QP: Making demands to an absent PM

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The day after the explosive testimony from Jody Wilson-Raybould, the prime minister was off in Quebec to highlight the Canadian space programme, meaning it was going to be a long day of Bardish Chagger talking points. Andrew Scheer led off in French, citing the testimony of pressure, and he demanded that Trudeau resign. Chagger read that from the beginning, the prime minister said that they acted properly and professionally, that it was confirmed that the decisions were always Wilson-Raybould’s, and that committees were doing their work, as was the Ethics Commissioner. Scheer tried to be cute in English to demand that Trudeau answer for himself in his demand for his resignation, and Chagger repeated her question in English. Scheer got faux indignant that Trudeau — who was away — did not answer, and he started demanding on three separate occasions whether staff members made the comments alleged, and in each case, Chagger reiterated her talking points, making jabs about partisan interests along the way. Charlie Angus led off for the NDP, and with showboating sanctimony, he demanded an independent inquiry into the matter. Chagger reminded him that the justice committee and the Ethics Commissioner were looking into it, and they wanted to let them do their work, before taking a shot at the NDP for not standing up for jobs. Angus demanded that Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick step down, to which Chagger accused him of mischaracterising witness testimony. Ruth Ellen Brosseau got up to read the some sanctimony in French, to which Chagger replied that it was always the Attorney General’s decision. Brosseau read a demand for an inquiry, to which Chagger repeated the plea to let the committee and the Commissioner do their work.

Round two, and Candice Bergen and Pierre Paul-Hus tried to cajole the absent Trudeau into denying things that Wilson-Raybould alleged he said (Chagger: Let the committee do their work), and Mark Strahl declared a backbencher’s assertion that Wilson-Raybould’s testimony was “sour grapes” to be sexist and misogynist (Chagger: It’s never acceptable for those comments to be made, but let’s let the committee do their work). Alexandre Boulerice thundered about the PMO trying to get a remediation agreement for SNC-Lavalin (Chagger: The law was followed), and Murray Rankin demanded the remaining “restrictions” on Wilson-Raybould be lifted (Chagger: She made the decision not to proceed with a DPA and the law was followed). Michael Cooper and Luc Berthold demanded a full waiver of solicitor-client privilege (Virani: This was an exceptional waiver granted because we wanted her to appear), and Berthold demanded more witnesses at committee (Chagger: We let the committee do their work while Conservatives like to interfere). Nathan Cullen gave some blanket sanctimony in demanding an independent inquiry (Chagger: Let the committee do its work).

Round three saw yet more questions on Wilson-Raybould’s testimony (Chagger: The committee is doing its work), steel and aluminium tariffs (Freeland: These tariffs must be removed, and we are sending that message to the US, and Congress is listening), demands for Trudeau to resign (Chagger: Look at everything we’ve achieved — jobs, growth, reduction of poverty — and the Conservatives voted against it), ending homelessness (Vaughan: Look at what we’ve invested in the National Housing Strategy), the plea for a remediation agreement for SNC-Lavalin (Chagger: We care about jobs and the economy), the need for addictions and mental health treatment in Nunavut (Hajdu: To close the gap, we are investing in 52 mental health teams), and a final demand to fire the Clerk of the Privy Council (Chagger: The committee system is working).

Overall, while the talking point responses were so very repetitive, many of the questions were framed in a juvenile and puerile, particularly from Andrew Scheer himself, who put on a bit dog and pony show about looking tough to “Trudeau,” who wasn’t there, and yet Scheer framed all of his questions in a way that intimated that Trudeau was present and simply “hiding behind” Bardish Chagger. Likewise, when Candice Bergen and Pierre Paul-Hus asked Trudeau to personally deny things and then take his “silence” (read absence) as “proof.” All of these are likely to be edited into some kind of shitpost videos that the Conservatives will use to show their base that Trudeau is afraid of them, or so on, but it’s not just childish and too-cute-by-half, it’s more active deception on the part of Scheer to the audience who wasn’t present. Also juvenile was the NDP framing their own questions as the Liberals not doing something on [insert issue here] because they’re too busy “pressing the Attorney General” and helping their “well-connected friends.” It’s not clever, guys. Meanwhile, I found the questions that tried to police Trudeau’s feminism by weaponizing “believe women” to be pretty gross. I get that it’s easy to hoist the Liberals on their own progressive petards, but that was over the line.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Jennifer O’Connell for collared pink shirt with a black skirt, and to René Arsenault for a dark grey suit with a pink shirt and purple bow tie. Style citations go out to Jim Eglinski for a grey jacket with a khaki shirt and slacks with a black tie, and to Karen Ludwig for a boxy mustard jacket with half-sleeves and a grey mottled top.