While Justin Trudeau was in town, he was not in QP today for some reason, while every other leader was. That also meant no proto-PMQs today, so take that for what you will. Andrew Scheer led off, wondering why anyone who says no to the prime minister winds up with a target on his back. David Lametti knew exactly what this referred to — the stay of prosecution in the Mark Norman case — and stated that the Public Prosecution Service made its own decisions to prosecute and stay the proceedings. Scheer spun a wild conspiracy theory and wondered what was so damaging in the documents, while Lametti assured him that all documents were disclosed and the Public Prosecution Service was independent. Scheer switched to French to accuse the government of scapegoating Norman, and Lametti repeated his assurances in French. Scheer switched to English to say it was too bad that Trudeau didn’t have the fortitude to answer the questions himself, and Lametti repeated his response in French. Scheer repeated that Trudeau didn’t have the backbone or fortitude to answer for this, and accused them of trying to interfere in the case. Lametti kept up his response in French to assure him that there was no role for the Privy Council in this affair. Jagmeet Singh was up next, and he worried about the loss of biodiversity and the apparent lack of action. Catherine McKenna assured him that they were engaged, not only domestically by protecting more areas, but also internationally. Singh switched to French to lament the plan to go ahead with Trans Mountain, to which Patty Hajdu assured him that they were carrying forward with meaningful Indigenous consultations. Singh then raised the Norman trial, alleging PMO interference, and Lametti repeated that the government played no role in the prosecution. Singh repeated the allegation in English and demanded an independent investigation into the matter. Lametti repeated that there was no interference, and that the Director of Public Prosecutions stated so herself.

Called it. https://t.co/Qqvvu4NQA0

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) May 8, 2019

Round two, and Lisa Raitt demanded an apology to Norman (Sajjan: Every decision was made independently, and any accusations otherwise are absurd; We reviewed the case and have agreed to pay his legal fees), Alain Rayes repeated the allegation of interference (Lametti: There was no political interference; Sajjan; There was no political influence and we had authorised to pay his fees), and Leona Alleslev read some hyperbolic allegations of political interference (Lametti: We fulfilled all of our obligations regarding documents and this was independent of government and my department; Sajjan: We take care of everyone who serves the country ). Charlie Angus offered his own bluster on the Norman case (Lametti: You well know that the RCMP and the PPSC operates independently). Mark Strahl also demanded an apology to Norman (Sajjan: Read the statement from the PPSC about the lack of political interference), and Pierre Paul-Hus spun another conspiracy theory about the prime minister killing the prosecution after Andrew Leslie said he would testify — which makes no sense at all because Leslie agreed to provide a character reference months ago (Lametti: Same response again). Jenny Kwan demanded the provisions in the budget implementation bill on refugees be withdrawn (Blair: The UNHCR has said this won’t adversely affect refugees), and Pierre-Luc Dussealt railed about web giants (Goodale: There will be international meetings on what to do about social media giants and the material they distribute).

Wait — so is Raitt saying the government should have politically interfered and stopped the prosecution? #QP

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) May 8, 2019

Round three saw yet questions on the Mark Norman trial (Lametti: Same answer yet again; Qualtrough: Look at all the things we’re doing for Davie shipyard; Goodale: You should know that the RCMP and the public prosecutions are independent of government; MacAulay: How dare you raise veterans on this question when your government cut their staff; Sajjan: No political influence, and General Vance will discuss his future with him), the elimination of a shift at a Ford plant (Bains: We were encouraged to see the positive GM news in Oshawa, and we continue to invest in the sector), Supply Management (Bibeau: We have committed to all supply managed sectors), the status of Jerusalem (Oliphant: Canada is a friend to Israel and the Palestinian people, and the status on Jerusalem can only be decided by both sides as part of a comprehensive peace process), and Supply Management compensation not in the budget (Bibeau: There is $3.9 billion in the budget, and the details will come in a few weeks).

Overall, it was almost impressive that the Conservatives managed to fill every single one of their question slots today with a Mark Norman question, some of them either straight up reading the approved party lines, some of them adding outlandish and hyperbolic spins to make it all the more dramatic for the social media posts that they would feature the clips on in the days ahead. None was more obviously the fodder for a coming shitpost than Scheer’s demanding that Trudeau have the fortitude to answer questions (when he wasn’t present), and other Conservatives demanding he stand up and apologise. We’ve seen this tactic from Scheer before, where he pretends Trudeau is there and just not answering so that he can edit the clips and put out a post where he pretends Trudeau was present and too afraid to answer him, and one imagines they’ll do it again given how they framed it just so today. It’s kind of pathetic that this is how he makes himself look tough, but here we are. Jagmeet Singh’s questions, meanwhile, continue to lack much coherence and don’t really land, but he’s still learning, apparently.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Lisa Raitt for a pink dress with a matching long jacket, and to Michael Barrett for a navy suit with a crisp white shirt and a dark blue tie. Style citations go out to Ron Liepert for a medium grey suit with a burgundy shirt and no tie, and to Iqra Khalid for a leopard print jacket over a black top. Dishonourable mention goes out to Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet for a black top and slacks with a pale yellow jacket.