| ‘A NEW NORMAL’ — Government House Leader MARK HOLLAND made it official Thursday. He wants the House to be permanently hybrid and laid out a plan for MPs to debate before the chamber rises for the summer. Cue the howls from Conservative benches. Tories have long called for a full return to in-person proceedings, claiming the hybrid option allows the government to dodge accountability. They also use the House's electronic voting app on a regular basis, because convenience is a powerful drug. — The pitch: “This is an important moment for Parliament,” Holland told the chamber after proposing changes to the standing orders. “This should be a signal that the House of the common people is a place where all can run — somebody who has a family, or who has challenges, is going to be afforded the flexibility to still represent their community.” — Behind the move: Earlier this year, a House committee advised that hybrid proceedings and an electronic voting app in use since 2021 be maintained indefinitely. As POLITICO’s MAURA FORREST chronicled at the time, some MPs — especially younger ones — say it’s their new normal, and they’re not going back. — Voting tomfoolery: Speaker ANTHONY ROTA dropped a dollop of passive aggression on the House in a Thursday statement. On Wednesday, Conservatives complained of technical difficulties during marathon votes on CHRYSTIA FREELAND's budget bill. Spoiler alert: There were no technical difficulties. It was a crudely executed delay tactic, the hybrid equivalent of a slow vote. — Rota called the Tories on it: House employees found little evidence of an app malfunction, he said. Rota found it “curious” and “even worrisome” that the complainants reported their issues from the opposition lobby, a room adjacent to the chamber — and didn't vote from their nearby seats. — Call to order: Rota backed into the blindingly obvious conclusion: “The chair suspects that these difficulties were not technical in nature.” His message to party whips and House leaders in the room: find a way to play your games that doesn't waste everyone's time. THE WEEK AHEAD — The House passed Freeland's budget bill at third reading in a Thursday vote. With that deck cleared, Holland laid out his government's priorities for the next week: → C-35: Families Minister KARINA GOULD's bill would enshrine long-term, fed-prov childcare funding and create the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care. MPs will debate the bill today. Holland anticipates a third-reading debate on Monday. → C-33: Today, the House will debate at second reading Transport Minister OMAR ALGHABRA's move to "strengthen the port system and railway safety." → C-41: Today, the House will also debate Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO's push to allow Canadians to undergo humanitarian assistance in terrorist-controlled areas. The House unanimously passed a motion that would speed up debate on the bill, which could pass third reading as soon as today. → C-48: Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI's bail-reform bill gets the second reading spotlight on Monday. → S-8: A Senate bill that amends immigration laws to expand the scope of inadmissibility to Canada based on sanctions will be debated at report stage on Tuesday. → C-22: Employment Minister CARLA QUALTROUGH's Canada disability benefit is back from the Senate, which submitted amendments, and will also be dealt with on Tuesday. → C-40: Also on Tuesday, Lametti's legislative effort to establish a Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission will be debated at second reading. The bill is informally known as David and Joyce Milgaard's Law. HE'S BACK — Briefly. Virtually. Former finance minister BILL MORNEAU testified at the House transport committee, a Thursday re-do after a headset malfunction kiboshed his earlier attempt at testimony. — On the agenda: McKinsey’s role in creating the Canada Infrastructure Bank. — The backdrop: Morneau testified from a sterile room, the only animating feature an apparent thermostat on the wall behind him. If you know your hex codes, you'll know the backing wall was the forgettable #d7c7ac — grayish-orange, according to one website, with far more gray than orange. If Morneau's goal was to avoid making news, mission accomplished. — The quote to remember: Morneau described DOMINIC BARTON's former global consulting firm as "working closely with the Department of Finance in what turned out to be a particularly effective partnership." Wait, no, that's what Morneau wrote in his memoir, “Where to From Here.” The former Cabmin wasn't nearly as precise about McKinsey's work with the feds during his hour of testimony. | 
