Ottawa

Khadr: Everything is always the other guy’s fault

So apparently Paul Martin was on Question Period yesterday. He said that while he didn’t repatriate Omar Khadr, today’s government should. It’s “easy” to operate with the benefit of hindsight, says the former prime minister, who had considerably more trouble summoning the benefit of foresight while in office.

Kory Teneycke, meanwhile, demonstrates the PMO’s new communications technique: More political, less logical. Why not bring Khadr home? Because Stephen Harper wants to be just like Paul Martin! “This is the process the Liberals chose, and we’re sticking with it,” he says in the kind of forward-leaning, very-political comment his predecessor would (I am being non-ironic here; I know it can be hard to tell) almost never have made.

OK, I’ll bite: Why are the Conservatives sticking with the process the Liberals chose? When did Stephen Harper farm out his political and moral judgment to Paul Martin? ‘Cause I didn’t get that memo.

As a bonus, Colin Freeze’s very thorough story includes the first public acknowledgement by Dan McTeague that he has a record of talking a lot into microphones in the absence of information.

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.