That's the kind of day it's been

By Nick Taylor-Vaisey

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Thanks for reading the Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey. Today, this newsletter celebrates a milestone. (Thanks for making that happen.) We have news on the news, plus the latest on the inquiry into the Emergencies Act.

HBD TO US — Today marks the first birthday of POLITICO's Ottawa Playbook.

This time last year, Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU had just put to end a summer's worth of election speculation — the worst-kept secret in town.

Playbook launched from the still-smoldering town of Lytton, British Columbia, and spent the campaign criss-crossing Canada, sleeping in a sampling of the nation's Comfort Inns.

We've since published hundreds of editions of this newsletter, deeply reported and designed to be the first read of the day for people who care about Canadian politics.

Playbook covers all the players without allegiances to any. Each edition also includes a virtual community billboard filled with birthdays, media mentions, recommended reads, job news, lobbyist registrations and trivia challenges.

We aim to fascinate, challenge, entertain and inform this growing audience.

Thank you for reading. Keep sending tips.

UNANCHORED — Bell Media was ready to roll on Monday after its highest-profile journalist scooped some news.

LISA LAFLAMME , the anchor of CTV National News, reported that she was "departing the network" after 35 years. A news release hinted vaguely at what went down.

— What the release said: "Recognizing changing viewer habits, CTV recently advised LaFlamme that it had made the business decision to move its acclaimed news show, CTV National News, and the role of its Chief News Anchor in a different direction."

— First with the story: The veteran anchor didn't go quietly. She shared a video on social media with her own version of events. "I was blindsided, shocked and saddened" by the network's decision, she said.

LaFlamme said she was told about the change in the anchor's chair on June 29, and asked to keep it quiet — "until the specifics of my exit could be resolved."

— Anchor sign off: Laflamme, who is 58, thanked her viewers. "This is a trust that I have never taken for granted — as a reporter and as an anchor. I am forever grateful to you, such loyal viewers, for sharing in the belief that news delivered with integrity and truth strengthens our democracy."

— Next up in the news: CTV did not waste a second. After tweeting news of LaFlamme’s exit, the network announced OMAR SACHEDINA as the new chief news anchor and senior editor of the flagship news program.

— Now that's a resumé: But for its lede, the brief CTV news story on Laflamme's exit read like she'd been promoted.

Bell Media exec KARINE MOSES described the news vet as “a trusted broadcaster and distinguished voice in Canadian news" who had "been on the front line of the world’s biggest headlines.”

“With an unfailing commitment to delivering the stories that matter most to Canadians as part of Canada’s leading news team, Lisa has deftly guided viewers through both turbulent times and celebration, and we wish her nothing but the best as she begins a new chapter.”

The story noted that Laflamme's show picked up multiple awards during her decade-long run in the chair — including Best News Anchor earlier this year.

Not mentioned: Laflamme rocking out at a Newsapalooza fundraiser in 2017. Watch her rendition of "Proud Mary." h/t STEPHEN TAYLOR.

— Introductions: In the release announcing his promotion, Sachedina heaped praise on the woman he was replacing. “I am honoured to follow exemplary journalists, such as Lisa LaFlamme and LLOYD ROBERTSON, who have had the privilege of anchoring this newscast and established it as a go-to source for current events."

— Credentials: Moses, the network exec, credits Sachedina as a "veteran journalist who brings years of experience to his new role as anchor" He is the "ideal choice" and a "skilled anchor who connects with our viewers."

Someone like LaFlamme, say?

— Off to a bad start: Sachedina could've given Laflamme, say, a few hours to let her message to viewers breathe. He did not. And he was torched for it. If CTV's PR team advised Sachedina to go public in a cheery tweet, they might be in for an awkward post-mortem.

The Toronto Star quoted sources inside the CTV newsroom who described the aftermath of Monday's bombshell.

LIKE YESTERDAY'S NEWS — Needless to say, a lot of journalists and politicos had some things to say about the shakeup.

Here's a sampling:

TANYA TALAGA: "Media is not kind to women in their 50s."

RACHEL AIELLO: "I am both speechless and shocked by this. Lisa is an incredible, genuine journalist who I feel so lucky to have gotten to work closely with. This is hard news to hear but as the consummate professional she is, glad she delivered it herself."

TAHIYA BAKHT : "CTV completely missed the part of the pandemic where we all gasped in awe & jealousy when Lisa LaFlamme first debuted her grey hair."

CRAIG SILVERMAN: "This is the most ungenerous and sterile departure announcement for a longtime, well respected national anchor I have ever seen."

SEN. MARILOU MCPHEDRAN: "This is Canada’s great loss."

SEAN O'SHEA: "Lloyd Robertson worked as the network’s chief anchor until age 77. Am I missing something?"

DAVID COMMON: "Such a storied career should not end like this. Anyone who’s met her knows this is a pro who has made all her success, and hustles like few others. Happy for Omar, a lovely & talented man in a difficult spot, but to see Lisa ripped from the anchor desk…awful."

NORA LORETO: "This is how Bell Media treats his highest profile talent. Just imagine how they treat the folks at the bottom. Journalism in the service of profit will always fail and will always treat people as disposable."

A BAD LOOK — LaFlamme's unceremonious removal from the national news comes the same day the Toronto Star’s SABA EITIZAZ spoke to EVAN SOLOMON — on, yes, CTV — about dealing with online threats.

Eitizaz is one of many women journalists who's recently been on the receiving end of hateful, misogynist threats. As she spoke with Solomon about receiving death threats, a producer read out angry texts fired off by viewers who said journalists are whiners.

— Related: The Hill Times, in an editorial this week: Time for media to stand up against vile threats of violence.

SAVE THE DATES — You know how it goes when Ottawa falls into a deep obsession with a banner news event: five top stories on National Newswatch (and most of the "featured ink"), a hashtag rendered useless by the sheer volume of #breaking tweets, and characters who are elevated to household names for a day.

Mark your calendars for Sept. 19, the first opportunity for Justice PAUL S. ROULEAU's public inquiry into the government's invocation of the Emergencies Act — let's just call it the Rouleau Commission — to dominate headlines.

That's the first day Rouleau will preside over public hearings. And his first draft of a witness list, sketched out in a Monday news release, promises regularly scheduled fireworks.

Remember, this inquiry is in addition to the parliamentary committee that's separately studying the emergency measures, and has heard from some of the same voices. Both investigations were mandated by the Emergencies Act itself.

— How's that for timing? The House returns from its summer break the very same day. And the new Tory leader will (likely) be standing in the Commons for question period.

— What they're talking about: The protests that blockaded downtown Ottawa for three weeks in January and February. But also blockades in Windsor, Ont., Coutts, Alta., Emerson, Man., and the Pacific Highway border crossing.

— Who will testify: The commissioner, the release notes, "anticipates calling a wide variety of witnesses." The police? Yup. He wants to hear from "all levels of law enforcement." Politicians? You bet. Rouleau will call on "officials from federal, provincial and municipal governments." People who were frustrated by the occupiers' antics? Oh yeah. Rouleau will hear from "individuals, businesses and organizations impacted by the protests."

Did you think we forgot about the people doing the protesting? Rouleau will add "protest participants" to the list of witnesses — though it's unclear which participants. Will it include organizers like PAT KING and TAMARA LICH? Happy-go-lucky hot tub dwellers? Truckers who blared horns with abandon?

— What's expected of Cabmins and bureaucrats: "Ministers and officials of the federal government will provide evidence on the basis for the declaration of a public emergency and the measures taken during the declared emergency. Live testimony will be supplemented by written reports and other documents filed as evidence."

— The venue: Library and Archives Canada HQ on Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, mere blocks from the loudest honking through those chilly winter days and nights. (The portion of Wellington in front of LAC is now open to traffic; the street is still closed a few blocks to the east.)

Further reading: A radical idea for the capital city

At first blush, LAC isn't the most dramatic setting for a high-stakes public inquiry that could decide the fate of a sitting government. But remember when PM Trudeau and PATRICK BRAZEAU traded literal blows back in 2012? Few would've guessed the low-profile Hampton Inn on Coventry Road would host the fight of the year.

— Public participation: That's TBD. But Rouleau promises to "soon announce details" on how the public can participate in the process. Get ready for letter-writing campaigns.

— A reminder: The Rouleau Commission must submit its final report by Feb. 6. The government must table the report in the House and Senate two weeks after that.

— The PM will be in “private meetings.” Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will be in Toronto where she’s scheduled to hold a roundtable discussion with labor leaders.

7:30 a.m. The Association of Municipalities Ontario continues its annual conference in Ottawa through Wednesday.

8 a.m. Tory leadership candidate PIERRE POILIEVRE hosts a get-out-the-vote event at a winery outside Windsor, Ont.

8:30 a.m. Statistics Canada will release its Consumer Price Index for July.

9 a.m. The Parliamentary Budget Officer will release a new report: “Research and comparative analysis of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.”

9:30 a.m. Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO is in Waterloo, Ont. to make an announcement about what Ottawa is doing about cyberattacks and cyber threats.

9:30 a.m. Indigenous Services Minister PATTY HAJDU and Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER are scheduled to make an announcement for “increased supports” for nurses in remote and isolated communities.

10:30 a.m. Liberal MP HELENA JACZEK in Hamilton will make an announcement to support Black entrepreneurs and businesses.

10:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. AT) Liberal MP LENA DIAB is in Halifax to make an announcement to support the Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica Foundation.

11 a.m. MPs on the House public safety committee will hear from senior justice department officials and key representatives from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

11:30 a.m. Liberal MP ADAM VAN KOEVERDEN is in Toronto to make a funding announcement in relation to the government’s Community Sport for All program.

1 p.m. Tory MPs RAQUEL DANCHO and STEPHEN ELLIS will host a news conference on allegations of political interference in the 2020 Nova Scotia mass murder investigation.

6 p.m. Poilievre holds an event at a Best Western in London, Ont.

7:15 p.m. (4:15 PT) Trade Minister MARY NG will meet with the South Asian Business Association of British Columbia in Surrey, B.C.

For your calendar: The Liberals have announced they will hold their summer retreat from Sept. 11–13 in St. Andrews By-the-Sea, New Brunswick.

TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW — What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? Send it all our way.

— The Logic’s MURAD HEMMADI tweets the backstory to his feature on the broken state of Canada’s access-to-information system.

— Five former Toronto mayors lash out at Premier DOUG FORD's plan to give more power to the mayors of Ontario's two largest cities (and, as he told the Association of Municipalities Ontario conference on Monday, other mayors at some point in the future ).

— Five former Canadian ambassadors penned an op-ed to warn that Ottawa’s centralized decision-making is putting local embassy staff at risk.

— SUPRIYA DWIVEDI: Trumpism 2.0 and what it means for Canada.

— The Decibel pod asks, Why do CEOs get paid so much?

For POLITICO Pro s, our latest policy newsletter: Incoming: Fresh inflation numbers.

For your radar: Top takeaways from POLITICO Pro’s briefing on clean energy and tax provisions in Inflation Reduction Act.

In other news for s: 

— The world food crisis is about to get worse.
— Cyber sleuths take aim at election disinformation.
— Artificial intelligence was supposed to transform health care. It hasn’t.

Birthdays: HBD to former NDP MP IRENE MATHYSSEN. Birthday greetings also go to former CPC MP DEAN DEL MASTRO and Harper Cabmin STOCKWELL DAY. DAVID ANDERSON, the most recent Liberal to represent Victoria in the House — that was back in 2006 — turns 85 today.

HBD + 2 to Compass Rose public affairs counselor (and former Global News correspondent) SHIRLEE ENGEL.

Movers and shakers: PM Trudeau named ANITA NEVILLE the lieutenant-governor of Manitoba. CBC reports that Neville, a longtime Liberal MP in Winnipeg, will be the first Jewish person to hold the position. Conservative operative (and erstwhile Manitoban) MICHAEL DIAMOND described Neville as a "lovely lovely lovely person."

Sandstone Group's KEVIN BOSCH signed up to rep Tereposky & DeRose, a law firm that claims expertise in helping clients navigate economic sanctions. Top priority: "Engaging the government to understand the implications and possible remedies" on the Russia file.

KATIE GIBBS, co-founder of Evidence for Democracy and a Liberal candidate in the last Ontario election, is the new board chair at Ecology Ottawa.

From the ethics files: Defense Minister ANITA ANAND disclosed a lengthy list of her spouse's various corporate directorships. Total number of positions: 67.

The ethics commissioner slapped IRAWATI KHEDKAR, an intern on the PMO's operations team, with a C$100 fine for failing to provide supporting documents for a confidential report to the commissioner.

Spotted: Russian opposition figure ALEXEY NAVALNY, managing to describe solitary confinement : "The window is tiny, but the walls are too thick for any air flow — even the cobwebs don't move. There's no ventilation. At night you lie there and feel like a fish on the shore."

The CPC, livestreaming the ballot-counting process.

Business Council CEO GOLDY HYDER , "thrilled to be in Hyderabad (where I was born and lived the first seven formative years of my life) to celebrate India's 75th Independence Day."

The pollsters at Research Co., proving Canadians might say they prefer the metric system, but most still use imperial measurements for height, weight and oven temperature. (A majority of respondents claimed to rely on the metric system for volumes of liquid and the speed of their cars.)

Alberta Liberal Party nominations, closed with no takers.

Farewells: The Montreal Gazette reports that municipal politician ANDRÉ LAVALLÉE has died.

Monday’s answer: Senator MOHAMED-IQBAL RAVALIA dropped a reference to Harry Potter into Senate debate.

Props to ROBERT MCDOUGALL.

Tuesday’s question: Name two U.S. presidents in the 20th century who did not visit Canada during their terms in office.

Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com.

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