QP: Demanding a firm commitment on Yazidis

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All leaders, permanent or interim, were present for QP today, and it feels like a while since that has been the case. Rona Ambrose led off, mini-lectern on desk, demanding to know how many Yazidi refugees the government would bring to Canada in the next 120 days. Trudeau thanked her for her leadership on the file, and committed to doing so, but didn’t provide a number. Ambrose asked about the call for Chancellor Merkel in Germany to create security zones in Iraq, and Trudeau committed to more aid for refugees. Ambrose moved onto CETA, and demanded Trudeau get on a plane and do anything necessary to get the deal signed. Trudeau reminded her that they already made progress on getting ISDS, and he expected good news in the coming days. Ambrose changed topics again, raised the Medicine Hat by-election as a pronouncement on the carbon tax schemes, and Trudeau promised more visits to Alberta. Ambrose then moved again, this time onto “cash-for-access” fundraisers, and Trudeau reminded her that the low personal limits in Canada ensured that there were no ethical problems. Thomas Mulcair was up next, and tried to go after the same issue, and Trudeau reminded him that looking south of the border, our system was well above and repeated that the low limits meant there were no ethical issues. Mulcair tried again in French, got the same answer, and then moved onto the situation at Muskrat Falls and the health of those Aboriginals who rely on fishing in the area. Trudeau reminded him that the provinces were working on the issue, and he trusted them, and they went one more round in English.

https://twitter.com/aaronwherry/status/790982900221091841

Round two, and Denis Lebel lamented the lack of regional economic development ministers (Bains: We are delivering for the regions), Gerry Ritz tried the “adult supervision” line on Freeland again (Freeland: I’m 48 and you should be adults on the file), and Candice Bergen decried changes affecting small businesses (Morneau: We’ve been listening to Canadians, and we’re looking to grow the economy). Anne Quach and Niki Ashton lamented the government noting that precarious jobs are more common going forward (Mihychuk: We are making investments to help youth to find and keep good paying jobs; Morneau: We are investing). Jacques Gourde and Blaine Calkins returned to fundraising questions (Chagger: We are following the rules). Robert Aubin asked about airport rule changes from the Emerson Report (Garneau: We are still examining the issue), and Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet asked about housing agreements (Duclos: We are coming up with short and long-term strategies).

Round three saw questions on Yazidi refugees, Canadian Forces on the front lines in Iraq, that tug running aground on the West Coast, rural and remote broadband, First Nations financial transparency, the agriculture minister’s chief of staff, drywall tariffs, the delayed implementation of records revisions for LGBT members discharged dishonourably, Thalidomide survivors denied compensation, and Muskrat Falls as it affects Quebec.

Overall, it wasn’t a terrible day with the exception of some for the howling that happened during the Ritz/Freeland exchange, where Ritz was demonstrating that he’s still a model of class and maturity as he explained that Freeland used the “adult supervision” line first — two years ago. And while Freeland’s response was decent, the fact that she was visibly reading it really reduced its impact. In fact, we’re seeing more reading from ministers still, which seems to be getting worse rather than getting better as time goes on — something that makes little sense. They started off doing really well when it came to responding, but now the visible scripts are getting more prevalent. Stop it, ministers. You’re better than this. Most of you have shown this before, and this backsliding is really disappointing.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to James Bezan for a black suit with a white shirt with a blue check pattern and an orange and blue tie and and pocket square, and to Kim Rudd for a black dress with a blue and white dot pattern with a black jacket. Style citations go out to Linda Duncan for a white drew with a fairly loud red and blue line pattern across, and to Stéphane Lauzon for a rather monochromatic grey suit with a light grey checked shirt and a dark grey tie.