After descending on Parliament Hill en masse last week to usher in the start of the fall sitting, MPs are once again off the clock, at least as far as regular House of Commons proceedings, which, as per the standard calendar, are on pause until Oct. 5 to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which was designated a federal statutory holiday in 2021. (Wednesday)

As is tradition, there will be a midday ceremony on the parliamentary front lawn, which, according to a release from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, will include “a 90-minute multilingual commemorative gathering, to memorialize the children lost to the residential school system and to honour Survivors and their families,” which will be broadcast live on CBC, Radio Canada and APTN.

“This year’s gathering will encompass powerful reflections from esteemed Elders and Survivors as well as moving performances by First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists,” the advisory notes.

As yet, there’s no word on whether Prime Minister Mark Carney will attend the event — or, for that matter, on anything else that might be on his schedule this week.

For her part, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty will start the week with a mid-morning appearance alongside National Indigenous Collaborative Housing CEO John Gordon in downtown Ottawa to highlight new federal funding to support new housing projects via the ‘For Indigenous, By Indigenous’ initiative, which aims to “achieve collective goals, manage and control allocated funds that will be used towards providing housing and housing supports (for) urban, rural and northern Indigenous peoples.” (Monday a.m.)

Elsewhere on the ministerial circuit: Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne joins local Liberal MP Caroline Desrochers at an unnamed location in Shawinigan to deliver what Champagne’s office is billing as a “defence-related announcement that promises to strengthen the region’s economic outlook, support jobs in Québec” —  including “in the Mauricie region,” it notes, as well as “bolster Canada’s defence capabilities.” (Monday a.m.)

Later this week, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab heads to St. John’s to “unveil” what the advisory describes as “innovative projects to strengthen Francophone immigration in Newfoundland and Labrador and other Francophone minority communities outside Quebec,” with provincial minister Lin Paddock, whose portfolio includes “jobs, growth and rural development,” also expected to be in attendance. (Tuesday a.m.)

Meanwhile, back in the precinct, with the Upper House set to reopen for regular legislative business, a quartet of newly appointed senators will take their assigned seats in the Red Chamber for the very first time. (Monday p.m.)

Slated to be duly sworn in tomorrow night: Conservative MP Richard Martel and longtime senior Liberal strategist Tom Pitfield, both of whom have been selected to represent their shared home province of Quebec, as well as accountant Geeta Tucker, “a Chartered Professional Accountant and corporate executive with more than three decades of leadership experience across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors,” according to her bio, and self-described “physician-scientist” Rodney Ouellette for Manitoba and New Brunswick, respectively.

In the queue to make their debut appearance on the Senate docket: Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s controversial bid to overhaul the rules on lawful access to electronic data and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty’s proposal to appoint a commissioner for modern treaty implementation, both of which are awaiting first reading along with a separate bill from Alty to approve the self-government agreement signed by the Tlegohli Got’ine, as well as the governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories, last fall.

Several Senate committees have also begun preliminary review of Champagne’s latest omnibus budget bill, which was introduced un May and is still working its way though the House of Commons.

Elsewhere in the precinct: Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Network chair Ayman Oweida joins members of the Jewish Faculty Network, Independent Jewish Voices and Jews Say No To Genocide, as well as “community leaders and human rights advocates,” to promote a newly released “open letter” that calls on Carney and Diab to “resolve the prolonged study permit delays” and the “discriminatory bias” that, they contend, has been “blocking Palestinian graduate students for over two years.” (Monday a.m.)

Queer Momentum executive director Fae Johnstone teams up with representatives of TransAction Alberta, Saskatoon Pride, Pride Corner and the Enchante Network to urge the House of Commons to launch an investigation into what the advisory frames as “the
suspension of transgender young peoples’ charter-protected rights in their provinces,” as well as challenge the federal government “to take action to uphold the freedom, rights and equality of 2SLGBTQIA+ people across Canada.” (Monday p.m.)

Also on the radar: The Competition Bureau will “publish a call for information on pricing policies in retail grocery” that, as per the notice, “will support the Bureau’s ongoing examination of the food supply chain.” (Monday a.m.)