Month: December 2008

[Herewith, the last few minutes of the 1st session of the 40th Parliament of Canada]

The Speaker: The honourable, the Minister of Justice is rising on a point of order.

Hon. Rob Nicholson (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada): Mr. Speaker, it is my duty to inform the House that Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada has just issued the following proclamations under the Great Seal of Canada:

Elizabeth THE SECOND, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories QUEEN, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

To our Beloved and Faithful Senators of Canada, and the Members elected to serve in the House of Commons of Canada, and to all to whom these Presents may in any way concern,

GREETING:

A PROCLAMATION

Whereas we have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Prime Minister of Canada, to prorogue the present Parliament of Canada;

Now you know that, We do for that end publish this Our Royal Proclamation and do hereby prorogue the said Parliament to Monday the twenty-sixth day of January, 2009.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, We have caused this Our Proclamation to be published and the Great Seal of Canada to be hereunto affixed.

WITNESS:

Our Right Trusty and Well-beloved Michaëlle Jean, Chancellor and Principal Companion of our Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of our Order of Military Merit, Chancellor and Commander of Our Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.

AT OUR GOVERNMENT HOUSE, in our City of Ottawa, this fourth day of December in the year of Our Lord two thousand and eight and in the fifty-seventh year of Our Reign.

GREETING:

A PROCLAMATION

Now know that We, being desirous and resolved as soon as may be to meet Our People of Canada, and to have their advice in Parliament, do hereby, by and with the advice of Our Prime Minister of Canada, summon and call together the House of Commons of Canada to meet at Our City of Ottawa, on Monday, the twenty-sixth day of January, 2009, then and there to have conference and treaty with the Senate of Canada.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, We have caused this Our Proclamation to be published and the Great Seal of Canada to be hereunto affixed.

The Speaker: [My translation from the French] Order please! Given the statement made by the Minister of Justice, I now vacate the Chair.

[And here endeth the First Session of the 40th Parliament]

(Ainsi se termine la première session de la 40e législature.)

Fire off angry e-mails, start up as many Facebook groups as you want, or even, as I've heard this evening, join cabinet ministers and ministers at a sit-in at Rideau Hall tomorrow if you want to make your point.

But firebombing the signs of someone you don't agree with? We don't do that in this country.

Next January 16, Canada's prime minister, whomever that might be, will host a meeting of the country's premiers and territorial leaders. This is a followup meeting to the one that Prime Minister Stephen Harper held last month in Ottawa.

Harper issued the following invitation this afternoon but it remains to be seen if he himself will be able to attend the meeting:

OTTAWA – On November 10, 2008, the Prime Minister met with Canada’s Provincial Premiers and Territorial Leaders to discuss ways that Canada’s different orders of government can cooperate in responding to the current global economic crisis.

Building on the productive discussions of that meeting, Prime Minister Harper issued an invitation today to Canada’s Provincial Premiers and Territorial Leaders for a follow-up First Ministers’ Meeting, to be held on January 16, 2009. This day-long meeting will be accompanied by a session with Aboriginal Leaders on economic development opportunities for Aboriginal Canadians.

A critical objective of this meeting will be to identify issues related to accelerating infrastructure investments, strengthening financial market regulation, improving competitiveness and ensuring labour market preparedness and flexibility where immediate government actions will make positive economic impacts.

This First Ministers’ Meeting will build on the concrete work and recommendations of responsible Ministers in the meantime. To this end, the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Finance Ministers will meet on December 16 and 17, 2008 in Saskatoon. The federal Infrastructure Minister John Baird will work with all provinces and territories to identify and to accelerate, before the First Ministers’ Meeting, specific projects in each jurisdiction that would contribute to stimulating the economy in the next two construction seasons. Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, will work with her provincial and territorial counterparts to remove barriers to labour mobility, enhance skills development and foreign credential recognition.

Together, these meetings will stimulate productive discussions on economic issues of importance to Canadians and ensure that all governments continue to work together to prepare Canada’s economy for a strong future.

Ok — this is serious, serious stuff that's going on in Ottawa right now but do go have a chuckle courtesy of Brian Williams, the city editor at the Guelph Daily Mercury. In this post, Brian tries to come up with a party name for the Liberal-NDP coalition that is threatening to become the government.

Me? I like the “New Niberals”