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Prime Minister Stephen Harper watches Canada take on Sweden in the gold-medal game during Olympic women’s curling action at the Olympic Centre on Friday. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

Let the political games begin — again.

Amid the afterglow of Olympic euphoria, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives will launch a new parliamentary session this week aimed at steering the country through a fragile economic recovery.

When he decided to delay Parliament five weeks beyond its scheduled Jan. 25 return, the prime minister might have hoped that lingering patriotic fervour from the Vancouver Winter Games would spill over onto his government.

Instead, the Tories return to work locked in a dead heat with the Liberals, their pre-Christmas lead in opinion polls frittered away amid the public outcry over Harper’s decision to suspend Parliament.

While they’re keeping their election sabres sheathed for now, opposition parties are hoping to continue stoking those prorogation fires even after Parliament gets back to work.

Harper maintained the extended break was necessary to “recalibrate” the government’s agenda as it makes the transition from a stimulative spending binge to post-recession deficit reduction.

Now the pressure is on to demonstrate in Wednesday’s throne speech and Thursday’s budget just what the government has been doing with its extra Parliament-free time.

No budget surprises

Already, Tories are signalling there’ll be no big new spending or tax measures in what is expected to be essentially a stand-pat budget. It will continue with the second phase of the economic action plan unveiled in last year’s budget, including $19 billion in stimulus spending, and outline a long-term plan, starting next year, for reducing the record $56 billion deficit.

And that has opposition members wondering why the government needed any time off.

“All of the signals from the government [suggest] they are labouring mightily and coming forth with a mouse,” Liberal House leader Ralph Goodale said in an interview.

“So what was all this recalibration about? Not much, it would appear.”

But Tories maintain the government has put the extended break to good use, even if it doesn’t produce any big surprises in either the throne speech or budget.

Kory Teneycke, a former communications director for Harper, said prorogation has given the government “breathing space” from the daily election-jockeying of a minority Parliament to do some long-term planning for an economy that is at “a bit of a crossroads.”

“We’re into recovery. There’s another year of stimulus spending that needs to be rolled out but the agenda then shifts to trying to bring the budget back into balance and doing it in a way that doesn’t stall economic growth,” Teneycke said in an interview.

“It’s not something you do on a long weekend. It’s a long and involved process.”

Afghan detainee issue

But as far as the opposition is concerned, the absence of any dramatically new agenda proves Harper prorogued Parliament for other reasons. Namely, to shut down an opposition-driven investigation into allegations that prisoners captured by Canadian soldiers were routinely tortured by Afghan authorities.

On that issue, all three opposition parties intend to pick up precisely where they left off before Christmas. They are demanding that Harper abide by a motion, approved shortly before Parliament broke, ordering the government to produce all uncensored documents related to the Afghan detainee controversy.

The government has so far refused to comply, risking being found in contempt of Parliament and potentially sparking a constitutional crisis. However, opposition parties are treading carefully, refusing to speculate on their next move should the government continue to thumb its nose at the will of Parliament.

Teneycke predicted the opposition will ultimately back down because Canadians “by and large do not care” about “a four-year-old story about Taliban prisoners.”

“If they want to have an election on this issue, I would just say bring it.”

However, Bloc Québécois House Leader Pierre Paquette is encouraged by the fact that the government has agreed to quickly reconstitute the special committee on Afghanistan, which had been spearheading the investigation into the detainee controversy. He sees that as a sign the government will capitulate on the documents as well.

“If they want to work with some efficiency in the House, they have to understand they are a minority government and they have to work with the opposition,” Paquette said in an interview.

Jack Layton isn’t so sure about that.

The NDP leader managed to wring a few small concessions from Harper last fall in return for ensuring the government’s survival.

But after a recent meeting with the prime minister to lay out the NDP’s budget priorities, he found little “receptivity” to his ideas, particularly his call for cancellation of scheduled corporate tax cuts.

While he stressed the NDP prefers to keep Parliament working, Layton said Harper will have to demonstrate a willingness to collaborate if he wants to avoid an election this spring.

“It all depends what he does in the budget,” Layton said in an interview.

“Will [Tories] show up and poke everybody in the eye and try to provoke an election or will they recognize that the different parties have brought forward important ideas, some of which need to be incorporated in the budget?”

Goodale said Harper has not met with Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff nor have there been any House leaders’ meetings to discuss priorities for the new session — “not a good omen” for a collaborative session.

He said Liberals will wait to see the throne speech and budget — both of which will entail a series of confidence votes — before determining whether to support the government.

But Goodale added: “We’re not pushing for an election.”

Canadian speed skater Catriona Le May Doan lights the Olympic Cauldron during the closing ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver on Sunday. (Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)

The Canadian men finally put the finishing touches on the gold-medal hockey game with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the U.S. on a dramatic gold by Sidney Crosby.

Crosby’s goal not only captured Canada its 14th gold medal of the Games - a Winter Olympics record - but it also brought the conclusion the Vancouver Games.

All that remained was the closing ceremony.

Be sure to log on to CBCSports.ca and see what our CBC and National Post team had to say about the night’s festivities.

Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, right, dribbles past Toronto’s Sonny Weems during Sunday’s game. (Layne Murdoch/Getty Images)

Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Nenad Krstic had a rare three-pointer and added 16 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat Toronto 119-99 on Sunday night to send the Raptors to their third straight loss without all-star Chris Bosh.

Oklahoma City took control with an early 12-0 run and never got much of a challenge in the second half from the Raptors without their leading scorer and rebounder. The Thunder led by at least nine throughout the second half and were up by 28 at one point.

Jeff Green had 20 points and matched his career high with four steals, Russell Westbrook added 14 points, 10 assists and four steals, and rookie Serge Ibaka had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder.

Andrea Bargnani and Sonny Weems each had 14 points to lead Toronto, which has lost three or more consecutive games for only the third time this season.

Westbrook had the first seven points — five of them from the free-throw line — in an 11-2 run that put the game away for the Thunder late in the third quarter. James Harden’s layup completed the spurt and made it 87-66.

Durant’s two-handed jam off an alley-oop from Green made it 107-81 midway through the fourth quarter and Thunder coach Scott Brooks called timeout on Oklahoma City’s next possession to pull his starters.

The Thunder improved to 25-3 when scoring 100 or more this season.

Toronto had won its first two games after Bosh sprained his left ankle, albeit against lowly New Jersey and a Washington team without Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. But the Raptors couldn’t match their level of play from two nights earlier, when they pushed Cleveland to overtime in a loss.

Oklahoma City shot 52 per cent and outscored Toronto 21-10 on fast breaks.

Krstic had a three-point play and a layup underneath during a string of 12 straight points for Oklahoma City in the first quarter, and Durant made it 27-13 with his right-handed dunk with 3:58 left in the period.

Toronto pulled to 42-36 after back-to-back baskets by Rasho Nesterovic and Jose Calderon midway through the second quarter, but the Thunder responded immediately as Ibaka had a two-handed jam off a behind-the-back pass from Westbrook for Oklahoma City’s first of six points in a row.

Krstic, the Thunder’s seven-foot centre, hit his second career three-pointer to put Oklahoma City up 61-47 at halftime.

Canadian speedskater Catriona Le May Doan lights the Olympic cauldron during the closing ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics. (Robert Skinner/Canadian Press)

The closing ceremony of the Vancouver Games kicked off Sunday with typical Canadian self-deprecation, but quickly became a celebration of Canada and its athletic and cultural achievements — often with a twist of humour.

Mocking the awkward malfunction that delayed the lighting of the indoor cauldron at the opening ceremony, a mime went through the motions of pulling the fourth arm of the massive cauldron from the floor of BC Place.

Former speedskating champion Catriona Le May Doan emerged next, Olympic torch in hand, finally getting a chance to light the final arm.

With cheers still ringing from Vancouver to Charlottetown, after Canada’s dramatic gold-medal win Sunday afternoon over the U.S. in men’s hockey, athletes from around the world marched into the stadium following the playing of O Canada.

Athletes were waving the flags of their respective countries, dancing and cheering the kickoff of the closing ceremony, a less formal affair compared to the opening ceremony of the 17-day Games.

Joannie Rochette of Île-Dupas, Que., was Canada’s flag-bearer for the closing event. The 24-year-old figure skater captured the hearts of people around the world with her brilliant, resilient, bronze-medal performance in the wake of her mother’s sudden death at the start of the Vancouver Games.

Sporting wool sweaters adorned with moose heads and tuques, the Canadian athletes — many wearing their gold, silver or bronze medals around their necks — were the last to march into BC Place on Sunday.

Canadian tenor Ben Heppner sang the Olympic anthem, as Mounties brought down the five-ringed flag.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson handed the flag to International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, who passed it on to Anatoly Pakhomov, the mayor of Sochi, Russia, host of the 2014 Games.

A celebration of Russia followed.

Russia, athletes, volunteers saluted

The Moscow state chamber choir marched in, singing a haunting chorus, followed by dancers and their interpretive performance of Russian history and culture.

The Russian tribute was capped with an appearance from hockey star Alexander Ovechkin, figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, men’s silver medallist in 2010, and hockey legend Vladislav Tretiak.

John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver organizing committee (VANOC), paid tribute to athletes and volunteers that made the Vancouver Games possible. He spoke of the Olympic spirit as a “a force that can replace despair with hope, and ignite the human spirit.”

Furlong paid tribute to Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who was killed in a horrific training accident on the first day of the Games.

“To the people of Georgia, we are so sad and so sorry for your loss,” Furlong said, as the about 60,000 in attendance at BC Place stood to their feet and clapped. “Your unimaginable grief is shared by every Canadian, and all those that are gathered here.”

Rogge officially closed the Vancouver Games before Canadian singing legend Neil Young delighted the crowd with a moving rendition of Long May You Run.

Defenceman Drew Doughty was the youngest of a number of Canadian players under the age of 25 who made a big contribution to the gold medal. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

Sid the Kid rode to the rescue.

With a nation on the edge of their seats, gnawing on their fingernails and praying for divine intervention that the Vancouver Olympics would conclude with a gold medal in men’s hockey. One of Canada’s top dream achievers in Sidney Crosby made sure the country’s fantasy came to life with a dramatic overtime goal to give Canada a 3-2 win against the United States and the coveted gold that ignited a nationwide party.

Crosby took a return pass from linemate Jarome Iginla and then fired a quick shot through the pads of stingy U.S. goalie Ryan Miller, seven minutes and 40 seconds into the extra period.

The native of Cole Harbour, N.S. and star of those all-Canadian Tim Horton timbits commercials proceeded to skate into the corner. He tossed his stick, flung his gloves in jubilation and then was hugged simultaneously by Canadian defencemen Drew Doughty and Scott Niedermayer.

It was a fitting celebratory scene because Doughty, 20, was Team Canada’s youngest player in the Olympic tournament and 36-year-old Niedermayer was the oldest skater. So if the Canadian hockey torch was not passed to Crosby when he won the Stanley Cup last June, it was officially passed on the ice surface at Canada Hockey Place in Vancouver.

“It doesn’t even feel real,” Crosby said. “It feels like a dream.”

Nobody was surprised to see Crosby score the latest big goal in Canadian hockey history, even though he wasn’t Canada’s best player in the tournament or in the gold-medal final.

Rick Nash was easily Canada’s top performer against the U.S. on Sunday. Jonathan Toews, named the tournament’s top forward and to the all-star team, was the best for Canada throughout the tournament.

Doughty and defencemen Shea Weber weren’t too far behind.

“It’s something that maybe comes only once in a lifetime,” Toews said.

“We were saying after the third period that somebody would come through for us and it was no coincidence that he did it. He’s a tremendous leader and has accomplished so much in his young career.”

There were some who theorized immediately afterwards that this was one of the greatest hockey games every played. That remains up for debate. One thing for sure, it gave Canada 14 gold medals at the Vancouver Games, an Olympic record for a country.

“That will be a good replay or highlight to play for a long time to come,” Niedermayer said. “Sid scored it. Obviously, he is a great player, who competed hard for us the whole tournament. I’m sure that goal is going to be replayed and we’re going to see it a long time.

“This is an experience that I’m going to remember forever. Certainly to give them something back like that is rewarding for us. They obviously love hockey.”

It was Niedermayer’s second Olympic gold men’s hockey and arrived eight years after Canada celebrated its last men’s hockey gold at Salt Lake City. He also has won four Stanley Cups, a world championship, a world junior and a Memorial Cup.

Canada’s Mike Babcock became the first coach in hockey history to win an Olympic gold, world championship and Stanley Cup. He also has a world junior title and Canadian University crown to his credit.

“Our guys found a way to win,” he said. “It’s a fine line between winning and losing.”

This was the first win by a host nation since the United States’ Miracle on Ice in 1980 and a coming out party for the likes of Toews, Weber, Doughty and Duncan Keith.

“There are a lot of young guys all over the place, not just on our team but on the U.S. team, too,” Niedermayer said. “Our guys did play very well. They stepped up in pressure situations. You get into these games that are single elimination there is not a lot of room for error and they were very solid.”

Patrick Kane was the one of the top U.S. players in the final. After Canada built up a 2-0 with a Toews rebound goal in the first period and Corey Perry marker in the second, Kane set up Ryan Kesler a few shifts after Perry scored and Zach Parise for tying goal with 24.4 tics left on the clock.

On the tying goal, Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo could have snared a shot from U.S. centre Joe Pavelski with 40 seconds left. But he fumbled the shot and play continued. Then Kane directed the puck to the net, it bounded off Jamie Langenbrunner’s skate to Luongo and the round was there for Parise.

“It was real quiet,” Niedermayer said, describing the mood in the dressing room after regulation time. “We were disappointed obviously. I thought for the most part we played a real good third period and kept them away from getting opportunities. We hit a couple posts. But they are a talented team.

“You have to keep your composure. You can’t let it unravel. You can’t go out and think ‘what if’ or ‘what about that.’ That’s what we did.”

This was the first loss of the tournament for the silver medallists.

“To come up short definitely hurts,” Kesler said. “It’s going to be hard. It’s going to take at least two weeks to get over this.

“We wanted to throw the puck at the net because it looked like [Luongo] was fighting it.”

Kesler and U.S. forward Ryan Malone were involved in some pregame hi-jinks. Malone slid some pucks softly towards Crosby and he tied his skate lace in the warm-up. But Crosby ignored his former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate.

Kesler skated as close to the centre line that divided the two teams with his stick out. He knocked a few Canadians with his stick, but couldn’t draw a reaction from his opponent. Of course, immediately after Crosby scored, thousands of people invaded the streets of downtown Vancouver and in other cities across Canada.

“It is just as much a relief as it is excitement,” Canadian defenceman Duncan Keith said. “It may have been a battle for two weeks, but a lot more hard work went into it.

“I remember when they won in Salt Lake, I was one of those guys driving around, honking my horn. Now to be part of the team is something special”

Gordie Howe, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and singer Michael Buble were just many of VIPs among the crowd of 17,748. There also were a number of gold-medal winning Canadian athletes like skeleton’s Jon Montgomery and women’s hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser.

“Along with Canadians from coast to coast to coast, I am thrilled and extremely proud of the outstanding performance by our men’s hockey team and the gold medal win at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games,” the Prime Minister said in a statement. “The passion and love for the game shown by both Team Canada and the fans has demonstrated once again that hockey truly is Canada’s game.”

Patrick Kane of the United States is among those who’d like another chance to soak up the Olympic spotlight. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

When it was over, Patrick Kane lamented the loss, then the wait.

“It sucks we have to wait another four years for an opportunity like this,” said the young American star, after a heart-breaking 3-2 loss to Canada in the gold-medal game on Sunday.

Truth is, no one knows for sure how long the wait will be for any of the NHL players to participate in the Winter Olympics. The agreement to participate is officially over and will ultimately become a bargaining chip in the next collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the Players’ Association.

It is quite clear how the players feel about participating in a fifth Olympics, which would be held in Sochi, Russia four years from now. They want to go. The NHL won’t say, though the International Ice Hockey Federation and International Olympic Committee want the NHL back.

If you give a vote to Team USA coach Ron Wilson, he would happily go.

“I hope the players, especially my group gets to go to Sochi,” he said. “I think it is great for hockey. I think, myself, that we have to give back to all fans everywhere. We do a pretty good job of stealing players from every country and I think we owe it to their fans to witness a tournament like this.”

Wilson added, though, that he believes the game should be played on NHL size ice, not the wider international size.

“If they do go to Sochi, I would urge the NHL to give the players a couple of extra days. That’s a hell of a long way to travel. I would hope they play the games on this ice surface because the games are so much better.

“The game tonight had so much intensity. Canada and the United States play the game the way it should be – not sitting back and playing on your heels and waiting for something bad to happen and counter-punching, but actually going on the attack.

“I know Mike’s [Babcock] teams play that way and I try to play that way, not very successfully right now with my team in Toronto.”

That, of course, was met with a hearty laugh in the media room.

“It’s nothing to laugh at,” continued Wilson. “I’m teaching them to play the right way; not the Slovakian, Czech or Russian way where you sit back and wait and wait and wait. We are on the attack.

“This was a classic hockey game, just as our game was a week ago with the Canadians and to me it is exactly the way the game should be played. To me, the game was invented in Canada and I think we in the United States have morphed into the same style of play and it is fun to play that way.”

As for the loss, well, there was obvious and understand disappointment, but Wilson was also quite impressed by his team.

“It’s tough to lose a game that way,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked anything more of our players. They did us proud. It’s a shame that both teams couldn’t have received a gold medal today. Sometimes, the best team in the tournament doesn’t win a gold medal. I thought our team played as well as any team I have ever coached.”

Residents recover items from the debris left by waves generated by the major earthquake near the epicentre in Pelluhue, Chile, on Sunday. (Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)

About 255 Canadians are missing in the aftermath of the massive earthquake that hit Chile early Saturday.

Foreign Affairs officials said in a statement about 5,000 Canadians live in Chile with about 1,000 in the area hit by the quake.

So far, the agency has fielded 4,000 phone calls about 485 Canadians, the department said. About 230 of these people have been located with the rest unaccounted for.

On Sunday, Chilean-Canadian Germain Garcia choked back tears as the emotions of the last 24 hours following the massive earthquake finally spilled over.

Garcia stood in the basement of Notre Dame de Guadalupe church in Montreal, surrounded by families lining up for tamales, empanadas and plastic cups filled to the brim with sugary horchata, and thanked God for sparing his family in the earthquake that struck the South American country.

“We were worried until yesterday afternoon when we heard from them,” he said over the noise of children and conversation.

“They’re fine, but the house was badly shaken, the windows broken, the bathroom gone. But it’s just material goods.”

He listed the ways in which Chile had narrowly avoided worse devastation: those left homeless can live outside in the warm summer weather and the overnight tremor hit when many roads and buildings stood empty.

“We’re lucky in these ways,” he said.

At least 700 people were killed in the earthquake, which left many Chilean cities shattered.

While the house belonging to Garcia’s aging parents was strong enough to withstand the 8.8 magnitude tremor, an estimated 500,000 other homes were severely damaged.

Garcia said the Sunday morning sermon by Rev. Fernando Ferrera gave him comfort.

“You never know when it can happen to someone close to you,” he said, pausing as he wiped tears from his cheeks.

“It’s just luck. But not all families were so fortunate.”

Ferrera stood at the doors of the Catholic church near downtown, welcoming members of Montreal’s Latin American community to Sunday’s mass. About 10,000 Chileans live in Quebec and a number of them are in his congregation.

“We wanted to give a message of hope and faith in God despite the recent catastrophes, ” Ferrera said. “And we want to encourage solidarity, for us to pray for the Chilean community.”

Others still wait

Many Chileans had finally heard from family and friends after many frantic and sleepless hours, but others, like Oscar Lavin, are still waiting.

“I haven’t heard anything from my family since the earthquake,” he said. “I have 10 brothers. I called today, I started at seven this morning. I made 70 phone calls. So what’s happening?”

His family lives in the capital, Santiago, 300 kilometres from the quake’s epicentre, where highways collapsed, buildings shook and the international airport was forced to close due to damage.

He’s bracing himself for another day anticipating messages from his loved ones.

“It’s a day of waiting,” Lavin said. “The only thing I can do is watch the news on TV.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Canada is ready to help, if needed.

“We are currently assessing how Canada can best respond to the needs,” he said in a statement.

Christina Lopes of the Canadian Red Cross said her agency is accepting donations for earthquake relief and has people standing by to go into the country, if asked.

However, she said she expects most of the help will come from neighbouring countries, such as Argentina and Peru.

Canadian hockey fans gearing up in Vancouver on Sunday morning before the game. (Leanne Hazon/CBC)Tens of thousands of people in Vancouver took to the streets Sunday to celebrate Canada’s 3-2 overtime win over the United States 3-2 for the gold medal in men’s Olympic hockey.

Traffic came to a halt in and around the downtown of the host city for the Winter Games following the dramatic finish to the game, which featured Sidney Crosby scoring to secure the victory on the final day of Olympic competition.

The crowds forced TransLink, the region’s public transit authority, to temporarily suspend bus service into and out of the downtown core.

The crowds also pushed Vancouver police to close the Granville Street Bridge to traffic.

Const. Jana McGuinness, speaking for the Vancouver Police Department, said Sunday evening there were a few minor injuries, as well as reports of revellers climbing awnings and bus shelters, but said the crowds were relatively well-behaved.

On Robson Street, thousands of people waving flags and wearing Canadian hockey jerseys poured into the street, yelling and cheering.

‘You couldn’t have written a better script with Sid the Kid scoring the winning goal.’—Rick Gendemann, fan

Rick Gendemann came downtown from his home in Abbotsford, B.C., to watch the game with his daughter.

“That was fantastic for the crowd, it was great for hockey. You couldn’t have written a better script with Sid the Kid scoring the winning goal … it’s just sweet,” he said.

“We set the record for the gold medals on home soil. We own the podium. Today is Canada’s day. Look at the sun, shining. It’s shining for us. Go Canada!”

Jaryn Bailey, another fan, said he’s relieved Canada claimed victory in hockey.

“I’m feeling great that Canada won,” he said. “There’s so many people just cheering on Canada.”

Jeremy Roy watched the game in downtown Vancouver with thousands of cheering fans.

Fans celebrate on Robson Street after at the men’s gold=medal hockey game between Team Canada and the U.S., won by the host country in overtime. (Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)“It was tight. Nerve-wracking — what can I say? We won,” he said. “I was nervous, but we kept going and we punched it through, so that’s all I gotta say. Go Canada.”

Another fan said he was thrilled about Canada’s golden moment on ice.

“Best-ever Canada gold medal ever,” he said. “It was a nail-biter, yeah. I had knots in my stomach the whole game.”

Figure skater Joannie Rochette is Canada’s flag-bearer at the closing ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics. (Roger Hallett/Canadian Press)

The closing ceremony of the Vancouver Games has kicked off with typical Canadian self-deprecation.

Mocking the awkward malfunction that delayed the lighting of the indoor cauldron at the opening ceremony, a mime pulled the fourth arm of the cauldron from the floor of BC Place.

Former speedskating champion Catriona Le May Doan emerged next, Olympic torch in hand, finally getting a chance to light the Olympic cauldron.

More to come