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Chrystia Freeland is set to have more influence on the Liberal government’s workings than any previous deputy prime minister.

A new staffing list, obtained by The Globe and Mail, indicates that her office will be working in the same building as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and her chief of staff, Jeremy Broadhurst, is being cross-posted on both teams.

Katie Telford, Mr. Trudeau’s chief of staff, said the two offices will be “highly integrated and collaborative.”

Mr. Trudeau’s mandate letter for Ms. Freeland, released last month, indicated that she is being given wide latitude to deal with other cabinet ministers on files such as negotiating health agreements with provinces to helping Canada meet its greenhouse-gas reduction targets.

This is the daily Politics Briefing newsletter, written by Chris Hannay. 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

Iran has shrugged off the vestiges of its nuclear agreement and now says it is enriching more uranium than ever before. Israel reiterated its threat to attack Iran before it could develop nuclear weapons.

The Canadian government says it might provide compensation to families of those killed in Tehran last week when an Iranian missile brought down a Ukrainian plane. Fifty-seven Canadians were on board, and there were many more passengers eventually bound for Canada. The Canadian government ultimately hopes the Iranian government will pay, but Ottawa may start providing interim payments since the process with Iran could drag on for years.

And the Meghan-Harry saga continues: Prince Harry made what could be his last public engagement as a royal before he and his wife begin transitioning out of royal duties; Jessica Mulroney, a trusted confidante of Meghan’s, is being drawn into a major lawsuit with a British tabloid; and a former heritage minister says the Canadian government should only pay for the couple’s security costs in Canada if they keep up their official duties.

David Parkinson (The Globe and Mail) on preparing for another recession: “Effectively, the choice between fiscal stimulus (government spending) and monetary stimulus (interest-rate cuts) is a choice of whose debt you want to increase in order to fund spending to lift economic activity. In the case of interest-rate cuts, the objective is to encourage consumers – Canadian households – to borrow at low cost and spend that money. In the case of government spending, you’re asking the public balance sheet to bear the burden. It doesn’t have to be all one or the other, but the emphasis will determine who has to shoulder the bulk of the additional debt once the recessionary smoke clears.”

Philippe Lagassé (The Globe and Mail) on the legal underpinning of the monarchy: “In short, Britain’s Royal Family is our Royal Family because we share the same human being as our monarch. But rather than representing Canada as an independent state, they symbolize our heritage and continuing connection with the Queen and the Commonwealth, as demonstrated by the continued use of God Save the Queen as our Royal Anthem and the Canadian royal flags designed for members of the Royal Family with close ties to our country.”

Christine Negroni (Maclean’s) on who to punish for the Iran plane crash: “Jailing people involved contradicts years of efforts to create what is called “just culture” in the aviation community. “Just culture” means fostering an environment where the community understands that mistakes happen, while investigating closely to learn from the accident and enhance safety. When the threat of punishment is removed, people are more likely to talk about mishaps, misunderstandings, and yes, incompetence. These reports often reveal previously unknown hazards, and they in turn they can be addressed. The concept is so important; it is part of the recommended practices for international investigations.”

Don Braid (Calgary Herald) on why Rona Ambrose should run for Conservative leader: “The Conservatives, in my regional but not partisan view, need to jolt the rest of Canada with a western leader who is fiscally cautious, sensibly activist on climate change without demonizing resource production, proudly progressive on social issues — and female. Yes, it’s long past time.”

Adrienne Tanner (The Globe and Mail) on a disturbing incident at a Vancouver bank: “For anyone who believes racism against Canada’s Indigenous people is dead, consider the case of a Heiltsuk man and his granddaughter who recently ended up in handcuffs while attempting to open a bank account in downtown Vancouver. Maxwell Johnson, 56, told the CBC that he has banked with BMO since 2014 and expected, as would anyone, it would be easy to open a bank account for his 12-year-old granddaughter so he could transfer money to her when she was away on basketball trips.”

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