Because it’s the height of summer with not a lot else to do, Stephen Harper paid a visit to a Ronald McDonald House out in Vancouver to announce that his government planned to follow through on a campaign promise to provide 35 weeks of EI benefits to parents dealing with seriously ill children. Well, so long as you intend to keep that promise… Perhaps the announcement should have come when the bill was tabled. Oh, wait – I’m sure we’ll get yet another photo op when that does happen sometime in the fall (unless it’s not until spring with next year’s budget…)
Harper also defended the environmental review process of the Northern Gateway pipeline and said that the decision will be made on scientific and economic as opposed to political criteria. Well, so long as we’re clear about that, we can stop worrying – right?
Trade Minister Ed Fast is in London during the Olympics to extol the virtues of trade with Canada.