Putting the labour into Labour Day

It being Labour Day yesterday, the
various parties put out statements. The Liberals’ statement was, shall we say,
“secular,” not mentioning unions or the labour movement, but it does speak about
those who made Canada a better place. The NDP statement also did not
mention unions but did speak about the labour movement
after two paragraphs about unemployment and how the NDP would stand up for families in
tough times. NDP interim leader Nycole Turmel was in the Toronto Labour Day parade along with Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Jack Layton’s children. They carried a banner with Layton’s face and the 1950
2011 dates on one side and Horwath’s

face on the other and declared that the march was in Layton’s memory.

Olivia Chow says she’s not endorsing anyone for the NDP leadership.

Ed Broadbent isn’t talking about a merger
of the parties but wants disaffected Liberals to join the NDP, like Thomas
Mulcair and Françoise Boivin did. Although those perhaps aren’t the
best examples once you dig down a little.

Starting tomorrow the Conservative caucus
will be in town to get ready for the fall session of the House, what with their
big crime omnibus bill they have to push through, as well as their bills on
expanding the House of Commons and “reforming” the Senate.

Here’s a look at what small-c
conservatives in the country hope a possible Progressive Conservative victory
in Ontario will mean for the “conservative movement” across the country.

And hey – the head of Uganda’s Ministry
of Health believes that prayer can cure HIV! Because that’s going to help the
HIV/AIDS crisis in that country.

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