While the House of Commons may have risen for the summer on Friday, they did so with an unusual number of bills waiting to pass third reading, not to mention the fact that Bill C-7 on RCMP unionization is heading back to them after the Senate amends it (and those amendments have passed at the committee stage and are awaiting third reading vote). What is most unusual to me is the fact that C-7 was another bill that was in response to a Supreme Court decision that also was granted an extension, and still managed to miss its deadline and remains un-passed. Now, the government is prepared to allow it go un-passed through the summer, despite the fact that while it was under consideration on the Commons side, they insisted they couldn’t make substantive amendments to the bill because of the deadline. That deadline has passed, and they are willing to now let it go through the summer, the sense of urgency suddenly evaporated? How? It makes no sense. And looking at the other bills that they haven’t passed yet, there are two that are both awaiting Third Reading and could have passed if they’d sat for an extra couple of days: C-2 on their vaunted income tax changes, and C-4 on undoing the Conservatives’ changes to labour rights. Why they’re letting these languish through the summer – particularly C-4, which keeps some pretty onerous regulations for labour unions on the books – is frankly mystifying.

I will say that the mood in the Commons was strangely exhausted by the time Friday rolled around, when they hadn’t even been doing late-night sittings up to this point in order to get things passed an off to the Senate (often with the expectation to get those bills passed as well before rising themselves). In fact, normally by this time, MPs are outright feral, and the tone in the Commons could generally be compared to jeering, hooting baboons. Mind you, we had The Elbowing and that associated drama a few weeks ago, and as someone remarked to me the other day (and if I could remember who you were when I had this conversation, I would credit you), they basically peaked too soon this year. And that very well could be. It still makes no sense that they would leave these two bills on the Order Paper waiting for final debate, or not waiting for C-7 to come back from the Senate. But then again, there have been a lot of questionable choices made this spring, so perhaps we should chalk it up to more of that.

Good reads:

• Ralph Goodale talks about the new committee of parliamentarians on national security and his hopes for how robust it will be.
• As finance ministers meet to talk CPP, the government is linking the need with high household debt, while critics say this contradicts Morneau’s own recent positions.
• Senator Joyal wants the provinces to challenge the assisted dying law before the courts so the costs won’t be borne by suffering individuals.
• The Chair of the Senate’s internal economy committee had to apologise for renaming Independent senators as “non-aligned” without consultation.
• It looks like the deal to lift visa restrictions on Mexico won’t be finished in time for the Three Amigos summit at the end of the month.
• Trudeau is calling for patience on pot legalisation as people keep demanding immediate decriminalisation for possession.
• Here’s a look at the odd situation of Robert-Falcon Oulette giving an impassioned speech about minimum income, then voting against it.
• Here’s more about that whole situation of Google searches on the PMO website, and why it wasn’t actually nefarious.
• The government wants the Supreme Court to weigh in on the final disposition of Truth and Reconciliation Commission testimony records.
• The government has to decide if they want to continue investing in the submarine fleet into the 2030s, so the Navy can plan its operational cycles.
• Conservative leadership candidates went to a barbecue in Calgary, and talked smack about the government. (Look surprised, everyone!)
• From Alberta but relevant federally – why a carbon tax is not a sales tax.
• Jen Gerson wonders if the NDP actually wants to win elections based on how their leadership race is shaping up.

Odds and ends:

The PM attended the “Paddle the Rouge” event in Toronto over the weekend.