In government's dying days, attention shifts to Senate

The first of three new pieces I have on the Xtra.ca today, I have a story about how to - and how not to - write to Senators when you want to lobby them, as with Bills C-389 and C-393. The piece was originally destined to go up two days ago, but there were delays, however it's up now, and still with time for it to be effective to readers.

Senators race against the clock on AIDS drug bill ahead of possible election

I have a new story on the national page of Xtra.ca today about the current fate of Bill C-393 in the Senate as the clock ticks down before the writ is dropped for an election. I was happy to get some great sources for it, and keep the interest up on the bill, and I'm sure there will be plenty more drama on it in the days ahead.

Dewar AIDS Bill Passes House + One gay sentence added + Refugee System Failing Gay Ugandans

I have not one, not two, but three stories reprinted in the current print edition of Xtra's Ottawa edition. The first is my piece on Bill C-393 passing the House of Commons, the second on the addition of a single sentence on gay rights to the revised immigration guide (which was a really fast turnaround time between filing it and it appearing in the print edition), and the third piece is on Nicole LaViolette's appearance before the Commons international human rights subcommittee. Nice to see so many pieces in print!

Revamped citizenship guide still light on gay content

I have a new story up on the national page of Xtra.ca which looks at the revamped Discover Canada citizenship guide, and the whole added sentence that the gays got this time around. And by going back through my files, I found an angle that no one else picked up - aside from comments from both national party critics - so that always makes me happy.

AIDS drug bill passes Commons

I have a new piece up on the national page of Xtra.ca, which looks at the passage in the Commons of Bill C-393, which is another of those bills I've been following since the beginning. This was also a bill that every other mainstream outlet covered on the very last day - after it got a bit of star power - but that was fine. Many of the other journalists covering it acknowledged to me their debt in when it comes to knowing the background on the issue.

That said, I'm quite disappointed in the editing of the piece, being as I had set out to write the definitive send-off from the Commons, with far more context and background to where it has been and where it's going. Nevertheless, only about half the piece made it, and a couple of the people I spoke to were cut out entirely. But, that's the name of the game, unfortunately.

HIV spending way up in federal prisons

I have a new feature story up on the main page of Xtra.ca, which is something I worked on over the January break, and it's finally out. It all originated after my earlier story on funding levels for the Federal Initiative on HIV/AIDS, and the amount of money that Corrections was receiving made me curious. So I dug into things, and came up with this piece.

That said, I'm a bit disappointed that a few things ended up on the cutting room floor - the significance of bleach as a harm reduction tool (implicit acknowledgement that there are needles being used, but it's an ineffective strategy), and the fact that the one successful programme being funded is the post-release treatment coordination. Nevertheless, it was a rewarding piece to write, and I'm hoping it'll generate some interest.

After 4 hour debate, AIDS drug bill has teeth again

I have a new story up on the national page of Xtra.ca today, which recaps and gets reaction to the debate on Bill C-393 in the House last night. I got a couple of new MPs to weigh in - Bloc MP Monique Guay and Liberal MP Raymonde Folco - which is always nice to have, and I'll cover the final vote next week.