In this file photo, a group of asylum-seekers raise their hands as they approach RCMP officers while crossing the Canadian border. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Amid the traditional mid-summer flurry of speculation over a possible cabinet shuffle, the House immigration committee is set to hold a rare mid-hiatus session to discuss an opposition-initiated push to launch an emergency review into how the government is handling the upsurge in asylum-seeking refugees — particularly, although not exclusively those arriving via “irregular” crossings from the United States.

Currently slated to get underway at 1 pm EDT, the meeting is being convened at the request of the opposition parties, but there’s no guarantee that those hearings — which would be held over the next few weeks, depending on witness availability and other scheduling logistics — will actually happen, as it would require the support of at least two Liberal MPs for the committee to adopt the proposed motion.

Given that uncertainty, expect both the Conservatives and the New Democrats to take advantage of the two-hour slot to air their respective concerns over the current protocol for handling new arrivals.

For the Conservatives, that will likely include reiterating newly installed Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s complaints over the lack of resources to pay for housing and other requirements, while the New Democrats will undoubtedly reissue their call for Canada to suspend the controversial safe third party agreement with the United States.

The meeting is currently slated to run for two hours, although whether or not they’ll be ready for a vote before the gavel goes down remains to be seen.

OUTSIDE THE PRECINCT

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna teams up with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson for a mid-morning dedication ceremony on the site of a new joint facility for the Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada, which is set to be built at the corner of Albert and Commissioner streets in the downtown core, and will, as per the city, “be a ‘creative placemaker’ that inspires learning, sparks curiosity, and connects people.”In Toronto, meanwhile,

In Toronto, meanwhile, representatives from the Canadian Union of Public Employees will brief reporters on the newly installed Ontario government’s planned back-to-work legislation.

Also booked into the Queen’s Park media theatre today: OPSEU president Warren Thomas and Unifor president Jerry Dias, who are planning to highlight the ongoing negotiations over doctors’ fees, and call on Ontario Premier Doug Ford to “help improve the pay and working conditions faced by front-line workers in many community health clinics.”

AT COMMITTEE

As both the House and Senate have risen for the season, there are no other scheduled committee meetings today.

Committee highlights courtesy of our friends at iPoliticsINTEL.

Don’t miss today’s complete legislative brief in GovGuide.ca!

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