Crime in Canada is at it's lowest level in 25 years. Actually, it's down 30% since it's peak in 1991. That's good news! It kind of puts the kybosh on the Conservatives running on a law and order platform, though...

Things are off and running in the search for Canada's Best Premier. Since Premiers hate a strong central government, we're going the asymmetrical federalism route for round one, and ten separate blogs are each using a technique of their own choosing to find our ten contenders...

Why on earth does our paper of record's resident gadfly refer to Liberal MPs who have decided to retire or quit politics for other pursuits as “defections”? She makes it sound almost treasonous to get out of politics and move on to the “real” world of business and academe...

Dear Anonymous Veteran Liberal,

We've never met, but I'm becoming increasingly familiar with your work. Once again today you provided the Globe and Mail with cheap and obnoxious criticism of Stephane Dion's leadership, though you again alluded to no specific incidents or complaints. This time the quote, from an email which you sent to the media, was this...

I bet old Bert don't wanna do away with the Senate now...

I suppose it's a complete coincidence that two of the provinces that complained the loudest about the Conservatives' last budget have received 94% of the more than $5 billion in spending announced by the Harper government over the past two weeks...

With the death of six more Canadian soldiers and their local interpreter in Afghanistan our mission there and its future are again thrust into the national spotlight, and the answers aren't getting any easier...

The Harper government expects to last until at least February 2008...

I didn't get around to posting it yesterday but here's a short Canadian Prime Ministerial quiz I drafted for political history buffs out there...

Every chair in Branch 112 of the Canadian Legion in Whitby had a bottom in it Wednesday night. Most of those belonged to constituents of Jim Flaherty, the local MP, but a number had also traveled from as far away as Peterborough and Whitby. It was, after all, an occasion. Town Hall meetings in these parts, I was told, are few and far between...

Enviro-website Grist.org has published what it considers the 15 most important "green politicians" in the world. Here's what they said about Stephane Dion, ranked number 10...

I can't remember another year where the summer break has received so much attention. The barbeque circuit is the political focus, as though flipping a few burgers can cure all ills. It's nice that the leaders are going to spend the summer rubbing elbows with the "people", but I find the whole idea largely irrelevant in terms of political fate.

A few days ago the prime minister and the Indian affairs minister announced a new mechanism for the settlement of native land claims, of which a stunning 800 or so are simmering. Some, like Caledonia, make their way to the front burner and the front page, while dozens of others threaten to bubble over...

Well Harper did say to sue him if you wanted him to keep his promise from the last election and Calvert seems to have called his bluff as I very much doubt that Harper wanted to have headlines about Premier's suing him until he can resolve the issue...

Meanwhile the Canadian opposition's revamped clean air bill C-288, which ensures Canada is adhering to our Kyoto targets is scheduled for a third reading. Apparently Baird is furiosly looking for a way out this opposition upset so the energy industry can continue to pollute unabated..

Despite having long held the opinion that the courts should not intervene in political decisions, Harper has told Nova Scotia and Newfoundland that if they want him to respect the Atlantic Accord they have to take him to court...

We've become accustomed to being misled by this government, particularly when watching them answer questions during Question Period.

We also see them dancing around the facts when being interviewed...

Oh, how on days like this I wish I was back on the potato farm!

Dad leaves for a few days and the kids start wreckin' the house. Someone call the babysitter...

The Conservatives like to claim that the Liberals did nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, if you take a look at this recently released report from Environment Canada, you will see that emissions were essentially stabilized from 2003 - 2005 (the last year for which data is available and the last year of Liberal government). I note that this was during the entire tenure of the Martin Government...

The WWF is out with a climate change scorecard, that details who is doing what on the issue...

I'll give you a Conservative-style, well-thought out, comprehensive, well-researched piece of legislation that Canada's New-ish-like GovernmentTM refuses to amend in any way whatsoever, and you see how many errors and problems you can find.

OK? Ready?

I'm going to slip into “Liberal bias” mode; I have to call out some of the Blogging Dipper and NDP sympathetic bloggers, who are actually cheering the fact Dion was heckled and shouted down at the labour rally today in Ottawa...

After another round of negative attack ads from the Conservatives yesterday and a groan-inducing attempt at humour (if making fun of the French counts) with their Kyoto Dog Blog, these new viral ads launched today by the Young Liberals are a refreshing change...

Why is it that confusion, mixed messages and double-take inducing u-turns seem to be the order of the day when it comes to the Conservatives' approach to the environment?

I'm sure by now many have seen the open letter that Liberal leader Stephane Dion sent Prime Minister Stephen Harper regarding Canada's position on the G8 Declaration on Climate Change...

How desperate are the Blogging Tories for some good news these days? Well, so much so it would seem that they've actually taken to promoting the results of the “Harvey's/Ipsos-Reid Hamburger poll” that we learn from “CPC Pundit” Stephen Taylor was commissioned in honour of National Hamburger Day on May 28th. Who knew?