Ottawa

This is the week that was

By Aaron Wherry

Paul Dewar and Brian Topp divvied up endorsements. Nathan Cullen proposed joint nomination meetings. Mr. Dewar worked the room in Winnipeg. Mr. Topp dared suggest raising taxes.

John McCallum and Tony Clement exchanged tweets. The shadow cabinet was shuffled. House of Commons redistribution proposals were floated, but Tim Uppal cautioned against believing everything a government source tells you. The Harper government tabled its Wheat Board reforms and took aim at its crime-fighting partners. Dean Del Mastro’s lamented selectively. Steven Blaney sided with the French. Charlie Angus kept on mocking Mr. Clement. John Turner kept on complaining. And Pat Martin tried to explain himself.

The Prime Minister hailed Colonel Gadhafi’s demise. The Harper government declared its intolerance for differing opinions, explicitly rejected the premises of various questions and implicitly rejected the premise of Bob Rae’s proposals. Brian Jean heard what he wanted to hear. Lisa Raitt decided there was no need to fiddle with the Canada Labour Code. And cuts came at Fisheries, Veterans Affairs and ACOA.

David Berlin proposed a new kind of parliamentary government. Mike Moffatt explained the need to raise taxes. Adrienne Clarkson profiled Rathika Sitsabaiesan. Stephen Maher connected various dots in the G8 Legacy Fund affair. Bruce Foster, Bruce Ravelli and Dan Gardner considered the cost of crime, while Terry Milewski travelled to Texas to compare. Scott Stinson wondered about the relevance of legislatures. The Agenda compared journalism and politics. Alex Himelfarb and Stephen Gordon talked taxes. Lorne Sossin and Emmett Macfarlane considered the Supreme Court appointment process.