|
A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | | |  | | By Nick Taylor-Vaisey | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Nick | Follow Politico Canada WELCOME TO OTTAWA PLAYBOOK. I'm your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey. It's Friday, which means you might spot an MP at the Ottawa airport on a long commute home. Anyone who's stuck in the Commons will debate an honest-to-goodness bill for the first time since June. We're finally acclimatized to all the action in this town. | | | FIRST THING — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU starts his day in Montreal, where he'll meet re-elected Mayor VALÉRIE PLANTE. Then it's off to British Columbia, where Trudeau will head to Abbotsford. ( The time is now right, it seems.) He'll touch base with Deputy Premier MIKE FARNWORTH, Abbotsford Mayor HENRY BRAUN, Sumas First Nation Chief DALTON SILVER and Matsqui First Nation Chief ALICE MCKAY. T rudeau will also meet members of the Canadian Armed Forces and first responders, as well as local volunteers. — Final stop: Trudeau will hop over to Victoria for a late-afternoon meeting with Premier JOHN HORGAN. They'll both face reporters afterwards. — In related reading: Intense weather systems head for B.C. as province reopens. | 
Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng sat down with POLITICO Pro Canada for an interview in Vancouver on Aug. 13. | Zi-Ann Lum/POLITICO | A RASH OF IRRITANTS — Only a week ago, Trade Minister MARY NG was in her element on the top floor of Washington's Hay-Adams hotel. She opened a Canadian American Business Council gala with a charismatic retelling of a well-worn cross-border supply chain analogy. (The Coles Notes: A typical hamburger, sourced from all over the continent, is the delicious miracle creation of free-flowing trade. People laughed. Her delivery was [insert chef's kiss emoji].) — A different tone: The fancy room's guest list was a who's who of influential corporate and political Canada-U.S. boosters. But they don't make all the decisions. That's why Ng was majorly on the defensive Thursday in the Commons. The Three Amigos were supposed to clear up their trade beefs last week. But now there's practically an irritant for every corner of the country, and Tories smell opportunity. The Liberals are battling Americans on several fronts: an electric-vehicle tax credit that could punish the auto sector; a pipeline fight in northern Michigan that could cause serious headaches for the energy supply; a pre-emptive export suspension on P.E.I. potatoes in response to American anxiety about their safety; and now a classic of the genre: retaliatory tariffs on softwood lumber because Americans claim Canadian producers are oversubsidized. Ng's job is no cakewalk. She called the latest lumber news "extremely disappointing" and "unfair" and "unjustified." Then she walked into QP. ERIN O'TOOLE's opener aimed at Ng's boss: “When will the prime minister stop being such a pushover?" MICHELLE REMPEL GARNER blamed a revolving door. "I think they have gone through five foreign ministers and four international trade ministers in the last six years." MICHAEL CHONG turned his attention back on TRUDEAU, who has long claimed a warm relationship with President JOE BIDEN. Chong called his bluff. "It is clear the prime minister does not have a close working relationship with the president," he said. "What is the government going to do about this?" — The big claim: Trudeau left Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND to defend his honor. “The prime minister has a very strong, very effective working relationship with the president. I was there. I saw it in action. I saw their extensive tête-à-tête where important issues were raised," she told the Commons. "We came home and we continued working. I and all of my colleagues have been in touch following up with our American counterparts on that very effective meeting." — The definition: Effective (adj.) — Successful in producing a desired or intended result. — The response: Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON told CTV's EVAN SOLOMON that his government wouldn't take the lumber tariffs lying down, and could slap its own retaliatory tariffs on imports: "All options are on the table." HYBRID HOUSE — An emotional debate in the Commons got at the very nature of what it is to be an MP. Heady stuff about what it takes to serve constituents and practice democracy. And it was divisive, too. By the end of it Thursday night, the House had voted to reinstate a hybrid Parliament. A similar melange of in-person attendance and remote video helped MPs slog through much of the pandemic, mostly agreeably. But the nearly unanimous acceptance of an emergency hybrid model is so last session. Now the House is formally split on how they should do their jobs. Liberals and New Democrats (and Greens) on one side, Tories and Bloquistes on the other. — The vote: 180 for, 140 against. Eighteen MPs didn't vote. Indy KEVIN VUONG sided with the government, if you were curious. — The argument against: Earlier Thursday, O'Toole griped that Liberals were hypocrites. They campaigned at indoor rallies and glad-handed in Glasgow, he said, and now they wanted "special treatment" that is a fantasy for average Canadians. "Liberal ministers would happily come to Ottawa for press conferences, but now they refuse to show up in the House of Commons for their constituents," he told reporters. "Millions of Canadians don't have the option of not showing up for work tomorrow, and neither should this government." It wasn't clear which ministers had "refused" to show up for work. The session is three days old and every QP has been packed to the hilt with a full Cabinet. Perhaps they'll forsake the chamber, and O'Toole will be vindicated. But what if they show up? — The case for: On his way into QP, Holland appealed to the health and safety of everyone in the chamber. "I’ve talked to a number of MPs who come to me privately who are immunocompromised, who don’t feel safe, who want to be able to do their work at a distance," he said. "When we’re talking about personal privilege, it’s the most vulnerable, those that are most in a precarious situation to do their job that need to have their rights protected so that they can vote." Holland insisted the prime minister and a majority of Cabinet would attend in-person. — In related reading: Heavily mutated coronavirus variant puts scientists on alert. | 
NDP MP Laurel Collins, with daughter Alora in the House of Commons, argues for hybrid sittings | Photo courtesy the Parliament of Canada | GROWING PAINS — ALORA DEANNA MCNISH appeared to win over most MPs on Thursday afternoon, even if she was not actually following the House debate. The seven-month-old was propped on the right hip of LAUREL COLLINS as the NDP MP from Victoria explained how a virtual Parliament might draw more women into politics. “The House was built by men, for men,” said the nursing mom who alluded to some awkward interruptions in her attempts to do so. “It would be great to have a place to change into my pumping gear, a private place to take my baby when she needs a nap ... a fridge to store breast milk.” She dismissed charges that online advocates are work averse. “I want to come to work,” she said. “I want a hybrid Parliament so that when I'm talking to young women, I can tell them honestly that things are changing, that MPs in this house are working to make Parliament more accessible and more family friendly.” — Nobody’s baby: Ahead of Collins, NDP NIKI ASHTON urged the House to create a committee to study ways to modernize Parliament. “I am frankly shocked that in the year 2021, in the throes of a fourth wave of a global pandemic, after a year and a half of creating and making a hybrid Parliament work, that we are even having this debate,” she said. In the earliest days of Parliament by Zoom, Ashton appeared before a House committee to advocate for virtual proceedings. In a conversation with POLITICO at the time — while her then toddler twins napped — the MP from northern Manitoba spoke of a future in which a digital House would make political life more accessible to new parents. “It's not rocket science,” she said Thursday. — And … the response: JAMIE SCHMALE, the MP for Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock who filmed a buzzing House on Wednesday afternoon, thanked Ashton for her input before advising that an election is like a job application, “And the job is in Ottawa.” DAYS WITH NO DOCS: 31 — A month has passed since the new Cabinet was sworn in, and still the Prime Minister's office has made no mention of powerful Cabinet committee membership or new mandate letters for ministers — a key document that sets the government's priorities. Playbook is counting the days. We'll stop when the documents flow. CENTRALIZING CLIMATE — One of the five reports tabled by the Canada’s environmental watchdog yesterday zeroed in on the observation the federal department leading Trudeau’s climate agenda doesn’t have the clout to drive it. Environment and Climate Change Canada leads the file, but it’s not a central agency. “It cannot compel other federal organizations to undertake work related to climate change under their respective mandates,” Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner JERRY DEMARCO’s “lessons learned” report explained. It’s a critical detail as the Liberals move to double down on an ambitious climate agenda with 2030 and net-zero targets on the horizon. Former environment minister JONATHAN WILKINSON’s shuffle to natural resources reflects an effort to spur more policy cohesion. — As DeMarco put it: “When you have different departments pushing in different directions, you get problems like the emissions level going up even though you have individual programs trying to make them go down.” For live examples of this “policy incoherence,” the watchdog pointed to the 2018 decision to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline, and last year’s launch of the Onshore Program of the Emissions Reduction Fund which, as it turns out, hasn’t reduced emissions despite its name. Youch. ZI-ANN LUM has the story here. — Look at France: Some 39 ministers were appointed to Trudeau’s cabinet and climate action is expected to be throughline in each. In France, responsibility on the file is shared by a council of ministers. Pointing to this example, DeMarco suggests there’s room for finance and the Privy Council Office to play a bigger role if the Liberal government is serious about bringing in efficacious climate policies. (Attn: Minister of everything, CHRYSTIA FREELAND.) — Pro s can download a poster of Trudeau’s cabinet, and key ministers, here |  | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | — Deputy PM FREELAND will hold down the fort in QP. She'll meet with private sector economists in the early afternoon, which sounds like what a finance minister would do in the leadup to a near-future fiscal update. — Labor Minister SEAMUS O'REGAN and Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI will make a 12:15 ET announcement. A technical briefing will follow, not precede, their news. | | | — As many MPs take off for their ridings, Freeland's Covid relief bill will see its first bona fide debate in the Commons. | | | NATIONAL UNITY — You don't have to go far in Ottawa to find a Conservative who's worried about national unity. Take MICHELLE REMPEL GARNER on Thursday, for example: “Canada must take strong action to address climate change and protect our environment. We must also simultaneously address a crisis of rising costs, a crisis of national unity, and a crisis of waning hope of economic inclusion for many Canadians — particularly young people." Playbook asked pollsters if their data shows warning signs of a fraying nation. DAVID COLETTO, CEO of Abacus Data: I'm not seeing any evidence in our polling that would suggest we are anywhere near a national unity crisis. Yes, there are folks in some parts of the country that are deeply upset about the direction of the country or dislike the current political leadership in Ottawa — but that's not new. That dissatisfaction is more about partisanship than it is about deep-seated regional resentment. If anything, I'm seeing a general malaise or apathy towards politics of any political stripe due to the exhaustion and burnout caused by the pandemic than by anything being done by political leaders in Ottawa or in provincial capitals. SHACHI KURL, president of the Angus Reid Institute: "If you’re talking about national cohesion — the idea that Canada is a country wherein provinces largely pull in the same direction — there are plenty of indications that the federation is fracturing, or at least fraying a little. Ontario and Quebec are doing their own thing vis-a-vis the notwithstanding clause on various pieces of legislation. In Saskatchewan, Scott Moe is talking of being a “nation within a nation” over carbon emissions. In Alberta, Jason Kenney wanted to take equalization out of the Constitution. It goes on. The thing is, it generally plays well “at home” — i.e. at the provincial level. So between local popularity and a gaggle of federal party leaders generally happy to leave the provinces to their own devices, we find wildly varying ideas of Canadian identity. Where 89 percent of Ontarians consider themselves to be “Canadian first," that sentiment drops to 27 percent in Newfoundland and Labrador, 38 percent in Quebec and 43 percent in Saskatchewan. | | ASK US ANYTHING | | What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? Any questions about the next session of Parliament? Send it all our way. | | PROZONE | | Pro s should catch ZI-ANN LUM’s Pro PM Memo: Hardball and softwood: Why now, what's next. In other headlines for Pros:
— WTO chief urges countries drop 'all-or-nothing' approach in vaccine negotiations.
— ‘Don’t answer your phone.’ Health experts feared Cuomo’s intervention at pandemic’s height.
— Trade panel calls for extending tariffs on Chinese solar equipment.
— Watchdog: Department in charge of Trudeau's climate agenda lacks clout to drive it. | | MEDIA ROOM | | — From our colleagues in Europe: European Commission to propose Southern Africa travel shutdown over new coronavirus variant. — THE NARWHAL shares AMBER BRACKEN’s photo essay: A view of RCMP arrests of media, Indigenous land defenders on Wet’suwet’en territory. — Economists MIKE MOFFATT and KEN BOESSENKOOL demystify Canada's inflation woes and make a demand of Bank of Canada governor TIFF MACKLEM: "Look to that often under-utilized tool of monetary policy — public communications — to explain in plain language why Canadians are seeing prices rise, and what he intends to do about it." — From the CBC, a Q&A with new interim Green Party Leader AMITA KUTTNER. — NPR reports: Canada taps into strategic reserves to deal with massive shortage ... of maple syrup. What are you reading? Playbook wants to know. — “While I acknowledge this is a minority view, I believe JASON KENNEY has the chance to author a stunning political resurrection,” GARY MASON writes in the Globe. — POLICY OPTIONS shares an essay on the Access to Information Act. Spoiler: Feature includes the word “shambles.” | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Birthdays: Happy 40th to JON RYAN, the Super Bowl-winning kicker and brother-in-law to former Tory leader ANDREW SCHEER. … Toronto councilor MIKE LAYTON is 41. … NDP MP CAROL HUGHES is 63, which means the House ought to be on good behavior when she's in the chair as assistant deputy speaker. Spotted: Via CTV's DANIELE HAMAMDJIAN, a photo of female Afghan MPs in Greece who are planning a "parallel parliament" in Toronto. … CABC CEO SCOTTY GREENWOOD, trotting with turkeys down Pennsylvania Avenue (spot the Canadian embassy on the left!). … Northern Affairs Minister DAN VANDAL meeting with Iqaluit Mayor KENNY BELL. … Mayor JOHN TORY handing the key to Toronto to GORDON LIGHTFOOT. Movers and shakers: LAURA PENNELL has left the Hill. The now-former senior adviser for strategy and operations to CHRYSTIA FREELAND spent six years in ministers' offices. She's heading to iPolitics — and got the PoliLego treatment on the way out the door … MARLO RAYNOLDS, the chief of staff to both pre-STEVEN GUILBEAULT Liberal environment ministers, officially hung up the skates. ... NATACHA ENGEL, formerly a PMO deputy director and senior advisor to MARY NG, is also bidding that world adieu. The Empire Club of Canada will name PERRY BELLEGARDE the Nation Builder of the Year next month. ... The Assembly of First Nations named the delegates who will travel to the Vatican to meet POPE FRANCIS. Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation Kukpi7 (Chief) ROSEANNE CASIMIR is among the group of 13. SYDNEY GRAD, a former Tory staffer in Ottawa and Toronto, joins McMillan Vantage as a GR intern. … McMillan's ASHLEY CSANADY is now lobbying for the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Arterra Wines Canada. Media mentions: MP FRANCIS SCARPALEGGIA paid tribute to RACHEL WATTS, a fourth-year journalism student at Carleton who picked up the Fraser MacDougall Prize for best new Canadian voice in human rights reporting. Here’s her winning entry. “Rachel Watts is clearly on the cusp of a promising and exciting career as a journalist,” he told the House on Thursday. | | TRIVIA | | Thursday's answer: MAGDALENA ANDERSSON was PM of Sweden for seven hours this week. Our colleagues in Europe report that she is set to get a second chance to take the post on Monday. Props to ANNA KISIELEWSKA, TREVOR RODIE, BRAM ABRAMSON, ELIZABETH BURN, ALYSON FAIR, MICHAEL MACDONALD, JOHN GUOBA, ZEV LEWIS, GANGA WIGNARAJAH, BEN ROTH, PAUL GILLETT and JENN KEAY. Friday’s question: Who was the first MP to give birth while in office? Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without Luiza Ch. Savage, editor Sue Allan, Zi-Ann Lum and Andy Blatchford. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Alejandra Waase to find out how: awaase@politico.com.
| | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
