Orders of the Day - Olly Olly Oxen Free!

That's right, MPs. The can has been kicked, the recess bell is ringing and the Morlocks have sounded the siren: the 41st Iteration of the Grand Inquest of the Nation is about to get underway, and all 308 of you are invited. We can't start without you, after all. (Believe me, we've considered it.)

You have exactly -- okay, approximately -- one more day to psych yourself up for the madness that is to come: as of tomorrow morning, it's back to the grindstone as all three parties --- or four, if you count the Bloc Quebecois -- convene one final round of pre-session caucus meetings to prepare for the semi-ancient rites that accompany the official re-opening of Parliament: the election of a Speaker, the Speech from the Throne, and -- after a brief weekend respite -- the tabling of the budget. Oh, and the first Question Period of the new era.  Get some sleep tonight is all I'm saying. You'll thank me for it later.

As for today, some MPs and ministers, it seems, are taking advantage of their final hours of relative scheduling freedom to get some out-of-town business out of the way.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty holds a private pre-budget meeting with his cadre of private sector economists in Toronto, and very possibly pick up a new pair of shoes.

Flaherty may or may not cross paths with cabinet colleague Christian Paradis, who will make his first speech in his capacity as Minister of Industry at the Canadian Telecom Summit later today. Also making his first public appearance since the shuffle: newly minted Veterans Affairs Minister Steve Blaney, who will lay a wreath at the Charlottetown Cenotaph.

Also on the circuit today: Conservative MP Royal Galipeau drops by an Ottawa school, where he will preside over the launch of the NACMusicBox timeline, a new initiative from the National Arts Centre.

Finally, back on the Hill, the newly formed Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries holds a press conference to announce its existence, as well as expand on its mission: to "promote a regulated community-based approach to medical cannabis access and supporting medical cannabis dispensaries to provide the highest quality of patient care." Mobile-friendly auto-updating text version available here.