| | | | |  | | By Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Zi-Ann Lum and Joseph Gedeon | | | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Nick | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host Nick Taylor-Vaisey, with Zi-Ann Lum and Joseph Gedeon. You did it in record time. You snapped up every Playbook Trivia table before 9 a.m. on Monday. If you registered, you'll hear from us today. Also, the House is back and Playbook took in Day One from the gallery.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | |
BACK IN THE THUNDERDOME — It was a full House inside and outside the chamber Monday. At least two dozen journalists and Hill staffers buzzed in the West Block foyer before question period, catching up after the holidays, while ministers and MPs slipped into the chamber through other entrances.
— In the pit: Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE kicked off everyone’s favorite 45-minute block of the day with a question en Français about McKinsey. Poilievre pressed hard on the Liberals and didn’t read from prepared remarks. He thumbed a political pressure point expected to grow bigger this week as the issue gains profile in committee. “We now know that he spent C$15 billion, plus, per year on high-priced consultants while Canadians are eating at food banks, living in homeless shelters and house princes have more than doubled,” Poilievre said. “How much did his government give McKinsey?” — Reference check: The eye-popping multi-billion-dollar price tag refers to the value of contracts federal departments spent on outsourcing in a single year, as reported by KATHRYN MAY last October. — The reaction: Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND furrowed her brow. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU did not make eye contact with Poilievre. Instead, he tilted his head to his left and fixed his gaze on his fingers and the carpet below, as he usually does when Poilievre is in the seat in front of him across the aisle. — OH in the House: When NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH stood to needle the PM for toasting Ontario Premier DOUG FORD’s health-care changes as “innovative,” a lone voice rose from the Tory benches, throwing a question to the Burnaby South MP: “What about your NDP premier?” (Background on that one: The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that C$393 million in health-care contracts have found their way to private clinics in B.C. in the past six years. The NDP disputes the think tank's math.) — Here's the Globe's CAMPBELL CLARK on the first day back: A listless House of Commons returns without pivotal moments. NEW GUY IN THE HOUSE — Liberal MP CHARLES SOUSA, who took his seat Monday, also has his committee assignments. The veteran Queen's Park pol and federal rookie will sit on the national defense and science committees. Both are meeting today. (He'll want to get briefed on small modular reactors, international moonshots and military operational readiness.) — First softball: Sousa, for now a sixth-row backbencher in the far corner of the House, lobbed a question on child care at Families Minister KARINA GOULD on Monday. And sorta flubbed it. "Can the minister please update this House on how Bill C-35 will ensure affordable and accessible, quality health care is here to stay?" he asked, in reference to Gould's legislative attempt to bolster her government's national child-care program with long-term funding. It appears someone might have had next week's high-profile fed-prov health-care negotiations on his mind. Thinking big already, are we? | | A message from Shaw Communications: Last June, Shaw Communications announced that Videotron will acquire all of Freedom Mobile, which – to be clear – will never be owned by Rogers Communications. As a stronger fourth wireless carrier, Videotron will have all the tools it needs to compete effectively against the national carriers, including critical 5G spectrum. As the Competition Tribunal recently concluded, the new Videotron that will emerge from these transactions will be a more effective competitor than the present-day Freedom. Learn More | | | | | For your radar | | | 
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO HQ on Feb. 10, 2022. | Pool photo by Daniel Leal | NATO WATCH — POLITICO's LILI BAYER has all the latest whispers on who's in the running for the transatlantic military alliance's top job. A pair of Canadians are in the mix to succeed JENS STOLTENBERG as secretary-general, though it sounds like European diplomats are familiar with PAUL WELLS' old rule about politics tending towards the least exciting outcome. There are two competing theories in Brussels: The first is that NATO needs new blood. The second is that Stoltenberg will stay on. Some think it's time for a woman in the influential role — say, Lithuanian PM INGRIDA ŠIMONYTĖ, Slovakian President ZUZANA ČAPUTOVÁ or European Commission President URSULA VON DER LEYEN. — An outside shot: And then there are the Canadians, whose odds appear long. Bayer reports that Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND and Foreign Minister MÉLANIE JOLY are both in the conversation. But only kinda. "Nevertheless, officials say, as the alliance focuses on boosting its defenses, Ottawa’s low defense spending and non-European status mean that a Canadian is unlikely to get the job." PLAYING DEFENSE — A clash between a Liberal lawmaker and expert witnesses took center stage at a committee hearing Monday where the topic of discussion was multimillion-dollar contracts awarded by the government to McKinsey. You know, the thing PIERRE POILIEVRE was harping on about in QP. Associate professor at Carleton University AMANDA CLARKE and senior policy adviser at the Canadian Digital Service SEAN BOOTS broke down their findings and possible solutions for the future at the House government operations committee. It didn’t sit well with at least one Liberal committee member. — The big question: For Clarke, it was whether the federal government’s contracts with management consulting firms betray responsible governing. Her view: “Yes, absolutely.” Clarke worried about questionable value for money, breaches of expected standards of public accountability and “the hollowing of state capacity.” — The response: Liberal MP ANTHONY HOUSEFATHER offered a glimpse of his party's defensive strategy on the McKinsey file — and contracting more broadly. Housefather challenged Clarke to back up her claims. She might be out of the loop on the value for money on big-ticket consulting contracts, he said, since she isn't privy to departmental deliberations that reflect on the actual work done by the consultants. Housefather asked if the witnesses had any reason to believe McKinsey's contracts were awarded any differently than those with other consulting firms. Both experts responded: No. — Next up: Former ambassador to China and former McKinsey managing director DOMINIC BARTON is set to testify at the committee Wednesday. THAT'S NOT A NO — A heavily mocked letter from a long list of high-profile Ontario Liberals urged Ontario Green leader MIKE SCHREINER to switch parties and take a run at the vacant Liberal leadership. The idea was first floated by TVO's STEVE PAIKIN last year. People howled at the Liberal letter. And scoffed. And snarked! They came up with all kinds of reasons for him to shun the once-vaunted Liberals. Even his spokesperson first responded with a rote denial: "It's a no." — Twist: But Schreiner isn't so sure. He posted a statement Monday that referred to the letter as "serious," and written by people "who expressed concerns I share about the current government and the need for urgent action on the climate crisis." They reached out, he said, "in a unique way in the spirit of doing politics differently." Where was he going with this? "So, I'm going to ask people to give me time to think about their arguments." Oh! That's a maybe! Who says politics is boring? Stay tuned. TIGHTEN UP — It's contract-hunting season in Ottawa: McKinsey contracts, foodie PR contracts, ArriveCAN contracts, even home internet contracts. It all adds up to nonstop headline-induced headaches. And distractions. Summa Strategies senior adviser ELLIOT HUGHES, a former policy aide to HARJIT SAJJAN and BILL MORNEAU, has some advice for the center — aka the Prime Minister's Office — via Substack. — Bring down the hammer: "In previous governments, the prime minister’s hatchet woman or man would step in at this point. But that’s not how the Trudeau government works. They’ve chosen loyalty over discipline, in a marked contrast to Liberal governments of the past. There is no doubt that loyalty matters but when it begins to threaten your political survival, you’ve got to be ruthless." | | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | |
9:30 a.m. Green Party leader ELIZABETH MAY, deputy leader JONATHAN PEDNEAULT and Green MP MIKE MORRICE will hold a media availability on their issues for 2023.
10 a.m. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will chair the Cabinet meeting. 10 a.m. Bloc Québécois MPs MARILÈNE GILL and LOUIS PLAMONDON will hold a press conference on workers' rights. They'll be joined by union leaders. 11:30 a.m. NDP MPs and CUPE members will hold a demonstration in front of Parliament Hill. 1 p.m. CUPE National President MARK HANCOCK and NDP MP ALEXANDRE BOULERICE will hold a press conference. 7:15 p.m. Trudeau will deliver remarks at a Lunar New Year reception. He will be joined Trade Minister MARY NG. | | | | A message from Shaw Communications:   | | | | | HALLWAY CONVERSATION | | |  Police block protesters near Parliament Hill on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. | AP | RIGHTS FAILURE — The citizen-driven Ottawa People's Commission organized after last year's 'Freedom Convoy' occupation of the city's downtown core published its findings Monday. The OPC, which was convened by residents and not protesters, heard from more than 200 people via 14 hearings, eight community meetings and 75 written submissions. The commissioners say they heard blame directed at all levels of government, “municipal, provincial and federal, extending to both police and public officials.” The OPC plans to release fuller analysis and recommendations in March. Each of the four commissioners offered reflections on what they heard. Here are excerpts of each: MONIA MAZIGH:That day in February, sitting on my living room couch and reading the tweets about protesting, aware of the presence of the trucks, and contemplating the idea of joining them, I felt scared. What if the headscarf that I wear as a visibly Muslim woman was interpreted by some of the truckers as a provocation? What if I was physically or verbally attacked? After a long hesitation, I decided to stay home. I wasn’t sure I would be safe. Taking a personal and difficult decision, I erased my presence from the public. I became invisible. I deliberately disappeared from the public space. ALEX NEVE:I absolutely realize and accept that the convoy occupation presented police and government with complex and unique challenges. No matter how complicated or unique, however, there is no excuse for overlooking human rights responsibilities. In fact, those are precisely the times when a commitment to human rights is more important than ever. What has become distressingly evident to me, however, is that human rights were simply not in the frame at all as plans for anticipating, responding to and resolving the convoy crisis were being developed and operationalized. DEBBIE OWUSU-AKYEEAH:Elected officials and senior municipal bureaucrats must recognize that residents of Ottawa are not their enemy or competition. They are not a nuisance or inconvenience. They are in service to residents and constituents. When decision-makers treat citizens working to make their city better with contempt, what we get is the utter failure of leadership we witnessed during the convoy occupation. LEILANI FARHA: The bend-over-backward approach by all orders of government and the police to protect the right of free expression for convoy protesters, which reached absurd heights, stands in stark contrast with the utter failure by governments to ensure that the basic social and economic rights of local residents — particularly marginalized groups — were met. This was a complete abdication of governments’ international socio- economic human rights obligations.
| | ASK US ANYTHING | |
TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW — We welcome your tips and intel. What are you hearing that you need Playbook readers to know? Send details.
| | MEDIA ROOM | |
— Top of POLITICO this hour: Biden to end Covid health emergency declarations in May.
— The Sun’s BRIAN LILLEY argues that the public should see Emergencies Act inquiry report at the same time as government — not weeks later. — THE NARWHAL combines accountability journalism with strong wordplay game in: "Dereliction of doodie: Ontario’s plans for York Region’s sewage could hurt Great Lakes — and U.S. relations" — MARIEKE WALSH was on The Decibel to talk about what went wrong with the Liberals’ gun legislation. — On the FRONT BURNER pod: Will tanks end or escalate the war in Ukraine? — The Star’s ALTHIA RAJ writes: “If Trudeau wants to remain prime minister, what he should really focus on, when MPs return to the House of Commons Monday, is making the case that government works.” — Over on The Line, CHRISTOPHER RAGAN, director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill, says it’s up to CHRYSTIA FREELAND to lead tough conversations on Canada’s fiscal challenges. — THE HILL TIMES published its annual Top 100 Most Influential list. Peruse the ministers, staffers, bureaucrats and journalists who made the cut. (Thanks for the shoutout, HT.) | | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter from SUE ALLAN and ZI-ANN LUM: Rendezvous with reality.
In news for POLITICO Pro subscribers:
— 2023's crypto characters to watch.
— U.S. initiates second labor case against VU's Mexican facility.
— Britain’s trade deal architect plots exit after Indo-Pacific pact.
— EU confronts U.S. subsidy spree with green-industry overhaul.
— The House Foreign Affairs Committee dishes on his coming bill to ban TikTok.
— California bill would mandate corporate emissions disclosures.
— U.S. Energy Department awards $131M for carbon capture projects.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to former Quebec Liberal leader DOMINIQUE ANGLADE. Greetings also go to Bloc Québécois MP LUC THÉRIAULT.
Movers and shakers: The new interim clerk of the House is ERIC JANSE. The former commissioner of the upstart Canadian Premier League, DAVID CLANACHAN, hopes to bring a CPL expansion team to Windsor, Ont. But a new club requires a soccer-specific stadium, which means building one. Clanachan has tapped StrategyCorp to talk to federal officials about funding opportunities. The PMO is a target. Spotted: Liberal MP SAMEER ZUBERI, introducing PM Trudeau and Transport Minister OMAR ALGHABRA to World Uyghur Congress president DOLKUN ISA. CHARLIE FELDMAN, newly a member of the public service, learning acronyms (and getting politely hazed). Inside EU Ambassador MELITA GABRIČ’s Rockcliffe residence, 12 plate settings for a working dinner between EU Internal Market Commissioner THIERRY BRETON and DPM CHRYSTIA FREELAND — and their officials, including MICHAEL SABIA and RACHEL BENDAYAN. Media mentions: JIMMY THOMSON is no longer the managing editor of Capital Daily Victoria: "Best job I ever had, building and supporting that team." Other staff were also let go, including BRISHTI BASU and SHANNON WATERS. J-Source is tracking the cuts. JESSICA JOHNSON is no longer the editor of the Walrus after a five-year run: "People think editors make decisions for themselves, but at our best we are really only thinking about you. Thank you for trusting me with it." Arrivals: Congratulations to LAUREN GARDNER, honorary Canadian and founding member of POLITICO Canada, on her brand-new assignment. Farewells: Landon Pearson died last Saturday at the age of 92. Pearson was known as the "Children's Senator" and "Senator for Children" during her 11 years in the Red Chamber. After her retirement, she founded the Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children's Rights. Public servant ADAM MOSCOE remembered their first interaction. "I first met her as a high school student and she introduced me to the important struggle for children’s rights," Moscow tweeted. "She created a generation of advocates focused on the dignity and rights of the child — that work must continue." | | A message from Shaw Communications: Over the past four months, the Competition Tribunal, an independent adjudicative body that was chaired by one of this country’s preeminent Competition Law experts, reviewed thousands of pages of evidence and hours of testimony.
Learn More | | | | | On the Hill | |
→ Find the latest on House committee meetings here.
→ Keep track of Senate committee meetings here. 11 a.m. The House science and research committee will meet to evaluate international moonshot programs, before moving in camera to discuss its report on small modular nuclear reactors. 11 a.m. MPs JOHN WILLIAMSON, JAIME BATTISTE, LENA METLEGE DIAB and SEAN FRASER will be at the House committee on procedure to discuss reports on federal electoral boundaries for Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. 3:30 p.m. The House official languages committee will discuss Bill C-13, which aims to amend the Official Languages Act, with department officials. 3:30 p.m. The House committee on access to information, privacy and ethics will meet to discuss whether to undertake a study on “The Ng Report.” 4:30 p.m. Chief of the Defence Staff WAYNE EYRE will be at the House defense committee to discuss the readiness of Canada’s Armed Forces. 6:30 p.m. The Senate’s agriculture and forestry committee will meet to discuss Bill S-236, which would amend the Employment Insurance Act and Employment Insurance Regulations. — Behind closed doors: The House health committee will discuss its report on “Canada’s health workforce”; the House transport committee will discuss its report on reducing red tape and costs on rural and urban Canadian airports; the finance subcommittee on agenda and procedure will meet on “committee business”; the House human resources committee will to discuss its report on labor shortages, working conditions and the “care economy”; the House natural resources committee will discuss its report on energy transformation; the special joint committee on medical assistance in dying will be discussing its work. | | TRIVIA | |
Monday’s answer: The Library of Parliament is known both as the “wedding cake” and “Canada’s most beautiful room.” Video tour here.
BILL PRISTANSKI writes Playbook: “One late evening after performing at a Royal Ottawa Hospital fundraiser in the Congress Centre, I took BOB HOPE on a tour of the Centre Block. (He always liked to go for a walk after a performance.) When we entered the Library of Parliament he quipped that he was glad he didn't bring his wife, Dolores, on the tour — she would have wanted him to buy the room!” Props to GERRY THORNE, CHRIS LALANDE, JENN KEAY, DOUG RICE, DAN MCCARTHY, ALYSON FAIR, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, LAURENT CARBONNEAU, JOANNA PLATER, MARTIN CHAMPOUX, JOE MACDONALD, LORETTA O’CONNOR and BOB GORDON. Today’s question: On this date in 2018, legislation was enacted to change the words to the English version of O Canada. What line changed? 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, Sue Allan and David Cohen.
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