MPs respond to CBSA film detainment

I have a new piece on the national page of Xtra.ca today, which was another of those quick-and-dirty piece where I canvassed MPs on the Hill about the CBSA issue that exploded across the Xtra.ca page over the weekend. I would have liked to get the public safety critics from the opposition parties to have their say, but it's not my fault they're on a Parliamentary trip. I was also fortunate that Elizabeth May was on the Hill that day, which isn't often the case now that she's trying to win a seat on the West Coast. It also worked out that my editor had commissioned the sidebar on the history of these cases from someone else, and the MPs bringing up the Little Sister's case was a perfect means to tie into this sidebar.

New immigrants guide glosses over gays

I have a new piece up on the Xtra.ca national page today, which will also show up in the forthcoming print edition of Xtra in Toronto. It was one where I was a fairly quick-and-dirty piece canvassing some opinions about the effacement of sexual minorities in the new Discover Canada new immigrants' guide, done entirely after Question Period yesterday, and it turned out fairly well.

In the editing process, however, a great line from Scott Brison was dropped:

“I’ve met with new Canadians and members of ethno-cultural communities in Canada who believe very strongly in the Charter of Rights,” Brison says. “Sometimes, even though there may be some initial opposition to initiatives like same-sex marriage, when they are reminded that it’s a Charter issue and that Charter of Rights is not a buffet and you can’t pick from it the rights you like and leave the rest, and any attack on anyone’s rights is attack on all, they understand.”

Otherwise, it was a fun piece to write.

Thoughts From the Hill - November Edition

My Thoughts from the Hill panel appears once again in the November issue of Outlooks. This month, I asked the panel about nominations processes in each of their parties. Astute readers may note this is something of a theme I've been writing about - I am indeed trying to help people learn more about the political process from start to finish, and nominations are a big part of that, and frankly most people don't learn about it in school anymore. I figure the more I write about it, the more some people may learn.

The panel is on page 22 of the issue, which you can download in .pdf format here.

Scott Brison talks trade & human rights

I have a new piece on the national page of Xtra.ca today. I interviewed Scott Brison last Wednesday about his many travels that he made at the end of the summer. It was originally supposed to just be a post on the Hill Queeries blog, like we often do, but this time Brison said it would take a bit longer, and he was right. So I managed to convince my editor to make this a full piece.

There was only one bit that didn't make it into the final piece, which was just a reference (and link) to a speech that Brison made in the House regarding his trip to Colombia, which he said explained his trip better than he could have in the interview. But as I always enjoy talking to Brison, it was a great interview.