NDP leadership hopefuls gathered in Ottawa Sunday for the first in a series of debates to determine who'll be chosen at their March convention to head the party. By most accounts, the debate at the Ottawa Convention Centre was a polite affair, save for some brief sparring between former party president Brian Topp and Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar over Dewar's sustainable energy plan. Nine candidates are vying to replace Jack Layton, who died earlier this year of cancer.

The former Minnesota nurse convicted of assisted suicide in the death of Carleton student Nadia Kajouji has filed an appeal. According to court documents, William Melchert-Dinkel "respected the autonomy" of both Kajouji and a British man who also died of suicide, and listened to them "without disapproval." Kajouji jumped into the Rideau River in 2008, and Melchert-Dinkel was convicted in a Minnesota court last May.

Somerset councillor Diane Holmes is calling on Ottawa West-Nepean MP and cabinet minister John Baird to pull some strings and get the feds to pay for an underground parking lot at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Protesters rallied Sunday on the museum's lawn, near the site of where a new above-ground parking lot would go. For more background on why the museum can't afford to build underground, read our coverage of the dispute.

The city of Gatineau has published a 16-point "statement of values" for new Canadians, but critics are suggesting the policy infantilizes the very people it's trying to help. The guidelines—which the city hopes will help newcomers to Gatineau better integrate—range from being punctual and not cooking overly smelly foods to refraining from physically and sexually abusing children. Some people are already drawing comparisons between Gatineau's guidelines and the much-debated code of conduct adopted in 2007 by the Quebec village of Hérouxville.

A legal challenge by a West Quebec Algonquin band could jeopardize a major land claim deal struck between Algonquins in this province and the federal and Ontario governments, according to the Ottawa Citizen. The Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, otherwise known as the Algonquins of Maniwaki, are challenging the claim to 36,000 sq.-km. of land in eastern Ontario—including Ottawa—by the Golden Lake Algonquin. Kitigan Zibi Chief Gilbert Whiteduck says the land belonged to the entire Algonquin nation, not just one group in Ontario.

Finally, see that photo at the top? We shot it on Saturday, in the lead-up to Ottawahenge. And since it's been so cloudy, we've extended our photo contest to midnight on Friday, Dec. 9. So if you think you can beat it, check out our original post and send us your best shot.

Additional reading:

Wreath-laying ceremony begins a sombre new tradition (Ottawa Citizen)

Panel looks at ways of eliminating abuse of civil liberties within police service (Ottawa Citizen)

Ottawans call for end to pitbull ban (Ottawa Sun)

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Photo by Trevor Pritchard on Flickr