Orders of the Day - Thursday, December 3, 2009

Having secured the support of the Official Opposition for its planned HST framework legislation, the government is preparing to plunge ahead on a ways and means motion that would enshrine the respective implementation deals into which it has entered with Ontario and British Columbia. 

The Bloc Quebecois, of course, was already on side -- well, not really on side per se, but prepared to vote with the government for reasons of its own, most of which seem to involve reminding all and sundry that Quebec received no such compensation when it harmonized sales tax with Ottawa years ago -- and the Liberals are now prepared to back it as well, although I wouldn't advise bringing it up with the party's grumbling BC caucus at the moment, which means that it is only the NDP that remains stalwart in its vehement and vocal opposition to the planned tax synch, so if any party is going to break out the procedural tricks to delay the seemingly inevitably passage of the motion to do so, it's Jack's pack. 

But will they?  We'll find out this morning -- and this afternoon, and possibly late into the evening and through the wee small hours. That is, if the NDP plans to kick up a fuss -- if not, it'll be out of the Commons by dinnertime. 

On the committee front, the parliamentary ballet that is the estimates process continues, with Defence Minister Peter MacKay going before his designated committee, accompanied by a full phalanx of senior military officers, including the current Chief of Defence Staff. Will the opposition manage to seize the opportunity to question him on the detainee issue? That seems doubtful, although he'll almost surely be greeted by a gaggle of reporters who will be only too happy to do so.

Other ministers on the circuit today include Jim Prentice, whose appearance before the Environment committee will also delay clause-by-clause review of the NDP's climate change bill until next week; Helena Geurgis at Status of Women; and Treasury Board President Vic Toews, who is all but guaranteed to be grilled over giant-cheque-and-partisan-advertising-related outrages at Government Operations and Estimates. Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl, meanwhile, seems to have somehow managed to extricate himself from going before Aboriginal Affairs, which will hear from senior civil servants instead. 

Conspicuous by its absence from today's committee list, meanwhile, is the regularly scheduled Thursday mid-morning meeting of Procedure and House Affairs, which may or may be related to its ongoing efforts to investigate Peter Stoffer's ten-percenter-centric privilege claim -- or the similarly-themed claim from Irwin Cotler, which was referred to the committee earlier this week.

More committee notes:  Citizenship and Immigration looks at best practices in settlement services; International Trade hears from Columbian union leaders as part of its study on trade relations with South America as Foreign Affairs continues its study on a bill to impose corporate accountability on Canadian mining companies in developing countries; and Canadian Heritage may spend another two hours held hostage as government members attempt to stonewall the clause-by-clause review of that private members' bill to recognize the injustices done to persons of Italian origin during WWII.