Canadian Politics

Canadian diplomat alleges troops in Afghanistan were complicit in torture

The Guardian (Free subscription) | yesterday

Senior diplomat formerly stationed in Kabul claims troops 'handed over for severe torture a lot of innocent people' The Canadian government was fending off calls for a public inquiry on torture today after allegations from one of its senior diplomats that Canada was complicit in the torture of Afghan detainees. Richard Colvin, who was second in command at Canada's Kabul embassy in 2006 and 2007, said...

NY-23: A newspaper editor sees 'Huns at the gates'

the albany project (Free subscription) | yesterday

The NY-23 special election is now over , again, but for the absurd conspiracy stuff LOSER Doug Hoffman is peddling to his know-nothing base so he can raise money for 2010. Congressman Bill Owens has gotten two excellent committees , given that his district includes Fort Drum and 100 miles or so of border with Canada -- Armed Services and Homeland Security. But here's what's more interesting than all...

Small Caps in Malaysia? There's an ETF for That

SeekingAlpha.com (Free subscription) | yesterday

Roger Nusbaum submits: IndexIQ is coming out of the gate as a bit of an enigma. The new Merger Arbitrage ETF ( MNA ) at first glance seems odd to me. There have been several articles already that have ripped it up for not really being an arbitrage product and I will say I don't get why shorting the broad market against long positions in takeout targets is the best way to go, but clearly they did not...

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Brad Wall's Deficit Could Have Built Three Domed Stadiums In Saskatchewan

Buckdog (Free subscription) | yesterday

There are three topics that Saskatchewan people like to talk about: -the weather -the Roughriders -Politics On that front we have been breaking temperature records here this week, the Roughriders are hosting the CFL Western Final this weekend and Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party government just brought down the second worst deficit in the province's history. Up until yesterday, the hot political topic...

Abhorent Consistency

All Politics Is Local (Free subscription) | yesterday

The Conservative Party of Canada is showing its true stripes this week. On two equally disgusting fronts. First, the Tories are defaming whistle blower Richard Colvin because he implicated that government employees in both Defense and Foreign Affairs tried to bury the torture of Afghan detainees in Kandahar's prisons. Second, the Tories are continuing their relentless pursuit of the Jewish vote by...

Department of National Defence: DND: Vote Now for Your Favourite Photo

Market Wire (Free subscription) | yesterday

OTTAWA, ONTARIO (MARKET WIRE) The Department of National Defence (DND) invites the public to vote for the People's Choice Award in the 2009 DND Photography Contest organized by Canadian Forces Imaging Services. Celebrating its 41st year, the DND Photography Contest received a record 1816 entries from 305 talented amateur and professional photographers in the Defence community.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada: The Honourable Diane Finley Recognizes National Child Day

Market Wire (Free subscription) | yesterday

OTTAWA, ONTARIO (MARKET WIRE) The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, today invited all Canadians to celebrate National Child Day. This year, National Child Day also commemorates the 20th anniversary of the adoption, by the United Nations, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Billy Bragg's sympathy for the Iron Lady

Globe and Mail (Free subscription) | yesterday

The British alt-rocker is no fan of Margaret Thatcher - but he feels for Transport Minister John Baird, whose cat of the same name passed recently

The Conservative propaganda machine goes to war

Impolitical (Free subscription) | yesterday

Yesterday was devoted to tearing down Canadian diplomat and intelligence officer Richard Colvin: "Tories work to undermine diplomat who blew whistle on torture." It may be tougher this time, they've gone down this road repeatedly over their tenure now. The various public servants they've steamrolled are being duly noted . Journalists are asking tough questions. For example, if you didn't...

Carrying a partisan torch

Globe and Mail (Free subscription) | yesterday

Jane Taber on Liberals not feeling the Olympic spirit in Nova Scotia, lack of support for keeping the gun registry and going to bat for digital music rights

The perverse equivalence

Yourish.com (Free subscription) | yesterday

In a paper on how the term “apartheid” is being used to deny Israel’s right to exist, Robbie Sabel concluces: The Apartheid campaign against Israel has another revealing feature. It rarely deals with the massive abuse of human rights or cases of real Apartheid elsewhere in the world. In other words, it singles out Israel with [...]

Jim Flaherty's yard sale

Globe and Mail (Free subscription) | yesterday

The Finance Minister buys a board game instead of selling Crown assets - and Jean-Pierre Blackburn brags about his billions

Peter MacKay vs the US State Dept.

Creekside (Free subscription) | yesterday

Defensive Minister Peter MacKay : "A top diplomat’s account of the rampant torture and rape of Afghan detainees is not credible, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Thursday. MacKay dismissed testimony from Richard Colvin [First Secretary at the Canadian Embassy in Washington] as second- and third-hand information from enemy sources : "What we’re talking about here is not only...

Sponsorship player in court today

Globe and Mail (Free subscription) | yesterday

Gilles-André Gosselin faces 19 counts of fraud, in relation to 13 government contracts awarded between 1997 and 2000

We won't pay, TTC says

Toronto Sun - News (Free subscription) | yesterday

TTC riders -- a few weeks away from getting dinged with a fare hike -- shouldn't have to pay for the six-hour shutdown caused by a contractor, chairman Adam Giambrone said.

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