Opposition still seeing red, even on Black Friday

OTTAWA – It may be Black Friday elsewhere, but opposition politicians in Ottawa are still seeing red over the Senate spending scandal.

Gaining more traction on the issue may be difficult, however, as the week comes to an end and front-line politicians keep their distance from Parliament Hill’s question period.

A Senate committee pulled few answers yesterday from auditors over allegations of influence from the prime minister’s office of an audit of Senator Mike Duffy’s living expenses.

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Liberal senators were also rebuffed in their efforts to gain testimony from Michael Runia, one of the managing partners at the auditing firm Deloitte, who the Mounties allege in court documents called the lead auditor on the Duffy file at the request of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Outside of question period, here are some of the events expected to take place in and around Parliament Hill today:

– The Supreme Court of Canada will issue its decision in the appeal of a wrongful dismissal suit filed by Tissa Amaratunga against the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization. NAFO has argued that it has international immunity from such lawsuits.

– Privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart will give her final speech as commissioner, at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s annual dinner.  The government named Chantal Bernier earlier this week as the interim replacement for Stoddart, who is stepping down Monday after a 10-year term.

– The National Farmers Union is in day three of its four-day, 44th annual convention, under the banner Growing Resistance.

– Statistics Canada will release the Canadian economic accounts for the third-quarter of this year, along with the GDP by industry for September and a study measuring ecosystem goods and services.

– And just south of Ottawa, Minister of State for FedDev Ontario Gary Goodyear will speak at the Ontario East Economic Development Commission meeting in Winchester, Ont.