While 24 Sussex continues to deteriorate, Harper continues to refuse to move out so that they can do the necessary renovations, knowing full well that the longer he holds off, the more it will cost the treasury. Justin Trudeau says he’s surprised how much the residence has deteriorated from when he grew up in it. Of course what this all boils down to is yet another example of Harper choosing the short term optics (not spending the necessary $10 million) over the longer-term damage (an official residence and government property is going to require millions more in repairs and retrofit as it continues to deteriorate while at the same time look embarrassing when he entertains dignitaries because the place has become so run down). But why shouldn’t we expect this from someone whose modus operandi is populism over good policy on any day of the week?
The Conservative government is sensitive to the “nuanced approach” it has to take with commemorating the War of 1812, since they’re trying to tie it in with the militarism of our history that they’re promoting, while trying to avoid stirring anti-American sentiments. Good luck with that.
And hey, it looks like we might finally be living up to our promises to resettle Afghan translators who helped us out and put their families’ lives in danger as a result. Oh, but maybe not until next year, or so. Nice to see that we’re on top of this and not making hollow promises. Canada’s Back™, everyone!
Bob Rae was at the Calgary Stampede talking to the party faithful there, looking for input and ideas on the rebuilding process from the grassroots. And yes, there are plenty of Liberals in Alberta, but because of the distortions caused by the sheer volume of gerrymandered “rurban” (rural-urban) ridings in the province, the rural Conservative voters tend to swamp the more urban Liberal ones in a lot of ridings.
And archaeologists in Montreal are digging up a former parliament building that was burned down there in 1849, after the capital had been moved there from Kingston (and the capital was then made to alternate between Toronto and Quebec City until Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the permanent capital in 1857). The Montreal fire was a defining moment in our pre-Confederation history and led to the founding of our country.