Presented with a petition demanding he return to Ottawa, Conservative MP Larry Miller offers to sit for an extra 12 days this July.

Reached by telephone, Miller said the past few weeks have been among his “busiest on record.” He said he has met with many constituents. He said the Conservative government plans to “make up” 10 of the 22 sitting days missed by prorogation. ”If the issue is the 22 (missed) Parliament sitting days, we already have plans to make up 10 of those days and, as far as I’m concerned, we can make up the other 12 in July,” Miller said. “We’ll take them out of the summer break. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Dean Del Mastro, even more committed to Parliamentary democracy, is willing to sit through all of July and August.

The Conservative MP for Peterborough pines for simpler times, before television and the Internet messed everything up.

Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro said he doesn’t understand the controversy surrounding his government’s decision to prorogue Parliament until March 3. ”I don’t really understand the current reaction. Government has been prorogued 105 times,” Del Mastro told a group of Rotarians. “Maybe Canadians just don’t understand that that’s been part of our parliamentary system since we formed it.”

Del Mastro made the comments Monday, fielding questions after speaking to the Rotary Club of Peterborough during its weekly meeting at the Holiday Inn. Del Mastro pointed the finger at the media as part of the reason many Canadians have voiced anger about the issue. ”The fact that this has been highlighted is probably an effect of 24-hour news,” he said.

MPs discussing a private member’s bill proposing an apology and compensation for Italian Canadians (about 700) who were interned during the Second World War might want to read this book, introduced and summarized here.

Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro’s assertion that those detained were “just everyday people going about their lives” when they were “pulled off the streets” doesn’t stand up to the scrutiny of historians who have studied the issue.

After Question Period just now, Navdeep Bains rose on a point of order to allege that Vic Toews, Conservative frontbencher and president of the treasury board, had used a “gun-like gesture” during QP.

Mr. Toews rose in response and accused Bob Rae of not sufficiently supporting Canadian soldiers.

Conservative Mark Warawa rose to accuse Mr. Bains of making the same gesture, a point Mr. Bains appeared to find ridiculous.

Mr. Bains repeated his assertion that Mr. Toews should apologize.

Mr. Rae rose to loudly refute Mr. Toews’ insinuation.

Mr. Toews rose to repeat his original insinuation.

A short while later, deputy government house leader Tom Lukiwski rose to apologize for a factual error contained in one of the government’s ten percenters.

Oh good, now there’s video.

Heartening for sure to see Mr. Del Mastro championing the cause of common human decency after last year’s use of the word “traitor” and subsequent refusal to apologize for same.

Michelle Simson twitters a clarification.

Nowhere did I make fun of someones weight.

Mr. Del Mastro is apparently displeased. Simson has apologized.

Liberal MP Michelle Simson twitters from committee.

In committee this morning. M.P. Del Mastro should grow up (not out)

Gosh, I hate to see a grown M.P. pout. Smile, Dean!

The Scene. Shortly before Question Period began this afternoon, Jack Layton stood with something to say.

“Mr. Speaker, citizens appoint a member of this House to represent their values of cooperation and mutual respect,” he posited. “During Question Period we have been witnessing undeniably sexist heckling from members of the government side. This abuse is growing hotter, it is growing more frequent, and there is more bullying.”

For this, he was, of course, heckled and jeered.

“I can hear some of it now, except in this case it is not targeting women as it does all too often in this chamber. It targets women representing opposition parties, all the opposition parties in the House,” Mr. Layton continued. “Sexist bullying cannot be justified in Canada and can never be tolerated in our Parliament. As a parliamentarian, as a man, a father, a grandfather, I call on the government’s leadership to really get a grip on its members and set a higher standard.”

Members of all three opposition parties stood to applaud the NDP leader’s call. Government members sat impassively. Asked afterwards, Mr. Layton declined to specify any particular taunts of a particularly sexist nature. Continue…

To Twitter we go.

mpjamesmoore I see Lib MP Carolyn Bennett, one of the loudest, nastiest & most frequent hecklers in Parliament complains about heckling in the Star today

Carolyn_Bennett James Moore nds 2 understand difference between heckling at WHOPPERS&insensitvity.Here’s my takehttp://www.thestar.com/News…

Mr. Moore was similarly scolding of Gilles Duceppe’s behaviour last week. And for sure Mr. Moore comes by his understanding of inappropriate heckling quite honestly.

(To his misfortune, that one is preserved in Hansard for all eternity. To his credit, when a complaint was filed with the Speaker, Mr. Moore stood, apologized and withdrew the remark. Two days later, Dean Del Mastro was caught using the same word and refused to do likewise.)

The Scene. Michael Ignatieff stood and, perhaps feeling a bit parched, took a sip of water. Putting down his glass, he proceeded with his supposition.

The Prime Minister, the Liberal leader said, was planning to increase employment insurance premiums. This, he said, will deter employers from hiring. And this, he explained, would add to the tax burden. Across the way, Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro was loudly displeased.

“Will the Prime Minister admit,” Mr. Ignatieff finished, “that he is raising taxes and that tax increases will kill jobs?”

Shaking his head and shrugging, the Prime Minister stood with his version of events.

“Mr. Speaker, on the contrary,” he said, “this government has frozen premiums for employment insurance for this year and next. In the long term, these rates are determined by an independent commission.”

Mr. Ignatieff listened to this response, then stood with a conclusion.

“Mr. Speaker,” he explained, “this means that ‘Yes, we’ll raise taxes.’” Continue…

The Scene. Ralph Goodale stood looking dapper and displeased.

“Mr. Speaker,” he began, “a third of a million Canadians have lost their jobs under the Conservative government.”

“You’re next Ralph,” chirped Conservative Jeff Watson from the further reaches of the government side.

“Tens of thousands cannot get the employment insurance they paid for, because Conservatives insist on eligibility rules designed for the beginning of a boom,” Goodale continued undaunted. “But the boom has gone bust. The C.D. Howe Institute, the Conference Board, the TD Bank—these are not socialist organizations—and they all say the Conservatives are wrong on EI. Why will the Prime Minister not help all of the jobless workers who are suffering through his recession regardless of where they live?”

“Oh Ralph,” moaned a Conservative at Goodale’s assigning our current predicament to our current Prime Minister.

Unfortunately, Mr. Harper was not present. And though normally that would’ve been the cue for Diane Finley, the Human Resources Minister, to stand and dismiss the Liberal complaint, this time the government sent up Tony Clement. Continue…

The Scene. At six minutes past nine, after pantomiming a bang of the gavel for benefit of the TV cameras, David Tilson, chair of the standing committee on citizenship and immigration, asked that photographers clear the room and called the meeting to order. To his left sat members of parliament from the three opposition parties. To his right, half a dozen MPs from the government.

Along the walls of the committee room, sat staffers for each party. In the audience sat half a dozen reporters, a smattering of spectators and one aide to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

Three flat-screen TVs were set up around the room, one behind the government side for the opposition to look at, one behind the opposition for the government to look at, another at far end of the room for the benefit of spectators. On the screen, around a table in a poorly lit beige boardroom at some other location, sat two nannies, one advocate for their plight and a lawyer acting on their behalf.

The advocate, Ms. Pura Velasco, told the committee that she had submitted a brief to the committee. Tilson informed her that no such brief had been received. (Later, he would confirm that a brief had arrived, but it was still being translated into both official languages.) Whatever the case, Mr. Tilson then asked Ms. Velasco, Ms. Magdalene Gordo and Ms. Richelyn Tongson if they wished to make opening statements. They indicated they did.

With that, the show trial began. Continue…

Stephen Harper, Dec. 1. “I would certainly not want to find myself governing this economy today in a situation that required me to follow socialist economics and to be at the behest of a veto of the separatists.”

James Moore, heckling Gilles Duceppe, Dec. 1. “Traitor!”

Stephen Harper, Dec. 2. “The Canadian people made a choice to elect the Conservative Party to govern, without the support of the separatists.”

Dean Del Mastro, heckling Jack Layton, Dec. 3. “Jack, you’re a traitor.”

Stephen Harper, Dec. 3. “The Liberal Party leader proposes to help the economy by signing a pact with the Quebec sovereignists to govern the country. This is not a plan to improve the economy; it is a plan to destroy this country, which is why he should withdraw his proposal.”

Canadian Press, tonight. “The Harper government has sketched out a road map that would see it avoid an election in this recession year and survive to bask in the glory of the 2010 Olympic Games … The Tories need to stave off defeat in confidence votes until then and are considering ways to secure support from the NDP and Bloc Quebecois on a case-by-case basis … The Bloc will table its own list of economic demands Thursday, and they have been pushing for EI changes as well as a tax-harmonization deal for Quebec … One senior Conservative said there will be plenty of ways for the parties to work together. ‘We’re hopeful they’d want to work with us. … Maybe cooler heads will prevail,’ he said.”

Tim Uppal rose just now and attempted a rant against Michael Ignatieff, only to be cut short by deputy speaker Andrew Scheer (a Conservative, for the record).

Dean Del Mastro was allowed to use his statement to both mock Peter Milliken’s ruling and criticize former Liberal policies.

Conservative Leon Benoit was allowed to say that “someone” wants to introduce a carbon tax and raise the GST.