With a little less than 48 hours on the clock until Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is set to rise in the House of Commons to present his first-ever mid-year fiscal update, there’s still no official — or even unofficial but informed — word on exactly what Canadians should expect to hear, but Prime Minister Mark Carney “will be under pressure to show results from his economic agenda,” as per the latest bulletin from Canadian Press.

“The spring economic statement comes one year to the day after the party secured a minority mandate in the federal election, a fourth win for the Liberals in a row, but the first under Carney,” and “the same week three new Liberal MPs are expected to be sworn into office, officially giving Carney’s government majority status,” the wire service notes.

“Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Carney said Canadians are getting ‘good value’ from efforts to attract investment and diversify Canadian exports. He said they should look for green shoots in the spring economic statement. ‘We’re starting to shift things but we’re in no way satisfied,’ he said. ‘We’re just getting started.’”

Champagne “will also offer Canadians a look at how new spending items — like the boost to the GST benefit — and the energy price shock from the war in Iran are affecting Ottawa’s coffers,” according to CP.

“The war in Iran could also give the federal government a lift as the conflict drives up the global price of oil. Inflationary pressures tend to push tax revenues higher and oil-producing provinces like Alberta and Saskatchewan get a GDP boost from higher prices globally.”

It’s also not clear whether the update will be accompanied by a fresh suite of measures targeted at affordability concerns, which would require parliamentary approval to proceed.

Post-majority committee shakeup likely to take place within days

Meanwhile, after unveiling his pitch to reconfigure House of Commons committees to more accurately reflect the new party standings in the chamber — and, more specifically, the narrow majority that the Liberals have managed to secure, at least for now — Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon has filed the necessary procedural paperwork to force a vote on the proposed new lineup, which, as reported by iPolitics last 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 committees traditionally chaired by a member of the opposition “would be fixed at 10, with Liberal MPs to take up five seats.”

After launching the opening round of debate on the motion last week — which prompted the Conservatives to put forward an amendment that, if adopted, would effectively exempt the three opposition-chaired ‘oversight’ committees, PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND ESTIMATES and ACCESS TO INFORMATION, PRIVACY AND ETHICS, from the proposed change, MacKinnon served notice on Friday that he is prepared to invoke closure as early as Monday afternoon, although he could also hold off until later in the week.

While the motion is all but guaranteed to pass, it’s still not clear how long it could take to compile the revised membership lists, which could potentially put a brief pause on some ongoing committee work, although it could also be done relatively quickly with all-party cooperation.

In addition to all that, MPs are also slated to get their first chance to weigh in on what MacKinnon described in his weekly legislative lookahead as the “very exciting … Canadian Space Launch Act,” which is set to make its second-reading debut on Tuesday, as well as the government’s proposed overhaul of the Weights And Measures Act, as well as related statutes, which was introduced in the Senate last fall, and is now up for House approval.

Also on the radar: As flagged by Canadian Press, five-term New Democrat MP Alexandre Boulerice is widely expected to announce that he will be resigning his Montreal-area seat to hit the provincial hustings under the Québec solidaire banner later this year.

“In the very brief invitation sent to the media on Sunday morning, the only remaining elected official from the ‘orange wave’ that swept Quebec in the 2011 federal election makes no mention of either the New Democratic Party or Québec solidaire,” a move that “comes less than a month after the NDP elected a new leader in Avi Lewis, who said in March he had encouraged Boulerice to stay on in Parliament,” and “will leave the NDP with just five seats in the House of Commons, seven shy of the number needed for official party status,” the wire service notes.

In and around the precinct:

• Senior B’nai Brith Canada officials, including CEO Simon Wolle, hit the West Block press theatre to “provide an important update on its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in Canada, which, as per the notice, “recorded a record number of antisemitic incidents in Canada for the third year in a row.” (Monday a.m.)
• Children First Canada supporters, including “children and youth from across Canada,” along with “parents, teachers and allies,” descend on Parliament Hill for a midday rally to call on the government to “immediately table and pass the Online Safety Act, with key measures including a duty-of-care requiring platforms to prevent foreseeable harm, safety by design (and) a strong, independent regulator with enforcement powers,” as well as “coverage across the full digital ecosystem, including social media, gaming and Artificial Intelligence.” (Monday a.m.)
• Later this week, members of the First Nation Wild Salmon Alliance, including chair Bob Chamberlin and representatives of the Homalco First Nation, St’át’imc Chiefs Council and Nisǥa’a Lisims Government, will brief reporters on the “growing and unwavering support for the removal of open-net pen fish farms as a measure to protect wild pacific salmon” before fanning out across the capital to “meet with Liberal MPs and senior bureaucrats” to “secure the federal ban of open-net pen fish farms in 2029.” (Wednesday a.m.)

Despite the looming reshuffling of seats around the committee table, there’s still a full slate of scheduled meetings on deck this week:

• SCIENCE AND RESEARCH members are still exploring the “implications” of the “preliminary joint agreement” that could open the Canadian market to a limited number of Chinese-made electric vehicles, with a panel of academic experts, including Niagara College of Applied Arts and Technology associate dean Nadja Johnson Bressan, as well as senior representatives of General Motors of Canada, Pacific Manufacturing Association of Canada and The Transition Accelerator, on the witness list. (Monday p.m.)
• Over at INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY, MPs are booked in for back-to-back presentations from EMC Canada, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Preferred CNC Canada and the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, as well as Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association president Flavio Volpe, as part of their self-initiated examination of the “economic and supply chain impacts of U.S. tariffs on Canada’s metallurgical and advanced manufacturing sectors.” (Monday p.m.)
• The SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS circles back to its ongoing study of the “current situation for democracy and human rights defenders around the world” with former Lithuanian foreign affairs minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer and other human rights advocates and activists. (Monday p.m.)
• FINANCE members get a briefing on federal spending power, courtesy of Carleton University associate professor Jennifer Robson, Wilfrid Laurier University economics professor Tammy Schirle and Montreal Economic Institute CEO Daniel Dufort. (Monday p.m.)
• Earlier in the day, NATIONAL DEFENCE members will get the chance to quiz Doug Guzman about his role as CEO of the newly created Defence Investment Agency, while VETERANS AFFAIRS members are set to go over the expenditures outlined in the main and supplementary estimates with Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight. (Monday a.m.)
• Auditor General Karen Hogan and her team will brief PUBLIC ACCOUNTS members on her follow-up report on First Nations programs, with senior Indigenous Services officials also expected to testify. (Monday a.m.)
• Also on Monday: JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS members kick off clause-by-clause review of Justice Minister Sean Fraser’s omnibus bid to strengthen current Criminal Code provisions against gender-based violence, as well as expand child protection laws and address concerns over the impact of prolonged court delays. (Monday a.m.)
• CANADIAN HERITAGE members continue to examine the state of Canada’s journalism and media sectors during a back-and-forth with Canadian Association of Broadcasters president Kevin Desjardins, as well as senior representatives of the Miracle Channel Association, National Campus and Community Radio Association, Tafsik Organization and Cable Public Affairs Channel CEO Christa Dickenson, who, as Canadian Press reports, revealed last week that it had cancelled its two long-running nightly programs, PrimeTime Politics and L’Essentiel, due to “accelerating revenue decline,” as well as “an uncertain broadcasting landscape.” (Tuesday a.m.)
• HEALTH members gather to discuss their investigation into the PrescribeIT program, which, as per the notice, is being convened at the request of at least four members of the committee. (Tuesday p.m.)
• CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION members have blocked off at least two more days to focus on the current immigration system, with representatives from Amnesty International Canada, Battista Migration Law Group and Lawyers for Secure Immigration (Monday a.m.), and, later this week, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Canadian representative Tracey Maulfair, FCJ Refugee Centre in-house counsel Joshua Eisen and former Reform MP Herbert Grubel, now a professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University (Wednesday p.m.).
• AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD members survey representatives of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Keystone Agricultural Producers and Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, as well as a group of farmers, on the “business risk management programs” within Canada’s agricultural sector. (Tuesday a.m.)
• STATUS OF WOMEN take a closer look at the “abuse and financial vulnerability of senior women” with representatives of the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario, National Pensioners Federation, New Society Institute and others. (Tuesday a.m.)
• Later this week, House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia — accompanied by House of Commons Clerk Eric Janse, Parliamentary Protective Service director Mitch Monette and senior procedural and administrative officers, will field questions on the planned budget for the House of Commons, as outlined in the estimates. (Thursday a.m.)

On the Senate side: Defence Minister David McGuinty will participate in what is likely to be a wide-ranging back and forth with NATIONAL SECURITY, DEFENCE AND VETERANS AFFAIRS members while Canadian Heritage Minister Marc Miller will face OFFICIAL LANGUAGES members. (Monday p.m.)

Rounding out the rotation: The SPECIAL JOINT COMMITTEE ON MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING will hear more expert testimony on expanding eligibility to those whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness. (Monday p.m.)

On the ministerial circuit

• Health Minister Marjorie Michel teams up with Pan American Health Organization director Jarbas Barbosa to launch Vaccination Week in the Americas, which, according to the advisory, “convenes countries and partners from across the Americas to promote awareness of, and access to, vaccination throughout the region,” during a midday event in Ottawa. (Monday p.m.)
• Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc headlines a reception at a “private residence” in Georgetown, Ont., with local Liberal MP Kristina Tesser Derksen also expected to be in attendance, and all proceeds from the $1,000 entry fee earmarked for the Milton East — Halton Hills Federal Liberal Association.(Thursday p.m.)
• Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson makes the rounds at a $1,775-per-ticket breakfast event in Calgary, Alta., alongside Calgary-area Liberal MP Corey Hogan, who is listed as co-host alongisde Winnipeg Liberal MP Terry Duguid. (Friday a.m.)