Loopholes going unaddressed

The votes are in, and the bill to scrap the
long-gun registry has passed the Commons on a vote of 159 to 130, and the bill
is now off to the Senate. NDP MPs John Rafferty and Bruce Hyer voted for the
bill, just as they did the last time around, so we’ll see if they get spanked
for it, like they did the last time. But wait – there’s a pretty big loophole when
it comes to ensuring that the person you’re selling a gun to is properly
licensed, and the government doesn’t seem keen to fix it. Definitely something

for the Senate to look at. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have been caught once
again using American clip art as part of their backdrops, this time for their
ministerial presser to announce the impending demise of said registry (even
though it hasn’t even made it to the Senate yet).

It looks like MPs in the public accounts
committee might actually be starting to take the supplementary estimates
process seriously and might actually be reviewing them properly. You know, like
MPs are supposed to do in their primary responsibility of holding the
government to account. Imagine that!

In the event you had any doubts that Vic
Toews gave the lawful access bill a torqued title as a magical criticism
shield, here’s proof that it was the “Lawful Access Act” until mere hours
before it was tabled. And hey, it also won’t do anything practical in stopping
child pornography, either.

Pundit’s Guide gives us a good look at the tactics being employed in the NDP leadership race right now.

It sounds like DND may be looking at unmanned drones to start filling the roles played by fighters, given the
increasing problems with the F-35 procurement. Or not – it seems they can’t
fill the role that fighters play as of yet. And so the questions will continue.

Oh, look – Quebec’s pension fund is heavily invested in the oil sands, despite the province’s purported opposition to their

development. Oh, how will the Bloc and NDP get out of this one?

Up today: the Conservatives look like they’re
about to undo all the compromises made to their refugee reform package two
years ago to return to the punitive model they espoused then but couldn’t pass
in a minority situation. Fun!