About four hours after Harper addressed the Commons about extending the Iraq mission, everyone gatherer again, all leaders present and full benches behind them. Thomas Mulcair led off, asking about the October statements that bombing in Syria would only happen with the permission of that government, and asked what changed. Harper responded that ISIS was taking refuge in Syria, and that we were following the lead of our allies in bombing across that border. Mulcair asked about the change in statements on painting targets, but Harper insisted that the government would act about the threat of ISIS. Muclair asked about how many new soldiers would be added, to which Harper insisted that those would not change. Mulcair asked for an exit strategy, and Harper responded by being “clear” about the threat that ISIS poses to Canada and the world. Mulcair wondered how Harper could still claim it wasn’t a combat mission, and Harper responded by wondering how the NDP could not support the mission. Justin Trudeau was up next, asking about the planning horizon for the combat role. Harper responded that the motion was for up to twelve months, and that they would continue to evaluate the situation. Trudeau wondered if our Special Forces would be operating in Syria, to which Harper assured him that the motion was only for them to continue training in Northern Iraq. Trudeau then wondered how Canada would communicate with the Assad regime to ensure that our fighters would not be targeted by Syrian air defences. Harper insisted that our allies were already doing it.

Round two, and Jack Harris asked about the legal justification for bombing Syria (Nicholson: We are following our allies), Mulcair pressed on this point (Harper: Our allies are taking necessary and proportional action in Syria), Élaine Michaud wanted more aid for Turkey and refugees there (Kenney: We have already done that), Rosane Doré Lefebvre called our Michael Chong’s desire for more oversight in C-51 (Blaney: Our model for oversight is the envy of the world), Randall Garrison asked the same with Hugh Segal’s concerns (Blaney: Why won’t you support the bill?), Niki Ashton and Romeo Saganash asked about First Nations activists already being surveiled (Blaney: The bill allows lawful protest), and Charmaine Borg and Charlie Angus asked about the record number of privacy breaches last year (Blaney: C-51 will protect Canadians’ privacy; Findlay: CRA has taken strong measures to enhance privacy procedures). Chrystia Freeland asked about our shrinking trade presence in Asia (Fast: We just concluded a trade agreement with South Korea), and Scott Brison asked a pair of questions about the cuts to the student summer jobs programme (Poilievre: 1.2 million net new jobs!). Jinny Sims and Sadia Groguhé asked about those temporary foreign workers who want to become permanent residents (Alexander: We are opening up new paths to citizenship — not exactly true), and Guy Caron and Nathan Cullen asked about sustainable jobs (Poilievre: Lower taxes!).

Round three saw questions on immigration reforms, wireless bills, that reservist with medical issues being given the run-around, veterans care benefits, the effects of micro-beads on the environment, the problems with the stalled grain bill, CN Rail derailments, mandatory retirement dates, and sealskin purses being seized at the American border.

Overall, it was a pretty good day, and Mulcair was fairly engaged, though still a bit scripted. I was surprised that he left it up to Trudeau to ask about the Syrian air defences, and that the legal justification question was left until the second round. They also lost interest in the topic pretty quickly, which was pretty surprising given the anemic answers that were given, and they didn’t press on them. After all, they had scripts to keep following.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Susan Truppe for a greyish blue jacket with black stitching over a black top and trousers, and to Bernard Trottier for a tailored dark grey suit with a crisp white shirt and a black-and-white spotted tie. Style citations go out or Mike Sullivan for a black suit with a bright teal shirt and teal paisley tie, and to Sadia Groguhé for her black jacket with a loud red floral pattern over a black dress.