Today is the day that the Commons will be holding their non-binding vote on the motion to support the government’s decision to extend the military mission in Iraq and into Syria, but you wouldn’t know it based on the headlines out there right now. “Tories to push through authorization of Syria air mission,” says the Globe and Mail. Nope. It’s not an authorisation, and the Conservatives aren’t pushing it through because they have a majority and it was a foregone conclusion. “Avoiding Syrian air defences a concern as Commons set to approve war expansion,” says The Canadian Press. Still nope – it’s not an approval. It’s an expression of support. It’s right there in the text of the motion. Granted, the government is courting this kind of false interpretation by forcing an unnecessary vote in the first place, and no matter how correctly the motion is worded, they are presenting it as an authorisation or an approval when it’s not, precisely because politically it will help to launder the decision, and make it look like the Commons approved it when they didn’t. That way, when things to wrong – and they inevitably do – and the opposition does its job in holding the government to account, the government could say “the Commons voted on it,” and try to wash their hands of it. Except it’s not an approval, the motion states that, and We The Media need to stop playing the government’s game for them. So repeat after me – it’s an expression of support. That’s all.

Good reads:

• The UK is happy that Canada will be making bombing raids into Syria, because they can’t get their own parliament to agree to it (and they need to actually agree to it there).
• Our diplomats in the Middle East saw the rise of ISIS as an issue a year before our bombing campaign began.
• Glen McGregor looks at which parties are in the lead in which province based on fundraising numbers.
• Just what Canadian politics needs – American-style PACs! This one is a GreenPAC, which seems to not understand how a Westminster-style democracy works.
• It looks like the government is going to introduce yet another bill on Monday, this time to increase payments to injured veterans, and maybe get that issue off the table.
• They’ll be installing theatre-style seats in the back two rows of the Commons to fit in more MPs after the election.

Odds and ends:

John Baird is now an advisor to mining company Barrick Gold.

Former Conservative MP Brian Jean is now the new Wildrose leader in Alberta. That’s right – he’s a former caucus colleage of Jim Prentice.

Despite what some people may say, our international “brand” as a country hasn’t really taken a hit in recent years.