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"We need fearless pundits like Karl who don't soft-peddle. In this not-so-brave new corporate media world, we need activist political reporting and alternative voices on the Hill."
-- Antonia Zerbisias, journalist and writer

Welcome to a Harper-free Canada!

The Prime Minister has announced that Canada will renew its commitment to participate in military action against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also know as ISIS), for one year.

Canada's role, which began six month ago, is supposed to be limited to air strikes and training of Iraqi government and Kurdish forces, behind the actual battle lines.

Canadian troops are not mandated to participate in ground, offensive action. But it seems, in the field, there is no clear demarcation between active participation in combat and training. So far, one Canadian has been killed in action, by friendly fire from Kurdish forces.

A bit more than a week before the House of Commons meets again some normally canny and shrewd observers are starting to write off Stephen Harper.

But those who see the current Conservative regime as the worst disaster to hit Ottawa since R. B. Bennett should not pop their champagne corks just yet.

The current federal governing party still has plenty of assets. It would be foolhardy to dismiss its prospects six months to a year before an election.

Pollster Nik Nanos says the Conservatives are now trailing both the Liberals and the NDP in what he calls his "Power Index."

That is not a poll of voting intentions.