Will Stephen Harper address gay issues in Australia?

I have a story up on the national page of Xtra.ca today about the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting taking place in Australia, and whether or not Canada would be pushing for the decriminalisation of homosexuality as part of it. It was pretty straight-forward, but it was a case where half of the story changed between Wednesday and Friday last week, so some of the interviews I had to do over again, not that it was a hardship.

MPs of all stripes criticize free speech bill

I have a new story on the main page of Xtra.ca today, which looks at the new Private Member's Bill aiming to repeal the hate speech provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act. It's a particular story that I've followed in various iterations for the past couple of parliaments, and not it's until now that it's coming up in a particular form that may actually have a chance of advancing. I'm sorry that Mr. Storseth denied the interview request, but a chance encounter with Senator Nancy Ruth helped to give the story its final shape, which was a nice bit of happenstance.

MPs grill Supreme Court appointees

I have a new piece up on the Ottawa page of Xtra.ca which recounts what happened at the ad hoc Parliamentary committee on Wednesday that questioned the new Supreme Court appointees. It was interesting to be able to watch as the new justices answered questions, but the experience itself was a bit drawn out and ridiculous in places, but I'm glad I was able to cover it.

MPs commemorate Jamie Hubley

I have a new story on the national page of Xtra.ca, which looks at how Spirit Day was marked on the Hill yesterday, especially in light of the death of local teen Jamie Hubley. It was a pretty lively day, with action in the House to record and reaction to gather from the Foyer afterward, and getting Hedy Fry to talk about her bill was a bit of fortuitous happenstance that wasn't planned but worked out rather well in the final piece.

Supreme Court hears arguments in hate speech case

I have a new story up on the Ottawa page of Xtra.ca, which looks at the Whatcott case before the Supreme Court of Canada yesterday. It was a case where a lot of the mainstream accounts completely overlooked the issue of behaviour versus orientation that were central to the appeal, and I made sure that it got a full airing. Unfortunately, the whole piece did not make through, and my interview with University of Ottawa law professor Carissima Mathen to analyse the hearing and talk about what was and was not said didn't make the final cut. Alas.

UK civil union is not marriage: feds

I have a new story on the main page of Xtra.ca today which looks at a particular international same-sex divorce case which the federal government is taking an interest in. It was fairly intriguing to learn about the particular differences, and it benefitted from an update on the day it was posted (I filed yesterday) with Nicholson's answer in QP today, but it's going to be something to keep an eye on.

I had also been curious about whether this may have an impact on the current UK campaign to have their civil partnerships be given full equal marriage status, but since the line of questioning was pretty much universally that it shouldn't be a factor, and given space considerations, it never made it into the final copy.