QP: Bravado before the confidence vote

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In advance of the confidence vote, the probability of bluster and tough talk was about 100 percent. Erin O’Toole led off, with his script on his mini-lectern, and accused the prime minister of wanting Huawei to be part of the 5G network. Justin Trudeau picked up a script to read that they work with allies to ensure security. O’Toole switched to French to repeat the question, and got much the same response, though Trudeau was extemporaneous this time. O’Toole then performed some shock that former MP Frank Baylis’ company got a ventilator contract — which is not exactly true, as Baylis Medical had a cleanroom that they actual manufacturer needed. Trudeau skirted the question and assured Canadians that the country was currently only at ten percent of capacity around the country and that the actual company contract was above board. They went for another round on the very same before O’Toole repeated the accusation in English, and Trudeau repeated the lines about ventilator capacity and the contract. For the Bloc, Yves-François Blanchet listed a number of past ethical issues and wanted a comment on the current outrage at the University of Ottawa over use of racist terms. Blanchet pivoted to the WE Imbroglio, and pivoted again to racism, and Trudeau instead needled the Bloc about their fear of a federal government that is delivering for Quebeckers. Jagmeet Singh was up next for the NDP, and in French, worried about students not getting help they need, and Trudeau read a script that listed the various actions they’ve taken to help students. Singh repeated the question in English, and Trudeau recited the English version of his script.

Round two, and Michelle Rempel Garner wondered if the prime minister consulted with Dr. Theresa Tam about how an election can spread COVID (Trudeau: Here is everything we have accomplished and we want to keep delivering for Canadians), and wanted any advice she made public (Trudeau: We have consulted with Elections Canada because an election can happen at any time in a minority parliament but the question for the opposition is if they want Parliament to work for Canadians), and Pierre Paul-Hus compared the contract with Baylis Medical to the Sponsorship Scandal (Trudeau: Public Services had no role in this contract). Alain Therrien accused the government of blackmail and holding businesses hostage (Trudeau: Since the beginning, we have been delivering for business, and you are free to vote non-confidence). Richard Martel demanded a plan for aeronautics jobs (Trudeau, with script: We are working on a plan, and millions have already been spent), and O’Toole was back up to repeat the allegations around Baylis Medical (Trudeau: An agreement was reached with FTI, and we have no ties to any supplier), and accused the PM of putting an election over the welfare of Canadians (Trudeau: We have been delivering for the welfare of Canadians since the beginning and it’s up to the opposition to decide if they want to make Parliament work). Don Davies worried about pharmacare (Trudeau: We have worked with all parties to deliver in this pandemic, and opposing parties need to make a choice if they want to move forward constructively), and Leah Gazan worried about the fate of childcare (Trudeau: We were proud to talk about pharmacare and childcare, and we have flowed more support to families than before, but the opposition needs to choose if they want to work constructively).

Round three saw questions on any consultations on election safety (Trudeau: I have great confidence in Elections Canada), the Mi’kmaq fishery dispute (Trudeau, with script: We strongly condemns the acts of vandalism and racism, and we will continue to work with First Nations and industry leadership, and are appointing a special representative soon), the WE Imbroglio (Trudeau: I get why the Bloc needs an election, because we’ve been delivering for Quebeckers), the Baylis Medical contract yet again (Trudeau: We delivered for Canadians), help for the aviation sector (Trudeau: The wage subsidy has helped the sector with $1.1 billion, and we are working with partners), and yet more blustering questions on election safety in a pandemic (Trudeau: The choice is up to the opposition — you tabled a motion that is clearly not of confidence in the government and we would rather work constructively for Canadians), judicial appointments (Trudeau: We strengthened the appointment system), and climate change (Trudeau: We have done more to protect the environment than any government in history).

Overall, it was about as expected in terms of bluster and bravado, and while the Conservatives’ main lines of attack today were letting the Journal de Montreal set the agenda instead of the Globe and Mail for a change, and were based on a false premise – there is an innocuous explanation for the Baylis Medical contract that the National Post reported on days ago – they also decided to try and go hard on the notion that the government didn’t consult with the Chief Public Health Officer about safely conducting an election, when we all know this was never about an election. The whole point of the confidence vote was to call O’Toole and his bluster out, and force him (and by extension the NDP) into an uncomfortable position, because nobody actually wants to go to an election, but Trudeau needed to regain the narrative and control of the agenda. The NDP, for their part, decided to spend their questions concern trolling, worrying that the prime minister was more concerned about going to an election rather than their other stated priorities like pharmacare and child care (which, again, I will remind you are contingent upon negotiation with the provinces). It was performative all around,

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Pablo Rodriguez for a navy suit and tie with a white shirt and pocket square, and to Christine Normandin for a black half-sleeved dress. Style citations go out to Stephanie Kusie for a black dress with a sheer panel across the top and lace sleeves, and to Kevin Lamoureux for a medium grey suit with a pink shirt and a burgundy striped tie. Special mention goes out to Iqra Khalid for a leopard print jacket with a black collared top and slacks.

4 thoughts on “QP: Bravado before the confidence vote”

  1. So . . . OK, rather anti-climactic moment for the time being, but. . . when *will* there be an election? I’m sick of this minority clusterf~ck and want to get the saboteurs out of the way, because it’s quite obvious they’re not going to let up on their circlejerk over WeGhazi and other manufactured nontroversies. The Liberals need full control over the levers because the sh~t disturbers keep throwing a spanner in the works and crying wolf to the media. And the media goes along with it, just like they did with Hillary’s emails and everything else. If the NDP are so concerned about real issues, then let them focus on real issues and drop the tiresome shenanigans already. Jumping aboard the CPC bandwagon (and their de facto QC caucus led by Blanchet) isn’t a good look. But Charlie is still going to want to make himself and his pathetic party seem relevant and “principled” even though they are massive, massive hypocrites. Give it up already. There’s no “there” there.

    • And why should we care about your hyper-partisan opinions, expressed so frequently and in such abusive and reliably fact-free fashion? Ranting here every day may make you feel better but does not constitute any kind of constructive contribution to the political discourse.

      • Neither does persecuting a 72 year old woman with bipolar disorder to score political points on her son, in the matter that Trump went after Hunter Biden to score political points on his father, but here we are. LPC supporters have every right to fight back against opposition abuse, and don’t need tone policing from the opposition bro brigade.

  2. Here we go again. Erin The Tool and his band of Trumpettes are out to trash more worthy Canadians and their business for the simple “crime” of being “librul”. If the CONservatives were in government, I wonder what kind of ventilators their Proud Boy friends would be able to build.

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