Satire

It's Tuesday May 10th, Gilles Duceppe says the opposition will ask the Governor General to intervene if the Liberals lose a vote today and won't resign. The leader of the separatist party added that it is Adrienne Clarkson's duty to, quote --"call Paul Martin and tell him a few things about democracy"--unquote.

Currently, if Clarkson won't listen, he's going to take it to the people, to the average voting public, citizens from coast to cost to coast. He's going bring them together, get them speaking with one voice, united like never before as ... CANADIANS DAMMIT!

GO GETTEM DUCEPPE! IF WE HAD MORE SEPARATISTS LIKE YOU... WE ...WE...WELL WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THIS WHOLE SPONSORSHIP PROBLEM WOULD WE?

HEY! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU TEN YEARS AGO WHEN WE NEEDED YOU?

This is The Current.

Nina Courtepatte

Last month a 13-year-old Edmonton girl was found dead on a golf course. Nina Courtepatte was last seen hanging out with friends at West Edmonton Mall but there seemed to be no signs she was at risk. Five people have been charged with her murder.

But CBC news has learned that the teenager's home life -- and how her case was handled -- raises some serious questions. Provincial child welfare department records detail a long list of disturbing files involving Nina Courtepatte.

The records show social workers were called out to Nina's home repeatedly to investigate a series of allegations of abuse and neglect. CBC Edmonton reporter Gareth Hampshire has been following this story for the local morning show there. He joined us to share it with us.

Removing Kids

Seen from certain angles, cases involving the welfare of children, and the decision about whether to remove them from allegedly abusive homes, can appear relatively clear cut. But in reality removing children is a complicated, heartbreaking decision ...the process Byzantine ...and the outcome, rarely predictable.

We talked to two people who've been on the front lines of this kind of story. Zoe Ayre has been working with child protection services in British Columbia for 23 years. She also sits on the child and family committee of the B.C. Association of Social Workers. She joined us from Surrey, B.C. And Nico Trocme is a professor of sociology and the head of the Centre for research on Children and Families at McGill University. He was in our Toronto studio.

Listen to The Current: Part 1

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

The Current: Part 2

Removing Kids (cont’d)

We opened the program with the tragic case of a 13-year-old girl who was found dead on a golf course in Edmonton. Nina Courtepatte was last seen hanging out with friends at West Edmonton Mall. As we mentioned, there seemed to be no signs she was at risk, but CBC news has now learned that Provincial child welfare department records detail a long list of disturbing files involving Nina Courtepatte.

We spoke to two people who have intimate experience in performing the heart-wrenching task of dealing with child abuse and the difficult decision of removing at risk children from their homes.

Zoe Ayre has worked for child welfare protection in British Columbia for 23 years. She also sits on the child and family committee of the B.C. Association of Social Workers. She was in Surrey, B.C. And Nico Trocme is a professor of sociology and the head of the Centre for research on Children and Families at McGill University. He was in our Toronto studio.

Music Bridge

Artist: The Sadies
Cut: CD 10 “Of our Land”
CD: “Stories Often Told”
Label: Outside Music
Spine #: 23339-9000-2

Paul Martin on The Current

In the media business, when we're talking about lining up a high profile guest to discuss their book, their documentary, their big idea or the future of their political party, we call that person a "Get".

For instance, today---on a day that Parliament votes on a motion that opposition parties are calling a matter of confidence, which, if it passes means Paul Martin's liberals will be asked to resign----the big "Get" would be, of course, the prime minister.

And we can tell you we've tried but Mr. Martin will not be my guest this morning. In fact, we have been trying, almost from day one of The Current. And there's certainly no shortage of things we'd like to discuss ...the Gomery Inquiry, the VE-Day about-face, the looming election. Now Paul Martin seems to agree these things need discussing with the public. He's been filling the airwaves these past few weeks with explanations, exhortations and expiations...

The day after he addressed Canadians on television, the Prime Minister gave more than a dozen media interviews and several more since. Yet, he has never spoken to The Current. So, while we're poised on the brink of a possible election, and before we launch another round of unsuccessful requests to the PMO, we thought we'd delve into this issue.

And today, instead of the Prime Minister, we spoke to our producer Gregor Craigie, who was assigned -- and who failed -- to arrange an interview with the Prime Minister.

Media Strategy

So it could be a question of scheduling. Or possibly a question of strategy. Or maybe, and we hate to think of it---maybe it's personal...whatever reason is keeping Paul Martin away from the Current, it's likely a decision he's making with the help of a small entourage of media gurus.

Paul Martin and the other party leaders employ a bevy of handlers to massage their message every time they choose to speak to journalists. Or choose not to. To compare and contrast the various media strategies of the different leaders we were joined by Kady O'Malley. She is a reporter with The Hill Times in Ottawa. And Chris Dornan, he is the Director of the School of Journalism and Communications at Carleton University.

Listen to The Current: Part 2

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

The Current: Part 3

Egypt Politician

Today, Egypt's parliament approves a constitutional amendment allowing for multi-party elections. The government is calling it ground-breaking democratic reform. But the opposition is calling it an empty gesture and they accuse President Hosni Mubarak of removing candidates that threaten his leadership.

As an example they point to the arrest of Ayman Nour. This past January the leader of the increasingly popular Al-Ghad party was charged with forging signatures to help his party receive legal status. He was thrown in jail for three months.

These are troubled times in Egypt. Political dissent is in the air but so is the smoke of random terrorism. Last week the second bomb in a month went off in a square behind the Cairo museum, killing one person and wounding several tourists.

But sirens aren't the only sounds filling the streets of Cairo. A new and vocal generation of protestors is stepping up its opposition to the authoritarian regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

It's a stunning sea change of activity in a country once labeled "politically stagnant". It's too soon to say how the current unrest will affect the fall elections but joining me to talk about this political volatility is Hisham Kassem. He's Vice President of Ayman Nour's Al-Ghad party, and he was in Cairo.

Judge Tariq El-Etawil

As you heard, it's not just opposition politicians who are calling for election reform. Now Egyptian judges want to be released from the process. In the past they've had to ratify all of President Mubarak's one-man referendums.

Now they say they want to freely oversee upcoming presidential elections, and to validate the results independent from the Egyptian government. Judge Tariq El-Etawil is one of those judges and we reached at his home in Alexandria, Egypt.

Egypt Overview

In many societies, a push for more democracy tends to come from the most oppressed on up to the elite, generally in hopes of toppling those in power. But in Egypt, there's an organization called Kifaya or the "Enough" movement whose members are culled from the upper echelons of Egyptian society.

George Ishak is the founding member and he shared his thoughts about the political changes the movement wants to see in Egypt, which he then hopes will spread to the masses.

To talk about Kifaya, or Enough movement, and the pressure for election reforms we were joined by Amy Hawthorne. She's an independent Middle East analyst formerly of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and she was in Washington.

Listen to The Current: Part 3

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

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