“The main things that are going to likely be on the agenda are: the economy, the economy, with a side order of the economy,” said Jim Armour, vice-president of public affairs for Summa Strategies and former senior Hill staffer.
The Conservatives are expected to have their annual pre-session caucus meeting the first week of September on Parliament Hill as they have in past years, though this has yet to be confirmed by caucus chair Guy Lauzon (Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, Ont.).
The Canadian economy lost 30,000 jobs in July, according to Statistics Canada numbers released last week. It had gained just 7,300 jobs in June, according to the Conference Board of Canada, which called the gains “soft.”
“There’s no question that the economy remains, I think, the number one priority for this prime minister and for the government. Both domestic and global economic concerns,” said John Capobianco senior vice-president at Fleishman-Hillard and a former Conservative candidate in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, Ont.
“I think that’s always going to be number one on the agenda,” he said.
Contributing to Canada’s economic prosperity, and a clear priority for this government, is international trade. Canada is currently negotiating trade deals with the European Union and India. Its free trade agreement with Jordan received royal assent in June.
“The Minister of International Trade has been very busy doing those things and I think it’s been under the leadership of the Prime Minister, so I think you’ll see more of a continuation of that,” said Mr. Capobianco.
International Trade Minister Ed Fast (Abbotsford, B.C.) returned from a four-day trip to London, England to meet with that country’s officials and promote trade with Canada last week. The U.K. is Canada’s largest European trading partner.
Mr. Fast has also visited Russia and Australia this summer to promote trade. He will go to Burma, which is a Canadian target for future trade, in September.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird (Ottawa West-Nepean, Ont.) was in Burma last March. He also spent two weeks in July in Asia, marking his fourth trip to the continent in a year. On Aug. 13 he returned from a trip to Lebanon and Jordan.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy (Calgary-Nose Hill, Alta.) is visiting Guyana and the Dominican Republic this week to “enhance Canada’s relationships” with the countries especially in respect to trade and natural resources. This summer she has also traveled to Washington D.C. and Jamaica.
Over the summer, the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan opened up their markets to Canadian beef.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) or Mr. Fast will likely brief the caucus on the progress of trade talks and travels at their meeting, said Mr. Armour.
Also on caucus’s agenda will be the high-profile agreement between China’s CNOOC Ltd. to buy Canadian oil company Nexen Inc., a deal worth $15.1-billion and subject to Canadian regulatory approval.
“I think that’s going to be an interesting discussion point for caucus. Even though it’s in Industry Canada’s area for review there’s no question that caucus would look at it, because it’s a big deal,” said Mr. Capobianco.
Cabinet met for four hours in Ottawa Aug. 8 specifically to discuss the deal, according to media reports.
Canada’s other high-profile energy project, the Northern Gateway pipeline, will also likely be discussed at caucus, the strategists said.
“The First Ministers meeting certainly elevated that issue to the headlines. I think as a result of the Prime Minister’s interjection there, you can see that being a priority of the caucus and beyond,” said Mr. Capobianco.
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark has set five conditions that must be satisfied before B.C. supports the project, including that the province get its “fair share” of revenues. The demands have not gone over well with Alberta Premier Alison Redford and were a cause for dispute at the recent Council of the Federation meeting in Nova Scotia.
Speaking on the issue for the first time in Vancouver last week, Mr. Harper said that the pipeline was of “vital” importance to Canada, and that he would not wade into the revenues dispute.
The National Energy Board is currently reviewing the pipeline proposal but the final decision on the go-ahead rests with Cabinet.
Mr. Capobianco said that the economy, trade and the two energy projects will likely be the four major topics discussed at caucus, but that ongoing priorities such as law and order will also be talked about.
The caucus meeting will be an opportunity for the PM and his Cabinet to hear from backbenchers who have spent their summers on the barbecue and community event circuit back in their ridings.
“It’s a good check-in, to report on how things have been going and what they’ve been hearing in the ridings and also in their travels. There’s a huge opportunity for that,” said Mr. Capobianco.
Mr. Armour likened it to a ‘What I did on my summer vacation’ report on the first day back at school.
Back in their ridings, MPs will have had the opportunity to gauge which issues matter to their constituents and which topics didn’t seem to make it out of the Ottawa bubble.
“A lot of it is reporting on and taking the temperature of the public and how they’re feeling about a variety of issues and what their priorities are,” he said.
The caucus will also likely discuss the results of the election in Quebec, which is set to go to a vote Sept. 4, meaning the result will be fresh when the group meets.
They would talk about “what it could mean on the federal scene perhaps and what sort of impact it’s going to have on the federal government, any sort of federal policy,” said Mr. Armour.
Polls conducted last week indicate a three-way race between Premier Jean Charest’s Liberals, Pauline Marois’s Parti Québécois and the Coalition avenir Québéc helmed by François Legault. The CAQ had made significant gains in support while the PQ were in the lead over the second-ranked Liberals.
“Just by virtue of the importance of Quebec and the importance of who wins that election, there’s no question that that will be top of mind with the caucus, and certainly the Prime Minister and his Quebec caucus,” said Mr. Capobianco.
Also on caucus’s agenda will be the House of Commons legislative schedule for the upcoming session, said Mr. Armour.
“The House Leader will give some sort of indication about when to expect various pieces of legislation or some sort of idea of timeline and the reasons behind it,” explained Mr. Armour.
As with any busy fall session, there will be a lot on the plate for House Leader Peter Van Loan (York-Simcoe, Ont.).
The Conservatives’ bill on Senate reform has been the subject of discussion this summer, as the legislation has spent more than a year in the House of Commons. Progress has been slow, something the party has blamed on opposition delay-tactics, but government leadership could implement time allocation or closure on the debate to get the act moving.
The government is also expected to release a fall economic update, table the second half of its 2012 budget implementation act, and it remains to be seen whether it will stick to controversial changes to immigration legislation tabled in June, among other legislative items.
Much behind the scenes prep work on legislation and other priorities would have been done this summer, noted Mr. Capobianco.
“Government doesn’t stop when the House rises, there’s a lot of work that’s being done with political staff and with the bureaucracy over the course of the summer, preparing themselves for bills that are still pending and committee work that has gone on,” he said.
One of the biggest government initiatives of late has been the implementation of the strategic and operating review. The government announced in the 2012 budget that it would be cutting $5.2-billion over three years from the public service’s $75-million operating budget. This will result in the loss of 19,200 federal jobs.
Hundreds of departments and agencies have been working over the summer to figure out how to meet their savings commitments, and have been dropping or restructuring programs and letting go of staff.
“People might be interested in getting some sort of report from Tony Clement,” noted Mr. Armour.
As Treasury Board President, Mr. Clement (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.) has been in charge of the review over the past 14 months.
The NDP will be holding their caucus from Sept. 4 to 6 in St. John’s, Nfld., while the Liberals are expected to hold theirs in Montebello, Que.
In the lead up to the fall session, caucus is an opportunity for MPs and ministers to gather and energize for the coming political challenges.
“Ministers become a bit more engaged and ready for the next session, and the Prime Minister seems to have a better handle on what’s been happening in some of the ridings and so forth. I think it’s a really good, necessary, process to have,” said Mr. Capobianco.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: JESSICA BRUNO
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