QP: Imagining conflicts over cocktails

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Despite it being Monday, none of the leaders were in the House (save, as always, Elizabeth May), which is starting to feel like a bad old habit making a comeback. Denis Lebel led off for the Conservatives, first offering condolences for the Quebec family that died in the Ecuador earthquake, and asked for an update on Canada’s efforts. Marie-Claude Bibeau noted the support they were offering to that country. Lebel then pivoted to a demand to know which taxes the Liberals plan on raising to pay for their spending. Bill Morneau responded that they were investing as it was the right time to do so. Lebel switched to English to decry the lack of transparency, to which Morneau insisted that they were being open and transparent, and said that they only showed two years in the budget so as to show that they have work to do. Andrew Scheer bemoaned the “mean-spirited” ways in which the budget rolled back Conservative programmes like income splitting. Morneau insisted that the new measures would help more families than the old programmes. Scheer then launched into a question laden with lame sports puns, but Morneau repeated his assertions. Peter Julian decried a cocktail party that CRA officials attended along with firms like KPMG. Diane Lebouthillier noted that it was an event held by the Chartered Professional Accountants, which many employees are members of. Peter Julian tried again, ramping up the conflict of interest accusations, and got the same answer. Hélène Laverdière worried that human rights were not on the ambassador’s priority list in Saudi Arabia. Pamela Goldsmith-Jones said that Canada does not miss any opportunity to raise human rights with anyone including Saudi Arabia, nor did they miss an opportunity for positive engagement. Laverdière asked again in French, and Goldsmith-Jones reminded the NDP that they supported the LAV sales as well.

Round two, and Pierre Poilievre worried about small business taxes (Chagger: All of the measures support small businesses with a stronger economy; Morneau: We’re helping all Canadians), Alice Wong read her concern about small businesses (Chagger: We are taking a whole of government approach), Joël Godin asked again in French (Chagger: EI premiums are also going down!; Morneau: This is a budget for the middle class). Georgina Jolibois and Brigitte Sansoucy asked about the Catholic Church being let off the hook for paying residential school survivors (Jones: We are encouraging all parties reach a settlement). Blaine Calkins asked about Chrystia Freeland’s detour to LA to appear on Bill Maher’s show (Lametti: All of the travel was transparent and under guidelines), Karen Vecchio accused her of double-billing per diems (Lametti: Same answer), and Jacques Gourde asked again in French (Lametti: Same yet again). Randall Garrison and Alexandre Boulerice worried about the possibility of ballistic missile defence coming up in the defence review (Sajjan: We are raising it as a potential discussion but no decisions have been made).

Round three saw questions on an environmental assessment for the Port of Vancouver, BC LNG projects, the TPP, Supply Management, the final cost of the Syrian refugee resettlement programme, the EI Fund, the Office of Religious Freedom, and that CPA event.

Overall, the fact that nobody can understand what an actual conflict of interest is, is getting a bit tiresome. I get that it’s a bit of theatre to go and accuse the government of doing something nefarious, but when you can’t actually properly describe a situation that’s a conflict of interest, and yet you scream and rail about needing a public inquiry into it, it’s a bit sad and makes actual conflicts that require actual investigations all the more cheapened. As for the NDP’s questions on ballistic missile defence, no, it’s not the same as the “Star Wars” programme of the 1980s, so trying to make Star Wars jokes in your questions was lame. Laaaame.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Terry Beech for a blue-grey suit with a white shirt and pocket square with a black tie, and to Mélanie Joly for a blue collared shirt with a sand-coloured jacket and black trousers. Style citations go out to Diane Finley for a blinding fluorescent floral patterned white jacket with a white top and black trousers, and to Mark Holland for a dusky rose jacket twitch a white shirt and blue and grey cross-hatched tie.