Inside Politics

Orders of the Day - Look alive, Hill denizens! Potential news incoming!

by Kady O'Malley Posted: July 19, 2012 8:48 AM Last Updated: July 19, 2012 8:57 AM
For a second day in a row, Parliament Hill will be thrown off its traditional summer schedule of a whole lot of nothing going on as the National Press Theatre plays host to not one but two potentially news-making events. .

NDP Ethics Critic Charlie Angus, who gave notice yesterday of his intention to call on the government to "put an end to partisan appointments and implement an effective public nomination commission."

Given the timing, he may also find himself sharing his thoughts on soon-to-be-former PMO deputy chief of staff Derek Vanstone's move to Air Canada, which was announced via press release earlier today, and has apparently already gotten the (legally required) nod of approval from the ethics commissioner. 

While it is not, of course, a government appointment, one would presume that an opposition ethics critic would still have something to say about it.

Before that gets underway, however, members of the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources will discuss their just-released report, which, as per the advisory, will "spell out a vision for Canada's energy future."

Outside the precinct, the ministerial good news circuit continues to weave its way across the country:

  • The Microbrasserie du Lac Saint-Jean will get a visit from Transport Minister Denis Lebel, who is slated to make an appearance at the Saint-Gedeon facility later today, almost certainly with a fresh delivery of federal cash in tow.
  • Back in Ontario, Government Whip Gordon O'Connor drops by Kanata-based Edgewater Computer Systems for an "important local announcement" that will, the notice avers, support both Canadian innovation and the Canadian economy, while Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq heads to the Institute for Applied Health Sciences at McMaster University with glad tidings related to funding for bone health research. 
  • Meanwhile, Treasury Board President Tony Clement continues to crisscross the north, with FedNor funding reveals at Nordex Explosives in Kirkland Lake and North Bay's Nipissing University.
  • Moving west, Calgary MP Devinder Shory will take part in a White Hat ceremony in honour of an unnamed Mexican "celebrity chef" as well as the cadre of journalists accompanying him on his western Canadian tour.
  • Also out and about in Calgary today: Conservative MPs Shelly Glover and Deepak Obhrai, who will join Royal Canadian Mint officials at the Sports Hall of Fame for the unveiling of the 2012 "Lucky Loonie" Olympic coin.
  • Elsewhere in Alberta, International Trade Minister Ed Fast continues his Asia-Pacific trade consultation tour with a roundtable in Edmonton. 
  • Defence Minister Peter MacKay heads to the HMC dockyard at CFB Esquimault while Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore joins Coquitlam mayor Richard Stewart to reveal the details of a joint infrastructure project.

Finally, Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae continues to trek through Newfoundland, starting with a community breakfast in Victoria, followed by a tour of the Quinlan Brothers crab and shrimp processing plant in Bay de Verde.

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. 

Mobile-friendly auto-updating text feed available here

Tags: blackberry jungle, orders of the day