Speed bumps ahead

Apr 05, 2023

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Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host Zi-Ann Lum, in Toronto, with Nick Taylor-Vaisey. The stars aligned Tuesday at a glitzy confab in downtown Toronto. Meanwhile, PIERRE POILIEVRE is in the asbestos capital of Canada today. Plus, JAMES MOORE has a public service announcement.

DRIVING THE DAY

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a U.S.-Canada summit hosted by the Eurasia Group, in Toronto on April 4, 2023.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Toronto on Tuesday evening. | Chris Young, The Canadian Press

AND CHINA MAKES THREE — The point of the Eurasia Group’s U.S.-Canada Summit was to check in on the cross-border relationship. The Toronto gathering may as well have been billed the U.S.-Canada-China Summit.

Speaker after speaker took to the stage on Tuesday to warn that Beijing is going to eat North America’s lunch if industrial policies and regulations can’t turn net-zero industrial dreams into reality.

Inside the Ritz-Carlton it was a cavalcade of all-stars.

Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, chief of staff KATIE TELFORD and senior adviser BEN CHIN reunited with former principal secretary GERALD BUTTS.

"Security policy is climate policy is economic policy," Trudeau said during a speech to the white-collar audience, recycling a line he debuted when he welcomed JOE BIDEN to the House of Commons in March.

— Spotted roaming the halls: Journalist-turned-envoy TOM CLARK, podcast kingpin DAVID HERLE, auto parts association exec FLAVIO VOLPE, JODI BUTTS, Alberta biz council head ADAM LEGGE, vehicle manufacturers rep BRIAN KINGSTON, former MPs LISA RAITT and PETER KENT, Teck Resources GR head MARCELLA MUNRO, Liberal MP JOHN MCKAY, Wilson Center’s CHRISTOPHER SANDS and XAVIER DELGADO, the omnipresent SCOTTY GREENWALD; TELFORD and CHIN pulling up seats at the bar, later joined by SUSAN DELACOURT.

— On stage: Former Liberal cabinet ministers BILL MORNEAU and CATHERINE MCKENNA were on the board. Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE also joined. Ontario Premier DOUG FORD was in the mix.

— Spoiler alert: Speed bumps are on the way.

— Agree to disagree: Ambassadors DAVID COHEN and KRISTIN HILLMAN performed a well-practised diplomatic song and dance on the Inflation Reduction Act.

“It was not protectionist in any way,” Cohen said, pointing to the eligibility of Canadian firms for funding under the law. Hillman didn’t directly answer, saying certain policies were adopted and will be implemented. “We will adapt,” she said. “And we will adapt in a way that keeps us integrated.”

The hard feelings in Brussels and Ottawa over the IRA were “completely unintended,” Biden whisperer Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.) told Playbook on the sidelines of the summit.

Coons arrived in Toronto a day earlier, in the morning, an unusual move given the way American lawmakers typically opt to make a day trip of Canadian bilats. He even scored face time with Trudeau for a private chat during which the Democrat applauded the PM on the “rapid enactment of his budget.”

Coons’ post-summit dinner date before heading home to Delaware: FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE.

— Lost sleep: BRUCE HEYMAN, former U.S. ambassador to Canada under president BARACK OBAMA, talked about the headwinds that keep him up at night.

“I didn’t leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left me. And I'm a moderate,” Heyman said. “What I'm worried about most, for the Canada-U.S. relationship, is what's happening back home. And today is a perfect example.”

A TV screen displays former President Donald Trump as he is arraigned as White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing.

A TV screen displays Donald Trump as White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

ICYMI: Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony charges.

— What’s next: Expect “Buy America” messages to get louder.

The U.S. is entering the full force of a presidential election cycle. It means political contenders from all parties will be tempted to go hard on protectionism to whip votes. “Every American politician knows that this works,” Heyman explained, and to not get too worked up over it.

— America being America: He told the Canadians in the crowd to brace for non-stop messaging: “It's going to be hard for you all because you're going to turn on our wonderful media and you're going to hear that every day,” Heyman said. “This too shall pass.”

HITTING THE ROAD — Sure, it falls to headlining Cabinet ministers and credit-hungry Liberal backbenchers to woo the nation in a post-budget charm offensive that coincides with a two-week break from the House.

But Tory leader PIERRE POILIEVRE is on the road, too. Poilievre took his talents to Quebec's Saguenay region on Tuesday, where he bashed a federal decision to protect boreal caribou, the pesky gatekeeping wildlife whose natural habitat prevents forestry companies from producing paychecks — of the "powerful" variety, bien sur.

Poilievre rallied the troops at Bistrot du Fjord in Chicoutimi, a restaurant that one Google reviewer described as "quite loud but authentic" — an apt description one might apply to the party leader who frequented the joint.

— Today's stop: Thetford Mines, the asbestos capital of Canada represented by former area mayor and current CPC deputy leader LUC BERTHOLD. The pair will hold a news conference at 12:30 p.m.

— Head west: Poilievre will spend a big chunk of next week in Alberta. He headlines fundraisers scheduled for Banff (Tuesday), Red Deer (Wednesday) and Edmonton (Thursday). The event organizer is longtime Tory operative STACEY SHERWOOD.

— Not to be forgotten: NDP leader JAGMEET SINGH is touting his party's budgetary influence during a break-week Maritime swing. Singh is at Dalhousie University's dentistry school today, hyping the C$13-billion dentalcare program that would never have happened without the Liberal-NDP confidence-and-supply deal that just celebrated its first birthday.

PSA: TWITTER IS #BROKEN — If you received a bizarre DM from former Cabinet minister and current Dentons adviser JAMES MOORE, you weren't alone.

A bot hacked Moore's Twitter account and flooded his followers with thousands of phishing attacks. He reported the breach less than an hour after the attack, but only regained access to his account on Tuesday.

The Twitter app icon is seen on a smartphone.

A cautionary tale about the bird app. | Matt Slocum/AP Photo

"It took almost 3 weeks to get my account returned to me because … well, ELON MUSK broke Twitter by firing everyone and I couldn’t find anyone to help me re-secure my account and stop the phishing attacks," he wrote in a DM to everyone who received a phishy DM.

"I finally found someone who linked me to someone who linked me to someone else via LinkedIn and, 10 days later (!) after a couple dozen messages, I finally got my account back." Notes to self: Ensure two-factor authentication, sign up for secure password manager.

— Collateral damage: Fellow Conservative traveler CATHERINE LOUBIER, a senior adviser in the Harper Prime Minister's Office who now sits on the board of the Canadian American Business Council, was caught up in the same phishing campaign. She has since switched accounts.

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For your radar

COVID HANGOVER — Playbook has a longstanding outstanding access to information request with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. It's a neverending story.

We filed it June 13, 2018. One year later, the analyst minding the file said it was in the "final approval stage." But then a hitch another year later, a few months into the pandemic. The department was "still waiting for a response to one of the consults that we sent to another federal government department."

The earth spun around the sun once more. In 2021, a different analyst said the file included documents marked "secret" that could only be examined in-person. At the time, the Ontario-based employee was in the midst of a Covid public health order. "When the lockdown ends, I will be returning to the office and will make your file a priority," they wrote.

— So now what: It's a mystery who is assigned to the file, though the most recent analyst has moved on to a different federal body. Playbook emailed the department to request an update.

Here's the auto-reply in full:

"IRCC currently has reduced operational capacity due to exceptional measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As a result, there will be significant delays in responding to all requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, as well as any emails sent to this email address, during this period."

Flatten that curve, baby. Stay tuned for more.

Are you also staring blankly into the mirror, wondering what came of a simple request for information that dates to the Beforetimes? What won't the government tell you? Tell us! It feels better to talk about it!

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in the Greater Toronto Area.

— Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Newfoundland and Labrador.

9:30 a.m. Federal court hearings begin in judicial review of invocation of the Emergencies Act.

9:30 a.m. (11 a.m. NT) Freeland is in Long Harbour to meet with the leadership of a nickel processing plant.

10 a.m. (11 a.m. AT) NDP leader JAGMEET SINGH visits the Dalhousie University Faculty of Dentistry.

10 a.m. (11:30 a.m. NT) Freeland will tour the plant and meet with workers.

10:45 a.m. Trudeau will meet with workers at an automotive manufacturing plant.

11 a.m. Indigenous leaders representing Energy for a Secure Future, a gas industry-backed coalition, will hold a press conference in West Block to call on the G-7 to prioritize liquefied natural gas trade with Canada.

11:15 a.m. Trudeau will make an announcement related to Budget 2023.

11:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. AT) Singh holds a media event on dental care in Halifax.

12:30 p.m. Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE will hold a press conference in Thetford Mines, Québec.

1:30 p.m. (3 p.m. NT) Freeland will hold a roundtable discussion with members of Energy NL.

3 p.m. (1 p.m. MT) Champagne lands in Edmonton to announce a big cement project led by German multinational, Heidelberg Materials. Details on the government release were thin. The department’s Vimeo livestream page, decidedly, called it a “CCUS announcement.”

4 p.m. NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will deliver remarks virtually at the The Assembly of First Nations’ Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa.

4:30 p.m. Trudeau will participate in a town hall with post-secondary students.

5 p.m. (6 p.m. AT) Singh hosts a meet and greet in Halifax.

MEDIA ROOM

— From our colleague LILI BAYER this morning: A wartime NATO struggles to replace its chief.

— STEPHANIE TAYLOR reports: AFN chiefs endorse revised child-welfare settlement, call on Trudeau to apologize.

— "Live by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, die by the Parliamentary Budget Officer." At the National Observer, MAX FAWCETT writes on the carbon tax comms war.

— From ANDREW COYNE: No, that PBO study doesn’t prove the carbon tax is a stealth cash grab.

— The National Post's CHRIS NARDI interviewed PBO YVES GIROUX about the swelling ranks and salaries of the federal bureaucracy. Not for the first time, the quotable Giroux opined on not just the cost, but also the quality of service delivery.

— JAMES SCONGACK joins ERIN O'TOOLE on the Blue Skies pod. The executive VP at Bruce Power talks about the nuclear sector's role in decarbonization.

— CAMPBELL CLARK has more on MP travel expenses, which we told you about last week. Turns out they should have declined that junket to Albania.

— TVO’s JOHN MICHAEL MCGRATH weighs in on polling: Why Ontario’s chief electoral officer is dead wrong. The Curse gang also has thoughts.

PROZONE

Our latest policy newsletter for Pro subscribers: The case for friend-shoring raw minerals.

In other news for Pros:
— Apple exec tapped to lead Pentagon's Silicon Valley outpost.
— The tension at the heart of the ECB.
— Biden administration rolls out plans to help legacy energy communities.
— The downsides of California's historic snowpack.
— Jamie Dimon warns of new economic storms ahead.

PLAYBOOKERS

Birthdays: HBD to Liberal MP TONY VAN BYNEN, former Alberta deputy premier THOMAS LUKASZUK, former MP RICHARD NADEAU.

Spotted: Intergovernmental Affairs Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC, formally disclosing his recusal on March 28 from "all discussions, decisions, debates or votes" relating to his sister-in-law MARTINE RICHARD's appointment as interim ethics commissioner.

— Tavern on the Falls, the picturesque patio that straddles Rideau Falls next door to Royal Canadian Geographical Society HQ on Sussex Drive, scoring a five-year lease extension.

— Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND's C$2.4-billion loan to Ukraine, announced in Budget 2023 and now order-in-council official.

The OIC's terms say Freeland can't provide financial assistance to a foreign state via the International Monetary Fund unless “other countries will be participating with Canada in the provision of financial assistance in an amount that [Freeland] determines is satisfactory.” The budget doc notes contributions from the rest of the G-7.

Movers and shakers: A coda on Tuesday's note about SARAH HUSSAINI, who is exiting her role as FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE's chief of staff to become the PM’s policy director. IAN FOUCHER, who served as Champagne's acting chief of staff during Hussaini's recent parental leave, takes on the permanent gig.

Deloitte just wasn't it for NICHOLAS KANG, the former policy director to Employment Minister CARLA QUALTROUGH who returns to her office after a little more than a year as a consultant. Kang adds deputy chief of staff to his business card.

OLIVIER CULLEN is joining Summa Strategies as senior adviser. Cullen spent four years in former public safety minister RALPH GOODALE's office before heading up MARCO MENDICINO's operations team. He was later a senior aide to PATTY HAJDU.

Bank of Canada deputy governor PAUL BEAUDRY is headed back to academia. Beaudry returns to the University of British Columbia, where he was Canada Research Chair in Macroeconomics for 15 years. The BOC will "soon undertake an internal recruitment process" to fill the vacancy left in Beaudry's wake.

— Toronto mayoral hopeful BRAD BRADFORD has played up his bipartisan bona fides, attracting a mix of Liberals and Tories to his advisory team. But fellow contender ANA BAILÃO's camp is staking similar claims:

Bailão's d-comm is BLUE KNOX, a former aide to JOHN TORY and Trade Minister MARY NG. The campaign's policy director is BRADEN ROOT-MCCAIG. War room director is FAHIM KADERDINA. Director of operations is NOAH ZATZMAN. Field directors are FERD LONGO and ROBERT CERJANIC. Outreach directors are RUBY LATIF and ZUBAIR PATEL. KATE WHITTAKER is volunteer coordinator. SOPHIE RUSEN is an aide.

— Meanwhile, former Whitby MP CELINA CAESAR-CHAVANNES is also in the race.

Send Playbookers tips to ottawaplaybook@politico.com.

On the Hill

→ Find upcoming House committees here

→ Keep track of Senate committees here

Parliament returns April 17.

9 a.m. The parliamentary budget officer releases a new report: “EI Attachment Benefit for Adoptive and Intended Parents.”

TRIVIA

Tuesday’s answer: Refugee Rights Day marks the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1985 Singh Decision, which protects the fundamental rights of refugees.

Props to BOB GORDON, FRED PEARSON, LOIS CORBETT, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and ANNE-MARIE STACEY.

Wednesday’s question: Who placed first, second and third in the Liberal party leadership contest decided in April 1968?

Think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best.

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.

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