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Also, the Liberals’ co-chair resigned after it was revealed that he was offering basic civics advice about what happens during a government transition to his client, TransCanada.

While we’re here, let’s also throw in the NDP’s satellite office expenses scandal for good measure.

There, are you all happy now?

Debates about Debates

The so-called broadcast consortium lost the debates. Debates were hosted in English instead by Maclean’s, the Globe, and the Munk Debates. Much drama ensued; Harper wouldn’t agree to the broadcast consortium’s terms, Mulcair wouldn’t debate unless Harper did, and Trudeau wanted an equal number of English and French debates.

Now we all want an independent debate commission.

A Recession Recession

On Aug. 31, Statistics Canada released its second-quarter GDP result showing that Canada was in a mild technical recession for the first half of the year. But the economy was already starting to grow again by the time the economists were able to declare that we were, indeed, in a Recession Recession.

Not that it mattered one way or another anyway.

We’ve likely returned to growth, since. Although I dare not place an adjective in front of the word “growth” for fear of the backlash.

Refugees

The brutal photograph of Alan Kurdi, face down on a beach, opened the hearts of most Canadians for a solid week or two. Most were mortified to discover that his kin had beentrying to apply for refuge in Canada.

This was an opportunity for the Liberals or the NDP to re-frame the entire election around Canadian values and our place in the world. Or to note Canada’s growing insularity over the past two decades. For a few days, they tried; each promising to increase the country’s quota of refugees.