One year later

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Welcome to Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host, Maura Forrest, with Zi-Ann Lum and Nick Taylor-Vaisey. Today marks one year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Elsewhere, we review this week’s town hall circuit. And there’s (more) drama at the PMPRB.

DRIVING THE DAY

ONE YEAR — Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY no longer talks about hope in finding a peaceful solution for Russia and Ukraine.

“Right now, it’s not time to talk about peace, it is time to arm them,” she said. “I never thought as a progressive politician that I would be saying that.”

POLITICO spoke with Joly and Defense Minister ANITA ANAND earlier this week, in the days leading up to the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both ministers had taken on their new portfolios just months before the war began.

Anand said she was thrown into briefings about global hotspots after being sworn in, including the buildup of Russian troops at the Ukrainian border and in Belarus.

Feb. 24, she said, “was a confirmation of events that we did not want to happen.” She had been in Kyiv just three weeks earlier to meet with Ukrainian Defense Minister OLEKSII REZNIKOV.

“The days were very stressful,” she said.

Since then, Anand said, she’s forged close relationships with Reznikov and other allies, including U.S. Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN and British Defense Secretary BEN WALLACE.

Joly said she grew close to German Foreign Affairs Minister ANNALENA BAERBOCK and LIZ TRUSS, formerly U.K.’s foreign secretary. The three women were all new to their roles a year ago. “We … knew that this crisis would be potentially the first crisis we would be facing — so it would define a lot of our work,” she said.

But 365 days later, there’s no clear end in sight for Russia’s war in Ukraine. And Joly says there’s only one way forward. “There is no other option than victory.”

— Read more from POLITICO’s ZI-ANN LUM: Canada, one year on: ‘It’s not time to talk about peace.’

— And from our POLITICO colleagues in D.C.: An extraordinary oral history that recounts the days and weeks that led to the invasion, told from the perspective of some of the key players.

— And from our POLITICO colleagues in Brussels: What those shocking early days were like for the EU and NATO leaders making the decisions.

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For your radar

ROAD SHOW — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU was on the town hall circuit this week, but you could be forgiven for not having noticed.

Remember the town halls of yore? There was this one, where someone suggested he should be hanged for treason. Or this one, where a man heckled him for several minutes, calling him a “liar and a weak leader.” And, of course, let us not forget “peoplekind.” Let us never forget “peoplekind.”

Those town halls were packed, unpredictable, often raucous affairs that, by all accounts, Trudeau seemed to relish.

— This week’s town halls were … not that.

He has held three so far, with more apparently on the agenda next week. They have been comparatively small, and tightly controlled. The first was for carpenters’ union members in Ontario, the second for farmers in Quebec, and the third for health care students in Halifax.

There have been no hecklers and nothing much to make headlines. One brave student in Halifax challenged him to commit to universal health care. He talked about dental care and pharmacare for a while, and got in a dig at the Conservatives. After the event, the host asked him for a selfie.

In Quebec, someone asked him about the dramatic decline in honeybee colonies, about which he appeared to know precisely nothing. He made up for it later by explaining inflation at great length.

Riveting stuff.

— Is the change due to security concerns? It’s unclear, though the Prime Minister’s Office hasn’t been publicly disclosing the exact locations of the town halls ahead of time. A source would only say the PM wants to hear from people in different industries, and that he’s been itching to get back out on the road since the pandemic.

“Really there’s nothing that energizes him more,” the source said. Which is funny, because we at Playbook maybe wouldn’t have chosen the word “energizing” to describe this week’s events. But that’s just us.

— Speaking of town halls: Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE was also in Atlantic Canada for a town hall on Thursday, though it was more of a rally for supporters than anything else.

He hit all the major talking points in rural Newfoundland, from approving LNG projects to fighting the Liberals’ gun-control bill to eschewing the World Economic Forum (big cheer), and capped it all off with the Diefenbaker quote he uses every chance he gets.

Riveting stuff.

PMPRB DRAMZ — A member of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) resigned in dramatic fashion on Feb. 20. MATTHEW HERDER explained his decision to quit in a letter he tweeted on Thursday packed with allegations.

Before we get to Herder’s claims, a refresher on what the quasi-judicial PMPRB is all about.

The tl;dr is this: Back in 2017, then-health minister JANE PHILPOTT embarked on a journey to reduce drug prices.

The government eventually proposed new regulations meant to accomplish that goal. They would force companies to be more transparent about the prices they charge. They’d require them to prove expensive drugs were worth the cost. And the PMPRB would rejig a list of “comparator countries” that help determine excessive prices.

The regulations were delayed repeatedly during the pandemic. A court struck down all but the new list of comparator countries earlier this year. Ottawa didn’t appeal. For months, the regulator has consulted on draft guidelines to implement the regulations. But that’s been delayed, too.

MÉLANIE BOURASSA FORCIER, the PMPRB’s acting chair, quit abruptly last December and told Playbook she couldn’t say much because of “legal obligations.”

Cabinet appointed THOMAS J. DIGBY, an intellectual property and transaction attorney, as the new chair on Feb. 1. (Big Pharma critics are wary of Digby’s decades of experience working with the industry.)

— Paper trail: The Breach published an explosive story by KELLY CROWE on Wednesday that alleged Health Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS “personally intervened” in the regulatory process last November by asking the PMPRB to suspend consultations.

Crowe quoted from Duclos’ letter to the PMPRB: “Many stakeholders have raised concerns and questions about the new guidelines and are seeking more information on the potential impacts and the implementation of certain key technical aspects.”

Crowe’s reporting insinuated that Duclos was something of a shill for industry. Herder’s resignation letter only added fuel to the fire.

— Herder’s biggest claims: The federal government “failed to effectively defend” its regulatory changes in court. The delayed implementation “caused immense strain upon” the PMPRB and its staff. And Duclos “fundamentally undermined the Board’s independence and credibility” when he requested a suspension of consultations.

“When government adds its voice to that of industry,” Herder wrote, “all that lies before the regulator is an endless tunnel with no light.”

— The minister’s response: A spokesperson for Duclos sent a statement to Playbook that thanked Herder for his “leadership and contributions.”

The minister’s office said Duclos was simply following the rules — and only wrote to the PMPRB because the Patent Act mandates consultations between the minister and regulator on new drug price guidelines. It’s right there in Sec. 96 (5).

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will speak with G-7 leaders.

— Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND will attend the G-20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Bengaluru, India, and will hold bilateral meetings with G-20 counterparts.

— International Development Minister HARJIT SAJJAN kicks off a tour of Bangladesh, the Philippines and Qatar. The trip runs until March 5. In Qatar, Sajjan will attend the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

9:30 a.m. Mental Health and Addictions Minister CAROLYN BENNETT and Women and Gender Equality Minister MARCI IEN will be in Toronto to announce funding for mental health programs for Black communities.

9:30 a.m. (11 a.m. NST) Labor Minister SEAMUS O’REGAN will be in St. John’s, Nfld. to announce funding under the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program.

10 a.m. Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE and International Trade Minister MARY NG will be in Markham, Ont. to attend a roundtable on Canada’s semiconductor industry.

11:30 a.m. The PM will meet with elementary school students in Toronto.

12:40 p.m. Champagne will head over to the Canadian Club Toronto for a discussion with author and podcaster AMBER MAC about supply chains and the green economy, among other things. He will answer media questions after the event.

2:15 p.m. Trudeau will hold a press conference in Toronto to mark the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Defense Minister ANITA ANAND will also attend.

7:30 p.m. The PM will speak at a vigil for the victims of the war in Ukraine.

Talk of the town


BIDEN TIME — Playbook is declaring a new favorite in the sweepstakes to pinpoint the date of JOE BIDEN‘s first non-virtual visit to Canada as president.

Our texts and DMs were full of Unofficial Month of Biden speculation that POTUS would be Canada-bound on March 23. Official sources aren’t confirming that or any other date.

This could be little more than a prime example of the snake eating its tail.

Recall PAUL WELLS’ second rule of Canadian politics: “If everyone in Ottawa knows something, it’s not true.” Proceed with caution. But maybe consider blocking off that week for POTUS planning purposes.

— Known knowns: The United States will co-host the second Summit for Democracy in Washington on March 29–30. Biden attended the inaugural event in 2021.

Are you Joe Biden? Do you know when you’re flying to Canada? Tell us! Are you an insider we don’t know and/or haven’t bugged about this? Spill! Are you an outsider but are supremely confident in your prognosticatory talents? We’re here!

WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN


Who’s up: ERIN O’TOOLE, whose claim that he lost “eight or nine seats to foreign interference from China” in the 2021 election is looking a lot less like sour grapes these days.

Who’s down: TIKTOK, now under investigation by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and provincial privacy authorities in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia — and banned for European Commission staff.

HALLWAY CONVERSATION

Google has blocked access to news content for some four percent of Canadian users, in a test run of a possible response to the government’s Online News Act, which would force tech giants to compensate news outlets for republishing their content.

(By the way, if you’re one of the unfortunate souls affected by this, apparently incognito mode is the way to go — h/t MARIEKE WALSH.)

Playbook asked around for some reactions, and one thing everyone seems to agree on is that this is no surprise. Let us all remember Facebook v. Australia, for example.

But what folks didn’t see eye to eye on is how the government should respond. Here are a few of the takes we heard yesterday:

SUPRIYA DWIVEDI, director of policy and engagement at the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University:

I wouldn’t respond to it very forcefully. I would liken it to when my toddler throws a tantrum. They’re throwing their muscle and weight around, hoping for some sort of cave or concession.

[The government needs] to be communicating the goals of the bill a lot better. … They should be getting out why this bill is structured the way that it is, how it has improved upon the Australian model. And also be communicating to Canadians much more clearly that democracies literally all over the world are doing this. This isn’t just Canada.

PAUL DEEGAN, president of News Media Canada:

The government has a lot of tools that they could look at. For example, they have a substantial advertising budget. … Do they want to invest that alongside trusted sources of information? Or do they want to put money into companies that seem to be showing disregard for trusted sources of information in Canada?

This should be a real wake-up call to the government, in terms of looking at its ad budget, and putting its money where its mouth is.

MICHAEL GEIST, Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa:

It seems as if the government has been inviting conflict with Google and Facebook on this bill. There were and are better options. For example, a fund model for journalism would avoid payments for links, independence of the press concerns, violations of copyright obligations, and harm to innovative companies. Yet the government has stuck with Bill C-18 knowing that this was the likely reaction.

Bill C-18 needs to head back to the drawing board with a commitment from Google and Facebook to support the news sector and a government commitment to addressing serious concerns in the bill.

KEVIN DESJARDINS, president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters:

They should continue to push forward with Bill C-18. If anything, what Google has done underscores the need for Bill C-18 all that much more, because the bill is really about setting up a fair playing field for negotiation between Canadian news organizations and these digital giants. And what Google has shown with these actions is that they’re willing to use their weight and their digital dominance to be able to set the rules as they like them, as opposed to what’s best for Canadians.

MEDIA ROOM


— The National Post’s RYAN TUMILTY has a nuanced look at how tricky it is to decide when to sound a public alarm over election interference. And in related news, Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU said Thursday there were unspecified “inaccuracies” in recent leaks about Chinese interference in the 2021 election. The CBC’s DARREN MAJOR has the details.

— For the Walrus, BRETT POPPLEWELL takes a deep dive into Ottawa’s “transit gong show.”

— Bell Media wouldn’t nominate LISA LAFLAMME for the Canadian Screen Awards, so she did it herself, reports JOANNA CHIU for the Toronto Star.

— On today’s episode of ÉRIC GRENIER’s The Writ podcast, former partisan pollsters DAN ARNOLD, ANDREW ENNS and JAMES VALCKE talk health care, the Alberta election and Chinese interference.

— And from the Globe and Mail’s BILL CURRY: Federal outsourcing is on track to hit a record C$21.4 billion this year.

PROZONE

For POLITICO Pro subscribers, here’s our latest policy newsletter from SUE ALLAN: TikTok o’clock for Canada’s watchdogs.

In other news for Pro readers:
— Google tests blocking content in Canada
— Biden taps former Mastercard CEO Banga to head World Bank
— House GOP’s top tax man throws K Street into a tizzy
— Derailment investigator takes aim at partisan sniping, misinfo
— Energy Department opens up $2.5B for carbon capture demonstration projects

PLAYBOOKERS


Birthdays: HBD to Peterborough MPP DAVE SMITH … Greetings also to former Quebec deputy premier LINE BEAUCHAMP.

Celebrating Saturday: HBD to our very own JOSEPH GEDEON … Also, Ottawa South MP DAVID MCGUINTY, Sen. SCOTT TANNAS, and former Tory minister CHUCK STRAHL.

Celebrating Sunday: Former Tory MP KERRY DIOTTE.

Send birthdays to [email protected].

Spotted: Two big dates for anyone following Ontario politics: The provincial budget will be tabled on March 23, and Toronto’s mayoral byelection to replace JOHN TORY will take place June 26.

NAHANNI FONTAINE, weighing in on the “toxic and colonial” halls of power that can cause Indigenous women to leave politics.

Senate Speaker GEORGE FUREY, on a tour of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan (h/t ANTHONY FENTON).

Movers and shakers: DELIAH BERNARD joins the Prime Minister’s Office as an Indigenous issues adviser.

Compass Rose announced KELSEY MACDONALD is joining the firm in March as a public affairs counselor. MacDonald left Procurement Minister HELENA JACZEK‘s office, where she was director of parliamentary affairs and issues management.

Enterprise Canada hired a pair of new consultants for the firm’s Toronto-based GR team: GRACE BAXTER and ALYSSA DACOSTA.

Media mentions: Global’s MERCEDES STEPHENSON has won the 2021 ROSS MUNRO award for her coverage of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces.

On the Hill


→ Find upcoming House committees here

→ Keep track of Senate committees here

TRIVIA


Thursday’s answer: Former Nova Scotia premier STEPHEN MCNEIL called DAURENE LEWIS a Renaissance woman with a personality that “made you come alive.”

Props to NANCI WAUGH, BRAM ABRAMSON, ALYSSA O’DELL, ROBERT MCDOUGALL and SHAUGHN MCARTHUR.

Today’s question: What year was the Parliamentary Black Caucus formed?

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]