Mountie misbehaviour has once again reared its ugly head.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police took another hit to its beleaguered reputation this week when two female officers went to the  media with complaints about a systemic problem of sexual harassment within RCMP ranks.

This scandal is the latest in a series of incidents that have marred the national police force:

In 2007 RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned after he admitted he had given incorrect testimony to a parliamentary committee looking into the Maher Arar affair.

Also in 2007, the Taser death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski spurred loud questions about RCMP accountability.

Earlier this year, commissioner William Elliot, the first civilian to lead the RCMP, was forced to resign after an internal revolt because of his "abrasive" leadership style.

More recently, major gaffes by RCMP officers in the Robert Pickton investigation are being highlighted as part of the Missing Women's Inquiry in British Columbia.

From big cities to small villages, Canadians of all ages gather Friday amid the mournful skirl of bagpipes and tears to honour the country's war dead. A hand reaches out to place a poppy on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier following Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa, Wednesday November 11, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian WyldEvery November, it seems, a debate ensues about whether or not Remembrance Day should be a national holiday - currently Ontario and Quebec do not deem it a 'stat-day'.

The Liberals and New Democrats are calling on the Harper government to legislate Remembrance Day as a federal statutory holiday ahead of the centennial of the First World War.

"I think there needs to be more recognition of the day, and while the federal government itself shuts down (and Parliament takes a break), otherwise life proceeds apace," Liberal leader Bob Rae told the Globe and Mail, adding the 100th anniversary of the First World War, in 2014, will "trigger an outpouring of feeling here and all over Europe."

NDP MP Bob Stoffer also supports a national day-off.

"I just think that's the one day we should put the mercantile system away and just reflect," the Nova Scotia MP told the Globe

"And have some fun. Go to your local legion hall ... sit down with these folks and have a couple of 'pops,' as Don

Recently released government documents indicate the country's senators continue to rack up the bills at taxpayers' expense.

In the last fiscal year, member's of Canada's upper chamber spent nearly $7.2-million on travel and more than $13.2-million on other expenses, according to a report in the National Post.

Ironically, the only elected person in the Senate, Bert Brown, is the country's most expensive senator.

Brown, who was appointed to the senate in 2007 after being nominated to be a senator-in-waiting by the voters of Alberta, spent nearly $180,000 on travel and another $151,000 for "research assistance, staff and other expenses."

Big spenders in the most recent quarter ending August 31, 2011 include Liberal senator James Cowan ($44,568) and Conservative senator Gerry St. Germain ($33,065) who, in 2009,  sheepishly admitted to flying first-class to and from Ottawa.

While senators are expected to provide data on their total expenditures they're not required to publicly disclose

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty waits to give his economic update in Calgary.During the run-up to the May election, the Conservatives made several campaign promises with the following caveat: "We will do 'x' once the the budget is balanced."

Now, with the Harper government pushing back its timeline to balance the books, many of the promises that helped them get elected appear to be in jeopardy.

In her blog on Wednesday, Global News journalist Amy Minsky notes that depending when the government decides to hold the next election, the Conservatives might miss the boat on all of those promises.

"If the Conservatives follow the fixed election law, which they passed in 2007, the next election would be on the third Monday in October, in the fourth calendar year after the last general election," Minsky wrote.

"That date, Oct. 19, 2015, falls half-way through the fiscal year during which the Tories are now saying the budget will be balanced — which leaves limited time to implement policy."

Conservative party promises that hinge on a balanced budget:

- Family tax cut:

Interim Liberal Party leader Bob Rae speaks to his Caucus members on Parliament Hill in Ottawa August 29, 2011. REUTERS/Dave ChanThe Liberal Party of Canada executive is expected to unveil a series of proposed reforms in a report later this week in an attempt to re-brand the once mighty party.

According to the Globe and Mail, one of those proposals is for the Liberals to adapt the American system of political primaries to a Canadian setting when the party chooses a new leader in 2013.

While many Liberals have been touting primaries as a way to re-engage an apathetic electorate,  its detractors say the proposal smells of desperation from a party looking to find itself after a May 2 election that saw them relegated to third party status.

Currently, like most other parties in Canada, the Liberal Party leader is chosen by a vote of all paid-up party members. But only a tiny fraction of the population actually belongs to a political party.

The Americans, in contrast, choose their presidential candidates by holding primaries or caucuses in each state over the course of several months, with all those who identify

A prostitute walks on the street at Oranienburgen Strasse in Berlin's central district Mitte September 14, 2010. REUTERS/Fabrizio BenschLetting a website domain name lapse and expire isn't really a big deal — unless you're the federal government.

On Tuesday, David Pugaliese of the Ottawa Citizen reported the Centennial of Flight domain name, formerly owned by Transport Canada, is now under new ownership who are advertising prostitutes in Istanbul, Turkey, and Washington, DC.

To make matters worse, the website, which is still linked to by several federal department websites, was using logos from Centennial of Flight sponsors such as National Defence, Transport Canada and NAV Canada.

Pugaliese says the new owners left a notice on their website to explain why:

"To previous domain owner: We bought this domain after expiration so it's not our fault that you lost it. We put old content for this domain only to avoid losing good quality of it from (Search Engine Optimization) point of view. If it's a problem for you contact us ASAP!"

Chuck Black, editor of Commercial Space, an aviation and space industry website, says the cost

If you have $500,000 laying around, you can buy yourself a Green Card through a little-known immigrant investor pilot program in the United States.

The EB-5 Regional Centre program,  allocates 5,000 visas a year for individuals who invest $500,000 into one of over 200 US Government designated investment funds across the country.

With job creation now a top political issue and traditional sources of capital hard to find, U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen is sponsoring a bill that would permanently authorize the program, currently set to expire on September 30, 2012.

"(The EB5 program) is one way to seek direct investment into our communities in order to create jobs," Larsen told a press conference in Bellingham, Washington, Tuesday, noting that there over 20 countries around the world, including Canada, with similar types of programs.

"If we aren't in a position to receive this capital investment, it's going to go somewhere else because other countries recognize how important it is to bring

A recent study  gives  credence to the belief that the environment issue has fallen off the Harper government radar.

According to a report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, released Monday, Canada is a long way off from meeting its targets to cut greenhouse gasses.

Specifically, the report states,  the federal and provincial governments are on track to achieve only half of the greenhouse-gas reductions the Harper government pledged to make under the Copenhagen Accord.

There is no doubt that over the past several years, the environment 'issue' has been upstaged by the economy.

In June, when asked what Canadians can expect to see in terms of long term sustainability and environmental strategies, environment minister Peter Kent answered by talking about the current financial crisis.

"Our government's principal responsibility, and we made this clear during the recent election campaign, is to keep the recent economic recovery on course. It's still a fragile