Liveblog: Employment insurance reform -- unveiled! (Finally)

After days of playing coy on how it plans to reform the employment insurance system, the government, it appears, is finally ready to share the details with Canadians.

Later this morning, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley is set to hit the stage at the National Press Theatre for an "important announcement," and although the official advisory is maddeningly vague on the topic du jour, the government has made it clear, albeit via back channel communications with media, that she will unveil at least part of the Conservative vision for a more efficient regime, thus putting to rest, at least in theory, the increasingly dire, if wildly contradictory stream of speculation, informed and otherwise, that has dominated the discussion thus far.

Then again, if the recent slow-motion reveal on Old Age Security changes is anything to go by, if the government harbours hopes of regaining control over the conversation, it already has its work cut out for it.

It turns out that giving notice -- via leak or unexpected prime ministerial musings in Davos -- of one's intention to move forward on a particular file with no accompanying context on what one intends to actually do almost always results in apocalyptic worst-case-scenario-izing by an apprehensive public, which immediately seized upon and lovingly nurtured by one's political opponents.