QP: Programming opposite Trudeau-Trump

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With Trudeau away at the White House, it was still surprisingly busy in the Commons with most of the desks filled, but not all of the leaders were present. Rona Ambrose led off with the case of Vincent Li, didn’t mention his schizophrenia, and worried about the government looking to end the bulk of mandatory minimum sentences. Jody Wilson-Raybould reminded her that the review boards determined when those found not criminally responsible were eligible for release and discharge when people were deemed not criminally responsible. Ambrose decried that Trudeau voted against Conservative legislation that would ensure that people like Li were locked up for life, but Wilson-Raybould didn’t take the bait, and spoke in generalities about the need for broader criminal justice reform. Ambrose then raised the issue of carbon taxes, claiming that they would lead to jobs flowing south, to which Scott Brison reminded her that while they have had positive job numbers, the global economy is sluggish and they were working to stimulate growth. Luc Berthold then rose for a pair of questions in French to demand that the government lower business taxes and cut carbon taxes. For his first question, François-Philippe Champagne reminded him of their focus on trade, and for his second, Brison repeated his previous response in French. Jenny Kwan led off for the NDP, demanding an end to the safe third country agreement, to which Ahmed Hussen told her that there was no evidence that the US travel ban was having an impact on the agreement. Hélène Laverdière pointed out the illegal border crossing happening, and Hussen repeated his point that the executive order had to do with resettled refugees, not claimants. Laverdière brought up the case of a Quebecker refused entry into the US, to which Dominic LeBlanc reminded her that the US has the sovereign power to decide who goes into their territory but people could bring up concerns with them. Jenny Kwan asked the same again in English, and got the same answer.

Round two, and Pierre Poilievre asked about the American musings about a border adjusted tax (DeCourcey: In all of our meetings we’ve made it clear we’re opposed to this), and about carbon taxes (McKenna: Hey, look at conservatives making the economic case for it), Joël Godin railed about the deficit (Brison: We inherited a sluggish economy and your surplus was artificial) and worried about tax credits (Petitpas Taylor: We have reduced taxes), Jamie Schmale listed a number of supposed tax increases (Petitpas Taylor: We have actually lowered taxes), and Marilyn Gladu accused the government of repeating the mistakes of the Wynne Liberals (McKenna: We are taking serious action to tackle climate change because it makes economic sense). Tracey Ramsey and Karine Trudel demanded loan guarantees for softwood lumber producers (Carr: We are working to provide assurance for the industry). Tony Clement returned to Vincent Li (Wilson-Raybould: Provincial boards of review make these determinations), and Rob Nicholson railed about mandatory minimum sentences (Wilson-Raybould: We are focused on broader criminal justice reform), and Sylvie Boucher asked the same in French (Wilson-Raybould: The courts have concerns about the constitutionality of these sentences). Matthew Dubé asked about privacy rights with regards to US pre-clearance (Holland: We are trying to balance trade and security) and Daniel Blaikie asked about refugees crossing the border (Hussen: We are working with groups on the ground).

Round three saw questions on NAFTA renegotiation, dairy access with the Americans, Jim Carr not going to Washington again, Manitoba reserve schools not being equally funded, funding for First Nations child welfare funding, danger pay for troops in Kuwait, International aid that could wind up in the hands of ISIS, foreign influence in elections, Trump’s misogyny, the moratorium on Arctic drilling, CETA  and negotiations, and Canadians stopped at the US border.

Overall, it was a fairly standard day, but I will say that it was disappointing that nobody called out Rona Ambrose or Tony Clement for their hypocritical comments around Vincent Li when they were both going on about mental illness on #BellLetsTalk day just a couple of weeks ago, or drove home the point about what part of “not criminally responsible” that the Conservatives failed to grasp, particularly when Ambrose was going on about keeping people with mental illnesses locked up forever. Sometimes it’s not a good idea to keep your responses in generalities. Meanwhile, I’m not sure what the NDP are trying to accomplish by running against Trump, and how they don’t think that their comments could harm Canadian relations.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Kate Young for a dark grey suit with a pink collared shirt, and to Frank Baylis for a dark grey suit with a pink shirt, striped tie and pocket square. Style citations go out to Stéphane Lauzon for a black suit with a red shirt and a maroon and cream mottled tie, and to Rona Ambrose for a hot pink structured zippered jacket with too many flaps and buttons. Dishonourable mention to Linda Lapointe for a mustard jacket with a black top.