It 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
been organising 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 by each of the candidates with regards
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 decriminalisation because the 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 decriminalisation, 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.
