Northern development, tax changes on today's House to-do list

With just days to go before yet another calendar-mandated constituency break sends MPs back to their respective ridings for a little one-on-one (or, alternately, one-on-many) time with the electorate before the budget drop, the government is continuing to work its way down the legislative to-do list.

On the Commons agenda today: the first round of report stage debate on the 'Northern Jobs and Growth Act', which would set up a new system for project planning and assessment in Nunavut, as well as create a new 'surface rights' board to handle land and water-related disputes with First Nations that hold land claims in the region.

Should that discussion wrap up midway through the day, the House will return to those proposed technical tax amendments that have been mired at second reading since the post-Christmas return.

Before that gets underway, however, the House will be tasked with considering Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant's proposal to limit fees for professional services related to the determination of eligibility for disability-tax credits, which will go to a vote on Wednesday.

Outside the Chamber, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson presents his pitch to tighten up the rules on those deemed not criminally responsible to committee, which will also hear from senior departmental officials, as well as other witnesses still to be determined.

Over at Ethics, MPs continue their statutory review of the Conflict of Interest Act with testimony from the Government Relations Institute of Canada and Lobbying Commissioner Karen Shepherd.

Also on the afternoon committee schedule: Canadian Heritage carries on with its inquiry into the state of amateur coaching across the country; International Trade weighs the pros and cons of Canada-India free trade; and National Defence devotes another session to the fine print of the military justice bill.

Finally, Canadian Citizenship Challenge winners and 'Student Citizens of the Year' Carly Firth and Jason Losier take a guided tour of Parliament Hill and meet with MPs.

On the ministerial circuit:

• The Cartier Drill Hall will serve as backdrop as Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Chief of Defence Staff Tom Lawson first announce, and subsequently undergo the new Canadian Armed Forces Minimum Physical Fitness Standard.
• Elsewhere in the capital, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq drops by a local grocery store, where, alongside Conservative MP James Bezan, she's scheduled to make an 'important announcement'.
• In Toronto, meanwhile, two ministers are expected at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada's annual meeting today: Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, who is slated to deliver a keynote address and tour the floor, and International Trade Minister Ed Fast, who will join officials from Cameroon and Zambia for an update on his government's 'pro-trade and pro-investment plan.'