Orders of the Day: Let the PrivilegeWatch recommence

According to the very best sources, NDP defence critic Jack Harris is expected to rise in the House this morning on a question of privilege related to the government's refusal to comply with the House order to produce unredacted documents related to the transfer of Afghan detainees. He'll apparently be doing so with the full support of the Bloc Quebecois; at pixelpress time, nobody seemed to know whether the Liberals will join with the other two opposition parties to force the issue onto the floor of the Commons, where contempt charges against cabinet ministers -- not to mention a seizure order -- could, in theory, eventually ensue. Place your bets, everyone: Spine Up, Back Down, or Flollop Pathetically Like A Dying Fish? And yes, I'll be monitoring the situation, so check back for updates.

Meanwhile, if Government House Leader Jay Hill has his way, today would see MPs devote the second of six allotted days to debating the Speech from the Throne, which is worth noting only because it is the eleventh straight day that the government failed to bring forward a single piece of non-supply-related business forward for debate since the House reconvened last month. Seriously, is that some kind of record? By comparison, the Senate has been a veritable beehive of legislative activity, which seems somewhat at odds with -- well, pretty much everything that the Conservatives have had to say about its scarlet-letter status as an unelected body since right before they hit plurality.

On the committee front, the ministerial estimates circuit is in full swing: Industry Minister Tony Clement, Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis, Transport Minister John Baird, Defence Minister Peter Gordon [sic] MacKay, Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Chuck Strahl and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews all go before their various respective committees today.

The prime minister, meanwhile, is at Fort Pearson to deliver what has been unfailingly described as a rare public address to the temporary encampment of G20 sherpas that have gathered to prepare for the upcoming meeting, and who will doubtless be thrilled by the PM showing such keen personal interest in their humble diplomatic travails, which usually take place far from the glaring light of public and media attention.  That, or they'll be mentally cursing his communications team for hijacking what is supposed to be a quiet, productive get-together into a backdrop for yet another speech about our wildly superior banking regulations.

Finally, Michael Ignatieff continues to be somewhere other than Ottawa.