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A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Maura Forrest | Programming note: We’ll be off Monday for Family Day; back in your inbox on Tuesday. Send tips | Subscribe here | Follow Politico Canada Welcome to Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host, Maura Forrest, with Zi-Ann Lum. Today, we’re waiting with bated breath for Justice PAUL ROULEAU’s final report on the Emergencies Act. A group of hobbyists in Illinois is missing one of its balloons. And we pen a love letter to the Rideau Canal. |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | |  Parliament Hill, Feb. 19, 2022. | AP |
JUDGMENT DAY — Well, it’s the day you’ve all been waiting for. You’ve all been waiting for this day, right? It’s not just us?
Today, Justice PAUL ROULEAU will deliver his final report regarding the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to deal with the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests a little over a year ago. The report will be tabled in Parliament at noon, after which Rouleau will make a public statement. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will speak to reporters at 1:30 p.m. Asked on Thursday if the report risks tarnishing the credibility of his government, Trudeau answered a slightly different question. “I think for a lot of Canadians the credibility of government, the credibility of institutions relied on us being able to assure the free flow of goods across our borders, the ability for citizens to go home or go to work unimpeded by illegal protests and occupations,” he said. Here are some of the big questions as we count down the hours until the report goes public. Will Rouleau weigh in on whether Trudeau was right to invoke the Emergencies Act? This inquiry has been widely described as a mission to determine whether the Liberal government was justified in using emergency measures to disband the protests. But several experts have pointed out that’s not exactly what Rouleau’s mandate says. Instead, Rouleau was asked to “examine and report on the circumstances that led to the declaration of a public order emergency,” and to weigh in on the “appropriateness and effectiveness” of the emergency measures used, among other things. “If you are anticipating that the Commission report will deliver a yes or no verdict on the lawfulness of the invocation of the Emergencies Act then you will be disappointed,” national security expert WESLEY WARK said in his newsletter Thursday. His words echoed those of lawyer ADAM GOLDENBERG, who wrote in the Globe and Mail last month that Rouleau “should not” answer that question, and should instead leave that to the courts. Still, Rouleau might go there. Commission lawyers spent a lot of time during the public hearings last fall establishing whether various high-ranking government officials thought the invocation was justified. And there was that whole to-do about the legal opinion that apparently validated the use of emergency powers, which was never disclosed to the inquiry. Clearly, this is a question that interested the commission, and CARA ZWIBEL of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is hoping Rouleau will answer it. “Our view is… that these events did not rise to the threshold that the act sets out for declaring a public order emergency,” she told Playbook. “So our hope is that the Commissioner does reach that conclusion as well.” If not that, then what? There’s lots of other ground Rouleau’s report could cover. He could weigh in on whether the specific emergency measures were appropriate, including the freezing of protesters’ bank accounts. He could offer clarity on when a protest becomes illegal. He could suggest changes to the relationship between police and government. He could also make recommendations for changes to the Emergencies Act itself. For one thing, he made clear during the public hearings that the short timeframe for the inquiry put huge pressure on the commission. Will anyone care? This is probably the most consequential question from a political point of view. During the six weeks of public hearings last fall, which received daily, in-depth media coverage, polls showed many Canadians had made up their minds about the invocation of the Emergencies Act, and a majority were sympathetic to Trudeau’s decision. If that sentiment holds, the contents of Rouleau’s report may not move the needle much. But then again, they might! “If the commission report just tears a strip off the government and says this was completely unlawful and unconstitutional … the recourse is at the polls,” Zwibel said. “There's not really any other mechanism that is going to serve to hold the government accountable.” — Related reading: Here are THOMAS JUNEAU and VINCENT RIGBY with “six security and intelligence areas the Rouleau report needs to address.” Did someone forward Ottawa Playbook your way? Click here to sign up for your own edition. It’s free! | | Talk of the town | | DEAR CANAL — Faced with the prospect of a winter without skating on the Rideau Canal — the first since the Skateway’s creation in 1971 — Ottawa residents sent in a slew of letters to the Ottawa Citizen for Valentine’s Day, declaring their undying love for their ailing canal. They were earnest. They were mournful. Some, alas, were poems. Here is Playbook’s submission. It is, mercifully, not a poem.
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Rideau Canal, January 27, 2012. | Getty Images |
Dear Rideau Canal,
We should have seen this coming. It’s no secret your seasons have been getting shorter. Perhaps it was only a matter of time. What will we do without you? You were our answer to all the haters out there, our trump card, the ace up our sleeve. “Ottawa is boring,” they said. “Yes,” we answered. “But we have the canal.” And we know, we know, it’s not quite time to throw in the towel. Winter can be unpredictable, and the National Capital Commission is still sounding a hopeful note. They’re going to “reassess conditions” next week, they say. It’s not over yet. There’s still time. But it’s not looking good. And it’s hard not to see this as a harbinger of things to come. There would be a sort of sad and beautiful irony if you gave up the ghost during the tenure of this particular government, which talks so very much about climate change. “The Liberal government of JUSTIN TRUDEAU won the battle for a carbon tax,” the history books might say, “but lost the Rideau Canal.” Of course, it’s not this government’s fault you couldn’t deliver this year. We know that. It might somehow be the fault of PIERRE POILIEVRE, if we’re to go by the word of Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT, who responded recently to a question about your fate by pivoting in record time to the climate policies of “the reckless new leader of the Opposition.” Surely it’s somebody’s fault. Surely not ours. So take heart, dear canal. Your claim to fame as the largest naturally frozen ice rink in the world may soon be a thing of the past. But your demise shall not be in vain. You will doubtless be used as a political cudgel for years to come, and that’s worth something, isn’t it? This is Ottawa, after all. Love, Playbook | | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | |
9:30 a.m. (10:30 a.m. AST) Veterans Affairs Minister LAWRENCE MACAULAY will be in Charlottetown, P.E.I. to make an announcement about the Veterans Affairs Canada national headquarters.
11 a.m. NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will host an economic roundtable in Ottawa on the cost of living and affordability, featuring ARMINE YALNIZYAN and HEATHER SCOFFIELD, among others. 12 p.m. Emergency Preparedness Minister BILL BLAIR will table the final report of the Emergencies Act inquiry in Parliament. Justice PAUL ROULEAU will make a public statement shortly after. 12:15 p.m. (9:15 a.m. PST) International Trade Minister MARY NG will participate in a fireside chat at the C100 Annual Summit in Half Moon Bay, California. She will take part in a roundtable on fighting anti-Asian racism at 3:15 p.m. (12:15 p.m. PST) 1:30 p.m. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will speak to reporters on Parliament Hill. | | For your radar | | | 
The first guided launch of the AIM-9X from an F-22 Raptor, Feb. 26, 2015, by Maj. | David Henry/Lockheed Martin | BALLOON BRIGADE — There’s a group of hobbyists in Illinois that says one of its balloons is missing. Is this the mysterious object that was shot down over the Yukon last Saturday? We can’t say for sure. But as POLITICO’s MATT BERG and LEE HUDSON report, the missing balloon was last spotted just after midnight on Saturday along an uninhabited island off the coast of Alaska. The group, called the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, flies pico balloons that are fitted with GPS transmitters. It got its name from the children’s movie “Up.” “There were 10 of us to start, aged 11 years old and up, kids, their parents and friends, some licensed in Amateur Radio some having an interest in science and engineering,” the group’s website says. — On Thursday: President JOE BIDEN defended his decision to shoot down the original Chinese spy balloon earlier this month. But he said the three additional objects that have been downed since then were likely benign. “The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research,” Biden said. — The last word: Apparently, the FBI has been in touch with the Bottlecap Brigade. ‘ELBOWS DEEP’ IN HAITI — Canada is sending two navy vessels to the Haitian coast as part of a surveillance and intelligence operation, plus three MRAPS (mine-resistant light armored vehicles) to the Haitian National Police “in the coming days.” The announcement is the latest in Canada’s piecemeal response, which falls short of the military intervention requested by acting Prime Minister ARIEL HENRY. “Canada is elbows deep in terms of trying to help,” Trudeau told reporters in the Bahamas on Thursday, wrapping up two days of meetings with Caribbean Community leaders. As POLITICO’s ZI-ANN LUM reports, the PM ducked direct questions about whether Canada has been asked to lead a military intervention in Haiti. | | WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN | |
Who’s up: Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS, whose C$46-billion health care deal was grudgingly accepted by the provinces this week, complete with a letter stressing that the premiers are really very disappointed … but yes, they’ll take the money, thank you.
Who’s down: JOHN TORY would be too easy. Instead, let us direct you to the latest indictment of Liberal MP EMMANUELLA LAMBROPOULOS, courtesy of La Presse’s MÉLANIE MARQUIS. In a nutshell: she’s taken several extended vacations to Greece, her family members control her riding association, and she just keeps saying things that are, well, questionable. It’s a wild ride. | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— MPs will no longer be allowed to charge home internet bills to their office expenses, the Globe and Mail’s MARIE WOOLF reports.
— Mature minors should be eligible for medical assistance in dying (MAiD), a parliamentary committee recommended this week. Global’s TERESA WRIGHT has the details. Meanwhile, the Quebec government on Thursday tabled a bill that would allow people to make advance requests for MAiD in cases of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Here’s the CBC’s MATTHEW LAPIERRE with more. — The Liberals want to create an independent commission to review miscarriage of justice claims, the CBC’s PETER ZIMONJIC reports. — Outgoing ethics commissioner MARIO DION pulls no punches in this exit interview with the National Post’s CHRISTOPHER NARDI: “The public has to believe that ethics are taken seriously, and they have yet to have any big evidence of that since 2018,” he said. — Rep. BRIAN HIGGINS wants the Biden administration to “officially object to Canada’s new federal tax on underused, foreign-owned housing,” the Canadian Press reports. — Alberta NDP Leader RACHEL NOTLEY is the guest on this week’s edition of The Herle Burly. There is much talk of energy policy about halfway through. — For the New York Times, NORIMITSU ONISHI has this profile of LISA LAFLAMME. | | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO Pro s, here’s our latest policy newsletter from ZI-ANN LUM and NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY: Much ado about 0.1 percent.
In other news for Pro readers:
— Energy Department eyes ways to hasten LNG permits.
— Putin is staring at defeat in his gas war with Europe.
— Tesla recalls 360,000 cars over "full self-driving" problems.
— Biden to speak with Xi Jinping following spy balloon shoot-down.
— Labor chief Walsh jumps ship for hockey players' union. | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Birthdays: HBD to St. Catharines MP CHRIS BITTLE … JEFFREY SIMPSON, former national affairs columnist at the Globe for 32 years, also celebrates today. Celebrating Saturday: MP DEAN ALLISON, retired Sen. DAVID TKACHUK, former broadcaster and politician MOE SIHOTA, former MPs BERNARD VALCOURT and TED MENZIES. Celebrating Sunday: Retired MP BILL CASEY. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com . Spotted: More than 40 MPs participating in video interviews with CIVIX for Rep Day, including BILL BLAIR, MELISSA LANTSMAN, ELIZABETH MAY, BLAKE DESJARLAIS, JASRAJ SINGH HALLAN, SEAN CASEY and ERIC MELILLO. CHARLIE ANGUS, promising to oppose expanding medical assistance in dying to minors or those suffering solely from mental illness. Media mentions: DAVID COCHRANE is the new host of CBC’s Power & Politics. Meanwhile, KATHLEEN HARRIS is leaving the CBC for Compass Rose (which also claimed THEO ARGITIS not too long ago). | | On the Hill | |
→ Find upcoming House committees here
→ Keep track of Senate committees here 8:45 a.m. The House official languages committee meets to take Bill C-13 through clause-by-clause consideration. 8:45 a.m. Canada’s national housing policy is the topic of the day at the House human resources committee. 8:45 a.m. The House national defense committee meets to receive a briefing about the Chinese spy balloon. 8:45 a.m. The House ethics committee continues its study of the Third Edition of the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct. 8:45 a.m. The House public safety committee meets to discuss the withdrawal of amendments G-4 and G-46 from the Liberals’ firearms legislation (Bill C-21). The Coalition for Gun Control’s WENDY CUKIER is on the witness list. Behind closed doors: The House natural resources committee meets to talk about its forthcoming energy transition and federal assistance reports; the House foreign affairs committee’s subcommittee on international human rights meets to discuss its report on the current situation in Haiti. | | TRIVIA | |
Thursday’s answer: Canada’s 10th Parliamentary Poet Laureate is MARIE-CÉLIE AGNANT.
Props to GERMAINE MALABRE, BRAM ABRAMSON, SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, NANCI WAUGH, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and BOB GORDON. Today’s question: Who was the first Black reporter at the CBC? 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 | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
