Open all the doors

Dec 15, 2023

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The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill is seen past lights illuminating the downtown core.

The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill is seen past lights illuminating the downtown core, Tuesday, December 20, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld | Adrian Wyld, The Canadian Press

Over and out.

Your Ottawa Playbook crew is signing off for 2023.

Thanks for making this newsletter part of your early-morning routine. We love the way this community of Hill insiders, politics junkies and casual observers grows and grows and grows. We read every email, text and DM, so drop us a line.

See you bright and early Jan. 2.

— KYLE DUGGAN, ZI-ANN LUM, NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY and SUE ALLAN

In today's edition:

→ Why a six-week break may be just what the House needs.

→ Dollars, cents and cannabis.

→ An end-of-year challenge for Playbook trivia players.

DRIVING THE DAY

GO HOME TIME — Happy holidays to every politician who celebrates an extended break from Ottawa. Please, we urge you all, take it. Sleep a little. Sit by a fireplace. Roll around in tinsel. Give somebody a gift. Resist the urge to yell, "Point of order, Mr. Speaker!"

Seriously, don't come back before you have to.

We thought we'd carry on the annual House tradition in which MPs remix "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in the style of a pox on all their houses. (For their own renditions, scroll down.)

'Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the House,
All the creatures were stirring, you'd not hear a mouse;

The heckles were flung at Speaker Fergus' chair,
In hopes of a scandal to end his time there;

MPs would soon change their dress shoes to Keds,
While voters hit mute when the news showed the feds;

And Justin at Harrington, and Pierre posting to apps,
Can gift Canada peace, via long winter's nap.

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WHY WE ALL NEED A BREAK — Let us count the ways politicians exhausted CPAC viewers across Canada in the home stretch of the fall sitting.

→ Bad: When Conservatives forced 30-ish hours of votes on line-by-line spending estimates, they were pledging to "ruin Christmas" for the Liberals unless the feds dropped the carbon tax — a demand Liberals were happy to reject, since the majority of the House supports the signature policy and the Tories never had the votes. Liberals foiled another Tory plot to subject the House to a voting marathon on the sustainable jobs bill.

→ Also bad: The governing party's MPs shamed the Tories for voting against specific line items — say, funding for military support for Ukraine — and accused them of importing Republican-style government shutdown tactics.

Tories vote against every confidence motion. They were making a political point, not trying to shut 'er down. The government always had the votes to keep the money flowing.

→ Another kind of bad: Speaker GREG FERGUS won't be forced out of his seat by a Commons vote. A parliamentary committee recommended Thursday that he face sanctions and apologize again for taping a tribute to a Liberal friend whilst wearing speaker robes. Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs still want Fergus to resign.

CBC News reported Thursday the Tory pointman on the headhunt, ANDREW SCHEER, was docked C$500 earlier this year for taping a partisan message in his Hill office. And the NDP dug up invites to three riding fundraisers with Scheer's name on them while he was speaker. And then Poilievre adviser JENNI BYRNE tweeted about a fine Trudeau once paid C$500 for taping a video in his Hill office. On and on it goes.

— Break from the bad: As House industry committee chair JOËL LIGHTBOUND put it at the end of Thursday’s meeting: “Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I look forward — well, I don't look forward all that much to seeing you in the new year … but I'll be happy to when that happens.”

Props to Playbook readers GERRY THORNE and BRIAN TRACEY for accurately predicting the House would not adjourn for the break early on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.

Happy holidays, House. See you in 2024.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in the Vancouver area. At 10:15 a.m. local time, he'll make a housing announcement alongside Housing Minister SEAN FRASER.

— Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Toronto and will deliver opening remarks at 8:45 a.m. to kick off the finance ministers’ meeting. Broadcast cameras return for a 3:30 p.m. closing press conference with Freeland and her provincial and territorial counterparts.

10 a.m. Canadian Heritage officials will hold a technical briefing for journalists on the Online News Act. The law is scheduled to come into force in the coming days.

12:40 p.m. Bank of Canada Governor TIFF MACKLEM will deliver an end-of-year speech at the Canadian Club Toronto.

1 p.m. Labor Minister SEAMUS O’REGAN and Liberal MP CAROLYN BENNETT will tour Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport to “mark the first day of new requirements to provide menstrual products at no cost to employees in federally regulated workplaces.”

The program makes good on a promise the Liberals made in 2019, then abandoned, then put in their 2021 election platform. (More on the move from CBC News.)

WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN

UP: The Covid-19 wastewater signal in Ottawa, higher before a lull heading into the holidays. (Note: The virus sidelined half our team this week.)

DOWN: Global Affairs Canada, which was forced to apologize for an AI-generated image designed to highlight the role of Indigenous people in the Canadian Arctic.

PAPER TRAIL

GOOD TIDINGS — Forget December snow dumps. Hill climbers know ‘tis the season for document dumps in the final sitting stretch before Parliament rises for the holidays. Here’s a grab bag of notable disclosures from this week’s releases.

— More cannabis for vets: The federal government spent C$167.6 million last year on cannabis “intended for veterans.” Documents tabled in the House suggest the annual bill has climbed year over year. Veterans Affairs’s cannabis expenditures for vets has reached C$600.6 million since Canada legalized cannabis in 2018.

Here’s how Veterans Affairs’ expenses on medical cannabis break down:

2018-2019: C$74,816,978

2019-2020: C$85,151,847

2020-2021: C$119,264,105

2021-2022: C$153,780,985

2022-2023: C$167,568,202

Being generous about cannabis spending isn’t a topic Liberals are likely to boast about. Odds are also low in this political climate that Tories would heap praise on a government program that reimburses veterans C$8.50 per gram of cannabis for medical purposes.

— Canadians jailed in China: There are 93 Canadian citizens detained or incarcerated in China, according to documents released in response to a question from Tory MP GARNETT GENUIS. Global Affairs Canada also reported that of the 910 citizens in custody abroad, 557 Canadians are detained or incarcerated in the United States.

— Cash for influencers: The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) paid C$682,166 to “Mr. & Mrs. Jones” marketing agency for influencer campaigns to boost awareness about Covid-19 vaccines, “healthy home messaging,” free mental health resources and dementia risk factors.

Four contracts were signed in 2021 and 2022, according to a response to a question from Conservative MP MICHELLE FERRERI. PHAC noted that influencers were required to make a public disclaimer in their posts that they were being paid by the government.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada paid C$39,312.70 last year to ad agency Ogilvy Montreal for three influencer accounts to “increase awareness of the International Experience Canada program” and to promote work-travel opportunities abroad. A public disclaimer about paid content was a contractual requirement.

Canadian Heritage paid C$20,000 each to Economic Development Winnipeg, the City of Fort St. John, Discover Halifax, Tourism Saskatoon, and Discover Charlottetown to hire influencers to promote Winterlude national ice-carving events in each city in 2021. A public disclaimer about paid content was a contractual requirement.

The only case a content disclaimer was not required involved two contracts from Privy Council Office with the Federation of Black Canadians for two influencers to share “culturally appropriate Covid-19 information” messages for young audiences on health. The payment was low relative to the value of other government influencers contracts with one valued at C$400 and the other at C$750.

— GST top-up drop off: When the Liberals sold Bill C-30 (the Cost of Living Relief Act), they touted it as a “grocery rebate” that would double the Goods and Services Tax Credit for 11 million Canadians for at least six months. But data suggests 6.8 million Canadians got the doubled top-up, according to documents tabled in the House in response to a question from NDP MP DANIEL BLAIKIE.

The Canada Revenue Agency explained its methodology: “In order to determine the number of recipients whose GST/HST credit entitlements doubled, as a result of the November 2022 top-up included in Bill C-30, the CRA calculated the difference between the entitlement in Quarter 2 of 2022 and Quarter 2 of 2021 and isolated for those recipients who received twice the total amount or more.”

A message from Meta:

MEDIA ROOM

— JIM BRONSKILL of CP reports from the late shift: Senate passes Liberal bill that enshrines handgun freeze, targets ghost guns.

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU explains to CP why he needs to run again.

— ASHLEY BURKE of CBC News reports: BILL BLAIR says he wants to change the drinking culture on military bases.

— From RAISA PATEL at the Star: NDP and Liberals agree to extend pharmacare deadline to March.

— The Globe’s SEAN FINE reports: Canada’s BEVERLEY MCLACHLIN defends role in Hong Kong court system ahead of JIMMY LAI trial.

— “So you’ve walked out. You say you’re just not that into me …” LINDA SOLOMON WOOD of The National Observer writes an open letter to Meta, published by Nieman Lab.

— uOttawa law prof MICHAEL GEIST raises the alarm about "the most dangerous Canadian internet bill you've never heard of" — aka Bill S-210, which would "restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material." (S-210 originated in the Senate and is sponsored in the House by Conservative MP KAREN VECCHIO.)

— ARNO KOPECKY makes the case at The Narwhal that the war on carbon pricing is a campaign of mass distraction. “If Conservatives think they have a better way to lower Canadians’ carbon footprint (a massive boost to public transit? A wartime footing on green housing? Big investments in clean energy?) they’re welcome to share it.”

— Economist ARMINE YALNIZYAN credits the government for expanding dental care. What next? “Pharmacare’s waiting in the wings. Hat trick, anyone?”

— From ERICA IFILL in The Hill Times: “Let’s talk about class, shall we?”

— “Canada’s provincial economies are deeply interconnected. Shocks to one spillover onto others,” economist TREVOR TOMBE writes on The Hub, on Ottawa’s plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector.

— From our colleagues in Europe: EU agrees to open accession talks with Ukraine.

PROZONE

If you’re a subscriber, don’t miss our latest policy newsletter via ZI-ANN LUM and NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY: Next month’s must-watch TV.

In other news for Pro subscribers:

— X targeted by European privacy complaint alleging unlawful advertising.

— Why COP28 is a gut check for the world's fossil fuel habit.

— COP fails to reform contested carbon credit industry.

— U.S. inks deal with India to bolster battery production.

— Google, Apple app stores quizzed over compliance with EU content-moderation law.

PLAYBOOKERS

Arrivals: NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH and GURKIRAN KAUR SIDHU welcomed their second baby girl on Monday.

Birthdays: HBD today to Sen. CHANTAL PETITCLERC and former MP JIM EGLINSKI.

HBD + 2 to Bluesky’s ANDREW LESLIE.

Celebrating Saturday: Liberal MP JUDY SGRO, Sen. STAN KUTCHER, former MP KENT HEHR, International Trade Minister MARY NG and Manulife Financial’s SCOTTY GREENWOOD.

Celebrating while we’re away:

Dec. 18: Former MP SYLVIE BOUCHER; Dec. 19: Conservative MP RANDY HOBACK, former MP LARRY BAGNELL; Dec. 20: Liberal MP CAROLYN BENNETT, former MP BRUCE STANTON and NEIL BRODIE of Hill+Knowlton; Dec. 25: Conservative MP BLAINE CALKINS and Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU; Dec. 26: MP EMMANUEL DUBOURG; Dec. 28: ROBYN OSGOOD of McMillan Vantage; Dec. 29: MP JULIE DZEROWICZ and MARCUS MATTINSON of Proof Strategies; Dec. 30: Sen. DENNIS PATTERSON, Sen. JOSÉE VERNER; Dec. 31: Sen. PIERRETTE RINGUETTE.

Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com .

Spotted: Tributes in the Senate for Sen. DENNIS PATTERSON, who retires Dec. 30. And for Sen. RENÉE DUPUIS, who retires in January.

Tory MP DANE LLOYD, picking up shares in Hudbay Minerals, Patriot Battery Metals and Solaris Resources in his updated conflict of interest disclosure … Liberal MP ÉLISABETH BRIÈRE, dropping joint ownership of “a rental property on Malouin Street, Sherbrooke, Québec” in her latest conflict of interest disclosure filing.

Tory MP MARILYN GLADU on the guitar, keeping caucus colleagues on time and in tune to Christmas carols … A photo receipt of Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY’s meeting with DEBORAH LYONS, special envoy on combating antisemitism, and AMIRA ELGHAWABY, special envoy on combating Islamophobia.

Canada’s Ambassador to China JENNIFER MAY lighting a hanukiah in Beijing … International Development Minister AHMED HUSSEN in Riyadh, in conversation with Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister ADEL AL-JUBEIR.

Movers and shakers: Transport Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ has joined the Cabinet subcommittee on intergovernmental coordination ... CATHERINE MCKENNA has joined Columbia University’s Climate School … NEWSTALK 1010 has enlisted former Toronto Mayor JOHN TORY as a municipal affairs expert … NATHAN PRIER was elected the president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees.

Media mentions: HARRISON LOWMAN will join The Hub as managing editor in the new year.

AROUND THE HILL

3 a.m. (10 a.m. local time) National Defense Minister BILL BLAIR is in Latvia and will hold a media availability with his counterpart, Latvian Defense Minister ANDRIS SPRŪDS, to talk about plans to upgrade the Canadian-led NATO battle group in the country (under Operation REASSURANCE) to a brigade.

8:30 a.m. Statistics Canada will release new reports including on Canada’s international transactions in securities and wholesale trade numbers for October.

9:30 a.m. The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association’s BRIAN KINGSTON, Global Automakers of Canada’s DAVID ADAMS, and Canadian Automobile Dealers Association’s TIM REUSS will hold a press conference in West Block to share their concerns about the federal government’s ZEV sales targets.

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Talk of the town

TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT — RODGER CUZNER, now a freshly minted senator, made “‘Twas the week before Christmas” a holiday House tradition, each recitation a mix of political parody and a couple of light-hearted jabs.

In retrospect, it was all kinda quaint.

This year’s renditions, performed this week in the House, managed to work in “coalition,” “Ruth Ellen Brosseau” and “apple” while also finding rhyming words for blackface and MAGA.

An excerpt from Hansard:

NDP MP DON DAVIES:

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the nation,
Liberal numbers were tanking, to the PM's frustration.

The Speaker was restless, with nightmares in bed,
While partisan videos danced through his head.

Liberal MP DARREN FISHER:

On the other side, we witness a continuing saga,
Diefenbaker's party looks much more like MAGA.

I know they have been challenged by a leader's swinging door,
But they think they have struck gold with leader number four.

Conservative MP SCOTT REID:

They can protest, of course, but only in small amounts,
Lest, like the truckers, he freezes their bank accounts.

He will accuse them of hate based on faith or on race,
Which seems strange from a man caught three times wearing blackface.

Conservative MP WARREN STEINLEY:

The member for Carleton will soon be PM,
And this costly coalition will not long come to an end.

I heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight,
Your home, my home, our home, let’s bring it home and to all a good night!

— Now it’s your turn: Send us your greatest 2024 hopes for Canadian politics in the form of haiku. That's a three-line stanza — five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables.

For example:

2024
All eyes turn to Washington
Canada? Who cares?

We'll publish the best poems in January for everyone to see.

— One more before we go: In the depths of the House's Dec. 7 voting marathon, Playbook noticed from our perch in the Press Gallery a stack of books on Labor Minister SEAMUS O'REGAN's desk. We asked the minister what he was reading. O'Regan admitted that 24-plus hours of consecutive votes hampered concentration, but he did send us the reads.

Just in case you're looking for last-minute gifts for the political geeks in your life.

— "How the World Really Works," by VACLAV SMIL

— "The Irish Diaries," by ALASTAIR CAMPBELL

— "Leonardo da Vinci," by WALTER ISAACSON

— "Space Odyssey," by MICHAEL BENSON

TRIVIA

Thursday’s answer: Liberal Cabmin DOMINIC LEBLANC once had a summer job driving JEAN CHRÉTIEN around New Brunswick.

Props to CHIARA MORIN, MATT DELISLE, SARA MAY, WAYNE EASTER, BOB PLAMONDON, DAN FONDA, JIM CAMPBELL, JOHN DILLON, PATRICK DION, BOB GORDON, KEVIN BOSCH, GUY SKIPWORTH, MARCEL MARCOTTE, GEORGE SCHOENHOFER, JOHN MERRIMAN, MARK AGNEW, NICK CHAN, CAMERON RYAN, NANCI WAUGH, PAUL MCCARTHY, PATRICK ST-JACQUES, MARK LEBLANC, ALYSON FAIR, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, DOUG RICE, SEAN MOORE and CAMELLIA PENG.

Today’s challenge: Our very best trivia questions come from Playbook readers — often the very same people who were in the room when history happened.

Send us your stumpers — questions that are certain to confound the trivia masters who show up regularly at the bottom of this newsletter.

That's it from us. The very best to you at the closing of this year.

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