Theater on the Hill

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Welcome to Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host, Maura Forrest, with Joseph Gedeon and Nick Taylor-Vaisey. Today, DAVID LAMETTI tackles bail reform. A Liberal filibuster delivers bluster, insults and indignation. And the NDP might want to take a glance at Health Canada’s departmental plan.

DRIVING THE DAY


AT LONG LAST — JOE BIDEN is heading to Canada for his first in-person visit as U.S. president on March 23 and 24. (Not to brag, but Playbook just about called the dates last week.)

Biden will be accompanied by First Lady JILL BIDEN, and will deliver an address to Parliament.

— Compare and contrast: Playbook took a quick look at the statements issued by the White House and the Prime Minister’s Office announcing the visit.

There are some obvious similarities. Both say the two leaders will discuss climate change, continental defense, the war in Ukraine and the crisis in Haiti.

— Subtle differences: The Canadian news release specifically refers to critical minerals, the USMCA and “shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific region,” which don’t earn a mention in the White House statement.

The U.S. release, on the other hand, says the two leaders will discuss the opioid crisis, which the PMO statement leaves out.

The White House also says Trudeau and Biden will discuss “irregular migration and forced displacement.” The PMO simply makes a passing reference to immigration. Neither statement references the Safe Third Country Agreement.

JURY’S OUT — Does Canada need stricter bail laws? That’s the question Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI will broach with his provincial and territorial counterparts in Ottawa today.

Calls for bail reform have been getting louder thanks to several high-profile recent crimes, including the December killing of Ontario Provincial Police officer GRZEGORZ PIERZCHALA, whose alleged shooter was out on bail with a warrant out for his arrest.

The Conservatives have latched onto the issue, claiming “a small number of dangerous repeat offenders” are disproportionately responsible for an increase in violent crime, and blaming the Liberals’ Bill C-75, which made changes to Canada’s bail laws in 2019.

— But it’s not just Conservatives who are concerned: All the premiers have signed a letter to Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU calling for bail reform. Specifically, they want Ottawa to pass a “reverse onus” for certain gun crimes, meaning the accused would have to prove why they should be released.

Last fall, MURRAY RANKIN, then attorney general in B.C.’s NDP government, said repeat offenders were ending up on the streets as an “unintended consequence” of Bill C-75.

— The view from Ottawa: For his part, Lametti seems open to the “reverse onus” suggestion. He told a parliamentary committee on Monday that he will present what he’s considering to his counterparts today.

But it’s a thorny issue for the Liberals, who passed C-75 in part to reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. “Any time we make a change to the bail systems, there’s challenges around impacts, particularly on Indigenous or minority groups,” Trudeau told reporters in January.

— Case in point: Pierzchala’s alleged shooter was out on bail primarily because he is Indigenous, the Globe and Mail’s SEAN FINE reported in February.

— Meanwhile: Criminal defense lawyers and some experts are quick to say there’s no link between crime rates and changes to Canada’s bail laws.

“It’s always easier to be tough on crime. But it doesn’t make for good policy,” DANIEL BROWN, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, told Playbook. “It’s an easy target.”

Brown said provinces should focus more on enforcing bail conditions, rather than pushing for a legislative change to make it harder for people to get bail.

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TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS


— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s itinerary lists “private meetings.”

— Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY is meeting in Ottawa with her Norwegian counterpart, ANNIKEN HUITFELDT. They will speak at a fireside chat hosted by the Global Centre for Pluralism at 9:30 a.m., and will speak to media at 11 a.m.

— Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will meet with Huitfeldt at 2:30 p.m.

8 a.m. Public Safety Minister MARCO MENDICINO will make an announcement in West Block. He’s set to announce public consultations on a foreign influence registry, the Canadian Press reports.

9 a.m. Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS will provide an update on Covid-19 and other public health concerns.

2 p.m. Mental Health and Addictions Minister CAROLYN BENNETT will announce funding for mental health programs for Black communities in Toronto.

2:35 p.m. Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI and Mendicino will hold a press conference at the Château Laurier following a meeting with provincial and territorial counterparts on bail reform.

2:45 p.m. (3:45 p.m. AST) Immigration Minister SEAN FRASER will speak to reporters at a forum of ministers responsible for immigration in Halifax.

For your radar


SOUND AND FURY — It’s not a proper Canadian political controversy until at least one parliamentary committee spends hours in a filibuster that eventually devolves into veiled insults and theatrical demands for an apology.

Such was the fate on Thursday of the procedure and House affairs committee, which is supposedly investigating foreign election interference following bombshell stories from Global News and the Globe and Mail.

The committee kicked off the day with three (3) hours of Liberal filibuster, a procedural tactic deployed to stall an opposition attempt to get PMO chief of staff KATIE TELFORD to appear.

It featured a wide-ranging monologue from Liberal MP RUBY SAHOTA, who began by quoting former NDP MP DAVID CHRISTOPHERSON (“I’m just getting started”), went on to issue a warning about intelligence reports (“There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq”) and at one point suggested a public inquiry is a bad idea because Ottawa’s LRT inquiry cost C$14.5 million (“I think that’s going to make it hard for the Conservatives to sleep tonight”).

— When the noon hour rolled around, the Liberals paused their filibuster to hear from Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC. But that did nothing to ease the tension. At one point, an interpreter refused to continue translating because Joly and a Conservative MP wouldn’t stop talking over each other.

And then there was the memorable moment when Conservative MP MICHAEL COOPER, responding to Joly saying she’d looked her Chinese counterpart in the eye and said Canada wouldn’t tolerate foreign interference, told her he was “sure he was very intimidated.”

This yielded demands for an apology from indignant Liberals (the word “microaggression” was bandied about), culminating in committee chair and Liberal MP BARDISH CHAGGER saying “there’s a lot of things around this place that make me puke in my mouth often.”

The filibuster continued again Thursday evening, with no resolution. The committee will next meet on Tuesday.

— So did we learn anything? Amid all the theater, Joly confirmed that her department denied a visa for a Chinese diplomat in the fall of 2022 who was suspected of being sent to Canada to engage in foreign interference. And she noted it’s easier to prevent diplomats from entering the country than to expel them once they’re here.

Here’s more from the Globe and Mail’s ROBERT FIFE and STEVEN CHASE.

— Related: In new polling out this morning, Abacus Data finds most Canadians are aware of the Chinese interference story, but only 33 percent are following it closely. While there is widespread support for a public inquiry, the issue doesn’t seem to have changed voter intentions.

“So far, these events have not had any significant impact on public opinion,” CEO DAVID COLETTO said in a statement.


GREAT ACHES — It was Great Lakes Week in Washington. To celebrate, Sen. JANE CORDY and MPs VANCE BADAWEY and PHILIP LAWRENCE spent time on Capitol Hill tracking down U.S. counterparts to assure them that Canada is committed to ecosystem protection.

“I’m kind of surprised Canada hasn’t put more into supporting the Great Lakes,” Rep. BRIAN HIGGINS told the politicians during a closed-door meeting in his Rayburn office attended by POLITICO.

The Canadians also met Great Lake adjacent Sens. AMY KLOBUCHAR, J.D. VANCE, DEBBIE STABENOW and GARY PETERS.

There were encouraging words, but mostly the Americans seemed underwhelmed.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a multi-agency project that provides funding to over a dozen federal organizations in an effort to protect and rehabilitate the Great Lakes in both Canada and the United States.

“We have to work together in the Great Lakes initiative,” Rep. DEBBIE DINGELL told Playbook. “They need to be investing in it, too,” she said of the Canadian government.

Dingell told lawmakers gathered for breakfast on the Hill that she would be calling the White House to ensure the Great Lakes are on the agenda of the Biden-Trudeau bilateral.

During his 2021 election campaign, Trudeau promised C$1 billion to protect freshwater systems over the next 10 years.

The United States bipartisan infrastructure bill last year allocated $1 billion to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by 2030.

In January, Dingell and the Great Lakes Task Force asked for $425 million to be added to President Biden’s 2024 fiscal budget. In 2022, Canada announced a C$3.9 million investment to the Great Lakes over the next three years.

“The U.S is ahead of us and admittedly we have to catch up,” Badawey told POLITICO on Thursday. “Our goal is, over time, to align ourselves with the strategies that the U.S. is moving forward with, like, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Of course the second part is funding it.”

WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN


Who’s up: MARY NG, no longer embroiled in controversy by virtue of her party being embroiled in another, larger controversy.

Who’s down: GALEN WESTON, who’s apparently losing money on every chicken breast he sells.

PAPER TRAIL


BEST-LAID PLANS — Dozens of federal departments are rolling out annual planning documents that sketch their goals for the 2023–24 fiscal year.

— Confidence deal: An eagle-eyed source pointed POLITICO to Health Canada’s plans. The federal government “plans to introduce a bill to create a Canada Pharmacare Act by the end of 2023,” the document says on page 13.

Quick reminder: The terms of the Liberal-NDP confidence and supply agreement call for “passing” a pharmacare bill by the end of the year — not just tabling it in Parliament.

— Running on fumes: The Department of National Defence hopes to sustain a force of 101,500 personnel. But Covid put a damper on recruitment and retention.

“The CAF will feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for years to come,” reads the 2023–24 plan. The regular force fell by more than 4,100 members between March 2020 and July 2022. The reserves decreased by 950.

Recall these words of warning from DND’s 2021–22 Departmental Results Report:

“It is now apparent that reduced CAF strength and readiness will take upwards of 5-10 years to remedy and is severely challenging the CAF’s ability to fulfill the Government of Canada’s policy objectives to defend Canada and Canadians, and engage with allies abroad.”

— Notable absence: We put the Global Affairs departmental plan to the Ctrl-F test. Ukraine got 34 mentions. Russia was named 25 times. Europe? 35. Africa? 34. Indo-Pacific? 32. United Nations? 14. NATO? 9. WTO? 8.

China merited a single mention: a passing nod to a departmental initiative aimed at “Strengthening Canada’s capacity for a global China.”

FROM THE DESK OF 338CANADA


SPLITTING UP — Optimism within the Quebec sovereignty movement has not been this high in years, according to POLITICO contributor PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER. The Parti Québécois suffered its worst results in half a century in last October’s provincial election, but a new Léger poll, published in Le Devoir, found that 38 percent of Quebec voters would vote in favor of sovereignty if a referendum were held on the issue.

That’s in contrast to many polls on Quebec independence in recent years that have shown backing for sovereignty ranging from the high 20s to the low 30s.


— But there’s a catch: The Léger data also exposed a major challenge for the sovereignty movement. Young voters no longer drive it as they did 30 and 40 years ago.

Read Fournier’s latest column here.

MEDIA ROOM


— Supreme Court Justice RUSSELL BROWN is under investigation for accusations he “engaged in obnoxious, drunken conduct in Arizona that ended in an altercation,” the Vancouver Sun’s IAN MULGREW reports.

— This week’s grilling of grocery CEOs was all political theater, when what’s really needed is a grocers’ code of conduct “and a royal inquiry to compel them to show their math,” COREY MINTZ writes for TVO.

— In related news from the Toronto Star’s CLARRIE FEINSTEIN: Surprising new data shows we’re not spending more on groceries — we’re just buying less.

— Governor General MARY SIMON tells the Globe and Mail’s MARIE WOOLF why she’s speaking out about online abuse.

— On the FRONT BURNER pod: Canada vs. Big Plastic: A legal fight about more than straws.

— JOE BIDEN’s trip to Canada is a prime opportunity to “reinforce our joint commitment” to the USMCA, RUFUS YERXA and KELLIE MEIMAN HOCK write in the Financial Post.

— POLITICO reports: President Biden to reveal nuke submarine plans Monday alongside U.K. and Australian leaders. And also: Tech issues could threaten 3-nation megaplan for the Pacific.

— The House of Commons health committee will launch an investigation of Canada’s drug pricing agency following a string of resignations, the Toronto Star’s ALEX BALLINGALL and RAISA PATEL report.

— From the Canadian Press: Judge approves $2.8B settlement between Ottawa, Indigenous day scholars.

— And MARC GARNEAU tells CTV’s VASSY KAPELOS that anglophone minority rights in Quebec are “a hill to die on.”

PROZONE


For POLITICO Pro subscribers, here’s our latest policy newsletter from ZI-ANN LUM and NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY: PROC goes off the rails.

DOUG PALMER reports this morning: Biden, von der Leyen to launch talks on critical minerals pact.

In other news for Pro readers:

— The Pentagon is funding experiments on animals to recreate ‘Havana Syndrome.’

— EU seeks to close ranks on chips exports to China.

— Podesta: Chinese companies will participate in domestic clean energy expansion.

— Biden officials huddle with LNG industry in push for ‘clean gas’ standards.

— House GOP outlines early crypto goals.

PLAYBOOKERS


Birthdays: HBD to former PM KIM CAMPBELL and Conservative MP JAKE STEWART. Also celebrating: Harper-era Cabinet minister GARY GOODYEAR and former MP CHRIS AXWORTHY.

Celebrating Saturday: Minister of Indigenous Services PATTY HAJDU, Ontario Labor Minister MONTE MCNAUGHTON, former MPs ANDREW SAXTON, BILL SIKSAY and KYLE PETERSON, and former Quebec politician STÉPHANE BÉDARD.

On Sunday: Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations MARC MILLER.

Send birthdays to [email protected].

Spotted: MARG DELAHUNTY, making a surprise appearance on Parliament Hill.

Labor Minister SEAMUS O’REGAN and Canadian Labour Congress president BEATRICE BRUSKE, at the Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit in Ottawa.

After moving into Stornoway, PIERRE POILIEVRE has listed his Ottawa home as a rental property (h/t GLEN MCGREGOR).

Movers and shakers: The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has hired Navigator managing principal DANIELLE LABOSSIERE PARR to make its case on the Hill. Top priority is “ongoing reconciliation efforts between Indigenous Peoples and the Catholic Church in Canada.”

Counsel’s ALEXANDER MACDONALD is now repping Toyota.

Media mentions: LAURA KANE will join Bloomberg as Ottawa bureau chief on May 1.

McClelland & Stewart has acquired ELIZABETH RENZETTI’s “What She Said: Conversations About Equality.”

KRISTY SNELL is spearheading a new partnership between Concordia’s Department of Journalism and Kahnawake Survival School to encourage Indigenous students to consider a career in media.

The Canadian Association of Journalists’ mentorship program is back and accepting applications until March 28.

On the Hill


→ Find upcoming House committees here

→ Keep track of Senate committees here

8:45 a.m. The House public safety committee meets to discuss the effects of the Liberals’ withdrawn gun bill amendments (G-4 and G-46).

8:45 a.m. The House ethics committee meets to study foreign interference.

8:45 a.m. The House official languages committee meets to take Bill C-13 through clause-by-clause consideration.

8:45 a.m. The House natural resources committee will study Bill S-222.

8:45 a.m. Families Minister KARINA GOULD will be at the House human resources committee to take questions on Bill C-35.

8:45 a.m. Cybersecurity and cyberwarfare is the topic of the day at the House national defense committee.

1 p.m. Google Canada’s SABRINA GEREMIA and public policy manager JASON KEE will be at the House heritage committee to explain the company’s activities in response to Bill C-18.

1 p.m. The House foreign affairs committee’s subcommittee on international human rights will meet to study the rights and freedoms of women globally and of women in Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

1:30 p.m. Communist Party of Canada Leader ELIZABETH ROWLEY holds a press conference in West Block to deliver a plan to address a cost of living crisis.

TRIVIA


Thursday’s answer: DONALD RAWSON was one of the first professional limnologists in Canada.

Props to GERMAINE MALABRE, SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, LAURA JARVIS, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and BRAM ABRAMSON.

Today’s question: Who said: “The way I look at our relationship — and I know sometimes we’re like the big brother that’s a pain in the neck and overbearing — and I mean that sincerely. I get it. But we’re more like family, even than allies.” And on what occasion did they say it?

Send your answer to [email protected]

Playbook wouldn’t happen: Without Luiza Ch. Savage and Sue Allan.

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: [email protected]