Gadhafi killed in Libya

By macleans.ca - Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 10:19 AM - 0 Comments

Former Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi allegedly died on Thursday from wounds received as rebel fighters seized control of his hometown of Sirte, the New York Times reports. The claim, initially made by the Misrata Military Council, which has been leading the two-month siege of Sirte, has been confirmed by the Transitional National Council, Libya’s interim government. The rebels told reporters they captured Gaddafi at around noon local time on Thursday. Those reports were soon followed with an update that the Colonel had died. Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya are showing graphic images of what they said is Gaddafi’s corpse, which has reportedly arrived in Misrata. The news, delivered on Libyan State Television, sparked mass celebrations in the capital, Tripoli, as streets filled with crowds and mosques began celebratory prayers. The NTC told Al Jazeera it will announce the liberation of Libya “within hours”.

The New York Times

Al Jazeera

Tim Cook: Apple’s most humble servant

By Jonathon Gatehouse - Monday, October 17, 2011 at 8:20 AM - 0 Comments

Paul Sakuma/AP

Tim Cook took the stage, but not the spotlight. In his public debut as Apple chief at the unveiling of the updated iPhone on Oct. 4–the day before Steve Jobs died—the 50-year-old seemed comfortable enough, dressed in jeans, a button-down shirt and his trademark Nike runners (he also sits on the sportswear giant’s board). He even cracked a couple of jokes in his measured Alabama drawl. “This is my first product launch since being named CEO,” he said, the threat of a smile crossing his face. “I’m sure you didn’t know that.”

But it was the things that Cook didn’t do that garnered the most notice. There were no stirring Jobs-ian speeches about future-altering technology. The “ta-dah” introductions of the new phone, a social network, and a greeting card application were all left to other Apple executives. And the CEO’s sales pitch—such as it was—was all about the brand, rather than the vision. “I’m so incredibly proud of this company,” Cook told the assembled journalists. “I consider it the privilege of a lifetime to have worked here for 14 years and I am very excited about this new role.” The message was clear. Apple’s cult of personality begins and ends with its founder.

And all indications suggest that is just the way the new boss likes it. A lifelong number two—he even finished second in his class at high school—Cook has always preferred to stay in the background. He almost never gives interviews, or speaks in public settings. (The exception being his beloved alma mater Auburn University, where he gave the commencement address in 2010.) He was raised in Robertsdale, a small farming town near Alabama’s Gulf Coast, whose only other “celebrity” son appears to be Obie Trotter, a college basketball star now playing in Szolnok, Hungary. The middle of three boys born to a shipyard worker and a homemaker, Cook played in the marching band and was voted “most studious” by his peers. He went on to take engineering at Auburn, where professors remember him as “very quiet, very reserved.” After graduating in 1982, he took a job at IBM in North Carolina, distinguishing himself as the guy who volunteered to work over the Christmas holidays so that the company could fill its orders by year-end. In 1994, he joined the computer-reselling division of an electronics wholesaler, rising to COO before jumping to Compaq in 1997. Six months later, an executive recruiting firm came knocking on Apple’s behalf.

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Former Quebec cabinet minister charged with fraud

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 5:42 PM - 1 Comment

Tony Tomassi, a former minister in Jean Charest’s cabinet in Quebec has been charged with three criminal offences in connection with his use of a credit card linked to a private security firm that received millions in government grants. Tomassi was fired over the scandal and will now face charges of charges of fraud and breach of trust. He is due to appear in a Quebec City courtroom on November 14.

Montreal Gazette

Anti-miscarriage drug DES causes multi-generational health problems

By macleans.ca - Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 12:56 PM - 2 Comments

DES (or diethylstilbestrol), an anti-miscarriage drug widely used between 1940 and 1970, has been linked to health problems—including breast cancer, infertility, difficult pregnancies and early menopause—in the daughters and the granddaughters of women who used it. Sons of DES mothers also have been found more likely to develop testicular cysts and other problems. A form of artificial estrogen prescribed to pregnant women between 1938 and 1971 with mid-pregnancy complications or previous miscarriages, DES was discontinued when it was found daughters of women who used it were developing a rare vaginal cancer. It’s estimated between four and 10 million people were exposed. The drug’s cumulative harm will be documented in The New England Journal of Medicine this week.

Time

American Cancer Society

Clement fails to show up for conference

By Philippe Gohier - Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 12:53 PM - 4 Comments

For the first time, Canada is hosting the biennial international gathering of information commissioners this week in Ottawa, but the federal cabinet minister slated to kick-off the conference, embattled Treasury Board President Tony Clement, failed to show up this morning—and apparently didn’t bother to alert organizers that he’d be a no-show. The Canadian Bar Association is co-sponsoring the event with the office of Suzanne Legault, Canada’s information commissioner, hosting freedom-of-information watchdogs from 22 countries. Clement was scheduled to open the proceedings with remarks today at 8 a.m. Clement, who’s responsible for the administration of the Access to Information Act, failed to show up because he was attending the weekly Conservative caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, a few blocks from the hotel where the conference is being held, according to his spokesman. He is under fire these days for G8 spending last year in his riding, and some critics also allege he has used his personal email, rather than the standard government address, to skirt access-to-information rules.

The Chronicle-Herald

‘The most democratic part of the federal political finance system’

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 11:38 AM - 55 Comments

With the end of the per-vote subsidy now in plain sight—hailed via a raving action alert—Duff Conacher mounts another defence of the measure in a note to reporters.

The per-vote annual funding for federal political parties is the most democratic part of the federal political finance system because the funding is handed out based on the actual support from voters each party receives in the election.

Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Québec all have per-vote funding of political parties for this reason.

Continue…

Manitoba’s election: meet the new boss

By Colby Cosh - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 9:52 AM - 16 Comments

Hugh McFadyen retired as Manitoba Conservative leader last night shortly after the results of the province’s election came in. If Twitter is any indication, this decision was met with some surprise and dismay, even among uncommitted voters. Apparently an older, slower pace of political perception, a pace at which a two-time loser is considered to still be abundant with promise, prevails in Manitoba.

I’m not being sarcastic. Far from it: I laugh right along with Colleague Wells when I see Canadian political parties treat leaders as cheap interchangeable parts and are surprised at the outcome that usually transpires. But it is hard for me to question McFadyen’s judgment in quitting when I look at the quality of his campaigns, and consider that he has now been beaten by two different New Democrats. Continue…

Election night in Manitoba

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 9:44 PM - 8 Comments

With early returns now coming in, it appears the NDP is headed for its fourth consecutive majority government in Manitoba. This would be the first time in that province’s history that a party has managed four-straight majorities.

Fans of proportional representation take note: As of this typing, the New Democrats lead in nearly twice as many ridings as the Progressive Conservatives, but trail in the province-wide popular vote.

12:39am. A few hours later… By seats the NDP leads 37 to 19 to 1. By popular vote, they lead 45.8 to 44.1 to 7.5. The line to the PR riot starts behind Andrew Coyne.

Liberals win second straight majority on P.E.I.

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 10:36 AM - 6 Comments

The Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island has won its second straight majority government. Premier Robert Ghiz, 37, and his Liberals won 22 seats, while the Progressive Conservatives took the remaining five in Monday’s provincial election. At the start of the campaign, there was speculation that the Liberals would win all 27 seats in the provincial legislature. That feat, however, proved to be elusive, as PC leader Olive Crane jumped on the offensive when a scandal involving a provincial immigration program resurfaced mid-campaign. Three government bureaucrats came forward claiming senior officials had accepted bribes and funneled investor money to projects with Liberal ties from prospective immigrants. Federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney referred the file to the RCMP for investigation. Before the election, Ghiz’s Liberals had 24 seats, while the PCs had two. Islanders haven’t pushed out an incumbent after just one term since 1935, and Ghiz’s win extends the political dynasty of his family in P.E.I.—his father, Joe Ghiz, was premier from 1986 to 1993.

CBC News

Rights and freedoms and religion

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 9:45 AM - 37 Comments

The CBC considers the government’s new office of religious freedom.

Other scholars are more blunt in their assessment that with its announcement the Canadian government is essentially entering an international policy minefield. Arvind Sharma teaches religious studies at McGill University who has just completed a book called Problematizing Religious Freedom. Sharma argues that the very concept of religious freedom has become an excuse used by proselytizing religions, particularly Christianity, to convert people. He says that was the clear goal of the U.S. model from the start.

“My concern is that this office will be used… by missionary religions, especially by Christian missions, will be interpreted by them as giving them the right to proselytize,” Sharma says. “I agree that the right to change one’s religion is a part of religious freedom but I don’t agree that my right to change … my religion is symmetrical with somebody else’s right to ask me to change my religion.”

Below, the text of John Baird’s speech on the opening of consultations. Continue…

Election night in PEI and the NWT

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, October 3, 2011 at 7:49 PM - 1 Comment

The Liberals appear set to be reelected in Prince Edward Island with 21 22 seats to six five for the Progressive Conservatives. Here’s the applicable Rick Mercer skit.

The Northwest Territories also votes today. Results will be presumably posted here once they are available.

Okay, Arcade Fire won, but it won’t happen again

By Philippe Gohier - Friday, September 23, 2011 at 9:15 AM - 2 Comments

Jason Moore/Zuma/Keystone Press

Going into the gala for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize, two things were clear. First, Arcade Fire, who were nominated for The Suburbs, were the overwhelming favourite to take home the award. Gala host Grant Lawrence made it clear early in the evening when he suggested the Montreal band was facing off against “nine dark horses.” As a fellow scribe put it, Monday night’s contest was “Arcade Fire versus the world”—or at least, indie Canada.

Second, the Polaris Prize isn’t meant to be a popularity contest. The award’s only criterion is “artistic merit.” This was repeated like a mantra throughout the evening, lest anyone be under the impression that mainstream recognition, clever videos, or album sales might be in play at an awards show featuring bands most Canadians have never heard of. And therein lay the tension—how would the Polaris Prize jury reconcile the fact that Canada’s bestselling band might also be its best band? Can a band that sells out arenas and whose last album hit No. 1 in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. still be credible with the indie crowd?

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Worried about terrorism? Not us.

By Philippe Gohier - Friday, September 9, 2011 at 8:00 AM - 12 Comments

Steve Payne/The New York Times/Redux

Even though memories of 9/11 remain vivid for Canadians, the threat of terrorism is hardly at the top of our minds. An Innovative Research poll done for Maclean’s shows that 27.1 per cent of Canadians consider 9/11 to have been the most important international development of the last decade, ranking it just slightly higher than the credit crisis of 2008 (26.2 per cent) and well above other developments like climate change and the rise of the middle class in China and India. Which isn’t to say 9/11 has had a lasting impact on our national psyche. Asked to name the one issue that concerns them most, just 3.4 per cent of respondents identified the threat of terrorism. Indeed, Canadians are much more likely to be worried about the state of our health care system (19 per cent) and the potential for another recession (18.2 per cent) than they are of a repeat of 9/11.

That may be partly explained by the seemingly widespread perception among Canadians that terrorist attacks aren’t likely to affect them personally. If terrorist threats are to happen at all, Canadians believe they’ll target people other than themselves. Nearly eight in 10 Canadians say they’re either not very concerned or not concerned at all that someone they know could fall victim to a terrorist attack. A comparably meagre 3.9 per cent say they are very concerned about the possibility. The online poll had 1,066 respondents and a margin of error equivalent to plus or minus three per cent.

But Canadians have come to some firm conclusions about the fallout from 9/11. As a nation, we’ve grown particularly skeptical about the benefits of the two wars that followed the attacks. Canadians are twice as likely to say the war in Afghanistan made the world a more dangerous place as they are to say it made the world safer. The divide is even more stark when it comes to Iraq: Canadians are more than four times more likely to say the war in Iraq made the world more dangerous rather than safer.

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François Legault’s shameless pandering on immigration

By Philippe Gohier - Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 8:15 PM - 18 Comments

When François Legault launched the Coalition pour l’avenir du Québec (CAQ), his all-but-confirmed vessel to re-enter Quebec politics, he addressed the group’s manifesto to “all those who want to change.” “It’s time to get Quebec moving again,” he wrote. Indeed it is.

Even for Legault’s critics, of which there are relatively few these days, it’s hard to find much to quibble with in his mission statement—education should be “the absolute priority”; culture and the protection of the French language are essential; public services should be… well, they should be better; and Quebec should do more to attract investments. As Vincent Marissal points out in this morning’s La Presse, Legault has so far proven himself enormously adept at “surfing on general ideas,” so much so that he’s emerged as the most credible candidate to replace Jean Charest as premier. Continue…

“There isn’t a crazy appetite for sovereignty”—Pauline Marois

By Philippe Gohier - Friday, August 26, 2011 at 7:03 PM - 3 Comments

My colleague Alec Castonguay, who toils over at our sister publication L’actualité, posted a first-rate interview with Pauline Marois earlier this week that’s a must-read for anyone interested in the Parti Québécois’ ongoing travails. Among the things that stood out to me was Marois’s apparent doubling-down on the policies that drove away four members of her caucus earlier this summer—namely, her insistence that a referendum shouldn’t be top-of-mind for the party. Of the nascent Nouveau Mouvement pour le Québec, aka the new home of sovereigntist hardliners in Quebec, Marois says they “should start from where Quebecers are at… There isn’t a crazy appetite for sovereignty, even if polls have us at 40-45 per cent ,” she says. (CROP pegs support for sovereignty at 38 per cent and Léger at 36 per cent, but let’s not quibble.) “Renewal isn’t about waiting for the referendum.”

Good government—which, unfortunately for Charest, is more or less synonymous with “change” these days— is what Marois wants the PQ to focus on delivering. Creating a second chamber at the National Assembly that would focus on regional issues, taking over control of EI from Ottawa, increasing the constraints on companies who extract resources from Quebec’s northern regions, and broad efforts at democratic renewal are all part of what Marois describes as the PQ’s plan for “sovereigntist governance.” “The government’s actions are what will show that Quebec deserves to have all the tools to blossom.” Continue…

Indian PM seeks end to hunger-strike protest

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 12:51 PM - 2 Comments

India’s Prime Minister has reached out to other parties, hoping to stem the political fall-out from an ongoing hunger-strike by anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare. Hazare says he has lost six kilograms during the protest, which has galvanized India and caused chaos for the political class. Hazare, a former local politician, has called for Indians to rise up in a “second freedom struggle,” this time against corruption (the first being against the British). Hazare has demanded the government pass stringent new anti-corruption legislation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with lawmakers from all parties Wednesday, but remains hesitant to give in to all of Hazare’s demands.

Al Jazeera English

The Observer

If rock’s not dead, it’s on life support

By Philippe Gohier - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 9:30 AM - 15 Comments

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

When U2 wrapped up its 360° tour last month, they closed the book on the highest-grossing tour of all time, raking in over $736 million. Rock bands, it seems, can still make a dollar or two on the stadium circuit.

Of the 10 highest-grossing tours last year, seven were by traditional rock outfits, with Bon Jovi, AC/DC and U2 leading the way. Among the interlopers, appropriately enough, was “Walking with Dinosaurs—The Arena Spectacular,” which seemingly differentiates itself from the rock performers on the list by featuring animatronic dinosaurs rather than figurative ones. Because while the touring circuit, at least as far as the big earners are concerned, is still dominated by rock acts, they are increasingly aging rock acts.

A Deloitte study published in January found that, of the 20 top-grossing live acts between 2000 and 2009, the lead singer for eight of them will be in his or her sixties this year. Moreover, the older acts are still soaking up the vast majority of the touring cash available: 94 per cent of the money earned by the biggest live acts in those years went to those whose lead singers are now 40 and older; not a single one had a singer still in his or her 20s.

Continue…

Montreal is falling down

By Philippe Gohier - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 12:05 PM - 9 Comments

Photo by Roger Lemoyne

When a grapefruit-sized chunk of concrete smashed through the windshield of a 29-year-old man’s car in Montreal last Thursday, city officials quickly scrambled to the scene. Like most Montrealers, they assumed the worst—that it was yet another in a series of mishaps involving the city’s crumbling infrastructure. Their worries turned out to be misplaced. Within a few hours, police had eliminated the possibility that the object was once a part of the overpass above busy Papineau Avenue and were instead investigating whether someone had thrown it. “I want to reassure the people of Montreal: the rock that caused this incident has nothing to do with the structure,” Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay told reporters at the scene, deftly avoiding the very word “concrete.” “Vehicles can pass in total safety.” Still, it’s hard to blame even the most paranoid residents for assuming the contrary. It’s raining concrete in Montreal, it seems, and the situation has people on edge.

The most recent incident occurred in late July, when a 15-m long, 25-tonne chunk of concrete fell onto the busy Ville-Marie expressway in the city’s downtown core. Miraculously, no one was injured. (Transport Québec estimates 100,000 vehicles travel along the expressway daily.) Montrealers were no doubt shocked by the accident but, at this point, it may be a stretch to say they were surprised.

The accident was, after all, a grim reminder of a similar collapse in nearby Laval in 2006. Five people died and six more were seriously injured when the de la Concorde overpass came tumbling down onto cars travelling below. And the de la Concorde collapse was itself reminiscent of an incident in which eight heavy concrete beams fell from the Souvenir Boulevard overpass in Laval in 2000, killing one and injuring two others.

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Le bon Jack

By Philippe Gohier - Monday, August 22, 2011 at 4:14 PM - 1 Comment

Photo by Jessica Darmanin

I had only two close encounters with Jack Layton. The first was back in late 2002 or early 2003, when he and some members of McGill’s NDP club came into Café Santropol, where I was waiting tables. I can’t quite remember whether he’d already won the NDP leadership or whether he was still campaigning for it. Either way, I knew who he was and was glad when he ended up sitting in my section.

When I got to his table, I nervously introduced myself to “Mr. Layton,” at which point he quickly corrected me, asking that I call him “Jack.” For the next 10 or 15 minutes, I ignored every other table in the restaurant and chatted with Jack—about poverty, federalism, my job, the NDP in Quebec. He knew he had his work cut out for him in la belle province, but he exuded optimism, so much so I figured he’d never actually looked up his party’s dreadful numbers in the province. Continue…

Ottawa: not sexy enough for tourists

By macleans.ca - Thursday, August 4, 2011 at 12:38 PM - 5 Comments

The nation’s capital is nursing a bruised ego today as bloggers and citizens dissect why Ottawa was snubbed by a new Canadian Tourism Commission program. Ottawa was not included among the 48 “Signature Experiences” recommended by the CTC on a new list designed to tempt the business of high-end international travellers. The list includes experiences such as visiting Fort Henry in Kingston, Ont., touring wineries in Niagara, scouring for polar bears in Manitoba and touring Granville Market in Vancouver. “I can’t imagine the U.S. equivalent; leaving Washington off, or the U.K. equivalent leaving London off,” said Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson. But as it turns out, Ottawa may still have a shot. The CTC has noted that they received 200 applications in the initial stages of the program, and they hope to expand the list to 100 places by the end of the year.

Toronto Star

Reponse to ‘Opposing prayer in Toronto public schools, with dignity’

By Ron Banerjee - Friday, July 29, 2011 at 3:50 PM - 48 Comments

[This post was written by Ron Banerjee in response to Emma Teitel's article, 'Opposing prayer in Toronto public schools, with dignity']

The Canadian Hindu community has been, and continues to be, victimized by violence and hatred. As representatives of Canadian Hindus, the Canadian Hindu Advocacy is now being subjected to attacks and innuendos, often from biased media.

In the controversy over Valley Park School, terrified Hindu parents had contacted us to complain about Islamic students disrupting classes every week by having imams lead prayers in the cafeteria. They felt that the TDSB was so thoroughly infected with Islamist sympathies that they would suffer consequences for speaking up.

Recently, CHA was approached by a reporter who arrived half an hour before our planned picket and demanded to know on camera where ‘all the Hindus are’. His goal was to discredit the Canadian Hindu Advocacy, despite the known fact that we are a large national group which has published over 100 op-eds and letters to the editor in the National Post, Financial Post, and Toronto Sun over the last few years. All are freely available on our website in our ‘Media’ section.

You cannot get much more mainstream than that. In the current controversy, some fringe Hindu groups are trying to score cheap publicity by attacking our noble organization, or taking contrary views to stoke conflict.

These groups should be aware that we exist to counter hate and oppression, mostly from Sikh and Muslim fundamentalists, that Hindus have suffered from in Canada.

They should note that over 330 mostly Hindus were slaughtered by suspected Sikh Khalistan fundamentalists in the Air India tragedy, while Canadian authorities bungled the investigation, treated victims with contempt, and recently offered a financial package which victim families termed as ‘an insult’.

They should also note that after 9/11, the only religious structure destroyed in Canada was a Hindu temple in Hamilton. When the temple asked the McGuinty government for financial assistance to rebuild, they were told governments cannot fund religious establishments.

The ‘Scamgate’ scandal revealed this same government handed over millions in grants to religious groups, including a dozen Muslim groups and a Sikh temple whose posters celebrate the suspects in the Air India bombing.

These incidents happened because Hindus had no effective clout, while Muslims and Sikhs ran roughshod over Hindu rights with the connivance of Canadian governments and authorities.

Muslims are now twisting the meaning of ‘reasonable accommodation’ to their benefit again. A reasonable solution would have been for Islamic students to pack bag lunches and traipse to the nearby mosque during their hour-long lunch break. Disrupting classes harms everyone and benefits none.

Hindu and other non Muslim students are adversely affected by 400 Muslims marching in and out of class, while Muslims miss an hour of instruction every week.

Canadian Hindu temples and groups have proven themselves unable or unwilling to protect Hindu lives, rights, or property. The Canadian Hindu Advocacy was formed to address this, and our national advocacy shall continue to provide real leadership to our oppressed community, which is by far the most victimized in Canada.

We have formed a multi faith coalition with the Christian Heritage Party and Jewish Defence League of Canada. We will work to restore Canadian values of democracy and freedom, which are themselves a combination of both Hindu and Judeo Christian principles.

Ron Banerjee is a director with the Canadian Hindu Advocacy

Iceland considers relegating smokes to the pharmacy

By Nancy Macdonald - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 8:35 AM - 4 Comments

When it comes to draconian anti-smoking rules, no country has considered going as far as Iceland. This fall, the country’s parliament will debate a radical new proposal that would outlaw the sale of cigarettes outside of pharmacies, where they would only be available with a prescription. The bill, sponsored by former health minister Siv Fridleifsdottir, aims to “protect children and youngsters,” she says, and to stop them from ever taking up the habit.

Iceland, however, is not alone in throwing up new barriers to smokers. In Australia next year, cigarettes will be sold in plain, brown packaging, prohibiting the use of tobacco industry logos, colours or brand imagery. In Sweden, surgeons refuse to treat smokers; patients are given blood tests to ensure compliance. Finland, meanwhile, is hoping to ban smoking entirely by 2040.

The Icelandic proposal also suggests treating tobacco smoke as a carcinogen, restricting it the same way the country does other known cancer-causing agents. The bill, however, may never see the light of day. A spokesperson for the Icelandic Ministry of Welfare said the proposal, although “very serious” and backed by the Icelandic Medical Association, has little chance of passing.

Inside the PQ, independence starts at home

By Philippe Gohier - Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 6:47 PM - 0 Comments

Leave it to the Parti Québécois to find a way to make a bad situation worse. On Tuesday, the PQ’s Benoit Charette became the fifth MNA this month to quit the party. PQ leader Pauline Marois also expelled René Gauvreau from caucus over allegations an aide was helping himself to party funds, but let’s focus on Charette for now, if only because my brain can’t process how bad a month Marois is having. Continue…

Pauline Marois and the Parti Québécois have a very bad day

By Philippe Gohier - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 6:55 PM - 6 Comments

It’s hard to feel much sympathy for PQ leader Pauline Marois. It was an absolutely terrible idea for the PQ to support bill 204, which would immunize Quebecor’s arena rental deal with Quebec City from being tested before the province’s courts. It was an even worse idea for her to be petty and belligerent about it. The word ‘comeuppance’ keeps coming to mind.

At the same time, the PQ’s plight has become so pathetic as to be pitiable. Marois, you’ll recall, was already looking for ways to patch her battered caucus this morning after three party super-heavyweights—Louise Beaudoin, Pierre Curzi, and Lisette Lapointe—bolted yesterday. But that’s when Jean-Martin Aussant abruptly quit, giving the impression a full-blown mutiny was underway. In fact, Marois’s downfall is exactly what Aussant had in mind, telling reporters the PQ leader should resign.

Jean Charest drove in the final stake this afternoon when he announced the vote on bill 204 would be postponed until the fall. All that infighting inside the PQ, all that strategizing about how to win a vote that was threatening to derail Marois’s political career? Useless—all of it. Continue…