Roundup: French debate, the first

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So, the first French debate, and the only one where we’ll see five leaders all on the same stage. It wasn’t a dumpster fire, but it had its trying moments. Not twenty minutes into it, they got into the tiresome niqab debate, of which Justin Trudeau had the clearest and probably best statement, saying that we don’t accept it when men tell women what they can and can’t wear. There was also a ridiculous segment about the Senate, when it got compared to a vestige of our British colonial past (it’s not – the Senate of Canada is actually a wholly unique institution in the world), and Gilles Duceppe dropped the republican gauntlet in calling for an end to the monarchy, and saying an independent Quebec would do so. (Never mind that Quebec’s foundations are actually pro-monarchy, in part because it was the Quebec Act and Royal Proclamation that protected their language, culture and post-France turning the colony over to the British). Harper was pretty laid back in this debate, Mulcair easily nettled – particularly when Trudeau went after him on the bulk water exports issue. Trudeau was more evenly paced and not frantic this time around, Elizabeth May not overly memorable other than calling out the niqab debate as a distraction, and Gilles Duceppe, was as wily as a fox as ever. Here’s Kady O’Malley’s liveblog, while here’s the CBC recap. The Ottawa Citizen gathered four experts to react to the debate.

https://twitter.com/inklesspw/status/647212971484033024

https://twitter.com/acoyne/status/647215818904743936

https://twitter.com/emmmacfarlane/status/647215942712193024

On the campaign:

Good reads:

  • The Liberals aren’t booking any revenues from marijuana taxes in their platform costing, as it’s all too speculative at this stage.
  • A Liberal fundraiser was charged with an Ontario provincial by-election scandal, and the NDP were trying to taint Trudeau with the matter.
  • In a bit of security theatre, the RCMP have laid terrorism charges against a young Calgary man who has gone overseas to fight with ISIS (and may have already been killed).
  • The government ordered a public opinion poll on the whole niqab ban during citizenship ceremonies issue, but seem to have missed the point about minority rights.
  • Maclean’s profiles the contentious Winnipeg Centre election race.

Odds and ends:

An NDP candidate in Winnipeg was asked to step down after comments he made likened an Orthodox Jewish sect to the Taliban, but they’re sticking with a candidate who is opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage.

BuzzFeed looks at whatever happened to the number of candidates who’ve been caught out saying questionable things.

Elections Canada takes to BuzzFeed to help inform voters.