As we prepare to debate the extension of the Iraq mission, our Forces say that the ban on entering Syria hasn’t really been a problem, since our allies can do it on their own terms. Given that Canada has no authorisation under international law to enter Syria without permission – something we are justifiably loathe to get give that it would be coming from Bashar al-Assad, the dictator there – it makes it hard for our government to come up with a convincing enough case to take the war there, especially when the Americans have their own particular means by which they can enter that country. Much of that debate will be framed in such a way as to trap the Liberals, the government hoping that they can cast them as being soft on terror by not wanting to pursue ISIS there, lest the Liberals expose their left flank to the NDP supporters who are much more pacifistic. It will be a debate full of rhetoric on the government side which will make ISIS look bigger and more dangerous than it is – and while they have done some awful things, they’re pretty tiny on the scale of history in the region (and given the way this government makes ISIS look like a bigger threat than they probably are in reality, does that count as promoting terrorism?) The flipside of the debate will be the humanitarian side, which Rob Nicholson has been touting after his visit to the region. The problem there is that unless we have clearly stated objectives on that front, we risk becoming tangled up in problems that may leave us worse off in the long run, just as we wound up making a hash of things in Afghanistan despite the best of intentions. But can MPs really handle a nuanced debate like this so close to an election call? I have my doubts.

Good reads:

• John Geddes looks at how the various tax measures moderate the income splitting tax credit, to the benefit of the middle income earners. CRA will be “stockpiling” any requests to re-do any assessments to capture that credit, until it formally passes Parliament.
• Mark Kennedy tries to explain the current coalition talk, as ridiculous as it is. (And no, minority parliaments don’t automatically mean coalitions).
• Bureaucrats archiving their BlackBerry PIN-to-PIN instant messages can still delete them beforehand, which is a loophole in data retention laws.
• While people may be happy about the CRTC mandating pick-and-pay, it’s likely going to mean paying a lot more for channels in the end.
• Susan Delacourt catalogues some of Stephen Harper’s 180-degree reversals on policies.

Odds and ends:

NDP-turned Independent MP Manon Perreault is formally out of caucus for good after being found guilty of criminal mischief.

The subcommittee looking at a harassment policy for MPs is having its challenges, because MPs aren’t in a subordinate relationship, but are equals.

The NDP want an emergency debate next week on the decreasing levels of Arctic sea ice.