QP: Grewal and false border numbers

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While Justin Trudeau was off to Argentina for the G20, Andrew Scheer was elsewhr, as was Guy Caron, more unusually. Mark Strahl led off, worrying about new revelations about investigations that Raj Grewal may have been swept up into, to which Bardish Chagger responded that last week he made them aware of his serious challenges and treatment, and they hoped he got the help he needed. Strahl didn’t believe her, but Chagger reiterated the response. Strahl got even more incredulous, but Chagger’s response varied only by saying the RCMP operates independently. Luc Berthold tried again in French, and got the same answer in French, and then they went yet another round of the same. Ruth Ellen Brosseau led for the NDP, demanding that the government take action. Patty Hajdu said that it was troubling, but this was a global decision affecting plants in the US and elsewhere, so they were going to help workers where they could. Brosseau then demanded the government not sign the New NAFTA until an oversight clause around milk classes was removed, to which Lawrence MacAulay deployed his well-worn points about defending Supply Management. Tracey Ramsey was worried that we didn’t know what was in the deal and demanded that it not be signed, to which Mélanie Joly stood up to assure her it was a good deal for Canada. Brian Masse, whose rant about the auto sector didn’t reach the question before he got cut off, and Hajdu recited some talking points about their support for the industry through the auto innovation fund.

Round two, and Candice Bergen, Larry Maguire, and Pierre Paul-Hus concern trolled that the costs to deal with irregular border crossers wouldn’t be spent on Canadians who need it — as though it actually would under their watch — and incorrectly citing the PBO while they were at it (Blair: The tweet didn’t cause this issue, and they are a separate process than other immigrants and refugees; 40 percent of those who present themselves at the border are children; LeBlanc: $400 million in cuts under your government helped create this problem). Nathan Cullen returned to the Grewal question (Chagger: Same answer as before). Pierre Poilievre and Gérard Deltell demanded the carbon tax be scrapped (McKenna: Why are you politicisizing the GM losses, and by the way, they support carbon pricing; Lametti: GM retains a large footprint in this country), and Deltell worried about the deficit (Lightbound: The Conservatives left us with failed policies). François Choquette demanded new measures to protect Franco-Ontariens including funding 50 percent of a new university (Joly: My department is examining options), and Anne Quach demanded tougher climate action (McKenna: We have a plan of investing in renewables and clean tech, and putting a price on pollution).

Round three saw questions on the Oshawa closure (Lametti: We have doubled jobs created in the auto sector over the past three years), manufacturing sector investment (Lametti: We create the strategic innovation fund), Bill C-69 (Lefebvre: We are consulting properly to get pipelines built; This will create clear rules for new projects), accessibility at the CRTC (Young: Our goal is to make accessibility a goal across all federal jurisdictions), the housing gap in northern Reserves (Philpott: We have made major investments, and we are working with the AFN on a strategy), carbon taxes as related to transport sectors (McKenna: Do you understand that climate change is real?), a demand to ban Huawei (Lametti: We will always protect national security), flooding effects in Grand Forks (Goodale: We always stand ready to support provinces working with communities dealing with natural disasters), compensation for irregular border crossers (LeBlanc: We are holding discussions with the government of Quebec), and Supply Management (MacAulay: We have defended our system from the American attempt to dismantle it).

Overall, it was a bit of an odd day, with Raj Grewal being the topic of this week’s rabbit hole that Scheer has determined the Conservatives will chase down with no regard for how it plays to the public or the actual importance of the matter. Of course. That they ginned up a media report about Grewal’s debts being mentioned as part of a different investigation into being his being under investigation as part of extremist financing was just another of the many lies we’re used to hearing on a daily basis. As the Star‘s Alex Boutilier was tweeting during QP, the figure cited in their questions on the costs of irregular border crossers was also completely false, taking it out of context from the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s report this morning and touting it as the price tag is yet again par for the course. This isn’t “shaving the baloney a little thin,” as one partisan once called it – it’s outright lying, and once again, it wasn’t challenged in the House, but allowed to stand on the record. Knock it off, the lot of you.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Bardish Chagger for a black and grey striped dress with a black sweater, and to Mark Holland for a chocolate brown suit with a white shirt and a pink bow tie. Style citations go out to John Aldeg for a dark brown-grey suit with a muted yellow shirt and a blue and yellow tie, and to Karen McCrimmon for a dark blue ruffled blouse with a boxy grey jacket with tan lapels.

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