We are now well into Cabinet leak territory, and right now the news is that Chrystia Freeland will indeed be moving – but we don’t know where. We do know that François-Philippe Champagne will replace her at Foreign Affairs, that Pablo Rodriguez will be the new Government House Leader (after we already heard that Steven Guilbeault will take over Canadian Heritage), plus Seamus O’Regan moving to Natural Resources, that Jonathan Wilkinson is taking over Environment and Catherine McKenna will take over Infrastructure. We’re also hearing from Quebec media that Jean-Yves Duclos will take over Treasury Board, and that Mélanie Joly is due for a promotion – but no hint as to what it means otherwise. Still no word on Public Safety, which is a huge portfolio that will need a very skilled hand to deal with in the absence of Ralph Goodale.

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1196922355181924352

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1196922357073489920

https://twitter.com/JenniferRobson8/status/1196959319994056705

Meanwhile, some of the other roles that Trudeau needs to decide who are not in Cabinet will include the whip, parliamentary secretaries, and considerations for committee chairs (though he won’t have the final say on those as they are ostensibly elected by the committees themselves, and it’s the whips who largely determine who will sit on which committee). Committees are especially important in a hung parliament, so this could mean big roles for those who didn’t make it into Cabinet.

Good reads:

• A strike by rail workers at CN Rail has the Conservatives and Alberta government demanding Parliament be immediately recalled to pass back-to-work legislation.
• Boeing is making a renewed pitch to the federal government to choose the Super Hornets instead of the F-35 as the new Canadian fighter.
• Here’s a look at how Canada is somewhat caught in the middle as the future of NATO is being debated in Europe.
• Canada voted against Israel at the UN on a vote about Palestinian self-determination and more importantly, against the US.
• The Federal Court has sided with the federal government in ordering the Inuit in Nunavik to reduce their polar bear hunt.
• Here’s a look at a remote Quebec community getting 4G LTE mobile service thanks to the federal government’s connectivity programme, and the challenges with it.
• Brian Mulroney is encouraging all political leaders to be bolder on tackling climate change, even if it riles up their base.
• The NDP held a gimmicky mass-swearing-in for all of their 24 MPs yesterday.
• Former NDP leader Thomas Mulcair is now shilling for homeopathy.
• Surprising nobody, the Ontario PC government spent $231 million to scrap a wind farm they claimed wouldn’t cost a cent.
• Rachel Notley was named and escorted from the Alberta legislature after she refused to withdraw the accusation that the Chamber was being misled.
• Jason Markusoff reminds us of the conditions as to why Jason Kenney is acting as brazen as he is with firing the Elections Commissioner in Alberta.
• Kevin Carmichael offers some advice to Bill Morneau (assuming he stays in finance) about the files he needs to pay attention to this parliament.

Odds and ends:

My latest for the CBA’s National Magazine looks at why it’s so hard to get people – and most especially lawyers – to care about legal aid and advocate for it.

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.