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Presented by Team SkyGuardian Canada: A daily look inside Canadian politics and power. | | | | |  | | By Nick Taylor-Vaisey | | | Welcome to Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → The House stood to applaud YAROSLAV HUNKA. Everybody regrets that. → What's next for the Canada-India deep freeze? → A longtime diplomat offers the Liberal government some foreign policy advice.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | |  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recognize Yaroslav Hunka, who fought with the First Ukrainian Division in World War II. | Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press | ABOUT THOSE OVATIONS — House Speaker ANTHONY ROTA has apologized for inviting to the House of Commons, and recognizing in the public gallery, a Ukrainian-Canadian whose military record has come under fire from Jewish groups, the Conservative Party, and a lengthy list of political observers. The questions on the fishbowl's mind this morning: Will the affable Rota, a scandal-free politician since he was first elected as an MP in 2004, stay on as speaker? And should anybody else, including the prime minister, have prevented what's blossomed into a full-blown crisis? — The backstory: YAROSLAV HUNKA, a constituent in Rota's riding, received a pair of standing ovations in the Commons from Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY and hundreds of others gathered for Zelenskyy's address last Friday. Rota introduced the 98-year-old Hunka as a "war veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians." Media reports cited Hunka's unit as the First Ukrainian Division. A unit with the same name, also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, served under the command of Nazis. Hunka's troubled history circulated among a smattering of online news sites, including Forward, until a handful of Jewish advocacy groups signaled serious concerns on Sunday. — Blowback: The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which "stands firmly with Ukraine," was "deeply troubled and disturbed" by the ovation: "We can't stay silent when crimes committed by Ukrainians during the Holocaust are whitewashed." The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre was "appalled" at Hunka's apparent history. — Rota's statement: "I wish to make clear that no one, including fellow parliamentarians and the Ukraine delegation, was aware of my intention or of my remarks before I delivered them. This initiative was entirely my own, the individual in question being from my riding and having been brought to my attention. I particularly want to extend my deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world. I accept full responsibility for my actions." — The buck stops where: Tory Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE pinned the blame squarely on Trudeau. "This is an appalling error in judgment on the part of Justin Trudeau, whose personal protocol office is responsible for arranging and vetting all guests and programming for state visits of this kind," Poilievre posted on X, calling on the PM to apologize and "avoid passing the blame to others as he always does." Former Tory Cabinet minister JAMES MOORE insisted on X the Prime Minister's Office and Privy Council Office that supports Trudeau would know who cracks the guest list for a speech like Zelenskyy's. — PMO statement: Trudeau's team pinned the blame on Rota's office. "No advance notice was provided to the Prime Minister’s Office, nor the Ukrainian delegation, about the invitation or the recognition," read a statement. "The Speaker had his own allotment of guest seating at Friday’s address, which were determined by the Speaker and his office alone." Poilievre also claimed the prime minister "personally met with" Hunka. The PMO denies that. AFTER THE BOMBSHELL — A week-old deep freeze in Canada-India relations won't thaw anytime soon. Just ask any analyst watching the relationship fracture in real time in the aftermath of Prime Minister Trudeau's stunning allegation that Indian agents may have been behind the murder of HARDEEP SINGH NIJJAR earlier this year. It's not clear how Canada and India can mend fences in the short term. — Solidarity from Washington: Most major allies have signaled "deep concern" with the allegations, but whatever supportive words they've offered haven't dulled the narrative that Canada is on its own. U.S. ambo DAVID COHEN gave it the ol' college try over the weekend. Cohen told CTV's VASSY KAPELOS that "shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners" informed the allegations. "There was a lot of communication between Canada and the United States about this," he said. The New York Times reported on the extent of the shared intel. — A reserved House: Ottawa legislators are treading cautiously. An emergency debate in the House of Commons last Tuesday offered clues about each party's willingness to wade into a flashpoint in one of Canada's most complex bilateral relationships. Liberals made 71 interventions that evening. New Democrats rose 45 times. Bloquistes spoke 29 times. Only one Conservative, ANDREW SCHEER, got in on the action — mostly to repeat calls for transparency on the evidence backing the allegations.
| | | | A message from Team SkyGuardian Canada: Leveraging the well-proven MQ-9 platform that has supported Five Eyes and NATO missions for more than a decade, Team SkyGuardian brings together the best in business and technology to serve Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the many industries that support them. Our government and industry team will help ensure Canada’s safety and security for the long term. | | | | | HALLWAY CONVERSATION | | |  India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) and his Canada counterpart Justin Trudeau shake hands during a bilateral meeting after the G20 Summit in New Delhi. | PIB/AFP via Getty Images | HOW TO MANAGE THE INDIA FILE — What is Ottawa's next move in its spat with NARENDRA MODI's government? Playbook got on the horn with ARIF LALANI, a longtime diplomat and former ambassador to the U.A.E., Afghanistan, Jordan and Iraq. Lalani is also a distinguished fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and a senior adviser at StrategyCorp. — Reverberations: Lalani says government officials should spend the week contingency planning. A frozen diplomatic relationship won't end trade with India, but ramifications could extend beyond the borders of the emerging giant. "I think a blind spot would be only looking at the India relationship. Is this going to matter if your business or other involvements stretched to the Gulf, or some of India's other bigger partners? Are they going to be a little bit more reluctant to deal with you until they figure out where the relationship is going?" Lalani says. — Proactive vs. reactive: Are bureaucrats prepared to help repair the relationship? "The capacity definitely exists. They are very good people, very strong people working on these files at Global Affairs," says Lalani. "The challenge is keeping pace. Because if this continues to have such high public drama, people at GAC and elsewhere just end up fighting fires — and it's harder for them to do the other work that needs to be done." Translation: Spicy headlines are bad for diplomacy. — Make the relationship boring again: Lalani says Canada was wise to steer clear of escalation when India suspended visa services. "If I were the government, I'd be saying, 'Let's contain this to what needs to be done between governments. Let's try to protect the people-to-people links, because it's important to both countries. And so is economic activity.' " — Diaspora considerations: Ottawa is working to implement its Indo-Pacific Strategy, but Lalani says the Indian piece of that document hasn't been subject to a "sustained, deep" debate in Canada that recognizes the country's multifaceted diaspora. "There are a lot of Indian communities in Canada, not just one. I don't think the complexity of that has been given a proper strategy," he says. "I think it has to start with what are Canada's interests in India? And are there interests that everyone agrees are Canada's interests, regardless of which community you come from?" — Playing catchup: India can afford to pick a fight with Canada, Lalani says, because its reach and influence have bypassed the forums where Ottawa spends much of its energy. China and Saudi Arabia have also chosen to sideline Canada in previous years. "Canada is very comfortable in its old geography of G-7, G-20, and NATO. There's a new geography and in this world, Canada is just less important. We have to come to terms with that," he says. "It places more of a premium on navigating complex relationships. You can't have an either/or foreign policy. I think our allies would benefit if Canada would try to navigate with more complexity."
| | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in Ottawa. He'll meet B.C. Premier DAVID EBY at 1:30 p.m. — Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Ottawa for "private meetings." She'll speak in the House on Bill C-56 at 12 p.m. attend question period, and also meet Eby.
| | | | A message from Team SkyGuardian Canada:   | | | | | For your radar | | A VISIT TO THE TIMES — Trudeau appears to be breaking away from worn-out rhetoric on the post-pandemic economic anxiety embedded in the lives of so many Canadians. He has for years leaned on milquetoast framing of "challenges" and "tough times," occasionally acknowledging that life "sucks" for the hardest hit. The PM swung by the New York Times for an hour-long meeting with the editorial board while he was in town on U.N. business. Trudeau was more unvarnished than usual, though it wasn't always clear when he was speaking broadly about Western democracies or specifically about Canada. Trueau's change in tone could trace to his recent summer caucus meeting, which the Hill Times digs into this morning. — He knows people are mad: "It really sucks right now. Like, everything sucks for people, even in Canada. We’re supposed to be polite and nice, but, man, people are mad. People are mad at governments because things aren’t going all that well and people are worried. So, yeah, it’s a tough time." — Metrics, metrics, metrics: "We know things are going to start getting better. Inflation is coming down. We think interest rates are going to start coming down probably middle of next year. We’re launching massive housing investments. Hopefully, people are going to start seeing things get better." — These aren't 'Sunny Ways' days: "People are anxious because that promise of progress no longer seems to hold. A sense of optimism is gone right now — or it’s at least really strained. There are challenges that people are facing that are undermining our sense that our institutions, that our democracies, are actually functioning well." — Bogeymen lie in wait: "[Voters are] falling into the trap that there are simple, easy answers that fit on a bumper sticker or in a TikTok video for any and all of these questions. And that’s where the populism comes through and the anti-enlightenment mistrust of experts and facts and science that is running rampant in aggressively populist circles." — He's in for a fight: "But it is a very compelling narrative to turn to. When you can’t put food on the table, when you’re scared to walk down the street, you’re more likely to vote for a strongman that says, ‘Everything’s going to be OK, even if I’m going to take away some of your freedoms or some of your rights.’ That’s the thing that worries me." — We have questions: Which populists or strongmen were in Trudeau's mind's eye when he cautioned voters against them? Did he expect his comment on interest rates to make news? Which rights and freedoms are at stake, and for whom? Who does the prime minister think is scared to walk down the street?
| | | MEDIA ROOM | | | — As MPPs return for the fall session of the Ontario legislature, the Star’s ROBERT BENZIE reviews Premier DOUG FORD’s summer of misery. — JAMES GRIFFITH writes on the rise of NARENDRA MODI. The Globe’s Asia correspondent also joined the Decibel pod to discuss the Canada-India relationship. — The Oct. 3 election in Manitoba seems to be WAB KINEW’s to lose, according to recent polling. NIIGAAN SINCLAIR and DAN LETT talk with the NDP leader on the latest episode of Niigaan and the Lone Ranger. — POLITICO’s JESSICA PIPER reports: The anti-vax movement emerged from the Covid pandemic as a modern political force. — APTN News spoke with ANDREA SANDMAIER, president-elect of the Métis Nation of Alberta. — Economist FRANCES WOOLLEY in The Globe: "We are not a vast, underpopulated country; we are a densely populated, highly urban, diverse country. We need immigration, housing and transportation policies that reflect that reality."
| | | | Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of the first episodes in September – click here. | | | | | | | PROZONE | | For POLITICO Pro s, our latest policy newsletter from ZI-ANN LUM and SUE ALLAN: Zelenskyy blitzes Ottawa at a pivotal moment. — U.S. President Joe Biden broadens use of social cost of carbon. — Low-carbon hydrogen projects could still go bust, International Energy Agency warns. — Opposition to EV policies hardens in Republican race. — Biden energy policies at risk in a government shutdown. — USTR outlines goals for WTO dispute settlement reform.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Birthdays: HBD to Marijuana Party leader BLAIR LONGLEY. Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it all our way. Spotted: Ottawa-Vanier resident BRYAN BRULOTTE, a business owner who briefly ran an outsider campaign in the 2020 Tory leadership race, on the list of attendees at PIERRE POILIEVRE's Quebec City fundraiser on the eve of the party convention. British diplomats, led by High Commissioner SUSANNAH GOSHKO, entertaining journalists into the night at the second annual off-the-record media freedom reception at Goshko's residence. A star-studded lineup of Liberal luminaries, ready to roast SCOTT BRISON on Oct. 6 at Old Orchard Inn in Greenwich, Nova Scotia. The roster of roasters includes FRANK MCKENNA, ANNE MCLELLAN, SEAMUS O'REGAN, RODGER CUZNER, STEPHEN MCNEIL and MIKE SAVAGE. "Lord knows he’s got it coming," joked O'Regan. Liberal MP KODY BLOIS plays host. Former U.S. President JIMMY CARTER at the Plains Peanut Festival. The People's Party riding association in London West, deregistered by Elections Canada. Movers and shakers: AARON GUNN, a conservative filmmaker disqualified from the 2021 B.C. Liberal leadership race, launched a run for the federal Conservative candidacy at a Saturday rally in North Island–Powell River, British Columbia. Poilievre, a fan of Gunn's work, visited the riding on Sept. 12. CATHERINE FORTIN LEFAIVRE is now vice president of strategic policy and global partnerships at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The Professional Institute for the Public Service of Canada posted a Sept. 18 meeting with Public Services and Procurement Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS. The union's top priorities are "costly outsourcing, scientific integrity and tax integrity." Former soldier turned photojournalist turned ex-PMO photographer ALEX TÉTREAULT has a new job: Director of communications for International Development Minister AHMED HUSSEN. Media mentions: Journalist BRITTANY ROSEN pinch hitting for Global News in Washington … MAHDIS HABIBINIA starts on the city desk at the Star today. | | On the Hill | | 9 a.m. The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy hosts its third annual Middle East Strategy Forum at the Delta Hotel in Ottawa. 11 a.m. The House official languages committee will pick up its study of Francophone immigration to Canada. 11 a.m. The House foreign affairs committee will elect vice-chairs before moving on to its study of Canada’s sanctions regime. The witness roster includes THOMAS JUNEAU, LAWRENCE L. HERMAN and KATPANA NAGENDRA. 11 a.m. The House natural resources committee will devote its first hour to Canada’s clean energy plans. Witnesses will include the University of Alberta’s ANDREW LEACH, DALE FRIESEN of ATCO Ltd. and STEPHEN BUFFALO of the Indian Resource Council Inc. 2 p.m. Governor General MARY SIMON will receive credentials from Chad ambassador-designate BOUROUMDOU NALOUM, Uruguay’s ambassador-designate GUSTAVO ANIBAL ALVAREZ GOYOAGA, Peru’s ambassador-designate MANUEL GERARDO TALAVERA ESPINAR, Slovak Republic ambassador-designate VIERA GRIGOVÁ and Kyrgyz Republic ambassador-designate BAKTYBEK AMANBAEV. 3:30 p.m. The House science and research committee will split its time between two studies: The use of federal government grants, funds and contributions by universities and research institutions in partnership with entities linked to the People’s Republic of China; and the long-term impacts of pay gaps at universities. 3:30 p.m. An all-star crew will address the House finance committee this afternoon. DAVID DODGE will be first up, followed by ANNE MCLELLAN and LISA RAITT. Community Radio Fund of Canada, Green Budget Coalition, Questrade Financial Group and Réseau FADOQ will also make pre-budget submissions. — Behind closed doors: The House health committee reviews its study on children’s health; the House human resources committee will review its financialization of housing report; the special Canada-China committee meets; the House access to information committee considers a draft report on foreign interference; the House transport committee meets to go over its study on “adapting infrastructure to face climate change.” The House status of women committee will review their menstrual equity study; the Senate official languages committee meets; the Senate national security committee has “future business” on its calendar; the Senate human rights committee meets to discuss its study of Islamophobia in Canada.
| | | | A message from Team SkyGuardian Canada: Learn about the remotely piloted multi-mission aircraft built on Canadian industrial partnerships to deliver sovereignty and security for Canada. | | | | | TRIVIA | | Friday’s answer: NINA GREWAL and GURMANT GREWAL were the first legally married couple to serve as MPs at the same time. Props to GWENDOLYN MONCRIEFF-GOULD, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, GREG MACEACHERN, SARA MAY, BOB GORDON, MARK AGNEW, QASIR DAR, DAN FONDA, SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, JEFFREY VALOIS, PATRICK DION, PATRICK ST-JACQUES, GEORGE SCHOENHOFER, and ANJUM SULTANA. Monday’s question: On this date in history, Canada’s PM said: “They have shown determination, grace and resilience every step of the way. They have been an inspiration to all of us.” Who was he speaking about? Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Emma Anderson and Luiza Ch. Savage. 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 | | | | |  |
