Nearly 22 years after wrapping up a five-year stint serving on the bench of the highest court in the land, Louise Arbour is set to be formally sworn in as Canada’s next vice-regal representative during a mid-morning ceremony in the Senate that, as Canadian Press notes, “will include a 21-gun salute, a poetry reading and two musical performances by Canadian artists,” as well as Arbour’s inaugural address to Canadians in her new role. (10 a.m.)

Prime Minister Mark Carney is also on the speaking list for the event, with Arbour’s predecessor, Mary Simon, Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak also expected to be in attendance.

Later this morning, Carney will join Arbour at the National War Memorial, where, according to the advisory, Arbour “will inspect the Guard of Honour and lay flowers in tribute to Canadians who died in combat.” (11:35 a.m.)

Meanwhile, as previewed in What We’re Watching, the Conservatives have served notice that they intend to use the last opposition-designated day of the sitting to force a full day of debate on a non-binding motion that, if adopted, would challenge the government to “reverse the costly, inflationary policies that have given Canada the G20’s only recession.”

As per longstanding parliamentary protocols, the motion must be put to a vote tonight, which will clear the way for MPs to carry out one of their core responsibilities: namely, approving — or, alternately, rejecting — the billions of dollars in proposed spending outlined in the main and interim estimates.

Although the motion stands in the name of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, it’s not clear whether he’ll make it back to Ottawa in time to take part in the debate, as he’s currently booked in for a midday appearance in Calgary, where, as per his office, he’ll deliver a “keynote speech on national unity,” to launch what the party is billing as “his campaign for a strong Alberta within a united Canada.” (12 p.m. MT)

Poilievre “is expected to argue a change in federal policies would ease separatist concerns in Alberta,” as per CP.

“In an excerpt of that speech shared with The Canadian Press, Poilievre says separatist voices do not have an issue with their fellow Canadians, ‘they have a problem with the federal government,’” and suggests that Albertans “could benefit from changes that prioritize unblocking resources, building pipelines, respecting provincial autonomy and relieving taxpayers.”

For his part, Carney will join a full contingent of cabinet ministers and other high-level party figures at the Laurier Club garden party, which, as noted in WWW, will take place on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum. (6:30 p.m.)

Also on the radar: A quartet of senior Team Carney front benchers will be making the rounds at the annual Conference of Montreal, a high-level three-day meet-up organized by the International Economic Forum of the Americas that, as per the programme, “has evolved to become an internationally recognized event attended by world leaders and decision makers from government, business and academia, who convene to discuss topics ranging from the economy and global leadership to sustainability, energy and innovation.”

• First up: Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, who will join European Commission Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné for an on-stage “panel discussion” on “shaping stability in a changing world” (8:30 a.m.), as well as a “fireside chat” with her French counterpart, Roland Lescure (12:45 p.m.).
• Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will share her “post-Davos” thoughts on “delivering for Canadian business during a back-and-forth with BMO Wealth Management vice-chair Scott Brison, who also served in then-prime minister Paul Martin’s cabinet. (10 a.m.)
• Later in the morning, International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu will hit the stage for a 10-minute lightning-round talk on the “next chapter of Canada’s trade diversification. (10:55 a.m.)
• Rounding out the roster, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will weigh in on what the programme describes as the “new policy playbook” during a roundtable chat with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) secretary-general Mathias Cormann, Cogeco chair Louis Audet and BMO CEO Darryl White. (11:05 a.m.)

Elsewhere in the city, Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson speaks at a sold-out breakfast hosted by the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations. (8:45 a.m.) 

Back in the precinct, Champagne’s omnibus pitch to roll out measures outlined in his spring fiscal statement is on track to begin clause-by-clause review at FINANCE, with senior departmental officials from Finance, Employment and Social Development, Health, Transport and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency expected to be at the table to field questions — and, most likely, concerns — from MPs as they go through the fine print of the bill, which is on track to be reported back to the House later this week. (3:30 p.m.)

On the Senate side, Defence Minister David McGuinty will present his bid to overhaul the military justice system during an afternoon session with NATIONAL SECURITY, DEFENCE AND VETERANS AFFAIRS members, who will also hear from Chief of Defence Staff Jennie Carignan and former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps, who led an independent review of sexual misconduct and harassment within the Canadian Armed Forces in 2015. (4 p.m.)

ON AND AROUND THE HILL

New Democrat leader Avi Lewis teams up with his party’s parliamentary leader, Don Davies, to provide a preview of the “new anti-scab legislation” set to be introduced in the House of Commons later that same day that “would close a loophole in the Canada Labour Code that allows employers to use outside managers as replacement workers during strikes and lockouts,” according to the advisory. Also expected to be in attendance: United Steelworkers Canada national president Marty Warren and USW Local 1944 president Michael Phillips, whose Abbotsford, B.C. union “faced a lengthy labour dispute with Rogers over its use of managers as replacement workers.” (1 p.m.)

Earlier in the day, former New Democrat MP Charlie Angus returns to his erstwhile stomping grounds to promote his call for a “full public inquiry” into what the advisory suggests is “foreign interference connected to separatist organizing and influence operations targeting Alberta,” and the “role of bad actors in amplifying separatist narratives and exploiting regional divisions.” (10:30 a.m.)

Also on the parliamentary media circuit: Canadian Chiropractic Association CEO Ayla Azad and chair Jaipaul Palmer hit the West Block press theatre to urge the government to “authorize qualified chiropractors to certify Disability Tax Credit applications within their scope of practice.” (10 a.m.)

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