President Obama told the New York Times that the job numbers for Keystone XL were greatly exaggerated and that Canada needs to do more about its carbon emissions. In response, both TransCanada Pipelines and our ambassador in the US are disputing the job numbers – both of which are correct if you look at how each measures different things – and want to remind him that our environmental performance really isn’t all that bad overall (not mentioning anybody’s reliance on carbon-intensive coal-fired electricity). Of course, it’s all about playing politics, so facts may be a casualty of any of those kinds of debates.

Despite the fact that the “temporary absences” programme in federal prisons is a net positive and lowers recidivism rates by helping inmates more gradually reintegrate into society, the Conservative government has decided that this needs to stop. Because doing what works is apparently a bad thing when you need to be seen to be “tough on crime.”

Universities and the tourism industry are bracing for the impact of the walkout by foreign service workers from the fifteen busiest visa offices, as part of their ongoing job action. The strike could cost the tourism industry $18 million per week.

The Canadian Council of Chief Executives is getting concerned about how long it’s taking to finalize the Canada-EU Free Trade agreement, and wants Harper to send some senior ministers, like Jim Flaherty and Ed Fast, to finish it.

There is a court battle underway to get documents from an Ontario Provincial Police investigation into the abuse at a residential school released to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Canadian wireless telecom companies are freaking out with the news that Verizon may be looking to re-enter the Canadian market.

John Geddes gets a look at some of the plans to rebrand the Canadian Museum of History, and why even the staff there is currently not happy with their exhibitions as the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Meanwhile, critics continue to fret that the government is trying to politicise history, despite the fact that they actually can’t tell the Museum what to do.

Former MPP George Smitherman says that he won’t be contesting the nomination in Toronto Centre, as it looks like Chrystia Freeland is now officially in the race.

One of the RCMP officers involved in the Taser death of Robert Dziekanski has been found not guilty of lying to the public inquiry into that death.

Those gas plant emails in the Ontario legislature yielded accusations that the Liberals were threatening the Speaker if he didn’t go back on the contempt of parliament charges laid against the minister in charge of the file. And while it sounds very bad, I keep wondering – how exactly does a staffer threaten the Speaker?

And the Conservatives are trying to fundraise on the back of the notion that it’s Justin Trudeau’s “priority” to legalize marijuana. To which Dan Gardner says of their logic “stick to harmless smokes and booze, kids.”