NEGOTIATING IN PUBLIC — Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER tried a new tack in her government's fight with the Public Service of Canada, which includes many of her constituents in east-end Ottawa: divide and conquer. Fortier published an open letter to striking workers and every other Canadian who watched as a work stoppage extended into its sixth day. — Over 570: The number of demands Fortier says PSAC brought to the negotiating table. "We have managed to reach agreement on most of them during our negotiations, in particular over the past three weeks of mediation," she wrote. — 4 sticking points: wage increases; telework rights; reduced outsourcing; seniority rules. — The PSAC response: "We came to the table with demands that reflect the need for significant change in our members’ workplaces," the union said in a statement from president CHRIS AYLWARD. — C$6,250: The average annual pay bump in the government's offer of a 9 percent increase over three years (retroactive to 2021). The union wants 14.5 percent in that timeframe (and tax agency employees in particular are gunning for 22.5 percent). — The PSAC rebuttal: "Without a wage increase since the beginning of the pandemic, our members have fallen behind inflation to the tune of nearly 11 percent of their earnings." — Remote work: Fortier is open to a review of the federal telework directive, which "has not been re-assessed for a post-pandemic world." A review, conducted alongside unions, "would help ensure that our approach is modern, fair, and supportive [of] our employees, while ensuring our teams can deliver on our core purpose: serving Canadians." — Contracting: Fortier reiterated the Budget 2023 commitment to axe billions in outsourced contracting work. But not to eliminate it. "We hope everyone can understand that reducing it to zero would severely compromise the government’s ability to deliver services and work for Canadians," the letter reads. — Seniority: Euphemism alert. Fortier has proposed asking the Public Service Commission to consider seniority over merit in the case of job cuts. But Fortier didn't say cuts, and she didn't say attrition, and she definitely didn't say layoffs. What she did say: "...in the event that the size of the workforce needs to be adjusted." Oh, the work "needs" is doing in that sentence. PICKET PROGNOSTICATORS — A plurality of betting redditors are predicting the Public Service Alliance of Canada strike will last at least until Saturday, and possibly longer. Thirty-seven percent of 894 players took that bet. One in five said Wednesday. Elsewhere in strike predictions, 55 percent of 968 predictors say a negotiated settlement will end the work stoppage. An additional 14 percent speculated an employer-imposed final offer vote would end the dispute. Only 9 percent tapped the poll's back-to-work legislation option. — Out on the line: A rainy dance party outside the towering monuments to bureaucracy in downtown Hull was the most April possible scene for a public service strike. BEATING A DEAD TUNNEL — PIERRE POILIEVRE is doubling down on his support for a car tunnel connecting Quebec City to suburbs on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, even though it pits him against Quebec’s right-leaning provincial government. In an interview with the Journal de Québec published Monday, the Conservative leader said his government wouldn’t finance the project if cars are excluded. He drove the point home in a tweet later on, saying his position is “common sense.” Last week, Quebec’s CAQ government announced it was breaking a major election promise to build a tunnel that would accommodate cars. Instead, the so-called “third link” will be reserved for public transit. The government says reduced car traffic since the pandemic meant the project could no longer be justified. — Shots fired: Poilievre blamed Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU for the collapse of the project, accusing the Liberals of “waging war on cars.” Still, it’s Quebec Premier FRANÇOIS LEGAULT — not Trudeau — who pulled the plug. That’s the same FRANÇOIS LEGAULT who effectively endorsed Poilievre’s predecessor, ERIN O’TOOLE, in 2021. “I honestly don’t know what Poilievre is thinking here,” 338Canada founder and POLITICO contributor PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER tells Playbook. “He’s putting himself and his Quebec caucus in the crosshairs with the promise of a project that never made any sense anyway.” Fournier said it’s “incredibly risky” to campaign against Legault or the CAQ in Quebec, given their popularity. “If there is one thing we know about the CAQ, it’s how much they like to be told what to do (or not to do) from federal politicians,” he said. Over the weekend, CHANTAL HÉBERT noted in a column for the Toronto Star that Poilievre has yet to meet with Legault, more than six months since his election as Conservative leader. — In search of allies: It’s no secret that Poilievre isn’t exactly on friendly terms with Ontario Premier DOUG FORD, either. Conservative MPs have made it known they’re not thrilled about Ford’s seemingly chummy relationship with Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND. The Conservative leader has met with Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH, and says he shares her concern about the Liberals’ energy and climate policies. But he hasn’t exactly embraced close ties with Smith, either. On her controversial sovereignty act, for instance, he had little to say, except to claim that such bills would be “unnecessary” when he becomes prime minister.
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