Turns out Covid comms could get worse

Jan 14, 2022

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WELCOME TO OTTAWA PLAYBOOK. I'm your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey. The Rideau Canal skateway is open at 8 a.m. — all 7.8 km from the Hill to Dow's Lake. Ottawa still plans to enforce a vaccine mandate for truckers, despite all indications to the contrary on Wednesday night. And is PHAC really tracking Canadians' individual movements? (No, but a Commons committee remains concerned.)

DRIVING THE DAY

MANDATE MISFIRE — We knew it smelled fishy. A federal spokesperson reversing a high-profile federal vaccine mandate late on a Wednesday, a matter of hours after Cabinet ministers refused to back down at a presser, seemed too bizarre even for a government that's no stranger to communications snafus.

Everyone reported it.

As it turned out, a Canada Border Services Agency comms flack didn't have it right when she told a long list of national reporters that the feds were granting cross-border truckers an exemption from a mandate set to take effect Saturday.

But then reporters called industry sources on Thursday morning. No one had heard a peep about the apparent flip flop.

Nineteen hours after those first reports, the official word came from three ministers. The mandate remained intact. "Let us be clear: This has not changed. The information shared yesterday was provided in error," said a statement attributed to Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS, Transport Minister OMAR ALGHABRA and Immigration Minister MARCO MENDICINO.

Unvaccinated Canadian truckers will have to follow the direction of border guards on Covid testing and quarantining. Americans who can't prove they're double-vaxxed will be turned away.

When Politico heard back from the CBSA, the agency referred questions to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

— Exporters are scared: Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters CEO DENNIS DARBY pleaded with the government Tuesday to delay the mandate and help vaccinate truckers.

In a letter to Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, Darby cautioned that a mandate could reduce the available workforce by 20 percent — and exacerbate existing shortages he claimed had risen to 23,000.

— What's next: Conservatives like ERIN O'TOOLE and (d'uh) PIERRE POILIEVRE will not let this one go. Welcome to the new front in the Vaccine Wars.

MEDITATION ON MOBILITY — The House Ethics Committee agreed Thursday to pull out its microscope for a closer look at the Public Health Agency of Canada's harnessing of anonymized mobility data.

This is device-specific location data that is, unbeknownst to most of us carrying cell phones, captured by cell towers and aggregated by third parties.

— The issue: PHAC publishes weekly reports on mobility data as part of a broader dashboard on Covid data trends. A disclaimer says the government buys the data from "companies who specialize in producing anonymized and aggregated mobility data based on location-based services that are embedded into various third-party apps on personal devices." The feds say no individual person can be tracked.

PHAC's program recently made headlines when the agency published a request for proposals that would extend its mobility analysis program until at least 2023. The RFP went online on Dec. 17, just as Parliament was adjourning for the holidays.

The deadline for bids was originally set for Jan. 21, but was extended Wednesday until Feb. 4.

— The study: Tory ethics critic JOHN BRASSARD led the charge on the study. He raised legit concerns about PHAC's internal processes, as well as those of the companies contracted to supply the juicy data.

Brassard also tossed in a little hyperbole for good measure, worrying that Ottawa was using the pandemic as a "means and a cause for massive overreach into the privacy rights of Canadians."

— The motion: Brassard wanted to hear from three key officials: Chief Public Health Officer THERESA TAM, Indigenous Services Minister PATTY HAJDU, and Duclos. The committee agreed to drop Hajdu, the former health minister, from the list. But they passed the motion unanimously.

— Wait, there's more: Bloc Québécois MP RENÉ VILLEMURE , an accomplished ethicist before he was first elected last year, tabled a second motion that would move to suspend PHAC's request for proposals.

Villemure said the agency's goals were "laudable," but cautioned that he was unconvinced that measures were in place to prevent "de-identified" data from being "re-identified." The committee ran out of time before it could vote on Villemure's motion, which will be the first item on the agenda at the next meeting — likely early next week.

— The watchdog's view: Privacy Commissioner DANIEL THERRIEN's office is looking into PHAC's conduct. "We will turn our attention to the means chosen to de-identify the data mobility information relied upon by the government for public health purposes," spokesman VITO PILIECI said in a statement.

The commissioner's office published advice in the pandemic's early days on how the feds could use data to fight Covid without endangering privacy. One of the key recommendations: Use de-identified or aggregates data wherever possible.

PHAC has had regular meetings with Therrien's office about Covid-related programs, Pilici said, but didn't seek advice on whether or not the mobility data program "provided adequate safeguards against re-identification.

"The government relied on other experts to that end, which is their prerogative."

— What MPs didn't talk about: Not a single MP expressed interest in hearing from the companies that supply the actual mobility data to the committee. ALEX BOUTILIER, the Global newshound who has led the reporting on this file, pointed out that "the private sector companies that sell this data will continue to collect it with or without PHAC." They would have insight into all kinds of interesting questions.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

— It's Nova Scotia Day at the PMO. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, Families Minister KARINA GOULD and Immigration Minister SEAN FRASER will virtually join Nova Scotia Premier TIM HOUSTON and BECKY DRUHAN, the provincial minister of education and early childhood development, for an early learning and child care announcement at 9:15 ET.

The PM will also pop up on a couple of afternoon radio shows in the province.

— Via Zoom at 10 a.m., Mental Health and Addictions Minister CAROLYN BENNETT will announce a new initiative "to make it easier for Canadians to access mental health and substance use resources and support." She'll be joined by MP ELISABETH BRIÈRE.

— Public health officials will provide new Covid models and projections at 11 a.m.

— At noon, the Bank of Canada and Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions will release the Final Report of a co-developed Climate Scenario Analysis Pilot.

HOUSE BUSINESS

— The Commons Health Committee meets at 1 p.m. to "discuss recent Covid-19 developments." Both finance and ethics committees found unanimous consent for their first studies of 2022. Can MPs make it three in a row?

PAPER TRAIL

POT POLL — Health Canada enlisted the pollsters at Avanis to conduct the annual Canadian Cannabis Survey, a monster poll last year of nearly 11,000 Canadians who were 16 years of age or older. The C$249,730 project wasn't cheap, but it's packed with highlights on who's getting high.

— One-in-four Canadians said they'd used cannabis in the previous 12 months.

— That includes 54 percent of Canadians who identify as bisexual, more than 41.3 percent of gay or lesbian respondents who say they consumed the drug — and way more than 23.6 percent of heterosexual folks who said the same.

— 39.2 percent of Indigenous people used cannabis, more than any other race category. (White people were second at 28.4 percent.)

— 28.6 percent of Canadian-born respondents use cannabis, about double the proportion for people born outside of Canada.

— Stress (60.3 percent) and anxiety (55 percent) were the second- and third-most cited reasons for increased cannabis use during the Covid era. But the most popular reason? Boredom, cited by 61.6 percent of respondents.

— Ironically, the top reason for a decrease in pandemic cannabis use was a lack of social gatherings or opportunities to socialize.

— 26.2 percent of Canadians who use cannabis said their routine was daily or almost daily. Most provinces and territories fell within a few percentage points on their side of that mark. The exception was New Brunswick, where daily usage spiked to 42.2 percent.

WE GET MAIL

On Tuesday, Playbook asked readers what should come of the ever-dilapidating 24 Sussex Drive. You didn't disappoint. Here some of your most finely crafted replies:

START FROM SCRATCH: My suggestion would be to demolish the inhospitable and horribly hazardous building and build a smashing, yet stately, new edifice on-site.
— Maureen MacGillivray

Another reader writes…

GO GREEN: I think it should be replaced by a stunning green residence designed by a Canadian architect. If funding needs to come from the private sector, certainly not the best, but is better than having the embarrassment of this building and the fact that no PM has had the backbone to do anything about it. It is an international embarrassment.
—Anonymous

Playbook also reached out to living former prime ministers for their thoughts on J.D.M. STEWART 's proposal that they all join forces to support necessary renovations — collectively gifting PM Trudeau the political cover he needs to make it happen. We're still waiting for a single reply.

— Cost savings? Not so much: In the Toronto Star, TOM SPEARS unearths via access-to-information request all of the costs associated with keeping the Trudeaus' digs at Rideau Cottage in ship shape. On the list? C$780 for piano tuning.

ASK US ANYTHING

What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? Send it all our way.

PROZONE

For POLITICO Pro subscribers:

The Pro Canada PM Memo by ZI-ANN LUM: The latest on U.S. vs. MCA.

In other headlines for Pros:

— IEA advises Canada to increase clean energy funding.
— Canada joins Mexico's request for USMCA panel on auto rules.
— Energy Department moves to fill 1,000 Clean Energy Corps jobs.
— Biden administration will double at-home Covid test order as it readies public rollout.
— Ethics committee to study use of mobility data during Covid.

MEDIA ROOM

— POLITICO's BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN and LEAH NYLEN report: Jan. 6 investigators subpoena Twitter, YouTube, Facebook's parent and other tech giants.

— From earlier this week, here's TVO's STEVE PAIKIN in conversation with author STEPHEN MARCHE: "Is the U.S. on the verge of civil war?"

— LEAH WEST, STEPHANIE CARVIN and THOMAS JUNEAU appeal in a Globe op-ed for political parties to stop using national security as a tool of partisan warfare.

— "Call me naïve but after nearly 20 years of covering politics some things still surprise me — namely the comfort and ease with which some politicians will distort the truth," The Star's ALTHIA RAJ writes.

— ALEX MCPHEE shared a map of party standings in the Senate of Canada.

— And from POLITICO's ESTHER WEBBER in London: 5 ways Boris Johnson's Partygate scandal could play out.

Playbookers

Spotted: The CBC's IAN HANOMANSING, eager to talk to Canadians about burnout on Sunday's Cross Country Checkup.

The Federal Ministerial Coordinating Committee on P.E.I. Potatoes: In session.

Saskatchewan Premier SCOTT MOE, working from home after testing positive for Covid-19. "I'm feeling fine, but will be self-isolating."

Movers and shakers: The PMO will need a new " air traffic controller." MARCI SURKES, executive director for policy and Cabinet affairs, is leaving the Hill after 15 years. In a Twitter thread, she thanked JUSTIN TRUDEAU and KATIE TELFORD — and shouted out former bosses RALPH GOODALE, BOB RAE, MICHAEL IGNATIEFF and UJJAL DOSANJH.

The Hill Times reported that JON BRODHEAD will take over as director of policy.

INGRID RAVARY KONOPKA has left the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the British High Commission to work at Sussex Strategy Group.

Coming from ROOM RATERS in June: The ultimate users' guide to curating your Zoom background. "Whether we like it or not, the remote workplace is here to stay," they write.

Birthdays: HBD to ALLAN GREGG of Earnscliffe Strategies, who is somehow 70 today.

Celebrating Sunday: Foreign Affairs Minister MELANIE JOLY (43), NDP MP DON DAVIES (59), news anchor SANDIE RINALDO (72), former AFN chief SHAWN ATLEO (55), former premier RUSSELL MACLELLAN (82) and former MP JUDY EROLA (88).

Media mentions: TAMARA KHANDAKER will host Nothing is Foreign, a CBC podcast billed as "a weekly trip to wherever the story is unfolding" launching Feb. 11.

Veteran journalist ANNA MARIA TREMONTI will host Welcome to Paradise, a six-part memoir on surviving an abusive marriage.

"Decades ago, I got away from the man who abused me," she is quoted saying in promotion for the podcast, which releases Feb. 15. "But what he did to me has followed me for the rest of my life — in the form of shame, self-blame and loathing. I'm finally letting that go — Welcome to Paradise is my story."

Last call for the CJF-IJB Black Investigative Journalism Fellowship ... The Logic is hiring an assistant editor.

TRIVIA

Thursday's answer: Among the books NDP MP RICHARD CANNINGS has authored: Birdfinding in British Columbia, An Enchantment of Birds, and The Rockies: A Natural History.

Props to MIKE MORRICE, GWENDOLYN MONCRIEFF-GOULD, CHRIS LALANDE, SEBASTIAN COOPER, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, ALAN KAN, BOOTS VAISEY, SHANNON SOMMERAUER, ANDREW KOSTER, BRENDAN HALEY and AIDAN CHAMANDY.

Friday's question: What sitting Conservative MP was an original member of the National Post's editorial board?

Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com

Playbook wouldn't happen without Luiza Ch. Savage, editor Sue Allan and Zi-Ann Lum.

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