With Chrystia Freeland in Mexico City for the New NAFTA signing ceremony, and Justin Trudeau in town but elsewhere, Andrew Scheer was present today and led off by mentioning the first anniversary of the two Canadians being detained in China, and asked for an update as to the efforts being made to secure their release. Karina Gould assured him that they are the government’s absolute priority, and expressed thanks to the allies who have spoken up as well. Scheer then lamented that the government waited six months to file a complaint with the WTO over China over the canola issue, and Marie-Claude Bibeau listed efforts they have made. Scheer was not mollified, and railed that the government was still investing in the Asian Infrastructure Bank, to which Bill Morneau assured him that the Bank benefitted Canadians as much as the countries they invest in. Alain Rayes took over in French, who worried that China was too interested in the Arctic, to which Gould Assured him that they always defend Canadian sovereignty. Rayes returned to the question of the two detained Canadians, and Gould repeated her question in French. Yves-François Blanchet, after being chastised for pointing out the prime minister’s absence, worried about the New NAFTA and that aluminium was not protected under it, to which Gould assured him they were proud of the agreement, and the new NAFTA had strict regulations around the industry. Blanchet railed about workers in Quebec, somewhat rhetorically, to which Gould reiterated that they were defending market access for Canadians. Jagmeet Singh was up next, to repeat his latest demand to target the tax cut different to fund a dental care programme, to which Patty Hajdu said that the dental care idea was worth exploring, and she wanted to work with all members on it. Singh accused her of just saying nice words, and Hajdu reminded him that such a programme would be delivered by the provinces which was why you couldn’t just say you would do it.

Round two, and Erin O’Toole raised his party’s Supply Day motion on creating a special issue on a China (Gould: We will let committees manage their own business), Randy Hoback and Luc Berthold demanded action on canola exports to China (Bibeau: We are working hard on all avenues), Leona Alleslev raised the spectre of Huawei (Blair: Your statement attributed to me is false and we are ensuring that Canadians will be safe), and demanded support for their Supply Day motion (Gould: We will let committees manage their own business). Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay and Mario Simard worried the New NAFTA would allow for China to dump aluminium into the market (Gould: We got a good deal). Michael Chong demanded a stronger and clearer statement from the government on Hong Kong (Gould: We will always stand up for human rights in Hong Kong, and the PM and foreign affairs minister and have engaged their counterparts), Peter Kent was worried by a Chinese journalist having visa issues that he was intimating were political (Mendicino: Visas are processed by professionals and there would never be political considerations), Nelly Shin and Marilyn Gladu worried about fentanyl coming from China (Blair: We have given additional resources to our border security agencies to interdict these drugs and their precursor chemicals; Hajdu: I’m glad to hear you wake up to a crisis that has been going on for ten years and we have been saving lives). Leah Gazan worried about the Fredericton abortion clinic (Hajdu: The prime minister spoke about this with the premier and I am engaging my counterpart), and Niki Ashton accused the government of ignoring Indigenous concerns (Miller: We are working with our local teams to help close gaps in communities in crisis, and are using a community-led approach).

I think the howler monkeys seated below the Press Gallery need a minder.
They think their heckles are clever, but they’re not. #QP

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) December 10, 2019

Round three saw questions on aluminium concessions under the New NAFTA (Gould: Same answer as before), LNG development versus the old Bill C-69 (O’Regan: The old system did not work, and our better legislation will ensure that good projects go ahead), demands for housing funds without any conditions attached (Hussen: We are taking concrete measures to protect the most vulnerable Canadians), the fiscal situation (Morneau: We invested and created growth, and we are on track to be the second-highest growth in the G7), Ontario’s climate change plan (O’Regan: Canadians voted for climate action, and we will work with provinces), a new softwood lumber agreement with the US (Gould: We have been working on this file and will continue to do so, and will get a good deal and not just any deal), New Brunswick’s environment plan (O’Regan: We are still evaluating it), climate targets (O’Regan: We are working with the recommendations of the environment commissioner, and plan to meet out targets), and the Site C dam (O’Regan: A previous government approved the project and set legally binding conditions).

Poilievre is railing about our unemployment rate, but we have essentially been at what is considered full employment for the past year. #QP

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) December 10, 2019

Overall, it was a fairly mediocre day, with Scheer’s line of questions pretty much as expected given their Supply Day motion, though they could certainly have gone another six rounds of the same and they didn’t. We also continue to see the Bloc and several of the same Quebec Conservatives asking the same thing, seeing as they continue to try a prove that each is the bigger booster of the province and in particular the positions of François Legault. We also saw Karina Gould do the yeoman’s work of answering for both Chrystia Freeland and François-Philippe Champagne today, with both of them absent, and because no parliamentary secretaries have been appointed yet, we’re seeing ministers do all of the answering — something which we should see more of in general (as ministers are responsible for answering on behalf of Cabinet, and parliamentary secretaries can often be a way of shielding the minister). Add to that, Gould did a decent job in both languages and wasn’t just reading a script the whole time, so that gets good marks.

A motion to appoint @CarolHughesMP as the Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole was adopted. #cdnpoli

— In the Chamber (@HoCChamber) December 10, 2019

A motion to appoint @AlexandraBrStL as the Assistant Deputy Speaker and Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole was adopted. #cdnpoli

— In the Chamber (@HoCChamber) December 10, 2019

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Navdeep Bains for a navy suit with a white shirt and a fuchsia turban and tie, and go Karen Vecchio for a well tailored black suit and top. Style citations go out to Anju Dhillon for a pink and green floral dress, and to Matthew Green for a light grey jacket, white shirt, dark grey tie and taupe slacks.