Roundup: London Liberal retreat

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With the Liberals kicking off their winter caucus retreat in London, Ontario, there were some defensive press releases sent out by the local Conservative MP, and later by Joe Oliver regarding comments that Trudeau said about the economic situation in the region – a region that has seen a “lost decade” compared to the rest of the province. Trudeau did make remarks about the economy in the evening, and while he still won’t lay out policy planks, he can now claim that it’s been a prudent move because he hasn’t committed to any grand spending plans in a time of falling oil prices. That said, he has made infrastructure spending one of his priorities, something that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne made an explicit call for while in Ottawa yesterday, to the tune of five percent of GDP. It’s ambitious, and this government isn’t exactly going to be receptive – look at how they continually pat themselves on the back for back-loading their infrastructure spending plans as is – but Wynne was making some interesting points that this didn’t have to be all money in the next fiscal year, but other options about leveraging surpluses when approaching the markets for capital loans. Add to that, but economists like Mike Moffatt have been talking about the need for better infrastructure in southwestern Ontario in order to help them regain their productivity – after all, it’s hard to get your manufacturing business off the ground if you can’t get high-speed Internet in the area. It will be interesting to see how this will all play out in the upcoming election.

Good reads:

  • While the opposition leaders decry being misled abut the mission in Iraq and the meaning of combat, Stephen Saideman explains more about what is going on with our Special Forces.
  • Staff at Aboriginal Affairs were looking at creative ways of trying to save money for a regional meeting, including carpooling and bringing their own baked goods.
  • Mike Moffatt looks at the questions that need to be asked about our shrinking export sector.
  • The government has named Irving Shipbuilding the prime contractor for the new fleet of surface combatant vessels, a procurement process that is deliberately murky.
  • Here’s a look at the possible effects of Newfoundland and Labrador declaring they are going to withdraw from CETA.
  • Kady O’Malley tries to figure out how the government creating “alternate” news sources that aren’t journalists is working for them.

Odds and ends:

The Governor General paid a visit to the military base in Alert, NWT – the northernmost inhabited settlement in the world.

Dying with Dignity has apparently lost their charitable status, and no one knows why.

The Conservatives are starting to roll out more of their media strategy regarding Laureen Harper.

Bloc-turned-Independent MP Maria Mourani has been acclaimed as an NDP candidate, but she still won’t sit in caucus.