| | | | |  | | By Sue Allan | | 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: → House math, PM air miles, and the VP debate. → CAROL OFF on the weaponization of political discourse. → Plus, Sen. BRIAN FRANCIS explains why it’s not enough to wear orange. |  | THREE THINGS WE'RE WATCHING | |
Today is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The House and Senate return Tuesday.
On our radar this week:
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JD Vance and Tim Walz square off Tuesday in what could be the final debate of the U.S. election race. | Paul Sancya; Al Goldis/AP | JD VANCE vs. TIM WALZ: The Republican senator from Ohio and the Democratic governor from Minnesota will debate Tuesday at 9 p.m. at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. No live audience, but microphones will be hot and things are almost certain to get weird. Video: Three things to watch via POLITICO’s STEVEN SHEPARD and KRYSTAL CAMPOS. LIBERALS vs. everyone: On Tuesday, the House will vote on a new Conservative non-confidence motion. On Wednesday, the government will call a ways-and-means vote on the motion containing the capital gains tax changes. It will also count as a confidence vote. PMJT → France: Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU heads to Villers-Cotterêts and Paris Thursday for the 19th Sommet de la Francophonie. The organization meets every two years, so this could be Trudeau’s chant du cygne. He used last week’s confab with French President EMMANUEL MACRON to underline Canada’s commitment to promoting the work of La Francophonie. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up for your own copy. Zero dollars, five days a week. | | | | A message from Universities Canada: Canada’s reputation as a leading destination for international students is in jeopardy due to recent federal policy changes aimed at reducing student permits. While it’s crucial to address housing and immigration challenges, these measures are hindering Canada’s universities’ ability to attract global talent, sustain university funding and advance research. International students are essential to Canada’s future economy and innovation. It’s time to restore Canada’s legacy as a global education leader. Learn more. | | | | | Where the leaders are | | — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU is in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, where he'll deliver remarks at a community feast to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. — Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND will attend a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event in Toronto. — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH is in Thunder Bay where he'll participate in the "Honouring our Children Run," a fire ceremony and a ceremonial tree planting. He and NDP candidate YUK-SEM WON will attend the Fort William First Nation feast. — Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY will attend the South Island Powwow at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, British Columbia. She also has plans to campaign in Sidney with ROB BOTTEREL, BC Green candidate for North Saanich. | | Caught our ear | | | | 
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chief of Staff Katie Telford last week at the United Nations. | AP | YOU HAD AN OPTION — On the latest episode of “The Bridge,” CHANTAL HÉBERT runs through the scenarios available to the prime minister, a list that includes “do what the Bloc wants” and “call an election.” On the “It’s Political” pod, ALTHIA RAJ serves up the state of play with GINNY ROTH, GEORGE SOULE, BRAEDEN CALEY, DAVID COLETTO, SÉBASTIEN DALLAIRE, GILLES DUCEPPE and MARK RAMZY. J.P. TASKER is on CBC's "Front Burner" pod this morning to discuss happenings in the House. — In related reading: POLITICO’s EMILY SCHULTHEIS reports that “doing a Biden” is now political shorthand for a national leader who sees the writing on the wall and steps aside. | | HALLWAY CONVERSATION | |
WORD ON THE STREET — CAROL OFF says any unraveling starts with language and rhetoric.
“It begins with people just being angry, not being able to talk to each other and also spreading malicious ideas through language, feeding all kinds of odious ideas into the public space,” the veteran journalist tells Playbook. “That builds sometimes over years before it can erupt into really large conflicts.” The collapse of communication and the weaponization of words is the subject of Off’s latest book, “At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage.” It’s the top-selling non-fiction title in Canada. The former co-host of “As It Happens,” estimates she conducted some 25,000 conversations in the 16 years she spent on CBC Radio’s flagship interview show. She’s currently on a book tour — this week in Hudson, Quebec, then at Western University — on the other side of the microphone. The book explores the use and abuse of six words: freedom, democracy, truth, woke, choice and taxes. “My favorite word in the book is woke,” she tells Playbook. “It's a beautiful word, but I think we've lost it. It's just a lovely word, meaning awareness. It starts in the last century. Black people said it to each other, ‘Be woke’ — be aware of what's going on around you.” These days it’s used as a weapon, she observes. “People can smuggle all kinds of odious ideas into the public space by saying they're against wokeism. You often hear people say things that are racist or homophobic or sexist and say, ‘I'm not a racist or a sexist. I'm just against wokeism.’ It’s a cover.”
|  "I think we need to get some control before it actually does boil over into something," says journalist Carol Off, author of a book on "the age of rage." | Paige Taylor White, The Canadian Press | Here are highlights from our conversation, a transcript edited for brevity. There's an easy temptation to pin everything on DONALD TRUMP. Can we do that? No, we can't. He's figured out the language, but these are old strategies, these are old tropes. They've been used by so many wannabe autocrats and demagogues and dictators over the ages. The purpose of lying, as Hannah Arendt tells us, isn't to convince people to believe your lies. It's to break down any understanding or appreciation of what is true and what is false, so you don't even know what's true or false or fact or fiction anymore. That's how you can manipulate people. If there's no common understanding of what is true, there's no trust. If there's no trust, you have no society. Ask VLADIMIR PUTIN. He is the master at this. You make the case that we're losing the ability to talk to one another. When did you first notice that? Before I really saw it so much in Canada, I was getting it from interviews from the United States. We always had these sort of bump-and-grind interviews — elbows out. I like that. Politicians like that — they like to be able to be challenged and defend their ideas. But this had changed completely. This wasn't just about differences of opinion. This was about not only that you disagreed with your political opponents, but you hated your political opponents and you didn't believe they should be able to speak. STEVE BANNON basically declared we have to “flood the zone with shit.” He has said we don't want a conversation, we’re in a war. We’re ready to defeat the enemy. When you get people saying things like that, then you realize there's no conversation to be had. That's the beginning of a breakdown in being able to solve some of our problems. You’ve identified Jan. 6 as the date we lost the plot — that storming the Capitol made sense to too many people. In the context of political discourse what did it signal to you? We tried to interview people about why they were there, and what they wanted. All journalists did. It was just incoherent. They had some vague idea they were defending something important, or that they believed in their cause that Donald Trump told them they should, because they started to just blindly follow him. I don't think they realized the degree to which they were being manipulated. I heard it in the interviews I was doing earlier. I heard it in the journalism I was doing myself or others were doing. But it didn't all come together as one frightening lump until we saw the mob storming that Capitol Building. You’ve said that in Canada you noticed the shift during the government of STEPHEN HARPER. What did you see? I had been covering the conservatism of BRIAN MULRONEY for his whole time in office. Whether you agreed with his politics or not, it was a coherent political philosophy that took into account that we lived in a diverse society, that we needed to take care of the environment. STEPHEN HARPER shut down science. He shut down our ability to talk to scientists in the government, to experts. He shut down the whole idea that experts had a role in our society and in our discourse because it just was in the way of his agenda. So I began to see Stephen Harper as really an early agent of a lot of the stuff we're seeing now and again. Let's talk about the words you explore in the book. You take a deep dive on each and make the case that we should try to reclaim some. What would that look like? Taking back these words is important. In many cases, I don't want to return to the status quo. One of the words I say we need to take back is “freedom.” Suddenly, there was KAMALA HARRIS on the national stage saying exactly that, and the Democrats claiming the word “freedom,” which is actually the domain of Republicans and has been the domain of the right and of conservatives and Republicans. They own that word. This complete flip of the script was just so fascinating to see. Are you keeping a running list of words? Should we add “fake” or “weird” or “wacko”? We’ve lost “weird.” I didn't see that one coming. It has become weaponized. “Taxes” is a word you think could be rehabilitated. How do you think current discourse has changed the meaning of the word? No one's going to go to the ramparts to fight for the right to pay taxes. But taxes represent our obligations to pay for the civil society we live in. It's the price we pay to live in a liberal democracy and in a civil society. It's been besmirched and demonized by those who are paying a lot of money to separate us from the idea of government and from our politics. We need to look at who is behind the effort to demonize the whole idea of paying for the civil society in which we live. This book is a call for conversation. Any advice? What's key is that we start to listen, perhaps listening to people with whom we might disagree — just find out where they're coming from. I'm not looking for a kumbaya moment where we all agree on everything. Off will be at the Ottawa International Writers Festival on Nov. 13. | | | | A message from Universities Canada:   | | | | | For the record | | |  Sen. Brian Francis, left, and PEI Premier Dennis King listen to drummers in Charlottetown on the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in 2021. | Brian McKinnis, The Canadian Press | ONGOING SEARCH — Sen. BRIAN FRANCIS sponsored a bill in June 2021 that established the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Last week, he reminded his Senate colleagues that reconciliation will take more than symbolic gestures. Here is an excerpt from those remarks: “Sept. 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, a solemn time to recognize the strength and resilience of generations of Indigenous peoples and, specifically, the survivors of Indian Residential Schools and other institutions who worked tirelessly to raise collective awareness about the atrocities perpetrated and continue to be at the forefront in the ongoing search for truth, justice and healing. This day is also a time to mourn the children who disappeared or died while in the care of the state and churches and to insist that their bodies and spirits be now treated with care, respect and dignity. While wearing orange shirts and attending public events are significant, real reconciliation demands much more than symbolic gestures. It calls for active participation by society at large, from advocating for real and lasting change across all sectors to holding each other accountable for commitments made. A decade after the release of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, only about 14 of the 94 Calls to Action have been completed. This progress has been mostly symbolic. Most of the crucial Calls to Action dealing with structural inequalities have been largely ignored.” — In related reading via CP: First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders say work lays ahead. — From ANN HUI of the Globe: B.C. woodcarver STANLEY C. HUNT channels grief into monument honoring children who died at residential schools.
| | MEDIA ROOM | |
— NDP MP BLAKE DESJARLAIS tells APTN News that Canada needs a national inquiry into police conduct. LEANNE SANDERS reports that since Aug. 29, nine First Nations people have died when coming in contact with either the Royal Canadian Mounted Police — or municipal forces in Canada.
— From JUSTIN LING in the Star: How the Liberals fumbled Canada’s most effective climate plan. — The latest “Uncommons” pod features LISA RAITT in a must-listen conversation with NATE ERSKINE-SMITH. Public servants will want to catch the end where Raitt warns, “I predict there will be a tipping point on how much Canadians are going to be comfortable with the levels of compensation that civil servants earn in the country.” — RYAN TUMILTY reports in the National Post that Canada’s new luxury tax on cars, boats and private planes brought in C$137 million in its first year, but cost C$19 million to collect. — “I can carry on a conversation in French,” MARY SIMON assured CTV's Question Period host VASSY KAPELOS during an interview that aired over the weekend. “It may be short, but I can do it.” The governor general released a statement on the status of her French lessons after last week’s truncated visit to Quebec. — From Generation Squeeze founder PAUL KERSHAW: “The Bloc Québécois threatens the finances of millennials and Gen Z.” | | | | A message from Universities Canada: Canada’s reputation as a leading destination for international students is in jeopardy due to recent federal policy changes aimed at reducing student permits. While it’s crucial to address housing and immigration challenges, these measures are hindering Canada’s universities’ ability to attract global talent, sustain university funding and advance research. International students are essential to Canada’s future economy and innovation. It’s time to restore Canada’s legacy as a global education leader. Learn more. | | | | | PROZONE | |
For Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter by KYLE DUGGAN and SUE ALLAN: ‘Doesn't have to be Canada vs. U.S.’
From LARA KORTE and JEREMY B. WHITE in California: GAVIN NEWSOM vetoes sweeping AI safety bill, siding with Silicon Valley. ZACK COLMAN and SARA SCHONHARDT report from Climate Week: Climate world still has no solution to Trump 2.0. In other news for Pro readers: — How a massive port worker strike could scramble the 2024 race. — ‘Nickel hunters’ scour Midwest for EV battery metals. — UN climate boss: ‘Bleak picture’ ahead without new emissions goals. — Why Britain’s ‘deep fake election’ never happened. — California water officials warn La Niña could bring dry winter. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to WILLIAM STAIRS, who served as d-comm for two federal party leaders, as well as director of issues management for STEPHEN HARPER. Google Canada’s SHAY PURDY also celebrates.
Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it all our way. Arrivals: The Council of Canadian Innovators' LAURENT CARBONNEAU welcomed AMBROISE BASILE to the world on Sept. 25. He and mother MIRANDA are doing well. Spotted: “Mountain,” a new ad from the Conservatives featuring foothills, family photos and Poilievre voiceover. The Conservative leader opens with a lesson from his parents: You can climb any mountain, if you work at it. “People don’t feel that way now,” he says. Former premiers JEAN CHAREST and DALTON MCGUINTY in the Senate gallery last week. “Politics today is often driven by dividing and blaming, but we have much to learn from them about working together,” Sen. ANDREW CARDOZO said in tribute to the pair. Noted: Historian J.D.M. STEWART with thumbs up on X to his brother, Toronto-St. Paul’s MP DON STEWART, for a speech in the House that namechecked WILFRID LAURIER, JACK GRANATSTEIN, GEORGE GRANT, ARTHUR CURRIE and TOM LONGBOAT. MP KEVIN VUONG shared news that he’s moved seats in the House. Movers and shakers: Parkdale-High Park MPP BHUTILA KARPOCHE plans to seek the party’s federal nomination in that riding, RAISA PATEL scooped in the Star. STEPHANIE DUNLOP of Sandfields Corporation (and formerly of PIERRE POILIEVRE's team) is temporarily working for the BC Conservative campaign. NADINE RAMADAN, a former Liberal Hill staffer, started a new gig as a senior comms adviser at the Toronto Police Service. Media mentions: AIMÉE LOOK starts at The Logic tomorrow. | | ON THE HILL | |
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a federal holiday.
Find the latest House meetings here. The Senate schedule is here. | | TRIVIA | |
Friday's answer: It was former Green Party Leader ANNAMIE PAUL who spoke of breaking the glass ceiling and what happened next. Many readers guessed it was KIM CAMPBELL.
Props to JENN KEAY, ALEX BALLINGALL, DEREK DECLOET, MADDY STIEVA, STACEY NORONHA, LAURA JARVIS, JEN HASSUM, ALEXANDER LANDRY, MEGAN LESLIE, DARREN MAJOR, DENISE SIELE, SCOTT LOHNES, LISA KIRBIE, JENNIFER ROBSON, PATRICK DION, KEVIN BOSCH, STEPHEN HAAS, SARA MAY, TRISTAN DENNISTON, MALCOLM MCKAY, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and MARCEL MARCOTTE. Today’s question: Who said: “It takes a partnership between the Opposition and the Government to demonstrate a willingness to elevate the tone, elevate the substance, and make sure that Question Period is being used to do the job that we were elected to do, which is to represent our constituents, advance ideas, and hold the government to account.” Send your answer to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Writing tomorrow's Playbook: NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY. 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 | | | | |
