QP: A digression to the LRT

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With the G7 meeting ramping up in Quebec City and Charlevoix, Quebec, Justin Trudeau was away from QP, and so was Andrew Scheer, as has been his wont lately. Candice Bergen led off, reading the same questions about the government not immediately imposing retaliatory tariffs on the US. Marc Garneau read that it was essential that they get this right, so they had a few days to respond. Bergen demanded that all tariffs collected by these retaliatory measures went to those impacted, and Garneau relied with the same assurances that they were there to defend steel and aluminium workers. Bergen switched topics to TPP ratification, and this time Mélanie Joly said that they had worked hard to improve the bill and it would be tabled shortly. Gérard Deltell reiterated the question in French, and got the same response in French. Deltell then repeated the earlier question about using whatever tariffs were collected to support affected workers, and Garneau reiterated earlier response in French. Guy Caron led off for the NDP, railing that fossil fuel subsidies weren’t being eliminated, among other sins, and Catherine McKenna responded with plans to implement a plastics charter at the G7 meeting. Caron demanded funding for green jobs rather than fund a pipeline, and McKenna insisted that they have stood up for the environment while growing the economy. Rachel Blaney reiterate the question in English, and McKenna listed the measures that they have taken — pricing carbon, phasing out coal, investing in public transportation and clean tech. Another round of the same yielded the same response.

Round two, and Pierre Poilievre came back to his constant bugaboo of the cost of carbon taxes on Canadians, while quibbling about who funded the Ottawa LRT (McKenna: We funded the second phase of the LRT, and we are taking action on climate change; you’re taking credit for Ontario phasing out coal; Sohi: The previous government had a habit of making announcements without money in the budget, which we are funding), and Luc Berthold game some pro forma Supply Management virtue signalling (Bibeau: We support our Supply Management system). Alexandre Boulerice and Nathan Cullen railed about fossil fuel subsidies (Carr: It’s a G20 commitment that we are part of, and we are making progress). Stephanie Kusie and Michael Cooper, worried that the Kinder Morgan purchase may cost more than $4.5 billion (Carr: Your government failed in not getting any pipelines built to new markets), and Kevin Sorenson  and Tom Kmiec railed about investment in the oil sector (Carr: Why are you badmouthing the Alberta economy?; Goldsmith-Jones: We are creating an environment of predictable trade rules that other countries appreciate). Gord Johns worried about ocean plastics (McKenna: We are concerned, and we are pushing a plastic waste charter at the G7 and developing a national strategy), and Ruth Ellen Brosseau returned to Supply Management virtue signalling (Bibeau: Same answers as before).

Round three saw questions on irregular border crossers and demanding it be raised at the G7 (Blair: Irregular border crossers are screened and do not get a free pass into Canada; Garneau: We are all working on this), Joint Supply Ship costs increasing (Rioux: You didn’t support the Forces and we are ensuring they get the equipment they need when they need it; We are delivering on our ships and interim fighter fleet), the Columbia River Treaty (Leslie: We want to ensure that the Treaty continues to be mutually beneficial and we have included First Nations stakeholders), asbestos removal standards (Cuzner: We have strategy under construction and will table one soon), feed labelling rules (MacAulay: We support farmers), Joly’s stopover in Seoul on her way back from China (Joly: We have a cultural export strategy), more rail safety consultations (Garneau: We believe it’s important to consult), investigating Iran’s role in Hamas violence (DeCourcey: We are friends of Israel, and we deplore Hamas’ actions), gasoline prices (Bains: This is the domain of the Competition Bureau), the timing of funding announcements in a riding with an upcoming by-elections (Gould: The new elections bill will ensure no announcements in a pre-writ period), and demanding to see the text of the Trans Mountain purchase (Carr: This doesn’t close until later this summer, and we will make more available then).

Overall, it was a bit of an odd day, particularly the digression into just who funded which phases of the Ottawa LRT, which was an odd little pissing match. But there we are. That said, I’m glad that McKenna is getting a bit more combative with Poilievre rather than just repeating her standby lines, and that today she called out the fact that the Conservatives like to take credit for the work of the province of Ontario in phasing out their coal-fired plants. That needs to be stated often, because the Conservatives have built up this nice little false narrative for themselves reducing emissions while growing the economy, which is wholly undeserved. It was also very interesting how we had “back-up ministers” out in force today as well, not only answering for things in French where the primary minister who was present couldn’t *coughs*Lawrence MacAulay*coughs* but it does show the importance being placed on having a senior cabinet minister respond to questions in the leader’s round when the PM’s not there.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Catherine McKenna for a sleeveless red wrap top with black slacks, and to James Bezan for a light taupe suit with a white shirt and a green tie and pocket square. Style citations go out to Mark Warawa for a shiny black suede(?) jacket with an otherwise fine lavender shirt and purple tie, and to Rachael Harder for a maroon floral long-sleeved top with a black vest and slacks. Dishonourable mentions go out to Filomena Tassi for a black dress with a yellow jacket, and to Mélanie Joly for a yellow and black striped top with a black jacket and slacks.