NEWS FEED — The Liberals want MARK ZUCKERBERG to appear before a parliamentary committee to explain his company’s “recent intimidation tactics” in response to the government’s bid to make tech giants pay news publishers. Liberal MP CHRIS BITTLE posted the text of a motion to Twitter Thursday, which would summon the Meta CEO and other executives to testify at the House of Commons heritage committee. Their appearance would be part of a larger study of “tech giants’ current and ongoing use of intimidation and subversion tactics to evade regulation in Canada and across the world.” “Tech giants aren’t above the law,” Bittle wrote. “Canadians deserve answers.” — Timeline review: The move follows a Globe and Mail report last week that said Meta will block Canadians’ ability to view or share news on Facebook and Instagram if the Liberals’ Online News Act, Bill C-18, becomes law. The bill would force tech platforms to compensate news organizations for posting or linking to their content. The committee has already heard from officials with Google Canada, after it was revealed last month that Google had blocked about four percent of Canadian users from accessing news through its search engine, as part of a test response to C-18. That test was expected to end Thursday. The officials told the committee last week that no decisions have been made about permanent changes. — Facebook reach: The committee’s bid to get Zuckerberg to appear will likely be as successful as its attempt to have Google CEO SUNDAR PICHAI testify last week (spoiler: he didn’t). It wouldn’t be the first time Zuck has ignored a committee summons, which have no force outside Canada’s borders. The Liberals also want to hear from NICK CLEGG, Meta’s president for global affairs (also in the U.S.). They may have more luck with Toronto-based CHRIS SANIGA, the company’s Canada head. THEY'LL GET TO IT — The interminable game of chicken gumming up the procedure and House affairs committee will resume on Tuesday. The united opposition wants to hear from KATIE TELFORD about attempted foreign election interference, and they have the numbers. All that stands in their way are Liberal MPs who are preventing a vote. Like any good game of chicken, it's not clear who will blink first. "I'm not willing to drop it. There would have to be something pretty substantive. And by that I basically mean a public inquiry," NDP MP RACHEL BLANEY told Playbook. — It's a tough call: Every second that ends in stalemate prevents the committee from doing other work. PROC, as it's known to Hill folk, has on its docket a study of every single riding boundary proposed by provincial commissions that are redrawing Canada's electoral map — a regular process that unfolds every decade in response to the country's growth patterns. MPs get a chance to quibble with the nonpartisan commissions' proposals. PROC's plan is to hear all of those objections by May, though the committee can ask for an extension. Blaney acknowledged the tradeoff isn't simple: "I often reflect that one of the best questions all of us should ask of anybody running for elected positions is: How do you struggle with hard things? Period." MPs are champing at the bit to air grievances on behalf of their voters. "There's a tension there," Blaney admitted. But for now, the choice is clear. It's Telford or bust. — All politics is local: Take a look at PROC's meeting on proposed Saskatchewan boundaries. Tory MPs WARREN STEINLEY and ANDREW SCHEER made impassioned cases against the provincial commission's final proposal, which transfers a small chunk of Scheer's constituents into Steinley's neighboring riding. It sounds like small potatoes, but they were there to assure their colleagues it is not. "There's a distinctive character in the north end versus in the south end," Scheer said of Regina. "There's a friendly rivalry between sports leagues and between schools and things like that. There is definitely a distinction there." It's true. Dewdney Avenue splits the city into halves: NODs and SODs. The commission's initial proposal drew a line down Dewdney. The most recent version, though, would see thousands of NODs lumped in with SODs. — Scheer's true allegiance: "I'm a NOD for life." — Meanwhile, in Manitoba: NDP MP NIKI ASHTON and Tory MP JAMES BEZAN brought a joint objection to PROC. Their province's commission recommended moving Little Saskatchewan First Nation and part of Lake St. Martin First Nation from Ashton's riding into Bezan's. The Indigenous communities weren't consulted, they said, worrying a riding swap would "contribute to confusion and even mistrust" — and ultimately disenfranchisement. The veteran MPs wanted that particular boundary change thrown in the trash. PROC will pass its concerns on to the commission, which must consider them before sending a final report to the Speaker of the House. — Still to come: PROC hasn't heard at all from MPs who represent British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec or Ontario. When will they get their chance to gripe? TBD. | 
