House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers has been appointed Canada’s new ambassador to Ireland, which seems like a fitting reward for the his heroic actions on October 22nd. Well, once you get past the questions about his diplomatic credentials (not that Ireland is likely to be a posting with actual diplomatic challenges). It also does leave one wondering about what will happen with the ongoing review of security on Parliament Hill in the wake of the shooting, since Vickers will no longer be around to answer questions. His deputy, Pat McDonell, will be assuming his duties for the time being, but if he doesn’t get the job full-time once Vickers is officially gone, it could mean that we might get a female Sergeant-at-Arms, as one of the other deputies who often sits in the chair is a woman. Kady O’Malley rounds up some of the reaction to the news.
Good reads:
- The French Ambassador to Canada talks about the attacks, and the role of satire and cartoons in French society.
- Stephen Harper talks about the “international jihadist movement” declaring war, but one is forced to wonder if he – and the rest of us – isn’t over-reading the event, as Mubin Shaikh indicates, that this wasn’t about free speech in their ideology. Something to keep in mind as new laws get introduced to deal with terrorism.
- There is talk that CBSA officers should be able to give chase to those who flee border inspections. Part of the issue is giving even more powers to an organisation that has little oversight. The bonus: high-speed chases on Border Security!
- Colby Cosh offers some perspective sauce for the radioactive seawater from Japan reaching Canadian shores.
- In Paris, Paul Wells describes the national mourning there.
Odds and ends:
A friend and former supporter will be going up against Brent Rathgeber on behalf of the Conservatives in the next election.
On the eve of his 200th birthday, we may have new clues about the site of Sir John A Macdonald’s birth, however it seems that one in four Canadians can’t identify him. Sigh.
Not unexpectedly, Jenni Byrne is leaving PMO to head back to party headquarters to run the next campaign.
https://twitter.com/davidakin/status/553249603030904832