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Presented by General Atomics Aeronautical: A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Zi-Ann Lum | | | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Zi-Ann | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host Zi-Ann Lum with Nick Taylor-Vaisey. Federal budget watchdog YVES GIROUX shares his two cents about inflation and the specter of a global recession — and a new report argues climate inaction is actually an affordability issue. Plus, we interrupt our politics program to bring you a textbook example of Good Canada-U.S. Relations in the wake of disaster. |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | WATCH IT — Federal budget watchdog YVES GIROUX seemed stunned by the quality of questions thrown at him Tuesday evening. “This is turning out to be probably the most interesting Senate testimony I've had in a long time,” Giroux said, setting off a chorus of chuckling senators at committee. The parliamentary budget officer deflated arguments that new money to temporarily double the GST and pay for children’s dental care will be the straw that sends the economy into a tizzy. Some inflationary impacts, sure, but that happens whenever the government injects more money into the system, be it through tax cuts or increased spending, he said. But the dollar amounts attached to the Liberals’ affordability plan are unlikely to have a measurable knock on Canada’s C$2.5-trillion economy: “It's not a significant amount of money.” — Flash forward : Even if Canada were to enter a recession, Giroux told senators “with the state of the labor market right now, I don't think it would be a recession à la 1982 where we saw massive layoffs and unemployment … I think a recession that were to happen would be relatively easy — painless, so to speak, compared to other recessions.” — Today’s reality: Inflation and affordability are high on the minds of Canadians and the politicians that want to lock their votes. Giroux was asked to explain why inflation in the U.K. is at 10 percent and the U.S. at 8 percent while Canada hovers at 7 percent. Simply, the structure of each country’s economy is different. “Their taxation rates as well as whether energy is imported or produced domestically — and whether they were before the pandemic,” he said. | 
An aboveground section of Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipeline is pictured at the Mackinaw City, Mich., pump station in this October 2016 file photo. | AP Photo/John Flesher, File |
— A props to oil: “The fact that Canada is an oil-producing and oil-exporting nation also helps to mitigate some of the negative impacts of increases in energy prices that we have seen for a number of months,” Giroux said.
And next month, politicians and policymakers will have a new report about the state of Canada’s finances and economy to add to their bedtime reading. Before that report drops, Giroux said to expect an updated assessment of Canadian house prices later this week. 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 | |
HISTORY OF HELP — In the back of a U.S. Senate hearing room back in May, Electricity Canada CEO FRANCIS BRADLEY told Playbook that mutual assistance is a topic that merits more attention.
“When an emergency occurs, it's all hands on deck,” said Bradley. “It doesn't matter where you are, we send crews to wherever they're needed in those emergencies.” Just look to Atlantic Canada. — Post-Fiona SOS: The Hydro Ottawa crews that Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU met Monday have joined other crews from Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Quebec and New England to support teams in Nova Scotia working to repair downed electrical towers and lines. The electric utilities that have come together are members of the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group, an alliance that blitzes disaster-stricken regions with a flood of help. Electricity Canada’s MICHAEL POWELL tells Playbook that while extreme weather is not new, climate change is causing more frequent severe storms — and more calls for crews to cross the border on both sides to help. — Tomorrow's food for thought: “We have to start thinking about what climate change adaptation and hardening the grid looks like and making sure we're making investments in that going forward,” said Powell. — New : A new report released by the Canadian Climate Institute today leans into the heart of that topic. The authors argue if you think present-day affordability concerns are vexing, just wait for tomorrow’s government spending bill to cover adaptation policies such as choosing road materials that absorb more water than repel it in flood-prone areas. “In 2025, Canada will experience C$25 billion in losses relative to a stable-climate scenario, which is equal to 50 percent of projected 2025 GDP growth,” the report reads, “equating to $630 per year for every Canadian.” | | | | 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. | | |
WHITHER ARRIVECAN — The national president of the Customs and Immigration Union that counts thousands of border guards unloaded on the soon-to-be-optional ArriveCAN app's apparent shortcomings at House committee on Tuesday.
"It is hard to convey the relief that border officers across the country must be feeling," MARK WEBER told MPs, days before travelers will be spared the duty of filling out an app with vaccination proof and assorted personal info. "I know with great certainty that none of them imagined that the best use of a trained law enforcement officer would be to provide IT support due to an ill-designed app that failed to take into account the idiosyncrasies at our borders." Weber said he hopes the federal government will "reconsider its pursuit of a one-size-fits-all technological panacea" to the border. — Delay dismay: The guards blame hours-long delays at the border on the "30 to 40 percent" of travelers who didn't check in with the app before arriving at a port of entry. The union even heard one story of an unfortunate crosser who "urinated and defecated themselves" while stuck in a long line. — Counterpoint: Transport Minister OMAR ALGHABRA has long rejected suggestions the app snarled the border. Quite the contrary, the way Alghabra sees it. “If we didn’t have ArriveCAN, the processing of arrivals would take a longer time, because it would have to be done manually," he told MPs on the House transportation committee this summer. | | PAPER TRAIL | |
FROM THE TENDERS — Natural Resources is looking to hire two full-time “senior ATIP consultant resources” on a “as-and-when” basis.
The department has invited 30 pre-qualified potential suppliers to bid on the one-year contract — with three one-year options to extend. Details are thin on what the work entails, though being a “record keeping specialist” is considered a valuable skill. The estimated value of the cost is a whopping C$3.75 million, tax in, which adds up to at least C$1.7 million if you’re an Ontario-based consultancy — or journalist looking for a career change. | | | | A message from Team SkyGuardian Canada:   | | |
Return to work: The Senate is shopping for furniture and a tender reveals the red chamber is exempt from provincial sales taxes.
A tender posted Tuesday notes preferences for pieces from specific high-end brands. Herman Miller, Steelcase, Flos and Restoration Hardware lighting get a name drop in the contract callout that has no firm budget. The Senate, the tender reads, is looking for “best overall value.” | | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | | 
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a meeting with military officials during his visit the war-hit Dnipropetrovsk region on July 8, 2022. | Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP |
— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in Port aux Basques, N.L. to meet with residents impacted by Fiona. He’ll be joined by Rural Economic Development Minister GUDIE HUTCHINGS, Labor Minister SEAMUS O’REGAN and N.L. Premier ANDREW FUREY.
Trudeau also has a call with Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY at an unspecified time on his public-facing schedule. — Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will be at the Liberals’ caucus meeting at 10 a.m. before heading to question period at 2 p.m. Freeland’s late afternoon is all about finance with meetings with the Canadian Bankers Association board and leaders of regional Canadian banks rounding out the rest of her day. 8 a.m. Six federal ministers will hold a media availability about Hurricane Fiona. 8:55 a.m. Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT will kick off the Great Lakes Public Forum with opening remarks before diving into an armchair discussion with DEBRA SHORE, the EPA's Regional Administrator for Region 5, and Ontario Regional Chief GLEN HARE. 10 a.m. The Bank of Canada will release its response to the International Monetary Fund’s report of the central bank’s transparency practices. Other nations that have been the subject of the IMF’s central bank transparency detailed review reports: Macedonia, Chile and Uruguay. 11 a.m. NDP MP TAYLOR BACHRACH holds a media availability to talk about his private member’s bill proposing to lower the voting age. MPs are expected to vote on the bill at third reading after question period. 11:30 a.m. Bloc MPs CLAUDE DEBELLEFEUILLE and MARIO BEAULIEU hold a media availability to discuss Bill C-238 , which includes a proposal to change the Citizenship Act to make “an adequate knowledge of French” a requirement for permanent residents who live in Quebec. 12:15 p.m. Governor General MARY SIMON is in Saskatchewan to visit the community of James Smith Cree Nation. Media are asked to meet the governor general at the North Church. 12:30 p.m. The Black Class Action Secretariat and Amnesty International Canada will announce their next step in advocacy efforts to find justice for Black Canadians “facing human rights violations in Canada’s public service.” NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH and NDP MP MATTHEW GREEN are expected to attend. 2 p.m. The Institute for Research on Public Policy holds a hybrid online and in-person webinar broadcasting live from the University of Regina looking at the future of Indigenous governance. 7:30 p.m. Agriculture Minister MARIE-CLAUDE BIBEAU is in Bali, Indonesia for the G-20 ag ministers’ meeting and will hold a media callback. It will be 7:30 a.m. — and Thursday — in Bali. | | PROZONE | | For POLITICO Pro s, our latest policy newsletter: Border guard union sheds no tears for ArriveCAN.
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Sen. Joe Manchin. | Francis Chung/E&E News | In news for POLITICO Pro s:
— Why Manchin backed off on his top priority.
— U.S. expected to publish Privacy Shield executive order next week.
— Manchin concedes on tying his energy bill to government funding.
— Utilities lobbying to kill Manchin permitting bill.
— Germany’s renewable support measures get EU approval.
— Pelosi, Schumer push White House to screen American investments in China. | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— Top of POLITICO this morning: Inside the backroom deal to put GIORGIA MELONI in power.
— National Post reporter CATHERINE LEVÉSQUE asks: Pierre Poilievre plans to scrap the carbon tax, but will he unveil a climate plan? — Reuters’ ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY reports that border-crossing asylum-seekers hit six-year high in Canada. — The CBC's JONATHAN MONTPETIT looks at the state of Quebec's Liberal Party going into Monday's vote. — Five young Indigenous leaders were invited to a Senate committee to share their thoughts on truth and reconciliation. APTN has coverage. — Where are the GTA’s housing needs? Answer via Twitter thread from economist MIKE MOFFATT. — Via iPolitics “process nerd” KADY O’MALLEY: Three things to remember about private member’s business. | | | | 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. | | |
| | Playbookers | |
Birthdays: HBD to Conservative MP CANDICE BERGEN. Also celebrating today: Liberal MP STEVE MACKINNON, Progressive Senate Group deputy leader DENNIS DAWSON, Sen. BRIAN FRANCIS and Ambassador STÉPHANE DION.
Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Spotted : Freelance journalist DALE SMITH back in the House … Down the stairs and around the corner, The Wyatt Sharpe Show’s WYATT SHARPE with Tory MP MATT JENEROUX in West Block. Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY following up her UNGA address with remarks at the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal … Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE on double duty as Trudeau’s surrogate at SHINZO ABE’s state funeral in Tokyo. A new “ Welcome to Treaty 6” sign on Saskatchewan’s Highway 11 (SCOTT MOE calls it a Canadian “first”) … Canada’s Climate Change Ambassador CATHERINE STEWART with Ambo KRISTEN HILLMAN and the Canadian embassy’s deputy head of mission, SARAH COHEN, in D.C. … JONATHAN KEHL, the German man who donated stem cells to Infrastructure Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC, visiting Canada this week. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s ex-SUPERMAN actor DEAN CAIN complaining about Canada’s airline masking rules! Movers and shakers: CORY PIKE is "hitting the ground running" as the new chief of staff to Procurement Minister HELENA JACZEK … TARA SCHEURWATER is Canada’s new council General in Istanbul … BENJAMIN ROEBUCK is the new federal ombudsperson for victims of crime starting Oct. 24. Cocktail circuit: BIOTECanada is hosting a "best in Canadian biotech innovation" reception at the Sir John A. Macdonald building at 4 p.m. Easter Seals is celebrating a 100th anniversary at the Met at 6 … At the same time, Cardus is hosting a panel — Topic: Is charitable status being politicized? — at 45 Rideau St. (Wine + cheese to follow) … The third event in the same slot: Ratanak International, which "works with Cambodians to restore those robbed of freedom and protect the vulnerable," is holding a reception in Wellington Building. Farewells: MP JAMES MALONEY paid tribute to LUCE COUSINEAU who died recently of cancer. “For over 33 years, Luce Cousineau served us diligently and faithfully in the parliamentary restaurant,” he told the House on Tuesday. “She had discerning taste, earning her the nickname Chef Cousineau with her colleagues.” Send Playbookers tips to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. | | TRIVIA | |
Tuesday’s answer: AUTUMN PELTIER was 12 when she confronted the prime minister about the need to protect the water. Playbooker JENN JEFFREYS wrote about it here.
Props to ANDRES ACERO, PETER MCKINNEY, BOOTS TAYLOR-VAISEY, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and ANNE-MARIE STACEY. Wednesday’s question: HEATHER BRADLEY, the long-serving director of communications to a string of House Speakers, will soon leave the position. How many Speakers has she served? 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 | | | | |  |
