By Nick Taylor-Vaisey

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Thanks for reading the Ottawa Playbook. Let’s get to it.

In today's edition:

→ Want to track immigration policy changes? Wait for Fridays.

→ A redacted briefing note has us scratching our heads.

→ The latest on the standstill in the House of Commons

SAVE THE DATE — Playbook is returning to Washington in December. We're hosting our third trivia night in that other nation’s capital.

— Join us for the fun: We're calling all Canada-U.S. geeks to Playbook Trivia on Monday, Dec. 16 at Astro Beer Hall, a space race-themed venue a couple of blocks from the White House. Doors open at 7 p.m. First question at 7:30.

We'll be joined by a special guest quizmaster.

Registration is open. Space is limited. RSVP via this Google Form. Please don't send your RSVP via email. Please do send news tips and gossip.

IMMIGRATION FRIDAYS — You can set your watch to federal immigration policy changes. Just wait for Friday afternoon.

— How it works: A press release drops online with the basics (and maybe a dose of spin). The weedy details often tuck into the weekly Canada Gazette reserved for government notices and proposed regulatory changes.

— Three makes a trend: The stakeholders who watch for news on the immigration file have come to expect late-week activity. November was a busy one.

→ Nov. 8: The government shut down two programs meant to expedite visa applications for students from 15 countries, including China and India. ANDREW NESS, dean of international education at Humber College, offered damning words in response.

→ Nov. 15: New International Student Program regulations took effect, including a rule that caps off-campus work at 24 hours a week while classes are in session — a change Immigration Minister MARC MILLER announced in April.

→ Nov. 29: The department temporarily stopped accepting applications for the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program from groups of five and community sponsors.

— Notable critic: Former Liberal Cabmin LLOYD AXWORTHY came out swinging against that "pause" on certain refugee applications.

Our inbox pinged Monday morning with a statement from the former foreign minister.

Axworthy, chair of the World Refugee & Migration Council, called the move "another backwards step in a recent series of immigration measures that have damaged our global reputation and betrayed our collective commitment."

→ Miller's defense: Bureaucrats are wading through a major backlog. The minister's office told Playbook applicants are currently stuck waiting for 40 months.

"Long wait times leave refugees in vulnerable situations abroad and make it harder for sponsors in Canada to plan and prepare for their arrival," read a statement.

The bottom line: "To be absolutely clear, our main focus is to continue to process and resettle those who are in our inventory."

— Count them skeptical: Axworthy doesn't buy that it's all about administrative logjams.

"We believe the real reason [for the pause] is political: demands from provincial premiers and pressure from Washington," read his statement, which argues the policy shift is meant "to appease those who unfairly blame newcomers for economic and social ills that result from government mismanagement."

Axworthy may have been referring to comments from Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH — and, of course, DONALD TRUMP's Day One plans.

— These are their demands: "We call for an immediate parliamentary examination of this retrograde and damaging decision," Axworthy said.

— Meanwhile, on the CPC benches: On Sunday, Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE called for a cap on asylum seekers as part of a broader border plan.

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will chair Cabinet, attend QP and meet with Yukon Premier RANJ PILLAI. He will also attend and deliver remarks at a reception held by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

— Deputy PM CHRYSTIA FREELAND will be at Cabinet and QP. At 3:45 p.m., she and Public Services Minister JEAN-YVES DUCLOS will share an update on the government’s economic plan.

— Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE and Bloc Québécois Leader YVES-FRANÇOIS BLANCHET have not released their public itineraries.

— NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will speak to the NDP caucus and party staff at 10 a.m., remarks that are open to media. He’ll also be at QP.

— Green Leader ELIZABETH MAY is in Ottawa and will meet with leaders of the First Nations Lands Advisory Board Resource Centre at 9:15 a.m. Later in the day she will meet the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. She also has a meeting with the Air Line Pilots Association of Canada on the books.

— The Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly gathers at the Rogers Centre. At 5:30 p.m., National Chief CINDY WOODHOUSE NEPINAK hosts a reception at the Westin.

— The Federation of Canadian Municipalities kicks off advocacy days and a board meeting.

MILITARY SECRETS REVEALED — OK, not really.

Earlier this year, Playbook requested a copy of a Department of National Defence briefing note related to the renewal of Canada's military contribution to NATO's mission in Kosovo.

The note had recently popped up in a list of disclosed titles. We were curious about the government's thinking on the future of the years-old operation.

— Technical term: Operation Kobold, which DND describes at some length online as a combo of maintaining peace, aiding in demilitarization and supporting humanitarian relief in the long-term aftermath of the 1998-99 Kosovo War.

— Poof, it's gone: The department's access-to-information crew redacted the entirety of the December 2023 note, citing the provision that protects Cabinet confidence.

But that's not all they're shielding.

Even the title of the note is no longer available to the public: "Please note that the title of this briefing note was inadvertently disclosed on the proactive disclosure website and has since been removed," reads the letter sent to Playbook.

→ No longer viewable: "Action Briefing Note For The Minister: Mandate Renewal Of Operation Kobold – Canadian Armed Forces Participation In The Nato Mission In Kosovo. Dec 22, 2023"

— Current info: We asked the department for Op Kobold's current status. A spokesperson directed us to the mission's online home, and confirmed that five Canadian military personnel are deployed.

Their jobs include "managing the movement and transport of physical assets, ensuring information security, and performing border and customs officer duties."

The task force commander does double duty as the chief of NATO's Joint Logistics Operation Center, "overseeing routine and crisis management for logistics operations that include "engineering, reconnaissance, and unexploded ordnance disposal."

— Our lingering question: Why redact such a milquetoast briefing note title?

SUPPLY DAZE — House Speaker GREG FERGUS dropped a ruling Monday that is sure to leave Conservatives disgruntled about his management of chamber business.

— Final countdown: The House is running out of time to vote on more than C$20 billion in spending estimates — the literal "supply" of money to various federal bodies large and small.

The standing orders that govern the chamber only give MPs until Dec. 10 to approve the current batch of spending. But a months-old, Conservative-fueled privilege debate over a green technology fund is preempting most House business.

That debate has prevented Liberals from forcing through "opposition days," a regular part of the supply cycle that hands over a daily agenda to a designated opposition party.

— The big questions: What if the privilege motion crowded out all the supply days and ran straight through the December deadline to approve all those billions? Would the money simply not be spent? Could opposition parties gain powerful leverage over the Liberals?

— Fergus' ruling: The speaker ordered the House to interrupt the privilege debate and make way for the four opposition days that remain before Dec. 10.

→ The jargon: "The balance between the allotted days" — aka opposition days — "and the adoption of appropriations must be maintained and that as a result, the remaining supply days must take place."

→ Translation: Conservatives are sure to argue that Fergus gave the government an easy way out of a bit of a pickle.

— Mark your calendars: Fergus decreed that opposition days will fall on Thursday and Friday, as well as next Monday and Tuesday — which is Deadline Day for spending approval.

— Unfinished business: Liberals still require one opposition party to support its supply bills when they come to a vote. These days, that means decision time for the NDP.

— The rulebook: S.O. 81 lies at the heart of all the fuss. Read it for yourself and then tell us what you think.

— Manitoba Premier WAB KINEW said that excavation and sifting have started in a section of a landfill believed to hold the remains of two slain First Nations women. BRITTANY HOBSON of The Canadian Press has details.

— Auditor General KAREN HOGAN flagged C$3.5 billion loaned to ineligible Canadian businesses as part of a pandemic emergency program. (Check out all of the AG's fall reports.)

— Top of POLITICO via KYLE CHENEY and BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN: Biden just gave Trump a new pardon playbook.

— Two sources in the room told The Globe and Mail's STEVE CHASE all about last week's Trump-Trudeau dinner at Mar-a-Lago.

— Noted in a Toronto Sun editorial: “Score one for Trudeau on his charm offensive.”

— Our colleagues in Paris report: The French prime minister will likely fall this week. So then what?

— “Layoffs could be on the table for public servants,” CATHERINE MORRISON reports in a piece picked up by the National Post. “Here's everything you need to know.”

— The Walrus writes on our pal PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER: “the most accurate political forecaster in Canada.”

For Pro subscribers, our latest policy newsletter by SUE ALLAN: Cabinet regroups with Mar-a-Lago takeaways.

In other news for Pro readers: 

— Biden administration offers $7.5B loan for Stellantis EV battery factories.

— Chris Wright and Sean Duffy hold the keys to Trump’s EV plans. 

— Commerce issues new curbs on sales of chipmaking equipment to China.

— Republican bill would overturn Coastal Commission's SpaceX decision.

Birthdays: HBD to Liberal MP ANITA VANDENBELD, as well as former civil servant and diplomat MEL CAPPE. HBD + 1 to the Ontario Centre of Innovation's KEITH SHEPPARD and McMillan Vantage's CLARE CASEY.

Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it all our way.

Spotted: Longtime Hill comms guy ALEX COHEN, bidding colleagues adieu at a Rabbit Hole going-away party. In the room: Former bosses MARCO MENDICINO, SORAYA MARTINEZ FERRADA and GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR; Liberal MPs TALEEB NOORMOHAMED, KODY BLOIS and PAM DAMOFF; plenty of reporters and staffers; and his proud parents. Next up for Cohen: TBD.

ELON MUSK, following TV personality DR. PHIL, Fox News host SEAN HANNITY, Trump loyalist KASH PATEL and NBA Hall of Famer-turned-crypto champion SCOTTIE PIPPEN on X.

A multimillion-dollar American ad blitz touting Ontario’s importance to the U.S. economy. The Star’s ROBERT BENZIE has more on the campaign.

Noted: JOHN RUFFOLO, vice chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators, pitched three priorities as Canada (eventually) heads into an election.

The Canada Post strike has prevented Elections Canada from issuing voter information cards for the Cloverdale-Langley City by-election.

Movers and shakers: LINDSAY DOYLE started Monday as Netflix's director of public policy for Canada. Doyle comes off a seven-year run with Google Canada's government affairs and public policy team.

9 a.m. The Senate national finance committee will study supplementary estimates with officials from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Indigenous Services Canada and the defense department.

9 a.m. The Senate transport and communications committee continues its consultation on the local services of CBC/Radio-Canada.

9:30 a.m. Former Sen. JAMES COWAN will be at the Senate rules and procedures committee to discuss the role of non-affiliated senators.

11 a.m. The House health committee continues its study of Canada’s opioid crisis.

11 a.m. The House procedure committee takes Bill C-65 through clause-by-clause study.

11 a.m. The House committee on human resources will spend its first hour focused on seasonal workers and the Employment Insurance program. Families Minister JENNA SUDDS joins in the second hour to discuss supplementary estimates.

11 a.m. The House foreign affairs committee will study Bill C-353 clause by clause.

11 a.m. Canada Border Services Agency President ERIN O’GORMAN, Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director DANIEL ROGERS, Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner ANNE KELLY, Parole Board of Canada chair JOANNE BLANCHARD and RCMP Commissioner MICHAEL DUHEME will be at the House public safety committee to discuss supplementary estimates.

11 a.m. Treasury Board President ANITA ANAND and Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux will be at the House government operations and estimates committee to discuss supplementary estimates.

3:30 p.m. The House transport committee is studying environmental contamination in the vicinity of the dock in Fort Chipewyan.

3:30 p.m. The current status of deported Ukrainian children is on the agenda at the House subcommittee on international human rights.

3:30 p.m. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food LAWRENCE MACAULAY will be at the House agriculture committee to discuss estimates.

3:30 p.m. The House defense committee continues its study of contaminated sites.

3:30 p.m. The House science and research committee will discuss the impact of the criteria for awarding federal funding on research excellence in Canada.

3:30 p.m. The House ethics committee will study privacy practices of delivery and rideshare applications with the president of the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario, an official from Uber and VASS BEDNAR of McMaster University.

Behind closed doors: The House finance committee will be at work on its prebudget consultations report. The House official languages committee will work on its study on minority-language post-secondary institutions.

Monday’s answer: Liberal MP MAJID JOWHARI led the charge in the House of Commons to designate Aug. 1 of every year as “Emancipation Day” in Canada.

Props to ROBERT MCDOUGALL, ​​SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, ANTHONY VALENTI, PATRICK DION, MALCOLM MCKAY and MARCEL MARCOTTE.

Today’s question: On this date in history, how many countries gathered to sign the “Ottawa Treaty”? For bonus marks, name the Canadian Cabinet minister who led the charge on this campaign.

Answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com .

Want to grab the attention of movers and shakers on Parliament Hill? Want your brand in front of a key audience of Ottawa influencers? Run a Playbook ad campaign. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.

Playbook wouldn’t happen without: POLITICO Canada editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and Luiza Ch. Savage.

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Nick Taylor-Vaisey @TaylorVaisey Sue Allan @susan_allan Mickey Djuric @MickeyDjuric Zi-Ann Lum @ziannlum POLITICO Canada @politicoottawa

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