The PM stands by the beleaguered shot Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. AstraZeneca's vaccine is safe: So said both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier François Legault, who met in the flesh for the first time since the pandemic rendered federal-provincial relations mostly virtual. "The best vaccine for you to take is the very first one that is offered to you. That's how we get through this as quickly as possible and as safely as possible," said the PM. Meanwhile, as France and Germany both temporarily suspended injections of the AstraZeneca shot, a federal panel is likely to approve the shot for Canadians aged 65 and older. The news Trudeau and Legault wanted to talk about: $100-million in combined spending on Lion Electric's battery factory in Quebec—part of a broader industry shift to electric vehicles. Earlier, the Globe and Mail reported the feds were nearing a deal with pharmaceutical giant Emergent BioSolutions to fund the expansion of the company's Winnipeg plant. The facility will be able to produce mRNA vaccines that have proved effective against COVID-19. Emergent's upgrades would not produce doses in the short term. Hillier's out: Ontario Premier Doug Ford snuck in an announcement that retired general Rick Hillier, the province's point-man on vaccine rollout, would leave his post at the end of March. Rogers and Shaw made $26-billion news yesterday when they announced a merger that would see the former take over the latter. The Competition Bureau immediately launched a review of the transaction—and then promptly tweeted the merger spurred a "higher than normal volume" of inquiries. Premier Jason Kenney hailed the news, crowing about the super-company's commitment to 1,800 net new jobs in Alberta and $2.5 billion in investment. Kenney's federal Tory cousins committed to "reviewing" the deal. The NDP was less guarded. Shaw had other news, too. The company secured a $1.1 million federal contract to supply cable TV for a federal penitentiary in Prince Albert, Sask. Craig and Marc Kielburger were back in front of the Commons ethics committee yesterday. At one point, Tory MP Pierre Poilievre—who revelled in questioning the brothers—asked Craig about a June 27 LinkedIn exchange with Ben Chin, a senior advisor in the Prime Minister's Office. "Thank you for your kindness in helping shape our latest program with the government," wrote Craig. Chin responded: "Thanks Craig. Let's get our young working." Under questioning, Craig insisted the message was sent by his executive assistant as a courtesy. Poilievre was, er, unconvinced. Watch the full exchange . Maclean's Ottawa bureau chief Shannon Proudfoot covered the brothers' testy testimony for Maclean's, writing that the pair "arrived with their lawyer in tow and their hands balled into rhetorical fists." They portrayed themselves as innocent bystanders in a political storm: "We didn’t advise the Prime Minister and Mr. Morneau not to recuse themselves. We never prorogued Parliament. We’re not involved in the decision to filibuster the committee this fall,” said Marc Kielburger. “This is a political scandal for the government, not WE Charity. The government hid behind a children’s charity by letting it take the fall for their political decisions.” Read Proudfoot's five takeaways on the Kielburgers. When the Canada Revenue Agency locked out 800,000 accounts over the weekend, taxpayers were none too pleased. But Ipsos polling recently published in a federal repository shows the federal agency is heading into tax season with an improved reputation in the pandemic era—at least in some corners. The report says 82 per cent of Canadians who applied for pandemic relief gave the CRA top marks, and 47 per cent said their opinion of the agency improved last year. Only 47 per cent of small- and medium-sized businesses that applied for the wage subsidy gave similarly high ratings—and only 31 per cent of SMEs said the CRA's info on benefits was "easy to understand." The polling occurred last July, a lifetime ago in pandemic terms. Flying high: The feds responded to two detailed questions on the order paper from Conservative MPs about government-funded flights in the pandemic. The responses were lengthy enough that they were "passed as Orders for Return"—i.e. too long to print in Hansard. Ask the Library of Parliament, and they'll email copies. What did we learn? MP Warren Steinley asked for details of all federal flights that have left Canada since last April. The only disclosed trip of note came from the RCMP, which listed a chartered flight from Boundary Bay, B.C., to Sacramento, California. The purpose was a prisoner extradition—name withheld—that required five Mounties to climb aboard. The second question came from MP Scot Davidson, who requested records for all federal flights from November to January. On the 200th page of the disclosure , the military disclosed a pair of chartered flights from Australia in which a Soviet-built cargo aircraft flew four F/A-18 fighter jets—purchased from the Aussies—to Mirabel airport. Total cost: $13.1 million. Even more documents: Several departments dropped hundreds more files into the lap of the Commons health committee last Friday. Some highlights from the Prime Minister's Office include an exhaustive summary of an interdepartmental procurement call from May 1, when the feds were scrambling for PPE and running up against masks that failed testing, packed warehouses and dozens of companies raising their hands. An early April status update described the stunning scale of industrial retooling in response to the pandemic. And a PMO operative hit 'send' on the understatement of the year in response to Americans potentially blocking the export of PPE: "Getting Freeland on the phone with the Americans seems relatively important." The Supreme Court unveiled fancy new emblems. There's a method to every single element of the top court's new badge. Two vertical red stripes symbolize Canada's two legal traditions—and a two-row wampum belt. A white background symbolizes "transparency and accessibility." Gold accents evoke "excellence." Heraldic symbols aren't just for the court: 10 former prime ministers—plus one former Newfoundland PM—have their own official emblems. —Nick Taylor-Vaisey | 
