Continued coverage

It's happened far too often this year that the NDP points out a Con failing first and gets second billing in an initial article, only to see the media offer headlines to the Libs' subsequent reaction while ignoring the NDP. And it's a pleasant surprise to see a different result to the revelation that the Cons knew all along that Canada can spare additional troops for Lebanon, as Jack Layton makes the headlines today in a follow-up to yesterday's story:

Canada has the capacity to contribute as many as 1,200 soldiers to the UN mission enforcing the ceasefire in Lebanon, says NDP Leader Jack Layton.

In an interview Sunday with The Canadian Press, Layton rejected Prime Minister Stephen Harper's claim that Canada's presence in Afghanistan has stretched the country's military too thin to contribute to the Lebanon mission.

"We have the capacity, but the prime minister hasn't said so," he said. "We have asked the Harper government to, first of all, tell the truth."

Layton said his claims are based on an internal government document obtained through access to information laws that he said shows that Canada has military capacity to spare.

He added that committing troops to the UN mission would reflect the wishes of Canadians.

"It's an important objective for Canadians," he said. "They want Canada to be concerned with peacekeeping."

Good job by Layton in following up yesterday's announcement with another way of bringing the story forward, and by the CP in offering due attention to a story which says all Canadians really need to know about how much the Cons can be trusted. And if both follow up in making sure Canadians know who's doing the most to keep tabs on the Cons, then the NDP should be in a great position to expand its presence in Parliament whether or not the Cons are able to keep hiding the truth from enough voters to eke out another government.