QP: Good administration for veterans

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It was a full house for caucus day, and there were numerous paeans to Jean Beliveau before things got started. Thomas Mulcair led off by asking about the staff reductions at Veterans Affairs, to which Stephen Harper said that they were increasing services for veterans, before he offered his own statement about Beliveau. Mulcair turned to veterans service centre closures and wondered why he wasn’t firing the minister instead. Harper insisted that they took resources away from back room bureaucracy and were delivering more services, calling it “good administration.” Mulcair moved to the government’s court arguments that the sacred obligations for veterans were just political speeches signifying nothing. Harper insisted that he would not comment on matters before the courts, but that the substantive measure was that they enhanced veterans services in numerous ways. Mulcair pressed, to which Harper insisted that the items he was listing were not political rhetoric but were real action for veterans, which the opposition voted against. Mulcair promised that an NDP would reopen every one of those offices, before pivoting to the issue of funding for thalidomide victims. Harper said that the meetings were ongoing, before returning listing to the veterans programmes that the NDP voted against. Justin Trudeau was up next, and asked about the underfunding of military cemeteries, to which Harper insisted that the government enhanced funeral services for veterans, which Liberals voted against. After another round in French, Trudeau asked about the government meeting with an École Polytechnique survivors group, Harper insisted that they knew why Marc Lepine targeted those women and they would continue to support victims.

Round two, and François Choquette and Megan Leslie asked about refusing to allow the opposition to join the climate delegation to Lima (Aglukkaq: All major economies and emitters must do their part), before Leslie asked about oil and gas regulations (Aglukkaq: This is a continental issue), and whether her recent climate funding announcement was new money (Aglukkaq: We want to reach a fair agreement in Paris), Charlie Angus and Ève Péclet asked about questionable SNC-Lavalin donations (Calandra: We limited corporate donations), and Peter Julian gave some blanket outrage (Van Loan: We’re proud of our record and our ministers). Frank Valeriote asked about cuts to the programme that maintains the memorial Fantino visited in Italy (Fantino: We will ensure we have the right people in the right places), and about other cuts to the department while increasing department advertising (Fantino: You voted against veterans funding). Sadia Groguhé and Mike Sullivan asked about people with disabilities in poverty (Bergen: We have increased funding to all these initiatives), and Malcolm Allen and Pat Martin asked about quality problems with grain shipments post-Wheat Board (Ritz: You cherry picked your facts).

Round three saw questions on cuts to the Canadian Space Agency’s budget, the increasing number of Aboriginal women behind bars, the food crisis in the North, the beluga habitat around Cacouna, the crumbling Science and Technology Museum, a Parks Canada dig in Nova Scotia that has not been followed up on, the safety of LGBT refugee claimants, a World Food Programme shortages, cheese producers in Quebec, and pricing carbon.

Overall, it was a rowdy day, but no tempers were lost, and nobody had to be rebuked by the Speaker, so small favours. That said, the NDP should have been cautioned by the Speaker for their questions related to the allegations of SNC-Lavalin political donation shenanigans. Despite the NDP trying to wrap the questions as concerns for the Minister of Democratic Reform, they are fundamentally issues of party business, not government business. The Speaker needs to remind them of this.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Candice Bergen for a short-sleeved brown jacket and skirt with a grey top, and to Justin Trudeau for a tailored grey suit with a crisp white shirt and navy and red striped tie. Style citations go out to Harold Albrecht for a black suit with a lemon yellow shirt with a Dijon mustard-coloured tie, and to Anne Quach for a terrifyingly busy black top with gold diamond patterns across the shoulders and bright blue and pink splashes across the front panel.