The government has pledged another $3.5 billion over five years for its Maternal and Child Health initiative, in the hopes of achieving the Millennium Development Goal of 75 percent reduction in maternal mortality by 2020. CBC’s Hannah Thibedeau got a rare interview with the PM along with Melinda Gates, where Harper said that abortion is “too divisive,” which is why they weren’t funding them in developing countries, but the logic there is skewed – should they also not defend gay rights because that’s also divisive and it’s illegal in some countries? Harper also spoke about the settled science around vaccinations – and yet his government is giving tax breaks to naturopaths, which isn’t exactly science. (Also, settled science around climate change, but who’s counting?) Kate Lunau speaks about the need for better statistics including birth certificates in developing countries. Paul Wells savages the PMO’s media control at the summit, and their decision to kick journalists out of the event while trying to make those objections sound like self-obsession.
Ruh-roh! The Speaker of the Commons said that the NDP never checked with him about those “satellite offices” and bulk mailings being sent into ridings that are due for by-elections. And cue the flurry of “misspoke” corrections from the NDP…
It sounds like the Liberals are willing to give Daniel Therrien the benefit of the doubt with his nomination as Privacy Commissioner, and want to get him before a committee. Their logic is that as a public servant, he shouldn’t be held accountable for the decisions of his political masters, which is a very good point, though it should also be noted that Ontario’s privacy commissioner said that Therrien is an unknown in the privacy community, and that should factor in as well.
Peter MacKay says that he should finally have a Supreme Court nominee by the time the Commons rises for the summer, which could be in about three weeks. MacKay says that he is trying to find consensus with the list that the Quebec government provided.
At the CANSEC military and security trade show, the competitors to the makers of the F-35 fighter jet were cranking up their sales pitches, as the government continues to weigh the “options analysis” that they commissioned.
Public works minister Diane Finley firmly rejected any talk of Davie Shipyard being given the contract for the new icebreaker, saying that they had their chance years ago during the shipyard process and they didn’t win. But hey, it’s not like Davie’s circumstances have changed dramatically in that time either. So instead we get to wait several more years and pay millions more for said icebreaker. Value for taxpayers’ money and a commitment to Arctic sovereignty, everyone!
It was another bad day for Julian Fantino when it comes to meeting veterans when he and his officials blew past one veteran and his wife on the Hill, ignoring them and their concerns. That veteran’s wife wants more support for spouses, who can help with those veterans suffering from PTSD. Meanwhile, the department is spending millions of dollars on advertising during the hockey playoffs, while their programme funding is only in the thousands of dollars for some areas.
Bernard Valcourt appeared before committee yesterday, and sounded frustrated with the lack of progress on the First Nations education bill because the work they put in with the AFN to improve the bill and meet their conditions has now been for naught, and that their interlocutor with First Nations communities around the country is now backing away.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is asking Canada to do more when it comes to Syrian refugees. Predictably, Chris Alexander’s response is to pat himself on the back for the meagre work his department has done on the file to date.
A 2010 letter from the then-CBC chair to the Conservatives was released under Access to Information, showing that he wanted them to quit disparaging the broadcaster for partisan gain and as a fundraising tool. That obviously worked well.
In advance of his trial next week, Michael Sona tells Huffington Post why he’s confident he’ll be exonerated, and that he regrets ever getting involved in politics.
Laura Payton has a look at the government auction site where they sell things like cars, office furniture and even jewellery.
The Commons Board of Internal Economy has been asked to look into Eve Adams’ bulk mailings into the riding where she is looking to win the nomination, as it is not her current one. Adams calls it “old news.”
The Conservatives are griping that Chrystia Freeland, as trade critic, is never at trade committee, never mind that the whole Ukraine situation erupted right after she was elected and she is very much engaged on that file, with deep ties to the country (including the fact that her late mother helped write the country’s previous constitution).
And yesterday, MPs marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, dubbed “Canada’s Titanic” for the scale of the disaster.