Sunday Afternoon Links

- The announcement that former FSIN chief (though that's just a small part of his impressive resume) Lawrence Joseph is running for the NDP's nomination in Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River is definitely great news for the party's efforts to send multiple Saskatchewan NDP MPs to Ottawa. But perhaps even more important than Joseph's name and reputation is the message being sent about the role of the NDP's candidates:

The normally outspoken Joseph said he chose the NDP for what he believed was its attention to the average citizen.

The longtime politician said if chosen for the nomination and eventually elected, he won't ever be "muzzled."

"I can say the things that the constituents want me to say, not necessarily what the party wants me to say, and I like that(.)"

- Toby Sanger's post on the disastrous effects of preferential tax treatment for stock options is worth a look for a reminder as a reminder as to just how distorting and damaging the Con/Lib corporate agenda can be for ordinary Canadians.

- Jason Kenney has been in the news plenty over his office's manipulation of Canada's citizenship guide to remove any discussion of gay rights, including in Tabatha Southey's column yesterday. But he probably deserves no less criticism for his consistent efforts to put the thumb on the scale when it comes to refugee claims - and Embassy has a damning article on the latest court challenge to his interference.

- Finally, while I didn't get around to discussing it when the story first broke, the Cons' decision to end federal funding for climate science (in this case the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory) shouldn't pass without at least a link.