| | | | |  | | By Mickey Djuric and Nick Taylor-Vaisey |
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Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. Let's get into it. In today's edition: → R.J. SIMPSON takes on Parliament Hill. → A former NATO secretary general dishes on STEPHEN HARPER. → The winners of the 2024 Democracy Award. |  | For your radar | | | 
"The Northwest Territories stands at the crossroads of Canada’s strategic future," Premier R.J. Simpson said at a press conference in Ottawa this week. | Justin Tang, The Canadian Press | MEET AND GREET — Northwest Territories Premier R.J. SIMPSON is in Ottawa this week with a packed agenda. — On Monday: He sat down with Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and talked about the need for more federal support to offset carbon tax increases. The federal levy has the potential to “plunge people into poverty” where gas is nearly C$5 per liter, Simpson told Playbook. His residents are paying C$5,000 for heating oil to warm their homes every six weeks in the winter. Those numbers make a southern city dweller's eyes pop out. And that's despite the federal government’s carbon price carve-out for the oil, which Simpson dismissed as not very helpful to his region. “When the cost of heating fuel is doubling, the carbon tax is the least of our concerns.” Simpson has a front-row seat to climate change and supports climate action as he watches water levels shrink across rivers and lakes. He even had to evacuate his home during wildfires last year. He didn’t tell Trudeau to ax the tax, but brought the message that green technology isn’t developing fast enough — and more resources are needed. (Last year Ottawa forked over C$1.7 million to the territory for green projects.) — Long-term solution: Climate resilient infrastructure. — Short-term solution: Financial support for businesses and residents. — Simpson's pitch: “We don’t have pockets that deep,” he said to Playbook. “And I made that point to the prime minister that some federal support in that area is something that could go a long way into ensuring we’re not plunging people into poverty.” — Go on: The premier was tight-lipped about exactly what he wants. But he hinted that a meeting later this week with the Northwest Territories’ Indigenous governments would likely result in specific asks of Ottawa. — On Tuesday: Simpson met with Defense Minister BILL BLAIR, Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY and Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT. — Wednesday: The premier is scheduled to meet with Sen. DAWN ANDERSON and Public Safety Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC. He will also be meeting with Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister GARY ANANDASANGAREE, Northern Affairs Minister DAN VANDAL, Mental Health Minister YA’ARA SAKS, plus others. — No opposition hangs, for now: Despite the uncertainty of a fragile minority government, Simpson wanted to keep his promise he made before being elected premier that he will engage with Ottawa on the upcoming federal budget (among other topics). He has no plans to meet with anyone outside of government on this trip, but said he’s spoken in recent months with Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE and NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH about his ideas for the North. (Both Singh and Poilievre were recently in the territory.) EMILY BLAKE of Cabin Radio reports that this week’s meetings are focused on housing, infrastructure, climate adaptation, critical minerals, treaties, addictions and public safety. No idea he brought to Ottawa this week should come as a surprise to those leaders, Simpson told Playbook: “I’ll leave it at that.”
| | Where the leaders are | |
— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will arrive in Vientiane, Laos.
— Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Toronto. Just past 4 p.m. she is scheduled to deliver a 15-minute keynote address at the Principles for Responsible Investment in Person 2024 conference. (MARK CARNEY follows her on the agenda. His slot runs 25 minutes.) — NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will attend caucus at 9 a.m., speak to reporters in West Block at 2 p.m., and attend QP. He'll speak again to reporters at 4 p.m. before attending the House natural resources committee. Singh's plan: "Stand up to big oil and gas CEOs." — Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY will meet with Protect Our Winters. Later, she'll meet with National Government of the Red River Metis President DAVID CHARTRAND. She'll also attend Parliament. — The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have not shared their leader’s Oct. 9 itineraries. | | | DULY NOTED | | |
— The Hogue Commission hears from Privy Council clerk JOHN HANNAFORD and his predecessor, JANICE CHARETTE. Also on the docket: NATHALIE DROUIN, the PM's national security and intelligence adviser; DANIEL ROGERS, deputy national security and intelligence adviser; and JODY THOMAS, former national security and intelligence adviser.
ZITA ASTRAVAS, the former chief of staff to BILL BLAIR during his time as public safety minister, will testify after the PCO crew. → Headline homework: Thomas' name emerged earlier this week in testimony about a 2021 analysis into Chinese foreign interference that reportedly languished on her desk. Astravas' name was connected to a warrant application that "lingered" on Blair's desk. 10 a.m. The Canadian Global Affairs Institute and American Chamber of Commerce in Canada, with the support of the Digital Media Association, are hosting a panel discussion on digital trade. — DAVID PERRY will moderate alongside panelists GRAHAM DAVIES, president and CEO of DIMA; MEREDITH LILLY, Simon Reisman Chair at Carleton University; PATRICK ROGERS, CEO of Music Canada; and SEAN SPEER, editor-at-large at The Hub. 4:15 p.m. NAVDEEP BAINS will be at the House public accounts committee via videoconference to take questions on Sustainable Development Technology Canada. | | | ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR | | | 
Former Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen during a visit to Ukraine, July 1, 2022. | Nariman El-Mofty/AP | ‘VERY STRANGE’ CANADIANS — NATO’s former top dog found Canada’s heel dragging on the Arctic and its soft touch on foreign affairs to be perplexing during his time in office. ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, who was secretary general from 2009-2014, visited POLITICO HQ in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday for a wide-ranging interview about global affairs and defense, from DONALD TRUMP to VLADIMIR PUTIN. At the end of the talk, Rasmussen vented a little about past experiences with the Canadians. — Unforgettable: “I still remember I had a heated discussion with then-Prime Minister [STEPHEN] HARPER about a strategy — because I wanted NATO to engage stronger in the Arctic — but he was strongly opposed to developing within NATO an Arctic strategy,” he said. Harper had adopted a strong public stance on the Arctic, but a leak of U.S. diplomatic cables in 2011 gave a rare glimpse into some of his private discussions on the polar region. One detailed a 2010 meeting between the two where Harper said NATO has no role in the Arctic because it would exacerbate tensions with Russia, per CAMPBELL CLARK’s reporting in The Globe and Mail. But it’s not just Arctic issues that left a milquetoast impression on the former head of NATO. — Isolationist policies: “My very first experience as new secretary general of NATO was a Canadian decision to withdraw from Afghanistan,” Rasmussen continued. “So, time and again, the Canadians have taken very, very strange decisions, isolating themselves, hoping, I think, that their geographical location will protect them against any threat.” — All politics is local: He says the only reason Canada eventually picked up its megaphone in the face of Russian aggression, and started throwing its weight around on the world stage, is political: because of Canada’s large Ukrainian diaspora. — Times have changed: Now, Rasmussen said, NATO is finally clued into threats in the far north: “In the past, we considered the Arctic a region of peace corpus. We have the Arctic Council, et cetera.” But now, the Russians are effectively frozen out of the Arctic Council, long held up as an example of geopolitical co-operation between the West and Russia. “Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the U.S. and now also Canada realize that the Russians have militarized the Arctic.” | | 2024 WATCH | | | 
Elon Musk at an event for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. | Alex Brandon/AP | ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL — Tech billionaire ELON MUSK will ramp up his personal efforts to elect DONALD TRUMP in the remaining weeks of the election — including making visits to Pennsylvania to campaign for the former president, POLITICO’s ALEX ISENSTADT reports. Musk intends to appear in the swing state in the four weeks leading to Nov. 5, according to a person who has spoken with his team and was granted anonymity to speak freely because they weren’t authorized to do so. — In related reading: Digital Future Daily has a deep look at Musk’s political transformation. — Also from POLITICO: The latest union snub for Harris and Walz underscores a bigger problem for their campaign, MEREDITH LEE HILL reports: Even with a union member on the presidential ticket, Democrats are struggling to hold back a changing cultural tide. | | MEDIA ROOM | |
— "The great Jasper wildfire of July and August simmers on with a new working title: Canada’s Most Divisive Disaster," DON BRAID writes in a column.
— The Globe and Mail has five takeaways from the B.C. leaders debate. — DAN KAUFMAN, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, was on “The Daily” pod to discuss his recent feature on how the North American Free Trade Agreement broke American politics. — From GEOFF RUSS, writing for Australia's Spectator: Making immigration controversial will be one of Trudeau’s greatest legacies. — From DREW ANDERSON in The Narwhal: “What the Saskatchewan Party is — and isn’t — saying about plans to be a ‘critical minerals powerhouse.’” | | PROZONE | |
For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter from KYLE DUGGAN and SUE ALLAN: Parliament pulls an Ever Given.
In other news for Pro readers: — DOJ: Google must limit deals that monopolize online search. — Bitcoin creator is PETER TODD, HBO film says — US disaster programs are teetering. Milton could topple them. — Most of Europe is fine without Russian gas. — Hydrogen’s toxic secret worries a town in northern France. — More than a dozen states sue TikTok over alleged deception and harm to children. | | PLAYBOOKERS | |
Birthdays: HBD to TRISH SIBAL, director of policy to Transport Minister ANITA ANAND.
Movers and shakers: The Parliamentary Centre will announce today that BRIAN MULRONEY and ED BROADBENT are joint recipients of the 2024 Democracy Award. They'll receive the award posthumously at an Oct. 23 ceremony at the British High Commission. SAYID AHMED is the Conservative candidate in Edmonton Centre, besting former MP JAMES CUMMING — author of a 2021 CPC post-mortem — in a nomination contest. Ahmed was a provincial UCP candidate in 2023, contesting Edmonton-Decore (which lies outside the city's core). DARIN KING dropped out of the race for the CPC nod in Terra Nova–The Peninsulas, VOCM reported. JONATHAN ROWE is the only candidate for the nomination. STACEY NORONHA, a former account director at Spark Advocacy who served stints in the federal government, is now manager of public affairs at Build a Dream, which advocates for more women in male-dominated industries. Fasken's HENRY GRAY is repping the Canadian Hydrogen Association, which wraps up its Hill day advocacy today. Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it our way. Spotted: Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND, starting a media briefing with a shout out to GEOFFREY HINTON on his 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics. “He is a great Canadian. He is absolutely brilliant. He happens to be a constituent of mine,” she said. “We are really lucky in our country to have such a brilliant person who also really cares deeply. He is also a great neighbor, a great father, just a great person to have in our community.” Media mentions: Award-winning cartoonist MICHAEL DE ADDER was "let go" from the Halifax Chronicle Herald, he posted on X, adding: "I'm going to be honest, I didn't even listen to the reason. I know the reason. They've decided to stop being a newspaper and officially become a flyer. So I hung up." | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | |
Find the latest House meetings here. The Senate schedule is here.
12 p.m. The Senate’s subcommittee on veterans affairs hears from witnesses about homeless veterans. 4:15 p.m. NAV BAINS will be at the House public accounts committee. 4:15 p.m. The Senate banking committee hears from Global Automakers of Canada and others about right-to-repair bills C-244 and C-294. 4:15 p.m. Canadian Global Affairs Institute’s COLIN ROBERTSON, the Munk school’s Deanna Horton and a pair of farm groups testify at the Senate foreign affairs committee on Bill C-282 – the Bloc private members’ bill that protects supply management in trade negotiations. 4:15 p.m. The Senate social affairs committee goes clause-by-clause through Sen. Fabian Manning’s Bill S-249, that would create a national strategy to prevent intimate partner violence. 4:15 p.m. The Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee considers its report on Sen. KIM PATE’s Bill S-230. 4:30 p.m. The House status of women committee will hear from experts on breast cancer screening for women aged 40. 4:30 p.m. The House fisheries and oceans committee continues to study the reopening of the cod fishery. 4:30 p.m. Diversity Minister KAMAL KHERA will be at the House heritage committee to discuss "Canada's anti-racism strategy." 4:30 p.m. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Cenovus Energy Inc., Red Nation Natural Law Energy, Simpcw First Nation and Tsleil-Waututh Nation will be at the House natural resources committee to discuss the Trans Mountain pipeline extension. 4:30 p.m. The House environment committee continues its study of forest management and the response to the fires in Jasper National Park. 6:45 p.m. The Senate Indigenous affairs committee hears from Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and others about implementing UNDRIP. 6:45 p.m. Former Senate Clerk CHARLES ROBERT appears before the Senate national finance committee to talk about non-financial matters in budgets and economic statements. — Behind closed doors: The Senate Audit and Oversight committee meets. | | TRIVIA | |
Tuesday’s answer: NEIL BRADY scored the first goal for the modern-day Ottawa Senators franchise in the game.
Props to hockey fans IAN GLYNWILLIAMS, DEREK DECLOET, CHRIS MCCLUSKEY, MARCEL MARCOTTE, GORDON RANDALL, RAY DEL BIANCO (who pointed out Hall of Famer PATRICK ROY was in net), LORETTA O'CONNOR, JOHN DILLON, BEN PURKISS, WILL BULMER, JIM CAMPBELL, CAMERON RYAN, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, MALCOLM MCKAY, MURRAY WILSON, TRACY SALMON, MIKE WOODS and DARRYL DAMUDE. Wednesday’s question: U.S. Rep. PETE STAUBER (R-Minn.) introduced a bill this week to honor “one of the defining sports moments in my lifetime.” To what is he referring? Answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com Writing tomorrow's Playbook: NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY, SUE ALLAN and MICKEY DJURIC Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and Luiza Ch. Savage. Want to advertise in Ottawa Playbook? Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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