QP: A scrappy anniversary

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At long last, all leaders were in the Commons, and Rona Ambrose led off by immediately demanding that the PM stop meeting with billionaires and restoring those boutique tax cuts that the government got rid of. Justin Trudeau reminded her of the tax cuts they made across the board to the middle class. Ambrose worried that the new mortgage housing rules hurting families. Trudeau replied that he was bringing investment into the country and listed the companies that have been moving more operations to Canada. Ambrose went another round in French, and Trudeau listed the ways in which they’ve helped families. Ambrose moved onto the issue of the healthcare accord, decrying waitlists. Trudeau said that Canadians expect healthcare dollars to be spent on healthcare. Ambrose then moved onto the “carbon fuel tax” impacting Alberta, but Trudeau hit back that the last government couldn’t get Alberta’s resources to markets after a decade in power. Thomas Mulcair was up next, decrying a Bill Morneau fundraising event in Halifax which he called “cash for access.” Trudeau insisted that the rules were already the most stringent and they followed them. Mulcair moved onto healthcare funding and the lack of an accord with the provinces, and Trudeau reiterated his previous answer about ensuring dollars are properly spent. Mulcair then moved onto a pair of questions on electoral reform and demanded a proportional system. Trudeau recalled when Mulcair was afraid the Liberals would ram though a new system, and that it was curious that Mulcair was demanding they do just that.

Round two, and Denis Lebel worried about the healthcare transfers (Philpott: Improvements are needed in the system and I am working with my counterparts on this), Alain Rayes worried about the size of the deficit (Morneau: We are investing in the economy), and Alex Nuttall and Rachael Harder returned to the issue of mortgage housing rules (Morneau: We want to ensure that the housing market is secure over the long term). Romeo Sananash and Charlie Angus wanted more funding for First Nations children (Bennett: We are determined to improve their services, and the system needs to be reformed). Candice Bergen returned to the Morneau fundraiser (Morneau: These are the rules that you established; Chagger: These are the rules), and Blaine Calkins rat-packed the question again and tied the fundraiser to the Port Authority (Morneau: This was in the rules; Garneau: Here’s some praise for that appointment). Karine Trudel and Sheri decried the “failures” of the government on labour (Mihychuk: We expect C-4 to pass this House today; Hajdu: We are making substantive reform around pay equity).

Round three saw questions on an electoral reform referendum, the Battle for Mosul, the new environmental assessment process, the west coast tanker ban, the vote on the UN Human Rights Council, a Canadian in prison in Turkey, Turkish intimidation in Canada, that appointment to the Halifax Port Authority, the economic “betrayal” of Quebec, fentanyl, and the Pacific Northwest LNG approval.

Overall, it was a scrappy day and there were some good punchy exchanges, and Trudeau in particular was happy to hit back in some of his responses, his final response to Mulcair being a particularly good one. The topics were fairly scattershot, but the theme of the anniversary of the Liberal election victory was throughout, with a lot of questions about promises made and broken, and in the third round, there were a few instances of MPs who went back to previous responses, which is a good thing that we should see more of. It tended to be a much better sense of the kind of accountability-seeking that QP is supposed to be, but it’s a shame that they used an anniversary to do that kind of a job rather than doing it on a regular basis. I will also add that the Conservatives calling Bill Morneau a millionaire like it’s a dirty word was also beyond strange, like populism has taken a very curious, socialist turn.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Justin Trudeau for a tailored black three-piece suit with a light blue shirt and red tie, and to  Maryam Monsef for a black suit with brass buttons and a black top. Style citations go out to Diane Finley for a white jacket with loud fluorescent florals over a black pussy bow blouse, and to Denis Lemieux for a black suit with a solid red shirt and black and red striped tie.