Tag Archives: Syria

Roundup: The missing meat inspectors

Posted on by

CFIA says that XL Foods didn’t follow some safety procedures – and then the press conference suffered a meltdown as the minister’s staff shut the whole thing down and offered “one-on-ones” instead – err, except there were some forty reporters in the room. Add to that, during caucus outs, Thomas Mulcair was quoting CFIA cuts in the past tense – err, except that they’re booked for the next two fiscal years and haven’t happened yet. Oops. Meanwhile, the union representing meat inspectors says they can’t find the “700 net new inspectors,” since that figure relates to classification levels, and not job descriptions. In fact, 200 of those “inspectors” are people hired to deal with invasive species of plants.

John Baird is calling for calm after mortar shells were exchanged over the Syria-Turkey border yesterday. Remember that Turkey is a NATO ally, which could bring us into that conflict.

Continue reading →

Roundup: Adventures in Vladivostok

Posted on by

While at the APEC Summit in Vladivostok, Russia, over the weekend, Stephen Harper and Chinese president Hu Jintao witnessed the signing of the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. Harper and Russian president Vladimir Putin also agreed to disagree on the issue of Syria. While at the summit, Harper also ratcheted up the rhetoric around Iran now that we’ve shuttered our embassy there.

It looks like the new Office of Religious Freedoms may have finally found its ambassador and could be set to open soon. Of course, it was also revealed that the Muslim panellists for their consultations were “not available,” which sounds terribly convenient when you’re trying to assure people that this won’t simply be an office devoted to Christian proselytising.

Continue reading →

Roundup: The politics of parks

Posted on by

As expected, Stephen Harper announced the creation of a new national park reserve in the Northwest Territories. (A national park reserve is like a national park, but with an Aboriginal land claim). But because this is also political, it seems that the borders were drawn in a way that reflects mining concerns in the area, while the Liberals call the creation of the new park hypocritical since the Conservatives are also cutting Parks Canada’s budget. While in the NWT, Harper also said that he wasn’t prepared to spend federal dollars to make the Mackenzie Valley pipeline a reality.

It looks like some 500 federal environmental assessments are being cut in BC, though many will still face a provincial review. I think we should probably also remember that some of these “assessments” were little more than paperwork exercises around best practices, so it may not be the Armageddon that some people would describe.

What’s that? The NDP used the memorials to Jack Layton to try and score political points? You don’t say!

Continue reading →

Roundup: The political theatre of ankle monitors

Posted on by

Despite a pilot project showing that they didn’t really work as well as they’d hoped, Corrections Canada is nevertheless going forward with rolling out more anklet monitors for parolees. But it’s the sense of security that someone is keeping an eye on these offenders that’s important – right? So long as they look like they’re doing something, no matter that what they’re actually doing isn’t working is what’s really important, no? That bit of political theatre is pretty much the hallmark of their justice agenda.

Michael Petrou at Maclean’s tries to sort out the business of whether or not we’re giving aid dollars to Syrian rebels. Meanwhile, Canadian Relief For Syrian are still trying to figure out what happened on the government’s end.

Andrew Mitrovica takes on Chuck Strahl’s responses about his new role as the chair of the Security and Intelligence Review Committee, and pretty much calls him out for being a government lapdog and not someone who will be an effective watchdog of CSIS.

Continue reading →

Roundup: A visit from Merkel

Posted on by

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in town to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to talk trade, security, and the Eurozone crisis. Later today she’ll be off to Halifax to talk with scientists.

Now that the media has done his due diligence for him, John Baird has announced that the government won’t be funnelling aid money to Syrian rebels through that dubious organisation after all. This isn’t the first time either – during the Libya mission, I heard from Foreign Affairs staff that Baird was looking to turn over millions of dollars to rebel groups there without any due diligence then either until he was talked out of it by cooler heads.

The CBC also takes a look into the delays around finding a new Chief of Defence Staff, and throws a couple of other names on the table. Peter MacKay says the pick will be announced in the “very near future.”

Continue reading →

Roundup: Appointing hypothetical politicians to the bench

Posted on by

At a meeting of the Canadian Bar Association, Rob Nicholson said that they shouldn’t rule out giving judicial appointments to “hypothetical” sitting politicians. No, seriously. This amid continual rumours that they’re eventually one day maybe going to appoint Vic Toews to the Court of Queen’s Bench in Manitoba. He then proceeded to dodge a question about a call to review federal legal aid funding – you know, to make justice accessible to the public in an age where their government continues to make the Criminal Code increasingly complex and at times even nonsensical (if you compare mandatory minimum sentences).

Leona Aglukkaq wants the debate around healthcare to be based around facts and not rhetoric. Hahahahaha! *wipes eyes* Oh, that’s a good one. I’m guessing she’s never actually absorbed the talking points that she has so dutifully memorised.

Charlie Angus is complaining that the Director of Public Prosecutions won’t look into Dean Del Mastro’s electoral financing even though it’s not the DPP’s job, no matter that Angus would like it to be. Seriously, you can’t just invent job descriptions because you want them to do something.

Continue reading →

Roundup: An absent report amid changing rhetoric

Posted on by

It has been noted that the scathing US National Transport Safety Board report on the Enbridge Kalamazoo leak has yet to be tabled with the Northern Gateway review panel. The CBC has a long analysis piece about how the federal government’s rhetoric is changing as the file gets increasingly complex, with numerous federal and provincial political calculations hanging in the balance.

The Globe and Mail has a lengthy profile of John Baird as Foreign Minister, and how he’s scrappy and looking to change the way we do things, yet there was very little critical mention from foreign policy scholars who will tell you how empty most of Baird’s gestures on the foreign stage (like all of the walk-outs at the UN he’s ordered) really are. It’s also conspicuously silent on Baird’s personal life as well, for what it’s worth. Baird, meanwhile, is in the Middle East and has announced new aid money for Syrian refugees.

Continue reading →