Another day, another gala for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Fresh from receiving a world statesman award from famous American statesman Henry Kissinger at a glitzy downtown New York hotel, hockey-buff Harper will speak in Toronto on Friday at the 40th anniversary of the ’72 Summit Series between Canada and Russia.
Harper took heat all week for being in New York without speaking at the United Nations general assembly which was meeting in the city this week. He was far from apologetic while accepting his statesman award, telling the crowd that Canadians expect the government to make decisions for the wider interest of humanity.
“That is, of course, not the same thing as trying to court every dictator with a vote at the United Nations, or just going along with every international consensus, no matter how self-evidently wrong-headed,” he said.
Get breaking National news
Some of Harper’s cabinet ministers will be making some international connections on Friday. Parliamentary Secretary Deepak Obhrai will attend the United National general assembly to speak at a session on countering nuclear terrorism. Defence Minister Peter MacKay meet his American counterpart Leon Panetta in Washington, D.C.
Back in Ottawa, the Bank of Canada is busy trying to douse rumours that governor Mark Carney will take on Justin Trudeau in the race for Liberal leadership. For many Liberals, Carney would be a dream candidate that could battle the Conservatives where it hurts – on the economy.
Leadership bids take a lot of money and often leave candidates with big debts – an issue parliamentarians will tackle in the House on Friday. MPs will attempt to get through second reading of Bill C-21, which would reform the political loan laws. The Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand has called the current laws “incoherent and ineffective.”
Also on the legislative agenda, a government bill to change victim surcharges and another to alter parts of the military justice system will also be debated.
The last piece of business to take care of in the House of Commons will be wrapping up report stage on Conservative MP Merv Tweed’s private member’s bill to reduce postage for library materials.
Off of Parliament Hill Minister of Human Resources Diane Finley and Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear will be making an announcement on green building. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq joins her provincial counterparts in Nova Scotia to talk about health care.
Meanwhile, NDP leader Tom Mulcair will be speaking at a Canadian Club luncheon in Toronto.
And it wouldn’t be Friday without a slew of local announcements and events on everything from aerospace to aging to Canada’s smartest kitchen.
Comments