Just three days after it made its debut appearance on the floor of the House of Commons, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s pitch to rebrand the existing GST as the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and temporarily increase the base rate for the next five years is set to secure third-reading approval, courtesy of a Conservative-initiated campaign to put it on the parliamentary fast track.

As reported by iPolitics earlier this week, shortly before the bill was due to begin second-reading debate on Monday, MPs unanimously backed a Conservative proposal to send the legislation to committee for a lightning-round review, which took place yesterday afternoon.

As per the terms of the motion, the bill will undergo a final round of debate this afternoon, after which it will be automatically deemed to have been adopted at all stages — although not, it’s worth noting, with all-party support, but “on division,” which is the standard parliamentary shorthand for a decision taken without a vote to which there was at least some opposition.

Also set to pass a critical procedural threshold later today: Justice Minister Sean Fraser’s pitch to overhaul Canada’s bail and sentencing laws, which has been on deck at the JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS committee for weeks, and is now on track to clear clause-by-clause review later today after the government agreed to hit pause on Fraser’s plan to expand Canada’s anti-hate crimes laws, which had triggered a prolonged standoff with the Conservatives.

As the Toronto Star reports, the rare — but not unprecedented — burst of bipartisan cooperation between the minority Liberal government and the Official Opposition comes as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre “is expected to sit down” with Prime Minister Mark Carney this afternoon for what Poilievre “is calling an ‘urgent meeting’ to discuss how both parties can rescue Canada’s trading relationship with the U.S. and accelerate parliamentary progress on a series of shared — and unshared — priorities.”

As yet, Carney’s itinerary makes no mention of a planned tête-à-tête with his adversary, which, as the Star notes, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon seemingly downplayed during a back-and-forth with reporters yesterday morning, noting that Carney “seeks meetings with opposition leaders all the time.”

According to his office, Carney will join his Liberal colleagues at their weekly closed-door caucus session later this morning.

He’s also booked in for an afternoon meeting with the Big City Mayors’ Caucus (5:30 p.m.) before he’s slated to make the rounds at a Black History Month reception hosted by Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller. (7:30 p.m.)

Also on the radar: Health Minister Marjorie Michel will hit the House of Commons Foyer to promote her government’s plan to “build a more modern, digitally connected health care system” that, according to the advisory, will “support better care,” with a technical briefing for journalists slated for earlier in the day. (3:45 p.m.)

Later this evening, current and former Conservative — and, in some cases, non-Conservative — politicians, staffers and supporters will mark the 20th anniversary of then-party leader Stephen Harper’s first electoral victory in 2006 at a “gala” dinner that, as per the notice, will include an on-camera speech by the former prime minister. (8 p.m.)

ON AND AROUND THE HILL

Interim New Democrat leader Don Davies hits the West Block press theatre with Nunavut New Democrat MP Lori Idlout to outline the party’s “priorities for defence procurement.” (1 p.m.)

Also this afternoon: Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske teams up with the leaders of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Public Service Alliance of Canada, United Steelworkers, Unifor and the Machinist Union for a mid-afternoon media availability at a downtown conference centre to “call for a worker-centred economic strategy that protects good jobs, rebuilds domestic industry, strengthens public services, upholds human rights, and defends Canada’s economic sovereignty.” (1:15 p.m.)

Earlier in the day, British Columbia’s Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene joins Abbotsford, B.C. Mayor Ross Siemens and Sumas First Nation Chief Dalton Silver to highlight “critical flood-mitigation” in the Fraser Valley region. (9:30 a.m.)

OUTSIDE THE PRECINCT

Governor General Mary Simon winds down her first official visit to Norway with a private audience with King Harald V, Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon “to discuss shared priorities between Canada and Norway” before travelling to Denmark.

IN THE CHAMBER

Before launching the final round of debate on the proposed new groceries and essentials benefit, MPs will vote on a non-binding Conservative call for the government to “immediately” launch a Food Affordability Plan that would include, among other measures, eliminating the industrial carbon tax, as well as new regulations on fuel and packaging that the party contends are “hidden food taxes.” (3 p.m.)

Also in the queue to go to a vote this afternoon: Bloc Québécois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval’s pitch to amend the Canadian Multiculturalism Act to explicitly state that it does not apply in Quebec, Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner’s proposed overhaul of the divorce laws and her caucus colleague Terry Beech’s campaign to provide full parental leave benefits to parents who lose their child during the time period, all of which are up for second-reading approval.

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