The government has declared today to be a National Day of Honour to mark the mission in Afghanistan, but not everyone is pleased with the way they’ve handled it. The fact that the last flag from Kabul is being handed to Harper and not the Commander-in-Chief – the Governor General – is a pretty major breach of protocol that really won’t endear Harper to the troops, especially as such a breach looks transparently like a photo-op. Some of us thought that Harper had given up on such outright breaches after Prince Charles was here for Remembrance Day a few years ago and proper protocol was suddenly observed once again. Perhaps Harper’s presidential envy has reared its head again? The Royal Canadian Legion’s Dominion President is none too pleased with the government for the short timelines and lack of communication when it comes to preparations, because it didn’t allow many of the branches across Canada time to plan anything.

A Silver Cross mother whose son died in Afghanistan has told Power & Politics the tale of her difficulties with the system following her son’s death, from being billed for cost overruns at the funeral to being denied support services because her son was unmarried. It’s a pretty awful and wrenching tale to watch, but one that everyone should. It certainly colours the government’s Day of Honour back-patting.

On the Justice Nadon file, Peter MacKay said that he “personally” didn’t encourage Nadon to resign from the Federal Court in order to rejoin the Quebec bar before appointment. It’s a very curious parsing of words. The Canadian Press has a convenient timeline of events for your reference.

It was the March for Life on the Hill yesterday, and wouldn’t you know it, a number of local Catholic school boards paid to bus their students to the Hill to participate. Topless protesters from FEMEN did disrupt the event, which was the only real excitement from the event. Meanwhile, people continue to read a whole lot into the announcements around the Liberal position on the matter of abortion, which was decided by the party membership in 2012 as opposed to being a fiat by the leader (while other parties pretend they don’t have a greenlight process for precisely these kinds of issues).

Canadian broadcasters have decided not to air any political ads that feature unauthorised use of their television footage. We’ll see if that has any measurable effect on the ads we see.

The Commissioner of Official Languages has reiterated his concerns about Mark Adler’s “witch hunt” bill that would see partisan disclosures for all Officers of Parliament and their staff, saying it would discourage people with talent from working in offices like his.

Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, the Senate’s Speaker Pro Tempore, is looking to strike a special committee to look at ways in which the Senate can modernise from within without opening up the constitution.

Tony Clement has ordered a review of the federal government’s use of social media data in response to concerns by the Privacy Commissioner. Chantal Bernier says it’s a mistake to assume that people surrender their privacy when they post things on Facebook.

The Federal Court is being inundated with lawsuits by those who want injunctions that will allow them to keep growing their own medical marijuana, and they’ve been aided by a “legal kit” available online. Those suits are being put on hold while a case currently works its way through the system.

The Canadian Press’s baloney meter looks at Joe Oliver’s claims that a typical family of four has saved $3400 in taxes, and finds “a bit of baloney.” In other words, the government claims make a number of assumptions – such as every family member getting bus passes and the associated tax credits – that won’t necessarily be reflective of reality.

Mike Moffatt digs deeper into the temporary foreign workers hired in the Windsor area, despite the region’s high rate of unemployment.

Energy economist Andrew Leach takes note of the hyperbole in supposedly science-based arguments against the Keystone XL pipeline, where the figures they use would mean the pipeline would have to run at full capacity for 10,000 years before they reached the production and emissions being described. His plea – to have an honest conversation about the issue at hand.

The Liberals have decided to start playing the “Parliament doesn’t matter” game in order to tout their leader never being in the House and always being on the road instead. I’m glad that everyone can abrogate their responsibilities when it comes to holding the government to account – you know, the WHOLE POINT of Parliament – because it creates a narrative of irrelevance. Remind me why they want to get elected again?

The new Conflict of Interest disclosures are up, and Chrystia Freeland lists two UK properties (one of which she lived in during her time as an editor with the Financial Times) and past paid speaking gigs.

Sources are telling CBC that Eve Adams has outsold memberships as compared to her rival in the Oakville North­–Burlington nomination race by a factor of three-to-one, though what really matters is getting that vote out.

And a Calgary writer goes door-knocking with Michelle Rempel and writes about the experience here.