With Justin Trudeau at an auto announcement in Cambridge, Ontario, and Andrew Scheer, well, elsewhere, Candice Bergen led off after a moment of silence for the victims of the bombings in Sri Lanka, and she asked for an update on the flooding situations across the country. Ralph Goodale first noted that front line responses are the jurisdiction of the provinces, and that when the federal government is asked, they have stepped up. Bergen then moved on to read some criticism about the prime minister’s response on the canola file. Marie-Claude Bibeau stated that they are standing with farmers, and they are working with Chinese officials to resolve it. Bergen claimed that Scheer’s proposals would solve the issue, and Bibeau claimed that she has been working on the file since day one, while the Conservatives were asking questions on other things. Luc Berthold took over in French to demand they act on Scheer’s proposals, to which Bibeau repeated that the Conservatives were the ones asleep on the file. Berthold disputed her characterisation, and repeated his demand, to which Bibeau listed actions she has been taking to resolve the issue. Jagmeet Singh was up next, and he railed about evil corporations, demanding the Liberals implement the NDP’s pharmacare proposal (which, reminder, handwaves through all the actual implementation details). Jim Carr reminded him that they are working on implementation through the 2019 budget. Singh then demanded the government implement the NDP’s home retrofit plans to reduce GHG emissions, and Jonathan Wilkinson reminded him that he was a CEO in the green tech space for ten years and he knows the government’s plan is working. Singh then demanded an end to fossil fuel subsidies in a French, to which Wilkinson reiterated that the government’s plan was working. Singh then railed about corporations in French, and wanted the $12 million Loblaws got (after a competitive process) to go to “families,” and Wilkinson largely reiterated that the government’s plan is working.

Round two, and Alain Rayes, Erin O’Toole, and railed about the situation with China (Chrystia Freeland: Here are the allies we are working with on this), and Pierre Poilievre demanded the government pull funding from the Asian infrastructure bank (Morneau: Their one project in China is to reduce the reliance on coal, but this largely goes to less developed countries and Canadian firms bid on them). Charlie Angus demanded the government stop spending on corporations (Fraser: You have misconstrued our agenda, and the energy efficiency projects you claim to support you’re now complaining about), and Daniel Blaikie railed about pension security (Tassi: This is a decade old problem, and we are taking an evidence-based approach to get it right). Jamie Schmale, Cathy McLeod, and Shannon Stubbs demanded a start date for the Trans Mountain pipeline (Sohi: We need to properly complete consultations with Indigenous communities to get this done the right way; Why do you want to repeat your failed process?). Scott Duval and Karine Trudel complained about changes to the steel anti-dumping measures expiring (Morneau: We are moving on new safeguards that have been recommended by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal).

Round three saw questions on Federal Court ruling demanding the Lobbying Commissioner investigate the Aga Khan (Chagger: This decision was made arm’s length of the prime minister and before the courts so we won’t comment), a fundraiser getting a contract (Lametti: Lots of firms do business with the department and everything followed the rules), Chinook salmon projections (Wilkinson: We announced a restoration fund a month ago, and we expedited the process for applications, and will commence decisions in early June), a fundraising issue (Gould: We introduced new rules for greater transparency, which is being followed), the leaks around the previous Supreme Court of Canada appointment process (Lametti: Our process is robust, and look at how many women we’ve appointed to date), flood mapping (Goodale: There is huge expertise and we will look to make it available where appropriate), the threatened defamation lawsuit (Chagger: Every time you get served, you delete tweets and change narratives), looking for assurances of sticking with the emissions standards of California (Fraser: We are partway through the review that we promised), the mortgage stress tests (Morneau: We are looking to keep markets stable, and we have measures in the current budget), and the “one trillion tree” movement (Fraser: It’s ironic that you ask this while Doug Ford cut Ontario’s tree-planting programme).

Overall, it wasn’t a terrible day, but it wasn’t a great one either. I will grant that both Wilkinson and Freeland were able to think on their feet (Freeland calling out the repetitive nature of the Conservative questions being a highlight), and Sean Fraser was also a standout for responses. This having been said, it was interesting to see how there was a very different mix of questions today that we’ve seen in weeks, with the Conservatives’ posturing on the China questions being particularly amusing, as it is fairly hollow, and hey, we’re back to the disingenuous demands for a start date on the Trans Mountain project, knowing full well that giving one would undermine the consultation process. The NDP, meanwhile, are on a renewed bout of “corporations bad” questions — except for steel manufacturers, and those CEOs are okay. Their lack for coherence was a bit jarring, but nothing that we’re not used to in politics.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Raj Grewal for a navy three-piece suit and turban with a light blue shirt and pocket square and a red tie, and to Candice Bergen for a black dress with a white pattern). Style citations go out to Bernadette Jordan for a cream smock top with red and blue florals along with mustard slacks, and to René Arsenault for a greyish burgundy jacket with a grey shirt and a brown paisley tie. Dishonourable mention goes out to Filomena Tassi for a black dress with a bright yellow jacket, and go Mélanie Joly for a black jacket and slacks with a black and yellow striped top.