Tuesday in the Commons, and while Justin Trudeau was in the building, he was not in Question Period for some unknown reason. Andrew Scheer was, however (for a change), and he led off, mini-lectern on desk, and he wanted to know why the prime minister didn’t take no for an answer when it came to the remediation agreement for SNC-Lavalin, and Bardish Chagger read some lines about protecting jobs and the whole point of remediation agreements. Scheer tried again, and this time Chagger read about the respect they have for committees before pivoting to good news economic talking points. Scheer insisted this wasn’t true, before asking if anyone in the government gave assurances to SNC-Lavalin, and Chagger reminded him that they had confidence in the committee before pivoting go a point about Conservative austerity. Alain Rayes took over in French, and repeated the question about assurances to SNC-Lavalin, and Chagger read French talking points about opposition leaders meeting with SNC-Lavalin representatives, and respecting committees. Rayes tried again, and Chagger repeated that they respect the work of the committee. Guy Caron was up next for the NDP, and he was concerned about the number of meetings with SNC-Lavalin representatives, and Chagger reminded him that both opposition leaders also had meetings, and they respected committees. Caron tried again, and this time Chagger read the talking point where the Director of Public Prosecutions disavowed any political interference in her work. Charlie Angus was up next, and he sanctimoniously demanded that PMO staff also appear at committee, to which Chagger repeated that they need to respect the work of committees. Angus wondered when no means no with regarding the DPA, and Chagger repeated her response.
Round two, and Lisa Raitt returned to the question of whether anyone in Cabinet offered assurances to SNC-Lavalin (Chagger: Here’s the backgrounder on DPAs; You’re undermining the work of committees), and Pierre Poilievre wondered about changes to debarments in the integrity regime that might give SNC-Lavalin an out if they get convicted (Qualtrough: This is about strengthening the integrity regime, and it’s common to have administrative agreements while cases are ongoing). Brigitte Sansoucy and Tracey Ramsey demanded pharmacare (Petitpas Taylor: We do our homework and we will implement a plan that will help all Canadians, and I look forward to the committee report later this spring). Michael Cooper and Pierre Paul-Hus wondered about the “lawful authority” to stop a criminal proceeding for a company facing charges (Chagger: We have rule of law, and let the committee do their work). Alexandre Boulerice and Nathan Cullen worried about the NEB approval of Trans Mountain (Lefebvre: We are growing the economy while protecting the environment, and following the guidelines from the Federal Court of Appeal).
I am curious if Chagger has dice at her desk that she rolls before choosing which talking point she’s going to recite. #QP
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) February 26, 2019
Round three saw yet more questions on whether SNC-Lavalin got any assurances from Cabinet (Chagger: We believe in an independent judiciary and the rule of law) whether the matter was discussed at Cabinet (Chagger: Here’s what the Clerk of the Privy Council said last week), housing (Duclos: We are once again a leader in housing and investing billions), pension security (Tassi: We take this very seriously and made consultations in order to ensure that we have an evidence-based solution), whether the RCMP has contacted anyone over the SNC-Lavalin issue (Goodale: They are independent and don’t consult us on investigations), summer jobs (Hajdu: We want to ensure that everyone who needs one of these positions gets one), some general sanctimony (Chagger: Here’s how we’re helping Canadians and you keep voting against it), demanding the remediation agreement for SNC-Lavalin (Lametti: There are ongoing court cases and I can’t comment), and a UN world government conspiracy theory (Hussen: We don’t believe in conspiracy theories).
Groans across the Commons and Maxime Bernier asks if Trudeau supports a UN World Parliament.
Hussen responds that the government doesn’t believe in conspiracy theories. #QP— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) February 26, 2019
Overall, it was another repetitive day, but at least Bardish Chagger randomized her talking points to a certain extent, so it wasn’t simply the same answer time and again, but a variety of the same bafflegab talking points. They didn’t answer anything, not that there was much that she could answer, but at least it wasn’t just reading the same point over and over. Small mercies.
Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Randeep Sarai for a three-piece brown suit with a butterscotch tie and pocket square with a white shirt and turban, and to Marie-Claude Bibeau for a white jacket without lapels over a black and grey striped top. Style citations go out to Candice Bergen for a black dress with blue, white and orange floral patterns and giant sleeves, and to John McKay for a otherwise reasonable black suit and blue striped shirt, but with a garish hot pink tie with coloured blocks across it. Dishonourable mention goes out to Martin Shields for a black shirt and suit with a yellow tie.
Chaggar’s role in this administration is the same as Pollievre in the Harper years. He knew his lines so well that he repeated that the Harper government created over a million full time jobs in one question period nearly a dozen times and continued to say the same line for weeks before the 2015 election. That’s how our parliament works. It is just a sideshow that only diehard political junkies and the media pay any attention to for juicy scraps like crows hunting for eyeballs. It is a fun show signifying nothing but if we want we can take a front row seat. Apologies to George Carlin.