That pesky unilingual thing

The would-be new auditor general went to the public accounts committee yesterday and was bombarded with questions about his
unilingual status by opposition MPs, while Conservative MPs remarked about how
wonderfully qualified he is for the position – err, with that one little
exception. But he totally promises that he’s learning French and should be
proficient in a year because he tested as having a high aptitude for learning
it!

Further to yesterday’s QP, here is the letter the NDP sent about the suspected impropriety regarding Perimeter

Institute funding, and Gary Goodyear’s response during QP.

What’s that? The government’s appointed “corporate
social responsibility counsellor” for the mining sector is toothless and is
being called a “bogus PR job”? You don’t say!

The Border Services Agency is pursuing marriage fraud cases, while the government seeks new regulatory powers that would
require people coming from abroad to remain in their relationships for at least
two years before being given permanent residency status – which really punishes
people whose relationships have failed or turned abusive, but
hey, so long as the government looks like it’s getting tough on marriage
fraud, that’s what counts – right?

Charmaine Borg, one of the McGill Four who
worked on Thomas Mulcair’s campaign during the last election rather than
campaigning in her own riding, is now backing Brian Topp in the NDP leadership race. Meanwhile,
it seems like the delays in getting membership cards for NDP members
in Quebec is such an issue that even new MPs are waiting months for
theirs (caution: possible paywall).

And Andrew Coyne problematizes the “rich
get richer” meme, while Maclean’s
Econowatch problematizes “tax the rich,” with the notion that transfers to those
of lower incomes and refundable tax credits are more effective.

Keep Reading

Trans issues didn’t doom the Democrats

OPINION: The Republicans won ending on a giant anti-trans note, but Democrats ultimately failed to communicate on class

Xtra Explains: Trans girls and sports

Debunking some of the biggest myths around trans girls and fairness in sports

How ‘mature minor’ laws let trans kids make their own decisions

Canadian law lets some youth make medical or legal decisions for themselves, but how does it work?

To combat transphobia, we need to engage with the people who spread it

OPINION: opening up a dialogue with those we disagree with is key if we want to achieve widespread social change