With Stephen Harper back in the House, Thomas Mulcair made another attempt at getting answers about the tainted meat issue playing out in Alberta. As he read out his questions on the impact of CFIA budget cuts and whether the government understood the concept of ministerial responsibility, Harper responded by assuring him that food safety was their first priority, that they’d hired new inspectors, and that there was new legislation on the way. Malcolm Allen accused the government of “not connecting the dots” between cuts and the outbreak, but Pierre Lemieux assured him of the new inspectors and funding. Bob Rae noted that the government treated consumers as the first priority but made them the last to know, and he wondered when Harper became aware of the outbreak. Harper told him that responsibility was vested in CFIA, and they found out on September 4th.
Tag Archives: EI Reform
QP: Scripting the tainted meat debate
It being a Monday, Harper and half of the government front bench were absent from the House, leaving Thomas Mulcair to read his questions on tainted meat to the back-up PM du jour Peter MacKay, who in turn read back some fairly bland statements about how the minister was holding CFIA officials accountable. When Malcolm Allen asked about the self-regulation of food inspection, Pierre Lemieux pointed out that Allen made a bunch of since disproven claims last week. Bob Rae then got up and wanted to know when the Minister was informed and why it took two weeks to inform Canadians, but MacKay just repeated his assigned talking points.
QP: In the best interests of Canada
After yesterday’s insanity, the House was still a bit raucous for QP, even with Harper gone. Thomas Mulcair read off a trio of questions about the Nexen takeover, for which James Moore – the back-up Prime Minister du jour – recited that while they haven’t made a decision yet, all decisions they do take are in the best interests of Canada. Well, that’s a relief. Malcolm Allen asked about another beef recall and four cases of E. Coli in Edmonton, to which Gerry Ritz told him that it was two separate incidents that he was confusing. Bob Rae was up next, and hammered away at the question of the food recalls, and reminded the House that members of the Ontario cabinet responsible for Walkerton were now sitting in the Federal cabinet. Amidst the clamour on the government benches protesting this, James Moore first responded with a bland statement that said nothing, before Ritz replied to the two follow-ups, praising the procedures that “bracketed” the contaminated product and ensured it was pulled. Err, except for those four cases, one assumes.
QP: Variations on EI questions and non-answers
It being a Wednesday, the Commons was a pretty packed chamber, and MPs were riled up from their morning caucus meetings. Thomas Mulcair took advantage of this frisson in the air to read a series of questions listing off Canada’s mediocre economic performance – trade deficit, billions of dollars in “dead money,” tax cuts for businesses not reinvesting it, and so on – and wondering why Harper wasn’t listening to Canadians about the economy. Harper acknowledged that there were great challenges facing the economy, but jobs, exports and growth were up. Peggy Nash brought up the Nexen deal and wondered why they weren’t paying attention to the hollowing out of the resources sector or the concerns of Canadian entrepreneurs. Christian Paradis reassured her about the Investment Canada Act’s criteria, and that those entrepreneurs don’t want a carbon tax either. Joyce Murray was up for the Liberals, and she brought up the Conservatives’ unwillingness to hand over to the Parliamentary Budget Officer data on cuts, to which Tony Clement assured her that they are accountable to Parliament by the regular channels. For her last question, Murray asked about what percentage of foreign ownership of the oil sands the government would allow, not that she got an actual answer from Paradis.
QP: The Great British Menace™
With Harper in the House to play off against, Thomas Mulcair opened QP with a question on Nexen and the criteria for foreign takeovers, to which Harper assured him that the changes that were made to the Act ensured a rigorous process, and any decision would be in the best interest of the Canadian economy. Mulcair then asked a question that started with the leak of the Khadr transcripts, veered over to the shared embassy issue, and settled on asking why Harper wasn’t speaking at the UN General Assembly. Harper assured him that Canadian prime ministers don’t speak every year, but that the minister of Foreign Affairs would do a good job in his stead. For his final question, Mulcair went full-on with the Great British Menace™ that apparently going to swallow our foreign policy (because apparently the NDP are still trying to out-Bloc the Bloc to keep Quebec votes), but Harper’s answer didn’t really deviate. Paul Dewar took the remaining pair of slots, chastising Harper for not being at the General Assembly when he was even going to be in town for it, but Baird responded by singing the praises of Harper receiving the Statesman of the Year award. Bob Rae was up next, first asking about income inequality, per the Liberal opposition day motion (and do believe that I need to shake my head at this opposition day motion like I did the NDP’s – while it is substantive in its policy direction, but it doesn’t state why the government should be denied supply; just the opposite, it attempts to legislate from the opposition benches, which is not the role of the opposition, though as the third party, the Liberals are given a bit more leeway to do these kinds of manoeuvres, not that they should be). Harper responded that they take the issue seriously and listed a bunch of measures they’ve taken. When Rae asked why they voted against a motion to study income inequality (which did pass – just barely), Harper said they prefer action to study. For his final question, Rae wondered that because the government is making LGBT rights one of their foreign affairs priorities if they would also start funding major pride parades in Canada and attending them. Harper dodged and talked about advancing rights for everyone, and touted the creation of the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg.
QP: Administrative arrangements
With Harper away, Thomas Mulcair faced off against John Baird instead as QP got underway. Mulcair read his first two questions, about slow economic growth, to which Baird responded with some fairly rote replies about the government’s record on job creation. Mulcair then turned to the burning question of the day – what about those joint embassies? Why did we find out through the UK press? Baird replied that these were simply administrative arrangements – putting a desk in embassies where we the UK doesn’t have a mission, and likewise a Canadian desk in a UK embassy where we’re not represented. Mulcair then suggested that if they’re so concerned about sharing with the UK, why not share armed forces, or combine the Senate and the House of Lords since they’re “the same thing” (at which point I nearly pulled a Naomi Campbell; they are most certainly not the same thing – not in the slightest), and so on, but Baird didn’t take the bait. Bob Rae was up for the Liberals, playing off that question and wondering why, if our foreign policy is so independent and great, was Harper not attending the UN General Assembly this week? Baird noted that Harper was going to be in New York to get a “Statesman of the Year” award, and that we play a leading role in the world. Rae then shifted to the topic of income inequality, which the government wasn’t addressing, but Baird returned to his job creation talking points, and listed off all of the government’s programmes for low-income Canadians.
QP: Clawbacks and disincentives
Thomas Mulcair led off QP by wondering if the Prime Minister was in agreement with Peter Van Loan’s characterisation the day before that EI was a disincentive for people to find work. Harper stuck to defending his record of job creation. Mulcair’s last question was the topic of his party’s opposition day motion on whether Harper would meet with the premiers. Harper said that he’d met or called premiers over 250 times. Peggy Nash was up next, and in light of Nexen’s shareholders agreeing to be bought out by CNOOC, wondered if the government was aware of CNOOC’s environmental and human rights record. Mike Lake responded by saying that the investment review process was sound and that the minister was taking a close look at this case. Denis Coderre was up for the Liberals, asking about those EI clawbacks. Diane Finley rose instead of Harper, despite it being the leaders’ round, and responded with the wise words “workers are better off when they work.” That’s, like, deep.
QP: Temporary foreign workers vs unemployment
Despite it being Wednesday and a caucus day, when MPs are normally riled up, QP was a bit more staid today. It may have been because Harper was absent from the House, out entertaining Olympic and Paralympic athletes that he had just awarded Diamond Jubilee medals to. Thomas Mulcair led off by wondering how hiring more temporary foreign workers would help the unemployed in this country, leaving Peter Van Loan to act as designated back-up PM du jour, during which he recited talking points about how the government was creating jobs. All while folding his notes constantly. Mulcair went on to read further variations on that question, eventually wondering about rules changes that demanded that people take pay cuts or lose their EI, to which Van Loan recited that it was always better to have a job than to be on EI. For the Liberals, Dominic LeBlanc asked about EI clawbacks, income inequality and youth unemployment, but Van Loan simply listed off the tax cuts his government had offered to showcase all of the work they’ve done for Canadians.
Senate QP: The email conundrum
When the day began in the Upper Chamber, nobody had any idea of the storm that was brewing. Orders of the Day in the Senate Chamber proceeded fairly quickly, without a lot of new business on the slate as the sitting winds down, and so Question Period began fairly quickly along. And there was one dominant theme with the questions – EI reform.
Senator Callbeck was up first, concerned that the Atlantic premiers hadn’t been consulted on the proposed EI changes, and wanted a listing of just who the government did end up consulting with before proposing these changes. (Note that Senator Callbeck is a former Premier of PEI, and was the first elected woman premier in the country). Senator LeBreton, the leader of the government in the Senate and designated responder to all questions, gave a lengthy paean to how fair and responsible the EI changes were going to be, but eventually said that she didn’t have such a list, and would take the question as notice and get a written response.
QP: The price for being at the table
The G20 over, Harper was back in the House today for what will probably be the penultimate QP of the spring sitting. (All those in favour of getting the blazes out of Ottawa with its oppressive muggy heat, please say ‘yay.’ And so on). Thomas Mulcair, scripted questions waiting on his miniature lectern, led off by asking Harper a trio of questions regarding Canada’s entry into the TPP negotiations, and what exactly we were willing to give up to get to the table. Harper simply reiterated how great the “jobs and growth” agenda was, which trade is a part of. Peggy Nash wondered about how it was the PBO “overstepped” his mandate when not that long ago he was praised for having improved the financial reporting process in Parliament. Tony Clement insisted that a parliamentary committee voted that he wasn’t doing his job – ignoring the context of said report and how it was actually about a turf war the PBO was having with the Parliamentary Librarian. Oops. But then Nash decided to call out Clement to repeat allegations that the PBO wasn’t doing his job – outside of the House! And thus officially ended Nathan Cullen’s promise that he was going to keep the NDP from engaging in the “silly season” that happens around this time of year. Bob Rae was up next and he too wanted to know about the issue of the PBO getting the information he requested, and Harper insisted that they provide all information by the usual means. But for his final question, Rae took everyone by surprise and wondered if Harper was going to be sticking to the planned October 2015 election date given that some seven provinces are also holding elections at that same time. Harper, after joking about the Liberals’ motives for wondering about election timing this far out, said that they were aware of the pile-up and were having discussions with the provinces about it.