Thomas Mulcair launched QP with a bit of a soliloquy about how he was just in Brandon, Manitoba, where people were disgusted with the scandal and mess, and wondered why the PM kept changing his story. Harper rather demurely dismissed the notion that his story had changed, but asserted that those who broke the rules were no longer on the public payroll, as he hoped those senators would soon be. Mulcair pressed — Duffy said there were at least two cheques, and could he say what they were. Harper asserted, straight-faced, that the party regularly reimburses members of its caucus for legal expenses, but Duffy’s abuse of taxpayer dollars should be enough to have him removed from the Senate. Mulcair wanted to know who knew of this second cheque but Harper simply repeated his answer. For his final question of the round, Mulcair wondered somewhat rhetorically how many lawyers it took for “no legal agreement.” Harper asserted that he didn’t know what Mulcair was referring to. Justin Trudeau got up next, and brought up the contradictions once again and demanded that Harper testify under oath. Harper rejected the premise of the question, and went on a tear about how awful Duffy was and how he wanted him removed from the payroll. When pressed, Harper went further about Duffy’s sins and how he hasn’t paid back a single cent from his own funds, which was wrong. When Trudeau tried one last time to impress upon Harper the need to testify under oath, Harper returned to his earlier talking points.

Round two returned to Mulcair, who wondered who in PMO fed Duffy the lines about repayment (Harper: Duffy shouldn’t be on the public payroll!), Mulcair pressed about the actions happening in Harper’s office (Harper: You sat on bribery allegations for 17 years), did anyone ask Arthur Hamilton to help Duffy with his legal expenses (Harper: That was a party decision), why is Senator Stewart-Olsen not being given the Duffy treatment when she claimed for an Ottawa residence she too had for years (Harper: All senators’ expenses are being audited, but you can’t simply throw around accusations), do you support the actions of you our new leader of the government in the Senate? (Harper: The time for apologies has passed and the Senate has to take action), if you don’t support Carignan’s actions, then why is he still your leader there (Harper: The Senate is an independent body, because if it wasn’t, those three would already be out of there), were Wallin or Duffy offered the same deal (Harper: The time for apologies has passed), and what happened after the PMO received the February 20th email (Harper: It was our expectation that he repay those expenses). Marc Garneau asked the Natural Resources minister about why he hired Chris Woodcock after his involvement in this affair (Calandra: My father would have fired an employee who was caught stealing), has Benjamin Perrin’s actions been reported to the Law Society of Upper Canada? (Calandra: Another non-sequitur tale about a pizza driver), how about Arthur Hamilton? (No real response from the racket). Mulcair was back up, asking how many other senators were on the take (Harper: Lots of parliamentarians have more than one residence), he brought up the threats against Duffy (Harper: Why do you treat these senators like victims?), was this why LeBreton stepped down from her position (Harper: Duffy was only threatened with sanctions because he claimed inappropriate expenses), and has LeBreton turned over her notes to the RCMP (Harper: She’s not under any suspicion).

Round three, and Mulcair was still up — how many people in the party were involved in the repayment (Harper: We told him to repay his expenses), why the contradiction of lawyers were involved in the repayment (Harper: parties provide legal assistance to their members from time to time), why haven’t those 13 people in your office been fired (Harper: Duffy should repay his expenses). Judy Foote asked if Nigel Wright given an exemption to the maximum salary because he was recruited from outside (Calandra: You did nothing about Senator Andrew Thompson!), and Scott Andrews asked why is Dean Del Mastro still on the public payroll is he’s actually been charged with an offence (Calandra: Bafflegab). Mulcair returned yet again, bringing up Pamela Wallin’s “gag order” (Harper: Senators should repay inappropriate expenses), Ralph Goodale asked about Harper bungling the Keystone XL message in the States (Oliver: Yay pipeline!), Mulcair asked if Harper regretted Duffy’s appointment (Harper: We want people to take responsibility for their mistakes and to take corrective action), whether Arthur Hamilton would be fired for his actions (Harper: He’s not accused of anything), and André Fortin asked for an independent public inquiry on the ClusterDuff affair (Calandra: People are fed up — with the Liberals and NDP).

Overall, it was quite the spectacle to see Mulcair and Harper up the entire QP, though I’m sure a few NDP backbenchers are a bit sore that they haven’t been able to ask questions all session. And because it was the Mulcair and Harper show, the Liberals were pretty much squeezed out entirely, as Trudeau’s call for Harper to testify under oath got a bit lost in the rest of the drama. Mulcair’s questions were once again reaching by the end, and most definitely moving into party business as opposed to something that the government could answer for, such as the operations in the PMO.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to James Bezan for a charcoal suit with a light purple shirt and pocket square and a purple striped tie, and to Michelle Rempel for a grey and black striped dress with a black jacket and tall boots. Style citations go out to Isabelle Morin for a burgundy sweater that looked like it was going to consume her, and to Larry Miller for a black suit with a butterscotch shirt and tie.