QP: Vaccines and air strikes

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While word has it that Stephen Harper would make an announcement regarding a combat mission to Iraq tomorrow, neither Harper nor Justin Trudeau were present for QP. Thomas Mulcair led off by asking why the Ebola vaccine had not yet been shipped to West Africa, to which Eve Adams said that they were waiting on the World Health Organisation to coordinate the necessary logistics. Mulcair said that it was in a media report that the issue was actually one of intellectual property and not logistics. Adams reiterated that it was up to the WHO to coordinate logistics, while touting all of the other aid we’ve sent. Mulcair changed topics, and asked what date the Canadian personnel arrived in Iraq, and if it was September 27th as was reported. Rob Nicholson reiterated the number on the ground, the number allowable to be deployed, and that they come and go per needs on the ground. Mulcair insisted that Harper said it was the 15th and that he was being duplicitous. Nicholson dismissed this, and Mulcair launched into a diatribe about clear answers. Nicholson retorted that Mulcair was being duplicitous in suggesting he might ever approve of a deployment. Joyce Murray led for the Liberals, and decried the lack of transparency to parliament regarding the mission. Nicholson insisted that there has been a debate and an appearance before committee, and noted that the Liberals did not bring deployments to Parliament. Murray pointed out the sum by which the Defence budget had been cut, and not increased, and wondered how they could trust the government’s statements. Nicholson hit back with a bog standard “decade of darkness” retort. Dominic LeBlanc closed off the round by asking the same again in French, to which Nicholson insisted that the Liberal position was all over the place.

Round two, and Hélène Laverdière accused the government of ignoring the refugees in Iraq (Paradis: Canada is one of the largest contributors and active participants), Paul Dewar demanded help for victims of sexual violence in the region (Nicholson: We are trying to go after the perpetrators), and why there wasn’t enough to assist in prosecuting the perpetrator for war crimes (Nicholson: We’re trying to stop the killing), Jack Harris, Sylvain Chicoine and Irene Mathyssen asked about the adoption of the report on the New Veterans Charter (Gill: We are adopting most of the vast majority of the recommendations), and Andrew Cash and Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet asked about the refugee healthcare cuts court challenge (Alexander: this is a flawed decision that needs to be appealed). Ralph Goodale asked about the objectives in the first 30-day non-combat mission and if they were met (Nicholson: It was to give strategic advice but you didn’t consult on Iraq or Afghanistan the last time), are you going to make the case like the UK government did in their parliament (Nicholson: You never consulted before), and how did they calculate the best use of our resources were CF-18s as the costs will push out other alternatives (Nicholson: The objective is to stop ISIS’ murderous actions). Sadia Groguhé and Jinny Sims closed the round by asking about the problems with the Temporary Foreign Worker data in PEI (Kenney: There are more people on EI than TFWs in the region).

Round three saw more questions on the Ebola vaccine, the ban on unsafe drugs, sending protective supplies to combat Ebola, mussel aquaculture, Atlantic salmon, Country Of Origin Labelling problems with the Americans, nickel dust at the Port of Quebec, unpaid interns under federal jurisdiction, and the lack of ship contracts given to the Davie Shipyard (never mind that it was in bankruptcy at the time the shipbuilding procurement process was going on).

Overall, it wasn’t a terribly edifying day, as Rob Nicholson was more interested in being dismissive about questions, and deflecting and of the Liberals’ questions. The NDP questions on war crime prosecutions in the region also seemed particularly tone deaf given the situation. As well, the questions on the Ebola vaccine were repetitive, and yet another reminder that relying on scripts when answers were given just makes everyone look bad. One can imagine that once the deployment details are announced and the debate begins in earnest that these questions are going to be far more about staking positions and chest-thumping than they will be about meaningful accountability. Oh boy.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Megan Leslie for a black dress with grey and white panels across the top, and to Pierre Poilievre for a tailored navy suit with a crisp white shirt and a purple tie. Style citations go out to Jonathan Tremblay for a grey jacket with a purple patterned shirt and striped tie, and to Chris Charlton for a black, green, blue and purple square-patterned jacket with a black top and trousers.