Delays seem to be the word of the day for the fledgling government – delays in getting the refugees here (but that’s happening), delays in getting committees up and running (thanks in no small part to NDP and Bloc wrangling) – though they did finally name the assisted dying committee members today, and it looks like there are now delays in getting the new Independent appointments committee for naming new senators up and running. This means that those promised five new “independent” senators won’t likely be chosen before Parliament comes back, nor will the new government “representative” be chosen from one of those five as intended. That could start being a problem for the government as they start looking to outline their agenda and figure out what they’re going to start sending over to the Senate in terms of legislation. Mind you, it’s not too late for the government to do the right thing and appoint an existing senator to the post (because it makes absolutely no sense to put someone with no Senate experience into the role – it really doesn’t), and then figure out how to keep the relationship as arm’s length as possible while still letting parliament function as it should, with government and opposition sides that help keep debate and accountability going. Oh, and while we’re on the subject, can We The Media please stop this whole “The Senate has traditionally been a partisan dumping ground” line? It’s a gross exaggeration of the truth, and it neglects the fact that a lot of eminently qualified people who weren’t just party hacks were appointed. Yes, some of them chose to behave a bit unfortunately once appointed because they thought they had do (particularly true of the way that Harper’s poor appointment process corrupted a generation of senators), but on the whole? We had some pretty great appointments on both sides for a lot of years. Stephen Harper and his PMO upsetting the balance should not be held up as the norm of the chamber’s history any more than the small number of senators with questionable expenses should be treated as a reflection on the vast majority who didn’t. But by all means, keep repeating the received wisdom (and in some cases mendacious gossip) about the Chamber and its denizens. It’s really helping us live up to our role of educating the public as to what goes on in Parliament.

Good reads:

• The Supreme Court has reserved judgment on the question of granting the government a six-month extension on doctor-assisted dying.
• With oil inching toward $20 per barrel, you’d better believe the finance minister is painting a bleak picture of economic growth forecasts.
• Low morale is but another problem at the gong show that is Shared Services Canada.
• Canadian NGOs trying to raise money to help Syrians affected by the war (who aren’t coming to Canada) say they need more help.
• Frank McKenna said that immigrants should be required to live in Atlantic Canada for at least five years to help boost the population, and I can’t even.
• With Chrystia Freeland headed to the World Economic Forum in Davos with the PM, here’s a look at some of her previous writing about the summit.
• The Hill Times dug deeper into the case of that Senate administration officer being fired, and some of the friction in that bureaucracy.
• Vandals marked the anniversary of Sir John A Macdonald’s birth (and if it’s over Indigenous issues, then they’re really woefully undereducated about the history).
• Here’s an interesting discussion on the “value-added fallacy” in economic circles.
• Aaron Wherry looks at the job facing Thomas Mulcair in order to convince his party to keep him on as leader.
• Stephen Gordon writes about how the Harper and Trudeau governments have responded to their respective financial crises.

Odds and ends:

Kady O’Malley looks through the recent gift disclosures reported to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.

The Dominion Carillonneur has not only set up a teaching system, but has plans for how to keep up the music while the Centre Block undergoes renovations.

Here’s a look at the upcoming 150^th anniversary celebrations of the Parliamentary Press Gallery.

Busy day in London – mtg Dep Nat'l Sec Advisor, heads of MI5 + JTAC, Chair of UK Parl Cmte on Sec+Intell, SecState Justice (1/2)

— Ralph Goodale (@RalphGoodale) January 11, 2016

Useful discussion on security in London tonight w/ UK experts – David Anderson, Malcolm Rifkind, David Omand + Charles Farr (2/2)

— Ralph Goodale (@RalphGoodale) January 11, 2016