A week of special guests

From: POLITICO Ottawa Playbook - Monday Mar 20,2023 10:01 am

Mar 20, 2023

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Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host, Maura Forrest. This week, the Conservatives will force a vote on whether KATIE TELFORD should testify on foreign election interference. The big guy is coming to Ottawa. And so is JOE BIDEN.

THREE THINGS WE'RE WATCHING

ALL EYES ON THE HOUSE — The House of Commons is back in session, and the Conservatives plan to steal the show today with a debate on an opposition motion that would force KATIE TELFORD, the prime minister’s chief of staff, to testify at a parliamentary committee on foreign interference.

You may recall that the committee on procedure and House affairs has been stymied for weeks by a Liberal filibuster intended to prevent Telford from appearing.

Well, Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE is now taking that fight to the House of Commons, where he’ll force all MPs to vote on the matter — likely on Tuesday. “We call on the prime minister to stop the cover-up,” Poilievre told reporters Sunday. “If he’s got nothing to hide, why doesn’t he allow his chief of staff to come and tell the truth?”

— The fine print: The Conservative motion would have Telford appear for three hours at the House of Commons ethics committee. Though she’ll undoubtedly be at the center of today’s debate, the motion would also invite a long list of ministers and officials to appear as part of a broad study of foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections: CHRYSTIA FREELAND, BILL BLAIR, MARCO MENDICINO, JANICE CHARETTE, DAVID VIGNEAULT, JOHN MCCALLUM and JENNIFER MAY, to name a few.

— High stakes: The vote could put the NDP in a tricky spot, since they want to have Telford appear at committee but have also been supporting the Liberal government through a supply-and-confidence agreement. On Sunday, the PMO wouldn’t say whether the motion will be a confidence vote.

— Related reading: In case you (somehow) missed it, the national security official who formed the backbone of the Globe and Mail’s reporting on foreign interference penned a rare anonymous op-ed on Friday, shedding light on his or her motivations.

CTV’s JUDY TRINH and CINDY CHAN took a close look at the “tangled web of relationships” that have made the riding of Don Valley North “a nexus for alleged meddling by China.”

And U.S. Ambassador DAVID COHEN told CTV Question Period's VASSY KAPELOS that “nothing that anyone's reported or that anyone has said” has revealed any impact of foreign interference on Canadian elections.

HE’S COMING TO OTTAWA — No, not JOE BIDEN. Well, yes, JOE BIDEN. More on that later. But first, STEPHEN HARPER.

The ex-PM is one of the keynote speakers at this year’s conference of the Canada Strong and Free Network (formerly the Manning Centre), whose theme is “working for the middle class.”

The conference will run from Wednesday to Friday, almost exactly coinciding with the long-awaited visit of a certain foreign dignitary. But conservative politicos may be considerably more excited by the prospect of a speech from Harper than an address to Parliament from that other guy.

Harper will give his keynote speech on Wednesday evening, followed by a fireside chat with PRESTON MANNING to discuss the legacy of the Reform Party.

— Also on the agenda at the three-day conference: The housing crisis, a panel on “the new working class,” foreign policy, and bills C-11 and C-18, which the Conservatives say are Liberal attempts to regulate the internet.

— Also speaking: Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH, Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE, deputy leader MELISSA LANTSMAN, finance critic JASRAJ SINGH HALLAN, Quebec Conservative Leader ÉRIC DUHAIME, MP LESLYN LEWIS and many more.

U.S. President Joe Biden | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

HE’S (ALSO) COMING TO OTTAWA — U.S. President JOE BIDEN will arrive in Ottawa on Thursday, where he and First Lady JILL BIDEN will meet with Governor General MARY SIMON. On Friday, Biden will meet with Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and deliver an address to Parliament.

Over the weekend, much ink was spilled this side of the border on the agenda for the two-day trip, the state of the Canada-U.S. relationship, and just how long it’s been since a U.S. president paid an official visit to Ottawa. (Answer: seven years.)

For the Canadian Press, JAMES MCCARTEN has a rundown of what will likely be the major topics of discussion, including national security, critical minerals and whether Canada will take a leading role in restoring order in Haiti.

— And then there’s migration: The U.S. administration is preoccupied with record levels of migration across its southern border. But JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s Liberal government would very much like to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement, which is responsible for a steady flow of asylum seekers entering Canada along Roxham Road in Quebec. The Toronto Star’s editorial board speculated that Trudeau and Biden could discuss some sort of quid pro quo to resolve the issue.

— Meanwhile: Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. KIRSTEN HILLMAN made the rounds of the weekend TV shows to reassure viewers that everything is basically peachy between the two countries. "I think that's going to be the theme of this visit, that we are there making each other stronger and better," she told the CBC’s ROSEMARY BARTON.

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TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in the National Capital Region. He will hold a town hall with local tech employees at 7 p.m.

— Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Oshawa, Ont. She will deliver an address at 1:30 p.m. about the Canadian economy and the government’s priorities heading into the 2023 budget.

9:30 a.m. Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT will be in Montreal to deliver remarks on the development of Canada’s green economy during the opening plenary of Americana 2023.

10 a.m. NDP transport critic TAYLOR BACHRACH will be in West Block to introduce his plan to improve Canada’s air passenger protections.

11:30 a.m. Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET will hold a press conference in West Block on foreign election interference.

12 p.m. NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will host an economic roundtable in Ottawa on international economics and inflation. He will attend Question Period at 2:15 p.m.

3:30 p.m. Defense Minister ANITA ANAND, Chief of the Defense Staff Gen. WAYNE EYRE and Royal Canadian Navy Commander Vice-Admiral ANGUS TOPSHEE are witnesses at the House government operations committee’s study of consulting contracts awarded to McKinsey & Company.

DRIVING THE DAY

OUT OF SERVICE — Ahead of next week’s federal budget, several groups are sounding the alarm about a possible “death spiral” in public transit.

The crux of the issue? Ridership hasn’t yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels, meaning transit systems have less money to pay for services. That could lead to service cuts and higher fares, which could, in turn, drive more people away from public transit, which could in turn… well, you get it. Hence the spiral.

The federal government provided emergency funds for public transit operations twice during the pandemic, most recently to the tune of C$750 million in 2022. But that was a one-time payment.

— Calls for more: Last week, the B.C. government announced it will inject nearly C$500 million into Metro Vancouver’s transit system. TransLink had initially asked Ottawa for C$250 million, to be matched by the province, but the provincial government ended up footing the entire bill.

BRAD WEST, chair of the TransLink mayors’ council, told reporters it was "incredibly unfortunate that the federal government didn't step up on this occasion.”

Other cities are facing similar predicaments. The Toronto Transit Commission recently announced a 10-cent fare hike with a reduction in services to address a C$366-million budget shortfall.

— The ask: The Canadian Urban Transit Association is asking Ottawa for another injection of emergency operating funds in this year’s budget. And last week, a coalition of environmental groups signed an open letter to Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND. They’re hoping for a permanent federal contribution to transit operations.

“If you allow that kind of budget hole to translate into service cuts and fare hikes, that's where you get the death spiral,” NATE WALLACE, clean transportation program manager for Environmental Defence, told Playbook.

— Will their call be answered? A spokesperson for Freeland pointed Playbook to the government’s plans for a C$3-billion annual public transit funding program. But Wallace said that’s only for big, new transit projects — not for day-to-day services.

That could lead to transit systems that have “the money to procure a bus, but not enough money to pay the driver to drive it,” he said.

For your radar

Federal Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre speaks.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre | Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press

PLATFORM PLANKS — Even as the Conservatives are doing everything they can to keep the spotlight on the foreign interference controversy dominating political headlines, Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE has been busy rolling out what looks suspiciously like the skeleton of an election platform.

— Last Tuesday, Poilievre promised a Conservative government would sue the biggest pharmaceutical companies to cover the costs of the opioid crisis.

— On Friday, he promised to reward cities that are building new housing while withholding federal infrastructure dollars from those moving too slowly — similar to a pledge he made during the Tory leadership campaign last year.

— And on Sunday, there was a third promise. Poilievre pitched a “Blue Seal” standard, modeled on the Red Seal program for tradespeople, that he said would speed up the process for licensing foreign-trained health professionals in Canada.

But no one’s thinking about an imminent election, of course.

MEDIA ROOM

— The latest United Nations climate report will land this morning. From Friday, here’s POLITICO’s KARL MATHIESEN with the inside story of the “total shitshow” that delayed today’s IPCC report for months.

— “Canada is about to get a FOMO budget,” HEATHER SCOFFIELD writes in the Star — a guest column that argues subsidies and tax policy won’t bridge the clean energy gap.

— From our colleagues in Florida: Who said it: RON DESANTIS or DONALD TRUMP?

— DAVE COURNOYER, LISA YOUNG and JASON MARKUSOFF discuss Alberta’s two-party race on CBC’s West of Centre.

— The Toronto Star’s RAISA PATEL and ALEX BALLINGALL take a deep dive into the first year of the supply-and-confidence agreement between the Liberals and the NDP.

— And Google is planning to send two executives, RICHARD GINGRAS and KENT WALKER, to testify before the heritage committee about the Online News Act, Bill C-18, MICKEY DJURIC reports for the Canadian Press. The two execs previously ignored a committee summons.

PROZONE

For POLITICO Pro s, our latest policy newsletter from ZI-ANN LUM and MAURA FORREST: Welcome to Ottawa: Everything’s fine.

Other headlines for Pro readers:

— Russia woos Global South through key agricultural export.

— The great EU subsidy shakedown.

— Commission releases Net-Zero Industry Act.

— YouTube lifts ban on Donald Trump's account.

— White House wants more power to punish bank executives post-collapse.

PLAYBOOKERS

Brian Mulroney

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney | AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool

Birthdays: The boy from Baie-Comeau is 84 today. HBD to former PM BRIAN MULRONEY.

TINA KEEPER also celebrates. The former MP recently said that she has not ruled out a return to politics: “I’m not sure where, how, when, yet,” she told APTN.

Bonus birthdays: HBD + 1 to KATE MALLOY and JENN JEFFERYS.

Spotted: Conservative deputy leader TIM UPPAL, asking Twitter why his tweet expressing concern about the internet shutdown in Punjab has been deleted.

Two hundred people, on the streets of downtown Ottawa for the Rideau McDonald’s Farewell March (h/t TED RAYMOND for CTV News).

TOM CLARK, with a quick look into his new life as Canada’s consul general in New York.

YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET, communing with RENÉ LÉVESQUE … ELIZABETH MAY, mourning the death of her BlackBerry, which had been “held together with rubber bands.”

Ukrainian Ambassador YULIA KOVALIV, at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

KEVIN GALLAGHER, making his anchoring debut on CTV News Channel.

Movers and shakers: Former deputy commissioner MIKE DUHEME has taken over as interim commissioner of the RCMP, following BRENDA LUCKI’s retirement Friday.

In case you missed it, Sen. LARRY SMITH has been named to the 2023 Class of the CFL Hall of Fame.

Media mentions: The 2022 National Newspaper Award finalists were announced Friday. In the politics category: the Globe and Mail’s BILL CURRY and MAHIMA SINGH for their work on federal outsourcing; La Presse’s FANNY LÉVESQUE for a portfolio of work; and JUSTIN LING, for a feature on the years-long making of the “Freedom Convoy” protest published by the Toronto Star.

Arrivals: SAMAD MONSEF DECOURCEY has arrived. “Baby Samad is healthy, determined and living a life full of cuddles and naps,” former MP MARYAM MONSEF shared on LinkedIn.

Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it all our way.

On the Hill

— Find the latest House committee meetings here.

— Keep track of Senate committees here.

11 a.m. The Canadian Soccer Association will be at the House heritage committee as MPs continue their study of safe sport in Canada.

11 a.m. The House international trade committee continues its study of Bill C-282 with witnesses from the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Egg Farmers of Canada and the National Cattle Feeders' Association.

11 a.m. JOHN MOFFET, assistant deputy minister at the environment department, will be at the joint committee for the scrutiny of regulations where a review of statutory instruments is up for study.

11 a.m. Indigenous Services Minister PATTY HAJDU will be at the House public accounts committee to take questions about the auditor general’s report on emergency management in First Nations communities.

11 a.m. The House environment committee will meet to discuss committee business before heading in camera to consider a draft report on fossil fuel subsidies.

11 a.m. Officials from the Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP and the public safety department will appear before the House committee on the status of women as part of a study of human trafficking.

3:30 p.m. Defense Minister ANITA ANAND is a witness at the House government operations committee’s continuing study of federal consulting contracts awarded to McKinsey.

3:30 p.m. Veterans Affairs Minister LAWRENCE MACAULAY will be at the House veterans affairs committee, backed by six department officials, to take questions on the supplementary estimates (C) and the main estimates.

3:30 p.m. The House industry committee meets to continue its study of Bill C-288.

3:30 p.m. Saskatchewan Justice Minister and Attorney General BRONWYN EYRE is a witness (via video) at the House justice committee’s study of Canada’s bail system.

3:30 p.m. The House immigration committee meets to begin its study of Bill S-245, a Senate public bill sponsored by Sen. YONAH MARTIN, to amend the Citizenship Act to “permit certain persons who lost their Canadian citizenship to regain it.”

4 p.m. The University of Ottawa’s THOMAS JUNEAU will be at the Senate human rights committee as senators continue their study of Islamophobia in Canada.

4 p.m. SAMI KHOURY, head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security at the Communications Security Establishment, will be a witness at the Senate national security committee as part of its study of cyber threats to Canada’s defense infrastructure.

6:30 p.m. The House agriculture committee meets to continue its study of food price inflation and will hear from food banks and Okanagan Indian Band Chief BYRON LOUIS, representing the Assembly of First Nations.

6:30 p.m. The special committee on the Canada-China relationship meets to continue its study of relations between the two countries.

— Behind closed doors: The House fisheries committee meets to run through two upcoming reports about climate crisis impacts and the North Atlantic right whale; the Senate official languages committee meets to review a draft copy of its report probing Francophone immigration to minority communities.

TRIVIA

Friday’s answer: Acid rain was a top agenda item at the Shamrock Summit.

Props to GUY SKIPWORTH, MARC LEBLANC, JOHN DILLON, PATRICK DION, TRACY SALMON, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and ALLAN FABRYKANT.

Reader LESLIE SWARTMAN writes: “The Shamrock Summit is where President Reagan asked Prime Minister Mulroney for Canada's participation in his concept to build an International Space Station. Canada said yes a year later.”

Today’s question: On this date in 2004, STEPHEN HARPER became the first leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Who did he beat out?

Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com

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