'It's going to be a sh*t show:' Grits gear up for soul-searching

Also: Post-Queen protocol, ex-NDPer decries welfare diet, summer sitting cut short, a bunch of backbench bills, strong mayors rammed through, rocking out to Elton

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Tributes flow for the Queen and strong mayors are coming to the 416 and 613 — but first: the Grits are gearing up for an election post-mortem.

GRITS DEBRIEF — Liberals are gathering at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto on Saturday to debrief a campaign in which they turned up an abysmal eight seats, failed to get recognized party status, and saw the resignation of their leader.

As we first scooped, some key Grits aren’t showing up. That includes CHRISTINE MCMILLAN, who ran the campaign and had already booked a family vacation on the same day as the debrief.

Also MIA from the official roster, apparently: Former leader STEVEN DEL DUCA, who’s now running for Vaughan mayor, IAN HALL, the party’s executive director, and MILTON CHAN, its chief legal counsel. I asked party spokesperson CARTER BROWNLEE if any of the trio would be in attendance, and did not receive a direct response.

Brownlee did confirm, however, that the party will elect its next executive council — includi…