QP: Building a conspiracy theory

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Even though Justin Trudeau was not off to Europe for the CETA signing, he was not in Question Period, nor was Thomas Mulcair. Rona Ambrose led off, demanding transparency on the mission in Iraq, saying that the training mission has changed (never mind that it was always billed as “advise and assist.”) Marc Garneau answered, somewhat unexpectedly, and noted that it was advise and assist by that they needed operational security because Daesh was sophisticated. Ambrose tried again, and Garneau repeated the response, but added that a new medical facility in Iraq was being installed. Ambrose then moved onto fundraising and raising the spectre of the lobbying commissioner investigating, but it merely merited a recited response on the strict federal rules. Denis Lebel was up next and raised the issue of a veteran who faced discrimination for her sexual orientation, and Garneau reminded her that society had changed and they were working on a whole-of-government response. Lebel then moved onto the PBO report on the labour market and the loss of jobs reported. Jean-Yves Duclos noted that they were working on job creation. Tracey Ramsey led off for the NDP, decrying the EU trade agreement and the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. Chrystia Freeland read her astonishment at the lack of NDP support for a progressive trade agreement. Alexandre Boulerice asked again in French, raising the spectre of Quebec dairy farmers and drug prices, but Freeland’s answer didn’t change. Boulerice then raised the fundraising rules, Chagger gave her rote response on federal limits, and Tracey Ramsey gave another go in English for the same response.

Round two, and Gérard Deltell worried about increasing CPP premiums (Champagne: Canadians wanted a strengthened CPP), Rachael Harder asked about youth employment (Cuzner: There is a changing job market, and we have invested in education ad training to help them get good jobs; Fergus: We have invested in innovation and a working on a strategy), and Pierre Poilevre returned to CPP fees (Champagne: We got an agreement with provinces to enhance CPP; Duclos: We are investing in a sustainable path for the future). Romeo Saganash asked about applying Jordan’s Principle for First Nations youth healthcare (Bennett: We have taken concrete steps to follow up on those orders including $630 million and expanded the programme), and Charlie Angus demanded immediate action on funding for First Nations child welfare (Bennett: We are taking complex steps including overhauling the system). Cathy Wagnatall and Blaine Calkins conspiracy theorised around lobbying and fundraisers (Chagger: The federal rules are some of the strongest in the country), and Alain Rayes rambled more about fundraising (Chagger: We follow the rules). Linda Duncan asked about the LNG plant approval (McKenna: The project underwent a three-year environmental review that included Indigenous involvement), and Nathan Cullen asked about the impacts of that tug spill on the West Coast (Garneau: I have spoken with the chief and will meet with her again, and we are looking at compensation).

Round three saw questions on the Iraq mission, a possible UN mission in Africa, precarious work, a UN resolutions on banning nuclear weapons, refugees from religious persecution, religious crackdowns in China, a rail bypass for Lac Mégantic, official language services, the Minister of Agriculture’s chief of staff, and Muskrat Falls as it relates to Quebec.

Overall, it was a reasonably well-behaved day, but there were a couple of red flags for me. One of them was this tendency to conspiracy theorize about an veterans lawsuit, a drug company lobbying, and the head of that company fundraising for the party. Are. You. Kidding. Me? The government is seriously going to throw a lawsuit for the sake of $1500? Really? Not to mention that it’s not the head of the company doing the lobbying, it’s not the same minister they’re lobbying, and if you excluded all companies that lobby from having any of their executives attend fundraisers, what are we left with? It’s a pretty small pool in Canada, and everything remains registered and as far as we can tell, above board. Trying to draw links and pretend like there’s a conspiracy at play is ridiculous. As well, the reading by ministers continues to get worse, not better (and I’m looking directly at you, Chrystia Freeland), while we also got an object lesson in why the Commons shouldn’t vote on military deployments, as we saw an example of the government try to use that vote to shield themselves from criticism. Stop demanding votes so they can’t do that!

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Anju Dhillon for a patterned silver jacket with a flowing white top with a bejewelled neckline, and to Shaun Chen for a tailored black suit with a pink shirt and tie. Style citations go out to Martin Shields for a black suit with a forest green shirt and a yellow and grey patterned tie, and to Pam Goldsmith-Jones for what looked like a belted grey poncho over a long-sleeved grey dress.