News roundup, 19 June 2024

- The NDP's Carla Compton won the Tuxedo byelection by 602 votes. This would have been unimaginable a year ago, and shows just how unpopular the Conservatives are in the city.

- Winnipeg's overall crime rate actually decreased in 2023 compared to previous years, however the rate of violent crime as well as hate crimes have increased significantly.

- Federal health minister Mark Holland accuses the Conservatives of "bullying" dental associations, alleging that they are calling these associations and yelling at them. Holland believes the Tories are trying to keep dentists from signing onto the federal dental program, and thus sabotage the program.

- The benefits of Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act disproportionately go to Republican areas. The reason is pretty straightforward - things like solar and wind farms require a lot of land, and thus generally go to rural areas. This has led to hopes that the Republicans won't kill all these initiatives; that remains to be seen.

- The Winnipeg neighbourhood of Wolseley has long had a reputation for being lefty, greeny types, but perhaps what they really are is NIMBY types, given the hostile reaction from many residents to an increase in the number of buses going through parts of the neighbourhood.

- While some shark species are in decline, the Great White Shark appears to be doing well in the Atlantic - to the point where warning signs are being considered for Nova Scotia beaches similar to those already seen in parts of New England.

- A Hamilton man walked into a mosque and yelled slurs at a Grade 3 gym class while tearing up a copy of the Quran. He has been charged with criminal harassment.

Has Stockwell had his day?

You gotta love stories like this:

The Liberals are demanding MP Stockwell Day resign from cabinet after documents surfaced Thursday that allege another MP was paid up to $50,000 to step aside in 2000 and let Day run in his riding.

The Liberals are asking the RCMP to investigate the allegations, and say Day cannot continue as the Conservative's public safety minister in the interim, since the Department of Public Safety oversees the RCMP.

Day denies any wrongdoing and calls the allegations a "driveby smear."

The allegations centre on events seven years ago when Day was elected leader of the now-defunct Canadian Alliance party. Day, who wasn't an MP at the time, had no riding and no seat in the House of Commons.

Fellow Alliance MP Jim Hart offered to step aside in the Okanagan-Coquihalla riding in British Columbia, forcing a byelection. Day won that byelection handily on Sept. 11, 2000.

On Thursday, Liberal MP Mark Holland alleged his party has found faxes that show Hart made a $50,000 compensation deal with the Canadian Alliance party to resign. If proven to be true, this would be a criminal offence.

Via here. I've sometimes said that the main difference between the Conservatives and Liberals is that the Conservatives have more bigots and the Liberals have more crooks, but if this is true there's no shortage of crookedness among the Cons either.