The divide in opinion about Omar Khadr is wide and deep and it will not be closed by any words written in a newspaper. But there are two things - one fact and one hope - which we should be able to agree on.

It's not about Omar Khadr. That's the key thing to remember about the latest twist in the seemingly endless saga of Omar Khadr. It's not about Omar Khadr.

When Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth introduced a private member's motion on the status of the fetus last week, the government was expected to distance itself. But when Conservative whip Gordon O'Connor stood to deliver the government line, he did far more than that.

In the 1921 novel We, Yevgeny Zamyatin imagined a future where every building is made of glass so the authorities can see what citizens are doing at all times. Is that the world Big Data will construct? Some pessimists worry that it could. I worry that the pessimists are too optimistic.

I thought I'd begin this column by noting that on several occasions over the past week I wanted to puke on my shoes. My editor demurred. It's too crude, he said. "We have standards."

I should respect that. It's increasingly rare.

This week, the Conservative government introduced legislation which would create a vast system of warrantless Internet surveillance. Civil libertarians howled in protest.

There are moments when Stephen Harper is utterly unfathomable.

The latest came last week, in an interview with the CBC. Almost casually, the prime minister said he would reinstate emergency anti-terrorism powers - allowing judges to compel witnesses to testify in secret hearings and police to jail terrorism suspects without warrant for up to three days.

(Note: the following was originally published December, 2007, in the Ottawa Citizen. I thought I'd repeat it because, well, this stuff never goes out of fashion, does it?)

I am an atheist. I do not believe in Zeus, Thor, Quetzalcoatl, Ganesh or Allah. I do not believe Moses parted the Red Sea. I do not believe Mohammed, Joseph Smith or anyone else ever spoke with angels. And I very much do not believe that God impregnated a virgin who gave birth on Christmas Day.

Thus, while I appreciate the efforts of those sensitive souls who spot and erase references to Christmas in schools and other public settings, I must insist that the inclusion revolution go much further.