From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

• Rob Ford, CBC, Rick Mercer: In Canada, officials demand deference
  While the Rob-Ford-versus-22 Minutes thing unfolded, Rick Mercer used the suicide of a 15-year-old to occasion a powerful rant about homophobic bullying in schools. He challenged gay adults, in particular public figures, to be less invisible. The rant caused considerable hand-wringing, and a number of media outlets, including this one, dismissed Mercer’s call for more public figures to come out of the closet. It was an interesting debate, but what interested me was that the teens being bullied to the point of suicide were forgotten as the protection of public figures became paramount. Once again, we got a hint that the bosses, especially the political bosses, expect to be coddled in this country, not challenged or mocked. Read more.