Yay, the House is back today! I’m so excited – really, really excited. Especially for the return of Question Period (the merits of reforming which I’ll discuss again at a later date). Suffice to say, there promises to be plenty of drama this first week, with that pesky long-gun registry vote.
Speaking of gun-registry coverage, it appears that each of the opposition party leaders will admit to firing a gun at some point in their lives – but not a peep from Harper. Curious.
During an interview with CTV’s Question Period yesterday, Michael Ignatieff said that his party promises to reduce the deficit to one percent of GDP within two years of being in office, and that he wants a national program to invest in public infrastructure, that it’s fair, and if arenas are to be funded, they’ll need private-sector funds. Also, he remains committed to the goal of having one third of candidates being women, which he says he’s well on the way to, and that when the election happens, he’s looking forward to many young women running for his party.
The longest-serving female MP, Albina Guarnieri, has MS and won’t be seeking reelection.
Helena Guergis now has a big-name Conservative running against her.
MediaStyle’s Ian Capstick calls out the Ottawa Citizen for skirting the issue of John Baird’s sexuality when they talked about his “Toronto elites” comment. Carolyn Bennett bought a hat in Soho to dress the part of a Toronto elite.
The government unveiled new programs for wounded veterans yesterday. The outgoing veterans’ ombudsman says they’re a good start, but the system is by no means fixed. Veterans, by the way, want him to be given another term, even though the government has said no to that.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has been in Australia to learn about how its immigration system works, and how to deal with human smuggling (which appears to be the government’s latest moral panic).
Rabble.ca looks at that mysterious meeting between Stephen Harper, Kory Teneycke and Fox owner Rupert Murdoch, and while he’s not sure that it was about setting up “Fox News North” as such, a case is laid out for Murdoch biding his time for a regulatory environment that would allow him to come in and buy up our media outlets.
Up today – anti-terrorism bills are on the House’s agenda.
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