|
A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Maura Forrest, Joseph Gedeon and Zi-Ann Lum | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Nick | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host Nick Taylor-Vaisey, with Maura Forrest, Joseph Gedeon and Zi-Ann Lum. Today, we reflect on committee conversations on racism. Plus, the partially identified flying objects maybe were balloons? Also, who wasn't at the Japanese National Day bash at the Chateau?
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | CONFRONTING RACISM — A pair of parliamentary committees held Monday hearings that asked hard questions about antisemitism and Islamophobia in the federal arena. A Senate committee heard from two MPs and a former big-city mayor who've experienced Islamophobia. A House committee sorted out how exactly a federal contract was awarded to an organization connected to brazenly antisemitic commentary. — An ongoing saga: Bureaucrats were under the spotlight at the House heritage committee. MALA KHANNA, the associate deputy minister of Canadian Heritage, drew the short straw. It fell to Khanna to apologize for the department's awarding of a contract to LAITH MAROUF, an anti-racism consultant with the Community Media Advocacy Centre. Last July, reports emerged about Marouf's antisemitic comments. An uproar ensued. Ottawa took weeks to cancel the C$133,000 contract. Khanna calmly explained the blind spots in her department's contracting processes. She described the fixes now in place. But MPs weren't yet ready to move on. Tory MP RACHAEL THOMAS told Khanna that Marouf's catalog of tweets dating back years was sitting in plain view, and his name was openly attached to CMAC. How could the department not catch that in its vetting? "The processes that were followed were the established processes," Khanna replied, noting the vetters looked no deeper than the organization itself — not people associated with it. Liberal MP ANTHONY HOUSEFATHER spotted a different flashpoint last April, when Marouf's name appeared on a news release with Housing Minister AHMED HUSSEN. "At that point, did anyone bother to google Laith Marouf?" It was a rhetorical question. Housefather flagged Marouf's tweets for Hussen on July 18. Hussen flagged an issue with a contract to the department on July 26. Khanna said a specific tweet was sent her way on Aug. 2. Hussen suspended the contract on Aug. 19. Asked Housefather: "Why did [cancelation] take such a period?" Another rhetorical question. — Next steps: Khanna told MPs that new processes require more extensive vetting of potential federal contractors. Winning bidders must certify they will not undermine the anti-racism strategy. Public servants received more anti-racism training. And the minister can now cancel contracts immediately. The department hasn't yet collected a penny of the canceled contract. But it's working on it. DEEP DIVE — The Senate human rights committee heard from several witnesses on the breadth and impact of Islamophobia in Canada. Liberal MPs IQRA KHALID and SAMEER ZUBERI shared a panel with former Calgary mayor NAHEED NENSHI. Here are two notable moments from their testimony: Zuberi recalled a close friend who treated him differently after the 9/11 attacks: "He greeted me with ‘Osama bin Sameer.’ That was the first thing that came to his mind. This was somebody that I had shared intimate conversations with. Yes, it might have been a bit of a maladroit remark. But it was just on his mind, right? It just came out. "In some way, I'm happy that it did. Because we in Canada are polite. But we also think things. He didn't think I was a nefarious individual. But that thought did cross his mind." Nenshi defended Amira Elghawaby's appointment as special representative on combating Islamophobia: "I've been very vexed in the last few weeks, extraordinarily vexed, in the response of our political class and our media class — the shock that we've seen, and the pearl-clutching that we've seen, that someone we hired to fight Islamophobia might actually have something to say about Islamophobia. "And the fact that the special representative has been browbeaten, has been harangued, has been lectured to, has been forced to take meetings with people who are not interested in listening to her — but are interested in using her to score political points — to me really highlights a very serious problem in our country."
| | For your radar | | MAID DEBATE — It looks like the government’s bid to delay the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) will pass the House of Commons without a hitch. But that one-year delay isn’t long enough for the Conservatives, who have a bill on the books that would permanently prevent people suffering solely from mental illness from accessing MAiD. The Conservatives, Bloc Québécois and NDP have all indicated they’ll support Bill C-39, which would push back the expansion of MAiD to those whose sole underlying condition is mental illness until March 17, 2024. The expansion is set to take place next month, but Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI says the health care system needs more time to prepare. Conservative justice critic ROB MOORE asked in the House on Monday if the government would delay the expansion “indefinitely.” Lametti said MAiD will only be available to the “small fraction of individuals who suffer from long-standing mental disorders, under the long-standing care of medical professionals, who are suffering intolerably and want another option.” In other words: No. — Be that as it may: Conservative MP ED FAST on Friday tabled a private member’s bill that would explicitly prevent people suffering solely from mental illness from accessing MAiD. The preamble to the bill says people “should receive suicide prevention counseling” rather than medical assistance in dying. Fast didn’t respond to interview requests from Playbook. Private member’s bills rarely pass, but the Conservatives are clearly trying to tap into a broad current of anxiety around making assisted death available to people without physical illness. A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute found that 61 percent of Canadians support the existing MAiD law in Canada, but just 31 percent would support the expansion to those with “irremediable” mental illness, while 51 percent are opposed. — Meanwhile: The NDP supports the one-year delay out of concern that Canadians don’t have adequate access to mental health care. “Years of Liberals and Conservatives underfunding our health-care system has made it extremely difficult for people to get mental health treatments without paying huge amounts of money out-of-pocket or waiting months for an appointment,” NDP MP ALISTAIR MACGREGOR told Playbook in a statement. — Next up: A special parliamentary committee reviewing the expansion of the MAiD law is due to publish its final report Friday — and could even deliver it a few days early, the Toronto Star’s STEPHANIE LEVITZ reports. — Related: Statistics Canada reported Monday that the number of medically assisted deaths in Canada rose 35 percent between 2020 and 2021, from 7,446 to 10,029. The number has increased every year since MAiD became legal in 2016. DONOR CIRCUIT — A pair of Liberal fundraisers popped up on the party website. Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT will headline a Friday breakfast at the Institute of Tourism and Hospitality of Quebec in his Laurier–Sainte-Marie riding. It's a pricey way to start the day at C$1,500 per attendee. Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS will hold a Quebec City fundraiser Feb. 23, alongside retired Sen. ROMEO DALLAIRE. They'll meet donors at the 135-year-old members-only Garrison Club, described on its website as an institution "weaved into the city’s military and civilian history." Regular donors cough up C$400.
| | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and SOPHIE GRÉGOIRE TRUDEAU will attend the funeral of HAZEL MCCALLION in Mississauga. Trudeau will deliver remarks. Later in the day, the PM will speak with New Zealand PM CHRIS HIPKINS. Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND will also attend. 9 a.m. NDP leader JAGMEET SINGH will meet with Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters. 12 p.m. Elected officials will call on the government to fulfil a commitment to Great Lakes preotection. Liberal MP VANCE BADAWEY will join Rep. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI), Rep. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-WI), Reeve BERT LIVERANCE of Archipelago, Ont.., and BOB LAMBE of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. 4 p.m. Back in Ottawa, Trudeau will chair a Cabinet meeting. ASK US ANYTHING TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW — We welcome your tips and intel. What are you hearing that you need Playbook readers to know? Send details.
| | HALLWAY CONVERSATION | | In a Monday afternoon press conference, Canadian national security officials told reporters there is a possibility the unidentified aircrafts shot down in the Yukon and over Lake Huron may not be recovered. The terrain in Yukon is “rather treacherous,” while the marine conditions are “not conducive” for a rescue effort, RCMP’s SEAN MCGILLIS said. But there is a lot to learn about what officials described as “lighter-than-air objects” without a propulsion system. “They might be balloons,” Maj.-Gen. PAUL PREVOST said. To make sense of all the hulla-balloon, Playbook sat down with ANDREA CHARRON, the director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba and co-author of the recently released book NORAD: In Perpetuity and Beyond. Some people have been perplexed that an American jet shot down an aircraft in Canadian airspace. Was that all according to plan? Yes, this is as per the NORAD agreement. The idea is that the asset that's closest and the asset that is needed to defeat a threat can come from Canada or the U.S., and from each other's national airspace. That's why we have this binational agreement. The prime minister has to say yes, in a Canadian context. And President Biden in the U.S. context. And that's exactly what's been happening. So Prime Minister Trudeau said yes to give the shoot-down command for the air object in the Yukon, but it just so happened that U.S. fighters were closer, better placed, and time was of the essence and so they had the defeat mission. Is there anything that we should be paying attention to or watching for in the future? The silver lining is people are paying attention to this binational command that we have, which is NORAD. It’s celebrating its 65th anniversary in May. And I bet you before these events, you could ask any Canadian or American, "What is NORAD?" And they would look at you with a blank expression on their face. It may be tracking Santa, and that's about all they could say. The anniversary points to the importance of this command. It is the first line of defense. What would you ask national security officials about the objects if you had the chance? In the case of the balloon from China, it traveled quite a distance and it may have also impacted other allies and partners. I wonder if maybe they're starting to share more information or making a plan for what may happen in the future, if there are other balloons, so that we can warn each other faster. Clearly this is not just a North America problem. This is a worldwide problem.
| | MEDIA ROOM | | — “If Mars attacks, I will concede that I may have been wrong,” JOHN IVISON writes of the balloons and such. “Until then, this will go down as one of the more peculiar follies to have preoccupied presidents and prime ministers in recent times.” — JOHN TORY's wild ride at city hall enters a new phase, as his allies make a case for him to pull a TOM BRADY circa 2022 and un-announce his departure. The Star reports the mayor will stay on long enough to vote for the city budget. — The Star's ROSIE DIMANNO thinks Tory should stay on — and questions her own newsroom's judgment in the process. — APTN writes on the first day of a long-awaited inquiry in Labrador examining the state of Innu children in the provincial child welfare system. — The National Post's BRYAN PASSIFIUME follows the emails on the imbroglio involving the Canadian delegation's London accommodations for the Queen's funeral.
| | PROZONE | | For POLITICO Pro s, our latest policy newsletter from SUE ALLAN and MAURA FORREST: The truth is out there. In news for POLITICO Pro s:
— Chinese mobile masts loom over the Munich Security Conference.
— Nuclear regulatory commissioner: U.S. approaching 'real' nuclear energy renaissance.
— DeSantis pushes legislative proposals to restrict 'woke' ESG investing.
— Khanna eyes bringing Silicon Valley, DoD together to strengthen cybersecurity.
— Top 4 takeaways from POLITICO Pro's briefing on the State of the Union.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Birthdays: HBD to Conservative MP MICHELLE REMPEL GARNER. Movers and shakers: KELLY WILHELM is stepping down as Sport Minister PASCALE ST-ONGE's chief of staff: "I’m asked all the time by young women how I do it all — the big 24/7 job, be a mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend, and take care of my own mental and physical health. The answer is that sometimes, like right now, you have to choose." Blackbird Strategies brought on JONATHAN PERRON-CLOW as director of communications … NATHANIEL ERSKINE-SMITH took his name out of the running for Toronto mayor: "I’m focused on serving my home community and Canadians in Parliament and bringing much needed change to the Ontario Liberal Party." STAN CHO, a potential center-right candidate for the upcoming mayor's race, also declined to run. Spotted: At the Chateâu Laurier, where the Japanese embassy hosted a rollicking National Day celebration for the Emperor's 63rd birthday: Japanese Ambassador KANJI YAMANOUCHI; German Ambassador SABINE SPARWASSER; Chief Justice RICHARD WAGNER; House Speaker ANTHONY ROTA; Cabinet ministers AHMED HUSSEN, SEAMUS O'REGAN, BILL BLAIR, JONATHAN WILKINSON, JOYCE MURRAY, MONA FORTIER, OMAR ALGHABRA, and RANDY BOISSONNAULT; Senators PETER BOEHM and STAN KUTCHER; Liberal MP TERRY SHEEHAN; Ottawa Mayor MARK SUTCLIFFE; Chief of the Defense Staff Gen. WAYNE EYRE; and Tory MPs MELISSA LANTSMAN and GLEN MOTZ; PBO YVES GIROUX; and Pendulum co-founder YAROSLAV BARAN. A new Research Co. poll in British Columbia gives Premier DAVID EBY's NDP an 8-point edge — 44 percent to 36 — over KEVIN FALCON's soon-to-be-renamed Liberals. The Greens trail at 16 percent … CNN, posting a photo of the wrong ANITA ANAND. Media mentions: The Toronto Star welcomes back ALESSIA PASSAFIUME as a member of the paper's new "Express Desk" … SHEILA WANG joins the Star's investigations team as a business reporter … Royals writer PATRICIA TREBLE took her talents to Substack. ERIN GEE is leaving the Bad + Bitchy pod after six years: I've learned more from @wickdchiq [ERICA IFILL] than would have ever been possible without her (and the pod) in my life." Gee writes the d3crypto Substack and is launching a podcast. KRISTIN RAWORTH joins as co-host. Farewells: NADINE GIRAULT, former Quebec minister of international relations and Francophonie Nadine Girault, died at 63. A funeral for HAZEL MCCALLION will take place today on what would have been her 102nd birthday.
| | On the Hill | | → Find the latest on House committee meetings here. → Keep track of Senate committee meetings here. 9 a.m. The Senate procedures committee will be considering a couple of draft reports. 9 a.m. The Senate finance committee will hear from a long roster of senior government officials on main estimates, including EHREN CORY, chief executive officer of the Canada Infrastructure Bank. 11 a.m. The House science committee meets to hear from seven department officials from environment and Parks Canada in relation to MPs’ study of citizen scientists. 11 a.m. The House health committee continues its study of children’s health. 11 a.m. The House foreign affairs committee will receive a briefing on earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. 11:45 p.m. The Canadian Club Toronto hosts a discussion with three leading chief executives for a discussion titled, “Securing Canada’s immigration advantage.” Details are here. 1:45 p.m. Canada West Foundation holds a webinar with opening remarks from YAMANOUCHI KANJI, Japan’s ambassador to Japan, about Canada’s ability to deliver energy to Japan and Korea. 3:30 p.m. The House committee on national defense will hear from DND officials and MARCUS KOLGA, senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, as it studies cybersecurity and cyberwarfare. 3:30 p.m. Families, Children and Social Development Minister KARINA GOULD will speak to estimates at the House human resources committee. 3:30 p.m. DUFF CONACHER of Democracy Watch will be among witnesses at the House ethics committee as it studies the third edition of the Lobbyists Code of Conduct. 3:30 p.m. The House committee on public safety will meet on Bill C-21 and withdrawn amendments. 3:30 p.m. Clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-13 continues at the House heritage committee. When the Senate rises but not before: The Senate agriculture and forestry committee continues its study of soil health. The Senate energy, environment and natural resources committee continues to study climate change and will hear from witnesses TBA from the oil and gas industry. — Behind closed doors: The House liaison committee’s subcommittee on committee budgets meets to talk about budget submissions; the House transport committee meets to discuss a report about anticipated labor shortages in the Canadian transport sector; the House finance committee meets to review a draft report of its pre-budget consultations; the House procedure committee is considering reports on electoral boundaries in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; the House committee on natural resources will discuss two reports — one on energy transformation and the other on federal assistanc e for natural resources industries.
| | TRIVIA | | Monday’s answer: DONALD OLIVER said, “I’m sorry we still need a month set aside simply to remember the contributions of African Canadians. I will be a happy man when we no longer need it.” Read more about the retired senator here. Props to SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, NANCI WAUGH, GORDON RANDALL and JOHN DILLON. Today’s question: Name the first Black person to lead a political party in the Parliament of Canada. Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. 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. Playbook wouldn’t happen without: Luiza Ch. Savage, Sue Allan and David Cohen. | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
