The very definition of silly season

By NICK TAYLOR-VAISEY and KYLE DUGGAN with PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER

06/06/2023 06:00 AM EDT

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Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey, with Kyle Duggan and Philippe J. Fournier. Today, we explain what the heck silly season is on the Hill. First case study: Bill C-47, which is crawling through the House of Commons. Also, we’re watching "special rapporteur" DAVID JOHNSTON‘s marathon three-hour committee testimony today. More on that in tomorrow's Playbook.

THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME — One MP's procedural tool is another MP's obstruction.

It's silly season in Ottawa (more on that later), when the government tries to govern while the Official Opposition aims to produce as many headaches as possible using the standing orders that rule the House of Commons.

Enter debate on Bill C-47, CHRYSTIA FREELAND‘s budget implementation legislation. It's the first of two annual omnibus bills packed with measures.

Conservatives are desperate to block the bill. We don't know with certainty they’d throw an actual kitchen sink into the House aisle if the rules allowed it, but their procedural tools meant to run out the clock on debate are about as blunt.

— These are our demands: PIERRE POILIEVRE said his Conservatives would end the obstruction on two conditions: "a plan to balance the budget to lower interest rates and inflation, and no new carbon tax hikes."

— No chance: Liberals have at least the NDP's votes, thanks to a confidence and supply deal that keeps surviving another day, and they’ll likely cut off debate as soon as rules allow. For now, they wait impatiently across the aisle.

— Time left on the clock: 14 days max till the summer break, and that's if MPs don't get so sick of each other that they agree to rise early.

— Tools of the trade: Points of order, points of privilege, concurrence motions, debate requests — whatever it takes.

Conservative MP MICHELLE REMPEL GARNER consumed almost 10 minutes of House time with a point of order in which she complained the government blew its deadline on responding substantively to a written question she placed on the order paper.

The government has 45 days to provide a reasonable answer to such questions, though ministers regularly claim they don't have the resources to answer detailed questions before that time runs out. Rempel Garner's point, in short: not my problem; do better.

Fellow Conservatives DAMIEN KUREK, JOHN BRASSARD, DAN MAZIER and DOUG SHIPLEY all ate up House time with similar points of order.

KERRY-LYNNE FINDLAY sought clarification on a speaker's ruling about House voting procedures. MICHAEL BARRETT took issue, in as many words as possible, with the government's inability to appoint a permanent ethics commissioner to replace MARIO DION. ANDREW SCHEER argued strenuously for five minutes that the word "phony" is perfectly parliamentary.

GARNETT GENUIS moved a motion to concur in a public accounts committee report dating to last October in which Conservatives voiced opposition to the federal carbon tax.

Tick tock, tick tock.

— The truly mundane: Conservatives gave notice of more than 900 amendments to C-47, hundreds of which were ruled in order. They mostly called for the deletion of various clauses in the bill. None of the amendments will pass, but the speaker had to read the text of every proposed amendment into Hansard. That task gobbled up hours and hours.

Then they started debating them, in clusters determined by the speaker.

Tick tock, tick tock.

— Counterattack: Liberals can only twiddle their thumbs as many of the games play out. But they have an ace up their sleeve: time allocation.

Government House Leader MARK HOLLAND gave notice Monday that his side would limit debate on both C-47 and C-35, a bill that would enshrine funding for federal-provincial child care deals.

But even that measure comes at a cost. The bells that summon MPs to vote ring for 30 minutes, and votes themselves take time. Precious, precious time.

— We know how this ends. The budget bill will become law. But Conservatives will make life difficult for the government, which is about all the power they can muster this month.

Know someone who could use Ottawa Playbook? Direct them to this link . Five days a week, zero dollars.

WELCOME TO DAY 14 OF "SILLY SEASON" — That count is according to when former Liberal MP SCOTT SIMMS thinks it started this year: the day of DAVID JOHNSTON's May 23 press conference to release his findings on foreign interference, which opposition MPs slammed over an appearance of bias.

A former opposition politician himself, Simms tells Playbook the genesis of any silly season is when a big issue appears that the opposition can glom onto for an end-of-season burst of partisan intensity.

"The thrust of silly season is about the narratives," Simms said.

TIM POWERS of Summa Strategies said the annual stretch is a spate of one-upmanship for MPs from all parties, an attitude of "I can outshine your budget bill with my filibuster" that usually hits once the late-night sittings start in Parliament with just a couple weeks left on the clock.

The term (originally British) has been thrown around in Parliament at least as far back as 1938. Few people bother to define it, which Playbook considers a missed opportunity.

— Sillies defined: Simms says it's "a cesspool of antics and skullduggery." He adds that it's, "quite possibly the most unabashed, unapologetic way of seeking attention."

— The usual pattern: Powers says the goal for the opposition is to slow down the government while the government tries to ram through as much as it can. "Behave like sugared-up kids at recess, run around, get a rap on the knuckles from the teacher — or not! And then just go home."

The sillies are a last gasp to frame issues before the barbecue circuit, when it's crucial for MPs to brag to constituents about their work, and it provides a chance to bring in more money.

It has only intensified during the past two decades, Simms said, as Question Period and other House proceedings increasingly turn into fodder for sharing on social media.

Quality of debate wanes. Marathon votes and other procedural tactics are the norm. And it all takes a toll on staff.

— Quotable quotes: "It's kind of like your players in a hockey game willfully wanting overtime," Simms said. "If you want to see Parliament in its glory … don't watch it during silly season."

Powers: "If you can find a Canadian who actually gives a – and I’ll use the word purposely – a s—t about these parliamentary games, then give that person or people a medal."

— Survival tips: Simms suggests it's a good time to "start writing your memoirs" or "spend time doing something you like."

Powers advises keeping a level head since it's easy to make mistakes when the adrenaline is running high. Seek out those with a good sense of humor — someone like former MPs RODGER CUZNER, SCOTT BRISON or JAMES RAJOTTE, or Conservative MP JAMES BEZAN – someone who can inject levity into the situation.

"We miss not having as many of them around. It seems if there's a casualty of silly season these days, it's the lack of humor. If you can't laugh at this nonsense, then you really shouldn't be in politics."

What's your advice for surviving the season? Send it our way so that we can share.

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will chair Cabinet and attend question period.

— Governor General MARY SIMON is in Winnipeg. She’ll visit 17 Wing, a women's shelter and a Ukrainian cultural center.

9:45 a.m. NDP leader JAGMEET SINGH will speak to reporters in West Block before heading into the procedure and House affairs committee. Singh plans to directly question DAVID JOHNSTON about his role as "special rapporteur" on foreign interference. (Shades of Singh's showdown with GALEN WESTON.)

3 p.m. Trudeau will meet with His Holiness ARAM I, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia.

4 p.m. Trudeau and Speaker ANTHONY ROTA will preside over the unveiling of the official portrait of former speaker GEOFF REGAN. (The artist: Nova Scotia's JAMES MIDDLETON.) The ceremony will be held in the Sir John A. Macdonald Building.

5:45 p.m. Former PM JEAN CHRÉTIEN headlines a National Arts Centre event hosted by the Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy. Tickets were C$395.50 before they ran out.

7:15 p.m. AMIRA ELGHAWABY, special representative on combating Islamophobia, will participate in the "Our London Family" vigil hosted by the Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia.

— A Research Co. exit poll busts the conventional wisdom that DANIELLE SMITH was a United Conservative liability. The survey said she actually saved the party from defeat in the post-Kenney era. (In case you missed it, campaign adviser JASON LIETAER offered an insider's view on the win — and credited Smith with the turning point.)

— GINNY ROTH, writing at The Hub, has an explanation for the lack of buzz among centrist Canadians who want to counter the left and right: They’re painfully boring.

— CBC News goes deep on Liberty Coalition Canada, a Christian advocacy group with anti-LGBT views — and ambition to elect conservative candidates to office at every level.

— The Gladue family on Enoch Cree Nation outside of Edmonton is fighting to win back ownership of land and a trust fund they lost decades ago, thanks to an administrative error.

— From the Toronto Star: Canada's wildfires are on track this year to create the biggest amount of scorched area ever

A SLIGHT REORDERING — A new federal Léger poll sure has our attention.

While most polls since the new year have measured the Conservatives ahead in voting intentions from coast to coast, the Léger survey pegs Liberal support at 33 percent (identical to the party's past two election results).

That's two points ahead of the Conservatives, a statistical tie between the two main parties. Still, many observers reacted strongly — "Outlier!" — to that red bar on top, a rare sight in recent months.

Well, actually not so, statistically speaking.

— Not so strange: A poll cannot be described as an outlier if its numbers are well within range of current averages. To wit: Before Sunday's update, the 338Canada weighted average had the Liberals at 31 percent nationally against 34 percent for the Conservatives. The NDP continues to hover around 20 percent.

Léger measured the Liberals tied with the Conservatives in Ontario and British Columbia, and tied with the Bloc Québécois in Quebec. Those numbers would likely translate into a modestly reduced minority for the Liberals.

In Ontario, Léger measures CPC support at 36 percent. If that rings a bell, it's because it is precisely the vote share that ERIN O’TOOLE managed in Ontario in 2021. In Quebec, the Poilievre-led CPC takes an abysmal 13 percent, statistically tied with the NDP's 14 percent.

— You read that right: Poilievre is struggling to surpass JAGMEET SINGH in Quebec.

Nine months into Poilievre's leadership, one would be pressed to find an empirical measure that shows growth in support for his party. The fact the CPC is tied with the Liberals in seat projections might be more easily attributed to Liberal fatigue and an erosion of the party's left flank.

Nowhere in the country is CPC support significantly higher than in 2021 or even 2019.

As CHANTAL HÉBERT mentioned in her latest Toronto Star column, Poilievre has greatly mobilized his party's base. "Trudeau's Liberals should be thankful that the Conservative caucus, in its very relative wisdom, decided to dump an adult politician like O’Toole for a petulant one like Poilievre," she writes.

It's no secret a CPC win runs through better results in Quebec and Ontario. Data shows that, thus far, Poilievre has delivered neither — despite a tumultuous winter and spring for JUSTIN TRUDEAU's Liberals.

For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter from SUE ALLAN and KYLE DUGGAN: Worst ever warnings for wildfire season

In news for POLITICO Pro subscribers:

— SEC sues Binance, world's largest crypto exchange.— EU wants Google, Facebook to start labeling AI-generated content.— EU digital COVID-19 certificate goes global.— Fast fashion giant with ties to China tries to shake forced labor claims.— Can manufacturers clash with steel company over requested duties.

Birthdays: HBD to Liberal MP FRANCIS SCARPALEGGIA and former diplomat HOWARD BALLOCH. Also celebrating today: Quebec Education Minister BERNARD DRAINVILLE (60), former MPs RAMESH SANGHA and NICK WHALEN (50).

Movers and shakers: GERASSIMOS PEPELASSIS joined Crestview's team of consultants on the Bombardier file. The aerospace giant wants to persuade the government that Boeing's P-8 isn't the only replacement for an ageing CP-140 fleet.

Maple Leaf Strategies partner PHIL VON FINCKENSTEIN is lobbying for the Northern Road Link Project, a First Nations–proposed all-season road that would connect to Ontario's Ring of Fire mining area.

BIOTECanada, a lobby group for the biotechnology industry, filed eight recent meetings on Monday. On the list: PMO senior adviser BEN CHIN; IAN FOUCHER, chief of staff to FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE; BIANCA HOSSAIN, a Champagne policy adviser; BLAKE OLIVER, senior policy adviser to CHRYSTIA FREELAND; and Liberal MP CHARLES SOUSA.

Spotted: FRED DELOREY, predicting PIERRE POILIEVRE will eventually march in a summertime Pride parade somewhere in Canada … The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, clarifying that it's more ship than submarine after a weekend's worth of queries.

A 50-hectare forest fire, sparked in cottage country about a 90-minute drive from Parliament Hill … Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH, acknowledging Pride Month with a tweet that sparked dumpster-fire replies.

Byelection signs in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount, snapped by STEVE FAGUY … A Canada Day lawn sign, courtesy of Liberal MP YVAN BAKER (or is it a pre-election lawn sign?) … Ontario Premier DOUG FORD, reacting to news that PAUL BERNARDO was transferred to a medium-security prison. Bernardo "should rot in a maximum-security prison for the rest of his miserable existence," Ford said in a statement.

Media mentions: POLITICO's JOSEPH GEDEON, a familiar name to Ottawa Playbook readers, starts this week on the cybersecurity beat. He's taking story ideas.

Farewells: Liberal MP JOANNE THOMPSON, who represents St. John's East, paid tribute to fellow Newfoundlander GEORGE FUREY, who just retired as Speaker of the Senate. "I would like to thank Karen, George's wife and best friend, his four children and their families for sharing him with this country and my home province," Thompson told the House.

→ Find the latest on House committee meetings here.

→ Keep track of Senate committee meetings here.

9 a.m. The Senate transport and communications committee is studying Bill C-18 and will hear from Tyee publisher JEANETTE AGESON, APTN CEO MONIKA ILLE, AllNovaScotia publisher BEN WOOD, The Logic's DAVID SKOK, and JEAN LA ROSE, president and CEO of Dadan Sivunivut.

9 a.m. Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations MARC MILLER will be at the Senate committee on Indigenous Peoples.

9 a.m. The Senate committee on national finance is studying Bill C-47.

10 a.m. DAVID JOHNSTON will be man of the hour — three hours, to be precise — at the House committee on procedure.

11 a.m. The House committee on transport is studying adaptation and climate change. On the roster: Canadian Climate Institute, Horizons Group, MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

11 a.m. Chief Science Advisor MONA NEMER will be with the House committee on science and research to discuss the Canadian government's graduate scholarship and post-doctoral fellowship programs.

11 a.m. The Canadian Bankers Association is on the roster of the House committee on foreign affairs, which is studying Canada's sanctions regime.

3:30 p.m. The House committee on public safety and national security is studying Bill C-20. It will hear from leaders and representatives of the following on Tuesday: Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and the Canadian Council for Refugees.

3:30 p.m. The House committee on human resources will continue its study of the financialization of housing.

3:30 p.m. The House natural resources committee is studying the Canadian pulp and paper industry; it will spend the first hour of its Tuesday meeting hearing from witnesses.

6:30 p.m. When the Senate rises, the committee on agriculture and forestry will hear from environmental watchdog JERRY DEMARCO.

Behind closed doors: The House health committee will be focused on its study on children's health; The House national defense committee is working on a draft report on cyber warfare; the House ethics committee will meet in camera to discuss its study on access to information and the privacy system; the special joint committee on the declaration of emergency will be at work on its report.

Monday's answer: Former PM JOE CLARK once worked with the CBC, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal and the High River Times.

Props to SHEILA GERVAIS, KEVIN BOSCH, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, NANCI WAUGH, JOANNA PLATER, BOB GORDON, GEORGE SCHOENHOFER, GEORGE YOUNG and GUY SKIPWORTH.

Today's question: "Nobody had ever done it before, and many people said this was political suicide." To what is former B.C. MP SVEND ROBINSON referring?

Answers to [email protected].

Have a stumper for Playbook's trivia players? Send it our way.

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].

Playbook wouldn't happen without: Luiza Ch. Savage, David Cohen and Sue Allan.

Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter contained incorrect information about a federal GST/HST rebate styled as a "grocery rebate." The text of that measure was included in both Bill C-47 and Bill C-46, but was enacted May 11 when C-46 received royal assent.

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