No credit where credit is due

Stephen Harper was in Colombia yesterday to
tout the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which comes into force on Aug 15. He also took the opportunity to denounce its detractors. You may remember that this is the agreement that Liberal MP Scott Brison pretty much single-handedly saved by
personally negotiating the inclusion of a human rights treaty. He received zero
help from the Conservatives, despite his asking for their input and assistance. Strangely, Harper’s release failed to give Brison any
credit for his work.

Now that the government has moved to expel the
current crop of Libyan delegates from Canada, it looks like it is moving to recognize an envoy from Libya’s rebel faction.

One of the two men named in a leaked CSIS document, which alleged that they were terrorists, is calling for an inquiry. The leak of the document, as
you may recall, had some pretty suspicious timing. In a news release from the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, broadsides were taken at Jason Kenney for comments he made about the
two men, given the quality of the evidence presented. The coalition said, “Frankly,
it is dangerous to have someone like that in public office.” I’m sure the
rather thin-skinned Kenney is taking it really well. So, can we expect a sarcastic
letter to them as well?

And the government celebrated the fifth
anniversary of its Universal Child Care Benefit – again.

Keep Reading

The new generation of gay Conservative sellouts

OPINION: Melissa Lantsman’s and Eric Duncan’s refusals to call out their party’s transphobia is a betrayal of the LGBTQ2S+ community

Over 300 anti-LGBTQ2S+ bills have been introduced this year. This doesn’t mean we should panic

OPINION: While it’s important to watch out for threats, not all threats are created equally. Some of these bills will die a natural death

Xtra’s top LGBTQ2S+ stories of the year

The best and brightest—even most bewildering—stories from a back catalogue brimming with insight

Elon Musk and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton are suing Media Matters. Here’s why queer and trans people should care

OPINION: When politicians and the rich leverage the power of the state to quell dissent, we all lose