QP: These are not the fundraisers you’re looking for

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The PM was present for a second day in a row, the benches were starting to empty out, with stacks of holiday cards on the desks of the other MPs present. Rona Ambrose led off, noting the visit of Joe Biden later in the day, but worried that with Trump about to slash taxes, and that Trudeau was too busy with photo ops and fundraisers. Trudeau responded by listing off the various things that this government has done to lower taxes and help families. Ambrose demanded a “real” low-tax plan, and Trudeau noted more things his government did like getting pipelines to tidewater approved. Ambrose switched to French to ask again, and Trudeau listed the many investments that he has attracted to the country. Ambrose changed back to English to pivot to the fundraising question, and Trudeau fell back to the rules talking points. For her last question, Ambrose accused him of breaking conflict of interest laws, and Trudeau assured her that he followed the rules. Thomas Mulcair was up next, accusing the PM of having become what he accused the Conservatives were doing, and Trudeau returned to his talking points on the rules. Mulcair wondered where the PM was last night, and when Trudeau only answered with his points about the rules, Mulcair prefaced his next question by saying that Trudeau was at a “cash-for-access” event. Mulcair moved onto the electoral reform file and worried that the government would unilaterally impose a system that would benefit their party. Trudeau responded with a plug for for MyDemocracy. Mulcair asked about the banking provisions in C-29, but Trudeau deflected with talks about tax cuts and benefits.

Round two, and Blaine Calkins, Sylvie Boucher, Marilyn Gladu, and John Brassard railed about fundraisers and made a number of baseless allegations of quid pro quo (Chagger: The rules!). Nathan Cullen and Alexandre Boulerice railed about MyDemocracy (Monsef: We want to hear from Canadians before we draw up legislation). Scott Reid and Blake Richards had their own concerns about MyDemocracy (Monsef: Same answer), and Alain Rayes and Tom Lukiwski demanded a referendum (Monsef: The committee report said there was no perfect system so we are engaging on values). Don Davies demanded action on the opioid crisis (Philpott: We are working across government and with provinces and we are taking action), and Brigitte Sansoucy demanded the restoration of the six percent health escalator (Philpott: We are working with the provinces and territories to transform the system).

Round three saw questions on Mexican drug cartels infiltrating Canada, Syrian refugees, pay equity, the backlog at CRA, consumer protection legislation changes, pesticides, Alberta jobs, First Nations post-secondary education, the Nunavut Planning Commission, softwood lumber, and the C-29 changes to consumer protection legislation.

Overall, it was a slightly toned down version of yesterday’s antics, and emotions were a little less raw, but the substance was pretty much entirely the same, though I will note that the Conservatives seem to be doubling down on making accusations of quid pro quo for fundraisers without actual proof (for example, the approvals for that bank came not from the current cabinet, but rather the previous Conservative government and the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, which is arm’s length from the government). But hey, let’s throw baseless accusations around under the immunity of parliamentary privilege and continue to erode confidence in the system! I mean, I’m really, really not trying to sound like an apologist (because there are a lot of files that are going off the rails), but there are so many other files that they can legitimately hammer away on without resorting to accusations of sleaze for the sake of it. Meanwhile, I get that the government can’t really give any other answer than the same tired lines they keep repeating because they can’t give credence to any of the accusations, and as the saying goes, if you’re explaining you’re losing. And as a result, we get Bardish Chagger’s robotic drone instead, which is pretty sad.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Navdeep Bains for a tailored black suit with a white shirt and a light blue tie and turban, and to Jane Philpott for a black dress with a gold ring pattern with a black jacket and complemented by a fairly chunky necklace that made me want to say “nice accessories.” Style citations go out to Karen Ludwig for a boxy mustard yellow jacket with three-quarter sleeves, and to Michel Picard for a faded blue and pink striped jacket with a white shirt and pocket square with a dark pink tie.