Silly season in the Senate

Jun 06, 2024

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By Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Kyle Duggan and Zi-Ann Lum

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Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it.

In today's edition:

→ The Senate's silly season roadmap.

→ Soil health is a thing, Sen. ROBERT BLACK wants you to know.

→ The Bank of Canada cut its policy interest rate. What's next?

DRIVING THE DAY

16 DAYS — The maximum number of Senate sitting days between now and the BBQ circuit.

If you've lived through an Ottawa June, you know the drill. The Senate is the final checkpoint for every Liberal priority headed for the finish line of royal assent, when Governor General MARY SIMON or her designate signs a bill into law.

Senators don't like to be rushed. They have their own priorities (more on that later in Playbook). Plus, there's a heat wave on, so everybody's kinda sweaty.

Here's what to expect in the Red Chamber between now and the relative quiet of summer.

— Race to the finish: Senators passed a series of motions on Wednesday that set the terms of debate for the remaining silly weeks.

→ Wednesday sittings: One motion extends midweek sittings to midnight — or until the end of the day's government business, whichever comes first. The Senate typically rises at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays to make room for committee meetings. This temporary temporal template isn't unusual for the frenzy of June.

→ Government business only: A second motion prevents committees from studying private member's bills or their equivalent in the other place, Senate public bills. Three committees are exempted: audit and oversight; ethics and conflict of interest; and internal economy, budgets and administration.

→ Foreign interference: A third motion paves the way for a Senate pre-study of Bill C-70, the government's legislative attempt to counter foreign interference. It's unclear when the bill will clear the House, but the Senate doesn't want to wait on the House.

→ The budget bill: A fourth motion would shorten the Senate's wait time to advance its consideration of Bill C-69, Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND's first budget bill of the year — as well as supply bills that authorize government spending. If the budget bill is sent to the Senate after June 17, second reading could unfold the same day it's introduced.

The Senate's national finance committee is already studying C-69. A pair of other committees already submitted reports on specific sections.

— The pharmacare timeline: Don't expect royal assent before barbecues fire up.

New Democrats are almost giddy at the prospect of Bill C-64 passing into law. Liberals are also keen to pursue negotiations with provinces on folding contraceptives and diabetes medications into a first-phase pharmacare program. They'll have to wait a while.

Health Minister MARK HOLLAND's office wouldn't put a date on a best-case scenario.

→ Mr. Holland's hope is: "As soon as possible," his office said re: royal assent dreams.

— Next steps: Sen. KIM PATE is sponsoring the bill's journey through the chamber. The Government Representative's Office in the Senate put the finish line in the fall.

"While the government would naturally have preferred to see this priority legislation be fast-tracked through all parliamentary stages in June, we were not able to secure sufficient support from Senate leadership to achieve such an ambitious timeline," read a statement.

The GRO said the chamber could take a final vote on C-64 as early as Oct. 10.

PLANNING FOR POILIEVRE — The chamber is also preoccupied with rumblings about a collision between independent senators and a future Conservative government.

Earlier this week, Sen. PAULA SIMONS published an op-ed, widely shared by her colleagues, that insisted dozens of Trudeau appointees wouldn't thwart a PIERRE POILIEVRE agenda.

Simons probed one unresolved hypothetical: if a Poilievre government decided to invoke the notwithstanding clause, how would the Senate react?

HALLWAY CONVERSATION

Trees act as a wind breaker between fields in this 2023 photo of a farm near Davidson, Saskatchewan. | AFP via Getty Images

NON-SILLY THINGS — Sen. ROBERT BLACK is fired up about soil health.

"You've got to understand that I'm really excited," he told Playbook ahead of today's press conference on the subject.

Forget all the procedural drama of silly season. Senators like to emphasize the substantive work they do outside of Ottawa's partisan to-and-fro. Like, say, talk about soil.

(Not dirt, because dirt and soil aren't the same, y'see. Soil sustains life. Dirt is dead.)

— Why all the hype? The Senate agriculture and forestry committee, chaired by Black, is introducing a report today two years in the making on the ground beneath us all.

Senators traveled the nation in search of wisdom. They heard from 153 witnesses. They received 72 briefs.

When Black spoke to Playbook, the countdown clock ticked under 23 hours. "I've been counting since Monday because I'm excited about this," he said.

In case it's unclear, Sen. Black is excited.

— What's the deal with soil health? The Senate hasn't studied it for 40 years. It was time to take stock, Black says, because soil is everything.

"Ninety-five percent of all the food we eat comes from the soil. If we don't have healthy soil, we don't have food to eat," he says. "More than ever, food security is a critical issue for all of us. Soil is being degraded. We're losing soil to pavement, development, wind erosion, toxicity because of pollution."

— Case study in degradation: Black didn't let slip any of the report's recommendations, but he did give a sense of the challenge associated with the human instinct to develop land on top of the most fertile soil in Canada. Say, the GTA, where undeveloped land is rented out to farmers before it's absorbed into suburban or exurban communities.

"In some cases, renters aren't as kind to the soil as an owner might be," Black says. "I'm not going to put tile and fertilizer and do all the good things that should be done if I'm not sure I'm going to have that for the next two or three or five years."

— Stay tuned: Black's press conference is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. He'll be joined by Sen. PAULA SIMONS, the committee's deputy chair.

Where the leaders are

Prince William, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and France's Prime Minister Gabriel Attal arrive at the Juno Beach Centre today to attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day. | POOL/AFP via Getty Images

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in Normandy.

Trudeau is attending D-Day commemoration ceremonies alongside Veterans Affairs Minister GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR, Manitoba Premier WAB KINEW, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier ANDREW FUREY, Yukon Premier RANJ PILLAI, Nunavut Premier P.J. AKEEAGOK, and Assembly of First Nations National Chief CINDY WOODHOUSE NEPINAK.

— Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Toronto. She'll visit a housing cooperative and make an announcement at 12:10 p.m. alongside KAMAL KHERA, the minister for diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities.

— Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE headlines a 5:30 p.m. fundraiser at TD Tower in downtown Toronto (a 20-minute drive from by-election fever in Toronto-St. Paul's).

— NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH is in British Columbia's lower mainland, where he'll speak at a celebration of life for Kim Novak, former president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1518. He'll also attend the Parent Support Services Society of BC Gala.

— Green Leader ELIZABETH MAY hosts a 10:30 a.m. press conference in West Block. She'll join Prevent Cancer Now in discussing "long-overdue action on asbestos water pipes."

DULY NOTED

— Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE and Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Minister FILOMENA TASSI co-host a 6 p.m. fundraiser at McMaster Innovation Park in Tassi's Hamilton, Ont., backyard.

For your radar

Next question for the Bank of Canada: Just how gradual will the climbdown be? | AFP via Getty Images

AT ANY RATE — “Let's just enjoy the moment for a bit.”

That was the sentiment Bank of Canada Governor TIFF MACKLEM expressed to reporters quizzing him about when to expect the next rate cut, before he trotted out disclaimers and future-looking statements.

Following the first rate cut since the pandemic, that’s naturally what everyone wants to know: Just how gradual will the climbdown be?

Macklem said he’s taking it one meeting at a time, depending on what the data looks like, but it’s reasonable to expect more cuts.

Central bank tea-leaf readers interpreted his remarks as “dovish,” and expect him to slash several more times this year, putting downward pressure on the loonie.

— Looming in the background: An expected “mortgage cliff,” where millions will renew at higher rates (many before the next election).

— It’s all political: When Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND welcomed the news, she claimed credit for the cut.

“We have been working really hard to create the economic conditions which would make it possible for the bank to lower rates and today we see the fruit of that hard work,” she said.

— Insert distracted-boyfriend meme here: That sort of move is typically reserved by politicians for the monthly jobs numbers (also not something they can claim credit for, but do anyway).

The Conservative Party characterized the cut as a “small change” in the absence of fiscal restraint from Ottawa, while Ontario Premier DOUG FORD posted, simply, “It’s about time.”

— Countdown: Just 48 days until the next rate decision; 90 until the one after that.

ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR

BUCKLE UP — Beating up on USMCA is hot politics in America, so get ready for some punchy trade sloganeering.

— That said: The House international trade committee continues its study of the deal’s upcoming sunset clause review today with witnesses from the auto, agri-food and cattle sector — players with a lot riding on a successful renewal in 2026.

DAN UJCZO, an Ohio-based international trade attorney with Thompson Hine, tells Playbook that USMCA-as-punching-bag is not bad politics in the states right now, but the practical reality is any changes to the deal would be “terribly disruptive” to North America.

— Review 101: Ujczo said the review is meant to serve as a temperature check.

Step one is to figure out where Canada, the U.S. and Mexico stand on how the USMCA is working — an effort complicated by elections in each country from Mexico’s this past weekend to Canada’s (potentially) next year.

— Unfinished business: “Good news is most of the agreement is working very well,” Ujczo said. “It's showing some great benefits to various sectors.” But there are pieces that are still not fully implemented yet, about four years after the deal came into force.

“We're still going into the summer working through the automotive rules of origin.”

MEDIA ROOM

— From MURRAY BREWSTER at CBC News: As the survivors fade into history, the world marks a D-Day anniversary like no other.

— Pressure is mounting on the federal government to publish the names of parliamentarians alleged to have worked on behalf of foreign states. Tory Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE has demanded the names be disclosed.

— From our POLITICO colleagues across Europe: Europe's Trump moment has arrived.

— Former diplomat LOUISE BLAIS at Policy Magazine on the dawn of Mexico's CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM era: Adios ‘Three Amigos’, ¡Hola! ‘El Trio’: Canada and Presidenta Sheinbaum

— THE HINDUSTAN TIMES got Poilievre on the record about India: "It’s fine to have our disagreements and hold each other accountable, but we have to have a professional relationship and that is what I will restore when I’m prime minister of this country." Poilievre also talked up expanded trade with the economic giant.

— From RACHEL BROWNE in The Walrus: How the “Queen of Canada” and conspiracy theorists splintered a small town.

PLAYBOOKERS

Birthdays: HBD to Liberal MP FRANCIS SCARPALEGGIA and former diplomat HOWARD BALLOCH. Also celebrating today: Quebec Education Minister BERNARD DRAINVILLE, as well as former MPs RAMESH SANGHA and NICK WHALEN.

Send birthdays to ottawaplaybook@politico.com.

Spotted: Central bank governor TIFF MACKLEM, sporting an Edmonton Oilers pin at his rate-update news conference, where he fielded a question on how the economy will fare if they win the Stanley Cup.

Former Liberal MP ADAM VAUGHAN, current Navigator principal, hanging outside the Liberal caucus meeting in West Block.

— The winners of the Parliamentarians of the Year Awards formerly hosted by Maclean's and now under the stewardship of iPolitics: Tory MP MICHAEL CHONG (most knowledgeable); NDP MP LORI IDLOUT (best constituency rep); Sen. YUEN PAU WOO (most impactful senator); and SEAN FRASER (Parliamentarian of the Year).

Sen. RAYMONDE SAINT-GERMAIN (senator of the year) and Tory MP SCOTT AITCHISON (most collegial) couldn't make the event.

Also in the crowd: Tory MP JOHN BARLOW, Liberal MPs KODY BLOIS and YASIR NAQVI, NDP MPs BLAKE DESJARLAIS and LEAH GAZAN, NDP stalwart ANNE MCGRATH, Green MP MIKE MORRICE, Sen. COLIN DEACON, KAN Strategies' GREG MACEACHERN, and Sussex Strategy's DEVIN MCCARTHY, LIAM DALY and DAN LOVELL.

Noted: Elections Canada declared a vacancy in former MP JOHN ALDAG's Cloverdale-Langley City riding. The agency notes a by-election date must be announced between June 14 and Nov. 30. The earliest possible voting date is July 22. The latest one is Jan. 13, 2025.

Movers and shakers: KEVIN KRAFT is adding his name to the race for the federal Conservative nomination in Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee. Three other hopefuls are in the running: TERESA DURNING, SCOTT ANDERSON and RACHEL ENNS.

MADISON LIPSON started as an associate at the Wilson Center's Canada Institute.

AMANDA GALBRAITH is leaving Navigator: "I will have more to say soon on what’s next."

Media mentions: KATHERINE DECLERQ is joining the Politics Today team.

PROZONE

Don’t miss our latest policy newsletter for Pro subscribers via KYLE DUGGAN: Canada first G7 mover on rate cuts.

From JAMES BIKALES: Five takeaways from POLITICO's Energy Summit.

In other headlines for Pros:

— Carbon removal is catching on. But it needs to go faster.

— Biden’s climate chief warns against ‘U-turn agenda.’

— UN chief: Climate goal 'hanging by a thread' as odds for record warmth increase.

— NOAA makes part of Lake Ontario a marine sanctuary.

— Utah lithium project near Green River faces setback.

ON THE HILL

→ Find House committees here.

→ Keep track of Senate committees here.

8:15 a.m. The House justice committee hears from the Center for Countering Digital Hate’s IMRAN AHMED, SAMYA HASAN of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians and STEPHEN BROWN of the National Council of Canadian Muslims on the rise of Islamophobia.

8:15 a.m. The House human resources committee hears from two panels on federal housing investments.

9:15 a.m. The House official languages committee continues debate on the motion of Bloc MP MARIO BEAULIEU.

9 a.m. Sens. ÉRIC FOREST and SCOTT TANNAS appear at the Senate internal economy committee to chat about financial and administrative matters.

9 a.m. The Senate social affairs committee hears from two panels on Bill C-50, the sustainable jobs legislation, with witnesses including the Pembina Institute and First Nations Major Projects Coalition.

9:15 a.m. The Senate environment committee is also fixed on Bill C-50.

11 a.m. The House science and research committee hears from a panel of experts, including HEATHER EXNER-PIROT, on Canada’s Arctic and climate change.

11 a.m. The House transport committee hears from airline groups on competition and air travel in rural and remote areas.

11 a.m. The House health committee hears from Alberta Mental Health and Addiction Minister DAN WILLIAMS as part of its study on the opioid epidemic and toxic drug crisis.

11 a.m. The House procedure committee hears from Communications Security Establishment Chief CAROLINE XAVIER and RAJIV GUPTA of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security on a question of privilege related to cyber attacks targeting MPs.

11:30 a.m. The Senate banking committee digs into Tory MP SCOT DAVIDSON’s private members bill,C-280, which would increase financial protections to produce growers for losses from insolvent buyers, and will hear from Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation President LUC MOUGEOT, along with other produce groups.

11:30 a.m. The Senate foreign affairs committee continues its study into Canada’s engagement in Africa and will hear from JACQUELINE O'NEILL, Canada’s ambassador for Women, Peace and Security, and African Union Commission’s Ambassador CALIXTE ARISTIDE MBARI.

11:30 a.m. Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON heads over to the Senate’s social affairs committee to promote Bill C-50.

11:45 a.m. The Senate’s legal committee digs into the budget bill.

3:30 p.m. The House environment committee has a star-studded lineup of oil-industry brass to testify on profits and emissions-reduction efforts: Cenovus Energy CEO JON MCKENZIE, Enbridge exec VP MICHELE HARRADENCE, Imperial Oil CEO BRAD CORSON, Shell Canada President SUSANNAH PIERCE and Suncor Energy CEO RICH KRUGER.

3:30 p.m. The House trade committee continues its study on the upcoming 2026 USMCA review. Some of the table guests include Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association President FLAVIO VOLPE, the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance’s MICHAEL HARVEY and Canadian Produce Marketing Association President RON LEMAIRE.

TRIVIA

Wednesday’s answer: It was PETER POCKLINGTON who said, “The thing I hate most about politics is politicians.” He ran for leadership of the Progressive Conservatives in 1983.

Props to MALCOLM MCKAY, BOB GORDON, LAURA JARVIS, BOOTS TAYLOR-VAISEY, CAMERON PENNER, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, JOHN O’LEARY and MARCEL MARCOTTE.

Today’s question: What did the ‘D’ in D-Day stand for?

Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com

Writing tomorrow's Playbook: KYLE DUGGAN

Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan 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.

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