Conservative Senator Carolyn Stewart Olsen has apparently also been found to have improperly charged per diems for time spent in Ottawa when the Senate wasn’t sitting at one point and promised to repay the amounts – only to come out a few hours later and insist that the amounts were reviewed by Senate Finance and found to be in order. So why say that she was going to repay them and then not? And how can she believe that this isn’t hurting the Senate’s reputation any further if she’s not coming up with a proper justification as to why those per diems should have been charged – especially if she’s on the steering committee of the Internal Economy Committee, which adds another layer of distrust to the issue. I guess we’ll see if her tune changes in the next day or two.

Senator Leo Housakos says that the CBC story that links him to questionable fundraising schemes is a “hatchet job” and that Lino Zambito approached him to do fundraising for the ADQ, and not the other way around, and when he in turn asked for a donation for the federal Conservatives that Zambito offered the three cheques.

Police and paramedics were summoned to Senator Patrick Brazeau’s house at two in the morning on Tuesday, and some kind of “intervention” happened allegedly about a “depressed man” who was taken to hospital, but contrary to rumour, there was no arrest or charges, and no confirmations either.

The Commissioner of Canada Elections is calling for enhanced powers, including the ability to compel testimony, in order to speed up investigations. He’s also asking for the ability to levy sanctions for breaches, as he currently has to go the route of pressing charges, which again increases the timelines. Oh, and he should have his investigation into the deceptive robocalls from the last election finished by spring, in case you were wondering.

Kady O’Malley shows us why we wouldn’t face a government shutdown similar to what’s happening in the States here in Canada. (Hint: It’s because we’re a constitutional monarchy).

Here’s a look at how Citizenship and Immigration deals with would-be immigrants who are from countries that allow polygamous marriages, and the problems that result.

The government’s new regulated medical marijuana grow-ups will mean the revocation of licences for those patients who currently grow their own, which will also mean a big increase in their costs. Currently they can grow it for pennies a gram, whereas the new system is currently priced somewhere around $7.60 per gram, with the market determining the eventual price point.

A new report says that cybercrime directly cost Canadians $3.1 billion last year alone, be it malware, identity theft or phishing. But by all means, don’t secure your WiFi and share your social media passwords.

The government has mysteriously demoted a high-ranking member of the parole board that they named to that senior position.

Here’s a preview of the fall sitting of the Supreme Court, and some of the cases they’ll be hearing – including the Senate Reference. Incidentally, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court favours gender parity on the Court, but the three women that are there can hold their own, she reassures us.

There is a new push to restore the more gender-neutral language of the national anthem, which is getting some fairly big names in support.

Terry Milewski delivers a satirical analysis of “cheapskate MPs” whose hospitality expenses are uproarious low for officials of their position – especially as the leaders’ offices expenses are among the lowest. (It also proves that MPs are damned by the media if they spend or if they don’t).

A Canadian chemical weapons and munitions expert working as a UN inspector says the task of eliminating Syria’s stockpiles will be “herculean.”

Emmett Macfarlane writes about the more questionable activities of certain Supreme Court justices upon their retirement from the bench – most especially Claire L’Heureux-Dubé’s stumping on behalf of the Quebec “Charter of values,” and how it reminds us that judges are not infallible and can be political as well, despite the myth that they are without politics or ideology.

And Geoff Norquay gives a look into the how one writes a Speech From the Throne (PDF), and previews what he thinks will be highlighted in the upcoming one.