QP: Call Denis Coderre

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The first QP of 2016, and after several statements of condolences for the incidents in La Loche, Saskatchewan, and the attacks in Burkina Faso and Jakarta, there was a moment of silence for the victims in La Loche. Rona Ambrose led off, script on mini-lectern, and read her condolences for La Loche and asked for an update on the situation. Justin Trudeau expressed his condolences, and noted that the RCMP and victims support services were on the ground to support the community. Ambrose then accused Trudeau of “swanning around” in Davos while Canadians were hurting. Trudeau insisted that his party was elected on a commitment of investment and growth, and listed the business leaders he met with to get them to invest in Canada. Ambrose then accused him of running down the resource sector, to which Trudeau insisted that the resourcefulness of Canadians included the natural resources sector. Ambrose switched to French, and accused the government of spending through the surplus they left behind (not that any of the projections agreed that there was a surplus ongoing), and Trudeau reiterate that they were elected on a platform of investment. Ambrose then demanded that Trudeau call Denis Coderre to fight for the Energy East pipeline, to which Trudeau replied that they had ten years to get pipelines approved and couldn’t. Thomas Mulcair was up next, and concern trolled about the fact that the TPP was being signed without changes. Trudeau corrected him, saying that signing was only one step that was moving forward with the consultation process. There was a round of the same again in French, before Mulcair switched to the PBO’s report on tax changes. Trudeau praised them for helping more families than before. Mulcair brought up comments made by the new Clerk of the Privy Council about university protesters (Trudeau: I’m pleased he’s the new clerk and will lead public service renewal).

Round two, and Candice Bergen demanded that a Liberal from Alberta stand up for the resource sector (Carr: We are committed to getting resources to market in a sustainable way), Gerald Deltell asked about Energy East (Carr: We are consulting with Canadians to get it right), and Andrew Scheer portrayed Energy East as shovel-ready stimulus (Carr: More of the same). Romeo Saganash asked about access to mental health services for First Nations (Philpott: I spoke to the officials and ensured they sent out crisis response workers and that there is support in the region), and Charlie Angus asked the same again in English (Philpott: I agree there have been serious gaps and we will do what we can to make changes). James Bezan asked about the snub of the anti-ISIS meeting (Sajjan: We hosted other meetings, and I’ve been on the ground), wanted Sajjan to apologise for saying he was too busy and not that he wasn’t invited (Sajjan: We’re taking the time to get it right), Joël Godin asked about the Burkina Faso attack and the government response (Dion: We are supporting the families of the victims), and asked what they were doing to fight terrorism (Dion: We are realigning our contributions as our allies are asking us to). Irene Mathyssen asked about veterans getting services (Hehr: You will see a better Veterans Affairs going forward), and Alexandre Boulerice asked about private healthcare available in Quebec (Philpott: We just met with provincial and territorial leaders).

Round three saw questions on ratifying the TPP, the conflict of interest with the chief of staff to the Minister of Agriculture (MacAulay: She was subject to the Conflict of Interest Act, any recommendations from the Commissioner will be followed), TPP job losses, removals to Zimbabwe and Haiti, the new Senate appointment system, demanding a referendum on electoral reform, the attacks in Burkina Faso, the Office of Religious Freedoms, the interim pipeline approval process, the problem in the Middle East, an abandoned vessel off the coast of BC, and the attacks on Quebeckers in light of the Energy East debate.

Overall, we are back to the tiresome practice of acting the exact same questions in English and in French, not only from the usual suspects of the NDP, but also the Conservatives. It was bad enough when the only replies one could reasonably expect was a canned talking point, which made it all the more glaring when it wasn’t. The fact that we’re to getting canned talking points in response from the new cabinet makes this practice even more tiresome, and shows the opposition looking increasingly amateurish that they can’t roll with the debate.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Judy Foote for a black dress with a white shoulder panel and red interior sleeve panels, and to Blake Richards for a tailored dark grey suit with a crisp white shirt and a pink patterned tie. Style citations go out to Robert Sopuck for a tan brown corduroy jacket with a light blue shirt, grey vest and striped tie, and to Yasmin Ratansi for a moss green jacket with a bright blue top. Dishonourable mention goes out to Niki Ashton for a yellow jacket with black trousers.