Reality check: Conservative caucus retreat agenda amendments

Over the last month, some Conservative MPs have been surprisingly open about the agenda items they plan to raise during their caucus retreat this week. See if you can spot the one that Prime Minister Stephen Harper would prefer to keep behind closed doors!

• Item 1: Harper government’s policy on electing Senators
  “I am a firm believer that the appointment process is quick and cheap ... You can get a cross-section of the people that you want in this place to be those involved in the sober second thought process.” - Senator Richard Neufeld. July 7, 2010
• Item 2: Harper government’s policy of shutting down the successful prison farm program

“If members of the local farming community are interested in matching ex-convicts, trained on a prison farm, with local farms providing room and board and employment as they transition from their previous location, I would be pleased to assist them in approaching Correctional Services Canada with this proposal,” - Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant. July 21, 2010

• Item 3: Harper government’s policy of not extending infrastructure deadlines in Saskatchewan
  "I understand where they're coming from, but the moment we extend the deadline, they're going to be like little kids with homework. All of a sudden, they're out playing in the park rather than getting their homework done." - Saskatoon-Humboldt MP Brad Trost. July 22, 2010
• Item 4: Chinese government influence in Canada
  "I know politicians who have done things that I think are antithetical to their character and I know those politicians to have been offered things whether they were lucrative business deals or sexual favours while they were over on foreign trips," – Calgary West MP Rob Anders. July 30, 2010
• Item 5: The role of Chinese consulates
  “footprints for their espionage activity” – Calgary West MP Rob Anders. July 31, 2010
• Item 6: A women’s right to choose
  “We will have in Canada a culture that supports life, from conception to natural death, we will see that come to pass. And secondly, I think we can declare together an end to the old debate about abortion, and the dawn of a new day in Canada where abortion will be unthinkable.” – Essex MP Jeff Watson. May 13, 2010
• Item 7: Stephen Harper’s leadership compared to past Conservative leaders
  “At first, one of his [Stephen Harper’s] weaknesses was his inability to show who he was. Brian Mulroney could give a great speech. He was telegenic. Harper has shied away from the media attention. The longer he is in office, the more he will ease into his own skin.” - Barrie MP Patrick Brown. August 3, 2010