On the AFN’s agenda: Poilievre

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Jul 11, 2024 View in browser   By Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Kyle Duggan Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Ottawa Playbook | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → The House of Lords breaks up with CONRAD BLACK. → The Assembly of First Nations listens closely to PIERRE POILIEVRE. → Possibly imminent: Canada's plan to hit NATO's defense spending target. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT LORD NO MORE — CONRAD BLACK has lost his membership in the British House of Lords for lack of attendance. The former news magnate famously renounced his Canadian citizenship in the process of becoming Lord Black of Crossharbour. (He eventually regained his passport.) Black sat as a Conservative at the outset of his peerage in 2001. He cast his most recent recorded vote in 2003. He became non-affiliated in 2007. On Tuesday, he was removed from the membership list. The chamber's official record shows no spoken contributions and no official portrait. — The official reason: Black was removed as a member "under section 2 of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 by virtue of not attending a sitting of the House during a session lasting six months or longer." DRIVING THE DAY National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak during her opening address at the AFN's annual general assembly earlier this week. | Christinne Muschi, The Canadian Press INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS — The Assembly of First Nations will hear from a pair of federal party leaders today. PIERRE POILIEVRE and JAGMEET SINGH are both guest speakers this morning at the Palais des congrès in Montreal. — Not on the agenda: Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, still in Washington for NATO meetings and only wheels up for Canada after the AFN adjourns. Three ministers made speeches in Montreal: GARY ANANDASANGAREE, DOMINIC LEBLANC and ARIF VIRANI. Trudeau's parliamentary secretary and special adviser on water, TERRY DUGUID, stood in for the stateside boss with a Wednesday speech. — Poilievre watch: DAKOTA KOCHIE, a former AFN chief of staff who now works in government relations at the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, said the assembly is keen to hear from the ascendant Conservative leader. Singh's speech is likely to reaffirm a strong relationship, Kochie told Playbook, but the AFN crowd wants to learn more about Poilievre's governing priorities. He expects to hear a lot about one particular plank of reconciliation. "Conservatives have been talking a lot about how we include Indigenous peoples in the economy, whether that's major projects or different economic reconciliation issues that the federal government can play a part in," says Kochie. For instance: regulatory certainty for the energy sector. — Et voila: Kochie was onto something. The Tories leaked a draft of Poilievre's speech to the Globe’s KIRSTY KIRKUP, who reported on its contents: Poilievre will champion his support of economic reconciliation. He’ll acknowledge residential schools and the “monstrous abuse of excessive government power.” He will also reference the First Nations of Ontario and their request for an exemption from carbon pricing. — Key quote: “If reconciliation means anything, it means saying ‘yes’ to the economic opportunities that First Nations are asking for,” Kirkup clipped from the draft remarks. “When your future is at stake, your right to say ‘yes’ is as important as your right to say ‘no.’” — AFN priorities: The three-day assembly debated dozens of policy resolutions on MMIWG, health, justice, rights, lands, infrastructure, fisheries, environment, reconciliation, social issues, education and languages. Like any meaty policy conference, organizers pumped out reading material. Attendees briefed up with a beefy 66-page "issue update" document. Further reading: National Chief CINDY WOODHOUSE is attending her first AFN meeting as chief. “There’s time to fight, then there’s time to try and get some work done,” she told the Globe’s WILLOW FIDDLER.  — From the floor: Chiefs voted to support an independent inquiry into the deaths of four First Nations women in Winnipeg, APTN News reports. A judge is expected to decide today on JEREMY SKIBICKI's murder trial. FISH FARM WATCH — Coastal First Nations in British Columbia are watching for Fisheries Minister DIANE LEBOUTHILLIER's draft transition plan for open-net fish farms. Lebouthillier promised before the end of the month to release the document that would spell the end of open nets by 2029. Fish farms have divided First Nations on the west coast. Dozens of communities oppose them, insisting the nets harm wild salmon stocks. A smaller number of nations credit the sector for economic growth that has allowed their people to prosper in remote places. It's a science versus science debate that has split Liberals, too. Both sides of the debate support strong wild salmon stocks. Reconciliation lies at the core of each argument. Resource Works, a Vancouver-based natural resource development advocacy group, is urging Ottawa to fund the transition to land-based fish farms for communities that have relied on open-net farms — but don't have the fiscal capacity to pay for a five-year transition.   Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.     Where the leaders are — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will participate in a meeting with the North Atlantic Council and Indo-Pacific partners at 10 a.m. An hour later, Trudeau will meet with British PM KEIR STARMER. At 12:30 p.m., the PM will hold a media availability. Trudeau has afternoon bilats with Latvian President EDGARS RINKĒVIČS and Estonian PM KAJA KALLAS before a 2 p.m. meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. — Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in New York City to "meet with business leaders to promote investing in Canada." Freeland's itinerary didn't include a list of business leaders. — Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE will be in Montreal to deliver a keynote at the Assembly of First Nations’ annual general meeting at 9 a.m. At 6 p.m., Poilievre will hold a fundraiser at the Montreal Torah Center Bais Menachem Chabad Lubavitch in the city’s Hampstead suburb. The riding is Mount Royal, aka the one held by Liberal MP ANTHONY HOUSEFATHER. Tories plan to flood the area with resources in support of candidate NEIL OBERMAN. — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will address the AFN at 9:30 a.m. — Green Leader ELIZABETH MAY will spend the day in Sidney, British Columbia, with the Cetus Research & Conservation Society Straitwatch team to learn about their work protecting at-risk marine mammals. WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY 11 a.m. (12 p.m. AT) Transport Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ will be at a VIA Rail station in Moncton to announce investments to improve the passenger rail experience in Atlantic Canada. 11 a.m. Employment Minister RANDY BOISSONNAULT and Mental Health and Addictions Minister YA’ARA SAKS will join former Cabmin MARCO MENDICINO at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in downtown Toronto to make a funding announcement for health workers. 4 p.m. (1 p.m. PT) Energy and Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON will tour Saltworks Technologies in Richmond, British Columbia, and make a funding announcement to support battery supply chains. For your radar President Joe Biden, left, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, greet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a welcome ceremony in Washington on Wednesday. | AP BEANS, SPILLED — Media covering Canada’s NATO entourage have faced constant roadblocks trying to get ministers for comment. Everything has been tightly stage managed. And there’s been next to no clarity on just what the heck the government is doing to assuage its allies about eventually meeting the defense-spending commitment that’s put a giant kick-me sign on Canada’s back. “It’s a mystery to me why Canada’s timeline to 2% wasn’t prepared and shared with allies long ago,” the University of Ottawa’s ROLAND PARIS noted of the confusion. So, it was almost surreal Wednesday when details about the government’s plans came from a Republican lawmaker who just plainly said it out loud. — Scooped: Sen. ROGER WICKER (R-Miss.) revealed in an interview broadcast at the summit that when Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU met with congressional leaders earlier this week, they criticized him behind closed doors for failing to reach the target. “We pointedly mentioned that they are one of the laggards when it comes to putting in money on their national defense so they can help the alliance,” Wicker said of the meeting. — The timeline: “I can report to you that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they were going to unveil a plan later on this week and perhaps it will come Thursday, Friday — but before the end of the week — to get Canada to 2 percent of GDP within a decade.” This happened right around the time senior government officials fed an “announceable” on background about new financial aid to Ukraine and future submarine procurement that hinted at shelling out more for defense. Neither of those items scratched the itch about Canada showing up to the NATO summit without first announcing a plan, but they were enough to file stories. The Canadian officials meanwhile skirted questions about the highly anticipated later today announcement where Canada is expected to lay out that plan — something Defense Minister BILL BLAIR has hinted at all week. — Declaration time: The leaders' communique published Wednesday spanned more than 5,000 words. Paragraph 6 addressed the 2-percent-sized elephant in the room, acknowledging members who'd reached or exceeded the alliance's spending target. Canada's only name-check in the entire document dropped into that paragraph, in which Ottawa and European allies were also commended for combined spending increases. — Top of POLITICO this morning: Nervous world leaders fret over what the Biden chaos means for NATO’s future. — They're listening: Trudeau and his counterparts were allotted a limited number of seats in the main plenary room where leaders exchanged views. A small number of advisers also take in the proceedings from a "listening room," where they can work through issues in real time. → In the main room: MÉLANIE JOLY, BILL BLAIR, KATIE TELFORD → In the other room: BRIAN CLOW, NATHALIE DROUIN Talk of the town BY-ELECTION WATCH — Get used to seeing LaSalle-Émard-Verdun in headlines. It's the new Toronto-St. Paul's. Well, maybe. Anticipation is slowly mounting in advance of the next electoral temperature check that Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU can't avoid much longer. All the typical caveats apply to the guaranteed summer by-election that will fill the vacancy left by former Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI's resignation in January: → Few riding-level polls will likely offer hints at voter intention. → Turnout will fall short of a general election. → Most importantly, Montreal isn't Toronto. Just ask a Montrealer. Or a Torontonian. — Fodder for the nerds: The Writ's ÉRIC GRENIER breaks down historic trends in the riding. Grenier goes deep into neighborhood-level analysis, and concludes that even a Liberal loss would strike less fear into Team Trudeau than June's upset in Toronto. The St. Paul's devastator put a pile of 416 ridings in play, he writes. But the seats surrounding LaSalle-Émard-Verdun are more deeply red. If nervous nellies are your thing, The Hill Times' ABBAS RANA fills your boots. Keep an eye on La Presse's MÉLANIE MARQUIS for Liberal nomination news. — Projections: 338Canada pegs the riding as leaning Liberal. PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER's projection tightened the week of that pivotal Toronto by-election. The NDP and Bloc Québécois tie for runner-up, with Conservatives trailing. — Deadlines: Trudeau must call the by-election by July 30. The last possible voting day is Sept. 16 — the same day the House returns for the fall sitting. MEDIA ROOM — The Canadian Press reports: Six decades of road salt destroyed the 123-year-old interprovincial Alexandra Bridge in Ottawa, federal officials said, in explaining why it needs to be replaced. — Herald/Sun columnist RICK BELL touts his latest: “EXCLUSIVE. INTERVIEW. Poilievre is ON FIRE. Today is part one. Poilievre says he's a normal guy, the Liberal-NDP are lunatics.” — The northern town of Ignace, Ont., has voted to accept a nuclear waste repository. Local First Nations have yet to commit to the project, which has narrowed its options to Ignace or South Bruce, not far from Lake Huron. — MARK MCQUEEN, a former executive assistant to BRIAN MULRONEY's chief of staff, used his Star column to write an open letter to KATIE TELFORD. “The time to go is now; it’s what’s best for you both,” he writes. — “The tide has dramatically turned,” PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER writes in The Walrus on the fall of Quebec Premier FRANÇOIS LEGAULT. — Over on The Hub, pollster DARRELL BRICKER says that Canadians, especially younger ones, appear less proud of their country than at any time in living memory. “Unless the next generation of political leaders reverses this erosion of patriotism, the country’s future could be at risk,” he argues. PLAYBOOKERS Birthdays: HBD to MP JOYCE MURRAY (70!), academic MICHAEL GEIST, former MPs BOBBIE SPARROW and ROBERT SOPUCK. HBD + 1 to the National Post's CHRIS NARDI and the National Capital Commission's ALAIN MIGUELEZ. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Noted: Liberal MP MICHAEL MCLEOD making it official that he will not seek a fourth term in the next federal election. Spotted: Substacker DAVE COURNOYER, tracking candidates running for federal political party nominations in Alberta. Movers and shakers: BRAD TENNANT of Wellington Advocacy joined the firm's lobbying efforts on behalf of Koch Industries. The U.S. multinational targets mostly Conservative MPs with advocacy on its products, including "transportation fuels, building and consumer products, electronics, fibers, fertilizers, and pollution control systems." JENNA DONELSON is chairing the Empire Club of Canada’s board of directors. PROZONE Don’t miss our latest policy newsletter for Pro subscribers from ZI-ANN LUM and KYLE DUGGAN: On Chrystia Freeland’s DC agenda. In other headlines for Pros: — Senior employees at Russia Today used AI to spread Kremlin disinfo. — Action on climate change will cause labor market upheaval, OECD says. — Microsoft inks historic carbon removal deal. — Hurricane Beryl exposes gaps in global disaster aid. — Microsoft pulls back from OpenAI as antitrust scrutiny builds. TRIVIA Wednesday’s answer: Props to MATTHEW GAGNE, JOHN MERRIMAN, DG STRINGER, BOB GORDON, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and MARCEL MARCOTTE who knew that MICHEL BELLEMARE and DOUG THOMPSON each served as acting mayor of Ottawa in 2009 while Mayor LARRY O'BRIEN took a leave of absence to deal with a criminal trial. Props also to CAMERON PENNER, SARA MAY, BRANDON RABIDEAU, NANCI WAUGH, PATRICK DION and IAN GLYNWILLIAMS who wrote it in with one of the two names. Today’s question: Name the tree-planting company that JOYCE MURRAY helped to co-found in the ’70s. Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Writing tomorrow's Playbook: KYLE DUGGAN 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.   Follow us on Twitter Nick Taylor-Vaisey @TaylorVaisey Sue Allan @susan_allan 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

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