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politics briefing newsletter

Good morning,

The House of Commons justice committee will embark on hearings into reports that the Prime Minister’s Office attempted to exert pressure on then-minister of justice Jody Wilson-Raybould but so far those hearings will not include the principal actors in the drama: neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor Ms. Wilson-Raybould are being asked to testify.

That’s due to the influence of the five Liberal MPs on the justice committee, who yesterday waved down opposition attempts to call witnesses who were directly involved in the issue. (What issue? We explain here.) So far only three witnesses have been agreed to: current Justice Minister and Attorney-General David Lametti, deputy justice minister Nathalie Drouin and Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick.

The committee will meet again on Tuesday to discuss (in camera) whether to expand the witness list.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay in Ottawa. It is available exclusively to our digital subscribers. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribers can sign up for the Politics newsletter and more than 20 others on our newsletter signup page. Have any feedback? Let us know what you think.

TODAY’S HEADLINES

Federal lawyers will be in a Regina courtroom today to argue against attorneys representing three provinces who are challenging the national carbon-pricing regime. On Wednesday, a lawyer representing Saskatchewan said the federal system was an encroachment on provincial jurisdiction. "It’s a case about the nature of our federation. It’s a case about what kind of country we live in,” said Mitch McAdam, a lawyer for Saskatchewan’s Attorney-General.

Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel, a former cabinet minister and mayor of Edmonton, is challenging the province’s elections law in court. He was handed a five-year ban on running for public office because he missed a deadline for filing paperwork with Elections Alberta. “The legislation is so draconian,” Mr. Mandel said.

The Ontario Association for Behaviour Analysis said it was given an ultimatum by Children, Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod to support the Ontario Progressive Conservatives’ autism plan – or else. "Just days before the February 6, 2019 announcement, the Minister and her staff requested that ONTABA provide a quote of support … and indicated that a failure to do so would result in ‘four long years’ for the organization,” the group’s board of directors said.

And the National Gallery of Canada has a new director: Alexandra (Sasha) Suda, 38, currently the head of European art and prints and drawings at the Art Gallery of Ontario. “When you look at the gallery’s collection, it’s unbelievable. I mean, this is the nation’s collection,” Dr. Suda said. She starts in April.

Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on the House of Commons justice committee: “It was pretty clear what was going on. The Liberals didn’t want to refuse to hold hearings on the affair – that would be politically embarrassing. They just want to guide the hearings down a cul-de-sac.”

Lori Turnbull (The Globe and Mail) on what we’ll find out: “Despite the upbeat campaign material, and the publication of Open and Accountable Government in 2015, Westminster parliamentary systems are generally not known for being open or accountable”

Joyce Green and Gina Starblanket (The Globe and Mail) on the anonymous smearing of Jody Wilson-Raybould: “Liberal insiders who perhaps did not get the sunny-feminist-ways memo have suggested Ms. Wilson-Raybould is not a team player. Doubtless, many across the country are rolling their eyes, recognizing these stereotypical cheap shots against women who beg to differ.”

Marni Soupcoff (National Post) on her choice of legal counsel: “Former Supreme Court justices are entitled to earn money after stepping down from the bench. The last thing we need or want is to have to police their lives and work. But it would be nice if former justices thought long and hard before becoming involved in cases where it could easily be perceived that their title was being used as ammunition in a public struggle.”

Stephen Maher (Maclean’s) on the fallout for Trudeau’s team: “This is rattling Liberals, and will put pressure on Trudeau to get rid of [chief of staff Katie] Telford or [principal secretary Gerald] Butts, who Liberal MPs resent for their historically unusual centrality to his government.”

And Lisa Kimmel, the president of Edelman Canada (The Globe and Mail), on trust: “As Canada heads into a federal election, we are – more so than at any point in the past 20 years – a nation divided. The split is not East versus West, right versus left or English versus French. Today, it is a split between Canadians who fear the system is failing them and those who are more trusting of our traditional institutions and more optimistic about the future – for themselves and their families.”

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