|
A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Maura Forrest |
Send tips | Subscribe here | Follow Politico Canada
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Ottawa Playbook won’t publish Monday, Aug. 29 to Monday, Sept. 5. We’ll be back on our regular schedule Tuesday, Sept. 6. Welcome to the Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host, Maura Forrest, with Zi-Ann Lum. Today, we look at what’s at stake in the upcoming Quebec election. We bring you the eternal debate over private versus public health care. And Parks Canada ponders time limits for visitors to Banff National Park. |  | DRIVING THE DAY | |
AND THEY’RE OFF! — Or they will be on Sunday. Quebec Premier FRANÇOIS LEGAULT announced Tuesday in a video on social media that the Quebec election campaign will kick off on Aug. 28.
Or, rather, that it will kick off “for real,” since the province has been in campaign mode for weeks. Quebecers go to the polls Oct. 3. — What’s at stake: You’d be hard-pressed to find an expert who thinks this won’t be a coronation for Legault’s right-leaning Coalition Avenir Québec, with recent Léger polling placing support for the CAQ at 44 percent, and for the opposition Liberals at just 18 percent. — So what’s worth watching? The race for second place could get interesting. The Liberals, who hold 27 seats to the CAQ’s 76 under leader DOMINIQUE ANGLADE, are polling poorly among francophone voters and are behind the other major parties in fundraising. Earlier this month for POLITICO, 338Canada’s PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER questioned whether the Quebec Liberals will recover from this election. The left-leaning Québec Solidaire, with 10 seats, is gunning to be the official opposition. But it remains to be seen whether there’s a ceiling on support for the progressive, nationalist party led by MANON MASSÉ and GABRIEL NADEAU DUBOIS. Then there’s the Parti Québécois, whose leader PAUL ST-PIERRE PLAMONDON, in announcing the party’s slogan on Sunday, openly acknowledged calls for the movement to consign itself to oblivion. Instead, the sovereigntist party with seven seats in the legislature has reaffirmed its commitment to, uh, sovereignty. — The wild card: The upstart Conservative party, led by former radio shock jock ÉRIC DUHAIME , will probably command a disproportionate number of headlines. The party has just one representative in the National Assembly — a CAQ defector — but the Conservatives have been fundraising up a storm, and some polls have put them in second place. Duhaime is running a campaign that trades heavily on “freedom” — not unlike a certain federal Conservative candidate — and he’s been accused of pandering to anti-vaccine sentiment. — The issues to watch: It’s probably safe to say promises about health care and the cost of living will feature prominently on the campaign trail. The province is also in the throes of a contentious debate about language rights, after the CAQ passed Bill 96 last spring to protect the French language. Critics argue the law punishes the province’s English-speaking minority. An English-language leaders debate scheduled for September was canceled in May after Legault declined to participate. — A final thought: On Oct. 3, if the Liberals and Parti Québécois fare as badly as polls suggest they may, it will be further proof of a realignment in Quebec politics away from the debate over sovereignty. Do you enjoy Ottawa Playbook? Maybe you know others who may like it, too. Hit forward. Click here to sign up to this free newsletter. | | For your radar | |
THE P-WORD — Is the solution to Canada’s health-care woes more privatization? The age-old debate is rearing its head again in the face of emergency room closures and staff shortages across the country. And it was given fresh oxygen by Ontario’s plan, announced last week , to allow more surgeries at private clinics — though they would still be publicly funded.
This week, New Brunswick Premier BLAINE HIGGS weighed in at a meeting of provincial premiers to discuss health care. “I know we all want to maintain the building for us to have a publicly funded system, but we have to find innovative ways to deliver that so the people can get the health care they need. And today, it's pretty obvious they can't,” he told CTV News. Here, we present a brief rundown of some of the arguments for and against opening the door a little wider to private health care: FOR: — It would be cheaper: “The only thing worse than a monopoly is a government monopoly, and that’s what we have in health care,” former B.C. premier CHRISTY CLARK told Real Talk with RYAN JESPERSON earlier this month. — Other countries do it: For the National Post, TRISTIN HOPPER writes that “in virtually every other developed nation that offers universal health care, private options are a common and uncontroversial part of the… mix.” — People just want results: “Everybody knows someone who's been languishing in pain because they're not able to get treatment,” SEAN SPEER said on the latest episode of the Hub Dialogues roundtable. “I think we're on the cusp of a pretty radical change in the way health care is financed and delivered in Canada.” AGAINST: — It wouldn’t be cheaper: For the National Observer, MAX FAWCETT writes that “nurses from private agencies are being used to fill vacancies in Ontario’s system right now, and they can cost as much as four times what a nurse on the public payroll earns.” — It could siphon off staff from the public system: "Countries that have public-private systems, they spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to regulate the private [sector] so that it doesn't absorb all the resources from the public health-care system,” COLLEEN FLOOD, University of Ottawa research chair in health law and policy, told CBC News. — Not everyone will have access: “If you’re a capitalist looking to make money, you want to treat patients that are the lowest cost to treat. So those patients tend to be healthier patients. They’re cheaper to treat, they have fewer complications, they’re more likely to speak English, they’re more likely to be wealthy,” Dr. DANYAAL RAZA, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s department of family and community medicine, told the Toronto Star. THE LAST WORD: This goes to the Globe and Mail’s ANDRÉ PICARD, who would like us all to get off the “rhetorical merry-go-round” and recognize that “there is a role for both public and private funding and delivery in health care, but neither is a panacea.” Touché. — Related: Here’s TERESA WRIGHT with the first part of a new Global News series about the crisis in Canada’s health-care system. | | ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR | |
INFLATION BE DAMNED — Saskatchewan Premier SCOTT MOE is sending C$500 checks to residents this fall, thanks to a surge in oil prices.
In so doing, Moe joins a proud tradition of Conservative premiers who have lately decided free money is the way to voters’ hearts. Last spring, Quebec Premier FRANÇOIS LEGAULT sent C$500 to every Quebecer earning less than C$100,000, and promised another check by the end of 2022 — if he’s re-elected this fall. And earlier this year, just before his own re-election, Ontario Premier DOUG FORD scrapped license plate renewal fees and refunded those paid since March 2020 — which amounted to a check in the mail. — As for Moe’s plan: We’ll give the line of the day to Global News reporter ALEX BOUTILIER: “Please call this ‘Moe Money’ thank you.” GUST LUST — OLAF SCHOLZ and JUSTIN TRUDEAU wrapped up the German chancellor’s visit to Canada on Tuesday with a rather ambitious plan to start exporting hydrogen from Atlantic Canada to Germany in, oh, three years from now. It’s ambitious because Atlantic Canada doesn’t exactly have any hydrogen plants at the moment, and let’s just say Canadian environmental impact assessments don’t have a reputation for being quick. But the deal sets the foundation for a long-term you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-your-back kind of partnership between the two countries, part of Scholz’s bid to break free of Germany’s dependence on Russian energy. It was signed in Stephenville, Nfld., the site of a proposed wind farm that would produce so-called “green hydrogen.” — What Germany wants: It’s in the text of the deal. A safe economic market to “import
significant amounts of renewable hydrogen to decarbonize its hard-to-abate sectors in line with its 2045 climate neutrality target.” — What Canada wants: That’s also in the text of the deal. The dream is to “become a major producer and exporter of hydrogen as well as related clean technologies, while attracting foreign direct investment.” POLITICO’s ZI-ANN LUM has all the details for Pro s. — What about natural gas? On Monday, Trudeau suggested there’s not a strong business case for building a liquefied natural gas facility on Canada’s east coast, and made clear the two countries are focused on renewable energy. — For more: Here’s the Globe and Mail’s ADAM RADWANSKI arguing Trudeau’s government now needs to prove it’s “capable of overcoming this country’s inertia in building new industries.”
| | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | | 
Jens Stoltenberg | Thibault Camus/AP Photo | Today is Ukrainian Independence Day, and marks six months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. NATO Secretary General JENS STOLTENBERG arrives in Edmonton today. He and Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will travel to Cambridge Bay, Nunavut on Thursday and Cold Lake, Alta. on Friday. Trudeau will also travel to Edmonton today. 8 a.m. (9 a.m. ADT) Employment Minister CARLA QUALTROUGH will be in Halifax to announce funding to train workers in Atlantic Canada’s tech industry. 9:45 a.m. (10:45 a.m. ADT) Defense Minister ANITA ANAND will visit 5 Wing Goose Bay in Labrador and hold a press conference. 10 a.m. Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI will appear before the House of Commons justice committee to discuss MICHELLE O’BONSAWIN’s nomination to the Supreme Court of Canada. 10 a.m. Sport Minister PASCALE ST-ONGE will tour the Jardin communautaire écologique les Coccinelles de Bromont and will answer questions from the media. 10 a.m. Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET will hold a press conference about pelagic fishing in Chandler, Que. 11 a.m. NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will hold a press conference in Toronto about protecting Canada’s public healthcare system. 12 p.m. (10 a.m. MDT) Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS will be in Calgary to announce funding for long-term care in Alberta. 12 p.m. (9 a.m. PDT) Immigration Minister SEAN FRASER will highlight work to reduce backlogs in Canada’s immigration system and will hold a press conference in Vancouver. 12:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. CST) Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will be in Saskatoon to tour the operations of a potash and phosphate producer and discuss the importance of Canadian agriculture. A press conference will follow. 1 p.m. Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER will be in Ottawa to announce support for a major southern Ontario sporting event. 2 p.m. Supreme Court nominee MICHELLE O’BONSAWIN will take part in a question-and-answer session with members of the House of Commons justice committee and the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee. 2:45 p.m. (12:45 p.m. MDT) Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS will be in Calgary to announce funding for sexual and reproductive health services. 3 p.m. (12 p.m. PDT) Seniors Minister KAMAL KHERA will be in Victoria to announce funding for Red Seal construction apprentices in British Columbia. 3:45 p.m. (1:45 p.m. CST) Freeland will meet with Saskatoon Mayor CHARLIE CLARK. 4:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. CST) Freeland will visit a community organization that supports Ukrainian families. | | PAPER TRAIL | |
PEAK SEASON — Some day in the not-too-distant future, there may be a time limit on your visit to Banff National Park.
That’s one idea floated in a new management plan for the national park, released this week, which grapples with the ever-increasing crowds at Canada’s oldest national park. Banff now gets more than four million visitors every year, accounting for one in four visits to all of Canada’s national parks. Vehicle traffic in Banff has increased 30 percent in the last decade, according to the management plan, and traffic along Lake Louise Drive has risen by up to 70 percent. — And it’s not just Banff. Parks Canada has released management plans for seven of Canada’s mountain parks in Alberta and British Columbia, and worsening congestion is a constant theme. Visitors to Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks have increased by 24 percent over the last five years. Jasper National Park saw a 30-percent increase between 2010 and 2020. — What’s to be done? Many of the management plans suggest improving public transit options or shuttle services within the national parks. One suggests trail use reservations might cut congestion in busy areas. The Banff plan floats several other ideas, including an online portal allowing visitors to book green transportation to and within the park, safe bike parking at key attractions and, yes, timed limits to the length of stay in peak periods.
| | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO Pro s, our latest policy newsletter: It’s a deal sandwich kind of day.
In other news for s:
— White House launches new war on secrecy.
— Biden administration adds 7 Chinese entities to export control list.
— Whistleblower alleges Twitter hid security flaws from regulators.
— White House strategy for monkeypox vaccines causing ‘chaos out in the field.’ | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— Top of POLITICO this morning: Democrats gain momentum: 5 takeaways from the last big primary night of 2022.
— From NEIL MOSS and The Hill Times: Wait for a new ambassador in China grows eight months after Barton’s exit. — “The Profane Princess of Peterborough” DIANE THERRIEN is first up on The Curse of Politics this week, an episode of the podcast that also features SALLY HOUSER. — NDP MP RANDALL GARRISON spoke to DALE SMITH and Xtra about being a gay politician on the Hill. — The RCMP needs to improve its communication, both internally and with the public, Commissioner BRENDA LUCKI told the public inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia on Tuesday. — And here's MACK LAMOUREUX of Vice: Inside “QAnon Queen” Romana Didulo’s cult. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to retired Sen. LILLIAN EVA DYCK and former MP GORDIE HOGG.
HBD + 1 to journos CRAIG SILVERMAN and former CAJ president HUGO RODRIGUES. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Spotted: PARLIAMENT HILL, in blue and yellow. KEN DRYDEN, just about everywhere, talking about his new book: The Series: What I Remember, What It Felt Like, What It Feels Like Now. GERALD BUTTS, advising those writing Trudeau’s “political obituary” to “keep their ink dry.” The iconic photograph of WINSTON CHURCHILL taken from Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier was apparently stolen EIGHT MONTHS AGO. Here’s Sen. PAULA SIMONS posting photos with what she thought was the original, taken in June… and then realizing it was the fake. Movers and shakers: Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS announced LEIGH CHAPMAN as Canada’s new chief nursing officer. … LAURA KURKIMAKI has joined Earnscliffe Strategies. TERESA LINDMAN is marking the end of a four-month internship at PMO, but is staying on part-time as a writer. Send Playbookers tips to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. | | TRIVIA | |
Tuesday’s answer: In 1887, the Rocky Mountains Park Act established what we now know as Banff National Park.
Props to GORDON RANDALL, JASON MARKUSOFF, GREG MACEACHERN, DOUG RICE, MICHAEL MACDONALD, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, SHIFRAH GADAMSETTI, JONATHAN INGRAHAM, HARRY MCKONE, ETHAN SPENCER and NANCI WAUGH. Wednesday’s question: On Feb. 18, 1930, Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto. What happened to it on this date in 2006? Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness in 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 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 | | | | |  |
