Apparently it’s important that we keep being exposed to Economic Action Plan™ advertisements ad nauseum because Canadians have confidence in the economy – or so says Stephen Harper. Which begs the question – do they have confidence in the economy because of the ads, or are the ads to showcase that they have confidence? At which point it all starts getting circular and resembling a tautology. Scott Brison, meanwhile, wants you to know that for every $95,000 the government spends to air one of these ads during the hockey playoffs, 32 students could get a summer position for that money. But – confidence!

The government has completed its transformation of the National Research Council from an organisation devoted to pure research into one devoted to commercial science. This as they’ve been slowly starving universities of funds for research, or ensuring that the research that does happen is devoted to business in one way or another. John Ivison notes that this move fuels the notion that the government is waging a “war on science.”

The government also wants you to know that it’s totally fixing the temporary foreign workers programme, so don’t worry! This while the NDP can’t seem to grasp the true size of Alberta as they criticise temporary foreign workers being accepted there while there are unemployed people in those same skilled areas (seriously, guys – it’s a big place!)

Mental health advocacy groups were on the Hill yesterday to denounce the Bill C-54 – the Not Criminally Responsible reform act, which basically seeks to lock up mentally ill offenders for longer rather than ensure that they are being properly treated and reintegrated into society.

Over in the Senate, a BC Mountie on stress leave was supposed to testify in committee about harassment in the Force, but was told that if he’s well enough to travel and testify, he should be well enough to return to work and do administrative duties. Said Mountie asserts that this was a way of trying to prevent him from travelling to testify. And yes, Senator Romeo Dallaire is outraged.

Liberal Senator Mac Harb disputes the media reports that he owes $100,000 in improperly claimed living expenses – but the report won’t be released publicly until probably Thursday, after Senators meet to discuss it and whether any of the findings should be referred to the RCMP. Harb also says he’s selling his home in Pembroke because it’s been made public and he no longer feels safe there.

Yikes! It seems that “human error” nearly contributed to the Chalk River reactor overheating dangerously after someone mistakenly shut off one of the cooling pumps. They’ll be answer questions about this incident before the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission next week.

The Queen has bowed out of attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka later in the year, sending Prince Charles in her stead. This is likely due to age and the fact that such a trip is likely to be exhausting, but never fear – we are assured that this isn’t a permanent end to all foreign travel and that she will visit Canada again.

Regarding the $3.1 billion in untracked anti-terror spending identified in the Auditor General’s report, Liberal John McCallum has put a question on the Order Paper challenging the government to identify the line items and pages in the Public Accounts that those measures were spent on, if the information is indeed all there as Tony Clement has claimed.

Meanwhile, more Order Paper questions have come back with the costs of various NDP proposals for tax breaks here and there (which I will again say is a ridiculous loophole around the restrictions around Private Members’ Bills costing the treasury because tax breaks do cost the treasury). Said Conservative backbenchers remain incurious about the costs of their own tough-on-crime proposals as part of their own Private Members’ Business.

An Ontario superior court has added another $10 million to the total that the government has to pay – bringing the total to some in penalties up to $40 million –after they rigged a contract bid in a completely egregious manner.

And Aaron Wherry writes about Justin Trudeau’s visit to Renfrew, in the Ottawa Valley, on Monday night.