As day two of the Procedure and House Affairs committee hearings finished, it looked like a finding of contempt is pretty much guaranteed on the government’s refusing to release those documents. It’s not yet official because – surprise, surprise – government MPs on the committee decided to run out the clock before a vote on the contempt motion could be taken. Can we look forward to a filibuster all day tomorrow instead of hearing from Bev Oda? Also, the motion in question was to find contempt; no remedy or punishment will be suggested. So, was that the compromise, or does the Harper Government have something else up its sleeve?
(Incidentally, Scott Brison posted videos of himself questioning ministers Nicholson and Toews, as well as parliamentary scholar Ned Franks.)
On a related note, the government provided a dump of documents at the end of the day that related to the cost of the F-35 fighter jets. DND officials also held a briefing, basically saying they don’t have all the information themselves. But just trust us that we need them. (Here’s a bit more on the figures so far.)
And what will this mean? The CBC’s Greg Weston looks at what next week’s parliamentary schedule (and shenanigans) will look like. I’m curious about his assertion of a late-week vote; Friday votes are very rare. If that happens, it could make for a very interesting week indeed.
Still on the issue of scandals, the story of the PM’s former assistant, who is being investigated for influence peddling, got even more interesting. It was revealed that his fiancée, a former escort, is also involved. Cue the busty hookers and get the press salivating. And yes, the opposition parties are now piling on.
The government launched an open-data site yesterday. Open-government activist David Eaves gives us the good and the bad about the new site.
Elsewhere, Stephen Harper promised a “budget for all.” No doubt so that he can rub it in people’s faces if the government falls and we go to an election, or anyone dares to criticize it should the government stay in power and said budget passes.
We’re sending CF-18s to Libya now that the United Nations has voted to protect civilians. But weren’t we supposed to always have a vote in the Commons on military deployments?
Finally, an internal review of this government’s Americas policies – you know, from where we’ve shifted all of our foreign policy clout – is just superficial and poorly supported. Because what else did you expect from a caucus with zero foreign experience?
Why you can trust Xtra
