Editorial cartoon by Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
1. Let the people decide. Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon was pressed by opposition MPs Wednesday night but repeatedly refused to call for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's immediate resignation.
The Americans have taken a much clearer stand. U.S. President Barack Obama has called for Mr. Mubarak to step down now, dismissing his plan to leave in September as fighting escalates in the streets of Cairo.
Mr. Cannon was speaking during what was at times a very passionate debate in the Commons on the worsening situation in Egypt. Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae, who had negotiated the emergency session, led off the questioning of Mr. Cannon.
"I know there is a reluctance on the part of the government in its repeated statements to respond to the question as to whether or not Mr. Mubarak should go," Mr. Rae said. "I wonder if he would not agree with me that what we do know now as a result of what happened today is that the statement President Mubarak made ... does not appear to be sufficient to bring peace and stability and the transition all of us have been looking for.
Mr. Cannon, however, stayed on message. Noting that the situation in Egypt is "extremely troublesome," he argued that it is "extremely important that the Egyptians themselves determine how that new government is going to be formed and what institutions need to be built so that democracy will indeed prevail there."
Paul Dewar, the NDP's foreign affairs critic, tried again: "I think that what people are waiting for the government to say very clearly and unequivocally, as was said by President Obama, is that the transfer of power should happen now. What is absolutely clear from that statement is the signal for Mr. Mubarak to resign and leave now."
It was all for naught. The Foreign Affairs Minister simply said again that it is up to Egyptians to decide their destiny.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rae criticized the understaffing and funding of consular offices - a point the Liberals have made since the crisis began. They argue the slow response time in communicating the situation to Canadians was a result of the lack of resources.
"The fact of the matter is that Canada faces a problem," Mr. Rae charged. "Far too many of our personnel are here in Ottawa and not enough of our personnel are working on behalf of Canada overseas. This is a problem and a challenge, which must be faced."
The debate lasted for more than four hours.
2. 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' won't bite. NDP Leader Jack Layton has declined an offer by a Conservative to be a "Senator for a day" and shadow her around to see how busy and important her job really is.
Senator Nicole Eaton noted in the Red Chamber Tuesday that she had extended that invitation to Mr. Layton. "Alas, he did not bite."
There is not much love for the NDP Leader in the Senate as he wants the chamber abolished. So not surprisingly, he was the subject of derision in one of the first opportunities senators had to speak in the chamber on their return from a six-week Christmas break.
Ms. Eaton noted she had taken part in public talks on the Senate with Mr. Layton recently. "While I very much enjoyed taking part in this panel, I felt bad for the organizers because their event was hijacked," she said. "What was supposed to be a rational, intelligent debate quickly deteriorated into an all-out attack on our parliamentary institutions by the third panelist, Jack Layton."
Then she launched into her attack on the NDP Leader. "He has made a career of throwing around empty promises for which he will never be held accountable," said the unelected Senator, who was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009.
Ms. Eaton accused Mr. Layton of not understanding the "pivotal role the Senate plays in our parliamentary system." This is why she extended her invitation.
"I believe we must do our best to promote the hard and valuable work we do here and to tackle these uninformed, factually lacking attacks," she said. "We must put the likes of Jumpin' Jack Flash on notice that such short-sighted, blatant disregard for our systems and institutions will not be tolerated."
The NDP was unimpressed with the senator's outburst. "Mr. Layton recently had the opportunity to shadow workers who are actually useful to the Canadian society - nurses, doctors and orderlies," spokesman Karl Belanger said, referring to the NDP Leader's appearance on the CBC show Make the Politician Work.
"We see no reason to get him to shadow a bunch of partisan appointees, may they be bagmen, spindoctors or campaign strategists."