Security on Parliament Hill was quite strict Thursday as Karlheinz Schreiber arrived in handcuffs with police escorts. Reporters who can usually move around easily with their Hill passes prominently displayed, were stopped from entering some corridors.

But members of another group seemed totally mystified over why they were stopped in holding patterns from moving to and from their many destinations in Centre Block. They were the many delegates and reporters travelling with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov.

He arrived Wednesday evening and had a full day of events on Thursday. Zubkov was hopping from honourary receptions, to luncheons with the speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons, to meetings with Prime Minister Harper and Leader of the Opposition Stephane Dion.

When asked, one reporter from Russia said they knew little about the story of Karlheinz Schreiber. He said they were more interested in going outside where they could move around more easily and take pictures of Ottawa on such a beautiful day.

It was a country "exactly as I thought it would be," he said, as he went outside into a blinding snow storm to take his pictures.

Following the Defence Committee's meeting today Peter MacKay dodged questions regarding his parents involvement in the Mulroney-Schreiber affair.

When asked how he felt about the Globe and Mail publishing his mother's hotmail address he promptly replied that it was not his mother.

He said with two processes underway looking into the allegations it would be improper for him to comment and that the scandal had nothing to do with him.

Today at the House of Common's Defence Committee meeting, Peter MacKay dismissed the latest Senlis Council report which stated that the Taliban insurgency was getting stronger.

Senlis, an international policy think tank, released the report last week.

It said the security situation in Afghanistan was reaching "crisis proportions" and that the Taliban was "effectively sabotaging" our reconstruction and stablization efforts.

"And with respect to their assessment of the percentage of land now under control of the Taliban, I completely reject that. I don't believe that to be true, I don't believe that to be remotely true."

This was in response to a question put to him by Bloc Quebecois defence critic Claude Bachand, asking him how he can be optimistic of Canada's progress in Afghanistan when the study contradicted Mackay's claims.

This exchange followed the disclosure that Canada has spent approximately 3.1 billion dollars on the mission in Afghanistan since it began in 2002.

Ah, the supps.

Never is so much fun had — by so many parliamentary committees — as at the annual vetting of the Government of Canada's supplementary estimates.

The supps, as they're called, are the mid-year fiscal update on government spending, vetted, sometimes line by line, by committees of MPs.

Today, it was Defence Minister Peter MacKay's turn to get the fiscal once over by the House of Commons Defence Committee.

The big supplementary estimate? An extra $340 million for the Department of National Defence to spend on its operations in Afghanistan. That brings the total cost of the mission since 2001 to $3.1 billion dollars. That's the incremental cost and doesn't include the salaries and other equipment fees the military would have to pay whether or not its soldiers were overseas.

While MacKay did a good turn at the table his top general, Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier, escaped without having to say much. An odd thing for Hillier, who never misses a chance to sound off into a mic.

While waiting for the committee to begin its hearings, Hillier passed the time with a few reporters showing off his Toronto Maple Leafs wrist watch. The hours of the day are marked with the years Toronto's team has won the Stanley Cup. Twelve o'clock is blank.

"That's for 2008," Hillier said.

Um. Sure, big guy. Sure.

We all know that it's not always what you say but how you say it that matters.

And sometimes, in the House of Commons, it matters how you say it in both French and English.

Liberal leader Stephane Dion led off question period today, in French, with a question to the Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.

Unhappy with the answer, Dion said he'd try again in English.

That line was greeted with a chorus of catcalls from the Conservative side. Dion's command of English is considered a weakness by his political opponents. And they take every opportunity to drive home the point.

After the shouting died down, Dion said he'd try again ''in my English,'' to sustained applause from Liberal MPs.

But Nicholson, who is unilingual, wasn't about to let the language issue go.

"I listened very carefully to the question ... it makes even less sense in English, I have to tell you that.''

More howls of laughter from the government side.

More howls of protest from the Liberals.

"It's disgraceful,'' yelled a Liberal.

'It's funny,'' shouted back a Conservative.

The last word went to Liberal Marlene Jennings from Montreal.

As is her practice, Jennings asked one question in English, the other in French.

"And maybe the Justice Minister would like to answer in French,'' she said.

Nicholson tried. 'Ce n'est pas correct,'' he stammered before quickly reverting to English to a cascade of laughter from Liberals.

The parliamentary committee looking into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair hasn't even started yet and they've run out of coffee.

The gallery was full an hour before proceedings even started as journalists and gawkers and even Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn showed up early in order to get a seat.

After much parliamentary procedure and to-ing and fro-ing between lawyers and politicians, Karlheinz Schreiber arrived at a back entrance on Parliament Hill just before 9 a.m. this morning.

He stepped out of a car in street clothes with handcuffs on, two hours before his scheduled appearance at a parliamentary committee. Reporters and camera crews were waiting in a driving snowstorm as Schreiber was hustled into Centre Block by House of Commons security guards.

As he walked past reporters Schreiber said he would "tell the truth." Then he was taken to a room in the Sergeant at Arms quarters on the first floor of Centre Block — a windowless mini-boardroom that has a washroom — where he was allowed to wait until called to give his testimony.

It's on.

That's right, if all goes according to plan, Karlheinz Schreiber will be in Ottawa tomorrow and in front of the House of Commons ethics committee as of tomorrow morning.

A rare Speaker's warrant has been granted and issued and now Schreiber is not only allowed out of jail, but is compelled to testify.

Of course, Schreiber has set some conditions of his own. He'll come and talk, but only if he can wear a business suit (not an orange jumpsuit,) be without handcuffs and have access to some of his personal documents.

And as it turns out, this apperance may work in Schreiber's favour, at least in the short term. The Speaker's warrant asks Schreiber to appear before the committee tomorrow, into next week and for as long as the committee has questions for him about his dealings with former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. In other words, Schreiber's extradition (slated for Saturday) may be delayed.

And if Justice Minister Rob Nicholson tries to extradite Schreiber anyway (as he seems inclined to do), Nicholson will be held in contempt of Parliament.

In this ever-changing story, one thing is certain: tomorrow is going to be interesting.

Will he or won't he.

That's the question that may be answered today at the House of Commons ethics committee.

The committee wants to hear from Karlheinz Schreiber and it wants to see him testify before Saturday, the day he could be extradited to face various charges in Germany.

But, this is all turning out to be a little more complicated than everyone expected. Getting a man out of jail and to Ottawa is not, as it turns out, an easy legal battle.

The chair of the committee has issued a summons. The NDP will table a motion today to use a House Order (others call it a Speaker's Warrant, but House Order is the correct term) to compel Schreiber to show up on Thursday. That's legally one step stronger than the summons.

The thing is, it still may not be enough. Schreiber wants to have access to his documents and potentially, to be out on bail in order to testify. And don't forget his end game in all of this: he wants to stay put. Schreiber has been fighting extradition for eight years and it's unlikely he'll stop now.

Every move he makes in the coming days will actually be an attempt to stay in Canada. His appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada has yet to be granted and his lawyers may have to file for some sort of injunction to stop him from getting thrown out of the country.

The government, which has the power to stop or delay the extradition, has done nothing as of yet.

The chances of seeing Schreiber here in Ottawa on Thursday are, well, anybody's guess.

But the clock is ticking and everyone knows it.

Parliament Hill is alive and well with the spirit of Christmas these days. Last week direct sellers held a massive party for MPs and tonight the pharmaceutical party is down the hall.

The foyer of the House of Commons got its own brightly lit Christmas tree Monday. That's where Newsworld, CTV and CPAC broadcast from each evening. But as the crews arrived and started to set up, the breakers blew, overloaded with the addition of the tree and its many many lights.

The tree lights had to be turned off while the television interviews went ahead. So for now in the war of lights versus TV, it's one for the MPs' appearances on TV and zero for the tree and its lights.

A little of the dark side of life on the hill.

Environment Minister John Baird will not be silenced after all.

The loquacious Baird was facing a 30-day suspension from addressing the Commons after he broke its rules on Wednesday by referring directly to visitors in the gallery overhanging the floor of the House.

That is a privilege strictly reserved for the Speaker and opposition MPs, who had faced their own suspensions in the past for speaking to visitors, were demanding that the ultra-partisan minister be made to pipe down.

However, Commons Speaker Peter Milliken ruled today that Baird has expressed "proper repentance" for the act and so will not be punished.

American scientists who were part of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are getting a pat on the back from the White House, while their Candian counterparts seem to be getting the cold shoulder from Ottawa.

The UN panel of scientists shared this year's Nobel Peace Prize with former American vice-president Al Gore. The panel, which released three detailed reports earlier this year on the state of climate change and its effect on the environment, is made up of scientists from around the world.

The Americans on the panel have been invited to the White House for a reception with President George W. Bush to celebrate their work and the award.

But the 20 or so Canadian scientists who were part of the Nobel-winning group haven't heard a peep from the Canadian government.

Asked by the CBC whether there are any plans to recognize the Canadian effort, Environment Minister John Baird said, "It's not something that I've thought about but I think we should honour the great work that they've done. I expect myself and other ministers where these scientists work in our department will want to honour the great work that they've done."

Pressed as to when that might happen, Baird would only say, "I don't normally look to George Bush for leadership on day to day issues. "

Not even, it seems, when it comes to throwing a party.

Environment Minister John Baird may have to refrain from one of his favourite activities for a few weeks — speaking in the House of Commons.

The bombastic Baird revels in sparring with the opposition during question period, but his enthusiasm on Wednesday led him to break a cardinal rule of parliament: He referred directly to some individuals who had come to watch him from the visitors' gallery in the House of Commons.

That kind of behaviour is certainly not a crime anywhere else in the country, but in the House they take these things seriously: Only the Speaker is allowed to refer to anyone in the gallery.

Baird himself apologized after QP, chalking it up to a "rookie mistake." But the apology was met with cries of "fair is fair" from the opposition.

Three different opposition MPs pointed out that they had made similar "mistakes" early in their careers — and all had been banned from speaking in the House for 30 days as punishment.

Speaker Peter Milliken has said he will review the tapes of the incident before making a decision.

But Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale is encouraging Milliken to treat the minister with the same severity as other MPs, adding "We should also consider the beneficial effect that action would have in reducing green house gases."

November 20th was supposed to be decision day at the Department of National Defence. A more apt description might be deflection day.

For nearly a decade, the military’s surveillance planes known as the Auroras have been undergoing $1.6 billion in upgrades.

The purpose? To enhance the fleet’s capabilities.

But in September, CBC News first reported that the project had been suspended. Defence Minister Peter MacKay confirmed his department was re-evaluating things. This after nearly a billion dollars had already been spent on the upgrades.

Those who fly the planes and those who make a living maintaining them were expecting to learn about their future Tuesday. That is whether the minister favoured continuing on with the upgrades, or buying a whole new fleet of aircraft. It was on this day the stop work order expired.

But the minister’s office would reveal no such thing.

Why? Spokesman Jay Paxton said, “The minister's attention is focused on the repatriation of soldiers Corporal Beauchamp and Private Levesque." Those are the two Van Doos recently killed in Afghanistan.

When pressed for an explanation as to why the repatriation ceremony would prevent the minister, his department or his staff from revealing their decision, the minister's director of communications, Dan Dugas, said: “The minister is busy with other things. Is that the answer you'd prefer?”

Meanwhile, those with an interest in the project are busy trying to get the lay of the land. And all indications are a decision has been made.

Retired Aurora pilot Terry Chester says his DND contacts tell him the military and the minister have decided not to proceed with the project. And sources within I.M.P Group International, the Halifax firm that does maintenance on the fleet say, “There is no doubt it will be terminated.”

Now, I.M.P’s fear is as many as 1500 of its employees will be out of work.

Pilots and employees may have to wait a little longer for confirmation though. The minister and his department didn’t just keep their decision to themselves.

They provided no indication as to when they might reveal it.

Is there a glitch in the system? The Conservative Party's much vaunted Constitutent Information Management System (CIMS,) the database that keeps details on millions of voters across the country, might need some refreshing.

CIMS helps identify Conservative supporters the party can hit up for cash. A few weeks ago that led to a phone call to former Conservative MP Bill Casey who was kicked out of the Conservative caucus after he voted against last spring's federal budget, saying the government was breaking its deal with Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Accords.

Casey says he took the call from the Conservative Party thinking, "Maybe they want me back!"

But no such luck. What Casey says he heard was, "There's an election coming up right away, we notice you've contributed to the party in the past, and we wondered if you'd like to make a contribution?"

Prime Minister Harper had already made a point of saying Casey was out of the party for good and that the party will run another candidate against him in the next election.

But apparently Conservatives think Casey's money is still good.

It was standing room only at the House of Commons ethics committee hearing today.

That's a story in itself, but it's what happened later that has everyone talking.

The committee is trying to decide what, if anything, it wants to examine in regards to the Mulroney-Schreiber affair.

All the opposition parties want to deal with it and they say they also want to call Karlheinz Schreiber and former prime minister Brian Mulroney as witnesses to testify about their dealings.

But the committee didn't even get close to that today.

Although there were multiple motions on the table, the chair of the committee, Liberal MP Paul Szabo, wouldn't hear any of them.

He questioned their admissibility and asked members to explain their positions.

That didn't get very far either.

As the clock struck noon (the official end of the committee hearing,) Szabo shut the whole thing down without any motion getting heard at all.

Chaos ensued.

NDP MP Pat Martin threw a pencil across the room and cursed. Bloc Quebecois member Michel Guimond started yelling. Tories quickly left the room. And reporters braced for action.

Martin explained things this way, "We got screwed."

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. Schreiber could be deported as early as December 1st, which means if the committee wants to hear from him, they need to get their ducks in a row.

They'll go back at it this coming Thursday.

A sure sign that Christmas is coming is when MPs begin writing out their Christmas cards in the House of Commons.

The trees and lights went up yesterday in the corridors of Parliament and today during Question Period at least three Conservative MPs were working their way through a pile of cards that needed signing.

Don't bank on a good exchange rate.

A Parliamentary Bureau reporter went to the bank today to get some U.S. cash for an assignment overseas.

He asked for $400 U.S. The bank charged him $403 plus some odd cents.

"Wait a minute," thought our intrepid journo. "Isn't the Canadian dollar stronger than the US greenback?"

"Of course it is," the bank teller replied. "But we charge a commission."

How much commission?

Much discussion on the phone. Another consultation with a supervisor.

"Can't tell you,'' the teller replied.

"Proprietary information. Competiitive data. And besides, it changes every seven minutes."

Our reporter took the cash, and the hit, and left.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson is fielding a lot of questions these days about the looming extradition of Karlheinz Schreiber. For the most part, he doesn't answer them, citing privacy rules.

This pattern continued at a news conference Tuesday. A reporter asked Nicholson a general question about extradition law: "When was the last time you used your powers of discretion to rescind or suspend an extradition order?" Nicholson responded that while he's "seized" with all requests for extradition, he doesn't discuss particular cases.

The reporter tried again. She pointed out her question wasn't about a particular case, she wanted to know, in general, how often Nicholson has used his powers of discretion. Again, the minister chose not to answer, "I don't get into statistics on this. I'm seized with extradition and as I say I have the best legal team in the country supporting me and I take my responsibilities very seriously."

You spy a lot of interesting things from the reporters' gallery of the House of Commons.

Yesterday, before Question Period, Environment Minister John Baird crossed the floor to talk with Michael Ignatieff, deputy leader of the Liberal Party. He discreetly handled Mr. Ignatieff something. It was a small stuffed puffin.
The two men shook hands and smiled.

Baird, known for his highly energetic and sometimes amusing political barbs, was likely referencing a remark Ignatieff made about puffins last summer. In a joking scrum, Ignatieff suggested the Liberal party adopt the puffin as a symbol, praising the bird for its industriousness and referencing its work at "hiding its excrement" — a comment the deputy leader has had a hard time living down.

Ignatieff tucked the toy bird into his desk that afternoon where it is likely to remain hidden away, unseen.

Canadians don't hear much from Gordon O'Connor these days.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper demoted his former defence minister during last summer's cabinet shuffle. Now as revenue minister, the former Brigadier-General rarely gets questions in the House of Commons. While cabinet colleagues spend much of their time flipping through briefing notes, O'Connor's desk is often bare.

This week though, opposition parties have asked O'Connor to explain a few things associated with the business dealings between former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.

Liberal MP Scott Simms wanted to know how Mulroney managed to cross the border after receiving his third and final envelope stuffed with $100,000 at a New York City hotel. Simms asked the national revenue minister specifically whether Mulroney declared the cash and paid all necessary fees and taxes.

Throughout his question, Liberals yelled: "Atten-shun General, attention!" However, when it became clear that O'Connor had been instructed to stay seated and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson took the questions, Liberals shouted out again — this time: "Stand down General, stand down."

So this is what transparency looks like.

Reporters in Ottawa were called to a late afternoon "technical briefing" at Foreign Affairs headquarters on Wednesday.

The subject: Afghan detainees.

The Conservative government has spent months fending off allegations of abuse in Afghan prisons. But after media reports of mistreatment and torture, human rights groups are demanding Canadian soldiers stop handing over prisoners to Afghan authorities.

Two groups have taken the government to court over the issue.

Yesterday, the government released more than a thousand pages of documents it submitted as part of the lawsuit.

The release came late in the day and was overseen by government spokespersons who could only be identified as "senior officials."

Reporters weren't allowed to see the documents until after the briefing was over.

And what did they finally see?

More than 200 pages completely blacked out.

Entire sections of other pages also blank, leaving descriptions of Canadian interviews with Afghan detainees that read like this: "He went on to state that he had been interrogated by foreigners (BLANK) He also alleged that (BLANK) beat him and gave him electric shocks. He also stated he was bound by his feet and hands and was made to stand for ten days."

The "senior officials" at the briefing wouldn't say how many prisoners Canadian troops have handed over.

The only numbers they would give are that the Canadians interviewed 16 prisoners and seven reported abuse.

Most everything else, it seems, is secret.

As one former prime minister is forced back into the spotlight, another is getting ready to head back into the limelight too.

But Jean Chretien's reasons are entirely different than Brian Mulroney's.

Jean Chretien is set to make one of his first public appearances since having successful quadruple bypass surgery in early October.

Chretien's doctor has given him the green light to start promoting his book and doing some work. So, on Sunday, he will be at Montreal's Salon du Livre to sell books and sign autographs.

The book has done a pretty good job promoting itself already. It is filled with tales of Chretien's time as prime minister and Chretien also settles some old scores with former prime minister and rival, Paul Martin.

And, given that Chretien still follows politics intently, he might just have something to say about everything that is playing out these days.

It used to be a staple image of national politics. The prime minister descending the staircase, smiling as he walked past the cameras into the House of Commons for Question Period. It gave all the television networks at least one daily shot of the prime minister.

But Prime Minister Harper changed that. He rarely descends the front staircase, preferring back hallways and staircases.

Today a reporter heading down the corridor above the Commons, en route to the press gallery balcony, was stopped briefly by security.

Just ahead, the prime minister and his entourage swept by, using that upper corridor to walk the length of the Commons and descend an off limits back staircase to make his way into the House unseen by pesky cameras and reporters who might shout questions at him.

Politicians get called many names in the course of a career. But how often are they compared to the once pampered European upper crust?

In reintroducing the Harper government's legislation to reform the Senate, Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan took a swipe at well-tenured Liberal senators, calling them "increasingly aristocratic", "not democratic" and the "legislative successors of the nobility who once ruled by arbitrary fiat."

Van Loan, who represents the rural Ontario riding of York-Simcoe and is pictured on his website leaning on a farm gate, sounded positively revolutionary as he derided the Senate's high cost, easy work schedule and lack of accountability.

Reform the Upper Chamber, he warned, or the government would consider abolishing it.

Perhaps for dramatic effect, Van Loan made his announcement in the Salon de la francophonie on Parliament Hill. The opulent wood-lined room is decorated with portraits of five French kings, including Louis XV, one of the last monarchs to rule before the French Revolution.

Van Loan was accompanied by Senator Marjorie LeBreton, the Conservative government's leader in the Senate and minister of state for seniors, who has been a member of the Upper House for just over 14 years now.

Thankfully, neither LeBreton nor Van Loan mentioned the guillotine as a possible means of Senate reform.

The Mulroney-Schreiber affair galvanized opposition MPs today in the House of Commons. But one Liberal critic was forced to watch from the wings, or rather from up above the floor of the House in the opposition gallery.

Bob Rae, who is the Liberal foreign affairs critic, doesn't have a seat, although he will be running for the Liberal Party in the next election in the riding of Toronto Centre.

This isn't the first time Rae has had to watch from the sidelines.

He recalls: "I did it for 6 months in 1982 when I was leader of the NDP in Ontario without a seat."

Today, Rae watched and listened with great interest to the latest twists and turns into the allegations against Brian Mulroney.

The House of Commons was consumed today by demands for a full public inquiry into the relationship between Brian Mulroney and German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.

All three opposition party leaders followed the lead of the former prime minister in urging Stephen Harper to call an inquiry, immediately.

To each of them, Harper said, yes, there would be a public inquiry. But the terms of reference would be decided by the ''independent, third party'' the prime minister said he intends to soon appoint.

This led to great confusion in the opposition benches.

Is the prime minister promising the full public inquiry requested by Brian Mulroney?

Over and over again, the prime minister said there would be a ''full public inquiry.'' But under terms of reference to be recommended by the, as yet, unnamed special advisor.

More sputtering over what precisely the prime minister meant.

At the end of Question Period, the prime minister's office put out a release to clarify just what Harper is promising.

It says the independent third party will advise the government on ''appropriate terms of reference'' for a public inquiry.

The news release went on.

'If in reviewing material, the independent party finds any prima facie evidence of criminal action he or she will identify this and advise how this should be handled and what impact, if any, it should have on the nature and timing of the inquiry.

A public inquiry is a major step and one that should only be taken when it addresses Canadians’ interest, not those of the various parties, whether Mr. Schreiber, Mr. Mulroney or political parties.''

Is that an iron clad commitment?

You decide.

Donna Dillman hasn't eaten for a month and doesn't plan to until she hears from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

As CBC reported on The National on October 23, Dillman started her hunger strike on the Thanksgiving weekend.

She's now entering her fourth week.

Dillman wants the Ontario government to put a moratorium on uranium exploration at least until it holds an inquiry into its future.

Dillman lives near Sharbot Lake Ontario about 120 kilometres west of Ottawa where a mining company, Frontenac Ventures, wants to explore for uranium in the granite of the Canada shield.

It's one of many exploration companies across Canada who are part of the boom in uranium exploration. It's been brought on by a spike in the price of uranium caused by a renewed interest in nuclear power around the world.

Dillman is camped out in a trailer equipped with a wood stove, just near the entrance to the property where Frontenac plans to explore.

She's written six registered letters to the Premier and is keeping an online blog about her hunger strike.

Dillman has been surviving on hot water, maple syrup and organic fruit juice. She's lost 15 pounds and is in good spirits.

"I'm surprised at how much energy I have. I wouldn't have predicted on day one that I'd feel this way on day 30."

Her friends are more concerned however. They are urging the public to write to the Ontario Premier demanding a moratorium on uranium exploration.

Scott Reid, the MP for the area is planning to visit Dillman on Wednesday to see how she's doing.

Dillman says people ask her if she has a death wish.

"I simply tell them I have a death willingness."

A spokesperson for the Premier's office says the premier plans to respond to Dillman's letters and urges her not to put her life or health in danger.

That didn't take long.

Forty-eight hours after Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion suggested that the Liberal party would consider reversing the GST cut the Harper government announced this week, the Conservatives have turned his musing into an attack ad, which they intend to play on prime-time TV beginning this weekend.

The ad says that if the Liberals form the next government they will spend a tonne of money and that's why Dion is considering raising the GST.

Conservatives believe they've already won the battle to define Dion as "not a leader," with their attacks on him earlier this year, shortly after he won the Liberal leadership.

Now they're moving to a new theme that says Dion is "not worth the risk" because voters will end up paying for a change of government out of their own pockets.

This newest attack is going to cause a stir in a Liberal party that's already shaken.

Liberals will be forced to reflect not just on how damaging the substance of Dion's remarks may be, but also on the larger question of how he could open himself up to an attack like this in the first place.

They might also want to reflect on how quickly and efficiently their opponents have been able to exploit the opportunity Dion handed them. That's not something they have excelled at much of late.

It has been a busy 24 hours at the Ottawa airport as MPs head home for a week break leading up to Remembrance Day. Some seemed as though they just couldn't wait to get out of Dodge, er, Ottawa.

MPs have only been back on the Hill for three weeks after a very long summer break — it was almost four months in fact. But it's been a long three weeks for the Liberals. One joked that this week couldn't end fast enough.

On Monday, when the finance minister stood up and announced that he would be delivering his economic update on Tuesday after the markets closed, the Liberals knew something was coming that would likely make them squirm.

They were right. The update, which was more like a mini-budget, found them once again denouncing something they wouldn't have the political courage to vote against — the one per centage point cut to the GST.

In the midst of that came the further embarrassment of one of their own defying the leader and vowing to vote against the GST cut while everyone else abstained.

In the end, however, Ottawa Vanier MP Mauril Belanger chose to leave the chamber rather than vote against his leader's wishes. But the entire episode had many Liberals very anxious to get away from Parliament Hill to the relative safety of home.

Of course, home means back to the riding to mark Remembrance Day and to talk to constituents about everything that is going on in Ottawa these days.

Sigh. You can take the MP out of Ottawa but …

The House of Commons will be back in business on Nov. 13th.

The federal Conservatives are trying to clarify how another group of voters will cast a ballot.

If you live in a rural route, or have a post office box, it may be difficult for you to register to vote.

So Conservatives will table legislation on Friday to fix the problem of identifying voters who do not have a municipal street address.

This isn't the first voting problem the government has had to fix. The chief electoral officer said that legislation passed in June allowed veiled women to vote. So last Friday the government tabled another bill, forcing women who wear veils to lift them, and identify themselves to a female returning officer.

Hopefully all of this will be passed and resolved by the time a federal election is actually held.

Liberal MP Mauril Belanger was not a happy man today.

The member from Ottawa Vanier was not in the House of Commons yesterday for the vote on the Conservative's tax changes.

The Liberal caucus abstained from voting.

MPs were ordered to do so at a caucus meeting earlier in the day. At that same caucus meeting, Mauril Belanger spoke out against the decision and just before the vote, he told MPs he would disobey the leader's directive and vote against the tax cuts.

Reporters in the gallery could see huddles break out as Liberals tried to find a way to avoid the potential embarrassment of one of their own breaking ranks.

Minutes before the vote, Belanger disappeared. He was not in the House when the vote was called.

The CBC reported the whole incident yesterday on Don Newman's Politics broadcast. Today, an angry Belanger said he "chose not to be there" for the vote.

"That is how I wanted to express myself."

He would not comment on how he felt about the Liberal decision to abstain, or the tax cuts or anything else for that matter. He did stress repeatedly that no one told him he would be expelled from caucus if he voted in the vote. Many Liberals were unhappy with the decision to abstain from another confidence vote in order to avoid an election, especially this vote, but Belanger seems to be the only one who almost went to the wall over it.