Happy Monday! Aside from having a pretty stacked week in the sports realm (ie. FIFA, Stanley Cup, Knicks in Four?), here are the news coming out of the last stretch of Parliament before the House rises.

Extreme polarization and consensus are dangerous and a better Canada can only be built through the “peaceful management” of our differences, Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour said Monday, in her first speech as the King’s representative in Canada.

The former Supreme Court justice said our ability to coexist peacefully, despite our differences, is critical to maintaining a lawful, rules-based society.

“It is through our differences, and our fundamental right to express them, that we will nourish critical thinking, creativity and innovation,” Arbour said from the throne in the Senate chamber.

“It is through our differences that we will build a common future.”

Arbour, 79, said it is important to protect institutions where societal debates take place such as universities, the media, courtrooms, legislative spaces and the arts.

The Canadian Press this one. 

Also, Ottawa is opening a new funding stream for airliners struggling with rising fuel costs, the latest effort to help shore up the sector amidst the volatility caused by the war in the Middle East.

The federal government announced Monday that it is launching a loan program for the airline sector offering up to $150 million in repayable support, on an “as-needed” basis.

Funding will come from the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation, which also oversees the government’s support measures for large companies impacted by U.S. tariffs.

“The Government of Canada is focused on strengthening a resilient and competitive air sector that supports economic growth and keeps air travel affordable for Canadians,” Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.

“As airlines face rising jet fuel costs, today’s relief measure will help stabilize the industry and support a competitive aviation sector for the future.”

The U.S. and Israeli-led war against Iran has sent fuel prices soaring after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a major transit point for fuel tankers.

Marco Vigliotti has more. 

Here we go…

The Globe and Mail is reporting that Ottawa is planning to put in place a social media ban for children under the age of 16.

It’s expected legislation to put in place the ban will be moved on Wednesday, and platforms that meet new safety standards could be exempt from the ban.

This could mean that the likes of Facebook and Snapchat that have kid-specific accounts will be exempted.

Shifting gears, the NDP introduced legislation Monday that they said would close a “loophole” in the Canadian Labour Code that allows employers to use managers as replacement workers during strikes and lockouts.

The bill comes after a months-long Rogers strike in Abbotsford, B.C., where managers from across the country were brought in to perform work normally done by striking technicians. 

In the last Parliament, the Liberals partnered with the New Democrats to pass legislation banning the use of replacement workers during work stoppages in federally-regulated sectors.

But this doesn’t prevent employers from calling in out-of-town managers to pick up work during strikes or lockouts.

The NDP said new legislation is needed to close this loophole and protect workers’ right to strike.

Sydney Ko has more. 

Staying on the Hill, the Liberal government’s controversial anti-hate bill is expected to clear Parliament and become law before the summer recess.

The Liberals are set to accept the sole Senate amendment to Bill C-9, which added nooses as a prohibited symbol under the Criminal Code.

A spokesperson for Justice Minister Sean Fraser said the government accepted the change because the “noose has a specific and painful history as a symbol of anti-Black hate, intimidation, and violence.”

Sen. Wanda Thomas Bernard’s amendment to Bill C-9 was the only one to pass at third reading last Thursday, after the chamber rejected the report on the bill from the human rights committee.

Marco Vigliotti explains.

Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the easiest way to squash separatist sentiment in Alberta is for the federal government to butt out of the province’s business.

Poilievre, in a speech Monday, said Albertans don’t need a new country; they just need to see new priorities from Ottawa.

Albertans could benefit from freeing up resources, building pipelines, respecting provincial autonomy and reducing taxpayer burden, said Poilievre, speaking at the Royal Canadian Legion in downtown Calgary.

“The best news of all: it’s not a zero-sum game. These steps would make every province better off,” he said.

“The answer therefore, for Albertans, is not to pull away from our friends in other provinces, but to lock arms with them to make Canada affordable, safe, self-reliant, and united here at home.”

CP’s got this one too. 

In Other Headlines

Internationally

Elsewhere, at least 35 people have died after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake shook part of the southern Philippines early on Monday, collapsing buildings and triggering tsunami alerts.

The quake hit early in the morning about 20km (12.4 miles) off the coast of Sarangani province, with tremors felt strongly across Mindanao and 420km away in the city of Manado on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Authorities were verifying preliminary reports of 35 people killed and 144 injured across Mindanao, mostly from falling debris and landslides, according to civil defence officials. They told people not to enter damaged homes and other infrastructure because of the threat of aftershocks.

Video verified by the Guardian shows the collapse of the upper floor of a Jollibee restaurant, a popular fast food chain, as well as the outer concrete walls of a commercial complex giving way in General Santos City, near the epicentre of the quake.

The Guardian has more. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Pyongyang, marking a rare state visit to North Korea for a leader who has steadily cut down his travels in recent years.

Amid a 21-gun salute and the fanfare of a military band playing both countries’ national anthems, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were welcomed on Monday at the international airport by North Korean President Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported.

A cheering crowd dressed in festive attire, including children holding flags, flowers and balloons, welcomed the Chinese leader at Pyongyang’s main square. Buildings were wrapped in the Chinese and North Korean flags.

During a two-day trip, his first visit to North Korea in seven years, Xi is expected to hold a summit with Kim. The two leaders met in Beijing just a year ago when China held a huge military parade to mark 80 years since Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allied forces, bringing an end to the second world war.

Read more from Al Jazeera. 

In Other International Headlines

The Kicker

And finally… Air Canada got another celebrity presence.

It’s Rihanna! During a flight from Toronto to Montreal, an Air Canada flight attendant gifted Rihanna a Mohawk-made beaded lanyard.

The singer immediately attached it to her purse and even heared how to say “thank you” in Kanien’kéha: Niá:wen.

More from Global News.