Sorry about what we said, Tom, but spare a sigh for Alberta, latest victim of Dutch Disease

Who would have thought Alberta, of all places, would end up suffering from Dutch Disease?

Surely it was just weeks ago we Albertans, always ornery and lightning quick to take offence, were excoriating the likes of federal Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair and then-Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty for daring to suggest such a thing might even be possible.

No exception for Assange: Rape apologetics and the left By matt fodor

Fallen left heroes.

Their mythology is often the hardest to defeat.

Just the other night, Bill Maher, the libertarian who, due to his willingness to confront the "sacred cows" of the right, has become a seeming icon to many on the left, conducted a live TV interview with Julian Assange, safe as he is from serious accusations of rape, secure in the Ecuadorian embassy, and with millions of uncritical supporters around the world, including Maher.

Senate puts Sen. Brazeau on leave of absence; Senators say media should focus on good work of Upper Chamber too

PARLIAMENT HILL—Newly-Independent Senator Patrick Brazeau drew a crush of television cameras and surprised even Senate staff when he turned out for a Senate vote Tuesday forcing him on a leave of absence over assault charges, and was the only Senator in the nearly full Chamber to voice opposition to the government motion intended to protect the Senate’s “dignity” and “public trust in Parliament.”

In the midst of the media circus and prior to the overwhelming and rare vote, with Sen. Brazeau charged but not yet even tried or convicted on charges of assault and sexual assault after a domestic violence 911 call in Gatineau, Que., last week, governing Conservative and Liberal Senators revealed recent controversies over Sen. Brazeau, Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy, and Liberal Sen. Mac  Harb have struck nerves on both sides of the Upper Chamber. Sen. Brazeau was also kicked out of the Conservative caucus last week.

RCMP accused of repeated abuse of B.C. aboriginal women

An international human rights organization is calling on the federal government to launch a national inquiry into claims from aboriginal women of abuse and threats by RCMP officers in northern British Columbia.

New York-based Human Rights Watch, known for bringing worldwide attention to victims of torture and abuse in places like Syria and Burma, says the eyes of the world should also be on northern B.C.

Woman dies after waiting 3 hours for ambulance

An 87-year-old Toronto woman died in December after waiting three hours with abdominal pain for an ambulance that was delayed "due to limited resources," a CBC investigation reveals.

An internal Toronto Emergency Medical Services ambulance dispatch record also shows a series of ambulances were at first dispatched to her location but then diverted to other calls.

Kenney’s citizenship-stripping plan good politics but dodgy policy

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s plan to strip Canadian terrorists of their citizenship is clever Conservative politics.

It’s a law-and-order proposal that speaks to an unspoken disquiet about immigrants in general and dual-nationality immigrants in particular.

There’s a feeling out there that just too many people are using Canada as a country of convenience — that they obtain citizenship to take advantage of programs like medicare but that their real loyalties are elsewhere.

Crunch time for oil exports puts focus on the east:

This country is fast approaching crunch time.

Just lend an ear to some of the words being tossed around by the country’s business and political leaders.

Canadian oil is not getting to export markets, creating what is being described as the country’s “biggest challenge” in decades, has been deemed a “crisis” in Alberta and causing “concern” in Ottawa where Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has chosen rather cooler language.

Mazza shared fine dinners, finer wines, with AgustaWestland execs arrested in Italy

Giuseppe Orsi stayed in the Milan room of the Thunder Bay hotel. Bruno Spagnolini had the Athens room.

The two top executives of Italy’s AgustaWestland helicopter company were the guests of ORNGE founder Chris Mazza at one of several events in Ontario in 2010 to celebrate ORNGE’s purchase of 12 helicopters to use as air ambulances.

Along the way, in what was a close relationship between Mazza and Agusta boss Orsi, there were fine dinners, finer wines, and a trip to La Scala opera house in Milan. The Thunder Bay rooms where Mazza played host were just $140 a night, paid by ORNGE. Mazza’s room in the European-themed White Fox Inn was “Elise.”

Government must heed environment commissioner's warnings

When the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform exploded in 2010, killing 11 people and spewing massive amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, it cost more than $40 billion to mop up the mess. In Canada, an oil company would only be liable for only $30 million, leaving taxpayers on the hook for the rest.

That's just one of a litany of flaws Canada's environment commissioner identified with the government’s approach to environmental protection. According to environment and sustainable development commissioner Scott Vaughan, who released a final series of audits before stepping down, the federal government’s failure to protect the environment is putting Canadians’ health and economy at risk.

John Baird won’t take advice from former diplomat and hostage Robert Fowler

OTTAWA—Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says he has no interest in hearing any direct advice from former Canadian diplomat and one-time Al Qaeda hostage Robert Fowler.

“He obviously had a distinguished record as a former diplomat . . . I can tell you I have one better than that: I have the entire foreign service, diplomatic team at the Department of Foreign Affairs that I count on and rely on,” Baird said Tuesday as he testified before the House of Commons foreign affairs committee.