David Cohen’s no-go zone

Presented by Meta: A daily look inside Canadian politics and power.

Dec 14, 2023 View in browser   By Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Zi-Ann Lum Presented by Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Nick | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → Biden’s envoy in Ottawa explains why he almost never talk politics. → It’s decision day on the future of Speaker GREG FERGUS. → Behind the scenes at COP28 in Dubai. DRIVING THE DAY Ambassador David Cohen spoke to Playbook to mark his two-year anniversary at the embassy on Sussex Drive, | AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster TWO YEARS IN TOWN — U.S. Ambassador DAVID COHEN has pulled off a herculean feat. Cohen, an intensely political animal with a long history in the Democratic Party, has lasted two years as America's top diplomat in Canada without violating the Hatch Act — a federal law designed to prevent civil servants from engaging in political activity. A recent test: Cohen once chaired the University of Pennsylvania board of trustees. But in an interview with Playbook marking his two-year anniversary at the embassy on Sussex Drive, Cohen mostly refrained from commenting on UPenn President LIZ MAGILL's resignation. He spoke candidly about what he misses about life before diplomacy, how he can do a job that studiously avoids politics (most of the time), and a presidential election year's impact on his ability to keep the attention of Washington power brokers. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. What do you miss about your old life? I haven't really missed practising law here. I haven't really missed being in the corporate world. I have missed politics. I love politics. Because of the Hatch Act, I really don't have anything to do with politics. I try not even to talk about it. I've learned that things that I say can be misinterpreted to be official government positions, as opposed to [personal] opinions. The thing I really miss, that I did not fully appreciate, is Philadelphia. I miss my friends. Philadelphia just went through a very interesting mayor's race. I had a number of friends who were running. They all wanted to talk to me. They all wanted my advice. And I was barely following the race. Of course, I couldn't give them advice. There are other interesting things. As you can imagine, my email is blowing up with press [reports] about the Penn situation and antisemitism. I literally have received eight to 10 emails in the last 48 hours. And I'd gotten a lot before that. I'm not sure what I would say. But I feel badly about what's going on at Penn, and I feel disconnected. That's the price of this job. I'm not depressed about it, but I have to be completely focused on being the U.S. ambassador to Canada. I don't let there be room in my brain to consider issues that I previously would have been pretty deeply involved in if I was still in Philadelphia. In two years, I've been to Philadelphia three times for a total of five days. Almost exclusively for medical appointments. Annual checkups and physicals. That's basically all I do in Philadelphia. How difficult is it not to be campaigning for Joe Biden right now? One thing that is hard is my absolute inability to be involved in politics in any way. I try to be incredibly scrupulous about this. I understand the reasons for it. I've been given a lot of legal advice on the Hatch Act in my career. The Hatch Act was a really smart piece of legislation. This is a time when a lot of my friends in the United States are starting to put together fundraisers for Joe Biden. If I were not in this job, and I were back in the United States, I'd be very actively engaged in that. It's something I'm pretty good at. And it bothers me a little bit that I can't do it. But I can't do it. I'm still naive enough, or I'm still pure enough, to believe that the better job that Joe Biden is perceived to be doing by the public, the better position he'll be in electorally. I'm allowed to work on the substance. I'm allowed to work on implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. I'm allowed to work on the implementation of the [CHIPS and Science Act]. It's exciting to work on those landmark pieces of legislation in a country and [with] an ally that is so close, and so closely aligned to the United States, because I think we can really move the needle on climate change, on energy transformation, in a way that will reflect well on the United States, and will reflect well on the president. As Washington's obsession with the 2024 campaign ramps up, do you find it more challenging to get people's attention? One of the strengths I bring to the table as ambassador are my contacts in Washington, in the federal government, in the Biden administration. And at least so far, I have had no issue getting the attention of the people whose attention I need to get in the administration and the executive branch of the government. I know them. I have long-standing relationships with them. My phone calls are returned. My emails are returned. And I have a sufficiently frequent interaction with them that I am not experiencing a problem getting the attention of the highest-ranking people in the federal government on issues that are important to Canada.   A message from Meta: We’re celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Meta’s Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team - a decade of advancing the state of the art in AI through open research. During the past ten years, the field of AI has undergone a profound transformation. Learn more about how FAIR has been a source of many AI research breakthroughs, as well as a beacon for doing research in an open and responsible way, from Joelle Pineau, VP of AI Research.   For your radar Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Hialeah, Florida, on Nov. 8. | Lynne Sladky/AP AMERICA FIRST WORLD PROBLEM — MPs on the House foreign affairs committee received some free advice on how to manage two superpowers such as China and the United States. DONALD TRUMP’s name entered the chat at the 16-minute mark, brought up by École nationale d'administration publique professor STÉPHANE ROUSSEL as a symptom of a Republican Party with an increasingly isolationist approach on foreign policy. “We don't know what's going to turn up in the White House a year from now,” said ALLAN ROCK, a former Cabinet minister under JEAN CHRÉTIEN and later Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations. Some of the prospects are “quite frightening,” he said. “As we like to say, ‘The Americans aren't always right, but they're always right there.’” — Lesson from the past: Rock said he thought the Trudeau government developed an “artful” strategy working with the Trump administration through NAFTA renegotiations. It was a wise approach, he said, by deploying “as many resources as we could to other levels of government, to governors, to members of the Senate and the House of Representatives to make sure that Canada's presence was felt and our views were known without having to confront the man himself.” On handling China, he said his experience as health minister showed him that Beijing admired Canada’s public health system. Public health, he said, is a good point of entry. GUY SAINT-JACQUES, Canada’s former ambassador to China, echoed Rock’s analysis adding environment and biodiversity as an avenue for shared work — if bilateral relations thaw. TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in Vancouver. — Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Toronto with a day of “private meetings” and a 6:30 p.m. working dinner with provincial and territorial finance ministers. 6:15 p.m. Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE is in Toronto, where he'll headline a holiday fundraiser at a private residence in Forest Hill. 7 p.m. (4 p.m. PT) Trudeau will participate in a roundtable meeting with Muslim and Jewish leaders. 9 p.m. (6 p.m. PT) Trudeau headlines a fundraiser at the Westin Bayshore. He'll be joined by ministers HARJIT SAJJAN, MARY NG and DIANE LEBOUTHILLIER. ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR SPEAKER, CORNERED — It’s decision day on GREG FERGUS’ fate as House speaker. Fergus says he’s ready to resign if the Commons procedure and House affairs committee recommends his removal in a report due today — an unlikely scenario given the NDP leaning toward sanctions in the form of a financial penalty and extra notes of contrition. Conservatives and the Bloc want him out because while wearing his speaker’s robes Fergus filmed farewell remarks for a friend, outgoing interim Ontario Liberal leader JOHN FRASER — a faux pas that flouts the job’s tradition of impartiality. Fergus explained to a parliamentary committee this week that he'd been under the impression the video would be shown at an intimate gathering. Instead, it was played during the Ontario Liberal leadership reveal. The red flag on Fergus adds to the ones Conservatives have been collecting that question the Liberal MP’s fitness for the post. He has apologized repeatedly for his actions, saying he knows he “messed up.” — What’s next: If Fergus survives today (with likely help from the NDP) and avoids a holiday ouster, he’s still not guaranteed long-term immunity given how he doesn’t have the confidence of two major parties. That’s a lot of holiday homework before the House returns at the end of January. Fergus was elected speaker in October by secret ballot following the resignation of his predecessor, ANTHONY ROTA. Fergus is the first Black and person of color to serve as speaker. — Setting precedents: Operation Black Vote, a Canadian organization dedicated to getting more Black leaders into public office, issued a statement last week warning about the dangers of tearing up gains in representation to satiate a hyperpartisan political climate. “The misstep in the course of delivering a farewell to a longtime friend and colleague does not warrant a call for immediate removal,” the organization said in its statement.   A message from Meta:   COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber and John Kerry, U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, at the end of the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit. | Kamran Jebreili /AP DOWN TO THE WIRE — POLITICO’s team at COP28 in Dubai takes readers inside the negotiations to explain how a historic deal got done. A host of countries were pushing for the COP28 summit to yield a worldwide commitment to end the use of fossil fuels. But a fierce counterattack from Saudi Arabia and its oil-producing partners in OPEC beat back that effort — leading, by Monday night, to a draft agreement that one Pacific island nation’s minister labeled a “death warrant” for communities threatened by the warming planet’s rising seas. “There were times in the last 48 hours where some of us thought this could fail,” U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry said Wednesday. The deal is nonbinding. Its real importance may not be clear until at least 2024 when all countries are due to submit revised plans showing how they intend to cut greenhouse gas pollution in the coming decade. POLITICO’s KARL MATHIESEN, SARA SCHONHARDT, ZIA WEISE and ZACK COLMAN detail the compromises and rescue efforts that saved the deal. MEDIA ROOM — Top of CBC News this morning via ELIZABETH THOMPSON: ANDREW SCHEER broke Parliament's rules by filming partisan video in his office. — BRYAN PASSIFIUME of the National Post reports: Conservatives lose Hail Mary bid in House to reverse amendments to farm heating bill. — APTN News looks at the second-annual Canadian Reconciliation Barometer. — Israeli Ambassador IDDO MOED told Global News he’s “deeply disappointed” by Canada’s U.N. vote in supporting a cease-fire. — ANDREW COYNE’s latest column in the Globe cites recent work from journalist SAM COOPER examining the role Beijing may have played in the Conservative leadership race. — The Economist asks: Could MARK CARNEY lead Canada? — From AARON WHERRY at CBC News: Parliament grinds to an anticlimactic halt — but 2024 could be chaotic. PLAYBOOKERS Birthdays: HBD to DOMINIC LEBLANC. HBD + 1 to Bluesky senior associate ANDREW LESLIE. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Spotted: Health Minister MARK HOLLAND, signing last-minute holidays cards at this desk before question period — licking envelopes, too. Labor Minister SEAMUS O’REGAN and Liberal MP ADAM VAN KOEVERDEN doing the same, minus the envelope sealing. Conservative MPs TOM KMIEC and GÉRARD DELTELL, also doing last-minute card writing. Liberal MP ROB OLIPHANT, comparing himself to the Great Sphinx after a point was brought up in the House committee that the Trudeau government has seen a high turnover of foreign affairs ministers. Oliphant said he's been parliamentary secretary for four of them. BONNIE CROMBIE’s letter of resignation. Jan. 12 will be her last day as mayor of Mississauga. MR. and MRS. CLAUS, greeting the Conservative caucus. h/t STEPHANIE TAYLOR Movers and shakers: MICHELLE DOUGLAS has been named the Canadian Armed Forces’ first honorary colonel for chief, professional conduct and culture. RALPH GOODALE has a new hat to add to his others after Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY appointed him Canada's representative to the Ismaili Imamat … Labor Minister SEAMUS O’REGAN has named TARA PEEL and DAVE KRAMER to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s council of governors. SAM LAPRADE is joining Syntax Strategic. In memoriam: Rabble pays tribute to PETER PUXLEY, a supremely rational activist and journalist. The Globe features an obituary for GERALD OWEN, who had a long career as a writer and editor in arts, culture and journalism.   A message from Meta: From our hub in Montréal, and throughout our global research network, Meta is uniquely poised to solve AI’s biggest challenges. Our investments in software, hardware and infrastructure allow us to weave learning from our research into products that can benefit billions of people. We were among the first to pioneer techniques for unsupervised machine translation, which allowed us to introduce a model for translation across 100 languages without relying on English, and which led directly to our No Language Left Behind breakthrough. Our commitment to open science is a key part of this work. When we aim to share our work openly, it helps us set the highest standards of quality and responsibility, which is the best way for us to help the community build better AI solutions.   On the Hill 8 a.m. Sen. ÉRIC FOREST will be a witness at the Senate internal economy committee to discuss “financial and administrative matters.” 9 a.m. Representatives from the Canada Organic Trade Association, Canadian Canola Growers Association and Prince Edward Island Potato Board will be at the Senate agriculture committee’s ongoing study on soil health in Canada. 9:15 a.m. Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner JERRY DEMARCO will be at the Senate energy committee’s study on “emerging issues” related to its mandate. 11 a.m. The House public accounts committee meets to launch into a new study on the federal government’s information technology symptoms. Three deputy ministers are on the 12-person witness list. 11:30 a.m. Auditor General KAREN HOGAN will pay a year-end visit to the Senate social affairs committee. 11:45 a.m. Bill S-230 will be the topic of discussion at the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee where the day’s witnesses include Correctional Service Canada Commissioner Anne Kelly. Behind closed doors: The Senate fisheries and oceans committee meets to talk “future business.” PROZONE The latest for Pro subscribers: — Two million Teslas recalled to curb ‘Autopilot’ misuse. — The price tag of COP28’s renewable energy pledge. — U.S. agriculture lawmakers, lobbyists quietly challenge China hawks on trade. — New docs illuminate Burning Man festival’s Washington lobbying. — U.S. CEOs expect moderate economic growth in 2024. Trivia Wednesday’s answer: EUGENE A. CERNAN was the last person to walk on the moon. Props to BOB GORDON, GEORGE SCHOENHOFER, MARCEL MARCOTTE, GORDON RANDALL, PATRICK DION, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, GERMAINE MALABRE, JIM CAMPBELL, GABE COUNSIL and DOUG RICE. A few names we missed Wednesday: ROBERT MCDOUGALL, MARK RAMZY, GERMAINE MALABRE, MARC LEBLANC and CAMERON RYAN. Today’s question: Name the current MP who once had a summer job driving JEAN CHRÉTIEN around New Brunswick. Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com 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 Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, Luiza Ch. Savage and Willa Plank.   Follow us on Twitter Nick Taylor-Vaisey @TaylorVaisey Sue Allan @susan_allan Maura Forrest @MauraForrest Kyle Duggan @Kyle_Duggan 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

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service