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A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Nick Taylor-Vaisey | Send tips | Subscribe here | Follow Politico Canada Welcome to Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey. Today, a brief moment of collegiality interrupts the inevitable. Plus, survey says almost one-in-three Cabinet ministers has beef with the Privy Council Office. Also, JOSEPH BOURGAULT and his frequent campaign sidekick THEO FLEURY say Bourgault is on the Tory leadership ballot. Did someone forward you this Playbook? Click here to sign up for your own subscription to this free newsletter.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | THIS WEEK IN PARLIAMENT — Things might get nasty in the Commons (now there's an evergreen lede). Let's start with something nonpartisan. The first order of business in the House today is debate on Liberal MP CHANDRA ARYA 's motion to establish November as Hindu Heritage Month. The first hint that this'll produce a happy moment of collegiality is that MPs from all corners are co-seconding the motion. Fellow Liberal SHAUN CHEN was first the first co-seconder on Jan. 6, and seven Liberals have since done the same. Tory leadership contender LESLYN LEWIS added her name on April 4, as did four of her caucus colleagues. NDP MP PETER JULIAN added his name last Wednesday. That makes three parties. — Fun's over: MPs will then debate a pair of contentious items. At noon, Government House Leader MARK HOLLAND's motion to extend sitting hours until June gets the House's attention for two hours. The Tories have a bee in their bonnet over a buried clause that would allow the government to motion to adjourn the House until September. Holland insists Liberals intend to sit through June, and would only move that motion at the tail end of the session. Last December, the House agreed to adjourn a day early before the holiday break. But Tory House Leader JOHN BRASSARD does not trust Holland's word. It'll all come to a vote after question period. Expect much booing from the Official Opposition. — Contentious Thing No. 2: Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND's Bill C-8, which legislates a raft of fiscal update measures dating to last year. Highlights include a tax on vacant foreign-owned property, a business tax credit for ventilation expenses, and a tax credit for farmers facing fuel charges. The bill would unlock federal funding to improve ventilation in schools and for Covid tests (as well as proof-of-vaccination programs, though many provinces have already dropped those requirements). As CBC's AARON WHERRY reports , Conservatives keep making speeches on the bill, which is their right, so the House has yet to vote on it. Brassard said his party's concerns with the bill are real, not imagined. "I know that the government is going to blame obstruction and obfuscation on the part of the opposition, but nothing could be further from the truth," he said Thursday. — Budget bill: Freeland tabled Bill C-19 last Thursday, and the Commons will start debate on it this week. It's a biggie of a bill meant to implement provisions from the minister's April budget plan. Playbook will sort through its innards later this week.
| | For your radar | | YOU ARE INVITED — Ottawa Playbook’s fourth virtual trivia night is Wednesday at 8 p.m. It’s not too late to join. Gather your nerdiest friends and fire us an RSVP.
| | ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR | | CABINET DISSATISFACTION — A 2021 survey of JUSTIN TRUDEAU's Cabinet ministers revealed that seven in 10 were "satisfied with service and advice from the Privy Council Office." PCO is the nerve center of the federal government that advises and supports the PM and his ministry. Clearly, there's room for improvement. That stat is buried in PCO's 2022-23 Departmental Plan, an annual planning document published by most government bodies that forecasts spending, tracks priorities and flags key risks. It's the only reference to the Cabinet survey. This year's plans were published in March to little fanfare. The news might get worse for the civil servants who prep Cabinet. They're trending in the wrong direction. Their stated goal is to satisfy 80 percent of ministers. In 2019, 75 percent were satisfied. (In 2020, the survey was preempted by Covid priorities.) — Don't take a risk: Federal public servants follow elaborate risk management guidelines as they try to foresee and prevent every way programs and policies can go south, which will surprise precisely nobody who watches the government in action. At the end of 2020, Employment Minister CARLA QUALTROUGH told your Playbook host in an interview that she hoped Covid — which forced people in power to move at lightning speed in the name of helping people — would make risk more palatable in the bureaucracy. "I hope we don’t step back into the old tendency to avoid risk at all costs," said Qualtrough. "I think, overall, we are more comfortable admitting things didn’t go as well as we’d hoped." — Some of the biggest risks: The authors of departmental plans aren't always candid about the risks they see on the horizon. And just because there's a risk doesn't mean things take a wrong turn. But sometimes there's no sugarcoating it. Here's a sampling, from the funny to the truly existential: — Statistics Canada's top-ranked risk is that it "may not have the workforce or the workplace it requires." Second-biggest risk? StatsCan "may not have access to or release accurate statistics," reads the report. Oh! — Over at Employment and Social Development Canada, "Past decisions to defer maintenance and updates have increased the risk of systems failure and reduce the department’s ability to innovate," reads that report. "Systems failure would negatively impact the department’s ability to continue to deliver programs and services to Canadians." — The RCMP's report flags a serious HR concern. "The inability to attract and retain employees with specialized skills, such as financial crime and cybercrime expertise, poses a great risk to (the police force's) operational effectiveness. — Parks Canada paints a bleak picture : "There is a risk that the integrity of ecosystems, cultural resources and infrastructure cannot be maintained or improved, which may lead to Parks Canada being unable to deliver its mandate." Any bets on which ministers are frustrated with the people tasked with making Cabinet run smoothly? Are you a Cabinet minister who wants to spill all the gory details to Playbook? Drop us a line at ottawaplaybook@politico.com.
| | CONSERVATIVE CORNER | | DEADLINE PAST — Friday marked the last day for Conservative leadership candidates to submit C$300,000 in entry fees and deposits, along with 500 required signatures of party members from all over Canada. It wasn't to be for former deputy leader LEONA ALLESLEV and current backbencher MARC DALTON, neither of whom could raise the cash. The party's Leadership Election Organizing Committee hasn't released an official list of candidates who cracked the ballot. LESLYN LEWIS, PIERRE POILIEVRE, JEAN CHAREST, PATRICK BROWN, ROMAN BABER and SCOTT AITCHISON all made the cut. But there may be more to come. Saskatchewan businessman JOSEPH BOURGAULT, an outspoken supporter of the Freedom Convoy who is certain the World Economic Forum has its tentacles in the Liberal Cabinet, claimed at a Saturday event in Humboldt that his campaign raised C$400,000 — a remarkable feat after Bourgault claimed only a week earlier that he was C$175,000 short. Bourgault is also now listed as a participant in the Canada Strong and Free Network debate on Thursday. Brown, an officially verified candidate, was not on the list late Sunday. MEET AND GREET — The Star's LEX HARVEY reports on Sunday's GTA event at which six CPC candidates shared a stage for the first time.
| | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | 9:15 a.m. PM Trudeau will attend Eid prayers with members of the Muslim community. 10:30 a.m. Tory MP MARILYN GLADU and Bloc Québécois MP MARILÈNE GILL , will hold a media availability in West Block on Gladu's Bill C-228, the Pension Protection Act. 11 a.m. Tory leadership candidate PIERRE POILIEVRE is in North York for a press conference with members of Canada’s Iranian community. 1 p.m. Trudeau will be in Windsor, Ont., for an announcement with Premier DOUG FORD, Innovation Minister FRANCOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE, Ontario Economic Development Minister VIC FEDELI and Stellantis North America Chief Operating Officer MARK STEWART. 1 p.m. Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will be in the hot seat at the House finance committee to defend Bill C-19. 1 p.m. Privacy Commissioner DANIEL THERRIEN will be at the House ethics committee, which is studying facial recognition technology. Therrien’s time as watchdog is up next month. In an April 21 op-ed, he pointed to his investigation of Clearview AI and called again for the government to enact much-needed legislation to effectively protect the privacy rights of Canadians. 5 p.m. Trade Minister MARY NG will join SIMU LIU on Instagram to kick off Asian Heritage Month. 6:15 p.m. Trudeau will make remarks at the National Culture Summit Welcome Reception. Heritage Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ will also be in attendance.
| | MEDIA ROOM | | — Top of CBC News this morning: Archbishop of Canterbury promises release of residential school records still in England. — The latest Hub Dialogues pod features conversation on the Conservative leadership race and the carbon tax. Notably, SEAN SPEER updates his thinking on LESLYN LEWIS in the wake of this CBC interview. “As we get to know more about her, I think the evidence is increasingly clear that she’s not up to the job to be prime minister,” he says. “Leslyn Lewis in theory seems to be a better candidate than Leslyn Lewis in reality.” — FATIMA SYED is on The Big Story pod this morning to discuss whether or not climate policy will show up on the campaign trail in Ontario. — ROB RUSSO joined The Bridge pod where discussion began with The Globe’s “scoop” on the Aga Khan. At the episode’s close, PETER MANSBRIDGE dropped a reference to 2007 and a speech STEPHEN HARPER made in Berlin on climate change. — Top of POLITICO this hour: Trumpworld braces for ‘a couple of ugly nights’ in May. — The NYT features a five byline investigation: How Western firms quietly enabled Russian oligarchs. — The nine watchdogs of Parliament must go cap-in-hand to seek funding from governments they oversee. “Each time the debate surfaces, MPs rail about it, reports are written, new mechanisms are proposed, but it never gets fixed,” KATHRYN MAY writes in Policy Options where she looks at the auditor general’s efforts to change that.
| | PROZONE | | For Pro s, POLITICO Canada’s daily policy newsletter: The week ahead: Brace for silly season. In other headlines for s:
— Is Gina McCarthy really a power broker on climate rules?
— Macron’s victory raises hopes of an EU free-trade boom.
— What's in store for Washington and crypto.
— Report: Most CBD sleep products are mislabeled.
| | ASK US ANYTHING | | TELL US EVERYTHING — What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? Send it all our way.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Birthdays: HBD to BELINDA STRONACH, JIM KARYGIANNIS, ROGER GRIMES and COLBY COSH. NDP MP LAUREL COLLINS celebrated the first birthday of daughter ALORA: “It has been a wild year watching her grow.” NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH joined the festivities. Belated greetings to the CBC's TOM POWER and Curse of Politics co-star SCOTT REID. Spotted: Former Cabinet minister NAVDEEP BAINS picked up the Harry Jerome Award Diversity Award at a Saturday night gala at Beanfield Center, Exhibition Place. JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD, at the finish of the Vancouver marathon. The PMO's BRIAN CLOW with Ambassador KIRSTEN HILLMAN at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Media moves: “It’s Political with ALTHIA RAJ,” a new Canadian political pod, debuts this Thursday. Movers and shakers: AP correspondent and Canadian journalist KATHY GANNON will receive the Columbia Journalism Award for a distinguished career as an international correspondent. KEVIN FALCON, leader of the British Columbia Liberals, earned a seat in the legislature after a byelection win in Vancouver-Quilchena riding. Farewells: Condolences to MERCEDES STEPHENSON. She shared her dad’s obituary on Saturday. CHRIS HALL announced Friday that he’s leaving CBC’s The House. “He is the epitome of integrity. The smartest political mind I know. I will miss him. Last show July 2,” tweeted the CBC’s KATHLEEN PETTY. JEAN-PIERRE BLAIS announced that his last official day at work will be June 8. “After more than 28 years (24 of those as either assistant deputy minister, assistant secretary or deputy head), I will be retiring.”
| | Talk of the town | | TRIVIA NIGHT, IN REAL LIFE — Playbook Trivia is going non-virtual: Thursday, June 9 at the METROPOLITAIN in Ottawa! Gather your team, then send us an RSVP, because space will be limited.
| | On the Hill | | Keep up to House committee schedules here. Find Senate meeting schedules here. 11 a.m. The House transport committee is looking at supply chains and will hear from the Vancouver and Prince Rupert port authorities, plus the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association and others. 11 a.m. The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations meets to discuss “Review of Statutory Instruments.” 11 a.m. Privacy Commissioner DANIEL THERRIEN is on the witness list at the House ethics committee, which is studying the use and impact of facial recognition technology. 11 a.m. The House agriculture committee will hear from grain growers, cattlemen and others as it studies the environmental contribution of agriculture. 11 a.m. The House foreign affairs committee will hear from ambassadors LESLIE SCANLON and DAVID ANGELL, plus YULIIA KOVALIV , ambassador-designate of Ukraine in Canada. 1 p.m. Freeland will be at the House finance committee to discuss Bill C-19 with 51 government officials. 3:30 p.m. Chief Public Health Officer THERESA TAM will be at the House health committee with President of the Public Health Agency of Canada HARPREET S. KOCHAR with updates on Covid-19. 3:30 p.m. The House heritage committee will be behind closed doors to consider a report on the impact of local news on Rogers Communications Inc.'s takeover of Shaw Communications. 3:30 p.m. The House natural resources committee will hear from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Center for Strategic and International Studies, International Institute for Sustainable Development and ÉRIC PINEAULT. 3:30 p.m. The House official languages committee will meet at a closed meeting to discuss its report on ways to promote French in Quebec and Canada. 3:30 p.m. On the agenda at the House national defense committee: “Rising Domestic Operational Deployments and Challenges for the Canadian Armed Forces.” 3:30 p.m. The House international trade committee will hear from JEFF NAKIVELL of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, TREVOR KENNEDY of the Business Council of Canada and others as it studies Canadian businesses in the Indo-Pacific. 6:30 p.m. Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY will appear in the first hour of this meeting of the House Special Committee on Afghanistan. 6:30 p.m. The Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying continues its statutory review of the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to medical assistance in dying.
| | TRIVIA | | Friday’s answer: The basic salary of a Canadian senator is C$164,500. Props to VICTOR KRISEL, MICHAEL SUNG, BEN ROTH, LEIGH LAMPERT, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and JOSH DADJO. Monday’s question: Who wrote, “There are wonderful rewards in public life: accomplishments unattainable anywhere else. But after a while, you wonder about seeing life at thirty thousand feet. It’s sort of nice to see it from the ground.” Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com 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. Playbook wouldn’t happen without Luiza Ch. Savage and editor Sue Allan. | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
