| | | | |  | | By Maura Forrest | Presented by Innovative Medicines Canada | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Maura | Follow Politico Canada Welcome to Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host, Maura Forrest. Soyez la chèvre. Tomorrow, the carbon tax goes up — get ready for some familiar talking points. Today, FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE rules on Rogers’ takeover of Shaw, the ethics committee takes on foreign interference, and the post-budget road show kicks into high gear. Also, junkets are back! |  | DRIVING THE DAY | |
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY — Tomorrow is April 1, which means it’s time for the annual hike to the federal carbon tax and all the usual politicking that ushers it in. (Remember all the coordinated gas-station tank-filling photo-ops?)
Get ready for the customary numbers war. The carbon price will rise to C$65 per metric ton on Saturday, the first time the annual increase has clocked in at C$15 instead of C$10. That means a 14 cent-per-liter levy on the price of gas. If the Liberal government gets its way, the tax is headed for C$170 per metric ton by the end of the decade. — A quick reminder: The federal carbon tax applies in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. It’ll also be applied to Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Newfoundland come July. The other provinces have their own policies that are supposed to mirror Ottawa’s. — Battle stations: The Conservatives will make hay with the increase, coming as it does at a time when many Canadians are concerned about the cost of living. The Liberals will say that 80 percent of households make back more in carbon tax rebates than they pay. Those rebates mean a family of four in Alberta will get back C$1,544 this year, while a family in Ontario will get C$976. But the Tories are pointing to a second report from Canada’s parliamentary budget watchdog, released Thursday, that found “most households will see a net loss” when the broader economic impacts of the carbon tax — including hits to wages and investment income — are taken into account. The report found the average family will be out C$710 in Alberta and C$478 in Ontario this year. — There’s a question missing, however, in all this talk of costs and rebates: What has the carbon tax actually achieved? — Here’s the rub: It’s not an easy question to answer. Playbook asked Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT’s office for any numbers that would shed light on the impact of the carbon price on emissions, but none were forthcoming. The problem, according to DALE BEUGIN, executive vice president with the Canadian Climate Institute, is that you have to find a way to measure actual emissions against what they would have been without the carbon tax. In British Columbia, which has had a carbon tax since 2008, research suggests emissions are lower than they would have been otherwise. But the key to those findings, Beugin says, is that researchers could compare B.C. to other provinces that didn’t have a price on carbon. At the national level, that’s hard to replicate. — So does that mean we’ll never know exactly how well (or not) the carbon tax is working? “Maybe,” Beugin says. The institute recently calculated that emissions haven’t bounced back post-pandemic, even as the economy picked up steam, suggesting that carbon pricing is having an effect. But that’s hardly a slam-dunk. “It’s always going to be a little bit tricky” to tell that story, Beugin says. Meanwhile, the cost of the carbon tax is much simpler to measure, offering easy ammunition to anyone who wants it. Hence the numbers war. — Related: In case you missed it, Ontario Premier DOUG FORD may be besties with Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND, but the fuzzy feelings apparently don’t extend to the federal environment minister. Ford called Guilbeault “a real piece of work” on Thursday, after Guilbeault said Ford has “no plan to fight climate change.” Federal sources told the Toronto Star’s ROBERT BENZIE that Guilbeault “can be a loose cannon when it comes to dealing with Ontario.” Did someone forward Ottawa Playbook your way? Click here to sign up for your own edition. It’s free! | | | | A message from Innovative Medicines Canada: Canada’s vaccine strategy was one of the most effective in the world. Historic co-operation between pharmaceutical industry and government led to one of the fastest rollouts of vaccines, saving Canadians over $30 billion. This wasn’t an accident. With so much uncertainty looming over Canadians right now, knowing how to protect yourself from illness should never be a concern. Take a look at how we’re working with governments and stakeholders to protect Canadians. | | | | | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | |
— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in New Brunswick.
— Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Vancouver. 8:30 a.m. Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE will approve the takeover of Shaw by Rogers, according to Bloomberg's DEREK DECLOET and RANDY THANTHONG-KNIGHT. 8:45 a.m. The House of Commons ethics committee will hear from former Conservative MP KENNY CHIU and former intelligence officials about foreign election interference. 9:45 a.m. (10:45 a.m. ADT) Trudeau will meet with dental hygienist students and patients at a dental college in Moncton, N.B. 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ADT) The PM will make a dental care announcement, accompanied by Intergovernmental Affairs Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC and Official Languages Minister GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR. 12 p.m. (1 p.m. ADT) Trudeau will visit a health care research institute in Moncton. 12 p.m. (9 a.m. PDT) Freeland will hold a roundtable discussion with health care workers about the budget. 1 p.m. NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will speak about dental care in Toronto, before meeting with students. 1:15 p.m. (10:15 a.m. PDT) Freeland will speak to reporters in Vancouver. 2 p.m. (3 p.m. ADT) Trudeau will hold a town hall with local families in Dieppe, N.B. | | AROUND THE HILL | |
ELECTION MEDDLING — Former Conservative MP KENNY CHIU will be up this morning at a parliamentary committee studying allegations of foreign interference. Well before Global News and the Globe and Mail made the election meddling controversy the biggest news in the country, Chiu claimed he was the victim of Chinese interference during the 2021 election campaign for proposing a foreign agent registry.
— Also before the ethics committee: VICTOR HO, retired editor-in-chief of Sing Tao Daily, DAN STANTON, former CSIS executive manager, and MICHEL JUNEAU-KATSUYA, former Asia-Pacific chief at CSIS. — Coming up: The committee hearing will be a prelude of sorts for the highly anticipated appearance of Trudeau’s chief of staff, KATIE TELFORD, who will testify at the procedure and House affairs committee on foreign interference before mid-April. | | For your radar | |
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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland delivers the federal budget in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. | Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press |
PUBLICITY BLITZ — The House of Commons is heading into two break weeks, otherwise known as the annual post-budget road show, when Cabinet ministers fan out across the country to tout all the goodies in Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND’s latest offering. But the Liberals aren’t waiting for Monday to get started.
Freeland herself was in Vancouver yesterday and will be there again today. But a phalanx of cabmins are on the other side of the country, in Atlantic Canada, where the aging population may be especially keen on the government’s promise to expand dental coverage to seniors this year. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will be in New Brunswick today, where he’ll make a dental care announcement flanked by the two federal ministers from the province. Meanwhile, International Trade Minister MARY NG will be in Digby, N.S., where she’ll fit in a visit to a dental center. And just to drive home the point, Rural Economic Development Minister GUDIE HUTCHINGS was in Sydney, N.S. yesterday — also at a dental center. — Victory lap: NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH unveiled his own post-budget tour yesterday, during which he’ll no doubt take credit for the government’s C$13-billion dental care plan. It’ll include stops in St. John’s and Halifax (see: seniors, above). He’ll also hit up Windsor and Hamilton, where polls suggest the NDP could make gains, and Coquitlam, B.C., which has flipped back and forth between the Tories and the NDP in recent elections. | | | | A message from Innovative Medicines Canada:   | | |
FAILING GRADE — Three thousand pages, 130 recommendations and an indictment of the RCMP’s response to the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history. The final report of Nova Scotia’s mass casualty commission made national headlines yesterday for its scathing critique of the failings of the national police force during the 2020 shooting and in its aftermath.
In response, Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, who was in Truro, N.S., said there was “no question there need to be changes.” — Here are three stories to help you digest the commission’s findings:
| | WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN | |
Who’s up: Alberta NDP Leader RACHEL NOTLEY, who was probably quite happy to let Premier DANIELLE SMITH make the headlines this week.
Who’s down: Intergovernmental Affairs Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC, who has the misfortune of simply being related to too many people. | | PAPER TRAIL | |
IT’S ON US — The pandemic must really be over, because the era of sponsored junkets is back in full swing.
Members of Parliament took 55 sponsored trips last year, according to numbers released Thursday by the ethics commissioner’s office, with a total price tag of C$422,000. A sponsored trip is any travel worth more than C$200 that’s not fully paid by the government, political parties or MPs themselves. Unsurprisingly, this sort of travel dropped to almost nil in 2020 and 2021. — The highlights: The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs paid a total of C$92,000 to have seven Conservative and Liberal MPs make a nine-day trip to Israel last May to, as Liberal JOHN ALDAG put it, “learn about [the] social and cultural heritage of Israel.” NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH and two of his MPs, CHARLIE ANGUS and HEATHER MCPHERSON, paid a week-long visit to Germany last November to learn from officials with the country’s left-wing Social Democratic Party (SPD). A foundation linked to the SPD picked up the C$50,000 tab for travel and accommodations. Eight MPs, including six Conservatives, went to Albania for about a week last July to attend the Free Iran World Summit, courtesy of the Iran Democratic Association. The list includes Conservative deputy leader MELISSA LANTSMAN. Total price tag? C$31,600. — And finally: Liberal MP EMMANUELLA LAMBROPOULOS made two visits to Greece with tickets and accommodations picked up by the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association. A lengthy 2021 trip, from July 9 to August 2, with plane tickets paid for by the same organization, was the subject of a recent exposé in La Presse, which raised questions about the Montreal MP’s “work ethic.” Last year, Lambropoulos traveled to Greece from March 10 to 17 and again from July 16 to 22. The inter-parliamentary association paid a total of C$4,654 for her travel and C$2,658 for accommodations. | | MEDIA ROOM | |
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Former President Donald Trump arrives to board his airplane for a trip to a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, at West Palm Beach International Airport, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Fla. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo |
— POLITICO has all kinds of coverage of DONALD TRUMP’s indictment. JOSH GERSTEIN and KYLE CHENEY answer your most pressing questions. ERICA ORDEN has the inside scoop on how the Manhattan DA wanted Trump to surrender today. And JONATHAN LEMIRE writes that “those same forces that turned Trump into a mix of caricature and fame resulted in him becoming the first ex-president in the history of the United States to be charged with a crime.”
— POLITICO and The Recast newsletter just published a Power List naming the 40 most influential people in America on culture, race and politics. Read through the full project online here. — The Star’s JOANNA CHIU joined Canadaland to discuss “the HAN DONG situation.” — The CBC’s PAUL WITHERS reports: Ocean temperatures soared to new 'pretty alarming' highs off Nova Scotia in 2022. — TYLER MEREDITH, JENNIFER ROBSON and SEAN SPEER are on this week’s Herle Burly to discuss and debate the 2023 budget. — The Hub features an interview with York professor CHARLES MCMILLAN about “the trade-offs between big bang and incremental reform.” McMillan was a senior adviser to BRIAN MULRONEY and is the author of The Age of Consequence: Ordeals of Public Policy in Canada. — Finally, JEFFREY JONES was on The Decibel pod to talk about Canada’s green taxonomy, which he wrote about here. | | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO Pro subscribers, here’s our latest policy newsletter from ZI-ANN LUM: KENNY CHIU brings his evidence.
In other news for Pro subscribers: — SpaceX aborts major military satellite launch. — How TikTok built a 'team of Avengers' to fight for its life. — Yellen: 'Deregulation may have gone too far.' — Sanders serves strong cup of joe to Starbucks bigwig. — What to watch as Biden sets tax rules for electric cars. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to MP RICHARD CANNINGS, former premier and ambassador GARY DOER and former B.C. MLA PAT PIMM.
Celebrating Saturday: POLITICO’s ZI-ANN LUM! Also celebrating: FATIMA SYED, WILTON LITTLECHILD, DANIELLE SMITH, ROB ANDERS, KEN CHEVELDAYOFF, DENIS PARADIS, DAWN BLACK (80!), DANIEL PAILLÉ, SHIRLEY RENDER (80!), and LUCIE LEBLANC. Sunday birthdays: MP TERRY BEECH. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Spotted: RYAN REYNOLDS with MARK SUTCLIFFE in the Ottawa mayor’s office … MP TIM LOUIS in the House with an open invite to Saturday’s 59th annual Elmira Maple Syrup Festival, “the largest single-day maple syrup festival in the world.” FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE eating his lunch in the West Block cafeteria … MARC MILLER and DAVID LAMETTI, laced up. FINLAND, cleared to join NATO. WEST OF CENTRE pod: live. Here’s the episode they recorded at the Calgary library. In the gallery of the House of Commons: Recipients of the 2023 Governor General’s Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case: LYNN GEHL, SHIMI KANG, FARRAH KHAN and JUDY WHITE. Also honored: SYLVIA MARACLE and ISHITA AGGARWAL. The House of Commons, sending the Liberals' online streaming bill, C-11, back to the Senate for what will likely be the last time — despite the Conservatives’ best efforts. The Quebec Liberal Party, searching for its identity. Movers and shakers: Former cabmin NAVDEEP BAINS is officially not in the running to become Ontario Liberal leader. Meanwhile, Ontario Liberal MPP MITZIE HUNTER is officially in the running to become Toronto mayor. Former interim Conservative leader CANDICE BERGEN will co-chair the Manitoba Progressive Conservative election campaign. | | | | A message from Innovative Medicines Canada: COVID-19 forced Canadians to work in new ways. Whether it was ditching the office commute or adjusting to seeing colleagues through a screen instead of in person.
Government and the pharmaceutical industry also found new ways to work, this time at warp speed to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to Canadians in every corner of the country.
Because of this partnership, COVID-19 vaccines led to over $30 billion in savings to the Canadian economy.
Take a look at how we’re working with governments and stakeholders to protect Canadians. | | | | | On the Hill | |
→ Find upcoming House committees here
→ Keep track of Senate committees here 8:30 a.m. Statistics Canada releases GDP by industry data. 8:45 a.m. The House ethics committee’s study of foreign interference threats features an all-star line-up of witnesses. 8:45 a.m. The House national defense committee meets to study cybersecurity and cyberwarfare before turning off the microphones and cameras to speak with ŽILVINAS TOMKUS, Lithuania’s vice minister of national defense. 8:45 a.m. The House human resources committee continues its study of Bill C-35, An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada. 8:45 a.m. The House official languages committee starts the day with clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-13. — Behind closed doors: The House foreign affairs committee’s subcommittee on international human rights meets to review two draft reports about the situation in Haiti and the rights and freedoms of women in Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia; the House natural resources committee has a review of its draft report on creating an equitable energy transformation on its plate; the House liaison committee’s subcommittee on committee budgets meets in camera to consider budget submissions. | | TRIVIA | |
Thursday’s answer: Senator MARIE-FRANCOISE MÉGIE introduced Bill S-209, An Act respecting Pandemic Observance Day. Read more here.
Props to BILL PRISTANSKI, BOB GORDON, LAURA JARVIS, SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, CAMERON PENNER, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, ANDRÉ BRISEBOIS and BENEDICTA ARTHUR. Today’s question is from reader LAURIE MACE: Who was the first woman mayor of a major city in Canada? Think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best. Playbook wouldn’t happen: Without Luiza Ch. Savage and Sue Allan. 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 | | | | 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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