Good morning, and welcome to Monday. It’s Chris Bilton. 

The House of Commons will be abuzz today as MPs return for the first time since June — which feels like at least six months ago. Darren Major has an overview of how things could shake out.  

THE LATEST

• Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the launch of a new housing agency, Build Canada Homes, and earmarked funding for new projects.
   
• National home sales numbers will be released today.
   
• Bonnie Crombie announced yesterday she's stepping down as Ontario Liberal leader, after a weak show of support at the party's annual general meeting.
   
• Canadian journalist Beverly Thomson, a longtime anchor with CTV News, has died 
   

MPs are returning to the House of Commons. Here's what to expect this fall

(Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

MPs will be back on Parliament Hill today for the first time since June as the House of Commons opens its fall sitting. Here’s what to expect:

Government priorities: The biggest item on the fall agenda is Prime Minister Mark Carney's first budget, which is expected to drop sometime in October. Carney and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne have asked ministers and departments to find "ambitious savings" and cut regulations. Meanwhile, some bills that were introduced in spring are still on the floor of the House of Commons, including the border bill (C-2) and one on cybersecurity (C-8).

Official Opposition: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will be back in his seat across from the prime minister in the chamber. Speaking to his caucus yesterday, Poilievre signalled that the party will be taking a more critical look at the Liberals' record and policies. He argued Carney is failing to address affordability issues and stifling economic growth by not moving fast enough on major resource projects.

Bloc factor: With 22 seats in the House, the Bloc Québécois could have some sway over the Liberals. Bloc deputy House leader Alexis Deschênes told CBC's Power & Politics last week that the party is willing to compromise with the Liberals when necessary, but he said that the governing party needs to meet them halfway on certain issues.

NDP rebuild: The NDP no longer has recognized party status in the House, but its seven seats gives the party a bit of leverage in a minority Parliament. If NDP MPs vote with the government — or even abstain — it would be enough to pass legislation.

Adolescence, Seth Rogen win big at the Primetime Emmys

(Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Adolescence and The Studio dominated at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles last night.

Rogen rules: The Studio star Seth Rogen earned his first Emmy after nine career nominations, followed by a few more. In his first acceptance speech, Rogen, pictured above, stated he'd "never won anything in [his] life" and hadn't even prepared a speech. Rogen won for best actor, director and writing in a comedy series, and the show won best comedy series. The Studio came into the night with nine Emmys from last weekend's Creative Arts ceremony. With its wins Sunday, it eclipsed the record of most wins for a comedy series in a single season — set last year by The Bear with 11.

Big showings: Netflix’s Adolescence was one of the leaders heading into the night, with 13 total nominations. The smash-hit show won for best limited or anthology series, while Philip Barantini won for outstanding direction, Owen Cooper for supporting actor, Erin Doherty for best supporting actress, Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham for best writing, and Graham for lead actor, all in the limited series categories.

In Ukraine, the agonizing effort to identify the war dead overwhelms forensic workers

(Angela Johnston/CBC)

With thousands of remains transported back from the battlefields, forensic investigators in Ukraine are overwhelmed trying to identify the growing number of dead.

What’s happening: In the more than three-and-a-half years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there has been very little information released by Kyiv or Moscow about the number of soldiers killed. But one of the few agreements to come out of the limited ceasefire negotiations included the mass repatriation of the dead. In June, the remains of 6,057 soldiers were transported back to Ukraine, according to officials, while the Kremlin said it received 78 bodies.

The impact: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is aiding forensic investigators in Ukraine, giving advice and helping to increase the capacity of a system that wasn't designed to handle the grim toll of a grinding war.

PICTURE THIS

Hamnet, Chloé Zhao's drama about William Shakespeare's marriage and the death of his 11-year-old son, won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival yesterday, putting it on an enviable track to Academy Awards contention. That’s because TIFF’s top prize is among the most reliable predictors for best picture nominees at the Oscars. How predictable? We crunched the numbers going all the way back to 1978; above is a snapshot of roughly the past couple decades. Read more here.

In case you missed it

• Beijing slammed U.S. President Donald Trump's call for NATO countries to stop buying Russian oil and hit China with heavy tariffs.
   
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Israel in the wake of the Qatar attack as Israeli strikes intensified in northern Gaza.
   
• A U.S. outdoor group's application to use B.C. land sparked debate amid 51st state talk.
   
• Nepal's new prime minister took office yesterday and "urged calm" after days of violent protests left at least 72 people dead and destroyed government buildings.

IN LIGHTER NEWS

Meet the 82-year-old enrolled at U of T with her grandson

(Craig Chivers/CBC)

On Fridays this fall, 82-year-old Marion Gommerman will be sitting in a University of Toronto classroom alongside fellow students young enough to be her grandkids. The first course she’s enrolled in explores health and Canada's aging populations. It's a journey that began with a seed planted a year ago when she participated in the class with other residents of her assisted-living facility in Toronto. For Gommerman, returning to school is extra sweet as she's joining grandson Sam Griffin (both are pictured above), who just started studying jazz performance, also at U of T.