FACING THE CHIEFS — Before he jetted off to a Toronto fundraiser, Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU spoke to a virtual gathering of Assembly of First Nations chiefs — and then took their questions for 30 minutes. The PM delivered characteristically optimistic remarks about his government's commitment to reconciliation. A lineup of chiefs acknowledged the PM's words, but didn't hold back. "Your deputies are not doing their jobs," said DARRYL SHORTING of the Manitoba delegation, who said government apologies haven't been meaningful. "Come and visit us. We matter, too." THIS JUST IN — British judges have granted a U.S. request to extradite Julian Assange. PREDICTION TIME — As of Thursday morning, committees were officially a thing again. (Thanks to several readers for alerting Playbook to the hotly anticipated report of the procedure and House affairs committee — you know us well.) We're sneaking in a final round of speculation that spotlights the rump of ambitious and effective Liberal MPs whose last shot at glory is at the head of a table. — Agriculture: Nova Scotia's Liberal caucus includes one Cabinet minister and five parliamentary secretaries. KODY BLOIS, a rural-repping member of this committee since he was first elected, could get his due. — Heritage: Two Liberals on this committee have chairing experience: HEDY FRY at the same table, and ANTHONY HOUSEFATHER at justice. Enter MICHAEL COTEAU, a star candidate and KATHLEEN WYNNE -era cabmin. This one's a toss-up, but we'll land on Housefather — a Quebecer on a key file in that province. — Immigration: Scarborough–Centre's SALMA ZAHID chaired this committee before the election, so she's the odds-on favorite. (Unless the Liberal side wants to promote a westerner in SUKH DHALIWAL. The party's most influential positions tilt heavily to the east.) — Environment: The favorite is FRANCIS SCARPALEGGIA, a veteran MP who chaired this committee before the election. Then there's PATRICK WEILER, whose name regularly crept into Cabinet speculation — but was dropped from the roster of parliamentary secretaries. This gig could be a consolation. — Fisheries: The contenders are SERGE CORMIER from New Brunswick and KEN HARDIE from B.C.'s Lower Mainland. The government's most influential positions tilt heavily to the east — so this one could land with Hardie. — Foreign affairs: Some observers were aghast that SVEN SPENGEMANN was left out of Cabinet and snubbed from the big crop of parliamentary secretaries. He chaired this committee before the election. Yanking it away would add insult to injury. — Health: Gamblers might bet on MARCUS POWLOWSKI, a doctor who even scored a darkhorse spot on some Cabinet rosters. But SEAN CASEY is a hardened vet of the chair at human resources. He's the instant fave. — Human resources: On a certain timeline, WAYNE LONG would get the chair. He has sat on the committee since 2016, but a maverick streak in 2017 might have cause him to forfeit a big promotion. Is this the moment for P.EI.'s BOBBY MORRISSEY? — Indigenous affairs: This is MARC GARNEAU's only committee, but we're not betting he'll take the chair. It's also JENICA ATWIN's sole committee. She featured prominently in Cabinet speculation, but didn't land a parlsec position. Still, Playbook is inclined to go with MICHAEL MCLEOD, a three-termer from Northwest Territories. — Industry: Surely this is the consolation that JOËL LIGHTBOUND has been waiting for after being dropped from parlsec ranks. — International trade: Let's not kid ourselves. JUDY SGRO has chaired committees since STEPHEN HARPER's first term. She chaired this one before the election. If she's not reappointed, we'll turn it into a story. — Justice: The showdown for Nova Scotia's Cabinet spot pitted SEAN FRASER against LENA DIAB, a former provincial attorney general. Fraser won out, but this committee's portfolio was her bailiwick. — National defense: There's a case to be made for YVES ROBILLARD, a member of this committee since 2017. But he's up against JOHN MCKAY , a former parliamentary secretary on the file who is a serial committee chair. Our money is on Scarborough's longest-serving MP. — Natural resources: The favorite is JAMES MALONEY, the chair before the election. JOHN ALDAG, the former chair of environment and sustainable development, is also at the table. But Maloney is our pick. — Official languages: For eight years, Montrealer EMMANUEL DUBOURG has sat on the Liberal benches. That might give him an advantage over New Brunswicker RENÉ ARSENEAULT. — Science and tech: A former health committee chair, RON MCKINNON, could get the nod. But Etobicoke's KIRSTY DUNCAN, once the minister of science and now a veteran of the Liberal caucus, could trump the British Columbian. — Status of women: The clear favorite is ANITA VANDENBELD , a former parlsec who had an outside shot at Cabinet — and once chaired the pay equity committee. — Transport and infrastructure: Recall that PETER SCHIEFKE was dropped from the parlsecs after a six-year run. He could add committee chair to his resume. GEORGE CHAHAL could be a chair just a little further down the road. — Veterans affairs: We already picked SEAN CASEY for health, but the department watched over by this committee is headquartered in Casey's P.E.I. He's the favorite here, too. — Ethics: This committee is helmed by a Tory. Our pick is PET KELLY , a three-term Calgary MP who vice-chaired the finance committee until the election. — Government ops: This is another opposition-controlled committee. ROBERT KITCHEN chaired the last session, and we see no reason why he'd lose the gig. — Public accounts: The last of the oppo-run committees. PHILIP LAWRENCE is the only Conservative returnee to this table, so our money's on him. REGIONAL INFLUENCE — Playbook finally got a hold of the list of Liberal regional caucus chairs. They are MIKE KELLOWAY, JAIME BATTISTE, JOEL LIGHTBOUND, JAMES MALONEY, PATRICK WEILER, GEORGE CHAHAL, EMMANUELLA LAMBROPOULOS and KODY BLOIS. DAYS WITH NO DOCS: 45 — More than a month has passed since Cabinet was sworn in, and still the Prime Minister's Office has made no mention of new mandate letters for ministers. Playbook is counting. Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER told a Senate committee that she expects her mandate letter "very soon." Playbook keeps hearing a rumor they'll be published today. Count us skeptical, but happy to be wrong. SEMI-ANNUAL HEADACHES — It's a virtual guarantee. When Auditor General KAREN HOGAN drops an audit, she always finds deficiencies and inefficiencies. 'Twas ever thus. Yesterday brought four tomes of discontent. My colleague ZI-ANN LUM read through all of them so Pro s don't have to, but Playbook will stick to four key quotes that'll force some Liberal contrition. — On border control measures: “The Public Health Agency’s inability to confirm whether more than a third of travellers complied with quarantine orders remains a significant problem.” — On Canada's food system: “Though the government identified food as a critical infrastructure sector in 2009, it had not developed a national plan to respond to a crisis affecting Canada’s entire food system.” — On temporary foreign workers: “We found that the Employment and Social Development Canada’s inspections — whether they targeted quarantine, outbreaks or basic living conditions — provided little assurance that the health and safety of temporary foreign workers were protected during the 2020 and 2021 growing seasons." — On small business aid: "We found instances where funding was awarded to applicants who did not meet all of the eligibility criteria or where ineligible expenses were funded." | 
