Oh, Hugh Segal. While I can understand your concern for your former colleagues, and that there were problems around due process for the trio of formerly suspended senators, I have to say that your demand for a formal apology from the Senate to Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau seems a bit…off-base. The three were suspended in large part because of the ill repute that they brought to the Senate, and just because the Crown abandoned charges against two of them in the wake of Duffy’s acquittal, nobody is saying that none of them did anything wrong. A finding that Duffy’s actions were not criminal is far from finding that there was no wrong that had been done – the Senate’s own rules were broken, even in Donald Bayne managed to convince a judge that the rules were vague. Segal is also off-base when he says that the Senate should have spent their energies fixing those rules instead of throwing people under the bus – in fact, the Senate has been working on updating their rules for years, even before the Duffy expenses were brought to light, and that trial hastened the reform process that had already been underway. Saying that they are owed back pay and again forgets that they brought disrepute onto the institution, and were punished for it within the rules of the Senate. Yes, as stated, there were problems with the due process of it, but rules were broken. Expenses were claimed when they should not have been. Calendars were altered, meetings were claimed that did not happen. Official addresses were made where senators did not live. These facts are not really in dispute, and the Senate had an obligation to do something about it, if not for any other reason than to be shown to be addressing the problems that were addressed rather than letting them slide and opening themselves up to even more criticism about letting people get away with it just because they’re senators. Was it embarrassing for everyone involved? Yes. Is it “torture” to still demand that Duffy repay expenses that were proven to have broken the rules? Hardly. Is it the Senate’s fault that the RMCP and the Crown didn’t do a thorough enough job? Not really. In light of all of this, I find Segal’s insistence on apologies to be hard to swallow.

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau was at the Calgary Stampede, where he reassured Albertans that sunnier economic days are on the way, visited the rodeo, and met some Syrian refugees.
• Chrystia Freeland apparently had “very fruitful” trade talks with the UK on Friday, while the Yukon premier wants a “Team Canada” trade mission to the UK.
• Ontario MP Ahmed Hussen was in Turkey over the weekend during the coup attempt.
• Surprising absolutely nobody, some provinces are slower than other to ensure access to medical assistance in dying.
• The Conservatives’ virtual Atlantic critic, Scott Armstrong, is heading back to being a school principle before the end of summer.
• The Federal Court has ruled that the recent law to protect CSIS sources also includes previous court cases, including a torture lawsuit.

Odds and ends:

Here’s a look at the “war” on TV piracy, but you’ll notice that Canadian cable companies aren’t offering better options for premium content.

Elizabeth May recalls the 1968 Democratic convention, where she was tear-gassed as a 13-year-old girl.