Several things caught my eye this morning in the Globe & Mail – among the highlights:

1. Everyone is talking about Paul Martin‘s big “vision” speech he gave yesterday. I may post a bit more on it later but my initial reaction is positive. Martin’s biggest problem is that he looks like a guy who has wanted to be Prime Minister his entire life…for the sake of being Prime Minister. He hasn’t shown any vision whatsoever and the only time his government ever performs well is when they’re in damage control. So it was extremely refreshing to see the beginnings of a coherent plan about where he wants to take the country. Was it a perfect speech? Of course not. But it’s a big step in the right direction. And I was very pleased to see the talk of immigration – there’s no reason we shouldn’t have hit the 1% immigration target a long time ago. As for his immigration minister…

2. It looks like Pierre Pettigrew isn’t the only Liberal taking full advantage of his expense account. Joe Volpe is in hot water for spending taxpayer dollars on expensive meals. I don’t want to come out and say he’s using government dollars to woe people to his leadership campaign, but I wouldn’t argue with anyone else who jumped to that conclusion.

3. PQ golden boy Andre Boisclair is in hot water over his admitted use of cocaine while he was a Cabinet Minister. While it’s true that being on drugs is likely the only way to see the economic benefits of Quebec’s session, it’s not generally something you want in a Premier. It’s also likely not a good idea for Boisclair to answer questions about his cocaine use with “I am under a great deal of stress.” He’s really opening the door for smart ass comments on that one.

4. Speaking of Premiers with addiction problems, Ralph Klein has announced every Albertan will get a 400$ rebate cheque this Christmas! I’d be very curious to see if anyone out there could think up a less inspiring way to spend Alberta’s surplus. I’m open to any suggestions.

5. The Liberals will not meet their deadline on proposed electoral reforms. Obviously the solution is to appoint another Minister in charge of democratic reform.