QP: China vs Brexit

Posted on by

Wednesday, and most but not all leaders were present, somewhat unusually. Andrew Scheer led off, mini-lectern on desk, and in French, he read some condemnation that the prime minister didn’t fire John McCallum soon enough Trudeau stood up and said that on China, they were working to freeing the imprisoned Canadians, and then took a shot at Scheer’s lack of foreign policy credibility given his support for Brexit. Scheer switched to English to read his litany of foreign policy sins by this government, and Trudeau reiterated that they were working to safeguard Canadians in China before repeating his shot at Scheer on Brexit. Scheer wondered why it took so long for Trudeau to fire McCallum, but Trudeau wouldn’t let up on Scheer’s Brexiteering. Scheer then switched to the carbon tax and said that the government planned to raise the price to $3/tonne before his benches reminded him that the talking point was $300. Trudeau responded that Scheer still hasn’t delivered his own climate plan, and when Scheer gave falsehoods about industrial exemptions and the apparent planned carbon tax hikes, Trudeau shrugged and noted that their rhetoric was empty if they were resorting to personal attacks, before talking about how people would be better off with carbon rebates. Peter Julian led off for the NDP, and in French, predictably raised the issue of housing, but this time name-dropped the riding of Outremont. Trudeau picked up a script to state that it was too bad if the NDP derided the plans to refit existing housing. Julian switched to English to ask the same, and Trudeau had a script in hand but didn’t actually read from it while he listed the investments being made in housing. Charlie Angus stood up to demand personal action on the housing emergency in Cat Lake, and Trudeau read that they were developing a long-term plan of action with its leadership, and noted they lifted the boil-water advisory in that community already. Angus took a couple of shots at Seamus O’Regan and the prime minister, and Trudeau listed the investments they have made with Indigenous communities. 

Round two, and Alain Rayes gave the false talking point about Canadians paying more taxes since the previous government and concern-trolled about possible future taxes (Trudeau: We didn’t see economic growth of job creation under your guys’ plans, and we cut taxes for the Middle Class™), and Pierre Poilievre gave a false reading of carbon tax documents, lying that they planned for an increase to $300 (Trudeau: We are fighting climate change, and your leader refuses to; What about the costs of things like forest fires and floods from extreme weather changes). Georgina Jolibois and Rachel Blaney asked about inadequate housing in Northern First Nations (Trudeau, with script: We started a plan to fix this crisis years ago, and here are the investments but we are acting, not just talking). Gérard Deltell worried about the deficit and that it would raise taxes (Trudeau: You are using fear and falsehoods to make Canadians afraid, and we cut taxes and gave people the Canada Child Benefit), and Candice Bergen worried about a fundraiser held by Raj Grewal when he was in their ranks, but in order to keep it above-board, asked if any Cabinet minister attended it (Trudeau: We are open and transparent in our fundraising but you are not). Wayne Stetski asked about the effect of housing on mental health (Trudeau, with script: We’ve made the largest investment in history in mental health, but we need to do more), and Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet decried the lack of long-term housing funding (Trudeau: We set up a national housing strategy, and have invested across the country). 

Round three saw questions on the Mark Norman case (Trudeau: Your allegations are false, but we won’t comment on a court case), family reunification sponsorships (Trudeau, with script: We tackled your backlog and quadrupled the number of spaces), GM jobs in Oshawa (Trudeau, with script: We will stand up for workers), ice on the St. Lawrence blocking a ferry (Trudeau, with script: We invested in Davie Shipyard for three ice breakers), Quebec tax returns (Trudeau: You are saying two things, and won’t talk about this in English, but we are working with Quebec on issues like their labour shortage; This would mean changing tax treaties), layoffs in the energy sector (Trudeau: We need to do things the right way, which means in partnership with Indigenous peoples), Jody Wilson-Raybould’s demotion (Trudeau: We have a whole-of-government approach on reconciliation), sexual assaults on campus (Trudeau: We are working with an advisory committee of students and survivors to create a national framework), a PTSD national strategy (Trudeau: We are moving forward with this issue this spring), a French requirement for Quebec immigration (Trudeau: The Constitution guarantees the rights of minorities including official languages).

Overall, the first proto-PMQ of the year was slightly above average, with Trudeau barely resorting to scripts, not that the talking points weren’t fairly pat in most cases. It was slightly surprising that he has taken to taking swipes at Scheer over his Brexiteering, but given how much Brexit has turned into a complete omnishambles, he may think it will resonate better as a sign of poor judgment on Scheer’s part. That said, Scheer’s questions on the topic of McCallum and China have tended to be overwrought and have tended to throw in the kitchen sink of accusations rather than being focused, so it makes it easier for Trudeau to sidestep in this manner. The Conservatives have kept up the attack lines about Trudeau having a trust fund and not understanding money, to which Trudeau has shrugged off with lines about personal attacks covering for a lack of substance, though it took him far too long to point out, yet again, that Poilievre in particular was lying about carbon pricing and the supposed content of government documents. The NDP have remained somewhat unchanged in keeping their focus on housing, only they opted to name-drop Outremont rather than Burnaby today, and I can’t wait for them to name-drop York Simcoe tomorrow.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Lisa Raitt for a black jacket with embroidered sleeves, along with a white top and black slacks, and to Raj Grewal for a dark grey three-piece suit with a light blue shirt, white pocket square, and navy turban and tie. Style citations go out to Ron Liepert for a medium grey suit with an eggplant shirt and a black striped tie, and to Ruby Sahota for a cream collared blouse with seventies-era yellow, brown and black patterns and a black tie. Dishonourable mention goes out to Martin Shields for a black suit and shirt with a bright yellow tie and pocket square.