| | | | |  | | By Nick Taylor-Vaisey | Presented by Google | Send tips | Subscribe here | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → One of Canada's preeminent birders on the havoc wildfires wreak → Inflation slowed, but analysts are split on the most urgent underlying trend → Sharp words on the federal bureaucracy's ability to modernize its operations |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | | 
Cannings out for a day of birding at Mud Lake in 2020 | Photo by NDP MP Taylor Bachrach | BURN-BRAINED — RICHARD CANNINGS is a birder. But he's no amateur. The three-term NDP MP from South Okanagan-West Kootenay has authored or co-authored a dozen books about birds. He has personally sighted more than 3,000 species around the world. When votes in the House run long, he sometimes verifies user sightings on a popular birding app. He is also his party's critic for climate change resilience. Your Playbook host joined Cannings on a spring Saturday jaunt around Ottawa's Mud Lake conservation area, a magnet for telephoto lenses and binoculars where wide-eyed wanderers search for migratory wonders. This was before wildfires in Quebec choked eastern North America with smoke that produced eerie orange mornings and respiratory ailments unusual for the nation's capital. New for Ottawa, sure. But Cannings hails from a corner of the continent where wildfire is a seasonal staple in late summer. Playbook later asked Cannings about the impact of wildfires on birds — their migratory patterns, breeding and general ability to survive as species. He painted a grim picture. — Fly away home: A typical fire season doesn't have a huge influence on migrating birds, because they've already flown north and nested before the big burns. This spring’s explosion of blazes, though, has made life hell for new arrivals. "They would prefer to be migrating in clear weather and migrate with the sun and stars and moon, but if they have to migrate through smog, they can manage using magnetic cues," Cannings says. "It's what they find when they get there, or what they have to flee from. That's the big change." If they do manage to build a nest, lay eggs and even start feeding their young, a sweeping wildfire spells disaster. "That's all vaporized. That's essentially a breeding season lost to them, assuming they escaped from it," says Cannings. The evacuees might try to breed again somewhere else, but unfamiliar territory puts them at a disadvantage with other birds who've nested in the area for several years already. The bottom line: "There will be a real reduction in the number of young birds produced." — Silver lining: Bird populations can rebound quickly, and different species thrive in the aftermath of fire. But Cannings says the long-term impact of climate change will reshape ecosystems and pose existential threats to our feathered friends. "These changes are happening so rapidly that the animals and plants don't have time to really adapt to them, and will be going through very deep constrictions in their populations," he says. "We're going to see a very different environment coming out the other side at the end of the century." — Oh, the things we saw: Sure, we sighted robins and crows and blue jays and chickadees flying around the west-end lake. But there was so much more. We found a black-throated green warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, pine warbler, palm warbler, yellow warbler, blackburnian warbler, bay-breasted warbler, northern parula, American redstart, Baltimore oriole, white-throated sparrow, American goldfinch, gray catbird, house wren, white-breasted nuthatch, tree swallow, red-eyed vireo, warbling vireo, eastern kingbird, great crested flycatcher, downy woodpecker, green heron, double-breasted cormorant, wood duck, and an agitated wild turkey. Like Ottawa Playbook? Maybe you know others who’d like to start the day with a free rush of intel. Point them to this link where sign up is free. | | | | A message from Google:   | | | | | TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS | | 10 a.m. (11 a.m. AT) Infrastructure Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC is in Fredericton, New Brunswick, for an announcement. He'll be joined by Premier BLAINE HIGGS, Liberal MP JENICA ATWIN, University of New Brunswick President PAUL MAZEROLLE and Mayor KATE ROGERS. 11:30 a.m. Senators on the national security, defense and veterans affairs committee release a report on Arctic defense and security. TONY DEAN, JEAN-GUY DAGENAIS DAWN ANDERSON and PIERRE-HUGUES BOISVENU gather in the Macdonald Building. 11:30 a.m. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and Families Minister KARINA GOULD (celebrating her birthday today) will speak to families about childcare. They'll make an announcement shortly after. 1 p.m. Trudeau will visit BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. He'll deliver remarks at 1:40. 2:30 p.m. In Gatineau, CADMUS DELORME, chairperson of the Residential School Documents Advisory Committee; RAYMOND FROGNER, head of archives at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation; and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister MARC MILLER will announce the members of the Residential School Documents Advisory Committee. They'll also provide an update on the exercise to identify residential school-related documents. 3 p.m. Trudeau will attend an Eid al-Adha celebration. 3:30 p.m. Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will deliver remarks on "the importance of Canadian-Chilean relations" and "opportunities to build our clean economies and expand cooperation on critical minerals." 4 p.m. Freeland holds a bilateral meeting with Chilean Finance Minister MARIO MARCEL. They will be joined by Liberal MP SORAYA MARTINEZ FERRADA. 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. AT) Tory leader PIERRE POILIEVRE holds a meet-and-greet in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador.
| | For your radar | | 3.4 PERCENT — The Trudeau government breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday when Statistics Canada dropped new inflation data. Finance Minister Freeland crowed that the Consumer Price Index increased at the lowest rate in almost two years. — Reminder: The Bank of Canada's target range for inflation is 1-3 percent, and its monetary policy — that is, a full year of interest rate hikes, with the potential for more — is laser-focused on reaching the range's midpoint of 2 percent. — Dueling headlines: As inflation cools, what does it all mean for the central bank's next rate announcement in July? Depends what you're reading. → Bloomberg: Inflation slows in Canada, but not enough to take hike off table. → Reuters: Canada's May inflation rate slows, weakening case for a July rate hike. Economists did their economist thing, ID'ing underlying trends. JIM STANFORD noted the irony that mortgage interest — spurred in part by BOC rate hikes intended to have the opposite effect — was keeping inflation above the bank's target rate all on its own. Exclude that item and the CPI jumped only 2.5 percent. STEPHEN GORDON added context to the stat. FRANCES HORODELSKI spotted the impact of lower gas prices. — The spin room: Deprived of a blaring headline number to shove in the Trudeau government's face, PIERRE POILIEVRE pivoted to mortgage rates that are punishing homeowners. BEHIND THE TIMES — JANICE CHARETTE's reflections on the federal bureaucracy's shortcomings is making the rounds in the cubicles and home offices of the public service. Here's what has people talking from Charette's interview with the CBC's ROSIE BARTON: "The public service is still working in what I would describe as kind of analog ways and the world has moved on. You can make a dinner reservation, you can book a cruise, you can move money in and out of your bank account, transfer between the two of us — it's remarkable the things you can do in a digital world and the public service, and our service delivery infrastructure has not kept up with that." — No argument here: MICHAEL KARLIN, strategic policy lead at the Canadian Digital Service created to improve service delivery, brought the real talk to LinkedIn: "We have regressive HR policies, project management and funding models stuck in the 90s, and incredibly dispersed accountabilities," Karlin wrote. "Great talent is fleeing the system for other governments or sectors. So sure, things will probably start getting worse before they get better." Have a hot take on how to fix the bureaucracy? We're here to hear it. Drop us a line . | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— Postmedia and Nordstar Group — owners of Metroland Media and the Toronto Star — are considering "a potential merger transaction."
— The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is urging Ottawa to back U.S., not TC Energy, in $15B lawsuit over demise of Keystone XL, CP's JAMES MCCARTEN reports. — A talker of a quote in BOB FIFE's scoop on a spicy audio recording of Bell Media exec WADE OOSTERMAN: “I do find that we — I don’t want to say purposely — but ignorantly lose a lot of eyeballs because we don’t force the conflict between two points of view.” — Poilievre's message for Trudeau on the LGBTQ+ school policy currently rocking BLAINE HIGGS' Cabinet: "Butt out." Labor Minister SEAMUS O'REGAN offered a rebuttal. — Higgs shuffled his Cabinet Tuesday. On the way out: DANIEL ALLAIN and JEFF CARR. New faces: RICHARD AMES, GREG TURNER and KATHY BOCKUS. — In an oddly timed move, CHRIS NARDI reports that Global Affairs is relocating an Arctic center from Norway to Ottawa, despite promising to increase Canada’s presence abroad. — From Nunatsiaq News: Orford Mining Corp has identified dozens of “high priority targets” for potential lithium mining operations in Nunavik. — ERICA IFILL writes for The Nation: Brace yourself: Canada’s wildfires are only intensifying | | PROZONE | |
Our latest policy newsletter for Pro subscribers, via KYLE DUGGAN: Beyond the inflation topline.
In other news for Pros: — Trump's trade chief provides blueprint for second term. — Q&A: Biden’s new permitting fixer Eric Beightel. — Supreme Court denies state legislatures the unchecked power to set election rules. — Treasury urges insurers, states to act on climate risks. — Pharma is pivoting its strategy for Alzheimer’s. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to Families Minister KARINA GOULD. Greetings also go to former GG and former rapporteur DAVID JOHNSTON. Former federal minister LEONA AGLUKKAQ and former NDP MP PEGGY NASH also celebrate.
Spotted: The U.S. State Department, "approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Canada of P-8A Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $5.9 billion." Boeing would build the aircraft, which would replace Canada's fleet of CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft. Bombardier wants an open competition it can enter. EKOS Research, surveying Canadian "awareness, knowledge and attitudes related to zero-emission vehicles" (contract total: C$81,314.80) … Boston consul general RODGER CUZNER, pouring a pint at Cheers — a bar half his staff had never heard of. At National Newswatch, a banner ad from Alpha Lithium that opposes Tecpetrol's takeover bid for the company. (Playbook noted Monday that Crestview Strategy is now Tecpetrol's government relations adviser in Ottawa.) … Elsewhere on the aggregator, Restaurants Canada bought space for its campaign to pressure the feds to extend the repayment deadline for a pandemic small-business loan program. Movers and shakers: Canada2020 is announcing today its new policy-focused advisory board for 2023-24. The nine members are MARK CARNEY (the chair), MICHAEL WERNICK, SARAH GOODMAN, JEAN BOIVIN, SUPRIYA DWIVEDI, MARK PODLASLY, EME ONUOHA, JENNIFER WELSH and MIKE MOFFATT. Former Ottawa mayor JIM WATSON joined the board of the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation. Saramac Consulting's WARREN EVERSON is repping Peraso Technologies on the Hill. The company's top priority is to lure funding from the federal Strategic Innovation Fund "for microchip manufacturing in Toronto." JASON CRAIK joins Crestview Strategy as a Vancouver-based senior consultant. STEVE OUTHOUSE, the campaign architect of DANIELLE SMITH's recent victory in Alberta and LESLYN LEWIS's successive party leadership campaigns, launched Right Recruiter — an initiative that aims "to help potential new and conservative-minded political staffers land jobs across the country." MP ERIC DUNCAN is headlining a webinar tonight at 7:30 p.m. Send Playbookers tips to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. | | TRIVIA | | | | 
President Franklin Roosevelt attends Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. | AP Photo | Tuesday’s answer: FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT made nine official and unofficial visits to Canada during his term as president, more than any other POTUS. Props to JOHN ECKER, ANDREW SZENDE, JOHN DILLON, BOB GORDON, DOUG RICE ("by a mile"), BARRE CAMPBELL, GEORGE SCHOENHOFER, GUY SKIPWORTH, JOANNA PLATER, ROSS LECLAIR, CAROLYN MCCRIMMON, GERMAINE MALABRE, PATRICK DION, NANCI WAUGH, IVANA SPASOVSKA, MAUREEN MACGILLIVRAY, GOZDE KAZAZOGLU, BENEDICTA ARTHUR, AMY CASTLE, DAN MCCARTHY, GARY ALLEN, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, DOUG SWEET, RICHARD REMILLARD, HEATHER BAKKEN, GERRY THORNE, GORDON RANDALL, ALYSON FAIR, DIANNE SHERRIN, SHEILA GERVAIS, and MARTIN PRENTICE. Think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best. Wednesday’s question: Where in Ottawa will you find a giant crow made entirely out of recycled tires? Answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen: Without Luiza Ch. Savage, Sue Allan and Emma Anderson.
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