After very little media time at the G20 in Turkey, Prime Minister Trudeau held a press conference on the flight to the Philippines yesterday, taking every question, and generally being far more open than Harper ever was on an international trip. There were a number of messages – first, that while the plan remains to withdraw the CF-18s from combat in Iraq and Syria, we would be stepping up training on the ground beyond the 69 special operations trainers there currently, and the what that training might look like is still being determined. Second, he spoke about his forthcoming bilateral meeting with President Obama while at the APEC summit, and that there was a lot of climate discussion at the G20 that will continue right through to the Paris summit, with Canada looking to get on board with more robust discussions and pushing more recalcitrant countries to step up. Finally, when it comes to Syrian refugees, yet more assurances that security is not being compromised as part of the push to get the promised 25,000 here before the end of the year. As for that APEC summit, Stéphane Dion and Chrystia Freeland were there in advance of Trudeau talking trade and in particular the TPP, since that looks to be one of the dominant themes on the agenda there.

Good reads:

• After championing a “new tone” and being proud of her conduct in the Commons, Candice Bergen starts tweeting that she’s “embarrassed and sickened” by Trudeau.
• Justin Trudeau has officially committed to lifting visa restrictions on Mexico, which has been a major irritant for trade and business (let alone tourism).
• While Liberal MP Yvonne Jones has been pushing for some refugee processing to happen at 5 Wing Goose Bay, she’s had to contend with racist and hateful pushback.
• The Liberals are being asked to carefully consider any changes to anti-terrorism legislation in the wake of the Paris attacks, though oversight should be beefed up right away.
• The Correctional Investigator is looking to get the new government to address overcrowding and a decade of ad hoc policy in the prison system.
• Kady O’Malley reminds us why letting the Commons vote on military missions is a terrible, terrible idea.
• Former Harper advisor Bruce Carson was found not guilty of attempted influence peddling.
• Here’s part two of Laura Stone’s look into the RCMP investigation of senators’ expenses.
• Stephen Gordon dissects the labour market in Canada.
• Paul Wells has a conversation with the French ambassador to Canada.
• Colby Cosh turns the post-Paris foreign policy rhetoric on its head, and notes there’s nothing wrong with Trudeau’s (otherwise inane) fighter jet withdrawal plan.

Odds and ends:

Justin Trudeau and jazz-hands: an explainer (with bonus appearance by Bring It On!)

It sounds like Vogue was dispatched to Ottawa last week to shoot Trudeau and his wife, as Canada’s feminist Prime Minister.

Knitters across Canada are making “Izzy dolls” for Syrian refugee children for their arrival in Canada.

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