In advance of the Francophonie summit in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pauline Marois has beaten Harper to the punch by meeting with opposition and civil society groups first, even though Harper has also promised to meet with them and to speak to the country’s leadership about some of the major human rights problems there, like using rape as a weapon of war. Harper’s trip to Senegal was also in large part about encouraging trade with the region, and making Senegal into a hub for investment. And in advance of the Harper/Marois meeting, the National Post’s Steve Murray offers some suggestions for things they probably should and shouldn’t say to one another.

The Russian ambassador said the scandal over this navy spy will fade away, and that “even friends spy on each other.” Because we want to forget that the danger of old-fashioned spying still does exist, despite our current preoccupations with counter-terrorism and hacking.

With their motion at Procedure and House Affairs to limit omnibus bills failed, the Liberals have tabled a new motion in the House to do the same – by invoking Stephen Harper circa 1994. Seeing as the Liberals have the opposition day on Tuesday, this may be what they decide to put forward (not that it’s a question of why the government should be denied supply, mind you…)

Documents are showing that as well meaning as the $1.5 billion in aid we’ve spent in Afghanistan has been, it’s all been pretty much a disaster.

David Pugliese reminds us of the misplaced optimism of the Sikorsky helicopter builders in the past, given that we’re renegotiating our timelines on the maybe-one-day delivery of those replacements for the Sea Kings.

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) wrote down more than $138 million in bad loans between 2004 and 2011.

Here is some more about the whole David Suzuki versus economists debate.

Here is your recap of the Friday night politics shows.

And here’s a lengthy yet very interesting read about how political parties are engaging in a lot of data mining in order to target voters – or keep them away from the polls.