| | | | |  | | By Nick Taylor-Vaisey | | Presented by |  | | | Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Nick | Follow Politico Canada Thanks for reading the Ottawa Playbook. Let’s get to it. In today's edition: → MARC MILLER on caucus convos, election eventualities and silly season. → A stroll through Toronto-St. Paul's with Liberal candidate LESLIE CHURCH. → The PM goes live with CBC's DAVID COCHRANE. |  | HALLWAY CONVERSATION | | | | 
"We've gotten better at not back-ending as much," Immigration Minister Marc Miller says of the government's agenda. | Spencer Colby, The Canadian Press | MINISTER OF HOT BUTTONS — "There's stupid and there's stupid,” MARC MILLER said of the May-June silly season marathon. "Some of it is the theater of it all, but you just see people that have been away from their families for too long, and it's time for them to go home." → Silly season survival tip: "Avoid the booze," he advised. The immigration minister is in the middle of a swirl of biting narratives about the impact of newcomers on the homeownership dreams of young Canadians. Miller is never shy to share a soundbite at PIERRE POILIEVRE's expense. And the minister knows the pre-election window is slowly closing on his government's packed agenda. As a punishing heat dome scorched the parliamentary precinct, Miller sat down with Playbook for a pre-summer reflection on the life and times of Team Trudeau. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. — 2019 vs 2024: As the clock ticks down until the next election, does Miller think about dwindling sitting days and even Cabinet meetings? The minister said calendar management has intensified only in recent years. "Going through Covid in a minority had us behaving almost like a majority because of the exigent circumstances that we were facing. I guess the question is: Did we ever get used to becoming a minority? I would say yes, but only upon the second term. That allowed us to focus and make sure that we are looking at what we're putting on the menu to Canadians." — Cabinet dynamics: As an election nears, are ministers competing for airtime? "It's never really competing. You are bigger around the Cabinet table than your own ministry, regardless of the size of your ministry. You owe it to the rest of the Cabinet to be advising them. That can sometimes be offset with your own priorities and your own mandate letter. Those can be competing interests, but it forces you to think as a group." → The consequence: "It's forced this intellectual exercise where we're shortening the menu of a very ambitious government, and the things that we can show to Canadians that we can deliver in the next 18 months." — Caucus insight: Miller acknowledged that emotional conversations about spiking immigration and the housing crunch do enter the Liberal caucus room. "It's no different than the Christmas dinner table conversations in the public narrative. It's the old joke that 100 percent of people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying. Yes, there's a correlation and the volume of people is undeniable. It'd be naive to pretend that volume wasn't impacting housing. But there's so many other factors," he says. Those conversations "can be quite heated," he said. “That's just the nature of the beast. Caucus is a bit of a lung. You've got to let it breathe. It's got to expand and contract. It's when people start holding their breath that things get a little out of control." — The speed of government: Miller insists the Liberals aren't jamming through bills at the last minute — not anymore. "We've gotten better at not back-ending as much. It felt like the first few Junes, in the first mandate, everything was pushed till June. There's a maturity to it that wasn't there in the first few years, where even as a young MP, you're just realizing, 'Damn, why didn't we think about this in February or March?'" | | A message from Canadian Dental Association: Seniors 65+ are now eligible to apply to receive care under the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Starting June 2024, applications are open to children under the age of 19 and adults with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate. Although millions of Canadians are starting to access care through the CDCP, some important misconceptions remain. If you or someone you care for is eligible for the CDCP, click here to know before you go. | | | | | Where the leaders are | | |  Yulia Navalnaya, centre, widow of Alexei Navalny, will be on Parliament Hill today. | AP | — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will chair the Cabinet meeting at 10. He will attend QP. At 3 p.m. he’ll meet YULIA NAVALNAYA, chair of the advisory board of the Anti-Corruption Foundation and widow of late Russian opposition leader ALEXEI NAVALNY. At 4:15 p.m. the PM will deliver remarks and present the Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence. — Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND will attend Cabinet at 10 a.m. At 1 p.m. she will share her weekly update on the government’s economic plan. She will be joined by Health Minister MARK HOLLAND, Families Minister JENNA SUDDS and Treasury Board President ANITA ANAND. Later, Freeland will head to QP. — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH, Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET and Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE have not released public itineraries. — Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY will campaign in Toronto-St. Paul’s with candidate CHRISTIAN CULLIS. She will attend a 6 p.m. fundraiser at the campaign office. | | DULY NOTED | |
— The Canadian Labour Congress, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Health Coalition will hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. to urge the Senate to pass Bill C-64, on pharmacare, before they rise for the summer. — JENNIFER MAY, Canada’s ambo to China, told a House committee last night via videolink that she will travel to Xinjiang on Wednesday, marking the first visit to the western Chinese region by a Canadian ambassador in more than 10 years. — International Development Minister AHMED HUSSEN hosts the annual meeting of the Caribbean Development Bank. The gathering at Château Laurier runs until Thursday. — RCMP Commissioner MICHAEL DUHEME will be on the Hill this afternoon to take questions from the House public accounts committee on ArriveCAN. We're tracking the political events of 2024 on a mega-calendar. Send us events and download the calendar yourself for Google and other clients . | | For your radar | |
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE — The Toronto-St. Paul's by-election means everything, or it means nothing. A few thousand voters who decide the June 24 contest could have the power to end JUSTIN TRUDEAU's political career, some say. Or not.
This year's silliest season ain't on Parliament Hill. It's four hours and change southwest. — The stakes: TVO's STEVE PAIKIN properly contextualized what it all means, or doesn't mean, or could maybe mean under certain circumstances. Liberals have held the riding since 1993. CAROLYN BENNETT was the MP for more than a quarter-century, even surviving the party's 2011 shellacking in a historic embarrassment. The Toronto Star's TONDA MACCHARLES sized up each party's expectations — or at least what they want us all to think are their expectations. Liberals could be downplaying a poor showing. Conservatives could be lowballing their odds to motivate their own voters. All the speculation will be settled in six days, when the winner and losers will spin like tops. — Here's what we noticed: Playbook joined Liberal candidate LESLIE CHURCH, a lawyer and longtime senior political staffer, for a stroll to a park near her Yonge Street campaign office (directly across from Conservative candidate DON STEWART's HQ). Church's campaign declined our request to shadow an afternoon canvass, citing privacy concerns — an unusual response, and perhaps a tell about what to expect at doorsteps (as also noted by the Star's MacCharles). The Greens were happy for us to tag along. Still, Church was generous with her time. We were scheduled for 20 minutes. Playbook ran late — transit delays, natch — and our conversation still ran nearly a half-hour. → Issues at the door, through Church's eyes: Renters struggling to pay increasing rents, including students, young families and seniors on fixed incomes; a lack of family doctors; the situation in the Middle East and the rise in antisemitism; the rising cost of groceries; the reliability of public transit. → Government fatigue: Church acknowledged voters are "cranky," but insisted the riding is proudly part of the "progressive center" of federal politics. → Catch this pivot: "There's a lot of frustration. Coming out of the pandemic, dealing with inflation, higher interest rates, there's no question that that has had an impact on how people are looking at government and politics right now," she says. "But I also know that this is not a community that is buying into the alternative of axing the things that we rely on." → Standard pitch: Church made all the commitments typical of a first-time Liberal candidate in 2024. She'll stand up to the "toxic language and scorched-earth approach … coming straight out of the U.S." She'll work across party lines, "do the work" and "deliver." — What Church won't do: Talk much about the polls, or acknowledge openly that a lot of people are simply sick of JUSTIN TRUDEAU. | | ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR | |
KEY TAKEAWAYS — The prime minister took 30 minutes of questions from CBC's DAVID COCHRANE in a live interview on "Power & Politics" aired yesterday.
Here's what jumped out to us. — On next week's Toronto-St. Paul's by-election: Is it a must-win for Trudeau? "Every electoral contest is a must-win for any political party," he said. — On months of poor polling: "Canadians are not in a decision mode right now. What you tell a pollster — if they ever manage to reach you — is very different from the choice Canadians end up making in an election campaign," he said, adding that inflation and the cost of living came up at recent overseas summits — a handy reminder to viewers, in case they'd forgotten, that he hangs out with world leaders. Abacus Data's DAVID COLETTO took umbrage at the PM's polling potshot. — On Jagmeet Singh's certainty: Cochrane mentioned the NDP leader's assertion that none of his MPs were named in the report. Trudeau's reply: "I hadn't known that Jagmeet said that. I would be wary of any party leader drawing any sort of conclusion like that." → Hold up: Trudeau wasn't briefed on Singh's full response to the report? — On pronunciations: Trudeau sounded out the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians' acronym as "enn-ess-eye-cop," the public service's preference, in place of the "ENTZ-ih-cop" he has frequently employed. | | | | A message from Canadian Dental Association:   | | | | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— A leaky Ottawa file gets a little leakier. The Globe's BOB FIFE scooped the future of British Columbia's open-net salmon farms, which will reportedly receive five-year licences but shut down in five years.
— The Hill Times' CHELSEA NASH charts the "mainstream-ification" of Poilievre biographer ANDREW LAWTON, who appears to define himself as a mainstream journalist who operates outside the confines of mainstream media. — CATHERINE LÉVESQUE of the National Post reports: “PBO says he is not ‘muzzled’ by Liberal government as MPs question carbon tax analysis.” — RACHEL NOTLEY is in her final week as leader of the NDP in Alberta. JANET FRENCH of CBC News considers how Notley changed the province's political landscape. — The Toronto Star catches up with Liberal MP RACHEL BENDAYAN: "A member of Parliament suffered a debilitating concussion — and learned firsthand how little is known about the ways head injuries affect women." — “The Big Story” pod explains the depth of Calgary’s water crisis.
| | PROZONE | |
Don’t miss our latest newsletter for Pro subscribers from KYLE DUGGAN: Defense industry insiders challenge NATO math.
From JOSH SIEGEL and ANTHONY ADRAGNA this morning: Climate skeptic closes in on top energy role in U.S. Senate. In other news for Pros: — More than 20 countries will meet spending targets, NATO head says. — Deal to limit oil and gas funding abroad hinges on U.S. — G7 leaders remain vague on oil and gas phase-out. — Gulf of Mexico could see ‘above average’ summer dead zone. — Texas water fight shows pushback on ‘clean’ hydrogen. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to Crestview Strategy founding partner CHAD ROGERS. Greetings also to Conservative MP ED FAST, Sen. DENISE BATTERS and NDP MP ALEXANDRE BOULERICE.
Celebrate your day with the Playbook community. Send us the details. We’ll let everyone know. Spotted: Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE, chatting with ex-Toronto mayor turned Newstalk 1010 host JOHN TORY. MP JAMES MALONEY in the House with a shout out to his dog WALNUT, winner of the second annual Cutest Pets on Parliament Hill Contest. … Halifax MP ANDY FILLMORE, announcing that he’s quitting federal politics ahead of a long-rumored run for mayor in October. Movers and shakers: GREG ORENCSAK will become deputy health minister as of Aug. 19. Orencsak will make the jump from the Ontario government, where he is Finance DM. STEPHEN LUCAS, the DM at health for nearly five years, is retiring from the public service. JAMIE INNES is leaving the Hill after five years as a chief of staff and 26 as a staffer. BAHOZ DARA AZIZ leaves her post as press sec to Immigration Minister MARC MILLER. Her new gig is director of communications and issues management for Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister GARY ANANDASANGAREE. Wellington Advocacy brought on former Privy Council clerk WAYNE WOUTERS as chair of the firm's executive advisory board … NICKO VAVASSIS also joins the firm as director of Ontario government relations. Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY appointed JULIE SUNDAY to succeed MARK GLAUSER as Canada’s high commissioner in Australia. IOANNA SAHAS MARTIN has also been named Canada’s ambassador to Costa Rica. Noted: HEATHER WALKUS is the 2024 recipient of the Centennial Flame Research Award. The C$7,500 prize is financed in part by the coins tossed into the Centennial Flame fountain on the Hill. Walkus plans to use the award to study leaders who have advanced inclusion of people with disabilities. Media mentions: Former VICE senior reporter MACK LAMOUREUX is writing a book about self-proclaimed “Queen of Canada” ROMANA DIDULO and the QAnon movement in Canada for Penguin Random House Canada. | | ON THE HILL | |
→ Find House committees here.
→ Keep track of Senate committees here. 8 a.m. The Senate national security committee has an early-morning meeting on the books with an agenda TBD. 9 a.m. Government finance officials will be at the Senate’s national finance committee to discuss Supplementary Estimates. 9 a.m. Superintendent of Financial Institutions PETER ROUTLEDGE will make an announcement on the Domestic Stability Buffer. 11 a.m. Canadian Labour Congress President BEA BRUSKE will be at the House finance committee to discuss capital gains. Prof. LUC GODBOUT from the Université de Sherbrooke is also on the agenda. 11 a.m. Department officials will help the House committee on science and research in its study of “innovation, science and research in recycling plastics.” 11 a.m. The House ethics committee has “committee business” on the agenda. 3:30 p.m. RCMP Commissioner MICHAEL DUHEME will be at the House public accounts committee to discuss the auditor general’s ArriveCAN findings. 3:30 p.m. The Senate legal affairs committee will take Bill S-15 through clause-by-clause study. 3:30 p.m. Department officials will be at the House environment committee as it considers Main Estimates. 4 p.m. The House heritage committee will study Bill C-354 with officials from the CRTC and the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française. 6:30 p.m. The Senate energy and environment committee will hear witness input on Bill C-49. Behind closed doors: The House transport committee will work on its study on high-frequency rail. The House status of women committee will discuss a draft letter on breast cancer screening; it will also discuss its report on the “Red Dress Alert.” The House fisheries and oceans committee will plan for future business. | | A message from Canadian Dental Association: Dental Patients: Know Before You Go
For many patients, treatment under the CDCP will not be free.
Many are under the impression that the CDCP will cover all the costs of their care. This is not true. In many cases, the coverage provided is less than the fee of the dental service. You may be responsible for paying the difference.
Not all providers are participating in the CDCP.
Until July, patients can only see the small percentage of dentists who have registered to participate in the CDCP. After July, patients can also see a dentist that participates in the program on a claim-by-claim basis. Check with your dentist before visiting.
Additional care is not available until November.
Currently, the CDCP provides limited treatment options. Essential care options that benefit patients like partial dentures, crowns and sedation, won’t be available until November and will require government pre-approval.
For more information. | | | | | TRIVIA | |
Monday’s answer: U.S. President JOE BIDEN signed Juneteenth into law as a federal holiday when he said this: “I think this will go down, for me, as one of the greatest honors I will have had as president.”
Props to STEPHAN HAAS, MORGAN LARHANT, DOUG SWEET, HANNAH ZEIDMAN, MICAH SIENNA, LAURA PAYTON, SHANE O’NEILL, JESSICA DWYER, DARREN MAJOR, JACK ALARIE, CAMERON RYAN, AMY SCANLON BOUGHNER, BENEDICTA ARTHUR, SABRINA PAYANT SMITH, AMY CASTLE, ALEX BALLINGALL, SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, ROSS LECLAIR, ALEX STEINHOUSE, BOB HOWSAM, LISA HALEY, DARRYL DAMUDE, JOANNA PLATER, RALPH LEVENSTEIN, MARC LEBLANC, JOHN ECKER, KEVIN BOSCH, MARCEL MARCOTTE, JOHN MERRIMAN and PATRICK DION. Today’s question: In what year were formal federal Cabinet records first kept by the Privy Council Office? Answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com . Writing Wednesday’s Ottawa Playbook: ZI-ANN LUM. 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 | | | | |
