Trudeau’s Cabinet regroups

Aug 22, 2024

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By Nick Taylor-Vaisey

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In today's edition:

→ How to plan a Cabinet retreat, featuring former PMO'er MARCI SURKES.

→ The head of the public service is strategically critical of the bureaucracy.

→ Amid a rail strike, Cabinet shuffle chatter evaporates — well, for now.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

OFF THE RAILS — All eyes in Ottawa on STEVEN MACKINNON.

As the labor minister wakes up to his 34th day on the job, both the country’s major rail lines are shut down.

The last thing MacKinnon shared on social before the unprecedented stoppage? A clip of his appearance on CBC’s Power and Politics, where he said the stakes are high and the “parties have to understand” it’s “in their hands” and “their duty to get a deal.”

They did not hammer out a deal. The teamsters union, CN and CPKC blew past the bargaining deadline of midnight — and passed around the blame.

— Major trade arteries are shut. Commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are dealing with disrupted passenger rail service.

— Politicos line up: One by one on Wednesday, politicians publicly pressured all parties to keep some C$1 billion in trade flowing.

Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND warned talks failing would jeopardize the economic recovery Canadians eked out after the pandemic.

“It is totally unacceptable for us as a country to sabotage ourselves right now,” she said, or for “anyone to get in the way of that economic progress that we have all been making and has been so hard fought and so hard won.”

Ontario Premier DOUG FORD said “threatening to lock out workers is not the answer,” and “any disruptions in rail service would hurt small businesses, medium and large, that rely on shipments.”

Saskatchewan Premier SCOTT MOE posted on social media that he'd spoken with MacKinnon, and “told him that a rail stoppage will have a devastating effect on the Canadian economy.”

Moe's bottom line: “Saskatchewan is in full support of the federal government using any tools necessary, including binding arbitration.”

— Pressure, mounted: Business leaders and agricultural groups called for swift federal action to avert the crisis and pressure will only ramp up from here.

NDP Leader and government propper-upper JAGMEET SINGH has meanwhile opposed binding arbitration, which the rail lines are calling for, as well as back-to-work legislation.

DRIVING THE DAY

Justin Trudeau speaks while seated at a summit.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will convene his Cabinet in Halifax this weekend. | Pool photo by Adi Weda

A SUMMER BREATHER — Haligonians have entertained politicians of all levels and stripes this summer.

A month after premiers rode Bluenose II and plotted strategy in the maritime hub, Cabinet is Halifax-bound for three days, starting Sunday, of thinking and planning and socializing.

— The themes: Nothing surprising.

A press release promises conversation on "bringing down the cost of living, building more homes, investing in health care, making dental care and essential medications more affordable, and taking climate action."

AKA many of the same post-pandemic governing priorities we know and love.

— Oh, also: Canada’s relationship with the United States of America.

— HOW TO PLAN A (CABINET) RETREAT: Playbook got on the horn with MARCI SURKES, chief strategy officer at Compass Rose and Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU's former executive director for policy and Cabinet affairs.

→ Booking a venue: The Privy Council Office gets final say on which venues are suitable for a retreat. A secure facility is a must, and not every city or town has one of those. PCO sends a short list to the PMO, which has spread the love across Canada since 2016.

Trudeau's team has held retreats in all but two provinces: Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

→ Building an agenda: The making of the three-day program is not a long-term project. "It's a politically driven agenda, and for that reason alone it can shift with the winds — and very often is not settled until right before the date itself," says Surkes.

Those tight timelines can create "a point of contention or nervousness in the system," she says, because it differs from process-driven Cabinet business that often allows ministers and bureaucrats to project with some certainty what's coming down the pipe.

→ Inviting experts: Cabinet often invites outside voices in the room for briefings — economists MIKE MOFFATT and FRANCES DONALD, and cross-border industry voices including auto parts honcho FLAVIO VOLPE.

We're still waiting for confirmation of who scored an invite this time 'round.

Those invitations are a PMO-PCO co-production, says Surkes. Whoever has the relationship does the outreach, and public servants take care of logistics.

→ What makes a good retreat? "The measure of success in a regular Cabinet meeting is usually a decision," says Surkes. "The thing that's really extraordinary about a Cabinet retreat is that there are no decisions being taken. The point is not to take decisions, in fact."

→ The mark of a retreat that got the job done? "Ministers walk away feeling like they understand the game plan and are core to its implementation."

— No devices allowed: "The phones get parked," says Surkes.

The free-flowing discussions around the Cabinet table drift into the hallways, back to the hotel, and into the evening. Ministers catch up on family and summer holidays, but also check in with each other.

"They talk discreetly about what they heard, and what they think, and what they're processing, and where something stands," she says.

Where the leaders are

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s itinerary says he’ll visit a business in Quebec’s Eastern Townships — a “pooled photo opportunity.”

— Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Montreal to meet with housing advocates. She will also visit an affordable student housing site. Both events are closed to media.

— Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET and Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE have not released public itineraries.

— NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH is in Montreal with NDP Deputy Leader ALEXANDRE BOULERICE and CRAIG SAUVÉ, the party’s candidate for LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. At noon, they’ll be at Sauvé’s Wellington Street campaign office and will speak to the media about their plan to lower grocery prices.

— Green Leader ELIZABETH MAY is on holiday with family in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia.

DULY NOTED

6:30 p.m. Treasury Board President ANITA ANAND headlines a fundraiser at Sarpa Trattoria in Richmond Hill, Ontario, hosted by local MP LEAH TAYLOR ROY.

8:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. MT) Liberal MP GEORGE CHAHAL hosts his Calgary McKnight campaign launch at Empire Banquet Hall. Chahal was recently acclaimed as the candidate in a new riding in northeast Calgary that shares a chunk of Chahal's current Calgary Skyview riding.

For your radar

ANNUAL CHECK-IN — JOHN HANNAFORD, the clerk of the Privy Council who oversees the public service, dropped his 2023 annual report on Wednesday. We combed through it.

— Bureaucratese alert: Hannaford touched on service backlogs and a ballooning bureaucracy — common targets for PIERRE POILIEVRE's feisty opposition.

But the clerk deployed the guarded language of the passive voice, a handy device for skipping over inconvenient details, as he reflected on those particular challenges.

"There were increases in demand for services like passports, as pandemic restrictions were lifted. Backlogs were experienced, and the Public Service set its sights on returning to service standards. To deliver more services quickly and effectively to the growing number of residents of Canada, the Public Service also grew," read the report.

→ Population growth: The public service employed 357,247 people in March 2023, up from 335,957 in 2022. A recent Treasury Board report pegged the 2024 figure at 367,772.

— Candor at the top: Hannaford used the F-word — no, not that one — in admitting the bureaucracy's shortcomings. The bolding is ours, below.

"While I am continually impressed with the work of public servants, there were instances this year when we as a public service fell short. Whether it is our continued failure to fully resolve the Phoenix pay system or our procurement processes coming into question, we as a public service must face these challenges head on and do better."

→ More on Phoenix: "After eight years and many attempts to correct errors, issues with the Phoenix pay system persist," the report reads. "While we still have a long road ahead of us, we are working to implement a new system informed by what we have learned from the lessons and failures of the current system."

— In memoriam: The clerk paid tribute to the late IAN SHUGART, who guided the public service through the pandemic before his Senate appointment in 2022. Shugart died last October.

"Clerk Shugart used his vast experience and ability to provide calm and steady advice to direct and guide the Public Service in the face of extreme uncertainty."

2024 WATCH

Former President Bill Clinton speaks on the third day of the Democratic National Convention.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton centerstage in Chicago last evening. | Eva Hambach/AFP via Getty Images

THE LATEST FROM CHICAGO — This morning's best POLITICO reads from the floor of the DNC in Chicago, following another night of headliners. On tap tonight: KAMALA HARRIS' acceptance speech.

— Harris has never had an Obama 2004 moment. Tonight's speech is her chance, by CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO

— The big Dem stars in 2028 and 2032 are strategically working this week's DNC, by ADAM WREN, LISA KASHINSKY, ADAM CANCRYN and HOLLY OTTERBEIN

— Watch out, Trump: Walz shows he's not just Minnesota nice, by ELENA SCHNEIDER and LAUREN EGAN

— The best zingers from Bill Clinton’s convention speech — mostly at the expense of Trump, by MIA MCCARTHY

Here's today's lineup at the CNN-POLITICO Grill:

2:30 p.m. ET: Speaker Emerita NANCY PELOSI talks to politics bureau chief JONATHAN MARTIN.

3 p.m. ET: Rep. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-Miss.) takes questions from Congress reporter NICHOLAS WU.

3:15 p.m. ET: Rep. NIKKI BUDZINSKI (D-Ill.) and E&E News Congress reporter EMMA DUMAIN will speak.

3:30 p.m. ET: Sen. DEBBIE STABENOW (D-Mich.) takes the stage with Dumain.

4 p.m. ET: Sen. LAPHONZA BUTLER (D-Calif.) joins Playbook co-author EUGENE DANIELS for a conversation.

4:20 p.m. ET: U.S. Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG takes the stage with national political correspondent ADAM WREN.

MEDIA ROOM

— The headline that gives the PMO headaches: "Meeting between Trudeau and Muslim leaders in Quebec called off after many refuse to attend."

— The Toronto Star's STEPHANIE LEVITZ got her hands on a departmental review of PIERRE POILIEVRE's housing-focused private member's bill. The bureaucrats were unimpressed with the bill. Poilievre's team is unimpressed with the bureaucrats.

— Meanwhile in Ontario: Parties are gearing up for a possible early election, ALLISON JONES reports for CP. FWIW, Ontario Premier DOUG FORD told reporters Wednesday afternoon that he is not planning for a fall election.

— “Lax Canadian cruising regulations allow for luxury cruises to sail through giant loopholes in environmental protections,” LEAH BORTS-KUPERMAN writes in a feature for The Walrus on “Lake Superior’s cruise ship problem.”

— “How does a wildfire crisis threaten an already fragile species?” TRINA MOYLES considers the fate of the boreal woodland caribou in a feature for The Narwhal that enlists the expertise of her biologist father.

PROZONE

For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter by KYLE DUGGAN: Rail dispute could ‘sabotage’ economy.

In other news for Pro readers:

— UK antitrust watchdog signals app stores will be the first to face new powers.

— Trump has far less campaign money and infrastructure than Harris.

— Dems covet the youth vote. What about Black climate voters?

— Inside JB PRITZKER’s bold bid to bridge the EV culture.

PLAYBOOKERS

Birthdays: HBD to former Reform MP ELWIN HERMANSON and to Ontario MPP SAM OOSTERHOFF. Greetings also to CAMERON BONESSO, president of Constituent Manager Solutions.

Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it all our way.

From the ethics files: FADI EL MASRY, director of operations to Sport Minister CARLA QUALTROUGH and executive director of Canadian Aviation Pride, was cleared by the ethics commissioner to "practice my profession as a part-time survey pilot for the purpose of maintaining my employment opportunity as a pilot."

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY

— Ministers and parlsecs are fanning out across the nation for funding announcements, unencumbered by a comms blackout that could have accompanied the Cabinet shuffle that hasn't transpired.

9 a.m. Public Services Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS will be at Café rencontre du centre-ville in Quebec City to discuss the government’s commitment to ending chronic homelessness.

10 a.m. Liberal MP VIVIANE LAPOINTE will be at Glencore Centre for Innovation with a FedNor announcement to help businesses “innovate, develop new products, prototypes and more.”

12:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m. AT) Rural Economic Development Minister GUDIE HUTCHINGS will join provincial and municipal counterparts for a funding announcement in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.

1 p.m. (10 a.m. PT) Liberal MP WILSON MIAO, Mayor MALCOLM BRODIE and British Columbia Municipal Affairs Minister ANNE KANG will be at the Minoru Lakes in Richmond with an infrastructure announcement.

1 p.m. Liberal MP MONA FORTIER will be at Conseil Économique et Social d'Ottawa-Carleton to make an announcement in support of Francophone entrepreneurs.

TRIVIA

Wednesday’s answer: RICHARD NIXON spilled soup on his vest during an official dinner with PIERRE TRUDEAU. In "The Invincible Quest," Nixon biographer CONRAD BLACK wrote that the president considered the elder Trudeau "intelligent but frivolous."

Props to MARCEL MARCOTTE, MARCUS MATTINSON, NANCI WAUGH, KEVIN BOSCH, JOHN ECKER, AMY SCANLON BOUGHNER, CHRIS ROL, LISA KIRBIE, LAURA JARVIS, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, FELIX BERNIER, CAMERON PENNER and MALCOLM MCKAY.