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Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I’m your host, Zi-Ann Lum, with Maura Forrest and Nick Taylor-Vaisey. A parliamentary committee exploring the expanse of government contracts will hear from DOMINIC BARTON today; at the same time it will face a vote to expand its focus beyond McKinsey.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — NDP MP GORD JOHNS will be moving a motion today to expand the scope of a parliamentary committee study of McKinsey contracts to include “the bigger culprits.”

“Look at Deloitte. They got tenfold what McKinsey got in terms of contracts,” Johns tells Playbook. “Price Waterhouse, Ernst & Young, Accenture — all much bigger players when it comes to the procurement,” he said. “I don't know why we're not studying them.”

—  Quick refresher: Carleton University maintains a public database that tracks government contracts.

Playbook reported last week that Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Accenture, KPMG and Deloitte have scored contracts for "professional services" with a combined value of C$368.8 million since 2018.

The motion, Johns said, will test the Conservatives’ comfort zone.

“We'll find out, I guess, if the Conservatives are willing to join me when we want to expand a study into their friends as well — if they're willing to let the shovel continue to go, or whether they're going to stop the shovel at their friends.”

— The today show: DOMINIC BARTON, ex-global managing partner of the high-power consulting firm, will be on the defensive at a House committee today. He’ll face a flurry of questions from MPs trying to pluck company intel from his three-decade career at McKinsey and experience as a Trudeau political appointee.

— An exercise in focus: The last time Barton appeared before a parliamentary committee was in December 2020. The big headline at the time was China, MICHAEL SPAVOR and MICHAEL KOVRIG, and Ottawa’s complicated relationship with Beijing — a topic expected to come up again.

— “Complete crock”: Barton previewed his position during a recent podcast interview with PETER MANSBRIDGE. He expressed annoyance over the narrative that McKinsey’s cosy relationship with the Canadian government opened a spigot of cash for the global firm.

“A complete crock,” Barton said.

Conservative MP STEPHANIE KUSIE is on the committee that will grill Barton today. Barton’s response isn’t surprising, she said.

Kusie tells Playbook she hopes to end today with a better understanding of Barton’s relationship with Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and his inner circle — and of the former McKinsey executive’s influence on government policy, writ large.

— Stay tuned: Kusie said more political fuel is coming. “I'm going to be breaking, over the coming weeks, information we're receiving on previous McKinsey employees and their relationships with Liberal insiders.”

ETHICS BROUHAHA — The House ethics committee voted in favor of studying International Trade Minister MARY NG’s violation of the ethics code when her office awarded two media training contracts (totalling C$22,790) to her Liberal strategist friend AMANDA ALVARO.

— Witness invite list: The committee wants to hear from Ng, Alvaro and International Trade Deputy Minister ROB STEWART.

The intended scope of the study is intended to be “very narrow, very focused,” said Conservative MP MICHAEL BARRETT, adding the committee has a pile of other work to do.

— On the committee’s IOU list: Reports out of the MPs’ study of Canada’s access to information and privacy, the ArriveCAN app, and the use of public funds for Roxham Road.

UNDER FIRE — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU again stood by his newly appointed representative for fighting Islamophobia on Tuesday, but several of his ministers seemed a little ill at ease.

“I support [AMIRA] ELGHAWABY 100 percent,” Trudeau told reporters on his way into the Cabinet meeting. “She has demonstrated throughout her years of work a sensitivity, an openness and a rigor that we need now.”

Justice Minister DAVID LAMETTI struck a slightly different tone, repeating no less than six times that it’s “for her to clarify” previous comments about Islamophobia in Quebec that have the provincial government calling for her resignation.

— Meetings, meetings: Heritage Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ said he plans to meet with Elghawaby in the coming days, but repeated that he was “deeply hurt” by her comments.

Elghawaby is also slated to meet with Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET today.

— The source of the controversy: In a 2019 op-ed about Quebec’s secularism law, Bill 21, Elghawaby wrote that “Unfortunately, the majority of Quebecers appear to be swayed not by the rule of law, but by anti-Muslim sentiment.”

And in a 2013 op-ed that came to light more recently, she quoted philosopher JOHN RALSTON SAUL, who observed a “fear of the loss of purity — pure blood, pure race, pure national traits and values and ties” in the 19th-century western world. “He might as well be writing about today’s Quebec,” she wrote.

Diversity and Inclusion Minister AHMED HUSSEN said Tuesday he’s “still reviewing” Elghawaby’s comments about purity, but said she has “clarified her comments with respect to Islamophobia.”

Since her comments have resurfaced, Elghawaby has said she doesn’t believe the majority of Quebecers are Islamophobic.

— But criticism of her appointment is coming from other quarters as well: Former NDP Leader TOM MULCAIR wrote Tuesday in the Montreal Gazette that Elghawaby is the wrong person for the job.

— Meanwhile: Advocacy group Canadians United Against Hate has come to Elghawaby’s defense in a move that’s sure to smooth things over, issuing a press release Tuesday that accused the Quebec government of “showing its Islamophobic and racist pedigree” by demanding her resignation.

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— It’s caucus day on the Hill.

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU has national caucus to attend at 10 a.m., followed by question period at 2 p.m. and a meeting with B.C. Premier DAVID EBY at 4:15 p.m.

— Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is in Ottawa and will join the Liberals’ caucus meeting. The DPM has a lunchtime meeting with Eby at 12:45 p.m.

11:30 a.m. The African Canadian Senate Group, Ottawa’s Mosaïque interculturelle, and Montreal’s Afro-Canadian Cultural Centre open “Tales,” a month-long Black History Month exhibit in the Senate foyer.

12:30 p.m. Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON and International Energy Agency Executive Director FATIH BIROL sit down for a fireside chat at the University of Ottawa.

12:45 p.m. Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET will meet with AMIRA ELGHAWABY at the party’s offices.

1 p.m.The Canada Strong & Free Network hosts a virtual discussion about political discrimination in light of the College of Psychologists of Ontario’s threat to revoke JORDAN PETERSON’s psychology license. Conservative MP GARNETT GENUIS and employment lawyer KATHRYN MARSHALL are on board as speakers. JAMIL JIVANI will moderate.

2 p.m. NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH holds a media availability in West Block.

4 p.m. Liberal MP SAMEER ZUBERI holds a press conference in West Block following a vote in the chamber on his motion (M-62) to expedite the resettlement of 10,000 Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Canada over two years starting in 2024.

4:30 p.m. It’s DOMINIC BARTON’s day under the lights at the House government operations committee.

5:30 p.m. Tickets are C$100 a pop for Canadian Club Toronto’s speaker event featuring a trio of former premiers, CHRISTY CLARK, JASON KENNEY and KATHLEEN WYNNE. The question guiding their STEVE PAIKIN-moderated discussion: How unified is Canada?

COP COSTS — The federal government spent at least C$1.8 million on the Canadian delegation’s trip to the COP27 climate conference in Egypt last November, according to a document tabled in the House of Commons this week.

Most of that — C$1.1 million — was spent on hotels and other accommodations, according to the response tabled in answer to a question from Conservative MP GÉRARD DELTELL. Another C$622,000 went to air transportation, with land transportation and meals accounting for C$31,000 and C$27,000, respectively. Another C$4,000 was spent on “hospitality.”

The figures are only up to date as of Nov. 21 and “do not reflect final costs,” the government says.

— Who’s included: A government website lists 266 people among Canada’s core delegation to COP27, but the document says the government “only covers costs for federal employees and some Indigenous representatives, youth, and civil society representatives.”

“Most delegates cover their own costs,” it reads.

THEY’VE GOT MAIL — Canadians have been busy writing to the prime minister about Covid-19, the “Freedom Convoy” and the carbon tax. But here and there, the PM also gets a little encouragement.

The Prime Minister’s Office has received 379,673 letters and emails from the general public regarding Covid-19 since January 2020, according to a document tabled in the House of Commons this week. That includes people writing in about the government’s response to the pandemic, Covid vaccines and federal relief programs. Some 200,000 of those pieces of correspondence came from individuals — the rest were sent in as part of mass campaigns.

The document, tabled in response to a question from Conservative MP MARTY MORANTZ, lists the top 10 subjects of correspondence received by the PMO, broken down by snail mail and email, and by individual letters versus organized campaigns.

— In second place overall? You won’t guess it, but you should. It’s the seal hunt, because of course it is. The PMO has received 359,043 emails about the seal hunt as part of a campaign (presumably to end it).

— What else? Aside from Covid-19, people have been sending the PM an earful about “truck convoys” (37,400 emails), the carbon tax (19,745 emails) and Canada’s response to the invasion of Ukraine (18,023 emails).

The biggest letter-writing campaign is listed as just “Governor General.” We’re guessing — but we don’t know for sure — that this has to do with calls for the GG to dissolve the government during the “Freedom Convoy.” That campaign was responsible for 172,900 letters. Another 78,414 letters were sent in as part of a campaign related to security for the Sussexes — remember that?

— The rest: Comparatively speaking, there were only a handful of people who chose to write their own letters and send them in by snail mail. Many of them were about Covid-19, but about 3,000 were related to mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows First Nation. Another 2,700 had to do with gun control measures.

We’re guessing — but we don’t know for sure — that the bulk of all this correspondence has not been entirely complimentary. But it’s not all bad! Way down in 10th place, some 1,236 people have sent in letters to the PM with “encouraging words.” Aw.

In other order paper questions: MP raises concerns over government's quarantine hotel spending.

THE OTHER MR. HARPER — It's not always a great deal to be the child of a prime minister. Who wants to grow up in a fishbowl, anyway? The kids of 24 Sussex grow up to be one of two things: a public figure or, well, not. For every CATHERINE CLARK, there's a NICOLAS MULRONEY.

STEPHEN HARPER's kids have so far opted for the latter life. But BEN, a budding finance and economics guy, isn't shy about tweeting his opinions. What he says gets noticed. And when the eldest Harper offspring recently appeared on a blockchain podcast, he described in rapidfire the trajectory of his young career.

— The real world: "I try to do a little bit of everything," Harper told the Texas Blockchain Council pod last week. He paid his dues on Bay Street, working for National Bank Financial's diversified investment banking team, and later in equity and capital markets.

Harper also referred to a stint on the Jordanian Royal Court's economics and fiscal affairs team before he returned to Alberta. He briefly worked in consulting before jumping into the first job that made him national headlines: policy adviser to then-premier JASON KENNEY.

"Had enough of the political thing," he told pod host LEE BRATCHER. So what now?

— Current digs: A friend, ETHAN VERA, brought Harper to Luxor Technologies, a Bitcoin mining software and services company. Harper is now associate director of derivatives.

— What's the job? The value of Bitcoin is, shall we say, prone to volatility.

Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU won't let part-time crypto-evangelist PIERRE POILIEVRE forget that particular fact.

Harper hopes to protect the "miners" who unlock Bitcoin by helping them trade in derivatives — say, futures that allow them to sell assets for a fixed price at a later date — that can mitigate their losses during wild swings in the market.

For POLITICO Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter: Some lait-breaking news on dairy. 

In news for POLITICO Pro subscribers:

— U.S. launches second dispute settlement panel with Canada over dairy.

— GM to invest $650M in Nevada lithium mine for EV push.

— Biden to release budget on March 9.

— EU sidelined in U.S.-Dutch deal to block chips exports to China.

— In D.C., House moves to roll back pandemic telework policies.

— On The Hub Dialogues, SEAN SPEER and political strategist GINNY ROTH discuss the state of Canadian conservative politics.

— Professor MICHAEL GEIST explains why Bill C-11 and C-18 are sure to be on the agenda when Joe Biden comes to town.

— SUSAN DELACOURT reports on Abacus polling: Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are sliding in popularity.

— The NATIONAL POST reports: Liberals resist Tory, Bloc push for Quebec language law to rule federally regulated businesses.

— The Centre for International Governance Innovation has a new essay series, Cybersecurity and Outer Space, which features 17 pieces from global experts on the space-cyber nexus.

— “We have a trust problem. That is very bad news,”DAVID MOSCROP writes.

— POLITICO’s JESÚS A. RODRÍGUEZ chased Washington’s foremost fabulist so you don’t have to: Sixteen hours, 27,000 steps and Dunkin’ Donuts. 

Birthdays: Bonne fête Bloc MP KRISTINA MICHAUD and HBD Senator NANCY HARTLING. Retired senator GERALD COMEAU also celebrates today.

Spotted: JAMES BEZAN in the chamber checking out the front page of National Newswatch during QP … Global News’ DAVID AKIN mapping the Conservatives’ “blowout” fundraising streak on a chart.

NDP MP MATTHEW GREEN asking for unanimous consent in the House, “given that the rise of far-right and associated violent extremism led to the attempted insurrection in the United States, the House condemn recent comments made by Fox News personality TUCKER CARLSON, in which he suggests U.S. Armed Forces should ‘liberate’ Canada from the current prime minister” … It didn’t pass.

NCC crews working on the RIDEAU CANAL SKATEWAY … U.S. Ambassador to Canada DAVID COHEN,moving at the speed of business … Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY’s laughter Tuesday when asked if she’s interested in the top NATO post.

At the Lunar New Year evening soiree at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building: STEVEN GUILBEAULT, IQRA KHALID, MARY NG, JEAN YIP, CAROLYN BENNETT, ROB OLIPHANT, SALMA ZAHID, PAUL CHIANG, HAN DONG, SHAUN CHEN, ADAM VAN KOEVERDEN, PAM DAMOFF, LEAH TAYLOR ROY, MARCI IEN, SAMEER ZUBERI, LENA DIAB, AHMED HUSSEN, MAJID JOWHARI, HELENA JACZEK, TALEEB NOORMOHAMED, MANINDER SIDHU, WILSON MIAO, JUDY SGRO and JUSTIN TRUDEAU.

Movers and shakers:Radio-Canada reports ÉRIC FILLON is leaving his post at Hydro-Québec executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Media mentions: DIANA SWAIN has stepped into a new role as the CBC’s managing editor of investigative journalism.

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4 p.m. Former senator RAYNELL ANDREYCHUK returns to the red chamber to be a witness at the Senate foreign affairs committee as part of its review of the Sergei Magnitsky Law and the Special Economic Measures Act.

4 p.m. Conservative MP KYLE SEEBACK is a witness at the Senate social affairs committee to speak on his private member’s bill, C-242.

4:15 p.m.The Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee meets to pick up on its study of self-induced intoxication in relation to the Criminal Code.

4:30 p.m. The House Indigenous and northern affairs committee meets with five experts to discuss its study of Indigenous languages.

4:30 p.m. The House industry committee meets to continue its study of blockchain technology.

4:30 p.m. DOMINIC BARTON has a two-hour date with the House government operations committee.

4:30 p.m.The House justice committee will launch a study of extradition law reform.

4:30 p.m. The Canadian Media Producers Association kicks off its “Prime Time” conference in Ottawa.

— Behind closed doors: The House agriculture committee meets to review a draft of their global food insecurity report; the House citizenship and immigration committee meets to go over drafting instructions for their upcoming application backlogs and processing times report; the Senate banking committee meets to talk “future business.”

Tuesday’s answer: On Jan. 31, 2018, legislation was enacted to change “True patriot love in all thy sons command” to “True patriot love in all of us command.”

Props to ZOIE SUTHERLAND,ANDRÉ BRISEBOIS, CHRISTOPHER LALANDE, SAM MACPHAIL, NANCI WAUGH, R. ROMANIN, NANCI WAUGH, JOANNA PLATER, DOUG RICE, JOHN DILLON, ROSS LECLAIR, PATRICK DION, DEAN VALENTINO, PAULETTE MCMURRAY, MAUREEN MACGILLIVRAY, JANICE NICHOLSON, DEAN PETERS, JANICE NICHOLSON and BOB GORDON. 

DIANNE SHERRIN, MARIE GURULIAN, JULIE DEWOLFE, AMY BOUGHNER, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, MARC LEBLANC, MARY JANE ALLAN, ALLAN FABRYKANT, JOSEPH CHAMOUN, KATE DALGLEISH, LAURA PAYTON, SHEILA GERVAIS, SYDNEY LINHOLM and JOHN ECKER.

Wednesday’s question: This sitting senator has served as the director of the Dalhousie School of Social Work. “My entire social work career has really been about trying to facilitate change, working towards change,” she once said. “Change for and with the people we’re working with, but also in systems and structures, and in teaching and the way we teach and what we teach.”

Send your answer to [email protected]

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