Things got underway a few minutes early, as finance minister Bill Morneau arrived in the Senate for what promised to be a day full of pointed questions and pabulum answers – Morneau’s particular specialty. Senator Larry Smith led off, asking about the $9.5 billion budgeted in the fiscal update for “non-announced measures,” and Morneau responded with bland assurances about getting the right balance in the budget. Smith noted that he didn’t actually answer the question and that they needed to hold government to account, to which Morneau said quite right, but again didn’t answer, and offered more pabulum talking points about dealing with challenges while still trending the deficit downward.

Senator Batters was up next, and brought up the PM’s comments on social impacts of male construction workers to rural areas, citing that she only sees benefits. Morneau first cited that they look at employment on projects, and then noted gender-based lens for impacts, but didn’t elaborate on the construction worker issue.

Senator Jaffer also touched on gender-based analysis, but lamented the lack of transparency around their analysis. Morneau talked about how much more expert they are getting along the way, and that the most recent fiscal update did have details in the document. 

Senator Wetston asked about the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision upholding the voluntary national securities regulator, and what was being done to advance it, to which Morneau said that they were encouraged by the decision, and that the next steps start with meeting with the provinces next week to carry on the work.

Senator Dasko asked about department officials have begun discussions with provinces around options for national pharmacare. Morneau reminded her that the Hoskins report has not  yet been tabled, and it was too soon to talk to the provinces until that happened.

Senator Dagenais gave a somewhat rambling questions about the prime minister’s tweets allegedly being responsible for the irregular border crossers situation (it wasn’t) and veered into the announcement of funding for women and girls education via tweet, before winding up on the size of the deficit. Morneau praised diversity and said they were working with the provinces to ensure they have the funding they need for these border crossers.

Senator Boisvenu first mentioned the deficit before veering to consumer protection in Quebec when it comes to banks, and Morneau insisted that they worked with the provinces, and that the legislation was meant to be complementary.

Senator Dyck asked about cannabis excise taxes on First Nations lands, and Morneau first mentioned their work toward a new fiscal arrangement with First Nations, and said that they were continuing to work toward that, and this specific issue was underneath that broader arrangement.

Senator Marty Deacon asked about trouble accessing infrastructure funds by smaller municipalities, to which Morneau first noted that it can take time for infrastructure funds to flow because they first need to get agreements with provinces, and added that federal spending often doesn’t come until the end of projects when they get the bills.

Senator Marwah asked about the Sears pensioners and any upcoming pension reform to prevent future occurrences, to which Morneau stated that they are currently looking at the current approaches and whether the rules around ordering of creditors are appropriate, and noted that the defined benefit plans in question are increasingly rare, and the consultations were taking place under Minister Bains.

Senator Martin asked about the costs of interest on the debt, to which Morneau walked her through the international comparisons on debt-to-GDP, before talking up how the measures they put into place were growing the economy including the measures to enhance competitiveness while reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio.

Senator Joyal asked about the CRA report on Canada losing $3 billion per year through tax havens, and the $17 billion per year on tax evasion and tax avoidance. Moreau says that previous governments may not have looked into this, but his government was certainly looking at the problem, not only domestically but through the OECD to have a common approach and to get information sharing, and says that they are always open to advice.

Senator Cormier asked about tax credits for media in the fiscal update, and Morneau talked about the importance of the sector, and that they were establishing an arm’s length body to advise on the tax credits.

Overall, it was typical of any appearance by Bill Morneau, in that it was full of frustrating non-answers and a whole lot of pabulum that said very little. The only real bit of news I got out of the exercise was about the upcoming provincial meeting around the national securities regulator, because otherwise, it was largely a wasted exercise.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Senator René Cormier for a finely tailored black suit and tie with a crisp white shirt, and to Senator Josée Verner for a red patterned top with a black skirt. Style citations go out to Senator Diane Bellemare for a black dress with white, red and blue florals, and to Senator Larry Smith for a black suit with a dark grey shirt and a brown and black striped tie.