Her Majesty arrived in the Nation’s Capital at noon today. I was over at the newly renovated Museum of Nature, which was the first stop on the Royal Tour. We were treated to the Ottawa Police bagpipe band, and highland dancers.


Obligatory PETA protester in a bear costume


The Museum and the glass Lantern feature


The dancers


The pipers


Her Majesty arrives - check out the license plate!

The royal couple arrived outside the Museum, and were met by Heritage Minister James Moore. The pool report reads as such:

Upon entering the refurbished museum, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh immediately walked across a tile mosaic of a bull moose that has only recently been made public. The mosaic was covered in the 1950s after complaints from a Catholic nun that the anatomically correct moose was inappropriate for visiting school children. The Queen then viewed a maquette of the museum grounds and received a description of the building's history.
 At a nearby table, the royal couple viewed a stuffed Snowy Owl and wolverine, a huge amethyst crystal from Thunder Bay and preserved plants collected by Sir Robert Parry in the Arctic in 1822.
 Her Majesty looked sternly at the wolverine, which was posed standing upright on hind legs with teeth bared, but the Duke laughed and appeared quite taken with the animal. 
 She then ascended by elevator to the fourth floor of the museum to view the newly built "Queen's Lantern", a glass tower on the front of the building that's been dedicated to Queen Victoria and her great, great granddaughter. The building's original tower was removed after it began sinking and pulling away from the building more than 80 years ago. From the glass tower, the royal couple went to see the skeleton of a blue whale.
 Outside the blue whale exhibit, they met children gathered at an interactive kids' play area. Prince Phillip strolled over to chat with several boys and girls, about ages five to eight, lined up along a mock parapet, then leaned down to speak with several young girls in a toy boat. The Queen and Prince formally dedicated the new lantern tower and were then serenaded by a teen choir as they descended the main interior stairway.
 The Queen did a short walk-about outside en route to her car when she left the museum.

The Queen, dressed in robin's egg blue dress and matching hat, was applauded when she arrived outside by a crowd of more than 500.
 Inside the museum, a female museum guard gushed "she's beautiful" before snapping a picture of the Queen inside the glass lantern tower.

Afterward, they went to the National Arts Centre to unveil a statue of Jazz legend Oscar Peterson at the corner of Elgin and Albert. I didn’t make it up there in time to see any of the action – the crowds were a lot more intense there – but here’s the pool report:

As the Queen exited her vehicle, she appeared to stumble momentarily before catching her footing.
She and the Duke then proceeded down the red carpet where they stood and listened to a speech from Minister Moore.  The Queen then walked to the curtain covering the life-sized statue of Oscar Peterson sitting beside a piano, and pulled the yellow cord to reveal the monument.
The Queen then greeted members of the Peterson family before moving to greet members of the Montreal Gospel Choir, followed by a walkabout past members of the committee who chose the design of the statue.  She later received flowers from wellwishers, including at least two children, and shook hands with several people before departing.

From there, to Rideau Hall to plant a tree, meet with the Prime Minister, and to see the unveiling of the Diamond Jubilee Window design and bust maquette for the Senate Foyer. Later this evening, it’s a garden reception that sadly I won’t be attending.

It seems that the government has axed the mandatory long-form census and will instead replace it with a voluntary “national household survey.” Now, sure, the long form was unpopular with some because of the detailed personal questions it asked, but it did serve a purpose. But in axing this long-form, the Conservatives are insidiously undermining the quality of data that Statistics Canada can collect. From the Canadian Press article, where they spoke to several employees on the basis of anonymity:

Employees were told a little over a year ago that there would be less emphasis on analysis. A highly praised survey on immigrants to Canada, for example, has been axed. Other analytical jobs, in areas such as business and trade statistics and the aging population, have been eliminated.

One should immediately see the pattern taking shape here – analysis is used to make policy. Sound policy based on empirical data. And just what does this government prefer to use instead of sound policy based on solid data? Ideology. And it’s so much easier to use ideology when you can use made-up numbers collected by evangelical Christian organizations like Institute for Marriage and the Family, or the likes, rather than by solid, scientifically gathered quality data by Statistics Canada. Or better yet, they can claim ignorance of the facts because they’ve killed the collection of them. By making it a voluntary form, they’re already skewing the results.

This is one more move that should concern everyone about the direction of this government. It’s undermining the civil service and the basis by which good policies and good advice to government happens so that it can be replaced by ideology – and the alarm should be raised.

Similarly, the Conservatives, at the very last minute of the session, introduced a “technical amendment” to the Aeronautics Act that would essentially strip away the country’s sovereignty by allowing the Americans to say who can get on our own planes and who can’t if the planes fly over the US to get to a third country. But hey, just a “technical amendment,” everyone! Nothing to see here!

The Queen conducted an international naval review in Halifax yesterday. Prince Phillip wore Canadian Naval Uniform for the first time, wearing the rank of admiral. The Prince, of course, served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Naturally, people are already asking how much Her Majesty’s visit is going to cost. They haven’t released figures yet, but we can be pretty much assured it will be far less than either a G8 or G20 summit, or even a five-hour visit by President Obama.

In the Senate, (and yes, Globe and Mail – the Senate is still sitting. Nice of you to have finally noticed), the day began with Senator Callbeck remarking about tourism in PEI, Senator Fortin-Duplessis spoke about the G20 commitment to engaging with China, Senator Runciman spoke about the Canada 55-Plus Games, while Senator Eggleton spoke up to denounce the lockdown of Toronto during the G8 and G20 and the terrible consequences that resulted. This was followed by Senator Carignan speaking about the petition he would soon table to extend EI to people suffering from illnesses like cancer, and Senator DiNino speaking about interred Jewish refugees during the Second World War, and the terrible anti-Semitism they faced.

Senate Question Period was kicked off by Senator Callbeck asking after funding cuts to Katimavik, to which Senator LeBreton responded that they received stable multi-year funding, which is what they asked for. Callbeck asked why their funding was being cut nevertheless, but LeBreton wouldn’t veer from her talking point. (Incidentally, her portfolio of colour-coded talking points is a pretty interesting sight to behold).

Senator Losier-Cool asked about the reports from the American Senate about how only two percent of aid to Haiti is actually flowing due to a lack of leadership. LeBreton said that she would ask Bev Oda about that. Senator Peterson asked for an update on aid for Saskatchewan farmers being flooded out (LeBreton: still waiting for a response from the minister), and Senator Tardif asked why there were no translation services available during the foreign leaders’ press conferences after the G8 and G20. LeBreton made a slam against the CBC before saying she’d look into it. And Senator Fraser closed off by asking about a remark made by the head of the National Parole Board during the hearings on C-23A (the pardons bill), where he indicated government policy would be to get full cost recovery for pardons. Currently, people applying pay a $50 fee, but this would boost that to somewhere between $250 to $500. Senator LeBreton, in the process of saying she’d look into it, implied that people should simply save up (never mind that Senator Fraser implied that many of the people who would be applying would be on the lower end of the social scale, possibly on social assistance, and needed pardons in order to get certain kinds of jobs), and perhaps they should have thought of that before they committed crimes. Compassionate conservatism, everyone!

Sartorially speaking, snaps go to Senator Tardif for her moss green jacket with the three-quarter sleeves, and Senator Ringuette for her white suit with black pinstripes and the black top beneath. Also, Senator Dawson was wearing one of his signature bowties, and as we all know, bowties are cool. Less impressive were Senator Cochrane’s dull mustard-yellow jacket, and I was rather concerned by the sight of Senator Lapointe, who was wearing a white headband with a red spot at the forehead.

Meanwhile, the Senate’s legal and constitutional affairs committee completed their review of the National DNA Data Bank. Also, Bill C-11 on reforming the refugee system has passed third reading and is ready for Royal Assent. My story on the final passage will be on xtra.ca later today.

Over on the Commons side, Liberal public safety critic Mark Holland has questions for Vic Toews on the G8/G20 protests – and it could mean summer sessions for the Public Safety committee. But wait – they’re already holding hearings starting Monday, to meet with the head of CSIS over those allegations on foreign agents influencing provincial cabinet ministers. Holland says he wants to clarify just which version of the story is correct. (I would also expect something about those alleged Russian spies in the US using falsified Canadian documents to come up as well.)

Really, NDP comms? “Why do Conservatives hate weddings?” as an anti-HST release? Seriously?

Up today – Her Majesty arrives in Ottawa, where she will rededicate the Museum of Nature (where the new Lantern feature will be known as the Queen’s Lantern) and unveil a statue of Oscar Peterson at the National Arts Centre. Her arrival at the Museum will be at 12:25 and the statue unveiling at 13:15.

“It is so very good to be home.” With those words, Her Majesty began her nine-day royal tour of Canada in Halifax, starting with a Mi’kmaq cultural event. Her Excellency met Her Majesty for the arrival ceremonies before she was bundled onto a plane bound for China, but I did quite enjoy seeing the two of them together, chatting while on stage. And talk about the competition of fabulous hats! (The Toronto Star has a photo gallery here).


(CP photo)


(Reuters photo)

Now, as per usual whenever we get a royal visit, there’s a poll that comes out that shows that, oh, we’re just so tired of the monarchy and x number of Canadians think it’s a “colonial relic” and the likes. Except that those x number of Canadians don’t have a clue what they’re talking about, and probably couldn’t name all the parts of our system of government, let alone explain just how the Crown operates as an intricate part of that system. Or explain just how they plan to extricate that role in order to invest it in some mythical “made in Canada” head of state. Or how that would actually work in real life, rather than some abstract model they’ve not actually thought through, likely because they haven’t a clue as to how the bloody system works in the first place. Because seriously – it’s actually complicated business. I’d suggest taking a look at the article “Who will wear the crown in Canada” in the current issue of Maclean’s (it’s unfortunately not online yet), as it’s a good primer on just how impossible it will be to replace the monarchy in Canada with something that is deemed less “colonial.”

Oh, and as for our next Governor General – expect someone to be a big booster for the monarchy, say sources close to the centre.

(Incidentally, it was pointed out to me by a fabulous monarchist MP to look at all of the strong democracies in Europe – and they’re all countries that still have a monarchy. It says something about the system of government that we’ve adopted).

And if you’re at all curious, here’s a little more about the newly renovated Government House in Halifax, where Her Majesty will be staying.

What’s that? Possible problems with passing the “Karla Homolka Act” to limit pardons without much scrutiny? Likely consequences of creating a moral panic? You don’t say!

It looks like the government is going to try to force a vote on C-9, the budget implementation omnibus bill, by July 8th, so that it can finish passage and get Royal Assent shortly thereafter. Because you know, we couldn’t have the Senate actually scrutinizing the legislation that the Commons neglected to.

And congratulations, Canada – your population is now more than 34 million!

Up today – Her Majesty will be doing a fleet review as part of both the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Navy and International Fleet Week in Halifax.

The G8 and G20 have been and gone. The final communiqués for each have been delivered (G8 here and G20 here). The riots happened. And we are forever changed. Or something like that.

Harper has defended the role of the G8 over the G20 – which doesn’t surprise me, considering that I’m quite convinced the way he’s handled the G20 in Toronto has been all about poisoning the well for future summits of that nature.

Meanwhile, after 22 years in office, and serving as the longest Speaker in the Commons in Canadian history, Peter Milliken announced that he will be stepping down at the next election. It’s certainly been a job that no one can really envy, considering the factious nature of the Commons these days, and given that there’s a government in place that is so contemptuous of Parliament that the Speaker has been forced to make a series of unprecedented rulings in order to maintain the supremacy of Parliament. He’s certainly earned his retirement from politics.

The Supreme Court has decided to hear the government’s appeal on Insite.

Michael Ignatieff will be in the UK for part of next week for his daughter Sophie’s graduation from the University of Edinburgh, and while there, he will meet with Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader and coalition partner of British Prime Minister David Cameron. But coalition strategies, we are assured, will simply be addressed anecdotally, and will not be the focus of the meeting.

Preparing for the Queen’s visit this week, The Canadian Press details her previous visits to Canada, preparations for her visit to the final navy corvette in Canada, a list of interesting facts about her, and a quick primer on etiquette should you meet Her Majesty.

Up today – Her Majesty arrives in Halifax, the Senate resumes their sitting in the evening, and Harper hosts the Prime Minister of India in Toronto.

While the rest of the media gears up for the G8 and G20 summits, and spins itself into a frenzy over the CSIS allegations that there may be foreign agents (likely Chinese) influencing provincial cabinet ministers, there’s precious little else happening in Ottawa.

But while I’ve been busy wrapping up my coverage of Bill C-11 on reforming refugee protection in this country, going over everything that’s happened with the bill, I’ve been repeatedly struck by the way its passage has been described in the mainstream media.

“Liberals in chaos” has been the dominant narrative after members of the caucus put their collective feet down in order to defeat the “safe country of origin” provisions that would likely have passed if they hadn’t. And let’s face it – “Liberals in chaos” has been the dominant narrative for the party for, well, years and years. But I’ve been forced to wonder whether those members of the mainstream media bothered to drill down into the story to see whether it was chaos, or whether this was actual, genuine, democracy in action.

I know – it’s pretty hard to believe that in this age of iron-fisted leadership control and tight messaging that actual democratic engagement still happens within parties. And to the outside observer, it can appear to be little more than more backroom chaos. But look at what actually happened – there were provisions in the bill that most of the caucus (and most especially the Quebec wing) were unwilling to support because, if you listen to absolutely any single stakeholder who deals with refugees, they were very, very bad provisions. These very bad provisions would likely have gone through if MPs hadn’t put their feet down.

So they did, and the leader listened, and because he listened and said no to a process where the minister said that he would kill the bill rather than remove the safe country of origin list, the minister decided to take it to the other parties, and lo and behold, an agreement was struck. The “safe country” list was defanged, and a bill that was amended so that the stakeholder community agreed it was workable, albeit still imperfect. And it wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t have put their feet down.

So why has this been characterized as chaos? Is it because Jason Kenney decided to play partisan games, and in his press conference made a point of calling out the “inexplicable” way the Liberals decided not to “support their own amendments”? Or is it because it was a description that fit the ongoing trope, and the assembled reporters, used to these kinds of horse race politics, didn’t look any further, didn’t talk to most of the other MPs on the committee (Denis Coderre excepted, but dismissed as a loose cannon, and rightly so except for the fact that, oh, he was once immigration minister)? And more importantly, was it that they didn’t bother talking to the majority of the stakeholder community, with whom the committee and the Liberals on it had been actively engaging when they made the decision not to support the bad provisions?

A much better bill is being passed now, and even the NDP’s critic, Olivia Chow, admitted that it would have been a bad bill if the Liberals hadn’t balked. But that is apparently “chaos” in the caucus. Has the mainstream media become so jaded and detached that they’ve forgotten what it looks like when parties have to do these kinds of tough negotiations to come up with a better bill? Or have we become so accustomed to the Stephen Harper way of doing politics – with a muzzle and a big stick – that it has become a foreign concept? Would they rather a bad bill have been passed in order to make Michael Ignatieff look like he has an iron grip over his caucus? It makes me wonder.

Back to the G8/G20: Paul Martin says safe abortions should be on the G8 agenda, while Jim Flaherty calls the global bank tax – which has returned from the dead – a “distraction.” The same kind of “sideshow” as climate change apparently is?

Chinese president Hu Jintao’s visit has apparently gone very well, considering that we just signed a memorandum of understanding with him regarding opening up China to Canadian beef exports, and more importantly, the loan of two pandas.

And finally, a look at the Queen’s busy schedule during her visit next week.

Up today – Her Excellency will be meeting with African leaders who are at the G8, while the actual G8 leaders meet.