Spotted: Royals leave P.E.I., Pride parade and fear of G8 summit snipers

Prince William and Kate bid farewell to P.E.I.

The royal couple departed Prince Edward Island yesterday evening. William participated in a "water bird" emergency landing exercise at Dalvay-by-the-Sea and the newlyweds competed against each other in a dragon boat race.

Many readers were impressed with Kate's demeanor.

Maureen Hodder thought that "Kate did a wonderful job on her first royal tour."

moonpoolcanada recognized Kate's positive influence. "Sure it costs a few pennies, but I would rather my daughter be in awe of a Princess rather than an untalented American pop star."

Whatchamacallit disagreed. "I would much rather my children be in awe of American or Canadian pop stars who... at least still managed to attain their celebrity status less through the virtue of their birth, and more of their own resolve," they wrote. "While I cringe as I type it, I'll take Justin Bieber over William & Kate any day."

Some readers didn't let Kate outshine the Prince.

"William is just so animated and involved with the people he is meeting, and is being so patient listening to the older veterans there right now," wrote Manitoo_Joe. "This young man will make a great King, of that I have no doubt."

And some had a hard time choosing one person from the pair to applaud.

"I would much rather that people around the world look to these two as role models," wrote NoDogInTheFight. "They use their positions to raise awareness of causes, raise funds for various charities and show a level of civility and grace that would be a challenge for most of us if thrust into similar circumstances."

Pride parade covers streets in rainbow of colours

More than one million people lined downtown Toronto's streets Sunday for North America's largest gay pride parade. The "Dykes on Bikes" led a procession of floats graced by politicians and celebrities.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford missed the parade - the first mayor in 16 years to do so - despite public and private lobbying.

doc4critters thought Ford's decision reflected poorly on his attitude toward the GLBT community. "Ford should have brought his family to the parade rather than dodging it."

Some readers disagreed.

• "Would it say anything about his attitude to the Irish community if he didn't attend the St. Patrick's Day Parade? What if he doesn't attend any Chinese New Year's celebrations?" Blochi asked. "Non-attendance doesn't mean that he doesn't like or support gays and gay rights... It just means that he wants to spend the weekend with his family at the cottage."
• "Ford is entitled to spend his weekend anyway he likes," wrote halstrom. "That's his business."
  

Some thought the excuse Ford gave was weak.

"The problem is with the dishonesty of claiming that he can't make it due to a commitment to be with his family that weekend, but still missing every other event over the other 8 days of the festival," wrote GordYoung. "That to me is pure cowardice."

IvanNano saw a positive side to the controversy around Ford's non-attendance. "Aren't you glad that you live in a country where the biggest controversy about an event like this is that the mayor may or may not attend?"

G8 summit venue 'ideal' for snipers

An internal RCMP review says the Conservative government's choice of Ontario cottage country as the 2010 G8 Summit venue offered would-be snipers "ideal conditions" to assassinate a world leader.

The G8 and G20 security involved over 20,000 personnel and a budget of $930 million.

Bodyatrest couldn't believe the amount of money spent on security for the events. "What about unfunded health care and educational needs?"

Many readers offered humorous alternatives:

• Rick B2 suggested that, "video conferencing would be the safest and cheapest for G8 and G20 meetings."
  
• "It should be hosted in Vancouver," wrote upsidedownzebra. "The town sure knows how to throw a good riot."
• "Well then, obviously we need a larger security budget for the next event we host !" wrote ScottFree.