The battle of the opening gambits

WELCOME TO OTTAWA PLAYBOOK. I’m your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey. Today, the prime minister and three opposition leaders mark their turf before Parliament returns next month (bold prediction: more acrimony, less collegiality). Also, Canadians are thinking more about inflation than job security. And Playbook got its hands on a blast-from-the-past memo from way back when the world was fighting over PPE. OFFICE HOURS — Want some face-time with your daily Playbook correspondent? I'll be hanging out at a downtown Ottawa coffee shop Friday afternoon between 4 and 6. We'll once again try speed dating, politics-style. This time, a guiding question: Name one Liberal MP who should be promoted to Cabinet, and assign them a portfolio. You'll have 10 minutes to make your case. RSVP via email and we'll set up a time. — O'Toole's take: The Tory leader laid out three priorities. He wanted to see "a more urgent approach to address Canada’s economic challenges." He wanted Trudeau to "stop using vaccines as a political wedge tool and to prioritize addressing the issue of vaccine hesitancy in Canada." And he wanted Parliament recalled immediately. The PM, read the readout, made no commitments. — Trudeau's rebuttal: The PMO readout basically reiterated Liberal election priorities: "finishing the fight" against Covid, addressing housing affordability, advancing reconciliation and fighting climate change. Trudeau also brought up his intent to ban conversion therapy, a topic that didn't merit a mention in the PM's convo with Green MP ELIZABETH MAY — presumably because there's no chance for a wedge with that particular caucus. He did shout out one issue with May that didn't come up with O'Toole: protecting the Arctic. — Singh's response: The NDP leader pitched his top priorities: an extension of the Canada Recovery Benefit; immediate support for healthcare workers; an end to appeals of complex Human Rights Tribunal rulings about compensation for First Nations children; support for Iqaluit as it fights a water crisis; a federal response to inflation; and "real action" on climate. If the Liberals show "a willingness" to move on those files, he said, the NDP would "respond in kind." But Liberals shouldn't take his party for granted. (The Liberals don't need to, strictly speaking, if they find a dance partner in the Bloc Québécois.) A PRIVILEGE TO SERVE — When Speaker ANTHONY ROTA announced a Board of Internal Economy decision to mandate proof of vaccination for anyone visiting the House of Commons precinct, the Conservative position on the new rules was unclear. Tory leader ERIN O'TOOLE still hasn't commented directly on the matter, but party whip BLAKE RICHARDS released a statement. Richards said Tories "cannot agree to seven MPs, meeting in secret, deciding which of the 338 MPs, just elected by Canadians, can enter the House of Commons to represent their constituents." — The CPC alternative: “Workplace health and safety can be assured through vaccination or the demonstration of a recent negative rapid test result,” Richards said. — House privilege: STEVEN CHAPLIN, a parliamentary lawyer for 15 years who represented the Commons in court, blogged about the colliding rights of MPs who are and aren't vaxxed — a crucial debate if unvaccinated Conservatives who oppose virtual sittings are barred from the precinct and claim their privilege has been violated. Chaplin writes that the House can take action to protect itself from safety threats — including public health: "Where the actions of a Member threaten the whole with the potential of denying it the ability to carry out their constitutional functions, the whole has the responsibility to protect itself and their constitutional role." — What's next: It's still not clear which Tory MPs, if any, are unvaccinated. But the HR minefield could extend far beyond elected people. Anybody who works or visits the House precinct will have to abide by the rules. The BOIE could be in for some long in-camera sessions that deal with a mess of complaints behind closed doors. THE BIG PIVOT — As Liberals write and rewrite drafts of the next agenda-setting Throne Speech, they'll have to reckon with a substantial shift in Canadian public opinion. A new Angus Reid Institute survey says the cost of living, a top issue for voters in the last campaign, is a dominant concern in the face of rising inflation. — The key takeaway: A year ago, employment numbers were in the tank and emergency Covid relief programs were broadly popular. But employment broadly returned to pre-pandemic levels in September, and the country is spooked by inflation concerns: "87 percent say the rising cost of living is a greater current concern than the security of their income and job." — The trend is clear: Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that year-over-year inflation climbed to 4.4 percent — the highest mark since February 2003. Bank of Canada governor TIFF MACKLEM and many economists insist the trend is "transitory," but that's cold comfort to anxious Canadians who need to put food on the table. The price of gas is higher, as are shelter costs. Meat is up 9.5 percent, and dairy is up 5.1 percent. (Tomatoes are down 26 percent, for what it's worth.) O'Toole's Conservatives never believed inflation was temporary. He pressed Trudeau to end the Canada Recovery Benefit program by Nov. 20. He may have public opinion on his side. — The future of relief: The same ARI poll found that 57 percent of respondents wanted Covid relief benefits to wind down before the end of the year, including 41 percent who said they should end right now. Even 35 percent of the most economically disadvantaged Canadians said the programs should be cut off. MASK MARKET — The federal officials who scrambled to buy all the personal protective equipment they could get their hands on last year paid for way more than they needed. The cutthroat, no-holds-barred global race for the stuff that stopped Covid transmission meant some of the companies couldn't deliver on their promises. Exhibit A: N-95 masks. — Poof, they're gone: A memo sent to Procurement Minister ANITA ANAND in August 2020, obtained by Politico via an access-to-information request, says the feds had signed deals with 22 companies for nearly 142 million N-95 masks. But four of those contracts had hit a snag. They would fall short of their commitments to the tune of 17 million masks. — Contingency planning: By the end of that month, the federal government had received more than 31 million masks. The Public Health Agency of Canada had estimated a need for 100 million. The procurement department ordered tens of millions more masks than Canadians required just in case suppliers came up empty. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND are teaming up for a morning announcement at a health-care facility in Ottawa. Their media avail starts at 10 ET. (Trudeau also has "private meetings," because of course he does.) An added wrinkle to the news: A technical briefing with reporters at 8:30 features officials from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Transport Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, and the Canada Border Services Agency. They'll be dispensing info about "Covid measures" — sounds like the gang you'd want to talk about internationally recognized vaccine passports. (Which CBC reports is on the agenda.) Trade Minister MARY NG, one of the more active cabmins since the election, is in London — the one across the pond — for the G7 Trade and Investment Ministers’ Meeting. The Toronto Star's SHREE PARADKAR goes after Ontario Premier DOUG FORD's recent disparaging of new immigrants: "There’s a difference between a slip of a tongue and sharing your unscripted thoughts." In a book excerpt published by POLITICO Magazine, FARAH STOCKMAN writes that Democrats keen on selling their "Build Back Better" agenda to Americans should talk less about safety nets and more about jobs. The Narwhal's DREW ANDERSON explains what the International Energy Agency's plan to reach global net zero emissions means for Canada's oil and gas sector. Belated HBD to BOB ZIMMER, the Tory MP who cruised to his fourth victory in northern British Columbia last month. He turned 53 yesterday. Movers and shakers: REGAN WATTS of Fratton Park Inc, a longtime senior Hill staffer for the Tories, lobbied PMO senior adviser JOHN BRODHEAD on behalf of Introhive — a data management company that hopes to "secure a project loan from the Strategic Innovation Fund to support the development of new intellectual property." StrategyCorp's SÉBASTIEN LABRECQUE signed up to lobby on behalf of Staples, which wants to push for tax relief for teachers and early childhood educators. McCarthy, a former director of the National Liberal Caucus Research Bureau and chief of staff to three ministers in the Chrétien-Martin governments, sent Playbook a photo he snapped in 2019. Visual proof that a certain prime ministerial vacation spot sits north of the 49th. Thursday’s question: On this day two years ago, Trudeau's Liberals won re-election. But on this day in 2003, a provincial Liberal party went down to defeat. Name the province and the premier who took office in a landslide.