Category Archives: Question Period

Recaps from Question Period in the House of Commons

QP: Return of the ear worm

Posted on by

The prime minister was present, but only a couple of other leaders were. Melissa Lantsman led off with a script on a mini-lectern, and she wanted an update on the earthquake situation in Türkiye and Syria. Justin Trudeau assured her that the government was working with partners to offer whatever assistance is required. Lantsman pivoted to government spending, quoting Bill Morneau and misquoting Mark Carney’s alleged concern, to which Trudeau offered some well-worn talking points about helping people in the pandemic and ensuring growth for the future. Lantsman demanded humility and an admission of responsibility for people having a tough time. Trudeau insisted that they have stepped up with supports for those who need it, because it’s the smart thing to do to ensure growth in the future. Pierre Paul-Hus took over in a French, and raised both spending and McKinsey contracts, because McKinsey. Trudeau repeated his talking points about being there for people in the pandemic and ensuring future growth. Paul-Hus cited the PBO’s concerns about overspending and tried to wedge concern about the closure of Medicago in Quebec, for which Trudeau reminded him that in the height of the pandemic, we didn’t know which vaccines would win the race, and the Conservatives only want austerity. 

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc and railed about health transfers and the need for speed, urging a quick cheque with no strings attached. Trudeau disputed the question, noting the record number of meetings with premiers over the pandemic and the record spending he sent to them. Blanchet went on a tear, blaming Trudeau for the Quebec government’s choices in health spending. Trudeau reiterated his same response.

Alexandre Boulerice falsely accused the federal government of cutting health spending before railing about private health delivery. Trudeau assured him he always defend the Canada Health Act and the public system, which is why he wanted results from future transfers. Blake Desjarlais took over in English to rail about creeping privatisation and demanded strings on those dollars, and Trudeau repeated that he was standing up for the public system. 

Continue reading →

QP: Crossing a line around MAiD access allegations

Posted on by

The prime minister was allegedly in town, but didn’t show up for QP today, while his deputy was out of town, and most of the other leaders were absent as well, save Pierre Poilievre. And he led off QP in French, worrying about how much mortgage costs have risen, rent increases, and blaming this on “inflationist policies” of the government (which is completely contrary to economic data). Pascale St-Onge, who is apparently now the designated French responder during the leaders’ round when Trudeau is away, gave the back-patting that Canadians know the government is there for them when times are tough. Poilievre switched to English to repeat the same question, demanding that the prime minister take responsibility for pricing working-class youth out of a home. Ahmed Hussen praised their measures such as the rent-to-own programme, the tax-free savings account for first-time buyers, and that the Conservatives voted against these kinds of measures. Poilievre insisted that they voted against inflationary policies, and complained about how much housing prices have gone up in markets like Toronto, demanding the federal government take responsibility for this failure (never mind that these are clearly municipality and provincial responsibilities). Randy Boissonnault reminded him that mothers who took CERB and parents who take their kids to the dentist don’t create inflation, and that the Conservatives dealt in nonsense economics. Poilievre insisted that the government created that inflation, and blamed government spending for inflating the housing market (which is lunacy), and Hussen got back up to demand that Poilievre take responsibility for voting against housing supports. Poilievre took on a tone of faux gravitas and drew a specious link between people at food banks and asking for Medical Assistance in Dying because poverty has them depressed, and accused the government of being more in favour of them accessing MAiD for depression rather than helping them (which is frankly outrageous, particularly since the expansion of MAiD for mental illness is explicitly not about simple depression, no matter what its opponents will falsely claim). Carolyn Bennett tried to dispute this and point out that the eligibility criteria screens out suicidal behaviour, but she was shouted down and the Speaker didn’t allow her to start again from the top.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc and demanded the resignation of Amira Elghawaby, because of course he did. Hussen read that she already clarified and apologised for her past comments and invited Therrien to read that statement. Therrien insisted that the position itself was a problem and that it was only about demonising Quebec, and demanded the position be abolished. Hussen got up to talk about his attending the memorial for the Quebec City mosque shooting and how many people attended it, before reiterating that she already clarified and apologised for her past comments.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the Bloc, and he yelled about use of consultants as privatisation and decried that they were being too cheap with public servants at the bargaining table. Mona Fortier recited some pabulum about good jobs for Canadians. Gord Johns read the English version of the same question with added sanctimony, wanting a full investigation into government outsourcing. Helena Jaczek said that she looked forward to answering their questions at committee. 

Continue reading →

QP: Like an interminable rerun

Posted on by

For caucus day, all of the leaders were present, which has been nice to see more consistently over the course of the week, for as long as this is going to last. Pierre Poilievre led off, and in French, asked how much the federal government had spent on contracts with McKinsey. Justin Trudeau said that he asked the deputy prime minister, the minister of public service as the president of the Treasury Board to follow up to ensure all rules had been followed, and that they are open and transparent with the committee. In English, Poilievre asked the same question again, and lamented that McKinsey is shrouded in scandal. Trudeau repeated his same response, noting that most of those contracts were signed by the public service. Poilievre quoted a previous Trudeau statement about his recruiting Dominic Barton, and demanded again to know how much they got paid. Trudeau noted that he has been touched by the number of Canadians of extraordinary backgrounds who have asked to contribute to the country, and Barton was someone who served the country; with regards to the contracts, he repeated his previous response. Poilievre accused Trudeau of never taking responsibility, and shed some crocodile tears about the civil servants feeling undervalued by those McKinsey contracts—never mind the history that the Conservatives and Poilievre personally had with using outside consultants because they didn’t trust the civil service—and again demanded a figure for those contracts. Trudeau mouthed some platitudes about supporting Canadians through a difficult time with direct supports. Poilievre listed mortgage prices, the cost of rent, the number of people going to food banks and blaming the carbon price for that (which is specious to say the least), and somehow tying this to the use of consultants, and his pathetic “just inflation” line. Trudeau said that while the Conservatives focus on schoolyard taunts, he’s helping Canadians.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, mentioned his meeting with the new special representative for combatting Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, and wanted Trudeau to admit that he did things indirectly. Trudeau noted that there are difficult conversations that needed to be had around the country, such as systemic racism, which is why they appointed Elghawaby in the first place. Blanchet wanted the prime minister to say that Quebec’s Law 21 is not Islamophobic, but Trudeau gave some platitudes about learning together. 

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and he blamed the prime minister for the growing nursing deficit across the country, which is solely a provincial issue. Trudeau noted that they sent billions of dollars to the provinces in the pandemic, and they were sitting down with premiers next week to discuss next steps. Singh made the same accusation in French, and got the same answer.

Continue reading →

QP: Field-testing a new talking point

Posted on by

While Justin Trudeau was in the building, he didn’t show up for Question Period today, nor did his deputy, but all of the other leaders were present. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and decried that the national debt has doubled (ignoring the reason, being the pandemic), and decried that rent and mortgage payments have doubled, worried about seniors, lamented supposed rising crime rates, and then somehow tied this all to McKinsey contracts, because that makes logical sense. Pascale St-Onge got up to agree that it was a difficult period with high inflation, but the government would be there for people who need it. Poilievre wondered if those most in need were McKinsey consultants, and lamented how much the government was spending on consultants (never mind the explosion in such contracts under the Conservative government and in Poilievre’s department in particular when he was a minister). Mark Holland got up to remind the Conservatives that when they were in government, they never talked about poverty or people using food banks, while praising his own government’s record on lifting people out of poverty. Poilievre then accused the government of telling people that they should stop complaining because they’ve never had it so good. Holland called out Poilievre for doing nothing about the situation other than making YouTube videos. Poilievre went on a tear about rental costs—which is provincial responsibility—and red tape preventing housing development—a municipal issue—and blamed the federal government for it. Holland got back up to insist that Poilievre is just amplifying anxiety. Poilievre then accused the government of trying to silence the debate, and demand they fix the problems instead, and Holland reiterated that the government is playing it straight about the problems the country is facing, while Poilievre’s only solution was to tell people to invest in crypto. Poilievre got back up, but had run out of questions. 

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc to wonder what the Notwithstanding Clause was for if not preemptive use—which is hilariously wrong. David Lametti got up to talk about minority rights, the dialogue between legislatures and the courts, and why the last word should not be the first. Blanchet rambled for a moment before quoting Pierre Trudeau on the Charter, and Lametti reminded him that Charters in Canada and Quebec were about protecting minority rights, and he repeated his point about dialogue with the courts.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and recalled the horrors that were in long-term care homes early in the pandemic and accused the government of doing nothing since, demanding legislated standards—never mind this is provincial jurisdiction. Kamal Khera got up to remind Singh that she was a nurse, and that the government appreciated the work of the Canadian Standards Association in developing national standards. Singh switched to French to lament increased privatisation, and Jean-Yves Duclos insisted they were holding up the principles of access and the public system.

Continue reading →

QP: Dominic Barton, Bond Villain

Posted on by

The first day back of the New Year, and all of the leaders were present, and the benches were full, owing in large part to most MPs having spent the weekend in town for their caucus retreats. Before things got underway, new MP Charles Souza was presented to the Speaker so that he could take his place, up in the nosebleeds. 

Pierre Poilievre led off, and in French, he complained about the national debt and so-called “inflationary deficits” (which aren’t a thing) and wondered where the money went to, as people are lining up at food banks, and he turned that into a question on McKinsey contracts. Justin Trudeau stood up to pat himself on the back for job creation and investing in supports for Canadians. Poilievre insisted that the response somehow meant that the “Middle Class™” was high-priced contractors, and demanded to know how much McKinsey got. Trudeau again responded with some platitudes. Poilievre again tried to connect food bank use and rising crime with McKinsey contracts, and for a third time, Trudeau recited some platitudes about delivering supports for Canadians. This went yet again for a fourth round, and Trudeau repeated yet again that the government has stepped up to support Canadians while maintaining the best balance sheet in the G7. And then a fifth time around, and I wanted to scream.

Yves François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he decried that the new special representative to combat Islamophobia, Almira Elghawaby, supposedly said mean things about Quebec. (She really didn’t). Trudeau spoke about attending the memorial service in Quebec City and the need to combat Islamophobia. Blanchet demanded a meeting with Elghawaby, and Trudeau said he would try to make it happen, so that she can teach him about systemic racism.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and he denounced Trudeau for saying that Doug Ford’s increased privatisation was “innovative.” Trudeau insisted that they have always defended the public health system and clawed back provinces who abused it. Singh repeated the same again in English, and got the same answer.

Continue reading →

QP: One last kick at the can for 2022

Posted on by

It was the final Question Period of 2022, and not a moment too soon. After we got the traditional recitation of the Xmas Poem as read by Anthony Housefather (some of whose rhymes were a bit more tortured than in years previous), things got underway.

Pierre Poilievre led off in French, raising a statistic about the rising cost of Christmas dinners, and wedged in a lurid tale of people threatening to access MAiD rather than living in grinding poverty (which ignores that that is not a criteria). Justin Trudeau said that he would like to join in and wish people happy holidays, but knows that it can be difficult because of global inflation, which is why they have created support programmes for those who need it, including with dental care and childcare. Poilievre switched to English to repeat his same points, but trying to tie poverty to government waste. Trudeau noted that Canadians step up for each other, and listed his government’s actions again. Poilievre again tried to tie supposed government waste to inflation, and Trudeau deployed his well-worn talking points about the government making the decision to help Canadians when they needed it and it resulted in the economy roaring back faster than our comparator countries. Poilievre demanded to know when the “waste” identified by the Auditor General would be paid back, but Trudeau mentioned this week’s by-election in his paean about his government supporting Canadians. Poilievre could not end the year without deploying a “triple, triple, triple” ear worm in worrying about heating bills, and Trudeau noted that the federal carbon price doesn’t kick in over in Atlantic Canada until the spring, so Poilievre was trafficking in misinformation. 

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and tried to intimate that the premiers wanted to meet with him “like a family dinner,” and Trudeau noted that he has met with premiers more than any of his predecessors, noted that he was meeting with François Legault in a few days, but he was there to work with provinces to solve the healthcare crisis. Blanchet torture the family dinner even more, and Trudeau noted that the system as it exists isn’t working, which is why he was there to invest more, but it would take more than just throwing money. 

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and asked a very selective reading of the health-related promises from the election, and wondered where the action was. Trudeau noted that they were working toward rewards and outcomes with provinces. Singh declared that when he as prime minster, he would keep his promises (to much laughter), and demanded to know what happened to the promised $25/hour wage for long-term care workers, and Trudeau repeated that the federal government is there to step up, and that they would work with provinces to raise those wages.

Continue reading →

QP: Mary Ng will only apologise twice

Posted on by

The prime minister was present today, while his deputy was off in Paris. Shortly before things got underway, the Ethics Commissioner released his report on a contract Mary Ng’s office awarded to a friend of hers, so that was also going to come up. All of the other leaders were present today, save Elizabeth May, for what it’s worth. After a statement about the passing of Jim Carr, Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he first offered condolences to Carr’s family and to the Liberal caucus for their loss. With that out of the way, he asked about the list of soon-to-be banned hunting rifles and wanted more work on fighting criminals instead. Justin Trudeau thanked Poilievre for his thoughts about Carr, and said a few nice words about Carr’s legacy in both French and in English. Poilievre switched to English to repeat the question about “Grandpa Joe’s hunting rifle in Cape Breton” versus criminals, and this time, Trudeau insisted that Canadians are united about keeping communities safer from assault weapons, but they needed to ensure the ban stays in place, which is why they were moving ahead with their legislation but they would continue to consult to ensure they are capturing the right weapons. Poilievre raised the concerns of his backbench MPs about those weapons, and tried to insist this was a big plot against hunters. Trudeau dismissed this as misinformation and said they were going to continue to consult on the list because they were not interested in hunters, but the Conservatives only wanted to make assault weapons legal again. Poilievre then changed topics to story about immigration case files assigned to employees who are no longer there, to which Trudeau read some pabulum lines about modernising the system and resolving the “technical issues.” Poilievre changed topics again to the Ethics Commissioner’s finding that Mary Ng violated the rules in giving a contract to a friend, which he tried to tie to other previous scandals. Trudeau instead countered with some crowing about last night’s by-election victory in Mississauga—Lakeshore and how Canadians rejected Poilievre instead.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and after giving condolence about Jim  he concern trolled about immigration levels in Quebec before raising the story about the case files going to phantom employees before demanding that Quebec be given full control over its immigration system. Trudeau said that Quebec has the capacity to take more immigrants and they are there to help them with it. Blanchet insisted that Roxham Road-arriving asylum claimants were difficult to integrate and demanded more control over the system. Trudeau reiterated that they did not set a target for Quebec and they were there to work with the province.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and in French, demanded the government do something about the paediatric health crisis in the country. Trudeau said that they realise there is a crisis, but they are not going to send a blank cheque like the NDP wants and will ensure they get outcomes. Singh repeated his demand to “find solutions” in English, and Trudeau repeated his response.

Continue reading →

QP: A rare ejection from the Chamber

Posted on by

The prime minster was present for the first time in over a week, and unusually, none of the other leaders were present. Jasraj Hallan led off, and accused the government’s deficit spending of “forcing” the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates, which is obvious nonsense to anyone who pays a modicum of attention. Hallan accused that spending of hiring Canadians, complained about the carbon price, and demanded it be scrapped. Justin Trudeau said that the Conservatives were consistent in opposing the government being there for Canadians, listing measures they voted against, while the government would continue to be there for people while being fiscally responsible. Hallan accused Trudeau of sitting in an ivory tower, spending money, and driving inflation, and insisted he was the “architect” of sending children to food banks. (Honestly, who is writing this material?) Hallan concluded by wondering when the prime minister would understand that Canadians can’t afford any more of his “failures.” Trudeau pointed out that Conservatives complain the government doesn’t help people and then oppose their measures to help people, whether it’s dental care, rental supports, or child care. Tracy Gray took over to complain that people can’t afford to heat their homes, blaming the prime minister on “tripling down” on carbon prices. Trudeau said that he has heard that people are facing difficult times, which is why they are there with supports in spite of Conservative opposition. Richard Martel took over in French to decry the interest rate increase, and he too blamed the government for inflation and carbon prices. Trudeau recite that while they are concerned about the rising cost of living, they are doing something about it unlike the Conservatives. Martel said it was “ironic” that the government says they understand concerns while they gave benefit cheques to dead people, before he demanded the cancellation of carbon prices. Trudeau said it was incredible to see Conservatives attack and make fun of benefits that helped Canadians during the height of the pandemic.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and raised the RCMP contract for the company with Chinese ties, wondering how the prime minister could explain the lack of checks on this bid. Trudeau noted that they were concerned by the contract and that they would ensure that national security interests were not jeopardised. Therrien wondered why they didn’t consult with the CSE on this procurement, and Trudeau reiterated that they are looking into the contract.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and he shouted that they prime minister was absent on the file with the crisis in children’s hospitals. Trudeau took a script to read the measures that have taken around procuring medications and transfers. Don Davies read the same condemnation in English, demanding the prime minster sit down with premiers to solve the crisis. Trudeau insisted that they were increasing transfers and that they would be there to ensure there were significant improvements. 

Continue reading →

QP: “Bludgeoning” the Auditor General

Posted on by

The prime minister was still in Montreal at the COP15 biodiversity conference, and his deputy was in town but elsewhere, while only some of the other leaders were present today. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he decried the interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada, but blamed “inflationary deficits” from the government as the cause, which is not actually true, no matter the misquote that Poilievre attributed to the Bank Governor, and told the government to stop spending. Randy Boissonnault responded that the Bank is independent, that Canadians are living through difficult times, and he rejected the notion that their investments caused inflation, quoting the former Bank Governor, Stephen Poloz, that the investments stopped deflation, and then implored them to support Bill C-32. Poilievre switched to English to repeat the same misleading concerns before quoting a single mother from a news story, saying that she listened to the government’s assurances that interest would be low for long. Boissonnault responded that Poilievre shouldn’t talk about advice given that he told people to invest in crypto, before he listed measures the government has taken to help people. Poilievre then changed topics, and raised objections from the Liberal MP for Yukon to the firearms legislation as currently envisioned and needled the government about it. Marco Mendicino gave a fairly standard response about not targeting hunters and farmers and that the bill gives resources to police and border agencies. Poilievre switched back to French, to raise the story of the RCMP getting a contract linked to someone under criminal suspicion for espionage in the United States, and whose parent company is in China. Helena Jaczek noted that they are studying the issue, but the company did meet their needs, so they are ensuring that they are protecting national security. Poilievre returned to English to accuse the answer of being “encrypted in bureaucratese” before repeating the question, and Mendicino noted that there is a rigorous process for contracts and they are scrutinising the process run by independent civil servants, and then raised the independent panels observing the last two elections to point out that they took actions but the Conservatives did not.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and gave an analogy about dangerous driving as a way of demanding the federal government increase health transfers to provinces. Mark Holland stood up to offer bland assurances that they are continuing to invest in the system. Therrien insisted there was no cooperation, and demanded increased transfers. Carolyn Bennett insisted they were working with the provinces to ensure there was not only funding but a national vision on healthcare, and listed the transfers sent to provinces.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and decried the interest rate hike, and demanded the prime minister find a way to tackle inflation without hurting workers. Boissonnault reminded him that the Bank of Canada is independent and the government is doing their job of keeping fiscal firepower for when they need it and listed actions they have taken. Singh switched to French to worry about consumer debts and repeated his same demand, Boissonnault repeated his same answer.

Continue reading →

QP: Cherry-picking data to fit a narrative

Posted on by

The prime minister was off in Montreal to open the COP15 biodiversity summit, his deputy was off in Toronto, and that very morning, the Auditor General released two reports on COVID measures that the government took, and boy, did the Conservatives care about these reports in a way they absolutely did not about her reports just a couple of weeks ago. Pierre Poilievre led off, and he first raised the anniversary of École Polytechnique, saying that they commit to ensuring it will never happen again, asking the government for what they are doing on this file. Pascale St-Onge rose to say that they are all sending thoughts to the families of the victims, and that they want to do more to protect women, which is why they have their bill to limit assault rifles and invited all parties to work with them to strengthen the bill and protect women. Poilievre, still in French, raised the AG report on “horrific” waste, wondering why the government wasted money to “create inflation.” (It did not create inflation). Diane Lebouthillier said that the government acted quickly to help Canadians, and thanked the Auditor General for confirming that their COVID measures were targeted and effective, that those benefits helped the economy get back on its feet, and that they would continue to protect Canadians. Poilievre switched to English to reiterate the same allegations of waste, listing more dollar amounts than he did in French, incredulous that 1500 prisoners got CERB illegitimately. Carla Qualtrough pointed to the good points that the Auditor General found, that the programme did its job, and that they prevented people going poor or businesses going under, and noted that Parliament approved the attestation approach with verification later. Poilievre listed a bunch of non sequiturs that he equated to government waste, and the government supposedly “taking from the have-nots to give to the have-yachts.” Lebouthillier repeated that the Auditor General’s positive aspects, and noted that the recovery process can take years, while the Conservatives just gave crypto currency advice. Poilievre switched back to French to list people who got CERB without qualification and again railed about waste, and this time Lebouthillier referred to an article where a Conservative MP noted that recovery is a process that can take years, and wondered if Poilievre agreed with his MP.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc to note the École Polytechnique anniversary and wanted cooperation on amending the gun control bill, and asked for two additional committee meetings about it. St-Onge got back up to reiterate that they are willing to work together to pass the bill. Blanchet made the same request for two more meetings, and St-Onge reiterated her same points about cooperation.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP and demanded the prime minister “show leadership” and call for an emergency meeting with premiers to solve the healthcare crisis (because the premiers have no responsibility here, apparently). Adam van Koeverden read actions that the federal government has taken to help the situation. Singh switched to French to repeat the demand, and this time Dominic LeBlanc got up to point out that they are having discussions with provincial minsters and they are increasing transfers. 

Continue reading →