Welcome to summer: Get in line
Bonne Saint-Jean #BonneSaint-Jean
Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Maura | Follow Politico Canada
WELCOME TO OTTAWA PLAYBOOK. I’m your host, Maura Forrest, with Nick Taylor-Vaisey. Bonne Saint-Jean! Or, if you’re heading to the party at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa, Happy Fourth! Today, we look at the sitting that was, the passports that aren’t, and the UCP leader that might have been.
HURRY UP AND WAIT — “It didn’t go as smoothly as we had hoped” might be a euphemistic way to describe the situation outside passport offices these days, but that’s what KARINA GOULD told reporters Thursday.
The minister was referring to the government’s first attempt earlier this week to roll out a new triage system in Montreal, where people have been waiting for days outside passport offices to get their travel documents, and where police were called in to manage the crowd at one location.
Gould said Service Canada managers are now triaging people waiting in line based on how soon they’re supposed to travel, and the situation on Thursday was improving. A similar system has been launched in Toronto and will debut in Vancouver on Monday, she said.
— Shoulda known better: The new strategy comes amid claims the government should have seen the passport backlog coming. Unions representing workers at Passport Canada and Service Canada told the Globe and Mail’sVANMALA SUBRAMANIAM they asked the government to “beef up staffing in anticipation of a summer surge in passport applications.”
ANDREW GRIFFITH, a former senior government official, told the CBC’s JOHN PAUL TASKER that bureaucrats warned the government about the post-pandemic passport rush, but not enough was done to prepare.
— First person: For the Line, MATT GURNEY bit the bullet and lined up outside a passport office in Toronto with a folding chair. Four and a half hours later, he emerged with tickets to pick up his kids’ passports in a couple of weeks, and this rather straightforward conclusion:
“Canadians have a right to come and go from the country. Getting them the travel documents they require to do so is extremely basic government competency stuff. And we are flunking.”
— Meanwhile: Conservative leadership candidate PIERRE POILIEVRE also showed up at a passport office with a folding chair, though we’re willing to bet he didn’t spend four and a half hours there.
Instead, he filmed a campaign video outside the office in which he dubbed Canada “the waiting nation,” pivoting seamlessly from passports to airports to housing to gas prices to pipelines.
“We are asked to wait for everything as sleepy bureaucrats and government gatekeepers stand in the way of you getting the basic services to which you are entitled,” he said.
— Takeaway: Anyone who claims Poilievre won’t have anything with which to feed his outrage machine once all the pandemic rules are lifted should take note.
THAT’S ALL, FOLKS — The House of Commons has risen for the summer after a spring sitting marked either by outrageous obstruction tactics on the part of the Conservatives or egregious abuse of powers to shut down debate on the part of the Liberals, depending on whom you ask.
— Pointing fingers: Conservative House Leader JOHN BRASSARD says the Liberals have used time allocation 16 times to force through their agenda, with the support of the NDP. But the Liberals have done them one better. Government House Leader MARK HOLLAND claims the Conservatives have used obstruction tactics 17 times in the last 14 weeks. He says the Liberals have been forced to shut down debate just to keep things moving.
— So what got done? Since the last election, the Liberals have managed to get 14 bills through the House and Senate, most recently including the budget bill, a bill ensuring no province will lose electoral ridings, and a bill dealing with crimes committed in a state of extreme intoxication. (Here’s Sen. PAULA SIMONS worrying about how that last one was rushed through.)
There’s a good chance the Senate, which will sit into next week, will also pass Bill C-5, which would repeal some mandatory minimum sentences.
— What’s left over? There is no shortage of heavyweight bills that won’t make it through Parliament before the fall, including the controversial online streaming bill (C-11), new firearms legislation (C-21), a bill that would make web giants compensate news organizations (C-18), and an overhaul of privacy laws (C-27).
The Senate has also passed a number of government bills that must now go through the House, including S-7, which would clarify when border guards can search digital devices.
— As a final order of business: The House voted to continue hybrid sittings for another year. The Liberals had the support of the NDP and the Greens, though the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois voted “nay” (53 of them virtually).
— Opposing perspectives: How acrimonious was this sitting of Parliament? Here’s what Green Party MP ELIZABETH MAY had to say Thursday:
“This is the end of a season that has been distressingly unpleasant in terms of our interpersonal relations. I don’t like to see it like this. … I’ve never before had us adjourn for the summer without a round of speeches where we all thank each other. We just adjourned. … It was just a sense of, ‘OK, we’re going to get out of here without people hurting each other.’ It’s not good enough.”
— On the other hand: Here’s what House Speaker ANTHONY ROTA told the CBC’s AARON WHERRY:
“There’s a concerted effort by the whips and the House leaders to keep a certain amount of decorum in the chamber and that’s very much appreciated. I know that at times it seems like it gets out of hand, but that’s just emotions running high at the end of every session…. But I do find, believe it or not, decorum is actually better.”
SCANDAL BREWING? — Away from the barbecue circuit, some MPs will spend part of their summer probing allegations of political interference following the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.
The House of Commons public safety committee voted Thursday to meet in July to hear from RCMP Commissioner BRENDA LUCKI and Emergency Preparedness Minister BILL BLAIR, among others.
— In Rwanda on Thursday: Trudeau said the government “did not put any undue influence or pressure” on the RCMP in the wake of the tragedy. He said he still has confidence in Lucki.
— The backstory: The RCMP commissioner has come under fire since notes written after the shooting by Nova Scotia RCMP Supt. DARREN CAMPBELL were made public, claiming Lucki wanted information revealed about the weapons used because it would support the Liberals’ gun-control efforts.
Soon after the shooting, the federal government banned 1,500 assault-style firearms, including two of the weapons used in the shooting.
— Top of Newswatch this morning: RCMP held back senior Mountie’s controversial notes about commissioner for months, inquiry says.
MRG’S OUT — After weeks of speculation, Conservative MP MICHELLE REMPEL GARNER has finally announced that she … is not seeking the UCP leadership. Womp womp.
Rempel Garner made her decision public in a 2,831-word Substack post on Thursday. (Some called it “long-winded,” but who are we to say?) Her rationale boils down to this: The UCP caucus is way too divided and angry for her, an outsider, to step in and heal the wounds ahead of a rapidly approaching election.
“This has been the hardest decision I have ever had to make,” she wrote. “I will wonder about it for a long time.”
— Insider perspective: Rempel Garner’s post is worth reading less for the particulars of her decision and more for her candid portrait of the internal dynamics in the UCP and federal Conservative caucuses. Here’s an excerpt that stands out:
“In both parties there have … been squabbles that have erupted in the pages of national media, public meltdowns, nearly missed physical fights, coups, smear jobs, leaked recordings and confidential emails, lack of consensus on critical issues, caucus turfings, people harassed to the point where they resign roles, and hours long meetings where members have been subjected to hours of public castigation.
“There have been heated exchanges to get basic concerns addressed, unjustified insularity in decision making, shunnings, exclusionary cliques and more.”
Ouch.
— Alternative theory:We’ll give the subtweet of the day to COLE HOGAN, who’s run digital campaigns for DOUG FORD and JASON KENNEY: “Imagine a leadership campaign so unfortunate that one of its key supporters has to pretend to run for a provincial leadership to get out of it.”
— Fair or not? You be the judge, but Rempel Garner won’t be rejoiningPATRICK BROWN’s leadership campaign. What does that mean for the Brampton mayor? “Patrick Brown’s campaign is effectively over,” former Conservative cabinet minister JAMES MOOREtold CBC’s Power & Politics Thursday.
— No place like home: The Toronto Star’s STEPHANIE LEVITZreported Thursday evening that not all of Rempel Garner’s caucus colleagues will be welcoming her back. Some Conservative MPs have “repeatedly threatened to kick her out of caucus in recent months,” Levitz reports.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford will announce his new Cabinet.
8 a.m. International Development Minister HARJIT SAJJAN will attend the Uniting for Global Food Security Ministerial Conference in Berlin. Agriculture Minister MARIE-CLAUDE BIBEAU will participate virtually.
1:15 p.m. (MDT) Labor Minister SEAMUS O’REGAN will participate in a roundtable discussion with union representatives on creating good jobs through the energy transition. Tourism Minister RANDY BOISSONNAULT will also be present at the Edmonton event.
On Sunday
10 a.m. (AST) The HMCS Kingston and Summerside will set sail from Halifax for the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic as part of NATO’s Operation REASSURANCE.
VOX POPULI — Canada is a nation riddled with anxiety about the future. That’s the main takeaway from a new Angus Reid Institute poll out this morning.
— The bad times are here: 45 percent of respondents told the pollster they’re worse off today than a year ago. That’s the highest number since at least 2010, which is how far back Angus Reid’s chart traces the trend. It’s also six points higher than just a month ago, and a 13-percentage-point increase from early 2020.
— No end in sight: One-in-three Canadians thinks they’ll be worse off a year from now. Slightly more — 36 percent — predict their fortunes will stay the same, but that’s a far cry from the halcion pre-pandemic era. Back in 2018, half of the country thought they’d be in a similar financial position a year later.
— Well, d’uh: Angus Reid says 63 percent of Canadians consider inflation and the cost of living a top issue. Healthcare ranks second at 52 percent. Housing affordability, a top issue for 31 percent of respondents, rounds out the podium, ahead of fourth-place climate change.
— The provinces are failing: 77 percent of 5,000 respondents gave their provincial governments poor grades on inflation. Saskatchewanians were the least upset: a mere two-thirds of that province says SCOTT MOE has fallen down on the job. Newfoundland and Labrador’s ANDREW FUREY is dead last. Nine in 10 gave him a thumb’s down.
— The Poilievre effect? As the Bank of Canada ratchets up interest rates to fight inflation, a big chunk of the country is skeptical that central bankers in Ottawa can fulfil their mandate “to promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada.” Forty-six percent are keeping the faith, but 41 percent “completely or mostly” distrust the BOC to do its job effectively.
The bank’s doubters include 59 percent of Conservative supporters and — no surprise here — 86 percent of MAX BERNIER’s People’s Party crowd.
EV AMBITION — On Thursday, Playbook brought you the government’s projections of how many electric vehicles will need to be on the road in each province to meet the Liberals’ ambitious EV targets. (ICYMI: According to Ottawa, Newfoundland is going to need to scale up from 618 EVs this year to 50,400 in 2032).
This morning, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association put out a new “EV readiness dashboard” with the purpose of urging federal and provincial governments to pump more money into EV rebates and charging stations.
— The details: According to their analysis, Canada will need a whopping 1.6 million more EV chargers once half the vehicle fleet is electric. They estimate there are currently a paltry 16,000 public chargers across the country. The government wants all new vehicle sales to be non-emitting by 2035.
They also point out that if you buy an EV in California, you’re entitled to a C$12,200 rebate. In Canada, the only province that comes close is Quebec, which offers a C$7,000 rebate on top of the federal C$5,000 rebate. Many provinces, including Ontario and Alberta, offer no provincial rebate.
— The upshot? “Our EV targets are not achievable without more ambition from federal and provincial governments,” CEO BRIAN KINGSTON tells Playbook.
GET READY — More protests à la Freedom Convoy are expected on Canada Day in Ottawa, and the city isn’t taking any chances. In the understatement of the week, the city is warning people that getting around Ottawa this year “will be more complicated than usual.”
A large swath of downtown, from Parliament Hill south to Laurier Avenue and from Booth Street to the Rideau Canal, will have access restricted from June 29 to July 4. Cars won’t be prohibited, but there will be no on-street parking or stopping.
And any vehicles that look a little too convoy-esque won’t be allowed, the city says (not exactly in those words).
— “There’s more than a bit of Pierre Trudeau in Justin Trudeau the longer he’s in office. There’s no public second guessing and, increasingly, no regrets,” CHRIS HALL writes in a feature promoting an interview with the PM that will air Saturday on CBC’s The House.
— POLITICO’s London Playbook has the latest on Thursday’s parliamentary by-elections that have prompted the resignation of Conservative Party Chair Oliver Dowden.
— “I enjoyed every minute of my chat,” FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE tweeted about his turn on this week’s episode of The Herle Burly. Spoiler: The industry minister is bullish about pretty much everything.
— For the Canadian Press, JIM BRONSKILL reports that a federal research unit detected a possible Chinese operation to discourage Canadians from voting Conservative just before the last election.
— The Star’s NICHOLAS KEUNG writes on a groundbreaking report on racism in Canada — the Canadian Social Norms and Racism study.
— Will younger voters eager for change make their way to the Conservatives — or will their disaffection draw them even further left? L. GRAEME SMITHconsiders this over on The Hub.
— EU leaders have granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status, marking a key point on the countries’ journeys to possible EU membership. Our colleagues in Europe have the story.
For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter from NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY: 88 days until the House returns.
In other headlines for Pro readers: — ‘Surprise’ jailing in Vietnam tests U.S., EU climate strategy.— Top WHO official Bruce Aylward on the end of the pandemic.— Robots, marines and the ultimate battle with bureaucracy.— The EU races to free itself from Russia’s gas noose.— FDA orders all Juul e-cigarettes off the market.— Who gains from pausing the gas tax? Probably not drivers — or Biden.
Birthdays: Conservative leadership candidate JEAN CHAREST is 64 today.
Playbook reader BRAM ABRAMSON and the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy’s CLARA GEDDES also celebrate today, as do former MPs DAVID SWEET, CELINA CAESAR-CHAVANNES and DAVID COLLENETTE.
Another HBD to The Conversation Canada, five years old today. On the front page this morning: A deep dive into the country’s growing community of digital journalism startups.
Saturday celebrations: Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE, retired Senator ROMÉO DALLAIRE, former MPs LINDA DUNCAN and PAULINA AYALA, former premier TOM RIDEOUT and journalist and Conservative strategist TASHA KHEIRIDDIN.
Sunday: Kid in the Hall MARK MCKINNEY and former premier PHILIPPE COUILLARD.
Spotted: Here’s the full list of 23 Conservative MPs who attended a meeting organized by Freedom Convoy leaders on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, courtesy of CTV News’ RACHEL HANES and MACKENZIE GRAY: MARILYN GLADU, ARNOLD VIERSEN, DEAN ALLISON, JAMES BEZAN, MELISSA LANTSMAN, DAN MUYS, TED FALK, LESLYN LEWIS, ALEX RUFF, JEREMY PATZER, JAMIE SCHMALE, MARTIN SHIELDS, JOHN BARLOW, RYAN WILLIAMS, WARREN STEINLEY, DAMIEN KUREK, GERALD SOROKA, SCOTT DAVIDSON, CHRIS WARKENTIN, COREY TOCHOR, TAKO VAN POPTA, CHERYL GALLANT and KERRY-LYNNE FINDLAY.
B.C. Premier JOHN HORGAN, cancer-free.
GOLDY HYDER, receiving an honorary degree from Algonquin College: “I’m grateful to my parents for crossing an ocean to Canada with $28.”
Movers and shakers: POPE FRANCIS is coming to Canada after all, despite health problems that caused him to cancel a planned tour of Africa. According to an itinerary released Thursday, the Pope will arrive in Edmonton July 24, and will visit a former residential school south of the city on July 25.
The Pope will travel to Quebec City July 27, where he will deliver a public address. He will arrive in Iqaluit July 29, where he will meet with residential school survivors before departing for Rome.
The OTTAWA SENATORS may yet bring an NHL arena to LeBreton Flats. The National Capital Commission announced the new agreement Thursday, after a previous deal collapsed in dramatic fashion in 2018.
CLAUDETTE COMMANDA has been appointed chancellor of the University of Ottawa.
MARGARET THOM has been reappointed Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.
Farewells: Ottawa City Councilor DIANE DEANS has announced that she will not run for mayor in this fall’s municipal election, nor will she seek re-election.
From the official Twitter account of the Commons: “The House has adjourned until Monday, September 19, 2022.”
And how about this from Hill journo DALE SMITH,who tweeted: “Go home, MPs. Think about your behaviour. Come back in September with a better attitude. You haven’t been acquitting yourselves of late.”
Crickets.
Thursday’s answer: C-4 was first to make it through Parliament and receive royal assent this session.
Props to JOSEPH CHAMOUN, BRAM ABRAMSON, VICTOR KRISEL, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and BOB GORDON.
Friday’s question: Playbook’s NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY is heading to Lornado this afternoon for July 4 celebrations. If you see him, say hello!
What we want to know: How did the official residence of the United States ambassador to Canada get its name?
Send your answers to [email protected]
Playbook wouldn’t happen without Luiza Ch. Savage and editor Sue Allan