Toronto-Danforth by-election today

It’s the by-election in Toronto-Danforth today, and it’s been a pretty queer-heavy race so far. NDP candidate Craig
Scott is a gay law professor, and while Liberal candidate Gordon Grant is
straight, this is the first campaign that the nascent Queer Liberals group has organized with. Results to come tonight, and if you live in the riding,
don’t forget to vote. Here, meanwhile, is a discussion that the Liberal, NDP
and Green candidates had on TVO’s The
Agenda
. Some of it is interesting, but I, personally, remain appalled at the
low level of civic literacy demonstrated by each of the candidates with regard

to their knowledge of how Parliament works and what the job of an MP actually
is.

In the NDP leadership race, Thomas Mulcair
told The West Block that he opposes marijuana decriminalization because information shows that pot these days
is so potent as to “cause mental illness” (at 8:30 on the clip). This, of course,
contradicts his previous statements on decriminalization and gives credence to
the “potent pot myth,” which is based entirely on bad data. Jack Layton’s
mother, meanwhile, once again pushes for Brian Topp and mentions the thousands
of new members his campaign signed up.

Despite “back to work” legislation for Air
Canada pilots, mechanics and baggage handlers having been passed (never mind
that they were never actually off the job), an unusual number of pilots called
in sick
over the weekend. I haven’t checked yet, but has this crushed our
fragile economy?

And over at Maclean’s, satirist Scott Feschuk takes apart Tony Clement’s recent
speech at the Manning Centre conference, which is a very worthwhile read.

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