The key highlights so far in this week's Parliamentary calendar: 10 a.m. (Ottawa time) on Tuesday – Election of the Speaker and 2 p.m. on Wednesday – Speech from the Throne:
Once it began to appear in early October that Stephen Harper was going to be re-elected as prime minister, his aides were asked if he would quickly recall MPs for a fall session of the House of Commons.
Some thought he need not be in any rush. For one thing, he and his senior ministers have had a busy fall filled with international summits. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has been at global summits in Washington, Brazil, and Peru. Mr. Harper was at the G20 last weekend in Washington and will travel to Peru at the end of this week for the annual leaders summit at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum. He also hosted a meeting of the country's premiers.
Second, by recalling Parliament, he would give his political opponents a forum to attack what they call his laissez-faire approach to the problems of the Canadian economy. He might have concluded that the last thing a government managing a rapidly deteriorating economy needed was a political circus in Ottawa.
But one of Mr. Harper's senior advisers, speaking on condition that he not be identified, quickly shot down any idea that Mr. Harper would be inclined to wait.
“He truly believes that the House of Commons is the place to conduct the nation's business,” the aide said a few days before election day.
And so, on Wednesday, barely a month after winning a strengthened minority government, Mr. Harper will take his seat in the Senate and listen to Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean read the speech from the throne, officially opening the 40th Parliament of Canada.
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