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Scott Pickup, the National Director of the Young Liberals of Canada, has posted an online petition urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to apologize to MP Navdeep Bains following the shameless comments he made during question period last Wednesday. The text of the petition, which has garnered 430 total signatures so far, is as follows:

We the undersigned believe that Navdeep Bains is one of the brightest and most positive people in the world of politics and exhibits the kind of honesty and dedication to which every elected official should aspire. We demand that Stephen Harper apologize for unethically slandering the character of Mr. Bains and his family.

Unfortunately, experience shows that online polls, even at their best, do little to impact the political discourse in this country and a quick browse through the petition’s comments shows why. Filled with insults toward Harper and half-baked retorts from Conservative supporters, it’s a document I refuse to lend my name to, despite my feelings on the matter. MP Garth Turner might have done well to more closely examine the petition before adding his name to it and promoting it on his blog.

Taking Harper to task for smearing Bains’ family is commendable, but doing so by submitting a petition with comments like “die commie scum die!” is more than hypocritical — it’s shameful.

Note (02/26/07): The shirt has since been removed from stores.

A t-shirt, bearing the slogan “NO MEANS have aNOther drink” and distributed at Bluenotes stores across Canada, has sparked controversy and raised the ire of a number of student coalitions and anti-violence groups.

Spoofing a slogan used in date-rape and violence awareness campaigns by the Canadian Federation of Students for the last 10 years, the shirts have attracted the attention of a number of media outlets and publications, including the Globe and Mail, Canada East Online, Shameless Magazine, and my friends over at Torontoist. Brent Farrington, national deputy chair of the Canadian Federation of Students, has been quoted decrying the shirt’s message. “I think it’s incredibly unfortunate that it is . . . inversing the meaning of this slogan to mean it’s okay to date rape somebody. Not only is that socially irresponsible, it’s corporately irresponsible,” he said.

Torontoist contributor, Stephanie Hart, put it even better. “Something is in the air at Bluenotes,” she said, “and it smells like stupid.”

Obviously aimed at college students, the message this shirt promotes will serve only to deepen the notion amoung young males that their time is best spent partying, getting drunk, and plying the next inebriated co-ed for sex. For young women, it will only reinforce the unfortunate idea that, in order to be popular, one must be willing to “give it up” to any male willing to buy enough drinks. For Bluenotes, in a world where one in four women can expect to be sexually assaulted in their liftime, it represents one of the most boneheaded marketing ploys I’ve seen in a long time.

What were they thinking?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was slammed with cries of “shame!” from Liberal MPs during question period yesterday, after a question regarding controversial anti-terrorism measures morphed into a smear campaign against Liberal MP Navdeep Singh Bains.

The incident took place when Harper, responding to a question from Liberal Leader, Stephane Dion, about the fairness of judicial appointments, tried to read from a newspaper article linking Bains’ father-in-law to the ongoing Air India investigation. He began reading, “…given what I’m reading in the Vancouver Sun today when I read this is how the Liberal party makes decisions. The Vancouver Sun has learned that the father-in-law of the member of Parliament from Mississauga-Brampton South…” He was then forced to stop reading, interrupted by shouts from the last two rows of Liberal benches. House Speaker, Peter Miliken, was ignored when he tried to end the chants. He eventually chose to end the Liberal’s questioning prematurely and move on.

The Vancouver Sun story reported that Bain’s father-in-law, Darshan Singh Saini, is on a list of potential witnesses to be interviewed by the RCMP regarding the Air India investigation. They hope to use the investigative hearing provision of the Anti-Terrorism Act to compel the witnesses to speak. However, the provision expires on March 1, unless extended by a Parliamentary vote. Dion has decided that the Liberals will not be supporting the extension, a move Harper says is designed to protect one of their own.

Despite being shouted down (a move I support on an emotional level but regard as foolish in a political setting), it’s clear Harper intended to make an allegation that Dion has changed his position on the sunset provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act not on principle or analysis, but because of influence from those within the Indo-Canadian community — which gave him significant support in the leadership race. Of course, it bears noting that Saini appears to be nothing more than a material witness and has never been charged with interfering with the Air India investigation or anything of a similar nature. Dion has publicly stated that one reason he does not support the hearings is because of the damage they can inflict on witnesses, perfectly evidenced by today’s proceedings. Hey, Vancouver Sun, aren’t those hearings supposed to be confidential?

It was, quite frankly, nothing more than a low blow and was entirely without class. My personal feelings toward the Conservative party aside, I feel ashamed to have such a man hold the office of the Prime Minister. I understand that politics can be a dirty game sometimes, but dragging an MP’s family members into the fray, and certainly without due reason, is below contempt.

Harper is a chameleon of sorts, fashioning himself as a moderate conservative while simultaneously sinking to any low to gain political advantage. Three years ago, he accused Paul Martin of supporting child pornography. How low can he go? I seem to recall learning in my high school civics class that Canada is a democratic country, where slanderous allegations cannot be simply thrown about at will. Harper would do well to keep that principle in mind. Innocent until proven guilty, Stephen, innocent until proven guilty.

Ethics aside, it was a politically-foolish move to make. Like CalgaryGrit, I have to wonder why Harper would step up to the plate himself, rather than giving another MP the job. Harper has repeatedly told the media that he is far from anxious to force another election. You wouldn’t know it, though, considering some of the tactics employed by the Conservatives in recent weeks. Attack ads, massive spending announcements, smearing Liberal MPs and their family members? Sounds like an election to me, guys.

When an election is finally called (a real one, not just posturing), I hope the video of Harper’s comments is played for each and every one of the minorities he hopes to court for votes. Particularly here in the 905.

I may not like Harper, but I thought he was smarter than this.

The CBC is reporting that Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter MacKay, is set to speak with his Mexican counterpart today regarding the death of 19-year-old Adam DePrisco. Vacationing in Mexico last week, DePrisco was found dead after visiting a popular nightclub. Mexican police claim he was the victim of a hit-and-run accident, while his family claims he was beaten to death after being ejected from the bar.

The teen’s uncle, Sandro Bellio, visited Acapulco shortly after his death to identify the body. He claims, upon examining the teen, the only visible injuries were to the head. “When I left Adamo’s body, there were no secondary injuries whatsoever to his body — only trauma to the head,” he said. After bringing the body home for further examination, Ontario’s chief coroner, Dr. Barry McLellan, determined there were also secondary injuries on the teen’s body, indicating a probable car accident.

While the family says they will not dispute the coroner’s findings, they still believe the injuries were the result of a beating. In the meantime, DePrisco’s mother has lashed out at the government, accusing it of doing little to help them. “I hate being a Canadian because I haven’t seen nobody, nobody from the government doing anything at all. They don’t care,” she said.

Losing a child is always difficult, particularly when the death occurs in a place like Mexico — where the police have become known for bungling cases, especially those involving foreigners. Making matters worse is our government’s seeming inability to assist Canadians abroad, even when it involves a homicide.

Further illustrating this problem are the deaths of Dominic and Nancy Ianiero, who were found murdered in their Cancun hotel room. Mexican officials have been accused to covering up many parts of the investigation and being quick to point the finger at Cheryl Everall and Kimberly Kim, two Canadians who were vacationing in the area at the time. The case remains unsolved.

“It’s very disconcerting that the Canadian government does not protect its citizens in foreign countries.” –Edward Greenspan, lawyer for the Ianiero family.

In both cases, the government has been accused to doing far too little to assist investigation of those killed in foreign nations. According to an article in today’s Toronto Star, the federal government, last year, eliminated the position of parliamentary secretary with special responsibilities for Canadians abroad. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs‘ website, they will only “request” that local authorities investigate a suspicious death. According to Réjean Beaulieu, a spokesperson for the Department, all they can do is provide contact information and help ensure the body comes home.

It is time for the Canadian government to step up to the plate and properly defend its citizens abroad. The United States, through the Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management, protects the rights of its citizens in foreign nations and swiftly assists victims of crime overseas. By failing to immediately respond to the death of DePrisco and waiting almost a week to respond to the issue, MacKay has served only to weaken Canadian’s faith in the government and its ability to protect them. It’s a move voters would do well to remember in the next federal election.

Canadian officials would do well to take a lesson from their American counterparts. The death of a Canadian citizen matters, even if it doesn’t happen within our borders.