The shootings in Moncton hung over the mood in the Chamber, and a minute of silence for the three dead RCMP officers was held before QP got underway. When things did get underway, Megan led off for the NDP, as Thomas Mulcair was off campaigning in Trinity—Spadina. Leslie asked about supports for veterans, to which Peter MacKay pointed to the unanimous report of the veterans committee and that they take it seriously. Leslie pointed to the closure of those offices, but MacKay protested, saying that they expanded services to veterans. Leslie then turned to the new prostitution bill and demanded that it be referred to the Supreme Court immediately. MacKay insisted that it was about protecting vulnerable women and to give police new tools. Françoise Boivin picked up the torch, and listed the flaws in the bill, to which MacKay praised their “extensive consultation” and how they acted in response to those consultations, and most outrageously claimed that it respected the Bedford ruling. As Justin Trudeau was in Regina, Scott Brison led off for the Liberals, noting that it was summer job season and that the the government cut the Canada Summer Jobs programme, making it harder for students and their parents stuck paying the bills. Jason Kenney praised that Canada has one of the lowest rates of youth unemployment in the developed world, and their support for internships in the last budget. Brison asked the government to crack down on illegal unpaid internships in federally regulated industries, to which Kenney deflected and decried tax increases and reckless spending. Stéphane Dion closed the round, asking if MacKay was looking in the mirror when he alleged leaks in the Supreme Court selection process. MacKay decried his innocence and took the opportunity to congratulate incoming Justice Gascon.

Round two, and Randall Garrison and Roxanne James pointed out that the government order to track demonstrations across the country was against the Charter (James: All of our security agencies work within Canadian law, Canadians expect that public safety will be respected), François Choquette noted that it is World Environment Day and wondered when GHG regulations for oil and gas would be tabled (Aglukkaq: We will continue to work with the US to regulate this sector), Choquette and Kennedy Stewart pointed to raised mercury levels around the oil sands (Aglukkaq: Environment Canada scientists are part of the committee that wrote that report, we are launching a world class monitoring programme), Murray Rankin asked about those 300 scientists who said the NEB study on Northern Gateway was flawed (Rickford: We are carefully reviewing this report and a decision will be forthcoming), and Nathan Cullen blustered more about cancelling the pipeline (Rickford: Projects will only proceed if they are safe). Chrystia Freeland wondered why Privy Council said that they couldn’t find the document that Stephen Harper signed around CETA (Keddy: These were made public and if you can’t find them I’ll send them to you), Joyce Murray asked about the opposition to Northern Gateway (Rickford: We are carefully reviewing the report), and John McKay asked about those oil and gas regulations (Aglukkaq: We took action on this two years ago — err, except that was coal). Irene Mathyssen and Mathieu Ravignat decried the process by which the privacy commissioner was appointed (Clement: You said he was unqualified then quoted him), and Alexandrine Latendresse and Pat Martin asked about the damning revelations in the Information Commissioner’s report (Clement: There has been an increase in the number of access requests every year).

Round three saw questions on the GM recall, the cuts to Canada Post “driving a stake in the heart” of the economic development of the regions, the reputation of the public service and how that related to those tainted hirings at ACOA, robocall provisions in the elections bill, cooperative housing supports, ice compensation for fishers, and transfer payments to Quebec.

Overall, it was a pretty quiet day in the Chamber, with the odd outburst, but the general din of QP was largely absent. None of the performances today were particularly stellar, however, though it should be pointed out that Roxanne James’ response to the questions on government surveillance were utterly ridiculous and shameless, and need to be called out as such.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Blake Richards for a dark grey suit with a crisp white shirt and indigo tie, and to Michelle Rempel for a fitted short-sleeved grey dress with a black, white and light grey geometric pattern across the top. Style citations go out to Christine Moore for a blueish dress with a mottled pattern of brown and white fragments, somewhat reminiscent of an exploding warp core, and to Mike Sullivan for a brownish grey suit with a fluorescent teal shirt and tie.