Shocking

Who could have guessed that both beneficiaries of an unfair and antiquated electoral system would shoot down any talk of changing it?

Tuesday Morning Links

- Don Pittis finds an important lesson in the PCS takeover reports, noting the importance of Crowns past and present in building wealth where it would otherwise have been siphoned off:

The huge value the market is placing on Potash Corp. reminds us that despite the current ideological tide against these kinds of entities, government corporations remain part of our economic tool chest.

Some fail but that is true of all endeavours. When they are successful, they can accumulate capital that may take years to show its value.

They can create new business when no one else is willing to invest. They can create wealth and power. And if you don't believe me, ask the Chinese. They have plenty of government-owned corporations that are said to want in on this bidding war as well.

- The Hill Times' report on the Cons' plan to set up their own committee system to bypass that less-easily-controlled one in Parliament manages to completely miss a rather important question: does anybody really think the problem with the Harper government is that it hasn't been insular enough? (And it's particularly odd that Marlene Jennings fails to raise the point in her response on behalf of the Libs.)

- Sheila Copps has the right response to immigrant-bashing from the Cons and their media division at QMI:

Historically, most Canadian national leaders have avoided the divisive tendencies that can infect all politicians. They usually are the ones calling for calm, asking the population to reach out to fellow world citizens in need.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has determined that fear and loathing is more effective than bridge building. He has been very successful, thus far, in convincing the rest of us that this boatload of people is truly nothing more than Tamil terrorists.

Had Prime Ministers Joe Clark and Pierre Trudeau followed that path, we would never have opened our hearts to 50,000 boat people.

This time, Canada won't be getting a United Nations award.

Instead, we mount the barricades to keep 492 war torn souls from finding peace. Is that really the new face of Canada?

- Don't worry about the fact that Environment Canada's weather service programs which would otherwise provide vital information about our environment are falling apart at the seams due to cutbacks after the Cons blew billions of dollars of "environmental" funding on the most wasteful programs on the planet. After all, surely we can all agree to a gut feeling that the wind is blowing however best suits the Cons.

(Update: Or maybe the Cons actually do care about accurate information when it's their Supreme Leader's safety at stake. It's just the rest of us who aren't important enough to merit the same consideration.)

- And finally, great work by the Rev. Paperboy, Alison and Pale in their updated status report on Canada Inc.:

On test cases

Kady has the text of Wayne Wouters' letter responding to Marlene Jennings' complaint about a partisan departmental press release. And it's even worse than I'd thought this morning, as it seems to leave the door open for the Cons to insert whatever partisan attacks they want into departmental materials as long as they're said to originate with a minister.

Or to put Wouters' distinction in simple terms...

Inserting "Neener neener neener, Ignatieff's a weiner" in a departmental press release: not OK.

Inserting "According to the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister of State (Agriculture), 'Neener neener neener, Ignatieff's a weiner'" in a departmental press release: OK.

Needless to say, I'm skeptical as to whether that's where most Canadians think the line ought to be drawn in the use of public resources for partisan purposes. And if the individual currently charged with interpreting the rules thinks otherwise, then Parliament may want to take a close look at how it can go about making reality reflect what people should expect.

We got the idea the last time we told you to stop

It may be time to check whether the Libs are suffering a case of collective amnesia. Yesterday, it was Paul Szabo who was completely unaware that his party had heard and ignored the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's concerns about the Cons' Canada Elections Act changes. And today, Marlene Jennings looks to have gone Szabo one better by trying to claim a practice which the Libs shut down in 2006 as a bright idea of their own:

(O)nto students. Again. What about polling stations *inside* the university residences and buildings, staffed by students? Actually, that’s an interesting idea - and apparently, it comes from Jennings’ parliamentary intern, who is either not here, or cool enough not to blush violently at the shoutout.

Which sounds like an absolute slam dunk of a suggestion. After all, what kind of anti-democratic party could possibly be opposed to the idea of making voting more convenient for students?