The House is back today! Yay! I’m quite
excited, after the slower summer months. Things kick off at 11am with a
tribute to Jack Layton before we head to routine proceedings and
then question period at two. I’m quite looking forward to getting back into the
swing of things. And to set us up with what to expect, the CBC lists 12 things to keep our eyes on this autumn, while The Canadian Press looks at the way the Conservatives and the NDP
are setting up for a polarized Commons.
In the event you missed it, Romeo
Saganash has thrown his hat into the NDP leadership race, which makes
him the first member of a First Nation to run for the leadership of any federal
party.
The Globe
and Mail checks in with some of the rookie MPs as to how they spent their
summers. Some four dozen new MPs, meanwhile, spent the weekend at Carleton
University taking part in the orientation sessions that were set up there to
help familiarize them with Parliament and their new roles. Imagine – new
MPs with a modicum of civic literacy!
Remember all those shady details with
the West Block renovation contract? It seems there’s no end to drama and
potential mismanagement there, sadly.
Remember how we imposed visa requirements on
Mexico and the Czech Republic, ostensibly to curb refugee claimants from those
countries? Access to information and WikiLeaks documents show that our
bureaucrats warned about how serious an issue it could be and that we didn’t
give Mexican officials adequate warning that this was coming. But hey, we’ve
saved $400 million in our immigration system, so seriously bungling our foreign
relations is apparently a-okay!
What’s that? New electronic passports cost several times more than regular ones that are currently being issued? You
don’t say!
And here’s a lengthy profile of Paul Dewar as he contemplates the NDP leadership.