Ottawa

The stories that outshone Obama’s inauguration

Tease the day: the U.S. President’s big day didn’t stand out in today’s papers.

AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

What happened yesterday? Let’s recap. Hockey continued its renewed sweep of the nation. The Ottawa Senators won, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames all lost. Canada is set to extend its mission in Mali, we learned where Justin Bieber’s mom sits in the abortion debate, and the Prime Minister’s Office declared that Governor General David Johnston won’t sit in on policy discussions with Aboriginal leaders. We also learned that a witness at Quebec’s Charbonneau Commission who provided fairly explosive testimony last year, Martin Dumont, actually didn’t tell the whole truth—and lied, even—about certain parts of his testimony. Oh, and a president was inaugurated.


What’s above the fold this morning?

The Globe and Mail leads with Canada’s planned extension of its strategic airlift contribution to the fight in Mali. The National Post fronts the lack of certainty over where millions of federal dollars spent on a First Nations health authority in British Columbia actually went. The Toronto Star goes above the fold with the agonizing last few minutes of inmate Ashley Smith’s life. The Ottawa Citizen leads with a pair of Canadians who were allegedly among the attackers of an Algerian gas plant last week. iPolitics fronts NDP MP Paul Dewar’s call for an extended Canadian mission in Mali. CBC.ca leads with a Canadian who killed two people in a Philippine courtroom. National Newswatch showcases a Vancouver Sun story about court documents alleging former Vancouver Olympic organizer John Furlong abused his wife and raped a common-law partner decades ago.


Stories that will be (mostly) missed

1. Procurement. Dan Ross, the public servant who oversaw military procurement from 2005 until his recent retirement, defended his department’s handling of the F-35 procurement. 2. Tamil migrants. Two men who fled Sri Lanka on separate ships packed with Tamils have had their refugee claims alternatively dismissed and accepted by Canadian authorities.
3. Keystone XL. U.S. President Barack Obama’s declaration that his country will be a leader in the fight against climate change could be an obstacle to the Keystone XL pipeline’s completion. 4. False testimony. The star witness of last month’s Charbonneau Commission hearings into Quebec corruption, Martin Dumont, had part of his testimony discredited as hearings resumed.

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