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Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook.

In today’s edition:

→ Emergency comms in Yellowknife snaps impact of Meta’s news blocking into focus
→ Military airlifts on the table as thousands need out by air
→ Tired: Ottawa Wine Rack jokes; Wired: AI travel-advice shenanigans

DRIVING THE DAY

NWT BURNS — Yellowknife is supposed to be a ghost town by noon local time today, the deadline for its evacuation order.

People fled the capital city of the Northwest Territories in an exodus Thursday amid fears dangerous wildfires could creep closer, with thousands still waiting to be airlifted at last check.

Playbook reached the territory’s representative in the Senate, MARGARET DAWN ANDERSON, currently in Tuktoyaktuk, who has family, friends and colleagues leaving Yellowknife, the city she has lived in for more than 20 years.

She said she can’t remember anything that’s had such a “profound impact” on the population.

— Key hub at risk: Not only does much of the territory live there, but she noted it also plays an important role for smaller communities.

It’s where people go to get access to resources and important services, such as medical and dental care. Even medivacs.

— Access denied: The senator said her main concern is the safety of the roughly 22,000 people leaving the area.

But she also expressed frustration that the fallout over the Liberal government’s controversial online news act is hampering communications.

Territorial residents are being restricted at a “vital” moment from disseminating news through Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms to “those that are in dire need of being able to use it as a platform,” she said.

And in the North, Facebook plays an outsized role as a form of communication, which people have come to rely on in their daily lives.

Her message to the government: The realities of the North are often not taken into account in Parliament.

“When legislation is considered, it should be also looking at the impacts it has on [not only just the territory and other provinces], but on the North specifically because our circumstances are so varied from the southern part of Canada.”

— Meta scrap continues: Liberal MP CHRIS BITTLE pointed the finger directly at the company. He tweeted it was “reckless and irresponsible” to block news “while wildfires are causing evacuations in the NWT and endangering lives.”

Residents can still get emergency information from government accounts and public figures directly, and share what they know. Some posted screengrabs of stories.

But just look at the photos posted on those platforms by residents to get a sense of the epic scale of what’s happening in their lives right now.

CRISIS MEETING — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU convened the government’s incident response group Thursday afternoon, a high-level emergency committee that meets during crises.

He had been vacationing in B.C.

Trudeau was briefed on the latest developments and federal support deployed — Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, along with aircraft, logistics and coordination staff, according to a readout from his office.

It also said Trudeau “stressed that there would be no tolerance for opportunistic price escalation, including airfare and essential goods for those impacted by the wildfires.”

Trudeau’s social media accounts posted: “I want to make this very clear: As the situation develops, we’ll be here to provide any and all support needed.”

— One road leads out: Evacuees can drive out of Yellowknife via Highway 3, making for a mass of vehicles. It’s about a 15-hour drive to Edmonton; 18 to Calgary.

Highway workers have been ushering vehicles through high-risk areas where fires are actively burning.

There are only certain areas where people can gas up, and lineups and waits are lengthy.

People also waited hours Thursday in long lines for evacuation flights to take them out of danger – some 3,000 have already been flown out. But many will have to line up again today, with some 5,000 still needing to fly out, according to territorial officials at a press conference late last night.

Defence Minister Bill Blair appeared on CBC’s Power and Politics Thursday and said he is prepared to order the Canadian Armed Forces to airlift residents to safety.

Yellowknife is of course not the only community affected, with evacuations taking place in Fort Smith, Jean Marie River, Hay River and other communities.

Hay River Mayor KANDIS JAMESON posted on Facebook Thursday that every effort is being made to provide flights out of the community, but the “opportunity for aircraft to come through Hay River has become even more challenging with the number of active fires in the Northwest Territories increasing.”

— B.C. on alert: West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation declared a state of emergency, with thousands of properties on evacuation alert.

Provincial officials warned this could be the “most challenging” time of the summer from the wildfires.

— Role change: Spare a thought for local media. In major disasters in smaller communities, news media suddenly transform into major communications hubs for the communities they serve and have to step up above and beyond their normal roles.

Reporters, ad sales people, and everyone already run off their feet have to suddenly snap into helping coordinate people whose lives have been turned upside down.

Cabin Radio, which has had some of the most up-to-date coverage on the NWT fires, posted this note on its website: “Note to other media outlets: Our reporters are unlikely to be able to accommodate your requests. Sorry.”

FOR YOUR RADAR

OUTCRY OVER BEIJING TRIP — The Conservative Party is calling on Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT to step down from his position as executive vice-chairman on the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development.It also called on the Liberal government Thursday to “end all funding to this communist-led organization.”

Foreign affairs critic MICHAEL CHONG, who was recently targeted by a suspected Chinese disinformation campaign online and a central figure in an ongoing foreign-interference controversy that’s rocking Canadian politics, unleashed on social media.

“Let’s talk to Beijing about climate change,” he tweeted. “But let’s not lend Canada’s good name to give Beijing the cover it needs to keep increasing emissions.”

— Lightning storm: It comes after the National Observer reported Guilbeault is headed to China toward the end of the month for a meeting of the key body, which advises the Chinese government on environmental issues.

Guilbeault provided the online environmental news site with a preemptive defense: “I am clearly a lightning rod for some [political opponents], but I think Canadians in general will understand how important it is.”

Guilbeault is one of a number of representatives of foreign governments listed as members, including Denmark’s climate ambassador TOMAS ANKER CHRISTENSEN and JAN HENDRIK DRONKERS, Secretary-General to the Infrastructure and Water Management Ministry of the Netherlands.

— You know where this is going: The World Economic Forum is also a partner alongside Canada’s environment ministry.

— More context: Conservatives campaigned during the 2019 election to cut global emissions, a promise built partly on an idea to sell China on Canadian natural gas to replace coal.

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TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s itinerary has not yet been shared.

— International Trade Minister MARY NG is in Semarang, Indonesia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Ministers meeting.

10 a.m. Green Party Leader ELIZABETH MAY has a presser on the Hill, per an advisory that announced she was granted security clearance and was examining “documents relating to interference in the elections.”

10:30 a.m. NDP MP JENNY KWAN will hold a press conference in Toronto to launch a petition campaign asking Ottawa to move faster on a foreign-agent registry.

12 p.m. Federal ministers hold a press conference to deliver an update on wildfires in the Northwest Territories. Who RSVP’d: Emergency Preparedness Minister HARJIT SAJJAN, Defense Minister BILL BLAIR, Citizens’ Services Minister TERRY BEECH, Transport Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ, along with Parlsec JULIE DABRUSIN.

1 p.m. Health Minister MARK HOLLAND sits down for a fireside chat about what’s next after the health agreements with JENNIFER DITCHBURN at the CMA conference in Ottawa. Also making an appearance for another panel is former environment minister CATHERINE MCKENNA.

WHO’S UP, WHO’S DOWN

Up: Former Conservative leader ANDREW SCHEER’s social media mentions, after baiting explainers on how a wire service works to an MP of nearly two decades.

Down: JONATHAN WILKINSON and whoever wrote JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s unambiguous tree-planting tweets, now that the government is backtracking on its two-billion-trees promise after Le Devoir reporter BORIS PROULXuncovered some creative accounting.

MEDIA ROOM

— JESSICA SMITH-CROSS reports for The Trillium that OLP contender BONNIE CROMBIE netted donations from 10 execs at just one development corp. worth more than $30,000.

— CP’s DYLAN ROBERTSON reports Canada is coming up with response plans in case the U.S. takes a hard turn to the far right: Foreign Affairs Minister MELANIE JOLY “suggested Canada has a game plan in mind but wouldn’t get into details” on how to manage what she said “could be a rather difficult situation.”

— Innovation Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE claimed a win Thursday alongside Premier François Legault announcing C$644 million for the construction of a new Ford EV plant in Bécancour, Que.

— TYLER MEREDITH tells iPolitics’ MARCO VIGLIOTTI that Treasury Board President ANITA ANAND’s marching orders to rein in spending are meant to send a stern signal early on in the budget cycle about the government’s fiscal position.

— NP’s RYAN TUMILTY notes some policy items yet to be delivered on, including on housing, that were listed in the old ministerial mandate letters (new ones still not out yet).

— JENNIFER KEESMAAT is on the Herle Burly pod.

— In Le Devoir, JEAN-LOUIS BORDELEAU finds nil progress nearly two months after former Immigration Minister SEAN FRASER teased the launch of a new digital nomads strategy for remote work.

— Liberal MP JOËL LIGHTBOUND tells Rad-Can’s ALEXANDRE DUVAL and LOUIS-PHILIPPE ARSENAULT that he’s a no for the Jean-Talon byelection — and a maybe for a future Quebec Liberals leadership run.

PROZONE

If you’re a subscriber, don’t miss our latest policy newsletter from ZI-ANN LUM: Ford bets on Quebec.

In other news for Pro subscribers:

— Putin fails again as Europe’s gas storage hits 90 percent.
— EPA’s ‘forever chemicals’ test results hint at scale of water contamination.
— Is this the end of the hydrogen highway?
— Big costs, sweeping changes: What to know about the IRA.
— U.S. imports of electric vehicles surge despite fears created by new climate law.

PLAYBOOKERS

HBD to former parliamentarians HUNTER TOOTOO (60!) and PIERRE DUCASSE. Former Winnipeg mayor BRIAN BOWMAN also celebrates today.

Weekend birthdays: Sen. DONNA DASKO, MP KYLE SEEBACK, former MP GERRY RITZ on Saturday; Sen. MOBINA JAFFER on Sunday. HBD to the Western Producer, turning 100 next week!

Anniversaries: Happy 23nd to ERIN and REBECCA O’TOOLE.

Send birthdays to [email protected].

Spotted: A replacement for your tired Ottawa/NYT Wine Rack jokes: Microsoft Travel’s AI writer is pumping the food bank as a must-visit spot for tourists: “Consider going into it on an empty stomach.”

Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE set to drop by a Brampton, Ontario mansion for an afternoon fundraiser on Saturday.

Movers and shakers: Dr. KATHLEEN ROSS is the new president of the Canadian Medical Association, taking over from outgoing president Dr. ALIKA LAFONTAINE.

FLAVIO VOLPE, shortlisted by Reuters for its “visionary leader” award for its Global 2023 Automotive DRIVE Honors … Toronto lawyer MARGARET WENTE reappointed to the Independent Judicial Advisory Committee for Ontario, Greater Toronto Area for a three-year term.

Farewells: Ontario’s first Indigenous lieutenant governor JAMES BARTLEMAN has died at the age of 83.

TRIVIA

Thursday’s answer: On Aug. 18, 1940, Prime Minister MACKENZIE KING and U.S. President FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT met in Ogdensburg, New York, where they established the Permanent Joint Board on Defence.

Props to NANCI WAUGH, JOSH ZANIN, MORGAN LARHANT, SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, DOUG SWEET, STEVE KAROL, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, GREG HANNAH, ANDREW FITZPATRICK and JEFF VALOIS.

Today’s question: On this date in 1869, WILLIAM HAMILTON was granted the first Canadian patent. What was it for?

Send your answer to [email protected]

Think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best.

Want to grab the attention of movers and shakers on Parliament Hill? Want your brand in front of a key audience of Ottawa influencers? Playbook can help. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: [email protected]

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

Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter misidentified the occupation of Toronto lawyer Margaret Wente.