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A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Maura Forrest | Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host, Maura Forrest, with Zi-Ann Lum. This week, Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will defend his use of the Emergencies Act. At the close of COP27, we take a look back at a promise Canada made at COP26. And ELIZABETH MAY is back! |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | THE BIG ONE — Well, it’s the week you’ve all been waiting for. No, not the kick-off of the World Cup. This is the week when the Emergencies Act inquiry will finally hear from Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU — as well as several of his ministers and top staffers. That’s what you’ve all been waiting for, right? It’s not just us? The public hearings to date have featured considerable evidence that doesn’t do the government any favors. Police agencies have testified the emergency powers weren’t necessary to end the protest. Senior government officials were shown to have harbored doubts. And it was revealed last week that Canada’s spy agency did not find the protests posed a threat to Canada’s security under the CSIS Act. Now, in the final week of hearings, it will fall to Trudeau and those closest to him to prove their case: that they needed unprecedented measures to deal with an unprecedented situation. Read POLITICO’s full set-up this morning. — Who’s up this week? First up today is CSIS director DAVID VIGNEAULT. It was his witness summary last week that disclosed the agency’s assessment that the “Freedom Convoy” protests did not meet the CSIS definition of a threat to the security of Canada. Expect to hear more about that today. Vigneault will appear alongside MICHELLE TESSIER, CSIS’s deputy director of operations, and MARIE-HÉLÈNE CHAYER, executive director of the agency’s Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre. The commission will hear later today from Emergency Preparedness Minister BILL BLAIR. — And then: We don’t know exactly who will be testifying when on subsequent days, but next up will be a whack of ministers: Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC, Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI, Defense Minister ANITA ANAND, Transport Minister OMAR ALGHABRA and Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND. — New as of Friday: Three top Liberal staffers who rarely speak publicly have been added to the witness list. Chief of staff KATIE TELFORD, deputy chief of staff BRIAN CLOW and policy director JOHN BRODHEAD will be up later in the week. — And, finally, Trudeau: The prime minister will be the last witness to testify. We’re guessing it’ll be a packed room over at Library and Archives Canada that day. — Don’t forget the documents: Memos, emails, and text messages revealed so far have provided an extraordinary look at the inner workings of government during the February protests, and more will be forthcoming this week. On Friday, the commission made public the Feb. 14 memo from Privy Council Clerk JANICE CHARETTE recommending Trudeau invoke the Emergencies Act. — According to the memo: Charette believed the protest could lead to “irremediable harms — including to social cohesion, national unity, and Canada’s international reputation,” all of which amounted to a threat to Canada’s security. But the document concedes “this conclusion may be vulnerable to challenge.” Over to you, Trudeau. Did someone forward you this Playbook? Click here to sign up for your own . | | For your radar | | | 
At the U.N. climate summit in Egypt. | AP |
COP27 IS OVER — What better time to look back at Canada’s progress on last year’s pledges.
It turns out Canada has yet to make good on a promise announced at COP26 in Glasgow. Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON pledged there to develop a policy directive to phase out new public financing for the unabated foreign fossil fuel sector by the end of 2022. Unabated as in companies that don’t use technology or measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 2022 as in the year that has six weeks left. Wilkinson has repeatedly said Ottawa is on track to meet its goal. — Show us the policy directive: Playbook first put the question to Natural Resources before being bounced to Finance Canada, which pointed us back to Natural Resources. — Paper trail: Documents obtained by POLITICO using access to information shed light on the edits, revisions and feedback that went into just the announcement of the pledge. POLITICO’s ZI-ANN LUM has the details.
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At the Halifax International Security Forum. | Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press via AP |
DISPATCH FROM HALIFAX — U.S. lawmakers at the Halifax International Security Forum were asked Saturday about Canada’s exclusion from the AUKUS security pact between the U.S., the U.K. and Australia.
The fact that Canada was left out of the agreement, signed last year, was viewed by some as an indictment of Canada’s national defense policy . Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, however, dismissed the pact as a deal related to nuclear submarines that didn’t interest Canada. Here’s some of what the U.S. delegation had to say: “If you think the Canadians are unhappy, you should talk to the French. … That [deal] was ham-handed and it could have been done entirely differently. … I think you’ll see more going forward. Canada is a natural participant for that, and France is even more of a natural participant for that.” — Sen. JIM RISCH (R-ID) “I think the AUKUS deal is another opportunity for us to engage with our partners in the Indo-Pacific. … They will continue to examine whether it should be expanded beyond the current participants.” — Sen. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-NH) “While you may not formally be in AUKUS, just rest assured that everyone knows that our partnership and what we work on together in terms of our shared defense industrial base is well-known among partners and allies and is recognized by us in the United States as well.” — Rep. SARA JACOBS (D-CA) In other news from POLITICO in Halifax: — Global security leaders, activists say it’s time to fight, not talk, in Ukraine.
— Zelenskyy rejects Russia’s desire for ‘short truce.’
— Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could start a race for nukes, Austin says.
— Iranian diaspora’s divisions burst into open during Halifax forum. (RE)INTRODUCING ELIZABETH MAY — You may have heard of her. She led the Green Party for quite a while, before deciding to pass the torch in 2019. Now, the torch has been passed back to her. Of course, the new leadership of ELIZABETH MAY will be entirely different from her old leadership, since this time, she’s promised to bring in 32-year-old JONATHAN PEDNEAULT as co-leader. “Greens do things differently,” she said in her victory speech Saturday night. In other words, a vote for May was a vote for change. Apparently. — The road ahead: May is (re)inheriting a party that has been plagued by internal squabbles, financial troubles and declining popularity since she stepped down as leader three years ago. She will now have to prove to Canadians that her party is still relevant, even though it no longer has a corner on climate change. If Saturday’s results are anything to go by, she has her work cut out for her. Only about 8,000 of the party’s 22,000 members voted in the leadership election. May won on the final ballot with 4,666 votes. Here’s more from DAVID FRASER of the Canadian Press. WHAT CRYPTO CRASH? — The House of Commons will debate a private member’s bill from Conservative MP MICHELLE REMPEL GARNER today that would require the government to create a national framework to encourage growth of the crypto sector. “Canada should be attracting billions of dollars of investment in this fast-growing industry,” Rempel Garner said in a statement when she tabled Bill C-249 in February. “However, we’ve seen Canada lose cryptoasset talent, innovators, and business to other leading jurisdictions like the European Union and the United States.” — Once upon a time: Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE has been a vocal advocate of cryptocurrency, once claiming it could allow Canadians to “opt out” of record-high inflation. However, he has had less to say about it since the collapse in cryptocurrencies over the last several months. | | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | |
— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is back in Ottawa following his tour of summits in Southeast Asia and Tunisia.
— International Development Minister HARJIT SAJJAN is in Qatar today until Wednesday for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He will attend Canada’s opening match against Belgium on Wednesday. He will also meet with U.S. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs MARCELO EBRARD for a “trilateral sports diplomacy event,” per a news release. Also on the agenda: a meeting with Qatar’s deputy prime minister, SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI, to discuss “shared priorities, including humanitarian assistance and international development.” — Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE is visiting Japan and South Korea this week, and plans to meet industry leaders in cleantech, electric vehicle batteries and semiconductors. He will attend the annual summit of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence in Tokyo today and tomorrow. — Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET is in France this week. 2 p.m. Sen. ROSEMARY MOODIE hosts a Zoom discussion on children's healthcare — “an overnight crisis decades in the making” — with FATIMA KAKKAR, ANTONIA STANG, RONNI COHN and Canadian Medical Association president KATHARINE SMART. The Globe and Mail's ANDRÉ PICARD will moderate. 4:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. PST) NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will speak at the B.C. Federation of Labour convention in Vancouver. He will hold a press conference at 5:15 p.m. (2:15 p.m. PST). | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— The prime minister says he has never been briefed on candidates in the 2019 election allegedly receiving funds from China. Here’s the latest from Global News’ SAM COOPER.
— “I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but at least the City of Ottawa might now have some competition in the race for who bungled the response to the convoy the most,” MATT GURNEY writes at TVO.org. — From ROB SHAW at BIV: Meet Premier DAVID EBY: The new leader of British Columbia. — Writing from southwest Louisiana, the Globe’s BRETT JANG explains how the U.S. became a global leader in LNG – and why Canada has fallen behind. — Timely question from Ottawa city columnist BRUCE DEACHMAN: Is it time to unchain our stairs? — In case you missed it, our NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY is on the latest episode of The Backbench with MURAD HEMMADI and EMILIE NICOLAS. Conversation starts with the Fall Economic Statement, then moves on to the notwithstanding clause. — And on the latest episode of It’s Political , Toronto Star columnist ALTHIA RAJ questions whether Canada is expanding medical assistance in dying too quickly. | | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO Pro s, catch up to our latest policy newsletter from ZI-ANN LUM: The week ahead: Winter returns for Trudeau.
In headlines for POLITICO Pro s:
— What the greens learned from Big Oil.
— Tai meets with senior Chinese official on trade.
— The Middle East's crypto paradox.
— Congress take on Elon Musk? Don't count on it.
— Rail union votes could force Congress to head off a strike. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to former MP DENISE SAVOIE and NICK SIBBESTON, former senator and premier. Belated HBD to KATE PURCHASE.
Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com . Movers and shakers: KATHLEEN THOMPSON, executive vice-president of the Public Health Agency of Canada, will become the chief administrative officer of the RCMP on Nov. 28. LAILA HAWRYLYSHYN has joined Crestview Strategy as a consultant. Spotted: MARK MULRONEY and CATHERINE CLARK, lamenting the state of their childhood home. “It’s not rocket science,” Clark tweeted. “Either refurbish it or rebuild. But make a decision.” … Journo DON MARTIN on Team Keep the 24 Sussex Address, ditch the house. JENI ARMSTRONG with a pro tip via Twitter: “Unaffordable food + disenchanted voters = a winning issue for a smart opposition.” CHRIS WARKENTIN, with a six-minute video about how JUSTIN TRUDEAU is tearing the country apart that features a complicated analogy to water damage on Parliament Hill and an inexplicable nod to ELIZABETH HOLMES. WYATT SHARPE, in conversation with JOHN BOLTON . At the Halifax International Security Forum over the weekend: ANITA ANAND, MARCO MENDICINO, PETER MACKAY, JANICE CHARETTE, DAVID COHEN, WAYNE EYRE, SEAN FRASER, SCOTTY GREENWOOD, KIRSTEN HILLMAN, ROLAND PARIS, COLIN ROBERTSON, SABINE SPARWASSER, TOM CLARK, JANICE STEIN, JODY THOMAS, and many others. Also: ADRIENNE ARSENAULT, STEVEN CHASE, JUSTIN LING, MERCEDES STEPHENSON, PAUL WELLS. At the Met for a Friday evening celebration of DON NEWMAN's recent elevation to officer of the Order of Canada: NANCY SWETNAM, DAVE MATTHEWS, RICK ANDERSON, CHRIS HALL , JOYCE NAPIER, NEIL MACDONALD, ANNE MCGRATH, ANDREW BALFOUR, GREG WESTON, SUSAN DELACOURT, BRIAN CLOW and SUSAN DAY-NEWMAN. Cocktail circuit: Defeat Duchenne Canada, which helps families living with the most common fatal genetic disease diagnosed in children, hosts a 4 p.m. reception at the Westin … At 5:30, the Canada Organic Trade Association is on the third floor of Wellington Building for a reception co-sponsored by MPs ELIZABETH MAY, FRANCIS DROUIN, LUC BERTHOLD and ALISTAIR MACGREGOR … At the same time, on the next floor up, the Canadian Craft Brewers Association is hosting its first-ever Hill reception. Dozens of beers will be available from the likes of Quidi Vidi, Muskoka and Big Rock. Media mentions: OMAR DABAGHI-PACHECO is the new permanent host of CBC Ottawa News at Six. Farewells: JEAN LAPOINTE died Nov. 18. “His legacy will be remembered for generations to come,” Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU said in a tribute to the former senator, singer, comedian and actor. | | WE GET MAIL | |
Last week, we asked if you think we should return to mask mandates, given all the children showing up in hospitals with RSV and other viruses. Here’s some of what you had to say:
I have concluded that masks work, but mandating them doesn’t. Perhaps public health departments could provide masks at entrances to all venues where people gather, along with the ubiquitous hand sanitizers we still see. It wouldn’t change the minds of anti-maskers, but would offer forgetful types a fresh one. No mandates, please, but I will continue to wear a mask. — Maureen MacGillivray, Dain City, Ont. Why ever would we mandate masks to protect the lives of citizens and preserve our national healthcare system? What would the next heavy handed government mandate be? Compulsory use of seat belts? Enforced by police officers nationwide? — Wayne Uttley, Codys, N.B. If we lived in a society where everyone cared more about others than they do about themselves, we wouldn’t even be having to ask this question. But selfishness has become a virtue, fueled by primitive and infantile rage, so apparently we need to be forced to do the right thing. — Carol Moore, Bancroft, Ont. Be an adult and do it for the kids. Wear one at least indoors where interaction with others is obvious. — Brian Tracey, Gatineau, Que. — In related listening: TODD COLEMAN, epidemiologist and assistant professor of health sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University, joined the This Matters pod to talk about government messaging and public psychology around masking. | | On the Hill | |
— Find the latest House committee meetings here .
— Keep track of Senate committees here . 9:30 a.m. The Public Order Emergency Commission continues hearings in Ottawa. 10 a.m. POLITICO and E&E news reporters host a Pro transatlantic briefing call to look back on COP27, analyze the discussions, and review what to expect moving forward. 11 a.m. The House status of women committee meets to launch a new study into women and girls in sport. 11 a.m. The House veterans affairs committee meets to study the impact of a new rehabilitation contract awarded from the federal veterans affairs department. 11 a.m. The House industry committee meets to continue its study of blockchain technology. 11 a.m. Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER will appear alongside officials at the House operations committee reviewing the supplementary estimates (B). 11 a.m. The House justice committee will continue its study of Bill C-9, which would amend the Judges Act. 3:30 p.m. A whopping 15 finance department officials will be at the House finance committee to field MPs’ questions on the government’s bill implementing certain Fall Economic Statement provisions. 3:30 p.m. Canadian Centre for Food Integrity president JOHN JAMIESON and chair MICHAEL DUNGATE will be at the House agriculture committee to provide a briefing to MPs about food price inflation. 3:30 p.m. The House transport committee meets to launch a new study reviewing air passenger protection regulations. 3:30 p.m. The House ethics committee will hear from former Privy Council clerk MICHAEL WERNICK as part of its study of the access to information and privacy system. 4 p.m. The Senate human rights committee meets to continue its study of Islamophobia in Canada with witnesses from the Muslim Association of Canada and the Canadian Human Rights Commission. 4 p.m. The Senate national security committee has “the modernization of the North American Aerospace defense command” on its radar. 5 p.m. The Senate official languages committee meets to study Francophone immigration to minority communities. Official Languages Commissioner RAYMOND THÉBERGE is on the witness list. 6:30 p.m. The House science and research committee continues its study of international moonshot programs. Behind closed doors: The House Indigenous and northern affairs committee meets to talk about “committee business”; the House human resources committee has “committee business” on the agenda and a review of an upcoming report looking at labor shortages, working conditions and the care economy. | | TRIVIA | |
Friday’s answer: On Nov. 9, Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp celebrating MONIQUE MERCURE.
Props to BRAM ABRAMSON, SARAH ANDREWS, GORDON RANDALL, DOUG RICE, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and ANNE-MARIE STACEY. Today’s question: Who shared the following advice with DAVID EBY, the new premier of British Columbia: “Keep smiling at the bastards … cause it'll drive them crazy.” Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without: Luiza Ch. Savage and Sue Allan. Want to grab the attention of movers and shakers on Parliament Hill? Want your brand in front of a key audience of Ottawa influencers? Playbook can help. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com .
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