A story out of Brockville yesterday is a bit disconcerting, where local Conservative MP Gord Brown held a town hall in the community about the Omar Khadr settlement, saying that he wanted to get people’s views because everywhere he went, it was all people would ask about. He also claimed that it “wasn’t a partisan issue,” but I would be willing to bet actual money that the way in which Brown presented the case was through a deeply partisan lens, regurgitating the party’s disingenuous talking points and legal prevarications that distort the crux of the matter. And what disturbs me the most is that listening to the reactions in the write-up of the event, it starts sounding an awful lot like a Two Mintues Hate than anything, where people recited the completely wrong tropes about Khadr’s situation and situation as it regards the rule of law. It was at least heartening that a local lawyer turned up at the event, brandishing a copy of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and laying down the law about why there was a settlement, and it’s quite the photo that ran with the piece – but I doubt that it would change very many minds, considering the distortions that are continually spread by the partisans (on all sides, to be completely fair, given that many a Liberal partisan conveniently forgets the roles that Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin played in this). Nevertheless, the fact remains that holding a town hall on this issue is deeply creepy.

I can't help wondering if this was precisely the headline/photo combo that Gord Brown had hoped would ensue (c/o @wordford & @RecorderTimes pic.twitter.com/f3Sq9s6OsW

— kady o'malley (@kady) July 28, 2017

Good reads:

• Here’s an attempt to discern the strategy in the PM’s summer tour schedule.
• The economy blew past growth expectations in May due in large part to the oil and gas sector back on the rebound.
• The demise of the plans for a US border adjustment tax could mean less pressure for Canada to lower corporate income taxes even further.
• Some Canadians would like telecom liberalization to be part of NAFTA renegotiation (but aren’t holding their breaths).
• Evidence suggests that the Saudi government is using Canadian-made LAVs against civilians, which puts this government in a tough spot.
• Here are a couple of deep dives into this week’s Supreme Court of Canada rulings on the duty to consult Indigenous communities and how it affects pipelines.
• The First Nation that lost their SCC case was ordered to pay Enbridge’s court costs, which Enbridge says they’re still evaluating.
• In the decade that we’ve armed CBSA officers at the border, they’ve fired 18 times, eleven of those accidentally, the rest regarding animals.
• The government has signed an agreement with the Canadian Red Cross to monitor immigration detention while they work on reforming the system.
• For the record, National Defence insists that the bids for the new surface combatants is on track. (Sure, Jan).
• As many as a quarter of MPs have private corporations that could be taxed higher under the changes announced last week.
• Chatelaine talked to Andrew Scheer about feminism and Islamophobia.
• Former BC Premier Christy Clark has tendered her resignation as of next Friday.
• Susan Delacourt reflects on the pervasiveness of digital memory when it comes to high profile figures in controversy, per Julie Payette.

Odds and ends:

Here is the investigation into the conundrum of whether it’s the “Saint John River” or “St. John River,” and yes, this is an issue.