Nuns march with thousands on Parliament Hill for the March for Life rally in favour of ending abortion, in Ottawa on Thursday, May 11, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand

ALSO TODAY: Conservative MP Gord Brown laid to rest in Gananoque — PM in Saguenay — Budget watchdog releases cost estimate for Scheer’s proposed parental tax credit — Monsef in TO for women’s forum

As MPs prepare to head back to their ridings for a week-long constituency break, the House will remain shuttered this morning in order to allow friends and colleagues of the late Gord Brown to make the trek to Gananoque to attend the funeral service for the gregarious Conservative MP, who suffered a fatal heart attack in his Ottawa office last week.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to spend the day making the rounds in Saguenay, starting with a noon-hour meeting with Mayor Josée Néron at the Aréna de l’Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, where he’s slated to take part in an “on-stage signing ceremony” alongside Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard later this afternoon.

Back in the capital, opponents of abortion and assisted suicide are set to descend on the parliamentary front lawn for the March for Life, which bills itself as “the largest annual pro-life demonstration in Canada.”

This year’s event, which is taking place under the theme “Pro Life — All In,” is expected to welcome up to 10 thousand supporters — including hundreds of students bused in from Catholic schools across the region — a midday pre-march rally that will, according to the advisory, feature speeches by “political, spiritual and pro-life leaders,” including Lifesite News co-founder John-Henry Weston, Americans United for Life CEO Catherine Glenn Foster, Campaign Life president Jim Hughes, Toronto archbishop Thomas Collins and Conservative MP Harold Albrecht.

Also on the Hill agenda this morning: Parliamentary Budget Officer Jean-Denis Frechette will release the results of his cost analysis of Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s backbench bid to bring in a new “parenting tax credit.”

Finally, Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef is off to Toronto to hit the stage at the Women’s Forum for Economy and Society, which is hosting its “first-ever” Canadian summit to focus on “bridging the gap” with a call for G7 countries to commit to “inclusive progress.”

According to the official programme, Monsef will be part of the “judging panel” for the New York Times Debate on whether the #MeToo movement has worsened the divide between men and women.”

She’ll also team up with Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains for a “moderated Q&A” on the “expected impact” of the government’s proposal to require federally-regulated corporations to disclose information on diversity rates on governing boards and throughout senior management, and end her day with an appearance at the Women’s Forum cocktail reception.

Summiteers will also get the chance to hear from Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, who will take part in a “fireside chat” with WomenOne CEO Dayle Haddon.

Also out and about in the GTA: Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, who joins Burlington MP and Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould at a morning event in the MaRS Discovery District, during which he’ll share the details of new funding for “Canada’s emerging women cleantech entrepreneurs and innovators.”

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