230 budget asks

From: POLITICO Ottawa Playbook - Tuesday Mar 14,2023 10:01 am

Mar 14, 2023

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Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey with Zi-Ann Lum. Today, we flipped through the House finance committee's bedside table reading for Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND. Plus, FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE was all smiles after landing Canada's latest major auto investment.

DRIVING THE DAY

FINA DREAMS — The House finance committee dropped a pre-budget report in the Commons last Friday packed with 230 recommendations. It's an embarrassment of riches — not literally, unless the finance minister acts on them — for stakeholders pushing budget priorities, and reliably produces a trickle of headlines.

This year's darling is a fight against tax on beer, as Playbook explored on Monday.

The all-party committee also urged Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND to establish the federal-provincial Canada Mental Health Transfer that Liberals promised to enact in 2021. The committee is hoping for a "public examination of ways the tax system can be used to reduce emissions and manage the climate crisis" — "beyond the carbon tax," they clarify.

FINA — that's the bubble moniker — also wants the government to increase a boutique tax credit for volunteer firefighters, provide enough funding for 200,000 EV charging ports by 2030, establish an Office of Environmental Justice, and pass a Safe Long-Term Care Act by 2025.

— Lots of reading material: The committee was flooded with 706 briefs submitted by every stakeholder under the dim winter sun in Ottawa. And that total doesn't account for coalitions and industry groups with dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of members. FINA devoted eight meetings to this year's study.

But how much sway does the committee really have? FINA tabled its final report in the Commons on March 10, less than three weeks before budget day on March 28.

— The hard truth: Every lobbyist worth their salt knows FINA submissions are only one plank in a broader influence campaign. The committee formally opened its pre-budget process last June, and formal briefs started rolling in after summer.

In the meantime, the big guns host evening receptions with free food, pay for flashy ad campaigns, and relentlessly send Outlook meeting invites to key politicians, staffers and bureaucrats who have a say in the budget plan.

What's left for FINA?

ROBERT ASSELIN, a former policy and budget director to then-finance minister BILL MORNEAU, told Playbook the FINA report "wasn’t a significant input" in the process.

"Personally, I have never read it," he said. "If you’re a stakeholder and you put all your hopes into [FINA], well, you don’t understand the budget process."

— A niche play: FINA's report might gather dust in a drawer, but its MPs can still highlight issues that might escape the notice of a big-thinking minister's office and small army of Finance Department budget-builders.

AMITPAL SINGH, a former adviser to Morneau and Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND, described FINA as an "effective irritant" in the budget-making process.

Stakeholders can use it to their advantage, though it could be a long play.

"For tired governments, FINA’s studies serve as a valuable resource of new ideas with already cultivated audiences," said Singh. "For stakeholders, engaging with FINA is playing the long-game in the fiscal policy process."

HALLWAY CONVERSATION

Wayne Easter sits in his office alongside a Canadian flag.

Wayne Easter, just ahead of his retirement. | Nick Taylor-Vaisey/POLITICO

Playbook caught up with WAYNE EASTER, a familiar face in Ottawa who chaired the finance committee for five years. The retired Liberal MP served up a dose of realism on the budget process — and some tips for his colleagues around that committee table.

→ Start early: Ministers submit their priorities to the finance minister in December or January. While that separate process is ongoing, the committee can't dawdle: "You really like to get those recommendations in by the last week of January or very early February to have much sway in a budget that comes down in March."

→ Narrow your priorities: Less is more, says Easter. "I know [FINA] has made a heck of a lot of recommendations. But if the government MPs can say, in a meeting they have with the minister of finance, 'We see these five or six recommendations as a priority, and we have all-party support for them,' it's even better."

→ Align with the minister: Freeland's support is necessary but not sufficient. The relevant minister needs to be pushing, too. "You've got to bring those players together. We lost a recommendation one time that should have been implemented. We had the minister of finance onside. But it was canned by the minister of health at that time."

→ Be realistic: The government is setting the agenda. FINA's influence is largely in applying added pressure to pre-existing ideas. "You're probably more so giving greater impetus to the policy to ensure it's in the budget, rather than initiating it."

→ Play the long game: All is not lost if FINA enters the fray too late in the season. "You're really looking a year out. Although it's pre-budget consultations for this budget, those recommendations … are probably going to be given more consideration in a future budget. Those issues are not lost."

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TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.

9:30 a.m. (10:30 AT) Trudeau will tour a local manufacturing plant and meet with workers. He will be joined by Premier TIM HOUSTON, Immigration Minister SEAN FRASER and Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE.

10 a.m. Transport Minister OMAR ALGHABRA is at Toronto's Pearson Airport to "make an important funding announcement that will benefit air passengers."

10:10 a.m. (11:10 AT) Trudeau will make an announcement with Houston. Fraser and Champagne will be in attendance.

10:15 a.m. (2:15 p.m. GMT) As part of a U.K. trade mission, Trade Minister MARY NG will visit a facility for hydrogen-fueled buses in London.

10:30 a.m. The procedure and House affairs committee meets. The opposition wants to hear from Trudeau chief of staff KATIE TELFORD. Liberals are filibustering. If Liberal MP MARK GERRETSEN's tweets are any measure, don't expect the governing party to give ground.

8:30 p.m. (6:30 CT) Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON headlines a Laurer Club reception in Saskatoon.

10:30 p.m. (7:30 PT) Tory leader PIERRE POILIEVRE headlines a fundraiser hosted by party whip KERRY-LYNNE FINDLAY in Vancouver.

TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW — We welcome your tips and intel. What are you hearing that you need Playbook readers to know? Send details.

For your radar

Workers assemble a blue Volkswagen car.

(Economic) drivers wanted: Workers assemble the Volkswagen electric SUV. | Jens Schlueter/Getty Images

GIGA WATCH — It was the most popular LinkedIn post in FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE's office.

"Big news: Volkswagen AG and PowerCo SE are joining Team Canada!" wrote THOMAS SCHNELL, the VW board member responsible for technology and supervisory board chairman of the automaker's battery-making partners at Power Co.

The German automaker had just announced plans to build its first battery plant outside of Europe — take that, America — in the southwestern Ontario city of St. Thomas. The gigafactory is expected to be operational in 2027.

Schnell's celebratory post was shared by Champagne chief of staff IAN FOUCHER, policy director BOYAN GERASIMOV, senior policy advisers PETER OPDAM and KEAVIN DEAGLE, policy adviser JAXSON KHAN, and senior comms manager LAURIE BOUCHARD.

The deal was also hailed as a victory for Premier DOUG FORD and provincial economic development minister VID FEDELI.

— A long time coming: Champagne had telegraphed the announcement for months. In December, he was "talking as though it’s all but a sure thing" in an interview with the Globe's ADAM RADWANSKI.

The company enlisted a trio of Bennett Jones consultants — including MICHAEL SMITH, former counsel to GM Canada — to take meetings in Ottawa.

VW also tapped GREGORY LUBAR, a K Street lobbyist who specializes in "strategic planning, project management, site selection, financial analysis, transaction structuring and incentive negotiations." Lubar's first meeting last November was in a room with Champagne and his deputy minister, SIMON KENNEDY, alongside Finance DM MICHAEL SABIA.

VW was also, of course, lobbying Queen's Park.

— What’s missing: Investment details. The Canadian battery plant deal has been in the works for awhile, but neither the company nor the federal or provincial governments have attached a dollar amount to the gigafactory investment.

It’s unknown what the German carmaker and Ottawa agreed on. They signed a memorandum of understanding in August to cooperate on battery and raw materials supply. Details of the nonbinding agreement have been kept secret.

Pressed for details by both CBC's DAVID COCHRANE and CTV's VASSY KAPELOS on their respective broadcasts, Champagne repeatedly cited commercial sensitivity and promised transparency "in due course."

— What’s next: Volkswagen declined to provide a price tag for its new Canadian battery plant, promising to release more details at a later date.

MEDIA ROOM

Australian PM Anthony Albanese, POTUS and British PM Rishi Sunak at the AUKUS summit. | Leon Neal/Getty Images

— LEE BERTHIAUME reports for the Canadian Press on AUKUS: Canada on sidelines as U.S., Britain, Australia move ahead on new security deal.

— Here's SEAN SILCOFF in the Globe: Canada’s tech sector largely untouched by Silicon Valley Bank demise, but worries remain.

— La Presse Canadienne watched PM Trudeau's town hall in Montreal , during which he called on American and European allies to step up with more sanctions against Haitian elites.

— Noted in the Miami Herald: With Biden visit to Canada, U.S. will seek commitment on leading a Haiti security force

— The Post’s CHRISTOPHER NARDI looks at the booming, multi-million-dollar business of Roxham Road

— From Chatelaine: Inside the RCMP’s rampant culture of sexual harassment

— “At some point it will be exciting again,” professor LISA YOUNG writes of Alberta politics.

— The National Post's RYAN TUMILTY crunches the numbers on cratering Conservative vote totals in key ridings during the 2021 election. He notes a pattern.

— Former NDP leader TOM MULCAIR thinks Liberals are getting fed up with JUSTIN TRUDEAU. For what it's worth.

— Professor and podcaster MICHAEL GEIST talks to Concordia’s FENWICK MCKELVEY about government TikTok bans.

— The Decibel pod features food economist MICHAEL VON MASSOW on food inflation.

PROZONE

For POLITICO Pro s, our latest policy newsletter by ZI-ANN LUM and NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY: Beetle juice: Canada lands VW.

Security guards let individuals enter the Silicon Valley Bank's headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., on March 13, 2023. | AP Photo/ Benjamin Fanjoy

In news for POLITICO Pro s:
— Inside the 72 hours that transformed U.S. banking.
— U.S. to sell nuke-powered subs to Australia in unprecedented new deal.
— Indo-Pacific trade negotiators flock to Bali.
— 6 takeaways from POLITICO's briefing on Biden's budget.
— Wyden voices concern over U.S.-EU critical minerals negotiations.

PLAYBOOKERS

Birthdays: HBD to CHRIS HALL and the Smart Prosperity Institute’s MIKE MOFFATT.

Spotted: Economist MIKE MOFFATT, looking for housing priorities in pre-budget submissions and wondering what progressive voices are thinking.

Tory MP BOB ZIMMER, touring the Arctic ... Liberal MP ROB OLIPHANT, celebrating Commonwealth Day with top London envoy RALPH GOODALE ... Speaker ANTHONY ROTA, leading a parliamentary delegation to South America. MPs on the trip: JUDY SGRO, RICHARD CANNINGS, RAQUEL DANCHO, and MARILÈNE GILL ... A separate delegation visiting the 146th Interparliamentary Union Assembly in Bahrain. On that jaunt: DAVID MCGUINTY, SALMA ATAULLAHJAN, RAYMONDE ST-GERMAIN, PETER JULIAN, ANDRÉANNE LAROUCHE, and MICHELLE REMPEL.

TAREQ WINSKI, sworn in as a Senate page ... DAVID COLETTO, joining Substack.

Movers and shakers: Digital workflow company ServiceNow named RAJ IYER its global head of public sector. Iyer most recently was the first civilian chief information officer in the U.S. Army. ServiceNow runs an annual Ottawa forum on digital transformation.

Former Air Canada executive ANTON VIDGEN was appointed vice-president of guest experience at Riyadh Air.

MEG SHANNON is leaving the Broadbent Institute for the Canadian Labour Congress.

On the Hill

Parliament returns on March 20.

→ Find the latest on House committee meetings here.

→ Keep track of Senate committee meetings here.

TRIVIA

Monday’s answer: ALORA and EOGHAN have moms in the House. What else do they have in common?

MP LAUREL COLLINS recently announced that Alora is going to be a big sister. MP LEILA GOODRIDGE announced that Eoghan is going to be a big brother.

Part marks to ALLAN FABRYKANT and ROBERT MCDOUGALL.

Today’s question: Birthday boy CHRIS HALL retired last year after a seven-year run as host of CBC's The House. But his journalism career stretched back decades. How many prime ministers did he cover along the way?

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.

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