The vast majority of MPs fresh from a convention, you would have thought that the leaders would be there to join them, but no, Elizabeth May was the only party leader present in the Commons for QP on a sweltering day in the Nation’s Capital. Denis Lebel led off, demanding a referendum on electoral reform to ensure that there was proper support. Mark Holland responded, inviting members of the opposition for their input on what kind of a system they would like to see. Lebel repeated the question in English, and Holland brought up the Fair Elections Act. Lebel asked again, and Holland broadened his response to say that it wasn’t just about electoral reform, but about things like mandatory voting or electronic voting. Andrew Scheer was up next, and demanded that the government withdraw the motion to create the electoral reform committee. Holland reiterated the points that people believe that the status quo isn’t good enough. Scheer closed it off with a series of lame hashtag jokes, but Holland praised the dynamic conversation that was about to happen. Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet led off for the NDP, and wanted C-14 referred to the Supreme Court. Jody Wilson-Raybould insisted that they needed to pass the bill before the Supreme Court deadline. The question was repeated in French, and Wilson-Raybould stated that the bill is the best public policy framework going forward. Murray Rankin took over, and pleaded for the government to work with them to get the bill right. Wilson-Raybould’s answer didn’t change, and on a repeated supplemental, Jane Philpott insisted that they need the legislation in place to protect physicians and pharmacists.

Round two, and Blake Richards, Alain Rayes, and Scott Reid returned to demands for a referendum (Holland: I’m waiting for your ideas). Alexandre Boulerice and Nathan Cullen demanded changes to the electoral reform committee (Holland: We are going to engage Canadians broadly). Lisa Raitt and Phil McColeman concern trolled about how they turned a surplus into a deficit and if there was an “urge to splurge” (Morneau: You left us with a deficit, the Fiscal Monitor spelled it out). Linda Duncan and Matthew Dubé demanded rail safety change (Garneau: It’s my priority, and we are still rolling out measures).

Round three saw questions on deficit figures, small business tax cuts, veterans lawsuits, Canadian Forces missions in the Sinai and Iraq, interprovincial alcohol trade, home mail delivery, international assistance, diafiltired milk, softwood lumber, and automatic registration for the GIS.

Overall, we were back to being stuck on the referendum issue yet again, but it was refreshing to get some sharper talking points form Mark Holland than just more of the usual saccharine that we normally get from Monsef. And he does raise a good point in terms of wondering what the Conservatives will bring to the table in terms of the electoral reform discussion, or if they want to defend the status quo. But so long as referendum questions continue to dominate (the entire first half of QP, folks), it’s not like we’re getting substantive questions on the subject, a round thrashing of the minister’s empty talking points, or focusing on the broader problems with the electoral reform promises. Add to that, the fact that there are plenty of other legitimate issues that are going unasked because of this single-minded focus, and I start to despair over the state of QP once again.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Matt Jeneroux for a navy jacket with a black waistcoat, light grey shirt and burnt orange and blue checked tie, and to Alexandra Mendes for a black dress with white dots with a white sweater. Style citations go out to Karen Vecchio for a fluorescent green jacket with a yellow-green top, and to Michel Picard for a buttermilk jacket with tan trousers, a white shirt and brownish patterned tie.