Roundup: Hollande pays a visit

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French President François Hollande landed in Calgary and met with Harper and the Governor General in Banff as the start of his state visit yesterday. He’ll arrive in Ottawa today to address a joint session of Parliament.

Candice Bergen admits that the “family tax credit” aka sorta-income-splitting, won’t benefit single parents because they’re generally too low-income, which again raises the utility of giving tax credits to those who are less likely to need them – as in wealthier two-parent families, never mind that it’s the kind of pandering to the social conservative base that it represents.

Our CF-18s have just dropped their first bombs over ISIS territory in Iraq, while the upgraded sensors of our Aurora aircraft – normally used for hunting submarines – are proving effective for providing a clear picture of the battlefield for our allies. Elsewhere in the region, a senior member of the Free Syrian Army says that Canada should train resistance fighters as a more effective on-the-ground means of fighting ISIS, while warning that Assad is counting on divisions in the area to hold onto power. Saša Petricic writes about how difficult the mission will be with airstrikes alone, as ISIS targets become harder to find and hit.

Michael Den Tandt wonders if the rush to sole-sourcing military procurement contract under the guise of “interoperability” with the Americans isn’t actually impacting on our sovereignty as those same systems will allow an American commander to remotely control our own ships’ systems using technology that they won’t share, while the “interoperability” excuse doesn’t hold water when you look at how they can coordinate with French forces with no worries.

The former head of the CIA is cautioning Canada to mind the balance between national security legislation and the protection of privacy. No, really.

Muslim groups are dismayed that Stephen Harper has been silent about attacks against them in the wake of the shooting in Ottawa. Harper’s office said that Jason Kenney made statements, so that’s good enough, apparently, when it comes to showing leadership.

In advance of Harper’s trip to China later this week, Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne is just completing her visit, where she inked some deals that she says will mean $1 billion in investment in the province.

A Lebanese-Canadian sociology professor is taking his case to the Supreme Court to prevent being deported to France on suspicion of being involved in an anti-Semitic bombing there in 1980. Part of the issue is untested intelligence reports which raise the questions of procedural fairness.

Lisa Raitt is undergoing surgery to remove a growth on her ovaries, and may be out of Parliament for the rest of the year.

In nominations news, a young businessman and son of Canadian Tire owner Adam Moulton won the Conservative nomination in Northumberland Peterborough South over a former Mulroney aide, a former Wildrose provincial candidate won the Conservative nomination in Sherwood Park–Fort Saskatchewan, and Anita Vandenbeld won in Ottawa West-Nepean over former Liberal leadership candidate Deborah Coyne (though why Coyne was running in Ottawa and not Toronto is a bit of a mystery).

And Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent’s funeral was held in Longueuil this past Saturday, and the three main federal leaders showed up for it as well.