OTTAWA — It’s the time of year when people on Parliament Hill start watching the calendar — and getting nervous. With just weeks to go before the Commons adjourns for a three-month vacation, there’s speculation of a summer cabinet shuffle and a fresh agenda for Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s government when MPs return in the fall.
The House is officially scheduled to sit until June 22, but Liberal insiders say they hope to clean up the legislative backlog a week or 10 days earlier, barring any procedural roadblocks by the opposition.
That will clear the way for the ministerial shuffle Chretien has been contemplating since last fall’s election. It is unclear, however, whether he will act as soon as the House rises or wait until later — possibly just before or after the Liberal caucus gathers for a strategy session in Edmonton in August.
