QP: Springing a lame trap

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On a rainy day in the nation’s capital, the benches in the Commons were full, and all of the leaders were present. Andrew Scheer led off, mini-lectern on desk, and in French, read the simple question about whether the government was using all of the tools at its disposal to get the Trans Mountain pipeline built. Trudeau stood up and expounded upon the fact that it goes hand in hand with getting a carbon price and an oceans protection plan, so that growing the economy and protecting the environment. Scheer asked again in English, got the same answer, and then he sprung his “trap,” accusing the government of giving a grant to an environmental group that hired an activist to protest this very pipeline (that group apparently being the Dogwood Initiative). Trudeau noted that they believe in free speech, and noted that this particular advocacy group was also funded by the Harper government. Scheer read the job description for that position, and Trudeau noted that they won’t brand people eco-terrorists or cut off funding if they don’t agree with them. Scheer noted that they obviously don’t believe in free speech given how they punished Scott Simms, and Trudeau hit back with his commitment to ensure that women’s rights and reproductive rights were protected. Guy Caron was up next for the NDP, railing that the Trans Mountain pipeline approval process was “rigged,” to which Trudeau noted that they extended the consultation process to ensure that they were meeting or exceeding their obligations toward First Nations. Caron asked again in French, and got much the same reply. Alexandre Boulerice then asked the very same question, and Trudeau noted that Boulerice had already stated that no matter the facts, he would oppose the project, even when his leader said he might be open to approving it. Nathan Cullen then asked the very same question yet again, pouring on the unctions sanctimony, and Trudeau asked him to explain to those Indigenous communities who support the pipeline why he wants to deny them jobs and revenue.

Round two, and Alain Rayes, and Shannon Stubbs, returned to that Dogwood federal grant (Trudeau: They also got funding under the Harper government, and we won’t attack them because we disagree with them; Treating Canadians like children by trying to scare them didn’t work), and Pierre Poilievre tried to parse Dogwood’s grant versus organisations who disagree with the government via the Summer Jobs Grant attestation (Trudeau: We are the party of the Charter, and will stand up for Canadians’ Charter rights, not fund groups who work to undermine them). Anne Quach and Sheila Malcolmson cited a UN report saying Canada wasn’t doing enough to combat sexual assault (Trudeau, with script: We have invested in the budget, and there is  more to be done and we are working on it). Jamie Schmale, Gérard Deltell, and Stephanie Kusie returned to plaintive wails about the Dogwood grant (Trudeau: Your government’s record on defunding groups who disagree them them was shameful). Karine Trudel worried about Supply Management (Trudeau: We will defend Supply Management), and Tracey Ramsey demanded energy proportionality be taken out of NAFTA (Trudeau: We are making trade agreements more progressive).

Round three saw questions on the irregular migrants (Trudeau: This is scare-mongering, but we are signatories to the UN convention), banning plastic straws (Trudeau: It’s not that simple, and we are looking at many issues around plastics), agriculture (Trudeau: Protein super cluster!), the RCMP knowing about the Atwal invitation (Trudeau: The RCMP corrected the record), aligning the Estimates process (Trudeau: We are making progress that helps this place hold government to account), and social determinants of health in Nunavut (Trudeau: Nunavut gets $1.8 billion in this year’s budget, and more funding to make progress on other areas in the partnership programme).

Overall, it was a feisty day, and Trudeau was more than willing to fight back today and he almost offered some actual answers (such as they were to ridiculous questions). And boy were the questions ridiculous. Minutes before QP started, Scheer telegraphed his punches by tweeting what he would be asking about, and then he and his crew asked it again, and again, and again, and again. And I’m not sure any of his attempted punches landed because Trudeau was quick to deflect that the Conservatives funded this group as well, and when Scheer tried to make the Liberals out to be the ones who deny free speech, Trudeau deflected with an impassioned defence of Charter rights. So, actual sparring as it were, but the basis of the attack was weak sauce. I’ll also note that Trudeau operated without scripts for most of the day, which was nice to see, but when you’re asked the same thing twenty times, it’s not hard to give variations of the same answer every time. Meanwhile, the accusations that the government is trying to kill the oil sector makes no logical sense considering how much political capital they have expended on it, but hey, trying to force a narrative, no matter how false, is how they’ve been playing the game. Also, I’ve noticed in the past couple of weeks that Guy Caron feels the need to drop Jagmeet Singh’s name into his questions on a  daily basis now, to remind everyone that Singh is the real leader of the party and that he exists even without a seat. And every time he drops the name, some MPs will respond with “Who?” So that’s going well for them.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Emmanuel Dubourg for a tailored black suit with a light blue shirt and a navy tie, and to Ginette Petitpas Taylor for a grey and black short-sleeved houndstooth dress. Style citations go out to Anju Dhillon for a red top with lace panelling, and to Mel Arnold for a dark grey suit with a teal blue shirt and striped tie.