A day after formally unveiling his pitch to reconfigure current House committee rosters to reflect his party’s newly-attained majority in the chamber, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon is set to trigger the opening round of debate on the proposal, which, as reported by iPolitics earlier this week, “would increase the number of members on committees where Liberal MPs act as chairs to 12, with seven of those seats reserved for Liberals,” while those traditionally chaired by opposition members would have 10 seats, with five allotted to the Liberals, giving the government an “effective majority on every committee.”

Not surprisingly, both the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois have already publicly voiced their objections to the planned changes, as Canadian Press reports.

Speaking with reporters yesterday, Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer “contended the Liberals are seeking to ‘stack the decks’ on committees so they can make life easier for themselves,” the wire service notes.

“Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, whose party stands to lose substantial influence in committees, said it’s ‘quite revealing’ that the first big thing the Liberals are pursuing with their new majority is a change to the House rules to serve their ‘own partisan interests.’”

Scheer has already served notice that his party intends to put forward an amendment that, if adopted, would maintain the current numbers on the four opposition-chaired committees — namely, ACCESS TO INFORMATION, PRIVACY AND ETHICS; GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND ESTIMATES and PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, which are informally known as the ‘oversight’ committees, as well as STATUS OF WOMEN.

For his part, MacKinnon, has preemptively rejected any move to establish what he described as “tiers” of committees, which, he maintains, are “all the same,” as CP notes.

Barring unexpected procedural delays, the debate is set to get underway shortly after question period wraps up this afternoon, although there’s virtually no chance that the motion will make it to a vote before the clock runs out on today’s sitting. (3 p.m.)

Earlier in the day, MPs will circle back to the government’s proposed overhaul of the military justice system, which is set to begin report-stage consideration this morning. (10 a.m.)

Outside the chamber: CANADIAN HERITAGE members are set to continue their self-initiated investigation into the state of Canada’s “journalism and media sectors” during what is likely to be a highly-charged — and closely-watched — back-and-forth with CBC/Radio Canada CEO Marie-Philippe Bouchard, with Channel Zero president Cal Millar, Pattison Media president Rod Schween, Torstar president Angus Frame and The Hub’s Rudyard Griffiths also on the witness list. (8:15 a.m.)

Later this afternoon, FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT members will get the opportunity to chat with Canada’s ambassador to the United States, Mark Wiseman, about his mandate — and, most likely, press for a status report on the upcoming review of the Canada – U.S. — Mexico trade deal in the wake of an exclusive report from Radio-Canada that claimed the United States “is demanding Ottawa pay an ‘entry fee’ to restart negotiations on a new trade deal,” as iPolitics reported yesterday. (3:30 p.m.)

Also on the radar: Prime Minister Mark Carney will unveil “new measures to accelerate homebuilding in Ottawa” at a mid-morning event somewhere in the National Capital Region, according to his itinerary. (10 a.m.)

Elsewhere in the city, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will share her — and her government’s — thoughts on “why civic space matters,” as well as the “role Canada can play in defending and advancing it globally, while highlighting its importance to democracy, human rights, and inclusive development,” during an on-stage “fireside chat” at the Ottawa Civic Space Summit alongside representatives of Cooperation Canada, Oxfam Quebec and Resilient Societies. (9:15 a.m.)

Later this morning, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly will host a “media callback” to recap her visit to Germany and Norway. (11:30 a.m.)

ON AND AROUND THE HILL

Blanchet and his party’s finance critic, Jean-Denis Geron, hit the House of Commons Foyer to outline their expectations for the upcoming spring financial statement, which is set to be delivered next week. (11:30 a.m.)

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis teams up with Campaign for Uyghurs founder Rushan Abbas, Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project executive director Mehmet Tohti, Sinopsis senior fellow Charles Burton and Optimum Publishing CEO Dean Baxendale to provide more details on the “urgent threat” posed by transnational repression, including the “myriad dangers it poses to democratic states,” and offer suggestions on how Canada “can take action and protect the freedom of Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents from being targeted by foreign governments.” (10:30 a.m.)

Members of the ACCESS TO INFORMATION, PRIVACY AND ETHICS committee will brief reporters on the results of their review of the Conflict of Interest Act — and, more specifically, “whether the Act should be amended or expanded with a view to enhancing transparency, preventing conflicts of interest, avoiding potential or apparent conflicts of interest, regulating public office holders’ ownership of assets in tax havens, limiting the availability of blind trusts as a compliance measure, extending the Act’s provisions to political party leaders and leadership candidates and increasing penalties for non-compliance,” as per the terms of reference for the now-wrapped study — as outlined in a report that is expected to be tabled this morning. (12:30 p.m.)

OUTSIDE THE PRECINCT

Secretary of State (Labour) John Zerucelli joins Hamilton-area Liberal MPs Aslam Rana and John-Paul Danko to “highlight” what the advisory describes as the government’s “concrete affordability measures that are lowering costs for Canadians” during a morning event at an unnamed location somewhere in the region. (9:45 a.m.)

Also this morning: Secretary of State (Seniors) Stephanie McLean, Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski and Edmonton-area Liberal MP Matt Jeneroux will drop by the Edmonton offices of the Sage Seniors Association to share the details of a “significant investment to help seniors across the country stay connected and active in their communities.” (10 a.m. MDT)

Later this evening, Women and Gender Equality Minister Rechie Valdez will mingle with local party supporters during an evening reception at the Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre in Mississauga, Ont., with all proceeds from the $300 ticket fee earmarked for the Mississauga – Streetsville Federal Liberal Association. (7 p.m.)

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