Each week, Kyle Muzyka sifts through what our PM has been up to in this column, The Radical Adventures of Stephen Harper, for your personal enjoyment.
Another week, another $6,296.
The Prime Minister sure earned his weekly paycheck this time ‘round! We delve right into his schedule with his weekly Q&A about free trade “roundtable discussions,” which seem to be the equivalent of two people talking while the rest watch.
We then get another brief glimpse of our PM’s laptop, the cover of which proudly displays a sticker of his family. I would like to take a quick poll in the comments: do you think having a sticker of your family is cute or just hilarious?
Serious time: ISIL (or ISIS or the Islamic State or the “bad guys”). Our mission has changed from advisory to combat; six CF-18s will now be sent to the Middle East. 24SEVEN insists that the decision is “the right thing to do,” which is definitely a debatable issue amongst the Canadian populace.
Harper also caught an Ottawa Redblacks game. This season, the team fell to a dismal 2-12. The players must get nervous when they feel Harper’s presence in the building.
On 24SEVEN, Harper was then interviewed by the newest addition to the iconic Hockey Night in Canada broadcast: George Stroumboulopoulos. It turns out Harper had some interesting things to say about non-governmental issues. He bragged about his son being awesome at volleyball, and his daughter wanting to be a referee.
Stroumboulopoulos prodded the Prime Minister about being a hockey dad—Harper had watched his son play for eight years before he hung up the skates to focus completely on volleyball.
When asked about whether he ever thought either of his kids would play professional hockey, Harper responded with a resounding “no.”
Though he had always seen his son as a good hockey player, apparently he didn’t see Ben as a great hockey player. And I guess his daughter is a write-off, or something.
Here’s a snippet of the interview:
Stroumboulopoulos: Do you yell at refs when you watch hockey?
Harper: Probably not as much as I used to. I used to get myself really worked up when I’m watching hockey, and I guess I now get myself worked up in so many other instances that I’m more relaxed when I watch hockey.
Stroumboulopoulos: [sarcastically] Why, do you have another job? What else do you do?
I’ve been asking myself the same question for close to a year now, Strombo. No sarcasm here.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
“Everyone seems to be getting that haircut, George. Be honest. Do you think it would look good on me?”
Sportsnet