Tag Archives: Transfer Payments

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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QP: Competing misuses of “ironic”

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Neither the PM not his deputy were present today in spite of being in town, and most other leaders weren’t either. Pierre Poilievre was, however, and he led off in French with hyperbolic nonsense about deficits driving inflation (they are not), and worried that Canadians are cutting back to be able to afford to eat, and wanted the government to cancel their “inflationary policies” in their economic update, and called it “ironic” that it would mean cancelling everything they’ve done for seven years, which is neither ironic, nor in any way resembling reality. Randy Boissonnault responded by insisting that the government has a concrete plan for inflation including child care, the GST rebate, and the dental and rental supports, and said that it was “ironic” that the Conservatives voted against these measures, which again, is not actually ironic. Poilievre switched to English to misquote Tiff Macklem and Mark Carney about the domestic drivers of inflation, and then repeated his misuse of the term “ironic,” and once again, Boissonnault repeated his response, and his own misuse of the term “ironic.” (Make it stop!) Poilievre quoted the statistic on food bank usage, and pointed out that one in Toronto had to close because rent doubled, blaming the federal government for that, somehow. Boissonnault recited that this government has lifted people out of poverty, and wondered why the Conservatives voted against measures to help Canadians. Poilievre tried to call out the NDP for supporting the government’s carbon price as home heating bills increase, to which Sean Fraser stood up to take exception to this line of questioning, pointing to the Hurricane Fiona damage that his province suffered, and that most families get more back than they spent on it. Poilievre insisted this wasn’t a climate plan but a tax plan because the government hasn’t hit any climate targets (never mind that this is largely impossible under the sabotage of the previous government on the environmental file). Fraser got back up to insist that Poilievre has been repeating the same false points for years, and keeps being proven wrong.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he decried the story in the Star that claimed the government planned to freeze out certain provinces in negotiations for health transfers, to which Jean-Yves Duclos insisted that all health ministers have the same goals for the same dollars. Therrien shouted that this as about breaking provinces and it was blackmail, but Duclos calmly recited that the federal government has been there for the provinces and listed the billions of dollars transferred to them.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and in French, accused the government of letting people starve while CEOs get rich. François-Philippe Champagne said that this was theatrical, and listed actions he has taken such as calling up the grocery CEOs and getting the Competition Bureau involved. Daniel Blaikie repeated the same in English, hoping for measures in the Fall Economic Statement, and Champagne repeated his response in English.

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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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Roundup: Lost faith in the Ottawa Police Service

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Once again, a lot of threads to disentangle as the OPP Commissioner, Thomas Carrique, was on the stand at the Emergencies Act public inquiry, and what a lot of the day seemed to focus on (at least, from what I could tell from afar) were the texts he was exchanging with RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki. So, what did we learn? That the federal government had pretty much lost all confidence in the Ottawa Police and were discussing taking over the response to the occupation, even though Lucki was particularly reluctant to do so (and worried that the Emergencies Act would be used to make that happen). There was discussion about the OPP in particular taking over, and the Commissioner was ready to have that call before the Ottawa chief resigned. Once Peter Sloly was out of the way, an integrated command was set up. Also interesting was the comment that the Act was used to compensate tow truck drivers more than it was to compel their services (which could be a signal to the provinces about how they may need to update their own emergency legistlation).

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1585629449038577664

Carrique defended his comments that the occupation was a threat to national security, and the way that the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor was handled differently than the Ottawa occupation. Documents provided to the inquiry showed that the FBI provided some support to the Ottawa Police during the occupation, likely around US-based support for it, so that lends some credence to the national security threat analysis.

https://twitter.com/acoyne/status/1585720241979629569

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 246:

Ukrainian forces attacked Russian forces occupying the southern city of Kherson, while fighting also intensified in the country’s east as Russians bombarded the city of Bakhmut. While Putin is denying he plans to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine (isn’t that a sign he will?), another mass grave was discovered in the village of Kopanky.

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QP: The increasing hyperbole meets the wall of pabulum

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The translation system was haywire in the Chamber, which made for a very awkward and very late start to the day. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he started off with the falsehood that  government spending caused inflation (he didn’t), and railed about increasing interest rates as a result. Justin Trudeau got up and said that he would respond in a second but wanted to mark that this is the 40th day since the murder of Mahsa Amini in Iran, and that he stood with the Iranian-Canadian community. Poilievre switched to English to say that people are now paying $7000 more on mortgage payments and wondered who was going to pay it. Trudeau said that the government made the decision to support people in the pandemic, and are now supporting them with the GST rebate, dental care and rental supports. Poilievre trotted out his misquote of Mark Carney and wanted to know how many people would lose their homes because of higher interest rates, and Trudeau pointed out that inflation is a world-wide problem, which is why they have supported Canadians. Poilievre chanted that the cost of government is increasing the cost of living (not true), trotted out falsehoods about ArriveCan and cited a problem with the disclosure from CBSA. Trudeau said that the appropriate ministers are looking into this discrepancy before patting himself on the back for pandemic supports. Poilievre accused the prime minister of personally handing out ArriveCan contracts and then complained about the cost of the hotel in London for the Queen’s funeral delegation. Trudeau reminded him they had a large delegation that went to the funeral and that they stayed in the same hotel and it was expected for us to have a strong presence as a Realm country.

Yves-François Blanchet worried that seniors between 65 and 75 were being discriminated against because they didn’t get the OAS top-up. Trudeau said it’s great that seniors are living longer but those older seniors can run out of savings, so the government was there in a proportionate way for those with the most needs. Blanchet made a dig about King Charles before demanding more healthcare transfers without strings attached. Trudeau said that the law states equitable treatment and the federal government was happy to talk to provinces about getting Canadians the services they need.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and he railed about interest rates and demanded action from the government. Trudeau reminded him they are supporting those who need it most. In English, Singh noted that the prime minster’s own former economic advisor was concerned about the increasing interest rates and wanted help for families, and Trudeau repeated his response.

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QP: Admitting to an insincere oath

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While the prime minister was present today, his deputy was not, for what that’s worth. Pierre Poilievre started off in French, where he blamed the federal government for causing inflation with deficit spending (false) and he misquoted Mark Carney about the nature of that inflation, and asked whom people should believe—the current leader or the future one. Justin Trudeau listed some of the global causes for inflation (not mentioning that food price inflation is largely climate-driven), but turned this into a pitch for their dental care and rental supports. Poilievre switched to English to give his facile understanding of how the war in Ukraine affects inflation in Canada, misquoted Carney, and wanted the government to take responsibility for inflation in Canada. Trudeau reiterated that the Conservatives don’t want to help with dental care or rental supports. Poilievre doubled down on his misquote of Carney, calling him the future Liberal leader, and Trudeau repeated his same response. Poilievre insisted that Trudeau was the one who bid up inflation by giving people too much access to easy cash to inflate the housing market (erm…), and Trudeau trotted out his tired “we had Canadians’ backs” line (which really, really needs to be retired) and pointed out that this brought our economy back sooner, and then demanded support for dental and rental. Poilievre then listed a bunch of non sequiturs to blame the deficits on, and Trudeau said that the lesson from the pandemic was that Canadians support one another and we came out ahead as a result, and pitched dental and rental supports one last time.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and trolled for support on his Supply Day motion about severing ties with the “British” Crown (which Canada hasn’t been under since 1931). Trudeau said that of all topics the Bloc could have chosen, they decided to try and open the the Constitution. Blanchet tried to call it a choice between a British monarch and the people or democracy, and Trudeau pointed out that Blanchet swore an oath “to the British Crown” (No! He swore an oath to the Canadian Crown!), and reiterated that there are more important things to talk about.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP and in French, blamed the prime minister for deaths in hospitals for lack of resources (never mind this is the fault entirely of the premiers). Trudeau reminded him that they increased transfers above the usual ones during the pandemic, and they are working with premiers when it comes to future transfers. Singh switched to English to demand that GST be removed from home heating (which disproportionately benefits the wealthy), and Trudeau stated that they have other supports for people and that the climate rebates give more money back to most households.

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QP: Demanding support for their carbon price motion

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Even though both the prime minister and his deputy were in town—the PM being in the building—neither were present for QP, and neither were any of the other leaders as well. That left if up to Melissa Lantsman to lead off, and with a script in front of her, she launched into the party’s talking points about inflation (which weren’t true), and then worried about increasing heating costs because of carbon prices, except they don’t go up until April, and the fact that there is no single type of home heating across the country. Nevertheless, she quoted the Liberal premier of Newfoundland and Labrador in opposition to carbon prices, and demanded the government vote in favour of their Supply Day motion to remove the carbon price on home heating. Randy Boissonnault took the question, and used the opportunity to recite his government’s talking points about supporting their bill on the kludge they call dental care, and for rental supports. Lantsman went another round of the same accusations, and Boissonnault recited the government’s record on lowering taxes, which the Conservatives voted against. Lantsman made a third attempt, to which Darren Fisher got up to denounce the Conservatives’ former policy of increasing the age of OAS eligibility for seniors to 67 as proof that the Liberals care more about seniors than the Conservatives. Pierre Paul-Hus took over in French to raise Chrystia Freeland’s new plan to tighten fiscal policy, insisting this was a surprise to the prime minister, that this was an admission that they created inflation (it’s not and they didn’t), and demanded that the carbon price not be “tripled” (that happens over seven years). Boissonnault said the Conservatives are only interested in cutting supports for things like seniors and housing. Paul-Hus insisted that the Conservatives want to cut the carbon tax and demanded the government stop raising taxes (erm, the only actual taxes going up are to corporations and on luxury goods). Boissonnault insisted that he respects his counterpart, but the Conservatives only cut jobs.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and said that the government could simply have enriched the Canada Child Benefit rather than creating their dental care plan, and recited the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s report that this benefit “discriminates” against Quebeckers because they won’t get as much money—because they have existing provincial benefits. Jean-Yves Duclos stated this fact—that they already have dental coverage and the federal benefit will enrich it. Therrien repeated his question and called it “majority insurance” rather than “dental insurance,” and Duclos pointed out how much his government has reduced child poverty.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and in French, he read a statement from a doctor who lost a patient, and demanded the federal government do something about the crisis in healthcare. Duclos admitted there is a crisis, but he said they are providing additional funding to provinces to reduce delays, for workers, and for long-term care. Lindsay Mathyssen read her own condemnation of the state of healthcare in English, to which Duclos reiterated his comments, noting that the Canada Health Act has conditions, and that he was work with premiers.

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QP: Triple, triple, triple the bad math

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Even though the prime minister was in town, he was not in Question Period today, though his deputy was. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, worrying that housing prices have doubled, and that bills take up 60 percent of an average paycheque, while the government’s solution is to “triple, triple, triple” the carbon price. Steven Guilbeault reminded him that the carbon price is the most effective in the world, and that emissions have been reduced by nine percent and the revenues go back to households. Poilievre switched to English to decry the carbon prices, misleadingly talking about missed targets and insinuating that it was tripling overnight when it’s over a decade, and misquoted the PBO about the cost to households, before repeating his “triple, triple, triple” line, to which Guilbeault reminded him that O’Toole stated that pricing mechanisms were the best way to go. Poilievre repeated his assertions, and Guilbeault needled the Conservatives for constantly flip-flopping on their position on carbon pricing. Poilievre insisted that the Liberals “attacked” a woman in rural Newfoundland and called her a “polluter” for heating her home, and Guilbeault pointed out their programme to help people transition off of home heating oil. Poilievre mocked the government programme to help people afford a “tax,” accused the government of putting people into energy poverty, and demanded the carbon price increase be cancelled. Chrystia Freeland responded this time, saying Canadians understand that climate change is real, and that the global economy is in the midst of a transition to a green economy, which is why the government is helping Canadians and industry make that transition.

https://twitter.com/journo_dale/status/1577002549261078541

René Villemure led for the Bloc, and he accused the government of secretly giving contracts to Liberal donors around Roxham Road, to which Helena Jaczek read in French that they negotiated fair market value and publicly releasing the details would release commercially sensitive information. Villemure insisted this was just the government sowing doubt other contracts, which were not proven to be in any wrongdoing. Jaczek repeated a version of her statement in English. 

Peter Julian rose for the NDP, and he demanded immediate EI for the Atlantic provinces in the wake of Hurricane Fiona, to which Carla Qualtrough says that Service Canada has waived the requirement for a record of employment. Alexandre Boulerice denounced Poilievre before repeating the same question on EI, and Qualtrough assured him that EI modernisation is on the way. 

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QP: Freeland steps up to call out Poilievre’s false tax claims

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While the prime minister was still at the UN General Assembly, his deputy was present today, so it was hoped we would get a better series of exchanges. Fingers crossed. Poilievre led off with his same talking points about the share of paycheques being devoted to housing, and demanded that “tax hikes” be cancelled. In response, Chrystia Freeland responded by reading a script about the role of the opposition in a Westminster system, but whatever point she was trying to make got lost. Poilievre switched to English to repeat same question, and Freeland noted that since EI premiums were mentioned, she pointed out that when Poilievre was the employment minister, premiums were $1.81, while they will soon be $1.61. Poilievre retorted with combined CPP and EI figures to show that they are higher overall, and Freeland lectured him that EI and CPP are deferred income, they don’t go to general revenue, they are the safety nets for Canadians. Poilievre insisted that the government was trying to raise CPP so its surplus could go to general revenue, and decried inflation and these so-called tax increases. Freeland said that it was irresponsible to talk down the economy, but Canada is better positioned than any country in the world. Poilievre insisted that thirty-year-olds in their parents’ basements would disagree with the rosy assessment of the economic picture, and Freeland pointed out that the government has measures for people in need, while the Conservatives have irresponsible plans, like investing in Bitcoin.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he congratulated Poilievre and gave a shoutout to Alain Rayes before saying that the prime minister should take Roxham Road on his way back to Canada because it is “faster.” Freeland read a response about respecting the rights of asylum seekers, and working with the Americans on border obligations including the Safe Third Country Agreement. Blanchet suggested that when Trudeau returns, he sing his responses before he demanded the Safe Third Country Agreement be suspended and Quebec be given its own immigration powers. Freeland pointed out that Quebec does get to control its immigration levels.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, decrying rising prices, while grocery profits have increased since 2020. Freeland assured him they are ensuring that big businesses pay their fair share, including higher corporate taxes, the pandemic dividend tax for banks and insurance companies, and the new luxury tax. Singh repeated the question in French, trying to introduce the term “greed-flation,” to which Freeland repeated her response.

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