QP: Scattershot questions on the AG report
With the Auditor General’s latest report having been released earlier this morning, one would have imagined that whatever the biggest piece of scandalous news from it would have led off…
Dale Smith
Message control
In case you were worried that the government was becoming too spontaneous with its communications, it appears that there are some 1500 communications staff in Ottawa now, between ministers’ offices,…
QP: Ask a simple question
The topic of the day was raw sewage, as Nycole Turmel kicked off Question Period. News that new federal regulations on wastewater treatment would mean some hefty budget burdens on…
Omnibus crime bill reminders
Here’s a long and thoughtful piece that reminds us that according to the new omnibus crime bill, teenagers passing a joint around at a party makes them a trafficker and…
The Mike Harris Liberals
While debate on the seat redistribution bill gets underway, the Liberals have decided to throw caution to the wind, and outline their radical proposal of redistribution a) without adding new…
Ignore the time allocation, someone said a bad word!
There is a serious problem in the Commons right now, where the Conservative government has decided repeatedly to invoke time allocation after a mere two hours of debate on eight…
QP: The least clever quips imaginable
Most days I can find some kind of redeeming value in question period – even if it’s simple entertainment value. Today was not one of those days. With the repeated…
Locking out expert resources
It’s one of those moments from QP yesterday that deserves a second mention. Liberal MP Kirsty Duncan asked Peter Kent just why it was that opposition MPs wouldn’t be accompanying…
QP: Occupying jobs questions
Wednesdays being caucus days, its Question Periods tends to be the most energised of the week. And it did feel fairly energised when Nycole Turmel, emboldened by all of the…
The new top Mountie
The word is out – deputy RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson, a long-time Mountie (who, interestingly enough, initially trained as a jet pilot in the Canadian Forces), is going to be…
QP: Who’s the biggest defender?
Question period kicked off with Nycole Turmel and Stephen Harper each declaring how much each of them wanted to defend supply management. Yeah, it was going to be one of…
Ramming it all through
With five sitting weeks left in the calendar year, the government plans to ram through as many bills as humanly possible before the winter break. One of those bills –…
QP: A restrained energy
On the Monday after a constituency week, the energy in the Commons can best be described as “restrained.” However, as this is the first Monday of the final five-week stretch…
Scoring an invite
Harper had his bilateral meeting with President Obama and scored an invitation to the White House next month. Oh, and they’re going to keep working on the various files that…
Potential bilateral progress
Stephen Harper is off to Hawaii, where he was supposed to be attending an APEC summit – only that has been postponed because of the death of a high-ranking Mexican…
Plead guilty and declare victory
The Conservatives plea bargained down charges in the In & Out affair, where they plead guilty to a few lesser charges and paid the maximum fine on the books, in…
Rae talks economy and prosperity
Bob Rae gave a big speech on the economy yesterday, full of pretty familiar points about EI premiums and refundable tax credits, and not being made to choose between the…
Jim Flaherty’s broken deficit promises
Jim Flaherty delivered his fiscal update – reneging on the plans they put forward to pay off the deficit a year early as was outlined in the election platform, not…
Why a ‘Digital House’ has it all wrong
A couple of weeks ago, the good folks at Samara Canada posted a three-part blog series that examined the concept of a “Digital House of Commons” that would allow ordinary…
Another update out of the House
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is gearing up to deliver his fall economic update today. What’s that? No, you’re right – the House isn’t sitting this week. He’s delivering it in…