Despite it being a Wednesday and caucus day, only Thomas Mulcair anchored the chamber. Harper was off in Toronto to host his summit on Maternal and Child Health, and Justin Trudeau off in Quebec City to meet the new premier. Mulcair began by asking about the refusal to fund safe abortions as part of the Maternal and Child Health initiative. John Baird responded that they have done a lot of work on maternal and child health, and got a number of other countries on board. Mulcair noted that they refused to fund the UN Population Fund as part of the initiative because of pressure from anti-choice lobbyists. Deepak Obhrai touted the 1.3 million children’s lives saved by their Initiative. Mulcair changed topics and asked about the Temporary Foreign Workers programme not helping unemployed Canadians. Jason Kenney insisted that they employers had an obligation to seek Canadian employees first. Mulcair insisted that posting jobs for TFWs at minimum wage distorted the free market, eliciting roars from the Conservative benches. Kenney noted that those minimum wage rates were largely in the seasonal agricultural sector and that the prevailing median wage was posted for other jobs. Mulcair again changed topics, and noted the objections of Ontario’s Privacy Commissioner to the lawful access provisions of the cyberbullying bill. Peter MacKay insisted that the bill would protect children and the parents of victims of cyberbullying insisted that they pass the bill — not actually true. John McCallum led off for the Liberals asking about the TFW blacklist, to which Kenney insisted that those employers were no longer eligible to get new workers, and Chris Alexander followed up by claiming they were “cleaning up the Liberal mess.” McCallum found that hilarious and an evasion of responsibility, but Alexander insisted that they were indifferent to abuse and that they brought over exotic dancers “by the hundreds and thousands” with no corner for their welfare.
Tag Archives: Immigration
QP: Strong-arming the Supreme Court
It being a Tuesday, all of the party leaders were in the House today, which is of course a rarity these days. Thomas Mulcair led off by asking which story was true — whether Harper had no idea that appointing a Federal Court justice would be a problem, or whether it was likely to be an issue before the courts. Harper equivocated, didn’t really answer and tried to say that nobody had a problem with Nadon during the process (which isn’t really true if we read between the confidential lines). Mulcair wondered why Harper didn’t get a Supreme Court reference before they appointed Nadon if they knew it would be an issue, but Harper insisted again that the NDP said good things about him. Mulcair asked why they didn’t try to change the appointment rules before appointing him. Harper responded by quoting Françoise Boivin’s praise of Nadon. Mulcair accused Harper of trying to strong-arm the Supreme Court into accepting the appointment, but Harper muttered about independent legal advice. Mulcair said that the appointment process clearly wasn’t working and needed to be changed, but Harper yet again repeated that Boivin praised Nadon, and characterized the SCC decision as “changing the rules,” when they absolutely did not. Justin Trudeau led off for the Liberals, and asked about the wage-suppressing effects of the mismanaged Temporary Foreign Workers programme. Harper batted back that the Liberals kept changing their position, and then changed topic, bringing up the PBO’s report on tax changes and how they benefitted mostly lower-income Canadians. Trudeau changed topics, and asked about the delays in filling that vacancy on the Supreme Court bench, and if it would be filled before the House rises for summer. Harper insisted that the Liberals didn’t object to Nadon’s appointment, but wouldn’t promise when a new name would come forward.
QP: A disputed apology
After Thomas Mulcair’s testy and evasive appearance at committee, he was in the House, ready for another round — and Justin Trudeau was also in attendance, which is now rare for a Thursday. Mulcair began by bringing up the centennial anniversary of the Komogata Maru incident and wondered why there had not been an official apology. Tim Uppal asserted that there had been an apology, and that they funded a monument in a Vancouver and they released a stamp. Mulcair switched topics and asked if the minister of Justice was aware of the advice that Justice Nadon resign from the Federal Court and rejoin the Quebec bar. Robert Goguen responded about the advice they received. Mulcair wondered if they would try the tactic with another Federal Court judge, to which Goguen insisted that they would respect the Supreme Court ruling. Mulcair switched topics again and brought up the cuts to refugee healthcare, for which Chris Alexander insisted that genuine, approved refugees would still get covered, but not those who are not approved — and he took a swipe at the Wynne government in Ontario while he was at it. Mulcair gave it another go in French, and got much the same answer. Justin Trudeau led for the Liberals and asked what problems the government thought were present in the Temporary Foreign Workers programme and what their solutions were. Jason Kenney didn’t really answer, but instead took swipes at Trudeau and the Liberals. Trudeau asked about the pathways to citizenship proposals, to which Chris Alexander touted their record on immigration. Trudeau asked his first question again in French, to which Kenney gave vague assurances before returning to his swipes.
QP: A matter of criminal negligence
It was caucus day, when caucus is generally riled up as it is, and after Thomas Mulcair got into a bit of a fight with reporters earlier in the morning, it was likely that everyone was feeling pretty scrappy. Mulcair started off by asking about actions being taken to deal with a viral outbreak, to which Harper gave vague reassurances. Mulcair changed topics, and asked again who advised Justice Nadon to resign and rejoin the Quebec bar. Harper noted that he got legal and constitutional opinions before appointing Nadon. Mulcair noted the 650 lawyers and law professors demanding an apology to the Chief Justice, but Harper rejected the premise of the questions reiterated that he got independent opinions. Mulcair changed topics again, asking about penalties for rail safety violations, and Harper insisted that it wasn’t a matter of regulations but of criminal negligence which is now before the courts. Mulcair bemoaned that nothing has been done since 2012, to which Harper responded that they brought in significant changes to the system. Justin Trudeau was up next, and noted the failures on the Temporary Foreign Workers file, but Harper insisted that they were taking action and ensured that Canadians got the first crack at jobs. Trudeau pressed — to loud objections from the Conservative benches — while Harper hit back by saying that the Liberals wanted more workers. Trudeau asked again in French, and got much the same response.
Roundup: Cyberbullying not lawful access
It has to sting when witnesses the government expects to back their bills unflinchingly don’t do what is expected. This happened yesterday as parents of teens who committed suicide because of cyberbullying (or criminal harassment being called cyberbullying even though it’s not really) gave their reservations about the government’s “cyberbullying” bill to the Commons committee studying it. The general consensus – though not universal – was that the bill should be split up, and the aspects dealing with non-consensual distribution of intimate images be dealt with separately from the lawful access provisions that are stuffed in the bill. Amanda Todd’s mother said that she doesn’t want other children victimised by having their privacy rights violated using her daughter’s name. It also should be said that those parents who were fine with the privacy violation provisions are also coming from a place of profound grief and loss, and it colours their perceptions of the issues around civil liberties. Suffice to say, it’s fascinating to see the government losing their own narrative over such a contentious bill.
QP: Concern about Boko Haram
It being caucus day, it was all hands on deck in the House (more or less), and everyone was raring to go. Thomas Mulcair brought up the kidnapping of those Nigerian girls by Boko Haram and what the government was willing to do about it. Stephen Harper said that the government stood willing to help the Nigerian government and was waiting for word. Mulcair then returned to the issue of the spat with the Chief Justice, and noted that law deans from across the country were also calling for an apology. Harper simply reiterated yesterday’s response, that he was aware there may have been an issue going forward and that he sought independent legal advice for the potential that it went before the courts. Mulcair noted that the Federal Court was keeping the suit open in case that Harper tried to reappoint Nadon, but Harper once again insisted that he had no plans to do so, and then launched into a tirade about how the Nadon Reference made Quebec judges on the Federal Court second-class citizens. Mulcair changed topics once again, and wanted a guarantee that any World War II veteran would not be out of pocket to attend a D-Day ceremony. Justin Trudeau was up next, and invited Harper to withdraw his remarks about the Chief Justice. Harper, however, regurgitated his line that he was aware there might be an issue. Trudeau changed topics, and wanted government support for their plan to make changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers programme. Harper insisted that they’ve been making improvements for three years and those steps had reduced applications by 30 per cent.
QP: Why do you hate the DPP?
As has become tradition, there were no major leaders in the House for Monday QP, which is a sorry comment in and of itself. When things got started, NDP deputy leader David Christopherson led off, shouting about the Conservatives’ dismissal of Sheila Fraser’s warnings about the elections bill. Pierre Poilievre responded that they simply disagreed with Elections Canada’s opinion and that it was reasonable to expect ID at the polls. Christopherson loudly mused dark conspiracy theories about the PMO cooking up smears against anyone who has had anything to do with Elections Canada. Poilievre, undaunted, gave his prepared talking points. Christopherson brought up the fact that the Director of Public Prosecutions was not consulted about the changes in the bill that affect him, to which Poilievre accused him of casting aspersions on the DPP’s independence. Alexandrine Latendresse repeated the same questions in French, eliciting a similar response. Scott Brison led off for the Liberals, worrying about the infrastructure needs of Fort McMurray being hurt by the cuts to the Building Canada Plan. Denis Lebel insisted that they were making record investments. David McGuinty asked the same again in French, but changed the location in need to Ottawa, not that Lebel gave him a different answer.
QP: Burying the Sheila Fraser lede
Despite it being only Thursday, there was only one major leader in the House, as Stephen Harper was in Mississauga to announce a bill, and Justin Trudeau in Fort McMurray in advance of the by-election call there. Thomas Mulcair, still present in Ottawa, led off by asking about a refugee deportation case, to which Chris Alexander seemed to imply that the woman in question was not a genuine refugee. Mulcair brought up the plight of someone thrown in jail in China for assisting the labour movement, to which Alexander gave a paean about how great their refugee reforms were. Mulcair moved onto the elections bill, demanding that it be withdrawn. Pierre Poilievre insisted that his stories about widespread voter fraud were true. Mulcair then brought up former Auditor General Sheila Fraser’s objections to the bill — something I figured would have led off QP — but Poilievre was undaunted in his praise of the bill. For his final question, Mulcair brought up the request that the families of fallen soldiers pay their own way to a national memorial service. James Bezan said that expenses would be covered, and laid blame on the Colonel who sent out the letter. Chrystia Freeland led off for the Liberals, and brought up the changes in median incomes since the Conservatives came to power. Kevin Sorensen insisted that everyone was better off since they were in power. Freeland brought up other worrying figures, but Sorensen praised the government’s job creation record. Emmanuel Dubourg asked the same again in French, and Sorensen accused Trudeau of voting against middle class families time and again.
QP: Regarding the Commissioner’s testimony…
With caucus day, not only were the leaders all present and accounted for in the House, but so were most of the MPs, which set up for a boisterous day. Thomas Mulcair started off by asking about the grain rail bottleneck and the lack of compensation in the bill due to correct it. Stephen Harper mumbled some vague assurances that they were working with producers and would increase the volumes shipped. Mulcair moved onto the testimony of the Commissioner of Elections, who said that some investigations might be shut down because of a lack of compelled testimony. Harper insisted that the bill gives greater independence to the Commissioner, and took a dig at the NDP’s “branch offices” around the country. Mulcair took a few more digs about Conservative “election fraud” before reiterating about the ability for the Commissioner to compel testimony. Harper responded with yet another dig about branch offices. Mulcair asked the same again in French, and got the same answer in French. For his final question, Mulcair asked if Harper thought that Eve Adams should step down, to which Harper called Mulcair a hypocrite, and the Speaker duly cautioned him for unparliamentary language. Justin Trudeau was up next, and asked about the status of the electoral mission to Ukraine. Harper thanked him for his support, and said that there would be updates as they became available. Trudeau switched to a CIBC report on Canadians not saving enough and having too much debt. Harper retorted that Trudeau didn’t have an actual definition for middle class, and dismissed the question. For his final question, Trudeau asked a boilerplate question on the plight of the middle class in French, to which Harper gave a dig that Trudeau wouldn’t know if he was meeting with middle class Canadians or not.
QP: Let me read this quote out of context
It was another day where the two main leaders were again absent from the House today, with Justin Trudeau on the far front bench, and Elizabeth May tucked away in the far corner of the Chamber. That meant that it was up to Megan Leslie to lead off, asking about Pierre Poilievre’s remarks about Harry Neufeld’s report on voter vouching, when Neufeld I himself there was no connection with vouching and fraud. Poilievre continued to selectively read the report and read quotes out of context in order to justify the provisions in the bill. Leslie moved onto the way that Jason Kenney took employment data from Kijiji rather than other, credible sources. Kenney, a little hoarse, listed anecdotes about sectoral skills shortages that need to be taken seriously. Sadia Groguhé repeated the Kijiji question in French, getting the same response. Justin Trudeau was up next, and noted the criticism of the rail grain bill and wondered if amendments would be accepted. Pierre Lemieux touted how great the bill was. Trudeau moved onto the coming 90 percent cut to the Building Canada fund, and insisted that the minister of finance answer. Instead, Peter Braid assured him that they were making plenty of infrastructure investments, neglecting to say that most of the funds won’t be available for years.