Malala Yousafzai to join PM for Q&A at Toronto high school

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife, Laureen, will lead the welcome delegation set to greet Malala Yousafzai in Toronto later today, where she will be the guest of honour at a question-and-answer session at a downtown high school.

Later this afternoon, the prime minister will be front and centre at a special ceremony to invest her with honourary Canadian citizenship, which will also be attended by Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander and Status of Women Minister Kellie Leitch, among others. 

• Malala Yousafzai, Nobel-winning activist, to be honorary Canadian

Meanwhile, New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair teams up with Canadian Federation of Independent Business President Dan Kelly and party consumer affairs critic Glen Thibeault for a mid-afternoon tour of Byward Market small businesses, including Market Organics.

Elsewhere in the capital, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is slated to speak at the 94th Annual Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario Convention and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May takes her case for a "federal framework on Lyme Disease" to the Senate social affairs committee, which is currently examining her private members' bill on the subject.  

Back on the Hill, most MPs will spend the morning sequestered behind the closed doors of the respective party caucus rooms.

When the House of Commons reopens for business this afternoon, the first item on the agenda -- after Question Period, that is -- will be the opening round of debate on the government's self-styled "common sense" bid to revamp Canada's gun laws.

This evening, MPs will vote on various private members' bills and motions, including Conservative MP Mark Adler's much-amended proposal to force parliamentary officers' staff to disclose past political activities and his caucus colleague Corneliu Chisu's pitch to crack down on people who attack public transit operators.

Outside the Chamber, an all-party panel of MPs -- Conservative MP Scott Reid, New Democrat Wayne Marston and Liberal MP Irwin Cotler -- join forces to "denounce the Chinese government's horrific practice of harvesting organs from political prisoners, and to discuss how Canada can help combat it."

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz reveals the latest interest rates and release the most recent monetary policy report at a mid-morning press conference.

Later this afternoon, Poloz will field questions from MPs  during an hour-long appearance before the House Finance committee, where members will also be briefed by Parliamentary Budget Officer Jean-Denis Frechette.  

Also on the committee agenda:

• Veterans Affairs resumes consideration of the government's proposal to "enhance hiring opportunities" for "certain serving and former" Canadian Forces members.
• On the Senate side, Legal and Constitutional Affairs returns to its review of the proposed prostitution law rewrite, which is now officially before the Upper House.  On the witness list for today: Canadian Bar Association executive director Tony Paisana, Guelph law professor Edward Herald, the Canadian Women's Foundation and Bernard Lerhe.

For up to the minute dispatches from the precinct and beyond, keep your eye on the Parliament Hill Ticker below -- or, alternatively, bookmark it and check back throughout the day.

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