CP Rail is now on strike amidst thousands of layoffs, though they are mostly keeping commuter service unaffected. Lisa Raitt, however, is citing the harm to the economy, and is giving them until Monday to come to a deal, lest she bring down the hammer of back-to-work legislation. (This feels like a good time to remind you of my conversation with Senator Elaine McCoy, a former provincial conservative labour minister, about how this government handles its labour disputes).

Leona Aglukkaq admits that yes, there are food issues in the North – but that doesn’t mean she’ll back down from her comments about the UN Special Rapporteur for Food. Nor will she stop using it as an excuse to bash other countries about their criticism of the seal hunt – even if the Rapporteur never made any mention of the seal hunt in his report.

Elections Canada tried to get Michael Sona to talk about who might be behind the misleading robo-calls. Sona wouldn’t bite.

Defenders of the Canadian Wheat Board are back in court trying to overturn the law that dismantled it.

$100,000 spent in flights and hotels while looking for cost savings. Fiscal austerity, everyone!

Here is a reminder about fifteen things stuffed into the omnibus budget bill that have nothing really to do with the budget.

And Prince Charles and Camilla finished the Diamond Jubilee Royal Tour in Regina last night. Part of his visit there included a tour of First Nations University, and a block of oak from Charles’ estate in Cornwall was given to the province for the creation of their own Black Rod.

Up today: Diane Finley is set to unveil the regulations around the proposed EI changes today. I suppose it’s a good thing that we’re actually getting them now and not after the omnibus budget bill passes. Incidentally, HRSDC is no longer sending Statistics Canada certain EI statistical data, apparently over unresolved “inconsistencies,” which seems terribly convenient.