Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- It's truly a shame that this makes for such a stark contrast against the Cons' governing philosophy:

Thomas Mulcair does not hesitate when asked to share the most important lesson he was taught by Claude Ryan, the illustrious Quebec politician who mentored him throughout his early career in public service.

“When you come into a room to discuss a file, it’s always good to know more about it than anybody else in the room,” says Mulcair.

But can we all agree that we're best off making sure that our elected officials work on knowing as much as they can about public policy in order to be able to discuss it, rather figuring their job is merely to memorize and repeat three or four party talking points?

- And it isn't only the NDP's top brass who recognize the value in actually learning and growing, as Ruth Ellen Brosseau for one is getting to work in a hurry:

Caught up in the “orange wave” that surged through Quebec and elected 59 NDP MPs, Ms. Brosseau, whose win was one of the biggest upsets, is now spending most of her time in Parliament, getting to know its corridors and corners and exactly how it all works.
...
At first, (Brosseau's son) Logan was nervous about her new role as MP, as he’s quite protective of her. But they plan to get an apartment in the riding and will spend the summer there; she’ll also be taking intensive French courses over the break.

Against this background, Ms. Brosseau has had to grow up quickly, and that maturity shows in the poise she displays in the interview.

- Meanwhile, for those looking for some extra-credit reading, Alison offers up a lesson as to what's really behind the push for constant tar sands expansion.

- Finally, Sixth Estate provides a reminder that for all their posturing about "ending political party subsidies" Cons fully intend to keep the ones which benefit them more disproportionately than per-vote funding.