OTTAWA - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's plans to deal with a flagging economy will dominate the agenda when Parliament returns Nov. 18, a senior government official said Wednesday.
Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean will deliver a throne speech outlining the new government's priorities the following day.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is to announce his shuffled cabinet on Thursday, while new MPs arrive this week for orientation.
Flaherty will stay on as finance minister, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Global economic instability and its negative impact on Canada will "dominate the life of the government and this Parliament," said the official.
"The No. 1 concern is the economy," he said. "We're in a great period of economic instability and a softening of the global economy."
The minority government will take a measured, "responsible" approach to economic turmoil abroad and its effects on Canada, he said.
"We have a much more experienced team than we did two-and-a-half years ago."
NDP Leader Jack Layton said he's looking for Harper to set a co-operative tone for the 40th Parliament, Canada's third minority government in a row.
But Layton said he's not particularly hopeful, given that Harper has not yet called any of the opposition leaders to discuss the coming fall session.
"I'm not a betting man so I'm not going to suggest what the probability of a change in direction is," said Layton.
"I just simply say that it's time for Mr. Harper to begin to work with other parties and to change the tone."
Layton said the NDP is prepared to work with other parties. "Let's hope there's some reciprocation."
"If there ever was a time for us to come together with some common policies, this is it," he said. "And so far what we've seen is the same old approach. We're looking for a more activist approach."
The government source said telephone calls were being placed Wednesday and Harper's Conservative administration is "committed to a course of consultation with opposition parties."
"Our anticipation is to have those meetings prior to the economic and fiscal update."
Harper's office, meanwhile, announced that the prime minister had spoken by telephone with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday.
They discussed the global financial crisis and the meeting of G20 leaders and heads of the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and World Bank scheduled for Nov. 15 in Washington. Emphasizing the need for consultation and co-operation, all agreed to touch base again before the meeting.
The government source offered little on the makeup of Harper's new cabinet, but said the government leader in the Senate will be the only non-elected member.
The official dodged the question when asked if the Conservatives have tried to entice MPs from other parties to join the Tories in exchange for a cabinet post.
"I'm not going to comment on that."
The official was pressed on the fact that the Tories did not elect anyone from Montreal.
Senator Michael Fortier, who was parachuted into the red chamber by the Conservatives in 2006 and served as an unelected public works minister, was defeated in his bid for a Montreal-area seat.
The government official said Harper has no similar plans this time.
"There will be only one member of the Senate in the cabinet ... the leader of the government in the Senate," Marjory LeBreton.
"So you can infer from that, that responsibility for regions that did not elect a Conservative MP will come from people who were elected to the House of Commons."
Reporters covering the briefing noted that the official said "people" who were elected, not Conservatives, perhaps leaving the door open to a surprise floor-crossing.
The source would not give a date for the fiscal update -- essentially a mini-budget -- but it is widely expected to be delivered in mid-November.
Harper's Conservatives won 143 of 308 seats in the Oct. 14 federal election. The Liberals took 77, the Bloc Quebecois held 49, the NDP had 37 and there were two Independents.
