It has to sting when witnesses the government expects to back their bills unflinchingly don’t do what is expected. This happened yesterday as parents of teens who committed suicide because of cyberbullying (or criminal harassment being called cyberbullying even though it’s not really) gave their reservations about the government’s “cyberbullying” bill to the Commons committee studying it. The general consensus – though not universal – was that the bill should be split up, and the aspects dealing with non-consensual distribution of intimate images be dealt with separately from the lawful access provisions that are stuffed in the bill. Amanda Todd’s mother said that she doesn’t want other children victimised by having their privacy rights violated using her daughter’s name. It also should be said that those parents who were fine with the privacy violation provisions are also coming from a place of profound grief and loss, and it colours their perceptions of the issues around civil liberties. Suffice to say, it’s fascinating to see the government losing their own narrative over such a contentious bill.

Speaking of contentious bills, the Fair Elections Act passed the Commons last night, and is on its way to the Senate. While it did receive some pre-study there, the fact that it was amended on the Commons side could mean further study on the Senate side, particularly as there are still concerns about the bill on both sides of the aisle. And oh, look – there’s a loophole in the amended bill that can hinder investigations into fraud between election cycles. Aaron Wherry reflects on the bill’s progress to date, and the many, many concerns about the process that pushed it through without opposition support.

The problems with the NDP’s “satellite offices” are getting increasingly heated, as leaks and counter-leaks are preceding Mulcair’s appearance before committee on Thursday morning. Part of the problem in my estimation is that the NDP are conflating what exactly counts as parliamentary business, but we’ll see what Mulcair has to say. Meanwhile, NDP-turned-Liberal MP Lise St-Denis said that she refused to take part in the scheme, and crossed the floor shortly thereafter.

Access to Information documents show that Stephen Blaney’s outrage over the RCMP reclassifying those Swiss rifles was utterly faux, and that he and his predecessor, Vic Toews, were warned several times that the reclassification was likely, and that the review process took a year. But hey, why waste an opportunity to get the gun owner base riled up and donating to the party, right? Worse yet, Blaney tried to claim that CBC was making it all up – so CBC posted the briefing notes that showed that Blaney was briefed. Oops.

Kady O’Malley writes about how the NDP’s bid to reopen the abortion debate – yes, you heard that correctly – in order to try to embarrass the Liberals might blow up in their faces as it reinvigorates the actual pro-life groups around the country because it “proves” that abortion is not a settled issue in Canada. Well done, NDP, on that bit of strategic genius! It may wind up being debated on Thursday.

It seems that Canada’s No-Fly List is more of a suggestion than a blanket flight ban, and Transport Canada takes unspecified precautions if someone on the list gets on a plane. Apparently this is news to the minister, who wants this looked into.

The government spent over $280,000 last year promoting tweets, $100,000 of which was from Veterans Affairs. CBC and other Crown Corporations also spent money promoting tweets as well. Welcome to advertising in the age of social media.

The Victims of Crime Ombudsman gives the government’s Victim’s Bill of Rights a B grade, and recommends changes that in all likelihood be ignored given the government’s track record.

The government introduced new safety rules for tankers, and increased their liability to $400 million per spill, and to collect a levy from companies with $1.6 billion available for spill clean-up and to provide compensation.

Not seeing any progress since the Ashley Smith recommendations, the NDP want a study on mental health issues in prisons.

Mark Adler’s Private Member’s Bill on ensuring non-partisan officers of parliament (dubbed the “witch hunt bill” got eviscerated in committee and is now a shadow of its former self). Adler himself agreed to drop several provisions of the bill.

The three engineers from the Lac Mégantic disaster appeared in a makeshift court in the town yesterday, each facing 47 counts of criminal negligence – one for each person killed in the explosion. Locals felt some sympathy for them, and want the company to pay instead (despite it being currently bankrupt and looking to be sold).

In case you were wondering, Gilles Duceppe will not be running to lead the Parti Québécois now that Pauline Marois is gone.

An immigration consultant in Toronto is claiming that the minister damaged his reputation by falsely accusing him of fraud. Oops.

A man who threatened former Alberta premier Alison Redford and her family is in court.

A group of Canadians are on the ground in Nigeria to assist in finding the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram, but we don’t know anything more than that.

My column this week takes the various party leaders to task for their lax attendance at QP, and especially those who brag about their absence. After all, if they’re saying that Parliament doesn’t matter, then why bother running to get elected? (Aaron Wherry has his own two-part musing on the subject here and here).

And the Senate committee studying the CBC isn’t happy with the figures they received about salary ranges, refusing to believe that Peter Mansbridge makes a base salary of $80,000 when private broadcaster equivalents are believed to get as much as $300,000. Though I’m not quite sure that this is any of the Senate’s business, as pay should be private information.