Team Carney poised to unveil midyear fiscal update this afternoon


What’s happening on (and off) Parliament Hill, plus the news you need to start your day.

Exactly one year after Canadians voted to give Prime Minister Mark Carney and his team a fresh mandate — although one that, at least at the time, left the Liberals a few seats shy of a majority — Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is set to deliver his inaugural Spring Economic Update this afternoon. (4 p.m.)

Before making his way to the chamber, however, he’s booked in for a quick meeting with the prime minister (3:45 p.m.), who, for his part, is scheduled to hold his regularly scheduled weekly huddle with his front bench team this morning. (10 a.m.)

According to the advisory, Champagne will also drop by the pre-release lockup to take questions from reporters under embargo. (2 p.m.)

Back in the chamber, MPs are set to kick off the opening round of debate on what the government has dubbed the Canadian Space Launch Act, which, as iPolitics explains, is “Ottawa’s latest push to build a domestic rocket launch capability and move toward greater space sovereignty,” and “comes amid renewed attention on Canada’s role in space, following Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen’s participation in the Artemis II mission and growing government interest in expanding the country’s defence strategy.” (10 a.m.)

Meanwhile, as flagged yesterday, the Liberals were ultimately able to use their newly-secured majority to approve Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon’s proposal to reconfigure House of Commons committees to more accurately reflect the current party standings, which was officially approved last night, courtesy of a 178-162 vote, with the six New Democrat MPs backing the government and the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois opposed.

Shortly after the new rules were in place, MPs unanimously approved a second motion expanding all current committee lineups to include two additional Liberal MPs.

Among the newly rejigged committees on track to meet today: CANADIAN HERITAGE, where MPs — including, it’s worth noting, freshly installed Liberal members Tatiana Auguste and Alana Hirtle — will 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 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.” Also on the witness list: Representatives of the Miracle Channel Association, National Campus and Community Radio Association, and Tafsik Organization. (11 a.m.)

Later this morning, HEALTH members — including two new Liberals, Sukh Dhaliwal and Aslam Rana — will hold a special session to discuss their ongoing investigation into PrescribeIT, a $250-million pilot project launched by Canada Health Infoway that, as Canadian Press notes, was meant to “modernize the way doctors send prescriptions to pharmacies and to phase out older technology, such as fax machines,” but is now set to be shut down next month. (12 p.m.)

Also on the radar: Members of the SPECIAL JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF POWERS UNDER THE BUILDING CANADA ACT are set to get a progress report from Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose portfolio also includes internal trade, as well as Major Projects Office CEO Dawn Farrell, who will be joined by a full contingent of senior MPO officials. (6:30 p.m.)

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