1. A slight spin on 'club fed.' Rahim Jaffer is getting another break - about $145 worth on his 2010 taxes for donating to a charity in addition to paying a fine for careless driving.
The former Edmonton Conservative MP pleaded guilty to a reduced charge last week and was fined $500. More serious charges of impaired driving, cocaine possession and speeding were dropped. In addition to the fine, he also made a voluntary charitable donation of $500.
Mr. Jaffer is one-half of a high-profile political couple; his wife, Helena Guergis, is a junior minister in Stephen Harper's cabinet. She has been in the news lately, too, creating her own controversy after an emotional outburst at the Prince Edward Island airport. The opposition is asking for her resignation.
So far the Prime Minister is resisting any such demands despite reports that senior Tories want her out, too.
For now, however, the seemingly charmed couple is facing few consequences. Adding to that view, the judge who presided over Mr. Jaffer's case, Mr. Justice Douglas Maund of the Ontario Court of Justice, said to the former politician at the time of sentencing: "I'm sure you can recognize a break when you see one."
The charitable tax break just adds another twist to that perception.
Yesterday, the Ontario Attorney General's office said Mr. Jaffer had made a contribution to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. But spokeswoman Valerie Hopper said it was a "voluntary payment."
"This charitable donation was in addition to the court ordered fine of $500. Only the court ordered requirements are enforceable by the court," she said.
Since the donation was voluntary, it means that Mr. Jaffer is eligible for a tax receipt.
Should he choose to claim the receipt on his taxes, Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Kevin Gaudet said Mr. Jaffer should be able to reduce his income by $145.
"A charity gets cash but the treasury loses some money and it doesn't seem that justice was well-served in the meantime," Mr. Gaudet says. "It is a slight spin on 'club fed.'"
2. The YouTube glitch. Stephen Harper's experiment in cyberspace last night did not go off without a hitch, leading to some speculation (totally unfounded) that the Prime Minister's Office was fiddling around with it at the last moment.
Instead, gremlins hit cyberspace and the Prime Minister's interview.
YouTube and Google had invited Canadians to submit video or text questions to the Prime Minister following his speech last week in reply to the Throne Speech. The speech was live-streamed on YouTube.
The questions - Canadians voted on which ones they liked the best - were to be put to Mr. Harper in a separate interview that was to be broadcast last night at 7 p.m.
And there was a good response. About 1,800 questions were submitted; 170,000 Canadians voted on which ones they liked best. Given the more youthful audience - YouTube attracts a younger crowd - many questions were about marijuana legalization.
The interview was pre-taped yesterday afternoon. It could not be broadcast live because the office where it was shot had no satellite capability. The Google Canada people, however, assured reporters that the interview would not be edited. As well, they said that neither the Prime Minister nor his office was allowed to vet the questions in advance.
Anyway, 7 p.m. rolled around - but the PM did not. Finally, around 8:15 p.m. the interview popped up on the YouTube channel.
What happened?
Google Canada's Wendy Rozeluk says she wishes she could blame it on daylight savings time.
But she noted that the interview was longer than anticipated - it went for 40 minutes when they had originally planned for 20 minutes. And as they tried to upload the interview they ran into a couple of technical difficulties that caused the delay.
In the end, however, the commentary, even from reporters, was that the questions were pointed and tough; the PM was not given any breaks.
About legalizing marijuana: The Prime Minister ruled it out saying the drugs are illegal because they are "bad."