QP: Trying to make Orwell happen

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Monday of the second week back, and for the anniversary of the great Centre Block fire of 1916, the wooden mace was on the table for the day. Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer were present, but most of the other leaders were not. Scheer led off, mini-lectern on desk, and he immediately raised the spectre of the torqued stories of government licensing media. Trudeau took up a script to say that the report stated that news was not to be licensed, that they believed in free media, but they continued to study the report. Scheer tried again, throwing out references to Nineteen Eighty-Four, China’s basic dictatorship, and Fidel Castro. Trudeau repeated the response, trying to be emphatic about it. Scheer then pivoted to the economy, talking down the figures, and Trudeau reminded him that they have made progress on tackling poverty and investing in growth. Scheer tried again, and Trudeau reminded him that they actually cut taxes. Scheer tried to then score points on the supposed $50 Million to MasterCard — really an investment in a cyber-security research centre — and Trudeau read back Scheer’s quotes about the importance of cyber-security from the election. Alain Therrien led off for the Bloc, worrying about the potential approval of Teck Frontier Mine. Trudeau picked up a script to read that they were evaluating the proposal and would come up with a response within a month. Therrien tried again, and Trudeau listed from memory the various measures they are taking to protect the environment. Alexandre Boulerice led off for the NDP, and he worried that the government was not calling out Donald Trump’s Middle East “peace plan” as it disadvantages Palestinians. Trudeau reminded him that the government’s long-standing policy is for a two-state solution negotiated by the parties involved. Brian Masse then railed about the Volkswagen settlement, and Trudeau read that the Public Prosecution Service made all decisions independently.

Round two, and Matt Jeneroux was concerned that Canada was not cutting off flights to China because of coronavirus (Hajdu: We have different systems than the US, and we don’t need to declare an emergency because we already have the necessary systems in place), Alain Rayes worried about the other passengers on the flight with the confirmed cases (Hajdu: I already told you that they’ve all been contacted), Leona Alleslev demanded a date for when the Canadians in China would be evacuated (Champagne: We assessed the needs, chartered the plane, and are awaiting authorisation), Steven Blaney, Peter Kent, and Michelle Rempel returned to the torqued concern about “licensing” media (Guilbeault: We support a free media, and we won’t define our policies in Hollywood). Kristina Michaud and Monique Pauzé returned to the Teck Frontier question, demanding its rejection (Wilkinson: There is a process and we are evaluating). David Yurdiga wanted more consultations with the municipality around Teck Frontier (Wilkinson: There were consultations by the Impact Assessment Agency), Shannon Stubbs and Gérard Deltell demanded it be approved (Wilkinson: We are following the legislated process). Rachel Blaney railed about the Veterans Affairs accounting rules (MacAulay: The programmes are demand-driven, so money is not being unspent, it’s there for when veterans need it; We have hired hundreds of new case workers).

Round three saw questions on carbon pricing on farmers (Bibeau: 2019 was a difficult year, and I am open to new information as I work with my provincial counterparts to come up with practical solutions), the murder by someone on parole (Blair: We have ordered a thorough investigation), aluminium under New NAFTA (Freeland: We have content guarantees for aluminium which we don’t have today), the Veterans Affairs accounting rules (MacAulay: It’s a demand-driven department), lobster and snow-crab fisheries under duress from the US (Jordan: We are working with harvesters and US stakeholders), gun crime sentences (Blair: There is a consensus in Canada for stronger gun control and to deal with diversion and smuggling), private data being mishandled (Fergus: We are committed to maintaining the highest standards and all employees get proper training), the Chinese belt-and-road initiative (Bendayan: We have made it our priority to see the two Michaels released from China), First Nations children’s compensation (Virani: We are working to remedy discrimination), and the BC salmon fishery (Trudeau, with script: We are committed to protecting salmon runs, and the ministers are working with stakeholders and First Nations communities).

Overall, the day didn’t go off the rails, but the rhetoric threatened to on more than one occasion. The media “licensing” questions were torqued beyond any semblance of truth, and the attempt to paint the government as authoritarian was done with the kind of cartoonish ham-fistedness that have become hallmarks of the Conservatives under Scheer. Likewise, his questions on the state of the economy were full of false talking points, and he seems to have not learned a single lesson when it comes to how voters didn’t appreciate his estranged relationship with the truth. As for responses, Trudeau was sticking to careful lines for most of them today, as was Steven Guilbeault, which probably isn’t a surprise given that Guilbeault’s poor responses on the weekend political shows sowed this particular whirlwind. Meanwhile, the Conservatives decided to pick up on the NDP’s faux outrage over the accounting rules of Veterans Affairs, and I cannot even. It’s a bullshit story about accounting rules and parliamentary shenanigans, and has nothing to do with the actual service delivery issues. Come on, guys. There are better things to be holding this government to account over.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to William Amos for a navy three-piece suit with a blueberry shirt and a blue and grey tie, and to Mélanie Joly for a dark blue suit with a black top. Style citations go out to Helena Jaczek for a dusky pink jacket with black piping over a grey and pink top and black slacks, and to Jeremy Patzer for a dark grey jacket, blueberry shirt, taupe slacks, and a navy tie. Dishonourable mention goes out to Rachael Harder for a black jacket with a mustard yellow top. 

3 thoughts on “QP: Trying to make Orwell happen”

  1. Personally I hope the Liberals, even in minority arrangement, can find a way to just go ahead and call the Cons’ bluff on this. Evan Solomon is Canada’s Sean Hannity. Bellmedia CTV Glob & Oil channel is corrupt and lacks credulity; it’s long been thought of as little more than a bullpen for appointments to the Imperial Senate (Duffy, Wallin, etc.), so why should anyone trust their manipulation of any issue or status as a member of the “free press”? More power to JT; get ‘er done and shut them up. The fact that even the mere whiff of regulation is causing so much manufactured outrage among bad-faith actors like Ezra Levant and Jeff Ballingall, along with their gullible lapdogs in the MSM who virtue-signal about “principles,” a “Fairness Doctrine” for Canada is exactly what the wild-west media landscape needs if Canada is to avoid the fate of the United States.

    Canada does not have a First Amendment and for good reason. Most civilized countries don’t allow unfettered pollution of the marketplace of ideas, so think of it as another environmental cleanup job (and therefore a perfect fit for Guilbeault, even as his own speech got twisted out of proportion by the same purveyors of lies who don’t want to be regulated). Give ’em hell, Steven. Take out the trash.

    The fake news troll outlets that flood the Internet with garbage, and the monster that Harper created with funding from Conman Black, aren’t news. They’re propaganda, and if we’re talking about “Canadian content” reflecting “Canadian values,” the American-owned Postmedia doesn’t fit the bill at all. Which I suspect is where all the outrage is coming from: the War Room’s favored hacks like Brian Lilley and Rick Bell are terrified that their gravy train will come to an end and they won’t get to lie, smear, dogwhistle, and oil-and-gaslight the public with impunity for partisan favors and bigly ratings. Serves them right, the whole lot of them. They brought it upon themselves with their pursuit of profit over facts. Nobody trusts the fourth estate the more it acts as a fifth column, so a course correction is needed. Don’t like it? Learn to code.

    Reality has a liberal bias, and it’s long overdue that Canada becomes a leader in cleaning up all the garbage that’s fit to print, transmit or otherwise spew. Someone needs to give Murdoch, Zuckerberg and their ilk a run for their blood money. If anyone’s going to stand up to the Lex Luthors of the world, it might as well be Clark Kent.

  2. Whew J.B. I think I’ll take a couple of hours and let that all sink in. The gist is I think that the cons are saddling up their straw horses in the event we have an election in a few years. Yes?

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