QP: More shovels in the ground

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Caucus day, and nearly a full house in the Commons as QP got underway. Rona Ambrose, mini-lectern on desk, was terribly concerned about 190 conditions attached to the Pacific Northwest LNG approval. Justin Trudeau reminded her that the last government’s cheerleading didn’t get them anywhere and they needed to do things differently. Ambrose demanded they get shovels in the ground, but Trudeau stuck to his points about sustainable development. Ambrose shifted gears and was concerned that the first round of deficit spending didn’t spend jobs, to which Trudeau praised the investments they were making in communities. Ambrose went for another round, and Trudeau insisted that the Conservatives didn’t learn the lessons of the last election, and they went one more round on the same question in French. Thomas Mulcair was up next, and he railed about the lack of consultation with local First Nations on the LNG project. Trudeau praised economic growth with environmental protection and they “folded in” the consultations. Mulcair decried that it was now impossible to meet GHG targets, to which Trudeau noted that they need to grow the economy while working to meet targets, so they are working with the provinces to do so. Mulcair wanted approval for their supply day motion for parliamentary oversight over arms sales, and Trudeau spoke instead about participating the arms trade treaty. Mulcair asked again in English, and got much the same answer.

Round two, and Denis Lebel railed against putting conditions on health transfers (Philpott: We are continuing discussions), and Karen Vecchio and Blaine Calkins kept digging on moving expenses (Brison: Treasury Board is reviewing the policy; LeBlanc: Brookfield has since clarified their statements, and hey, Guy Giorno’s statement). Brigitte Sansoucy and Don Davies decried the new healthcare escalators as “cuts” (Philpott: Transfers are still going up). Jacques Gourde and Larry Miller returned to moving expenses (LeBlanc: Guy Giorno; McCallum: This expense was recorded in the wrong column). Pierre-Luc Dusseault worried about charity audits (Lebouthillier: Charities are important to society and we will clarify the rules), and Charlie Angus was concerned about a lawsuit regarding a residential school survivors (Jones: We protect the integrity of the independent assessment process).

Round three saw questions on an Atlantic seat on the Supreme Court, extradition with China, the downing of MH-17, rail safety, the LNG conditional approval, French-language assessment for immigrants, Wood Buffalo National Park affected by Site C Dam, and the need for infrastructure investments in Nunavut.

Overall, it was not a terrible day, but the Conservatives continue to overplay their hand on the moving expenses. The addition of Larry Miller to the wannabe rat-pack lineup is not going well, as he tries to be funny but the delivery fails to land, and his alarm that McCallum hired someone who was working in Thailand (thus requiring relocation expenses) is starting to stretch the concern for these expenses a bit thin. One can partially understand getting the vapours over a six-figure move from Toronto to Ottawa, but Thailand seems a bit more justifiable, and no, nobody’s hands were caught in the till or in the cookie jar, or whatever poor analogy keeps being used. None of these have been outright graft – they’ve all been within the rules, and people are simply freaking about about the optics in that cheap and petty way that we are so prone to do. It was also nice to get a bit of variety in terms of responses today, with Scott Brison and Dominic LeBlanc filling in for an absent Bardish Chagger, and lo, we didn’t get the same repeated party lines about strengthening the middle class in response to questions on moving expenses.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Chrystia Freeland for a short-sleeved white dress, and to Doug Eyolfson for a dark grey suit with a lavender shirt and purple bow tie. Style citations go out to Larry Miller for a black suit and shirt with a fluorescent blue tie, and to Diane Lebouthillier for a loose white collared shirt with melon pink jacket and matching loose tie.