Inside Politics

Orders of the Day - Let the Durban-mentum begin!

by Kady O'Malley Posted: November 28, 2011 7:31 AM Last Updated: November 28, 2011 8:36 AM
As the government gets ready to dispatch its delegation to South Africa for the next round of UN negotiations, the Climate Action Network heads to Parliament Hill, where representatives will join forces with like-minded groups, including the Council of Canadians, the Public Service of Canada and the Indigenous Environmental Network, to discuss "how the Canadian government has lost its moral compass on climate change." (Not to be outdone by their elders, earlier this morning, the Canadian Youth Delegation unveiled BItumenswear -- his 'n' her uniforms for Canadian negotiators.) 

Just a few blocks away at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Environment Minister Peter Kent makes an "important announcement" while back in the precinct, Conservative Senator Bob Runciman teams up with Nature Canada and the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory to call for a moratorium on wind energy projects along Eastern Lake Ontario and the Upper St. Lawrence "to protect bird and bat populations".

Also on the ministerial press circuit today: Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who, in the unlikely event that anyone has forgotten the importance of marketing freedom for western farmers, has called a mid-morning media availability to remind all and sundry just how important it is. (Spoiler alert: Very important.)  

The bill to dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board is, of course, scheduled to go to a final vote later tonight. 

Other items on the Chamber to-do list include votes on second reading of the copyright bill and the NDP opposition day motion to impose limits on the use of closure and time allocation.

On the committee front:

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver defends his department's supplementary estimates at Natural Resources; Public Accounts gets a briefing on the auditor general's findings on financial management and control and risk management; Health continues its investigation of chronic diseases related to aging, and both Industry and Transport go behind closed doors to discuss future business, which, in the case of the latter, will include drafting an "issues and options paper" on the now concluded study into a national public transit strategy.

Out and about outside the precinct:

  • Governor General David Johnston is a guest speaker at the Canada Foundation for Innovation's Annual Public Meeting in Ottawa
  • Conservative MP Robert Goguen "celebrates the official opening" of an affordable housing project in Tracadie-Sheila.
  • Minister of State for Science Gary Goodyear makes an announcement "related to postsecondary research and innovation" at the Institute for Quantum Computing in Waterloo.
  • Public Safety Minister Vic Toews meets drug-sniffing dogs and their Correctional Service of Canada handlers at Stony Mountain Institution in Stonewall.
  • International Trade Minister Ed Fast "speaks ... on the progress achieved in the Canada-European Union trade negotiations" in Vancouver
 Finally, later today, the National Capital Commission tests the more than 15,000 holiday lights that will soon illuminate Parliament Hill. 

For up to the minute dispatches from the precinct and beyond, keep your eye on the Parliament Hill Ticker below -- or, alternatively, bookmark it and check back throughout the day. 

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Tags: blackberry jungle, orders of the day