Kady O'Malley Bio

Later this morning, the PM will embark on what may be his last international trip before the House returns later this month: a week-long trek through Asia, starting in Malaysia and wrapping up at next week's APEC leaders' conference in Indonesia. 

The first port of call will be Kuala Lumpur, where the PM, along with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and International Trade Minister Ed Fast, will embark on what the advisory notes will be "the first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister since 1996," and will involve meetings with Malaysian PM Najib Razak, among other events over the course of next few days. Once that wraps up, the prime ministerial entourage will make its way to Bali for the 21st annual APEC Leaders' Meeting, which runs from October 7-8.

Back in Canada, Public Works Minister Diane Finley is expected to talk federal procurement at the Best Defence Conference in London, which could, at least in theory, give her the opportunity to preview the rumoured revamp of the current process that will reportedly be included in the upcoming Speech from the Throne.

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Just days after his nomination was made public, Supreme Court hopeful Marc Nadon is set to go before the ad hoc committee of MPs charged with questioning him -- gently, of course -- on his qualifications for the top court, with today's session slated to take place between 1 and 4pm.

Before that gets underway, however, New Democrat finance and youth critics Peggy Nash and Matthew Dube share their plan to "help tackle youth unemployment" at a mid-morning press conference.

Outside the capital, New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair kicks off a two-day tour of Edmonton by heading behind closed doors for meetings with the Association canadienne-francaise de Alberta, as well as provincial party leader Brian Mason.

Later today, he'll outline his "progressive vision for Canada" at the University of Alberta before heading to The Marquee for a meet-and-greet with Edmonton NDP MP Linda Duncan and Lewis Cardinal.

Back in Toronto, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau will hit the by-election hustings with candidate-in-waiting Chrystia Freeland.

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Short answer: No, it can't.

Just one day after returning from a week-long stint at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is set to welcome his Somali counterpart to Ottawa for discussions on "a broad range of issues," including, but presumably not limited to "regional security and Canada-Somalia relations."

Back on the Hill, meanwhile, the Rideau Institute will host a press conference with "noted defence expert and author" William Hartung, who, according to the advisory, will "share in-depth knowledge on the defence industry, especially defence giant Lockheed Martin, its influence in the United States, and the potential for a 'military-industrial complex' to take root in Canada."

Also running the media gauntlet today: Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent, who will release his new report on the New Veterans' Charter, and New Democrat agriculture critics Malcolm Welland and Ruth Ellen Brosseau, who will run down their priority list for the upcoming session.

Outside the precinct, the Competition Bureau and the University of Ottawa co-host a day-long workshop on e-commerce and online advertising at the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic. 

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With just over two weeks until the House returns to regular parliamentary business, the PM takes a day trip to Quebec City, where, alongside Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel, he will "deliver remarks" at the Institut national d'optique (INO) before heading to the iconic Citadelle for a photo op with Defence Minister Rob Nicholson.

Back on the Hill, meanwhile, New Democrat consumer protection critics Glenn Thibeault and Annick Papillon hit the stage at the National Press Theatre, where they will share their thoughts on the current government's track record on consumer protection issues, and present their party's priorities for the upcoming session.

Also out and about in the precinct today: Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who will chat with reporters about her ongoing 'Save Democracy From Politics' tour before she makes her way to the Chateau Laurier to talk democratic deficit with the Economic Club of Ottawa. Later this evening, she'll host a town hall on the same subject.

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Canada's information watchdog is sounding the alarm over recently issued guidelines that appears to implicitly discourage departmental access to information officials from seeking documents from ministerial offices.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver drops by the Varennes headquarters of GreenField Inc.,  which bills itself as "Canada's Leading Ethanol Producer," for what the advisory promises will be an "important announcement on innovation, clean technology and job creation," with Sustainable Development Technology Canada President communications director Pat Breton also expected to be in attendance.

UPDATE: It seems that the PM is in the market for a new parliamentary secretary, thanks to the abrupt departure from caucus of now former Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro. 

In fact, Del Mastro's exit could open up as many as three slots for ambitious backbenchers hankering for a boost to their profiles.  

Up until this afternoon, Del Mastro served as Commons backup for three separate ministers: Leona Aglukkaq (Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency), Gary Goodyear (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario) and Greg Rickford (Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario). 

In theory, that would allow the PM to promote three different MPs -- although two would have to be from Ontario. 

Of course, he could also simply redistribute those portfolios within the current roster, which would likely be the wisest choice, given the optics of adding another three names to the PS payroll. 

Meet your new parliamentary secretaries, Canada! (originally posted on September 19, 2013)

Earlier today, the prime minister unveiled the new roster of ministerial parliamentary secretaries. 

(For those who may have forgotten -- or possibly never bothered to find out in the first place, a parliamentary secretary is basically a  VIB (Very Important Backbencher) who, in exchange for a small salary boost and a new title, is responsible for various and sundry duties that his or her minister is either too busy or too important to do themselves, from fielding questions on behalf of their respective ministers in the House to shepherding legislation through committee -- and, with increasing frequency, doing the rounds on the evening and weekend political panel circuit, representing the government and delivering the official talking points.) 

Some highlights from today's reveal:

• The total number of parliamentary secretaries  --  climbs from 28 to 32, which includes 12 new additions to replace the 8 former PSes who were promoted to cabinet during the mid-summer shuffle, 12 portfolio switches within the existing roster and 8 positions left unchanged. 
  
  
• Two of the newly minted are women, bringing the total to 6. 
  
  
• Finally, the Prime Minister now has not one but two parliamentary secretaries, as does Justice Minister Peter MacKay.

There are a lot of people who don't like reporters. A lot of them are politicians. Then there is Conservative Senator Don Plett.

Plett has made himself the avenging angel of all of those politicians who feel like they've picked reporters' acid-dipped observations out of their hides for years. And for his trouble, he has, for the second time in less than six months, compelled the head of Senate security to apologize to his tormentors after employing security guards as his own personal media wranglers.

Hit the jump for the full post.