Inside Politics

UPDATED: Orders of the Day (01/29/10) - Place your Senate bets, ladies and gentlemen ...

by Kady O'Malley Posted: January 29, 2010 8:45 AM Last Updated: January 29, 2010 9:21 AM
The prime minister drops by St. John's, Newfoundland on his way back home from a reasonably, but not spectacularly successful two-day stint in the international spotlight at the World Economic Forum in Davos. According to the PMO-issued itinerary, he'll be speaking at an event organized by the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association, but the usual unnamed suspects have quietly put the word out that he'll also take the opportunity to reveal his third round of Senate appointments. At the moment, he has five seats to fill: two in Ontario, and one each in Quebec, New Brunswick and -- conveniently, for travel purposes -- Newfoundland and Labrador, and once he does, he'll finally have a plurality, if not a majority, in the Upper House when Parliament returns to its regularly scheduled business in March.

UPDATE: And we have officially confirmed senators! Earlier than expected, even. Feel free to collect your winnings in the comments. 

Coincidentally, Defence Minister Peter MacKay is also in St. John's this afternoon to make "an important announcement on infrastructure" at the very same hotel that will be hosting the prime minister later that day, although according to their respective schedules, their paths will not, in fact, cross, although the PMO advisory does note that Newfoundland Senator Fabian Manning will be joining the prime minister at his event.

Also on the ministerial circuit today is Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, who, by virtue of his portfolio, managed to land the best "Look How Hard We're Working" gig of the week: the Canadian Olympic Committee's announcement of the 2010 Olympic team, and Canada's flag-bearer for the opening ceremonies." 

Meanwhile, back in Ottawa, you might think that the justice minister -- or at least his staff -- would be at least a little bit preoccupied by the potential political ramifications of today's much-anticipated Supreme Court decision on Omar Khadr, but apparently not. Not enough, at least, to think twice about holding a press conference to talk about the changes that he and his government have in mind for the youth criminal justice system. 

Which, it should probably be pointed out, were actually announced yesterday, via press release, after the juiciest bits were leaked to the Sun, and which have already resulted in an awkward moment in which his office had to explain why he apparently didn't share the PM's contention that the existing laws have been an "unmitigated failure," as chronicled here by Former Colleague Wherry at Macleans.ca. Nevertheless, less than an hour before the court hands down its ruling on Khadr, that's exactly what Rob Nicholson will be doing. No, I don't know why, but I'm sure he has his reasons. Potentially ill-advised and almost certainly PMO-prompted ones, perhaps, but reasons nonetheless. 

As for the opposition parties, Michael Ignatieff will deliver opening remarks at a roundtable discussion on Alzheimer's and Dementia, hosted by Liberal public health critic Kristy Duncan, as well as a post-session scrum; the party's health critic Carolyn Bennett, meanwhile, holds a virtual roundtable this afternoon, in which Ignatieff -- as well as other Liberal MPs and senators -- will take part via webcast, and if that sounds utterly confusing and fraught with potential for technological disaster, not to mention virtually impossible for journalists to cover, well, you've got the gist.

And finally, NDP Leader Jack Layton heads to Toronto -- hey, that's where his riding is, after all -- to speak at a rally for Cathy Crowe, the Ontario NDP candidate in the upcoming Toronto-Centre byelection; on Sunday, he'll be back in Ottawa to speak to the New Democrat Federal Council, which will spend the weekend gearing up for the next campaign under the theme "Reaching Out To Win," which will almost certainly involve Hope, Change and A New Kind of Politics. 

Tags: blackberry jungle, orders of the day