The political year that was

possess or smoke pot. The challenge was a bit of a stretch to begin with: by limiting the right to possess even small amounts of marijuana the government was unlawfully restricting the right to liberty of the person.

On the other hand, earlier in the year, provincial supreme and appellate courts across Canada issued contradictory and confusing rulings that definitely thickened the haze hovering around cannabis consumption laws. Our new Prime Minister promises to decriminalize smaller amounts of marijuana than the government's original proposed legislation called for. Or did he? It was hard to know what to think, what with the big bag of Doritos in front of Paul Martin during the interview.

2. Canada among the coalition of the 'unwilling' [http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/cana... ]

In what amounted to a stunning show of principle - not something we'd grown accustomed to seeing from the Prime Minister - Jean Chrétien informed the US President that Canada would not participate in any invasion of Iraq without a clear, unequivocal resolution from the United Nations.

Commentary reflected the initial split in public opinion: many proclaimed Chrétien's decision to be a snub of our greatest ally while others applauded him for standing up to a bullying neighbor. As time progressed, however, and those weapons of mass destruction failed to materialize, Chrétien's firm stand on the Iraq war is increasingly seen as one of the most defining moments not only of the year but of his entire prime minister reign.

And my number one political story - who am I kidding? also a Christmas present - of 2003:

1. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien retires

Amid the cries of 'who cares?' and 'it's about time,' the Prime Minister's long awaited retirement is certainly noteworthy in that the man held the Canadian helm for over ten years before packing up 24 Sussex and heading back to Shawinigan. As Canada heads into a new year, it also heads into the uncertainty that is the Paul Martin reign, a man whose ability to say nothing of substance makes Chrétien's policy discussions seem encyclopedic by comparison.

If 2003 was a year of big changes on the political scene, 2004 will be the year in which Canada's politicos attempt to apply those changes, new leaders, new parties and hopefully new ideas to the political scene. In other words, lot's to write about.

Happy New Year!

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