With Parliament on break until Jan. 26, most politicians are busy back in their ridings and some are on the road preparing for the last sitting before this year's federal election.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will participate in ongoing security briefings this week, in light of last week's terrorist attacks in Paris, according to his office. His office also said he will be looking ahead to a Feb. 18 summit in Washington focused on fighting violent extremism.U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the meeting Sunday following a meeting with European security ministers in France.
The world will also continue to keep a close eye on Paris, where 20 people, including three gunmen, were killed in terrorist attacks last week. Police are still on the hunt for Hayat Boumeddiene, a woman described as an accomplice in one of last week’s attacks. But French police may be too late in their search for Boumeddiene. Turkish authorities told The Associated Press that she may be in Syria after vanishing near the Turkish-Syrian border last week.
Canadian political watchers will be closely watching Capitol Hill Monday, where the U.S. Senate is planning a test vote on a bill authorizing the construction of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline. The House of Representatives approved an identical bill Friday. Obama has repeatedly threatened to veto the bill – and Republicans don't appear to have enough votes to override a presidential veto.
On Monday, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt will make an announcement in Guelph supporting auto sector jobs and innovation. Raitt is getting back into the swing of things following a couple of months off for surgery to remove a growth on her ovaries. Last month, to her relief, Raitt found out that the mass was not cancer.
The Native Women's Association of Canada and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action will host a press conference in Ottawa Monday responding to the Inter-American Commissions’ Report on Canada’s Failure to Address the High Rates of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau continues Northern tour Monday, with a stop in Iqaluit, where he will host a roundtable discussion with Nunavut business and economic development leaders, and host a community feast at a local school.
And the Bank of Canada will release its winter issues of the Business Outlet Survey and the Senior Loan Officer Survey.
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair has a busy Thursday lined up. He will have his caucus in Ottawa Thursday for a "strategy session" and, later that evening, host newly-elected Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Leader Perry Bellegarde for dinner at Stornoway, the residence of the Leader of the Official Opposition.
With files from the Associated Press
