The Commons finance committee met briefly
yesterday at the behest of Liberal Scott Brison, and eventually the NDP’s
committee members, in order to establish the parameters of a study on how the
global economic turmoil will affect the Canadian economy and the government’s
fiscal projections. But the Conservatives used their majority on the committee
to ensure that only Jim Flaherty and the governor of the Bank of Canada will be
heard – not any independent economist because Shelly Glover (whom I will remind
you is Canada’s Most Intellectually Bankrupt MP) warned that it might spook
people! As Brison said over the Twitter Machine “Shelley Glover just told
Finance Committee that hearing from independent economists would lead us down a
path of no return! OMG- facts, data!” And this government could have none of
that.
Newly revealed documents show that Tony
Clement used his own office to start looking for G8 legacy projects as far back
as 2008. But hey, this is just a process story, and those are boring! Nothing
to see here!
The government has decided to restore the
original names to the Canadian Army, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal
Canadian Air Force (from their current Land Forces Command, Maritime Command
and Air Command). This change not only reflects their tradition, but also reminds us that the Canadian Forces serve the Crown as the formal executive and
the monarch as the head of state (ie- the Queen of Canada is the
Commander-in-Chief because it keeps the armed forces out of political control). Of course, it’s also funny that Harper, with his
presidential envy, wants to reinforce those links to the Crown. Meanwhile, the
change could be divisive within the NDP caucus. Oh no! A reminder of the way
our constitutional system works is somehow un-Canadian!
Justice Minster Rob Nicholson met with the Canadian
Bar Association, and proceeded to dismiss every one of their concerns about their
“tough on crime” legislation. Because that’s expert advice, and this government
could have none of that.
Vic Toews met with his American
counterpart, Janet Napolitano, to talk border security. Napolitano says their
privacy requirements are quite similar to ours, so we needn’t worry. Toews got
snippy and sarcastically wondered if they shouldn’t just hold negotiations in
an arena so that everyone can see what’s going on. Accountability and
transparency, everyone!
Some nearly 700 jobs at Public Works will
be on the chopping block over the next three years.
Here’s a timely look back at the
Chrétien/Martin deficit-slaying days in the nineties with a bit of perspective,
which could serve as a lesson to those other countries facing some major
deficit problems.
The RCMP have dropped their probe of that
former Conservative staffer who interfered in Access to Information requests.
And Joanna Smith at the Toronto Star goes behind the scenes of
her supposed “witch hunt” of separatists in the NDP.
