A rift between the government and the Supreme Court of Canada appears to be opening as a bunch of anonymous Conservative ministers and backbenchers bravely approached National Post columnist John Ivison under the cloak of anonymity and trash-talked Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, insinuating that she lobbied against Nadon’s appointment. The Executive Legal Officer of the Supreme Court put out a release that denied any lobbying, and said that the Chief Justice was consulted by the committee of MPs that were creating the short-list of nominees, and that because of the issue of appointing a Federal Court judge in a Quebec seat was already well known, the Chief Justice also advised the justice minister and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff that it could be an issue. This happened back in July. The PMO, late in the day, put out a release of their own, insinuating that McLachlin made a cold call to Harper, which he refused because it would be inappropriate to discuss a matter before the courts – only it wasn’t before the courts, because that consultation, which was made to his chief of staff and not Harper directly, was in July – a fact that they only confirmed when the Toronto Star pressed them on it. It’s really worrying that the PMO is trying to assert that the Chief Justice did something untoward as Prime Ministers and Minsters of Justice often consult with her when there are vacancies on the bench, because the Chief Justice can advise them on what particular subject areas the Court is looking for an expert to fill. In the context of advising on a replacement for Justice Fish, there would have been nothing wrong with McLachlin consulting the government, nor with raising the point of caution about Federal Court judges. That this government has made a mess of the appointment process with their opaque committee process under the window dressing of greater accountability and transparency – of which there is actually none – and to try and come after the Court like this, is extremely unbecoming of any government. Especially when they were warned there would be a problem and went ahead with it anyway.

The Fair Elections Act has now passed committee and is headed back to the House for Report Stage reading, after a lengthy amendment process that got ugly on occasion, especially after government members took exception to accusations that they were trying to engage in voter suppression. Among those amendments are a concession around vouching so that people without adequate ID can have someone swear an attestation as to their address. The law will also close the provision in the law that allows people to bequeath their estate to political parties, which was a significant revenue generator for some parties (especially the NDP).

After the issue of government and law enforcement agencies getting data from telecom companies without warrants, opposition parties are reminding us of the huge privacy flaws in the somewhat ironically-named Digital Privacy Act bill that is currently before the Senate.

After touting how much her government has tightened spending rules in the Senate, Senator Marjory LeBreton is now complaining that spending claims are being rejected, and that there isn’t enough consistency to the rules. They’re still under review and this kind of over-sensitivity is likely to be the new norm after everything that has happened under LeBreton’s stewardship.

The debate within First Nations communities over the new education bill is reviving talks about ousting AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo, as he is seen as “complicit” with the government for those opponents of the bill. Those who are not opponents admit that it’s not perfect, but it’s better than what they have now and they don’t want to wait another ten or 15 years after everyone walks away from the table.

The RCMP have all-but confirmed that their report will indicate that there have been more than a thousand missing or murdered Aboriginal women over the past 30 years, and yet the government continues to resist calls for a national inquiry.

Brent Rathgeber scored a rare procedural victory in the Commons when he pointed out that the rail grain bill the government has been pushing through had an amendment in it that was out of order, so the Speaker ordered it removed, forcing the government to send it back to committee for a proper correction. Gerry Ritz’s office then took to the Twitter Machine to slag off Rathgeber – because rules and procedure don’t matter, apparently.

A report on the impacts of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” a panel of international experts says that there has been insufficient monitoring on the effect on water. Of course, the government turned around that and spun it that there have been no documented cases of well water contamination, so it’s a-okay. Because it’s totally the same thing. Sigh.

CBC has a look at the history of the Temporary Foreign Workers programme, which apparently worked pretty well until 2002, when it was opened up to low-skilled workers, and the abuses followed.

It should be no surprise that the Conservatives have once again topped out in fundraising dollars, but the Liberals have again come out ahead in terms of the number of donors.

The World Health Organization says that Canada has one of the highest rates of drug-resistant gonorrhoea in the world, but the Public Health Agency of Canada has no idea where the WHO got those figures, as their figures show that the resistance rate is six percent, not 31.

HMCS Regina is being sent to the Mediterranean as part of the NATO Standing Maritime Force, and won’t actually be deployed anywhere near Ukraine, even though its deployment has to do with the NATO response to Russian actions in the region.

Conservative Whip John Duncan says that Jim Flaherty’s death solidified his decision to run again in the next election, despite his health and heart condition that sidelined him from his previous cabinet post.

Pundit’s Guide looks at the differences between the nomination processes amongst the three major parties, given all of the drama in Trinity–Spadina and other ridings with the open nomination process.

Speaking of Trinity–Spadina, another Liberal would-be nominee has dropped out of the race, citing favouratism from the leader’s office. There are still two candidates in the race, and the nomination vote will be held on Saturday.

Two of the beached blue whales that washed up on the shores of Newfoundland will be taken by the Royal Ontario Museum, where they will be taken apart for study. The Canadian Museum of Nature has the skeleton of a juvenile blue whale in its collection.

And The Canadian Press’ “baloney meter” rates the NDP’s claims that even Justin Trudeau’s modest Senate reforms by way of appointments commission would require a constitutional amendment as being “a lot of baloney,” which is not unexpected.