The final nine, or rather, the nine who fulfilled their entrance fees, will now face off for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Justin Trudeau is the presumptive frontrunner, surfing a wave of media coverage, but the field is now set with fellow MPs Marc Garneau and Joyce Murray, along with Deborah Coyne, Karen McCrimmon, George Takach, Martin Cauchon, Martha Hall Findlay, and David Bertschi.
In an interesting twist, Coyne had a child with Trudeau’s famous father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
The nine candidates are those who fulfilled the third instalment of the $75,000 entrance fee. The candidates now have until April 14, the day of voting, and a maximum allowed budget of $950,000, to make their case to members and supporters of the Liberal Party.
New Phase for Idle No More
The national protests by supporters of Idle No More have firmly entered a new phase of stronger actions.
While early protests were limited largely to flash mob traditional native round dances and drum circles in malls and Walmart stores—actions that still continue—blockades of highways and railroads have become more common. On Wednesday, protesters slowed traffic at Canada’s busiest border in Windsor, Ont.
As actions continue, so too does debate among aboriginal leaders and Idle No More supporters. That debate has seen a rift widen between some grassroots organizers and official First Nations leadership, including the Assembly of First Nations.
The rift has seen some grassroots members criticize and distance the Idle No More movement from chiefs and the AFN. AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo recently withdrew from the issue due to health concerns.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s meeting with AFN leaders was the subject of protests by some Idle No More supporters and chiefs who were disappointed that Gov. Gen. David Johnston was absent from the meeting.
Canada Bottom of the Class on Environment
The Conference Board of Canada has released a report card of sorts on Canada’s environmental performance. It gave Canada a “C” grade, and placed it at 15th out of 17 peer nations.
While Canada did improve air quality, it fared poorly overall on GHG emissions.
Canada scored “A’s” on how it handled threatened species, water quality, low-emitting electricity production, and use of forest resources, but “D’s” in nitrogen oxide and GHG emissions as well as municipal waste generation, marine trophic index (indicating unsustainable fishing still prevails), and energy intensity.
The only countries to score worse than Canada were the U.S. and Australia, which both scored “D’s.”
Western European countries lead the score card, with Japan coming in a respectable 7th.
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