QP: Shifting focus to fighter jets

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After the big “family photo” on the steps of the building this morning, and a speech marking the 150th anniversary of the legislature of Canada meeting on Parliament Hill, we got into the business of the day. While Trudeau was on the Hill in the morning, he was on his way to Toronto and absent from QP today. Rona Ambrose led off, mini-lectern on neighbouring desk, and asked about measures to bring Yazidi girls to Canada as refugees. John McCallum noted that refugees are prioritised based on need as determined by the UN, and that he was proud of their record. Ambrose turned to the question of fighter jets, and wondered why they would get new jets if they didn’t use the ones we have to fight ISIS. Harjit Sajjan noted that that he had received a briefing on the mission in Iraq, but didn’t really answer. Ambrose listed off the sins of Liberal procurement past, and wondered how this time would be different. Sajjan retorted that the previous government cut $3 billion from the defence budget. Denis Lebel was concerned about pulling out of the the F-35 programme and how that would affect the aerospace industry in Montreal, and Sajjan noted that no decision had been made. When Lebel tried to press about the other allies who had adopted the F-35, Sajjan noted that they were not fully operational and they were taking the time to make the right choice. Thomas Mulcair led off for the NDP, asking about a statement that Senator Pratte made about the need to pass C-10 quickly. Marc Garneau said there was no deal, but this was about avoiding future litigation. Mulcair wanted assurances that there was no deal, and Garneau plainly stated there wasn’t one. Mulcair turned to tax havens by KPMG, and Diane Lebouthillier noted that there were investigations and court cases ongoing. Mulcair said that if it was in the courts it would be public, but pivoted to the Super Hornets and sole-sourcing. Sajjan repeated that no decision was made.

Round two, and James Bezan and Pierre Paul-Hus demanded to know if the chief of air staff was lying when he said there was no credibility gap (Sajjan: The commander does what he can with his resources but there is a gap between our NORAD and NATO commitments), and Kelly McCauley and Stephen Blaney worried that the Super Hornets would only create jobs in the United States (Sajjan: No decision has been made). Roméo Saganash and Charlie Angus asked about drinking water on First Nations reserves (Bennett: We will deliver on our promise within five years). Scott Reid, Alain Rayes, Blake Richards and Jason Kenney returned to the demands for a referendum (Monsef: We just voted on the committee). Ruth Ellen Brosseau asked about diafiltered milk (MacAulay: We are working to find a sustainable solution).

Round three saw questions on mid-coast Coast Guard ships (Foote: Coast Guard ships are being done by Seaspan in Vancouver, not Irving), Dominic LeBlanc’s conflicts of interest, invasive species in the Great Lakes, housing in Vancouver, the Kinder Morgan pipeline, supports for Syrian refugees, an international abduction case, softwood lumber, manufacturing jobs, and the Energy East pipeline.

Overall, the tone was much more serious today, with very few outbursts and the opposition clapping continued to decrease in volume and duration. The sideshow element of QP has definitely toned down in the past week since the Liberal clapping essentially ended. We also saw a much broader variety of questions today, even more than yesterday, which was a relief to see. That said, Mulcair’s tactic to start debating a response from the government and then pivoting to an entirely second question in his final spot made me a little crazy – just debate the point and press for an answer rathe than try to wedge in a different question after you’ve already begun debate. Sticking to scripted questions is artificial, and if we’re improving QP by cutting down on the clapping, then maybe we can start to get better with ditching scripts as well.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Frank Baylis for a dark grey pinstriped suit with a lavender shirt and a dark purple tie and pocket square, and to Rona Ambrose for a black dress with a tailored white jacket. Style citations go out to Diane Lebouthillier for a faded orange short-sleeved smock with a black and floral scarf, and to Randy Boissoneault for a beige suite with a light blue shirt and a beige and brown tie. Dishonourable mention goes out to Yvonne Jones for a black jacket and skirt with a lemon yellow collared shirt.