In the wake of the statements in the Commons earlier this morning on the ongoing protests and blockades across the country, the benches were full and all of the leaders were present for QP. Andrew Scheer led off, mini-lectern on desk, and he read some of his same condemnation for the government not dealing with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in favour of those who support Coastal GasLink. Justin Trudeau noted that they are concerned with dialogue, and that he invited other parliamentary leaders to discuss the matter but not Scheer because he disqualified himself after this morning’s statement. Scheer insisted that Trudeau was elevating “professional protesters” with those Indigenous communities that wanted these projects, and demanded a date for the blockades to come down, and Trudeau reminded him that they need solutions for the long term. Scheer decried the lack of action, and Trudeau said that they needed to ensure there was long-term partnership so that Canadians could rely on their transportation network rather than short-term violent action. Scheer again tried to insist that Trudeau was pandering to activists, and Trudeau reminded him that the Conservatives couldn’t get projects built because they would pick and choose who they would engage with. Scheer got increasingly breathy and high-pitched as he demanded action, and Trudeau reminded him that five years ago, Canadians chose parties who were committed to reconciliation. Yves-François Blanchet was up next for the Bloc, and he expressed his concern that Québec and Canada’s image was one where Indigenous communities were opposed to development, and wanted some clarity on the timeline for when blockades would be lifted. Trudeau stated that they were still committed to dialogue, and that was the first step to lifting the barricades. Blanchet asked for future meetings on the issue, and Trudeau said that he was open to that — for parties that wanted to engage constructively. Jagmeet Singh was up next, and demanded to know when the federal government would meet with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, but they were waiting on them. Singh wanted concrete action now, but pivoted to record-keeping on Indigenous kids in care, go which Trudeau reminded him that child and family services were provincial jurisdiction and they were working to devolve that to First Nations themselves.

Round two, and Candice Bergen worried that rail lines were being tampered with (Garneau: I am concerned that we have had some indications, so we are trying to pursue this to find out where it comes from), Pierre Paul-Hus demanded that the government give orders to the RCMP (Blair: The last thing this situation needs is people trying to score points by pretending that the government can order around RCMP, and they whole notion of police independence underpins the rule of law), Gérard Deltell demanded action (Garneau: We are working with provincial counterparts to see resolution), and Mark Strahl denounced the blockades as illegal (Blair: It’s not the government’s role to issue orders to the RCMP, and here’s an excerpt from their manual on dealing with Indigenous protests). Alain Therrien worried about who was going to answer for the blockades (Garneau: We know how important this is, but we are going to resolve this with dialogue), and Sylvie Bérubé worried why the ministers were absent on the file last week (Bennett: Dialogue is the best way to handle these issues). Garnett Genuis and James Bezan railed about the prime minister shaking the hand of the Iranian foreign minister (Oliphant: The PM was clear and firm with the Iranian foreign minister), Leona Alleslev worried about the US reducing intelligence sharing if Huawei is allowed to build 5G technology (Oliphant: We use an evidence-based approach and consult our allies, who are not unanimous) and the role of NATO going forward (Oliphant: We stand for the rules-based international order and are taking leadership on issues like Venezuela). Leah Gazan read some condemnation about double standard of the rule of law (Lametti: We have committed to implementing UNDRIP), and Alexandre Boulerice demanded “true reconciliation” (Bennett: We have been talking to hereditary chiefs, and we are committed to joint reconciliation with the Wet’suwet’en chiefs and the province of BC).

Bill Blair invokes the #SCC’s ruling that police independence underpins the rule of law. #QP

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) February 18, 2020

Trudeau theatrically looks at his watch when James Bezan says that Harper showed leadership on the world stage. #QP

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) February 18, 2020

Round three saw questions on COVID-19 infections of Canadians in Japan (Oliphant: Our consular officials are providing services to them), a quarantine site being establishing in a community without notice (Fisher: It was a facility with the right requirements as Trenton is at capacity, and the minister offered you a briefing that you turned down; Passengers are being screened before they get on the plane), a possible propane shortage because of the blockades (Garneau: The situation is serious but dialogue is the answer), Blanchet demanded support for their Supply Day motion on EI benefits for sick Canadians (Qualtrough: We committed to changing this in our platform), Teck Frontier (Wilkinson: The legislative timeline is for the end of February), possible propane shortages (Blair: We can’t infringe on the RCMP’s operational independence), a refugee judge asking about a victim of rape’s decision to keep the child (Mendocino: The IRB has assured my office that they are overhauling their processes and members get proper training), the Auditor General getting proper resources (Duclos: He has the resources he needs, and we expect him to find that four times more projects were approved than in the previous for years), fulfilling promises to Nunavut (Vandal: We have been making progress, and will continue to work on solutions in partnership), and rights and title legislation still not being tabled (Lametti: Implementing UNDRIP is one of my top priorities). 

Shannon Stubbs accuses the government of cherry-picking from the Teck Frontier report, and proceeds to cherry-pick points of her own. #QP

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) February 18, 2020

Overall, it was certainly a rowdier day, as the Conservatives did not like what Trudeau had to say on the blockade issue, with some of the particular loudmouths sitting below me shouting that he was a “failure,” while Scheer seemed to get increasingly unnerved by his own questions while Trudeau stayed calm throughout. I found Blanchet’s somewhat conciliatory tone to be interesting to behold, as he seemed more interested in refuting Scheer than in putting the screws to Trudeau, while Jagmeet Singh again continues to have absolutely no clue about areas of federal and provincial jurisdiction, and why it’s a bad idea for the federal government to keep bigfooting the provinces, as he constantly demands. Would that a federal leader have a clue about that.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Joyce Murray for a pink collared shirt with a dark grey jacket and a grey skirt with a lighter-grey pattern, and to Terry Beech for a navy suit with a white shirt and pocket square and a burgundy tie. Style citations go out to Marty Morantz for a bright blue jacket with navy slacks, a light blue shirt, and a violet tie, and to Stephanie Kusie for her horrific burgundy tunic dress with large ruffles in place of sleeves and a bedazzled collar.