A day after the Conservatives called on the government to pull the plug on the proposed high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City, which he described as a “$90-billion Liberal boondoggle,” Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet is set to outline his party’s ongoing concerns over the Alto project during a mid-morning media availability with former — and potentially future — Bloc MP Nathalie Sinclair Desgagné in Terrebonne, Que. (11 a.m.)

As iPolitics reported earlier this year, Blanchet and his party have publicly challenged the government’s bid to accelerate the approval process, and called for more extensive public consultations.

Speaking with reporters in February, Blanchet “called on the government to ‘undertake an examination of conscience’ regarding their desire to ‘bulldoze democracy under the pretext of moving projects forward,’” iPolitics notes.

“Time must be given for people to prepare briefs, articulate their thoughts, especially since some are newly elected municipal officials entering into something completely new, and environmental concerns, obviously,” Blanchet added.

Also on the radar: Industry Minister Mélanie Joly hits the stage at what’s being billed as an “exclusive event” hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, where, according to her office, she’ll deliver a keynote speech on “Canada’s economic, industrial and defence priorities.” (1:30 p.m. PST)

Later tonight, she’ll mingle with Vancouver-area Liberals at a $500-per-ticket reception in support of the Pitt Meadows — Maple Ridge Federal Liberal Association. (6 p.m. PST)

Meanwhile, several Team Carney front benchers will be fanning out across the country to promote what the advisories describe as their government’s “achievement of the NATO 2 per cent defence spending target” by highlighting new “investments,” including Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who will join fellow New Brunswick Liberal MP David Myles at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown (2:30 p.m. ADT) and Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight, who will “focus on investments in Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt” in Victoria, B.C. (10 a.m. PDT)

For her part, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson heads to Happy Valley — Goose Bay, Nfld., to “highlight ongoing Energy Performance Contracts underway at 5 Wing Goose Bay and other bases and wings across Canada” (11:30 a.m. ADT), while back in Toronto, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon teams up with local Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz to unveil new support to boost “innovation in the defence sector in southwestern Ontario.” (10 a.m.)
Elsewhere in the region:

• Secretary of State (Labour) John Zerucelli will be in Etobicoke to “highlight local business support measures” aimed at “protecting Canadian brewers, distilleries and wine makers … as Canada enters an exciting sporting and tourism season,” which is all but guaranteed to confirm a report from Canadian Press that the government will “extend its cap on an annual alcohol tax increase for another two years.” (1 p.m.)
• Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski stops by the Runnymede Healthcare Centre to share the details of a new initiative related to “mental health and substance use support for first responders and frontline workers,” according to the notice. (2:30 p.m.)
• Secretary of State (Sport) Adam van Koeverden joins Canada Border Services Agency officials in Hamilton, Ont., to outline an “proval in principle for a new sufferance warehouse,” with representatives from the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority and Hamilton Container Terminal also expected to be in attendance. (10:30 a.m.)

Rounding out the roster, Jobs and Employment Minister Patty Hajdu visits the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University’s campus in Thunder Bay, Ont., to announce a “significant investment to support the next phase of NOSM University expansion across Northern Ontario.” (9 a.m.)

ON AND AROUND THE HILL

Montreal Institute for Global Security (MIGS) executive director Kyle Matthews teams up with Institute for Economic and Peace (IEP) official Michael Collins and former senior intelligence analyst Phil Gurski to deliver what the advisory is billing as an “expert briefing” on the “key findings” of the IEP’s latest Global Terrorism Index, which “analyses terrorist activity, emerging trends, regional shifts, and the broader geopolitical factors shaping the global landscape of terrorism.” (11 a.m.)

IN THE CHAMBER

Regular parliamentary proceedings will resume on Apr. 13, 2026.

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Committee highlights courtesy of our friends at iPoliticsINTEL.