Canada Newswatch

Once again, the Conservative government is warning Canadians that our laws are not strong enough to "protect society." This time, it is young offenders, as young as 14, who apparently pose a threat.

The cancellation of the visit by American envoy George Mitchell, who has been delegated to renew the diplomatic negotiations, embodies the slippery slope facing Israel. Even before completing the first year of his second term in office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to foment crises in two key strategic areas: the peace process with the Palestinians and relations with the United States.

Exploiting a loophole in the parliamentary rules regarding mailings to constituents, the federal Conservatives have been flooding opposition ridings with partisan pamphlets.

Telling new mothers that breastfeeding is the healthiest option for their newborn and then sending them home with free samples of infant formula has always been a mixed message.

If Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to rebuke the Israeli government for expanding Jewish settlements in disputed East Jerusalem, as Washington and others have done, why doesn't he just come out and say so in plain language?

If the Fathers of Confederation were gathering to shape a new nation today, rather than in the 1860s, they might have been tempted to make Toronto a province. After all, there are compelling arguments to be made for provincial status. With a population of 2.5 million, this city has more people than most provinces; it is an economic titan; and some would argue that Toronto is culturally distinct, too.

Has Prime Minister Stephen Harper handed former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci an impossible task by asking him for a speedy decision on what documents Ottawa can make public on the Afghan detainee issue without endangering national security? It's beginning to look that way.

The National Hockey League's general managers have collectively decided that enough is enough and have recommended rule changes to curb reckless "head shots" that leave players concussed or worse.

Toronto's former budget chief Tom Jakobek is claiming vindication on news that the OPP will not be pressing criminal charges against him or anyone else involved in the MFP computer leasing scandal. In Jakobek's view, he was the victim of a political witch hunt, one that lacked evidence of any wrongdoing.

There is never a good time to be unemployed, poor, sick ? and dependent on government assistance. But with the province facing a massive deficit and searching for savings, this is a particularly bad time.