Six In The Morning

1 MULRONEY'S MONEY The public inquiry into the former prime minister's relationship to a bags-of-cash-lobbing German arms dealer is underway. First up: Former defence minister Bill McKnight. (CBC)

2 FOXY HARPER The prime minister who's content to let 800 jobs go down at the CBC appears on the cartoonishly right-wing American broadcaster, and brags about Canada's bank regulatory regime which (it says here) he would've probably dismantled had he had the chance before it all blew up.

3 CHYRSLER ME A RIVER Under pressure from the White House, GM's CEO resigns while another automaker is told its recovery plan needs a do-over, this time with more Italians. Meanwhile, the market tumbles. It's all here. And here. (New York Times, the Guardian)

4 JUNO WHAT'S BORING? Nickelback's last record was allegedly the best album released by Canadian musicians last year. Yawwwwwwwwwn. (Toronto Star)

5 MOVE IT OR LOSE IT Canada's biggest city is divided over the fate of an urban coyote. (Toronto Star)

6 BUS BOO-HOO (This one's from Friday but we haven't posted on it yet so I'm putting it up now.)

In a California-esque display of a la carte democracy, University of Regina students voted down a $69/semester bus pass fee (or $17.25/month) that would've been a huge step forward for a functioning transit system in this city.

I understand where they're coming from. I understand how transit funding failures in this city have fueled an unsustainable car culture. I fully recognize that students are being asked to pay to fix a problem that they didn't create. I know--I know--there's a lot of blame to go around for the disaster that is Regina transit's grievous under-funding.

And I realize that high post-secondary tuitions have really fucked student's futures up, so every time they're asked to pay more, they balk. I sympathize.

But the fact is, that fee would've made this city a better place and would've improved connections between the campus and the rest of Regina. It would've been a step forward.

it also would've helped a lot of students get through the year without cars, which would save them piles of money.

Bottom line for me: students who voted "no" to the pass have many legitimate points. But this was a chance for them to show some vision and civic leadership. And, they failed.