QP: Statements for Edmonton and Vegas

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In the wake of the installation ceremony for Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Justin Trudeau was not in the Commons for QP, leaving only Andrew Scheer as the leader of note present. Scheer led off, mini-lectern on desk, reading about shock and sadness for the terrorist act in Edmonton over the weekend, and asked for a minister to update the House on the situation. Ralph Goodale read a statement of condemnation for the action and congratulations to the Edmonton Police Service for their actions, and updated on the injured. Scheer then read similar sentiments for the shooting in Las Vegas — minus the part about condemning global terror — and Chrystia Freeland responded with condolences and notes that one Canadian was confirmed killed and consular services were working to help victims and their families. (A second Canadian was later confirmed as having been killed). Scheer then moved onto the proposed tax changes, and Bill Morneau assured him that they were listening and would make changes to the proposals. Maxime Bernier was up next, saying that Morneau was not listening, and then raised the Morneau-Shepell conspiracy theory, and Morneau insisted that they were listening, which was why they engaged in consultations. After another round of the same in French, Alexandre Boulerice railed about the situation in Catalonia, but rather than answer, Bardish Chagger got up to read a statement of congratulations about Jagmeet Singh’s leadership victory. Boulerice asked again, and this time Chrystia Freeland said that Canada was hoping that Spain would act in a democratic manner. Pierre Nantel was up next, railing about the Netflix deal as selling out Canadian culture amidst a rate hike, and Mélanie Joly insisted that it was a good deal and was the first stage in modernising our cultural policies. Nantel and Joly went another round in English, not that the question or answer changed.

Round two, and Candice Bergen, Gérard Deltell, and Pierre Poilievre returned to the Morneau-Shepell conspiracy theory (Morneau: I am involved in making sure our system is fairer). Georgina Jolibois and Christine Moore raised issues with court proceedings around residential schools survivors (Bennett: That’s not the case, and I’m open to discussing what your particular concerns are). Chris Warkentin, Jacques Gourde, and John Barlow worried about family farms under the tax changes (Morneau: We’ve heard from farmers and we are taking their views into account; MacAulay: We understand the importance of the agricultural sector and we are looking to get this right). Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet and Randall Garrison asked about LGBT persecution in Azerbaijan while the Canadian companies looks to sell them armoured vehicles (Freeland: We are disturbed by the reports and stand by LGBT people).

Round three saw questions on the suspect in the Edmonton terrorist attack (Goodale: The investigation is ongoing), NAFTA talks, seasonal workers in New Brunswick, theTransMountain and Energy East pipelines, seniors and identity theft, intercity bus service in Saskatchewan, the Phoenix pay system, the situation in Catalonia, and the Netflix deal.

Overall, it was not a great day, between the ongoing proffering of the moronic Morneau-Shepell conspiracy theory, and then questions on the suspect in the Edmonton terror attach that skirted the line of blaming the government and possible xenophobia (wondering why the government can’t just sent people back). Today’s addition of “Morneau not calling thousand of farmers back is another Liberal broken promise” was also not very helpful or illuminating. The fact that this question continues to dominate the Conservatives’ attention rather than any number of other policy files that deserve some actual attention is getting beyond tired, because as much as they are trying to use QP as a buffet of media clips, having the very same lines day in and day out means that We The Media aren’t going to use those clips. In other words, the Conservatives are now hurting their own ability to get their message out to the media. As for the NDP, Jagmeet Singh showed up in the Speaker’s Gallery for all of five minutes today, which is not really demonstrating a commitment to this exercise. Sure, he may have been in the opposition lobby watching it on CPAC, but as I can attest, CPAC doesn’t give you a real sense of what is going on (which is why I’m there in person every day). Showing up matters.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Jane Philpott for a black dress with a grey ring pattern and a black jacket, and to Arif Virani for a navy suit and tie with a pink shirt and pocket square. Style citations go out to Bev Shipley for a taupe suit with a light blue shirt and yellow tie and pocket square, and to Anita Vandenbeld for a white dress and matching jacket with a black splotch pattern.

One thought on “QP: Statements for Edmonton and Vegas”

  1. The topic of Morneau-Shepell has come up a lot but like a lot of people I have NO idea what this is about and is completely lost on me. Obviously not a smart tactic from the Opposition if people do not understand they will not pay attention.

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