QP: Trying to trip the justice minister 

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Following the surprise upset of Thomas Mulcair’s leadership yesterday, it was not difficult to see why he was absent for the first QP after the Easter break. As for the prime minister, he was also absent but we’re not quite sure why. Rona Ambrose led off, script on lectern, asking about a particular kidnapping case, for which Omar Algabra assured her that they were willing to meet at any time. Ambrose shifted to the “betrayal” of small business taxes, for which Bill Morneau insisted that their other measures would help small businesses. Ambrose wondered if Trudeau still believed that small businesses were just ways for the wealthy to shelter taxes, to which Bardish Chagger insisted that wasn’t the case at all. Denis Lebel took over in French, asking about infrastructure spending, for which Amarjeet Sohi listed the various infrastructure funds. Lebel insisted that the funds were already committed by the previous government, but Sohi noted that it wasn’t getting spent. Peter Julian led off for the NDP, asking about the minister of justice’s fundraising. Jody Wilson-Raybould assured him that she cleared the activity and there was no conflict. Julian kept up, to which Dominic LeBlanc to repeat the answer with a little more scorn poured on. Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet worried about a CRA employee going to work on the KPMG board while they were under investigation, for which Diane Lebouthillier recited the new funding for the agency to go after tax cheats. Boutin-Sweet raised the Panama Papers and asked the question again in French, and Lebouthillier noted that there were rules around those who leave the Agency.

Round two, Blaine Caulkins tried to make some false equivalencies with the Wilson-Raybould fundraiser (Wilson-Raybould: This was above board), Michael Cooper tried again, with more shrill note (LeBlanc: Nobody on this side went to prison for illegal fundraising), Karen Vecchio tried to tie in Wilson-Raybould’s husband (Bennett: That organization helps lots of First Nations), and Jacques Gourde took a kick at the can (Wilson-Raybould: We followed all of the rules). Roméo Saganash and Chrlie Angus asked another the Attawapiskat suicide crisis (Philpott: We are working to respond to this tragedy). Lisa Raitt worried that the government was not being transparent about the budget (Morneau: We are helping the middle class), and wondered why he wasn’t taking advice (Morneau: We listened to Canadians across the country), and Gérard Deltell repeated the questions in French (Morneau: We provided the information to the PBO). Tracey Ramsay decried the TPP (Freeland: We are consulting), and Ruth Ellen Brosseau worried about the poor dairy farmers (MacAulay: We support Supply Management).

Round three saw questions on a fish plant fire in Newfoundland, the need for extended EI benefits in other regions, the Air Canada deal around Aveos workers, the Canadian held in North Korea, the ISIS mission, the Rohingyas in Burma, nuclear waste near the Great Lakes, First Nations transparency, provincial transfers, tax evasion, and supply management.

Overall, it was a fairly standard day, but in the rush to try and tar the justice minister over that perfectly legal fundraiser, they completely didn’t grasp what a conflict of interest actually is. For example, the cited fundraiser held by Shelly Glover when she was heritage minister was inappropriate because it was with people asking her department for grants. That’s not how the justice department works. If you’re going to make a bunch of accusations, try to make them at least plausible rather than like they come with a tinfoil hat.

Sartorially speaking, there were a lot of turbans and orange headscarves on a number of MPs for the Vaisakhi celebrations held on the Hill this morning, and in that spirit, snaps go out to Anju Dhillon for a bejewelled blue traditional Indian outfit with a matching blue shawl, and to Navdeep Bains for a Vaisakhi-themed orange turban with a matching tie and a black suit and light grey shirt. Style citations go out to Mark Holland for a dark grey suit with a pink shirt and bright teal blue tie, and to Hedy Fry for her gold-and-black vortex dress.