| | | | |  | | By Kyle Duggan | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Ottawa Playbook | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let’s get to it. In today's edition: → Canada’s border officials are poised to go on strike. → “Oh, oh,” some hon. member jeered at committee, before it thundered around social media as a corrosive pull quote. → Who’s up, who’s down. |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | | 
Canadian border officials are poised to strike today. | Charles Krupa/AP Photo | LESS THAN 10 HOURS — It’s down to the wire, with thousands of Canadian border officials poised to go on strike at 4 p.m. if they do not reach an agreement with the federal government.Their collective agreement expired two years ago and both sides entered into a week of mediation on Monday. — Awkward timing: It would kick off right in the middle of Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE’s end-of-sitting campaign to convince Canadians the Liberals are ruining their summer vacations. MARK WEBER, the Customs and Immigration Union’s national president, tells Playbook the situation remains “fluid” and “we don’t really know yet” where things stand. “We really think that our demands are extremely reasonable,” he said. “There should be a deal there to be had in mediation.” CBSA personnel, repped by PSAC and CIU unions, are in a legal strike position and have threatened action that could cause major delays.Treasury Board President ANITA ANAND’s office would only point Playbook to Treasury’s most recent statement, which said the government is ready to “make concessions” but needs to see movement from the union side, and warned that threatening labor disruptions only served to “undermine” negotiations. — At stake: Pay parity with other law enforcement. Pension reform and telework provisions. The points of contention are many, detailed in a labor relations board decision. On some positions they remained very far apart heading into mediation, with no salary offer on the table during bargaining. Weber suggested a good deal could alleviate CBSA’s chronic staffing issues at the border.“The CBSA tagline is largely: come work for us, we'll pay you less, and you have to work longer,” Weber said. “How do you attract or retain people when these fundamental pay and benefit and retirement issues are such a roadblock?” — Tough spot: In a strike situation, non-essential workers would not go into work. Most of CBSA’s frontline service workers count as essential services. The union could decide, though, that those still clocking in could do work-to-rule action — essentially, drag their heels and do the bare minimum. — Sounds familiar: This happened just a few years back — but it didn’t last long. In 2021, a daylong work-to-rule campaign snarled traffic at ports of entry. The union sure remembers. But that was a different time, coming out of Covid when the borders had just reopened. — Hair raiser: Such a move would deal a swift blow to trade — hitting auto manufacturing and travelers — naturally alarming industry groups.The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters sent out a news release this week that starts with: “Supply chain storm clouds continuing to gather…” In a statement to Playbook, the American Trucking Associations’ chief economist BOB COSTELLO urged both sides to come to an agreement that “doesn't disrupt the more than $400 billion in truck trade that travels between our two countries.” — New faces: The high-stakes showdown also comes with new leadership at PSAC, under National President SHARON DESOUSA and National Executive Vice-President ALEX SILAS — who worked with the bull horn hard in Ottawa last year and whose mother, LINDA SILAS, heads the federation of nurses unions. — Quoted down south: WSJ’s Canada correspondent PAUL VIEIRA gave Minnesota Public Radio these odds: “Given how far apart they are on pay, I would say it may be 50/50.” | | | Where the leaders are | | — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU has yet to release today's itinerary; his June 6 agenda included a late-evening flight to Ottawa from Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, France. — Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND tours a transit facility in Toronto for an 11:45 a.m. announcement alongside Diversity Minister KAMAL KHERA, Ontario Transport Minister PRABMEET SARKARIA, and Brampton’s Deputy Mayor HARKIRAT SINGH. — Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE did not release a public schedule. — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH did not release a public schedule. — Bloc Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET did not release a public schedule. — Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY attends Parliament virtually from Calgary, where she’s scheduled for an evening fundraising event. She’s a keynote speaker at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities meeting there on Saturday morning. | | | DULY NOTED | | |
8:30 a.m. Statistics Canada will reveal its labor force survey for May.
6 p.m. Governor General MARY SIMON will host a ceremony at Rideau Hall to present the 2024 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. The recipients include Canadian rapper MAESTRO FRESH WES. A gala follows at the National Arts Centre.
| | For your radar | |
PUT THE HECKLES TO THE METAL — What do you get when you cross explosive allegations of treasonous behavior with the end-of-sitting phase of Parliament’s space-time continuum, a.k.a. silly season? Sledging.
“Boo hoo, get over it!” Liberal MP JENNIFER O’CONNELL shouted at the national security committee, as Conservative MP GARNETT GENUIS complained about her heckling fellow Tory FRANK CAPUTO, while he was questioning Public Safety Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC. The heated exchanges there set the tone for all of Thursday. The phrase would echo through the House during QP and out onto social media, amplified by both parties, although the Conservatives are so far the only to send out a fundraising blast. — Context: The committee debate was over why the government won’t name the lawmakers alleged to have aided foreign states with interfering in Canadian politics. “This places a cloud of suspicion over every single member of the House,” Caputo charged when the Q&A round started.As the two clashed, LeBlanc argued it’s irresponsible to suggest there’s a list of names to release — intelligence is a complex puzzle and just looking at one piece of it could be wrong or misleading. — Key question: Whether opposition leaders will accept security clearances to get the classified intelligence, even if they have to keep that information from the public. Bloc Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET is now considering just that, to make sure none of the accused MPs are in his caucus. But Poilievre rejected the notion, which would force him to clam up on the issue, saying, “We do not need secrets and confidentiality. That is what got us into this problem in the first place.”— Notable names: Conservative MP MICHAEL CHONG and NDP MP JENNY KWAN, who have both been told by intelligence officials they were targeted by China,called on the government this week to reveal the names. — Related read: PHILIPPE LAGASSÉ argues that there’s a way to name names without naming names. — Leading QP: “What has been the Liberal response so far? They won’t release the names and now [O’Connell] says, ‘Boo hoo, get over it,’” ANDREW SCHEER said. Scheer also tried to bait LeBlanc into saying whether any of the sus MPs sit in Cabinet. “I’ll give full points” to Scheer, LeBlanc retorts, for “trying to get me to do indirectly what he knows very well I can’t do directly.” “Our national security and intelligence agencies, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, take all the issues of national security very seriously—" — Heckled back: “Yeah, but you don’t! That’s the problem.” — One big question: What happens when the inevitable Opposition day motion arrives, which might just resemble this petition. | | WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN | |
UP: The “semi-witting or witting” lawmakers who aided foreign regimes, since the Liberal government refuses to reveal their names.
DOWN: The government’s agenda, boot stomped by an NSICOP report packed with more intrigue than a JOHN LE CARRÉ spy novel. | | MEDIA ROOM | | | | 
French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden during the G-7 Summit in 2023. | Pool photo by Brendan Smialowski | — Top of POLITICO this hour: Inside the ill-fitting, occasionally chaotic, decidedly solid Biden-Macron relationship. — Ontario Premier DOUG FORD shuffled his Cabinet and appointed Greenbelt-scandal casualty Steve Clark as government house leader, reports the Globe’s LAURA STONE and JEFF GRAY. — Quoting pollster JEAN-MARC LÉGER in the Journal de Montréal, GUILLAUME ST-PIERRE writes Poilievre’s popularity with immigrants and anglophones puts the Conservatives on track for a breakthrough on the island of Montreal. — Liberal pollster KYLA RONELLENFITSCH tests out Poilievre’s vulnerabilities. — The Logic’s MURAD HEMMADI considers what could happen to Canada’s trade diversification efforts when confronted by Trump 2.0. | | PROZONE | |
Don’t miss the latest POLITICO Canada newsletter for Pro subscribers via ZI-ANN LUM: Border strike’s Friday buzzer.
In other news for Pro readers: — World nears climate red line. — Fossil fuel allies ramp up calls for U.S. Supreme Court to crush climate cases. — Biden, Macron to seek alignment on economic policies, China. — POLITICO Pro Q&A: Coinbase CEO BRIAN ARMSTRONG. — Europe votes on climate neutrality’s fate. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to Liberal MP ROB OLIPHANT, NDP politician JINNY SIMS and THOMAS SIMPSON, VP of CNIB Voice. And GUY GALLANT, chief of staff to Veterans Affairs Minister GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR.
On Saturday: Economist DAVID DODGE and MARK RESNICK of McMillan Vantage. On Sunday: Green MP ELIZABETH MAY (70!), Ontario Green Party Leader MIKE SCHREINER and Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT, TVO anchor STEVE PAIKIN, Veterans Affairs Canada chief of staff GUY GALLANT and ARIEL POLLOCK of the U.S. Embassy. Birthdays, gatherings, social notices for this community: Send them our way. Spotted: ADAM CHAMBERS melding SO31s with party slogans: “Let us bring the butter tart home.” Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH appointing ALISON REDFORD to the Invest Alberta board. CHRISTINE IVORY nominated as the next parliamentary librarian. Noted: The annual Laurier Club summer garden party for top Liberal donors is scheduled for Monday at the Canadian War Museum. Cabmins who plan to attend include JUSTIN TRUDEAU, GUDIE HUTCHINGS, CHRYSTIA FREELAND, JEAN-YVES DUCLOS, SORAYA MARTINEZ FERRADA, ARIF VIRANI, RECHIE VALDEZ, BILL BLAIR, LAWRENCE MACAULAY, MARIE-CLAUDE BIBEAU, RANDY BOISSONNAULT, KAMAL KHERA, AHMED HUSSEN, SEAMUS O'REGAN, PABLO RODRIGUEZ and JENNA SUDDS. Movers and shakers: Foreign Minister MÉLANIE JOLY has tapped HEIDI HULAN to become Canada’s next ambassador to NATO in Brussels, replacing DAVID ANGELL. She recently served as Canada’s G7 political director. JENNY HILL becomes Canada’s new ambassador to Iceland. CHARLES FUGÈRE was appointed interim executive director of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Secretariat. Media mentions: Former Toronto Star reporter LEX HARVEY is moving to Hong Kong to work for CNN International. The Canadian Association of Black Journalists is on the hunt for an executive director.
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| | ON THE HILL | |
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WE ASKED YOU — Should the names of parliamentarians alleged to be witting participants of foreign interference be made public? Many of you wrote in to say yes. A sampling of replies in the mix:
— “Like nature, politics abhors a vacuum. Without names being named, there will be consequential impacts on innocent people.” — “Of course the MPs identified as knowingly or unknowingly colluding in this activity should be named by the government. This would give them a chance to defend their actions and remove the cloud that hovers over all MPs for lack of clarity.” — “Name the names. Lay the charges.” — “If there is enough evidence that someone has committed a crime then they should be charged and prosecuted. That is the way to do it. Otherwise, just naming suspects is little more than spreading malicious gossip and possibly destroying careers, families and lives. All for the sake of some cheap headlines. While there are probably means going forward to address foreign interference, the recent NSICOP report has very likely demonstrated to politicians and political parties that they need to be alert.” — “Their names should only be revealed if there was enough evidence to take them to court. It is important to distinguish between intelligence and evidence that withstand the scrutiny of the court.” | | TRIVIA | |
Thursday’s answer: We accepted two answers: “D” in D-Day stands for “day.”
Also: The “D” stands for nothing — as one reader explained it, “like the S in HARRY S. TRUMAN.” Props to PATRICK DION, JOHN MERRIMAN, BOB GORDON, GEOFFREY CHAMBERS, KATIE FEENAN, LAURA JARVIS, AMY SCANLON BOUGHNER, MARC LEBLANC, JOHN MATHESON, JOHN ECKER, PATRICK ST-JACQUES, RALPH LEVENSTEIN, MATT DELISLE, WAYNE EASTER, MATTHEW CONWAY, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, JOANNA PLATER and MARCEL MARCOTTE. Friday’s question: “When Canada chose to turn its back on refugees more than 70 years ago, not only did the government fail to help the most vulnerable, it harmed all of us,” Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU said in a formal apology in the House in 2018. How is that statement connected to this date in history? Answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Writing Monday’s Ottawa Playbook: KYLE DUGGAN Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and Luiza Ch. Savage. 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 | | | | |
