The federal government has imposed a December 2013 deadline on the environmental panel review of the Northern Gateway pipeline. Which is all well and good, provided that the proponent – Enbridge – has their files together and doesn’t delay their own paperwork so that other respondents can get their reviews done in time, as has happened with other panels. In fact, the government should stipulate that Enbridge should face a penalty if it engages in such behaviour, for what it’s worth.

Rumours of Katimavik’s demise may be exaggerated. It seems that with the starvation of federal funds, they are picking up sponsorship from elsewhere for programming that they offer, and may be able to carry on in some capacity after all.

Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber continues to do his job as a backbench MP and hold the government to account, this time on the policy of Supply Management. More backbench MPs should follow his lead.

Vic Toews has gone back to blaming Justin Trudeau for VikiLeaks now that Adam Carroll is working for the party again. Perhaps he should just get over it.

Remember the legal challenge by the Council of Canadians, trying to overturn seven election results? Their lawyers are trading letters with the Conservative lawyers over admissibility of evidence.

It seems that Elections Canada is finally contacting those suspect donors to Dean Del Mastro’s campaign.

BC Humanists are freaking out because premier Christy Clark went on a religious TV show to says that she draws inspiration from the Bible, in the vaguest possible terms. (Because it’s not like she’s trying to shore up her more conservative base in advance of an election or anything).

Martha Hall Findlay is trying to clear her old leadership debt in advance of running again. Of course, she may need to find another riding to run in for the next election, as my (multiple) sources have told me that she’s alienated her riding association in Willowdale and they’re not keen to nominate her again.

Colin Horgan looks at the candidacy of Jon Lord in the Calgary Centre nomination race. The membership sales cut-off was yesterday.

And Stéphane Dion lashed out at Democratic Reform minister Tim Uppal in an open letter that corrected the record on Uppal’s comments on how Parliament is supposedly “stalling” the Senate “reform” bill (they’re not), and then poked a bunch of holes in said bill (which, I will remind you, is wholly unconstitutional anyway).