Category Archives: Question Period

Recaps from Question Period in the House of Commons

QP: Never mind the F-35s, look at these job numbers

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The Thursday before a holiday Friday, the House benches were a little emptier than usual, and QP held in the morning as it would be on a Friday. But unlike a Friday, it wasn’t entirely manned by the B-Teams of any particular party, as both Harper and Rae were present. Mulcair, however, was absent, and it was up to Joe Comartin to demand answers on what cabinet knew with regards to the F-35 fighters. Harper reminded him that they haven’t actually purchased any planes but will do with a new process in the future, before he veered off to new job numbers in order to try to change the channel. Christine Moore continued on demanding ministerial accountability, but Rona Ambrose reminded her that the Auditor General only wanted new cost estimates tabled and that they’re going above and beyond that with the new secretariat. Standing up for the Liberals, Bob Rae asked when Harper knew the proper costs per the AG’s report. Harper dodged and talked instead about how no planes were purchased, and that they have a new process.

Round two started with Matthew Kellway basically repeating Rae’s question – albeit less eloquently (MacKay: new process!), Malcolm Allen and Lysand Blachette-Lamothe continued those questions (Ambrose: Independently validating new cost estimates), Jack Harris and Ryan Cleary asked about the failure of the search and rescue system in Labrador (MacKay: ground search and rescue is a provincial responsibility), Alexandre Boulerice and Peggy Nash asked about Paradis’ staffer taking a trip to Vegas on a government credit card (Van Loan: Costs were recovered and he’s now a former employee). Marc Garneau compared Peter MacKay to the captain of the Costa Concordia on the F-35 file and demanded his head (MacKay: the AG says that we’ve responded appropriately and no money has been spent), Carolyn Bennett wondered what other things the $10 billion nearly misspent on the F-35s could have gone toward (Fantino: No money was misspent so no worries), and Gerry Byrne hammered home the point of the AG’s words (Ambrose: We have a new process!). Dionne Labelle and Craig Scott asked about CBC cuts (James Moore: the CBC has enough funds to fulfil its mandate), and Nycole Turmel and Paul Dewar asked about public service job cuts (Menzies: Look at the new job numbers!).

Round three saw questions on job cuts on military bases – especially in Quebec, a veteran being denied health benefits, old Conservative promises on cutting taxes on gasoline when it reaches a certain price (Paradis: You guys wanted to raise gas taxes), cuts to CMHC, the cuts to Katimavik, the education funds being withheld in Attawapiskat (John Duncan: The money is in the account as of today), and the court challenge on the long-gun registry data.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Greg Rickford for a superbly tailored dark grey suit with a white collared shirt and a purple tie and pocket square, and to Judy Foote for a grey suit jacket and white top. Style citations go out to Jean Rousseau for a fluorescent blue shirt/grey suit violation, and to Lois Brown for a black suit with a bright yellow collared shirt.

QP: F-35 edition

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After some Members’ Statements to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day and a moment of silence to pay respect, Question Period: F-35 edition got underway. Thomas Mulcair took up all five slots in the leader’s round to demand that Peter MacKay be held responsible for the debacle (not that he demanded his resignation outright), but Harper responded with his usual manner – standing up, shrugging, and saying that they’ve accepted the Auditor General’s report and have put in place a new secretariat to oversee the process. And it was probably Thomas Mulcair’s best performance, with shorter more direct questions, but he was still reading them off. Bob Rae stood up to decry the $10 billion misinformation and wanted Harper personally held responsible, right up to his resignation. Harper was sounding a bit more testy by the end, but kept going back to his talking points about accepting the report and the establishment of a new secretariat, but he did use the rather odd language of it being a more independent process to verify cost estimates, rather than to run an open competition. And in case you were worried, no, he didn’t offer his resignation over this affair.

Round two was largely dominated again by the F-35 debacle. Christine Moore, Matthew Kellway, Matthew Ravignat, Peggy Nash and Malcolm Allen had their own takes on it, whether it was more calls for MacKay to take responsibility, or trying to paint Christian Paradis with the same brush from his time as Public Works minister, or demanding an apology on behalf of the Parliamentary Budget Officer for the way he was treated when his estimates were unpopular but later proved correct. Answering were Julian Fantino, Rona Ambrose, and Peter MacKay, but they only repeated the very same talking points as before (though Ambrose, to her credit, could at least mix it up a bit and give the same talking point six different ways and make it sound like she was giving more information than she really was). Marc Garneau demanded MacKay’s resignation (MacKay: You’re misrepresenting the AG’s report), John McKay followed suit (Ambrose: Look! New secretariat!), and Judy Foote demanded that Fantino resign, calling him the minister without portfolio (the M-4 Unit stood up to respond, and you could hear his duotronic circuits whirring for a few seconds while he tried to formulate a response, before he simply went back to his talking points). From here, the topic shifted, and Hoang Mai asked about the AG report on tax avoidance (Shea: Look at all the things the AG praised us for!), while Nycole Turmel and Paul Dewar asked about the effect of public service job cuts (Saxton: Yay leaner government!).

Round three saw questions on Bruce Carson’s relationship with John Duncan, patronage appointments, CBC cuts, gas prices in Quebec, the demise of the National Round Table on Energy and the Requirement and Rights & Democracy, cuts to staff on military bases, and federal intrusion in BC’s coasts with regards to the Northern Gateway pipeline (Lebel: There are sound regulations in place).

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to John McKay for his charcoal suit with a pink shirt and light blue tie, and to Michelle Rempel for a simple yet tailored black dress with a blue and grey scarf that wasn’t distracting. Style citations go out to Jasbir Sandhu for a pale orange shirt and tie with his grey suit, and to Lynne Yelich for a yellow jacket with black piping with a black turtleneck.

QP: That damning F-35 report

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After a morning spent breathlessly talking about the Auditor General’s report, we were waiting for fireworks. Harper was in the House, Mulcair was ready with his scripted questions sitting on his miniature lectern on his desk, but when the time came, Mulcair instead led off with a fairly pro forma question on budget cuts, to which Harper responded about transfer payments growing faster than provinces themselves were, and that they weren’t actually being cut. So much for that. Mulcair then turned to the F-35s and the Auditor General’s report, for which Harper assured him that they had accepted the report and were putting into place more rigorous supervision of the procurement process. Christine Moore followed up with more of the same, and Julian Fantino delivered an answer just like Harper’s. Ralph Goodale demanded to know why there was still no open tender for replacement fighters, to which Fantino accused Goodale of ignoring the good things the AG said in the report, though Goodale immediately countered that those good things praised were what the Liberals had put into place. When Marc Garneau asked about the government’s wilful blindness on the problems in the process, Rona Ambrose got up to tout the new secretariat being put into place to manage the procurement process.

Round two was mostly taken up with F-35 questions from the likes of Matthew Kellway, Malcolm Allan, and Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, for which we got mostly the same answers from either Fantino (who did mention a new Seven Point Plan™ on the process), or Ambrose. Peter Julian asked about a report claiming private sector job losses stemming from public sector cuts (Flaherty: those are wild numbers), Olvia how asked about the AG’s report on air safety (Lebel: We accept the report – basically shrugging off the reporting of serious lapses in safety inspections), and Jamie Nicholls asked about Aveos (Lebel: It’s an issue with two private companies). John McKay and Dominic LeBlanc returned to the F-35 and four years of mismanagement (Ambrose: New secretariat!). Irene Mathyssen and Kellie Leitch traded scripted outrage versus scripted bafflegab, Huang Mai asked about future tolls on the Champlain Bridge (Lebel: There’s no question about tolls right now), and Françoise Boivin asked about Quebec’s court challenge on long-gun registry data (Bernier: We’re going to defend our area of jurisdiction).

Round three saw questions on the demise of Rights & Democracy, Henk Tepper, OAS versus the Prime Minister’s special retirement allowance, environmental assessments at airports, a Canadian in a Spanish prison, drug shortages, GMO pork, and a final question on the long-gun registry data.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Greg Rickford who again proves that tailoring is key, with his black suit, white shirt and pocket square, and striped blue tie, and to Alexandrine Latendresse for her grey and black top, black skirt and black jacket. Style citations go out to Robert Goguen for a fluorescent blue shirt/black suit violation, and to Isabelle Morin for a black and floral jacket. The Christine Moore Shiny Watch today reports a multi-coloured metallic dress (that could have come from Talos IV) with black bordering around the waist and bust lines, paired with a black jacket.

QP: Attacking a provincial government

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As the NDP’s budget filibuster – for lack of a better term – continues, it was little surprise that Thomas Mulcair decided to start off today’s Question Period by reading off a trio of questions about the budget and jobs, careful to mention the Aveos job losses and forthcoming public sector cuts. As Harper was off in Washington for a “Three Amigos” meeting, we were instead treated to Peter Van Loan as designated replacement PM for the day, who touted the focus on job creation and economic growth in the budget, and that the NDP’s plan for higher taxes would kill those jobs. Peter Julian got up to ask about the public service cuts, to which Jim Flaherty replied that Julian should read all about the job creation hiring credit within the budget. Bob Rae stood up to ask a pair of questions about why Flaherty thought it was acceptable to attack the province of Ontario’s finances, but Van Loan did not answer, but simply kept trying to assert that Rae was a terrible premier back in his day. For his final question, Rae asked about the “special allowance” given to retired Prime Ministers, but Van Loan insisted that the budget was clear that MP pensions would be brought into line with those of the private sector.

Round two kicked off with Robert Chisholm calling the budget “mean-spirited” (Flaherty: Look at the long-term growth projections!), Wayne Marston and Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe asking about OAS pensions and downloading costs to the provinces (Leitch: We’re acting responsibly!), Libby Davies asked about the so-called cuts to health transfers (Aglukkaq: We’re not cutting transfers), and Hélène LeBlanc asked about the changes coming to the National Research Council (Paradis: We’ve doubled some research funds!). Marc Garneau and Justin Trudeau asked about the suggestions by Conservative MPs of incompetence at Elections Canada at the Procedure and House Affairs committee last week, and about their budget cuts (Uppal: We supported the motion in the House; Van Loan: They assured us they have all the resources they need), and John McKay asking about the forthcoming Auditor General’s report on the F-35s (Fantino: Wait for the report). Matthew Kellway and Christine Moore asked about the F-35 process (Fantino: We need replacement planes), and Jack Harris and Ryan Cleary asked about that search and rescue failure in Labrador (McKay: The Canadian Forces tries to respond to these requests).

Round three saw questions on the Northern Gateway Pipeline approval process, killing the Public Appointments Commission Secretariat, the environmental cuts in the budget (Kent: The budget proves how committed we are to the environment! Yes, indeed it does), Bell planning to double payphone rates to a dollar per call, the letter to Peter MacKay written by a former search and rescue technician about the impact of the changes, unilingual Anglophone IRB judges (Dykstra: Do you want us to fire the unilingual francophone ones in Quebec too?), cuts to the Council of Welfare, and environmental assessments with future airport construction.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Jonathan Genest-Jourdain for his grey suit with a white shirt a somewhat whimsical purple tie, and to Lisa Raitt for her tailored black leather jacket with a striped white collared shirt. Style citations go out to Maxime Bernier for a black suit with a yellow shirt and pocket square, with a red tie, and to Linda Duncan for a creation that appeared to be patchwork, but I can’t much describe it beyond that. Glance askance over to Christine Moore, whose love of shiny metallic ensembles was demonstrated today by a top that was comprised entirely of silver sequins.

And in case you missed it, this little rhyme from Liberal MP Roger Cuzner had everyone in the House laughing before QP got started.

QP: A lacklustre first showdown

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It may have taken until Thursday, but the face-off between Thomas Mulcair and Stephen Harper finally took place today, and wow, was it pretty lacklustre. Mulcair’s first two questions were about cuts in the budget, and while Harper first congratulated him on his victory, he then brought up his strong mandate to gradually eliminate the deficit, but that they weren’t cutting healthcare or pensions. Mulcair then turned to the issue of Christian Paradis’ ethical lapses, but Harper reminded him that nothing untoward actually happened. Libby Davies and Leona Aglukkaq had another go-around about health transfers, before Bob Rae brought up the logical inconsistencies with the F-35 tendering process. Harper assured him that the numbers coming out of the States were within the contingencies, but there was no signed contract. Rae finished off his round with a question on Paradis, and Harper continued to shrug it off.

Round two opened up with David Christopherson brought up the Chief Electoral Officer’s testimony on the Robocon issue at Procedure and House Affairs (Del Mastro: Baseless smears!), Guy Caron and Charlie Angus asked about Paradis’ numerous ethical lapses (Van Loan: The minister in question does a superb job!), and Olivia Chow, Isabelle Morin, and Jamie Nicholls asked about Aveos job losses (Lebel: We’re disappointed but the legal advice we got says Air Canada is in compliance with the Act). Judy Foote asked about a certain MP advising youths to carry arms – especially young woman to avoid sexual assaults (Toews: We don’t support treating duck hunters as criminals), Dion asked about the appointment of unilingual Anglophone immigration officers (Kenney: The IRB respects the Official Languages Act), and Sean Casey asked about veterans medical records being improperly accessed (Blaney: We’re helping veterans!). Alain Guiguère, Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, Wayne Marston and Irene Mathyssen asked about OAS cuts (Leitch: It’s unsustainable!).

Round three saw questions on the F-35s, fleet separation policy for East Coast fisheries, Aveos jobs, calls for a Royal Commission on the last election, cut to the CBC (the first question from new NDP MP Craig Scott), which aid groups are on the chopping block next, veterans’ privacy, drug shortages, and “national security” in the Investment Canada Act.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Marc Garneau for his navy pinstriped suit, with a white shirt and purple tie, and to Rona Ambrose for her fitted black leather jacket. Style citations go out to Hélène LeBlanc for her cherry-blossom patterned grey dress and jacket with an awful peach scarf, and Randy Kamp for his fluorescent aqua shirt with grey suit.

QP: Scourge of the middle class

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His third day as opposition leader, and Mulcair still had no Harper to battle in the House. While his delivery was a little bit less wooden, he was still reading from a script on a miniature lectern, asking about provincial transfers coming in the upcoming budget. In Harper’s place it was John Baird’s turn to be designated back-up PM, and he asserted that their government has given more to the provinces than any other government before them. Libby Davies followed up, accusing the government of abandoning healthcare with the rather dubious claim that they’re “slashing” $31 billion in health transfers (it wasn’t really a cut, people), to which Leona Aglukkaq reminded her that the Conservatives have funded healthcare to “historic levels” and they’re trying to make the system more sustainable. Bob Rae then got up to ask about the lack of a government policy on addictions and mental health, and John Baird took it on a tangent about the Liberals wanting to legalise marijuana, and that they were fighting that for the safety of middle-class families. No, seriously. Rae immediately picked up on that – every evidence shows that alcohol is the most dangerous substance out there, and why is the government announcing proudly that they’re joining in the failed war on drugs in Central America? (You see, you can pick up on questions like that when you’re able to deliver them off-the-cuff. Just saying). Baird continued to beat his chest about how proud they were to stand against the scourge of drugs, ignoring the evidence of course. For his final question, Rae asked about Harper’s former complaints about minister staying with people who do business with their departments (back when it was Don Boudria and Harper was the leader of the opposition), but Baird wasn’t going to take that bait.

Round two kicked off with Peter Julian asking a series of questions on jobs in the budget and the Aveos workers, to which Denis Lebel assured him that this was a private sector issue, and Ted Menzies assured him that they would continue on the path of job creation from the ongoing Economic Action Plan™. Wayne Marston and Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe asked about OAS changes (Leitch: OAS is unsustainable for “future Canadians,” not specifying if she meant Canadians in the future or those who are not yet Canadian), and Nycole Turmel and Paul Dewar asked about some unions not being allowed into the budget lock-up as stakeholders (Menzies: The budget is being delivered in the House where everyone can hear it). Judy Foote asked whether the government was asking the Conservative Party – as they’re actually separate entities remember – about its cooperation with Elections Canada considering that RackNine had an exclusive contract with the party for phone services and “Pierre Poutine” had access because of party connections (Del Mastro: You made your own illegal calls!), Denis Coderre asked about Aveos declining to appear at Transport Committee (Lebel: This is an issue between two private companies), and Judy Sgro asked about OAS changes (Leitch: Unsustainable!). Guy Caron and Charlie Angus closed off the round with questions on Paradis’ ethical latest ethical lapse (Paradis: I used my own means, and nobody lobbied me).

Round three saw questions on the F-35 Statement of Operational Requirements (one of those questions from Rae, as he tried to use logic to overload the duotronic circuits of the M-4 Unit – err, I mean Julian Fantino), environmental regulation changes to be “buried in the budget” (even though there is no indication this will be the case – broad outlines in the budget document doesn’t mean changes will be buried within implementation bills), the Northern Gateway pipeline, cuts to Katimavik (for which Justin Trudeau got a boxing joke in response), francophone immigration officers, the fleet separation policy for the East Coast fishery, rural post offices in Quebec, and the way the way the government handled the Air Canada strike versus the Aveos issue.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Michelle Rempel for her fuchsia belted dress, and to John McKay for his grey suit with a pink shirt and pale blue tie. Style citations go out to Carol Hughes for the jacket equivalent of a ball of elastic bands, and to LaVar Payne for his black shirt with a white collar worn with a white tie and a grey suit. Just…no. Dishonourable mentions to Romeo Saganash for a fluorescent blue shirt/grey suit violation, and to Maxime Bernier, who is normally a snappy dresser, for a black suit/lemon yellow shirt violation.

QP: Paradis asserts his innocence – again

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It was day two of a series of self-congratulatory members’ statements for the NDP, and Thomas Mulcair was again given the opportunity to shine without Harper present. Not that Mulcair really did, as he utilised one of the small lecterns on his desk to read his script from, asking first about the F-35s not meeting the Statement of Operational Requirements. It was Jason Kenney’s turn to be designated back-up PM, and he got to repeat the “no contracts signed” talking point that the responsible minister might otherwise have in his place. When asked about changes to the OAS, which Libby Davies in turn followed up on, Kenney and then Kellie Leitch both recited the talking points on being concerned for future generations. Davies then turned to the question of downloading healthcare costs onto the provinces, giving Leona Aglukkaq the opportunity to trot out her “Liberals gutted provincial transfers” talking point. Bob Rae turned to the issue of Aveos and the laws put in place around the Air Canada privatisation, but Kenney decided that rather than give an actual answer, he would repeat the attack ads about how Rae was a terrible Ontario premier. Rae’s final question was on Christian Paradis’ latest ethical gaffe, around the hunting trip, but Kenney assured him that there was in fact no conflict of interest.

Round two kicked off with Christine Moore and Matthew Kellway returning to the issue of the F-35 SOR (Fantino: Yay RCAF!), David Christopherson asked about the post-living differential afforded to military families (Fantino: We need to face the economic reality but wait for the budget), Alexandre Boulerice and Niki Ashton asked about the Robocon issue (Poilievre: We’re cooperating, Del Mastro: That’s all false and you diverted funds to the Broadbent Institute), and Charlie Angus and Guy Caron asked about Paradis’ hunting trip (Paradis: I paid my own way and brought my own food, and they didn’t lobby me anyway). Stéphane Dion asked about the Aveos issue (Lebel: This is a private sector issue), Lise St-Denis returned to the Paradis issue (Paradis gave his very same reply), and Wayne Easter asked why the Conservatives refused to show any humility amidst their various ethical lapses (Del Mastro: Sponsorship scandal! Missing $43 million! Never mind it was $39 million but I guess he’s figuring in inflation).  Closing off the round, Olivia Chow, Isabelle Morin, Peggy Nash and Pat Martin each asked about the Aveos issue (Lebel: This is aprivate sector issue).

Round three saw questions on the search and rescue failure in Labrador, insufficient francophone presence in the Atlantic search and rescue centre, EI claims delays, the F-35 SOR, Aboriginal skills development, and the downgrading of that Arctic research facility.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Rosane Doré Lefebvre for her white dress with the black pattern and a black jacket, and to Matthew Dubé for his tailored black suit with a crisp white shirt and a grey crosshatch patterned tie. Style citations go out to Bev Shipley for his orangey-yellow shirt and gold-yellow tie with a black suit, and to Laurin Liu for a white dress with a red and orange floral pattern. Dishonourable mentions go out to Jacques Gourde for a fluorescent blue shirt and grey suit, and to Christine Moore for her sequined black sweater.

QP: Mulcair follows his script

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With the NDP front bench once again being filled by its regular denizens, I’m sure that there were a few disappointed faces among backbenchers normally relegated to the nosebleeds who would no longer get to be on seat-filler duty, but it was all smiles and applause for new party leader Thomas Mulcair, and for the former leadership candidates who each made a Member’s Statement to congratulate Mulcair and to thank their campaigns for all of their hard work.

When Mulcair did rise to start off QP, he read off his questions from the papers on his desk, and asked about job losses, first from Electro-Motive in London and now Aveos, and just what did the government intend to do about it. In what is likely to be the pattern to come, he asked the first two in French, and the final in English. James Moore was the designated back-up PM for the day – as Harper is still in Asia – and he assured the House that their government had created over 600,000 net new jobs since they began the Economic Action Plan™. Libby Davies followed up – the choice of her order in the rotation fully symbolic of unity in the party – and she asked about the provinces being “short-changed” some $31 billion in health transfers. Leona Aglukkaq assured her that funding was at record levels, unlike how the Liberals gutted transfers. Bob Rae then got up for the Liberals and returned to the Aveos question, and unscripted and showing Mulcair’s wooden performance up, wondered why the laws around Air Canada’s maintenance obligations weren’t being followed if that’s what was important. Moore referred him to the transport minister’s previous statement, and tried for a few digs, not that Rae was biting.

Round two kicked off with Peter Julian decrying the attempt to download costs onto the provinces, and which both Flaherty and Leitch played down, Jean Crowder asked about EI services in amidst the Aveos layoffs (Leitch: We’ve added resources and delivered for Canadians!), Yvon Godin carefully read out a scripted question about Lisa Raitt and Air Canada employees (Raitt – whose body language was one of no tolerance – reminded Godin that the incident and statements ascribed to her were untrue and to kindly stop repeating them), Alexandre Boulerice and Charlie Angus asked about the “leaks” in the “Pierre Poutine” affaire (Poilievre: usual spin, Del Mastro referred to Angus as the “Member for 8 Mile,” and worried about the “bad rap” he as giving things), before Angus and then Guy Caron went after Christian Paradis for the Ethics breach he was found in (Paradis: No contract was awarded, I’ll take future precautions). Denis Coderre and Kevin Lamoureux asked again about the Aveos issue (Lebel: We’re waiting for Transport Committee to report), while Christine Moore and Matthew Kellway asked about the F-35s (Fantino: You don’t know what you’re talking about), and Malcolm Allen asked about the dismantling of the Wheat Board and the potential sale of Vitera (Anderson: Look at all the marketing freedom!).

Round three saw questions on fish habitats, muzzled scientists, the ethics ruling against Paradis and the tone of his response (Paradis in turn read his very same talking points word-for-word), the search-and-rescue failure in Labrador, payment regulations, the ongoing drug shortage (Aglukkaq: We opened up our stockpile and no province has made any requests), and the language of immigration officers.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to James Bezan, who continues to show how simple tailoring can make a black suit look great, and he wore that with a shirt of the palest purple with a black tie, and a white pocket square, and to Michelle Rempel, for a simple long-sleeved black dress with a tasteful chunky black chain necklace. Style citations go out to James Lunney for a fluorescent blue shirt and grey suit, and to Denise Savoie, for a rather swampy green and brown wave-patterned jacket with a collared white shirt.