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By now you may have heard about Toronto's crazy, allegedly crack-smoking mayor Rob Ford. The man's many pratfalls were the stuff of legend and local embarrassment, but are now finding international ridicule. And while Stewart highlights a few awkward moments, there are really so many cringe-inducing moments in Ford's less than stellar career it's actually hard to pick only a couple and leave out so many more. Slate has some here.

This is a few minutes of an eight minute segment. Later in the bit, Canadians Jason Jones and Samantha Bee educated Jon Stewart on Canada's true national pastime: smoking crack.

And lest you think Jon Stewart is the only comedian taken with Ford's brand of (unintended) physical comedy, last month Ford was also featured on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.

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It's not often you hear references to Arrested Development by stuffy politicians but that's what happened a couple of days ago when Thomas Mulcair of the NDP asked about a large amount of money the ruling Conservatives couldn't account for. And for those of you teaching yourself French, it's 'L'argent est-il dans le kiosque à bananes?'

via Lauren Strapagiel at O.Canada.com

An Arrested Development reference in the House of Commons?

I’m afraid I just blue myself.

NDP leader Tom Mulcair was wondering where $3.1 billion in unaccounted anti-terrorism spending went when he uttered this gem:

“So the question is, is the money just in the wrong filing cabinet, is it hidden in the minister’s gazebo, is the money in the banana stand?”

Judging by the subsequent giggles, we can assume there’s more Arrested Development fans in the house. Or just people who think “banana stand” sounds funny.

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The Canadian Foreign Minister took to the floor of the House of Commons yesterday and vowed that a Zombie Apocalypse will never happen under his watch. Security exercises based on zombie attacks have been run in Quebec, British Columbia, and the United States. Canadians will no doubt be relieved to know that in the case of attack our governments are taking this matter seriously.

via The National Post

In a bizarre exchange in a place known for bizarre exchanges, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird told the House of Commons Wednesday that “Canada will never be a safe haven for zombies.”

“I want to assure this member and all Canadians that I am dead-icated to ensuring that this never happens,” Baird said.

Baird was responding to a question from NDP MP Pat Martin (who else, really?) who asked if Canada is working with the U.S. to ensure that its citizens don’t suffer from a case of the zombie apocalypse.

“I don’t need to tell you, Mr. Speaker, that zombies don’t don’t recognize borders and that a zombie invasion in the United States can easily turn into a continent-wide pandemic if it is not contained,” Martin said to chuckles and eventually cheers.

“So on behalf of concerned Canadians everywhere, I want to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs, is he working with his American counterparts to develop an international zombie strategy so that a zombie invasion does not turn into a zombie apocalypse?”

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The Fox station in Oklahoma on Wednesday gave supporters of former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney some helpful tips for fleeing the country before President Barack Obama starts his second term.

In the Fox 23 "Beat the Traffic" segment on the morning after Obama won re-election, traffic reporter Jeff Brucculeri took a look at some of the delays around Tulsa before having some fun with disgruntled voters.

"We had some folks make a special request," Brucculeri explained. "I know a lot people said that if their candidate lost the election, they'd be moving to Canada -- not sure why, but that was some of the folks' promises out there."

So, the traffic anchor proceeded to give "the quickest and directest route" up north, where big government, same sex marriage and universal health are a part of everyday life.

Brucculeri advised Tulsa residents to take Highway 75 to Omaha, and then I-29 to the Canadian border.

"This is serious stuff," he told laughing staff in the newsroom. "When you get to Canada, you're going to hit the border here, make sure you got either your [passport] card or your passport, OK, to get into Canada now. Then you're going to get back on Highway 75 in Canada or it's actually the Lord Selkirk Highway. If you're moving to Canada, you're going to need to know this. Lord Selkirk Highway, OK?"

Montreal-based immigration lawyer immigration lawyer David Cohen told CNN that he had received calls from all over the United States after Romney lost on Tuesday.

"That's the amazing thing, when they speak on the phone. They're adamant. They feel very, very strong about it," Cohen said. "This government doesn't speak for me' is the language that we often hear."

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A Michigan man went to Calgary, Alberta, Canada recently with his wife and apparently felt naked without his gun. (There is no such thing as 'conceal carry' in Canada.) A letter to the editor of Calgary's largest newspaper sparked widespread ridicule, referring to the police office from Michigan as 'Nose Hill Gentlemen' for the city park in which this incident occurred.

via CBC News:

A Michigan police officer says he's not deterred by the negative reaction caused by his letter to a Calgary newspaper.

Walt Wawra wrote in a letter to the Calgary Herald editor that he wished he had a gun on a recent trip to Calgary.

The veteran officer said he was on a walk with his wife at Nose Hill Park when they were approached by two "aggressive" men.

“They said to me: ‘Hey, have you been to the Stampede yet?’ And my wife and I both looked at him, and we ignored that first comment,” Wawra said.

“They moved a little closer and they said a little louder: ‘Hey! Have you been to the Stampede yet?’ I believe I said in response: ‘Gentlemen, I don’t have need to talk to you about anything. Goodbye.’”

The man said he felt uncomfortable without his off-duty hand gun, and wrote that "in Canada, only the criminals and the police carry handguns."

On Twitter, the letter was the butt of jokes. It even spawned its own hash tag: #NoseHillGentlemen.

Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian at The Young Turks couldn't contain their embarrassment while recounting the story on their online show .

Comedian Brian Calvert offers up the country of Canada to run for U.S. President because, as he puts it, "we've seen your candidates and frankly, they scare the shit out of us." The Canada Party's slogan?

The Canada Party. America, but better.

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Tempers have flared in Parliament after the Conservative Canadian government formally withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol on climate control two days ago, the first nation to do so.

Justin Trudeau is the son of the former Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau.

Video and text by CTV:

Liberal MP Justin Trudeau lost his temper and called Environment Minister Peter Kent a "piece of shit" during question period in the House of Commons Wednesday while Kent responded to questions about the Kyoto Accord.

Canada recently backed out of Kyoto -- a move critics say severely weakens the international climate change agreement.

New Democrat environment critic Megan Leslie was questioning Kent on the decision to abandon Kyoto at the recent climate conference in Durban, South Africa.

She suggested Canada was backing out in order to hide its failure at reducing emission to Kyoto's targets, saying "the rest of the world is moving forward, building a new energy economy, but Canada is being left behind."

Kent responded: "If she had been in Durban she would have seen in fact that Canada is a leader..." before he was drowned out by Trudeau shouting "you are a piece of shit" and the House of Commons erupting briefly into shouting.

Trudeau's comment appeared to be in defence of Leslie, a Halifax MP, who was apparently not invited to attend the Durban conference with the government's delegation.

Trudeau quickly stood up and apologized to the House of Commons and Speaker Andrew Scheer said the incident would be dealt with later.

"I lost my temper and used language that was most decidedly unparliamentary and for that I unreservedly apologize and withdraw my remarks," Trudeau said.

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If it sounds unusual to hear the head of a country's central bank speak so positively about the protests going on around the world now it's probably because it is. Mark Carney though is one of more reform-minded of the central bankers (somewhat equivalent to the role Ben Bernanke plays as the head of the Federal Reserve). Carney was notably the target of a profanity-laced tirade by Jamie Dimon (CEO of JP Morgan Chase) last month at a meeting of world bankers and officials. Dimon said the new rules discriminated against American banks and called the new capitalization rules "anti-American".

Mark Carney - a former Goldman Sachs Co. investment banker himself – is being pushed by Canada to head the G20's Financial Stability Board, a position that would put him even more at odds with people like the "business-as-usual, now-move-along" Jamie Dimons of this world who'd just as soon keep the casino open forever.

via The Globe and Mail:

The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations and other expressions of frustration with the global economic and financial system highlight the need for policy makers to show they are serious about forcing change, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says.

In a television interview, Mr. Carney acknowledged that the movement is an understandable product of the "increase in inequality" – particularly in the United States – that started with globalization and was thrust into sharp relief by the worst downturn since the Great Depression, which hit the less well-educated and blue-collar segments of the population hardest.

"You’ve had a big increase in the ratio of CEO earnings to workers on the shop floor,’’ Mr. Carney said, according to a transcript of the interview with Peter Mansbridge of CBC News, parts of which aired on Friday evening. "And then on top of that, a financial crisis.’’

But Mr. Carney – a former Goldman Sachs Co. investment banker – suggested that while he understands the frustration, some of it is rooted in an overly pessimistic view of policy makers’ resolve to make it harder for financial firms to take the sort of risks that led to the meltdown of 2008 and the brutal recession that followed.

“There’s a frustration with policy and a frustration that, `are things going back to business as usual,’’’ Mr. Carney said in the interview. ``If I may say, that is not going to happen, but I can understand the frustrations.’’

Demonstrations like the Occupy Wall Street protests, which will hit Canadian cities this weekend, are a “democratic expression of views’’ and “entirely constructive,’’ Mr. Carney said.

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A true Canadian progressive icon has died. Jack Layton was leader of the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) and opposition leader in Parliament. A former community organizer and university professor, Layton shared some similarities with Barack Obama. With Layton's lifelong commitment to social justice, universal health care, to working families and society's downtrodden, and the genuine affection Canadians held for the man with leave an enormous gap for his party whose recent fortunes were largely built on his own personal popularity.

(CBC) Less than a month after Jack Layton told Canadians he was fighting a new form of cancer, the 61-year-old NDP leader died peacefully at his Toronto home. Within hours of his death, Canadians and politicians of all political stripes were paying tribute to the passion and determination of the former city councillor who led the federal New Democratic Party to its historic electoral result of 103 seats and becoming the Official Opposition in the spring 2011 election.

On Monday, the flag on the Peace Tower in Ottawa was lowered to half-mast, while across the country Canadians reacted with shock, sadness and tears. Layton was gaunt and his voice strained when he announced on July 25 that he was stepping away temporarily from his post to focus on his cancer treatment.

I've included this spare video from the CBC which doesn't include commentary. If you're unfamiliar with the man you can read his biography at Wikipedia, here. Layton's Letter to Canada, written just two days before his passing, is below the fold.

Continue reading »

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A Senate page in Canada made her own protest after Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives won a majority government in May for the first time, effectively giving the opposition no real means of preventing the Conservatives from enacting their policies

DePape later released a statement:

"Harper's agenda is disastrous for this country and for my generation," DePape said in the release. "We have to stop him from wasting billions on fighter jets, military bases, and corporate tax cuts while cutting social programs and destroying the climate. Most people in this country know what we need are green jobs, better medicare, and a healthy environment for future generations."

From the CBC:

A 21-year-old page lost her job Friday after walking onto the Senate floor during the speech from the throne to protest against Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Brigette DePape, a recent University of Ottawa graduate, carried a sign reading "Stop Harper" and walked out in front of Gov. Gen. David Johnston as he read the afternoon speech.

Senate pages are hired for one to two years to work in the upper chamber, providing basic support to the senators during sittings and in committee meetings, which generally means fetching water, photocopying documents and passing messages. They tend to be politically engaged, but this type of protest is unprecedented.