QP: Accusations of rigged rules

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For caucus day, all leaders were present (for a change), and when Andrew Scheer led off, he read some scripted concerns about carbon taxes raising the price of everything, and demanded to know how much it would cost families. Trudeau got up to respond that the Conservatives tried doing nothing and were trying to justify it now. Scheer switched to English and said that the PM was gleeful there were high gas prices in BC and accused him of not caring because he’s a millionaire. Trudeau said that it wasn’t what he said, and that this was just an attempt to create fear and division from a party that doesn’t have a plan. Scheer switched back to French to accuse the government of trying to game the electoral system for their own benefit, and Trudeau noted that this was about taking the influence of money out of politics. Scheer accused Trudeau of rigging the system to punish those who disagree with him, listing a number of conflated incidents that were “proof” of such behaviour. Trudeau responded that Conservatives tried to make it harder to vote while his party was trying to make it easier. Scheer accused the government of imposing fundraising restrictions because the Liberals can’t raise as much money as they can, and then demanded that ministerial travel be restricted in the pre-writ period, to which Trudeau said that the record number of voters in the last election was not because of the Conservative changes, but rather, it was about getting Stephen Harper out of office. Guy Caron was up next for the NDP, complaining that they didn’t have enough time to evaluate the candidate for Chief Electoral Officer. In response, Trudeau took up a script to read some praise for the candidate, and then Nathan Cullen asked the same in English, but with a truckload of added sanctimony. Trudeau read the English version of his same script. Cullen then accused the government of rigging the Trans Mountain approval process, to which Trudeau assured him that they enhanced the assessment process. Caron took over to ask the same again in French, saying that putting a financial stake in Kinder Morgan was the kind of subsidy that the government promised to end, but Trudeau repeated his response, insisting that any stake was about the project being in the national interest.

Round two, and Scheer repeated his aggrieved suggestion that ministerial travel be curtailed in the pre-writ period (Trudeau: You rigged the rules to try and outspend everyone but Canadians saw through you), Alain Rayes, Alice Wong, and Ziad Aboulatif demanded action on “queue-jumping” asylum seekers (Trudeau: We have a process, and you are trying to pit one community of new Canadians against another), and Pierre Paul-Hus and Michelle Rempel demanded to know why the deportation rate for failed claimants was so low (Trudeau: We have engaged with communities in the States to let them know that it’s not a free pass). Jenny Kwan asked about a BC Indigenous community pulling out of the MMIW inquiry (Trudeau: Families are at the centre of the inquiry’s approach), and Romeo Saganash noted the Native Women’s Association report card gave several failing grades to the inquiry (Trudeau, with script: Families are at the centre, and our government are taking other steps with Indigenous communities). Lisa Raitt worried about investor confidence in Canada (Trudeau: You might have had better economic growth if you paid attention to facts), and Shannon Stubbs demanded to know if Trans Mountain legislation will actually happen (Trudeau: Your government’s boosterism got nothing done, but we rolled up our sleeves and have made more progress). Hélène Laverdière asked if the government had indicated support for the Iran nuclear deal to nuclear partners (Trudeau: We support the process and are disappointed by the Americans’ actions), and Randall Garrison demanded they sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (Trudeau: We are leading on the nuclear fissile materials treaty, which will have real action).

Round three saw questions on the planned register of future electors (Trudeau: Getting young people aware so that they can be ready to vote at 18 is important), ISIS returnees not being in jail (Trudeau: You are trying to drum up fear, and our security agencies use a full toolkit to protect Canadians), access to abortion in Canada (Trudeau: We have worked with provinces that had unequal or no access, and are ensuring that they have access to services), the Arctic surf clam quota (Trudeau: We will bring in Indigenous communities as part of reconciliation; If you are making accusations around conflicts of interest, bring it up with the Commissioner), Taiwan being blocked from a world health assembly (Trudeau: Why do you have such a problem with swagger and Canadians being confident?), flooding in New Brunswick (Trudeau: The federal government stand ready to assist when called), icebreakers (Trudeau: We are negotiating with Davie Shipyard), regulatory coherence chapters in TPP and NAFTA (Trudeau, with script: This ensures regulatory harmonisation when possible).

Overall, it was another day of Conservatives playing to their worst instincts, with the attempts to paint the PM as an out-of-touch millionaire getting play again, and a new low from Alice Wong in trying to pit asylum seekers against seniors – pretty much playing out that gross Facebook meme in real life, which they know better than to do. And yet, they do it anyway. I also found the repeated refrains to Trudeau’s remarks about Canadian business leaders needing “swagger” with snickering tones was childish, but that’s not unusual. And add to that, the aggrieved tone that the government “constantly” tries to rig the rules against them was mighty rich given the record of parliamentary abuses in the previous government, and the way in which they gamed the rules for their own benefit pre-2015. I’m not saying that the Liberals are in the right here – I haven’t delved deeply enough into the proposed changes to say for sure – but the Conservatives are not on the side of the angels either. Meanwhile, I will note that Trudeau barely picked up scripts at all today, which is a vast improvement from the past couple of months, where he started relying on them more and more. Where he did rely on them today was a bit curious (particularly around the Chief Electoral Officer questions), so make of that what you will.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Justin Trudeau for a tailored blue-grey suit with a white shirt and a red tie, and to Lisa Raitt for a black dress with a longish white jacket. Style citations go out to Candice Bergen for a grey dress with maroon florals, and to Michel Picard for a dusky rose jacket with a white shirt and a red bow tie.