Every so often I have little things that cross my desk in Ottawa or in the constituency, but they don’t always amount to a full column. There is also government legislation I think people might like to hear about, so I am combining both this week in an odds and ends column.

How much does it cost to buy a new couch? How much does it cost to have two chairs with a couch? Well, in an MP’s office on Parliament Hill, it costs $3,500 to reupholster a cloth couch and a couple of chairs. (Some furniture sets are 20-30 years old.) More than one MP has pointed out that it would be cheaper to buy a new set, but for some bureaucratic reason, this is not allowed.

The New Conservative government is announcing an expenditure review, an initiative that will save $1 Billion. The reason this needs to be done is to clean up some of the waste in government. Once the money is saved, expect to see tax cuts come spring. Also expect to hear the usual whining from various groups that will have their access to government money cut off.

A Bill to set fixed election dates every four years is working its way through Parliament. The Bill establishes Monday, October 19, 2009 as the date of the next general election. Once the general election is held, the following election would be set for the third Monday in October, four calendar years in the future. There would still be the odd occasion when an election would be held at other times of the year, because a government was defeated.

A new program to help Canadians save on energy costs has been announced by the federal government. The old EnerGuide program was cancelled because Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn determined that only 50 per cent of the funding was going to homeowners for renovations. The remainder was spent on audits by inspectors and administration costs.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament, and I welcome your feedback. Write or call my offices.