OTTAWA – Political Ottawa’s attention turns away from the capital today for a sombre reflection on the life of a soldier killed last week while standing guard at Canada’s National War Memorial.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other dignitaries will be in Hamilton, Ont., for a regimental funeral for reservist Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was gunned down in Ottawa while serving as a ceremonial honour guard.

Harper is expected to head back to Ottawa shortly after the service for a quick meet and greet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in town to sit down with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird — and pay his respects at the memorial.

There are several other events centred around Parliament Hill today.They include:

— Canada’s parliamentary budget officer will issue a report looking at the cost of buying offshore Arctic offshore patrol ships;

— New Democrat MPs Nathan Cullen and Guy Caron will also talk spending as they look with a critical eye at the latest omnibus budget bill;

— Budgets on a smaller scale will also be up for discussion as minister of state for finance Kevin Sorenson and the Canadian Bankers Association launch a new financial literacy seminar program for Canadian seniors;

— And Statistics Canada releases a study looking at the cumulative earnings of people employed in major fields.

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