Trudeau's Endless Summer

A daily look inside Canadian politics and power.

Aug 02, 2022 View in browser   By Maura Forrest Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Maura | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading the Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host, Maura Forrest. Today, does it matter that JUSTIN TRUDEAU is on vacation? OLAF SCHOLZ comes to the PM's defense. And what does the future hold for downtown Ottawa? DRIVING THE DAY OUT OF TOWN — Welcome to August, and to the latest installment of Should You Care That Justin Trudeau is On Vacation? The prime minister and his family are on holiday in Costa Rica for two weeks, reportedly staying at the same place they visited over Christmas in 2019. We, as a country, have been obsessed with the PM's vacations since he became the PM. There was, of course, that regrettable incident with the Aga Khan, which produced no shortage of bad press . Then there was that questionable decision last year to go to Tofino for the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. So Trudeau hasn't done himself any favors on this front. But we were obsessed before all that. Remember back in 2016, when two shirtless photos of the prime minister on vacation set the internet on fire? Had you forgotten about that? We had, too. — To refresh your memory: One of the photos was snapped outside a cave in Gatineau Park . The other, taken by a wedding photographer, showed Trudeau with his surf board in Tofino, looking on as a bride arrived on the beach. The Conservatives used that one in a social media campaign to attack the PM. The whole episode spawned a thinkpiece in Foreign Policy magazine about toplessness amongst politicians. — In short, Canada is obsessed. Should we be? — On one hand: Perhaps the most cogent argument against was articulated way back during that 2016 episode by JENNIFER DITCHBURN for Policy Options . "The great irony of the criticism around Trudeau's family vacation is that politicians keep talking about work-life balance, and specifically about how to attract more women to Parliament," she wrote. "One wonders what message women interested in federal politics drew from the coverage of the Trudeau family vacation: maybe 'Don't even think about taking time off with your kids.'" — On the other hand: These trips do come at a cost for taxpayers, in part because Trudeau has to fly on Royal Canadian Air Force planes for security reasons. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation claimed the last Costa Rica trip cost taxpayers nearly C$200,000 . There's also the small matter of the pandemic, which forced many Canadians to forgo vacations down south for two years, only to be faced with surging inflation, passport delays and airport chaos as the tourism industry is resurrected. — But let's face it: Setting all that aside, Canada has a proud tradition of getting all up in arms about how much our politicians make , and where they live , and what they do for fun. It's one of our national pastimes, along with hockey and making fun of Vancouver for not having real winter. — Our rancor isn't reserved for Trudeau. Former prime minister STEPHEN HARPER took some flak for a weekend trip in 2011 to attend a New York Yankees game that cost taxpayers at least C$45,000 , and for using a government jet to attend an NHL playoffs game in Boston. And as you may recall, Canadians were none too thrilled when they learned former Ontario minister ROD PHILLIPS and a slew of other politicians had traveled to warmer climes during the heart of the pandemic. — In sum: We love a good vacation scandal in this country. But if Trudeau just takes a quiet trip to Costa Rica and nothing untoward occurs, should you still care? Maybe not. But it's August, so what else are you going to do? — Related: Trudeau was on a plane more than half of the days in July, reports BRYAN PASSIFIUME for the National Post . — Almost not related at all: For the Canadian Press, MARIE-DANIELLE SMITH reports that Trudeau routinely receives portraits of himself as gifts. For your radar German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. | Paul White/AP Photo SCHOLZ DEFENDS TRUDEAU — German Chancellor OLAF SCHOLZ says his government was able "to call Putin's bluff" thanks to Canada's decision to allow repaired turbines to return to Russia. Scholz says criticism of Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and his government for the decision is "utterly baseless," the Globe and Mail's ROBERT FIFE and STEVEN CHASE reported Monday . Canada decided last month to waive sanctions on Russia to allow the turbines to be returned to state-owned Gazprom, for use in Nord Stream 1, its main gas pipeline to Europe. But the turbine has not yet reached Russia, with Gazprom claiming a lack of paperwork and, more recently, that Siemens Energy's maintenance of the pipeline component was not in line with the contract . — Ottawa's response: "Russia is clearly creating additional false pretexts to further and deliberately cause energy instability across Europe, as it continues to wage its unjustifiable war against Ukraine," a Canadian government spokesperson told POLITICO last week. — Calling Putin's bluff: Last week, Russia cut the supply of gas through the pipeline to 20 percent of capacity. Still, Scholz told the Globe and Mail the Liberals made a "strong decision" to return the turbine. "We never believed that the reduced deliveries had technical reasons," he said. "With the turbine ready to be delivered, it is up to Russia to resume their contractual obligations." — Coming up: The House of Commons foreign affairs committee is meeting Thursday to study the decision to export the Nord Stream turbines. Members will hear from Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY, Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON, German Ambassador SABINE SPARWASSER, Ukrainian Ambassador YULIIA KOVALIV and EU Ambassador MELITA GABRIČ. Scholz will make an official visit to Canada later this month. EMBASSY UPDATE — On Friday, Playbook linked to reporting from Global's ASHLEIGH STEWART about how Canada's embassy in Kyiv is still shuttered despite an official reopening ceremony Trudeau attended in May. Playbook asked Global Affairs Canada for an explanation. Here's part of their response, which came in after our deadline: "In May 2022, Canada's ambassador and a core team of Canadian staff returned to Kyiv to resume in-person high-level diplomatic engagement. Security concerns remain ongoing and therefore the ambassador and staff work off-site in Kyiv to ensure their safety. … "In July, the visa application centre in Lviv re-opened for biometrics appointments to assist visa applicants living in Ukraine. … Consular and immigration services continue to be provided from Poland and other European countries until further notice." PLEASE COME BACK — Downtown Ottawa isn't what it was. You might argue that downtown Ottawa was never a vibrant urban core in the mold of, say, Montreal or Toronto. But it did have some people in it, and that was something. Now, the future of downtown Ottawa is unclear. Federal public servants and their unions are resisting the government's plan for a hybrid return to work, and it seems clear that most bureaucrats won't return to the office full time. So what's to become of a downtown core that depended on thousands of public servants schlepping in from the suburbs every day? Enter Liberal MP YASIR NAQVI , who on Friday promised to fix the problem with the most Ottawa of solutions : a task force. The task force will look at providing affordable housing, getting more residents and tourists downtown, and building more "inclusive community spaces." — Ottawa isn't alone, of course. A recent study from the University of Toronto and University of California, Berkeley showed mobile phone activity in several major Canadian cities , including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary, is less than half what it was pre-pandemic. Ottawa is at 48 percent, according to the study. But Ottawa is unique in that such a big chunk of the population works for the government. In May, Statistics Canada estimated that 46 percent of Ottawa's workforce was still working from home, compared with 28 percent elsewhere in the country. Last spring, Ottawa Mayor JIM WATSON begged Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER to send workers back to the office . TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS As noted above, Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in Costa Rica. U.S. House Speaker NANCY PELOSI is scheduled to visit Taiwan. 10 a.m. The Canada Race Relations Foundation will release a report urging the federal government to better support victims and survivors of hate crimes. CONSERVATIVE CORNER SURVEY SAYS — Polls are showing Conservative leadership candidate JEAN CHAREST's standing has improved in recent months . And a survey from the Angus Reid Institute last week showed Charest and frontrunner PIERRE POILIEVRE would garner a similar share of the vote in a general election, only Charest would do better in Ontario and Quebec, where the Conservatives need to make gains. Will any of this make a difference to the Conservative leadership race? This morning, 338Canada's PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER takes a closer look at the data for POLITICO.  — The upshot? Under Charest, the Conservatives would have better odds of winning a general election. But Poilievre would also be competitive, Fournier concludes. The results "should put to rest the notion that Poilievre's partisan rhetoric would sink" the party, he writes. — And as for the leadership race? With former prime minister STEPHEN HARPER's endorsement on top of his claim to have recruited more than 300,000 new members, Poilievre has "all the ingredients for a first-ballot victory — or very close to it," Fournier says. SUMMERTIME READS Today's pick comes from MEGAN LESLIE, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund Canada and former NDP MP: I just finished " Magdalena: River of Dreams ," by WADE DAVIS . My sister lives in Colombia and when I asked my brother-in-law for some book titles so I could learn a bit more about his home, mixed in with GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ and LAURA RESTREPO was this book by Canada's own Wade Davis. This is a story of Colombia through the Magdalena River — its role in the ecosystems and Indigenous cultures it crosses, as a transportation corridor for Spanish colonization and the country's economic engine, and as the graveyard of the nation throughout Colombia's history of violent conflicts. A sentiment expressed by many Colombians Davis interviews is that the river won't heal until the country heals, and that the country won't heal until the river heals. It's an exquisite read. ASK US ANYTHING TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW — What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? Send it all our way . MEDIA ROOM — Top of POLITICO: U.S. kills al Qaeda leader AYMAN AL-ZAWAHRI in drone strike. — POLITICO is now on Snapchat — Watch RYAN HEATH's first show here on the race to replace Boris Johnson. — "Premier DANIELLE SMITH. Get used to it," veteran Alberta observer GRAHAM THOMSON writes for the CBC.  — POLITICO's MATT HONEYCOMBE-FOSTER served up 9 things we've learned since Britain's Tories went into meltdown. — LISA RAITT showed up from an airport lounge on The Hot Room with PETER MAZEREEUW to discuss economic imperatives and the mission of the Coalition for a Better Future. — NIIGAAN SINCLAIR guest hosted CBC's The House — a special edition that he opened in conversation with his father, former Truth and Reconciliation Commission chair MURRAY SINCLAIR. — Residential school survivor MARILYN SIMON-INGRAM spoke with APTN about her experience at the mass delivered by the pope at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica. "It was all backwards," she said. PLAYBOOKERS Birthdays: HBD to Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND, U.N. Ambassador BOB RAE and MPP PRABMEET SARKARIA.   Movers and shakers: ROSANNE CASIMIR and JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD are among 14 newly named members of the Order of British Columbia. Media mentions: DONOVAN VINCENT is the Star's new public editor. BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH takes over as head of the Toronto newsroom's editorial board. Former editorial page editor ANDREW PHILLIPS will return in the fall with a new column. MIKE BLANCHFIELD has signed off from The Canadian Press. "I've treasured the great ride with so many fine, memorable travelers in this essential craft," he tweeted. "Excited about the days and years ahead." Spotted: Senator KAREN SORENSEN on the Cabot Trail. … MPs ELIZABETH MAY, JENNY KWAN and RANDALL GARRISON at the Pride Parade in Vancouver. … Conservative MP LAILA GOODRIDGE, introducing her son to Fort McMurray history . JUDY TRINH "on a search for castles" before starting her new gig with CTV National News. PROZONE If you're a POLITICO Pro subscriber, don't miss our latest policy newsletter: Teeing up Trudeau-Scholz. In more news for POLITICO Pro subscribers: — State EV charging plans roll in. — Biden trade team provides further justification for Trump's China tariffs. — Back to the future: Industrial policy makes a comeback. — New York mayor declares monkeypox state of emergency. — California declares state of emergency over monkeypox. — Lloyd's to insure Black Sea grain shipments for up to $50M each. — First ship carrying Ukrainian grain leaves Odesa port. TRIVIA Friday's answer: LOUIS PLAMONDON, the longest-serving current member of the House of Commons, has won his seat in 12 consecutive elections and represented two parties: the Progressive Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois. Props to LAURA PAYTON, WAYNE EASTER, FRANÇOISE BOIVIN, PIERRE JURY, NANCI WAUGH, PAUL GILLETT, JANE DOULL, AMY BOUGHNER, HARRY MCKONE, DOUG RICE, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, JOHN DILLON, SAM MACPHAIL, BOB PLAMONDON (no relation), DAVE EPP, SEAN WEBSTER, PATRICK DION and BRAM ABRAMSON.   Tuesday's question: What some have called the greatest comeback in Canadian sports history took place on this date in 1992. Who won what? Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com . Have a petition you want signed? A cause you're promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Alejandra Waase to find out how: awaase@politico.com . Playbook wouldn't happen without Luiza Ch. Savage and editor Sue Allan.   Follow us on Twitter Nick Taylor-Vaisey @TaylorVaisey Sue Allan @susan_allan Andy Blatchford @AndyBlatchford Maura Forrest @MauraForrest Zi-Ann Lum @ziannlum POLITICO Canada @politicoottawa   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

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