Category Archives: Question Period

Recaps from Question Period in the House of Commons

QP: Sob stories about carbon taxes

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While the PM was present today, following a meeting with the Prince of Monaco, Andrew Scheer was absent, yet again. Alain Rayes led off, listing off a torqued and misleading litany of supposed ills of carbon taxation — numbers that did not reflect reality — to which a Justin Trudeau noted that while the previous government didn’t take action, his government would do so. Rayes railed on about cancelled tax credits before trying to wedge it into another carbon tax question, and Trudeau reiterated his answer. Pierre Poilievre took over, accusing the Pm of having lived “most of his life” in government-owned mansions and of living in the lap of luxury while raising taxes on everyone, but his mention of BC in his preamble set Trudeau off on an explanation of how BC’s decade-old carbon tax has led to economic growth and lower emissions. Poilievre gave another list of disingenuous accusations, and Trudeau noted that everting in that was wrong before launching into a well-worn list of things his government accomplished. They went another round of the very same before Guy Caron got up for the NDP, railing about tax havens and the registration of corporations in Canada. Trudeau took up a script to read that they had international treaties to share data with partners, and that they reached agreements with provincial and territorial governments to have transparency on who own corporations. Caron asked again in English, got the same answer, and then Tracey Ramsey railed about secret negotiations around NAFTA. Trudeau noted that an agreement in principle was about the broad strokes being agreed to so that they could move forward to a legal scrub. Karine Trudel asked the same in French, but got a much blander response about trade.

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QP: The sexist carbon tax

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Following meetings with the prime minister of Portugal, Justin Trudeau was in Question Period, while Andrew Scheer was absent yet again. Lisa Raitt led off, worrying about the high price of gasoline in BC, which was being “compounded” by the carbon tax. Trudeau reminded her that BC has had a price on pollution for over ten years, and that carbon pricing allows people to make better choices. Raitt went for incredulous, raising the story that Trudeau has meals prepared at 24 Sussex and messengered to Rideau Cottage, to which Trudeau noted that the Conservatives were only interested in political attacks but not action on the environment. Gérard Deltell took over in French, noting that GHG emissions went down under ten Conservatives without a carbon tax — once again, omitting that it was because Ontario shuttered their coal-fired plants and the economic downturn, rather than anything that the then-Conservative government did. Trudeau reiterated that the Conservatives have no plan so they attack. Deltell asked again, and got the same answer. Raitt got back up, mentioned that the question was originally written by Gord Brown and had planned to ask it later in the week, and raised the issue of compensation for thalidomide survivors. Trudeau picked up a script to first give condolences for Brown’s death, and then added that they would have an announcement for those survivors soon. Guy Caron led off for the NDP, raising the problem of web giants creating the demise of advertising in newspapers which impacted press freedom. Trudeau took up another script to read about their support for a free press on World Press Freedom Day. Caron asked again in English, demanding those web giants be taxed, and Trudeau, sans script, reiterated his response and added that they are supporting local media via transition funding and CBC. Matthew Dubé worried about attempting to apply the Safe Third Country Agreement to the entire border, to which Trudeau said that they apply all of the rules and laws including our international obligations. Jenny Kwan asked the same in English, and got much the same answer with a slight admonishment that they were trying to create fear and conspiracy.

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Tributes for Gord Brown

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Question Period was cancelled today upon news that Conservative MP Gord Brown had died of a heart attack in his office earlier in the morning. MPs assembled in the House of Commons as they usually do, but rather than members’ statements, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer stood to pay tribute to Brown.

Scheer noted that he and Brown were both elected in 2004, and were both long-time volunteers going back to the PC Youth in Ontario. At the start of the current parliament, Brown was appointed whip by interim leader Rona Ambrose, while Scheer had been named House Leader, and they shared the same suite of offices. After Brown’s staff got him a bull whip as a joke, Scheer would often hear Brown crack it.

“I was always worried he was going to hurt himself,” Scheer quipped.

Scheer noted that as whip, Brown wanted to ensure that members of caucus supported one another on a personal level and not just a professional one. He also noted that while the wanted Brown at an event last week, Brown didn’t make it because he had a date night scheduled with his wife, Claudine, which he intended to keep, and Scheer said that now, he was glad that Brown made that choice. Scheer noted that Brown’s love of hockey, and that he was captain of their caucus hockey team, and also mentioned Brown’s recent work on behalf of Thalidomide survivors.

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Senate QP: Carolyn Bennett meanders a bit

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This week for ministerial QP in the Senate, the special guest star was Dr. Carolyn Bennett, minister for Crown-Indigenous relations, her first time since the Indigenous and Northern Affairs portfolio was split into two. Senator Larry Smith started off, worrying that Northern and Indigenous groups said that they had not been consulted at all when it came to marijuana legalization. Bennett responded that every minister was supposed to build capacity in their own departments to do consultations with Indigenous communities. Smith asked if she had heard anything from Northern communities regarding the legalization of marijuana, particularly around mental health supports. Bennett noted that she was aware that some substance abuse stems from trauma related to things like residential schools, which is why they had a trauma-informed approach and that they were looking at healing and dignity moving forward.

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QP: Memories of $5 fill-ups

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While Justin Trudeau was present today, Andrew Scheer was absent again. That left Lisa Raitt to lead off, who worried that the widows and single parents would be adversely affected by carbon prices. Trudeau called out the falsehoods of the Conservatives, and reminded her that Canadians expect meaningful action on the environment, which contrasted to the Conservatives. Raitt cast her mind back to when a person could put $5 in the tank and get to work, but Trudeau insisted that the Harper Conservatives didn’t get it. Raitt tried a third time, but got no different answer. Gérard Deltell took over in French, citing that the Conservative track record was to lower emissions while the was economic growth — blatantly ignoring that those reductions came from Ontario shuttering their coal-fired plants. Trudeau offered some platitudes about action versus inaction, and when Deltell repeated his “facts,” Trudeau noted that the economic growth Deltell mentioned was the worst in the G7. Guy Caron was up next, and demanded documents that proved that the government rigged the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain approval. Trudeau took up a script to read that the Federal Court of Appeal denounced the previous consultation process, and he noted their enhanced consultations and their agreements with 43 First Nations along the route. Caron tried again in English, and got the same answer. Hélène Laverdière asked if the government was attempting to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the Americans, and Trudeau took up a script to read that they have been having conversations with Americans for months, and that the Agreement helps to manage the flow of asylum seekers. Jenny Kwan asked the same in English, and Trudeau reiterated his same response.

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QP: Applauding the ghosts of the Harper government

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While the PM was off in Vancouver to announce a new investment by Amazon, and Andrew Scheer…elsewhere (I believe Toronto), it was up to Candice Bergen to lead off today, concern trolling about the loss of foreign direct investment in Canada, and tying that to the coming federal carbon tax, demanding to know how much it would cost families. Bill Morneau replied, offering some pabulum about how great economy has been doing. Bergen sarcastically suggested that the Liberals are saying that the carbon tax will fix everything wrong with the world, to which Jim Carr noted that they have taken action through the oceans protection plan, strengthening environmental assessments, and their carbon pricing plans were all taking action, unlike the previous government. Bergen accused the government of covering up those costs, and Jim Carr read some stats about how much carbon would be reduced with their plan. Gérard Deltell took over to ask the same again in French, and Carr noted that the opposition had no plan, nor did they while they were in government. Deltell made the “cover-up” accusations in French, and Morneau stood up to offer some pabulum in French. Guy Caron was up for the NDP, and demanded to know if the government denied ordering the Kinder Morgan approval to be fixed. Carr said that he did refute it, and when Caron asked again in French, Carr pointed to all of the materials available on the website. Romeo Saganash asked the same again in French, and Carr listed consultations and engagement including the monitoring panel co-developed with Indigenous communities. Saganashed tried again in French, and Carr noted that they had made accommodations and that the conversations were meaningful.

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QP: Poilievre makes a scene

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A grey day in Ottawa, but today, most of the leaders were away. This left Candice Bergen to lead off, wondering how many organisations got job grants to protest energy projects. Jim Carr replied that they will get Trans Mountain built, preemptively called out the false equivalence between protesting energy projects and hiring students to distribute flyers with graphic images of aborted foetuses. Bergen insisted that the Liberals want to shut down the energy sector, and Carr dismissed the concerns. Bergen demanded Carr tell the prime minister that giving funding to these protesters is wrong, and Carr reminded her that the Harper government gave twice as much money to the same group. Alain Rayes took over in French to rail about the same issue, and Carr noted his recent trip to Fort McMurray to highlight the jobs in the energy sector. Rayes tried again, and in response, Carr regaled him with a tale about how they engaged in a better process of Indigenous consultation where the previous government failed. Guy Caron was up next for the NDP, demanding the government come clean that they rigged the Trans Mountain approval process, to which Carr reiterated that they engaged with Indigenous communities in unheard of consultations. Caron tried again in French, and Carr noted that all of the Access to Information documents are all online and he can look for himself as to the process. Anne Quach was up next, demanding pay equity legislation in advance of the G7, to which Patty Hajdu noted the items in the budget. Niki Ashton was first concern trolled about InCel followers, and demanded a gender-based violence strategy. Ralph Goodale said that they have put resources to tackling these issues, and that they met with G7 leaders to get that material off of the Internet.

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QP: Springing a lame trap

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On a rainy day in the nation’s capital, the benches in the Commons were full, and all of the leaders were present. Andrew Scheer led off, mini-lectern on desk, and in French, read the simple question about whether the government was using all of the tools at its disposal to get the Trans Mountain pipeline built. Trudeau stood up and expounded upon the fact that it goes hand in hand with getting a carbon price and an oceans protection plan, so that growing the economy and protecting the environment. Scheer asked again in English, got the same answer, and then he sprung his “trap,” accusing the government of giving a grant to an environmental group that hired an activist to protest this very pipeline (that group apparently being the Dogwood Initiative). Trudeau noted that they believe in free speech, and noted that this particular advocacy group was also funded by the Harper government. Scheer read the job description for that position, and Trudeau noted that they won’t brand people eco-terrorists or cut off funding if they don’t agree with them. Scheer noted that they obviously don’t believe in free speech given how they punished Scott Simms, and Trudeau hit back with his commitment to ensure that women’s rights and reproductive rights were protected. Guy Caron was up next for the NDP, railing that the Trans Mountain pipeline approval process was “rigged,” to which Trudeau noted that they extended the consultation process to ensure that they were meeting or exceeding their obligations toward First Nations. Caron asked again in French, and got much the same reply. Alexandre Boulerice then asked the very same question, and Trudeau noted that Boulerice had already stated that no matter the facts, he would oppose the project, even when his leader said he might be open to approving it. Nathan Cullen then asked the very same question yet again, pouring on the unctions sanctimony, and Trudeau asked him to explain to those Indigenous communities who support the pipeline why he wants to deny them jobs and revenue.

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Senate QP: Philpott talks Indigenous concerns

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This week’s ministerial Senate QP feature special guest star Jane Philpott, minister of Indigenous services. Senator Larry Smith led off, and worried that there wasn’t a cultural appropriate campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of marijuana for Indigenous youth. Philpott first noted that while it was her fourth appearance it at Senate QP, it was her first in her new role, and then noted that they had funded a task force that was engaging Indigenous communities on the topic, so that they had programmes that were led by Indigenous communities. Smith wanted some more details on this in the interests that there is some transparency, and wondered what elements it included. Philpott took note of the request for details and promised to follow-up before giving some more context about the meetings she has with Indigenous communities around their public health campaigns.

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QP: Border concerns at the fore

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All leaders were present, and before QP got underway, Guy Caron, Andrew Scheer, and Marco Mendicino made statements about the van attack in Toronto yesterday. After a moment of silence, Scheer led off, concern trolling that the government of Quebec had to go to the media to get action on irregular border crossers. Justin Trudeau said that they had been rebuilding the relationship with the provinces, and that they were working on the issue with them. Scheer demanded to know why nothing had been done over the past year to stem the flow of migrants, and Trudeau took up a script to list the fact that the previous government made cuts to CBSA and the IRB that they were still investing to clean up. Scheer worried that legitimate refugees or immigrants were not getting processed because of these backlogs, and Trudeau didn’t use a script to call out the Conservatives for having broken the system. Scheer protested that the Conservatives had a “generous” refugee resettlement programme, but Trudeau reiterated the cuts that the previous government instituted. Scheer tried one last time, and Trudeau noted that the backlogs now were as a result of those cuts, while his government was cutting processing times while still respecting the rules around international asylum claimants. Guy Caron was up next for the NDP, accusing the government of rigging the Trans Mountain approval process, to which Trudeau deployed a platitude about energy and the environment going together. Caron switched to French to repeat the question, and Trudeau took a script this time to chastise the NDP for their incoherent position before retreating to the platitudes. Hélène Laverdière was up next to demand the suspension of the Safe Third Country agreement, to which Trudeau took up a new script to read about how they were investing in accelerating processing and strengthening the border. Jenny Kwan reiterated the question in English, to which Trudeau worried that the NDP may be trying to stoke fears around asylum seekers as well, before repeating his previous points sans script.

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