GOING NUCLEAR — Canadians for Nuclear Energy president CHRIS KEEFER, an ER doctor by trade, blitzed a pair of partial party caucuses on the Hill. Keefer's Wednesday lobbying spree found about a dozen Liberals willing to hear him out, and a similar number of Tories. His message: go all in on nuclear energy. Keefer chatted with Labor Minister SEAMUS O'REGAN for about 10 minutes. He found time with Procurement Minister HELENA JACZEK. He briefly met Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU outside the House of Commons. On the Tory side, Keefer bent the ear of deputy leader TIM UPPAL. Were they receptive? Keefer, who assured Playbook he doesn't get paid a cent by industry, claimed his message resonated — particularly with MPs from New Brunswick and Ontario, where an aging nuclear plant just scored a life extension. — Not on Keefer's agenda: Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT and Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON, the Cabinet pointmen on the energy file. — Speaking of Wilkinson: He's on the agenda at a Canadian Nuclear Association financing summit today at the Westin, where he'll sit down for a "fireside chat" about the "growing potential of the nuclear sector." — What industry wants to hear: Pro-nuclear types are looking for signs that Liberals are willing to look at their favorite kind of energy as a path to emissions reductions and economic recovery. MARK CARNEY is a keynote speaker. Recall that Carney, the vice-chair of Brookfield Asset Management whose job is to think about the transition away from fossil fuels, said these words to investors in September: “There’s no transition that works without nuclear, full stop." LONG LIVE THE KING? — A debate in Quebec over swearing allegiance to the King had the PM and several of his ministers twisting themselves into pretzels on Wednesday. — The quick backstory: Two Quebec provincial parties — the sovereigntist Parti Québécois and Québec Solidaire — have said they don’t want to take an oath of allegiance to KING CHARLES III as part of the swearing-in process to the provincial legislature. Four years ago, QS MNAs swore the oath in a private ceremony. A spokesperson for Quebec Premier FRANÇOIS LEGAULT has said the governing Coalition Avenir Québec also wants to end the oath of allegiance . But provincial MNAs will have to swear the oath so they can sit in the National Assembly to make the change. — The view from Ottawa: Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU gave a rather mixed message on the question when asked about it Wednesday. “The National Assembly has the right to decide how they want to organize their swearing-in process,” he said in the morning, suggesting the Quebec legislature could pass a law to make the change. But later in the day, asked whether the Quebec government has the power to nix a constitutional requirement, Trudeau took a different line. “I don't want to speculate on what the National Assembly can or cannot do,” he said. “What I can tell you here is that there is not a Quebecer who wants us to reopen the Constitution.” — Meanwhile: Several of Trudeau’s Quebec ministers found creative ways to avoid saying whether they, personally, were comfortable swearing allegiance to the Crown. — Here are a few examples: “That's — that's what was planned, so I did it.” — Heritage Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ “I can tell you that in my riding, there is no one who talks to me about oaths. They talk to me about the cost of living and then about inflation.” — National Revenue Minister DIANE LEBOUTHILLIER
“Listen, I have a lot to take care of right now.” — Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY
“My mother did it as an immigrant, my father did it as an immigrant when he arrived in Canada. It was a very important step for them in the ’50s and ’60s when they did it.” — Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI “It's the rule of law, so I'm comfortable.” — Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE — The upshot: The Liberals will need to get their talking points sorted soon, because this debate is far from over. Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET has said his party plans to table a motion next week related to cutting ties with the monarchy. DOWN IN D.C. — Innovation Minister CHAMPAGNE touches down in Washington today to bring his invest-in-Canada message to the capital. Champagne has two days of meetings lined up with Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO and NASA administrator BILL NELSON. Face time with American microchip and semiconductor associations have also worked their way onto the minister’s schedule. Champagne tells Playbook he and Raimondo have agreed to meet regularly. Their task is to figure out how to work together. “I often say the ‘what’ has been defined. Our job is to make the ‘how’ work,” he said during a call from his hotel room in Windsor, Ontario on the eve of his stateside trip. — Champagne’s recipe : He said five ingredients are key to attracting investments: talent, economic ecosystems, critical minerals, renewable energy and market access. But his meeting with Raimondo will focus on another piece of the puzzle: speed. While supply chain resiliency and semiconductors top his agenda, Champagne said he intends to use his D.C. blitz to get into the weeds of how Canada can develop critical minerals faster.
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