Chalk one up for Justin Trudeau's Senate surprise

There may well prove to be a great deal wrong with Justin Trudeau's plan to change the Senate, but being bold won't be one of them.

The Liberal leader sent jaws dropping and tongues wagging across Ottawa when he hoofed all 32 Liberal senators out of his caucus without notice, and promised a new, more transparent process for choosing members of the Red Chamber if he becomes prime minister.

As a political gambit, it was a corker. The proposals dominated political talk shows. Trudeau forced the other party leaders to respond to him.

In the process he repositioned himself and the Liberals from defenders of an institution discredited by scandal, to proponents of changes intended to make the Senate more effective, less partisan and ultimately less reviled.

"It was the surprise of the day. The talk of the day,'' Christian Bourque, a senior partner in the polling firm, Leger Marketing, told CBC News.

"I find it hard to see how average Canadians would fundamentally disagree with the move.''

"It's pretty clever,'' echoed Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs. "What he did was brought some bold new thinking to this, and a new decision that nobody was really thinking about. He acted decisively.''

Election impact?

It's also a pretty safe decision. Trudeau hasn't appointed any senators. He won't even get the chance to for two more years, perhaps longer if the Liberals can't form the government in 2015.

And that may prove to be a critical point. Because it's not at all clear whether Trudeau's proposals would really change anything — now or in the future — which is a view coming not just from his political opponents, but from the very Liberal senators he so summarily ushered out the door.

The tall guy in the centre is now former Liberal Senator James Cowan, who may still be the opposition leader in the Upper Chamber. So what has changed? (Blair Gable / Reuters)

James Cowan, the now former Liberal senator and still, possibly, leader of the opposition in the Senate, suggested there's little practical impact to the move.

"We have agreed that we will style ourselves as the Liberal Senate caucus,'' Cowan said. "I think not a lot will change.''

A similar view from Jim Munson, another now-former Liberal senator, but still possibly the opposition whip in the Senate.

"I am a Liberal, independent senator,'' he told reporters. "I'm still a strong supporter of the Liberal Party and a strong supporter of Justin Trudeau.''

The word play was all too much for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to resist during question period.

"I see the change announced today is that unelected Liberal senators become unelected senators who happen to be Liberal,'' he said to gales of laughter from his own benches.

Ditto for opposition leader Tom Mulcair, who reminded the Commons that Trudeau and his MPs voted against an NDP motion in October that would have prevented senators from engaging in partisan activities.

"We're glad the Liberal leader has changed his mind and he'll see the light again to work with us to abolish the Senate!'' More laughter, this time from the New Democrats.

Do the right thing

But even amidst the partisan ridicule, Trudeau accomplished something.

For a politician who's frequently criticized for having no ideas, the Senate proposal firmly positions the Liberals between the Conservatives' elect-or-bust approach to Senate reform, and the NDP's bust-up the Senate altogether.

He also got Harper and Mulcair to snipe at each other.

Mulcair needled Harper over his track record of appointing 59 senators since taking power; the prime minister responding by suggesting the only reason Mulcair hasn't appointed senators is that he's never had the chance to be prime minister, and never will.

It made for a highly entertaining QP. But strip away the rhetoric, and there's still much to debate.

In Trudeau's favour, the proposals are moderate and easily do-able. They won't require a constitutional amendment, or a protracted set of negotiations with the provinces.

What's more, they tap into what the Liberals believe is a public increasingly turned off by a prime minister who wields absolute power.

"I'm calling on the prime minister to do the right thing,'' Trudeau said Wednesday. "Make senators independent of political parties. And end partisanship in the Senate now.''

Harper, of course, is in a legal limbo. His proposals for Senate elections and term limits, continues to await a ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada.

Harper has promised not to appoint any new senators until that decision is made.

But with five more senators reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 this year, and two more in 2015, holding off could put even his celebrated will power to the test.

Mulcair also faces a challenge. Abolishing the Senate sounds good. It even looks good on paper. But it, too, will likely require negotiations with the provinces.

None of this is to say that Trudeau is suddenly in command of the Senate issue.

Auditor General Michael Ferguson is investigating all senators' expenses, and an interim report is expected soon.

With that on the horizon, more than few political wags are already suggesting that Trudeau's plan is really a pre-emptive move to blunt criticism should any of the now, suddenly former Liberal senators be found to have misused taxpayers' money.

If that happens, don't expect jaws to drop. But the same tongues will be wagging once again, right across Ottawa.

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What's a caucus anyway? 3 things to know

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's move to cut loose his party's senators led to confusion Wednesday about what it would mean for the 32 newly Independent senators. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's move to cut loose his party's senators led to confusion Wednesday about what it would mean for the 32 newly Independent senators. The debate raises questions about what a caucus means to its members.

So, what exactly is a caucus and what does it mean for senators who were formerly part of the Liberal caucus?

1. Party caucuses

A caucus can be any grouping of similar parliamentarians, including a women's caucus, a regional caucus or a party caucus. All three major parties meet separately every Wednesday morning, with the Conservatives and Liberals — at least until Wednesday — gathering their MPs and senators together to discuss policy and strategy. The NDP has no senators, so its MPs make up the entire caucus.

To be a recognized party in the Senate, a caucus must have five members. About 20 former Liberal senators met with Trudeau Wednesday morning and decided they would continue to sit together, as the Senate Liberals. They kept James Cowan as their leader and Joan Fraser as their deputy leader, and Cowan said the caucus will maintain the ability to discipline its members — essentially keeping the same structure they'd had before they met with Trudeau.

2. Budget and research

The Liberal Party didn't directly fund its Senate offices, although the House and Senate shared research and policy. The caucus chair directs a research bureau, whose information will also be off-limits to senators from now on. 

That said, there's nothing stopping senators and MPs from exchanging ideas and information on issues, something that's already done across parties when MPs decide to work together on a problem.

Senate Speaker Noël Kinsella agreed that Senate Liberals qualify as the second-largest party in the upper chamber, and therefore as official Opposition in the Senate. That means they can keep their budget for the Senate opposition leader, deputy leader and whip's offices, which pays for research and staff.

3. Committees and procedure

Kinsella's ruling was also important for Senate Liberals so that they have standing to negotiate the timing of votes with the government and for some of the speaking privileges granted to leaders. It means their party's whip is recognized, and gives them the ability to put senators on committees. Senators who aren't actually members of a committee can ask questions if given permission by the chair, but cannot vote on committee motions.

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Destruction of books from Fisheries libraries cost thousands

It's costing the federal government more than $22,000 to dispose of books and research material from Fisheries and Oceans scientific libraries across the country, according to new documents.

The information comes from the office of Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea. It was prompted by a request from Liberal MP Lawrence MacAulay last October, after reports surfaced that seven Fisheries and Oceans libraries were being closed and the materials destroyed.

"These numbers prove it that was a destructive process," said MacAulay in an interview with CBC News.

Fisheries and Oceans is closing seven of its 11 libraries by 2015. It's hoping to save more than $443,000 in 2014-15 by consolidating its collections into four remaining libraries.

Shea told CBC News in a statement Jan. 6 that all copyrighted material has been digitized and the rest of the collection will be soon. The government says that putting material online is a more efficient way of handling it.

But documents from her office show there's no way of really knowing that is happening.

"The Department of Fisheries and Oceans' systems do not enable us to determine the number of items digitized by location and collection," says the response by the minister's office to MacAulay's inquiry.

The documents also that show the department had to figure out what to do with 242,207 books and research documents from the libraries being closed. It kept 158,140 items and offered the remaining 84,067 to libraries outside the federal government.

Shea's office told CBC that the books were also "offered to the general public and recycled in a 'green fashion' if there were no takers."

The fate of thousands of books appears to be "unknown," although the documents' numbers show 160 items from the Maurice Lamontagne Library in Mont Jolie, Que., were "discarded."  A Radio-Canada story in June about the library showed piles of volumes in dumpsters.

And the numbers prove a lot more material was tossed out. The bill to discard material from four of the seven libraries totals $22,816.76.

MacAulay said there's no proof it saved any money.

"When these seven libraries were in place there was information that was very important to the fishing industry, and now  they're gone," he said.

Fisheries and Oceans is just one of the 14 federal departments, including Health Canada and Environment Canada, that have been shutting physical libraries and digitizing or consolidating the material into closed central book vaults.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May thinks that it may illegal.

"These materials are not the property of any government of the day to dispose of casually," said May in an interview with CBC News. "The government or the department is not allowed to dispose of them willy-nilly."

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says she wants to know if Library and Archives Canada signed off on the disposal of books and research material from closing federal science libraries. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

May said the handling of library material contravenes sections of the Library and Archives Canada Act. Section 16 of the act says that "all publications that have become surplus to the requirements of any government institution shall be placed in the care and control of the Librarian and Archivist."

Section 12 points out publications can't be disposed of without the "written consent of the Librarian or Archivist."

"The purpose of the act is to stop what has happened here," said May. "Material of value to Canada has been cast to the four winds and that violates the act."

May said she talked to Hervé Déry, the interim librarian and archivist of Canada, and it's clear to her the rules weren't followed.

But a spokesman from Library and Archives Canada said the act allows for departments to throw out surplus research and books, as long as it's done properly and valuable material is kept.

"LAC works closely with departments and provides them with guidelines and other resources to ensure that these mandatory processes are understood and followed," wrote Richard Provencher in a statement.

"LAC has had these discussions with all of the closing departmental libraries that have been mentioned in recent media reports."

But May isn't convinced and is considered legal options, including a complaint to the RCMP.

Mobile users, read the document here (pdf)

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Trudeau says Senate change unconnected with auditor general report

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau told CBC News on Wednesday that his surprise decision to expel all his party's members in the scandal-plagued Senate from the Liberal caucus has nothing to do with an impending auditor general's report.

"I know absolutely nothing" about the report, Trudeau said in an interview with CBC chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge that aired on The National.

Trudeau had announced Wednesday morning that the former Liberal senators will sit as Independents, and they will have no formal ties to the Liberal parliamentary machinery except through friendships.

Auditor General Michael Ferguson is currently reviewing the Senate's spending, leading the Conservatives to suggest Trudeau's move is meant to distance the party from Ferguson's findings.

Trudeau acknowledged transparency and accountability over expenses are hurdles the Senate must overcome, but said his decision is not about those problems.

"It's a separate problem from the excessive partisanship and patronage in the Senate, which is what I have moved to eliminate today."

He said his decision came today rather than if he is elected as Canada's next prime minister because "it's never the wrong time to do the right thing."

Trudeau told Mansbridge he made the change to show the Senate could be made better without reopening the Constitution.

Trudeau said removing the Senators from his caucus will change the conditions under which they consider legislation because they will not have to worry about the political implications on their party.

This is a first step in improving the "partisanship and partisan interference" in the Senate, he said.

Watch the complete interview in the video above.

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Leona Aglukkaq denies conflict of interest allegations

The federal minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency is hitting back at critics accusing her of conflict of interest.

The Nunavut Conservative Party Riding Association threw a $100 a plate fundraiser in Ottawa Tuesday night.

It took place at the Westin Hotel, the official hotel partner of the annual Northern Lights conference and trade show, which got underway the next day. 

Leona Aglukkaq was the guest of honour.

A media report by CTV said some of the people who attended work for organizations that get funding from CanNor, including special guest Nellie Cournoyea, chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, which got more than $200,000 in funding from CanNor last year. 

The event has raised questions about whether the minister is in breach of the federal Conflict of Interest Act.

In Question Period yesterday, opposition liberals challenged Aglukkaq about the fundraiser, and she responded.

"I'd like to thank the honourable member for that question so I can correct that inaccurate news story, and correct that inaccurate question," she said in the House of Commons. "There was an event for a local riding. It was never advertised as anything more, and was fully consistent with the guidelines that are in place."

The Northern Lights trade show highlights businesses and trade opportunities in Canada's North and Eastern Arctic. It's organized by the Labrador North Chamber of Commerce and the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce in Nunavut. 

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The new ministerial responsibility: punish the underlings

Near the end of the fall sitting of Parliament, Tom Mulcair had a little bee in his bonnet over the lost, then found, emails of Ben Perrin, the prime minister's former legal counsel at the centre of the Duffy-Wright affair. 

During question period in the Commons Dec. 3, Mulcair pummelled Harper's stand-in, Industry Minister James Moore, with questions about transparency.

After a bit of back and forth, Moore offered that "the Privy Council Office has taken responsibility for the mistake that it made in not handing over the information to the RCMP."

To which Mulcair replied, "apparently the only person who has not assumed responsibility is the person who is responsible. The Privy Council Office is the ministry of the prime minister and ministerial responsibility should apply first and foremost to the prime minister."

Well, not so much. And here's why the Leader of the Official Opposition should remember that when Parliament resumes sitting Monday.

Somewhere between the first Conservative election victory and the last election, the rules on ministerial responsibility changed without any fanfare or public discussion.

The 2007 guide for ministers, written by the PCO, explained ministerial responsibility this way: "Ministers are individually responsible to Parliament and the prime minister for their own actions and those of their department, including the actions of all officials under their management and direction, whether or not the Ministers had prior knowledge."

By 2011, there had been a shift in thinking.

"Ministerial accountability to Parliament does not mean that a minister is presumed to have knowledge of every matter that occurs within his or her department or portfolio, nor that the minister is necessarily required to accept blame for every matter," wrote PCO in an updated version of the pamphlet.

This includes Nigel Wright

And the new rules didn't just apply to bureaucrats but to the minister's political staff as well. They are the partisans who handle everything from answering media inquiries to advising them on policy.

They are people like Nigel Wright, the prime minister's former chief of staff, who cut a $90,000 cheque to Senator Mike Duffy last year. According to the new rules, those people are now responsible for their screw-ups.

Nigel Wright is the prime minister's former chief of staff. He cut a $90,000 cheque for Senator Mike Duffy last year. He no longer works for the prime minister because of that. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

"This shift in the guidelines puts them in a more precarious position. Because if the minister isn't responsible for their actions — at least in terms of explaining them — then the minister has this incredible 'get out jail free' card to just blame staff," said David McLaughlin, who served as chief of staff for former prime minister Brian Mulroney and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

But there is something even more fundamental about the change in ministerial responsibility, according to Lori Turnbull, a self-described political nerd with a job to match her interests. She teaches political science at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

"In a parliamentary system, it's the way that a government is held to account in the House of Commons," she explained.

"That's how Canadians know what's going on in government, what's going on in departments, what's going on with spending, policies, programs. It's because the ministers have to be in the House to answer questions. That's what ministerial responsibility is in a practical sense."

For McLaughlin, that is the most important thing about holding cabinet members to account: we know where they live. They live in the House of Commons. Political staff, on the other hand, don't really have a fixed address like their bosses.

"This movement away from that principle in the guideline is fudging that accountability linkage," said McLaughlin.

The switch is making it harder to hold the minister and government responsible for their actions, he argued.

"They can simply say, well, it was a political staffer. I'm not accountable for that. I'm not responsible for that."

PCO: language plainer

In an email to CBC News, the PCO's chief spokesman disagreed with that assessment.

"Ministers are required to attend to all matters in Parliament concerning their portfolio organizations, including answering questions. As stated in the 2011 edition, ministers must also take appropriate corrective action to address any problems that may arise within their portfolio organizations, which includes problems arising from the actions of officials," wrote Raymond Rivet, the PCO's director of communications.

In essence, cabinet members don't have to take the blame but they do have to clean up the mess. And this, wrote Rivet, is nothing new.

"There has been no shift in the concept of ministerial accountability; there has always been a distinction between actions deemed blameworthy and the idea that ministers must answer questions in Parliament," argued Rivet. All that has changed is the language.

It's a lot plainer, he explained.

Stockwell Day says he couldn't agree more.

Stockwell Day is a former minister of Public Safety, International Trade and president of the Treasury Board. He doesn't think ministers should have to take responsibility for everything that happens in their offices or departments. (CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)

"A minister cannot be held responsible for the actions of every employee in her ministry," the former Conservative minister of Public Safety, International Trade and Treasury Board president said in an email to the CBC.

He even offered up an example of how he interpreted the concept of ministerial responsibility: the obnoxious drunk in the office.

"The minister cannot be held responsible [for this]. However she must require that a thorough assessment of the situation be done, including  an undertaking on behalf of anybody who may have been hurt and whether there is a counselling plan and/or legal consequences in place for the offender."

Narrowing of accountability

McLaughlin calls this explanation a narrowing of accountability. He said it's obvious that not every offence demands a ministerial hanging despite what the opposition and the media often demand. 

But he thinks the original principle is critical.

"Accountability means accepting responsibility (a) for the action, and (b) for the correction. PCO/PMO guidelines suggest only the latter responsibility."

Turnbull put an even sharper point on it than that.

While these guidelines are written down, they are just guidelines, she said. The idea of ministerial responsibility is a convention. It is an unwritten constitutional rule.

"It's easier to ignore an unwritten convention than it is to ignore a written part of the constitution," she pointed out.

"It becomes a test of what the government can get away with if they want to start playing with conventions. And that's a huge problem," she added.

"These guidelines do not gel with the rest of our system."

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DND hiring mental health professionals following suicides

Department in process of hiring up to 54 people to fill need first identified a decade ago

The Canadian Press Posted: Jan 27, 2014 7:06 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 27, 2014 8:33 AM ET

A budgetary turf war that has stymied the hiring of mental health professionals at National Defence may be finally coming to an end, now that the military is facing a suicide crisis.

The department says it's now in the process of hiring up to 54 people to fill a need that was first identified a decade ago when Canada's war in Afghanistan began to heat up.

Defence sources say the department's inability to fill the desperately needed positions has the taint of deficit-fighting politics.

Both opposition parties say the fact soldiers have had to take their own lives to prompt the government to start moving on hiring more psychiatrists and other mental health personnel is "deeply shocking."

New Democrat Jack Harris and Liberal defence critic Joyce Murray say it's unconscionable, especially in light of stories they've heard from soldiers and their families who sometimes wait up to two years for access to counselling services.

Canada's Armed Forces have been rocked by several suicides over the past few months.

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Prostitution ruling, euthanasia debate crowd MacKay's agenda

Revamping the nation's prostitution laws was decidedly not on the government's official law-and-order agenda until the Supreme Court of Canada put it there.

The court also added assisted suicide into the mix when it agreed to hear an appeal out of B.C. on euthanasia in January.

In December, the top court struck down the laws banning brothels, prohibiting solicitation and living off the profits of sex work.

"This idea of having these common bawdy houses is of concern, particularly when one thinks about the potential for this to open Canada up as a sex-tourism destination," said Justice Minister Peter MacKay in an interview with CBC News.

MacKay said he discussed the issue with officials in his department recently. He said staff have looked at approaches taken in other other countries, including the so-called Nordic model of legislation that is enforced in Sweden and Norway. He said the government intends to draft legislation that would help people transition out of sex work while punishing the pimps and johns.

"We believe that prostitution is intrinsically degrading and harmful to vulnerable persons, especially women and we intend to protect women and protect society generally from exploitation and abuse," said MacKay.

The minister said the process of drafting new legislation will include extensive consultations with experts, the provincial and territorial governments as well as the public.

Prostitution isn't a complex issue for the government alone. Françoise Boivin, the NDP's justice critic, said the issue is a difficult one for the opposition as well.

"It's going to derail a bit (the government's) agenda for the year, especially because prostitution's got a deadline. So we have 12 months. If all parties dreaded the moment that they would have to stand on the issue one way or the other, well the moment is now."

But, she adds, prostitution won't be the only sensitive social topic to disrupt the government's law-and-order agenda.

MacKay anticipates that the assisted suicide issue will end up in government's lap.

Cause for 'reflection'

So far the government's position has been that the Criminal Code provisions prohibiting assisted suicide and euthanasia are in place to protect the most vulnerable. But, a lot has changed since the Supreme Court refused a request from Sue Rodriguez two decades ago to have a doctor help end her life. Many countries and two U.S. states have legalized assisted suicide.

MacKay said he's prepared for an intense national discussion.

"It all depends on your perspective and experience. I know Steven Fletcher for example, who survived a horrendous accident, his insights and personal perspective on this have caused me a lot of reflection to be quite honest," MacKay said.

Fletcher, who is Canada's first quadriplegic MP, supports assisted suicide.

Boivin said debates about assisted suicide and prostitution are issues the government doesn't want to be discussing so close to an election.

"It will bring back a lot of their righteous people who were a bit disappointed on the government's attitude and Stephen Harper's promise to not re-open the abortion issue," she said.

Victims' rights, sentencing

But MacKay said issues such as prostitution will not dominate the entire legislative agenda. He said he remains focused on, among other things, a Canadian victims' Bill of Rights, cyberbullying, tougher sentences for people who commit sexual offences against children and amendments to the law relating to people found not-criminally-responsible for their actions due to a mental disorder.

The latter bill would create a new, high-risk designation for those who are violent and would keep them in secure medical facilities.

"We feel that the element of the risk that a further violent act could be committed justifies bringing in this bill that will provide greater scrutiny and greater assurance that the public is protected," the minister said.

The government will also find itself defending its record this session. The Conservatives have been in power long enough now that challenges to some of their earlier pieces of legislation are making their way to the top court.

Graham Mayeda teaches law at the University of Ottawa and says most of those challenges have something in common. "A big thrust of the legislation has been to reduce the discretion that judges have to apply the law in a way that's suitable for the circumstances of the offender that's before them," he said.

Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada heard three appeals related to the government's Truth in Sentencing Act.  Mayeda says the government can also expect to see high-level challenges to some mandatory minimum sentences.

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Parliament's return a warm-up for the next election

An election is a year or more away, yet when Parliament is back in business Monday it will be hard to interpret any activity in a way that isn't somehow related to the vote scheduled in 2015.

Expect to see a few new distractions. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau will be showcasing his new star MP Chrystia Freeland prominently on his front bench. One source of entertainment for political observers will be how she performs in question period.

Former New Democrat MP Bruce Hyer, who moved to the Green Party following a stint as an independent MP, will be sitting beside his leader, Elizabeth May, bringing the Green Party's total caucus to two.

But the main government theme of the winter sitting is the 2014 budget — rumoured to be early, perhaps coming down within weeks — that will prepare the ground for the election a year later.

There is only one goal the budget must achieve: to be in balance in time for the Conservatives' election campaign.  Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has been sounding bullish lately about eliminating the deficit in 2015. That will trigger some of the party's 2011 election promises, which hinged on the budget being in balance.

As Parliament returns Monday, politicians will be preparing the ground for the next election expected in 2015. (Patrick Doyle/Canadian Press)

"The indications are that the fiscal situation is better than they've let it be known," said Kul Bhatia, who teaches economics at Western University.

"This is based on some information that they have that is not in the public domain — that's my hunch."

What also might be hidden in the budget, says Nelson Wiseman, who teaches political science at the University of Toronto, is new legislation that has nothing to do with spending. Environmental changes and new rules about selecting Supreme Court judges were tucked away in the voluminous pages of last year's omnibus budget implementation bill.

"It's disrespectful of Parliament," Wiseman said. "But what the last election demonstrated, when (then Liberal leader) Michael Ignatieff made a point of running on the disrespect for Parliament, the Canadian public didn't care. And they [the Conservatives] know that."

Consumers' rights are a theme

One of the themes of this sitting will be aimed at how voters are perceived more and more by politicians: as consumers.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair spent last week on what the party called an affordability tour, focusing on credit card fees, gas prices and companies who ding customers who still get their bills by mail.   

NDP House Leader Nathan Cullen, speaking to CBC News, accused the Conservatives of stealing "four or five ideas from the NDP. Well, [it's] the nicest form of flattery, if you actually go out and do it."

Perhaps anticipating that do-nothing accusation from the NDP on the first day the House sits, the government quietly announced Friday it was removing the HST and GST from hospital parking fees.

Government House Leader Peter Van Loan said in an interview the government would be introducing legislation giving consumers the ability to unbundle their cable or satellite television service and choose only the channels they want. 

"More consumer choice, more freedom, more choices," he said.

Industry Minister James Moore is expected to introduce a bill on domestic roaming rates for cell phones almost right away, Yaroslav Baran, a former Conservative staffer who's now with Earnscliffe Strategy Group, told CBC News. 

The government also plans legislation this sitting on child sexual predators, as well as a long-promised victims' bill of rights. However, Van Loan said there would be no "immediate" legislation on prostitution, even though the Supreme Court of Canada last month threw out current laws and gave the government a year to come up with new ones.  

Senate scandal will return

For Justin Trudeau, this is his second crack at having several months in a row in the House as Liberal leader. It was predicted the House is a place in which he would not shine. Yet his party is not only still leading the polls nine months after he became leader, but also catching up to the Conservatives when it comes to fundraising.

A little more than a month after Canada Post announced it would eliminate urban letter-mail delivery within five years, the Liberals plan to make that change a focus of their work in the House, a spokeswoman for the party said Friday.

It's likely the Senate scandal will continue to take up much of the time in question period. The scandal's reach into the Prime Minister's Office makes it an irresistible issue for the NDP.

Observers are waiting to see whether the RCMP follow through with criminal charges against four errant senators, but Mulcair's prosecutor-in-chief style of questioning doesn't depend on charges.

The NDP leader has drawn praise for his skill in questioning the prime minister about what he knew about his former chief of staff's payment to Senator Mike Duffy.

The Senate scandal is "death by a thousand cuts for the Conservatives, at the moment," Cullen said.  

Baran said that as soon as the government receives an opinion from the Supreme Court about the constitutional legalities of its Senate reform bill, it will act "quickly and boldly," and could even introduce legislation about a referendum on Senate abolition.  

One topic that preoccupied political observers in the fall — whether Prime Minister Stephen Harper is planning on stepping down — seems to have vaporized, notwithstanding his trip to Israel last week, an experience so clearly meaningful to him it seemed like the ticking off of a bucket list.

"Harper is now going after the record books— the fourth consecutive win — that's driving him now," Bhatia said.

Baran agrees.

"I can speak from the perspective of someone who knows how his brain works and who knows him as a person," Baran said.

"This is his dream job. I don't see why he would leave it prematurely."

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Dean Del Mastro criticizes Bank of Canada, Jim Flaherty

Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro in the House of Commons. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former parliamentary secretary is criticizing the government and the Bank of Canada over monetary policy.

Dean Del Mastro says Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and the central bank have encouraged a devaluation of the dollar.

Del Mastro told Peterborough radio station CKRU that recent comments by Flaherty and Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz have had the effect of reducing the currency's value by about five per cent.

Del Mastro was one of the most fiercely partisan Conservatives in the caucus and was a vocal defender of the government in the House of Commons. But last year he was charged under the Elections Act accused of improper election spending and resigned from the Conservative caucus. Del Mastro has said he has done nothing wrong.

In an interview with CKRU over the weekend, Del Mastro said a devalued dollar means higher costs for Canadians. "The effect of the P\prime minister, the finance minister, and the governor of the Bank of Canada coming out and attacking the Canadian dollar was to reduce its value by about five per cent over the last two weeks," Del Mastro told the radio station in an interview.

"That means the price of goods everyone has to buy...these things will, over time, go up in price."

The dollar closed out last week at 90.31 cents (U.S.).

The central bank said last week that despite depreciating in recent months, the Canadian dollar remains strong and will continue to pose "competitiveness challenges for Canada's non-commodity exports."

It was seen by some experts as a strong statement that suggested the dollar remains overvalued and further depreciation is welcome.

Flaherty has also noted a weak dollar can spur economic growth by boosting exports, a comment that drew criticism from the Liberals, who expressed similar concerns to those of Del Mastro.

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More see Trudeau as excellent prime minister than Harper: poll

More Canadians think Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau would do an excellent job as prime minister than either NDP Leader Tom Mulcair or Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a new poll by Abacus Data suggests.

The poll also suggests 68 per cent of Canadians believe Harper is not honest and accountable.

When Canadians were asked: "Thinking about the following political leaders, how well would each do as prime minister?" 28 per cent said Prime Minister Stephen Harper would do a good or excellent job, while 29 per cent thought he would do an acceptable job and 42 per cent thought he would do a poor or very poor job.

For NDP Leader Tom Mulcair 27 per cent of the respondents thought he would do a good or excellent job as prime minister, 48 per cent thought he would do an acceptable job and 25 per cent thought he would do a poor or very poor job.

Trudeau came out on top. Thirty-five per cent responded he would do a good/excellent job, 38 per cent thought he would do an acceptable job and 27 per cent thought he would do a poor or very poor job.

The chair of Abacus Data, Bruce Anderson, said the poll numbers put to rest the notion that if someone doesn't have the job, they couldn't possibly do the job, and reveals a very competitive race.

Just over 40 per cent of Canadians thought Harper would do a poor or very poor job as prime minister, and that could be problematic.

"It's very high and he's been a polarizing figure, " Anderson told Evan Solomon on CBC Radio's The House.

"I think the other thing that we're seeing in these numbers is that the number of people who say Justin Trudeau would do a good or excellent job is substantially higher than either Mr. Harper or Mr. Mulcair," Anderson said.

Abacus also tested some of the attack lines each party has been using against the other leaders to explore the weaknesses or potential weaknesses of each leader, including questions on Trudeau's judgment, Harper's honesty and Mulcair's ability to handle the economy.

On Trudeau respondents were asked: When it comes to what it takes to be prime minister of Canada does Trudeau have sound judgment? Fifty-three per cent of respondents said yes and 47 per cent said no. Respondents were also asked whether Trudeau has good ideas for the country's future. Fifty-nine per cent said yes, and 41 per cent said no.

"I think the 59% good ideas for the country really stands out for me because his critics have been quick to pounce on his statements on certain policy issues and say he's got wonky ideas, bad ideas for the country, and I think Canadians are telling us here they don't necessarily see things that way," Anderson said.

On Harper, respondents were asked when it comes to what it takes to be prime minister does Harper govern according to values you share. Only 38 per cent said yes, while 62 per cent said no. When asked whether Harper is honest and accountable, 32 per cent said yes and 68 per cent said no.

Anderson said these low numbers are a cumulative effect for the prime minister, with last year being the worst for the Conservatives since Harper came into office.

"He came into office and won his first election on the back of a movement in the country that said we need more honesty, we need more accountability," Anderson said. "I think last year has been a terrible year for the Conservative brand – and the prime minister in particular – on the question of honestly and accountability."

Anderson also said the perception that Harper is a highly partisan figure has also hurt him.

"These numbers basically put the Conservatives on watch that they need to do better if they're going to win another election," he said.

On NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, respondents were asked about his grasp on the economy and his temperament. Forty-nine per cent said Mulcair has a good grasp of how the economy works, 51 per cent said no. And it was evenly split at 50 per cent  when respondents were asked whether Mulcair had the right temperament to be prime minister.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing, Anderson said,  "you only need about 36, 37, 38 per cent to win an election."

'These numbers basically put the Conservatives on watch, that they need to do better if they're going to win another election'- Bruce Anderson, Abacus Data

He said the two things that are important about these numbers for Mulcair is that a lot of Canadians "are open-minded about the prospect that he'd be a good prime minister."

As well, his potential weakness is not necessarily temperament, but his economic policies. Anderson also said Canadians in Atlantic Canada and Quebec had a lot more confidence in Mulcair's views of the economy than in the Western provinces.

The poll was conducted online in both English and French between Jan. 14-18, 2014. Results are based on responses from 1,996 people. There is no margin of error for the survey since the selection of respondents was not random.

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NDP's Sitsabaiesan 'right to be concerned' in Sri Lanka, says Mulcair

NDP MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan said she was warned by Sri Lankan officials during a recent private visit to the country that she could be arrested and deported.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair is defending MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan's trip to Sri Lanka over the holidays in a recent letter to the high commissioner, stating that Sitsabaiesan had "no intention to embarrass" the country's government.

The letter was sent in response to accusations by the Sri Lankan high commissioner that Sitsabaiesan was trying to do just that by claiming she faced political intimidation while on a personal trip to the country.

Mulcair said the controversy was only created when Sitsabaiesan was followed, and that she "was right to be concerned."

Sitsabaiesan, who is of Tamil heritage, travelled to the South Asian country on Dec. 28, 2013 to visit relatives and learn about human rights. In a statement released earlier this month, the MP said she was warned by Sri Lankan officials during her private visit that she could be arrested and deported. 

"I recently arrived in Sri Lanka to visit my extended family and visit the places that were once home for me, during the earlier stages of my life and the civil war in Sri Lanka; but [I] was subject to political intimidation," the statement read.

The commission took issue with the words "political intimidation," which High Commissioner Chitranganee Wagiswara called "grossly incorrect" in her letter to Mulcair dated Jan. 8.

"I also believe you would not want the MPs of your Party to make arrogant and patronizing statements about foreign states which creates a bad reflection on your Party and your policies," she wrote.

Mulcair had his own strong words in his response, saying that the Sri Lankan government's "human rights record continues to cause significant concern around the world."

He went on to urge the Sri Lankan government to hold an independent, impartial international inquiry into allegations of human rights violations and war crimes.

According to fellow New Democrat MP Paul Dewar, Sitsabaiesan was followed and closely monitored by authorities from the moment she arrived for her visit.

Authorities showed up at Sitsabaiesan's hotel one night to try to meet with her but she did not respond, Dewar said.

He said officials were concerned that Sitsabaiesan had met with a Sri Lankan MP and had visited an orphanage. The visits involved family, he added, noting the local MP was a cousin.

Sitsabaiesan is not the first parliamentarian to stir up a bit of controversy while travelling in Sri Lanka.

Two Green Party MPs — one from Australia, the other from New Zealand — had their passports confiscated in November just before a planned news conference in Sri Lanka to describe human-rights abuses they were told of during their trip.

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Chuck Strahl steps down as spy watchdog amid lobbying questions

Former Conservative cabinet minister Chuck Strahl announced his resignation as chair of the security intelligence review committee Friday, following questions about his work as a lobbyist for pipeline giant Enbridge. 

SIRC is the body that oversees the activities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

"I retired from politics three years ago and do not wish to be in the centre of the political fray. Nor do I want to be a distraction from the important work SIRC does everyday in ensuring the security of Canadians," Strahl wrote in his resignation letter to  Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Strahl ran into trouble earlier this month when it was revealed that along with his SIRC duties he was lobbying on behalf of Enbridge, the company hoping to build the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline between Alberta and the British Columbia coast. CSIS has been known to keep tabs on First Nations and environmental groups opposed to the pipeline.

Forest Ethics Advocacy, an environmental group opposed to the project, issued a statement at the beginning of January calling on Strahl to resign.

Former Conservative cabinet minister Chuck Strahl resigned as chair of the Security Intelligence Review Committee the body that oversees the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

In his resignation letter, Strahl said he had checked with the ethics commissioner about his activities outside of SIRC and was always found to be in compliance with the rules. He also attached a copy of the letter from the commissioner.

"[They] have affirmed that all of my post-political activities were consistently appropriate and above board. Any recent criticism in this regard is entirely spurious and unfounded," Strahl wrote.

In a recent CBC investigation, national affairs specialist Greg Weston found Strahl was not alone on SIRC when it came to ties with the oil, gas and pipeline industries. Denis Losier sits on the board of directors of Enbridge New Brunswick, and Yves Fortier was previously on the board of TransCanada Pipelines, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline, which will carry Alberta crude to refineries in the southern United States when, and if, it gets the green light from the U.S. government.

Mobile users can read the documents here, here and here

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Harper to call for emergency debate on Ukraine

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will call for an emergency debate on the turmoil in Ukraine when Parliament resumes next week.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivers a statement while aboard a plane en route from Amman, Jordan to Ottawa on Saturday. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

"We understand that this violence is occurring because the majority of the population is very worried about the steps taken by their government that very much remind them of their anti-democratic and Soviet past," Harper told reporters on his plane returning from Jordan on Saturday. 

"The government of Canada very much shares the concern of the majority of the Ukrainian people,"when it comes to the "growing political conflict and violence," he said in a statement.

Two Conservative MPs, Ted Opitz and James Bezan, have asked for an emergency debate in the House of Commons, which Harper says his government supports.

Harper took no questions but added, "We will continue to work with our allies and partners to determine what the necessary and the appropriate response to all this should be."

Anti-government protesters in Ukraine were once again clashing with police on Saturday in the capital, Kyiv. The unrest has spread to many other cities in the country, despite the promise of government concessions.

On Friday, President Viktor Yanukovych promised amnesty to detained activists and a change to harsh anti-protests laws, according to news agencies in Ukraine.

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Judges' advice on Marc Nadon Supreme Court appointment cost $11K

The prime minister's controversial decision to appoint Justice Marc Nadon to the Supreme Court of Canada hasn't come cheap.

Anticipating debate over the nomination, the government sought to pre-emptively extinguish questions about Nadon's eligibility by obtaining some esteemed outside legal advice. Documents obtained through Access to Information show those consultations cost more than $11,000.

The government paid retired Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie $7,463.65 to answer the question: "Is a sitting judge of the Federal Court qualified for appointment to the Supreme Court as a Quebec member" if he or she practiced law in Quebec for at least 10 years prior to becoming a judge. In an eight-page report, Binnie replied yes.

The government then went one step further and asked retired Supreme Court Justice Louise Charron and renowned constitutional expert Peter Hogg to conduct their own reviews of the Binnie opinion. Both endorsed Binnie's findings.

Charron was paid $4,325 for her time. The documents do not reveal how much Hogg was paid and when contacted by CBC News, Hogg said he regards that information as confidential.

In the minds of many legal observers though, all three distinguished legal experts lacked one critical qualification for opining on the Nadon case — being a Quebecer.

In releasing the information, the department of justice Access to Information officer released 237 of 460 pages, but almost every page is blacked out, save for the date, salutation and signature on every email. The officer explained most of the information is redacted because it is either personal, financial, confidential advice or covered by solicitor-client privilege.

Ultimately, the federal government's efforts to appease critics of Nadon's appointment did not deter the Quebec attorney general and Toronto constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati from challenging whether the judge is eligible for the job.

That, in turn, forced the government to make declaratory amendments to the Supreme Court Act and refer questions about Nadon's eligibility to the Supreme Court of Canada for a five-hour hearing on Jan. 15. The court reserved its decision.

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Chuck Strahl steps down as spy watchdog amid lobbying questions

Former Conservative cabinet minister Chuck Strahl announced his resignation as chair of the security intelligence review committee Friday, following questions about his work as a lobbyist for pipeline giant Enbridge. 

SIRC is the body that oversees the activities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

"I retired from politics three years ago and do not wish to be in the centre of the political fray. Nor do I want to be a distraction from the important work SIRC does everyday in ensuring the security of Canadians," Strahl wrote in his resignation letter to  Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Strahl ran into trouble earlier this month when it was revealed that along with his SIRC duties he was lobbying on behalf of Enbridge, the company hoping to build the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline between Alberta and the British Columbia coast. CSIS has been known to keep tabs on First Nations and environmental groups opposed to the pipeline.

Forest Ethics Advocacy, an environmental group opposed to the project, issued a statement at the beginning of January calling on Strahl to resign.

Former Conservative cabinet minister Chuck Strahl resigned as chair of the Security Intelligence Review Committee the body that oversees the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

In his resignation letter, Strahl said he had checked with the ethics commissioner about his activities outside of SIRC and was always found to be in compliance with the rules. He also attached a copy of the letter from the commissioner.

"[They] have affirmed that all of my post-political activities were consistently appropriate and above board. Any recent criticism in this regard is entirely spurious and unfounded," Strahl wrote.

In a recent CBC investigation, national affairs specialist Greg Weston found Strahl was not alone on SIRC when it came to ties with the oil, gas and pipeline industries. Denis Losier sits on the board of directors of Enbridge New Brunswick, and Yves Fortier was previously on the board of TransCanada Pipelines, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline, which will carry Alberta crude to refineries in the southern United States when, and if, it gets the green light from the U.S. government.

Mobile users can read the documents here, here and here

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Ottawa defends spy agency, says collection of Canadians' data 'incidental'

The Canadian Press Posted: Jan 24, 2014 4:09 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 24, 2014 6:23 PM ET

The federal government is defending its secretive eavesdropping agency in a lawsuit filed by a B.C. civil rights group, insisting any collection of Canadians' communication is unintentional.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association filed a lawsuit last fall, alleging Canadians' communications were being illegally swept up by the Communications Security Establishment Canada, or CSEC.

The group's lawsuit targeted the spy agency's monitoring of foreign communications, as well as the collection of metadata, which reveals technical information but not the content of electronic communication.

But Ottawa has filed a statement of defence that says CSEC follows strict rules that prevent the agency from specifically targeting Canadians and its activities are monitored by an independent commissioner.

The government says it's impossible to know whether a foreign target may be communicating with someone in Canada, which means a "small" number of communications from Canadians has be collected.

As for the collection of metadata, the statement of defence says it plays a vital role in identifying and thwarting cyber threats.

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Ad industry group won't confirm sanction on government campaign

The Conservative government's $2.5 million campaign last spring to promote the Canada Jobs Grant, a proposed job-training program that still doesn't exist. (CBC)

Government advertisers are free to blatantly misrepresent services or programs without public censure from the ad industry's self-regulatory watchdog, so long as they stop airing the offending ads after citizens complain. 

The Conservative government's $2.5 million campaign last spring to promote the Canada Jobs Grant, a proposed job-training program that still doesn't exist almost a year later, is a case in point.

Both Global News and PostMedia News have revealed that Advertising Standards Canada, the "national, not-for-profit, advertising self-regulatory body," chided the government for the misleading ads, which were in heavy rotation last spring — including during pricey NHL playoff telecasts.

Not so fast, says a spokeswoman for the self-regulatory council.

"No, I can't," confirm the sanction, Janet Feasby, vice-president of standards with the council, said in an interview Friday.

Not always identified

The council publicly posts complaint reports, but there are two different ways of handling the disclosure, she said.

Some transgressors are identified, others are not.

If an advertiser pulls or changes an ad after people complain to the council, they don't get publicly identified.

"If the ad was not withdrawn or amended until after the council decision, that's when the advertiser is identified," said Feasby.

And so it is that a posting on Advertising Standards Canada's website shows that a "service provider" with a national television campaign advertising "a new program of services" attracted 22 complaints last year.

"To the council, the commercial conveyed the general impression that the services were universally accessible," says the posting. "In fact, they would not be accessible for some time."

The watchdog concluded that the commercial omitted relevant information.

But since the advertiser agreed to withdraw the ad, the offending party was never named.

Only a leak to Global News tipped anyone that the government of Canada had been busted. 

Council won't confirm complaints

Global's report, released in the August doldrums and widely overlooked, quoted a leaked letter from the council to the federal department that sounded the same concerns as the anonymous posting currently on the ASC web site.

"In reality, the implementation of this program is not imminent, and the process of obtaining such agreement may well take a considerable length of time if, in fact, an accord with the provinces and territories (on the grant proposal) is even possible," said the letter leaked to Global. It was signed by Janet Feasby.

Yet when The Canadian Press called Advertising Standards Canada last month, Feasby would not even divulge whether the council had ever received a single complaint about the Canada Jobs Grant ad.

NDP slams 'cloak of anonymity' 

Mathieu Ravignat, the NDP Treasury Board critic, says the industry watchdog should not be providing the government a cloak of anonymity.

"The council should come forward with specific information about what happened in this case so that Canadians can know how their tax dollars were abused," he said.

But others argue the incident highlights the need for dedicated public oversight of federal government advertising.

"What it does suggest is that while industry regulation might work for commercial advertisers, it does not work for government advertising," said political scientist Jonathan Rose, an expert in political advertising at Queen's University.

"Oversight needs to come from a neutral, non-partisan entity to ensure transparency. And that entity needs to be accountable to Parliament, not an industry umbrella group."

The Advertising Standards Canada web site states that it is "committed to fostering community confidence in advertising and to ensuring the integrity and viability of advertising in Canada through responsible industry self-regulation."

"Reporting on consumer complaints about advertising is an integral part of the advertising industry's commitment to an objective and transparent consumer complaint process," states the council.

Process 'quick and expedient' 

Feasby makes no apologies for the way the council handles problematic advertising.

The process gives consumers "a quick and expedient way of having complaints dealt with about ads," she said.

"The sole remedy under our code if an ad is found to contravene the code is to have the ad removed or amended appropriately. That's what consumers want and that's what is provided."

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NDP's Sitsabaiesan 'right to be concerned' in Sri Lanka, says Mulcair

NDP MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan said she was warned by Sri Lankan officials during a recent private visit to the country that she could be arrested and deported.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair is defending MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan's trip to Sri Lanka over the holidays in a recent letter to the high commissioner, stating that Sitsabaiesan had "no intention to embarrass" the country's government.

The letter was sent in response to accusations by the Sri Lankan high commissioner that Sitsabaiesan was trying to do just that by claiming she faced political intimidation while on a personal trip to the country.

Mulcair said the controversy was only created when Sitsabaiesan was followed, and that she "was right to be concerned."

Sitsabaiesan, who is of Tamil heritage, travelled to the South Asian country on Dec. 28, 2013 to visit relatives and learn about human rights. In a statement released earlier this month, the MP said she was warned by Sri Lankan officials during her private visit that she could be arrested and deported. 

"I recently arrived in Sri Lanka to visit my extended family and visit the places that were once home for me, during the earlier stages of my life and the civil war in Sri Lanka; but [I] was subject to political intimidation," the statement read.

The commission took issue with the words "political intimidation," which High Commissioner Chitranganee Wagiswara called "grossly incorrect" in her letter to Mulcair dated Jan. 8.

"I also believe you would not want the MPs of your Party to make arrogant and patronizing statements about foreign states which creates a bad reflection on your Party and your policies," she wrote.

Mulcair had his own strong words in his response, saying that the Sri Lankan government's "human rights record continues to cause significant concern around the world."

He went on to urge the Sri Lankan government to hold an independent, impartial international inquiry into allegations of human rights violations and war crimes.

According to fellow New Democrat MP Paul Dewar, Sitsabaiesan was followed and closely monitored by authorities from the moment she arrived for her visit.

Authorities showed up at Sitsabaiesan's hotel one night to try to meet with her but she did not respond, Dewar said.

He said officials were concerned that Sitsabaiesan had met with a Sri Lankan MP and had visited an orphanage. The visits involved family, he added, noting the local MP was a cousin.

Sitsabaiesan is not the first parliamentarian to stir up a bit of controversy while travelling in Sri Lanka.

Two Green Party MPs — one from Australia, the other from New Zealand — had their passports confiscated in November just before a planned news conference in Sri Lanka to describe human-rights abuses they were told of during their trip.

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More see Trudeau as excellent prime minister than Harper: poll

More Canadians think Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau would do an excellent job as prime minister than either NDP Leader Tom Mulcair or Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a new poll by Abacus Data suggests.

The poll also suggests 68 per cent of Canadians believe Harper is not honest and accountable.

When Canadians were asked: "Thinking about the following political leaders, how well would each do as prime minister?" 28 per cent said Prime Minister Stephen Harper would do a good or excellent job, while 29 per cent thought he would do an acceptable job and 42 per cent thought he would do a poor or very poor job.

For NDP Leader Tom Mulcair 27 per cent of the respondents thought he would do a good or excellent job as prime minister, 48 per cent thought he would do an acceptable job and 25 per cent thought he would do a poor or very poor job.

Trudeau came out on top. Thirty-five per cent responded he would do a good/excellent job, 38 per cent thought he would do an acceptable job and 27 per cent thought he would do a poor or very poor job.

The chair of Abacus Data, Bruce Anderson, said the poll numbers put to rest the notion that if someone doesn't have the job, they couldn't possibly do the job, and reveals a very competitive race.

Just over 40 per cent of Canadians thought Harper would do a poor or very poor job as prime minister, and that could be problematic.

"It's very high and he's been a polarizing figure, " Anderson told Evan Solomon on CBC Radio's The House.

"I think the other thing that we're seeing in these numbers is that the number of people who say Justin Trudeau would do a good or acceptable job is substantially higher than either Mr. Harper or Mr. Mulcair," Anderson said.

Abacus also tested some of the attack lines each party has been using against the other leaders to explore the weaknesses or potential weaknesses of each leader, including questions on Trudeau's judgment, Harper's honesty and Mulcair's ability to handle the economy.

On Trudeau respondents were asked: When it comes to what it takes to be prime minister of Canada does Trudeau have sound judgment? Fifty-three per cent of respondents said yes and 47 per cent said no. Respondents were also asked whether Trudeau has good ideas for the country's future. Fifty-nine per cent said yes, and 41 per cent said no.

"I think the 59% good ideas for the country really stands out for me because his critics have been quick to pounce on his statements on certain policy issues and say he's got wonky ideas, bad ideas for the country, and I think Canadians are telling us here they don't necessarily see things that way," Anderson said.

On Harper, respondents were asked when it comes to what it takes to be prime minister does Harper govern according to values you share. Only 38 per cent said yes, while 62 per cent said no. When asked whether Harper is honest and accountable, 32 per cent said yes and 68 per cent said no.

Anderson said these low numbers are a cumulative effect for the prime minister, with last year being the worst for the Conservatives since Harper came into office.

"He came into office and won his first election on the back of a movement in the country that said we need more honesty, we need more accountability," Anderson said. "I think last year has been a terrible year for the Conservative brand – and the prime minister in particular – on the question of honestly and accountability."

Anderson also said the perception that Harper is a highly partisan figure has also hurt him.

"These numbers basically put the Conservatives on watch that they need to do better if they're going to win another election," he said.

On NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, respondents were asked about his grasp on the economy and his temperament. Forty-nine per cent said Mulcair has a good grasp of how the economy works, 51 per cent said no. And it was evenly split at 50 per cent  when respondents were asked whether Mulcair had the right temperament to be prime minister.

That isn't necessariloy a bad thing, Anderson said, point out  "you only need about 36, 37, 38 per cent to win an election."

'These numbers basically put the Conservatives on watch, that they need to do better if they're going to win another election'- Bruce Anderson, Abacus Data

He said the two things that are important about these numbers for Mulcair is that a lot of Canadians "are open-minded about the prospect that he'd be a good prime minister."

As well, his potential weakness is not necessarily temperament, but his economic policies. Anderson also said Canadians in Atlantic Canada and Quebec had a lot more confidence in Mulcair's views of the economy than in the Western provinces.

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Lac-Mégantic disaster: Rail watchdog wants tougher tank car standards

The Transportation Safety Board has made new recommendations regarding how hydrocarbons like crude oil are carried by rail, including tougher standards for DOT-111 rail cars that are widely used in the oil-by-rail industry, months after the Lac-Mégantic, Que., disaster.

The agency is also demanding that emergency response plans be put in place along train routes that see high volumes of liquid hydrocarbons, and that new guidelines are created regarding which routes are chosen to transport such hazardous material.

"The TSB wants railways to carefully choose the routes on which oil and other dangerous goods are to be carried, and to make sure train operations over those routes will be safe," the agency said in a news release Thursday.

The recommendations were announced in response to "three critical weaknesses" the agency said it discovered in the rail system during its investigation following the derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic last July.

If adopted by Transport Canada, the recommendations will affect tens of thousands of older model DOT-111 rail cars that are the workhorses of the oil-by-rail industry.

Investigators comb through wreckage following the derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Que. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

The board is also urging that key train routes for dangerous goods be limited to maximum speeds of 80 kilometres an hour, and that such routes have sensors to detect defective rail-car bearings.

It also says such routes should be inspected at least twice a year.

"Change must come and it must come now," safety board chair Wendy Tadros told a news conference in Ottawa, speaking about the older tank cars used to transport flammable liquids. "A long phase-out simply isn't good enough."

Changes needed on both sides of border

The TSB made its recommendations in conjunction with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

"If North American railways are to carry more and more of these flammable liquids through our communities, it must be done safely," Tadros said. "Change must come and it must come now."

According to the rail industry, there were only 500 carloads of crude oil shipped by rail in Canada in 2009; in 2013, there were 400,000 carloads.

Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt issued a statement shortly after the announcement, thanking the TSB for its ongoing investigation into the rail disaster.

"I have instructed my officials to review the recommendations on an urgent basis," the statement said. "We have continuously demonstrated our commitment to safety by implementing every one of the Transportation Safety Board's recommendations arising from the investigation at Lac-Mégantic."

NDP transportation critic Olivia Chow said her party supports the recommendations, and urged the government to implement them quickly.

"There is absolutely no reason for Canada to continue to allow these thin, unsafe tank cars carrying highly flammable crude oil into our neighbourhoods," she said at a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday afternoon. "There is absolutely no excuse."

Liberal transportation critic David McGuinty said the recommended changes don't go far enough. Municipalities need to be told ahead of time about which hazardous material will be shipped through them, instead of relaying that information after the fact, he said.

The fact that the recommendations were issued jointly by U.S. and Canadian authorities shows "how very, very serious the situation is," McGuinty said.

Municipalities call for changes on liability

The TSB announcement comes a day after municipal leaders met with Raitt, pressing to see railways, shippers and producers of dangerous goods assume full liability for accidents and spills.

As part of its months-long investigation into the disaster, the TSB issued a safety letter in September on how equipment and trains are secured when left unattended.

The 72-car train involved in the Lac-Mégantic disaster was unmanned when it rolled down a hill and derailed.

The TSB determined the braking force applied wasn't enough to hold the train on the 1.2 per cent descending slope where it had been parked on the night of July 6.

The watchdog also found in the course of the probe that the crude oil carried in tankers that derailed and ignited was misidentified as a less volatile substance.

The crude oil in the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train had been listed as packing group three, the least hazardous on the scale. The oil actually had the properties of a packing group two substance, which also includes goods like gasoline that have a lower flash point and will therefore ignite more quickly.

Forty-seven people were killed in the explosion and fire, which destroyed part of the town.

The disaster led Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, the railway company at the centre of the fatal derailment, to declared bankruptcy. Its assets were sold this week to an American firm for an undisclosed sum.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to repay creditors and victims, supplementing $25 million in insurance payouts for wrongful death, personal injury, property damage, fire suppression and environmental impact.

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$22M Attawapiskat financial statement mixup slips by unnoticed

Attawapiskat First Nation's latest audited consolidated financial statements contain an error that makes it appear as if tens of millions of dollars were being spent on social assistance under sectors such as infrastructure, economic development and governance.

The northern Ontario band near James Bay has had a history of financial troubles and has been working toward improving both its accounting practices and its bottom line.

But in statements meant to detail the First Nation's spending for the 2012-13 fiscal year, it appears that more than $22 million was spent on social assistance payments under infrastructure. In contrast, the statements indicate only $81,656 was spent on social assistance payments under the actual category of social assistance.

'We know there are a number of people [here] on social assistance, but not $22 million worth.'— Wayne Turner, band manager for Attawapiskat

When contacted by CBC News, Attawapiskat band manager Wayne Turner said he would look into it, agreeing that it did not make sense.

It turns out there was a clerical error.

"We know there are a number of people [here] on social assistance, but not $22 million worth," said Turner. "Somewhere along the line the spreadsheets got out of alignment and it wasn't caught."

A line item for more than $22 million in social assistance programs jumped out in the approved audit for Attawapiskat. The figure was in the wrong column.

It turns out the $22 million in question was not spent on social assistance, but on operations and maintenance under the band's infrastructure program, the bulk of which is going toward building a new school. And once the line items are matched properly with the numbers, it becomes clear that a little more than $4.5 million was spent on social assistance to members of the band.

What's not clear is whether the error happened on the band's end when submitting its statements to their auditor, Timmins-based Ross, Pope & Company, or on the auditor's side when it brought the numbers into its software program. But neither the band nor the auditor caught the mistake. The auditor responsible, Mark Dell'Erede, did not return numerous calls from CBC News.

The Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development said it "received and accepted" Attawapiskat's audited consolidated financial statements in August 2013.

"The First Nation was notified in December 2013 that a full review had been completed," according to a statement sent from the department to CBC News. "Please note that by accepting the audited statement it means the department has no concerns."

Ottawa focuses on the consolidated statements of financial position, financial activities and accumulated surplus, change in net debt and cash flows to determine the financial health of a band. It does not necessarily look at Schedule B, the band's segmented expenses, which is the part of the audit where the error occurred.

But the federal government requires First Nations to lay out their segmented expenses as well as a schedule of band salaries, honorariums and travel expenditures in order to provide transparency and accountability to band members and the general public.

Band manager Turner said that although the descriptions of where the money was spent were wrong, the numbers themselves were not.

"We are a small organization, with four people responsible for managing the finances. It's significant undertaking," he said. "Perhaps there was not enough oversight on the description part. Generally the focus is on the numbers to make sure they jive and are correct."

"But when we do present statements, we want them not to have any errors," he said.

In 2011, after the First Nation's housing crisis hit the headlines, the federal government hired auditing firm Deloitte to look at the band's financials back to 2005. The audit, released in January 2013, found significant documentation lacking for the $104 million transferred to the band from the federal government between 2005 and 2011.

The band has been under co-management for more than a decade, which is supposed to mean it has access to additional resources from the federal government to manage its financial position. For a brief period of time the federal government put it under third party management, which essentially wrests control of the finances from the band and council. The band has been returned to co-management status and is currently recruiting for a new co-manager after its previous one left for another job.

Attawapiskat still grapples with unpaid user fees from band members meant to help cover water, sewer and sanitation costs. For 2012-13, more than $2.3 million is considered "allowance for doubtful accounts," which is essentially money the band has little confidence in ever being able to collect.

But Turner said the band has made progress in its financial documentation and reporting and has halted a policy of allowing employee pay advances.

He said the statements are now being fixed and will be reposted to the band's website within a week. As well, he has notified both the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the audit firm Ross, Pope & Company.

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Harper announces more Syrian funding during refugee camp visit

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced more funding initiatives Friday to assist Syrian refugees and to aid in the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons.

Harper, on the final day of his visit to Israel and Jordan, made the announcement during a tour of the Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan, some 12 kilometres from the Syrian border.

Harper, who was in Amman Thursday to meet with King Abdullah at his opulent presidential palace, said an additional $15 million would be spent to support the international effort to destroy the weapons.

The bulk of the money, $10 million, will go to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is overseeing the program.

That's on top of the $2 million Canada gave the OPCW in early 2013 to help the organization investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.

The remaining $5 million announced Friday will assist the U.S. Department of Defence in the destruction of chemicals aboard an American ship.

"The use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians was an atrocity that cannot be allowed to happen again," said Harper.

Harper also announced additional support for 6.5 million internally displaced people in Syria and the 2.3 million refugees who have fled the civil war.

He said $150 million would be disbursed this year for humanitarian needs in Syria and to help Syrians who have taken refuge in Jordan and other countries.

The third Canadian-funded project is designed to help Syrian refugee children rediscover what many kids around the world take for granted — the joy of play.

Funding will be provided to enable more than 1,500 teachers and coaches to use a play-based learning method in partnership with an organization called Right To Play.

"Canada's support will help ensure that children living in Jordanian communities hosting Syrian refugees have the opportunity to learn, play and succeed despite difficult circumstances," said Harper.

$630M total

The prime minister added that Canada will do its best to ensure Syrian children "do not become a lost generation."

All told, Canada has so far committed more than $630 million in humanitarian, development and security assistance in response to the Syrian crisis.

The prime minister and his wife, Laureen, were welcomed at the camp by a UN official who thanked Canada for its strong support of Jordan.

The official filled them in on the size of the camp and the number of Syrian refugees there, now estimated to number about 125,000.

The camp has grown to more than eight square kilometres since it was created in July 2012.

Time Magazine has described it as the size of nearly 1,000 American football fields.

Harper said the camp represents just the tip of the iceberg in regards to the Syrian crisis.

"This is only one small piece of the refugee crisis." he said.

"We sometimes forget these are all individual lives ... We are touched by this."

Harpers visit ancient city

After touring the camp, Harper and his wife, Laureen, visited Petra, a historical and archeological city famous for its rock-cut architecture and water system.

UNESCO says Petra, between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, has been inhabited since prehistoric times. It is half-built, half-carved into rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges.

The Harpers stopped and posed for photos on edge of the spectacular valley.

"We need a geologist," Laureen said with a laugh.

One of the prominent features carved into the rock called Al Khazneh, or the Facade of the Treasury, was used to depict the front of a temple housing the Holy Grail in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Harper and his entourage hiked through the stunning crevasse to take in the Facade of the Treasury and the prime minister and his wife posed for more photos.

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Ottawa set to reform citizenship rules in 2014

The federal government will introduce several changes to Canada's citizenship rules after members of Parliament return to Ottawa next Monday following a six-week hiatus, says Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander.

In an interview with CBC News on Thursday, Alexander said the government will table a bill in the next session of Parliament that will see "the first comprehensive reform to the Citizenship Act in more than a generation​."

While the rule changes will be significant, Alexander said the government won't touch the issue of whether Canada ought to continue granting citizenship just because a person is born here — at least not right away.

Alexander said the government is considering changes to target the problem of so-called "birth tourism" or "passport babies," but hasn't quite figured out the best way to go about it.

"It's too soon to tell what vehicle we will choose for doing that. It involves the provinces because births take place in provincial medical systems and we want to get the solution right with our provincial partners," Alexander said.

"I would expect action on that front this year but not necessarily as soon as the Citizenship Act."

Closing citizenship loopholes

Alexander said the reform will aim to give Canadian citizenship to "Lost Canadians" who had seen it denied from them for one reason or another over the years.

"We want to make sure that those loopholes that have done great injustice to a few people for all of those decades are closed, and that Canadian citizenship embraces all of those it should have embraced from the beginning."

"Some are children of war brides, some have other complicated circumstances which should never have barred them from citizenship, and we have to fix the legislation," the minister said.

Alexander said the new rules will also give the Canadian government the ability to strip a person of citizenship in exceptional circumstances, such as in cases of "treason" or "acts of terrorism."

The issue came to light almost one year ago after it was confirmed that a Lebanese-Canadian was involved in the 2012 bombing of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria.

"We need to be able to take citizenship away from dual nationals in extreme cases, where they've crossed a line that I think all Canadians will agree are grounds for that kind of move."

Alexander said he is working closely with Conservative backbench MP Devinder Shory, who has already introduced a private member's bill to​ amend the Citizenship Act, in order to avoid overlap.

"We are working together to move the provisions in his bill sooner rather than later."

Shorter wait times, longer to qualify

Under the proposed changes to the Citizenship Act, immigrants may have to wait longer before they qualify for Canadian citizenship, but once they apply the government hopes their applications will be processed more quickly.

Alexander said the upcoming legislation will target the current backlog of citizenship applications.

The current processing time — for 80 per cent of citizenship applications processed between Oct.1, 2011, and Sept. 30, 2012 — is two to three years.

"We want to give ourselves the tools to deal with the backlog we have.… We are victims of our own success. More people apply for citizenship than we ever expected," Alexander said.

To be eligible for Canadian citizenship, permanent residents must have lived in the country for three out of the four years preceding their application.

Alexander said the conditions for eligibility will also change.

"That means making sure that people who are becoming citizens have really lived here, and have lived here for enough time to really understand what citizenship is about, what the country is about."

The reform will also set out to crack down on so-called "citizens of convenience."

"There will be a few measures in the Citizenship Act to make sure that we're not open to abuse.… I think all Canadians would agree, there's no room for cheating in this process."

Open to changes, but wary of reform

The opposition critics reached by CBC News on Thursday were unaware of the details being proposed by the Conservatives in their upcoming overhaul of Canadian citizenship rules.

NDP citizenship and immigration critic Lysanne Blanchette-Lamothe said she welcomed the idea of modernizing the Citizenship Act, but was wary of the government's ability to revamp the legislation given the Conservatives' track record with other immigration programs. 

"Yes, we need a lot of changes to improve our system but … with the mess they created with the temporary foreign worker program or the obstacles they put with the family reunification for parents and grandparents program, we have no trust that those changes will really address the concern of people who use the system," Blanchette-Lamothe said.

Liberal MP John McCallum, who is the party's immigration and citizenship critic, said it was difficult to comment on a bill he had yet to see.

Although reducing the wait times for citizenship applications is a desirable goal, McCallum said, it is possible the Conservatives will go about it the wrong way, just as they did in 2012 when they stopped accepting applications for the federal skilled worker program.

"They solved that with the stroke of a pen by cancelling thousands of applications. That's one way to get rid of the backlog, you just cancel the people who are in it."

"If that's what they're doing for citizens, I would not agree. But if they have some administrative method to speed things up, I would agree.… I would like to see citizenship applications proceed faster," McCallum said.

The government vowed to reform the Citizenship Act during its speech from the throne last October.

A federal budget could come as early as February.

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Stephen Harper survives Mideast minefield, tough talk and all

The Middle East has always been a graveyard for ambitious visitors hoping to strut on the world stage. Big shots can suddenly get sidelined by bigger news. Snubs, gaffes or lost luggage can knock the whole trip off course.

Ask Joe Clark, who struggled with lost luggage — and the issues — during a Mideast tour before his brief time as prime minister.

Even hardened veterans can stumble. On a 2008 junket, Senator John McCain famously claimed that Iran was training al-Qaeda terrorists. Oops! Shia Iran is fervently hostile to the Sunni al-Qaeda. Nobody remembers anything else about McCain's visit.

So the trick is to avoid any disasters. And by that crucial measure, Stephen Harper emerged intact.

Stephen Harper received a courteous welcome from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, in the West Bank city of Ramallah Monday, where he announced $66 million in new aid from Canada. (Darren Whiteside/Reuters)

But, in some respects, he did better than that — not least, by evading some of the expected Palestinian hostility to Harper's sharp tilt toward Israel.

Harper, of course, pledged that Canada would stand with Israel, "through fire and water." But the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, meekly said that he hoped Canada's policy would change.

Of course, when you are standing next to a visitor holding a cheque for $66 million to help build a future state, it's rude to complain. In fact, under both Liberals and Conservatives, Canada has played a quiet but effective role in creating a security force and a justice system, without which no Palestinian state will ever function. So Abbas was polite.

Besides that, Abbas could be grateful that Harper did not actually repudiate Canada's policy that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal "obstacles to peace." True, Harper repeatedly declined to use those words in public — but he confirmed that the policy still stands, advertised or not. To spell it out, Harper suggested, would be to "single out Israel for criticism."

Taking sides

In truth, nobody asked Harper to single out Israel for criticism. And though he complained that nobody asked him to criticize the Palestinians, there's no corresponding ambiguity in his policy to ask him about.

Of course, Palestinians not standing next to Harper were less reticent than Abbas. Hanan Ashrawi, well known as a veteran Palestinian negotiator, said Canada had become "even more Zionist than the Israelis."

'It is all too easy to 'go along to get along,' and single out Israel. But such 'going along to get along' is not a 'balanced' approach.… It is, quite simply, weak and wrong.'—Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the Knesset

"All these statements coming from Canada have been extremely counterproductive, extremely prejudicial, extremely biased," Ashrawi told CBC News.

"Canada is seen as taking sides with the oppressor."

Of course, there's no doubt that, under Harper, Canada is taking sides, merely by insisting that Israel is entitled to exist as a Jewish state and to defend itself.

But Harper went further, first, by directly attacking Israel's critics in the harshest terms, and, second, by giving a scathing account of the prevailing dysfunction in Israel's turbulent neighbourhood.

His assault on Israel's detractors was merciless. Harper called it "sickening" that Israel is accused of practising "apartheid." And he made a virtue of his refusal to navigate the Mideast minefield by being nice to both sides.

"It is all too easy to 'go along to get along,' and single out Israel," he told the Knesset.

"But such 'going along to get along' is not a 'balanced' approach, nor a 'sophisticated' one. It is, quite simply, weak and wrong."

Tough talk about the region

Nor was Harper ambiguous about his disdain for Islamist forces around the region. He poured scorn on the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt for attempting, under the ousted president Mohamed Morsi, to establish "an authoritarian Islamic state."

And he came close to expressing some nostalgia for the old Egyptian regime of Hosni Mubarak.

"There was a lot of enthusiasm, unbridled enthusiasm in much of the West for the revolution in Egypt, and with very good reason. We were a little more cautious, and I think that caution has been borne out."

On Syria, Harper saw no reason to cheer for anyone — for the Iranian-backed Assad regime or for the Islamist forces ranged against him.

"I don't see how the victory of either of those forces could be in the interests of Canada or Israel or anyone else," Harper said.

And he accused Iran of planning not just to build nuclear weapons but to use them.

"This is a regime in Iran, an extremist fundamentalist regime with a violent and hateful ideology, and it wants to possess nuclear weapons. It tells the world it wants to possess nuclear weapons for the purpose of using nuclear weapons, which is truly frightening."

To say that all of this went over well with the Israeli government is putting it mildly. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be seen eagerly nudging his foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, as if to say, "Hear that?" as Harper addressed the Knesset. And in his own speech, Netanyahu put it simply.

"I know, Stephen, that our concerns are your concerns," he said. "Canada, under your leadership, is one of Israel's closest allies."

Harper couldn't have written that better himself. He took sides without apology and without explicitly altering Canada's fundamental policy. The controversy over the size and composition of his delegation remained a secondary story.

And many of his MPs got the "million-dollar shot" at the Western Wall that York Centre MP Mark Adler was so eager to get for his re-election campaign.

Plus, nobody lost their luggage.

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