It's too cold to fathom. -52 with windchill. Do you know what this means when you're living in an apartment that is at least one hundred years old, lacks good insulation and is fitted with old double-windows? Frigid temperatures inside rivalling those outdoors. Fortunately for me, I'm in the best insulated room at the front, and my windows are different from those in the rest of the house. Unfortunately for my two roommates, they're in the coldest part of the apartment and have been sleeping in toques, pants and sleeping bags for the last few nights.

It comes down to a question of tenants rights to live in a comfortable environment, and for some reason our landlord who "hasn't forgotten about [us]", doesn't seem to acknowledge that. We've been asking him to put the plastic sheeting over our windows, as is written in our lease, since early December, hoping he would get one of his 'people' to do it while we were away. That never happened. I've been calling him over the last two weeks to let him know we want it done, and yet he keeps delaying. When I speak to him again today I will mention that we won't be paying our February rent until he seals up the windows, since it explicitly states in our lease that he has to do so. What is it going to take for him to move on this issue? What's the incentive for him to do so when we're the ones paying the astronimical heating bills? Last year our heating bill for the two coldest months amounted to over $200 a piece - this is unrealistic, unjust and beyond our means.

Speaking of means, Sheila Copps certainly doesn't have those that are necessary to keep her Hamilton seat which she has held for twenty years, but this isn't entirely her fault. Despite the fact that I'm not a Copps fan, if Martin and his boys are pushing her out of contention for re-election by playing favourites appears to be a blatent contradiction with regards to his efforts to "remove the democratic deficit". Political favouritism may be a factor when specific patronage appointments are being made, such as those to the Senate, and this seems to be convention. When we're talking about ensuring that all potential candidates have an equal opportunity to run for office in their home ridings, such favouritism clearly runs counter to the fundamental tenants of democracy. In Iran the conservative clergy has blocked many reformists from running for a seat in parliament (the majlis); in Canada, the conservative Liberals are doing the same thing.