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Nov 29, 2022 View in browser   By Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Maura Forrest Send tips | Subscribe here | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. We're your hosts, Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Maura Forrest. Today, we still have questions about the federal Indo-Pacific strategy. We also have questions about redacted documents tabled at the Rouleau Commission. And if you have plans for this evening's cocktail circuit, make sure you have comfortable shoes. DRIVING THE DAY CHINA SENDS A MESSAGE — Ambassador CONG PEIWU used a Monday speech to students at the University of Ottawa to criticize Canada's approach to bilateral relations. CP's DYLAN ROBERTSON was in the room . The ambassador weighed in on Canada's new Indo-Pacific strategy, which refers to China as "an increasingly disruptive global power." He was rather unimpressed. "Unfortunately it seems that Canada has followed the United States practice of creating division and of fomenting confrontation in the region," Cong said. "When it comes to China, it distorted facts (and) hyped up the so-called China threat and infringed upon China's internal affairs. We firmly oppose it." One more quote: "This kind of groundless accusations and finger-pointing is really not conducive at all to our future cooperation." Media at the event were told by a university official that they were not allowed to film the speech. Robertson still hit record now and again. He observed a protest of China's treatment of Uyghurs visible from the room — until the shades came down , anyway. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS — In addition to taking a harder line on China, Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy signals Canada's intention to increase its military presence in the region and to expand trade ties. The strategy promises nearly C$2.3 billion over five years, in part to boost Canada's naval presence in the Indo-Pacific and to bolster its intelligence and cybersecurity networks to guard against foreign interference. Ottawa also wants to expand trade ties in the region, especially with India, and has plans for a new trade gateway in southeast Asia. But for all the plans in the 26-page document , there are plenty of questions left unanswered. Here are a few (h/t to all the very savvy reporters on a Monday technical briefing call with government officials, scheduled a mere 22 hours after Joly announced the strategy): What is a trade gateway? The strategy describes the proposed trade gateway in southeast Asia as a "market entry point and catalyst for Canadian businesses" that will help raise "Canada's profile as a commercial and investment partner." On Monday, officials provided few additional details, but they did say the gateway would be a "physical hub" designed by the private sector and located in Singapore. What changes are coming to the Investment Canada Act? The strategy promises work on "reinforcing the Investment Canada Act to defend our national interests," but gives few specifics. The pledge arises from concerns about Chinese state-owned enterprises. Earlier this month, the federal government ordered three Chinese resource companies to divest from Canadian critical mineral explorers. Officials on Monday gave no other clues about what changes might be in store, other than to say the act may need to be updated "to be fit for purpose." How many new diplomats? The strategy promises to "strengthen Canadian diplomatic presence" in the Indo-Pacific region, but provides no numbers. Earlier this month, Trudeau announced plans for about 60 new diplomatic jobs in the region, but officials said Monday they're still finalizing details. They did point to one specific detail, however: The plan promises to post Canada's first diplomat to Hawaii. What are the new military training programs? The strategy promises Canada will "expand existing military capacity building initiatives and launch new training programs" in such countries as Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. But government officials said they don't have a target for how many forces Canada will be training, and what the specific objectives will be. How will success be measured? Asked about this on Monday, government officials offered few details. "A lot of the success measures are about the presence of Canada in the region," one official said, referring to the number of Canadian businesses in the Indo-Pacific and the number of Canadians traveling there. For your radar RADICAL TRANSPARENCY — A bonanza of candid Cabmin text messages tabled at the Rouleau Commission spawned numerous headlines and offered rare insight into the workings of top officials at all levels of government in a time of crisis. The exercise in extensive disclosure also revealed the line past which federal lawyers with the power to redact documents would not tread. — A fair point: ROB KITTREDGE, a lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, flagged a redaction the government was forced to remove from the handwritten notes of BRIAN CLOW, Trudeau's deputy chief of staff. One note read : "Americans [REDACTED], impacts for protesters." The government claimed the blacked-out portion was irrelevant, but the commission ordered it to be revealed. The full text: "Americans offering tow trucks, impacts for protesters." A reference to tow trucks that might be used to tow trucks was marked irrelevant? Huh. Seems relevant. THAT GOT US THINKING — How long would it take Playbook to find another curious redaction? We got digging through the docs and stumbled upon a Feb. 11 text exchange between Clow and Ottawa Centre MP YASIR NAQVI. At 4:36 p.m., Naqvi forwards Clow a message he received from "worked up" Ottawa Mayor JIM WATSON. The message was redacted in its entirety, marked "irrelevant." But 20 minutes later, another staffer sends Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO a frosty message from Watson to Naqvi and Fortier. This one is unredacted . Watson complains about a lack of police reinforcements and says city councilors "have the votes to ask for the army to intervene." He implores the federal reps to work on a solution. Huh. Seems relevant. — Odds and ends from disclosure: Liberal whip STEVE MACKINNON texted Clow Feb. 13 to say Mendicino was "taking a savage beating" at the National Capital Region caucus. "I don't mind that," replied Clow. "Additional motivation to get this resolved." At the bottom of an email chain among Department of Finance staff , an associate assistant deputy minister claimed a frustrated General Motors was "seeking to rent an ice-breaker and transport vehicles and parts via the Great Lakes." A pair of press secretaries texted an evergreen gem: "All the journalists are freaking out" On Feb. 13, Liberal MP KEN HARDIE asked for an emergency caucus meeting to "find out where we're at and have a serious look at our options." His subject line was a little on the nose: "Our 'just watch me' moment?" Did someone forward you this free newsletter? Sign up for your own copy to keep up with the latest insights and analysis from inside Ottawa politics. ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR THE WAR CHEST — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is headed back to British Columbia later this week. He'll headline a Friday evening fundraiser in Surrey, hosted by MP RANDEEP SARAI — the second time the PM has rallied the troops in the key suburb since October. The minimum price of admission is a C$500 donation . — The same night, Tourism Minister RANDY BOISSONNAULT welcomes east-coast Cabinet colleague SEAN FRASER to Edmonton for a "donor appreciation event" open only to "Edmonton Centre Circle" members. TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS — PM JUSTIN TRUDEAU is back in Ottawa. — Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY is visiting the Netherlands, Romania and Poland this week. Today, she will attend the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Bucharest, Romania, and plans to meet with G-7 partners on the margins to "discuss coordinated support to help Ukraine protect its energy infrastructure," per a news release. 9:30 a.m. NDP MP NIKI ASHTON is in Ottawa to "propose concrete measures that the Liberals can implement now to make multi-billion dollar corporations pay what they owe." Ashton will speak to reporters in West Block. 1:40 p.m. Treasury Board President MONA FORTIER will make an announcement in Ottawa about the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. 3:45 p.m. Trudeau will meet with the Assembly of First Nations National Chief ROSEANNE ARCHIBALD and the AFN's Executive Committee. They'll be joined by Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister MARC MILLER and Indigenous Services Minister PATTY HAJDU. The meeting follows Trudeau's Monday visit to James Smith Cree Nation, where he announced new support for those impacted by the spate of attacks in September. At a press conference in Saskatchewan, the prime minister said his government's approach to reconciliation means not dictating terms to Indigenous communities. "That's the kind of colonialism that broke this system," he said. "It takes longer to work with people who for decades hadn't been asked their opinion on community safety, or on education, or on health. Colonial structures came down and told them what they needed to do." 6:30 p.m. Trudeau will deliver remarks to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion Minister CARLA QUALTROUGH will be in attendance. ASK US ANYTHING TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW — We welcome tips and scoops. What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? What are you watching this week? Send details . MEDIA ROOM — Top of POLITICO this hour: Walker to Trump: Please phone it in. — Top of Newswatch via the Globe this morning: RCMP investigating Chinese interference in Canadian affairs, Commissioner says. — Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY says a lack of law enforcement capacity is the reason Canada has yet to seize and sell off any Russian assets to support Ukraine, Bloomberg's BRIAN PLATT reports . — DON BRAID previews today's reveal of the Alberta Sovereignty Act. —"The risk of the National Gallery of Canada's irrelevance to national culture is high," seven former top staff at Canada's National Gallery warn in a letter to Heritage Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ. The Citizen's BLAIR CRAWFORD reports . — Here is CP out of last evening's House finance committee: Liberals did not show fiscal restraint in fall update: PBO; and the Globe: Freeland defends government's $4B change to Canada Workers Benefit, despite PBO criticism. — If you missed the live taping of the Bad + Bitchy pod at Algonquin College, you can listen here . — Finally, ABBAS RANA reports: Backbench Liberal MPs demand more clarity on nomination rules if next election happens after redistribution of electoral boundaries process PROZONE For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter by MAURA FORREST. In news for POLITICO Pro subscribers: — Top U.S., French officials discuss electric vehicle dispute. — Interior to conduct offshore Alaska oil and gas lease sale in December. — Germany to China: Use Western vaccines, duh. — Ireland fines Meta €265M for 'data scraping' leak. — BlockFi declares bankruptcy as FTX contagion spreads. PLAYBOOKERS Birthdays: HBD to Bloomberg editor STEPHEN WICARY, former Ontario cabmin ERIC HOSKINS and former Verdun mayor JEAN-FRANÇOIS PARENTEAU. Movers and shakers: Sandstone Group welcomes SKYE SCRUTON as a government relations consultant. Scruton's resume includes a stint at the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Organization. ANDREW PEREZ is leaving the Toronto Region Board of Trade. His next gig: senior consultant in the Toronto office of Hill + Knowlton Strategies. He starts Dec. 5. Emergent BioSolutions is now repped on the Hill by Counsel Public Affairs VP LOGAN ROSS, who played a senior comms role in Manitoba's Covid vaccine rollout. Emergent once made the worst kind of headlines in the U.S. when it spoiled millions off Johnson & Johnson doses. DG STRINGER heads back to city hall as Mayor MARK SUTCLIFFE's principal secretary. The former Liberal Hill staffer who worked for JUSTIN TRUDEAU in opposition also once toiled in JIM WATSON's office. Watson press sec PATRICK CHAMPAGNE made the end of his city hall tenure LinkedIn official , promising a career update "in due time" — ambiguous phrasing fit for, say, a Liberal minister's office . RITU KHULLAR has been appointed the new chief justice of Alberta, replacing CATHERINE FRASER, who retired earlier this year. Khullar will also be chief justice of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut courts of appeal. Ottawa city manager STEVE KANELLAKOS has resigned as the city's top bureaucrat, effective immediately. The announcement comes two days before the LRT inquiry's final report is due, the CBC's JOANNE CHIANELLO reports . Spotted: NDP MP MATTHEW GREEN, promising to start live-tweeting Conservative heckling in Question Period today. Transport Minister OMAR ALGHBRA, reading mean tweets : "I know. I have a face for politics." Security expert JESSICA MARIN DAVIS, after offering insights to a Rouleau Commission policy roundtable: "Well, that was a lot." Cocktail circuit: Speaker ANTHONY ROTA and four MPs host an invite-only reception in the Speaker's Dining Room at 3:30 p.m. for the Mood Disorders Society of Canada … At 4:30 p.m., the First Nations Financial Management Board celebrates its 15th anniversary at the Royal Canadian Geographic Society on Sussex Drive. A 5 p.m. reception in the Wellington Building will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award program … At the same time, the Association of Canadian Port Authorities is hosting a reception at the Met … Also at 5, the Canadian Airports Council holds a holiday reception down the street at Social. Maple Leaf Foods CEO MICHAEL MCCAIN is a headliner at a 5 p.m. reception on food insecurity in Wellington Building. Speakers include: Sen. PATRICIA BOVEY, Sen. PERCY MOCKLER, Liberal MP ADAM VAN KOEVERDEN, Food Banks Canada CEO KIRSTIN BEARDSLEY and Community Food Centres Canada CEO NICK SAUL. Still at 5 p.m., the Parliamentary Internship Programme hosts an alumni celebration at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building. That event is held "under the auspices" of Speaker Rota. At 5:30 in the Wellington Building, the Association of Canadian Publishers holds a "celebration of Canadian books" — aka a reception. At 6 p.m., the Christian Embassy hosts its annual Christmas dinner. This year's keynote is PETER HALL , former chief economist at Export Development Canada and current chief economist at Econosphere. The theme: "What's Missing in our Global Discourse?" Last stop on the circuit: GrowCanada's "icebreaker" reception at the Westin's Governor General ballroom. Start time is 6 p.m. Media mentions: JOHN DOYLE announced that he's retired from the Globe, though will continue to contribute until the end of 2022. In memoriam: BRIAN MILNER, a former senior economics writer and global markets columnist for the Globe and Mail, died Saturday. He is remembered by his colleagues as a pillar of the newsroom, the perfect dinner party guest and the loveliest of men. On the Hill → Find upcoming House committees here → Keep track of Senate committees here 8 a.m. The Senate transport committee will convene early for clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-11 . 8:30 a.m. DAN KELLY, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, will be first up when the Senate finance committee discusses Bill C-32 . 9 a.m. The Senate committee on Indigenous Peoples will speak with MELANIE OMENIHO, president of Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak. 9 a.m. The Senate committee on rules and procedures will discuss equity between parties and groups. 11 a.m. The House international trade committee continues its study of the Inflation Reduction Act. A number of organizations will weigh in: Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, Canadian Association of Energy Contractors, Canadian Renewable Energy Association, Electricity Canada and Renewable Industries Canada. 11 a.m. Ministers CAROLYN BENNETT and JEAN-YVES DUCLOS will be at the House health committee on supplementary estimates. MPs will put questions to senior department officials in the meeting's second hour. 11 a.m. The House official languages committee resumes debate on the motion of Liberal MP MARC SERRÉ and its amendments. 11 a.m. The House national defense committee hears from Arctic leaders as it studies security in the region. 3:30 p.m. Immigration Minister SEAN FRASER will be at the House citizenship and immigration committee on supplementary estimates. 3:30 p.m. Attorney General KAREN HOGAN will be at the House public accounts committee as it discusses her reports on chronic homelessness. The West Block meeting will also include witnesses from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Office of Infrastructure of Canada and the Department of Employment and Social Development. 3:30 p.m. MNA JOËL ARSENEAU is on the list of witnesses at the House fisheries and oceans committee to discuss the climate crisis. Department officials will take MP questions during the second hour of the gathering. 3:30 p.m. Bill S-5 is the focus of this meeting of the House environment committee. In the first hour: Canadian Paint and Coatings Association and Snuneymuxw First Nation. In the second: Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association, CropLife Canada and Living Oceans Society. 6:30 p.m. Hong Kong Watch and Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project will attend the House Canada-China committee. Department officials will lead off the meeting. 6:30 p.m. MARY BOYD of the MacKillop Centre for Social Justice will be at the Senate committee on agriculture and forestry, which is considering Bill S-236. Behind closed doors: The House procedure committee contemplates its report on hybrid proceedings; the House natural resources committee will be discussing a couple of reports — one on greenhouse gas emissions caps, the other on federal assistance for various natural resource industries. The Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying will meet in camera to discuss drafting instructions for its report. TRIVIA Monday's answer: On Nov. 28, 2017, Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU offered a "long overdue apology" to LGBTQ2 Canadians, including for the "LGBT Purge" within the federal public service. Props to BOB GORDON, LAURA JARVIS, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and KATE DALGLEISH. And Liberal MP GREG FERGUS wrote in to say this: "I was there in the House when the apology to the LGBTQ community for the purge was made. It was so meaningful to the Canadians whose lives were severely impacted by our society's discriminatory ways." Tuesday's question: U.S. President JOE BIDEN will host his first White House state dinner on Thursday. Who is his guest of honor? Bonus mark: Who was guest of honor at BARACK OBAMA's first state dinner of the administration? Send your answers 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: Luiza Ch. Savage and Sue Allan.   Follow us on Twitter Nick Taylor-Vaisey @TaylorVaisey Sue Allan @susan_allan 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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