It was the last day we were going to see all of the party leaders in the Chamber this week, so the hope was for a repeat of yesterday’s performance, but the chest-thumping over Iraq during Members’ Statements didn’t raise any hopes. Thomas Mulcair led off by asking about Ebola precautions being taken in Canada. Stephen Harper assured him that there were no cases in Canada, and that the Public Health Agency has been seized with the matter and is ready in the event that a case does reach here. Mulcair changed topics and asked how many soldiers were on the ground in Iraq, to which Harper said that it was 26 as of today, with a maximum of 69 authorised. Mulcair groused about how many times he had to ask for that figure, to which Harper said that the number was fluctuated, but there was a maximum number. Mulcair asked if there were Canadian troops on the ground in Syria, to which Harper said no, and after that, Mulcair launched into a length diatribe about an open-ended mission with no end in sight, to which Harper insisted that there were no American troops in Iraq when this situation began, and it was a serious situation. Justin Trudeau declared that Harper had not yet made the case for a combat mission, and asked how many troops were supposed to be on the ground at the end of the 30-day mission on Saturday. Harper pretended not to hear what the question was, and instead gave a speech about the gravity of the threat that ISIS poses. Trudeau tried again in French and got much the same again. Trudeau pointed out the secrecy and evasiveness, and Harper said that they were making a decision, before hitting back at the Liberal position.
Category Archives: Question Period
QP: Plenty of questions and answers about Iraq
A day after a relatively decent QP (emphasis on relatively), it was hoped that MPs could keep it up, this time with all of the leaders present. Thomas Mulcair led off by asking about the Ebola crisis in West Africa and asked about sending DART. Harper responded that he has spoken with the Director General of the WHO and that we are sending more aid but DART is not the right tool. Mulcair asked about the possibility of sending additional forces to Iraq, to which Harper said that they were still examining next steps and that a vote would be held if it was a combat mission (caution — it’s a trap!) Mulcair wondered if those air strikes could include Syria, and Harper didn’t want to speculate. Mulcair wanted to know when the Iraq plans would be tabled for debate, but Harper wouldn’t give a timeline other than “the next few days.” Mulcair closed by asking for a report on the activities of our forces on the first 30 days of deployment. Harper said that no one should doubt the impact of our forces, but didn’t provide an answer. Justin Trudeau asked about what support we have offered the Americans in Iraq and about our current objectives. Harper repeated that they were contemplating next steps, and that the actions in the region were necessary and noble. Trudeau asked about the accomplishments of the first 30 days and if CF-18s were specifically requested. Harper said that the people in northern Iraq were facing genocide and that it was important work — but didn’t answer the question. When Trudeau wanted more debate on the mission, Harper said that they should put partisanship aside.
QP: Baird delivers relevant answers
The day was already off to a shaky start, where Peter Van Loan spent the NDP’s supply date motion on amending the Standing Orders to have the relevancy rules apply to QP, by arguing that QP shouldn’t be a one-way street and that the NDP should answer the questions they pose back to them. It really was mystifying. No major leader was present in the Commons for QP, where Megan Leslie asked about plans to send CF-18s to Iraq to conduct airstrikes. John Baird said that they were dealing with humanitarian operations over there, but no further decisions had been taken. Leslie demanded a vote on increasing participation, to which Baird insisted that they would hold one on a combat mission. (Wait — it’s a trap!) Hélène Laverdière picked up the same questions I’m French, and asked how many of the planned 69 special forces were on the ground. Baird said that he would get back to her on the number, and reiterated the threat posed by ISIS. Leslie got back up for the final question, and trawled for support for the supply day motion, to which Van Loan assured her that our Parliament has the most accountable Question Period in the world, and that the government should be able to pose questions too. And then my head exploded. Dominic LeBlanc led off for the Liberals, and cited media leaks on extending the Iraq deployment, and wanted more details on the parameters that cabinet was considering. Baird replied that cabinet had not yet weighed in on it. Joyce Murray asked about the time period that they were considering for an extended deployment. Baird spoke with exaggerated slowness to insist that no decision had not yet been made.
QP: A debate or a vote
The President of Germany was visiting the Centre Block today, no matter that Harper was still in New York for the United Nations, and Justin Trudeau was off campaigning in Oshawa, leaving Thomas Mulcair once again the only major leader present. He led off by asking about the Prime Minister’s revelation in New York that we were being asked to contribute more troops to Iraq. Rob Nicholson responded by saying that the request was just received and that it would be reviewed, along with our current non-combat mission at the end of the 30 days. Mulcair wanted the letter made public, and asked how many more troops were being asked. Nicholson repeated that it would all be part of the review. Mulcair wanted the disclosure of the permission given by Iraq, to which Nicholson assured him that they had proper permission. Mulcair moved onto the burgeoning refugee crisis in Turkey, to which Chris Alexander gave a pro forma response about how many refugees from Iraq we have already settled and how many more we planned to. Mulcair pressed for detail on Syrian refugees, and Alexander said that more than 1500 Syrian refugees were present in Canada. Marc Garneau led off for the Liberals, and asked for details on the new Iraq request, and that it would be brought for debate in the House. Nicholson repeated that they would be reviewing everything. Joyce Murray noted the recall of Parliament in the UK to debate their Iraq deployment, to which Nicholson invited the opposition to use their supply days to debate further. Adam Vaughan reiterated the need for debate in parliament before any deployment was extended, and Nicholson noted how forthcoming the government has been.
QP: A few answers on Iraq
Before Question Period got underway, the Speaker rose to make a statement. Scheer gave a reminder about his role as it is laid out in O’Brien and Bosc, and reminded members that the current practice, upheld by successive Speakers, is that he has no authority over the content of answers, quoting Speaker Milliken several times. He reminded them that it is up to MPs to give him those powers, but did caution MPs to be more judicious in their language. When things got started officially, Thomas Mulcair asked about the end date of the engagement in Iraq. With Harper off in New York, James Bezan stood up to tell him that the clock started on September 5th, and chided the NDP for offering no suggestions for stopping ISIS. Mulcair made a dig about Bezan not being a member of government before asking how many soldiers were on the ground at present. Bezan deferred, but when Mulcair pressed, Bezan said that the commitment was for 69 personnel who would provide assistance to Kurdish forces. Mulcair demanded a vote on deployment, and Bezan noted all of the other deployments that they didn’t demand a vote for. For his final question, Mulcair demanded a full public inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Kellie Leitch said that families of victims were thankful to the government for coming forward with their Action Plan™. For his question, Justin Trudeau cited a report saying that this generation of Canadians would be worse off than their parents, and wondered what the government was doing to change that. Joe Oliver responded by touting assistance for low-income Canadians. Citing the inter-generational wealth gap, Trudeau wondered if the government would vote for their EI credit proposal, but Joe Oliver responded by reading his previous statement in French. Trudeau pressed on their plans for the vote, but Oliver said that the last thing the Liberals were qualified to talk about was EI.
QP: Don’t question the Speaker
With Stephen Harper out of the Commons, likely prepping for his trip to the UN, the other leaders were present and accounted for. Thomas Mulcair led off by asking if a statement by James Bezan about the end date for the Iraq, but Paul Calandra ignored the question entirely and accused an NDP fundraiser of saying terrible things about Israel. Mulcair brought the point back to Iraq, while Calandra tried to hammer the fundraiser’s comments. When Calandra tried a third time, Mulcair challenged the Speaker’s neutrality for not shutting him down. Scheer, unimpressed, cut Mulcair’s last two questions and went directly to Justin Trudeau, who asked about job creation. Joe Oliver touted job internship programmes and so on, but didn’t offer much else. Trudeau moved onto Harper’s absence from the climate conference in New York. Colin Carrie dutifully got up to read some prepared statements, much as he did yesterday. Trudeau brought up action taken by premiers for carbon pricing, to which Carrie read another statement.
QP: Colin Carrie reads some statements
With Stephen Harper entertaining the president of South Korea just down the hall, and Justin Trudeau, well, elsewhere, Thomas Mulcair was once again the only major leader in the Commons, not that this is uncommon for a Monday any longer. Mulcair began QP with a short question about why the PM is boycotting the UN climate conference this week. Colin Carrie responded by praising the government’s action on GHGs in a ridiculous prepared statement. Mulcair decried the embarrassment of the government withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol, and wondered if the government believed in a healthy environment, to which Carrie read another lengthy statement. Mulcair referenced his time as Quebec environment minister, and wondered if the government would include a right to clean air and water in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Carrie noted that Mulcair once had a smog day named after himself — and read another statement. Megan Leslie was up next, and spoke about the climate March in New York, and asked about regulations on oil and gas emissions. Carrie, undaunted, read yet another prepared statement. Leslie tried one last time to persuade the PM to head to the climate summit, but Carrie reminded her that the environment minister was attending. Rising for the Liberals, John McKay tried to keep up the pressure on the climate summit file, to which Carrie — once again — read a statement prefaced by the fact that the former Liberal leader named his dog Kyoto. Marc Garneau asked again in French, to which Carrie read a statement in French. Scott Brison closed the round asking about the problems with the EI tax credit, and Kevin Sorensen gave Carrie a break by reciting that the Liberals didn’t understand small business.
QP: About this local issue…
With both Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau off in Southern Ontario for events, Thomas Mulcair was the only major leader in the Commons. He led off by asking about the coming demolition of the Mirabel airport — likely because he has Quebec seats to shore up, and Lisa Raitt responded first by reminding him that she’s a she and not a he, and that it’s the Montreal Airport Authority that is the responsible authority. Mulcair shot back that he was referring to the Minister of Infrastructure, before he angrily wondered when the government when the government would listen to indigenous women about missing and murdered indigenous women. Kellie Leitch responded that families were thanking her for the Action Plan™ being tabled. Mulcair then switched to the bus-train collision in Ottawa a year ago, and asked about a train derailment in Slave Lake. Raitt was back up, and said they were working on rail safety. Chris Charlton was up next and bemoaned the declaration of bankruptcy by US Steel in Hamilton, which Mike Lake gave a somewhat shrugging response, and when Charlton demanded that the government protect the pensions of the affected retired workers, Kevin Sorensen touted all the ways they have cut taxes. Ralph Goodale was up for the Liberals, asking about job losses in the last month and suggested changing the EI tax credit to one where employers get a credit for a net job created. Sorensen insisted that the Liberals were making up policy on the fly, and made random potshots at the Liberal record on EI. Goodale’s final question was about the latest report on income splitting and how it would affect provincial budgets. Sorensen responded that Harper said that income splitting was a good policy. Well if Harper says so…
Poroshenko visits Parliament
There was no Question Period today, given the visit by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to Parliament, and in lieu of business in the Chamber, he delivered a speech to a joint session of Parliament. I hadn’t intended to live-blog the speech, but for posterity, here are some of my tweets, for those of you who aren’t following me on the Twitter Machine.
Harper with the president of Ukraine. #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/P2L6HrrAHs
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) September 17, 2014
Someone at BBC picked up on this photo, but in crediting me in his tweet, I became subject to a lot of anti-Poroshenko tweets in my feed. Yay Twitter!
QP: 69 pairs of boots on the ground
The second day of the fall sitting, and the Conservative Members’ Statements were beyond hysterical. Thomas Mulcair led off, and demanded to know how many Canadian Forces’ members were in Iraq. Harper responded that it was 69. Mulcair railed on about military deployments needing the approval of the House — undercutting his own accountability role given the practice of Crown Prerogatives. Harper reminded him that the current mission was not the same as the 2003 war. Mulcair changed topics, and asked if Harper would hide behind parliamentary privilege to avoid testifying at the Duffy trial. Harper suggested that Mulcair would be an expert witness on the misuse of public funds. Mulcair, after some hubbub, wondered why Harper didn’t fire anyone involved in the “bribery” of Duffy, but Harper hit back that Mulcair should probably fire himself. Mulcair changed topics again and mentioned a report on the Champlain Bridge that said that a toll would make traffic surge on other bridges instead. Harper reminded him that they were still in a contracting process. Justin Trudeau was up next, and returned to the problems with the EI tax credits which incentivize firing instead of hiring employees. Harper shot back with a couple of non-sequiturs about the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Trudeau musing about cancelling income splitting. Trudeau shot back with a different quote about the CFIB and called on him to give a break on premiums. Harper read a quote from the CFIB, and accused Trudeau of wanting to raise rates.