And we’re back. While Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer were present, and most, but not all other leaders were as well. After a moment of silence for the victims of PS752, Scheer led off, mini-lectern on desk as usual, and he asked for progress on bringing PS752 victims home and holding perpetrators to account. Trudeau thanked him for the question, and picked up a script to note that they were supporting victims, and what he told the Iranian President directly. Scheer thanked him, and then moved onto cancelled energy projects and lied about the cost of living versus wages and demanded that the Teck Frontier Mine. Trudeau reminded him that they were  growing the economy while protecting the environment. Scheer then stated that the government was destroying the energy sector — again, falsely — and lamented deficit spending, to which Trudeau reminded him that they made the choice to invest, and it was paying off. Scheer then switched to gang violence and claimed the government was taking the “lazy approach” of targeting lawful gun owners, to which Trudeau took up a script to list the measures they were taking. Scheer then moved onto the survey which stated that Canada dropped three spots on the transparency ranking (which is a self-reported metric), to which Trudeau listed ways in which Canada was strong on the international stage. Yves-François Blanchet was up next, and raised a potential deportation case and demanded that the minister intervene. Trudeau, with script, to read a platitude about how they examine each case based on merit, and said that they were aware of the case but could not speak to it. Christine Normandin raised the question again, and Trudeau repeated his response. Jagmeet Singh was up next, and demanded did that the government immediately pay the compensation for First Nations children demanded by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Trudeau reminded him that they are working on reconciliation, noted the new approvals under Jordan’s Principle, and that they were still working on the issue. Singh then demanded immediate action on pharmacare and claimed he has a bill to immediately implement it (which a private members’ bill can’t do), and Trudeau took a script to list actions they have taken to reduce drug prices and noted they were negotiating with the provinces.

Second question and Scheer falsely says that wages have stagnated and not kept up with the cost of living. That is not true. #QP

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) January 27, 2020

Round two, and Matt Jeneroux asked about the coronavirus cases in Canada (Hajdu: The risk to Canadians remains low, and we are collaborating with our allies and will add resources as necessary) and the anti-viral stockpile (Hajdu: There is no specific anti-viral for this virus, but our research community has the materials they need), Alain Rayes repeated the first question in French (Hajdu: same answer), and federal-provincial cooperation on the matter (Hajdu: We are in touch), Todd Doherty wondered why the government was not screening passengers from China (Hajdu: We have been ahead of the WHO measures, and CBSA has training to identify cases), Leona Alleslev demanded to know how many Canadians were quarantined in China (Hajdu: This is an opportunity to remind people to register with Global Affairs, but we are working with our partners). Blanchet was back up to raise the alarm about aluminium in the new NAFTA (Freeland: We have more guarantees in the new agreement than exist currently; The premier of Quebec agrees this is a good agreement), and Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe repeated the question (Freeland: Same answer). Rob Moore worried about guilty verdicts being overturned (Lametti: We introduced a number of changes in the last parliament to make the justice system more efficient,and we are aware of the Ontario Court of Appeal decision and are monitoring the situation), and Pierre Paul-Hus raised a question of a parole decision (Blair: The Parole Board makes independent decisions, and in this case, the Director of the Correctional Services and the head of the Parole Board are investigating). Alexandre Boulerice asked about Volkswagen’s settlement agreement and intimated it was because of lobbying (Wilkinson: Prosecution decisions are independent of the minister’s offices but they are paying an unprecedented fine, six times higher than the record), and Jenny Kwan demanded dental care paid for by making the tax changes cut off at a lower level (Morneau: We are ensuring that people have tax fairness).

Regarding Alleslev’s pronunciation in #QP: https://t.co/WhUrk8D3wg

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) January 27, 2020

Round three saw questions on money laundering (Blair: Your government closed the organized crime units and we are funding them to rebuild them), veterans benefits backlogs (MacAulay: It would have been great if your government didn’t fire a thousand veterans affairs workers, which we are rehiring), government contracting simplification (Anand: We are looking at the regime and are examining the processes), the size of the deficit versus infrastructure spending (Fillmore: We have four times as many projects in the works or planned than the previous government did), the coronavirus contingency plan (Hajdu: The system is working), security for Harry and Megan (Blair: We are aware of their plans, and this is an unprecedented situation and we are undertaking discussions, but no decisions have been made as security and threat assessments are still taking place), a UN committee concerned about resource projects (O’Regan: We will ensure certainty of process), telecom connection (Monsef: We are working to ensure connectivity for every Canadian), CRA’s response times versus write-offs (Lebouthillier: We are improving wait times), a demand for Taiwan to get full membership in the WHO (Champagne: We are working closely with Chinese counterparts on the situation), a sole-source contract to Alan Rock for UN training (Champagne: We welcome any voices who can improve our foreign policy), contracting out government services (Duclos: We are growing the economy and while we have a great public service we sometimes need outside help), and Elizabeth May asked about the climate targets vis-a-vis the Teck Frontier Mine (Wilkinson: There is an assessment process underway).

Champagne moving a motion relating to PS752, to demand Iran be held to account.
The motion passes. #HoC #cdnpoli

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) January 27, 2020

Overall, it was a fairly calm day, where Andrew Scheer started off on a conciliatory note with the PS752 question, but by his second question was back to his tired tactic of lying to the House in the substance of his questions – StatsCan data shows that wage data has been increasing between three-to-four percent while inflation remains steadily around two percent, meaning that no, wages are not stagnating. This assertion that the government has single-handedly destroyed the energy sector ignores that it was the shale revolution in the US that really hurt the Canadian energy sector. The questions on gun control were full of straw men that ignores prevention and the fact that tougher penalties don’t deter gang-related crime. And the Transparency International ranking is a survey based on impressions, which is hard to use as a cudgel. But then again, Scheer’s problem with veracity has not been curbed by his election loss, be it online or in the House, so that should be the cause for some soul-searching by Conservatives. I would also note that the Dan Albas’ question about money laundering was a bit rich when it was the Conservative government that cut RCMP funding and then had them shift their resources away from organized crime toward anti-terrorism, so it’s no wonder that there’s a problem that has grown up in the interim. Otherwise, Trudeau was far more reliant on scripts today than he usually is, so perhaps he’s a bit rusty after being away from the Commons for so long. 

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Eric Melillo for a tailored dark blue suit with a crisp white shirt and a dark blue tie, and to Chrystia Freeland for a short-sleeved black dress. Style citations go out to Candice Bergen for a black dress which was more akin to a long collared shirt with green patterning, and to Larry Bagnell for a dark grey suit with a cream striped shirt and a navy tie.