NEXUS MUST LIVE — That's what Liberal MP JOHN MCKAY thinks of the binational trusted traveler program that could be teetering on the edge of oblivion. McKay co-chairs the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group. He attended the Canadian American Business Council's annual love-in on Tuesday night and heard from CABC CEO SCOTTY GREENWOOD at a Wednesday meeting. — The coles notes: Nexus offices in Canada have been closed for more than a year. American customs agents who vet applications want to be offered the same legal protections north of the border as preclearance officers. Canada hasn't gone for it, so the Americans haven't staffed the offices in Canada. The application backlog now runs into the hundreds of thousands. The stakes are existentially high, if you believe the well-connected Greenwood. She says the program could whither into nothingness if both sides don't strike a deal. An unsubtle projection of her org's "Save Nexus" campaign was unignorable to Ambassador KIRSTEN HILLMAN and every other Global Affairs official in the room Tuesday. (Hillman deployed undiplomatic language in front of a Washington audience in October, claiming the American side was holding Nexus "hostage.") — What McKay thinks: Nexus will survive, because any future with amped up "friendshoring" will mean more people hoping to cross the border with little delay. "It's too important a program to just let languish, so I think there will be an impetus to arrive at an acceptable solution," said McKay. — What's the solution? The veteran MP doesn't know. But he's betting someone at a different pay grade will figure it out. "I think that it will move up the food chain to come to a resolution sooner rather than later." — How dire is the situation? Is Greenwood crying wolf? "I think in the longer term, she's right, but we're not in the longer term right now," says McKay. In October, Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE appeared to pledge a fix was possible before a Three Amigos summit in December. — And if there's no progress? McKay predicted that Tories will make noise if they don't see any movement, but he reserved the right to send a message to his own government. When MPs on the Canada-U.S. group got an earful from American counterparts about the ArriveCAN app that forced even frequent border-crossers to log their travel on every visit, he and his colleagues passed the message on to Cabinet. "So we do get involved," he said — clarifying that he's still letting negotiators negotiate and wants to hear from Canadians before checking in with the Americans. — Talking to Americans: Job one for McKay with the new Congress is to form relationships with dozens of newly elected lawmakers. The interparliamentary group hopes to visit Washington as soon as possible in 2023 to score facetime with counterparts who may know precious little about the Canada-U.S. file. McKay is also keen to learn who will hold the reins on the American side of the interparliamentary group. Rep. BRIAN HIGGINS (D-N.Y.) has been the Canadians' main point of contact since Democrats gained a House majority. But the balance of power is now shifting. POLITICO reported Wednesday that Republicans had officially flipped the House . FILIBUSTED — Playbook presents the most concise possible summary of the House finance committee's recent adventures in acrimony. The partisan gamesmanship reached its anticlimactic crescendo Wednesday. — 100 words or less: Liberals wanted to pre-study Fall Economic Statement legislation before the FES was tabled. Conservatives objected: The bill that didn't exist was based on a statement yet to be delivered. What was there to debate? They gummed up three meetings to make a point. A Liberal motion called on Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND to testify. Conservatives were unsatisfied. Both parties tried to broker a resolution, aided by NDP MP DANIEL BLAIKIE. They messaged each other mid-meeting in search of a deal. The top Liberal, TERRY BEECH, complained that talks collapsed. Conservatives relented. The motion passed. — The mood in the room: One off-camera MP appeared amused at the whole ordeal as the committee adjourned. He yelped four words so common to the parliamentary precinct on a Wednesday evening: "Let's get a drink!"
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