Canada Post has announced that it will phase out urban home delivery over the next five years in favour of community mailboxes. Not only that, but they will raise stamps to $1 apiece, and that they will reduce their workforce by attrition. The government supports this plan, while the postal union and seniors groups are opposed. CBC has six myths and realities about Canada Post. PostMedia breaks down the numbers at Canada Post. The CEO of Canada Post, Deepak Chopra (no, not that Deepak Chopra) also serves on the board of directors of the Conference Board of Canada, whose reports seemed to suggest these very changes. Andrew Coyne argues that this is the time to eliminate Canada Post’s monopoly.

MPs are looking at creating standardised agreements with their staff, rather than doing it ad hoc as most parties do now. The problem? A lifetime confidentiality agreement is included in it, meaning that they can’t discuss what went on in those offices, even after they leave. The NDP staffers’ union is promising to fight this. As Rob Silver puts it, however, all this does is create a new legion of “unnamed former staffers” in media reporting.

In his year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Justin Trudeau doesn’t apologise for unscripted gaffes saying that it keeps him more authentic than being scripted within an inch of his life. He also mentions that while he supports the aim of the Reform Act, he finds it difficult to square the ability of caucus to turf a leader that has been chosen by a broad grassroots constituency – which is the point I’ve been making all along that if you want to empower the caucus to depose the leader, that means also empowering them to choose that leader. In his year-ender with CBC’s Power and Politics, Trudeau spoke about the Canada Post issue, played into the North Pole/Santa Claus debate, and explained his comments about China.

Federal unions plan to challenge the constitutionality of the latest omnibus budget bill, and in particular the labour code provisions within it.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer says that the cost of shipbuilding will continue to be high so long as we’re built in Canada.  I’m not sure how this is a surprise to anyone.

The NDP wants an investigation into privacy breaches at the Canada Revenue Agency.

Here is your daily Reform Act musing by Aaron Wherry.

Suspended Senator Patrick Brazeau has been denied a press gallery membership as he is still technically a senator.

NDP MP Nycole Turmel wants to have school choirs come sing the National Anthem in the Commons on Wednesdays instead of MPs. Really? Aside from the logistics, the cost, and the procedural nightmare of finding an acceptable way to have these children on the floor of the Commons while the Mace is on the table, what’s wrong with MPs doing it, even if they are terrible singers? File this idea in the one marked “ridiculous.”

Down in Washington, our next Ambassador, Bruce Heyman, faced his nomination hearing by US senators, who asked him about Keystone XL, Intellectual Property protections, and the claims on the North Pole.

And government lawyers want Helena Guergis’ latest lawsuit thrown out unless she can come up with the $124,960 she’s racked up in legal fees so far that she is obliged to pay. The problem? That she’s doing it at $30 per month, which means that we won’t see its completion until 2360 to pay the principle.