the government’s talking points one iota.

Prince Harry may be headed back to
Afghanistan – piloting Apache helicopters.

And Scott Brison, whose riding includes the
purported “birthplace of hockey,” spoke in the House yesterday about
a heritage classic hockey game taking place in said birthplace.

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