Ottawa

Tease the day: warnings about food safety and missed ‘green’ opportunities

Americans warn of food safety issues at XL, national round table says feds should invest in low-carbon economy

Andrew Coyne’s column in the Postmedia papers is, above all else, worth your time this morning. There’s no doubt about it. He writes about how Canadians value so dearly those in politics who choose credibility over power. It’s a stunning piece. There’s no dominant storyline in the nation’s papers this morning, but dig deeply enough and you’ll find stories about this week’s favourite themes: prospective Liberal leadership runs of certain people who’ve either been to space or led Canada’s most populous province; what the prorogation of Ontario’s legislature really means; and, of course, food safety at the XL Foods meat processing plant in Alberta.


What’s above the fold this morning?

The Globe and Mail leads with XL Foods’ operations being taken over by a Brazilian company (though Dalton McGuinty still leads online). The National Post‘s top national story among its above-the-fold headlines is Andrew Coyne’s column about credibility in Canadian politics. The Toronto Star fronts a story about how provincial cuts may lead to more homeless Torontonians. The Ottawa Citizen leads with American warnings about safety issues at the XL meat processing plant. iPolitics heads up coverage with the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy’s final report. National Newswatch leads with Coyne’s column.


Stories that will dominate the Hill Stories that will be (mostly) missed
 1. Food safety. Expect reports of American warnings  to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency about unsafe conditions at the XL meat processing plant to fuel opposition MPs during today’s Question Period. Just more fuel to the fire.  1. Environmental protection. Environment Canada is investigating an American businessman who conducted a controversial experiment off Canada’s west coast that’s left environmental researchers stunned—and breached a moratorium.
 2. Missed “green” opportunities. The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy reports that Canada could miss out on a trillion-dollar “low carbon” economy if the feds don’t stimulate the clean energy sector.  2. Canadian border services officials want to deport a Sri Lankan man who they say is a member of a “front organization” for the Tamil Tigers. The man has lived here for 15 years. The Immigration and Refugee Board is hearing the case.

What should I cover?

I’m going to tell you about a few things happening today on Parliament Hill, and then you tell me what I should go watch—and, following that, report on. There’s plenty of action on the Hill today. Twenty-five parliamentary committees, including six Senate committees, are talking about various studies and pieces of legislation. The list of meetings I can attend, if we’re being realistic, is below, along with the orders of the day for each. So tell me: Where should I go?

Health Technological Innovation
Industry, Science and Technology Intellectual Property Regime in Canada
Public Accounts Chapter 2, Replacing Canada’s Fighter Jets
Procedure and House Affairs Bill C-21, Political Loans Accountability Act
Natural Resources Resource Development in Northern Canada
Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Innovative Transportation Technologies
Foreign Affairs and International Development (sub) Human Rights Situation in Burma
Canadian Heritage Review of national protocol procedures
International Trade A Comprehensive and High-Level Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Japan

Briefing on the Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments
Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Privacy and social media
Finance Pre-budget Consultations 2012
Justice and Human Rights Bill C-36, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (elder abuse)
National Defence Maintaining the Readiness of the Canadian Forces
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Bill S-10, An Act to implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions
Legal and Constitutional Affairs Bill C-290, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sports betting)
Social Affairs, Science and Technology S-204, National Strategy for Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency Act

If you think those committees are boring and know about something, you know, more interesting, pop it in a comment. You could also send it in an email or—gasp!—a Twitter DM, but why keep secrets from everyone?

Scorecard for yesterday’s Tease: The renaming of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, though it made an appearance during Question Period, was fairly uncontroversial yesterday. Also, I completely misjudged the value to the opposition of the CBC’s scoop about Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Peter Penashue’s campaign spending woes. National Newswatch called that one.

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