Following an explosive morning at the justice committee, QP got underway without any of the major leaders in attendance. That left Lisa Raitt to lead off, asking if the prime minister asked David Lametti to leave the room when Wilson-Raybould addressed Cabinet on Tuesday. Lametti first accused Raitt of cherry-picking the testimony, and said that since Clerk of the Pricy Council, Michael Wernick, released him from Cabinet confidence he recused himself of his own volition. Raitt asked why Trudeau met with Wilson-Raybould after the Director of Public Prosecutions made a decision on SNC-Lavalin, to which Bardish Chagger read that it was confirmed verbally and in writing that Wilson-Raybould was not being directed on the file. Raitt went through the timeline, and accused Wernick of pressuring Wilson-Raybould, to which Chagger read out about Raitt’s own meetings with SNC-Lavalin. Alain Rayes took over and re-asked in French why Trudeau had the meeting with Wilson-Raybould, and Chagger read that they need to respect the independence of committees. Rayes tried again, and Chagger read out Wernick’s assurances that the kinds of discussions that Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould had were perfectly appropriate. Alexandre Boulerice led off for the NDP, and he demanded that Wilson-Raybould be allowed to speak, and Lametti assured him that the issue was complex but they too wanted to ensure she could speak. Boulerice asked if Trudeau’s meeting with Wilson-Raybould was to change her mind, and Chagger stood up to remind him that the NDP leader also met with SNC-Lavalin, and that the government respects the legal system. Nathan Cullen stood up to repeat the allegations in the Globe and Mail that Wilson-Raybould told Cabinet she was pressured, to which Chagger reminded him that committees are independent and should do their job. Cullen railed about the government not caring about employees and pensioners, to which Chagger praised the Ethics Commissioner and the government’s record.

Round two, and Candice Bergen tried to parse what Wernick said about pressure on Wilson-Raybould (Chagger: Let’s let the committee do their work), and she and Pierre Paul-Hus asked who called the meeting between Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould (Chagger: Our ministers talk all the time because we have a whole-of-government approach), and Mark Strahl railed about independence and pressure (Chagger: The Public Prosecution Service does not take political direction on files). Charlie Angus thundered some rhetorical sanctimony (Chagger: The justice committee has asked for witnesses to appear, and they are appearing and answering questions; Lametti: The question of privilege is complex and we are doing out best to allow her to speak, but we have not resolved the issue). Michael Cooper and Gérard Deltell accused the government of undue influence (Chagger: The committee is working together to hear from witnesses). Brigitte Sansoucy said the government bill on reducing poverty doesn’t go far enough (Duclos: We have focused on giving Canadians an opportunity to succeed, starting with the Canada Child Benefit), and Tracey Ramsey railed about steel and aluminium tariffs (Leslie: American groups are agitating to get them removed, and they are getting results).

Round three saw questions on the alleged pressuring of Wilson-Raybould (Chagger: This was a decision for her to take, and we respect the work of committees), whether any such pressure constituted a criminal obstruction of justice (Chagger: We respect institutions), pension reform including insurance (Tassi: This is important to our government and we have consulted and are coming up with an evidence-based solution), establishing an independent body to investigate abuse allegations in sports (Duncan: There is zero-tolerance for abuse or harassment, and we introduced strong measures last June), the new PBO report on the new veterans’ pensions (Sajjan: We have invested more money and all veterans are better off), whether Cabinet Confidence can be used to cover up criminal actions (Lametti: I won’t give a legal opinion on the floor of the House), demanding a deferred prosecution for SNC-Lavalin (Lametti: I can’t speak to this because it could have an impact on the dispute currently before the court), and why it’s taken so long to get an ombudsman for responsible development (Carr: We are moving forward on that, and it will be announced soon).

Overall, it was another fairly repetitive day, but fortunately we didn’t hear the prime minister’s rather lame talking points about standing up for jobs time and again (though he did give those during his press conference from Nova Scotia earlier in the day). Instead, we got some new scripts from Bardish Chagger, reading some stilted lines about how the committee has called witnesses and has been hearing from them, and that they should let them do their work. No doubt we’ll get a new series of shitposts over Twitter that have cut video clips of the Conservatives asking the same question over and over, and not getting the answer they were looking for, and the Liberals once again keep handing these to them on a silver platter.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Kirsty Duncan for a black top and slacks with a purple leather jacket, and to Scott Reid for a dark grey suit with a medium blue shirt and a light grey bow-tie and pocket square. Style citations go out to Serge Cormier for a black suit with a faded cranberry shirt and a navy patterned tie, and to Cheryl Gallant for a mustard yellow dress with a brown knit jacket with orange trim. Dishonourable mentions go out to Rachael Harder for a black suit with a mustard yellow top, and to Brenda Shanahan for a black turtleneck and slacks with a mustard yellow jacket. Special mention goes out to Iqra Khalid for a Superman t-shirt under a white jacket.