The RCMP say they have disrupted or intervened in 28 instances where people have been involved in high-risk travel, be it people returning after fighting with radicals abroad or when they plan on heading over. No word on how many people have had their passports revoked, and there have apparently been no new names added to the no-fly list, and there have been very few charges under anti-terror legislation. The government will likely try to use this low figure to say that we need even more anti-terror laws, and yet it makes one wonder about the actual scope of the problem. Andrew Coyne wonders about the threat that ISIS poses to Canada directly, and if people should be shrugging it all off. (Spoiler alert: no).
The government’s “cyberbullying” bill – and by “cyberbullying” it really means lawful access wrapped up in the guise of the cyberbullying moral panic – is set to pass the Commons upon the return from the Thanksgiving break, never mind the privacy concerns that have gone unaddressed throughout, or the demands that the bill be split so that the cyberbullying aspects can be treated separately from the lawful access components.
The Finance department accidentally posted details of tax measures being announced on their website for about ten minutes Thursday evening, meaning that Joe Oliver had to table the ways and means motion to implement said measures in the House on Friday, ahead of schedule. Somebody’s head is probably going to roll over this one.
Public Works is going to get started this weekend and spend the break week fixing up those three most precarious stained glass windows on the West side of the Commons before things get any worse. No word yet if they’ll also be working on the loose bricks in the ceiling above the Commons Foyer.
The NDP will be using the break week to roll out their national childcare policy plan, which is to negotiate with the provinces to create Quebec-style childcare spaces in every province, though they won’t mandate that it be $7 per day, but nevertheless spell out what “affordable” means. In the process, they’re ignoring that the Liberals did negotiate deals with all of the provinces, but that the NDP joined with the Conservatives to topple said Liberal government before it could really get off the ground, thus trying to make it look like they’re not the ones to blame for the fact that these kinds of programmes aren’t already in place.
Stephen Harper was in Winnipeg yesterday to announce that an IT company in that city is the first recipient of Canada Job Grant funding.
Here’s an added analysis of the legal position that the government is trying to exploit for themselves when it comes to altering fair dealing to give political parties unfettered access to broadcast journalism clips for their advertising, and the problematic responses of some of the same broadcasters.
It sounds like the Prime Minister settled a dispute between Treasury Board and National Defence to approve the sole-source purchasing of next-generation Sea Sparrow missiles for Royal Canadian Navy frigates.
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the family of Zahra Kazemi can’t sue Iran for her torture and death unless Parliament creates an exemption under state immunity legislation. Justice Abella dissented in the 6-1 decision.
In case you haven’t heard, Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday. She’ll be coming to Canada on October 22nd to collect her honorary Canadian citizenship.
What’s that? The government’s much-vaunted Open Government plans don’t include updating Access to Information laws? You don’t say!
The Canadian Press takes their Baloney Meter™ to the government’s statement about greenhouse gas emissions reducing while the economy is still growing, and finds it to be “a little baloney” – that while there have been reductions, it’s not really anything to do with the federal government’s actions.
Jason Kenney’s staff are making those anti-Trudeau graphics that he’s been tweeting out. But don’t worry, they say – it’s done on their personal time and not using taxpayer funds or resources. Well, okay then.
Suspended senator Patrick Brazeau’s trial for assault and sexual assault is set for March 23 to 25th.
Susan Delacourt writes that divisions over the Iraq combat mission are the signs of a mature democracy – and she’s right.
Here’s the Ottawa Citizen’s Gargoyle roundup of bits and pieces from around the Hill.
And here’s a look at how next year’s election is making MPs more focused on door-knocking during constituency weeks than they were during the previous couple of years.