Tag Archives: Tough on Crime

QP: Oops, wrong script

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The prime minister was in Bangkok for the APEC summit, while his deputy was present for a fourth showdown with Pierre Poilievre in a row. Poilievre led off in French, he raised the story that CSIS warned the prime minister ten months ago of attempted Chinese interference in the 2019 election, and switched to English to repeat the allegation and wondered if this was raised with the Chief Electoral Officer. In French, Chrystia Freeland says they know that there are dictators trying to undermine democracies, and she had experience with the Soviet Union so she has no illusions, and that national security agencies are monitoring threats. Poilievre then raised the COP27 conference, trotted out his tired line that the government doesn’t have a climate plan but a tax plan (*drink!*) and given that a report ranks Canada out of 63 countries on their climate performance, then recited his “triple, triple, triple” ear worm, and demanded the government cancel the carbon price and come up with a “real” climate plan (and it’s hard to believe that he didn’t choke on number the utter disingenuous things said in those thirty seconds). Freeland said that Canadians know that the Conservatives don’t have a plan to tackle climate change, which means he doesn’t have a plan to grow the economy, because our trading partners are all taking serious climate action, and then pointed to the investments in the green transition. Poilievre insisted that those allies and trading partners have better climate performance while Canada is merely raising “taxes” on heating that people need (never mind that the world price of oil has more to do with those increases than carbon pricing). Freeland responded that putting a price on carbon is the most effective way to fight climate change, and that Preston Manning recognised this, and that the carbon price is revenue neutral. Poilievre disputed the revenue neutrality based on a false reading of a PBO report and demanded the government waive carbon prices to make LNG plants economical, and Freeland noted that they recognise that LNG is an important transition fuel, but all projects need to pass assessments and get First Nations approval. Poilievre insisted that the former government had a real environmental assssment plan (they didn’t), and that these projects give benefits to First Nations and quoted a single Indigenous grandmother to prove his point. Freeland responded with an anecdote from a crypto bro who said that central banks are slavery and need to be burned down and that Poilievre appeared on his YouTube channel to say that he had good ideas, and she wanted an apology for that.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he lamented that provinces weren’t getting enough healthcare dollars from the federal government, and Freeland told him she just spoke with Quebec’s finance minister and pointed out how much higher transfers are this year. Blanchet insisted that the federal government doesn’t have any expertise and just demanded money, and Freeland repeated that the transfer increased 4.2 percent this year, plus other funds to help with delays and diagnoses.

Peter Julian led for the NDP, and in French, he decried wait times in ERs, as though this was something the federal government has any control over. Freeland reiterated that they are increasing transfers to provinces already this year, and that the increasing funding must come with results. Lindsay Mathyssen repeated the concern in English, but with a London, Ontario, spin and Freeland repeated her response.

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Roundup: Don’t just rely on the federal government

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While at a feel-good announcement yesterday about the enhanced GST rebates going out to Canadians, Justin Trudeau told reporters that he was weighing “all options” on what to do about Doug Ford’s pre-emptive use of the Notwithstanding Clause, though federal options are extremely limited because it is a legitimate constitutional power under certain circumstances, and doing anything about that would require a constitutional amendment, which if Quebec or Ontario are not on board with, would be dead in the water. And disallowance is likely a Pandora’s box of federal-provincial warfare, which limits options.

Trudeau also said that Canadians themselves need to stand up to provinces using this power rather than waiting for the federal government to intervene (as the pre-emptive use pretty much rules out the courts becoming involved), because we shouldn’t underestimate the power of popular discontent—particularly for someone like Doug Ford, who doesn’t like it when people are mad at him. The powers are being invoked by populists who think they can get away with it by pandering to baser instincts, and of people put sustained pressure on those governments to let them know that no, using these powers are not okay, that could force them to back off, but that means actual sustained pressure, and not just the kinds of slactivism that we have become accustomed to. That is the kind of democratic power that still exists and holds sway, and we shouldn’t discount it.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 255:

Russian authorities in occupied Kherson continue to attempt to evacuate civilians from the city, moving them deeper into Russian-occupied territory, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns that Russia could be laying a trap to ensnare Ukrainian forces into intense urban warfare. Zelenskyy also said that Ukrainian forces have been holding their positions around Bakhmut and Soledar in the Donetsk region, while Russians send more troops into the “meat grinder.”

https://twitter.com/AnitaAnandMP/status/1588684951381508097

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QP: Getting shouty to build their narratives

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It being Wednesday, the benches were largely full, and the prime minister was present for his designated day to answer everything. Pierre Poilievre led off partly in French, and worried about the shortage of children’s Tylenol, and switched to English halfway through to reiterate. Justin Trudeau started talking about Health Canada taking action and there were challenges to supply chains around the world, but was shouted down and needed to reiterate his answer when it quieted down. Poilievre then moved onto his bog standard inflationary nonsense and “triple, triple, triple” ear worm, and demanded that tomorrow’s fiscal update have a spending freeze. Trudeau noted that they have supports for Canadians as the GST rebate comes out on days, and other supports are on the way. Poilievre repeated his question in French, and Trudeau noted that the Conservatives only want austerity and cuts. Poilievre returned to English to claim only he was protecting pensions from inflation, and repeated his demand to cap spending and taxes. Trudeau called Conservatives cold-hearted if they considered dental care for children to be pouring fuel on the inflationary fire. Poilievre tried to turn over the “cold-hearted” accusation with his tripling nonsense, to which Trudeau reiterated that in spite of Conservative misinformation and disinformation, the climate rebates give more back to most Canadians than they pay.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he accused the federal government of starving the healthcare system (which is utter bunkum), and wanted more funding without conditions. Trudeau reminded him that Quebeckers and Canadians expect results from the system, but if systems don’t work as expected, they want to work with provinces to ensure that more money gets better results. Blanchet accused the federal government of micromanaging, and Trudeau reiterate that the systems are not working, which is why they are trying to get provinces onside to improve things for that money.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and he attacked Doug Ford’s preemptive use of the Notwithstanding Clause, and demanded the prime minster do something about it. Trudeau denounced Ford’s actions, and called out Poilievre for not denouncing it. Singh repeated the question in French, and got the same answer.

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QP: A puzzling and aborted attempt to change the channel

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The PM was present today, while his deputy was not, though most of the other leaders weren’t. Pierre Poilievre led off in French by accusing the government of fuelling inflation and added in some nonsense about rising taxes and deficits making interest rates go higher (no, that’s not how this works), and demanded an end to government spending. Justin Trudeau said that Canadians are concerned about the cost of living, the cost of going to the dentist, and the cost of rent, which is why they put forward measures that the Conservative have been opposing. Poilievre switched to English to insist that everything that Trudeau does makes everything worse, and demanded the prime minister stop driving up the cost of living by ending government taxing Canadians (which are wildly disparate concepts being mashed together with zero regard for how things work). Trudeau listed measures that they have made to support people and employers through the pandemic and ensured that our economy came “roaring back” faster than other countries, because it ensured economic growth. Poilievre insisted that Trudeau’s “own parliamentary budget officer” (which is some weird bullshit) that much of that COVID spending had nothing to do with COVID, and quoted some Desjardins figures about federal debt charges which he asserted could have been better spent on health transfers. (Erm, really? That’s your line? Also, those “bankers and bondholders” for that federal debt actually goes a lot to things like pension plans.) Trudeau once again touted the investments they made to support low-income families, and that the Conservatives would rather see cuts. Poilievre spun a tale of woe for people’s credit card rates, with some disingenuous laugh lines about the government assuming debt so people wouldn’t have to in the pandemic, leading to a false reading of how federal debt works. Trudeau repeated that they face supports to people, before calling out Poilievre for not condemning Doug Ford’s preemptive use of the Notwithstanding Clause. Poilievre then went on a bad faith rant about the ArriveCan app and trolled for support for his Supply Day motion on calling the Auditor General on the app. Trudeau said it was no surprise that Poilievre would not condemn this attack on rights, before returning to the points that the Conservatives want to raid EI and pensions.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he lamented the state of the healthcare system and worried that the federal government was “scheming” to deprive provinces of funding. Trudeau said that they want to see an effective system, which is why they want to supply more money, but they need to work with provinces to ensure that there are results. Therrien turned this into an attack on Quebec, and referenced the (largely apocryphal) Night of the Knives under his father. Trudeau insisted they want to work with provinces but need tangible results rather than throwing money at a broken system. 

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and in French, he shouts about fossil fuel subsidies, saying that 2023 was two months away. Trudeau said that the elimination of “inefficient” subsidies would happen by the end of 2023. Daniel Blaikie took over in English, and demanded the government eliminate GST off of home heating (which is really just a subsidy for rich households. Trudeau praised their climate rebates, and other affordability measures. 

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Roundup: Sloly’s first day at the inquiry

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It was the first of two days that former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly took the stand at the Emergencies Act public inquiry, and, well, ooooof. The man did not acquit himself or his actions very well. He blamed the media for the perception that the police weren’t doing anything (erm, they weren’t), he defended the belief that the occupation would end in two or three days, he praised the officer who fed him the widely discredited Rex Murphy-sourced intelligence, and generally insisted that everyone was doing the best job that they could, but wow. Oh, and then he got emotional and teary at the end about how the situation that he allowed to escalate got to be too much. No, seriously.

https://twitter.com/robert_hiltz/status/1586011336987009029

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1586075397212770304

 

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 248 (because apparently, I lost a day somewhere):

Kyiv is facing increasing blackouts as a result of increased Russian attacks on electrical infrastructure. Russian forces continue to shell Bakhmut, in the hopes that it could open the way to hitting other strongholds in the Donetsk region, and that it could blunt the advance on the southern city of Kherson, which itself is a gateway to Crimea.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau unveiled a new five-year bond-buying programme for Canadians to support Ukraine financially, along with new sanctions on Russians.
  • Chrystia Freeland announced that the Fall Economic Statement will be delivered on November 3rd (just before the constituency week, so they can fan out to sell it).
  • As of August, the federal government was still in a surplus position.
  • The federal government is moving to restrict the involvement of foreign state-own enterprises in the critical minerals sector.
  • Health Canada is looking to hire an external company to process dental claims in a standalone federal insurance programme rather than involving the provinces.
  • In advance of the COP27 meeting in Egypt, developed nations haven’t stepped up to meet climate finance goals, and Canada may be asked to do more.
  • The Supreme Court of Canada struck down elements of the mandatory registration to the federal sex offender registry in all cases, restoring judicial discretion.
  • MPs on the Heritage committee pushed back at Meta’s threat to remove news content from Facebook if they go ahead with the online news bill.
  • Premiers are huffing and puffing at the news that Trudeau is looking to play hard ball with them on future health care transfers.
  • It looks like Doug Ford was happy to participate in the public inquiry back in June, but has now changed his tune and lawyered up to avoid having to testify.
  • Susan Delacourt ruminates on how politicians have dealt with defeat, and whether some rebounds are more of a sign of workaholism.
  • Justin Ling goes through the public inquiry documents to confirm that yes, there were concerns about weapons in the occupation, and firearms charges were laid.
  • My weekend column on the facile inflation narratives coming from the opposition, and the inability of the government to call it out.

Odds and ends:

Governor General Mary May Simon’s Coat of Arms was revealed yesterday.

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QP: The King of Canada shouldn’t be a difficult concept

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Both the prime minister and his deputy were away, but every other leader was present, for better or ill today. Pierre Poilievre led off in French as he usually does, and said that the government added $100 billion to the national debt before COVID, and $500 billion before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that he added more to the national debt than any prime minister in history, which is pretty selective about the circumstances of what happened during that time period, like, oh, a global pandemic. He blamed inflation on this spending, which is not true, then raised the reports that Chrystia Freeland has given orders to reign in spending, and wondered how they can trust the people who caused inflation to fix it, which again, completely misrepresents the facts. Rachel Bendayan reminded him that Canada has the lowest debt and deficit of all G7 countries, and that they have a budget that will cut spending by $9 billion, while maintaining the strongest growth in the G7 while the Conservatives play petty political games, and praised the government for bringing Moderna to Montreal, which was an odd non sequitur. Poilievre repeated the question in English, with a bit of added self-congratulation, before Mark Holland asked what supports the Conservatives would have not offered to Canadians during the pandemic, and called out their amplifying anxieties before demanding they support dental care and rental supports. Poilievre said they would have cut ArriveCan or WE Charity, and not given money to profitable companies, before he recited some nonsense about inflation. Holland disputed that inflation is a problem only facing Canada, which is not true, before again demanding support for affordability measures. Poilievre insisted that countries who printed money all have high inflation, but countries like Switzerland who didn’t don’t have the same issue, which is a pretty selective reading of the facts. Holland noted that we are dealing with unprecedented times, which demands maturity and serious answers, and offered a sanctimonious request for the opposition to let their affordability measures go to a vote. Poilievre was incredulous, saying that only 0.3% of Canada’s trade is with Russia and Ukraine combined, so that they couldn’t possibly be contributing to inflation—which is possibly the dumbest gods damned leaps in logic I have ever heard. Holland accused the Conservatives of not supporting people who need it.

Yves-François Blanchet got up to claim that there is a debate about pledging allegiance to the “King of England,” worried that the federal government would interfere with Quebec’s secularism law, and then demanded to know who the head of state is in Canada. David Lametti noted that the oath of allegiance is part of the constitution and that courts have said that this is not an oath to the person, but the institutions. He did not, however, say that the King of Canada is our sovereign. Blanchet again demanded to know who the head of state is, and Pablo Rodriguez got up to rip that the Bloc don’t care about the issues of the day, but only about their pensions.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and in French, demanded that the government support their plan to help people, to which Rachel Bendayan recited the measures the government has taken and pleaded for support for the other measures. Singh switched to English to decry a possible Rogers-Shaw merger, and demanded that the government oppose it. Andy Fillmore read a statement about ensuring that consumers are protected.

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QP: Politicising a tragedy because of course he did

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For Wednesday, proto-PMQ day, the prime minister was indeed present, and had a binder full of prepared responses, not that he was going to need most of it given how utterly repetitive QP has become in the past number of weeks. Pierre Poilievre led off, and started with condolence for the murder of a police officer in Burnaby, BC, and wanted action on the “crime wave” gripping the country. Justin Trudeau agreed that they need to do more, and spoke about their plans to increase funding for mental health supports. Poilievre then moved to the inflation numbers, and food inflation in particular, accusing the government of raising taxes on food, which of course is not true, and the biggest driver of food price inflation is climate change. Trudeau disputed the characterisation, and raised their GST credit, and wanted support for their other measures. Poilievre cited the figure that average families will pay $3000 more in inflation and interest, and blamed inflation on deficits, which is not the driver. Trudeau repeated that the Conservatives are not supporting measures that will help the households that need it most. Poilievre repeated his questions in French, and Trudeau poked holes in Poilievre’s assertion that inflation is so high that they shouldn’t do anything to help people. Poilievre spouted a bunch of nonsense about food price inflation on things gown in Canada, ignoring that drought wiped out 40 percent of crops last year, and blamed the costs on carbon prices. Trudeau raised the climate rebates that people got on Friday, and that they need to take action on climate change.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and raised both the contracts for a lease near Roxham Road and wanted a better way to accept asylum seekers. Trudeau recited that there is no magic solution and that we need to work with the Americans to find a sustainable solution. Blanchet claimed that the government wanted to use Roxham Road to get cheap labour, and wanted African francophone students instead who are being discriminated against with their visas. Trudeau read a script about having no tolerance for racism and that the minister was looking into the issue.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and first gave condolences for the slain officer, then switched to French to accuse the government of doing nothing about inflation. Trudeau listed their actions and the plans still waiting passage. Singh switched to English, and blamed food price inflation on “greed-flation” (which is not a thing), and took credit for “forcing” the government to study the issue. Trudeau repeated his response about the GST credit and demanding support for dental care and rental supports.

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QP: Some new faces with the same repetitive lines

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Neither the prime minister nor his deputy was present today, but Pierre Poilievre was, as he so frequently is. He led off in French, and claimed that government spending caused inflation (false), and cited an RBC report saying that inflation and higher interest rates would cost families an additional $3000 next year, before he demanded that the government stop “raising taxes” (which they aren’t, but if they were, higher taxes actually fight inflation). Rachel Bendayan said that they know Canadian are facing higher expenses, which is why they are putting forward supports, that the Conservatives are opposing, such as rental supports and dental care. Poilievre switched to English to blame the federal government and the outgoing (formerly) NDP mayor of Vancouver for overdose deaths, violence and higher housing prices. He praised the election of a new mayor and demanded that the federal government “get the message.” Mark Holland said he appreciated the leader’s interest in the mayoralty campaign in Vancouver, but here in Ottawa, he was looking for support for their affordability measures. Poilievre insisted that the federal government was forcing British Columbia to “triple, triple, triple” their carbon price and demanded that they cancel the plan. Steven Guilbeault remarked that families in provinces under the federal price got their quarterly climate rebate payments on Friday. Poilievre then said the government was forcing “energy poverty” onto the Atlantic provinces, to which Guilbeault corrected him in that they are providing support for them to transition to cleaner and cheaper alternatives. Finally, Poilievre insisted that the government was just taking the carbon price revenue, and mocked the notion that it would “trickle down” back to people (false–the revenues don’t go to federal coffers and go to each province to recycle in the way they chose, including the federal climate rebates). Holland responded with some mockery about the Conservative belief in trickle-down economics, which doesn’t actually work.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he insisted that Chrystia Freeland announced a policy of “drill, baby, drill,” and that she drove the nail in the coffin of climate change. Jonathan Wilkinson noted that she did not contradict the government and that they would only move ahead on the right projects. Therrien insisted that the government was using the war in Ukraine to sell more oil, and Guilbeault reminded him that there is a rigorous environmental assessment process and that Canada is moving ahead on renewable energy, which is why Germany came to us for hydrogen.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and in French, he noted the Loblaws “price lock” on generic food products and demanded support for their Supply Day motion on making companies pay more. Rachel Bendayan recited that the government raised taxes on corporations. Alistair MacGregor took over in English, with the took credit for the Loblaws move, to which Terry Beech called for support for their affordability measures.

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QP: More outrage clips about the carbon price

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While Justin Trudeau was in the Magdalen Islands to survey Hurricane Fiona damage there, his deputy was once again in the House of Commons for yet another round of the same talking points, back and forth. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and worried that the federal government was somehow hindering Quebec’s ability to build new hydroelectric dams to produce green electricity to power electric cars. Chrystia Freeland dismissed this as the Conservatives not having a plan for the environment. Poilievre shot back that the government doesn’t have an environment plan, but only a tax plan and that they have not met any reduction target (as though his government didn’t sabotage those efforts at every turn), and then complained about the carbon price in places like BC. Freeland reiterated that the Conservatives don’t have an environmental plan, but only a plan to plunder pensions and hurt Canadians. Poilievre tried his “JustInflation” line again and accused the government of raising taxes on paycheques, which are not taxes. Freeland said the Conservatives are only good for strutting but only want to drain pensions and keep kids from going to the dentist. Poilievre cited a poll that says that 51 percent of people are struggling to eat, and accused the government of being out of tough. Freeland said that the Conservatives were out of touch for a plan to raid pensions and slash EI, or to not have a plan for the climate as our customers—the US and the EU—will only buy our products if we have a climate plan. Poilievre tried again, trying to feign a tone of unctuous concern for people who can’t eat or find a home, but Freeland listed the actions they have taken which have reduced poverty, and finished off with a Bitcoin dig.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he worried about Roxham Road, saying the quiet part out loud in worrying about “cultural integration,” and wanted an Ethics Committee investigation on the CBSA contracts at the crossing. Freeland responded with a paean about the importance of immigration to our economy and in the strength of the refugee system. Blanchet chided her that Roxham Road is not about labour but humanitarian efforts—which is true—and demanded the contracts all be tabled publicly. Freeland said that as a border issue, they are working with the Americans, including on the Safe Third Country Agreement.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and said that he would be meeting with Autumn Pelletier about her petition about clean water for Indigenous communities. Freeland very slowly noted that as wonderful as Canada is, it has an original sin of our treatment of Indigenous people, and the government was working to rectify that. Singh repeated the question in French, and Freeland reminded him that they have invested heavily and there is still more work to do.

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QP: Those “heartless” increases to pensions and safety-nets

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The PM was in Newfoundland and Labrador to survey more damage from Hurricane Fiona, but his deputy was present today. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and once again, misleadingly insisted that deficits and government debt were fuelling inflation—not actually true—and demanded the government cap spending to fight inflation. Chrystia Freeland recited that the latest Fiscal Monitor shows the government is currently $6 billion in surplus, and that we have the lowest deficit and debt in the G7. Poilievre repeated the question in English, and Freeland repeated her answer extemporaneously rather than reading a script. Poilievre turned to the increasing carbon price, to which Freeland recited the rebates for Ontario, the lower taxes than under the Conservatives, and threw in things like childcare as other programmes to help the government. Poilievre cited food bank usage and a dubious statistic about students  living in homeless shelters, and wanted the carbon price cut, to which Freeland accused the Conservatives of either trying to cripple pensions or raise deficits. Poilievre tried yet again on the same talking points and Freeland returned with some quips about Bitcoin.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, made some comment about getting lemon wedges from the Governor General, before he demanded action on the situation at Roxham Road. Freeland responded with some scripted talking points about the strength of the asylum system., and workin with the Americans. Blanchet was not satisfied ,and point-blank asked why they didn’t just use existing ports of entry (as in suspending the Safe Third Country Agreement) than spending billions on new infrastructure at Roxham Road. Freeland said that the country is in need of labour, Quebec especially, and immigration was essential.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and he once again trotted out his “greed-flation” attempt, demanding support for their committee study on grocery CEO profits. Freeland reminded him of their corporate tax increases. Singh repeated the demand in French, and got the same answer.

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