The PM was in town, but wrapping up a working lunch with the prime minister of Luxembourg, while Pierre Poilievre was also absent for reasons unknown. Melissa Lantsman led off instead, and she listed the government’s many economic failings before rhetorically asking how anyone on the government benches could defend this abysmal record. Patty Hajdu responded that the Conservatives merely stand in the way of assistance for Canadians. Lantsman raised the case of a young nurse who feels like she can’t ahead, and Hajdu insisted that they tell young people to help them build big things. John Brassard took over, and accused the government of gorging at the “all-you-can-take taxpayer buffet,” and a Gregor Robertson responded with some back-patting on their homebuilding programmes, as well as the GST rebate. Brassard sanctimoniously listed everything wrong, including accusing the government of not getting a deal with the U.S. John Zerucelli reminded him that we are in a trade war before praising their investments to build Canada. Gérard Deltell took over in French, and he recited the food price inflation script, to which Mélanie Joly declared that the government was in “solution mode,” including the GST rebate. Deltell recounted that he had a conversation with the manager at his local grocery store who lamented the increase in thefts because prices are too high. Joly listed the programmes to help people in need, including an agreement signed with the Quebec government. 

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and she once again raised the problems with the OAS payment software, and the figure that 85,000 people have been affected. Stephanie McLean note that this is out of seven billion seniors, and that they are working to help those affected. Normandin raised the fact that the software transformation is $5 billion over budget, and this time, Steven MacKinnon recited that they have modernised the system and to let the government know so they can fix it. Andréanne Larouche took over to demand action from the government, and MacKinnon repeated that seven million seniors get pensions and that the 85,000 was too many, but they are working to resolve the situation. 

Round two, and Raquel Dancho wanted the Americans excluded from the EV subsidies (Joly: We are embracing where the industry is going, and working to bring everyone on board; Why aren’t you defending Canadian jobs from Trump), Kyle Seeback recited the same script (Joly: We are in talks with the South Koreans while we won’t let the industry be destroyed piece by piece; We have employed counter-tariffs and limited market access to those companies who shut their Canadian factories), Arpan Khanna demanded “tax relief” to those getting layoffs (Hajdu: You are the only party fighting against workers; Fragiskatos: I know these workers, and we should work together and that the CRA is not treating this severance pay any differently), Harb Gill read the same script more haltingly (Joly: It’s not just one model in Canada, it’s three and more on the way).

These scripts about American-made cars” seem to ignore that all auto parts cross the border because the sector has been integrated since the 1950s. #QP

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-02-09T19:39:22.185Z

Xavier Barsalou-Duval worried about Canada Post using low-cost truckers (MacKinnon: There is a code of conduct and they need to follow the rules; Sudds: The CEO assures us that all contracted suppliers have clear rules and a code of conduct). 

Pierre Paul-Hus worried about the cost of the tramway in Quebec City (Robertson: The federal government invested $1.14 billion while we fund lots of transit projects; MacKinnon: This is the first time you’ve asked about this in ten years and we have been supporting it since 2018), Eric Lefebvre raised the pension software issue (McLean: More than seven million seniors are getting their benefits on time, and you should forward the names of those affected so we can help them), Bernard Généroux read the same script (MacKinnon: Same answer), Richard Martel read the same script yet again (Hajdu: The system is on budget and we can help anyone affected).

Round three saw questions on the state of the economy (Long: You are obstructing our help for Canadians; You supported giving millionaires child benefit cheques; Fragiskatos: Hundreds of thousands of jobs created, wages are rising faster than inflation, inflation is on target; 240 agreements signed with municipalities for housing; Thompson: You need to stop obstructing at every turn; You are voting against the bills who are helping Canadians; McKnight: We have a plan and are moving forward on it; Zerucelli: We have a plan but you are blocking the bill; Noormohamed: We are investing in the economy of tomorrow), extortion (Anandasangaree: Pass lawful access; Sahota: Same answer), Jimmy Lai’s sentence in Hong Kong (Anand: Canada has called for his immediate release and have consistently spoken out against the national security law, and I reiterated our position when I was in Beijing), and the Inuit Child First programme (Gull-Masty: We need to respond, and we are working with our partners on next steps).

Overall, it was a fairly mediocre day, and the Conservatives are trying to build a new narrative around the state of the economy that is built on a very selective set of facts that don’t take any context into account. At one point, Garnett Genuis exhorted the government to read the StatsCan report on GDP, when I could say the exact same thing to him because he listed the headline figures while ignoring the underlying explanations (a shortage of semiconductor chips in auto production, and Trump’s trade war is causing the drag, which they studiously ignore). Most of these questions were geared toward demanding the government pass their ridiculous “Canadian Sovereignty Act” nonsense, which I will repeat, is bananapants and is going to do absolutely nothing for the economy other than create litigation. As well, the Conservatives’ demand that the government change the severance rules to stop the tax withholdings is something that the union is not asking for, and won’t actually help anyone.

QP recap:Liberals: When will the opposition work with us?Conservatives: When will the government work with us?

— Aaron Wherry (@aaronwherry.bsky.social) 2026-02-09T20:07:12.500Z

Otherwise, I would also note that the Conservatives started asking about the problems with the pension software two weeks after the Bloc started raising this question, but only their Quebec MPs raised this issue and none of their other MPs in English or from outside of Quebec. It’s strange that they are merely following the Bloc’s lead on this and not trying to make it a bigger issue, unless I’ve missed something and the only problems with this software are with Quebec clients. 

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Melissa Lantsman for a dark blue jacket with brass buttons over a white collared shirt and navy slacks, and to David Myles for a tailored dark grey suit with a blueberry shirt and a purple tie. Style citations go out to John-Paul Danko for a dark blue suit with a wind pane pattern over a white shirt with a tan and blue checked tie and a blue pocket square with white dots, and to Pauline Rochefort for a pale teal jacket over a pink and blue floral top.