Roundup: Minimal amendments

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The Commons justice committee did their clause-by-clause review of the prostitution bill, and they agreed to two minor amendments – one that narrowed the reach of the communication provision from anywhere that children could be present, to simply being next to schools, playgrounds of daycares; the other being that they agreed to put in a provision to review the bill in five years, though the NDP tried to get that down to two. The Liberals didn’t put forward any amendments since they voted against the bill in principle at second reading, feeling it is unconstitutional and unsalvageable. The Greens largely feel the same way. Interestingly, Independent MP Maria Mourani doesn’t feel it goes far enough, and wants prostitution outlawed writ large. Here’s a look at some of the criminalization of both the sex workers as well as pimps and johns in Canada, and apparently we have fairly low rates of going after those who abuse sex workers – but one wonders if that also has to do with the fact that the women who were abused or assaulted didn’t feel safe reporting it because they feared being further criminalised.

In a strange twist of events, it is alleged that Mike Duffy has a child in Peru, that that he met her mother when she was at an Ottawa halfway house after being in a Kingston women’s prison at the same time as Duffy’s sister. She doesn’t want anything from him – just acknowledgement, but it’s certainly one more piece of the puzzle about just who is the real Mike Duffy. And then there’s this:

The AFN has decided that the election of a new national chief will be held in December in Winnipeg – but haven’t decided on how the process will work this time. There is talk about a need to change the structure of the AFN to better reflect current realities, one of which is more grassroots engagement, rather than simply being an assembly of chiefs.

Julian Fantino has been sitting on the decision about medical marijuana for veterans and possible caps of thereof, for about a month now. Apparently there are some concerns that if he does pull the programme outright, or even caps it, that it could be further fuel to the narrative that this government doesn’t care about veterans.

While we may have some of the most advance aviation sensors at the RIMPAC exercises, one of our coastal patrol vessels was ordered home by the head of the Royal Canadian Navy because of officer misconduct aboard – apparently public drunkenness, shoplifting, and sexual misconduct. This isn’t the first incident in recent months of misconduct, and it sounds like there will be some investigations to find out what is going on with the RCN (other than the fact that their ships are rusting out from under them, apparently).

The final price tag for the DART mission to the Philippines in the way of Typhoon Haiyan last November was $29 million.

The City of Burnaby has refused to assist Kinder Morgan in their bid to expand the TransMountain pipeline to the west coast, and that refusal has caused a seven-month delay in the NEB’s report on the proposal, while the company may have to request an order from the NEB to get access to those lands.

Jennifer Ditchburn looks at the use of taxpayer-funded mail-outs that parties use to mine data from constituents, usually with survey questions.

A contingent from the Canadian Royal 22nd Regiment – the Van Doos – is taking part in ceremonial guard duty at Buckingham Palace. It was also the first time that the Changing of the Guard was performed in French, which is kind of cool.

Here’s a piece about the longest-serving Canadian employee at the embassy in Washington, who is retiring after 48 years there.

Chrystia Freeland writes about political leadership in a changing economic landscape, and why we’re at a crossroads generationally.

My column this week digs further into the notion that parties should be abolished, and expands on the aspects of parties that are under contention and how they should be better addressed.

And here’s some handwriting analysis of the signature of Deputy Bank of Canada Governor Carolyn Wilkins, whose signature is the first female signature on a Canadian banknote.