It was curious how many empty seats there were in the Commons on a Wednesday, given that it’s caucus day, but all of the leaders were present, so it should at least be interesting. Thomas Mulcair led off by asking about increasing aid to west Africa to deal with Ebola. Harper reminded him that Canada just dispatched a second mobile lab and more supplies were on the way. Mulcair asked about the experimental vaccine that was still not delivered, but Harper responded that they were waiting for the World Health Organisation to determine where it would be used. Mulcair insisted the delay was because of an intellectual property issue, and Harper assured him that he looked into it and was told that is not the reason it has been held up. Mulcair changed topics to Syria, going from Harper’s former denunciations of Assad to the caveat that he would permit bombing in the region if given permission by that government. Harper responded that this as a military operation but not going to war against any government in the region. Mulcair closed the round by asking where our fighter jets would be based in the Middle East, to which Harper told him that it wasn’t yet determined. Justin Trudeau was up next, and asked if the government planned to offer more than the $10 million recently announced for the refugee crisis in Turkey. Harper gave bland assurances about aid being delivered, and said that they also needed to stem the flow, which meant stopping ISIS. Trudeau asked the same again in French, got the same answer, and asked about the the targets for resettled Syrian refugees not being met. Harper assured him that the minister had already answered that, and hit Trudeau once again, saying that stopping ISIS was more than a refugee response.
Tag Archives: Canadian Forces
Roundup: Votes cast, commence the grumbling
As expected, the confidence vote on the government as it ordered a combat deployment to Iraq went ahead last night and passed with little trouble, and not without a great deal more political posturing on all sides. I’m not going to say we’re going to war, because that gives ISIS too much credit, but it does escalate Canada’s role in the region, though we’ll see how long any airstrikes will be effective for. The NDP are grumbling particularly about the door being opened to combat in Syria, while Liberal MP Irwin Cotler put out a release to state his reason for abstaining from the vote, which was eloquently stated when it comes to needing to engage in some form of combat against ISIS, but not agreeing with the way this government has gone about it. In the region, Matthew Fisher notes the logistical challenges that will mean it may not be until the end of the month before our CF-18s can begin making any airstrikes. Terry Milewski notes the divisions among those opposed to the combat mission, including former Liberal voices that want it to go ahead, while Michael Den Tandt looks at the way in which the Liberals were squeezed in this debate. Paul Wells goes back to the archives to find the ways in which the Liberals handled Iraq deployments in the past, and finds the curious ways in which history repeats itself.
QP: Iraq vs Environment Commissioner
The Iraq debate continued through the morning, counting down to tonight’s vote, and once again broke for QP — this time with all of the leaders present. Thomas Mulcair led things off by asking about civilian casualties by air strikes in the Middle East, and now that would create new recruits for ISIS. Harper responded that ISIS was spreading like a cancer in the region and were a direct threat to Canada. Mulcair noted that ISIS was reverting to guerrilla tactics, to which Harper reiterated that they were a direct threat. Mulcair noted the lack of clear objectives in Iraq, for which Harper referred to the objectives when he spoke to the House — degrading ISIS’ capabilities. Mulcair changed topics to the Environment Commissioner’s report and the lack of progress on reducing GHG emissions. Harper responded that emissions reduced while there has been economic growth. Mulcair retorted with outrage about Harper facing his children and grandchildren. Harper insisted that they were working toward a binding protocol that would prevent developed countries shifting their emissions to developing ones. Justin Trudeau was up next, noting the refugee crises in Turkey and Jordan, and asked about the resources we were providing to aid them. Harper assured him that they were providing aid, and that a military action did not preclude a humanitarian response. After a round of the same again in French, Trudeau also asked about the Environment Commissioner’s damning report — switching between French and English. Harper retorted that the Liberals had one of the worst records in the world.
Roundup: Announcing a combat mission
Much ink and many pixels are being spilt over this Iraq announcement yesterday, and I’m not a foreign affairs person, so I’ll leave most of that analysis to people who are. Harper has announced that we’ll be sending six CF-18s, one refuelling jet, two Aurora surveillance aircraft, and that the up-to-69 special forces military advisors will remain on the ground for another six months, and that they are not to engage in combat operations. The air strikes would only be in Iraqi territory unless the Syrian government authorized strikes in their territory as well, which is unlikely (and who wants to be seen to be supporting the Assad regime?) He also worded his motion that he’s presented to the House in such a way that it’s not authorizing the deployment, but that it support the decision to send those forces. (This part is important because it’s less of a trap when it comes to accountability). In response, Thomas Mulcair gave a categorical no, while the Liberals said they can’t support this motion – key distinction there – but they don’t think that the PM has made the proper case for why air strikes are the best tool when we could probably contribute more in other areas, and while Harper says that it’s not an either/or proposition, it could easily be pointed out that the government really lowballed the figures for the Libya mission until the final totals came in, and that those other areas would suffer if we put more eggs into the air strikes basket. Calling our CF-18s aging and casting doubt on their capabilities probably wasn’t the smartest move, however, and insisting that we can do more in a non-combat role does give the impression that the Liberals are becoming pacifistic and shirkers of the heavy lifting that needs to be done. Elizabeth May also made some good points about the road to hell being paved with good intentions, which we have in spades in this situation. David Pugliese gives a Q&A on what the proposed mission entails. Robert Fisher talks about the positive response from the region. Steve Saideman parses the politics of it all, reminding us that this is the land of lousy policy alternatives.
QP: Vaccines and air strikes
While word has it that Stephen Harper would make an announcement regarding a combat mission to Iraq tomorrow, neither Harper nor Justin Trudeau were present for QP. Thomas Mulcair led off by asking why the Ebola vaccine had not yet been shipped to West Africa, to which Eve Adams said that they were waiting on the World Health Organisation to coordinate the necessary logistics. Mulcair said that it was in a media report that the issue was actually one of intellectual property and not logistics. Adams reiterated that it was up to the WHO to coordinate logistics, while touting all of the other aid we’ve sent. Mulcair changed topics, and asked what date the Canadian personnel arrived in Iraq, and if it was September 27th as was reported. Rob Nicholson reiterated the number on the ground, the number allowable to be deployed, and that they come and go per needs on the ground. Mulcair insisted that Harper said it was the 15th and that he was being duplicitous. Nicholson dismissed this, and Mulcair launched into a diatribe about clear answers. Nicholson retorted that Mulcair was being duplicitous in suggesting he might ever approve of a deployment. Joyce Murray led for the Liberals, and decried the lack of transparency to parliament regarding the mission. Nicholson insisted that there has been a debate and an appearance before committee, and noted that the Liberals did not bring deployments to Parliament. Murray pointed out the sum by which the Defence budget had been cut, and not increased, and wondered how they could trust the government’s statements. Nicholson hit back with a bog standard “decade of darkness” retort. Dominic LeBlanc closed off the round by asking the same again in French, to which Nicholson insisted that the Liberal position was all over the place.
QP: “The PM’s war in Iraq”
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.
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.
Roundup: Contempt, tempers, and losing the plot
Thomas Mulcair’s snide exchange with the Speaker during yesterday’s QP continues to resonate around Ottawa, with reminders that Scheer doesn’t currently have the powers to police the content of answers (MPs would have to agree to give him those powers), and musings about this kind of contempt of parliament and remonstrations about how this is what makes people cynical. And the worst part? That even over the Twitter Machine, Paul Calandra continues to play the part. It has also been noted, and I fully agree, that by losing his temper and going after the Speaker, Mulcair made the story about himself rather than Calandra and his utter nonsense.
Media upset with me, gee what am I to do? Tell you what, I will stand up for Israel who are on the front lines fighting terror every day.
— Paul Calandra (@PaulCalandra) September 24, 2014
It's not up to Speaker Scheer to discipline poor answers, and you lose focus on govt stonewalling when you attack the Speaker. #QP
— Bob Rae (@BobRae48) September 23, 2014
Roundup: The Tabulator gong show
Over in the New Brunswick election last night, their new Tabulator machines which were supposed to deliver election results faster all pretty much fried and turned into a big gong show, with missing ballots and unreadable results, while the company who was contracted out to run the machines didn’t answer calls. With no results being trustworthy, parties began demanding manual recounts, and with a virtual tie result, the final results likely won’t be clear in the morning. And so, let this once again be a lesson that paper ballots should always be used with manual counts because that’s the only tried and true way with actual accountability.
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.