Monday, Monday - New Media and Politics

Monday's are as good to me as any other day. For my radio show it usually means I have way more stories than I'm able to get to in 2 hours which is strangely kind of of fun. 

So of course the controversy over the census is still ongoing and the Conservatives continue to keep digging which is okay with me. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says ask Canadians to fill out a long census form for the good of the country and they'll rush to grab their blue or black ballpoint pens - he failed to mention all the fairies and elves that assist in this magical effort but you can assume they're part of the equation.  

 Mr. Flaherty, who has been on vacation, said he has yet to hear from business leaders on the issue - but we can assume that he hasn't been anywhere near a computer or teh Google search engine. The list of those who oppose the Conservatives' census plan is long, easy to find on-line and includes provincial and municipal governments, social scientists, religious groups, medical researchers, economists, minority-rights advocates and some business groups. The list includes the country's former chief statistician, Munir Sheikh, who quit last week over the government's decision to make the long form census optional.

 In a story I didn't get to on my radio show today, Omar Khadr has once again been failed by the Canadian courts and our PM. From The Calgary Herald: Any chance the Canadian government would come to Omar Khadr’s rescue before he stands trial for murder next month in Guantanamo Bay seems to have been washed away with a court ruling. The Federal Court of Appeals has stayed an order requiring the Harper government to quickly come up with ways to help the young Canadian terror suspect.

Lawyer Nathan Whitling said, “It’s going to be an unfair trial. It’s going to be based in large part on statements derived from coercion and torture. It’s a system that would clearly be illegal if Omar happened to be a U.S. citizen.” Good going Stephen! Remember he'd do as much for any of you out there.

 In a bit of good environmental news, the rules for Arctic shipping regulations have been strengthened and you can tell it's likely a good idea as the new rules promptly drew fire from BIMCO, the Denmark-based Baltic and International Maritime Council, as a "drastic" response to increased Arctic ship traffic and a potential threat to the long-standing "right to innocent passage" on the world's oceans.