It being the Thursday before a constituency week, the benches were getting a bit thinner, and none of the leaders (save Elizabeth May) were present. That left Alain Rayes to lead off, reading concerns about the Americans being able to weigh in on a potential trade deal with China, and wondered what Canada got in response. Marc Garneau got up to read that the ability to withdraw from an agreement was normal. Rayes railed about all of the various concessions made, and Garneau was “mystified” that the Conservatives didn’t applaud them for getting a deal. Michael Chong was up next, and raised our sacrifices in World War I before complaining that the Article 32 in the new NAFTA makes Canada a vassal state. Garneau insisted there was no loss of sovereignty, and that any party could leave the agreement with six months’ notice. Candice Bergen was up next, and she whinged that Trudeau acted like a bully and called them names on the issue of Tori Stafford’s killer. Jean-Yves Duclos got up to read that politicians can’t make determinations about the sentencing of individual prisoners. Bergen proposed a broad policy of preventing child killers from going to healing lodges, but Duclos repeated his script. Karine Trudel led off for the NDP, worrying about the steel and aluminium tariffs still being in place. Garneau got up to read that the tariffs weren’t justified, which was Canada was retaliating. On a second go-around, Garneau gave the same response, this time without script, before Tracey Ramsey repeated the question in English, with a bit of added condemnation. Garneau reiterated the response in English, and for her final question, Ramsey demanded a task force to help small businesses affected by the tariffs, and this time, Garneau took a few shots a the NDP’s dislike of trade agreements.
Tag Archives: Supply Management
QP: Ambulance chasing politics
Following a morning of announcements including that of a renewed consultation with Indigenous communities on the Trans Mountain Expansion, all of the leaders were present for this week’s exercise of Porto-PMQs. Andrew Scheer led off, mini-lectern on desk, and wouldn’t you know it, Scheer led off on the latest outrage around Tori Stafford’s killer, and the coming vote the Conservatives are forcing on it. Justin Trudeau took a script to say that she was still in a medium security facility, and that the Act doesn’t allow the minister to intervene, but they have undertaken a review of the system. Scheer switched to dairy concession in the new NAFTA deal, and Trudeau took up another script to say that they have promised compensation to producers, and that this was just like ten TPP deal the Conservatives organised and celebrated. Scheer said that the TPP was done in exchange for other concessions unlike this deal. Trudeau dropped his script this time to praise the deal, and especially a list of Conservative luminaries. Scheer shot back that Trudeau needed all the help they could get, then railed about prescription drug costs raising because of IP provisions in NAFTA. Trudeau noted that the Conservatives never did anything about drug prices when they were in charge, and Scheer tried one last time to worry about steel and aluminium tariffs, and Trudeau took up a script again to read from Stephen Harper’s memo urging capitulation. Guy Caron then stood up for the NDP, and he railed about the Liberals apparently rewriting history around the elimination of Chapter 11 in the old NAFTA. Trudeau praised its elimination, and when Caron tried again in English, insisting that they were misleading the House over it. The Speaker admonished Caron for the insinuation, and he refused to apologised on the first time, but gave a grudging apology on the second time, to which Trudeau reiterate that they were pleased with Chapter 11’s elimination. Romeo Saganash then got up to accuse the government of not properly consulting with Indigenous groups, and Trudeau stated that they recognised there is a right process that they would follow. Saganash switched to French to insist that there is a right for those groups to say no, and Trudeau reiterated that there are different communities who want and don’t want projects, and they would do their best to ensure their concerns are heard.
Caron getting admonished for saying Trudeau is willfully misleading the House. #QP
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) October 3, 2018
Senate QP: Duclos versus petulant questions
It’s rare that there is drama around ministers appearing at Senate Question Period, but it happened today. While senators had initially been promised an appearance by finance minister Bill Morneau, he ended up jetting off to Vancouver with the prime minister for the LNG announcement. Apparently Senators were apprised at 11 AM that he wouldn’t be appearing due to “obligations related to NAFTA negotiations,” and the Conservatives got a bit miffed by the last-minute switch to minister Jean-Yves Duclos. Senator Larry Smith led off, noting that they expected Minister Morneau and would ask some questions to the government leader instead, and he launched into a broadside over the trade deal and he lack of action on steel and aluminium tariffs. Senator Harder said that the matter was subject to a stream that was different from the NAFTA agreement, and that the government was still negotiating on them.
Senator Eaton also asked about the clause in the new agreement about “non-market countries” and what it meant for trade with China. Harder responded that all agreements have clauses the termination of the agreement, and it wasn’t surprising and that this particular clause references the opportunity of all sides to review the agreements that any of the three partners might enter into with third parties and that the signatories to NAFTA aren’t disadvantaged.
QP: Supply Management and prisons, ad nauseam
With the PM off in Vancouver for the announcement of a major LNG project, the rest of the Commons was full and ready to go for QP. Andrew Scheer led off on the Supply Day topic of the day, around Tori Stafford’s killer, and demanded that she be put back in a facility that “looks like a prison” — never mind that the facility she used to be in didn’t have bars either. Ralph Goodale read his usual statement about ordering a review. Scheer then switched to the new NAFTA and the lack of softwood lumber tariff movement, to which Chrystia Freeland insisted that they got good things like eliminating Chapter 11, and removing a throttling of Canadian energy products. Sheer insisted that Canada only achieved losses and no gains, and Freeland read praise from Brian Mulroney in response. Alain Rayes took over to lament the lack of movement on aluminium tariffs, to which Freeland reminded him that they were advocating capitulation just weeks ago. Rayes tried again, and Freeland repeated the points about what they managed to get rid of, this time in French. Guy Caron was up next for the NDP, and caterwauled about Supply Management. Freeland insisted that they were preserving Supply Management for the future, and when Caron railed about the ways in which the government “caved,” Freeland assured him that they defended the sector in spite of American attempts to dismantle it, and that dairy farmers would be compensated. Tracey Ramsey raised the clause about the US being notified on trade talks with China, and after Freeland praised Ramsey, she insisted that we retained full sovereignty over our trade relationships. Ramsey then railed about steel and aluminium tariffs, and Freeland assured her that they were still behind the sector, and that the measured, dollar-for-dollar retaliatory measures were standing up for the sector.
Roundup: All about the New NAFTA
So, now that we have some more information about just what is in this renewed NAFTA agreement (no, I’m not going to call it by Trump’s preferred new title because it’s ridiculous), we can get some better analysis of what was agreed to. Here’s a good overview, along with some more analysis on the issues of BC wines, online shopping, intellectual property, Indigenous issues (though not the whole chapter they hoped for, and the gender chapter was also absent), and an oil and gas bottleneck issue whose resolution could now save our industry as much as $60 million. There is, naturally, compensation for those Supply Management-sector farmers who’ve had more access into the market granted (though that access is pretty gradual and will likely be implemented in a fairly protectionist manner, if CETA is anything to go by). There is, however, some particular consternation over a clause that gives the US some leverage over any trade we may do with a “non-market” country (read: China), though that could wind up being not a big deal after all and just some enhanced information sharing; and there is also the creation of a macro-economic committee that could mean the Bank of Canada may have to do more consultation with the US Federal Reserve on monetary policy (though I have yet to find more details about this change). But those steel and aluminium tariffs that Trump imposed for “national security” reasons remain, as they were always unrelated to NAFTA, and their removal will remain an ongoing process.
With the news of the deal also comes the behind-the-scenes tales of how it all went down, and we have three different versions, from Maclean’s John Geddes, the National Post’s Tom Blackwell, and CBC’s Katie Simpson.
https://twitter.com/InklessPW/status/1046750795461357568
Meanwhile, Andrew Coyne posits that the damage in this agreement is slight but there was no hope for a broader trade agreement given that there were protectionists on both sides of the table. Likewise, Kevin Carmichael notes that the deal limited the potential harm that was looming, but didn’t really break any new ground. Andrew MacDougall says that the deal gives Trump the win he needed before the midterms, while it will also make it hard for Andrew Scheer to stick anything on Trudeau around the deal. Chantal Hébert agrees that if Trudeau loses the next election that it won’t be because of this trade deal. Paul Wells, meanwhile, takes note of how the Conservatives are playing this, trying to lead observers by the hand to show them that Trudeau “failed” in these talks, while glossing over all of the actual context around why these negotiations happened in the first place.
QP: NAFTA not good enough
After a morning of press conferences and celebratory back-patting from the government on the conclusion of NAFTA talks, all of the leaders were in the Commons, and ready to go. Andrew Scheer led off, mini-lectern on desk, and he read his disappointment about concessions made to Supply Management. Trudeau enthused that it was a good agreement, and that they worked closely with the dairy industry and would continue to work so regarding compensation. Scheer worried that there were no gains, only losses, and worried in particular about Buy America policies. Trudeau continued to enthuse about the deal, and didn’t really answer about Buy America. Scheer lost his script, and listed other concessions, and asked after Buy America again. Trudeau took a shot at Stephen Harper advocating selling out before thanking Canadians for being united on the issue. Scheer then asked about softwood lumber tariffs, and Trudeau tut-tutted that the opposition thought it was a bad deal — but didn’t answer about softwood. Sheer asked after softwood again, and Trudeau again insisted it was a good deal. Guy Caron was up next for the NDP, who was worried that there were no gains on Indigenous or gender rights or the environment and they caved on Supply Management, and Trudeau pointed to the environmental protections now in the agreement that the old agreement didn’t have, and took a shot at the NDP not liking any deals. Caron railed about Supply Management being compromised, to which Trudeau insisted that they did protect Supply Management. Tracey Ramsey took over in English on her list of things she didn’t like in the agreement, and Trudeau insisted that yes, it was a progressive agreement, especially around labour rights and strengthened environmental protections. Ramsey demanded the deal be brought to the House of Commons, and Trudeau listed the unions that support the deal, and said they would bring it to Parliament in the ratification process.
QP: Medium-security condos
Nearly a full day after Donald Trump’s rambling press conference in which he made threats to NAFTA, and both Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer were present to face off. Scheer led off in French, and asked why Trudeau didn’t ask for a meeting with Trump in New York. Trudeau took up a script and stated that they were looking for a good deal and not any deal. Schemer switched to English to ask for assurances that there would be no new tariffs next week. Trudeau, still with a script, reiterated that they were looking for a good deal and that the Conservatives would sign any deal put in front of them. Scheer switched topics, and returned to the issue of Tori Stafford’s killer, and Scheer reminded him that she was moved from maximum to medium security under the Conservatives in 2014, and that the Conservatives themselves said that they don’t have the power to affect the security classification of prisoners. Scheer insisted that Stafford’s killer was being moved from behind razor wire and bars to a “condo,” and that the Act gives the government the power to Act. Trudeau accused Scheer of playing word games of his own, and when Scheer tried again, Trudeau reminded him that she remains in medium security. Guy Caron was up next for the NDP, and worried about Energy East being revived, and Trudeau reminded him that the company withdrew their proposal because of market conditions. Caron switched to English to worry about CSIS spying on environmtal activists, and Trudeau reached for a script to say that they respect the right to protest but that the complaints about CSIS were looked into by SIRC and dismissed. Romeo Saganash wanted the entire Cabinet to meet with Indigenous knowledge keepers to understand the meaning of free prior and informed consent, and Trudeau said that they were working forward reconciliation and meeting with First Nations who both supported and opposed projects. Saganash asked again in French, and Trudeau reminded him that not all Indigenous communities oppose projects.
Scheer claims that Tori Stafford’s killer is being moved “to a condo.” #QP
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) September 27, 2018
QP: Blair’s blunders
While Justin Trudeau was off at the United Nations General Assembly, and Andrew Scheer busy preparing for a 4 PM press conference, Alain Rayes led off, reading some kind words about the response to the tornado on the weekend, and asked for an update on the situation. Ralph Goodale gave his own statement of thanks and condolence, and said the federal government was assisting where they can. Rayes then turned to Bill Blair’s self-admitted mistaken statement on those asylum claimants that have left the country. Blair admitted to the confusion he created and again apologised. Rayes railed that no plan to resolve the border “crisis” has been issued, and this time Diane Lebouthillier was deployed to accuse the Conservatives of creating fear. Michelle Rempel took over, restated the first question in English, and Blair responded with some chiding about her use of “illegal border crossers.” Rempel reiterated her question, noting that he didn’t answer her which created more confusion, but Blair responded with a lecture on due process. Guy Caron was up next for the NDP, and he hectored the government on the duty to consult Indigenous peoples on projects. Amarjeet Sohi responded with the trite lines about the importance of the relationship and assured him they were properly consulting. Caron insisted that they couldn’t be real consultations if they had already decided to “force” the expansion of Trans Mountain, and Sohi responded that Canadians expected them to get new markets for their resources. Rachel Blaney took over and repeated the questions in English, and she got the same response both times, insisting that they will offer accommodation is possible.
QP: Supply Managed Pipelines
After a morning of caucus meetings, the benches were full in the Commons as everyone was ready for the first photo-PMQs of the fall. Andrew Scheer led off in French, mini-lectern on desk, and he read about the “failure” of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Trudeau responded with the tired trope of the environment and the economy going together, before saying they would consult Indigenous people again, and that the Conservatives only wanted to minimize environmental protection. Scheer reiterated the question in English, got the same response, and Scheer then insisted that their government got four pipelines built and accused the government of trying to phase out the oil sector. Trudeau responded with his talking points about economic growth rates. Scheer railed about the $4.5 billion sent to Texas investors, while Trudeau said that the Conservatives must be content to see the project fail because it his government hadn’t bought it, the project would be dead in the water. Scheer ditched his script for the final quote is on, and demanded the prime minister scrap the environmental assessment bill. Trudeau retorted that the Conservatives didn’t have any plans to do anything they demanded. Guy Caron led off for the NDP and railed about Supply Management, and Trudeau repeated his talking points about supporting the system. Caron tried again, got the same answer, and then Ruth Ellen Brosseau took a turn, and she too got the same response. Alaistair MacGregor repeated the question yet again in English, with a Vancouver Island spin, and wouldn’t you know it, he too got the same response from Trudeau, before he repeated his new quip that the Conservatives will sign any deal no matter how bad.
QP: Not misleading, just misinformed
On a cooler and less humid day in the nation’s capital, things proceeded apace in the House of Commons, and there was far less drama to start off the day. Andrew Scheer led off, mini lectern on desk, demanding to know why the counter-tariffs the government collected haven’t been funnelled directly to business that have been affected by the US tariffs. Justin Trudeau responded that the government was supporting affected industries, but also things like innovation. Scheer then started on his “failure” talking points with regards to the Trans Mountain pipeline, to which Trudeau shot back about the ten years of failure from the previous government, particularly around respecting First Nations. Scheer switched to English to ask again, and Trudeau insisted that growing the economy and respecting both the environment and Indigenous communities went hand in hand. Scheer railed about pipelines line Energy East not getting built, and Trudeau stepped up his rhetoric about not respecting First Nations. Scheer then spun a bunch of nonsense about carbon taxes, and Trudeau didn’t correct Scheer’s mischaracterisation, but responded with some platitudes about paying for pollution. Guy Caron was up next to lead for the NDP, and concern trolled about the effect on Supply Management with TPP, to which Trudeau insisted they were keeping the system intact. After another round of the same, Tracey Ramsey repeated the questions in English, and got much the same response from Trudeau, who added that they got better a better deal than the Conservatives did. On another round of the same, Trudeau insisted that the NDP didn’t want any trade deals, and the Conservatives would sign anything, but he would only sign a good deal, and that included NAFTA.
Scheer trying to insist that Energy East would displace Saudi oil. It wouldn’t. #QP
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) September 18, 2018
Now Scheer is mischaracterising the large emitter regulations.
Trudeau doesn’t correct, responds with pabulum. #QP— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) September 18, 2018