QP: Digging in on the haymaking 

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The 100th anniversary of the great Centre Block fire meant that it was the wooden mace on the table today, to mark the destruction of the original mace. Justin Trudeau was absent, however, as he was in Edmonton to meet with Premier Notley there. Rona Ambrose led off, mini-lectern on desk yet again, and she read a question about Energy East, surprising no one. Bill Morneau answered, somewhat surprisingly, and he mentioned his meetings in Alberta recently, promising a new approach. Ambrose noted the resolutions of support passed in Saskatchewan, to which Morneau mentioned the meetings Trudeau was having with the Alberta premier. Ambrose gave an overwrought plea for jobs for people who are suffering, and Morneau insisted they were helping get social licence for groups who want to get resources to tidewater. Steven Blaney was up next, asking about job losses in French, and Morneau assured him that they are working together with affected provinces. Blaney accused the Liberals of abandoning workers, bringing in shipyards, to which Judy Foote assured him that they remain committed to the national shipbuilding strategy. Thomas Mulcair was up next, noting his visit to La Loche, Saskatchewan, and demanded funding for Aboriginal languages. Carolyn Bennett noted the importance of the visit, and she vowed to get those languages into schools. Mulcair moved onto the TPP and raised the opposition of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton to the deal. Lawrence MacAulay noted that the signing was just a technical step that allows greater debate. Mulcair switched to French to ask again, and this time David Lametti responded in kind with much the same answer as MacAulay. For his last question, Mulcair demanded immediate changes to the EI programme, for which MaryAnn Mihychuk assured him that changes were coming.

Round two started with Candice Bergen accusing the government of shaking investor confidence in the oil sector (McKenna: Resources need to get to market sustainably), Kerry Diotte demanded to know why the infrastructure minister voted against their Energy East motion (McKenna: We need to re-establish trust in the energy assessment process), Len Webber asked the same of Kent Hehr (Hehr: We are trying to get them to market unlike you did), Matt Jeneroux accused the government of ignoring the energy sector in its innovation agenda (Bains: We recognize the importance of the resources sector), and John Brassard said they weren’t doing anything for Ontario jobs (Bains: We are working with provincial and municipal partners). Romeo Saganash asked about residential school survivors being denied compensation due to a technicality (Bennett: I have asked my department to examine this urgently) and Charlie Angus demanded an answer on that issue from the justice minister (Bennett: My department is the client). Blaine Caulkins tried again to make hey about the letters to those who got reappointments (LeBlanc: This is a dangerous conflation on your part; take it outside), Jacques Gourde tried again in French (LeBlanc: What did you call your feud with the Chief Justice?). Tracey Ramsay and Ruth Ellen Brosseau returned to the TPP signing (Lametti: Signing is not ratifying).

Round three saw questions on the Iraq mission, sexual violence in the military, holding a vote on the new Iraq mission, the removal of visas on Mexicans, the US Senate hearings on Canada’s refugee resettlement, veterans ID, the Rona takeover, and the Reform Act votes in the Liberal caucus (which was a bit odd).

Overall, it was a decent day, but I remain mystified by the Conservatives’ digging in on the issue of the letters to tribunal members and other re-appointments. Trying to build a false equivalence wasn’t helping them, and Dominic LeBlanc is too competent a debater for them to really want to send some of their newbies up against him. That LeBlanc called them out to repeat their accusations outside of the House – particularly after the Ethics Commissioner has already stated that this is not an issue – betrays a lack of substance to their accusations. Meanwhile, the NDP have been asking the exact same questions around the TPP every single day, not able to understand the difference between signing and ratification, or the fact that just because Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders say that the deal can be re-negotiated, it doesn’t mean that it actually can. That they keep asking it, time and again, is getting tiresome.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Michel Picard for a black thee-piece suit with a lavender striped shirt, and lavender tie and pocket square, and to Jane Philpott for a black dress with a white ring pattern and a black jacket. Style citations go out to Cathy McLeod for a black-and-white jacket with studded black leather trim, and to Luc Berthold for a medium grey suit with a bright blue shirt and a blue and black striped tie.