Despite a typically short sitting day on Wednesday, we nonetheless saw an important preview of how one of the most contentious issues on the Canadian political scene will be dealt with over the next few years.
The Big Issue
The main point of discussion was the Cons' new omnibus crime bill, with various opposition speakers trying to introduce some rational analysis to the discussion in a number of ways. Those included Don Davies, who went out of his way to start his speech with a set of principles that all parties could agree on; Elizabeth May, who tried to convince the Cons to allow the various parts of the bill to actually be studied separately rather than being rammed through in a single, take-it-or-leave-it package; and Sean Casey, who went a step further in saying there were parts of the bill he'd support if they were dealt with separately.
Of course, those entreaties were met with the usual wall of Con accusations that any concern about cost or effectiveness meant the speaker was on the side of thugs against victims. Which is why the most important opposition intervention was likely Joe Comartin's inaugural response, nicely framing the battle of persuasion that figures to play out of the next few years. And the points raised on that front included Peter Stoffer's appeal to recognize the harm a lock-'em-all-up approach may have on mentally ill offenders, and Jasbir Sandhu's prime example as to how the Cons' posturing has nothing to do with a principled approach to which offences deserve more severe penalties.
Message Tracks
Two NDP MPs celebrated the International Day of Peace with actual approval of the concept. But since peace isn't such a great fit for the Cons' foreign policy message, Shelley Glover elected to celebrate the occasion by changing the subject.
In Brief
Charlie Angus kept up the heat on the Cons' G8 patronage and subsequent cover-up. And Randall Garrison reintroduced a private member's bill to provide for gender identity rights.
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