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Thanks for reading the Ottawa Playbook. Let’s get to it. In today's edition: → It's witness prep time at the public inquiry into foreign interference. → Trade Minister MARY NG is on the horn from Kuala Lumpur. → The Conservatives oppose monopolies — and made a board game to prove it. |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
"My team and I will make every effort to get to the bottom of things," Quebec judge Marie-Josée Hogue said at the start of the inquiry into foreign interference. | Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press | WITNESS LIST — The Hogue commission on the role of foreign interference in the past two elections dropped its witness list for the next round of hearings at Library and Archives HQ on Wellington Street. The public inquiry will hear from 47 witnesses over the next two weeks, including Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and a cast of characters whose names and claims have become commonplace in the national conversation about election interference. Some have appeared at parliamentary committees probing similar issues. Others are less familiar with the spotlight. — The goal: Commissioner MARIE-JOSÉE HOGUE's job is to determine the extent to which the federal government was able to detect, deter and respond to attempted foreign interference from China, Russia, other foreign states and non-state actors in the 2019 and 2021 elections. These are the people who, in the commission's view, can shed light on what went down. — First up: This week will feature 14 witnesses who played active roles in recent federal campaigns — in war rooms, on the hustings, or in a watchdog capacity. → Bureaucrats: STÉPHANE PERRAULT, Elections Canada's chief electoral officer; YVES CÔTÉ, commissioner of Canada elections in 2019 and 2021; CAROLINE SIMARD, commissioner of Canada elections; and MYLÈNE GIGOU, the director of investigations in Simard's office. → Conservatives: ERIN O'TOOLE, former party leader; WALIED SOLIMAN, campaign co-chair in 2021; MICHAEL CHONG, seven-term MP; MP KENNY CHIU, former MP who lost in 2021. → Liberals: AZAM ISHMAEL, 2021 national campaign director; HAN DONG, two-term MP in Toronto who now sits as an independent; MICHAEL CHAN, former Ontario Cabinet minister; TED LOJKO, Dong's former chief of staff. → New Democrats: ANNE MCGRATH, former national director; JENNY KWAN, three-term MP in Vancouver. → The diaspora: A "consultation panel" focused on "diaspora communities' experiences with foreign interference." The commission will publish their names on Wednesday. | | | | A message from Electricity Canada: Despite massive gains over the past year, the electricity sector still faces an enormous challenge with a culture of “no”. Electricity projects are being delayed or are held up in approvals. There are simple solutions that can help make our grid cleaner, more reliable and affordable. We need to move things forward so we can achieve a net zero economy by 2050. Read our State of the Canadian Electricity Industry report to find out more. | | |
WEEK 2 — The hearings scheduled from April 4-10 will call witnesses from all over the federal bureaucracy, including the interdepartmental Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force that monitors election integrity.
Here's who's on tap. We've matched their names to their relevant job titles during the two elections under scrutiny at the Hogue commission. Note: many of these officials have since changed roles or retired from the public service. → Cabinet: PM Trudeau; DOMINIC LEBLANC and KARINA GOULD, democratic institutions; and BILL BLAIR, public safety. → Privy Council Office: JANICE CHARETTE, clerk; NATHALIE DROUIN, deputy clerk; DAVID MORRISON, foreign and defense policy adviser; VINCENT RIGBY and GRETA BOSSENMAIER, national security and intelligence advisers; ALLEN SUTHERLAND, assistant secretary to Cabinet for machinery of government; → Prime Minister's Office: KATIE TELFORD, chief of staff; BRIAN CLOW, deputy chief of staff; PATRICK TRAVERS, senior global affairs adviser; and JEREMY BROADHURST, 2019 campaign director and senior adviser. → Justice: FRANÇOIS DAIGLE, deputy minister and deputy attorney general of Canada. → RCMP: MICHAEL DUHEME, commissioner; and MARK FLYNN, assistant commissioner → CSIS: DAVID VIGNEAULT, director; CHERIE HENDERSON, assistant director; and MICHELLE TESSIER, deputy director of operations. → Communications Security Establishment: DAN ROGERS, deputy chief of foreign signals intelligence. → Global Affairs: MARTA MORGAN, deputy minister; CINDY TERMORSHUIZEN, associate deputy minister of foreign affairs; GALLIT DOBNER, director of the Centre for International Digital Policy; → Public Safety: GINA WILSON and ROB STEWART, deputy ministers; DOMINIC ROCHON and MONIK BEAUREGARD, senior assistant deputy ministers of the national and cyber security branch; and BO BASLER, director general. → SITE: TARA DENHAM, director of the Democracy Unit and Digital Inclusion Lab at Global Affairs; LYALL KING, director of risk mitigation programs at Communications Security Establishment; and LISA DUCHARME, acting director general of Federal Policing National Intelligence at the RCMP. → One more name: ERIC GORDON, about whom we've asked to confirm details. | | Where the leaders are | |
— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in the National Capital Region with no public events on his schedule.
— Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Ottawa with nothing public on her itinerary. — Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE headlines an evening fundraiser at a private residence in Westmount, Que. — his second of the year in the swanky Montreal neighborhood. — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH and YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET have not released their public itineraries. — Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY is in her riding, “meeting with constituents.” | | DULY NOTED | |
8 a.m. (9 a.m. AT) Health Minister MARK HOLLAND, Public Safety Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC and Veterans Affairs Minister GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR will join several provincial ministers in Moncton, N.B., for "an important health care announcement."
8:15 a.m. (9:15 a.m. AT) CAROLYN ROGERS, senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, will speak before the Halifax Partnership about "the urgent need to improve Canadian productivity." 1 p.m. (10 a.m. PT) Energy Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON will visit Seaspan Shipyards in North Vancouver to "make a large milestone announcement in the construction of the Canadian Coast Guard's multi-purpose vessels." 5 p.m. (6 p.m. AT) LeBlanc and Liberal MP JENICA ATWIN co-host a fundraiser at Dos Toros Taqueria and Tequila Bar in Fredericton, N.B. Ticket price: C$500. 338Canada projection: CPC safe gain. We're tracking every major political event of 2024 on a mega-calendar. Send us events and download the calendar yourself for Google and other clients .
| | | | A message from Electricity Canada:   | | | | | For your radar | | | 
International Trade Minister Mary Ng is leading a Team Canada mission to Vietnam. | Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images | OTTAWA TO KUALA LUMPUR — International Trade Minister MARY NG is leading a “Team Canada” delegation to Malaysia and Vietnam this week. She spoke to Playbook from Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Canada’s interest in Malaysia is around food and energy security, she said. Petronas, a Malaysian state company, has an equity stake in LNG Canada’s project in Kitimat, British Columbia. Net-zero discussions have opened channels for other clean tech talks. “They've talked to us about hydrogen and CCUS [carbon capture, utilization and storage] because they're looking at how they can become more resilient around their own energy security,” Ng said. Read more: Ng talks China, Taiwan and Canada’s CPTPP commission chair agenda. — High-level hellos: Ng’s Malaysia stop includes a meeting with Prime Minister ANWAR IBRAHIM. Later, she will head to Vietnam. The minister will spend time with Vietnamese Prime Minister PHAM MINH CHINH when “Team Canada” arrives in Ho Chi Minh City. — Along for the ride: Sun Life, Manulife, CAE, BlackBerry, and AtkinsRéalis (formerly known as SNC-Lavalin) are represented in the Canadian delegation of more than 130 companies and 270 people. GOLDY HYDER, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, is also tagging along. Hyder said Canada’s economic dependence on the U.S. is evolving while increased protectionism worldwide is forcing Ottawa to work harder to diversify its trading partners. Trip details here for Pro subscribers: Canadian trade mission courts Vietnam. — Glass half full: Hyder represents a contingent of the Ottawa fishbowl that’s been the target of derision by PIERRE POILIEVRE. The Conservative leader has been playing up his antipathy for corporate lobbyists — at least those not named JENNI BYRNE. While the Business Council of Canada hasn’t been able to secure a meeting with Poilievre, Hyder said talks with Conservative critics have assured him the “renewal” of trade missions with the participation of business groups is not a limited-run opportunity. “The crux of the Indo-Pacific strategy, the interest in the Indo-Pacific, will be sustained in the event that there is a government of a different stripe in Ottawa,” Hyder told Playbook. “We're fairly confident that the recognition of the economic opportunities will trump any domestic concerns.” | | ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR | |
‘MINI-DOC’ ALERT — Tory MP RYAN WILLIAMS dropped a new video that puts some of Canada's biggest corporations in Conservative crosshairs — an anti-monopoly message that at times could've come from a New Democrat.
Well, to a point. Williams, the party pointman on pan-Canadian trade and competition, namechecks capitalist godfathers ADAM SMITH and MILTON FRIEDMAN. — Target list: Williams takes on telecoms, internet service providers, airlines, banks, grocery chains, food wholesalers and beer barons. He's not subtle. Williams goes after Rogers, Bell, Telus, Air Canada, every major bank, Sobeys, Metro, Loblaw, Walmart, Costco, Sapporo and AB InBev. A parody Monopoly board Williams' office had made — inspired by this Wealthsimple article — gets screen time. Board spaces are reserved for Quebecor, Postmedia, Corus, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC, WestJet, Molson Coors, Via Rail, CBC and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. — The hallmarks of an era: "Canada's Monopoly Problem" is a Poilievre-certified Policy Pitch® to voters. Here’s how we know: → It's long: The vid clocks in at a hair over 13 minutes, reminiscent of PIERRE POILIEVRE's "Housing Hell" video that amped up woes and enraged his foes. → MSM sources are plentiful: Conservatives use journalists as punching bags, but also constantly use mainstream reporting to back their claims. Williams cites the Globe, Economist and the Financial Post — and Vox, too. → It's pretty nerdy: We mentioned the thinkers Smith and Friedman. Williams quotes extensively from their oeuvres, showcasing in particular the anti-monopoly rhetoric in Smith's iconic "The Wealth of Nations" — a staple of every capitalist conservative's bookshelf. Quoting from the classics is the mark of any rising Poilievre disciple. → Simple pitch: Williams outlines the broad strokes of a pro-competition, anti-monopoly proposal that's sure to reappear in the party platform: oppose monopolies; cut regulations in a bid to increase the number of banks, cell carriers, grocers, ISPs and airlines; create the conditions for more startups that can invest before they get bought out. — Stakeholder view: Playbook spotted NICK SCHIAVO's LinkedIn "like" of Williams' video. We asked Schiavo, director of federal affairs for the Council of Canadian Innovators, for his take on Williams’ ideas. He applauded Williams for talking about the issue. "The fact is that we’ve seen significant pro-competition steps recently from the European Union and the United States, and we’ve also seen policies put forward by the federal government," he said. “For a small and open economy like Canada’s, competition policy cannot be the whole solution. We need to be strategic to ensure that our most successful homegrown companies can scale and fuel Canada’s future prosperity. However, to drive a truly strong, sustainable economy, Canadian policymakers need to look deeper at the root causes of our declining productivity, poor business expenditure in research and development and failure to commercialize intellectual property.” — What we're waiting for: The Poilievre social media boost.
| | | | A message from Electricity Canada: 2023 was a big year for the electricity sector, with real steps being made towards building a bigger, reliable and more affordable electricity system for 2050. This year’s report of the RBC Climate Action Institute is charting massive growth for electricity, particularly with the rise of electric vehicles and home heating. And yet, that report’s “word of the year” for the electricity sector in 2024 is moratorium. This is not a problem of funding. It’s not a problem of technology. It’s not even a problem of principle. What we have is a people problem. And until we get it fixed—and it can be fixed—nothing will move forward. We need to come together, and we need to work out all the complicated pieces that connect electricity companies, regulators, Federal, Provincial and Indigenous governments so we can build. Read our State of the Canadian Electricity Industry to find out more. | | | | | 2024 WATCH | | |  Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to a court hearing in New York on Monday. | Pool photo by Justin Lane | TRUMP ON TRIAL — DONALD TRUMP will face his first criminal trial April 15, the judge overseeing the former president’s hush money case ruled Monday, POLITICO’s ERICA ORDEN reports. The Manhattan trial, over a payment Trump authorized near the close of the 2016 election to silence porn star STORMY DANIELS’ claims of a sexual encounter with him, had been set to start March 25. But after federal prosecutors handed over hundreds of thousands of pages of documents related to the case in recent weeks, Justice JUAN MERCHAN agreed earlier this month to postpone the start of proceedings until at least mid-April. At a hearing on Monday, Merchan refused to allow further delays. In a POLITICO exclusive: BRITTANY GIBSON reports that ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., who built his public profile as an environmental activist and crusader against polluters, earned tens of thousands of dollars from an oil and gas rights leasing company. Gibson also reports that RFK Jr. is in talks to run on the Libertarian Party presidential ticket. | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— Top of POLITICO this hour: Inside the shadowy global battle to tame the world's most dangerous technology. Can anyone control AI?
— The Tories hold a seven-point edge over the NDP — 38 percent to 31 — in a federal poll conducted for the Winnipeg Free Press. — The Canadian Press reports that Bell CEO MIRKO BIBIC has been summoned to appear at House of Commons committee over job cuts. — From Global News: Winnipeg man was member of Chinese military branch behind cyber attacks on Canada, officials allege — Last week on The Line, MATT GURNEY served up “What I got wrong about Poilievre.” This week on The Hub, GINNY ROTH explains what Gurney got wrong about being wrong. — For Chatelaine, TRINA MOYLES profiles AMY CARDINAL CHRISTIANSON, an Indigenous fire specialist with Parks Canada. — “Today, polarization, proxy wars, hybrid warfare that combines conventional tactics with online propaganda, geopolitical tensions, large-scale violations of human rights, and the erosion of representative government all make peacebuilding increasingly complex,” ROMÉO DALLAIRE writes in a Globe essay adapted from his new book. “We seem to be barely managing crises as they pop up, rather than acting to prevent such massive suffering.” — One more from CP: What's next for the Trans Mountain pipeline project? | | PROZONE | |
Don’t miss our latest newsletter for Pro subscribers from ZI-ANN LUM and SUE ALLAN: A “gigantic elephant” in the room.
From JAMES BIKALES today: A Q&A with ASMERET ASEFAW BERHE, science chief at the U.S. Department of Energy. In other news for Pros: — How the EU’s flagship nature law became an electoral punching bag. — Brussels succumbs to tech regulation fatigue. — Biden administration sanctions Chinese hackers for massive targeting of US, UK networks. — 3 big questions will shape US energy sector. — Treasury hearing to showcase battle over ‘clean’ hydrogen. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to Conservative MP MARK STRAHL and educator ROSEMARY GANLEY, former member of the G7 advisory council on gender equity.
GABRIEL CASSIE, parliamentary affairs manager at Results Canada, also celebrates today. HBD + 1 to former National Post editor STEPHEN MEURICE. Celebrate your day with the Playbook community. Send us the details. We’ll let everyone know. Spotted: Thirty Liberal MPs, calling on Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND to fully implement the Canada Disability Benefit in Budget 2024. Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE, meeting IBM in the Big Apple alongside Consul General in New York TOM CLARK. Champagne senior adviser AMIT SINGH thanked GARY COHN, a former chief economic adviser to DONALD TRUMP, “for his guidance and partnership in promoting #freetrade.” MARK CARNEY, collecting the inaugural Renewed Humanism Award at The Club of Florence ... Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH, meeting Ukrainian ambassador YULIA KOVALIV ... New Brunswick Premier BLAINE HIGGS, asking the House finance committee to hear his case for pausing an increase in the federal carbon levy. Ontario Premier DOUG FORD, opposing fourplexes “as-of-right” in Ontario by evoking imagery at a press conference of “four-story towers” — a questionably specific characterization of fourplexes that Ford keeps repeating (we did spot a four-story tower in Ford's province). Movers and shakers: TERESA DURNING, a constituency assistant to Conservative MP MEL ARNOLD and a city councilor in Vernon, B.C., is seeking the CPC nomination in Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee. Former councilor SCOTT ANDERSON, a former interim leader of the BC Conservative Party, is also in the running. VIDA EBADI, a regional adviser in the Prime Minister's Office, agreed to a new conflict-of-interest screen as her spouse, RANDALL ZALAZAR, took up a new gig in government relations at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Media mentions: Hill reporter STEVE SCHERER is out of a job. "After 5 years as chief correspondent in Canada, @Reuters has eliminated my position," tweeted Scherer, who arrived in Ottawa by way of a posting in Italy. “I thought when I moved here from Rome that Canada would be a boring story. It wasn’t. Instead Canada has become dear to my heart.” | | | ON THE HILL | | |
Parliament returns April 8.
→ Find House committees here. → Keep track of Senate committees here. 8:45 a.m. The House Canada-China committee will meet at the request of MP MICHAEL CHONG. The Conservatives want the committee to undertake a study of “matters related” to the Winnipeg Lab documents. Global News has more on the move. 11 a.m. Canada Border Services Agency officials are on the roster at this meeting of the House operations and estimates committee. Topic at hand: ArriveCAN. | | TRIVIA | | Monday’s answer: ANDREAS PAPANDREOU made a visit to Canada in 1983. Props to PENELOPE ANGELOPOULOS, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, MATT DELISLE and GOZDE KAZAZOGLU. Today’s question: Why was the Battle of Duck Lake designated a national historic site? Bonus mark: How is it connected to this date in history? 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? Run a Playbook ad campaign. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and Luiza Ch. Savage. | | | | 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 | | | | |
