Updated throughout the day when so moved...

First out of the gate: Liberal campaign releases their election platform; English and French versions attached at the bottom of this post.

Joke of the day: Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: Because Stephen Harper wanted to avoid the debate train!

CTV Poll: Do you think that Stephen Harper should debate Michael Ignatieff one on one? Vote: http://www.ctv.ca/qp/

One-on-one debate train has "left the station": Harper (April 3, 2011 - Andrew Mayeda, Postmedia News/National Post) Stephen Harper is ignoring the ongoing calls for him to debate Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff one on one. CBC comedian Rick Mercer over the weekend offered to moderate a debate between the two leaders. Other organizations have put their names forward as well, including a public-policy group called Canada2020 that is connected with former CBC host Don Newman. Mr. Ignatieff has accepted Mr. Mercer's offer. But Mr. Harper said he's moved on.

Liberals carry on red book tradition: Paul Martin (April 3, 2011 - Susan Delacourt, The Toronto Star) Martin said he'd advise Harper not to campaign on the economy: "I'd say: 'You better not — somebody's going to point out that you totally misread the onset of the recession, the opposition had to force you into stimulus, and that you had destroyed our margin of manoeuvre before we even got into it, before the recession came.'" [See also...]

Bruce Carson, convicted of fraud, disclosed criminal record to PMO: lawyer (April 3, 2011 - The Canadian Press) Bruce Carson was convicted on five counts of fraud - three more than previously known - and received court-ordered psychiatric treatment before becoming one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's closest advisers. And his lawyer told The Canadian Press that Carson disclosed his entire criminal record during a security check that was required to become a senior staffer in the Prime Minister's Office. [...] During Carson's stint at the PMO, it was publicly known that he'd been jailed and disbarred by the Law Society of Upper Canada in the early 1980s for two counts of defrauding clients.

Feds accused of trying to muzzle commission report into Afghan torture (April 3, 2011 - Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press) The [Harper] government quietly went to Federal Court last week hoping to impose limits on what a military watchdog can say in its yet-to-be-written final report into torture allegations involving Afghan prisoners. The government wants to exclude the testimony of diplomats and civilians who did not work for the Defence Department. It lawyers also want any documents belonging to those officials, including reports that warned of torture or documented the abuse, excluded from the commissions findings. "They're asking the Federal Court to put a muzzle on the commission," said Paul Champ, the lawyer for both human rights groups. "They're trying to prevent or curtail the commission's ability to speak about all of the evidence they've heard. Even while the MPCC is deliberating on the evidence they've heard, (the government) is trying to get the court to issue a judgment or an order restricting what the MPCC can say."

Stephen Harper's secret weapon: low voter turnout (April 1, 2011 - The Georgia Straight) With polling stations closing at 7 p.m. on the West Coast on May 2, it may be difficult for some Lower Mainland transit riders to cast a ballot. [...] Meanwhile in Quebec and Ontario, polling stations close at 9:30 p.m. in their time zones.

The Vancouver Courier - Decision Canada (The Vancouver Courier) Local paper unveils dedicated local election coverage page.

What, talk to each other? (Originally titled "Coalition clause" in Liberal platform, April 3, 2011 - Susan Delacourt, The Toronto Star) One tiny item in today's Liberal platform leaps out (at least to me): a Liberal government would convene regular, face-to-face meetings of all party leaders in the House of Commons, to "take stock of the tone of Parliamentary debate, productivity in the conduct of people's business and the mandates for in-depth work by standing committees."

(Sad that we need parties to promise to do such a thing in this day and age, isn't it?)

Liberals lay out $8B 'families' platform (April 3, 2011 - CBC News) The Liberals put families front-and-centre in their platform unveiled Sunday, with a five-point plan to strengthen families as its centrepiece. "We're offering these policies to Canadians and we're saying we can deliver these practical benefits to Canadian families without raising your taxes," Ignatieff said at an online "town hall" in Ottawa to announce the platform. Ignatieff pointed to a post-secondary funding policy announced last week. "You get the grades, you get to go," Ignatieff said, echoing a refrain from the campaign trail. "It's like all these policies - they're simple, they're easy to understand, they address a real need of Canadian families."

Keeping it brief today. Here is what I believe is the best media quote of the day:

For a week now, the Conservative leader has been systematically hammering the theme that this election offers a stark choice between unrest and stability. To drive his message home, Harper has been blatantly creative with the facts, starting with his own manoeuvres as an opposition leader in a minority Parliament. Chantel Hebert, The Star

Emphasis mine.

Rarely do columnists out and out call any politician a liar let alone the Prime Minister, so when a respected national journalist takes that big step people ought to take notice.