There's another shuffle coming to the senior ranks of cabinet minister's political staff.

A team of insiders from the Prime Minister's Office, along with Chris Froggatt, Transport Minister John Baird's chief of staff, is doing an internal review of the government's top political aides.

The stated goal is to find candidates to fill four vacancies. But the review is also intended to head off any repeat of the embarrassing series of gaffes — lost documents and forgotten tape recordings — that undermined Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt.

In a nutshell, the PMO wants to strengthen the ranks of its chiefs of staff, the folks who are the main connection between the ministers' offices and the bureaucracy.

Chiefs of staff are also responsible for overseeing the work of other political aides, including the directors of communication.

Proponents of the review say the government needs to give greater political support to those cabinet ministers who may need it as the government heads into a critical fall session.

Opponents fear the PMO intends to unilaterally shuffle the ranks, favouring some at the expense of others.

In the meantimes, senior ministerial staff are being told to put their vacations on hold, which many are doing, sticking close to Ottawa to see if the summons comes.

— Chris Hall

It's a system that has Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff confused.

In his push for one national standard for Employment Insurance, he tells the story of an unnamed waiter who works on Parliament Hill:

"A waiter who works in the House of Commons is laid off during the summer," Ignatieff says. "He wants to go on EI. But he doesn't have enough numbers. He doesn't have enough hours.

"Why? Because he lives in Ottawa but not in Gatineau. If he lived in Gatineau, he'd qualify for EI. If he lives in Ottawa he doesn't. It's this kind of thing that is unsustainable. It's unjust and it's unfair."

The point Ignatieff is trying to make is that there are different qualitfication criteria for the unemployed depending on where they live. And the criteria, which is calculated every four weeks, is based on local unemployment levels.

The higher the unemployment level in your area, the easier it is to get benefits and the longer they last.

Since there are 58 of these economic regions across the country, it is not uncommon for people to live in one region but work (and lose their job) in another. Such is often the case in neighbouring cities like Ottawa and Gatineau.

But the problem with Ignatieff's example is that Ottawa's unemployment level is actually higher than that of Gatineau right now, according to Statistics Canada, and has been for a while.

Ottawa's unemployment rate stands at 6.2 per cent. That means that someone here needs at least 665 hours of work in the previous year to qualify for EI.

In Gatineau (or Hull, as the economic region is still called) unemployment is at 5.4 per cent. One needs 700 hours to qualify there.

— James Fitz-Morris

Election speculation has been all the buzz in Ottawa this week. But NDP Leader Jack Layton has been anxious about something entirely different.

Yesterday, he received word that his daughter Sarah was in labour. Then, very early this morning, Layton's first grandchild was born.

She's a girl, 8lbs 1 oz. Name to come soon.

Grandpa Jack is said to be thrilled.

— Rosemary Barton

Well, here is an usual event.

Back at the Oliphant inquiry into the business relationship between former prime minister Brian Mulroney and lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber, commission counsel Richard Wolson chose not to make a closing submission.

All the other lawyers present took the opportunity as their last chance to frame their clients' version of events before Judge Jeffrey Oliphant retires to write his report.

But Wolson instead made some general statements, thanking his staff as well as the other lawyers for their professionalism.

And then, wonder of wonders, Wolson also thanked the media for their "fine work" and their "respectful approach."

Reporters here have never heard such thanks offered to the media at a federal inquiry.

Indeed, this reporter happens to know that Wolson had been warned about the Ottawa media before he arrived from Winnipeg.

Turns out, we may not be so bad after all.

— Rosemary Barton

The minister of natural resources is probably looking for some divine intervention these days.

Last week she barely held onto her cabinet job, while her press secretary wasn't so lucky. Jasmine MacDonnell had to resign after a binder of secret documents was left behind in a national newsroom.

— Susan Lunn

A coalition of farm, religious and social groups have started a national campaign to prevent the closure of Canada's prison farm program.

They met with federal Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan on Monday to try to get him to change his mind about shutting down the farms.

— Margo McDiarmid

Stockwell Day says there are "great" business opportunities in China. The international trade minister marvelled at the economic growth China is experiencing in a speech he made Wednesday.

Much of what Day had to say would likely have been news to an audience, had they not all been members of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Canadian businesses have been making efforts to get into the Chinese market for decades.

— James Fitz-Morris

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

It's somewhat cliché advice offered by almost all financial advisers — and both the federal and Ontario governments are taking it to heart when it comes to the bailout of General Motors.

— James Fitz-Morris