By Janyce McGregor, CBC News.

The national director for the NDP has chosen a new title for Jack Layton:

From Twitter:
bradlevine: More results for working people from the Leader of the Effective Opposition http://tinyurl.com/kn4zgu

The CBC's Parliamentary Bureau joins the family, friends and colleagues of Douglas Fisher in mourning his passing.
Fisher was an icon of both the House of Commons and the Parliamentary Press Gallery... as well as the father of our Assignment Editor, Tobias Fisher.
We all extend our deepest sympathies for this loss.
You can learn more about Doug Fisher's long career, and leave a message of your own for his family, here.

When Parliament is in session, question period is very often the focus of the day.

Question period and the scrums afterward in the Commons foyer are a form of political combat.

So when they are over, it's nice to enjoy the peaceful to walk down the hill and collect your thoughts, before the next deadline looms.

This afternoon I was enjoying the walk when much to my surprise I saw two groundhogs out enjoying the sun.

Enjoy the parliamentary version of Hinterland Who's Who.

It's almost a cliché to complain about MPs acting like children in the House. Time and time again, we hear stories about teachers who are embarassed to bring their school groups to watch the proceedings.

Now, thanks to Twitter, a whole new kind of heckling is possible, even as the House is sitting.

Viewers of last night's broadcast of The National learned that Canada's former Ambassador to Afghanistan, Chris Alexander, now has his eye on a seat in the House of Commons. He hopes to run in the '905' riding of Ajax-Pickering (Ontario) for the Conservative Party.
Although Alexander spent the better part of the last six years in Afghanistan, he's originally from the Toronto area.
Assuming he secures the Tory nomination in this riding, hacks and flaks across Ottawa are likely to put Ajax-Pickering on their 'ridings to watch' list for the next election (whenever that may come.)

Rahim Jaffer's wife, Minister of State Helena Guergis, was doing an event today on Parliament Hill in support of the annual Run for the Cure fundraiser to fight breast cancer. Before the event, Guergis stopped to make a short comment on last night's news of her husband's arrest. Several of her cabinet and caucus colleagues were there to support her -- and, at times, shield her from the media scrum.

(Click on the links above to see the video, and learn the latest from CBC News.)

By Rosemary Barton, CBC News

It is a given you see some pretty interesting things here on Parliament Hill. But here's one I had not seen before.

Last night various Liberal MPs were making their way to the 20th anniversary party for the Hill Times.

But, one in particular caught my eye: Justin Trudeau. Not for the reasons you may suspect...

By Neil Macdonald, CBC News, Washington

So Prime Minister Stephen Harper now calls President Obama “Barack.” But this is not as inappropriate as it seemed.

By Susan Lunn, CBC News, Washington

We were given one rule before entering the Oval Office to cover the meeting of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Not about how close we could get to Obama. Nope.

By Kathleen Hunt, CBC News

Senators, MPs, journalists, everyone turned out for the 20th anniversary of the Hill Times Wednesday.

The library and archives building in downtown Ottawa was awash with past and present bright lights.

Ontario minister Jim Watson, MP Justin Trudeau, retired CBC reporter David Halton, just to name a few, came to wish the employees and publishers an additional 20 years of life on the Hill.

Many reporters launched their careers at the Hill Times, including Kady O'Malley of Maclean's magazine, for example.

All those Canadians telling pollsters they don't want an election this fall have a reprieve -- at least temporarily -- thanks to both the Bloc and the NDP.
But in at least three Canadian ridings, voters are headed to the polls no matter what.

Former Edmonton MP and the former National Caucus Chair for the Conservative Party, Rahim Jaffer, faces impaired driving and drug charges after an incident early last Friday morning.

Rest assured that the Ottawa Press Gallery, on the public's behalf, is trying very hard to figure out the NDP's plans for this fall.

Unfortunately, what we want to know the most — how long the NDP intends to support the government in critical confidence votes — is too hypothetical for them to answer at this point.

Oh well, a little suspense is always welcome in the news business.

By Alison Crawford, CBC News.

Regular readers of Political Bytes might remember how much I love checking in on the website What is Stephen Harper Reading?

Canadian Booker Prize-winning author Yann Martel launched the site more than two years ago to protest government funding cuts for artists.

Every two weeks, Martel sends the prime minister an inscribed book and a letter explaining why he has chosen the particular title.

This week's selection stands out from the usual diet of classics, non-fiction and poetry.

The saucy tome "The Virgin Secretary's Impossible Boss" is a Harlequin Romance. Martel points out that Harlequin is a Canadian company that in 2007 sold 130 million books.

By James Cudmore, CBC News.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussenis calling on NATO nations to increase their presence in Afghanistan.

In a video posted on his NATO blog, Rasmussen said the alliance mission requires more trainers, more equipment and more funding in order to increase the ability of the Afghan government to defeat the Taliban.

Rasmussen said NATO's "fresh approach" involves focusing on rebuilding Afghan institutions — an approach shared by Canada.

But, he said it's too early for troop-contributing countries to start quitting the mission.

By Susan Bonner, CBC News.

It is Canada Hour at the White House.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is here for a 45-minute meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.

It is a big deal for the Canadian media here and those from Canada travelling with Harper, but for the U.S. media — not so much.

The live spots here on the White House lawn — known as "Pebble Beach" because of the TV lights and paving stones — are mostly dark this morning.

The big news is elsewhere today. This CBC TV team and the lawn maintenance crew are the busiest people outside the White House this morning.

Gilles Duceppe spoils the surprise for Friday's Ways and Means vote.

By Janyce McGregor, CBC News.

First they started warming up to each other on employment insurance, and now the NDP and the Conservatives are starting to use the same attack lines against the Liberals.

By Chris Hall, CBC News.

The Conservative government loves to highlight its ''tough-on-crime'' agenda.

At a news conference in the foyer outside the House of Commons, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson talked up the government's ''continuing efforts to support the victims of crime.''

It sounded tough. Just as tough as it did last month, when Nicholson made the same promise.

Check out Liberal MP (and former Employment Insurance panelist) Marlene Jennings' reaction when reporter Julie Van Dusen asked for her reaction to the NDP's current predicament.

By Chris Hall, CBC News.

Apparently politicians don't have to make a trip to the doctor to get in a shot. Or two.

It began when Liberal MP Bob Rae rose in the Commons today to ask the prime minister abut the health-care debate raging the United States.

During the first question period of the fall parliamentary session, Rae wanted to know what Prime Minister Stephen Harper thinks of the ''extraordinary attacks'' on Canada's health-care system by right-wing Republicans.

By Andrew Davidson, CBC News.

As today's highly anticipated question period kicked off in the House of Commons, the man in the Speaker's chair looked a tad different, not to mention a tad younger than the long-serving QP referee Peter Milliken.

Deputy Speaker Andrew Scheer took over Monday's duties for Milliken, who (ahem, nice work if you can get it) is attending the G8 Speakers' Conference in Italy.

By Andrew Davidson, CBC News.

Citing inspiration from Canada's Group of Seven painters, federal Industry Minister Tony Clement unveiled the logo Monday for the G8 Summit being held next year in his Muskoka-Parry Sound riding.

It comes amid increased calls for the annual gathering of the Group of eight industrialized nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Britain and the United States — to be expanded to include the 19 largest economies that, along with the European Union, add up to the G20.

It's worth noting the members of the Group of Seven, known for painting the Canadian landscape with bold colours and a broad, decorative style, didn't let a name get in the way of expansion.

The famed group's membership later swelled to 10, not counting the influential Tom Thomson, who died in 1917 before the group's official inception.

By Janyce McGregor, CBC News.

For those who believe actions speak louder than words, it's useful to have a look at how many candidates each party has nominated, in preparation for the next election — whenever that may come, be it sooner, or later.

Organizational muscle matters, in the game of electoral ground war. There are distinct advantages to having your party's candidates ready to go earlier than their opponents.

There's nothing stopping candidates from going to public events and door-knocking to get their names out there, even before an election is called. In fact, it's very smart strategy for those who have the time and resources.

So, who's got the most candidates ready to run?

Federal Human Resources Minister Diane Finley doubles down on the Liberal leader's full name, just to make sure we don't get our Ignatieffs mixed up:

"We had hoped that Michael Ignatieff would come in good faith to the table this summer at the EI panel and contribute to this plan. Unfortunately, Michael Ignatieff chose to walk out on the unemployed."

By Chris Rands, CBC News.

Jack Layton this morning:

"We're all ready for an election if it comes to it. But I have to tell you what I'd rather do, but I'd rather be in that House of Commons with my colleagues working with people from other political parties on behalf of Canadian people who sent us here just 11 months ago."

Next up, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley will make her statement on proposed changes to employment insurance.

We are told Layton will respond to her statement after question period.

By Alison Crawford, CBC News.

Last year around this time, leaders of all three major political parties were hopscotching across Canada by airplane and bus.

And it's looking like they might well do so again, sometime this fall. Together, Canada's travelling politicians pumped an awful lot of carbon dioxide into the air.

By Chris Rands, CBC News.

Well folks, the MPs are back in Ottawa.

As I type, Judy Wasylycia-Leis is warming up the NDP caucus in the West Block.

Jack Layton is walking in, with his shirt sleeves rolled up.

Here we go!

By James Cudmore, CBC News.

Question from Preston Manning, former and founding leader of the Reform Party of Canada, architect of the political merger that led to the short-lived Canadian Alliance, Member of the Order of Canada, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's old boss, to a reporter randomly seated next to him in an airport bar: "So, you think there's going to be an election?"

Manning was killing time on his way to Edmonton from Ottawa.

He'd had a snack in the post security bar in the Ottawa airport, and just before he got up to leave, he and I had a chat.

By Chris Rands, CBC News.

Every election brings new technology with it. From digital recorders to handheld communication devices, technology makes the job of journalists easier in many ways, but it also can add to the workload.

Since the 2004 campaign Blackberries have sped up the information flow to and from the campaign buses.

The only respite came when the leaders' tours took to the air.

By Janyce McGregor, CBC News.
What a difference three months makes:

Toronto Star, June 9, 2009:
WHISTLER, B.C. - Toronto's only application for money under the federal government's $4 billion infrastructure stimulus fund was met with a profane dismissal by Transport Minister John Baird yesterday.

News Release, September 11, 2009:
Speaking at Exhibition Place, the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, John Baird, Canada’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister, and David Miller, Mayor of Toronto, announced a total combined Canada-Toronto investment of more than a half-billion dollars, which represents a one-third federal investment and two-thirds municipal investment.

By Chris Rands, CBC News.
The Prime Minister held a photo opportunity this afternoon in his office in the Langevin Block.

It was to introduce the new lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, Graydon Nicholas. After a few words and two handshakes, the photo op was over.

As the photo crews walked back out on to Metcalfe Street, they were greeted, conveniently, by a handful of young folks carrying placards.

Chris Rands, CBC News.

September is a transition month for many people: Back to School, back to work.

Here in the shadow of Parliament Hill its also a time of transition. Bureaus are back to full staff, and the television broadcasts return to the air.

By Susan Bonner, CBC News.
As a political reporter in Ottawa for 10 years — the last 5 covering the turbulence of minority parliament — I am quite used to "event speeches" and "make or break nights" for politicians.

But there is nothing quite like the spectacle tonight on Capital Hill in Washington as President Barack Obama prepares to address a joint session of congress to sell his vision for overhauling health care in this country.

By Alison Crawford, CBC News. I found Michael Ignatieff in my basement this weekend.

Dressed in black, with equally dark hair and eyebrows, he peered out at me from between the pages of a 17 year-old Saturday Night magazine.

Written by Sandra Martin, the article focussed on Ignatieff's novel Asya and the risk he took in allowing "his heart to rule his intellect."

But it didn't take long for the spectre of federal politics to take over the article.

The Conservatives held a photo opportunity in downtown Ottawa on Thursday. It was held in a nondescript building, on the seventh floor, in a room without a view.

This room we were told, was where Liberal and Conservative members of the Employment Insurance working group was to meet.

The only trouble was that the Liberal members of the group walked away from the talks earlier this week. The Liberals said the Conservatives treated the whole process as a "charade."

— Chris Rands

Michael Ignatieff says the Liberals will introduce a no-confidence motion in early October because the Conservative government has failed Canadians.

The Conservatives may beat them to the punch.

Rumours swirling on Parliament Hill today suggest the government is preparing to table a confidence motion of its own when the Commons returns on Sept 15.

It would be in the form of what is called a ways and means motion, a measure that gives the government permission to raise or adjust taxes.

However, sources suggest, the most important measure in the motion won't be a tax at all. It will be the Home Renovation Tax Credit, which was introduced in the spring budget but has not yet been passed into law.

Under the program, people can claim a non-refundable credit of up to $1,350 if they make at least $10,000 in renovations to their property before February 2010.

Conservative say the program has been highly popular. In fact, the government has been running TV ads for weeks now urging people to take advantage of the credit — with a small disclaimer at the end noting the measure still has to be approved by Parliament.

The message in September will be blunt: Defeating the government means the tax credit won't be law. And home improvers won't be able to reduce their taxes.

The Liberals say that they support the home renovation program and would have passed it long ago if the government had introduced it.

That will be harder for them to do now, knowing that their leader has said Stephen Harper's ''time is up.''

— Chris Hall

Oct. 1 is shaping up as an important day on the political calendar.

It's the earliest date that the Liberals can introduce the non-confidence motion they're vowing to bring down the government. It also happens to be the day that Elections Canada releases the third installment of public financing to political parties.

— Chris Rands

The relationship between Stephen Harper and the media is rocky at the best of times, but on Tuesday in Calgary a very interesting thing happened. The Prime Minister took follow-up questions from reporters.

Usually reporters get one question, and one question only, to ask of the prime minister. Many don't get a chance to ask a question at all, since he usually only takes a few each week.

— Chris Rands

Logging onto the official websites of the Conservative and Liberal parties can be confusing.

Both sites feature photos of the opposing leader more prominently than their own. On the Conservative site, for example, the massive Michael Ignatieff photo dwarfs all pictures of Stephen Harper.

In fact, there are three photos of the Liberal leader on the Conservative party's homepage, the same number as for Harper.

It is almost the same thing on the Liberal site. Harper's the top story there and it takes a while, waiting for the photo carousel to change, before you can spot the Liberal leader.

— Leslie Young