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Presented by General Atomics Aeronautical : A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Maura Forrest and Nick Taylor-Vaisey | | | Send tips | Subscribe here | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading the Ottawa Playbook. Today, members of Parliament will pay tribute to QUEEN ELIZABETH II. Or some of them will, anyway. We bring you an on-the-ground update on CETA negotiations from Germany. And we take you through the endless squabbling over what should (and shouldn’t) be on PIERRE POILIEVRE’s Wikipedia page.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Queen Elizabeth II. | Christophe Ena/AP Photo |
“LOYALTY AND DEVOTION” — "Parliaments and governments may come and go, but the ancient Crown remains above party differences and party strife, signifying continuity yet ever reminding us of the age-old road we still must travel in search of complete freedom, democracy and peace."
So spoke M.J. COLDWELL, leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, on Feb. 28, 1952. That was the last time the House of Commons sat to pay tribute after the death of a monarch. Today, the tradition will be repeated for the first time in 70 years. But the times, as they say, have a-changed, and the tone from certain quarters of the Chamber may be a little different this time around. — What to expect: The House of Commons will convene this morning for a special sitting to mark the Queen’s death. Each party leader will have a chance to make a speech, starting with Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU at 10 a.m. ET, followed by other MPs. The sitting may extend into Friday. JAGMEET SINGH , leader of the CCF’s successor, the NDP, has said he doesn’t see the relevance of the monarchy, and his comments about the queen’s death have thus far been rather muted. An NDP source told Playbook Singh’s speech will be “dignified, respectful, not over the top.” Don’t expect a repeat of Coldwell’s homage. “There’s an appropriate acknowledgement of the responsibility and challenge of colonialism and the recent massacre in Saskatchewan,” the source said, adding that roughly 10 of the party’s 25 MPs will speak. — No love lost: And then there’s the Bloc Québécois, which let’s just say is not overly fond of the monarchy. Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET this week penned an op-ed in Quebec newspapers calling for “a reflection on the continuation of our subjugation to a power that Quebecers, as a people, have never chosen.” A Bloc spokesperson told Playbook that 30 out of the Bloc’s 32 MPs will be present today. Blanchet will speak, but the rest of his caucus will stay silent. During a press conference Wednesday, Blanchet called the other federal parties “dangerously monarchist,” and said that once the mourning period has ended, the Bloc will push harder to ditch the monarchy. — Then and now: Back in 1952, the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion declaring the Canadian people’s “loyalty and devotion” to the new, young queen. Today, it appears the government will table a motion of “sympathy.” As we said, times have changed. — In related reading from POLITICO: The tragedy of King Charles III.
| | | | A message from Team SkyGuardian Canada: Leveraging the well-proven MQ-9 platform that has supported Five Eyes and NATO missions for more than a decade, Team SkyGuardian brings together the best in business and technology to serve Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the many industries that support them. Our government and industry team will help ensure Canada’s safety and security for the long term. | | | | | For your radar | | TAKE NO PRISONERS — The Conservatives would like their seat back, and don’t make them ask twice. A day after MP ALAIN RAYES announced he was quitting the Conservative caucus to sit as an Independent, party members in his Quebec riding, including Rayes himself, received a text message asking them to call his office and demand that he resign his seat. “[Rayes] has decided not to fight Trudeau’s inflation with PIERRE POILIEVRE’s united team,” reads the message, which Rayes read on the air on the radio program Midi info. — Mea culpa. At first, it wasn't clear who sent the message. An anonymous member of Poilievre's team told Radio-Canada an errant campaign worker may have been to blame. “I personally do not support this kind of message,” the person said. “We have other fish to fry than fighting with Alain Rayes.” But by the end of the night, the party had taken the blame. "The Conservative Party of Canada apologizes for an automated text message sent out earlier today to party members," read a tweet. — Rayes was outraged. “It’s disgusting,” he told La Presse’s JOËL-DENIS BELLAVANCE earlier in the day. “It’s quite simply unbelievable.” The MP called on his (former) Quebec colleagues to “stand up and denounce” the underhanded campaign. Curiously, the other nine Conservative MPs from Quebec did not immediately jump to his defense. PIERRE PAUL-HUS, the new Quebec lieutenant, was on Midi info just after Rayes, and dismissed the whole affair as “internal squabbles.” — But one person who did have something to say is LAURENCE TÔTH, campaign spokesperson for JEAN CHAREST , whom Rayes supported during the leadership race. “Those who thought Mr. Poilievre’s leadership would be different from his campaign…!” she wrote on Twitter. You can fill in the rest. — In other Tory news: Poilievre will move into Stornoway, the residence of the leader of the official Opposition in Ottawa’s affluent Rockcliffe neighborhood, the Globe and Mail’s IAN BAILEY reports. — Also: Former MP TONY CLEMENT has been appointed a director of the Conservative fund, sources tell the Hill Times’ ABBAS RANA. BATTLE OF WIKIPEDIA — We all know the first stop for most casual observers of PIERRE POILIEVRE's career is everybody's favorite crowdsourced information source. The people who self-regulate the site's content are duking it out in the edits. Whoever triumphs gets to introduce Canada's most powerful Conservative to the whole world. Poilievre's Wiki page has racked up hundreds of thousands of hits since editor Handoto inserted "Leader of the Official Opposition" into the body of the page. The feisty Tory wasn't a huge draw before his big win. His median number of daily clicks for the leadership campaign was just north of 2,500. But the day after his victory, traffic hit an all-time high of 145,988 pageviews. Tens of thousands more have dropped by every day this week. — Pesky details, big and small: The frenzy of revisions since Saturday night numbers in the dozens. Editors are quibbling over Poilievre's rhetoric, campaign promises and even the profile photo that greets every visitor. One mini-squabble debates the merits of slotting policy proposals in the page's top section — valuable real estate in a distracted world. Ak-eater06 lopped off a chunk of Poilievre's record on infrastructure, arguing readers "do not need to know every single piece of infrastructure he supported." Hiyournameis complained that a campaign website isn't an unbiased source. Ghostofdangurney replaced the word "stated" with "claimed." An extended fight centered on Poilievre's profile photo, which dates to 2014. "What about this one? I took this myself when I met him," suggested Wikipageedittor099, an editor whose user page is inundated with warnings about faulty revisions. "It has him awkwardly leaning forward. Nah," replied Akeater-06. The 2014 photo remains. — Delete, Undo: Three days after Poilievre's victory, an impossible-to-track Wikipedia user edited Poilievre campaign architect JENNI BYRNE's page to remove details of their previous romantic relationship. The absurd claim: "disinformation." A few hours later, another user restored the info : "I checked the reference and (the) information is correct."
| | | | A message from Team SkyGuardian Canada:   | | | BIG IN EUROPE — The prime minister’s pics with world leaders came up in a Brussels debate. MANFRED WEBER, leader of the European Parliament’s center-right European People’s Party, knocked French President EMMANUEL MACRON and German Chancellor OLAF SCHOLZ for not ratifying CETA, the EU’s free trade deal with Canada. “But they are great at doing pictures with Trudeau,” Weber said during a debate immediately after URSULA VON DER LEYEN’s state of the union address Wednesday, in which she advised lawmakers to focus foreign policy on "like-minded partners." Next week marks five years since CETA was provisionally applied. Sixteen of 27 member states have ratified the deal. Germany remains a key holdout. — Bring out the advent calendars: A senior Canadian government official told Playbook that discussions are puttering along with German negotiators and ratification is expected in a matter of “months.” The biggest thorn is language around investor-state dispute settlement rules about who can and can’t sue whom. — Blinking contest: Germany wants clearer definitions around the dispute mechanism, arguing some pieces of the 2017 deal are already outdated, so new language is warranted. They want clarity that investors can’t sue over losses that may result from climate policies. Canada doesn’t want to reopen CETA. The topic will come up today for International Trade Minister MARY NG, who is in Neuhardenberg, Germany, wrapping up a two-day meeting with G-7 trade ministers. CANADA'S TRAVELING SALESMAN — Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE heads to California tomorrow after a series of meetings with the Big 3 automakers in Detroit. Champagne's office didn't offer any hints, but the minister's tweet alluded opaquely to meetings with "another auto manufacturer." Tesla operates an assembly plant in Cali. Wouldn't you know it, the company lobbied the minister on Aug. 17. Also in that convo was ISED DM SIMON KENNEDY, along with Champagne staff: senior policy advisor KEVIN DEAGLE, policy advisor PETER OPDAM, senior comms manager LAURIE BOUCHARD, and executive assistant HÉLÉNA BOTELHO.
| | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | — International Trade Minister MARY NG is in Germany for a meeting with G-7 trade ministers. 10 a.m. Trudeau will deliver remarks in the House of Commons as part of a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will also be in the House this morning. 4 p.m. Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT is scheduled to make an announcement on home heating.
| | PAPER TRAIL | | RECORD SCRATCH — When passport application backlogs were the topic du jour at the House government operations and estimates committee in June, Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER looked MPs in the eyes and said hundreds of staff have been hired to remedy the issue. “I don't have the number per se, but I can find it. I think I have 600 in mind, but I will get you the exact number of human resources and also in capacity for the passport delivery,” Fortier said at the time. Her department got the exact number and the committee published it Wednesday. It’s much lower than advertised. Spoiler alert: It’s just 78. You can check our math, but we think that’s less than 600. The department’s official written response: Only 78 full-time employees were hired at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to support passport application processing. “The majority facilitate processing by providing administrative support in the form of managing intake of the mail-in applications, scanning documents and some (15) process passport applications,” the document read.
| | | | A message from Team SkyGuardian Canada: Learn about the remotely piloted multi-mission aircraft building Canadian industrial partnerships that deliver sovereignty and security for Canada. | | | | | MEDIA ROOM | | — U.S. President Joe Biden said this morning that a tentative railway labor deal has been reached, averting strike. The AP has early details. — Top of POLITICO this hour: How four private groups used their clout to control the global Covid response — with little oversight. — EMMA TRANTER of Nunatsiaq News reports from France: French Oblates plan to kick out Johannes Rivoire. — On The Big Story pod today: Will the government get tough on telecoms? — TVO's STEVE PAIKIN offers up what he admits is "either a nutty or intriguingly creative idea": Ontario Green leader MIKE SCHREINER jumping into the provincial Liberal leadership race. Witness a former Green candidate get salty at the suggestion. — Here’s a Bloomberg story on the U.S. that may sound familiar: “Relentless grocery inflation inflames partisan fight about fixes.” — On the Alberta Unbound pod, BRANDI MORIN talks to Sen. PAULA SIMONS about her memoir, Our Voice of Fire. — “The organization of science policy is the most overlooked feature of modern industrial policy,” ROBERT ASSELIN writes in a report this week from the Public Policy Forum.
| | PROZONE | | If you’re a , don’t miss our latest newsletter: More CanCon, more data. In other Pro headlines:
— European Commission releases forced labor ban proposal.
— Podesta-led White House team tagged to execute climate law.
— Lawmakers scrutinize tech’s role in domestic extremism and Chinese espionage.
— EU court largely backs Google Android fine.
— European Parliament approves higher targets for renewables, energy efficiency.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Birthdays: HBD to former MP GARY SCHELLENBERGER and New Brunswick MLA RÉJEAN SAVOIE. HBD + 1 to the CBC’s KATE MCKENNA. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Spotted: Conservative MP JOËL GODIN in Paris shaking hands with Canadian Ambassador to France, STÉPHANE DION … Former PMO research and advertising specialist ALEX KOHUT, enjoying life after politics … Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE, talking EVs in Motor City. ROBERT MALLEY, former president of the International Crisis Group, meeting MICHAEL KOVRIG in person for the first time since his release from China. Movers and shakers: LAURIE-ANNE KEMPTON is starting a new gig as assistant secretary to the Cabinet for Communications at the Privy Council Office. Canada's man at the U.N., BOB RAE, was named the Parliamentary Centre's inaugural recipient of its Because Democracy Matters Award. Rae will collect the award at a ceremony at the British High Commissioner's residence on Sept. 20. Capilano Policy Group consultant RICHARD DUNN, a panelist on both Alberta's Power and Natural Gas Consumers' Panel and the federal Impact Assessment Agency, signed up four helium producers as clients. They all want Ottawa to designate helium as a "priority critical mineral" for tax purposes. MICHAEL MCSWEENEY is repping St. Mary's Cement, which wants federal officials to "speed up the immigration application process." Brand-new Crestview Strategy consultant WILL WUEHR, fresh off a stint as an Ontario Liberal campaign adviser, is lobbying the feds to grant Songbird Life Science a contract for a saliva-based rapid test. Send Playbookers tips to ottawaplaybook@politico.com . Hitched: Toronto Star reporter SARA MOJTEHEDZADEH married rapper CADENCE WEAPON: "You never know what might come of attending a labour conference." Media mentions: Congrats to JUSTIN LING for his Amnesty Canada Media Awards — for Houses of hate (Maclean’s) and for Season 2 of his podcast, The Village (CBC). All of the winners are here. Condolences: Longtime Hill staffer TREVOR HARRISON passed away Tuesday at 36. Harrison lived with a brain tumor for more than a decade, even as he worked for MICHAEL IGNATIEFF and then CHRYSTIA FREELAND. He spent his last year traveling the world with his partner, Kaisha Thompson. His obit noted the pair traveled upwards of 79,000 kilometers to see friends and family "with the help of Scott McCord" — a travel agent who reliably finds crafty solutions for getting from A to B. — Economist STEPHEN GORDON shared his brother’s obituary on Twitter. BRIAN JOHN GORDON died by suicide in August. “Brian’s life and death deserve the dignity to be shared publicly,” reads the obit. “He was a loving, brilliant, kind person who deserved so much better in his short life. The more we all learn about suicide, mental illness and addiction, maybe more voices will demand change so everyone can live with dignity and hope.”
| | TRIVIA | | Wednesday’s answer: “Be careful when you die. And burn your diaries,” historian CHRISTOPHER DUMMITT advised after writing a book on MACKENZIE KING. Props to NARESH RAGHUBEER, AMY BOUGHNER, ROSS LECLAIR, ANNE-MARIE STACEY, LAURA JARVIS, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, MARIE-DANIELLE SMITH, JOANNA PLATER, BOOTS TAYLOR-VAISEY and NANCI WAUGH. Today’s question: Speaking of Mackenzie King, who did he accompany on a cross-country tour in 1939? 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, editor Ben Pauker 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 | | | | |  |
