Morning News Round-Up

A roundup of attention-grabbing Canada-focused headlines:

Want to Solve America's Problems?  Vote Canada.  The BBC reports on a Canadian comedy team’s new book,  America But Better:  The Canada Party Manifesto.

B.C. Premier Steps In It, And Enjoys a Session-Free Fall.  B.C. Premier Christy Clark says Victoria is steeped in a “sick culture” with “no real people.”  Predictably, she’s grabbing headlines—especially since the Premier is not having a fall sitting of B.C.’s parliament, and there's that provincial election next May.

Understanding Canada’s Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair.  John Geddes offers a lengthy and fascinating portrait of NDP leader Thomas Mulcair raise to power and worldview in Macleans.  Here’s a particularly relevant snippet:

By his own account in an interview with Maclean's, backed up by the observations of some who have worked closely with him, Mulcair’s upbringing in such a large, tightly knit, complex household remains the template for his important relationships. Aides and allies say he maintains unusually close contact with family and old friends, cultivating an intensely personal network and leaning on time-tested loyalties more than most top politicians. While he is no longer an observant churchgoer, Mulcair’s brand of left-leaning politics flows directly out of his home province’s distinctive and deep well of progressive Catholicism—a powerful influence on seminal Quebec politicians of the past, including Pierre Trudeau. As for Mulcair’s Irishness, Graham Carpenter, an old family friend and long-time aide, alludes to his “Irish world view,” and not jokingly, as an explanation for Mulcair’s storied scrappiness and more. “There’s mystique to it,” Carpenter says, “that’s for sure.”

Canada’s Health System and Graying Population.  The Ottawa Citizen explores why the graying of Canada’s population hasn’t derailed the healthcare system of the Champlain district.

Rock the Canadian Rockies this Summer.  The Calgary Herald reports on Banff National Park’s preparations for its annual foliage tourist rush.

PQ Officially Take the Reins of Government in Quebec. Yesterday was the first day of Parti Quebecois (PQ) government in Quebec.  CTVNews reports on the PQ cabinet’s photo-op, and explores just who is holding the reins of Quebec government.  Of particular focus:  Alexandre Cloutier’s appointment to the newly created minister for sovereigntist government. 

U.S. Solider Avoiding Iraq War Service in Canada is Ordered Out By Day’s End.  Kimberly Rivera, a war resister who’s been in Canada since 2007, is told to leave Canada because she won’t face “punishment, torture, or loss of life if deported.”  (Source:  iPolitics)

Gamer-Free Vancouver?  Canadian Business reports on why the Vancouver’s video-game industry is moving east.  Why?  Two drivers:  Ontario’s lower cost of living and tax incentives.