| | | | |  | | By Zi-Ann Lum and Nick Taylor-Vaisey | | Presented by |  | | | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Ottawa Playbook | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → Where should Canada concentrate its firepower? → Notes from Trudeau's afternoon at the Hogue commission. → Plus ... leader itineraries, meetings, news clippings, birthdays and trivia.
|  | CANADA GROWTH SUMMIT 2024 | |
THINKING HATS ON — Canada’s productivity problem is a multi-tendril drag, a deep-set economic illness that will take years to remedy. That, we know.
Solutions are the focus of perpetual discussion and inertia. The seriousness of the challenge has inspired the Public Policy Forum to identify “productivity” as the central focus of its 2024 Growth Summit today — an event at which POLITICO is the media partner. → If you are not in Toronto, you can follow along on CPAC. Productivity has been on the radar of high-level policy makers since forever. But it’s a nebulous term not easy to bring up around water coolers or in group chats. It’s hard to be relatable when talking about Canada’s lagging multifactor productivity growth since the year 2000. — The stakes: “Simply put, lower productivity almost always means lower living standards,” University of Calgary economist TREVOR TOMBE tells Playbook. → Pro subscribers can read our interview with Tombe here. What to do? Here are some of the questions PPF will tackle today: — What’s going on with productivity? That’s the query HEATHER SCOFFIELD of the Business Council of Canada will pose to Tombe, CAROLYN WILKINS
, KAYLIE TIESSEN
and DAN O’BRIEN. POLITICO’s LUIZA SAVAGE will carry on the interrogation during an onstage conversation with three CEOs: EHREN COREY of Canada Infrastructure Bank, MURAD AL-KATIB of AGT and VICTORIA LEE of Fraser Health. — Does housing play a role? The Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation estimates 3.5 million homes need to be built before 2030 to make housing affordable again. Cabinet minister SEAN FRASER will discuss this with LISA RAITT, Cabmin turned banker and co-chair of Coalition for a Better Future. → Watch for our interview with Fraser in Friday’s Playbook. ZI-ANN LUM will lead a panel with RAMTIM ATTAR of Promise Robotics and ANA BAILÃO
of Dream Unlimited Corp. on the hunt for solutions to Canada’s housing problem. — How does AI fit in? Deputy Innovation Minister SIMON KENNEDY will join DIGITAL CEO SUE PAISH and Microsoft Canada President CHRIS BARRY to contemplate the challenges. — What about immigration? RUPA BANERJEE and University of Waterloo Professor MIKAL SKUTERUD will discuss. — How does this work within the federation? Economist BRETT HOUSE will put this to officials from B.C., Nova Scotia and Alberta. Privy Council Clerk JOHN HANNAFORD
will also contemplate the challenge. Tory MP ADAM CHAMBERS will join SEAN SPEER of The Hub at the front of the room today to discuss the Conservative take on all of this. ALICIA DUBOIS will open the day with a conversation about Indigenous ownership and reconciliation with Chief SHARLEEN GALE, JAIMIE LICKERS and PENNY FAVEL. — In related reading: Gale and JP GLADU, speakers at today's summit, write in the Globe: “Loan guarantees must allow for Indigenous ownership of oil and gas developments.” — Later tonight: The PPF will hold its Annual Testimonial Dinner to honor Gladu, JAYNA HEFFORD, JANICE CHARETTE, MARC GARNEAU and MURAD AL-KATIB. The Hyman Solomon Award for Public Policy Journalism will be awarded to PAUL WELLS. And RAVEN LACERTE will receive the Emerging Leader Award. | | | | A message from Unsmoke Canada: The best option is always to quit nicotine and tobacco use altogether, but smokers who choose not to quit should also be aware that alternatives exist. These alternatives still contain nicotine and are addictive. But, for those adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke, smoke-free alternatives provide an option that does not involve combustion - or "burning" - like smoking a cigarette does. Legislation can change how smoke-free products are regulated. | | | | | HALLWAY CONVERSATION | |
QUESTION OF THE DAY — Where should Canada concentrate its firepower? We asked a couple of the experts who will be speaking today on the PPF stage.
MURAD AL-KATIB, president, CEO and board member of AGT Food and Ingredients Inc: Canada is a trading nation and we need to ensure market access and strong presences in the most dynamic and growing emerging markets of the world. We need to move our manufacturing “up-value” to provide what the growing middle class in these markets demand. Let’s double down on sectors that have what the world needs. Agriculture is a generational opportunity for growth as we provide food that the world needs. Enhancing food security and curbing food inflation are issues Canada has a real opportunity to drive in the world while creating billions of dollars of economic wealth for all Canadians. Another one is entrepreneurship. We need to identify sectors that have strong Canadian champions and encourage them to scale. We are a culturally diverse nation that is blessed with natural resources that are the envy of the world. We need to develop strategies to monetize this and add value to our commodities and provide what the growing populations and incomes in the world demand. MIKAL SKUTERUD, University of Waterloo: Immigration has the potential to boost Canadian labor productivity and average living standards in the population, but there’s a limit to that potential, and leveraging it is about more than just adding people to the population. Research on economic growth tells us immigration’s economic potential lies primarily in its capacity to boost the average human capital of the population. We need to get back to an economic immigration system that prioritizes the skills of applicants, not plugging holes in lower skilled labor markets. There’s no fixed set of jobs that need to be done in any economy. Economies aren’t machines that fall apart when a cog stops working. Economies are organic systems that are constantly adjusting through price changes and the demand and supply responses of producers and consumers. Improving productivity is sometimes about governments doing less, not more. It’s time we trust competitive markets and prices to do the heavy lifting in allocating labor across jobs, and instead focus immigration policy on feeding the economy with the skills and talents that drive the technological discoveries and capital investments that can enable every Canadian to produce more with less effort. If you want a low-wage low-productivity economy of yesterday, then prioritize filling current job vacancies, which are overwhelming in lower skilled labor markets. But if we want a high-wage high-productivity economy for tomorrow, we need to be much better at proactively leveraging our country’s top universities and cutting-edge businesses to attract the best and brightest minds from around the world. → In case you missed it: Economist CAROLYN WILKINS shared her thoughts on Canada’s productivity problem with Ottawa Playbook on Tuesday.
| | Where the leaders are | |
— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will attend a welcoming ceremony for French Prime Minister GABRIEL ATTAL at 9 a.m. before bilateral meetings. After a joint signing at 11:20 a.m, they will hold a joint media availability. At 12:20 p.m., both prime ministers will attend a ceremony to commemorate Canadian and French veterans.
At 4 p.m. the PM will meet with CASSIDY CARON, president of the Métis National Council. — Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will make a 10:30 a.m. housing announcement in advance of the 2024 federal budget. The rest of her schedule has yet to be released. — Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE will deliver a keynote address at 11:30 a.m. to the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference. Poilievre is scheduled to attend an evening fundraiser in Thornhill, Ont. — Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET has not shared his public schedule. — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will speak at the Broadbent Institute Progress Summit at 11:15 a.m. He will scrum at the Delta Hotel an hour later. Later in the afternoon, he’ll scrum outside the House heritage committee where BCE brass are scheduled to appear. — Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY is in Ottawa and will participate in Parliament in person throughout the day. | | DULY NOTED | |
— MARY SIMON will host the Governor General’s Symposium: Building a Safe and Respectful Digital World at Rideau Hall. Participants include: LISA LAFLAMME, THERESA TAM, RACHEL GILMORE, FAE JOHNSTONE and EMILIE NICOLAS.
9 a.m. International Development Minister AHMED HUSSEN will announce new federal funding for health and humanitarian assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Benin.
| | | For your radar | | |
TRUDEAU ON THE STAND — There are always hints JUSTIN TRUDEAU is nearby. TERRY GUILLON, his top advance guy, is one signal. And when official photog ADAM SCOTTI walks into the room, Trudeau is usually seconds away.
A rare hush fell over the Bambrick Room — not that it's ever a party in there — in advance of the PM's testimony at the Hogue commission. Most witnesses walk through the back door, striding past rows of lawyers up to the witness chair on a riser. Trudeau arrived through a side door — for the second time in as many years, testifying at a commission of inquiry. The prime minister was cross-examined by lawyers for three of his parliamentary colleagues: HAN DONG, who quit the Liberal caucus last year, Tory MP MICHAEL CHONG and NDP MP JENNY KWAN. The PM also took questions from counsel for former campaign rival ERIN O'TOOLE, as well as from the Conservative Party itself. Not a typical Wednesday at Library and Archives Canada HQ on Wellington Street. Headlines from Day 14: → Trudeau doubted intelligence officials' ability to spot interference in Liberal nomination contest. → Liberal minister 'not concerned' about Don Valley North interference allegations. → PM tells foreign interference probe government's hands are tied on intelligence leaks to media. — Sharp memory: Trudeau's staff praises the boss's ability to recall details many years prior. At the Hogue commission on Wednesday, Trudeau described a 2019 conversation with JEREMY BROADHURST, then national campaign director. They discussed sensitive intel that suggested Liberal HAN DONG's nomination race might have been targeted by Chinese officials. They spoke in an Ottawa airport lounge used by government officials. The convo lasted 20-30 minutes, Trudeau said. He asked about the potential impact of the attempted interference; whether or not CSIS recommended any action; and internal party processes. — Note-taking 101: BRIAN CLOW is usually the guy jotting things down during important meetings. As a result, the PM's deputy chief of staff has seen his handwritten notes aired in two public inquiries.
|  Brian Clow's handwritten notes | Submitted to the Hogue commission | Public Safety Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC quipped that Clow had "pretty good handwriting." Lead commission counsel SHANTONA CHAUDHURY deadpanned that Trudeau chief of staff KATIE TELFORD's notes were "a little more sparse than Brian Clow's would be." Even Trudeau joked about Clow's chicken scratch.
|  Katie Telford's handwritten notes | Submitted to the Hogue commission |
— Exchange of the day: Trudeau and Chong's lawyer, the baritone GIB VAN ERT, bantered about voters bused to Dong's nomination meeting in 2019 — the core of alleged Chinese foreign interference meant to boost Dong's prospects.
Van Ert put to the prime minister that the mode of transportation wasn't the important part of the allegation. Van Ert: "They could've got there by tricycles. It doesn't terribly matter. The point is they were directed by China." Trudeau: "I would suggest that it might be more difficult for a foreign actor to organize fleets of individuals showing up on tricycles, rather than filling them into a bus." Van Ert: "I expect that's right. But one way or another, let's say they managed that miracle. CSIS would still be concerned, and rightly so." Trudeau: "Absolutely." The crowd chuckled. — What's next: The curtain will come down on this round of Hogue hearings after a final examination of CSIS director DAVID VIGNEAULT. The commission will hold more hearings this fall, "with a broader focus on our democratic institutions and the experiences of diaspora communities." Hogue's interim report is due May 3. She must submit a final report by the end of the year. — In related reading: From AARON WHERRY of CBC News this morning: "It's a shame we didn't have Trudeau's testimony on foreign interference earlier. Much earlier." | | | | A message from Unsmoke Canada:   | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | | 
HBD to Washington's envoy in Ottawa. | Larry Busacca/Getty Images for WICT | Birthdays: U.S. Ambassador to Canada DAVID COHEN celebrates today, sharing a birthday with Conservative MP COLIN CARRIE, Sen. YONAH MARTIN, SUPRIYA DWIVEDI of the PMO, the Globe’s MARIEKE WALSH and former Tory MP COLIN MAYES. HBD + 1 to Nova Scotia Premier TIM HOUSTON. Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com. Spotted: Sen. PERCY MOCKLER, who will retire April 14 when he turns 75, sharing a snapshot from his first election campaign … Former U.K. PM BORIS JOHNSON on Parliament Hill … JANE GOODALL hanging out with Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT, Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY, Sens. MARC GOLD, ROSA GALVEZ, JANE CORDY, YVONNE BOYER, KRISTA ROSS, JULIE MIVILLE-DECHÊNE, MARY COYLE and PIERRE DALPHOND. JOHN STACKHOUSE, paying tribute to JIM FLAHERTY, who died April 10, 2014: “One of the best finance ministers of his generation.” MP ADAM CHAMBERS, doing the same just before QP. New West Public Affairs partner MICHAEL SOLBERG hitting the patio with NDP National Director ANNE MCGRATH. … National Post reporter CHRIS NARDI, supplying a Deep’n Delicious cake to reporters at the Hogue commission. Historian J.D.M. STEWART, offering an update on his latest book: “Only one way to finish: ‘ass on chair.’” Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. KIRSTEN HILLMAN awarding Sen. JOHN BARRASSO (R-Wyo.) with a coveted Maple Leaf Award. Noted: The Liberals’ new attack ad drawing attention to ALEX JONES’ endorsement of Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE. Movers and shakers: The Canadian Canola Growers Association posted an April 9 meeting with PIERRE POILIEVRE and Tory MP JOHN BARLOW in the lobbyist registry … Magna International posted a March meeting with Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE and Trade Minister MARY NG. Magna is interested in accessing the Strategic Innovation Fund. | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— The must-read in the fishbowl: JUSTIN LING in The Walrus: Justin Trudeau’s last stand.
— RAISA PATEL and TONDA MACCHARLES of the Star report on a new House committee report that found that an “intimidation campaign” targeting MP MICHAEL CHONG “unequivocally” constitutes a contempt of Parliament. — CBC News reports: Municipal-federal deals to face provincial oversight under proposed Alberta law. — The Globe's KELLY CRYDERMAN writes from Calgary: Trudeau owes the premiers a meeting. — POLITICO features LIONEL BARBER from Tokyo: Why America’s longtime ally in Asia is so anxious about Trump 2.0. — ANJA KARADEGLIJA of The Canadian Press reports on new research that suggests the federal government has used artificial intelligence in nearly 300 projects and initiatives. — MEL CAPPE, KEVIN LYNCH and JIM MITCHELL make the case on The Hub for empowering ministers again — “it’s what makes us a Westminster democracy.” — DAVID FRUM joined STEVE PAIKIN on The Agenda to talk about the sudden loss of his daughter. — The Manitoba Cooperator gave U.K. High Commissioner RALPH GOODALE the feature treatment: “Farmers’ friend in high places.” | | PROZONE | | | | 
Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan warned Wednesday that the conditions are there for another “wildfire season like the last.” | Noah Berger/AP | Don’t miss our latest policy newsletter for Pro subscribers from KYLE DUGGAN: Canada at risk of wildfires repeat. And Pro's BEN LEFEBVRE reports from Washington: Biden administration urges court to reconsider Line 5 shutdown order. In other headlines for Pros: — No more ‘business as usual’ in climate fight, UN boss warns ‘slipping’ politicians. — Biden rule targets toxic chemicals in US drinking water. — WTO forecasts global trade rebound, but sees downside risks. — US solar manufacturers may petition for new tariffs on cheap imports. — How much money is needed for US carbon removal? $100B yearly. | | ON THE HILL | | → Find House committees here. → Keep track of Senate committees here. 8:15 a.m. The Commons justice committee hears from NDP MP PETER JULIAN about his anti-spanking Bill C-273. 8:15 a.m. The House languages committee huddles to hear from groups and experts on funding for minority language post-secondary institutions. 9 a.m. The Senate’s agriculture committee hears testimony from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 9 a.m. The Senate’s internal economy, budgets and administration committee hears from a host of witnesses, including Sens. PIERRE DALPHOND, TONY LOFFREDA and RAYMONDE SAINT-GERMAIN. 9:15 a.m. The Senate energy and environment committee hears from MADELEINE REDFERN on Bill C-226 10 a.m. The Commons finance committee consults think tanks, unions and more about Bill C-59, the fall economic statement implementation bill. 11 a.m. The House committee on science and research will study post-secondary funding. 11 a.m. The Commons health committee meets for its study on women’s health. 11 a.m. LISA RAITT appears before the House transport committee as it looks into the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s involvement in the Lake Erie Connector Project. 11 a.m. The procedure and House affairs committee hears testimony from the Canadian Polish Congress and the Parliamentary Protective Service about protocol and the Yaroslav Hunka affair. 11:30 a.m. The Senate banking committee talks about alternative minimum tax and the impact on charities 11:30 a.m. The Red Chamber’s social affairs committee hears from a host of witnesses on Bill S-249, including the bill’s sponsor Sen. FABIAN MANNING. 11:45 a.m. Senate legal affairs takes input on Bill S-15, which would create offences related to keeping elephants and great apes in captivity. 12:30 a.m. Senate foreign affairs committee hears from the African Union Commission. 3:30 p.m. BCE top brass MIRKO BIBIC and ROBERT MALCOLMSON face the House heritage committee to defend cuts at Bell Media. 3:30 p.m. The Commons natural resources committee goes clause-by-clause through Bill C-49 3:30 p.m. The house finance committee holds its second round of hearings of the day on the fall fiscal implementation bill. 3:30 p.m. The House public accounts committee discusses an auditor general report on housing in first nations communities. | | | | A message from Unsmoke Canada: There’s no doubt Canada can be a global leader in reducing the harm caused by smoking, but it requires actionable steps. Governments should help adult smokers by openly recognizing the harm reduction potential of smoke-free products and modernizing Canadian legislation. Learn more about how we can accelerate change. | | | | | TRIVIA | |
Wednesday’s answer: WILFRED LAURIER.
Props to GOZDE KAZAZOGLU, KRISTA OUTHWAITE, BOB ERNEST, JOHN ECKER, PATRICK DION, CHRIS RANDS, KATIE FEENAN, MARY JANE ALLAN, CAMERON RYAN, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, JUSTIN DE BEAUCAMP, SARA MAY, GUY SKIPWORTH, MATT DELISLE and SCOTT LOHNES. Today’s question: Who wrote: “Getting shot hurts … The days of therapy, transfusion, intravenous etc. have gone by — now it is Sat. April 11 and this morning I left the hospital.” Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan 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 | | | | |
