NDP MP Sana Hassainia has quit the party and will sit as an independent, unhappy with Mulcair’s leadership and his position on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. She alleged that because she supported Brian Topp in the leadership, she was punished for it by being removed from a committee and being moved to the nosebleed seats. In response, the party slammed her attendance record without mentioning that she has given birth twice since being elected – while Hassainia said that they weren’t very accommodating to her needs as a new mother while crowing about how progressive they are with all of those young mothers and soon-to-be young mothers in their caucus. She hasn’t decided if she’ll run again in 2015. But given the party’s attempt to throw her under the bus, this tweet pretty much says it all:
https://twitter.com/mikepmoffatt/status/502166443845513216
The Liberals have concluded their caucus retreat in Edmonton, and Justin Trudeau said that the strategic goal they plan to work toward in the next election is 170 seats – a majority – rather than a strategy of building over several election cycles. It means quadrupling their current seat count, but it’s not unheard of in Canadian politics. Part of that will be winning Quebec, where his main competition will be Thomas Mulcair and the NDP. Colby Cosh writes about the path to those seats in “Greater Alberta” – including the interior of BC and large swaths of Saskatchewan – and how their message may or may not resonate in those regions. Mark Kennedy notes Trudeau’s ability to personally “connect” with everyone he meets – and his becoming the king of the selfie with those same people – and how that is in complete contrast to the other leaders, which may make him a leader suited for the times.
Speaking at the Canadian Medical Association conference, Thomas Mulcair came up with a few brow-raising statements – that marijuana use was personal choice (before resurrecting the potent pot myth in his talk about “smoking oregano”), and that he would reverse the “$36 billion cut” to healthcare, which was not a cut at all but a changing of the formula for future transfers, which simply means that the escalator will be different, and that is by no means a cut. The CMA, incidentally, voted their disapproval of smoking anything plant- based.
The CSE Commissioner has released his annual report on the agency, and says that 66 private communications were of Canadians were unintentionally intercepted, and of those, 41 were used in reports with identities scrubbed and another 25 retained for future use. CSE needs ministerial authorisations each time one of these kinds of interceptions happens, and it’s the Commissioner’s job to ensure that they’re following the rules.
The theme of Harper’s Arctic tour this year is northern agriculture and telecommunications, with plenty of talk of Arctic sovereignty as the annual Operation Nanook operations take place (and photo ops arranged for the Prime Minister’s benefit).
Wayne Woulters, the Clerk of the Privy Council – head of the public service – has announced his retirement. The Prime Minister announced that Janice Charette will be his replacement in October, making her the second woman to hold the position.
The murder of a fifteen-year-old First Nations girl in Manitoba is renewing calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women.
James Moore has issued a report that lays out a couple of different proposals for reducing internal trade barriers in this country, hoping to do away with the model where protectionism is the default setting.
With all of the talk about the increasingly militarized police in the States, here’s a look at how Canada compares in that trend. The good news is that our police are still focused more on community relations, but that doesn’t mean the desire for better gear – and an excuse to use it – isn’t out there.
And NDP-turned-Bloc MP Claude Patry has said that he next year, further weakening the Bloc caucus.