Conservative crime agenda moves forward

I have a new story on the national page of Xtra.ca today, which is actually something I wrote a couple of weeks ago, but wasn't slated to go up until today. It's an issue I've been following for a while, and I was happy to get a chance to talk to Senator Cowan for this piece. And no doubt I'll be following the developments once the House comes back.

Canada steps up for gay people at UN

I have a new piece up on the national page of Xtra.ca today, which is the latest development in the ongoing story of the votes at the UN on the resolution around summary, extrajudicial and arbitrary executions. This was largely a reaction piece from the Canadian perspective, and I was glad to be able to put Senator Nancy Ruth's statement in the Senate into wider circulation, but what didn't make it into the final version were Bob Rae's comments in reaction to the vote, so I'll include those below:

Great news. This is an important step in the growing movement around the world to provide for full equality and real security for the LGBTQ community. It's a campaign that will take time and persistence, but it will prevail.

How Parliament Failed CAMR + Thoughts From the Hill - December/January Edition

The December/January issue of Outlooks magazine is now out, and I have two pieces in it. The first is an editorial based on my experience following the two bills and various debates on trying to reform the Canada's Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR) legislation, and some of the frustrating aspects of watching the drama play out and everything that could go wrong with it happening, while MPs of all stripes were content to accuse one another of sabotaging things. I can't say that I'm happy with one of the captions, which seemed to belittle a group despite a point I was trying to make, but this is the way it goes sometimes. The second piece was, of course, my monthly panel, and it was an interesting question to ask, and as per usual, I got some pretty interesting responses.

The CAMR editorial is on page 19, while the panel is on page 22.

Siksay to retire from federal politics

I have a new story up on the national page of Xtra.ca, which was my sit-down interview with NDP MP Bill Siksay on his decision not to run again in the next election. We had a lengthy conversation, and a couple of things didn't make it into the final piece, which were largely around his peace activism and what this decision means for his personal life, given that he'll actually be home with his partner rather than on the road five or six days a week. And while the formal interview was fifteen minutes, we had a good hour-long conversation in the end. Siksay has been a great MP to cover, and I'll miss him when he does leave after the next election (whenever that may be).

Toronto AIDS drug protest gets attention in Ottawa

I have a new story up on the national page of Xtra.ca today, which is the Ottawa response to a Toronto event that happened earlier in the day. It was a pretty last-minute affair, but it does build on the series of stories I've been doing about the attempts to reform CAMR, and this is one more piece for the bigger picture. It was also nice to get a bit of an Ottawa angle to an otherwise Toronto story (and to see that it wasn't simply tacked onto a Toronto story but treated separately).

C-389 passes but faces further delays

I have a new piece up on the national page of Xtra.ca, which covers the latest development in Bill C-389, which I've been covering for its entire lifespan. While there was a lot of celebration among the interviewees after the vote itself, I made sure to put in in the context of the bigger picture, that this vote was a delay that could end up killing the bill in the event of a spring election. My experience covering the life of the bill also meant that I had the memory of who changed their votes on it, so I think that helped give my story a little more than others will have.

A couple of things didn't make it into the story, which was mostly Marlene Jennings saying that there was only one MP from her party that came to her with concerns about the bill, which she talked out with him. The other was James Moore telling reporters that when he voted for it, it was a "free vote," but not explaining further.

Party politics skews G20 hearings

I have a new piece up on the national page of Xtra.ca, which is our take on the Commons hearings about the G20 in Toronto last summer. It was a bit tricky to write, seeing as the one interviewee is now an employee at Xtra. I was careful to make the point that he wasn't at the time of the G20 in the original version, but that was edited out. In fact, a fair bit got edited out - the quotes by NDP public safety critic Don Davies included, but the main points - including Alexandra Mendes' rather powerful ending quote - were kept in. (And yes, I got another photo in this piece. My new iPhone 4 is turning out to be quite a great work-related investment).