For the first time in nearly two weeks, Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to face his cross-aisle adversaries from his front-and-centre seat in the House of Commons this afternoon.

He’ll also join his Liberal colleagues as they gather for their weekly caucus confab, according to his office.

Also on his agenda: An afternoon tête-à-tête with His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V (4 p.m.), who will also be the guest of honour at a dinner hosted by Governor General Mary Simon this evening, which Carney is also slated to attend. (5:15 a.m.)

Back in the chamber, a little over six months after making its first-reading debut, Justice Minister Sean Fraser’s bid to expand the current anti-hate crime laws to boost protections for religious and cultural gathering places, as well as add new offences related to the promotion of hatred, including the public display of the swastika and other symbols associated with hate movements, is on track to secure final House approval later tonight.

As per the order adopted earlier this month — with, it’s worth noting, the support of the Bloc Québécois but over the continuing objections of the other opposition parties, particularly the Conservatives — the bill will undergo one more round of debate before being put to a vote, which, barring a dramatic political shift, will send it to the Senate for further review.

MPs are also set to vote on four Conservative-initiated backbench bills, including Rachael Thomas’s pitch to allow consecutive sentences for sexual offences, Michelle Rempel Garner’s push to prevent the courts from taking immigration status into account during sentencing decisions, Kerry Diotte’s proposed changes to the parole review system and Arpan Khanna’s plan to add new restrictions to the current rules on bail release, all of which are in the queue for a make-or-break second-reading vote to determine whether the draft legislation is referred to committee for further consideration, or dropped from the order paper.

Outside the chamber: Defence Minister David McGuinty is booked in for what will likely be a highly-charged afternoon appearance at NATIONAL DEFENCE, where — alongside senior defence officials, as well as Communications Security Establishment chief Caroline Xavier — he’ll field questions on the “subject matter” of the latest supplementary estimates, which were approved by the House of Commons last night and include $560 billion in proposed new spending that “will be used for numerous capital procurements to purchase or improve equipment, systems and facilities, including multi-mission aircraft, armoured combat support vehicles, drones, and aircraft upgrades and life extensions,” according to the summary provided by the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Also on the radar: Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand holds a virtual press conference from France, where, as the advisory notes, she’s set to join her G7 counterparts for two days of closed-door discussions to “strengthen international cooperation on global economic and security challenges” that will focus on a range of topics, including “continued support for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific and other regional issues, including Haiti and Sudan.” (12:45 p.m.)

The summit is also expected to include a high-level briefing from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who, as per the Associated Press, will “try to sell America’s skeptical Group of Seven allies on the strategy of the Iran war that has sent global fuel prices soaring” when he joins the conversation on Friday.

“Nearly all of the other G7 nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — have reacted coolly at best to the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran and have declined to participate, drawing (U.S. President Donald Trump’s) ire even as he maintains the U.S. doesn’t need their help,” AP notes.

“Trump has lashed out a number of G7 members and NATO allies for not responding to his calls for help in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, although in recent days several of them had indicated a willingness to back appropriate action to restore the key waterway to normal traffic.”

Elsewhere on the media circuit: Bloc Québécois labour critic Andréanne Larouche joins Workers Commissioner Pierre Laliberté and a full contingent of union representatives and workers’ rights advocates to highlight what the advisory describes as the “black hole” within the current employment insurance system.(1 p.m.)

ON AND AROUND THE HILL

Union of Safety and Justice Employees national president David Neufeld teams up with Memorial University research chair Rosemary Ricciardelli to release a new report that “provides a timely, evidence-based look at the realities facing frontline rehabilitation staff,” including “significant workload pressures, organizational challenges, and impacts on staff wellbeing,” which “directly influence the effectiveness of rehabilitation programming and, ultimately, public safety outcomes.” (9 a.m.)

Later this morning, Christian Heritage Party leader Rod Taylor will brief reporters on how, in his party’s view, the proposed new anti-hate crime laws pose a “threat to freedom.” (10 a.m.)

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