In some kind of hurry

The Conservatives have once again invoked time allocation on a government bill, this time on the bill to kill the
long-gun registry. That makes five bills since the fall sitting began on which they’ve
moved time allocation. It’s like they’re in some kind of hurry, like they
want to pass everything right away so they can shut the place down or
something.

The bill on adding seats to the House of
Commons was finally tabled yesterday, and yes, Ontario is still getting shortchanged.
(Here is the breakdown of what the representation of provinces will look like.)

Some MPs think we need to discuss a cap on the number of MPs. I posted my
thoughts on the subject here.

John Geddes continues his dissection of
arguments used to kill the long-gun registry, this time tackling the issue of
criminals not registering their guns. But the registry allows guns that have
been stolen to be traced back to their owners when investigations are done, and
can show what weapons are owned by people who have had their licences revoked. But
you know, it’s not a useful tool.

The Canadian Press reminds us that David
Sweet, one of the Conservative MPs who appeared in that It Gets Better video, once ran the homophobic Promise Keepers Canada organization.

The CBC thinks the government may be
considering scrapping the troubled submarine fleet altogether and may wind up
going nuclear, since that’s what’s needed to operate under Arctic ice.

The Conservatives have decided to install a
stained glass window above the members’ entrance to the Centre Block to
commemorate victims of the residential schools.

Senator Nicole Eaton thinks we should replace the beaver as the Canadian symbol and use the polar bear instead. But
if anyone thinks they should use this as some kind of ammunition about the
usefulness of the Senate, I would suggest they look at the full suite of tabled private members’ business in the Commons.

And children’s musician Raffi has turned Jack Layton’s famous last letter into a song.